Orion's Dawn: A Gritty Space Opera Adventure (Frontier's Reach Book 1)

by Robert C. James

  They shook hands.

  “This is Doctor Tai.” Nicolas gestured toward her.

  “Welcome, Doctor. I hope the trip down wasn’t too uncomfortable. Orion V can be a navigational nightmare.”

  “It helps to have a skillful pilot.” Nicolas glanced over at Susan.

  “Excellent.” Koeman motioned toward the door. “Would you follow me, please?”

  The Marines, led by Ripken, took the container inside the facility on the hover lifter. Koeman directed them toward the elevator at the end of the corridor.

  Susan stopped while the others went on without her. “Well, I guess this is it.”

  “I guess it is.” Nicolas frowned. Koeman seemed to be wondering what was going on. “I didn’t think this would be so difficult.”

  She chuckled. “You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  The Marines were waiting in the elevator.

  “Well, Doctor, it’s been a pleasure having you aboard the Vanguard,” Nicolas said in his most official tone.

  “Thank you for the safe journey,” Susan countered, equally formally.

  “Perhaps when the stars align, we’ll see each other again.”

  “It’ll be your turn to bring the McKinley Oak.”

  “I’ll make sure I stock up.”

  Koeman and the Marines had turned their heads to give them their moment. Nicolas pulled Susan in, and the two hugged.

  “Goodbye, Susan.”

  “Goodbye, Nicolas.”

  They shared one last glance before Susan walked into the elevator, the doors closing behind her.

  “Well, Captain,” Koeman said. “It’s not normal for us to get visitors, especially from the CDF I’d offer you a tour of the facilities, but unfortunately we’re a little stretched for time due to some production issues.”

  “That’s all right,” Nicolas said.

  “You’re welcome to stay for lunch. One of my assistants could give you a tour of our operations center if you’d like.”

  “Well, I’ve come this far. Lead the way.”

  Chapter 15

  Cargo Ship Argo

  Jason stacked his fifth coffee cup on the top of the operations console. It was starting to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He looked down at the scanners and sighed. Nothing. Not a single scrap of evidence anywhere that the Iota particles had even been there.

  He picked up the guitar that Tyler had left for him on the bridge. After their two-hour poker marathon, where Tyler had done surprisingly well, his brother had shown him some basic chords. He’d even taught him how to play the chorus to Black River Sky. Jason twanged the strings and imagined he was Hunter Ellis, rocking out on vocals.

  Wow. That was terrible.

  Tyler appeared at the hatchway. “It’s time,” he said. Jason’s brother was apologetic, but as the captain of the ship, he had to make the right call for his crew. “We just can’t afford to lose the money.”

  The chronometer had just ticked over the forty-eight-hour mark. He knew how fickle the cargo business was and knew the Argo’s crew hadn’t had the best run of luck for a while. Who was Jason to ask for more time for something that was nothing more than a wild goose chase? What a fool I’ve made of myself.

  Althaus and Kevin walked in. Althaus didn’t look at Jason and took his seat at the systems station, while Kevin put an apologetic hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry we didn’t find anything.”

  “It’s fine.” It’s not. But Jason didn’t know what else to say.

  Kevin took the helm while Jason stood and walked to the hatchway. He turned and watched Tyler take his seat at the center of the bridge. Nobody was comfortable saying another word.

  Jason stepped onto the elevator. Aly peered through the engine room door at him. She went to say something, but Jason raised his hand. He wasn’t in the mood for people feeling sorry for him. He activated the elevator and stepped out onto B Deck.

  Jason entered his quarters and fell backward onto his bed. His head was throbbing. He couldn’t tell what it was. Guilt? Anger? Sadness? Dragging himself up, he pounded his fist against the frame of his bed. He’d failed. He’d failed himself, and he’d failed Nash.

  From the corner of his eye, he caught something shining in the light. It was his bottle of Blue Jacket bourbon sitting on the bedside table.

