M. Thomas Apple's Blog, page 43

Wishing our base away…water on the Moon?

[image error]

The new research is especially topical given that NASA plans to land humans on the Moon in the 2020s and use lunar resources as part of its Artemis program, prompting thorny discussions about legal and ethical extraction of materials on the Moon.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7aqpz/nasa-found-a-lot-of-water-on-the-moon-in-breakthrough-for-human-habitation

“Micro cold traps.” The equivalent of a 12-ounce bottle in a cubic meter of soil. But not everywhere, and primarily at the polar caps.

So…how will this help, exactly?

Bringer of Light Chapter 3 — The Artemis (Part 1)

(This week’s installment is over 3000 words long, so I’m splitting it into two parts for posting. Enjoy!)

“Airlock 2 engaged,” came the navigator’s voice over their helmet comms. “Seal confirmed.”

“Thanks, Enoch,” Riss replied. “Take up your position on the catwalk.”

“Roger.”

Riss removed her helmet and placed it on top of the cargo hold’s control computer stack. Riss surveyed the hold. Designed to safely transport small to medium-sized asteroids, the vast space was shaped like top half of a dodecahedron. Which, in fact, it was. The bottom half comprised the fuel storage for Artemis’s ion engines.

Behind the control computers, the main door to the hold remained closed. Wrapped around the entire cargo hold area, the walkway could be accessed only through a small square portal directly above the main door.

The hold had two access ports. Port-side, Airlock 1 was reserved for the Hopper. Starboard-side, Airlock 2 served as a backup. Riss hated using it. While Airlock 1 was almost flush with the floor, Airlock 2 was several centimeters up the wall. After several initial attempts trying to leave the airlock without spraining an ankle, she decided never to use it for the Hopper. On the other hand, the airlock was perfect for unwanted guests.

Riss motioned for Sanvi and Cooper to stand at either side of her. She readied her sidearm, an old tazer rifle. Riss prayed she wouldn’t have to use it. From the sound of things, Gennaji must still be holding the old grudge, from near the end of her time on the Sagittarius.

At the thought, her eyes hardened. Lena, I’m sorry.

The three of them kept their eyes trained on Airlock 2 several meters across the cargo hold from the Hopper’s dock port.

The hatch opened with a pop and dangled mid-air. A figure emerged, slowly lowering itself down inch by inch and feet first to the floor. The yellow spacesuit bore the emblem of the old Ukranian Union and had large black and brown patches covering the knees. The tall figure stood and looked around quickly before focusing on Riss.

“Gennaji.”

“Clarissa,” he responded.

“Still wearing that old uniform, I see,” Riss said, indicating with her chin.

“Still carrying that antique, I see,” Gennaji replied.

“What, this?” Riss said in mock surprise. “Just a precaution. You understand.”

Gennaji nodded. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

A second figure slid down from the airlock into the room, followed by a third.

“This wasn’t the agreement, Gennaji,” Riss said. “Get them off my ship.”

He crossed his arms as the two figures came to his side. Both men looked like miners. Shorter than Gennaji, but stocky and probably stronger. Both carried sidearm laser pistols, but probably had little experience fighting, Riss guessed. Simply a show of force.

“You expected only me, alone, on a hostile ship?”

Gennaji motioned the two to approach. “My new crewmen. Andrzej. Karel.”

Sanvi began to step forward, but Riss held out a hand to stop her. Gennaji’s men came to a halt just behind him.

“What do you want, Gennaji?” Riss asked. “And why are you out here, anyway? The Sagittarius couldn’t have beat us to the rock. It’s too slow.”

Gennaji shrugged. “We were already here. That’s why the rock belongs to us.”

“We found it first!” Cooper said. “First rights!”

“No, no, schwarze,” Gennaji said, shaking a finger. “You got first prize in the lottery. But we were closest.”

“Schwarze? What—”

Riss cut him off. “That’s your reasoning, Gennaji? That won’t stand up in Council and you know it.”

