No Man's Space 1: Starship Encounter Read Online Free

100 men’s chips. They either weren’t on board or their chips had been damaged. They’d hopefully be alive aboard one of the frigates.
    We couldn’t hope to openly board the enemy, and they would shoot us if we approached them aboard the North Star. How was a small group of men supposed to defeat five ships? I wasn’t going to board one of our fighters and fly there; I didn’t want to offer them free target practice.
    Call me coward if you like; I’d rather stay alive than die a stupid death and become a dumb symbol of honor and devotion to my country. If you ever die for your country, don’t make it a dumb death; it’ll chase after you for the rest of your life… I mean for the rest of… forget it. Just don’t expect me to die unless I’m doing it for a reason. If the Admiralty doesn’t like it, tough luck. I’m an engineer: I’m selfishly rational and nowhere as impulsive as normal officers.
    When I realized, the men were staring straight at me. They glanced at each other and shared doubts between them.
    Okay, guys. I get it. I’m an engineer, not an officer. I’ve never led anyone in battle, and you don’t trust me. Would you like the 12 year-old to lead you instead?
    I stepped forward, not because I wanted to get closer to them, but to look more in charge. I had no idea of what I was doing. They didn’t need to know.
    I’d never fought a real fight before, but my hands wouldn’t tremble if I had to do my duty. At least I hoped they wouldn’t. You never know until the time comes.
    I walked in front of the men and held my hands together in front of me.
    Wait, officers are supposed to hold both hands behind their back.
    Curse engineers’ disregard for protocol. I put my hands behind my back and held one wrist with my other hand. It should’ve made me felt officerlike, but the men raised their eyebrows.
    “We can’t stay here and let those thieves plunder the North Star and strip her of all her pretty systems,” I said. Sounds officery enough? I was making it up on the go. It’s hard enough when you’re used to telling people to cut sheets of metal. Being boarded doesn’t help either. “I say we go out there and stop them.”
    The men stared at each other, confused. Hadn’t they followed along?
    Flanagan cleared his throat. Was he asking me for specifics?
    I was no real officer, but I knew enough engineering to neutralize a ship with a bit of help. If the men helped me board a frigate, she’d stop posing a danger to us. I needed as much help as possible.
    “Can any of you short-circuit a motherboard?” I asked Flanagan’s men. “Tinker with the engines’ fuel supply? Cause a nuclear reaction in the core?”
    “No engineerin’ sir,” Kozinski, a large and brutish man, said. “But I swear I’m takin’ five Cassocks down with me when I fall, I do.” He spat in one of his hands and rubbed both together. He was unarmed, but as tall as a mountain and with arms thick like legs. He had a sewn upper lip from a fight the previous week. He picked fights more frequently than his face would’ve liked. “I’m not lettin’ ’em plunder us and go.”
    “And what will you do, huh?” York slapped Kozinski’s chest with the back of his hand, making him back down. He was a small guy, almost half of Kozinski’s size, but he acted like those small dogs who keep barking at everyone and don’t realize that they might be kicked if they get too annoying. “Fight them with your bare hands? They won’t let you get close to them.” He nodded at me, seeking my approval. “We need to shortcut the motherbases and tinker the food supplies.” He shook his head as if he’d repeated exactly what I’d said, and his ruffled and unkempt dark hair fell over his eyes and down to his chin. He tried to speak again, but a strand of hair got into his mouth and he tried to spit it out.
    Kozinski laughed at him. The man wasn’t too bright, and his laugh sounded even dumber. It was a deep who, who, who