Tag: excerpts

“What do you think?” said Aaron, breaking the silence that had inadvertently fallen between them. “The design for the cryotank is crude. I don’t think we can thaw her with any of the equipment here.” “We’ve got to take her with us, then, and find someone who can.” Isaac frowned. Something about that idea made… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 11

A mostly decayed body lay curled up beside a small cylindrical storage tank in the middle of the floor. The body itself wasn’t much different from any of the others, but the tank was something else entirely. It was built like a coffin, with the upward-facing part made almost entirely of glass. And inside of… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 10

“I’m turning a corner,” said Aaron, his voice as clear as if he were standing just a few feet away. “If this is like Megiddo, then—yep, the corridor continues on the other side of this maintenance room. Following the blue arrows. Passing one door, two doors …” The display screen flickered, then showed a new… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 9

They set off down the windowless corridor, their helmet lights illuminating the way. Little flecks of dust lit up like tiny stars as they walked by, suspended peacefully in the air until the wind from the brothers’ passing wrenched them back into the darkness. With the closeness of the walls, though, Isaac felt a little… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — Excerpt 8

Isaac sighed heavily and shook his head. “Haven’t we seen enough already? Everyone is dead—that much is abundantly clear. We can refuel the ship from the external tanks, so there’s no need to investigate any further.” “Yeah, but don’t you want to find out what happened to these people? Maybe if we go up, we’ll… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 7

They found the first body a short while later. It had decayed so much, with the skin stretched tight across the dry old bones, that it almost looked like a bag of discarded waste. Only when they came up to it did the human form become apparent. “Stars of Earth,” Aaron swore, jumping back. “What… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 6

The moment the helmet clamps sealed with a hiss, Isaac felt as if he’d been cut off into his own private universe. The glass faceplate gave a slightly copper color to everything outside, while the indicators in the corner of his vision lit up softly with his vitals. He took a deep breath of the… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 5

On the dark side of the horizon, where the ocean of stars met the blackness of night, a tiny point of light gradually grew brighter than all the others. It was the station, reflecting the starlight. As they came closer, the man-made structure gradually took shape: two narrow wheels running at cross-purposes to each other… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 3

“There,” said Aaron. “Got it.” The main cockpit holoscreen lit up between them, showing an image of the planet with their current trajectory in green. Around the sphere representing the planet itself, a red ellipse traced a separate orbit. “What’s that?” Isaac asked. “The station. Since they aren’t responding to our hails, I figure we… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 2

Something about the Nova Alnilam system felt wrong. Perhaps it was the silence that greeted Isaac and his brother as they exited jumpsace near the fifth planet. The deep blue ice giant world shone pale in the crystalline light of its sun, while all their commscans picked up nothing but empty static. For a planet… Continue reading Brothers in Exile — excerpt 1