❖ Interstellar pilot and ex-adventurer Alex Gallegos must keep their team safe on an icy moon as sentient storms threaten to repeat the tragedy that ended their last career. ❖
Everyone in the United Inhabited Solar Systems (for some reason, UIS for...
The next few days are among the quietest I've ever experienced at the station. Krüger, Liu, and Kwon all disappear into Kwon's workshop and only come out for mandatory tasks like gym time and cooking rotation. I enforce the latter for the first few days, then start taking over just to keep myself busy.
As the ecliptic cycle draws to a close, a call comes in from a UIS delivery shuttle. Our final resource delivery is here. The shuttle pilot's name is Monica, and she's by far the most competent of the lot we've had so far. Not given landing clearance by the Hub, she sends the pod down with impeccable aim instead, dropping it just half a kilometer from us.
Liu and Krüger bound off to get their snow gear on. I wait for them to crowd into the entryway, then move up the hallway where I won't be heard. "Monica, a quick question for you before you go. We're a few days from the proper angle to catch the relay satellites one last time, but this planet moves fast. From your experience, do you think we'll be able to reach the Hub again before we're out of communications range? Or is that a hit or miss?"
I hear her blow a breath between her teeth. "If they put better satellites out on this end of the system, I'd say yes, but you're probably on the money with the hit or miss. Sorry 'bout that."
"Nothing to be sorry for. Thank you. And thanks for the smooth delivery."
"Least I can do for you. You think you'll be okay out here?"
"We will if I have anything to do with it."
"I believe that." I can hear her smile. "Hope you find something interesting, then. You've got an all-star team here, and I daresay I've been curious about this moon for a good long time now. Alright, I'm about to move out of range under this beast's rings here. It was nice chatting, Cap'n. Good luck out there."
"The same to you."
She hangs up as the first fizzle of static interference mars the connection. I return the phone to our comms desk. Even if we do get in touch with the Hub again, I have a feeling Monica will be the last friendly outsider we hear from until Qalupalik's orbit swings us back into communications range five months from now.
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We find and extract the resource pod in less than half an hour, and drag it back to the station triumphant. We've lost most of the sooty residue off its shell by the time we pull up in front of the Pod again, so I stop us outside and instruct the scientists to remove the remainder with a good snow scrub while I park Samson. I already know what I'll find when I get back, and I'm not disappointed. The warm shell melts Mahaha's snow to a delightfully sticky texture, and the task has devolved into a snowball fight.
God, I miss snowball fights.
I restrain myself until Krüger makes the daring move of clocking me in the shoulder with a perfectly formed snow-sphere. Oh, he wants me in the battle too, now, does he? I crack a grin and drop down to make some ammunition of my own, on the pretense of continuing the job I gave them. The moment Krüger's back is turned, I nail him in the back of the head. He spins around, and the snowball's twin hits home. Liu doubles over laughing. She breaks off in a shriek as I headshot her, too.
