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    A Private Mutiny
    A Private Mutiny
    A Private Mutiny
    Ebook32 pages29 minutes

    A Private Mutiny

    By Andrew Burt

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    About this ebook

    Colonists and crew crammed into a freight ship destined for a distant planet must find a way to survive when it turns into a plague ship... and the plague isn't the only kind of sickness they must overcome.

    EXCERPT:

    Captain Savola fell ill to ‘The Purge’ this morning. He collapsed at breakfast, vomiting up the green, matty substance we have all come to fear. The doctor, as we call Mr. Lane because he's the only one who stayed awake through the first aid course, used up most of our pain killers in the hope that the captain could fight off this cursed thing. If only we had some simple anti virals.

    The captain made a brave show of announcing to the crew and passengers that, with the death last week of the First Mate, should anything happen to him, I, Second Mate Errel Golder, would take command. He expressed his complete confidence in my abilities, and avoided mention that my entire eight months’ experience in space has left me an expert in nothing except optimizing cargo stowage and duty rosters. He made me promise publicly to do my utmost to deliver the passengers.

    Captain Savola lapsed into a coma before noon.

    If the captain had any secret plans of turning the Hector back to Prince Hanory's World as some of the crew have demanded, he has left me no clue in either his cabin or this log. I have, unfortunately, observed in this log his distress regarding the incessant air leaks, and his doubts whether the ship can survive the HyperJump. I’ve tried contacting the docks on PHW, but the comm unit has been broken since just after we left. On his desk I see calculations I believe indicate a return to PHW would take forty days, compared to the sixteen he stated until planetfall at Nova Glasga. Only four days remain until we must either Jump or steer toward some fuelmass so we can turn around. I have no idea how to make this choice.

    If I’ve done the calculations right, my dear wife should be giving birth to our twins today. I so want to return home, but I mustn’t let this affect my decision.

    I pray to God for guidance.

    ~~~

    In the silence following the end of the recording, the barrister stood before Errel and the court, head bowed in contemplation. The live audience shifted uncomfortably in the momentary silence. "Mr. Golder. Captain Golder," the barrister began in a slow, sonorous voice, "do you affirm this is your first entry in the log of the freight ship Hector, which is the subject of this trial?"

    REVIEWS:

    "Particularly vivid" - Critique.org

    --Get A Private Mutiny now to learn the fate of those aboard the Hector!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAndrew Burt
    Release dateDec 28, 2011
    ISBN9781465961358
    A Private Mutiny
    Author

    Andrew Burt

    Dr. Andrew Burt (www.aburt.com) has lots of published science fiction and is a former Vice President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. He's been a computer science professor (specializing in AI, networking, security, privacy, and social issues); founder of Nyx.net, the world's first free internet service provider; CEO of custom software developer TechSoft, and a technology consultant/author/speaker. For a hobby, he constructs solutions to the world's problems. Fortunately, nobody listens.

    Read more from Andrew Burt

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      Book preview

      A Private Mutiny - Andrew Burt

      A Private Mutiny

      by

      Andrew Burt

      Produced by Andrew Burt

      Copyright © 2011 Andrew Burt

      www.aburt.com

      Discover other titles by Andrew Burt

      Cover by Melissa Lytton - www.happygothproductions.com

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to aburt.com/fiction and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

      ~~~

      A Private Mutiny

      Captain Savola fell ill to ‘The Purge’ this morning. He collapsed at breakfast, vomiting up the green, matty substance we have all come to fear. The doctor, as we call Mr. Lane because he's the only one who stayed awake through the first aid course, used up most of our pain killers in the hope that the captain could fight off this cursed thing. If only we had some simple anti virals.

      The captain made a brave show of announcing to the crew and passengers that, with the death last week of the First Mate, should anything happen to him, I, Second Mate Errel Golder, would take command. He expressed his complete confidence in my abilities, and avoided mention that my entire eight months’ experience in space has left me an expert in nothing except optimizing cargo stowage and duty rosters. He made me promise publicly to do my utmost to deliver the passengers.

      Captain Savola lapsed into a coma before noon.

      If the captain had any secret plans of turning the Hector back to Prince Hanory's World as some of the crew have demanded, he has left me no clue in either his cabin or this log. I have, unfortunately, observed in this log his distress regarding the incessant air leaks, and his doubts whether the ship can survive the HyperJump. I’ve tried contacting the docks on PHW, but the comm unit has been broken since just after we left. On his desk I see calculations I believe indicate a return to PHW would take forty days, compared to the sixteen he stated until planetfall at Nova Glasga. Only four days remain

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