Read Online Star Wolves (The Tribes of Yggdrasil Book 1) by Hugh B. Long - Free Book Online
Authors: Hugh B. Long
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thought. His father employed Serkan as a blunt instrument, at which he excelled. He was a merciless, if not artful, killer. "What I intend to do, is lure one of their ships into a trap. We will look for a small, unarmed vessel, that way if we are forced to fight, the advantage will be ours."
Serkan simply made a small grunt in acknowledgement.
----
Asteroid: 832956 / Star: Kepler 22
Senior-miner Folant stood with a wide stance, holding the mineral extraction nozzle to the asteroid's surface, while a bank of micro lasers surrounding the nozzle-head flashed in rapid succession, vaporizing selected minerals from the asteroids surface; simultaneously, suction directed the mineral vapor through the heated nozzle and tubes, and into the Alfar mining ship's storage tanks.
The Type-7 mining ship had no jump drive and was a high capacity intra-system vessel dispatched for low gravity mining operations with a crew of two to three miners. The ships were designed to be very simple to operate, requiring no special piloting experience. The miners simply programmed the coordinates of the mining site into the nav-computer and engaged autopilot to reach their destination.
Junior-miner Heledd sat in the cockpit monitoring gauges while her partner was on the surface operating the mining nozzle.
"The storage tanks are at ninety percent full, Folant," said Heledd.
"Very well, please update me when we are at ninety-nine percent.”
Mining operations in the Cygnus sector were routine, and usually uneventful. As Heledd sat monitoring the storage levels, she heard a repeated beeping emanating from the comm panel.
"Folant, I believe I have detected a distress beacon. I am receiving no audio, just the distress signal with embedded coordinates."
"Understood," Folant replied, "what are our current tank levels?"
“We are currently at ninety-four percent, sir.”
“That will have to do. Returning to the ship."
----
A s Folant and Heledd approached the distress beacon's coordinates, they saw an unfamiliar vessel on the display screen, tumbling gently and leaking fluids into space.
"Heledd, please extend the grappling arms so we can stabilize the vessel."
"Yes, sir." She pressed a few keys and began guiding a pair of organic grappling arms toward the damaged ship. The arms telescoped smoothly toward their target, and in short order Heledd managed to stabilize the derelict.
"There may be survivors, sir."
"Indeed. I will prepare for EVA and see if we can render any assistance."
After suiting up and exiting the hatch, Folant activated the thrusters on his EVA suit and pulsed slowly to the damaged ship.
Folant reported in on his comm. "This is very interesting, Heledd. The ship does not appear to be Alfar in origin."
"Human, perhaps, sir?"
"I do not believe so. Not based on the few I have seen at the Heyrn Coedwig Starport."
"Fascinating," Heledd replied.
"I see a hatch. I’ll attempt to open it." Folant pulled what he hoped was a hatch release handle, and sure enough, a puff of atmosphere condensing into a mist of ice, confirmed his theory. It was dark inside the airlock, but with his wrist mounted light, he saw a second hatch on the other side of the airlock. Folant closed the hatch behind him and listened as the airlock was re-pressurized. Once the process was complete, he pulled the release to the inner hatch, then stepped through into a corridor. He was still weightless so he assumed the ship's artificial gravity was either damaged or turned off; or perhaps non-existent? His suit's sensors confirmed the ships internal atmosphere was viable.
He started pulling himself through the corridor, illuminating various sections of the ships interior. He was startled when he saw two humanoid forms floating in the hallway; survivors?
Folant activated his wristcom. "Heledd, I see - "
His report was cut short by a flash of dark purple light.
"Folant? Please repeat. I did not receive your last transmission.”
There was no
Serkan simply made a small grunt in acknowledgement.
----
Asteroid: 832956 / Star: Kepler 22
Senior-miner Folant stood with a wide stance, holding the mineral extraction nozzle to the asteroid's surface, while a bank of micro lasers surrounding the nozzle-head flashed in rapid succession, vaporizing selected minerals from the asteroids surface; simultaneously, suction directed the mineral vapor through the heated nozzle and tubes, and into the Alfar mining ship's storage tanks.
The Type-7 mining ship had no jump drive and was a high capacity intra-system vessel dispatched for low gravity mining operations with a crew of two to three miners. The ships were designed to be very simple to operate, requiring no special piloting experience. The miners simply programmed the coordinates of the mining site into the nav-computer and engaged autopilot to reach their destination.
Junior-miner Heledd sat in the cockpit monitoring gauges while her partner was on the surface operating the mining nozzle.
"The storage tanks are at ninety percent full, Folant," said Heledd.
"Very well, please update me when we are at ninety-nine percent.”
Mining operations in the Cygnus sector were routine, and usually uneventful. As Heledd sat monitoring the storage levels, she heard a repeated beeping emanating from the comm panel.
"Folant, I believe I have detected a distress beacon. I am receiving no audio, just the distress signal with embedded coordinates."
"Understood," Folant replied, "what are our current tank levels?"
“We are currently at ninety-four percent, sir.”
“That will have to do. Returning to the ship."
----
A s Folant and Heledd approached the distress beacon's coordinates, they saw an unfamiliar vessel on the display screen, tumbling gently and leaking fluids into space.
"Heledd, please extend the grappling arms so we can stabilize the vessel."
"Yes, sir." She pressed a few keys and began guiding a pair of organic grappling arms toward the damaged ship. The arms telescoped smoothly toward their target, and in short order Heledd managed to stabilize the derelict.
"There may be survivors, sir."
"Indeed. I will prepare for EVA and see if we can render any assistance."
After suiting up and exiting the hatch, Folant activated the thrusters on his EVA suit and pulsed slowly to the damaged ship.
Folant reported in on his comm. "This is very interesting, Heledd. The ship does not appear to be Alfar in origin."
"Human, perhaps, sir?"
"I do not believe so. Not based on the few I have seen at the Heyrn Coedwig Starport."
"Fascinating," Heledd replied.
"I see a hatch. I’ll attempt to open it." Folant pulled what he hoped was a hatch release handle, and sure enough, a puff of atmosphere condensing into a mist of ice, confirmed his theory. It was dark inside the airlock, but with his wrist mounted light, he saw a second hatch on the other side of the airlock. Folant closed the hatch behind him and listened as the airlock was re-pressurized. Once the process was complete, he pulled the release to the inner hatch, then stepped through into a corridor. He was still weightless so he assumed the ship's artificial gravity was either damaged or turned off; or perhaps non-existent? His suit's sensors confirmed the ships internal atmosphere was viable.
He started pulling himself through the corridor, illuminating various sections of the ships interior. He was startled when he saw two humanoid forms floating in the hallway; survivors?
Folant activated his wristcom. "Heledd, I see - "
His report was cut short by a flash of dark purple light.
"Folant? Please repeat. I did not receive your last transmission.”
There was no
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