Star Cruise: Marooned Read Online Free PDF Page B

look. “Ma’am, my respect for you has climbed to a whole new level.” Efficiently, he checked the charge.
    His praise warmed her a bit and settled her nerves. “Taking the weapons was an impulse, but a good precaution, given how strangely the TDJ crew behaved. Don’t you want both of them?”
    “Do you know how to shoot?”
    She nodded. “I’ve had the basic course.”
    “Then you keep the other. You’re in command here.” He slid his blaster into a deep side pocket of his utility pants. “I suggest we keep this advantage our secret until or unless we need to use them, okay?”
    “Okay.” Following his example, she dropped the second into the pocket of her own pants, sealing the flap.
    “Civilian pop guns,” he said, “But much, much better than bare fists.”
    “Is Sharmali going to die?” Meg voiced her biggest fear.
    Eyes steady on hers, he nodded once. “I used the only anti-venom inject in the kit already. You saw for yourself how ineffective the dose was. Even if we could get her to the ship in the next half hour, it might already be too late.” He touched her elbow lightly. “There’s nothing you can do about it. And stop beating yourself up over the sonic barrier in the lake. There was no way for you to know it was off. We all expected it to be on.”
    Meg disagreed about her own negligence, but now wasn’t the time to argue. Squaring her shoulders, she breathed in, counting to ten. Exhaling, she nodded. “Okay, in an hour, when the deadline passes, plus a margin for error, I’m gathering the group and telling them we believe we’re temporarily marooned. Then I want to put them to work. We’ll gather all the supplies, including what TDJ left, and we’ll move everything to the ranger building. It’ll be sunset in a few hours, and I think we’d better spend the night there, don’t you?”
    “Absolutely.” He gestured at the lake. “I assume we can drink this water?”
    “Some of the trace chemicals aren’t good for humans if we drank it for the rest of our lives, but yes, fine to consume over a short period of time.”
    “Lock the feelgoods in the bar robo now,” he suggested. “I’ll go do the same in the TDJ pavilion. Less chance of me having to shoot someone if we don’t let the situation degrade to where one or more people are drunk or high.” Eyeing the passengers, most of whom were in a tight circle, talking animatedly, he said, “Well, more inebriated than a couple of the men—Trever for one—already are.”
    “All right.” Shading her eyes with one hand, she observed her passengers, her responsibility. She noted with relief that the wandering Sam and Lindy had returned unharmed from their hike, and were the center of the excited circle as the others tried to talk over each other, telling the newcomers the unusual events they’d missed. “I hope at least a few of them are going to pull their own weight.”
    “People want to eat, they work. Simple as that.” Red jogged in the direction of the TDJ site.

CHAPTER TWO

    Sharmali died in the middle of the night, quietly, never drawing another breath after one deep inhalation. Meg, who was in the chair next to the couch, drowsing, didn’t realize at first her passenger had died. The venom had worked its way through Sharmali’s entire body, turning all her veins and arteries a startling black and she’d been breathing shallowly for most of the evening. Meg briefly considered doing CPR, and decided there was no use, given the way the poison had affected the poor woman.
    Draping a beach towel over Sharmali’s face, Meg sat, head in her hands. There wasn’t any point in waking anyone else. Sharmali had no close friends among the passengers. Apparently, she and most of the other women had been hired by the Primary for entertainment thinly veiled as companionship during the cruise. The men were clients and business contacts of Mr. Finchon’s, with several of his high level employees along as backup, should any of the