Shoshone Station #4: Meteors: The Galactic Consortium, #13

By R. J. Eliason

Dan Oleson has been chosen to serve as embassy security on Saras Station in the Consortium, but he will soon discover the dangers are of a different type than he’s expecting. 

Rumors are swirling about an asteroid or some other large body colliding with the earth. Would the Consortium allow such a thing to happen? More importantly, it seems the rumor may have started on Shin Station, of all places. Can Dan find the answer to this riddle?

Shoshone Station:

Less than a year ago, they arrived over earth’s sky. They call themselves the Galactic Consortium and they are human, or at least, simian — from the same genetic line as humans. They claim to have terraformed this planet centuries ago to serve as a base for their exploration of this galaxy. What happened to the settlers, why none of us remember this, remains a mystery. 

For America the concerns are more immediate. Will the Consortium accept our independence?

Shoshone Station is the first joint enterprise, a solar power, space station parked in geostationary orbit over Denver, Colorado. Its been “gifted” to America, but as Sherman Lannister takes command he wonders just how much control the new American crew will really have. After all, what do they know about running a space station?

For Sophia, a homeless transgender youth from Denver, and many like her the station is a second chance at a new life. But what will she do living amongst the stars? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. J. Eliason
• Release date: Apr 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386576075

R. J. Eliason

R. J. Eliason writes immersive science fiction and fantasy stories that feature diverse characters. Her writing spans many sub-genres from alien contact, apocalyptic stories and epic fantasy. She also writes in a wide variety of formats, from full length novels to an ongoing serialized adventure. Her writing can be found in digital and print formats anywhere online that books are sold. Or check out her website at rj.eliason.com and sign up for a free book. 

Book preview

Meteors

Chapter 1

Dan Oleson woke in a hotel room. He wasn’t used to it get used to it. He certainly wasn’t used to how swanky this hotel was. One night here would cost more than he made in a month. Now he was being paid to stay.

There were two beds, but Dan’s bunkmate was gone, doing the nightshift. He rose, showered, and dressed quickly. He admired himself in the mirror before leaving the room. He liked his new suit, a black Diplomatic Secret Service suit. He thought he looked good in it. He hoped Bakala would agree when he saw him again.

That wouldn’t be for a couple of weeks, unfortunately. But a couple of weeks was still better than the murky when things get better between our countries. Dan packed his bag and set it at the foot of the bed, as he’d been instructed. One of his junior staff would come by later and gather the bags.

He took the elevator up first, exiting on the penthouse level. There were four penthouses at this hotel, and they were all well known in the security community, of which Dan was becoming a part. Two minor world leaders were staying, along with Ephram Blumenthal.

He approached Blumenthal’s door and was saluted by the guards. Agent Oleson, they said.

At ease, he said. They stood in an awkward place. Dan was the new guy, still in training. They were veteran agents with years of experience. But Dan was their superior, his own position as much a diplomatic posting as a Secret Service one.

The ambassador just woke up. He’s still getting ready for the day, one offered hesitantly, implying it would not be a good idea for Dan to barge in now.

Of course. I just wanted to check in real quick, see how the night went, before heading down to breakfast. Agent Hammond is operational today anyway. He’ll see us to the OL.

Hammond was an experienced lead agent on the nightshift, and he’d stay in charge for the transfer this morning. Once they reached the airport and boarded the Orbital Lander for Shoshone Station, the roles would switch. Hopefully, the awkwardness would lessen then too. Dan was the only agent on this assignment that had been on a Consortium spaceship.

Quiet. Nothing to report, one guard said.

Let Hammond know I’m awake. He yawned. Sort of. I’ll be in the dining room, getting breakfast.

You mean securing the location, one guard said with a sly smile. "That’s what we like to say, sir. We’d better secure that location."

Dan smiled at the shared joke. I’ll keep that in mind.

The hotel had a five-star restaurant attached, but Dan bypassed it for a small lounge that served a simpler, free continental breakfast for patrons in a hurry. He found a bagel, cream cheese, and most importantly, a cup of coffee.

He sat at an open table and looked around the room. He figured he might as well really secure the location since he was here. It was mostly empty, and none of the few diners looked suspicious.

There was a newspaper on the table. Dan rarely read or watched Earth news anymore. He felt disconnected to it. Now that he was going to Saras Station, that disconnect was even greater. But the headlines on the paper caught his attention.

Meteors Rain Down on Earth. What Will the Consortium Do?

He opened the paper and read. The more he read, the more his brow scrunched in confusion. The article was filled with vague insinuations that there was a meteor, asteroid or some other sort of cosmic body that could, possibly, strike Earth someday. There was a long side article about an asteroid that had orbited close to Earth and another article about how an asteroid strike was responsible for the mass extinction of dinosaurs.

A movement caught his attention, and he looked over at the door. Agent Hammond nodded at him. Dan made a point of checking both corners that were out of sight Hammond’s sight line and nodded back, indicating the corners were clear. Hammond swept into the room, followed by Ambassador Ephram Blumenthal and two more agents.

Dan rose and saluted Blumenthal, who gestured for Dan to sit.

Bagel and coffee, please, Blumenthal said to one of the agents as he took a seat across from Dan. He picked up the paper that Dan had just discarded. What do you make of it? he asked.

Dan shrugged. I don’t get it. I would think they would tell us if a meteor was going to strike Earth, don’t you?

Blumenthal glanced at him over the top of the paper. And yet it’s in every newspaper. They blindsided your old captain, I’m sorry to say.

They did?

Blumenthal snorted. Don’t watch much news, do you?

Not Earth news, Dan admitted. So do you think there’s anything behind this?

I think, Blumenthal said in his typically precise way, that someone wants to give the impression that there’s something to it.

But why?

If you have any ideas, I am all ears, Blumenthal replied.

Agent Hammond touched his Bluetooth earpiece and then said, Our lander touched down a few moments ago, sir.

Blumenthal put the paper down and accepted the coffee and bagel from the junior agent. In that case, I see no reason to delay. If your team is ready, we can leave at any time.

With that, they all rose.

Dan had to admire Hammond’s competence. The man had Blumenthal’s limousine at the front door before they reached the lobby. Two black sedans were in front of it and two behind, the entirety of Blumenthal’s security team.

The trip to JFK International Airport passed quickly, Dan riding in the back of the limo with Blumenthal. The trip through the airport was even quicker. They flashed their diplomatic credentials and bypassed all the TSA security checks. At the final check, they were met by fellow Secret Service agents. There they surrendered their firearms; they could not travel Consortium space with them. There was the occasional look that betrayed how a few of the men felt about this—unhappy—but they’d been briefed on that reality before they’d accepted the assignment, and no one complained aloud.

Before long, they were in a part of the airport not open to the public, and then outside again, heading toward a runway. The OL was not designed for their airports, and they had little choice but to park in the open and load manually. The OL looked like a short, stubby version of America’s old space shuttles, with a smooth, white exterior and a dark front window.

It was early December and still not nine in the morning, but the day was warm enough, and it wasn’t unpleasant to cross the open space.

Be the last time you will see the sky, boys, Hammond said to the team as they reached the lander.

"The dome over