Page 149 of Pets in Space 10

Gravity

Adele plummeted through the night sky; the glider unfurled overhead, doing nothing to halt her descent. Terror dried her mouth and slowed her wits as she fumbled to find the navigation controls. At the press of her finger, she was jerked up and back, halting the free fall.

How high were they when the flyer exploded? Her fingers scrabbled over the controls, and the glider responded by turning in a circle. Is that fire? It was gone from sight and then back again. It had to be the crashed flyer.

Culling her memory for the safety instructions, she manipulated the controls. The circle widened, but she began to drop faster.

Five Warriors’ Mercy. How had she come to be fighting for her life over uncharted lands at the edge of the known galaxy?

Three sevendays earlier . . .

Fortuna, The Fourth System, Sevenday 39, Day 1

In a hyper-aware state brought on by too little sleep and too much adrenaline, Adele gazed up at the sleek Serengeti spear.

She knew the interstellar militia transport’s specifications, the strength of the anti-gravity well needed to push it free of Fortuna’s atmosphere, and how much force was needed to cushion its descent.

She knew it could transport eighty militia and a full complement of crew.

She knew its two cannons and four flyers could destroy marauders and pirates with ease.

She knew that this spear had survived the battle for the Thirteenth System.

She was about to enter a legend.

She, Adele Cypress, technologist, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur, was voyaging to the newly discovered Thirteenth System to install its first launch platform.

Her revolutionary compact and modular Vortex was ideal for unsettled worlds.

Soon, her SkyHigh team would load the dismantled components and equipment for construction and installation onto this vessel.

It would only require three days for six flyers to deposit all the containers on Bright Star Deuce, and then it would require barely a month to deploy.

After that, this spear could land on Deuce and any other interstellar transport of the same or lesser size.

A tall man with long, black hair pulled into a tail came bounding up.

Lynx, her senior technologist and one of her first SkyHigh retainers, had ruddy, broad features and black eyes that often gave the appearance of scowling when he was deep in thought.

At that moment, they snapped with excitement that mirrored her own.

“Adele, the first set of containers is at the loading platform.”

The Vortex had arrived.

A militia man in his forties introduced himself as Corporal Miles.

After confirming their credentials, he led them through the spear until they reached an empty cargo hold.

The deactivated barrier revealed an open area holding four flyers and her other two SkyHigh team members who were directing the careful removal of the Vortex containers from a short-haul transport.

Shaking off her awe, Adele paced out the most sheltered section of the hold for the Vortex containers while Lynx joined the pair unloading the transport.

Tapping her slate, she had confirmed the planned configuration, when a wiry man of her height arrived with the first sled.

“Adele, can you believe this is truly happening!”

His narrow features and deep-set brown eyes filled with delight and excitement. They had long since abandoned honorifics, as had the other two on this elite team. “Miguel, well met.”

Another tap of her slate and the three-dimensional cargo configuration projected into the hold. “What do you think?”

Guiding the sled to the projected location, he carefully unloaded the container. He grinned as he nodded. “Perfect fit.”

“Of course it is. Adele’s designs are never wrong.

” The words came from Robyn, their mechanic—a short, compact woman with pale, delicate features, startling bright green eyes, and blonde hair buzzed close to her scalp.

She guided her sled to the allotted location and placed the container.

When it was set, Robyn raised her hands and did a little jig.

“We are going to the Thirteenth System!”

Lynx reached them with another sled, slotting the container into its assigned place. “Not merely the Thirteenth System, but Bright Star Deuce and the vistrite seam!”

Naturally formed vistrite crystals were essential to all advanced technology, including interstellar communications and transportation.

Until its discovery on Deuce, only two systems held the precious substance, with the last seam discovered more than eight hundred years gone.

The supply was ruthlessly controlled by the Serengeti Group, third among cartels and the lead partner in Bright Star.

Serengeti was equally ruthless in controlling access to the six existing vistrite crevasse.

For anyone not of Serengeti to be allowed within a mile of vistrite was a marked honor.

