Planets Falling Read Online Free

give the board and shareholders something.  Once news of this safety breach hits earthside, I guarantee that new signatories to our resorts and adventure camps will drop."  She tapped her fingers on the table.  "If you don't have a stomach for this, then get your people in biological engineering in line.  We cannot afford sloppy work."
    They sat in silence for a moment and then Will said, "I need to consult with Ferris about this.  We'll go through the biosecurity protocols and make sure nothing was missed.  How sure are we that this is not some form of bioterrorism?"
    "Why on earth would anyone want to do that?  We all rely on this facility for our lives and livelihood.  We have no intelligence supporting the supposition that this is due to activity from an outside group.  We screen all entries into the colony and there's no one here with a motive.  It was Tash.  Final."  With that dismissal, Heldren took her coffee and left the room.
    Holst pressed a button on his sleeve and spoke into it.  "Central office, this is Holst.  Where's Pinchot Ferris?"
    His sleeve spoke back in a drawl- someone from the southern part of North America.  "Hey Will."  It was the anonymous voice of one of the administrative staffers.  He could never keep their names straight.  "Pinch was last located in Sector 3 during the breach, meeting with Jon Fuerst. Once the incident happened, they blipped off the grid.  That's a bit weird.  What do you think happened to them?  They couldn't have been sucked out, right?  What’re you thinking?"
    "No.  Their communication pins must have malfunctioned in all the confusion.  I'll try to find them in the labs."  He sighed.  Will knew that they descended into the subterranean tunnel network and suspected they were in the earth cavern underneath the dome complex.  He slipped out the door, made sure no one was following him, and headed underground to intercept them.
    Jon and Pinch picked at their meager lunch in a small research lab adjacent to the colossal fabricated jungle.  Hours had passed since they escaped and they were unsure about their next steps. The room seemed strange to Jon, jutting abruptly from such an organic place.  It was brightly lit, angular, and sparsely furnished.  A tiny refrigerator and stove were tucked into one corner.  A bunk shoved against a metallic wall beckoned to him.
    Jon was having trouble processing the unfurling events and just wanted to curl up and sleep.  Pinch produced some cheese, crackers, and a can of soup.  They slurped and crunched while the ballasts of the lights hummed.  The sounds of the earth room were distant, even though they were produced a mere portal away.
    Pinch's voice broke through the backdrop of small noises.  "Will should be down here at some point.  He’ll know where we need to go next".
    As if on cue, the portal opened and Holst walked into the room.
    "I am so glad you are alright.  How much do you know?"  Holst asked.
    Pinch replied.  "The sector lost pressure and we escaped through one of the service tunnels.  I'm guessing that it is biological, related to Tash's plastic-eating bug?  What's happening on the surface?"
    "Good guess about the cause.  It's identical to Tash's microbe.  Things are awful upstairs.  We lost four civilians – two of them paying guests.  Security has implicated Tash, as expected.  I know he can't be responsible.  I think someone is culturing the bacteria and using it as a form of sabotage.  I bet it's a disgruntled person trying to get revenge either on the company or more specifically, our biology team."
    Pinch frowned.  "Who would have the knowhow to make that happen?  Within our group, I can think of no one who’d remotely consider doing such a thing.  And within the general staff of the colony, I can't imagine any of them having access to the strain.  If they did, I ’d doubt they’d be able to keep it from spreading.  The stuff eats through just about any synthetic