Leap Ships [Sunsinger Chronicles Book 7]
Page 12
Herin threw him a grateful glance, but she didn't stop shuddering. If anything, it grew deeper, straining her body against her seat straps. Dr. Haral and Captain Lorian both slid free of their restraints at the same time and hurried to hold their elder daughter.
“You were all very brave,” Lin said. She blinked quickly, and Bain knew she was fighting tears. He hated when she got teary over him.
“We didn't really do anything,” he said.
“No, you were smart,” Rhiann declared. “You told him things and you didn't tell him everything—but you didn't lie to him, either. That's tricky."
“That took a lot of quick thinking and some field psychology,” Lin added. “Made me proud to hear you."
“I just remembered what you said about every lie needing ten lies to keep it standing up straight,” Bain said. Then her words caught up with him. “Hear?"
“It turns out Leaper captains have a mental link to each other. It comes with the ability to link with their ships. Herin was able to let her mother know you three were in trouble before Haddan knocked her unconscious.” Lin smiled and tugged aside the collar of her jacket to reveal her collar link. “Watcher boosted the signal so we could hear what was going on and track you. Fast talking and clear thinking works better than a show of force any day. Remember that."
“Oh, I will.” Bain nodded, hard enough to make his head ache.
“You'd better.” Lin winked at Rhiann. “You're going to have to take over all this running around and saving the Commonwealth because I'm just getting too old for all this."
Bain groaned. He had heard this before; several times. He knew Lin would never retire, and never be too old for the kind of life they led.
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Two weeks later, Sunsinger and the Estal'es'cai emerged from a Leap just outside the edge of Centralis’ protected space zone. Lin hit a button on the control panel and half a second later a message spurt signal transmitted, sending all the pertinent information and greetings from Captain Lorian to the Commonwealth Council. The two ships slowed to a stop and settled into a spatially stationary orbit around each other. Neither side knew how long they had to wait until they received a response from the Council, but Lin suspected it wouldn't be long. She had made sure to mark the message to the attention of Dr. Ian Frurin of the Commonwealth Upper University, who was a distant relative. That would verify her identity and reputation and bring an audible voice into the Council's deliberations.
“We're not going to get our mapping fee,” Bain said with a groan, as he finished programming the new orbit into the control board.
“No, probably not. But I think the Exploration and Colonization Authority is going to have a few other, more important things on their mind for a while.” Lin finished her share of the task and settled back in her seat. She sighed and closed her eyes and rubbed at them. “All clear, Lorian?” she asked.
“All clear. Sensors show no alarms have risen yet on Centralis,” the Leaper captain said, her voice coming through the ceiling speakers. “I really should try to trade for the logistics of how your people turned that asteroid into a home. We could use something like that in several universes as a Leaper home base."
“I'll back you,” Lin offered. “Oh, but maybe you shouldn't let them know just how sensitive your sensors are. At this distance, we couldn't scan anything inside the domes of Centralis."
“Noted."
“The universe is about to change, Bain,” Lin murmured. She rubbed at her eyes again. “It's better to be part of the change, I think, than to have things change around you.” She chuckled. “At least, I think so."
END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle lives in North Royalton, Ohio, just about half an hour from Lake Erie and Cleveland. She graduated from Northwestern College, Iowa, with a BA in theater/English, and from Regent University, Virginia, with an MA in communication (film/writing). She has over 40 short stories and poems to her credit in fan fiction—Star Trek, Highlander, the Phoenix, Beauty & the Beast, Stingray, among others. Her first professional sale was also a first-place win in the Writers of the Future Contest, with the short story “Relay.” This story introduced one of her favorite “Barbie Dolls", Rhea Jones. She's a pivotal figure in a series of books Michelle calls Wildvine County. Someday they'll even see print....
“Sunsinger” belongs in a universe Michelle created called “The Commonwealth". Bain and his adventures are about 3/4 of the way through the planned books—there's a lot of history she's still fleshing out. It's great fun, having thousands of people and stories running around in her head. And someday she'll get them all on paper.
Keep track of the entire ten-part series on Michelle's author page:
www.writers-exchange.com/michelle.htm
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Visit www.writers-exchange.com/epublishing for information on additional titles by this and other authors.