Terra Prime (The Terran Legacy Book 2) by Rob Dearsley

Author:Rob Dearsley [Dearsley, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-20T16:00:00+00:00

Seventeen

(SDF Feynman, Nowhere)

Dannage stood on the Feynman’s forward observation deck. Five meters of reinforced transparent aluminium stood between him and the view of Nowhere. The squat drums of the three main habitats – only slightly smaller than the SDF’s new Super-Habitats – hung off to the right, their running lights blinking in sequence. Ant-like workers were repairing a damaged bulkhead on the central habitat. Small shuttles flitted between the stations. Directly in front of them was the gate. A skeletal hand, reaching out for them. The navigation lights were accompanied by the flickers of welding torches and the lights of yellow-painted worker vehicles.

“Captain Dannage.” Admiral Niels leaned casually against the railing. “Good to see you again.”

Dannage rubbed at his temples and turned to Niels. Damn headaches. “And you, Admiral. Thank you for doing all this.”

“It’s for us as much as you. This could be our first steps into a brave new world.”

“How did you convince them to let us do this?” Not that Dannage wasn’t glad the admiral had pulled off the seemingly impossible.

“The same way you get anything done in politics.”

“You killed everyone who didn’t agree with you?”

Niels sighed. “Do you have such a low opinion of us? No, we bribed them. They’ll be recognised as an independent state, and they get a stake in the expedition and anything we find. Speaking of which, I think you’ve already met our liaison officer.”

Dannage turned to see a short, stocky man with a mop of chestnut hair walk over. The newcomer wore a military pilot’s jacket with its distinctive triple zip down the front, only in orange instead of SDF blue. Dannage recognised the man, but couldn’t quite place him.

The newcomer said, “Admiral might not have shot anyone, but I think he wanted to. Nice to meet you again, Captain Dannage.”

Dannage immediately recognised the voice. He was the fighter captain who’d helped them last time they were here. Dannage extended his hand. “Good to meet you again. Sounds like you had quite the adventure?”

Lloyd pumped Dannage’s hand, capping him on the shoulder. At least it wasn’t another hug.

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Niels said.

“How many people are Nowhere sending?” Dannage asked.

“Two scout cruisers and the crews, and my fighter team, two of us and our Hounds,” Lloyd said.

“Hounds?” Dannage didn’t recognise the term.

“Wolfhounds, the WFH series fighters.”

With the Folly, the wing of dropships, two squads of Combined Air-Space Fighters, a pair of scout cruisers and the Hounds, the docking bays were going to be crowded, to say the least. Maybe if they loaded up some more support craft, the Feynman would have enough mass that they wouldn’t need the gate.

“Are you sure this Point-to-Point drive will work?” Lloyd asked.

“All our simulations say yes, but we won’t know for sure until we try it.” Niels shrugged. “Can’t be helped.”

The Terran ships crowded at the edges of Dannage’s thoughts, sullen and angry. They thought he’d led them into a trap at Sillimanite, their ire seared the back of his mind. The headaches were almost constant now.

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