Gunship Read Free Page A

cloud hanging over this mission, Reilly had finally threatened to tie him to the bulkhead as their new hood ornament if he didn’t shut up. He had gotten surly and retreated to the mess, slamming around the kitchen gear, mumbling to himself about dark days, which told all of them that dinner was likely to be less than mediocre, if it materialized at all. Chang loved to cook, but when he was in a mood, the chow and the crew suffered. Reilly shook off her unease and was punching in the code to release a rifle when the ship gave a sudden violent lurch, tossing her between the walls in the corridor.
    “What the hell was that?” Joby Ty was staggering up the hall as the ship stabilized again. Reilly shook her head as they headed for the bridge.
    Duv hollered back to her as he heard the footsteps coming up the metal stairs. “Restraint field, Captain! It almost had us for a second there, except I got a prox alarm at the last minute telling me to pull up. No warning at all…pretty strange…I’ve never seen one like this before…”
    Duv pointed at the three-dimensional hologram of the restraint field’s spiked dome that appeared to hover over the dash next to him. Below the dome was an accurate map of the surface, showing the moon’s rugged terrain.
    Reilly flicked the image with her finger, and it spun slightly as the computer coughed up details on the restraint field. Duv whistled softly as the computer indicated that a full-system lockdown would have occurred if their ship had entered into the field’s engagement zone. Duvall “Duv” Jackson had also been in Reilly’s unit and was one of the best pilots she had ever met. Only his quick reaction to the security warning had prevented the bird from being captured and held tight to the moon’s surface, making them easy prey for salvage crews or other dangers.
    Reilly shoved the uneasy feeling back again and pointed out one of the nearby canyon areas that appeared to be clear. Duv nodded as he guided the gunship over and gently set it down. The crew began their system checks automatically before Reilly could say anything. She smiled briefly as Ty disappeared down the hall to do an integrity check while Duv pulled up the systems network operations center to run a scan. Five years out of the military, but everyone was still in synch with their training. Reilly leaned in to look over Duv’s shoulder as the scan finished. Even with his quick reaction, several of the primary systems had been tweaked and would need to have components replaced before they would be able to get space-borne again.
    Duv grimaced and then cursed, punching the comms button. “Skeeter, I could use a hand up here with this piece of…” He trailed into a string of curses as he clicked off the mic, grabbed a well-used coffee mug with the slogan “To Hell with Gravity” imprinted on the side, and filled it to the brim with the thick, dark brew before slamming the coffee maker back into its slot.
    “How long, Duv?” Reilly asked, calculating the amount of time they had already spent on the surface.
    “At least a couple hours—we got lucky, but we didn’t get off completely free. Skeeter will get ’er up and running again.” Duv took a swig from his mug and pulled out a tool bag and some parts from a small side compartment.
    A few minutes later, Duv’s fourteen-year-old prodigy of a son, Skeeter, was scrambling around the ship working his magic to test out repairs while his father cursed in the background, handing him parts and downing cup after cup of black coffee like a fiend. Reilly paced impatiently, jamming the comms button to on when Ty called in his report. She could hear the echo of his digitized voice bouncing around the cargo hold, causing feedback on the mic. Just another thing she needed to get fixed when they finished this mission. Ty’s frustration came through loud and clear.
    “That must have been a hell of a field, Cap. Looks like it killed all the modulators in the heavy