a void and collapsed a section of tunnel. How had they not known that was there? Somebody screwed up the scans. Flu levels in the colony were on an upswing. Agriculture was recruiting. It all sounded like the end of everything.
He flipped over to the recording of the object Tam had shown him from Olympus. Something about it was bugging him.
He pulled up a navigation screen on his tablet. He had a plot from The Terror’s planned trip. It was approximate based on a destination radius and estimated return time, but the cone of flight gave him an ellipse within a certain margin of error where the ship would be. He liked to compare his predictions against the actual telemetry when his mom got back. He was usually pretty accurate.
He put in the coordinates for the object and started plotting, extrapolating a curve based on Emma’s observations. It was still hard to get any accurate distance measurement without knowing anything else about this thing, but if he put it in a band describing possible distances…
“Shit.”
Greg pulled up reports on the current ships in the belt. Four ships listed. He laid down a couple of rough predictions. Three were miners, The Terror was a deep belt vessel.
“Shit!”
He picked up his tablet and bag and bolted out of the apartment into the street towards school.
*
Greg barrelled down the hallway of the science wing, knocking into a junior student. “‘Scuse me!” A professor looked on disapprovingly as he rounded the corner.
The school was cramped, built to accommodate the original five hundred students from the original colony. They hadn’t been able to expand it much past that in the two generations since. As a result of the population growth, it was overcrowded and forced some classes to be taught off-premises in the neighboring commercial block. There was the additional problem of a lack of qualified instructors. Some of the professors had to teach very long days.
Greg struggled against the opposing people traffic. “Excuse me. Coming through.”
“Watch where you’re going, Pohl!” Derek Branson put out a sizeable arm and stopped Greg in his tracks. “Where do you think you’re going?” Derek glowered at Greg under his heavy monobrow. Students behind tried to get a look over him but Derek managed to block most of the hallway.
Greg ducked under the arm and wormed through some of the students. A girl named Cindy squeaked as he pushed between her and a friend. “Can’t talk right now, Derek. Later!”
He pressed on, running awkwardly through the second-floor hall of the science building. He passed the lounge, smell of coffee rushing out. He was just wondering if Tam was still around Powell’s office when he ran into her and Emma in the hallway, screeching to a stop.
“Greg! What are you doing?”
Greg looked over his shoulder at the annoyed mass of students behind him. Derek’s head frowning at him twenty paces back. He made a fist and sneered at Greg over the heads of the other students.
Greg was breathing hard and bent over to catch his breath. “I need to… tell you something… about the thing.”
He looked up. Tamra looking expectant, Emma annoyed. “Let’s get out of the hall.”
Sitting down at a library terminal in one of the few remaining break rooms, they huddled. Tamra asked, “Ok, Greg. What’s up?”
“The thing. I ran some plots and I think it’s heading for our ships.” Greg reached into his pack and pulled out his tablet.
Emma looked pointedly at Tam, “I guess you told him about ‘The Thing’.”
Tam blushed, shrugged. “We were talking…” She gestured with both hands open towards Greg. “Come on, it’s Greg!”
Greg pushed his tablet in front of them. “I have my mom’s ship here. Estimating the return puts her in this region.” He pointed at the darker ellipse on the navigational map. “I added these other regions based on my estimates from Control’s navigation feeds.” He zoomed out, tapped on three other
He flipped over to the recording of the object Tam had shown him from Olympus. Something about it was bugging him.
He pulled up a navigation screen on his tablet. He had a plot from The Terror’s planned trip. It was approximate based on a destination radius and estimated return time, but the cone of flight gave him an ellipse within a certain margin of error where the ship would be. He liked to compare his predictions against the actual telemetry when his mom got back. He was usually pretty accurate.
He put in the coordinates for the object and started plotting, extrapolating a curve based on Emma’s observations. It was still hard to get any accurate distance measurement without knowing anything else about this thing, but if he put it in a band describing possible distances…
“Shit.”
Greg pulled up reports on the current ships in the belt. Four ships listed. He laid down a couple of rough predictions. Three were miners, The Terror was a deep belt vessel.
“Shit!”
He picked up his tablet and bag and bolted out of the apartment into the street towards school.
*
Greg barrelled down the hallway of the science wing, knocking into a junior student. “‘Scuse me!” A professor looked on disapprovingly as he rounded the corner.
The school was cramped, built to accommodate the original five hundred students from the original colony. They hadn’t been able to expand it much past that in the two generations since. As a result of the population growth, it was overcrowded and forced some classes to be taught off-premises in the neighboring commercial block. There was the additional problem of a lack of qualified instructors. Some of the professors had to teach very long days.
Greg struggled against the opposing people traffic. “Excuse me. Coming through.”
“Watch where you’re going, Pohl!” Derek Branson put out a sizeable arm and stopped Greg in his tracks. “Where do you think you’re going?” Derek glowered at Greg under his heavy monobrow. Students behind tried to get a look over him but Derek managed to block most of the hallway.
Greg ducked under the arm and wormed through some of the students. A girl named Cindy squeaked as he pushed between her and a friend. “Can’t talk right now, Derek. Later!”
He pressed on, running awkwardly through the second-floor hall of the science building. He passed the lounge, smell of coffee rushing out. He was just wondering if Tam was still around Powell’s office when he ran into her and Emma in the hallway, screeching to a stop.
“Greg! What are you doing?”
Greg looked over his shoulder at the annoyed mass of students behind him. Derek’s head frowning at him twenty paces back. He made a fist and sneered at Greg over the heads of the other students.
Greg was breathing hard and bent over to catch his breath. “I need to… tell you something… about the thing.”
He looked up. Tamra looking expectant, Emma annoyed. “Let’s get out of the hall.”
Sitting down at a library terminal in one of the few remaining break rooms, they huddled. Tamra asked, “Ok, Greg. What’s up?”
“The thing. I ran some plots and I think it’s heading for our ships.” Greg reached into his pack and pulled out his tablet.
Emma looked pointedly at Tam, “I guess you told him about ‘The Thing’.”
Tam blushed, shrugged. “We were talking…” She gestured with both hands open towards Greg. “Come on, it’s Greg!”
Greg pushed his tablet in front of them. “I have my mom’s ship here. Estimating the return puts her in this region.” He pointed at the darker ellipse on the navigational map. “I added these other regions based on my estimates from Control’s navigation feeds.” He zoomed out, tapped on three other
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