Trouble in the Orion Spur

By Daniel D. Mickle

Three ships move outward from Earth with the intent of reaching distant planets to colonize. After a year in space, one of the ships, New Hope 3, finds they are going to have to abort their mission. A course correction would burn up vital fuel they cannot afford to lose. Without it, they will run out of fuel before reaching maximum velocity and the trip to Epsilon Eridani will take a thousand years. Unexpectedly, a wormhole appears dead ahead. Unable to turn away, they suddenly find themselves sixteen and a half light years from home, approaching a very Earth-like planet. All seems to be going well until the other two ships, which had both been headed toward different destinations, arrive at the same planet. They realize that someone has orchestrated this. That shock is bad enough, but very soon after that, many of the female colonists disappear without a trace. Were they kidnapped for ransom, captured by slavers or taken for food?

[ Contains some violence. Consequently, this book is recommended for readers this will not bother. ]

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel D. Mickle
• Release date: Feb 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311671110

Daniel D. Mickle

Daniel D. Mickle has written technical articles in the sciences plus science fiction stories for over half a century, beginning in high school with his school newspaper, where he wrote stories for the enjoyment of the other students. His varied interests range from quantum physics theory, communications, electronics design, work with lasers and microwave radio (lifetime federal license), computers, astronomy, chemistry, and the internet to building robots, riding his Harley, martial arts (multiple black belts), marksmanship (expert), writing, oil painting, and photography (to mention a few) give him a perspective on life which may be seen in the varied aspects of his stories. A stickler for detail, he makes certain the science involved in his fiction is either the latest views in the scientific community, or are his own interpretations and projections of logical science discoveries coming in the future.

Book preview

T R O U B L E I N T H E

O R I O N S P U R

B y D A N I E L D. M I C K L E

Copyright 2013 Daniel D. Mickle,

Smashwords Edition, Feb. 2014

Author: Daniel D. Mickle

Cover art: Daniel D. Mickle

Line Editor: Melissa Ringsted

All rights reserved.

* * *

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment and should not be re-sold or given away to other people. I am in hopes that if you wish to share this book with another person, that you would purchase a copy for them. If you are reading this book and it was not purchased for you, I truly hope you will take pity on the author

and purchase your very own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

* * *

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 - Best Friends

Chapter 2 - Wormhole

Chapter 3 - Planetfall

Chapter 4 - Tempers Flare

Chapter 5 - It’s Raining Shuttles

Chapter 6 - I’ll Take That

Chapter 7 - Why Are We Here?

Chapter 8 - A Puzzle For The Dead

Chapter 9 - Check The Roster

Chapter 10 - Death And Burial

Chapter 11 - Alien Attack

Chapter 12 - Auction

Chapter 13 - Auction Rescheduled

Chapter 14 - Ancient’s Gifts

Chapter 15 - Dingo

Chapter 16 - Storming The Ship

Chapter 17 - Oh, How Drolla

Chapter 18 - Slavery

Chapter 19 - Kergi And Sully

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank all those who helped me with their thoughts and ideas for this and the other stories in this series. Furthermore, this book would contain many more errors, were it not for the excellent editing skills of Melissa Ringsted. Finally, I wish to thank you, the reader, for buying my book. I hope you enjoy it and anxiously await further books in this series.

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Prior books in the Abrasax Chronicles:

Book 1 Soul Keeper

Book 2 Return To Abras

Book 3 The Helium Bomb

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Future book in the Abrasax Chronicles:

Book 5 Assassin - Knight Takes Queen

CHAPTER ONE - BEST FRIENDS

Together, didn’t we face that murderous old wizard who was too dumb to stay dead? Billy MacDuff brushed some of his brown haystack hair out of his eyes.

Kevin Wells raised his gaze from his control console and stared at his friend. Yes, we did, but I repeat … so what? They spoke English so that the ship’s intelligent computer could not listen, as it only knew Abrasax.

Weren’t we together when we were under death sentence on the planet Mak’kla, after we got caught while trying to save the queen?

Yes, but we were in different cells, so we were not exactly tog—

Billy spun his acceleration couch around so he could prop his feet up on the navigator’s console behind him. Details. Don’t change the subject.

