Scott had
no choice but to use the computer now. Before tackling it for the first time, he’d
hoped for the privacy of his quarters—and Veronese Qilana’s help. His reluctant
co-conspirator ditched him as soon as they came aboard. He mentally kicked
himself for his selfishness. They were in the middle of a crisis. She had her
duties. He had his.
Damn. He didn’t want to tackle the
computer. Suck it up, Ace. You can do
this. You wanted adventure. You wanted to explore space. You got it. Now, man
up.
He sat in
the captain’s chair. Automatically, an instrument panel on the right swung up
and in front of him. A hit in the solar plexus might have been easier to take.
Symbols and shapes he’d never seen before covered the segmented screen. It
might as well be filled with ancient Sanskrit. Panic shot through him. He
couldn’t read.
He thought
he’d covered all bases. He knew the layout of the ship. He knew the senior
officers’ names and could match them with their descriptions. The tiny
universal translator, attached behind his right ear, enabled him to understand
the crew. How was he supposed to know that the translator only worked on
speech? Maybe he should have put in his twin’s silver lenses that mimicked
Serenian eye color. Maybe the lenses translated symbols.
Dear God, what do I do now? Okay, deep breath. No panicking allowed.
The ship’s computer was voice activated. He took a breath and blew it out
slowly. “Computer, suspend Horice Hervimb’s access code.”
“Access
denied,” the computer’s female voice replied.
Click here to read Sneak Peeks from other authors.
Oh my! There's a big communication isssue to be resolved. Great excerpt!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy.
Delete