Lost Planet 02 - The Stolen Moon Read Online Free Page A

held up by one of the engineers.
    â€œWe’ve had to reboot the whole mainframe from scratch. We’re scrapping the update and reverting to the previous version. The reboot time is short enough that there won’t be a lapse in any of the life-support systems. All electrical power should be back shortly, although navigation and propulsion might take up to half a day to get fully back online.”
    Parker stepped forward with a loud, attention-getting cough. Maurus snatched at his arm, but Chief Kobes had already looked up. “Who’s back there?”
    Maurus spoke up in a hurry. “It’s Lieutenant Maurus, sir. Captain sent me to secure these young passengers and take them somewhere safe. Engine room was closest. We’ll keep out of your way.”
    But Parker was already walking past him toward the console, ignoring Chase hissing his name to try to get him to stop. “If it’s just a system update that crashed the entire mainframe of the ship, then why are the emergency lights out too? Those should be on a separate network.”
    Kobes squinted at him for a second. “That’s not my biggest concern at the moment. Power will be back up shortly.”
    â€œDoesn’t it seem kind of strange to you that all the lights went out? That would have to override multiple safety redundancies.”
    â€œIt’s a giant starship with a lot of integrated systems, kid. Glitches happen.”
    â€œI want a look at that code you were updating with,” Parker said.
    A growl fit to match his bulldog face came from the back of the chief’s throat. “I don’t have time for this. Lieutenant, get him out of here.”
    Muttering apologies, Maurus grabbed the back of Parker’s shirt and shoved him toward the door, waving for Chase and Lilli to follow. When they were back in the dark hallway, he hissed, “Is that what you meant by quiet as a ghost?”
    Parker twisted out of his grip. “They’re making a mistake. I don’t think this blackout was an accident.”
    Chase’s pulse spiked. This was it, the attack he’d been expecting for the past three months. “We should go to the captain and tell him before things get worse. What if we’re already under attack? Would we even know if we’re being surrounded right now?”
    Maurus stopped and raised his hands. “First off, if this were an attack, the best thing to do would be to let the Chief and his crew get the mainframe back online as quickly as possible. Not pester him about technicalities.” He glared at Parker. “The second best thing, Chase, is to keep a cool head and not overreact. The captain and the rest of the bridge team have things under control. You saw that Colonel Forquera and his team were sent out to look for possibilities of external incursion. The ship’s already on high alert. But you heard the Chief, it was very likely just a problem with a system upgrade. If there’s something else wrong with the ship, the engine crew will find it.”
    Parker shook his head. “They won’t be looking for sabotage. They can’t expect retaliation for something they don’t know about.”
    â€œAnd when this is over, you can investigate the blackout to your heart’s content,” said Maurus. “But for now, you let the crew do what they were trained to do. They’ve got the ship under control. You do your part and be a respectful passenger.” As if to emphasize Maurus’s words, dim blue lighting flickered on overhead. “And there’s the emergency lighting.”
    â€œOnly fifteen minutes too late,” retorted Parker, before he turned and headed back to the stairs.
    Maurus saw them back up to their rooms on the soldiers’ level, where Parker went straight to his desk and checked the connections on his computer before trying to power it back up. The air and regular lighting had kicked back on while they were