Titan Chronicles: Complete Series by Samuel Best

Author:Samuel Best [Best, Samuel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, adventure, action, Trilogy, Series, space, saturn, near future, near earth, SciFi, sci fi, space race, colonization, exploration, first contact, box set, boxed set, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, solar system
Publisher: Sky City
Published: 2023-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

20

Jeff floated in the spherical airlock of Explorer II, his rapid breath blooming and fading on the inside of his face shield.

Riley was next to him, frowning as he fiddled with the control pad on his left wrist. Commander Brighton checked and re-checked the joint seals on her spacesuit, while Commander Ward busied himself by grinding his teeth and staring coldly at Jeff.

“Interface is different,” Riley mumbled, tapping on his wristpad. His voice came through hollow in Jeff’s helmet. “Where’d you geniuses hide the comm layout?”

“Hold down the first and third buttons,” Brighton answered.

“Ah,” Riley said. “No offense, but that’s beyond stupid. We should switch it back to the old way.”

“You had to push a button twice,” said Jeff, “then push another one. How is this worse?”

Riley held up his middle digit in Jeff’s direction. “What if there’s an accident and you only have one finger left?”

“Both of you are going to have an accident if you don’t shut up,” said Brighton. “I already regret letting you tag along.”

The light in the ceiling blinked out and a bright yellow caution lamp flicked on, spinning slowly as it flashed. Jeff and the others watched silently, almost reverently, at the airlock doors as they slowly parted, revealing the blackness of space.

“This is stirring up some very uncomfortable memories for me,” Riley murmured.

“It won’t be like the last time,” Jeff said. “We’re all sticking together.”

Riley strained to look at him sideways as they floated in the airlock. Jeff was surprised to see sweat beading on his forehead.

“Nice and easy,” said Brighton. “Here we go.”

She thumbed a small joystick positioned beneath her glove and a thin stream of nitrogen spurted from her pack. Ward followed her, jaw clenched as he focused on his controls.

“Age before beauty,” said Jeff, gesturing at the void beyond the airlock.

Riley grunted and shook his head, then coasted outside. Jeff lingered behind, remembering the moment when he first left the relative safety of Explorer I. Passing beyond the airlock door of that vessel and into space had made his stomach sink into his bowels. He felt as if he should fall like a stone, but instead he hung there, suspended in the black.

This time there were fewer butterflies in his stomach. As he passed the airlock door and space opened up all around, hesitance turned to excitement and he couldn’t help but let out a rollercoaster whoop.

“Control yourself,” Ward scolded.

“I didn’t think I’d ever get to do that again,” Jeff said, smiling.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,” said Riley. “Could you please just process your feelings internally, like a normal man?”

Jeff grinned. “Okay, switching over to ‘brooding silently’ mode.”

“For the record, I didn’t mind,” Brighton offered. “It’s too quiet out here anyway.”

They moved in a line, the four of them in their bright orange Constellation suits, drifting steadily aft, keeping the hull on their left. Jeff stared at the distant stars: brilliant pinpoints of light, more than he could count in his lifetime.

“That’s one of the questions they asked us before the first mission,” he recalled.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.