Entropy Risen (The Syker Key Book 3) by Aaron Martin Fransen Read Free Book Online

our development to being a space-faring species, and two, it will help protect the environment if we’re busy mining in space instead of digging up forests.”
    He smiled at John. “I like the cut of your jib,” he said.
    John laughed. He hadn’t heard that one in a while. “Don’t worry though, you’re not going to have to rely on me for long. I have a plan to get you a propulsion system that will knock your socks off.”
    ***
    Pan watched the storm fade, surprised at how much it felt like his own insides.
    From the eastern slopes above Lake Geneva, he watched the clouds finally lose energy, depositing their loads onto the fields of grapes below. For a bearer, the electricity in the air was literally palpable. It was spectacular, and reminded him how much of nature was more incredible than he could even imagine.
    Jessica had been right. He was ready to kill every last one of them, and the mere memory of it was enough to drag him back into that world, but he fought it back. I will not feed those bastards , he thought.
    Even here, below him in the city, was one of his targets, who he now knew he would let live, the human collaborator known as Gareth Konig, the one who had seen right through Pan’s disguise in New York. But his influence was already starting to fade, and there was no need for Pan to go after him beyond pure vengeance, tempting though it might be.
    John appeared beside him.
    “Good morning, son.”
    “Hi Pan. How are you feeling?”
    Pan smiled, then turned to his son. “Jessica came to me this morning, told me some pretty disturbing things. I’ve since had to re-evaluate my plans.”
    John nodded. “And what are your plans now?”
    “None! I actually have no idea.”
    “Then maybe you can help me?”
    “What did you have in mind?” Pan noticed John had a devious grin on his face.
    “You probably know better than I do that there are some exotic technologies out there, hidden from the public.”
    “Yes, so...?”
    “Specifically I’m looking for something in the way of propulsion. Something to help get the human race off the planet.”
    Pan thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “I think I might just be able to help you with that.”
    ***
    The surface of Ceres was barren, to say the least.
    Especially this far from the sun, with no atmosphere to speak of, it was a gray and beige mass of regolith, but not how Jack Weston had pictured it. Instead it looked like it was scarred, with large swaths of charred material marking the surface in irregular patterns, the result of it’s passage through plasma storms through it’s rough history.
    One thing about being in a space suit was that the sound of your own breathing tended to be heavy, loud, but at this moment Jack heard nothing. He was getting used to it, and every time he stopped to look out over the sight before him it took his mind away.
    For six months he had been working, with John’s help, to construct a new launch base on the tiny asteroid. With a diameter of not even six hundred miles, the horizon was close, seemingly unnatural. But it was perfect for their base, since it was enough gravity to work effectively, but weak enough to launch craft without wasting tremendous amounts of fuel.
    The first phase of the base was finished. A series of titanium reinforced bubbles, two landing pads, a field of solar collectors, and assorted airlocks connecting the various constructs.
    And Jack was in charge. From programmer and amateur astronomer to project manager for a base on a freaking asteroid. Un. Believe. Able. He loved it.
    “Looking good, Jack,” he could hear John say over the radio. Jack turned to see if he could find the source of the transmission, and watched as John walked slowly towards him, hopping really in the light gravity. He wasn’t wearing a space suit, but had that bubble of air surrounding him.
    “Thanks to you!”
    John smiled at him. “Well, you were the right man for the job. Should we go