Titanium Texicans Read Online Free Page A

laughed cheerfully, “Your automated transponder is bleeping up a storm out there.”
    Tasso slapped his forehead. He would probably know about the automated transponder if he had finished reading the manual. He checked the console and saw a blinking red switch. He flicked it off.
    “How’s that?” he asked.
    “Well, you shut off the emergency broadcast, but I still get the transponder flashing the signal for a crashed aircraft. Are you still crashed?” the male voice laughed.
    “Yep,” Tasso replied.
    “Ok, what can we do to help, boyo?”
    Tasso shook his head even though he knew the man couldn’t see him. They could be using holo-vision sets if they were on the standard communication gear, but the emergency system was audio only.
    Tasso said, “Thank you for asking. I don’t know yet. I have to find out what brought me down. I should be able to get airborne again by myself unless something is hard broke. Then I may need a ride out of here. Can I call you back after I check things out?”
    “Ok by me. Sis and I aren’t going anywhere. We’ll hang by the emergency set. There isn’t anything on the tube anyway and we was just playing vid-games.”
    Tasso gave a shake of his head. Grandpa would not allow a holo-vision set in the house. He called it a circus for the masses and labeled it a complete waste of time. He had an even lower opinion of playing vid-games and the people who played them. But, Grandpa would have skinned him alive for criticizing someone else’s choices.
    “Can I ask who I’m talking to, please?” Tasso asked. “So I know who I’m calling back.”
    “You can ask, boyo. Whether I tell you or not, is up to me—”
    “You better be polite,” his sister interrupted.
    “You better shut up,” the brother said. “Your emergency transponder called me, boyo. Suppose you tell me who you are first.”
    Tasso said, “I apologize. I should have introduced myself. This is Tasso Menzies.”
    “Tasso? I haven’t heard that name in years. Not since I kicked your butt at that Landing Day picnic. This is Dougall Lamont.”
    “Who is it?” the sister asked.
    Dougall laughed. “You remember, sis. He’s the little bastard who lives alone with his grandfather up—”
    Tasso yanked the transponder wires away from the power supply. He didn’t know any other way to shut the sound off. He’d have scanned the flitter manual to find another way to shut off the conversation, but he was done listening. He reached over and made sure the holo-vision set was off. He was in no mood to answer, even if someone knew the code to call.
    He would fix the flitter on his own or he would walk to Landing City. He wouldn’t accept help from a Lamont. His stomach churned in anger and frustration. He was more than willing to finish the fight with the Lamonts, one or all of them, no matter what his grandfather thought. Uncle Bruce could wait.
    He pulled the emergency flashlight and toolkit out from under the front passenger seat. He crawled into the back seat, yanked the cushions loose, and slithered into the engine compartment. He backed out and worked his way to the front seat. Trying not to cuss, he grabbed his dataport to unfreeze the display. He would need the manual and instructions. He wiggled back into the engine compartment.
    He desperately wanted to cuss, but he clamped his teeth closed. He wanted to cuss the Lamonts, but the transponder was off and they wouldn’t hear. He wanted to cuss the flitter, but cursing a machine was worse than useless. He realized he wanted to shout obscenities at his grandfather. He was angry with the old man for dying and leaving him alone. Thinking about his grandfather made him want to cry. Gosh darn it, he only knew a couple of cusswords anyway.
    Tasso couldn’t see the engine for the tears streaming down his face. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and turned to the dataport, calling up the manual … again. He swept the flashlight across the engine. He considered