“Lottery,” Gennaji said. “What a joke. Of course, Clarissa Kragen wins the lottery. Always rigged for the protegé of the great Captain Sergey Bardish. As if being a half-breed makes you special.”

Riss gripped her rifle tighter. Son of a—

“No one from the Sagittarius was there when the lottery decided,” Sanvi said. “You lose.”

“You still need a sample analysis to stake your claim,” Gennaji snapped. “Got one?”

“Right here,” Cooper said, holding the tubes up and shaking them.

“And the analysis?”

“Uh…”

“Coop,” Riss said over her shoulder. “The analysis?”

“Um. Analysis,” the geist muttered, searching his pockets.

Gennaji’s crewmen put their hands on their pistols and took a step forward. Riss leveled the tazer rifle at Gennaji.

“Back. Off.”

Gennaji gestured to his men. They stopped, but kept their weapons ready.

The geist withdrew a folded piece of paper with a hastily scrawled table of numbers on it. He read, “Based on mass calculations, the variation in mineral composition was well within the tolerance levels—”

“Coop.”

“Ah. Trace amounts of nickel and iron. Tholins. Methanol. Lots of hydrocarbons.”

Gennaji laughed. “A great big chunk of ice. So much for your big catch.”

Riss lowered her rifle and turned to the geist.

“Coop,” she whispered. “Are you sure?”

He whispered back, “Not a hundred percent. The sniffer wasn’t done.”

So there might still be something there undetected, she thought with hope still. Above them, she heard movement on the catwalk. Enoch, in position.

She turned back to Gennaji and gestured toward the airlock. “Time to go, Gennaji.”

“You always were good at giving orders,” Gennaji said with a smirk.

“And you were always bad at taking them.”

Gennaji took a step closer. One of his men, Andrzej, grabbed his arm, whispering something to him, but Gennaji angrily yanked his arm away and took another step towards the Artemis crew. Sanvi quickly interposed between the taller man and her captain, striking a defensive pose.

Gennaji paused, looking at her.

“That supposed to impress me?” he asked.

Sanvi squinted briefly. “Yes.”

Gennaji laughed and put his left hand up as if to push Sanvi aside. She slid diagonally right towards him, grabbing Gennaji’s arm with her left hand, then striking at his eyes with her outstretched right hand’s finger tips. Her opponent’s head went backward to avoid the strike. Pivoting on her right foot, Sanvi spun around while striking down hard on the straightened arm with her right forearm. Gennaji buckled at the knees and held out his right hand to halt his fall to the floor. Sanvi twisted his arm upwards with the left hand and squeezed down with the right in an arm bar. Gennaji grunted and grimaced in pain. His crewmen immediately pulled out their weapons and trained them on Sanvi.

The high-pitched whine of an energy pulse weapon discharge filled the cargo hold. Karel yelped and dropped his laser pistol. Riss noted that Andrej did not seem fazed in the least. Instead, he looked up and calmly aimed his pistol at the source of the energy burst. Enoch waved from his prone position on the catwalk, then seized his rifle again with both hands.

“My navigator is a pretty good shot,” Riss said. “Care to see a stronger beam?”

Sanvi pushed down harder. Gennaji slapped his hand against the floor and snarled. “Enough! Andrzej, drop the gun.”

“But…”

Gennaji turned his head as Sanvi stubbornly held his arm immobilized.

“Drop the gun!” he shouted, wincing.

“I would do as he says,” Cooper said.

Gennaji glared at the geist but said nothing. Behind him, Andrzej slowly lowered his pistol to the floor and spread his hands. Karel wrung one hand and raised the other.

“Now,” Riss said pleasantly, raising her rifle again. “You will get off my ship.”

She nodded to Sanvi, who released her opponent and assumed a defensive pose again.

Gennaji stood quickly and backed away. Massaging the affected arm, he stared at the Artemis’s crew one by one.

“Easterlings,” he spat out. “Schwarzes. Loonies. You will make the hunters weak.”

