Aftershock by Dalzelle Joshua

Author:Dalzelle, Joshua
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

16

“Lot of ships from ConFed— Sorry, former ConFed shipyards,” Murph said. “We have ships from the Aracorian yards and a no-shit Miressan cruiser. All in pristine condition.”

“But those are the minority,” Tin Man pointed out. “Most are ships that come from the Aulogus Region. It is considered the industrial heart of the Protectorate and has seven major shipyards supported by mining and manufacturing.”

“Feel free to jump in with any knowledge we don’t have,” Jacob said sourly. “You know…since you’re an expert on the region, and we’ve never been here.”

“I will do my best to guide you,” Tin Man said. Jacob just rolled his eyes.

The Corsair had buzzed the closest holding formation at high speed, letting the sensors soak it all in while Sully steered them for one of the abductor’s ships in orbit around Dorshone. Now, the crew pawed through the data they’d collected while they approached the planet.

“We’re twelve minutes from orbit, everybody,” Sully called. “I’ll insert us into high orbit so we can scan the surface and the traffic, then I’ll push us down into a transfer orbit that will take us close to the ship.”

“Sounds good,” Jacob said. “Everybody ready?” He eyed Glenn Mitchell, who looked almost bored by the whole thing, before turning back to the main display.

“Sure,” MG said with a yawn. He was already decked out in an EVA combat suit since he was on the boarding team if it came to that. Jacob had his with him on the bridge, and Tin Man didn’t require any special equipment.

The first high-altitude pass gave them a clear look at the freighter. She was under power and appeared to be functioning normally, flying a provisional beacon that identified her as being from Pinnacle Station, but not affiliated with any nation or star system. Many places wouldn’t let ships near a planet flying a provisional beacon, but Dorshone appeared to be letting them navigate freely.

“So, it’s just the one?” Murph asked.

“Looks like,” Sully said. “They might have hidden the others out in those parking formations.”

“We can’t do a more targeted scan of those formations without being too obvious,” Mettler said.

“What’s the declared population of this planet?” Glenn spoke up.

“Hang on,” Mettler said, spinning back to his terminal. “Information on the Protectorate is sketchy, but the Zadra Network has it at…four point eight billion. But keep in mind that was from a census that’s over twenty years old. Why?”

“Look at the nightside when we fly over,” Glenn said. “Does it look like a planet with nearly five billion people on it?”

When the Corsair crossed over the terminator again, they all took a closer look at the nightside of Dorshone. It was dark. Too dark for a planet with advanced cities and infrastructure.

“Do a surface scan when we hit the dayside,” Jacob said. “Look specifically for thermal blooms and energy signatures.”

The Corsair swung around one more time at her current orbit and Sully rolled the ship so the high-res sensor array on the belly was aimed at the surface. The ship recorded the pass and began to spit out the data.

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