  Now’s as good a time as any. He reached over to the bottle and raised it in the air.

  “Here’s to you, old friend.”

  *

  Aly approached Jason’s quarters. The door was ajar. She knocked, but there was no answer. She pushed it wide open.

  Jason looked up at her as he was about to neck the bottle of bourbon in his hand. His glare burned through her. “What do you want, Aly?”

  “Well, you didn’t answer, so I figured there might be something wrong.”

  “You got that right.”

  Jason drew the bottle closer to his lips.

  “You realize that stuff doesn’t help, right?” she said to him.

  Jason chuckled before his mood again darkened. “More than you could know.”

  “May I come in?”

  “You know, Aly, this really isn’t the time.”

  Regardless, she stepped over the threshold and took a seat at the end of his bed.

  “I’m sorry you weren’t able to find anything out here, Jason.”

  “So am I.” He swished the bottle around in his hand.

  “Did you think you would?”

  He sat there silent, staring beyond her. There seemed so much on his mind at once.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?” she asked.

  His eyes closed. “I…” The weight of the world seemed to be on his shoulders.

  “Tell me, please.”

  Jason sighed. “Okay.” He put the bottle down on the bedside table and opened his eyes. “When Nash’s pod exploded inside the nebula, the Raptor was still crippled. But we were able to take scans.”

  “That’s when you discovered the Iota particles?”

  “Right. It wasn’t till a few hours later that we recovered some wreckage.” He looked away. “By the time we’d got there, there wasn’t a single Iota particle on anything we salvaged.

  “It’d dispersed?”

  Jason shrugged. “There was the theory that other particulates inside the nebula may have broken down the Iota particle to where our scanners no longer recognized them. We just didn’t know. I guess now we do.”

  “So, you put everything on the line knowing we probably wouldn’t find anything at all?” She didn’t want to sound like she was being judgmental, but it came out that way, regardless.

  Jason had guilt written all over his face.

  She put her hand on his. “I think Nash would’ve appreciated the lengths you went to.” Aly still knew Jason. She knew he’d take his guilt to the grave. “Unfortunately, in life, we have to know when to let go.”

  “Since when did you become so philosophical?”

  “I’m no Socrates, but I know what it’s like to lose someone.”

  He appeared to be wondering what she was talking about.

  “Your father.”

  “My father?”

  “You realize we were close, don’t you? I didn’t call him Uncle Ben for nothing,” she said. “In the later years before his death, he showered so much affection on me. I think when you left there was a void.”

  “He always wanted a baby girl. I guess you were the daughter he never had.” Jason raised his brow. “How did you let go of Dad’s death?”

  “I didn’t.” Aly tried to put the words together. “I’ve told no one this, but not long after you left for the academy, I was having trouble sleeping. On a job near Aquaria, I bought some stims off a shifty merchant. Got hooked bad.” She remembered back to how they’d made her feel. “They really screwed me up.”

  Jason was clearly shocked. “What did your old man say?”

  She smiled, though she was, in truth, ashamed. “He never knew.”
>
  “You sly bitch.” He smiled. “So, what changed? How did you stop?”

  “Uh, well, that’s not one of my finer moments.”

  Jason sat forward. “What happened?”

  “I nearly blew up the ship.”

  “What?”

  “Well, I had planned to do a clean out of the plasma waste exhausts, and uh, well, I didn’t do it, for months. The stims made me more alert most of the time, but it messed with my brain. I forgot stuff.” Aly looked down at her shoes. “Dad was at the helm and noticed a spike in radiation coming from the Argo before we jumped to FTL. He decided to abort. If he hadn’t, we would’ve been blown to bits.”

  “What did he say when he found out?”

  “He didn’t say much at all. I think he assumed I’d just forgotten.” She grinned. “The bonus was that Althaus didn’t speak to me for at least two weeks.”

  Jason chuckled. “Well, they say there’s a silver lining to every dark cloud.”

