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  Copyright © 2019 Robert C. James

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  This book is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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  Welcome

  Welcome to Frontier’s Reach. In Death’s Shadow is the seventh book in a series following the exploits of the Cargo Ship Argo and a cast of recurring characters. The installments will be released as serials, with overriding arcs spanning several books.

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  IN DEATH’S SHADOW

  FRONTIER’S REACH BOOK 7

  ROBERT C. JAMES

  Contents

  Welcome

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

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  Author’s Notes

  Connect with the Author

  Chapter 1

  August 19, 2159

  Tokyo, Earth

  Fifty-Five Years Ago

  Doctor Julian Erkens was the first to admit he was far from a hopeless romantic. He and his wife were childhood sweethearts and had married young. And while their relationship was strong, considering his line of work, the passion between them wasn’t there like it used to be.

  As the chief of biochemistry at the Tokyo Institute of Advanced Sciences, he worked many long hours. Sometimes he didn’t come home until the next evening.

  This particular day was one of those times. And returning to his house with a dozen red roses would only make his wife that much more suspicious.

  He stepped from the train and weaved through the traffic of peak-time commuters, making his way to his apartment building. He entered and found nothing but emptiness.

  “Marie?”

  He placed his jacket down on the kitchen counter and searched around the open-plan apartment for his missing better half.

  “Marie?” he called out again, but still got no answer. He rolled his eyes, realizing where she’d likely be.

  Julian peered out onto the balcony at a long shadow cast from the setting sun. He opened the screen door and poked his head through. There sitting on a reclining chair was Marie.

  “Catching some afternoon sun?” he said to her.

  “I thought I’d take advantage of what summer we have left.” She took off her sunglasses and glanced back at him. “I see you decided to finally come home.”

  He pulled out the dozen roses, and her mouth dropped.

  “And what are those?”

  Julian handed them to her, and she breathed in the beautiful scent.

  “I can’t remember the last time you bought me flowers.” She eyed him with distrust. “Have you been screwing someone?”

  Though he knew she was only teasing, he wouldn’t get away without explanation. “I have news.” He took a seat next to her.

  “Are we moving home?”

  While Julian had loved Tokyo ever since arriving to take up his position at TIAS, Marie hadn’t been able to get used to the hustle and bustle of the vibrant city. He could hardly blame her. She was a long way from the rural European town they’d grown up in.

  “Well, not exactly.” He put his hand on hers. “But it might mean uprooting our life here.”

  She raised her eyebrow. “Okay…”

  “Do you remember hearing about the Mark III FTL engine?”

  “The one that allows spacecraft to travel at ten times the speed of light?”

  “That’s right.” Julian nodded, already sweating bullets at what he was about to reveal. “Well, TIAS, the commonwealth government, and numerous science academies with a bundle of corporate money have put together a mission—”

  “What kind of mission?” Her suspicious eyes once again met his own.

  “A new craft has been designed to employ the Mark III drive to propel them beyond the commonwealth. The expedition would be made up of mostly scientists and their families.”

  “And the destination?”

  He pulled a data tablet from behind his back and handed it to her. “The galactic center.”

  “The spacecraft Scorpius—an automated vessel designed for deep-space travel with a capacity of five hundred people. A return voyage to the galactic center would take six thousand years in cryo-stasis…” She shrugged. “Sounds interesting, I guess, but what does it have to do with us?”

  Julian took a deep breath. “When the program was announced, anyone interested in taking part was encouraged to apply. I, uh, put our names down.”

  She glared at him. “You did what?”

  Uh-oh. “The Scorpius needs a biochemist, and I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

  He paused to let her say something, but all she could do was stare daggers at him, so he continued.

  “To study the galactic center would be one of the most monumental undertakings in human history,” he said. “To be part of it… They informed me this afternoon that we’ve been accepted into the program.”

  “Of all the boneheaded things you’ve done.” She crossed her arms. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “Marie—”

  She waggled her finger at him. “How could you not ask me?”

  This is going as well as I expected. “I know how much you’ve wanted to move away from Tokyo and—”

  “And you assumed the galactic center might be a nice change of pace?”

  “I—”

  “Julian, it’d take over six thousand years to return home.” She threw the data tablet in his lap. “What would Earth look like when we returned? Would it even still be here? For someone so intelligent, you can be a real idiot sometimes.”

  She stood and dropped the roses on his head and stormed off into their apartment.

