never.
“Hurry up, out with it—”
A shrieking siren blared from the station’s speakers. After
three sustained bursts, an artificial voice intoned with urgency, “Evacuate,
evacuate. All civilians and non-essential personnel are to depart the station
immediately. Ten minutes to evasive maneuvers. Evacuate, evacuate….”
The sirens and the voice alternated as the message
continued. Bee held Silver’s glare. Her hand was still clasped around her knife
in the pack. If this was what he and the Governor were running from, she didn’t
want to stick around to find out what would happen next.
“Take me with you!” she shouted.
“Just give me the damn thing,” Silver said, and took a step
toward her with his real right hand outstretched.
Bee dropped her pack and brandished the knife at Silver, who
danced back in retreat. He was faster than she would have thought his bulk
would allow.
“No! I’m not staying here,” Bee said as she waved the knife
between them, her voice high and frantic. “Take me with and it’s yours, but I’m
not staying here!”
Silver threw his arms up in the air with frustration. He
didn’t reply, just turned around and stalked down the hallway toward the
docking bay while gesturing angrily to himself. Bee picked up her pack and put
the knife away—in her pocket this time—before following after Silver. He took
long rapid strides and she struggled to keep him in sight without breaking into
a run. When they got to the airlock at dock B46, Silver whirled on her without
warning.
“That’s the last time you steal from me, girl,” he said.
“Give it to me, now.”
“Only if I’m coming with you,” Bee said.
“The map first.”
“When we’re on board,” Bee insisted.
Silver shook his head and crossed his arms. “We don’t
proceed until I’m holding that map.”
The evacuation warning continued, and the count was dwindling.
Bee growled with displeasure and withdrew Slack Dog’s pad from its hiding spot
in her waistband. Without the map she had no leverage. Silver could easily take
it from her and leave her behind. She would have to trust that he would still
allow her on board once she gave it up. Her shoulder still burned from where he
grabbed her.
“You’ll obey my orders when we get on that ship,” Silver
said. “Best get used to it now.”
Bee held the pad out for Silver.
“Leave me here and I’ll find you again someday.”
Silver took it from her and rolled his eyes. “Very
intimidating.”
Chapter 9: Launch
The bulbous hulk of the comet 17P/Orpheus silently plunged
through space toward Lux, pulled in by the star’s massive gravity well. As it
approached the warmth of the sun, veins of ice melted and boiled within Orpheus
and on its surface. The heat intensified the closer it came to Lux, geysers
shooting chunks of ice and rock into space around the comet, creating the
familiar cloud of moisture and gas that was its tail.
For an eternity it had traveled roughly the same elongated
elliptical orbit around the sun, frozen to its core at the edge of the system
and thawed when it came back to Lux, always trailed by its pair Eurydice
thousands of miles behind.
Only this time it brought passengers.
Warships bristling with weaponry latched on to the comet
like parasitic insects, ghostly green gravity tethers extending from the noses
of the ships to the rocky surface. They rode along in its wake through the
empty void, shrouded from prying eyes by the misty halo of its tail. There were
dozens, all varying in size and shape.
Three behemoth spacecraft carriers were the largest vessels,
each capable of launching fighters and bombers. The massive ships required
multiple tethers in order to keep them steady and prevent them from crushing
smaller craft. All the ships were synchronized with each other to keep movement
to a minimum and provide a healthy buffer between each.
One vessel broke off from
“Hurry up, out with it—”
A shrieking siren blared from the station’s speakers. After
three sustained bursts, an artificial voice intoned with urgency, “Evacuate,
evacuate. All civilians and non-essential personnel are to depart the station
immediately. Ten minutes to evasive maneuvers. Evacuate, evacuate….”
The sirens and the voice alternated as the message
continued. Bee held Silver’s glare. Her hand was still clasped around her knife
in the pack. If this was what he and the Governor were running from, she didn’t
want to stick around to find out what would happen next.
“Take me with you!” she shouted.
“Just give me the damn thing,” Silver said, and took a step
toward her with his real right hand outstretched.
Bee dropped her pack and brandished the knife at Silver, who
danced back in retreat. He was faster than she would have thought his bulk
would allow.
“No! I’m not staying here,” Bee said as she waved the knife
between them, her voice high and frantic. “Take me with and it’s yours, but I’m
not staying here!”
Silver threw his arms up in the air with frustration. He
didn’t reply, just turned around and stalked down the hallway toward the
docking bay while gesturing angrily to himself. Bee picked up her pack and put
the knife away—in her pocket this time—before following after Silver. He took
long rapid strides and she struggled to keep him in sight without breaking into
a run. When they got to the airlock at dock B46, Silver whirled on her without
warning.
“That’s the last time you steal from me, girl,” he said.
“Give it to me, now.”
“Only if I’m coming with you,” Bee said.
“The map first.”
“When we’re on board,” Bee insisted.
Silver shook his head and crossed his arms. “We don’t
proceed until I’m holding that map.”
The evacuation warning continued, and the count was dwindling.
Bee growled with displeasure and withdrew Slack Dog’s pad from its hiding spot
in her waistband. Without the map she had no leverage. Silver could easily take
it from her and leave her behind. She would have to trust that he would still
allow her on board once she gave it up. Her shoulder still burned from where he
grabbed her.
“You’ll obey my orders when we get on that ship,” Silver
said. “Best get used to it now.”
Bee held the pad out for Silver.
“Leave me here and I’ll find you again someday.”
Silver took it from her and rolled his eyes. “Very
intimidating.”
Chapter 9: Launch
The bulbous hulk of the comet 17P/Orpheus silently plunged
through space toward Lux, pulled in by the star’s massive gravity well. As it
approached the warmth of the sun, veins of ice melted and boiled within Orpheus
and on its surface. The heat intensified the closer it came to Lux, geysers
shooting chunks of ice and rock into space around the comet, creating the
familiar cloud of moisture and gas that was its tail.
For an eternity it had traveled roughly the same elongated
elliptical orbit around the sun, frozen to its core at the edge of the system
and thawed when it came back to Lux, always trailed by its pair Eurydice
thousands of miles behind.
Only this time it brought passengers.
Warships bristling with weaponry latched on to the comet
like parasitic insects, ghostly green gravity tethers extending from the noses
of the ships to the rocky surface. They rode along in its wake through the
empty void, shrouded from prying eyes by the misty halo of its tail. There were
dozens, all varying in size and shape.
Three behemoth spacecraft carriers were the largest vessels,
each capable of launching fighters and bombers. The massive ships required
multiple tethers in order to keep them steady and prevent them from crushing
smaller craft. All the ships were synchronized with each other to keep movement
to a minimum and provide a healthy buffer between each.
One vessel broke off from
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