The Lost Voyager: A Space Opera Novel by A. C. Hadfield Read Free Book Online

eyes for the holopads gleamed, and he couldn’t see a speck of dust on the monitors. Mach picked up a crisp piece of white paper and held it in front of his light.  
    Adira looked up from the opposite workstation. “Are you thinking what I am?”
    Mach nodded. “Somebody has been here recently.”
    “Why would they keep the place in shape?” Sanchez asked. “Doesn’t make any sense.”
    “Maybe a horan mining company?” Mach said. The enemies of the Commonwealth were always searching for new resources. As Noven Beta was currently out of the Salus Sphere, it made sense. “Proceed with caution. Babcock, what’s in the next room?”
    “Looks like a large warehouse to hold some quarry equipment.”
    “Stay outside until we get to the bottom of this.”
    “Squid Two and I could make a start—”
    “Stay outside,” Mach snapped.  
    Babcock didn’t respond, but Mach knew he got the message.  
    “What’s the condition like inside?” Babcock said.  
    “Clean, warmer,” Adira said. “Looks like the power could’ve been cut just before we—”
    Mach tensed and spun toward an opaque glass door at the far end of the room. Adira and Sanchez crouched behind two workstation desks. The realization must’ve have hit them at the same time as Adira spoke.  
    The power might have been cut just before they arrived. And if it was, it meant somebody saw them coming and had prepared for their arrival.  
    A single scream echoed through the facility.

Chapter Five

    Mach positioned himself against the solid wall under the dead black screens, away from the opaque glass door.  
    Silence followed the scream.  
    “What the hell was that?” Sanchez said. He edged around a desk and moved over to Mach in a crouching run.  
    “Sounded more human than horan. You got any flare rounds?” Mach said.
    “Two. Are we going in?”
    “It’s a simple choice. Leave the threat, hope it doesn’t come after us, and carry out a planet-wide drone search. Or we go through that door.”
    Adira leaned over the desk she was using for cover. “I’m not waiting here for weeks. I’ll lead the way.”
    “What’s happening inside?” Tulula said over the comm. “Do you need our help?”
    “Lock down the ship and keep a lookout,” Mach said, conscious that they might have been watched since arriving, and prying eyes could be focused on the Intrepid . “Sit tight outside, Babs, and keep your eyes peeled too.”
    “Will do,” Babcock replied. “Good luck.”
    Mach crept toward the door and listened. Adira flicked off her helmet light and slipped through the shadows, appearing next to him.
    “We’re facing a warehouse, probably filled with industrial equipment,” Mach said. “Sanchez, you fire the flare. We’ll take up a cover position and observe.”
    “I’ll head to the left,” Adira said. “Let me do what I do best while you distract whoever or whatever is in there.”
    Mach nodded. Her movement to the door only reemphasized her skill and reputation as one of the Sphere’s deadliest assassins. Mach and Sanchez’s boots squeaked against the surface. Adira moved with grace, speed, and silence.  
    Sanchez slipped two red-tipped rounds from the small pouches of a leather bandolier he had slung over his shell and loaded them into his magazine. He replaced it back in his rifle’s housing, chambered the first flare round, and killed his helmet light.  
    “We’re going in,” Mach whispered, making the rest of the crew aware.  
    The opaque door had no locks or bolts, only a metal strip at waist height to push it open. Sanchez stood to aim over Mach’s shoulder. Adira hunched, ready to enter at pace.  
    Mach killed his helmet light and pushed the door. It easily swung open on its hinges, revealing darkness. Adira darted inside and disappeared into the gloom.  
    Sanchez fired.  
    The flare streaked across the warehouse. Its hissing flame illuminated the high-latticed ceiling and pieces of large machinery parked randomly