by Letts,Jason
CONTENTS
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
About the Author
Copyright Page
EARTHLESS
THE SURVIVORS SERIES
Jason Letts
CHAPTER 1
Scheduled to depart early in the morning, the crew decided to party like it was the last night on Earth.
Captain Loris Roderick had better ideas about how to spend his time before beginning a five-year stint aboard the Magellan Unified Space Station, but knowing trust would be in short supply among the others for a high-ranking officer still in his mid-twenties, he decided to join them at a beach bar along the shore of what was affectionately called Second New York City.
Without even thinking about it, he assumed a strut and a carefree smile as he entered the unkempt establishment, where a dozen of his men and women were already crowded around a bar fashioned out of thick driftwood. Their glances at him lingered a bit too long for him to feel any sense of ease.
“Enjoy the view while you can,” a gray-haired officer said with a slap on the back that nudged him closer to the bar. “You’ll miss it when you’ve got nothing but light years of empty space around you.”
Loris grinned back at the man before surveying the fading light against the tops of the Manhattan skyscrapers just barely jutting above the sea’s waves. Toward the south were the Unified Central Command buildings, launch deck, and trio of ships that would carry them to their new outpost and the dangers beyond. An endless stream of lights from ships and satellites mingled with the stars above the clear sky.
“This might qualify as classified information, but I’ve got a girl up there right now waiting for me. Based on our correspondence, I have reason to believe there’ll be plenty to see,” he said, falling into the comfortable rhythm of the off-duty talk he had mastered during his days as a cadet and junior officer.
A swish of long red hair drew his attention to a formidable woman off to his right. Carrie Panicka was her name, but he wouldn’t have remembered that if her nickname “panic” didn’t come easily to memory.
“Now I understand how you landed this position,” Panic said, shaking her head and smirking. “No feats are impossible for a Unified officer when there’s a chance at getting laid.”
“I’ll need a detailed report of the exact positions landed,” the man to Loris’s left said.
Loris looked around, shrugged, and raised his eyebrows.
“I doubt you’ll get even a hint at what happens. You know what they say. In outer space, no one can hear her moan.”
The comment set off a round of laughter that echoed throughout the stuffy, hot building. But Loris managed only to force a smile and cast a hard glance at the orbiting lights and the Magellan somewhere beyond. He expected to take shots about how he got his job, but it still stung him deep down where he couldn’t hide from the truth. He was in over his head. His rapid advancement stemmed from both the legendary reputation of his mother, who suffered a tragic death after making several incredible breakthroughs in jet propulsion, and the life-threatening nature of the position as Earth’s outermost defender.
Loris’s plan was to scrape through five years passing on what he’d learned as an ace dogfighter fending off the ravenous Silica, then transfer to a strategic planning position that would tap into his real passion before leaving his mark and finally getting the respect he wanted.
But he’d never get there if he couldn’t generate some goodwill among his crew, some of whom were going on twice his age.
“What can I get you?” the barkeep asked Loris after delivering a few icy bottles elsewhere.
“I’ll take a double rum widowmaker…and I’ll cover the tab for anybody here who wants to down one with me.”
“Aren’t you shipping out tomorrow? Are you sure you want them pouring you into your seat?” the barkeep asked, appearing surprised. Loris shot him a look that put him to work.
“I’m about to be appointed Commander of the Outer Reach and take control of the only speck of civilization outside our solar system. If I’m going to get hammered, I’d better do it now before any loss of judgment could get us all killed and set the Unified fleet back eons.”
His argument persuaded the lot of them, and the bartender dutifully lined up tall, thin glasses along the bleached driftwood surface. After making the drinks and emptying a large bottle of rum, the bartender pitched it through the open window where it made a satisfying crash against the rocks.
“Did anybody hear what got the previous commander sacked?” Panic asked, now directly at Loris’s left.
Loris lifted the murky drink and held it near his lips. This was another opportunity to earn their confidences by sharing some news they weren’t privy to.
“He showed up to a shift one day drunk.”
Smacking his fist against the counter, he threw the glass back and drained every last drop down his throat. The widowmaker had a way of burning for days he hoped would mask his growing sense of dread.
CHAPTER 2
“Pre-flight check clear. Approval for passage through the planetary shield granted. Launch sequence initiated. Engines activated.”
Strapped into the cockpit, Loris had a headache, and the droning of Officer Lopez at the navigation console wasn’t helping, but if he could sit through his promotion ceremony without giving away he was hung over, he sure wasn’t going to blow it now that he was in the clear. He squinted at the bright lights stinging his vision of the short, narrow room outfitted with monitors for a half-dozen crew members. They were squeezed in tight. Glancing at the display in front of him, he settled on a plan to sleep through the two-hour journey to where the Magellan was positioned near Jupiter.
Loris, Lopez, and Panic were onboard the UFS Balboa, which along with the Cook and the Cortes composed half of the Magellan’s six-ship exploratory fleet. Equipped with minimal weaponry, the Balboa specialized in tolerating harsh conditions, taking terrestrial samples, and performing complex and precise maneuvers. It looked a little like a silver turtle with legs withdrawn, notable for lines of jet ports along its contours.
