Andromeda Day and the Black Hole Read Online Free PDF Page B

floor to where the Sparrowhawk waited
impatiently to take flight. The Waiter had already contacted the cargo
technician to inform him of their impending departure, and he’d started the
Anti-Matter Drive of the small flight shuttle. The Sparrowhawk vibrated
impatiently on the tiled surface, eager to stretch its wings.
    They settled themselves on board and then
Deneb navigated the shuttle carefully out of the Antiquarian where it
dropped into space like the bird after which it was named. He turned it around skillfully
and then headed down towards the planet.
    Andi looked at the LCD screen in front of
her as the shuttle passed through the cloud layer and Thoume became visible. She
could see clearly the devastation that had been wrought on two of the
continents, which were presumably fighting each other. “What sort of weapons
are they using?” she asked Deneb, who was carefully inputting co-ordinates for
landing.
    “Well they’re post-industrial and have warp
capabilities, according to the Coalition notes. But they don’t appear to be
using atomic weapons. Thank goodness. That really would put an end to trade.”
    “And millions of lives,” she reminded him.
    “Well, of course, that as well.”
    She knew that he wasn’t really heartless—he
was single-minded, that was all. She watched him fondly as he worked on the
controls, thinking how handsome he looked, and how proud of him she was. “Am I
more like you or like Mum?” she asked suddenly.
    He looked up at her, surprised. Andi rarely
asked questions about her mother, as she knew that thinking about her upset
him, but suddenly it seemed important for her to know.
    Deneb said nothing for a moment, studying
her thoughtfully. His lips had a pinched, painful look about them. Then his
gaze fell back to the control panel and he continued to input the figures. “She
was dark-haired,” he said eventually. Andi waited a moment, but he clearly
wasn’t going to elaborate.
    “I know that,” she said wryly. “I’ve seen a
laser print. I mean character-wise.”
    Deneb’s fingers paused on the keys. “You
are very like her,” he said. He looked up then at the LCD, but Andi knew that
he wasn’t seeing the view of Thoume before him. He was seeing her mother. She recognized
the sad look that came over him, the faraway gaze in his eyes, the way his jaw
tightened, as if he was angry. He glanced over at her then, and a glint
appeared in his eye. “She was a pain in the neck too. Always trying to stop me
doing things.”
    Andi laughed, pleased she hadn’t upset him
too much. “In this case I’m glad I’m like her. You need someone to keep an eye
on you or you’d be getting yourself into all sorts of trouble.”
    He grinned at her, then checked the
controls as the Sparrowhawk beeped that they had reached the targeted
area.
    Andi looked at the LCD and saw that Deneb
was setting them down some miles behind the war front, just outside a town that
had clearly taken some damage. “Where are we?”
    “The Plions said there are two main races
on this continent: the Ruvalians, and the Hoshaens. They said we should steer
well clear of the Hoshaens in the east, and make sure all our contact is with
the Ruvalians in the west. The Ruvalians are the people who own the land where
the Indigo Quartz runs in veins through the rock only meters below the surface,
whereas on the east of the continent it’s much deeper, several kilometers
underground. The Hoshaens are the people in the east who are trying to take
over the Ruvalian land.”
    “How are they doing?”
    “The Ruvalians are holding at the moment,
but the Plions said it’s not going to be long before they’re overrun. I’m
setting us down just outside the city wall of the main Ruvalian capital.”
    As soon as the Sparrowhawk had
settled and the Anti-Matter Drive was taken offline, Deneb was out of his seat.
“Now remember,” he warned her, “no fancy business. Do as I do, and be careful.”
    “Yes, Dad.” She was