  She tried not to laugh. “So, yeah, it was at that moment I stopped. I threw the last of the stims out the airlock. It wasn’t worth killing all the other people I love aboard this ship because I wanted to feel sorry for myself.”

  “Is that what you think this is? Me feeling sorry for myself?” Jason sneered.

  Damn. Things had been going so well. “No, I didn’t mean—”

  “Aly, I lost my best friend, all because I should’ve been the one to go out in that pod. I was in command. It was my decision. And I messed up. Instead, he dies, and I get left behind to—”

  “Feel sorry for yourself.” Aly winced, knowing she shouldn’t have been so blunt. I never learn.

  “I think it’s time you left.”

  “Answer me this: would your friend have wanted your life to end up the way it has? Drinking it away in some hole on Odyssey Station, or would he have wanted you to make something of yourself?”

  Jason was trying to find the words, but it seemed he couldn’t.

  “Lieutenant Nash is dead, Jason. Your father’s dead. Your mother’s dead, and if you keep doing that to yourself,” Aly said, pointing to the bottle, “you’ll die, too.”

  She’d hit a nerve. But she was sick and tired of seeing what had become of him. He’d changed so much. He was a shell of the person who had left the Argo ten years ago. Perhaps she’d been too harsh. She couldn’t imagine what he’d seen during the war. And maybe that was what she couldn’t understand.

  “Get out,” he told her.

  Yep, I’ve gone too far.

  “Get out now, Aly!”

  She struggled to remember the last time he’d looked at her like that, if ever. His stare was scary. He was pissed.

  Aly stood and edged toward the door. Jason grabbed the bottle and tightened his grip on it. She sighed and slinked out into the corridor.

  Damn it.

  Chapter 16

  Decium Ore Mining Facility - Orion V

  “And this is where we maintain the facility’s climate-control system.”

  Nicolas viewed the monitor regarding the web-like network that spread throughout the underground of the facility. He was impressed, but he was having trouble showing it. All he could think about was Susan.

  Before Mister Bloch moved on, Nicolas observed red lights blinking across various worksites. “Have you been having issues down there?”

  Bloch looked over at the monitor and waved it off. “You have to understand, with such a large system it’s difficult to keep it operating at one hundred percent all the time. Work crews are constantly doing maintenance.”

  “Like your landing pad?” Nicolas had noted it was operable when they’d landed at the facility, but when Bloch had shown him the upcoming delivery schedule, the ore haulers were still being instructed not to land on the surface.

  Bloch seemed at a loss for words, which Nicolas had already figured out was very unusual. Before he could grill the young man anymore, an alert rang out from one of the consoles. Nicolas smirked. Saved by the bell, kid.

  Bloch hurried over to the opposite side of the operations center. Nicolas walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder at the scanners.

  “We’re picking up an unknown bogey,” Bloch said.

  On the monitor there was a blip representing the Vanguard in orbit, but there was another contact coming in from the outer edge of the star system.

  “Does it have a transponder I.D.?” Nicolas asked.

  “No. It’s running dark.”

  “And heading straight for us. Are you expecting any company?”

  Bloch shook his head. “No.” He activated the intercom while grabbing a rubber ball and squeezing it tight. “Operations to Koeman. Can you come up here, Chief?”

  “On my way.”

  Administrator Koeman arrived quickly and stared down at the monitor grimly.

  “It’s the same bogey, I’m sure of it,” Bloch said.

  Nicolas raised an eyebrow. “You’ve seen this before?”

  Koeman nodded. “On and off for the last week.”

  “And you didn’t think to let us know about it?”

  Koeman’s brow furrowed. “The bogey made no movements. It appeared and disappeared at random locations beyond the star system.”

  “We came to the conclusion that it was a malfunction with the satellite,” Bloch continued. “It was creating sensor ghosts.”

