Still Falling: Book 1: Solstice 31 Saga Read Free

silence and only perform passive scans. Like us.” Barcus could have sworn she was about to start crying.
    “Why the hell did we leave the shuttle? It could still fly,” Barcus said.
    “I believe they tracked it down and might find it. Our best chance of survival, long-term, is to evacuate from here and monitor. Chen is dead.” The EM sounded upset, and then continued.
    “There is a ship coming this way. ETA is four minutes. Hang on.” Just then, Em jumped into a deep ravine. Its long legs absorbed most of the impact. She backed under a slight overhang and settled, not moving. Only a small strip of the sky was visible above.
    Passive sensors were on full high speed and recording as the ship flashed over them.
    Barcus found himself holding his breath.
    “Is there any way to tell if they have seen us?” he asked in a hushed tone.
    “I don't believe they have seen us or the Shuttle Transport Unit.” Em paused, “Barcus, do you mind if I call him Stu? I usually call him Stu.”
    Barcus barked in laughter. The question was so unexpected. And then he strangled on a sob, covering his mouth. He remembered that Chen called it Stu as well. “Yes, Em. Let's call him Stu.” He knew he was losing it. He put his face in his hands again.
    “They are coming back around,” Em said with concern in her voice. The display showed a 3D terrain map indicating their position in the ravine and the STU's position on the ledge. The ship was loud, hovering now, but not directly visible.
    “There isn't enough room on the ledge for them to land.” Search lights scanned the cliffs.
    Suddenly, the HUD presented a view in a window as if it were flying up along the cliff face and rising fast.
    “Em, what am I seeing here? We are not moving,” Barcus asked, pointing at the window.
    “I have deployed a remote BUG. A Briggs, Udvar, Green surveillance drone. It will provide video and audio surveillance. It cannot move too quickly. BUGs are only the size of a tiny insect and almost impossible to detect, even with active scans,” Em, explained.
    It seemed to take forever to clear the edge of the ravine. Search lights were scanning back and forth on the rocks. The lights scanned a few meters away from Chen's cairn. The search light never touched it. There was already a little snow drift obscuring the pile. All tracks and signs of their passing were gone.
    The ship’s engines began to roar again, and it moved off. The BUG watched it go. It had clear markings - PT-137.
    “Colonists?” Barcus asked.
    “It appears so,” Em replied.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    To Fall or Not to Fall
     
    “Forensic analysis indicates that this Emergency Module was in possession of some very highly classified Briggs, Udvar, Green, surveillance drone s. Commonly known as BUGs. None of these units were recovered. No hardware provenance is available.”
    --Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.
    <<<>>>
     
    Em stayed in the ravine for another hour.
    “Barcus, I think we should leave some surveillance BUGs behind and move.” Em began to rise from her hiding place. The EM switched to the local view. Barcus had fallen silent. The display had been focused on the Chen's cairn for the last hour.
    “Em, should I just leave her there?”
    “For now. We have to go,” Em replied.
    The EM’s display came alive with windows of the BUG’s views, RF monitors, 3D maps, systems statuses and passive scan screens. They begin to distract Barcus as Em slowly climbed out.
    “Em? This one looks like an old style GPS.” He pointed to a specific screen.
    Em replied, “Yes, Barcus, their SATs supply Global Positioning System location information, which I can use passively. I am currently attempting to correlate positioning with maps I created based on images collected during our orbit and descent. There is also a lot of comm traffic, but it is encrypted... Once I get enough BUGs deployed, we may