Frontiers shadow a space.., p.1
Frontier's Shadow: A Space Opera Adventure (Frontiers Book 3), page 1
Copyright © 2021 by Robert C. James
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Yvonne Less, Art 4 Artists
Contents
Stay Up To Date
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Part II
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Part III
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Stay Up To Date
Stay Up To Date
You can join my Reader’s Club for news on my latest releases, receive exclusive bonus content, be the first to know about special deals, and get a free copy of my ebook, Dead Space. Simply head over to my website robertcjames.com.
You can also join the conversation on my Facebook page fb.me/robertcjamesauthor.
Frontier’s Shadow
Robert C. James
Part One
One
Tokyo, Earth - 55 Years Ago
Doctor Julian Erkens was the first to admit he wasn’t a hopeless romantic. He and his wife were childhood sweethearts and had married young. And while their relationship was strong, considering his line of work, the passion between them wasn’t there like it used to be.
As the chief of biochemistry at the Tokyo Institute of Advanced Sciences, he worked many long hours. Sometimes he didn’t come home until the next evening. This particular day was one of those times. And returning to his house with a dozen red roses would only make his wife that much more suspicious.
He stepped from the train and weaved through the traffic of peak-time commuters, making his way to his apartment building. He entered and found nothing but emptiness.
“Marie?”
He placed his jacket down on the kitchen counter and searched around the open-plan apartment for his missing better half.
“Marie?” he called out again, but still got no answer. He peered out onto the balcony at a long shadow cast from the setting sun. There sitting on a reclining chair was Marie. “Catching some afternoon sun?”
“I thought I’d take advantage of what summer we have left.” She took off her sunglasses. “I see you decided to finally come home.”
He pulled out the dozen roses, and her mouth dropped.
“And what are those?”
Julian handed them to her, and she breathed in the beautiful scent.
“I can’t remember the last time you bought me flowers.” She frowned. “Have you been screwing someone?”
Though he knew she was only teasing, he wouldn’t get away without explanation. “I have news.” He took a seat next to her.
“Are we moving home?” she asked.
While Julian had loved Tokyo ever since arriving to take up his position at TIAS, Marie hadn’t been able to get used to the hustle and bustle of the vibrant city. He could hardly blame her. She was a long way from the rural European town they’d grown up in.
“Well, not exactly.” He put his hand on hers. “But it might mean uprooting our life here.”
“Okay…”
“Do you remember hearing about the Mark III FTL engine?”
“The one that allows spacecraft to travel at ten times the speed of light?”
“That’s right.” Julian nodded, already sweating bullets at what he was about to reveal. “Well, TIAS, the commonwealth government, and numerous science academies with a bundle of corporate money have put together a mission—”
“What kind of mission?” Her suspicious eyes met his own.
“A new craft with a Mark III drive has been given the green light to be built with the aim of propelling a mission beyond the commonwealth. The expedition would be made up of mostly scientists and their families.”
“And the destination?”
He pulled a data tablet from behind his back and handed it to her. “The galactic center.”
“The spacecraft Scorpius—an automated vessel designed for deep-space travel with a capacity of five hundred people. A return voyage to the galactic center would take six thousand years in cryo-stasis…” She shrugged. “Sounds interesting, I guess, but what does it have to do with us?”
Julian took a deep breath. “When the program was announced, anyone interested in taking part was encouraged to apply. I, uh, put our names down.”
She glared at him. “You did what?”
“The Scorpius needs a biochemist, and I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” He paused to let her say something, but all she could do was stare daggers at him, so he continued. “To study the galactic center would be one of the most monumental undertakings in human history. They informed me this afternoon that we’ve been accepted into the program.”
“Of all the boneheaded things you’ve done.” She crossed her arms. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“Marie—”
She waggled her finger at him. “How could you not ask me?”
“I know how much you’ve wanted to move away from Tokyo and—”
“And you assumed the galactic center might be a nice change of pace?”
“I—”
“Julian, it’d take over six thousand years to return home.” She threw the data tablet in his lap. “What would Earth look like when we returned? Would it even still be here? For someone so intelligent, you can be a real idiot sometimes.”
She stood and dropped the roses on his head and stormed off into their apartment.
Julian sighed and watched the sun drop beyond the horizon.
