Jamison chuckled and released a handful of dice. He didn’t bother watching the table, instead casting his gaze around the room. Young men filled the space, drenched with sweat.
Some couldn’t stand the humidity.
Most couldn’t stand to lose.
Jacob nudged the Joint Venture’s harvesting controls, unable to hide his grin of triumph. “Fifteen. I win!”
“Cheater. Four of those were clustered together.” Seelia’s scowl didn’t hold, and her matching grin prompted a warm glow somewhere between his clavicle and navel. She sprang up from her control chair
2491.5.31
Ship status: green
Biodome status: green
Pods status: green
Current database scan: Botany and biochemistry
Estimated remaining time: 27,392,520 days to planetfall.
“If you don’t mind, Ellie,” Mr. Hill smiled pleasantly, again. “I’d rather not say anything more unless you’ve signed the non-disclosure agreement.”
An NDA seemed extreme as a requirement for a nannying job. But then, many things about this position were odd.
Haruo Settlement of the Last Survivors of Japan, 2094
Translated from Japanese
It was only a matter of time. I am fortunate I have been spared from it this long.
But it is necessary.
Kavis watched the volcanic moon move from the shadow of its parent planet—both unnamed. Not that it mattered. He cared only for the voice that emanated from the moon. A woman’s voice. Ghostly. He could hear it when the moon hid from the sun. Somehow the sun interfered with the signal.
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“For cryin’ out loud, Arnie! Will you quit snapping selfies?” Liz rolled her eyes. “We’ve been sent to explore and catalog planet 4X9, not pad our personal photo albums!”
“We’re the first humans to set foot here. I’m capturing an historic event. Oh look—ancient ruins!” Arnie struck a pose. “The first anthropologist to find ruins on an alien planet.”
My watch vibrated, the sudden brightness casting shadows across the bedroom ceiling. I sat up, blinking back sleep, forcing my eyes to focus on the tiny script flashing on the screen.
Evacuation assist on Telmar.
The coordinates faded into a jumble of letters and numbers, and I slapped the watch on my wrist with a grumble. Two hours of sleep. Two measly hours.
The cabin’s porchlight appeared through the trees. The cop in me couldn’t help wondering why Pete would leave a light on if he was on the run. The man I knew was smarter than that. Then again, that same man had mysterious figures in gray suits chasing after him.
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“This thing’s a museum piece.” Russ unlocked the door. “Literally. The only reason it’s not on display is that we don’t like to advertise.”
Will managed a half-smile as he entered the storage locker. Light flooded gray walls and concrete, making the object within incongruous: a domed cage of wrought copper and treated glass with exposed mechanical parts
Dear Marybeth,
It was supposed to be a simple experiment.
Well, nothing is simple about trapping dark matter. Still, the theory is sound, the experiments are straightforward, and the daily routines are predictable. And since we’re so far from civilization, we had to schedule everything out, just like they do for missions on the ISS.
Barely enough remained of the starship to make it valuable. It had been so badly damaged that Abby couldn’t tell what it was. It might have been anything from a cargo vessel to a battle cruiser. Now, it was past whatever purpose it had been meant for.
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