Missionary To Mars

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> “Captain,” Enzo said. “Take a look at this.”  “Did you bring another stowaway aboard?” Marianna said. Enzo didn’t respond to her sarcasm. She stepped over a crate and peered above the back of his chair. The bridge was packed with old gear, broken equipment, and rusted paraphernalia of […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> “Cap,” Rudwick grumbled into the communicator app. “This guy be no fun to beat. He don’t fight back, but he don’t cower either.” Eustis took a much-needed breather while Rudwick waited for a response. “Aye, aye Cap’n”  The trickle of blood tickled his burning nose. His cheekbones felt […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> Eustis had often imagined what his first trip into space might be like. He had envisioned watching the world shrink into a tiny blue marble. He had expected to be awestruck by the vastness of it all and anticipated sharing the moment with someone important, even special. He […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> A thick man propped his illuminated boots on a desk at the back of a crowded set of cubicles. He was eating a rehydrated dish of vacuum-grown beans. It wasn’t a meal to be excited about, but it was better than the slop Slingshot mess provided to its […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> Slingshot Station hummed like a beehive, but instead of honey, it produced grease and a bad odor. A giant billboard that read Welc me to Slingsh t St tion hung over the main passageway. It could fall at any moment. It probably clung fast on account of the half-gravity. The people’s […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> Eustis’ tension boiled as the space elevator climbed into the rust-brown sky. Going long stretches without blinking, he watched the world shrink beneath through the glass. He kept thinking the admiral would come soaring through the sky to blow the elevator into bits. That led to visions of […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> “Next elevator transport is in seven minutes,” Enzo said.  He followed the kid toward the massive carbonized ribbon that rose overhead and disappeared into the orange haze of the sky. It looked like a black featureless skyscraper whose top was invisible from the ground.  “How does this work?” […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> As Eustis stepped out of the shipwright’s shop a notification pinged in his cortex display. An unknown caller was trying to contact him. He gulped hard, thinking of the events earlier that day. He gestured to decline the call. It went straight to vid message. He motioned to […]

<< PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER >> Eustis walked by the endless rows of stalls where vendors sold items from all over Sol System. The market was a multi-kilometer stretch of noise and hustle. In the distance, the reason for the market’s location, one of GovCorp’s finest achievements, was Earth’s only space elevator. It had […]

NEXT CHAPTER >> “Where’s Eustis?” asked Fred Gibbs.  “Probably sharing with some street creep,” Leena Bickle said with a dismissive wave and a smile. The others laughed. “You know how Eustis is. Planting seeds everywhere he goes. He’ll get here when he’s ready to be here. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind us starting without him.”  […]