The Black Sheep (A Learning Experience Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

bridge.  Thomas looked around with interest, taking in the number of jury-rigged modifications to the original design.  He’d been taught the basics of Galactic technology, back at the Academy, but he’d never seen any ship that had been so obviously modified by her owners.  A handful of sleeping rolls lay against one bulkhead, as if the crew had been confined to their own bridge.  If the remainder of the ship was crammed with refugees, Thomas told himself, they might well have been.
     
    “Mr. XO,” Hyldkrog said.  “Allow me to present Captain Ryman of the Speaker to Seafood .”
     
    Thomas stepped back as Captain Ryman nodded tiredly to the XO.  He was a tall man, clearly a second-gen Solarian judging from the way he held himself, but he looked almost unbearably tired.  It was evident, from the way his eyes were darting left and right, that he was running on coffee, energy pills and implant stimulation.  There was a reason, Thomas recalled, why abusing energy pills and implants was against regulations, certainly on active duty.  After a few days without sleep, Captain Ryman had probably started having hallucinations.  He was lucky that his heart hadn't given out, despite all his augmentation.
     
    “Captain Ryman,” the XO said.  “I’m Commander Wilde, XO of Jackie Fisher .”
     
    “Pleased to meet you,” Captain Ryman said.  His voice sounded slurred.  “They killed Kenny, didn't they?”
     
    The XO frowned.  “Kenny?”
     
    “Captain Kenny Rogers,” Captain Ryman said.  He yawned, suddenly.  “My partner.  Commander of Speaker to Morons .”
     
    “I’m afraid they did,” the XO said.  “There are no survivors from the other freighter.”
     
    He cleared his throat.  “With your permission, Captain, we will bring a team of medics over to your ship to assist your crew and passengers,” he added.  “And we can teleport you back to our sickbay for examination.  We can even start on basic repairs.”
     
    “Too much to do,” Captain Ryman said.  “I ...”
     
    He stumbled, then toppled forward.  The XO caught him before he hit the deck; a pair of marines hurried forward, pressed a sensor against Captain Ryman’s neck and then lowered him to a blanket on the ground.  His crew, Thomas noted, didn't look in any better shape; a teenage boy had fallen asleep at his console, a pair of middle-aged men were eying the newcomers warily and a young girl, barely entering her teens, was cowering back against the rear of the compartment, her eyes wide with terror.
     
    “Give them all a sedative, then take control of the vessel,” the XO ordered.  He turned to look at Thomas.  “Update on our support?”
     
    Thomas hastily checked his implants.  “The engineers are beaming over now, sir,” he said, “along with additional marines.  There’s a pair of medics waiting to be teleported.”
     
    “I can work on the life support, sir,” the Senior Chief offered.  “We really need to get some of the refugees off the ship, though.  There are just too many of them to be transported safely.”
     
    “See to it,” the XO said.  He looked at one of the middle-aged men.  “Can you give us the control codes for your processors?”
     
    The man looked doubtful - Thomas knew it was rare for a starship crew to willingly hand over their control codes to outsiders - but cocked his head, sending commands to the bridge’s processors.  A moment later, a new icon popped up in front of Thomas, informing him that the local computer network had just unlocked itself.  The XO thanked the man, then nodded to the marines, who administered the sedatives.  Thomas suspected, as he helped to prep the crew for teleport, that they were grateful they finally had a chance to sleep .
     
    “That girl may have been molested in some way,” one of the marines commented.  “I’d advise keeping her sedated until we speak to her parents.”
     
    “Understood,” the XO said.  He glanced at