Dark Space (Book 2): The Invisible War by Jasper T. Scott

Author:Jasper T. Scott [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2013-12-30T22:00:00+00:00

Alara watched the range ticking down to the next waypoint—1586 km and dropping fast, although a quick look at her speed gauge showed her velocity dropping, too. Her engines were in full reverse, her fighter decelerating to an appropriate speed before entering orbit around Taylon. So far they hadn’t seen a thing on their recon of the system. The whole mission had been a waste of time! They could have just sent the fighters out with the AIs piloting them. Of course, she wasn’t complaining that they hadn’t encountered enemy contacts, but it still seemed like a waste. Why couldn’t they just send the Defiant through each system by itself? They didn’t need fighters to go ahead of it. No one could see the Sythians’ ships, regardless of whether they were looking on a nova’s scopes or the Defiant’s.

Alara’s gaze dropped to the star map projected from her nova’s MHD, and she tracked the two, small green icons which resembled mark II’s. They were already sling-shotting around Taylon for the return trip, meaning they hadn’t discovered anything amiss on scanners either. That begged another question—why not simply send out the interceptors as scouts? Why send the whole squadron? She crossed her arms over her chest and glared out at space. During the last 30 minutes, with nowhere to go, nothing to do, and nothing to look at besides the same pattern of stars and the same mottled red and purple planet, she’d grown thoroughly bored. This wasn’t a glamorous job. It was just one step above night watchman!

She heaved a deep sigh.

“Alara, if I may point out, it appears that you are distressed by something. As you already know, any and all physical states which may interfere with the mission are my job to address. Would you like a pick-me-up stim? I have a wide variety of anti-depressants to choose from.”

Alara’s eyes narrowed. “Are you offering to drug me, Ethan?”

“There are no long-term side effects, and I promise it’s not an addictive substance.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Just give me an estimate of how long before we’re back aboard the Defiant. My legs are cramping, and I need to use the bathroom.”

“Approximately one hour, but your fighter does come equipped for such an eventuality.”

“For what eventuality?”

“The need to relieve yourself.”

“You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not. It’s a suction hose. If you would open your crotch, I’ll extend the hose.”

“Excuse me? Open my crotch?”

“Yes, your flight suit has a separate opening for you to relieve yourself on long flights. Don’t worry, it’s independently pressurized in the event that disaster should strike while you are doing so.”

“Never mind, Ethan. I’ll hold it.”

“Very well, though I should warn you that a full bladder has been known to increase pilot error by a significant—”

“Shut up, Ethan.”

Silence fell in the cockpit once more and Alara shook her head in annoyance. Talking with her AI instructor wasn’t much better than talking with no one at all. She wasn’t sure who had programmed the AI, but it was the most annoying bot she’d ever had to deal with.

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