Amy will turn you into a goat if she sees you doing that on her console. Kevin scratched the back of his head, fluffing up the circle of golden blonde that offset the rest of his medium-brown, normally neat, hair. How can I avoid changing the subject when I don’t even know the point of all this?

She is, but hold on. Billy looked very nervous, but seemed to be trying not to show it. I’m getting there. Weren’t we together facing death in that bubble in space, before we ended up on the planet Abras?

Kevin leaned back in his command chair, and his face took on a puzzled expression. Amy is the point of this? What does she—

Billy cut him off, Last year, wasn’t I right there with you when we investigated that asteroid that was going to slam into the Earth and kill everyone?

Uh … yeah. Kevin’s voice revealed a wariness as to where this conversation was heading and why Billy, who was normally very blunt in everything he said, would be taking such a roundabout route to his point. I get the idea. We are friends. We have been inseparable for several years. So—

Billy took his feet off the console, planting them back on the deck, and leaned forward. Yes! We are and always will be close friends, he paused, even if one of us—like maybe me—were to do something that seemed as though it could hurt that friendship.

The look of anticipation on Kevin’s face was obvious. Yeeaaaahhh. One eyebrow rose as he drew out the word. "So, what did you do—or are about to do, he pasted on an artificial smile, that’s going to make me want to break your jaw? What does Amy have to do with this?"

Billy finally blurted out, I want to date Amy.

Shock.

The words sunk in like an ice shard driven slowly into Kevin’s heart. He would rather have had Billy double up his fist and punch him in the gut ... as hard as he could. That would have been far less painful. The words How-could-you-do-this-to-me! begged to be screamed aloud, but he found others and at a much lower volume. Uh, okay. So why should I care?

Hello? Remember me? I’m the guy you cried to when you tried going on that date with Amy last year and everything got all screwed up, ending in hyper-disaster. You moped around for weeks, as though your whole life was ruined. Billy gave a lopsided grin. I know you like her. That is why I came to you before I asked her about it. I don’t want it to hurt our friendship.

Kevin, known also as Nivek, which was simply his name backwards, turned away to hide his feelings and shrugged his shoulders. She can make her own decisions on things. In her religion, she is already considered an adult and has been for years.

So you wouldn’t mind? Billy suggested timidly, which was not like him at all.

Kevin’s expression was unreadable. She dated Dyrstan and I didn’t even try to stop her. He said the name Dyrstan like it were a decaying blob dredged up from a sewer.

No, but you beat the crap out of him afterwards, didn’t you? I was right there with you in case you needed some back-up, wasn’t I?

Kevin stood. Would you please hand me your blaster and stand up? At seventeen, Kevin was commander of this ship. He could have ordered Billy to do it. Beyond that, in his guise as Wing Commander Nivek, he headed the entire Abrasax fleet, which was steadily growing larger thanks to Ishtaree, the Queen of Abras, pushing the Army of Humanity idea.

Kevin took his own blaster out of its holster and placed both weapons in the arms locker. What are you doing? Billy asked, but he already knew the answer even before Kevin asked the ship’s computer, Ish, to clear the deck. As the deck plating rotated out of the way, the control consoles and acceleration couches folded down into the storage area just below the floor. Once those were out of the way, the plating slid back together.

Even though Billy knew there was a fight coming, he was unprepared to dodge the punch when Kevin suddenly hit him hard in the mouth. Billy outweighed Kevin by at least twenty pounds, but the punch was so hard—and had such fury behind it—that Billy flew backwards. He ended up sitting on the deck, giving his head a shake so his eyes would refocus.

Get up and fight! It was not an order by a superior officer, but the goading of a teenage boy wanting to let his feelings out with a physical confrontation.

No, Billy refused. I know I hurt you. I will let you have that punch. Maybe I deserved it, but I am not planning to fight you about this. Besides, I’m stronger. I would win anyway.

"Oh, yeah? You may be stronger, but I’m faster. You don’t know how this makes me feel! That my friend—my best friend—could even think of suggesting that, especially when he knows how I feel about her!" Kevin ranted.

You never tell her how you feel. How will she ever know if you don’t tell her? Billy asked. "I don’t want her to slip away, so if you aren’t going to date—"

Stand up and fight. Kevin tried to provoke Billy, Are you scared to fight me?

