Alpha Rising Read Free

flight suit.”
He playfully somersaulted to the aft galley. “Want something to
drink? Cosmic surfing was a real rush, but it sure made me
thirsty.”
    “ A sip of water,
thanks.”
    After storing his gear, Bach bounced to the
galley for water tubes. Seeing his reflection in the refrigerator’s
metallic panel, he let out a little yelp. “Whooo. My hair
exploded!” Patting down strands sticking straight up, he joked, “I
look like the rock star I always wanted to be.” A few lines of an
unknown song resounded through the cabin. “I don’t know where I’m
goin’, but I’ll sure know when I’m there.”
    Faith chuckled.
    Bach corkscrewed through the cabin to the
flight deck. “That remarkable sentiment comes from a song written
by my college buddies in a rock group, the Ravens. And here’s fair
warning: I know the words to hundreds of old songs from the days
when I worked as a DJ to earn a little money … and meet girls.
Mostly meet girls.” He nodded to himself. “But that was a long time
ago.” With that, he unzipped the neckline of his jumpsuit, reached
inside, and pulled out a small, heart-shaped picture frame holding
a photo of a young, dark-haired woman. He opened his hand and
allowed the frame to float in the weightless environment, then
kissed his fingertips and touched her lips. “Hold tight love, we’ll
be there soon.”
    Faith’s eyes widened. “You smuggled Kaz’s
picture aboard?”
    “ Yeah. For some of us it’s
a requisite prank to smuggle something. Did you bring
anything?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ You did?”
    “ Yes, my Bible.”
    “ Bible? How’d you sneak on
something that big?”
    “ Friends in high places,”
she said, smiling. “Snuck it on my last mission, too. Got it for my
twelfth birthday from my grandparents.” She turned serious. “The
Bible’s the most important thing you can have anywhere,
anytime.”
    “ If you say so.”
    Her big blue eyes twinkled. “B-I-B-L-E,
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.”
    Bach handed her a tube of water and
repeated, “If you say so.” He checked the viewscreen as he sat. “Ya
gotta wonder how the AstroLab’s crew’s doing, lost in space with
Luke Lynch as commander.”
    She groaned. “Yeah, I heard he’s a
tyrant.”
    “ They don’t call him by his
last name for nothing. Personally, I think the old man has made one
flight too many.”
    Faith slid her gold cross back and forth on
the chain. “But he has a way of getting the best performance from
diverse personalities.”
    “ That’s what worries me.
Kaz is a diverse personality all by herself. I hope old
drill-sergeant Lynch has compassion for his rookie astronaut. She’s
young. This is a lot for her to handle.”
    “ I’m betting he’ll try to
take command of this ship on the way home.”
    Bach smirked a little. “He can’t. He doesn’t
know how to fly this one.”
     
     
    *****
     
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Bach watched incoming feed on a data panel.
Beyond Mars, space/time delays between NASA and the Wizard made
timely receipt and transmission of electronic communiqués a
persistent problem. “Finally, fresh information,” he said, then
read aloud, “‘Last stats hold. AstroLab and crew believed safe with
main powerplant down.’”
    Faith talked as she typed on a keyboard.
“They’re probably psychologically numb. Space has such an impact on
emotions.”
    After checking a radarscope, Bach said,
“Nothing resembling the Lab registering. Their backup systems must
be at minimum or we’d have detected them by now.” He shook his
head. “If there were a way to fly the Lab and crew home, Deni Kambo
would do it. She piloted my last spacewalk mission. Hard to believe
I’m involved in her rescue.”
    Faith nodded, then reached up and snagged
Kaz’s picture from the air for a closer look. “She’s very pretty.
How long have you been together?”
    “ Ten months. We were both
part of the Viking mission prep crew. She didn’t launch with us,
but I