Both Cooper and Sanvi started forward, but Riss held up a hand.

“My crew has skills,” she replied coolly. “As you have seen. You have your crew, and I have mine.”

Gennaji scowled.

“Your crew?” he repeated. “Remember what happened the last time you had a crew?”

He pointed a finger at Riss.

“I haven’t forgotten what happened. And I never will. You can tell that to Sergey next time you see him.”

He motioned with his head to Karel and Andrzej. As they turned to go, Riss kicked the dropped pistol over to them.

“Take it,” she said. “Never know who you might run into out here.”

Andrzej looked from Gennaji to Riss, then stooped and picked up the weapon. Gennaji did not turn back.

The three clambered up into the airlock, first Karel, then Gennaji. Andrzej went last. Before leaving, he turned back once again. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then shook his head and yanked himself into the airlock.

Riss walked over and swung the hatch shut. She pressed a touch panel to seal it.

Cooper let out a huge sigh. “Man, that was tense!”

Sanvi snorted. “Understatement of the year, Coop.”

“Hey,” Enoch called out. He shouldered his rifle and jumped down from the walkway. His magnetic boots caught the floor and he jerked to a halt.

“Loonies,” he said. “That mean me?”

“Once a loony, always a loony,” Riss said, patting him on the arm. “Don’t take it seriously. Gennaji has harsh words for anyone…different.”

She examined her rifle charge meter and leaned it against the control stack. “Time we got that rock into the thrower.”

“So, uh…” Coop said.

“So, what’s with him?” Riss completed the thought, giving the geologist a curt glance.

Sanvi shook her head.

Riss simply shrugged. “Nothing. Just old history.”

She turned back to the computer, skipping through various preparatory procedures for the retrieval.

“Coop, I’ll need you to go back to the rock and retrieve the sniffer. Sanvi, you go with him.”

“Riss,” Sanvi said. “Are you—“

A look from her captain made her swallow her question.

“The sniffer is too heavy for one person,” Riss said shortly. “Fix the broken tractors while you’re at it.”

Sanvi nodded. “You got it.”

“I want to get that rock airborne by 1830 hours,” Riss continued. She bent her attention to the computer. “Another sample or two wouldn’t hurt, either. Coop, see if you can carve off a chunk of ice for the ship’s water reserves.”

“What you want I should do?” Enoch asked.

“Get the thrower ready,” she replied. “This is a big one.”

She returned her attention to the computer. The others stared at Riss, then at each other. Then separated to perform their tasks.

When Riss looked up, she was alone in the cargo hold. Complete silence.

She put the computer into sleep mode and turned off the cargo hold lights. Time to head back toward the command center, she thought. No sense in wasting power here.

Closing the door to the hold behind her, Riss touched her wrist console to switch off her magboots. She immediately began to feel herself slipping forward in the ship’s microgravity. With a kick she propelled herself through the corridor, occasionally touching the walls and ceiling to maintain speed. “Swimming” felt more natural to her than walking. She supposed that was due to growing up on the Sagittarius, which had even less gravity than the Artemis.

An older, but sturdy design.

If only Lena hadn’t…

(Continued in Part 2 on October 31st…)

[image error]Image courtesy of UKT2 from Pixabay.

“I can’t believe we pulled this thing off.”

[image error]

“The spacecraft did everything it was supposed to do.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/oct/21/nasa-osiris-rex-spacecraft-lands-on-asteroid-bennu-in-mission-to-collect-dust

Um. OK. That’s some confidence in your own project you got there, dude.

Now all we have to do is wait a couple of weeks to find out if it actually grabbed anything!

Hey, Bennu, gimme a “High-Five”!

[image error] Why are 3D objects always compared to the Empire State Building?

