Brothers in Exile_Sons of the Starfarers by Joe Vasicek

Author:Joe Vasicek [Vasicek, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: space opera, science fiction, space station, Galactic Empire, Frontier, starship, adventure, faster than light, novella, far future, Space Exploration, cryofreeze
Amazon: B00KEBQGEY
Goodreads: 22351487
Published: 2014-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * * * *

The tram for the docking arm was small, with only enough seating for twenty people. By the time they arrived at the docking node for the Medea, Isaac and Aaron were alone.

The tram came to a halting stop, and the doors chimed and slid open. A flashing sign warned of low gravity, but even at the end of the docking arm, the artificial gravity field was strong enough that Isaac could walk with little trouble. He still gripped the handholds as he climbed out, though. His brother followed behind him.

“Sorry about the cantina,” said Aaron a bit sheepishly. Neither of them had spoken since the fight that had gotten them thrown out.

“Yeah, well, I’m sorry too,” said Isaac. Even though they were alone, he didn’t want to talk about it.

The docking arm was long and narrow, with walkways and nodes on either side of the track. The upper level was windowless, but the lower level had control stations to oversee the supplying and refueling of each starship. Isaac eased himself through the hatch and down the ladder to the lower level.

He didn’t see the two men until it was too late.

Rough hands grabbed him by his legs and pulled him down before he reached the bottom. He yelped and grabbed the ladder rung above him. A fist smashed into the side of his head, knocking him back and making him lose his grip. He fell back onto the floor.

“Isaac? Isaac!”

A savage kick hit him squarely in the side. His head spun, and his ears rang as if alarms were going off in them. He curled up in pain as another blow hit him in the chest.

What’s going on?

Before he could catch sight of his attackers, one of them cried out in pain. The floor shuddered as Aaron landed on his feet beside him, slashing out with his knife. An arc of blood sprayed up in the air, and the attackers fell back against the far wall.

“Isaac, up the ladder!”

The two men had been pushed back temporarily, but the hatch was the only way out. There was nowhere to run. Realizing this, they raised their fists and made ready to lunge forward. One of them brandished a half-meter length of pipe, his arm bleeding where Aaron had slashed him. The other had solid metal hands and a prosthetic eye that glowed red.

Isaac didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled up the ladder as quickly as he could manage. His side hurt something fierce—if it weren’t for the lower gravity, he probably wouldn’t have made it. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, he staggered to the top and reached back to help his brother.

Aaron climbed out not a moment after him. The two men grabbed at his feet, but he kicked them away and pulled himself free.

“Isaac, are you all right?”

“We’ve got to call the authorities,” said Isaac. He half expected the men to climb after them, but apparently, they were too afraid of Aaron and his knife.

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