Lyssa's Dream - A Hard Science Fiction AI Adventure (The Sentience Wars - Origins Book 1) by James S. Aaron & M. D. Cooper

Author:James S. Aaron & M. D. Cooper [Aaron, James S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Wooden Pen Press
Published: 2017-07-26T18:30:00+00:00

PART 4: TRAFFIC

Chapter Twenty-Four

STELLAR DATE: 08.27.2981 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Sunny Skies

REGION: Cruithne Station, Terran Hegemony

“I named her Worry’s End,” Fran said with an unapologetic shrug. “I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.”

Floating through the air lock, Andy considered the news. “I thought you were going to use a random name generator? That doesn’t sound random.”

“It’s better than Sucking Rainbow.”

“There had to be more than that.”

“That’s what you get for taking so long.”

“About that. Petral’s hurt. I got her stabilized with what we had in the shuttle but I need to get her into the med bay. I’ve got her lashed to a splint board for now.”

“Worry’s End?” Cara said. “That’s a terrible name.”

“How’s it different than Sunny Skies?” Tim said.

“Sunny Skies are a thing you can see,” Cara said. “Worry’s End is something that will never come.”

“It could come,” Tim said, still hugging his bag.

“Never,” Cara asserted.

“Dad?” Tim said. “Is Petral going to be all right?”

Andy pulled him in for a quick hug, holding onto the wall with his other hand. “She’s going to be fine. She’s sleeping so her leg won’t hurt. We’re going to take her up to the med bay.”

“Karcher’s dead,” Cara said. Her voice was flat, stating a fact.

Andy looked at her, unable to tell how she felt about what she had just said. She might have been testing those kinds of words for the first time, really getting a sense of someone she had just met being dead, or matching it up with her feelings about her mother being gone.

He wasn’t sure what he’d projected on her and what was really there behind her eyes. He was torn between wanting to hold her and allowing her to work through this, to stand on her own. It wasn’t going to get any easier. Everything Starl had said about the possibility of a war was still banging around in his head—the strength of those words manifested by the blood and bodies in the corridors and sweeps of Cruithne. They weren’t out of this mess yet.

Andy glanced at Fran. From her expression, she already knew about Karcher.

“We made it out,” Andy said. “That’s what he wanted. It’s still possible he’ll be all right. We just don’t know.”

Cara shook her head. “He’s dead. He said he wouldn’t leave us otherwise.”

“You talked to him?” Andy asked.

She nodded solemnly.

He let out a long breath. He didn’t know what to say and was too exhausted to come up with reassurance. The shuttle-ride hadn’t done much to drain his adrenaline. He’d been uncertain the whole time that they might take fire from somewhere, run into yet another obstacle. He was starting to crash now

“Can they head up to the habitat?” Andy asked Fran. “Everything okay up there?”

“No dangling wires,” she said. “Yeah, it’s fine for them to head that way. I guess if they can take care of themselves, we can get Petral to the med bay and I can give you the update on the ship.”

“She’s still holding air, apparently.

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