“I gather your engineering crew aren’t playing a trick on you?” I asked.
“No. My engineering team is top notch. This is something unexpected.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I said. "You’re still maintaining 115% thrust?”
“Yes, but are we doing more damage? We need to shut down everything and run a full diagnostic.”
“How long would that take?”
“Four to six hours if we don’t find anything. Longer if we’ve got as much of a mess on our hands as I believe.”
“Any idea what’s causing it?” I asked, not commenting on the delay, but I wasn’t happy about it. God knows what could be happening right now in the Sector Three and Four Fleets.
“No idea,” he said. “But something’s been fried, and I can only guess the solar flare that took out Vela did some heretofore unknown damage to Chariot as well.”
Shit.
Then Chariot’s captain said, “I hate to have to ask you to wait for us again, John, but I must.”
I looked down at the gel-coated floor and then glanced at Ana.
She held my gaze for a long moment, but no words needed to be said. We’d risked everything to save Pavo, break the lease, protect the fleet, not just for us but for them.
“New Earth can wait,” Ana said, mirroring my own thoughts.
I nodded my head; a wealth of emotions storming through me right then. Even this did not feel as impossible with Ana at my side. On my team.
I turned back to the screen.
“We’re not going anywhere without you, Noah,” I promised.
Noah Vaughan ran a hand through his hair. He looked as ruffled as I was now but for entirely different reasons. I tried not to grin like a cocky teenager. And then signed off and turned towards Ana.
“Are you ready for this?” I asked.
Ready for what? I could see the questions in her eyes. Ready for war with more leaseholders? Ready for humanity’s survival? Or ready for loving me while doing what needed to be done to get us out of this mess?
“Yes,” she said simply.
I grinned like a cocky teenager.
We were ready. Ready for it all. For everything. Even, thank the stars, for the loving.
Epilogue
all programmes nominal
all locks engaged
air filtration functional
core temperature within allowed parameters
one thousand one hundred seventy-eight
fleet-wide communications operational
chariot respond
this is pavo
channel open
chariot on line
fleet-wide communications operational
chariot respond
this is pavo
fleet-wide communications operational
chariot respond
this is pavo
channel open
chariot on line
this is vela
pavo respond
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Want To Find Out What Happened On The Chariot?
“Please do not be alarmed. This is for your own protection.”
Working as the Chief Engineer onboard the ESAS Chariot out of Europe, Commander Camille Rey expected her position to be somewhat challenging on occasion.
She did not expect to be fighting for her and her fellow crewmen’s lives immediately after take-off.
Teaming up with the very proper, and very English Captain Noah Vaughan to combat a desperate saboteur onboard their vessel, Camille discovers that not all the malfunctions the Chariot is experiencing are human-related.
Secrets and desires are exposed amongst the stars and plasma fire, but can the captain and the chief overcome their cultural differences?
And can any of them hope to survive the treacherous voyage to New Earth unscathed?
When humanity reaches for the stars in a race for survival, only the most daring amongst them will succeed.
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Accelerating Universe: The Sector Fleet Book One Page 26
