it. “I mean, I’m a fool not to have trumped up a reason to visit Eden before this.”
“We could be in danger.”
It seemed like Jasmine had been complaining about something the entire time we’d been out here, and I hadn’t really been listening. I finally tuned back in when she mentioned danger.
“Dangerous? How?” I asked her.
“I don’t know. Flying debris. Some old weapon system of Crow’s—anything.”
“You worry too much. I’ve been out on the hull of ships in the middle of a pitched battle—so have you, for that matter.”
“Yes, but I don’t—oh!”
One second, we could see the three local stars, Alpha, Beta and Proxima Centauri. The next, everything changed around us. It wasn’t a shimmering change, but an instantaneous one, as if someone had turned on a light in a darkened room.
The light bulb this unnamed giant had flipped on was huge and red. It filled a much larger portion of space than had all three of the Centauri stars. Called Aldebaran, the red giant filled more space than one could fathom. It glared and seemed very close, even though it was far away.
“Look at that!” I said, pointing toward the monster star. “You can feel the heat from it. Our visors are working overtime to adjust.”
“The radiation will burn our retinas out,” Jasmine complained.
“Nah,” I said, clanking over the hull to a better vantage point. A sensor pod had been partially blocking my view.
Jasmine followed me after a moment and put her hands on my shoulder.
“I have to admit,” she said, staring with a fascination that matched my own, “It is beautiful. You brought me out here to see this, didn’t you? You knew we would fly through the ring while on the hull.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I said. “All those battles you spent on the inside, staring at a screen, I figured you never really got to experience anything like a live transition from system to system. This is your first one, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said softly, looking all around. “Okay, you were right to bring me up here.”
“Ready to go back inside?”
She shook her head and I laughed. I put an arm around her and tried to squeeze her very gently. I did a good job, as I could tell she wasn’t injured.
“Colonel Riggs?” A familiar voice spoke into my headset.
“Is this a private channel, Marvin? What do you want?”
“It’s the Worms, sir. They’ve sent us a message.”
I frowned. “I’ll be right there.”
As we headed back to the portal, I looked away from the big red star toward the disk that was the Worm homeworld. It was close and looked like a massive version of Mars. The color of rust, it had brackish, dried-up seas and mountain spires taller than anything back home on Earth.
When we got through the airlock and into the ship, I marched directly up the spine of the ship toward the bridge.
“Do you think it’s important, Kyle?” Jasmine asked.
“Probably not, but I haven’t spoken directly to these people for a long time. I want to make sure our relations are strong.”
“Maybe you should ask Kwon for a report,” she suggested.
I nodded. “I’d planned to pick him up, actually. He’s been on Helios long enough.”
Several months ago, Kwon had begged for a field assignment. If I was tired of Earth, Kwon was positively sick of it. I’d sent him out here to see if he could enlist the Worms in our service in some capacity. Jasmine had pointed out he was no diplomat, and I’d pointed out the Worms were half-feral and would probably like Kwon’s concept of diplomacy.
Secretly, I’d been worried from the start. This moment was no exception. The instant we crossed into the Helios system, the Worms hailed us—how could I not think of Kwon and his efforts at making friends?
But I didn’t tell Marvin or Jasmine any of this. It was best to learn the truth and try to pick up the pieces after you knew the score.
“Marvin?” I called into my com-link, struggling with a smart-clasp on
“We could be in danger.”
It seemed like Jasmine had been complaining about something the entire time we’d been out here, and I hadn’t really been listening. I finally tuned back in when she mentioned danger.
“Dangerous? How?” I asked her.
“I don’t know. Flying debris. Some old weapon system of Crow’s—anything.”
“You worry too much. I’ve been out on the hull of ships in the middle of a pitched battle—so have you, for that matter.”
“Yes, but I don’t—oh!”
One second, we could see the three local stars, Alpha, Beta and Proxima Centauri. The next, everything changed around us. It wasn’t a shimmering change, but an instantaneous one, as if someone had turned on a light in a darkened room.
The light bulb this unnamed giant had flipped on was huge and red. It filled a much larger portion of space than had all three of the Centauri stars. Called Aldebaran, the red giant filled more space than one could fathom. It glared and seemed very close, even though it was far away.
“Look at that!” I said, pointing toward the monster star. “You can feel the heat from it. Our visors are working overtime to adjust.”
“The radiation will burn our retinas out,” Jasmine complained.
“Nah,” I said, clanking over the hull to a better vantage point. A sensor pod had been partially blocking my view.
Jasmine followed me after a moment and put her hands on my shoulder.
“I have to admit,” she said, staring with a fascination that matched my own, “It is beautiful. You brought me out here to see this, didn’t you? You knew we would fly through the ring while on the hull.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I said. “All those battles you spent on the inside, staring at a screen, I figured you never really got to experience anything like a live transition from system to system. This is your first one, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said softly, looking all around. “Okay, you were right to bring me up here.”
“Ready to go back inside?”
She shook her head and I laughed. I put an arm around her and tried to squeeze her very gently. I did a good job, as I could tell she wasn’t injured.
“Colonel Riggs?” A familiar voice spoke into my headset.
“Is this a private channel, Marvin? What do you want?”
“It’s the Worms, sir. They’ve sent us a message.”
I frowned. “I’ll be right there.”
As we headed back to the portal, I looked away from the big red star toward the disk that was the Worm homeworld. It was close and looked like a massive version of Mars. The color of rust, it had brackish, dried-up seas and mountain spires taller than anything back home on Earth.
When we got through the airlock and into the ship, I marched directly up the spine of the ship toward the bridge.
“Do you think it’s important, Kyle?” Jasmine asked.
“Probably not, but I haven’t spoken directly to these people for a long time. I want to make sure our relations are strong.”
“Maybe you should ask Kwon for a report,” she suggested.
I nodded. “I’d planned to pick him up, actually. He’s been on Helios long enough.”
Several months ago, Kwon had begged for a field assignment. If I was tired of Earth, Kwon was positively sick of it. I’d sent him out here to see if he could enlist the Worms in our service in some capacity. Jasmine had pointed out he was no diplomat, and I’d pointed out the Worms were half-feral and would probably like Kwon’s concept of diplomacy.
Secretly, I’d been worried from the start. This moment was no exception. The instant we crossed into the Helios system, the Worms hailed us—how could I not think of Kwon and his efforts at making friends?
But I didn’t tell Marvin or Jasmine any of this. It was best to learn the truth and try to pick up the pieces after you knew the score.
“Marvin?” I called into my com-link, struggling with a smart-clasp on
Similar Books
