The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles by E J Gilmour Read Free Book Online Page A

hit the four interstellar engine acceleration switches
and pulled the operational lever fully back. The ship started to
tremble and lurched forward as three-dimensional space began to
curve under the influence of the interstellar engine. The curvature
of space created what was commonly known as the sliding influence,
where a ship would slide down the angle of distorted space. The
speed was directly proportional to the size of the distortion. An
interstellar engine allowed ships to reach speeds many thousands of
times faster than the speed of light.
    For a few
moments the artificial gravity dissolved, and Michael felt a queasy
feeling in his stomach. Seconds later the artificial gravity
adjusted to the new speed and everything returned to normal.
    ‘… the valve casings are heating up…’ said Ethan over the
com.
    ‘ Will they hold?’ asked Michael nervously.
    ‘… They will probably settle in the next few minutes. Captain, we
need to replace these valves when we return to Timber 5. This is
totally unsafe. The entire ship is at risk of falling apart at any
moment…’
    ‘ We’re safely in the slide, Captain,’ said Sara. ‘The computer
will guide us all the way to Zeno Par on autopilot. I’ve left the
salvage scanners on; we still need to turn a profit.’
    Michael
nodded. ‘Well done, Sara,’ he said as he stood up and walked toward
the back of the ship. Ajax and Cynthia were standing in the
corridor at the door of the armoury. Ajax was showing Cynthia an
Epherian modified automatic cannon, which was an oversized gun that
would usually be fixed to a tripod due to its weight. The auto
cannon fired explosive micro-droids. The miniature robots could
adjust their own course in mid-flight. If they missed their target
they would land and use their six on-board robotic legs to either
return to the auto-cannon to be refired or seek out the original
target overland.
    ‘ You would want a weapon like this with you if you ever got
caught out in the open, especially in a firefight with aliens.’ he
said, clearly trying to impress her. ‘It’s probably too heavy for
someone of your size and weight.’
    ‘ Have you ever fought aliens?’ asked Cynthia.
    ‘ Just once…’ he mumbled.
    ‘ He hasn’t fought any aliens whilst he’s been on my crew,’ said
Michael as he walked by.
    Ajax nodded
curtly. ‘That’s right. We try to avoid confrontations with them,
but we have to be ready just in case they decide to show their ugly
faces.’
    Michael
continued back to the cargo bay. Ivan was sitting in the corner of
the cargo bay and working on repairing a broken jetpack. The
jetpack had been in Michael’s possession since his early days of
salvaging, and he had once used it extensively, especially whilst
surveying wrecks on surface missions. He had found the jetpack
whilst searching a derelict battleship; it was highly advanced,
with duel auto adjustable rockets, a programmable advanced computer
with autopilot, a return to mothership switch and highly sensitive
balance sensors. Ivan had been working on fixing the jetpack since
the day it stopped working, but he hadn’t been able to identify the
exact nature of the malfunction.
    Michael
continued across the cargo bay and walked through the engine room
door. The engine room was cramped and narrow and cut directly
between the two large engine blocks at the back of the ship. Most
of the wiring, piping and valves were exposed, which made it easier
to work. Ethan was musing over a panel of indicators at the back of
the room. He glanced at Michael as he entered.
    ‘ The release valves are stabilising,’ said Ethan.
    ‘ I knew it wasn’t going to be a problem,’ said
Michael.
    Ethan walked
over with a nervous smile. ‘Captain, this ship is a wreck. Look at
all these aging components. It’s not just the pressure release
valves; the whole ship is falling apart. I’m surprised it has
lasted this long. Most of the components need to be replaced, and
we need a complete