The Kremlin Phoenix (37 page)

“Do you think it worked? Did you
change the future?” Colonel Balard asked.

Craig shrugged uncertainly. “Only
time will tell.”

* * * *

September 16, 2276

The lander’s robotic arm lowered
the camera onto the frozen surface of Pluto and began transmitting to the
Solar
Explorer III
in orbit high above. The ship immediately relayed the signal
to the Lagrange-2 Station via its Tachyon Communications Array as the two
crewmen in orbit watched enviously. Even though the array was operating at the
extreme edge of its range, the signal reached the station instantly, and was immediately
relayed to Earth.

The dome-shaped lander’s outer air-lock
door slid open, revealing a white bulbous metal suit. After a moment, the suit stepped
out onto the landing platform.

“Commencing EVA”, Captain Tom Wilkins
said in a level tone as the elevator platform lowered him to the surface. He took
a breath, preparing himself, then said, “I’m exiting the landing platform.”

Captain Wilkins took his first
cautious steps onto the hard rocky ground beyond the lander, wary of the low
gravity, while halfway across the Solar System, twenty one billion people
cheered as one.

The landing platform rose slowly
to the airlock behind him, which was cycling again. A moment later, a second
white metal suit appeared, smaller than the first.

“Commencing EVA,” she said as she
stepped onto the elevator platform.

The world watched as the platform
lowered her to the foot of the lander. When it stopped, she took a moment to
gaze in wonder at the bleak, frozen vista, brightly lit by the lander’s
floodlights, unaware how close she’d come to never seeing it.

“I’m moving onto the surface,” she
said, then Dr Mariena Del Ray, first woman on Pluto, stepped off the platform.

Visit the author’s webpage at:

http://www.stephenrenneberg.com

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See below for descriptions of
other books by the same author.

The Siren Project

by

Stephen Renneberg

When a top secret ‘black’ project turns rogue, a shadowy organization
entraps disgraced former Secret Service Agent John Mitchell into tracking down
the missing scientist behind the project. What he uncovers is an insidious
conspiracy reaching to the highest levels of the military and the government.
The discovery makes him the most hunted man on earth, pursued by a ruthless
enemy armed with a sinister new technology.
 
Aided by a woman with extraordinary abilities,
and an enigmatic defector from deep within the conspiracy itself, Mitchell
challenges the greatest technological undertaking since the creation of the
atomic bomb. To his horror, he finds that rather than destroy entire cities,
the monolithic Siren Project threatens to destroy the free will of Mankind
itself . . . without anyone ever knowing!

Paperback
Length 499 pages

ISBN:
978-0-9874347-2-2

The
Mothership

by

Stephen Renneberg

“A compelling, visionary must-read for
literary sci-fi fans”
- Kirkus Reviews

A
massive alien ship crashes into one of the most remote places on Earth –
cutting all contact with the region.

Within
hours, Major Robert Beckman and his specially equipped Contact Team are
hurriedly dispatched from Area 51 to investigate. Is it a forced landing, or
the beginning of an invasion - a technological treasure trove, or an
extraterrestrial Pandora’s box that spells disaster for life on Earth?

Infiltrating
the vast tropical wilderness of northern Australia, Beckman’s team encounter
strange machines, alien structures and a handful of human survivors struggling
to evade capture.

When
Beckman’s team penetrates to the heart of the Mothership, they discover an
answer they never expected and a universe far larger than they had ever
imagined.

Paperback
Length 568 pages

ISBN:
978-0-9874347-3-9