Dreams of Earth

By Mark Fassett

Hal hates space. He worked for years in the deep cold blackness to save money so that he could return with his wife to Earth, buy an apartment, and start a family.

But his wife loves living on the Titan Interstellar Launch Facility, and seems to have forgotten the shared dream that brought them there.

When Hal's boss approaches him with a new contract, his wife implores Hal to take it. Returning to Earth looks like a shattered dream.

But, if there is one thing Hal doesn't want to do, it is to stay in space one minute longer than necessary. Can he find a way to change her mind?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Fassett
• Release date: Oct 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301271092

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Published 2012 by Ravenstar Press

Monroe, WA

http://www.ravenstarpress.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Dreams Of Earth. Copyright © 2012 Mark Fassett. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact Mark Fassett: [e-mail]

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Designed by Mark Fassett using StoryBox software

http://www.markfassett.com

http://www.storyboxsoftware.com

Cover Design by Mark Fassett

Images used:

Earth image courtesy of NASA and the Apollo 16 Mission

Background © Cosmin - Constantin Sava | Dreamstime.com

Version 1.0

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Contents

Beginning

About The Author

Other Titles

As Hal stepped out from the TubeTrans, the silvery skin of The Pride of Earth loomed above him like some monstrous beer barrel on its side. The grav harness wouldn’t let it roll, Hal knew, but to see the ship there without any visible means of keeping it secured unnerved him each time he entered the dock. Once inside the ship, he could forget about it, it was like any other ship he’d worked on, but outside, the massive scale of the thing dwarfed even the largest ships he had ever run wire through in Earthdock.

The bridge that stretched between the ship and the dock unnerved him, too. Wide enough for a convoy of trucks to cross, it shook with the inevitable grav tremors the huge ship and the even larger dock created between themselves. It never moved more than a few inches, but he swore with every step that he could feel the movements. He lived in terror that the tremors would suddenly become more than tremors and tear the bridge away from the ship or the dock or both while he crossed, plunging him into the abyss below.

And the bridge was not a solid piece. He could see through it into the abyss, a half a kilometer down, out into space.

He stepped onto the bridge and hurried his steps as much as he could amongst the other traffic crossing to and from the ship. He tried not to look down, not to look up, but only at the goal, the gaping maw of The Pride of Earth’s cargo doors, which would lead him to the day’s work. If he looked in any other direction, it would remind him that he was in space, that he wasn’t home on Earth where he belonged.

The other workers crossing to The Pride of Earth split apart in several directions once they passed the threshold of the hull. Metal workers, plastics fabricators, structural engineers, computer techs, they all had places to go. A large portion of them went immediately to the nearest TubeTrans that ran the length of the eight kilometer ship.

Hal veered