The False Admiral by Sean Danker Read Free Book Online

was only a handful of cons Tremma could have been planning with this cargo.
    I caught a glimpse of my face in the glossy white plastic of the nearest crate, and looked away, swallowing.
    â€œWhat is all of this?” Deilani asked. “And why isn’t it on an imperial transport?”
    â€œIt is.”
    â€œWhy isn’t it on a normal one?” she pressed.
    I said nothing.
    â€œThe fighting’s over,” Nils said. “Maybe they’re dispersing some of the surplus ordnance.”
    â€œThese are not weapons containers,” Salmagard observed softly, and I glanced back at her. She looked thoughtful. Her eyes flicked to me, but only for a moment.
    So she didn’t know everything. I wanted to educate her, but this wasn’t the time. We made our way through the stacks of crates to the shuttle in front of the launch doors. It was an Evagardian craft, dragonfly-class. Neither cutting edge nor out-of-date, it was a fast shuttle mostly intended for ferrying officers and ambassadors from ship to station in style.
    Obviously the freighter needed a shuttle, but this was an unusual choice. Tremma’s ship would be expected to have something a little less flashy, and a little more utilitarian. The trainees probably wouldn’t notice. No—Nils had. He was looking at the shuttle with obvious confusion.
    â€œWhy a dragonfly, though?” he asked. “It doesn’t make sense, not in this ship.”
    â€œCome on,” I said, startling him. “Let’s get out of here.”
    â€œNothing makes sense on this ship,” Nils said, his eyes still on the shuttle. Damn it all, now he was thinking too; Deilani was enough to deal with. I jogged up the ramp and into the cabin, going straight to the cockpit.
    â€œYou’re a pilot?” Deilani asked.
    â€œNo,” I replied cheerily. “But how hard can it be?” She scowled at me. “Nils, take the chair.” He sat down beside me.
    â€œYou’re joking, right, sir?” It was starting to catch up with him. I hoped he’d keep his cool.
    â€œRelax. I can fly it.”
    He looked relieved. I spotted Salmagard with her hand on the ramp control. “That might be premature,” I told her.
    Deilani leaned against the cockpit doorway, arms folded, looking expectant. I ignored her and began to power up the shuttle. The computer came online. I knew at once that something was wrong.
    â€œWhat is it?” Nils asked, sensing my sudden tension.
    â€œThe system’s stuttering,” I replied, distracted. “Get a starscape while I check it out. I want to know where we are . . .” My subconscious shouted something at me, and I listened. I stopped in the act of reaching for my straps. “Run,” I said.
    â€œWhat?”
    I grabbed Nils and dragged him out of the cockpit, pushing Deilani and Salmagard ahead of us. Fresh out of training, they knew how to go from stationary to full speed, even if they didn’t understand why. We stumbled down the ramp, and I kept them in front of me, pushing on. I tried to put as many stacks of crates between us and the shuttle as I could.
    The shuttle went up only seconds after we cleared the ramp. We were all deafened by the blast, which vaporized the nearest stacks, and broke many more free of their gravity restraints. I shoved Deilani out of the path of a falling crate, and kicked Nils’ legs from beneath him to get his head down. Salmagard had the good sense to duck on her own. Containers were toppling all over, and the smell of burning plastic washed over the bay.
    Coughing, I rolled over, visions of shattering carbon shield flashing through my mind. Screams, and the wailing of twisting, malforming metal. I felt a wave of nausea. That would’ve been a good time to lie back and go to sleep, but Salmagard was reaching down to help me to my feet. Grimacing, I took her hand and let her pull me up.
    Deilani was on her hands and knees,