The Edge of Nowhere: Federal Space Book 3 by Zachary Jones

Author:Zachary Jones [Jones, Zachary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“Ah, Squadron Leader, I’m glad you are well,” Doctor Wynn said over the video call. “How can I be of service?”

“I need the most detailed topographical knowledge on Styx and Charon currently available, and you were the first person I thought to call,” Mason said.

“Do the Space Forces not already have that data, Squadron Leader?”

“Data’s not the problem, Doctor. Knowledge is. New Lowell must have people who have actually been to Styx and Charon.”

“You’re speaking to one of them,” Doctor Wynn said. “Back in my graduate days, I surveyed Styx for locations of possible telescopes.”

“What did you find?”

“That there’s nothing about Styx that would make it a better location for observatories than Pluto’s surface,” Doctor Wynn said. “Really, it’s just a mountain of water ice—something Pluto has plenty of on the surface. But it does have a very rough surface. Lots of craters and deep crevasses. I’ll send you the coordinates.”

“Thanks, Doctor,” Mason said. “And what about Charon?”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can add that’s not readily available.”

“That’ll have to do, I guess,” Mason said. “Thank you, Doctor.”

“I’m going to refrain from asking what exactly you’re planning, but I’m certain it will be dangerous, so good luck, Squadron Leader.”

“Thanks, Doctor,” Mason said, then closed the connection.

Minutes later, Mason got the coordinates from Doctor Wynn. Each set of coordinates marked a particularly deep crater or crevasse. Mason looked over them all individually, eliminating those that were too small or exposed until he had his list of candidates. There was no single location that would safely hide all sixteen Lightnings of the Osiris Squadron. But there were more than enough to hide a four-ship flight in each.

There was the problem that each flight would be cut off from communicating with each other, but it was an easy tradeoff for finding good hiding spots for his pilots.

The next issue was how to hit the base.

The Cendies were building their base on the moon’s northern hemisphere, just south of the dark patch of the Mordor Macula. The most direct route from Styx on the closest approach would be to fly low over Charon’s north pole, staying low enough to keep out of the line of sight of the base’s defenses. Hopefully whatever diversion General Asif’s people cooked up would draw away any Cendy forces in orbit.

After a few more hours, Mason had enough of a plan to summon his pilots for a briefing. He appropriated one of the lounges meant for travelers as an improvised briefing room.

“What do you have for us, Hauler?” Sabal asked.

“General Asif’s asked me to come up with a mission for hitting the base the Cendies are building on Charon, and this is the fruit of my labors,” Mason said, uploading the mission data.

“We’ll be launching for Styx in twenty-seven hours, where we’ll execute a hard burn and turnover. Once we reach Styx, each flight will hide in a location I’ve assigned and wait approximately three days for Charon’s orbit to bring it directly under Styx. Once Charon’s below Styx, we’ll launch.

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