  Julian sighed and watched the sun drop beyond the horizon. It’s going to be a long night.

  Chapter 2

  June 10, 2214

  Cargo Ship Argo

  Present Day

  “How does it feel?”

  Jason came late to the party to watch the end of the procedure on Aly’s new hand. It was as disgusting as he’d
imagined, though not as gory as some things he’d seen during the war. Regardless, it’d put him off the roast beef he was going to hydrate for dinner.

  Aly held the hand up in bed and wiggled her fingers around. “It’s so weird. It’s as if it’s there, but not.”

  Doctor Tai had done an excellent job with the medical equipment she’d brought with her from Earth before they’d left. Her patient’s new hand appeared identical to her old one. The tone of grafted skin over the cybernetic mechanism matched up perfectly with the rest of her arm.

  She put Aly’s hand in hers. “The sensation will be strange for some time. The more you use it, the more accustomed to it you’ll get.” She waved her medical scanner over it. “And the good news is there’s no sign your body’s rejecting the new components.”

  “When can I return to work?” Aly asked.

  “I’d like to keep you here for a few more hours, just to ensure everything continues smoothly. Then it’ll be straight to your quarters to rest. You’re not to walk into the engine room. At least not for a few days.”

  “Doctor, if you haven’t noticed, this ship’s a mess.” Aly pulled herself upright. “Since traveling through the trans-space corridor, most of our systems are still offline.”

  “We’ll take care of everything.” Jason put a hand on her shoulder to place her back down on the bed. “Your dad and Althaus are in the engine room as we speak.”

  Aly scoffed. “That would be a sight to behold.”

  Jason chuckled. “Just get some rest.”

  He went away with Tai to the other side of the infirmary where Kione was lying on a bed of his own with his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

  “And how’s our other patient doing?” Jason asked.

  Kione glanced at him and smiled.

  “He continues to improve at a rapid rate,” Tai said, confirming it with her medical scanner. “How are you, Kione?”

  “I feel fine, Doctor.”

  Tai turned to Jason. “From what I can tell, Doctor Whitlowe’s methods were barbaric to say the least. Their effect on Kione’s body was nothing short of horrific.”

  “After seeing his chamber of death, that doesn’t surprise me. No wonder he was one of Jarret’s favorite pets. He no doubt extracted a lot of information from enemy personnel during the war.” Jason eyeballed Kione. “And to bring your abilities to the surface once again…”

  Kione nodded. “While I can’t condone his methods, he was very adept at doing what he set out to achieve. However, now that my powers are once again gone, I don’t wish to go through anything like it again.”

  “You notice the good in everyone, don’t you?” Jason loved that quality about him but didn’t want to give Whitlowe a pass in this instance.

  Kione’s joviality disappeared, and he looked deep into the eyes of the two beside his bed. “Thank you, both of you, for coming back for me.”

  “You’ve already thanked us,” Tai said. “There’s no need to—”

  “Doctor, you and Professor Petit put your careers on the line. And Mister Cass… Jason, the CDF will never allow you back in their ranks. When we return home, the consequences—”

  “A bridge we’ll cross when we come to it.” Jason wondered about Professor Petit and hoped he was okay. When he’d first met him on Orion V, he’d thought he was a pompous ass. Now, after all they’d been through, he couldn’t imagine how they could’ve got to where they were without him.

  “To repay you,” Kione continued, “I promise I’ll do everything in my power to help you bring Captain Marquez and Tyler home.”

  Jason smiled, knowing he would be true to his word. “Rest up.”

  Kione nodded and lay back down.

  Jason strolled to the door while Tai followed him in her chair. “Keep me apprised of their conditions. Whenever they’re ready to lend a helping hand, well, uh, we need all the assistance we can get.”

  “I understand.”

  Jason left the infirmary and entered the engine room. He’d gotten used to the organized chaos of Aly’s department, but what he walked into was anything but organized. Though it was very much chaotic.

  Scattered parts were strewn everywhere. Jason did his best to step over and between them to get to Althaus who was standing over the maintenance station. “What have you guys done to this place?”

  Althaus scowled at him, while Kevin pulled himself from a maintenance junction and wiped his greasy hands with an equally dirty rag. It did little to achieve any cleanliness.

  “I think we can all agree this line of work isn’t our forte.” Kevin fumbled through Aly’s toolbox to find a microspanner. “How’s Aly coming along?”