“Have we been cleared for takeoff?” Loris asked, hoping to get on with it. Lopez glanced over at him and opened his mouth only to be cut off before he could begin.
“Wait, I’m getting a strange reading,” Panic said, sending Lopez’s hands scurrying across the console to investigate.
“What is it?” Loris asked, sitting up in his seat and mustering all of the focus he could. The last thing he needed was any kind of an issue at launch. “Maintenance cleared all three vessels, right?”
“It’s not that,” Panic went on. “I’m detecting some strange compounds coming from the center of the Balboa’s main cabin. Two parts carbon, six parts hydrogen, and one part oxygen.”
Laughter came over the com from the other ships, and Loris didn’t have to think too hard to figure out she was referring to the alcohol on his breath. He peered over at the tall redhead and silently chided her background as a chemist and ability to handle absurd quantities of liquor better than he could.
“Let’s cut the jokes and get down to business,” Loris said, knowing Panic’s zinger took going on mental autopilot off the table as a potential option. Those at Command were listening in. “If we don’t mo
ve this along, we’ll miss our traffic window. Now, have we been cleared for takeoff?”
An agonizing moment passed until a green light flashed on Lopez’s console.
“Yes, just give me the word,” Lopez said, his hand ready to activate the thrusters. Loris wanted to go, but Panic’s joke had him feeling like he was at a disadvantage and something needed to be done. He patched the Magellan into the com channel.
“Before we set out, let me address what everyone is thinking,” he said, feeling more clear-headed and determined than he had. “We’re all used to serving under senior officers who have spent decades gathering knowledge and experience. Their leadership is unquestionable because they’ve been through it all. That’s something I can’t pretend to offer, but I do have something else.
“It won’t be long until you learn something essential about me. I expect excellence, first of all from myself but also from those around me. No one works harder than me and no one has a stronger desire to see our mission end in success. If you can match my intensity and hunger to learn, the discoveries we can make will be Earth-shattering…”
The ship shook, disturbing Loris from finishing his comments. The light on Lopez’s panel turned yellow. A voice from the Command Center’s flight control room came over the com.
“We’ve detected some unexpected seismic activity. If you don’t go now, we’re going to keep you grounded.”
“That’s strange. They can detect tremors weeks in advance,” Panic said.
“I don’t need any more of a kick in the pants. Lopez, hit the thrusters,” Loris ordered. Lopez didn’t hesitate, and within an instant the force of the ship’s acceleration upward had their space suit’s white thermal-magnifying polymers pressing tightly against their chests. Loris kept his eyes on the cockpit’s large window as they approached the vastness of space.
“Successful liftoff for all vessels. We’re about to breach the atmosphere. Preparing to transition from launch thrusters to primary propulsion engines. Assuming glide path for exit through the planetary shield,” Lopez said.
“Something is happening on the ground,” Panic said, her voice giving off a deathly serious chill. “A series of explosions.”
The image in front of them showing the atmosphere giving way to black space changed suddenly as a view of the ground below appeared. Balls of fire and black smoke were scattered about the surface. Something on the panel in front of him caught Loris’s attention.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the planetary shield has been compromised.” His old instincts and thoughts of the enemy he’d been fighting his entire life percolated in his mind. “It’s the Silica. How could they possibly disable the shield and attack so fast? Someone get me tracking on them. Let’s coordinate with the Cook and Cortes to counter engage.”
His mind started racing as he struggled to sort out what was going on.
“Oh my God.” Screams came over the com from the Command Center before sounds of crashing and burning overwhelmed the channel. It went dead. They’d been hit.
“Scanners aren’t detecting any Silica ships. All orbital traffic is scrambling,” Lopez said, alarm in his voice.
“Where are they?” Loris said through gritted teeth as he poured over the readout on the monitor. Nothing came up.
It had been a century since the Silica first made contact with Earth during a laughably ineffective invasion. Named the Silica because these pale creatures were silicon-based life forms, they were larger than humans and stronger, but they had a glaring weakness to the carbon so prevalent in Earth’s atmosphere. The ideal weapons against them were essentially car tailpipes with triggers. The carbon monoxide locked up their joints and rendered them paralyzed. Every roadie with an old gas-powered jalopy in the garage was suddenly a vaunted alien killer.
While easy to defeat on Earth’s surface, the Silica were more menacing in space combat, where they could plug directly into their ships, reducing reaction time to zero. They wreaked havoc on ships and satellites until the planetary shield was built. It had perfectly protected everything but long-range missions, until now.
“Take another look at the explosions,” Panic said, adjusting the monitor to allow a wider view of the planet behind them. “They’re forming jagged lines along the surface.”
“The explosions are becoming more violent. Those fault lines…there’s just no precedent,” Lopez said.
