Far Space
Authors: Jason Kent
Copyright © 2014 Jason Kent
Far Space
by Jason Kent
ISBN-10: 1496145275
ISBN-13: 9781496145277
All rights reserved solely by the author. The Author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon legal rights of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the author.
Cover Art by Ravven
www.ravven.com
Dedicated to Missy,
who encouraged me to follow my dreams
and to my kids,
who still think I’m cool.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1-1: “POSTCARDS FROM FAR SPACE”
CHAPTER 1-3: “STRANGERS IN THE DARK”
CHAPTER 1-4: “DISCOVERY IN SATURN SPACE”
PART 2: TRUTH & BETRAYAL IN FAR SPACE
CHAPTER 2-1: “BREACH OF TRUST”
CHAPTER 2-2: “SEEKING JENNIFER”
CHAPTER 2-3: “TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES”
Bullard Space Elevator – Lift-Car 47
102 km Above the Earth’s Surface
First Lieutenant Ian Langdon paused just inside the hatch, careful to avoid the jagged edges carved by his entry charge. To get this far, his team had performed a flawless insertion and then crushed the armored Merc Troopers defending the outer hull of the wounded cruiser. Ian’s next move was to find his way to the reactor core where he would plant his sapper charges. All he had to do after that was fight his way back outside before the enemy starship’s engines went super-nova.
No problem.
“This is it, guys,” Ian called over the combat net. He twisted around to verify the rest of his squad was still with him. Jake, Walker-6, Nero, and Hampton were right outside the hatch. Kite, Eldridge, and Vic were already taking up defensive positions to cover their evac. Satisfied his team was ready, Ian said, “Let’s do this!”
“Movement!” Walker-6 called at the same instant he pulled his trigger. A string of slugs zipped past Ian’s helmet.
Ian spun around and brought his rifle up. The light amplification equipment on his helmet kicked in just in time to show a Shadow Merc in full
combat armor pop out around a corner further down the corridor. The enemy trooper was aiming his plas-gun straight at Ian.
“Crud,” Ian grunted. He fired his plasma rifle before he had a good bead. Ian’s beam slashed a line of burning slag along the bulkhead as he fought to bring his weapon to bear in the deadly draw.
The Merc won, pulling his trigger nanoseconds before Ian’s plas-beam made contact.
Ian felt his reinforced armor start to boil then shatter as the ceramic composite reached its max thermal load. Ian was thrown out the hatch as the blast dislodged his boot’s grav-lock. Tumbling into open space, Ian caught glimpses of the on-going battle at the hatch.
Walker-6 fired again, knocking the Merc back a step. The Merc shrugged off Walker’s slugs and brought his weapon around to fire again even as the concentrated fire from Ian’s remaining team members converged.
The small victory was short lived for Ian. Even as the flashing warnings in his helmet became unreadable, he had no problem hearing the warnings being screamed in his ears above the high-pitched sound of atmosphere escaping the shattered suit. Falling back on his training, Ian held his breath, closed his eyes and tried to think what his next step should be. He knew this was vitally important because he would only have time for one shot at survival.
Pushing aside the searing pain in his chest and the panic building in the back of his brain, his lungs burning, Ian concentrated on clearing his mind.
“Patch,” Ian hissed through clenched teeth and fumbled for the emergency pack in its hip pouch. One step at a time, he thought. As Ian pulled the kit out, it snagged on his pistol holster.
“Not good.” Ian knew he had only seconds. He yanked hard on the patch and pulled it clear of its pouch only to lose his grip and have the kit sail from his hands. Ian made a mad grab only to have the lifesaving equipment brush against his fingers before spinning forever beyond his reach.
“Rookie mistake,” Ian muttered as black claws stretched across his vision.
Chinese Space Agency Ganymede Research Station #1
Jupiter Space
Yan Wu gently thumped the side of his computer monitor. He was not sure if what he was seeing was real or an artifact of the jury-rigged system of mismatched hardware and software he was forced to work with out here on Ganymede. The screen jittered for a moment then cleared. The anomaly readings were still there. Wu took a deep breath and tried to ignore the smell of sweat and ozone the air scrubbers never completely removed. He ran his hand over the stubble on his head and sighed. The only thing worse than discovering something out of the ordinary was bringing it to the attention of his supervisor.
“Sir?” Wu said.