  “She’ll be fine, but we can’t expect her to be back for a while. That means the three of us will have to put our heads together to get the Argo up and running again.”

  Jason checked over the extensive damage report on the maintenance console. There was substantially more red than green on the list. “Hell…”

  Althaus nodded. “FTL is out, and primary computer systems are fried. Over half the ship is operating on auxiliary power. Most of our maneuvering thrusters are burned out along with main thrusters, and climate control is only just operable.”

  “I’m concentrating on getting that going at full capacity before we start anything else,” Kevin told him.

  “Good call,” Jason agreed.

  “The artificial gravity’s also playing up.” Althaus brought up the schematic showing where the trouble spots around the ship were.

  “That explains why I’ve felt so queasy.” He rubbed his stomach. “How’s the Argo faring structurally?”

  “Similar to the last two times. Surprisingly well.”

  Jason found it ironic. “Funny, isn’t it. When we travel at FTL it beats the old girl up more than when she shoots through trans-space.” He remembered what Petit had once told him. At FTL, the ship was breaking through a brick wall while in trans-space it was riding a wave.

  “With the damage so far, providing we don’t find any other gremlins, how long will it take to repair?” he asked the two older men.

  Althaus stared around the mess. “At least a week.”

  “Damnit, how did we get hit so hard this time? On our previous trips we needed to fix a few things, but nothing like this.”

  Kevin found an electro-screwdriver in the toolbox and placed it in his belt. “The last time we went through a vortex, it was one created by the Seekers. This time it was one of our making. I’m willing to bet they have more experience.”

  “Is that your scientific opinion, Professor Rycroft?”

  “It is.” Kevin smirked. “I may even write a paper on it.”

  Jason shook his head at the big goofball. “It won’t help it’ll be us three bozos doing the repairs either. Have you checked out Nora yet?”

  Kevin bit his bottom lip. “I pulled the trans-space actuator out of the module and had a poke around. It seems mostly fine, but I don’t want to touch it until Aly’s up and about.”

  “Probably a good idea.” Jason pointed to the repair monitor. “Once you’ve got the climate control back to a hundred percent, concentrate on the scanners. There’s a star out there, and I want to know whether it’s GP-34 or not. With any luck, we can pick up Tyler and Captain Marquez and get the hell out of here.”

  Kevin nodded, and he and Althaus returned to work. Jason took one last look at the engine room and couldn’t help but feel Aly was right.

  The blind leading the blind.

  Chapter 3

  Guilt festered away inside Jason while he turned the tap of the shower on and enjoyed the heavy sprinkle of hot water on his body. It seemed wrong while everyone else slaved away either in the engine room or the infirmary, but he figured a five-minute rinse wouldn’t hurt.

  He washed his messy hair and wiped his face. The stubble was again turning into a beard. He reached for his shaver and switched it on, but before he pressed it against his cheeks, he turned it off. I don’t need to do this anymore.<
br />
  He had to be clean-shaven on his return to the service and hated it. I like my beard. Shaving it off would just be another reminder he’d never be an officer of the CDF ever again.

  A scatter of feet hurried past him through the communal bathroom. He placed his shaver down and peeked over the top of the shower to the sight of one of the toilet stalls closing. A violent vomit followed.

  “Are you okay in there?” he asked, wondering who it was.

  Another spew answered his question. Jason winced and turned off the water. He found a fresh towel on the rack and wrapped it around his waist. He knocked on the stall door and inquired again.

  The toilet flushed, and the door swung open. Marissa appeared, more than a little frazzled with a drooping face and a wild head of messy hair.

  “Jesus, you look like hell,” Jason said. “Is there anything left in you to puke up?”

  She passed by him, clearly not amused, and cleaned her face at the washbasin, splashing a healthy dose of water on herself. “It’s been years since I traveled on a ship at FTL. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like it now.”

  Jason stepped to her side. “I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

  She chuckled. “Doctor Tai has enough on her plate with Aly and Kione.”

  “I’m sure she could—”

  “Jason, I’ll be fine, it’s just a bout of space sickness.”

  “Okay, but at least come with me to the galley. I have something that might help.”

  She eyed him suspiciously while he put on a shirt and a pair of pants. He led her up to A deck and into the Argo’s communal eating area. Jason told her to sit down at the table, and he opened up a cabinet.

  He rummaged through it and found the sachets he was after. He filled a glass of water and ripped the packets open inside it.