Free Star Road by Matthew Costello, Rick Hautala

overheated ... possible ... life support... port going …”
     
    “Say again!” Annie said.
     
    The commlink was weak, if not broken, but Jordan could piece enough together, and he knew Annie could, too.
     
    “... power cores ... induction coil’s dumped ... before the ... show up ... me into rubbish …”
     
    Whoever it was, he was minutes away from being “cleaned up” by the Road Bugs.
     
    Having seen them in action, the only thing Jordan could compare it to was a frenzied shark attack.
     
    Whoever it is better hope the SRV gets to him first.
     
    Jordan took a breath, flexed his fingers, and waited.
     
    “We’re closing fast,” he heard Annie say. “Are you capable of transfer?”
     
    Jordan shook his head when he heard this.
     
    No shooting today—unless the Road Bugs showed up first.
     
    Just picking up someone stranded on the Road.
     
    That was the code, whether he liked it or not.
     
    Stay frosty, Jordan told himself.
    ~ * ~
     
    8
     
     
    THE CODE OF THE ROAD
     
     
     
     
    This seemed, strange. Why a breakdown? Annie thought. Things like that...just didn’t happen.
     
    “Why did your coil dump?”
     
    The commlink turned clearer now. The man’s voice steady—in control.
     
    Pretty good, considering he might be facing a horde of Road Bugs any minute now.
     
    “Please ID yourself,” Annie said, her voice firm.
     
    “Solo civilian vehicle. RA number IMT-9. My name is Gage ... Gage Mitchell.”
     
    “Individual Mass Transit,” Annie muttered as she punched the information into the ship’s computer. Moments later, the display flashed a message that the registration checked out as valid.
     
    So he’s a civilian. Out on the Road. Alone. Doing... what?
     
    “We’re decelerating. Prepare for docking.” Annie kept her voice steady. She could see Jordan in the turret.
     
    “Atmospherics are low. I’m not sure I can pressurize the connector,” Gage said.
     
    “Have you got an EVA suit?” Annie asked.
     
    “I’m wearing it as we speak.”
     
    Good... must be a resourceful and experienced traveler. Not some incompetent newbie.
     
    “You’re damned lucky we chanced by,” Annie said.
     
    “Yeah ... all I have is luck.”
     
    ~ * ~
     
    Rodriguez looked out the porthole.
     
    He looked back at the others—all also glued to their windows.
     
    We’re definitely slowing down, he thought.
     
    That’s not supposed to happen.
     
    He looked around.
     
    “Why are we slowing down?”
     
    “Were not,” said the old man—the miner—across the aisle from him. “Looks to me like we’re stopping.”
     
    “Why would we stop out here?”
     
    Rodriguez realized that he must have sounded scared.
     
    Nothing he could do about that. Because he was...
     
    “Probably—something on the Road ahead. Maybe some debris or a stranded vehicle.”
     
    “And ... ?”
     
    “Code of the Road. We have to stop and offer any and all assistance in the event of a breakdown.”
     
    Sounds like he’s quoting the damned manual, Rodriguez thought.
     
    “Shouldn’t be a big deal. Not to worry, amigo.”
     
    ~ * ~
     
    Annie was the first to see them.
     
    A glance to the image of Jordan in the turret, suddenly looking up at his camera, to her.
     
    “Damn! Jordan—”
     
    “Hell, yeah. Here they come.”
     
    Road Bugs.
     
    If anything stopped on the Road, it was just a matter of time—usually minutes—before the Road Bugs showed up. Like much of the Road, no one had any idea what they were, but their function, that was simple, obvious.
     
    Any debris on the Road that didn’t keep moving—no matter the size or contents—would be engulfed by Road Bugs and seemingly consumed.
     
    In minutes
     
    Destroyed. As if it had never existed.
     
    Annie leaned closer to the screen, seeing the bugs scrambling— apparently—from the underside of the Road.
     
    They came in a variety of sizes and shapes, and they had gotten the name “Road Bugs” because of their weird