The False Admiral by Sean Danker Read Free Book Online Page A

groaning. It looked as if some debris had struck her, but it hadn’t compromised her suit.Nils was sprawled out; the fall to the floor had done him more harm than the explosion had, but it beat the alternative. Everyone was whole, but the bay wasn’t.
    Cracked and broken crates were everywhere. Pieces were still clattering to the deck, and I could see bits of the shuttle lodged in the bulkheads. It was hot, and the smell of melted polymer was strong in the air.
    I leaned against the nearest stack, which felt warm through my suit, and slid down to sit. I could feel sharp pain in my back; I’d taken some shrapnel too. My EV chirped medical pings at me, like I needed it to tell me that I was bleeding.
    My sleeper being tampered with was one thing. My sleeper and the ship. My sleeper, the ship,
and
the shuttle. And the ship’s computer systems. I couldn’t forget those.
    Subtle.
    â€œWhat just happened?” Nils choked out, getting to his feet. “The cells spiked. The levels just popped for no reason.”
    I wished he hadn’t seen that. The power cells in the shuttle had been fixed to overload on start-up, probably helped along with . . . I wasn’t going to think about it. There wasn’t any money in it. I shook my head like that might help my ears stop ringing.
    Salmagard appeared in front of me, which I took to mean Deilani was back on her feet and acting threatening. I figured I’d better say something before she did.
    â€œI don’t know about you guys,” I said loudly enough that they’d all hear me over the buzzing in their ears. “But this is starting to feel a little like sabotage.”
    â€œAnd what the
hell
do you know about that?” Deilani’s hands were opening and closing; those fingers wanted to be around mythroat so badly that I truly sympathized. I pictured her shaking me by the neck the way she so obviously wanted to.
    â€œJust save it,” I said, drained.
    â€œI won’t take this from a chemical dependent,” she spat. The emotion in her voice was telling. I was starting to get a feel for Deilani.
    I looked at Salmagard, but once again she was making a point of ignoring me. She’d maintain her neutrality until Deilani physically assaulted me. I didn’t blame her.
    I watched her work her wrist experimentally.
    â€œYou
know
what’s going on,” Deilani pressed.
    â€œActually,” I said, feeling detached. “I’m kind of baffled.” It was true. At first I’d had some ideas, but now? This had gotten out of hand.
    There must have been something about what I said, or how I said it, because Deilani backed down. Even she couldn’t believe that I’d sabotage my own sleeper, the ship,
and
the only way off the ship. I hadn’t done any of it. I really hadn’t.
    And the shuttle
had
been the only way. The escape craft wouldn’t do us any good unless we could somehow get into orbit, and with no reactor and no ship’s computer, that wasn’t going to happen.
    Crates and debris were still falling apart, and the sounds echoed through the vast bay.
    Nils had staggered into the aisle to gaze back at the wreckage. Deilani put her hands against the crate opposite me and appeared to be getting herself under control.
    Ten minutes ago I’d been impressed that these three weren’t panicking. It wasn’t that they were brave or well trained, though it was possible that they were both. They hadn’t panicked because they were fresh out of training, and had no concept of exactly howlarge the galaxy was, and the true implications of being lost in it. Imperial training had no doubt confronted them with danger, but there had always been a safety net.
    Now I was out of luck. I
knew
how bad it was.
    Salmagard looked at me, troubled.
She
knew how serious this was even before things started blowing up. It wasn’t surprise on her face. She was troubled because this was the