Ten Thousand Fleets Chapter 1: 1: Pinnacle Station

Read chapter 1 of Ten Thousand Fleets by DavidNiemitz on NovelPedia.

1: Pinnacle Station Pinnacle Station, Vidako Imperium Stellarum August 12, 2847 “Watch where you’re going, boy!” Arcturus Sandhurst rebounded off the arm of the Alu’kan spacer. The impact caused him to stumble and nearly lose his grip on the single, battered suitcase he’d lugged all the way from Zurah V. The Alu’kan, on the other hand, had all the size and density which the males of his species were known for, and was no more jarred by the impact than a star would be troubled at the impact of some unfortunate hunk of debris. In fact, the man, his broad, square-jawed face stark white beneath the artificial lights of Pinnacle Station, caught Arc with one hand, steadying him before he could tumble down onto the floor of the crowded concourse. The Alu’kan’s shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing forearms thicker than Arc’s thighs, colored white along the inside and fading to a deep, dark gray by his elbow. The spacer was utterly without body-hair, like all of his species, and when he patted Arc’s hand, the touch of his skin was so distinctly different from the texture of a human’s that the sensation was jarring. “Thanks,” Arc stammered. “I’m sorry—I wasn’t looking where I was going.” “I’ve made enough mad dashes to catch a ship,” the big man said, with a grin which exposed too-sharp teeth—predator’s teeth. “Go on, boy. And try not to kill yourself on the way there!” The last was called in Arc’s wake, for he’d already dashed off again, weaving in and out of foot traffic as best he could, that old, battered piece of luggage dragging along behind him on spinning wheels. The ISS Kaladan had arrived near a standard hour late at Pinnacle, due to a hold up entering the Gate at Zurah V’s L2 Lagrange point. A cargo ship had needed to be towed out of the way, and while no one could have helped the delay, that single event had turned the entire rest of the voyage into one long, trembling fit of anxiety for Arc. Seven hours in from Vidako’s Gate to Pinnacle Station, which might normally have been fascinating as his first voyage away from home, had instead alternated between boredom, panic, and recrimination. After all, if he’d left Zurah V on an earlier ship, there’d have been no question of getting down to the surface on time. He’d have been cooling his heels in his assigned dorm at the Imperial Mech Academy for three days already, as his classmates filed in. Instead, Arc had to sprint all the way from the end of Terminal Delta to Gate P3, at the very center of Pinnacle, and he had to manage it before his elevator-car left without him. If he missed this ride, the next open seat might not be for hours, and that would mean Arc would begin his career at the academy with the dubious distinction of having arrived late. That was something he couldn’t allow. Not for himself, but for Phoebe. I won’t mess this up , he promised her, once again. I’ll get my wings. And then I’ll find them for you. I swear it, Phoebe, I’ll find them all. He ducked past a small flock of Toreans, their brilliant plumage standing out like a splatter of paint on white canvas, then careened around a human mother trying to shepherd three children. Half a dozen men and women in grease-stained coveralls, wearing the tool-belts of ship's engineers, made a leisurely show of turning off the main concourse and heading up to the entrance of Uncle Human’s Family Feed Bag , a chain restaurant that marketed ‘authentic’ human food to the other member-species of the Imperium. Arc swallowed his curses and dove in between two of the engineers, then dashed past a duty-free liquor store selling bottles of some local intoxicant, complete with a dead serpent floating inside. And then, through two passing streams of foot traffic ahead, he saw it: a great, illuminated screen with the number ‘P3’ blinking, and the words, ‘final call for boarding’ just beneath. “Excuse me!” Arc shouted, diving straight through the crossing lanes of traffic, and narrowly avoided a second collision, this