Mass Effect: The Complete Novels 4-Book Bundle by Drew Karpyshyn, William C. Dietz
Authors: Drew Karpyshyn, William C. Dietz
Ads: Link
crashing into another vessel.
Congestion was particularly heavy at the free-floating discharge stations. Generating the mass effect fields necessary to run at FTL speeds caused a powerful charge to build up inside a ship’s drive core. Left unchecked the core would oversaturate, resulting in a massive energy burst being released through the hull—a burst powerful enough to cook anyone on board who wasn’t properly grounded, burn out all electronic systems, and even fuse the metal bulkheads.
To prevent such a calamity most ships were required to discharge their drive cores every twenty to thirty hours. Typically this was done by grounding on a planet or dispersing the buildup through close proximity to the magnetic field of a large stellar body, such as a sun or gas giant. However, there were no astrological bodies of sufficient size in the nearby vicinity of the Citadel. Instead, a ring of specially designed docking stations allowed ships to link in and release the energy in their drive cores before continuing on using conventional sub-FTL drives.
Fortunately, the
Hastings
had discharged her core when she’d first arrived in the region over an hour ago. Since then she’d been in a holding pattern, patiently waiting for the clearance they had only just now received.
Anderson didn’t need to worry about the crew’s performance on a routine approach like this; they’d done it hundreds of times before. Instead, he just shut his mind off and enjoyed the view as the Citadel drew slowly closer, looming ever larger in the viewport. The lights from the wards twinkled and shone; their piercing illumination a counterpoint to the hazy, swirling brightness of the nebula cloud that served as the backdrop to the scene.
“It’s beautiful.”
Anderson jumped, startled by the voice coming from right behind him.
Gunnery Chief Dah laughed. “Sorry, Lieutenant. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
Anderson glanced down at the bandages and walking brace that encased her leg from the upper thigh all the way down to her ankle.
“You’re getting pretty good on that thing, Chief. I didn’t even hear you sneaking up on me.”
She shrugged. “Medic said I’m going to make a complete recovery. I owe you one.”
“That’s not how it works,” Anderson replied with a smile. “I know you’d have done the same for me.”
“I like to think so, sir. But thinking it and doing it aren’t the same. So … thanks.”
“Don’t tell me you came all the way up here from the infirmary just to thank me.”
She grinned. “Actually, I came to see if you’d give me another piggyback ride.”
“Forget it,” Anderson replied with a laugh. “I nearly threw my back out hauling your ass out of there. You really need to shed a few pounds.”
“Careful, sir,” she warned, lifting her braced leg an inch off the floor. “I can deliver a pretty good kick with this thing.”
Anderson turned back to the viewport, grinning. “Just shut up and enjoy the view, Dah. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
It only took a few minutes for Anderson to clear customs after they landed. They had touched down at an Alliance port, and military personnel were given top priority whenever they came in from a mission. The Citadel security officers checked his Alliance ID and verified it by scanning his thumbprint, then gave a cursory check of the pack carrying his personal belongings before waving him through. Anderson was pleased to see they were both human; last month there had still been a few salarian officers assigned to the Alliance ports due to species staff shortages. C-Sec had promised to recruit more humans into their ranks; it looked like they’d been true to their word.
Leaving the ports behind, he stepped onto the elevator that would bring him up to the main level. He yawned once; now that he was off duty the fatigue he’d been holding at bay during the entire mission began to wash over him. He couldn’t wait to get
Congestion was particularly heavy at the free-floating discharge stations. Generating the mass effect fields necessary to run at FTL speeds caused a powerful charge to build up inside a ship’s drive core. Left unchecked the core would oversaturate, resulting in a massive energy burst being released through the hull—a burst powerful enough to cook anyone on board who wasn’t properly grounded, burn out all electronic systems, and even fuse the metal bulkheads.
To prevent such a calamity most ships were required to discharge their drive cores every twenty to thirty hours. Typically this was done by grounding on a planet or dispersing the buildup through close proximity to the magnetic field of a large stellar body, such as a sun or gas giant. However, there were no astrological bodies of sufficient size in the nearby vicinity of the Citadel. Instead, a ring of specially designed docking stations allowed ships to link in and release the energy in their drive cores before continuing on using conventional sub-FTL drives.
Fortunately, the
Hastings
had discharged her core when she’d first arrived in the region over an hour ago. Since then she’d been in a holding pattern, patiently waiting for the clearance they had only just now received.
Anderson didn’t need to worry about the crew’s performance on a routine approach like this; they’d done it hundreds of times before. Instead, he just shut his mind off and enjoyed the view as the Citadel drew slowly closer, looming ever larger in the viewport. The lights from the wards twinkled and shone; their piercing illumination a counterpoint to the hazy, swirling brightness of the nebula cloud that served as the backdrop to the scene.
“It’s beautiful.”
Anderson jumped, startled by the voice coming from right behind him.
Gunnery Chief Dah laughed. “Sorry, Lieutenant. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
Anderson glanced down at the bandages and walking brace that encased her leg from the upper thigh all the way down to her ankle.
“You’re getting pretty good on that thing, Chief. I didn’t even hear you sneaking up on me.”
She shrugged. “Medic said I’m going to make a complete recovery. I owe you one.”
“That’s not how it works,” Anderson replied with a smile. “I know you’d have done the same for me.”
“I like to think so, sir. But thinking it and doing it aren’t the same. So … thanks.”
“Don’t tell me you came all the way up here from the infirmary just to thank me.”
She grinned. “Actually, I came to see if you’d give me another piggyback ride.”
“Forget it,” Anderson replied with a laugh. “I nearly threw my back out hauling your ass out of there. You really need to shed a few pounds.”
“Careful, sir,” she warned, lifting her braced leg an inch off the floor. “I can deliver a pretty good kick with this thing.”
Anderson turned back to the viewport, grinning. “Just shut up and enjoy the view, Dah. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
It only took a few minutes for Anderson to clear customs after they landed. They had touched down at an Alliance port, and military personnel were given top priority whenever they came in from a mission. The Citadel security officers checked his Alliance ID and verified it by scanning his thumbprint, then gave a cursory check of the pack carrying his personal belongings before waving him through. Anderson was pleased to see they were both human; last month there had still been a few salarian officers assigned to the Alliance ports due to species staff shortages. C-Sec had promised to recruit more humans into their ranks; it looked like they’d been true to their word.
Leaving the ports behind, he stepped onto the elevator that would bring him up to the main level. He yawned once; now that he was off duty the fatigue he’d been holding at bay during the entire mission began to wash over him. He couldn’t wait to get
Similar Books