Researchers understand it to be what they call a carbonaceous asteroid, meaning its rocks still retain a lot of the chemistry that was present when the Sun and the planets came into being more than 4.5 billion years ago. Hence the desire to bring some of its material home for analysis in sophisticated Earth laboratories.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54592163

If it’s a spinning top, I don’t see how showing it in comparison to the Eiffel Tower will help us understand how big it is…

Then again, usually media compare things like this to a football field (US) or a football pitch (UK). Or they say things like “as long as [insert type of moving vehicle here] end to end.”

Honestly, just say “510 m3” and leave it at that. All we care about is what the probe will do: Vacuum up and bring back at least 60g of materials from the beginning of the solar system.

Now how about THAT, Hayabusa-2?

[image error] OK, granted, this is not related to Bennu. And we’re not dragging an asteroid back “in the 2020s” just yet, Spectrum. But it’s still neat. https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/space-robots/heres-how-nasa-will-grab-an-asteroid

Bringer of Light — Chapter 2. Lunar Base

Previous: Chapter 1. The Rock

What an absolute nightmare, Weng thought, waiting in the corridor for the machine to spit out another cup of soy coffee. He grabbed the cup, quickly walked past a row of ugly corridor paintings and headed for the Lunar architectural department office. 

If Sergey could come through for him, if Sergey could convince the Lunar Council to transfer him to Mars, Weng would owe the Captain big time. He would make it up to the old man, somehow, he vowed. For Clarissa’s sake. For his own sake.

Whatever the case. Mars was where their future lay, not Luna. He was sure of it. 

In front of the office he stopped and waved the ID badge hanging from the lanyard around his neck at the door sensor. The panel unlocked and slid open. He strode past row after row of half-transparent-panelled cubicles toward his own, dropped himself into what somebody in requisitions apparently had thought was a stylish armchair.

He idly pointed his badge at the desk. The tridimensional computer display sprang to life and informed him he had seventeen new messages. Seven from his supervisor. The rest looked like junk mail.

Probably shouldn’t have joined that Netstream vid sharing site, he thought ruefully. 

Weng sighed, sipping the coffee. Already lukewarm. He switched the coffee to his left hand, slid the pointer glove on the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand, and gestured to delete dubious messages from various princes of small American city-states.

At a desk facing his, a shimmering transparent wall suspended between them, Elodie sat in a similar chair. A translucent 3D image of a blockish building floated in front of her as she carefully pointed with a thin drawstick. Probably working on more systems checks, he surmised. His colleague had already reached the relaxed posture that one gets to after sitting in a well-cushioned chair for a long time. Weng felt more like a chunk of aluminum siding that someone threw into a hammock.

“You’re so lucky, Elodie,” he began, scrolling through his supervisor’s mails.

Elodie smiled, continuing to poke at the 3D rendering.

“Again?” she intoned softly.

“You’re so lucky,” he continued. “Being a systems analyst, I mean. If all of the buildings have water and power then you’ve done your job correctly.”

He stopped and stared at the coffee, willing it to be warmer than he knew it would be.

“Infrastructure has a right and a wrong,” he went on. “But design is art. And art is always a matter of opinion.”

“I thought that you used to say that design could be judged qualitatively,” Elodie replied. She put her drawstick down and looked at him.

“Oh, it can. But it doesn’t matter as long as someone is higher up in the company than you.”

Weng took a sip of his coffee and made a face.

“Yech. Is this stuff designed to taste wretched when it gets cold?”

Elodie sighed and picked up the stick again.

Weng stared gloomily out the window at the lunascape.

“Artificially-grown trees and an artificial lake,” he complained. “And this is the only window in our office. It takes so long to get anywhere with a window.”

Elodie dropped the stick in annoyance. “Sam, come to the point.”

He put the cup down and shoved the remaining mails into the trash, unread.

“You know, they moved operations to Luna so that we could be inspired by something unearthly,” he said.

“Yeah, so?”

“So, how are we supposed to get inspiration to design habitats for an untouched alien landscape on Mars when we’re surrounded by the same bland offices we left on Earth?”

Weng picked the cup up again and stared out the window.

“Bland,” he said again. “Bland, bland, bland.”