It’s going to be a long night.
Two
Cargo Ship Argo - Present Day
“How does it feel?”
Jason Cassidy came late to the party to watch the end of the procedure on Aly Rycroft’s new hand. It was as disgusting as he’d imagined, though not as gory as some things he’d seen during the war. Regardless, it had put him off the roast beef he was going to hydrate for dinner.
Aly held the hand up in bed and wiggled her fingers around. “It’s so weird. It’s as if it’s there, but not.”
Doctor Susan Tai had done an excellent job with the medical equipment she’d brought with her from Earth before they’d left. Her patient’s new hand appeared identical to her old one. The tone of grafted skin over the cybernetic mechanism matched up perfectly with the rest of her arm.
She put Aly’s hand in hers. “The sensation will be strange for some time. The more you use it, the more accustomed to it you’ll get.” She waved her medical scanner over it. “And the good news is there’s no sign your body’s rejecting the new components.”
“When can I return to work?” Aly asked.
“I’d like to keep you here for a few more hours, just to ensure everything continues smoothly. Then it’ll be straight to your quarters to rest. You’re not to walk into the engine room for at least a few days.”
“Doctor, if you haven’t noticed, this ship’s a mess.” Aly pulled herself upright. “Since traveling through the trans-space corridor, most of our systems are still offline.”
“We’ll take care of everything.” Jason put a hand on her shoulder to place her back down on the bed. “Your dad and Althaus are in the engine room as we speak.”
“That would be a sight to behold.”
“Just get some rest.” Jason went away with Tai to the other side of the infirmary where Kione was lying on a bed of his own with his gaze fixed on the ceiling. “And how’s our other patient doing?”
Kione glanced at him and smiled.
“He continues to improve at a rapid rate,” Tai said, confirming it with her medical scanner. “How are you, Kione?”
“I feel fine, Doctor.”
“From what I can tell, Doctor Whitlowe’s methods were barbaric to say the least. Their effect on Kione’s body was nothing short of h orrific.”
“After seeing his chamber of death, that doesn’t surprise me. No wonder he was one of Jarret’s favorite pets. He no doubt extracted a lot of information from enemy personnel during the war.” Jason eyeballed Kione. “And to bring your abilities to the surface once again…”
Kione nodded. “While I can’t condone his methods, he was very adept at doing what he set out to achieve. However, now that my powers are once again gone, I don’t wish to go through anything like it again.”
“You notice the good in everyone, don’t you?” Jason loved that quality about him but didn’t want to give Whitlowe a pass in this instance.
Kione’s joviality disappeared, and he put out his hands, taking one of each of his comrades. “Thank you, both of you, for coming back for me.”
“You’ve already thanked us,” Tai said. “There’s no need to—”
“Doctor, you and Professor Petit put your careers on the line. And Mister Cass… Jason, the CDF will never allow you back in their ranks. When we return home, the consequences—”
“A bridge we’ll cross when we come to it.” Jason wondered about Professor Petit and hoped he was okay. When he’d first met him on Orion V, he thought he was a bit of a pompous ass. Now, after all they’d been through, he couldn’t imagine how they could have got to where they were without him.
“To repay you,” Kione continued, “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to help you bring Captain Marquez and Tyler home.”
Jason smiled, knowing he would be true to his word. “Rest up.”
Kione nodded and lay back down.
Jason strolled to the door while Tai followed him in her mobility chair. “Keep me apprised of their conditions. Whenever they’re ready to lend a helping hand, well, uh, we need all the assistance we can get.”
“I understand.”
Jason left the infirmary and entered the engine room. He’d gotten used to the organized chaos of Aly’s department, but what he walked into was anything but organized. Though it was very much chaotic. He did his best to step over the scattered parts to get to Althaus who was standing over the maintenance station.
“What have you guys done to this place?” he asked them.
Conrad Althaus scowled at him, while Kevin Rycroft pulled himself from a maintenance junction and wiped his greasy hands with an equally dirty rag. It did little to achieve any cleanliness.
“I think we can all agree this line of work isn’t our forte.” Kevin fumbled through Aly’s toolbox to find a microspanner. “How’s Alyssa coming along?”
