Star Runner Book 2: Little Red Men

By Mark McDonough

The space adventure that began in Star Runner for three brothers, continues here in Little Red Men.
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Alex, Pete and Nick Daniels have dealt with being sucked through a wormhole, meeting their first aliens and getting an abandoned spaceship working again.

They’ve made friends and enemies alike.

But now their real adventure begins.

Haunted space stations, dangerous space phenomena and more aliens than they could ever imagine are only some of the obstacles that threaten their journey home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark McDonough
• Release date: May 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301007059

Mark McDonough

Mark McDonough has lived his whole life in Queensland, Australia. After growing up in Ipswich, he lived for a short time in Brisbane while attending University. Work then took him to Far North Queensland for a number of years before he moved to his current home of Toowoomba. For as long as Mark can remember, there have been characters clamouring to have their stories told – everything from the depths of time when dinosaurs ruled the Earth through to the vast reaches of space where only the bravest spaceships dare to fly and everywhere in between. Most were written in secret until, one day, those characters demanded that their tales be spread far and wide. Thus, was born Stargon Books. When he's not sitting with laptop or notebook in hand, he can be found at work, with his family or out on the football field where he not only plays but also referees and Coordinates an entire competition. Ultimately, Mark dreams of the day when he can write full time but until then, as he says, "I'm a wordsmith, it's who I am; if I didn't write, I wouldn't be me".

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The Star Runner Series

Book 2 – LITTLE RED MEN

By Mark McDonough

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Mark McDonough

Current Edition 2019

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to http://www.smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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The Star Runner Series

Book 2 – LITTLE RED MEN

Chapter One – A Letter Home

"Science Officer's Personal Log.

"Halfway between the planet Dramazan and Krashnoa’s Spaceship Graveyard.

"Fourteen days. That’s how long my brothers and I have now been marooned in this part of the galaxy. Who knows how long it'll take us to travel home? Hopefully not the years it looks like being.

So, I’ve decided to keep a log of our journey. That way, even if something happens to us and we don't make it home, then at least our story will survive.

Alexander lent over the console, automatically adjusting his Universal Translator Glasses as he did so. Without the special glasses, he wouldn’t be able to read the alien writing that his computer produced. His eyes darted backwards and forwards. Giving a sharp nod, he resumed pacing his cabin.

For the record, Alexander dictated to the computer, "our parents are Ian Daniels, Captain of Space Station Cygnus and Commander Helen Daniels, lead scientist of Space Station Cygnus.

"Until two weeks ago, my brothers, Pete and Nick and I lived aboard Cygnus Station, an Earth space station positioned near the black hole designated Cygnus X-1. That was when we discovered that Lieutenant Kevin O'Lochlan was conspiring to sell our mother's research to a rival company back on Earth.

"O'Lochlan caught us and set us adrift in Work Pod Nine. He’d sabotaged the pod. We had no power, no engines, no way to escape the gravity well of the black hole. It sucked us in."

Between one pace and the next, Alexander relived the horrors of those few hours – the feeling of hopelessness of being in a pod with no power, the panic of realising that they were being pulled into the black hole and the terror of hearing the hiss of air escaping after they’d been holed.

Mother, if you ever read this, know this: we were wrong. Wormholes do exist. A black hole doesn't just suck matter into itself. It spits it out again. If only we’d known. Ask Alana. She knows. She was the only one who did. I wish she was here now. I'd love to talk to her about it, to say how sorry I am for not believing her. I do now.

Alana's freckled face swam before Alexander's mind. He realised that he'd never really appreciated just how extraordinary she was.

And wormholes aren't the only thing that we were wrong about, he continued.

"We've met aliens. Humans aren't alone in the galaxy. We've met people with purple skin. One with a tail. We've even been on a planet where the people can almost fly. We've met aliens from half a dozen different worlds and seen ships from a dozen or so more. Some have become friends, others, enemies."

Alexander paused, his mind wandering towards his new crewmates, Holas and Zheen, Tran and Sfolan. He also relived the Brenog ship Predator firing on them.

With a sigh, he sat heavily onto his bunk.

"Mum, Dad, you'd be proud of Pete and Nick. I've seen Nick fly rings around more experienced star ship pilots. He's become the Star Runner's main helmsman, a real 'Ace', just like you named him Dad. And he's loving every minute of it.

"Pete’s been working miracles in engineering. He's the only thing that's kept Star Runner operational. He'd install a bunk in engineering if we let him.

"Star Runner's a good ship. An old Gheyzhimum merchant vessel with five…"

Suddenly, Alexander was pitched head first off his bunk. The desk chair spun away, clattering into the far wall before toppling over. Star charts rained down on him from the safety of the top bunk where they’d been stowed. A sharp jolt knocked him onto his side just as a shudder rippled through the deck.

Computer, pause recording, Alexander gasped from the floor.

Reaching up, he took a hold of his desk and pulled himself to his knees. Slowly, Alexander stood, keeping his feet splayed wide for extra balance. After pausing to be sure that the shaking wasn't going to get any worse, he shuffled his way across the cabin to the comm.

Alexander to the bridge, he called, stabbing the button hard.

Bridge.

