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Martyn K Jones; A walk on the dark side of Science Fiction
Martyn K Jones
Martyn K Jones Published Works
Category:
Science Fiction
ISBN-10: B00PR0B9F8
Pages: 435
Copyright: December 2008
ISBN-13: 9781291433227
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
The first volume of the 'Stars' trilogy.
The Sky Full of Stars is the first volume in the Stars Trilogy.
The worst has finally happened. In the mid 2050′s a combination of low solar activity and a Middle eastern Nuclear war has left the world fragmented and in the grip of a mini ice age. Europe has become a tyrannical Theocratic State, where dissent is punished by the ruling Gaian elite by ‘recycling’ on a scale making the horror of WWII death camps pale into insignificance.
Crushed in the newly formed mini ice age, North America and Canada have shrunk into the United States and Provinces of North America, internationally isolated and militarily weakened by successive administrations, much of their once plentiful resources locked up in the spreading permafrost. Parts of the old Union and Canada begin seceding after natural (and unnatural) disasters and North American Administrative failures to help isolates them. Leading this flight to independence are a trifecta of North Western cities; Seattle, Vancouver, and Nanaimo.
In what was almost the last gasp of space exploration, the holy grails of Nuclear Fusion and an Interstellar Drive are finally discovered and made to work. Suddenly, the worlds balance of power makes a seismic shift. Nations vie for power and influence with the newly resurgent North America. War threatens the homecoming of the victorious astronauts. Potential colonists and explorers look to the future, and under the constant threat of war on Earth, some make a new start on several Earthlike worlds, suffering raids from the unfriendly Gaians, and economic exploitation from the newly resource rich Union of North America.
Following the converging and crisscrossing storylines of several major key characters, ‘The Sky Full of Stars’ tells of escape, assassination, success, kidnap, murder, a terrestrial war that spills out into the stars, and betrayal on a canvas spanning almost a decade and the Orion spur of the Milky Way.
Excerpt
2.06
“Well, that’s our answer. We’re almost a half day adrift, Omega mission time.” Paul peered at the display in mild disbelief.
“Forwards or back?” Corwen asked.
“Mission time, Omega ground control objective; forty two minutes. Subjective, Omega onboard time; twelve hours twelve minutes.” Paul gave a shrug. How was he to know?
“Do we get paid for the full half day?” Liam asked.
“Probably not.” Ed looked up from number crunching Gliese 876’s astrophysical data.
“That would only annoy the accountants if we were.” Edith commented.
“What’s our fuel situation?” Corwen tried to keep his crew on task.
“Twenty eight percent.” Paul came back.
“Looks like we’re riding in a gas guzzler.” Corwen commented.
“Decelerating to orbital speed. Approaching Lagrange 2 launch point.” Paul watched as the pre plotted deceleration sequence drew them down into high Earth orbit.
“How close are we?” Corwen asked.
“About two hundred kilometres from mission launch Orbiter and closing at two seventy relative and decelerating.” Paul responded.
“ETA?” Corwen asked.
“Thirty minutes.” Paul rapidly calculated the time in his head. “Plasma engine burn in five, four, three, two, one, decelerating.” He added before the cabin began to vibrate like a massage chair while the plasma drive slowed them to orbital velocity.
“Omega ground control to Omega vehicle. Look forward to having your downloaded data. Welcome home.”
“Glad to be back, Omega control. Any messages while we were gone?”
“Some guy claiming to be President, but he went for lunch.” Sounded like Piotr Weissman was at lunch too, but it was a happy kind of hysteria.
“This is Omega orbital Launch station. We have visual on your drive.” A second communication channel from the Omega Orbiter came live. Then the laconic tone of Jefferson, the Orbital launch stations commander took on an urgent edge. “Hold it, what’s that? This is Omega Orbital Launch station, we have a bogey, repeat bogey closing from lower Earth Orbit. We are targeted. Repeat, we have a radar lock.” Alarms buzzed and shrilled in the background.
“Omega Launch. Did you say a bogey?” On their screen in Mission Control, Piotr creased his brow.
“Affirmative. Someone has a missile lock on us and there is a body in high boost mode approaching at fifteen hundred metres per second relative and accelerating.”
“Omega Launch, are you sure?” Asked Ishmael as he sat down at his console.
“Relaying telemetry. Unmanned vehicle now on collision trajectory. ETA three minutes.”
“Omega Launch. Suggest you evacuate. Fast.”
“Omega Launch to Omega control, we’ll never make it. Firing braking thrusters in twenty seconds. Will try switching into a lower orbit.”
“Omega control to Omega launch. Negative, repeat negative. Fire all rear facing manoeuvring thrusters. Boost to higher orbit, repeat; higher orbit.” Corwen transmitted, his voice urgently breaking across the channels.
“Can we get a rescue mission up there?” Piotr looked desperately across the consoles to his senior flight engineer.
“We’ve got nothing orbit capable on the pad. Not for at least thirty six hours. Even if administration had the funds.”
“Orbital control reports a civilian flight due to launch for orbit in one hour.”
“A sightseeing flight?”
“If it’s the only game in town.”
“Hold it, they aren’t equipped for rescue.”
“Load it up with spare environmental cartridges and one man in an EVA suit. Vent to vacuum and bring the three man Launch station crew down still in their environment suits.”
“Might work. Make the call. Make it now.”
“Do the sightseers go up to geostationary orbit?”
“Geostationary, Lunar orbit, I’m surprised that they don’t run trips to Mars.”
“This is Omega Launch, firing all thrusters now.”
“Confirmed Omega Launch, radar has bogey at twelve hundred relative and decreasing. ETA four minutes and increasing.”
“This is Omega on final approach. Status report please Launch vehicle, we see you shifting to a higher orbit.”
“Omega, this is Omega Launch. Abort orbital approach, repeat, abort orbital approach, we have possible hostile incoming. Suggest you burn for Lunar L2.”
“Recalculating.” Paul Stovek said calmly in the background.
“Omega Launch reporting bogey closing eleven hundred relative. Still in high boost mode. No, wait. Bogey engine shut-off. Still closing. ETA now six minutes, maybe seven.” The vibration from the thrusters cut as their fuel ran out. Jefferson felt sick. The three orbital Launch crew members looked across their now weightless cabin at each other with hollow eyes.
“Omega to Omega Launch. Can you be ready to dock with us?” Corwen’s voice broke across their silence.
“Negative Omega. Boost to Lunar orbit. Abort Launch station approach.”
“Omega, this is Omega Launch. Do you….. Oh dear God!” The cabin shook with a clang. Air hissed. The three-man crew looked anxiously upwards.
“This is Omega to Orbital Launch station, we have hard dock. Strap in guys. Do not evacuate.” Corwen’s voice was calm as though this was the sort of thing he did every day.
“Omega Launch to Omega. Get out of here.” Pleaded Jefferson.
“Fasten your seat belts guys, this is going to be a very bumpy ride.” You could almost hear Corwen’s Cheshire cat grin.
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