In an exasperated voice, Elodie said, “You know, if you’re unhappy here, maybe you should just go back Earthside.”

“Hah, are you kidding?” Weng said. He crumpled the cup and dumped it in a waste incinerator basket at his feet. The cup immediately disintegrated, and the ash disposal tray light came on.

Weng folded his hands in his lap, leaning back. “I wouldn’t last a day Earthside. Not now. Too dangerous.”

“Where, then?”

He cocked an eyebrow and grinned. A sudden realization spread across Elodie’s face.

“You don’t mean…you didn’t…”

“Well,” Weng said. He put his hands behind his head and twisted his chair sideways. “Anything’s possible. I’m just waiting for the call to come.”

“The call,” Elodie repeated, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Yeah,” Weng said with a smile. “I got a feeling.”

“Cocky today, aren’t we,” Elodie said, snorting. “As usual.”

Weng shrugged. He saw little point in being humble. Particularly when he knew he was right. And he usually was.

As for the call, that was just a matter of time. Sergey Bardish would come through. Weng was sure of it. He knew the retired captain  had a soft spot for anybody who Clarissa was fond of.

And Weng had a soft spot for Clarissa. More than that. He closed his eyes, imagining her dimpled smile. Those strong cheekbones and smooth skin. He could barely believe she had agreed to the engagement. A smile came to his face again as he sank into the chair, daydreaming.

He’d do anything for her. How many times had they talked about making a new home on Mars? Joining the Colonies, now that the worst of the conflict was over. 

Let the Indian Empire keep that decrepit space station of theirs. Let the old city-states Earthside bicker over natural resources. The Mars Administrators and the UN Overseers were competent enough to see that it was in everyone’s best interests that the Mars Colonies remain self-sufficient. Strong. A hub of further space exploration and expansion.

But Mars needed teachers, engineers, architects. With Clarissa at his side, Weng could see himself as a major player in the Colonies. A designer without equal. The Master Architect who brought high art to—

“You’re beeping,” Elodie said from the other side of the cubicle partition.

Weng looked down at his wrist. Damn. He’d forgotten all about the message from earlier that morning. As he reached for the watch, his ID badge beeped as well. He pulled the lanyard and pointed the tiny screen on the front of the badge at himself.

“Weng here.”

The identification picture of himself on the badge changed into an image of the receptionist. 

“A vid-mail just came in for you. Long-distance yuǎn jùli jiāmi ping. Transjovial belt.”

“Just a minute.”

Weng touched the watch. A tiny 3D image projected from the screen and hung mid-air for two or three seconds, long enough for him to make out the text.

NEAR JUPITER. CALL ME?

Zāo gāo, he thought. How long ago had she sent this? He should have…

“I’ll take it here, Mai. Room Gamma, chair six.”

Weng hastily slapped off the watch, then opened a panel in his desk and picked out a tiny wireless ear piece. Within a few moments the translucent screen lit up. As he inserted the ear piece, Riss appeared. She looked different, tired.

Not entirely unexpected, he supposed, based on the nature of the missions she preferred. But Riss was strong in mind, body, and spirit. Weng had never seen her look the way he would have expected her to look after a couple of months capturing asteroids and comets in the outer regions. She appeared drained. Worn down by some unknown event.

She spoke in a weary tone.

“Sam. We got that Centaur I mentioned. It was a big one. We’re done now and headed back towards the happy hunting grounds. Still a few weeks out. I’ll comm you once we reach Zedra point. Love you. End transmission.”

Riss briefly leaned toward the camera and reached out for something off-screen. The image disappeared.

Weng pulled out the ear piece and tossed it on the desk. He folded his hands in front of him.

Seeing Riss looking so drained disconcerted him. Something had happened. She hadn’t said anything, but he sensed a subtle subtext. Riss was usually much more verbose and enthusiastic about her asteroid hunts.

Frowning, Weng sat back in his chair and contemplated.

