Drake Snippets

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 15

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 15 CHAPTER 10 By the time Woetjans and I got back to the Sunray, Captain Leary and the senior personnel who'd served with him on the Princess Cecile -- the former Sissies -- had gone off to dinner. Woetjans went to her cabin to change before joining them. Lieutenant Enery was the duty officer. When I entered the bridge, she asked, "Were you able to get most of what we needed?" "Yes, ma'am," I said. "All of it." I checked for incoming messages on Officer Mundy's station since it was the one I'd used in...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 14

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 14 Woetjans kneaded her pectoral muscles with her fingers and looked sideways at me. "Sorry," she muttered in apparent embarrassment. "I took some slugs a couple years ago and they tighten up when they get cold." I said, "I'd been thinking that a jacket might have been a good plan. We could go back?" "Bloody hell, no," the bosun said. The chandleries along Water Boulevard were separated from one another by bars and brothels. We'd left the ship long enough behind the main liberty group that the...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 13

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 13 I knew that this was the first time Barnes and Dasi had landed on Hansen's World, so probably the captain hadn't either. At any rate, he hadn't directed me to a particular outfitter. Cory might want his place back now that we'd landed. Rather than contact Mundy electronically, I walked over to the station where she was working with her personal data unit. Tovera moved as though she intended to block me when she saw what I was doing, but I thrust my arm out in front of her. I was a ship's officer. I...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 12

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 12 CHAPTER 9 I was using one of the displays on the bridge to read what the Sailing Directions had to say about Hansen's World. I wanted to learn as much as I could, but mainly I was focusing on something other than the fact that my guts had been turning somersaults ever since we extracted from the Matrix. We were in freefall orbit around the planet. I was hoping that I'd feel better as soon as we landed; it wouldn't be hard for however I felt to be better. I'd been told that every time you extracted...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 11

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 11 CHAPTER 7 I spent my next duty on the hull with Captain Leary as he indicated our course to me from the Dorsal A masthead platform. The captain was using a brass rod -- it must have been filled with something -- between our helmets so that we could talk without actually leaning into direct contact. I listened to his descriptions of what I should be seeing as my eyes followed the sweep of his arm across the glowing Matrix. He could have been whistling to me in bird language and it would have made as...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 10

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 10 CHAPTER 6 Barnes started taking off his helmet as soon as the outer hatch had locked closed. I knew that was usual for riggers, but I'd always been willing to wait for the pressure in the lock to build up a bit. Still, Barnes and I were the only ones in the lock this time -- we were knocking off shortly before the watch ended. I wasn't hiding in the crowd. I began to undo my catches also. The pressure had risen to ten psi by the time I had the helmet off, though. Barnes grinned at me. "Know where...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 09

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 09 Wedell and I had been using hand signals when we needed to "speak." Rigging suits didn't have radios because the accidental use of one in the Matrix could send a ship wildly off course. I'd learned the signals in the Academy, but I wasn't very good at them yet -- and Wedell and I hadn't worked together before, so we didn't know how to predict one another's actions the way an experienced team would. Still, we hadn't had real problems in such a straightforward job. Barnes, the sound of his voice...

Though Hell Should Bar The Way – Snippet 08

Though Hell Should Bar The Way - Snippet 08 CHAPTER 5 "Testing thrusters One and Six," said a raspy voice over the PA system. The Sunray shook and wobbled as two plasma thrusters vented into the flooded slip. Pasternak, the Chief Engineer, was speaking. He was the old spacer I'd asked to guide me when I first arrived at Bergen and Associates a lifetime ago. There was a brief pause. The ship still rocked as the pool settled. "Testing thrusters Two and Five," Pasternak said, and again we roared and shook. I was squatting on one side of the A...