Stars in the Sand by Richard Tongue

Author:Richard Tongue [Tongue, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military, SF
Published: 2014-09-26T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Ducking down the corridor, Marshall swam towards his cabin. He swung in, and started to pull off his flight jacket, curling it up into a ball and tossing it to the wall. Folded carefully in a drawer was his uniform, and he carefully slid it on, making sure to keep it as smart as possible. After a moment’s hesitation, he clipped his medal ribbons into the slot over his breast. He didn’t usually wear them on duty, but it was as near as he was going to get to dress code.

 Running his hands through his pockets, he removed everything, just sliding his communicator into his belt, setting it to record. No point taking anything unnecessary on this trip, certainly not taking anything that could provide any information in the event he was captured. He unclipped the holster, and placed it back in the drawer, gun in position with it. Not that it would do him much good against an entire base of people if he took it with him, but somehow, he still felt naked.

 He drifted back out into the corridor, making his way towards the elevator. Cooper was waiting for him, still tugging on his olive-green duty uniform, and the two of them drifted inside, riding down the decks in silence while the trooper finished dressing, struggling to tug his boots on in the zero-gravity.

 The door opened, and they stood at the airlock, waiting for the shuttle to dock. Marshall peered out of the viewport as it approached; it was a standard atmospheric shuttle, an older mark, but one he knew well enough to fly.

 “Definitely one of ours,” he said. “I flew it often enough during the War.”

 With a loud clang, it docked, and the airlock slid open. Marshall made to enter, but Cooper shook his head, pushing past him, cautiously ducking inside, tensed for action. After a second, he went into the cabin.

 “Hello,” Cooper said. “No-one’s home.”

 Marshall flew into the passenger section; it was empty, six couches ready for use. All the usual emergency stores were in position, a trio of spacesuits hanging on the wall. Drifting forward, he tapped a control, and the hatch to the pilot’s cabin opened.

 “No pilot, either,” he said. “Must have come up on automatic, or remote guidance.” He slid into the chair, then shook his head, “The manual controls have been disabled.”

 “Of course, Captain,” a voice said from overhead. “We know the way a lot better than you do. Please strap yourselves down.”

 Glancing back at Cooper, he said, “Looks like this airline is safety conscious.” He strapped himself into the pilot’s cabin, looking out at the planet below. Gray, with mottles of blue, and periodic cryovolcanic eruptions from a belt of mountains at the equator. The shuttle dropped away from Ouroboros, and the engines began to fire, sending them flying down towards the surface at speed, the acceleration pushing him back in his chair.

 Instinctively, he reached for the useless controls, planning to arrest their descent, but pulling the lever had no effect.

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