  “That’s no sensor ghost.” Nicolas pointed at the monitor. “It seems to be making a pass by the satellite.”

  Koeman tapped Bloch on the shoulder. “Can you get hold of Jensen?”

  Bloch punched in the commands to open a commlink.

  “Jensen?” Nicolas inquired.

  “When we thought we were having issues with the satellite, we sent a man out there to run manual diagnostics on it.”

  “You have a man out there?”

  Koeman nodded, biting his lip.

  Jesus…

  *

  Orion VIII Tracking Satellite

  “Diagnostic underway.”

  The voice of the satellite computer beeped while Noah Jensen made another check to ensure his harness was latched to the satellite properly. He hung off it like he’d seen construction workers on old Earth skyscrapers in photos. He always thought they must’ve been crazy. One slip, and they’d fall to their deaths.

  But as Noah looked around at the pod he’d parked a hundred meters away, and the large gas giant of Orion VIII beyond, he knew he was just as crazy. If he fell from his harness and his booster failed, he’d fall to oblivion, too.

  While Noah had trained for extravehicular activity before entering the mining business, it’d been a long time since he’d needed to use his training. He relished getting a chance to use his skills. Sometimes he forgot how exhilarating a spacewalk really was.

  Static filled his helmet, then a voice filtered through. “Can you hear me, Jensen?”

  Noah opened the commlink with a press of the comm panel on the wrist of his space suit. “I can hear you, Chief. Go ahead.”

  “We’re detecting a bogey coming through Orion VIII’s orbit,” Koeman said. “Have you got a visual on your end?”

  Noah peered around. There was nothing. He activated the scanners on the satellite. The monitor blinked on, and he was seeing what Koeman was seeing back on Orion V. There was indeed a contact heading his way.

  “Jensen?”

  “I’ve got no visual. But—”

  “Can you make it back to the pod?”

  “That’s a negative. It’ll take too long—” Noah stopped mid-sentence when something appeared in the corner of his eye. He turned, and it moved toward him. “Whoa.”

  “Jensen? What do you see?”

  “I—” The shadow of the object appeared over him. He was momentarily lost for words. “This isn’t—”

  Static rang in his ears. He inspected the comm panel on his wrist. It’d winked out. He pressed it repeatedly. I’m being jammed.

  Noah stared at the goliath above. The commlink
was the least of his worries. What in God’s name is that thing!

  Part of it opened, and a green bolt of energy burst forth, heading in his direction. Trying not to panic, he unlatched his harness and activated his booster.

  But he was too late. The green energy showered over him and the satellite. His last thought was of what would greet him in oblivion.

  *

  Decium Ore Mining Facility – Orion V

  Susan stepped from the carriage and walked out into the cavernous surrounds of Worksite Fifteen. In the center was the solitary elevator shaft, which led down to the antechamber.

  The Marines behind her were placing the container on a hover lifter when the safety rail of the elevator opened and a figure appeared. Susan immediately recognized him.

  “Javier!” She walked toward him, and the man greeted her with a faire la bise.

  “It’s good to see you, Susan.”

  She hadn’t seen Professor Javier Petit since he’d left for Orion V fourteen months earlier. The older man appeared weary.

  “How are all our friends at TIAS?” he asked.

  “Well, Doctor Gregori continues to complain about his deadlines. Professor Walters wants more staff, and Doctor Wells keeps asking for more money.”

  “So, nothing has changed?”

  Susan laughed. “Nothing at all.”

  The Marines brought the container toward them.

  Javier put his hand on top of it. “I appreciate you coming along with this. I know it’s a lot of time to take out of your work.”

  “If what is down there is everything you say it is, I think it might be worth it.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Would you like to see it?”

  It’d been the only thing on her mind. Then she thought about Nicolas. Well, maybe not the only thing.

  “Come.” Javier ushered her to the elevator shaft.

  The Marines followed with the container. Javier closed the safety rail, and they descended farther into the surface of Orion V.