“She’ll be fine, but we can’t expect her to be back for a while. That means the three of us will have to put our heads together to get the Argo up and running again.” Jason checked over the extensive damage report on the maintenance console. “Hell…”
“FTL is out, and primary computer systems are fried.” Althaus pointed at the bad news. “Over half the ship is operating on auxiliary power. Most of our maneuvering thrusters are burned out along with main thrusters, and climate control is only just operable.”
“I’m concentrating on getting that going at full capacity before we start anything else,” Kevin told him.
“Good call,” Jason agreed.
“The artificial gravity’s also playing up.” Althaus brought up the schematic showing where the trouble spots around the ship were.
“That explains why I’ve felt so queasy.” Jason rubbed his stomach. “How’s the Argo faring structurally?”
“Similar to the last two times we traveled through trans-space. Surprisingly well.”
“Funny, isn’t it. When we travel at FTL it beats the old girl up more than when she shoots through one of those vortexes.” Jason remembered what Petit had once told him. At FTL, the ship was breaking through a brick wall while in trans-space it was riding a wave. “With the damage so far, providing we don’t find any other gremlins, how long will it take to repair?”
Althaus threw his hands in the air at the mess. “At least a week.”
“Damnit, how did we get hit so hard this time? On our previous trips we needed to fix a few things, but nothing like this.”
Kevin found an electro-screwdriver in the toolbox and placed it in his belt. “The last time we went through a vortex, it was one created by the Seekers. This time it was one of our making. I’m willing to bet they have more experience.”
“Is that your scientific opinion, Professor Rycroft?”
“It is.” Kevin smirked. “I may even write a paper on it.”
Jason shook his head at the big goofball. “It won’t help it’ll be us three bozos doing the repairs either. Have you checked out Nora yet?”
Kevin bit his bottom lip. “I pulled the trans-space actuator out of the module and had a poke around. It seems mostly fine, but I don’t want to touch it until Alyssa’s up and about.”
“Probably a good idea.” Jason pointed to the repair monitor. “Once you’ve got the climate control back to a hundred percent, concentrate on the scanners. There’s a star out there, and I want to know whether it’s GP-34 or not. With any luck, we can pick up Tyler and Captain Marquez and get the hell out of here.”
Kevin nodded, and he and Althaus returned to work. Jason took one last look at the engine room and couldn’t help but feel Aly was right.
The blind leading the blind.
Three
Guilt festered away inside Jason as he turned the tap of the shower on and enjoyed the heavy sprinkle of hot water on his body. It seemed wrong while everyone else slaved away either in the engine room or the infirmary, but he figured a five-minute rinse wouldn’t hurt. He washed his messy hair and wiped his face. The stubble was again turning into a beard. He reached for his shaver and switched it on, but before he pressed it against his cheeks, he turned it off. He had to be clean-shaven on his return to the service and hated it. Shaving it off would just be another reminder he’d never be an officer of the CDF ever again.
A scatter of feet hurried past him through the communal bathroom. He placed his shaver down and peeked over the top of the shower to the sight of one of the toilet stalls closing. Someone vomited so bad that the sound echoed around him.
“Are you okay in there?” he asked, wondering who it was.
Another spew answered his question. Jason winced and turned off the water. He found a fresh towel on the rack and wrapped it around his waist. He knocked on the stall door and inquired again.
The toilet flushed, and the door swung open. Marissa appeared, more than a little frazzled with a drooping face and a wild head of messy hair.
“Jesus, you look like hell,” Jason said. “Is there anything left in you to puke up?”
She passed by him, clearly not amused, and cleaned her face at the washbasin, splashing a healthy dose of water on herself. “It’s been years since I traveled on a ship at FTL. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now.”
Jason stepped to her side. “I’ll take you to the infirmary.”
“Doctor Tai has enough on her plate with Aly and Kione.”
“I’m sure she could—”
“Jason, I’ll be fine, it’s just a bout of space sickness.”
“Okay, but at least come with me to the galley. I have something that might help.”
She eyed him suspiciously while he put on a shirt and a pair of pants. He led her up to A deck and into the Argo’s communal eating area. Jason told her to sit down at the table, and he opened up a cabinet. He rummaged through it and found the sachets he was after. He filled a glass of water and ripped the packets open inside it.
