The Broken Cage (Solstice 31 Saga Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

voice spoke directly to the HUD in his mind.
    “This is an emergency. Please sit and strap yourself in.”
    Wes was in his light pressure suit and helmet. It was all that had saved him from the vacuum of space. Hagen felt bulky as he floated toward the pilot’s seat. A sudden impact to the hull drove him toward the front, ramming his ribs into the headrest of the pilot’s seat. He heard, more than felt, his ribs break.
    Alarms sounded. Proximity alarms he recognized. Shit .
    “Activate emergency AI. Navigation display. Do not crash my boat, you stupid computer!” On the edge of panic, Wes screamed as he strapped in. He felt the lifeboat tumble.
    The display dome activated, showing the exterior view. The lifeboat was in a backward tumble. A display window showed the status of the AI, initiating slowly. The lifeboat had been thrown clear of the heavily damaged Memphis .
    “Goddammit.” He hit the manual override, grabbed the grav-foil controls and slowed the roll, as he watched the moon’s surface grow closer on every rotation.
    The roll was controlled by the time the AI’s initialization completed. Hagan hit the decelerators, hard, and leveled off.
    He saw chunks of various sizes impacting the moon all around him.
    “Emergency Module this is Chief Engineer Wes Hagan. We’re in deep shit. Plot a direct vector to a safe landing site. If we’re hit by a big piece of the Ventura , we are finished.”
    As if to punctuate the statement, a giant piece of the outer ring impacted the moon’s surface directly in front of them, forcing them to fly directly through the resulting cloud of dust and stones.
    “Chief Hagan, allow me.” The AI took control of the lifeboat.
    Hagan released the controls and hugged his ribs. He found it difficult to breathe. He scanned the display windows as the moon's surface rolled by, all too close.
    His eyes landed on the AI status display. ECHO systems active. Emergency mode. Survival situation.
    “ECHO, status? What the hell happened,” Wes demanded.
    “The Ventura was destroyed by multiple nuclear missiles. The planet has an automated defense grid that activated when the ship entered orbit. The Memphis was destroyed by multiple, severe impacts from large pieces of the Ventura . This lifeboat was the only one activated.”
    Wes strained to turn and look at the lifeboat. It had been heavily modified. Besides the pilot and copilot seats, it had only twelve other seats. Three rows of four seats with an aisle down the middle, like a commercial shuttle but less comfortable. Then, there was a wall with a center door.
    “Is the compartment depressurized?” The computer’s AI didn’t reply, but an additional display showed cabin pressure. It said, Nominal .
    An enormous impact on the hull drove Hagan forward onto his harness. Then, there was pain, followed by darkness.
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    The Tesla Array
     
     
    “I have been entirely honest regarding Dr. Bowen's treatment. We were all under incredible stress. I will not apologize. I only wish I had blown that bitch out the airlock that first day.”
    -- Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Lieutenant Valerie Hume, the security chief on the Memphis.
     
    <<<>>>
     
     
    It was only a few minutes before Hume returned. Ibenez was still with her.
    Without a word, the two of them collected Myers' body and carried him off the bridge.
    Worthington said, “We need to hold it together, people, if we’re going to survive.”
    “Commander, Ibenez says he might be able to help at the engineering station. He is technical and has a PhD in patience, apparently. He has worked with Bowen for four years,” Hume said, with a bit of forced humor, as she dried her eyes and returned to the security station.
    “Do it.”
    He didn't take his focus from the forward screens. Chunks of the Ventura still crashed around them.
    “Commander, it's true. Sensor logs show the Ventura was targeted and nuked, intentionally. No warning.