First Contact~Book One in The Deepening Series~A Space Rock Opera Romance Adventure by Kelly Brewer

Author:Kelly Brewer [Brewer, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kelly Brewer
Published: 2019-03-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 48

Looks like War

Transfer zones were separate from commerce zones. To avoid accidents, jump lanes below Saturn’s rings were for transferring. Once trans-shifted, gyros and other ships moved into commerce lanes above the rings.

Disasters were great teachers. Unequal masses don’t switch completely. The switch is limited to the volume of the smaller mass. A few years into the Deepening, an unbalanced transfer pancaked a ship instantaneously, leaving crushed bodies and cargo compacted into a contorted ball of blame and finger-pointing. The dead ship’s momentum was still intact, and a twenty-ton ball of death rocketed into a nearby ship, causing greater damage and shame.

Lives were lost and the rules were overhauled. Among other requirements, blood work was required daily from all personnel, the only exception being mobile infantry. Abnormalities got you grounded, sent home to level out. It was a time to reassess one’s Deepening commitment to the well-being of others. Zero tolerance helped maintain a higher level of calming trust among those risking everything every day, those brave pilgrims clinging to the fragile thread of distant space colonies.

Angel ascended to Saturn’s operators’ lane above the rings as Mac, Ox, Peco, and crew gathered wearily in the conference room. He looked around at the disgruntled faces. Except for an exuberant Peco, everyone was irritated and distracted. With Moore settled and secured, Kyle joined them. They all looked at him.

With inspectors now at least twenty-four hours away, the beleaguered Cosmics had time to think. It was going to be rough from here on out.

He said, “Mark’s fine… physically.”

They understood. They had mixed feelings about it.

Kyle recognized his team needed rest and food. “Ok, tell you what, let’s meet back here in ten hours. We got a day before we’re overrun by the do-gooders. Think of ways we can use them to our advantage. They gotta be here, but we don’t have to suffer for it. Peco did great, but it needs a little more… special sauce! Let’s rehearse him before the Saturn show. We have a couple days to ramp up.”

Crew nodded to each other. Yesterday, they had already set up the jam room in Angel’s ship for a practice session. Bonbon nodded. “Already taken care of chief.”

Kyle was increasingly thankful and amazed by his team. “Thanks. Besides nearly overdosing, Moore is also on the injured list. I broke that finger he’s always pointing at people,” Kyle said rubbing his forehead. A tired chuckle went around the room.

Tamer added, “Last night about sixty people overdosed. You probably didn’t notice because they were high and in the back, right next to a security station. It happened so fast, and robos handled it quickly. It’s weird how it happens in clusters. Security was tight but whatever the hell is causing it seems to slip right by us.”

The band members were silent, at a loss to understand why their good intentions were not enough to keep evil at bay. Tamer said, “Everyone gets one of these.” He handed each one a ring, already sized. I never thought we’d use ’em until now.

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