Space Race (Space Race 1) Nathan Hystad (ebooks children's books free .TXT) 📖

She sat beside me, and set a chilled hand on mine. “I know you would, son, and I’m grateful that you have a heart. You were born for another time, that’s what your grandfather used to say. An era where heroes roamed space, helping those in need, not looking for ways to squeeze every dollar from a hunk of moon rock. He would hate to see how it’s gone.”

“Maybe if Grandpa hadn’t left on a foolish trek, he could have witnessed it for himself,” I told her.

“Your dad’s father was anything but foolish. No one could have anticipated the dangers in the mission.”

I closed my eyes, not wanting to discuss this again. “Have you talked to Dad?”

“No, but I’ve read reports from the production line. They want a structure of some sort. And from the manifests, it’s not another warehouse.”

This piqued my interest. “What is it, then?”

“The supplies are odd, but I’ve compared them to everything I could without being noticed. There’s nothing in Sage Industries’ files that’s even similar.”

“That you have access to,” I said.

“Right. I don’t know what they’re doing, but your father is up there helping Sage build something big and dangerous. You should see the catalog…”

“Are you okay? Do you have food?” I asked, reminded once again of how gaunt she was getting.

“I have enough, Arlo. It means the world that you came to see me. You look too skinny, but you’re as handsome as ever. And your hair…is that gray in it?”

Her comments weren’t meant to be passive-aggressive, I knew this, but they caused me to peer into a mirror across the room. I stepped toward it, and spotted a couple of gray strands in my otherwise dark brown hair. I shrugged.

“How’s work?” she asked.

I grunted, standing to check in the cooler. I pulled a glass of water and passed Mom one. “Oasis screwed me. I’m out of a job.” Maybe I shouldn’t have told her at that moment, but the words just spilled out.

“Oh, dear. Here I am complaining…”

“Mom, it’s okay. I’ll find more work.” I thought about the alien communication I’d seen on the way to Eris, and the odd virus that had sealed Veera’s fate, and I wondered how I could continue with the daily monotony again.

“You will. You have a fighter’s spirit, son.”

“Do you mind if I stay tonight?” I asked softly.

“I’d like that.”

We settled into a casual conversation while my mom fixed us a meal. She used her ingredients sparingly, and eventually, we were seated on the couch, with warm food plated on our laps.

“Have you seen any protests?” I asked her as I ate a limp bean.

“No, but Sal at the office said he saw over a hundred people on the beaches, talking about rising up and petitioning the Board.”

“Do you think it can be done?”

She set her fork down. “How could we do anything against the Corporations? There’s no point.”

“There are people out there doing big things,” I said. “Have you heard of Liberty?”

My mom’s expression morphed into something fearful. “Don’t say that name here.” She whispered it, her voice almost inaudible, and pointed to the ceiling.

“You don’t think they’re listening, do you?” It wasn’t that I thought someone like Sage Industries wouldn’t stoop to breaches of privacy; it just wasn’t financially feasible for their bottom line.

“You never know.” She poked at her food. “Can you drop it?”

“What about the Race?” I was curious how much Sage was promoting it to their people.

“It’s all anyone’s talking about. They’re extremely excited. If we can claim the rights to Proxima…”

And there it was. We. Sage and the other Corporations convinced their employees they were part of the organization. “What would it mean to the workers?” I was genuinely curious.

“Mr. Under had a press conference and said it would mean better living conditions and more time off for Sage Industries employees. He’s already planning on expanding into Proxima when he wins the rights,” she said, sitting up proudly. This was the same woman who’d just cried over them taking her husband without a say.

“Proxima. Here we are years later, and not mining the system,” I said.

“You should still be with Sage, Arlo. The best pilot they’d ever…”

“Can we not go there?”

She nodded, giving me a grim smile. “I understand.” Her gaze drifted to the wall, where some of my trophies lined a shelf. She’d always been so proud of my achievements. The day I quit, I think a part of her broke inside.

We ate and chatted amiably. Suddenly, I was determined to head to the Islands tomorrow to see this Bryson Kelley. Maybe he’d hire me to do some hauling for him and get me off-planet for a while. I’d also need to negotiate an advance from him, but since he’d gone to the effort of sending the Protector, Major Barnes, to meet me on the Belt Station, I assumed this was a possibility.

When we were done and the dishes were put away, I made the couch up, my feet dangling over the end. I’d heard rumors throughout the years about a place you could go when you’d amassed enough money. Occasionally, someone within a Corporation did it, receiving a large bonus for discovering something of value, or creating a technology that made the company’s rank increase. Until now, I’d only thought of them as that: rumors to keep workers striving for success, but I hoped it was more. I’d do anything to save my parents from their daily misery and set them up at this utopia.

To accomplish this, I needed allies and a job. My thoughts kept drifting to the strange ship, alone in space, self-destruct settings triggered. At the end of the day, I didn’t even have my own home. But I reminded myself that I did have a single prospect, and that was enough.

I stared at the ceiling with a blanket pulled down to my stomach, and decided I wanted nothing to do with Sage Industries or the Space Race. But