What's going on, Nick? Alexander asked his brother.

Stand by, Alex, I'm bringing us down to sub-light speed.

Gradually, the shaking subsided before abruptly cutting off. Glancing out the viewport, Alexander could see that the stars were no longer streaking past but had become the pinpricks that meant that they were no longer travelling faster than the speed of light.

Nick, what happened? Why was the ship shaking? Alex all but demanded.

I'm reading some sort of imbalance in the structural integrity field, Nick replied. I'll contact Pete and Zheen in engineering and let you know when we'll be getting under way again.

Thanks, Nick, he said, but his brother had already closed the channel.

Sighing, he looked around his cabin. Apart from the star charts and the chair, there wasn't anything else that could have been thrown around by the shaking. It wasn't like he’d brought anything with him from home.

Retrieving the charts, he began to restack them on the top bunk before rethinking the idea. Instead, he opened the cupboard to the left of his desk and bundled them inside.

That should keep them safe, he thought.

After righting the chair, he sat and reviewed the log entry that he'd been writing. As he reread what he'd written, he quickly realised that his log had somehow morphed into a letter to his parents.

He toyed with the idea of deleting it and starting over, but as he thought about it, he decided that perhaps a letter was better. It'd help his parents understand what he and his brothers had been through more easily than a proper log would.

Nick to Alex.

Reaching over, he pushed the button to activate the communicator. Alexander here.

"I’ve spoken to Pete in engineering," Nick told him.

How bad is it? Alexander asked.

Pete says that it's only minor. We should be able to go back to hyper-light speed in another ten to fifteen minutes, Nick reported.

Thanks, Nick. I'm due on duty in an hour. I'll see you on the bridge then. Alexander out.

Closing the channel, Alex slowly shook his head. More damage, he thought. We're going to be at the Graveyard a long time.

Shunting his log entry to one side, Alexander brought up the navigation chart on his monitor. He quickly located the Dramazan system and the black hole where Predator had so badly damaged the Star Runner. His finger continued along the trajectory to their next destination – Krashnoa’s Spaceship Graveyard.

If the information they were given was correct, that was where they should be able to get the supplies that they needed for their repairs. It was also supposed to be enough off the main space lanes for them to be able to lay low for however long they needed. There shouldn't be any danger of any Brenog finding them there.

Back tracking, Alexander located Star Runner's current location. A bit over two-thirds of the way, he estimated. Assuming that they could maintain their previous speed, he guessed that another day, maybe another day and a half should get them there.

That is if we don’t have to keep stopping to make unexpected repairs, he thought.

Closing the navigation file, Alexander reopened his log entry.

Computer, delete the last sentence and begin recording, he instructed.

"Star Runner's an old Gheyzhimum merchant vessel with five cargo compartments, he continued. We found her adrift not long after arriving in this part of space. Pete was able to work some engineering marvels to get her up and running again. Once she's fully operational, we'll be using her to try to get home.

"We've even managed to make some new friends. Holas and his daughter, Zheen, are traders. They lost their ship about the same time we arrived here. Holas is now Star Runner’s captain and Zheen’s almost as good an engineer as Pete is.

"Tran'aak is the alien with the tail that I mentioned before. He hasn't really said much about himself. I think he might have been a smuggler. Sfolan joined us at Dramazan. I still can’t believe that he’d been marooned there for so many years.

"None of the star charts that we have show any of the space where humans have explored, so we have no idea what we'll find on our way home. Our first task is to get Star Runner repaired."

A brief tremor shook the deck under him causing Alexander to grip the console tightly.

"If we can actually to get to Krashnoa’s Spaceship Graveyard, that is," he said.

Computer, end recording and save.

Chapter Two – Duct Tape and Prayers

I don't know what a Gheyzhimum looks like, but I bet there aren't any fat ones, Pete muttered darkly as he inched his way backwards down the crawlspace.

At long last, his toes fetched up against the wall. Twisting his head, Pete could see the light from the open hatch. Turning onto his side, he folded his legs and slithered out, landing on his knees back in engineering.

Standing up, Pete dusted off his Cygnus Station uniform. He frowned as he noticed a new patch of stains, these ones a sickly green which clashed horribly with the royal blue of the jumpsuit.

Grabbing his toolkit from where he’d left it on the deck, Pete turned to scan the room. Spotting Zheen's shimmering blue-black hair on the far side of the sub-light engines, he strode out to join her.

The structural integrity field's back on-line, Pete relayed as he joined Zheen at the main engineering console. The dampener had gone out of alignment by nearly ten percent.

With a smile and a nod, Zheen reached across and tapped the communications panel with a purple finger.

Engineering to the bridge, she said.

"Bridge. Nick here," Pete's younger brother replied.

We're ready to resume hyper-light speed, Zheen told him.

"About time," Nick grumbled.

Engineering out, Zheen said, cutting the connection.

Pete switched his attention to the hyper-light engine gauge. The numbers flickered, steadied and abruptly rose as Nick on the bridge took Star Runner to speeds faster than light. The hum of the engines rose to a constant throb and the deck plating vibrated almost alarmingly.

I'm going to have a headache before this shift is over, Pete thought, feeling the combined noise and tremors converge on his head.