Friend or not, cut that out, Billy warned.

You’re scared, you coward!

Listen, you are saying the wrong thing. You know I can’t stand anyone calling me a coward. I won’t put up with it. Billy was on the edge of anger himself.

You won’t fight me. You’re chicken! Kevin egged him on. My friend, the chicken, wants to take away the girl I love. Then he made chicken noises, Bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk …

When Billy came up off the deck, it was Kevin’s turn to take an unavoidable punch. Billy yelled, "I am not a chicken. I won’t even let you call me that." The punch was hard enough to knock Kevin backwards, and he landed as Billy had.

Getting up, Kevin charged into Billy, hitting him low like a football tackle. Kevin landed on top after knocking Billy onto his back. With a flurry, he tried to land as many punches as he could. Billy blocked some of them, and though it was hard with his elbows hitting the deck under him, managed to land a few hard punches of his own. A drawn-out fight ensued with the two boys rolling around on the deck, wrestling, struggling, and punching each other. Eventually, both of them were so devoid of energy that they mutually, and non-verbally, agreed to stop fighting. They simply quit.

Go ahead. Date her, Kevin said, breaking the silence. After all, it’s always up to the girls anyway. What can a guy do about it once a girl decides she wants someone else? If it turns out I can’t have her, I’d much rather you were with her than anyone else I can think of.

From the arms locker, Billy got their weapons and grabbed a medical ice pack from the storage locker beside it. Here. For your eye. It’ll be swollen shut if you don’t put some ice on it.

Kevin accepted the ice pack and told Billy, You need to take care of your lip, too. It’s still bleeding. There’s probably a magic spell that’ll heal our aches and pains, but I can’t think of it at the moment.

They both knew that what they called magic was not some mystical force of their own minds or souls, but technology giving them the ability to control the quantum forces of the universe—to influence matter and dark matter at will—to channel both normal and dark energy to their needs. Tiny, nano-sized devices affixed to the brains and nervous systems of all descendants from the planet Abras, let them control things around them at a quantum level and tied into matter and energy more powerful than any other. The more of these little ‘nanobots’ a person had in their body, the stronger their control of the nearby physical universe. They were able to do things that most Earth people called magic, but in truth it was technology, discovered and left behind by scientists of Abras thousands of years earlier.

Kevin Wells, Billy MacDuff, Amy Levine, and the fourth member of their crew, Patty Varian, were all descended from refugees who escaped the planet Abras during Earth’s last ice age. They had only discovered their link to that distant planet about four years earlier, when Kevin had blindly activated a quantum teleportation ring that took them all back to Abras, the land of their distant ancestors.

I thought you were interested in Patty. Aren’t you? Kevin asked.

Sure, but Amy is more … Billy held up his hand in a position as though he were holding invisible grapefruits to his chest, but suddenly dropped his hands, deciding he didn’t want to start that fight all over again. She’s different … er, she’s Amy.

Kevin’s mouth twisted to one side and he murmured, You haven’t been looking too closely at Patty lately, have you? She’s not exactly a skinny little kid anymore. She just wears clothes that hide it better. I think she is ashamed of her—uhm, of the changes in her body.

Growing up is nothing to be ashamed of. Billy reflected for a couple of seconds. "I do like them both, and at least Patty is not always getting mad at me and threatening to permanently change me into a goat. In fact, now that I think about it, she never gets mad at me at all … well, okay, not too mad, anyway." He grinned.

Patty rarely gets mad at anyone. It is just how she is. We’ve played together since we were three or four years old. We know each other so well that it’s almost as if we were married sometimes. The look on Kevin’s face changed, almost as though that thought scared him slightly. Anyway, I know what’s on her mind. For instance, I know she likes you a lot, but is too shy to tell you so.

She does? Has she said that? Billy asked.

She doesn’t have to. I know it by the way she acts around you, Kevin assured him.

Well, I may be slow on relationships and stuff, but I have figured out one thing ... the four of us are a team. Nobody from outside should ever be allowed to interfere with that. One of us needs to marry Patty and the other one must marry Amy.

Kevin realized the truth in Billy’s words. Yeah. I have to agree with you there. No matter what else happens, the four of us need to stick together as a team—as friends—forever.

