The Syn-En Solution Read Online Free PDF

call for volunteers .
    Captain Penig looked Bei in the eye, nodded once then cleared his throat. The older man seemed to have aged a decade in the last few minutes. “All Oppenheims willing to ride the chariot. Ramping engine output and accelerating. Two are midship. The others are pulling abaft of the Starfarer .”
    Shang’hai cleared the inset from the screen. “Oppenheims have cleared hull. Lead ships have punched through magnetic shielding. Lagging ships pulling abreast.”
    Flying in perfect, tight formation, the rocket-shaped Oppenheims raced toward the end of their suicide mission. Four minutes left.
    Bei arched his back as one by one the systems of his motor nodule came online. His limbs jerked twice as control was restored. Status of the Oppenheim command staff ?
    The commander blinked in rapid succession, before wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Riding with their captain.”
    Fifty more deaths. By the time they reached Terra Dos, Bei would be neck deep in the blood of his comrades, all because he’d volunteered the Syn-Ens on this mission. His internal systems flashed green. How ironic to have his body back under control just as his world ended. Nodding to the captain, Bei held out his hand. The two clasped forearms and Bei struggled to his feet. His legs trembled beneath him, but held. “How— How long until they reach their mark?”
    At the moment, he didn’t care if his bridge crew thought the stammer was because of his systems’ reboot or the impending loss of some of his closest friends.
    Staring at the navigation screen, Shang’hai clasped her hands behind her back. “T minus two minutes. Engineering is transferring maximum magnetic shielding to the bow.”
    Two minutes, if the mission went as planned. That left his ship a minute and a half to stop. Bei walked the two steps to stand between the two women. “Count it down.”
    In an androgynous voice, the Starfarer’s computer marked the time until the Oppenheims exploded.
    Knowing his ports were too fried to connect with Shang’hai and Commander Keyes’s interfaces, he clasped one of their hands in his. The touch lacked the intimacy he’d grown accustomed to with his crew.
    The commander’s cold fingers slipped between his. “I always knew we would finish our term of service together.”
    “I thought you always said you’d finish me before I completed my term of service.” Bei smiled. As wards of the government, these two as well as half of the Oppenheims’ command staff had been conscripted into the Syn-En Fleet together. They’d been his lovers, friends, and rivals. If he could not lead them to Terra Dos, perhaps it was best to board the chariot with them as company.
    One minute remained.
    Shang’hai glanced over her shoulder at the captain then held out her free hand to him.
    Accepting it, Captain Penig strode to her side. “Delta probes in place.”
    The knots in Bei’s stomach folded in upon themselves. How could he have forgotten to monitor the wormhole’s integrity? Of course, if it collapsed because of the explosion, they’d be dead before the probes reported in. He focused on the navigation LCD. The Oppenheims’ white bodies freckled the blackness.
    Thirty seconds.
    Bei cleared the tightness from his throat. “All hands disconnect from Starfarer . I repeat, all hands disconnect. Inertial dampeners to maximum.”
    The commander’s shoulder brushed his as she stooped to remove all her interfaces from the navigation and weapons ports before verifying her attachment to the com system. “Communications ready, Admiral.”
    Still clasping Shang’hai’s hand, Captain Penig freed her from the weapons hub but left one fiber optic cable in the navigation station. Using the nail of his index finger he secured his connection to Telemetry. “All ports secure. Telemetry ready, Admiral.”
    Shang’hai leaned against Bei. “Navigation ready.”
    Ten seconds.
    Her silky hair brushed his jaw. Bei inhaled the sharp scent of soap