Zhong Lee, Senior Research Station Administrator, continued tapping at his keyboard and let several long moments pass before responding, “Yes, Mr. Wu?”
“Please, excuse the interruption, Administrator. I have some unusual readings here.”
Lee finally glanced up and held Wu’s gaze until his subordinate lowered his eyes. Lee looked back down at his monitor and took the time to tap a few more keys before straightening his back and taking a deep breath. Lee came around the side of his station desk, moving carefully in the moon’s low gravity. He ducked under the thick cable bundles strung over the aisle of the narrow compartment.
Wu stood as his superior approached. The Administrator never sat while manning the command console; a habit he claimed to have inherited from his father who had spent his life on his feet working in the booming Chinese construction industry. Wu hoped showing respect when interacting with the Senior Administrator would hold off any change to the control center furnishings for a little while, namely the loss of his seat.
“The computer is reporting six new gravitational wells near Io,” Wu said with a quick dip of his head.
“And?” Lee said, taking in Wu’s multiple screens with a single uninterested glance.
Wu opened his mouth to respond then paused. Was the Administrator asking for more information about the anomalies or was he asking after the importance of such a find? Lee preferred open-ended questions and gave only the briefest of direction. All seemingly for the sole purpose of not having to actually make a decision or show his hand. Wu realized early on the Administrator’s style left plenty of room for Lee to heap criticism upon his subordinates when they failed to decipher his true intent. Each encounter required a wearying amount of thought and the crafting of many assumptions on Wu’s part.
“It appears there are several unexplained points showing an increased localized gravity gradient,” Wu said, deciding to compromise in his answer. He assumed two things: Lee had no idea what a gravity well was and he wanted to know why he should care at all. When Lee raised his eyebrows, Wu added, “I know of no previous precedent for this type of find. Your report to the Agency concerning this type of anomaly would be a first, sir.”
“Tell me more,” Lee said, now interested. He leaned closer and turned his full attention to Wu’s screens.
Wu smiled inwardly and pointed at the left screen.
“Six gravitational points were recorded by our satellite network. Three of our sensors were in good position to pin-point them. A forth satellite was also in line of sight, but its data proved to be of marginal use in the calculations.”
Lee rubbed his eyes and sighed.
“Gravity wells are generally fixed in relation to a stellar body,” Wu added hurriedly, not wanting to lose his supervisor’s fickle interest with technical details. “They should not simply appear as these have…” Wu stopped, his eyes drawn to a set of new readings on the adjacent screen. “That can’t be right,” Wu murmured.
“Mr. Wu?” Lee said, impatience edging his words.
“Sorry, sir.” Wu gestured at the screen, his hand shaking. “Several objects have separated from the wells and they’re heading this way.”
Bullard Space Elevator – Lift-Car 47
132 km Above the Earth’s Surface
Ian Langdon was bored. The rest of the group he had joined on-line to play
Hull Breach – Stellar War Edition
disbanded after successfully completing the Shadow Merc cruiser mission. Ian wondered if he should have stayed on-line and found another group to join. He rubbed his chest. His death at the hatch had been the first of many in the virtual reality session. Although his wounds had been only in his mind, Ian swore he could still feel the tingle of those plasbeams. Maybe, he mused, a little time away from the VR hook-up in his room was not such a bad idea.
With a few hours under his belt on the elevator, Ian was already growing depressed by the thought the trip to Gateway Station up at geo-synchronous orbit was going to last another four and a half days. He had managed to get an upgrade to a single berth cabin on the elevator car. More thanks to his smile and amiable personality than his original Y-Class government ticket or shiny, newly acquired rank of First Lieutenant. But privacy and a VR hook-up were about the only amenities the tiny closet provided. There simply was not enough real entertainment available in his cabin or here in the common room to engage the senses of a restless young man.
The lack of extra-curricular activities brought back Ian’s deep-buried unease about his assignment to US Space Command’s Orbital Defense Wing. The ship he was heading for, the USS Schriever, would have much less common space, a worse view, and no simulated gravity. At least on the space elevator, the constant velocity - imposed by the treads engaged against the tether - provided a convenient up and down reference frame, even if it was at a fraction of Earth normal.
Ian leaned his forehead against the cool permaflex of the observation deck window. Well, he would have work to occupy his time once he reached his final destination. Ian pushed thoughts of his life aboard the Space Corps ship from his mind as he stared out the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window.