The Heart of Matter: Odyssey One
Read The Heart of Matter: Odyssey One Online
Authors: Evan Currie
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Text copyright © 2012 Evan Currie
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by 47North
P.O. Box 400818
Las Vegas, NV 89140
ISBN-13: 9781612182353
ISBN-10: 1612182356
To Wynn Currie, my mother, who never doubted that I would eventually succeed in my writing endeavors. Without her support, I would never have made it as far as I have.
Thanks, Wynn.
PART 1: Once More Unto the Black
INTERSTELLAR SPACE, RANQUIL REGION
INTERSTELLAR SPACE, RANQUIL REGION
PART 2: Delivered From Darkness
TRAINING FACILITY/TEMPORARY TERRAN COMMAND AND CONTROL, RANQUIL
DEEP SPACE, NEAR RANQUIL SYSTEM
RANQUIL, ARCHANGEL TEMPORARY FLIGHT BASE
BRIDGE, NACS ODYSSEY, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
CENTRAL COMMAND, MONS SYSTEMA, RANQUIL
BRIDGE, NACS ODYSSEY, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
COMMAND CENTER, MONS SYSTEMA, RANQUIL
NACS ODYSSEY, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
RANQUIL’S SURFACE, EXERCISES ZONE
NACS ODYSSEY, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
PRIMINAE VESSEL CEREKUS, RANQUIL SYSTEM
RANQUIL, OVER DRASIN IMPACT CRATER
NACS ODYSSEY, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
NACS ODYSSEY BRIDGE, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
RANQUIL, TERRAN COMMAND AND CONTROL BUNKER
NACS ODYSSEY, UNCHARTED DYSON CONSTRUCT
Once More Unto the Black
LIBERTY STATIONLagrange Four, Earth Orbit
▸CAPT. ERIC STANTON Weston walked along the gently curving corridor that circled the exterior of the immensity of Space Station Liberty. He had to admit that the sensation of generated artificial gravity felt quite different to him after the time he’d spent on the
Odyssey
, both within the Sol System and without. The larger curve of the station’s outer wall felt more natural, but after spending so much time on the smaller, faster moving habitats of the
Odyssey
, he found that he preferred the sensation that had once nearly made him nauseous. They’d seen so much out there that he’d occasionally caught himself thinking of Earth as somewhat provincial compared to the huge megacity he’d seen on Ranquil.
The alien world—or perhaps not so alien, he supposed—had been the indisputable highlight of their last mission. Eric only wished it had been more of an accomplishment of note, but considering the horror and destruction they had witnessed across three star systems, it didn’t take much to qualify as a “high point.”
Rather than a simple shakedown cruise to confirm the viability of the
Odyssey
’s transition drive and other experimental
systems, they’d found themselves on a charge across the galaxy right through the very middle of a war that they probably had no business involving themselves in. Eric was fully aware that was certainly the opinion of more than a handful of his superiors. He’d seen too much death in his career, however, to ignore genocide when it was danced in front of his face, so he had no regrets. For all the action they’d seen, and sacrifices made, he was proud and confident of the fact that his crew had none, either.
Still, coming back now jarred his sensibilities, to be able to look out on space through horizontally mounted ports, unlike the few sections of the
Odyssey
that allowed such a personal view of the expanse. He followed the lines that adorned the floor, mapping out the various areas of the station, watching the rainbow idiot guides drop off as he climbed through the security zones into officer country.
He had an appointment with Admiral Gracen, presumably concerning the new orders for the
Odyssey
. He hoped that the orders weren’t more of the same, since he’d spent the last three weeks after completion of repairs working the crew up to an invisible standard that no one appeared willing to tell him. It was time for the
Odyssey
to be under way again, long past time. He could feel his crew getting antsy, sitting still in a ship that was the fastest thing ever built by man. Steph was checking in almost constantly to see if they had their orders yet, and Eric had been forced to order several of his junior officers to relax. They’d seen the universe, and now they all wanted more.