Sol Shall Rise (The Pike Chronicles Book 1) by G. P. Hudson Page B

signals to tell Kevin that they would follow.
    The four Marines escorted them out of the hangar bay and through a long corridor to the sick bay. Walking behind the two Kevin studied them closely looking for anything remotely resembling a threat. The woman had her arm around the little girl’s shoulders and held her close, trying to comfort her. The little girl had not stopped trembling since she emerged from the lifeboat and buried her face deep in the woman’s side. From the looks of things Kevin assumed that the woman was the girl’s mother. A DNA test would let them know for sure. At least that question would be answered, Kevin wasn’t so sure about the rest. What were humans doing out here anyway?

CHAPTER 17
     
    Engineering was a frantic mix of shouting and clanging as crews scrambled to make repairs. The air reeked of charred wiring and dry chemical fire extinguisher. Adjacent to one of the main reactors, Chief Engineer Singh stooped over the main jump system array with Diakan Engineering Advisor Boufos watching.
    “The primary relay has been damaged,” said Boufos.
    Chief Engineer Singh stopped working for a moment, struggling to contain his composure. The Diakan had been following him around since they left the station and interfering with his work. He had been able to ignore it up until now, but with the stress of battle and emergency repairs he was now getting very close to the boiling point. Everything was a mess. Fires. Hull breaches. Downed systems. The last thing he needed right now was a Diakan questioning his every move.
    “Thank you Mr. Boufos, I can see that. If you wouldn’t mind it would be helpful if you could assist with some of the other repairs that are needed,” said Singh.
    “I possess a superior understanding of this ship’s propulsion system, especially the jump system. Assigning me to other duties would not be an efficient use of my skill set.”
    Singh took a deep breath. “Since the jump system will be down for some time, we need to ensure that the FTL systems are all functioning properly. Please run a full diagnostic on them.”
    “It is not optimal to have me run diagnostic tests, Chief Engineer.”
    “Optimal or not, that is what I want you to do. And last I checked I am still the Chief Engineer, which means I make the decisions, not you.”
    “As you wish, Chief Engineer.”
    The Diakan walked away and Singh went back to work. There was extensive damage to the primary relay. He now realized it would take longer to repair than his original estimate. The Captain was not going to be happy.
    He opened a comm link with Commander Wolfe.
    “Yes Rajneesh,” answered Wolfe.
    The sound of her voice calmed his nerves. Secretly he was happy that she came on this mission, although he wouldn’t let her know that. There were too many complications with their relationship. Too much volatility. And it had a habit of interfering with his work. He did love her, but they were too different.
    “I’ve been working on repairing the jump system and the damage is more extensive than I originally thought. At first it looked like it was only the superluminal emitters that needed repair, but after further investigation I’ve found that the primary relay has also been extensively damaged. It is going to take longer to repair than my original estimate.”
    “How much longer?”
    “Three, maybe four days.”
    “Are you sure? We really need that jump system online?”
    Was he sure? How many times would his abilities be questioned today? He was the Chief Engineer. Some people would think he knew what he was talking about. “I will do my best to speed up the repairs, but this type of work takes time, Commander.”
    “We don’t have time. Surely there must be a faster way to get this done.”
    “The damage is just too extensive.”
    “I don’t need excuses, Rajneesh. I need results.”
    “This is precise work, Commander. It is not something that can be rushed.”
    “I will let the Captain know.