There were no messaging relay stations set up that far out. Given the distances involved, even with quantum packaging the vid ping would have taken several days to reach him. The Artemis would probably stop at Ceres, to check the asteroid processing results. 

Riss had said “a big one.” A big prize is something Riss would rather bring home in one piece, in triumph, rather than use the quantum thrower system. Weng wanted to be there to greet her. Ideally, with news as well, news of his transfer to Mars. 

Of course, he could ping her and hope she would pick up. But without the relays nearby, she had no way of knowing who exactly the ping came from. One of the difficulties using Chinese encryption methods, he thought. With all the competition among asteroid hunters, she would probably try to avoid contact now until her prize had been safely delivered.

Weng picked up the earpiece and gestured for the screen to turn on again. It was best if he tried to make sure he was on Ceres by the time the Artemis…

Beep!

Weng looked down at his watch. 

“Again?” he exclaimed. Riss couldn’t have reached Zedra point so quickly.

He touched the watch. As the message spread open, his face broke into a huge grin.

“Hǎo ba!” he shouted, throwing up his hands in a banzai.

“Sam, would you keep it down?” came Elodie’s indignant voice.

He ignored her. The old man came through! He was going to Mars!

Weng reread the message, carefully this time. He put his arms down.

Mars. Right now. Not Ceres. Take the next transport. No delays.

He shrugged. Ah, well. He got his wish. Riss would be fine. Now it was his turn. To prepare their destiny together. Once he was settled and things were under control, Riss could put her dangerous habits behind and forget all about rock hunting. He owed Bardish that, at least.

Next week (10/24): Chapter 3. The Artemis

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Read the synopsis of Bringer of Light (Book 1 in the Children of Pella series)

Is teleporting a death sentence?

[image error] “Beam us down, Mr. O’Brien! No, wait, I didn’t meaaaannnnnnnnn……”

Some would argue that having one’s “molecules scrambled,” as Dr. McCoy would put it, is actually the surest way to die. Sure, after you’ve been taken apart by the transporter, you’re put back together somewhere else, good as new. But is it still you on the other side, or is it a copy? If the latter, does that mean the transporter is a suicide box?

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/09/is-beaming-down-in-star-trek-a-death-sentence/

An old article (2017, whose impetus was the imminent release of ST: Discovery) but a good one.

Is the copy of you, you? Or is it a brand new person with the same memories? Would it have ANY memories? Would it have the same consciousness? (Or ANY consciousness?)

Of course, you can always stick to the “David Brin Theory” of teleportation: “Some dude in the future will figure this all out.”

Lazy writers!

(This is why, in my novel, I stick to quantum teleportation of inanimate objects only. That includes quantum communication relays, chunks of asteroids…miniature nuclear bombs…you know, “realistic” things like that.)

And, yes, quantum teleportation is real. Just very, very tiny. For now.

Get your geek on! Resident Alien coming to SyFy

[image error] This picture needs no caption, WordPress…

Aliens! Murder mystery! Colorado! Quirky humor! Alan Tudyk!

If it sounds like a cross between Twin Peaks, My Favorite Martian, and The Man Who Fell to Earth, it’s not a coincidence… (check out the YouTube link in the article below, complete with interviews at the NY ComicCon with the actors in the new show).

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/alan-tudyks-resident-alien-watch-132308016.html

Bringer of Light – Chapter 1. The Rock

The horizon felt so close on the asteroid, the area around her illuminated only by the Hopper and her own helmet light. Everything else—darkness. Clarissa imagined herself stepping off into space, arms outstretched. Floating…

She shook her head. She ought to return to the Hopper in case a rival hunter ship arrived. Even this far in the trans-neptune system, she didn’t have the luxury of fantasizing on the job. Her crew deserved better. She bounded back to the small reconnaissance craft.

“Captain,” came a deep East African voice over her helmet comm. “How much of a sample do we need to lay claim?”

“At least two tubes, Coop. I can give you a hand if you need.”

