Osdal (Harmony War Series Book 3) by Michael Chatfield

sounds of a piano tingled across the platoon’s implants.
    “ Mama ,” The song started, and there was knowing laughs from the crowd.
    “Bohemian Rhapsody, you sneaky fucker.”
    Jerome smiled as he listened to the timeless song that had for some reason been adopted by military personnel ever since it had been first released.
    By the third line everyone was singing along, smiling and half-dancing on the asteroid surface. They looked like a bunch of idiots, and it was great.
     
     
    Chapter 13
    Bandit Two
    Oort cloud Osdal System
    12/3266
    For two weeks they’d had decent hits on the grinder, and on the third they’d found the platinum and copper vein they’d been searching for.
    They’d filled all but the bare areas they’d need to sleep in. It was tight as hell, but doable.
    “Okay, let’s get this show on the road, next stop, a fucking shower!” Yu announced to tired cheers. They’d worked themselves ragged to finish mining, and the refining centers and the stations around them were so close.
    Just a week to go, Yu thought, pushing off with the thrusters and putting power into the engines.
    He swung wide off their asteroid and headed for the nearest refining station.
    Young was on sensor watch; the further they got into Osdal, the more asteroids they’d come across. “Beacon is good on the asteroid.”
    They’d left a marker on the thing that would only respond to their codes, that way they could come back if they needed it.
    Moretti insisted that money was the most useful tool in the information business. Since credits weren’t going to be accepted in a system where the banking system was down, they needed to trade or get some monetary equivalent in order to get themselves outfitted like Osdalians, and grease the right palms.
    Moretti took up one of the two seats that was behind Young and Yu. He used his implants to go through different information channels, confirming that the camps existed, and he also believed that Harmony had instituted a monetary system. They were buying up materials, he believed to make tools meant for war, and also materials that they were shipping to Housapel and Fernix.
    He was working on building profiles of the key players and the different systems in place. All of it was being beamed back to the carrier fleet, which was slowly moving towards Osdal. There were tens of other groups trying to insert themselves into Osdal.
    Some of their goals were to lay down sensor nets so that the Carriers knew where the Osdals were, so no one could get a sensor reading of them, or see them.
    Others were there to enter the Chosen’s ranks, still others worked the organic planets and asteroid belts or refiners.
    In an ideal situation they would have a person in every major area Harmony used.
    None of the people with Yu believed that would happen, but anything was better than nothing.
    ***
    Mark was in the cockpit with Bobbie when the refinery and it’s attached station came into view.
    “Fuck it’s ugly,” Mark said.
    The Refinery looked like multiple rough boxes stacked together. At one end there was a massive docking platform. On the other side there were large freighters with robots moving to them, loading them with refined materials. One freighter lit up it’s drive, pushing away from the dock and heading towards Osdal Actual.
    The station seemed to have built off of the side of the refinery. Boxes came together at odd angles and sizes, built into a rough pyramid with docks and slips jutting out here and there. It was built for function over aesthetics. Leading to a very ugly looking station.
    Lights blinked erratically and solar panels reflected light as they tried to gather as much energy as possible.
    Shuttles and mining tugs moved around the station, moving lights and the readings from the view screens showing them against the inky dark of space and the grey boxes of the station.
    Inter-system freighters twice the size of Bandit Two were hooked up to what looked like tubes.