Con-Red: Recourse Read Online Free Page B

wrong.  He was staring at the ceiling when a young face appeared open him.  A face that he recognized as that of his doctor.  The man seemed to be yelled at him as two other individuals ran towards the station he had just occupied. They both seemed to be frightened as nothing they did seemed to stop the red flashing message.  The last thing Valeri Frederson saw was the console shut down just before the rooms lights powered off, drowning them all in darkness.
     
9 Days Later
SS-824 Star System
     
    “ Hand in Friendship , repeat, this is the Gallant coming in on final approach.  Requesting docking instructions.”  Captain Colver Hindo called out once more into the comm. 
    The Gallant has just returned to the system from a supply run within the Fringe.  After over two weeks cramped in the small transport his crew of four were ready to disembark and relax on the Consulate base.  Since their reversion into the system minutes ago, however, they had been unable to contact the consulate traffic control.  The weirdest thing of all was that the ship’s sensors no longer register the presence of the Hand-in-Friendship IFF beacon, a beacon that was never supposed to be turned off and was designed to work even without power.
    “We’re on the proper vector, sir.  The base should be just ahead of us.”  Confirmed his second in command, Olivia Rendolf as she watched the sensor readout in front of her.  “But I’m not getting any readings.”
    Their ship had arrived right on schedule and in a position to catch the consulate as it completed this portion of its orbit around the star.  It should have appeared on their scanners, but the only objectors in the vicinity were other asteroids.
    “ Friendship TC please respond.  We come baring gifts.”  The Captain tried again referring to the crates of Glashoff Whiskey he had acquired for his friends on the consulate, but his stomach turned just a little as he began to get a bad feeling about the situation.
    “Olivia, plot a course to the probable location of the base and take us in closer.”  Colver ordered as he leaning in on his elbows, trying to look out of the forward viewport.
    As Olivia acknowledge and accelerated the Gallant once again towards the asteroid belt a chart appeared on the viewport, overlaying the asteroid field.  The ship’s navigational computer quickly plotted the expected location of the Hand-in-Friendship and inserted its image into this section of the field.  It only took a second for the Captain and Olivia to realize that the image had been superimposed between a gap in the belt, one that had never before been present.
    Captain Hindo reached over to adjust the display, causing it to slowly zoom in on that section of space.  “Holy mother of god…”  Colver and Olivia let out at the same time as they finally laid their eyes on three jagged chunks of asteroid that had taken the place of the one planetoid that used to be the Hand-in-Friendship .  It didn’t take a detective to realize that those three pieces used to belong to a single structure.
    “You don’t think it was…” The Captain’s voice trailed off as the entire freighter shook violently and alarms beaconed for his attention.  They were extinguished as just quickly when the entire vessel fell into darkness with all power lost.  Hot coffee from the cup siting on the console beside him floated into the air. It splashed against the ceiling inside the zero gravity and went completely unnoticed as the man’s attention was more focused on the dark gray shape that now filled his entire forward viewport.
     

I
 
Present Day –December 21, 2486 Standard Earth Day
Frontiera , Fringe Sector
UPF Garrison
     
    “Target down.”  A feminine voice whispered into the ears of 1 st Lieutenant Dexter Iorns and the red icon on his heads up display became covered with an X.
    Under normal conditions he would have never been able to detect the enemy spotter sitting over three hundred