medical ward tells me that’s done.”
James marched out of Levin’s office and was about to head back toward the Never Late when he changed his mind and went toward the medical ward instead. Might as well get his miasma regimen over with. That bile climbing up his throat had been getting closer to his mouth every time. Would save him the embarrassment of throwing up on his next jump.
Levin was starting to catch on, and while the man might be a backstabbing ass, he was good at his job. He was right to question James’s stability. Frankly, James questioned it himself. He was holding his sanity together by a thread, but he’d be damned if he let a jerk like Levin force him into a corner. That, and he conveniently forgot to send for Thompson.
NINE
N UTRIS P LATFORM
James flew Collie north through the Arctic Circle and watched with increasing concern as she struggled against the crosswinds, torrential rains, and fist-size balls of hail continuously slamming into the small ship from all directions. It was a sad testament to the Earth’s condition when space debris and interplanetary dust caused less wear and tear on a ship.
The collie sputtered and popped, giving him the impression of a crippled bird about to drop out of the sky. There was also a constant hiss somewhere in the cabin. He reminded himself to keep his atmos on at all times.
“James, how’s my reception? Gyros are showing a bumpy ride to the north pole,” Smitt’s voice popped into his head. He was sitting in the comfort of the Hops at Central.
“Just keep her low in case this thing dies,” James thought back. “It started leaking cabin pressure an hour after takeoff. Remember to fix that before we head out into space again.”
James leaned back in his chair and watched as the collie flew into one of the many electrical storms common in the northern part of the planet. The collie shook even harder, which James had thought impossible. He increased his exo and atmos levels, fully anticipating a midair explosion that would jettison him out into the ocean at any moment.
He was in luck in the sense that he didn’t die on the way to the jump spot. A little over three hours later, Collie hovered unsteadily over the resting place of the sunken Nutris Platform. He opened the door and looked down at the maelstrom raging below him. The brown raindrops striking his shielding were almost horizontal.
Below him, hundred-meter waves swirled and crashed against each other. With gusts howling at nearly two hundred kilometers an hour, it was so loud, he had a hard time hearing Smitt talking in his head. And to top things off, the radiation was at a dangerous level.
“At the drop zone. Disembarking,” James thought. “Get Collie out of here.”
“Confirmed. Pulling her up into orbit,” Smitt said. “Remember your jump window. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
James looked down at the five-hundred-meter plunge into the black and brown ocean below. Even though it was water, it was risky. A drop from this height could kill him if he hit something solid. Not to mention that at drop speed, the impact from a crashing wave could be as dangerous as an avalanche of boulders. However, he couldn’t risk steering the collie any lower; one large wave could end up swallowing it whole.
He took a deep breath, stepped out into open air, and plummeted down like a rock. He looked up and saw the collie rapidly shrinking in size. Then a large wave struck him and carried him sideways. Immediately, his vision blurred and the clouds above him vanished from view. Another wave hit him from a different angle, and the sky reappeared as he bounced back into the air. He activated the jump band just as a third wave went over his head and crashed down on him, pushing him deep underwater.
James relaxed and let the current drag him wherever it wanted. He just had to let it go and conserve his strength until the force of the current dissipated. Visibility down here was nearly
James marched out of Levin’s office and was about to head back toward the Never Late when he changed his mind and went toward the medical ward instead. Might as well get his miasma regimen over with. That bile climbing up his throat had been getting closer to his mouth every time. Would save him the embarrassment of throwing up on his next jump.
Levin was starting to catch on, and while the man might be a backstabbing ass, he was good at his job. He was right to question James’s stability. Frankly, James questioned it himself. He was holding his sanity together by a thread, but he’d be damned if he let a jerk like Levin force him into a corner. That, and he conveniently forgot to send for Thompson.
NINE
N UTRIS P LATFORM
James flew Collie north through the Arctic Circle and watched with increasing concern as she struggled against the crosswinds, torrential rains, and fist-size balls of hail continuously slamming into the small ship from all directions. It was a sad testament to the Earth’s condition when space debris and interplanetary dust caused less wear and tear on a ship.
The collie sputtered and popped, giving him the impression of a crippled bird about to drop out of the sky. There was also a constant hiss somewhere in the cabin. He reminded himself to keep his atmos on at all times.
“James, how’s my reception? Gyros are showing a bumpy ride to the north pole,” Smitt’s voice popped into his head. He was sitting in the comfort of the Hops at Central.
“Just keep her low in case this thing dies,” James thought back. “It started leaking cabin pressure an hour after takeoff. Remember to fix that before we head out into space again.”
James leaned back in his chair and watched as the collie flew into one of the many electrical storms common in the northern part of the planet. The collie shook even harder, which James had thought impossible. He increased his exo and atmos levels, fully anticipating a midair explosion that would jettison him out into the ocean at any moment.
He was in luck in the sense that he didn’t die on the way to the jump spot. A little over three hours later, Collie hovered unsteadily over the resting place of the sunken Nutris Platform. He opened the door and looked down at the maelstrom raging below him. The brown raindrops striking his shielding were almost horizontal.
Below him, hundred-meter waves swirled and crashed against each other. With gusts howling at nearly two hundred kilometers an hour, it was so loud, he had a hard time hearing Smitt talking in his head. And to top things off, the radiation was at a dangerous level.
“At the drop zone. Disembarking,” James thought. “Get Collie out of here.”
“Confirmed. Pulling her up into orbit,” Smitt said. “Remember your jump window. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
James looked down at the five-hundred-meter plunge into the black and brown ocean below. Even though it was water, it was risky. A drop from this height could kill him if he hit something solid. Not to mention that at drop speed, the impact from a crashing wave could be as dangerous as an avalanche of boulders. However, he couldn’t risk steering the collie any lower; one large wave could end up swallowing it whole.
He took a deep breath, stepped out into open air, and plummeted down like a rock. He looked up and saw the collie rapidly shrinking in size. Then a large wave struck him and carried him sideways. Immediately, his vision blurred and the clouds above him vanished from view. Another wave hit him from a different angle, and the sky reappeared as he bounced back into the air. He activated the jump band just as a third wave went over his head and crashed down on him, pushing him deep underwater.
James relaxed and let the current drag him wherever it wanted. He just had to let it go and conserve his strength until the force of the current dissipated. Visibility down here was nearly
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