Corporal Miles eyed her projection. “That is simple enough to understand. I can provide two guards to assist.”

Adele ran her fingers through her cropped locks as she formed a polite refusal. “Thank you, Mr. Miles, but the equipment is delicate, and my team is trained in its handling.”

The corporal’s expression hardened, his gaze raking over her group. “As you will, but the launch cannot be delayed.”

Feeling like a lackwit, Adele nodded. Instead of executing her duty, she had been standing around like a wonderstruck child.

Leaving her gear bag near the containers, she turned for the transport.

“We need to have the Vortex unloaded and the containers secured before the construction equipment arrives.”

Her team’s metal-toed boots struck a staccato that echoed in the half-empty bay as they hastened to the transport.

***

Lying on her side, Adele tested the restraint’s security.

It was the last of the web holding the Vortex containers in place.

The chances of encountering marauders or other adversaries were remote, but not zero.

No matter the spear’s gyrations, these containers would not move.

Rolling away from restraint, Adele found a hand reaching out.

Accepting Lynx’s aid, she rose and tucked the utility tool into one of her coverall’s many pockets.

Like Adele, Lynx favored coveralls, while Miguel and Robyn preferred sturdy tunics and trousers.

In truth, Adele was more comfortable in coveralls and boots than in a commerce suit.

Tall for a woman, she found most jackets that fit her shoulders were too tight on her bust. Skirts that fit her hips, gaped at her waist. And there were never enough pockets.

Reaching into her gear bag, she extracted the container assessment device. The CAD would reveal a container’s contents and its configuration.

At the sight, Lynx chuckled. “The spear has yet to leave the launch platform. What could have shifted in the containers?”

“Probably nothing.” She directed the handheld CAD at the nearest container. “But if anything did shift, we need to address it before launch. I should have thought of this before we strapped everything down.”

Still chuckling, Lynx grabbed his CAD. “If we must.” Raising his voice, he called out, “Miguel. Robyn. Check the construction equipment.”

The construction equipment components were not as delicate as the Vortex’s, but replacements were at least a sixteen-day journey from Fortuna to the Thirteenth System.

Lynx’s instruction was met with laughter and good-natured complaints about Adele’s obsession with details, even as Robyn and Miguel pulled out CADs and began the task.

Smiling at their antics, Adele moved on to the next container. “It is my obsession with details that impressed Monsignor Angus and convinced the Leonardo Society to award us the Deuce Platform.”

Leonardo was the smallest of the three Bright Star partners, and Monsignor Angus was the genius behind that system-altering propulsion design that made possible the first stellar exploration vehicle in two centuries.

Lynx hummed softly, “Have I mentioned how delighted I am that you hired me away from Zero-Grav?”

Zero-Grav was the most successful launch platform fabricator in the Thirteen Systems. They produced massive platforms capable of supporting the largest stellar transports in the galaxy.

Before founding SkyHigh, Adele had spent seven years as an engineering associate at Zero-Grav.

“I know you appreciate both the higher wages and the opportunity to demonstrate your brilliance.”

“It was a stifling environment. Even without the Thirteenth System, SkyHigh is much more exciting.” He turned to the next container. “I will voice it again—Revel should have advanced you to principal instead of letting you go your own way.”

Revel Keong, the managing principal and majority owner of Zero-Grav, could trace her ancestry to the earliest Fortuna settlers nine centuries ago.

Adele had admired the polished older woman and tried desperately to emulate her.

She had devoted years to Zero-Grav, developing cutting-edge designs, only to realize that she would never advance.

“Revel would never allow a commoner to have an ownership position. She never forgot that I first learned technologistics in my parents’ transport repair shop.

She feared I would drop into using contractions and other vulgarities at any moment. ”

“Instead, she gave you maintenance contracts. I wager she regrets that now that SkyHigh has the Deuce contract.” He pitched his voice to a falsetto. “Minuscule SkyHigh? The first platform in the Thirteenth System and at the base of a vistrite seam? What type of derangement is this?”