The False Admiral Read Online Free PDF

didn’t fit into that picture. I didn’t have long before she worked that out.
    â€œAdmiral!” Nils said, looking up.
    That sounded promising. I rubbed my wrist where I’d injected and turned my attention to the ensign.
    â€œWhat is it?”
    â€œThe forward, starboard loader cycled once since the last reset,” he reported. “I can’t go back any farther.”
    I took that in. “I guess it’s something. It’s one more cycle than I’d expect. But just once? So he went outside, but he didn’t come back in?”
    â€œYes, sir.” He drummed his fingers on the panel, looking puzzled. “I don’t get it, but it’s right here. One cycle.”
    â€œAll right. We have to assume that Tremma had some idea what this rock is— So why would he go outside?”
    â€œA repair, sir?” Salmagard theorized.
    I nodded. “That sounds right. We’re broken down, after all. We should take a look. I hope he didn’t run into trouble out there.”
    I looked at Deilani, who was considering the same notion. Dangerous indigenous life-forms were rare; only a few dozen had been discovered in known systems. Deilani would know at least a little about xenobiology, and she would know that this world was not one of those she had studied.
    The gravity drive was shut down, but we were still on the floor. This was a planet, but not much of one. The gravity was too light. And you don’t need life-forms to get you into trouble on an alien world. Anything could’ve happened to them out there.
    Nils was the only one who looked alarmed. Salmagard was perfectly calm. Her face never seemed to change.
    *   *   *
    With our combined knowledge of spacecraft, Nils and I navigated the four of us in the direction of the airlock in question. There were a lot of corridors and a lot of ladders. We passed a long, dirty window overlooking one of the cargo bays. I glanced down at the massive stacks of crates inside. The white imperial containers were a stark contrast to the dark, grimy bay.
    I wondered what Tremma was carrying. With the cease-fire in place, he should’ve been out of a job. Was that why he was ferrying graduates to their first assignment? Then what was in these crates? Leftovers?
    Yet again, Deilani was monitoring me.
    â€œStep it out,” I said. “We don’t have time for sightseeing.”
    â€œCan you teach me to walk like that?”
    â€œLike what?” I asked, brushing past her.
    â€œLike a model,” she said, giving a little twitch of her hips.
    â€œYou don’t have the figure,” I told her. She rolled her eyes and kept walking. Maybe she’d give up if I kept refusing to bite.
    Nils looked smug as we approached the airlock’s pressure door. His navigation had been perfect, no easy task in a dark, foreign vessel. The airlock was sealed. That took me off guard; our sideof it should have been open. I went to the small window in the blast door and peered into the cramped chamber. What I saw made me forget all about Deilani’s persistent scrutiny.
    â€œSuits,” I said, looking at the rack by the doors. It was a Ganraen ship, but it had an Evagardian crew, so the suits were Evagardian as well. “EVs, I guess. Quick.”
    Instead of obeying, Deilani darted to the window to look for herself. It was amazing how fast her face turned as white as her uniform. She joined the rest of us without a word as we stripped down.
    I’d only worn an imperial environment suit once before, but it went on easily enough. The EVs were skintight, the nanofabric adjusting to the wearer’s body, and they were the purest white. They were also the most technologically advanced garments in the galaxy, bar none. I deployed my helmet, which emerged from my collar instantly. There was a hum, and the force shield that was my faceplate materialized, sealing me in. I keyed my suit’s AI and checked that