Galactic Jury: A Military Scifi Thriller (The Galactic Law Series Book 3) by J.N. Chaney & James S. Aaron

Author:J.N. Chaney & James S. Aaron [Chaney, J.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2020-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

26

As the airlock opened, a blast of humid, musty air blew back over like the breath of some ancient monster. Yola wiped at her face, making complaining sounds, and Athron shook his head.

“That’s foul,” he said.

“Smells like a thousand corpses in here,” Fratley said. “This is what I expected Fereen to smell like. We need to let the atmosphere out of this place.”

I adjusted my grip on my rifle and stepped through the opening into a corridor with walls covered in green slime. What looked like a mixture of mold and moss collected at the corners where walls met ceiling and floor, while a rivulet of green water ran down the middle of the hallway. A green mist seemed to hang in the air, illuminated by dull lights along the walls at waist level. I rubbed at a dirty sign on the wall until I could read the words, “Hydroponic Halls, Waste Reprocessing and Liquid Management,” with arrows pointing either direction.

I tapped my earbud and wiped my glasses. They were already collecting moisture. “Arla, can you put a map together yet?”

“Hello, Deputy Walker. I am collecting information from your visual scans and combining it with structural imaging from the station’s exterior. I will be able to construct a map as you travel, but I have no way to provide directions yet.”

The rest of the crew was wearing similar communication devices, and Yola added, “As soon as we find a network box, I can take a look and see if I can get access to any of the maintenance systems. That should get us basic schematics with lifts and levels at least.”

“Great,” I said, turning back to the group. “Since we don’t know which way is better, which of these choices is the least dangerous?”

A static sound came from above our heads, and a voice I instantly recognized as Kregg’s filled the corridor.

“I watch each of you,” he said grimly.

“Gods.” Fratley looked around quickly with his pistol raised. “Did the cloak fail?”

“It’s another one of the recordings,” Yola said, grimacing as the warden’s voice droned on.

“Each of you had the ability to do great things, and at some point in your lives you failed. The galaxy did not fail you. You failed. Now you must pay, and the only currency here is sweat and pain.”

“Dramatic much?” Kiren muttered. “Can we turn him off?”

“That’s the first thing I’m doing when I get into their network,” Yola said.

Athron read the sign on the wall and raised his voice over Kregg’s. “I’m thinking Waste Processing and Liquid Management aren’t going to provide us many human sized passages into the upper levels. You know a hydroponic system is going to need human or drone management, and probably easier access from upper levels. I’m going to vote hydroponics.”

The warden reached the end of his speech and we were blessed with silence.

“I’ll bet liquids management is going to have a control center of some kind,” Yola said. “We could use that.”

Fratley shook his head. “I’m going to vote Waste Processing, since it will bother Ms.

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