Paradigm 2045- Trinity's Children by Robert W Ross

Author:Robert W Ross [Ross, Robert W]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9798603468044
Published: 2020-06-08T22:00:00+00:00

James heard the Galileo’s external hatch cycle open and craned his neck to see who was entering the shuttle. Misha froze in place, and the two stared at each other for several seconds, then Sokolov sighed. “You’re early.”

James gestured to the copilot’s chair, then turned back to one of the many display panels. She settled into the seat and swiveled to face him. “I thought I’d be the first,” Misha said softly, as she absently ran her fingers over several controls. “How long have you been at…whatever it is you’re doing?” she asked.

He glanced over and shot her a familiar smile. “A bit. Is there something I can do for you, love?”

She said nothing for at least a minute, then reached over to a pulsing green toggle and flipped it. The toggle began to glow red and the cockpit speakers emitted a low, rhythmic, chime. Misha furrowed her brow and flipped the switch back to its original position. The red pulse and warning chime continued but at a slightly faster pace. She frowned. “What’s that switch do?”

James didn’t look over. “That’s the Gal’s self destruct circuit. She’s counting down. When the color and sound are both constant,” he raised both hands while still keeping eyes fixed on his panel, “boom!” Misha narrowed her eyes at the Irishman and flipped the toggle back and forth several more times. “That’s not going to help,” he said, then spun to face her.

“Well, you turn it off then,” she said.

“Can’t. It needs a command override code.”

“From Damien?” She asked.

James shook his head. “Nope, the Gal’s still coded to Omandi. I was going to code her to Damien before we launched, but I guess we won’t get a chance now.”

Misha stared at the rapidly flashing switch and then back to Branson. “You are fucking with me right now, aren’t you?”

He grinned and tapped a button on his panel. The toggle went green and the sound stopped. “I am, indeed. That was the secondary CO2 scrubbers. It was trying to tell whoever flipped the switch that she is an idiot because the primary scrubbers are working fine.”

“You are a juvenile asshole,” she hissed.

James shrugged and turned back to his displays. “The juvenile part is not news, Lieutenant, but I object to being labeled an asshole.”

Misha gestured to the toggle, “Then what the hell do you call that?”

He glanced over. “A conversation starter. You just let me know when you want to tell me why you are here over an hour before our designated launch.”

“You were here before me,” said Sokolov defensively. “Why were you here so early?”

Branson spun around and leaned forward. He stared at Misha for several seconds, then said, “Well, I’ve been here for the last three hours because I’m scared shitless I’ll screw something up and get one or all of us killed. I’ve never been in space before, which is giving me a wee bit of pause. Beyond that, just because I’ve been able to fly and drive anything I’ve ever set my mind to in the past, doesn’t fill me with confidence that I can get us to the fecking moon.

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