Billy added, Let me see. Yeah, your eye’s still red, but it’s not quite as swollen now.

Kevin squinted through his good eye. Sorry.

Billy nodded. Yeah, me, too. He gently touched his lower lip and checked his fingers for fresh blood.

* * *

The door slid down and extended out, elongating to make the boarding ramp as part of the starboard wing slid back out of the way. The girls entered. The first to speak was Amy. Were you two fighting?

Who us? Kevin retorted with a carefree smile. We’re friends forever.

We wouldn’t do that, Billy assured them. We were—uh—we were practicing some martial arts moves.

A black eye and a split lip? Patty observed. Looks more like you were slugging each other with your fists.

In other words, we don’t believe you. What were you fighting about? Amy grilled them.

Okay, we were, but it was not about you girls, Kevin assured them.

Definitely not! Billy added immediately.

Wow. You were fighting over us? Patty exclaimed.

Looks like it, Amy answered her, turning back to the boys. So what were you trying to work out? Was it about one or both of us?

Billy blurted out, Okay, it was about both of you. We decided that the four of us should stay together always. That one of us guys should marry you and one of us should marry Patty. Billy hesitated as he added, At least, if you girls are in favor of it.

Amy raised one eyebrow and answered, "Wait a minute. That just clicked and I have a big problem with it. You were fighting. That means, whatever it was, only one of you thought it was a good idea and the other one was dead-set against it."

No, it wasn’t like that, Billy said, and then asked, What do you girls think about that idea, anyway? I mean, we have always been together, even before we physically met.

So, were you fighting about who gets whom? Amy asked. "I don’t like that either. You see, boys, I have news for you both. It’s not up to you guys, it is up to us girls."

I bet they were, Patty said, but they’re not going to tell us, no matter how we ask.

"No matter how we ask?" Amy shot a look at Patty and whispered something in her ear.

Patty shrieked and laughed. "Oh no. You know what I mean—if we threatened them."

Amy smiled oddly and gave a quick, Yeah. Right.

Billy ignored the girly exchange and spoke again. What I said … I didn’t mean it to sound like a proposal, but now that I think about it, it did sound a little like one.

Listen, William, from you I would not think for a moment it was a proposal. If anything, more like a proposition. Amy retorted.

"Huh? Well, let me rephrase it. In theory, what would you think of the idea? Only in theory, mind you—all of us getting married?"

Patty fluttered her eyelids. All of us, as in all four at once? Billy sighed.

In theory? In theory, that is so dumb it had to come from Mister Billy-Goat-Gruff. Am I right? Amy asked. Okay, William, I am kidding. I know what you meant, and in truth, I think that the idea of us already being two couples has been with all of us for years, even if we never came out and said it. We are so suited to each other, it would be hard to think of anyone else entering our group. With a momentary pause, she grinned and added, Except maybe … She didn’t finish.

Except maybe who? Kevin asked, but Billy cut him off.

So you think you will … er, would marry one of us? Which of us guys do you two picture yourselves with? Now Billy was being his typically blunt self.

I can’t believe my ears! Boys discussing marriage? Patty was wide-eyed. With Billy, that is about as much of a proposal as we will ever hear out of—

No, Billy quickly interrupted, "just the possibility that it could happen—someday—a long time in the future."

A very long time, said Kevin.

Very, very long. Billy added. As he said it, Amy’s wand waved in the air and Billy’s human form disappeared, replaced by that of a goat.

Looking at Amy, Kevin repeated, Except maybe who? You better not be thinking of Dyrstan.

"Is that an order from a superior officer? She paused, looking slightly angry, but only for a few seconds. Regardless of that, why not? Dyrstan can be very sweet at times."

Sweet how? If I wrote a thousand words that described Dyrstan, ‘sweet’ would be nowhere on the list.

He has grown up a lot since we first met him. He was that way before because he was just so insecure. Amy’s answers were infuriating Kevin, but he tried not to show it.

So he is secure around you? Kevin asked.

Well, sure. We get along. You remember his father. A dad like that would make any kid insecure.

"Just how secure is he with you?"

Listen, Mister Nivek, you are being an idiot. Patty stated. Can’t you see Amy is messing with you?

