Fossil: (Book 1 of the Fossil Saga) by Elliot Kessler

Author:Elliot Kessler [Kessler, Elliot]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The freighter zipped through the inky blackness of space, and the bright sphere of Parvus drew closer. From their approach, the planet was directly behind the small moon of Parvus IV, which appeared in its waxing gibbous phase, almost completely lit by the sun. Large vessels and massive cargo ships orbited Parvus IV as shuttles flew back and forth between them and the moon’s surface.

Fenton Siliu growled under his breath. “I don’t know about this. We’re too close for comfort.”

“Relax,” said Mila. “They’re not going to know who we are. Everything will turn out alright.”

“It’s easy to say that. But we can’t know that for sure.”

“It’s the only way to get out of here and sell the asteroid.”

Fenton sighed. “I know.”

Mila sat in her seat and tried to look relaxed so Fenton would feel better about their task, but her tense muscles made it difficult to maintain the illusion of comfort. Fenton was right. There wasn’t any way she could be sure anything would go according to plan. Mila was worried, too. But Fenton was piloting, and he would be the one communicating with security. She had to make sure he was as relaxed as she looked. At least she hoped she looked relaxed.

The freighter drew near the moon, and Fenton pulled the throttle back to reduce their speed. The communications console beeped. Fenton looked at Mila. He sighed and pressed a button on the console.

The speakers in the cockpit crackled and morphed into a deep, male voice. “This is Parvus IV security hailing unknown vessel. Please transmit your ship identification code.”

Fenton nodded and pressed another button on the console. “Transmitting.”

The code went through. The cockpit went silent as the security officer looked at the ship ID. If everything went well, the officer would see that the ship was known as the Panther, and came from Genis Prime. It was owned by a private contractor working to transport cargo. Mila stared at Parvus IV through the viewport and silently hoped Fenton’s handiwork would do the trick.

A moment later, the security officer’s voice broke through the speakers again. “This is Parvus IV security to Panther. What is the purpose of your visit?”

Mila wanted to celebrate. The false ID worked. But they weren’t out of it yet.

“Repairs,” said Fenton. “My freighter’s drive stabilizer broke. I need a new one.”

“Stand by while we scan your vessel.”

Fenton nodded. “Standing by.”

They had offloaded the asteroid onto MPS 1 before they made their way to Parvus IV, but the freighter did belong to the Phoenix Fleet. Mila didn’t know what they might have stored. She was worried there might be weapons, or maybe some secret cargo. The scanners would pick it up, and the operation would be all over. Mila breathed heavily, but she tried to keep her demeanor calm for Fenton’s sake.

“This is security to Panther,” came the voice once again. “You are cleared for landing at Bay 7. Do not deviate from your course, or you will be fired upon.”

Mila sighed as a grin spread across her face.

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