Dusk (Dusk 1) Read Online Free Page A

different ways space could kill a person without even trying, and none of them were as cute and cuddly as lions, tigers, or bears.
    It was just one of the many reasons Pete despised space travel. Unlike many Marines of his acquaintance, who viewed interstellar and transgalactic travel as about as out of the ordinary as blowing one’s nose, Pete hated being shipboard for long periods of time. He had never managed to shake the “drops” caused by low- and null-gravity conditions, giving him a distinct feeling of kinship with seasick Marines throughout history. The galactic rim, even at ten thousand c , was over a week away from Terra’s current position, and that was under full power using the Alcubierre-Fermi drive, the fastest superluminal engine ever conceived by man.
    His stomach writhed uneasily at the very thought.
    Neville touched another stud, and a deep indigo star near the rim in the “southward” adjacent arm and somewhat “down” from Terra’s represented position began to glow. “You will be there .”
    “Assuming we don’t get scattered into our component neutrinos by a drunken navigator,” Pete quipped. Neville shot him a faintly reproachful look, but made no further comment. He turned back to the holo.
    “This is Dusk.”
    Pete nodded. “Okay…”
    “We are interested in Dusk for possible military applications beyond the body armor we typically wear.”
    Pete raised his eyebrows with a snicker. Anything of military interest that far out in the middle of galactic goddamn Siberia had to be important indeed. “Let me guess. It’s a superweapon that turns all our potential enemies into fuzzy bunny rabbits.”
    “That’s not funny, Captain.” Neville’s authoritative tone stopped Pete’s cackle dead in its tracks. “I cannot tell you what the mission parameters are at this time. What I can tell you is that we want someone on-scene who can help negotiate for the materials we require and analyze them for their military usefulness. I personally picked you for this mission, Pete.”
    His stomach lurched as if the floor had suddenly given way beneath his chair. “Why me?”
    Neville took another long swallow of his drink, a mannerism Pete recognized as the general getting ready to issue a commandment from on high that was not at all to his taste. He’d give the order, but he would stall as long as he could beforehand.
    “Because you have a cool head and understand that an itchy trigger finger creates more problems than it solves. You and I have talked before about this, Pete. You understand diplomacy better than most devil dogs, and you’re willing to explore other options before you start anything.”
    Neville touched the first stud again, and the holo faded away. Warm Terran sunlight flooded the room. Pete blinked against the sudden brilliance and sipped at his drink.
    “You’ll be attached to Ambassador Al-Aziz’s party as a military adjutant. This posting comes with a brevet increase in rank and pay. If the negotiations are successful, you’ll be confirmed at the higher rank as a permanent instatement.”
    Pete’s eyebrows shot up.
    “Just how high are we talking, here?”
    Neville’s voice was smooth enough to make silk feel bad about itself.
    “Colonel.”
    Pete choked on his drink.

Chapter Three
     
    Olivia groaned theatrically as she ambled out of the DDC chamber.
    “God, I thought they’d never shut up.”
    Up ahead, at a food vendor just down the corridor, her friend Kase Reed reclined against the countertop, flirting with the adolescent selling the Dusk version of Russian cuisine. Unlike Olivia, she had opted for a far more conservative outfit of a bright teal cropped top that showed off her cleavage to its best possible advantage and a pair of shorts that rode high enough on her thighs to give the hems altitude sickness.
    Kase flicked her blonde hair in a coquettish gesture. The move apparently brought Olivia into her line of sight, because the other woman straightened