Shadows Bear No Names (The Blackened Prophecy Book 1) Read Online Free

be done with this before dinner.”
    “You don’t like Bunari either?” Alec was smiling. He raised an eyebrow and changed his voice, mimicking the famous football announcer on Channel Sports-X. “Wonderful jungle planet with religious fanatics who can cut your tongue for blasphemy.”
    “That’s speculation. You know I don’t like crowds in general.” Ray shrugged. “I just want to get paid and park the ship somewhere remote.” He ticked his tongue, following a deep breath. “And I think I like my tongue.”
    “No R-and-R, skipper? We’ve been out in space for two weeks.” Halle pursed her lips.
    “Yeah, about that,” Alec intervened. “When will we have a jump drive?”
    Ray sighed. “Alec, we won’t .”
    “Just wanted to try my luck.”
    “ Canaar’s too old a model for that kind of power requirement,” Halle shrugged, not getting Alec’s sarcasm.
    “No jump drives and no R-and-R. Solitude’s enough for me.” Ray said, waving the two to get on with their work. “You two can have some fun after we leave Bunari and visit Wilkins Port on our way back.”
    “We’re going to Wilkins?” Alec asked in excitement.
    “Yes, just…” Ray winced, “remember to stay away from the station manager’s daughter this time.”
    “Haha! Wilkins!”
    The huge transport ship cut its engines as the flight computers positioned the ship for atmospheric entry as their talk came to an end. Just like the saying, hardly the touch of a few buttons for the crew. The bulk of the work was on the computers’ shoulders. Almost everything about ship travel was automatic these days.
    “Entering atmosphere,” echoed a dull, mechanical female voice, announcing the planetary landing to bridge personnel.
    “So far, so good.” Ray checked his monitor. “Lieutenant Martins, please be kind enough to sound the horn. Inform our hosts of our approach.”
    “Aye, Skipper,” Halle turned back to her station and put her headphones on.
    Ray reached for the intercom button to alert the rest of the crew. “Keep tight everyone. Starting descent.”
    There was no response, only static.
    “Hello? Anyone getting this? Dr. Sanders? Sarah? Rahul?” Ray switched channels and tried again. “Alec, try it from your end.”
    “Hey!” Alec radioed. “Come out, the captain won’t bite.”
    There was no response, only static.
    “I hate these older model consoles.” Ray frowned, fiddling a few more times with the holographic interface with no luck. “Come on!” Ray slammed his hand on the console. “I thought Rahul fixed this thing already!”
    “He did, Boss. It was working two hours ago.” Alec fiddled with his terminal’s controls but there was only the hissing of static.
    Ray licked his lips, trying to hold back a few nice comments that came to mind about Rahul and his abilities. “Halle, patch the live camera feed to my end.”
    The procedure required all stations to acknowledge the landing and report. If he didn’t have a green light from all the stations, regulations required him to abort. It also meant a few hours down the drain and an ear-boxing from Headquarters. The Mourning Chainthey called it, everyone in the system forwarding the complaint to another until it returned to Ray like an avalanche of discontent from the Executive of Finances. This meant trouble for him and for the team. Back on Earth, the home of Consortium, money and time meant everything.
    “Halle, I’m still waiting for that feed!”
    “T-they’re not here, Captain,” Halle faltered. “I can’t reach any of the cameras on deck four.”
    “What do you mean you ‘can’t reach’?” Ray sighed. This landing was falling apart.
    Halle shook her head in surprise. “The cameras aren’t connected to the system, Captain. They’re not plugged in.”
    The following silence was nerve-racking. Ray didn’t say a word for almost a minute, watching the green planet fill the bridge window.
    “All right, Alec, abort the landing.” He stood and strode