No, she’s being serious. Amy looked at Kevin and put on a brief but exaggerated smile. He had no idea what she meant by it, so he added, When you said he is secure with you, what did you mean?

Amy gave him a sly grin and said, I mean he doesn’t always act like an idiot who is trying to prove something to me.

Why does he— What did he do to prove himself? What do you mean by that?

Just never mind. Also, he does not act like someone afraid to go out with me, scared every date must always end in disaster. Know anyone like that? she asked.

Kevin tried to answer that, but somehow once again, it did not come out the way he meant it to. I would like to date you, but I know Bill wants to ask you out. It’s … it’s what we were fighting about earlier, if you must know.

"About who could date me? Didn’t you think maybe you should ask me about that?"

Patty chimed in with, Boys can act really stupid at times.

So how did it turn out? Amy asked Kevin.

"We … I agreed to keep my love … er, my feelings for you in check and let you two have a chance to explore the possibility of being together. I mean, if you want to date him, of course, Kevin admitted, trying to smile. I just want for you to have whatever will make you happiest. Even if it means … even if you end up with Dyrstan."

I see, Amy answered. "That is how you really feel?"

Yes, Kevin agreed.

All right, then I forgive you for the other stuff. Amy smiled.

Patty, on the other hand, looked as though she were about to start crying. I can see that I am just the one who gets the leftovers. Right? Don’t worry about good old Patty. She has no feelings. She will be a good lap-dog and do as she’s told. Pat me on the head and tell me ‘Good doggy’.

"No. That’s not it at all. Kevin turned and quickly hugged Patty. He whispered in her ear, You know I love you and I always will, no matter how I feel about someone else. We both do. Bill loves you as much as I do. Maybe more."

I know you do, Nivek, but if Billy does have feelings for me, it would be nice to hear it from him.

Kevin spoke this time so Amy could hear as well. We just thought we would have an experiment to see how Bill and Amy get along together.

Amy pointed at Billy in the form of a goat. "This doesn’t give you a clue about that?" she asked, her eyebrows rising very high.

Okay. Sure you like to pick on each other, but that really just shows you do have some feelings for him.

No, I am just planning to have a goat hair sweater some day. She gave him a quick, but much-too-wide, smile. Patty giggled at her statement.

She restored Billy to his normal shape. "Now, Mister Billy-Goat-Gruff, it happens that I already know who I am going to marry. You do remember that Queen Ishtaree can see the future, don’t you? When I first met her there in the prison years ago, she told me what she saw in my future."

I hope you know that I hate it when you do that. Billy stretched as his muscles returned to their normal shape.

Pity, Amy said lightly, but then seemed to ponder for a bit. I have been afraid to mention it, since it could affect our future and make things turn out differently, but I will tell you … She looked over at Patty, searching her face to see if she should go on. Patty shrugged. She told me I would marry … No, I can’t say it.

Who? said Kevin, almost sounding like an owl.

The irritation showed on Billy’s face. Come on. Don’t start to say something and then not finish it. Why do girls always do that?

Amy dismissed it with a shake of her head. Because it is a girl’s prerogative to change her mind. She finally conceded slightly, Okay, there will be a big double wedding and all four of us will be there, but I won’t say if we are marrying each other or someone else.

You just did. Billy grinned. Double means two weddings. If there are four people and a double wedding, they have to be marrying each other.

I only said we would all be there, not that we were all getting married, Amy retorted triumphantly.

A thought occurred to Kevin. Since people on planets across the galaxy know me as Wing Commander Nivek, if Nivek got married, it would have to be huge. There would be news coverage across the thousand worlds. The bad part of that is everyone would know what I looked like after that, and that could be a problem.

Billy laughed and said, Yeah, it could scare all the little children to death and we wouldn’t want that. Maybe you should wear a mask.

Kevin half smiled. Very funny.

Billy continued, No, wait. That’s actually a great idea. Glad I thought of it. We could have the wedding during a masked ball and announce that it’s for security reasons. If Kevin Wells gets married, only family would come, but Wing Commander Nivek getting married would be such a big event, that the queen and officials from almost every planet across the galaxy would come.

Amy’s smile faded and she bit her lower lip. No, she said, she won’t be there.

This idea was a shock to Kevin. "Ishtaree won’t come? We’d be getting married and she