Sirens Of Theta X

By Neil Dabb

On a mysterious planet that appears and disappears every fifty years, a race of siren warriors is preparing for the changes that occur as the planet emerges from subspace to real space.
The gas mines in the Theta system were not as lucrative as Cornelius Randolf had hoped but the appearance of Theta X presented a challenge he couldn’t resist. In the brief time it had been in real space, a dozen ships had crashed while attempting to land, lured there by the naturally occurring sirens song. Cornelius knew he would succeed, but he couldn’t plan on a dragon getting in the way of his ship as he approached the surface.
Now Cornelius must save his crew from the warriors’ sirens song while forging a treaty between his crew, the dragons, and the warriors before he and his crew are dumped into the depths of subspace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Neil Dabb
• Release date: Oct 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463732212

Neil Dabb

Neil grew up in Smithfield, Utah, and currently holds a General Class license amateur radio license. He was a material handler for over 10 years while obtaining a BA from Utah State University. He has been a freelance writer for most of that time and has been published in a variety of magazines over the years.Neil worked for Utah State University for twelve years with the Junior Engineering program. He enjoys writing, Frisbee (disc) golf and bonfires. He is the father of five children and lives in Logan Utah.

Book preview

Sirens Of Theta X

by

Neil Dabb

Copyright 2019 Neil Dabb

Smashwords Edition

Chapter 1

Everyone in the hold, Cornelius ordered, waving the blaster at the members of his crew.

There was a moment of tension as the first mate met Cornelius' stare. He took in the black leather that was Cornelius's trademark, then focussed on his face. Move! the muscular olive skin man with a red vest and white shirt and shorts shouted as he herded the rest of the crew into the hold.

Cornelius watched as his crew moved into the half filled storage hold. He would have to do this one solo. If he cracked up, the crew would be safer in the hold than anywhere else thanks to the heavy duty shielding needed to protect the volatile heavy gasses they were carrying. If he didn't, he would be able to discover any other dangers and warn them when he set them free.

Cornelius Randolf was a medium height man with graying hair and fiery brown eyes and was not overly impetuous. When he went into a situation he always knew exactly what he was doing. His reputation however spoke otherwise because he made those decisions so quickly. The decision to make a raid in the Theta system was easily made, and made good sense. There were many mining barges in the area, and not enough warships to protect them. But now the decision had become complicated. The Lorelei signal from Theta X was accosting them, and only the threat of an immediate blaster stun had stopped his men from turning right into the sun to follow the signal. The raids had not been as kind to Cornelius as he would have liked, so the idea of proving the odds wrong appealed to his sense of adventure.

As soon as Cornelius had made his decision he knew when and how he would make his decent toward Theta X. If you took the time to think about it, it was really a simple thing, just let the gravity of the main planet pull you into an orbit synchronous with Theta X. Then fall into the atmosphere of Theta X. Cornelius was quite pleased with himself as he avoided the high spires of rock and searched for a clear place to land. The dragon was in his flight path before he could even think to react, so he reacted without thinking and swerved right into a stand of trees. Fortunately the ship stayed intact, but it would be several hours before he or the crew would regain consciousness.

同时

In the days before the various levels of subspace were mapped and understood, Theta X would have been called an enigma. The planet would appear in orbit around the first gas giant in the system producing a naturally occurring siren’s signal for fifty years at a time, and then disappear from real space. In reality, the planet moved in a rotation from subspace to real space through superspace and back again. During those times of change landing there became difficult at best.

For early gas miners Theta X and the siren’s song it produced posed a great hazard, since the three gas giants in the Theta system were unique. Their gravity was such that it separated the gasses out so distinctly that miners could siphon off the super heavy gasses in a pure state, saving them the expense of separating those valuable gasses from the normal gasses present on most planets. As more gas miners went to the system, they would find themselves at first intrigued, then lured by the sirens signal that naturally emanated from Theta X to their deaths. Their primitive ships either crashed into the atmosphere, dropped into the sun, or crashed on the high spires that rose from the surface. It was rumored that one or two ships had successfully landed there, but none had ever returned.

On the surface of the planet none of this was apparent, and consequently the inhabitants were unaware of the where in the cycle they were. Thus most of the current generation living on Theta X could not remember when the planet was last in real space.

Tattia stood alone on the high windy spire, her long firm legs easily adjusting to the strong gusts that blew her silver hair in a cascade over her smooth soft shoulders. She pursed her green lips as a particularly chilly gust brushed across her short bustier. She instinctively pulled a small bag from the loose string belt that she wore slung above her skintight shorts. Inside the bag were little chunks of meat and meal, dried, and stored for watch duty. The mixture provided oxygen and warmth so she could endure the extreme height. There were watchtowers evenly spaced over most of Theta X. They rose high above the thick lush forests, and thousands of feet above the highest clouds. Only the royal guards were allowed up here, and only the sighting of a ship would give Tattia an excuse to leave before the end of her watch. To do so for any other reason would result in immediate execution.

Tattia turned to watch the sun set. Her appointed perch was barely three meters in diameter, and gave her a full view from any position. A tiny spot of light caught her attention as the sun disappeared over the horizon. She concentrated, letting herself slip into the familiar trance that would enhance her vision and allow her to comprehend what she was seeing. As the image formed in her mind she smiled. A ship was crashing into the forest, which meant there would be men, and perhaps, if she were lucky, a man with enough intelligence to be a partner, and not just a slave. She thought of her father as she turned to move quickly down from her post. He had been far more intelligent than any of the slaves that were currently serving them, and her mother had wisely kept that fact from the