Loris marveled, his mouth gaping open, as fissures tore open along the Earth’s surface that would be visible to the naked eye from where they were in space. They crisscrossed every continent and ripped clear across oceans. Fire, black smoke, and clouds of dirt spread.
“Balboa, this is Acting Commander Reid of the Magellan. What is happening there? We’ve lost all contact with Command.”
Sick to his stomach, the reality of the situation began to dawn on Loris.
“The explosions are coming from underneath the Earth’s surface.”
A moment passed in which no one moved or said anything. It was a moment of falling without knowing how long it would be before hitting the bottom.
“I’m detecting another explosion!” Lopez said.
“Increase velocity! Increase velocity!” Loris yelled.
They were halfway to the moon, but that distance seemed like nothing as the surface of the Earth dissolved into an amorphous mass of dirt and ash and fire that began racing to catch up with them. Light from the explosion poured out in every direction. It was like a sun had existed within the Earth that had suddenly been uncovered.
“We’re not going to be clear of the blast radius,” Lopez said.
Loris breathed hard; his heart rate was through the roof. He couldn’t even think about what just happened.
“Start tracking debris and feed it into me at the gunner’s station. A few shots with the blasters and our timed charges should help. Also, let’s adjust course toward the moon. See if we can get behind it in time to shield us. Tell the others to do the same.”
Tearing off the straps, Loris bolted from his chair and went for a narrow ladder leading to the bottom deck and the gunner’s compartment.
“Sir!” Panic called.
“That’s an order!”
He slid down the ladder and climbed into an unpadded chair before a black monitor. It came to life with lights and buttons, showing a readout of the giant chunks of rock that were threatening to crash into them. Now he knew what Panic wanted to tell him. He’d imagined debris roughly as big as the ship that he could blast to bits. Instead they were about to be smashed by a solid mass fifty kilometers wide.
Loris only had one trick up his sleeve for something like this. The Balboa carried twenty charges it could deploy to blow craters and collect samples. He’d have to send them all out at once in the hopes of slowing the approach of the mass and buying enough time to escape.
“Sir, the Cook!” Lopez called. An image on his screen appeared of their companion vessel falling into the rising cloud of dust and rock, emitting a brief explosion before vanishing completely. Loris didn’t think he could feel any worse. The Cortes, the fleet’s newest and strongest fighting ship, was able to both keep up with the Balboa and use shields and focused plasma fire to protect it from anything around.
“We could dump fuel to gain a little more speed,” Lopez suggested, but Loris nixed the idea.
A moment later Loris felt the ship shake as small debris pelted the exterior. From inside, it sounded like hard rain spraying a glass window. He had to launch the charges now. After a few swipes against the monitor, a port in the hull opened and expelled the explosives one after another. The monitor traced their path toward the approaching mass. Loris kept his twitchy left index finger close to the detonator button, and when the charges were within twenty meters of the rock, he set them off.
The explosion would’ve been enough to decimate an area the size of a city, but the only impact the spectacular blast had against the massive hurtling rock was to squelch its acceleration by a few t
enths.
“It’ll be enough,” Lopez said.
Loris exhaled a sigh of relief and leaned back in his seat. The ship sailed around the side of the moon on its way to the Magellan near Jupiter. Now that they weren’t in imminent danger, his mind fell back into grappling with what just happened and what it would mean. He felt strangely unmoored. Every place he’d ever known and virtually everyone he cared about had been taken from him. Time seemed to move slowly and every action felt like it resonated with consequence.
He got up from his seat and started back toward his place in the cockpit. On the way, he set his hand on the shoulder of a woman monitoring the ship’s advanced life support systems. When she looked up at him, this woman he hadn’t spoken to even once, he could see the same pain he felt in her eyes. He also saw the expectations that were on him. Floating by wasn’t going to cut it. This was an extraordinary moment, and it required greatness. He didn’t know how he was going to meet it, but he was going to try like hell.
“Sir, your orders?” Panic asked when he had strapped into his seat. “I don’t advise going back until we’re sure there aren’t more bombs and the number of object collisions diminish.”
“Agreed. We’ll continue to the Magellan. Keep an eye out for any distress signals or signs of other craft outside of the blast zone. Direct any vessel to the Magellan.”
Loris leaned against his hand as he looked over the scanner information scrolling across his console. No trace of any survivors, of course. He realized then that they’d all need to find greatness they never knew they had. Panic, Lopez, and the rest of the crews of the Balboa and Cortes had proven something to him. Would he find that same caliber of performance on the Magellan?
“Panic, one more thing. Get a message to the senior officers on the Magellan. I’ll be expecting their reports as soon as we dock.”
CHAPTER 3
The Magellan Unified Space Station was the crowning achievement of a generation. Meant to provide a fully sustainable existence, plenty of space for over a thousand people, and enough of a reactor core to get about in ways other stations couldn’t fathom, it was humanity’s first long-term foray outside of the solar system, a pit stop for both the Unified fleet and private enterprise between Earth some prospective mining locations in the Anodyne Quadrant.
