Man Overboard

By Nigel G. Mitchell

The two words no quanta fisherman wants to hear: "man overboard." A crew member aboard an interdimensional fishing boat is lost in space, and the captain will do anything to rescue him. But it's not just any crew member - it's the captain's son. 

Genre: Scifi/Adventure 
Length: 5,900-words

• Language: English
• Publisher: Platypus Publishing
• Release date: Nov 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519973207

Nigel G. Mitchell

Nigel G. Mitchell was born in Brooklyn, NY. He earned a Bachelor's in English from Arizona State University in 1999. In addition to fiction, he is also a writer for the popular sci-fi blog, The Geek Twins. His work has been featured regularly in Slashfilm, Blastr, io9, CBR and Screenrant. His short stories have been published in Lost Worlds, 365 Tomorrows, and Black Hole Magazine. His latest novel is "Enter the Nexus." He currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and three children.

Book preview

WHEN THE ALARM SOUNDED, it came along with two words no quanta fisherman ever wanted to hear.

Man overboard, squawked the intercom. Repeat, man overboard.

Captain Shane Laughlin set down the hyperspace charts he had been working on and tapped the video button on the intercom. His engineer, Danielle DeMaio, formed on the screen. Her movements on the video seemed jerky due to the side effects of the storm's interference.

Who and where? Laughlin snapped.

Starboard aft, Chief, she said. Hank.

Laughlin refused to let any emotion cross his face. He would only say, On my way. Get the tow cables ready.

Aye, Chief. DeMaio snapped off the screen.

Laughlin pulled his jacket on as he rushed out of his quarters to the control room. He told himself he just had to do this by the book, not getting confused or excited, and Hank would be fine. He was just another crew member.

No, he's not, thought Laughlin. He's my son.

He couldn't help flashing back to the last conversation they had, one that seemed just like the other hundred he had on the same topic. Now he found himself thinking it was the last conversation he might ever have with Hank.

You're not talking me out of it, Laughlin had said while tracking the nearest quanta pool. I'm retiring. That's it.

Hank had tried a new tactic, appealing to his paternal instincts. But Dad, come on. We've been talking about this all my life, you and me, out among the stars, exploring. Maybe even finding a quanta we can name after Mom, right?

Laughlin chuckled. It's been a long time since I did any exploring, son. I fish along the standard lanes now. I know you dream about finding some new form of quanta, but trust me. There's not much left to find.

Okay, so you and me will get in the record books. We'll catch the biggest quanta anybody's ever seen.

Laughlin patted Hank on the shoulder. You can go for the records, Hank. I'm happy with my thirty-year career.

Hank took a