how Steadham has stayed awake that long. And Jackson and Lee on the Blinkin are holding comms open for us.”
Doc pulled on his pants and said, “ Lee on comms or is it Jackson?”
Daryl said, “Jackson is on now. Lee was complaining about the Blinkin’s galley freezer not keeping the ice cream cold enough. He went down to work on it while we got set up for the jump. Why? Does it matter?”
“No ,” Doc replied. “I am just checking.” Although, Doc would not admit it to anyone out loud, he was really getting tired of Allan Lee’s constant complaints. It was almost as irritating as Joey’s whining. Still, of the three ships, Doc preferred the crew he had with him on the Winkin.
Harold Oritz, on the Nod, was a good man, honest and extremely trustworthy. Since getting into space he had become a hard worker. When they were earth-side, his constant allergy attacks and sneezing made him almost useless. Tyler Steadham, Harold’s comrade on the Nod, was a consistent, but not especially creative worker; that is when you could keep him awake.
The Blinkin’s two man crew was Marlon Jackson and Allan Lee. They made for a good pair. Jackson was shy around people. Lee, from his grousing, did not appear to even like people. Doc imagined the two spent most of their time avoiding each other.
Doc finally arrived on Winkin’s bridge. “Hi ho, people. I guess we are ready for another micro-jump. There is nothing unusual about this one, right Joey?” Doc smiled at the boy, trying to put him at ease. “No sweat if we do this by the book. It has taken us about three weeks to fly ourselves above the ecliptic of the solar system. Our grav-meter shows the only gravity we have to take into account is Sol’s and since we are doing a micro-jump from inside Sol’s gravity well to another point inside the same gravity well, we shouldn’t have any problems.”
Lee ’s voice came over the comm, “Let’s just get on with it, Doc. We’ve all heard this before.”
Doc suppressed a sigh, “I know, Lee. But, it doesn’t hurt us to cover the basics from time to time. That is what keeps us sharp. Bear with us, okay?”
When there was no reply, Doc continued. “As you know, on the solar clock face Sol is the hub and the line between the North Star and Sol always sets the line for high noon. We are now at about 3:30. Our plan is to micro-jump to about 9:45, but still above the elliptic. All three ships are going to micro-jump at almost the same time, with just a few seconds between us. This will allow all of us to exit jump within a few hundred kilometers of each other. Once we exit jump we will drop down into the belt and begin to put Harold’s expertise to work and pick us out some good asteroids to mine that will make us all rich enough to buy our own personal politicians.”
Lee replied, “So let’s do it already. Or are you planning on flying all the way there and talking us to death?”
Doc nodded, “Jump in thirty second s. Joey, would you like to push the button?”
Joey s huddered. “No. Are you trying to kill us all?”
Doc said, “No , just making the offer, Joey. You can’t hurt a thing no matter what you do. No? Okay. Daryl?”
Daryl replied, “Be happy to, Doc. Close your eyes, Joey. We are on our way.”
Chapter 4.0
Sno stepped into Mario’s Subs, Suds, Spuds and Grub Pub. She immediately sidestepped to the right and put her back to the wall. Mario kept the lights in his place dimmed by comparison to the overhead lighting in the street. The sideways step moved Sno out of the path of traffic while her eyes adjusted to the lumen shift.
She grimaced. She had been coming into Mario’s for as long as she could remember and she felt as safe here as anywhere on Ceres. None-the-less, it still felt wrong to stand framed and backlit in a doorway. This time the move did not help.
Before she could see beyond a few feet , a barrage of trash pelted her where she stood. Empty plastic cups, utensils and buttered
Doc pulled on his pants and said, “ Lee on comms or is it Jackson?”
Daryl said, “Jackson is on now. Lee was complaining about the Blinkin’s galley freezer not keeping the ice cream cold enough. He went down to work on it while we got set up for the jump. Why? Does it matter?”
“No ,” Doc replied. “I am just checking.” Although, Doc would not admit it to anyone out loud, he was really getting tired of Allan Lee’s constant complaints. It was almost as irritating as Joey’s whining. Still, of the three ships, Doc preferred the crew he had with him on the Winkin.
Harold Oritz, on the Nod, was a good man, honest and extremely trustworthy. Since getting into space he had become a hard worker. When they were earth-side, his constant allergy attacks and sneezing made him almost useless. Tyler Steadham, Harold’s comrade on the Nod, was a consistent, but not especially creative worker; that is when you could keep him awake.
The Blinkin’s two man crew was Marlon Jackson and Allan Lee. They made for a good pair. Jackson was shy around people. Lee, from his grousing, did not appear to even like people. Doc imagined the two spent most of their time avoiding each other.
Doc finally arrived on Winkin’s bridge. “Hi ho, people. I guess we are ready for another micro-jump. There is nothing unusual about this one, right Joey?” Doc smiled at the boy, trying to put him at ease. “No sweat if we do this by the book. It has taken us about three weeks to fly ourselves above the ecliptic of the solar system. Our grav-meter shows the only gravity we have to take into account is Sol’s and since we are doing a micro-jump from inside Sol’s gravity well to another point inside the same gravity well, we shouldn’t have any problems.”
Lee ’s voice came over the comm, “Let’s just get on with it, Doc. We’ve all heard this before.”
Doc suppressed a sigh, “I know, Lee. But, it doesn’t hurt us to cover the basics from time to time. That is what keeps us sharp. Bear with us, okay?”
When there was no reply, Doc continued. “As you know, on the solar clock face Sol is the hub and the line between the North Star and Sol always sets the line for high noon. We are now at about 3:30. Our plan is to micro-jump to about 9:45, but still above the elliptic. All three ships are going to micro-jump at almost the same time, with just a few seconds between us. This will allow all of us to exit jump within a few hundred kilometers of each other. Once we exit jump we will drop down into the belt and begin to put Harold’s expertise to work and pick us out some good asteroids to mine that will make us all rich enough to buy our own personal politicians.”
Lee replied, “So let’s do it already. Or are you planning on flying all the way there and talking us to death?”
Doc nodded, “Jump in thirty second s. Joey, would you like to push the button?”
Joey s huddered. “No. Are you trying to kill us all?”
Doc said, “No , just making the offer, Joey. You can’t hurt a thing no matter what you do. No? Okay. Daryl?”
Daryl replied, “Be happy to, Doc. Close your eyes, Joey. We are on our way.”
Chapter 4.0
Sno stepped into Mario’s Subs, Suds, Spuds and Grub Pub. She immediately sidestepped to the right and put her back to the wall. Mario kept the lights in his place dimmed by comparison to the overhead lighting in the street. The sideways step moved Sno out of the path of traffic while her eyes adjusted to the lumen shift.
She grimaced. She had been coming into Mario’s for as long as she could remember and she felt as safe here as anywhere on Ceres. None-the-less, it still felt wrong to stand framed and backlit in a doorway. This time the move did not help.
Before she could see beyond a few feet , a barrage of trash pelted her where she stood. Empty plastic cups, utensils and buttered
Similar Books
Ski Trip Trouble
Cylin Busby
Severed Souls
Terry Goodkind
Trouble Comes in Threes
M.A. Church
Fatal Quest
Sally Spencer
Movie For Dogs
Lois Duncan
Desolation Crossing
James Axler
Vagina Insanity
Niranjan Jha
Duma Key
Stephen King
Untamed Journey
Eden Carson
