Bane of Worlds (Survival Wars Book 2) by Anthony James

Author:Anthony James [James, Anthony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“I’m going to dump this stuff the first place that catches my eye. Somewhere away from the mining pit,” said Jonas. She had an expression of worry. Duggan sat next to her on the bridge as they discussed how they were going to jettison the Goliath’s cargo of valuable machinery.

“There’s no life on this planet, so get rid of it anywhere that won’t interfere with the lift operation,” said Duggan.

“I’m going to need a code from Lieutenant Green,” she said. “There are a few fail-safes to stop one of us getting drunk and accidentally leaving our cargo in space somewhere.” Jonas waved a hand and Green came over. He was an unassuming man and he blanched when he heard what was about to happen. He went even paler when Jonas told him what they intended to fill the empty space with.

“Can’t we send a signal to someone in the Corps?” he asked. “To get approval?”

“We could send that signal, Lieutenant,” said Duggan. “We’re not going to. I’m approving this, so please enter your codes into the mainframe.” He knew it might take hours for a request from the lifter to get through to someone with enough seniority in the Corps to give the go-ahead. If this had been a warship, he could have pushed a message through to a place higher up the chain. The lifter didn’t have that authority.

Lieutenant Green swallowed hard. He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but wisely chose not to. He reached over one of the panels and entered a series of digits, which the ship’s mainframe combined with his biometric data. The computer noted that the lieutenant was exhibiting an elevated heart rate, but within the expected range for the enormity of the decision.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Green. You may go back to your seat,” said Jonas. The man wandered off, looking dazed.

“Done?” asked Duggan.

“Just entering my codes now, overriding this, countermanding that. All the usual stuff needed for a once-in-a-lifetime decision. We’re almost over the dump zone. It doesn’t feel right to call it the drop zone, somehow.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” he said.

“There needs to be a big, red button to press, doesn’t there?” she asked. “Like you see in the old movies, with a big ‘Do Not Touch’ sign beneath it.”

“How long?” asked Duggan. He could understand Jonas’ nervousness, but he wanted her to get on with it. He knew he was getting tetchy from the pain in his forearm. With everything to see to, he’d still not had it treated.

“It’s done,” she said. “Or at least, it’s started. You’ll see it on this screen over here.”

One by one, the cargo bay doors beneath the Goliath slid away into their recesses in the hull. For a few minutes, nothing else happened. Across the room, Green and Haster watched the same images on their own screens. Duggan felt sympathy for them – they probably thought their careers were evaporating before their eyes.

“Everything’s got to unlatch in the right order,” explained Jonas. “Then the gravity chains will release and out it’ll all go.

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