“I’m the astrogeologist, right? I can handle it.”

“All right, geist. Just make sure to keep your gravboots on so you don’t float away like last time.”

“Like, like last time? Wh—”

She cut the comm off. Overhead she could just make out the Artemis, its inelegant, bulky shape barely visible in the pitch black of space. As she entered the Hopper, she made a mental note to have Enoch turn down the external lights. No point in standing out more than they already did.

She thought of her crew as she waited in outer airlock for the pressure to equalize. A smirk spread across her tired face. Her crew. Three misfits who called Luna home but spent most of their time chasing asteroids.

While fighting amongst themselves, of course, she thought. Sergey had thought her style too permissive, particularly compared to Gennaji. But then again…

The all clear light blinked, and she entered the command module. Removing her helmet, she let it float next to her then sat in the command chair. Time for a systems check. It never hurt to be prepared, especially when former colleagues were gunning for her.

The comm light blinked on the panel above the main screen. She searched the control panels, flicked a switch.

“Riss. This is Enoch. We just got pinged.”

“Another hunter?”

“Yeah. Coming in soon. Listen to this.

The familiar baritone voice echoed around the Hopper.

“This is the Captain of the Sagittarius. That’s my rock you’re standing on. Get off.”

Shit, Riss thought. He’s here already.

“Alright, Enoch, stall for time. I’ll call the others.”

“Right. Get back to you in a minute.”

She flicked another switch to change the comm channel.

“Coop, how we doing on those samples?”

“Almost there,” the astrogeologist’s voice sounded over the comm. “This old soil sniffer takes time to analyze the—“

“Cut it short, geist. Grab what you can. We gotta go.”

Abruptly she cut to another channel.

“Sanvi. Status.”

“Just about back to Coop’s position.”

“How many tractors did you find?”

“Two. Both in pretty bad shape.”

“Crap. OK, we’ll have to come back for the rest.”

“Roger.”

She cut the channel again. No response from the Artemis. Enoch was still stalling, she guessed. She hoped he hadn’t been attacked. Surely Gennaji wouldn’t go that far. 

A clanging noise from the chamber next door, then a muffled curse. Riss smiled as she plotted the return course. Other captains would have let their crew handle the asteroid landing. Not her. She had to be first. Just like Sergey.

Let it be ditrium, not just iron, she prayed. Just like his.

The inside ship door slid open and her pilot emerged. She threw a misshapen piece of metal on the floor behind Riss then closed the hatch.

“What’s left of one of our anti-rotation grav tractors, I assume,” Riss said.

“Yeah. The other one was too heavy, so I left it.”

Riss sighed. It couldn’t be helped. Expensive to lose, but first they had more important things to take care of.

“Where’s that geist?”

“Said he wanted to pack up things.”

Riss flicked the comm switch again.

“Coop, forget the damn sniffer. Get those samples in here!”

“But—“

She cut the switch. Next to her Sanvi began to strap into her flight harness. Riss checked the controls. Ready to go.

The hatch opened again.

“You got the samples?”

“Yeah.” He held up the tubes.

“Good job. Strap in.”

The Hopper lifted without a sound from the asteroid. Riss relaxed as Sanvi took over the controls.

“Coop. Anything interesting?”

Cooper shook his head. “Haven’t had a chance to finish the analysis yet. I’ve got more equipment on the Artemis that can handle it.”

“Better than the sniffer?”

“About the same, but faster.”

“Riss, look,” Sanvi cut in.

They could now see the Artemis clearly. Facing her was a smaller, older ship. The Sagittarius.

Cooper got up from his seat for a better view.

“Wow, that thing looks ancient,” he said. 

“Like old friends,” Sanvi said. She adjusted the thrusters as they approached.

Riss said nothing. She folded her arms and stared at the Sagittarius.

“Wait, you know these people?” Cooper asked.

Sanvi glanced at Riss, who still remained silent.

Cooper looked back and forth at both of them. “Am I missing something?”

