Short Stories of Aurora Rhapsody by G. S. Jennsen

Author:G. S. Jennsen [Jennsen, G. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: sci-fi space opera, Sci Fi, Sci-fi, Sci-Fi Romance, Science Fiction - Adventure, Science Fiction, Science Fiction - General, Science Fiction - High Tech, Science Fiction - Space Opera, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction And Fantasy, science fiction romance, science fiction series, Science Fiction/Fantasy, science-fiction, Scif-fi, scifi, scifi romance, SciFi-Futuristic Romance, space adventure, Space Colonization, Space Exploration, space fleet, space fleets, Space Opera, Space Ships, space travel, Space Warfare, Spaceships
ISBN: 9780998424576
Publisher: Hypernova Publishing
Published: 2017-11-29T07:00:00+00:00

The summit revealed itself in the flood of afternoon sunlight streaming into the broad, shallow caldera. Alex increased the tinting on her goggles and checked the feed to her mask. Even with the supplemental oxygen, her lungs begged for more air, protesting the deepest breaths as inadequate.

The mountainside had served as a bulwark, but now the wind whipped into them with bitter malevolence. Layers of thermal garments designed to capture and amplify the body’s natural heat felt as effective as porous gauze in the face of the onslaught.

She drew her hood in tighter. “Fuck it is cold.”

“You are the master of understatement, baby. But look….”

She glanced over to find him facing the interior of the volcano. The summit displayed a gently sloping concave exterior. Puffs of jade-white steam shot out of holes in the spongy gray material filling the caldera.

“Whatever. Look at this.” She gestured in the opposite direction, for the view beyond the summit was nothing short of magnificent.

The research station where they had begun their trek was a tiny speck far below and to the right. In front of them the terrain swept downward to a frozen plain stretching to the horizon. Her initial inclination was to liken it to parts of northeastern Alaska, but this was a decidedly alien landscape.

Jagged fissure rifts split the sheets of ice to allow the same jade-tinged steam to escape into the air, unveiling brilliant emerald crystals beneath the surface. Large swaths of the sheets glowed pale green where the ice grew thin and new fissures would soon form. The sun blazed across the landscape, turning the ice iridescent and filling the sky with daytime auroras.

But for the single dot of humanity in the valley below, it was untouched. Untamed. Nature loosed to run free.

An apt description, I do believe. Does the planet feel alive to you?

It certainly looks alive, Valkyrie. But peaceful somehow…or at peace with itself. Hopefully it doesn’t mind us intruding.

She dropped her head onto Caleb’s shoulder. “You take me to the nicest places.”

“I really do. But next week, I’m thinking a sweltering jungle somewhere, full of serpents and flying insects.”

“So long as it’s warm, I’m in. Though I will point out, a nice, luxurious hot tub overlooking a white, sandy beach is also warm.”

“True. And it has other benefits.”

Her chuckle sounded reedy in the rarefied air. “I’m temporarily too cold to think about other benefits. Shall we?”

“We shall.”

She opened her pack and removed the small glider harness. It consisted primarily of torso-hugging straps attached to a small rectangular module, but when activated the module would unfurl a pair of airfoils. Made of a hyperlight carbon nanofiber, when fully extended and locked open they were strong enough to endure 240 kph winds and a 150 kN impact. Pockets beneath each wing enclosed the hands to provide the wearer a measure of control during the flight, and tensile ankle straps kept their legs from flapping awkwardly and destroying the aerodynamics. But there was no frame, no motor and no brake; the glider was as close to natural wings as humanity had achieved.

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