Sanvi finally spoke. “The Sagittarius is Riss’s old ship.”

“Sergey’s ship,” Riss finally said. “Not mine.”

“Sergey!” Cooper said, punching his hand. “Captain Sergey Bardish! Of course!”

Sanvi and Riss both turned to look at him.

“What?” he said.

Riss turned back to the window. “I was only in command temporarily. Because Sergey asked me to.”

“That’s not what Gennaji thought,” Sanvi replied, flicking switches. “Altering course.”

“Let’s just find out what he wants,” Riss said sharply. She touched the comm panel. “Enoch, what’s the situation?”

“Gennaji is still insisting that we let him board. Says he wants to talk to you.”

“Oh? So he doesn’t know I was on the rock?”

“I thought he knew your MO, but looks like—”

“I don’t care what it ‘looks like,’ and I care even less to have that bastard on my ship.”

“He says if we don’t let him board, he’ll report us to the Council as thieves.”

“The Coun—” Riss turned red and sputtered. “We got the lottery fair and square.”

Sanvi interrupted. “Gennaji probably doesn’t see it that way, Riss.”

Riss took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“All right, Enoch. Tell him he can board. But only him.”

“OK, I’ll tell him. But he won’t like it.”

“Whatever. Prep Airlock 1. We’re coming in.”

“Roger.”

Riss cut the comm off. The Artemis loomed in front of them, almost entirely upside down. The Sagittarius wasn’t straight up, either, floating at a sideways angle to the Artemis.

“This,” the geist said. “This, uh, isn’t what I expected ships would look like in space.”

“You thought they would meet face to face or something?” Sanvi said.

He looked at her and nodded quickly, then stared back out the window.

“There’s no up or down,” she said. “No left or right. Only Space.”

“Kind of makes my brain hurt.”

“You get used to it,” Riss said. “Take us in.”

Sanvi nodded, moving her hands quickly. “Cutting port thrusters.”

The Hopper adjusted course. They were on top of the Artemis now. Or underneath, from the Artemis crew’s perspective. Cooper craned his neck. His dark skin seemed to have grown paler. Riss guess that the prospect of going down into the ship and then suddenly being right-side-up did not appeal much to his stomach.

“Coop.”

“Yeah.”

“Have a seat.”

“Yeah.”

The geist strapped himself in. Riss glanced back. He tugged at his suit collar and rubbed a hand over his head. Must be feeling queasy, she thought. 

“Coop,” she called out with a touch of sympathy. “Take a breath. Focus. Think of the rocks.”

He nodded, then closed his eyes.

The Hopper shuddered as it touched the Artemis.

“Automatic guidance engaged,” Sanvi announced. “Lock established. Seal firm. Good to go.”

“Good work,” Riss said. “OK, everybody. Prep your sidearms. We have a rock to defend.”

Next week: Chapter 2: Luna Base

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Bringer of Light – starting October 10th!

I’ve decided to publish sections of my science fiction perptual-work-in-progress Bringer of Light starting Saturday, October 10th. Each week, I aim to post about 1200-1500 words at 7 p.m. Basically about one chapter, although some chapters are longer. But 4,000 words are too much to read on a web page, so I’ll “chunk” them into smaller segment — just like Riss and her crew “chunk” asteroids.

(Note that “Saturday October 10th” is EDT, since that’s where the server is based. I’m in Japan, 13 hours ahead. So when it’s posted in the future, it’ll be in my past. Time travel, woot!)

Check out the Prologue here, and check back later for a list of characters and the table of contents!

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Get your telescopes out, the solar system’s largest volcano is here!

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The volcano is about the size of Arizona with a volume 100 times larger than that of Mauna Loa’s, Earth’s largest volcano, NASA says. “In fact, the entire chain of Hawaiian islands (from Kauai to Hawaii) would fit inside Olympus Mons!”

Brighter than Jupiter this October! And the closest Mars will be until 2035.

(The photo is from Forbes, but the information was better on The Telegraph.)