Free The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles by E J Gilmour Page B

fourth. There is a good chance the
aliens will detect our presence long before we arrive. We may not
even make it to the surface of Herman Beta 3.’
    He knew that
attempting such a rescue would be considered irresponsible by most
people, but he felt he had turned away too many times in the
past.
    ‘ Do we stand a chance of getting to the surface?’
    ‘ There isn’t another pilot in the galaxy who would say yes.
However, I believe there is a way.’
    ‘ I’m listening.’
    ‘ The asteroid belt is not far from Herman Beta 3. The belt
completely encircles the star. If we approach the Herman Beta star
from the opposite side as the planet we will avoid being detected
by the alien scanners, as they won’t be able to detect the Out
Drifter directly through the star. We can then enter the asteroid
belt and follow its course until we come close to Herman Beta 3 on
the far side. The density of the asteroid belt should prevent them
detecting us. From there we can make a dash for the surface, land
the ship, hold off the alien onslaught and get out of there before
we are completely obliterated.’
    ‘ Good plan, Sara.’
    ‘ It’s risky to say the least,’ she said in a low voice. ‘I see
this as a three phase mission. The first phase is getting to the
surface, which relies on us not being detected too early. The
second phase is getting from the ship to the stranded colonists; I
imagine that will be very difficult. The aliens usually leave about
fifty of their soldiers on planets like Herman Beta 3, and they
will converge on the Out Drifter immediately after we land. Last of
all is getting away. We are sure to face alien fighters if we
haven’t already, and they will try to stop us entering interstellar
speed.’
    ‘ The Out Drifter should be able to outrun alien fighters,’ he
said confidently.
    ‘ True, but only once we reach full power. Don’t forget that the
engines take a few minutes to warm up, and a few minutes is a long
time if we are surrounded and being attacked by a squadron. There
is also a chance of us having to power down if the pressure release
valves overheat.’
    ‘ That has only happened a few times since the engine
upgrade.’
    ‘ Normally, I ease the ship up to full speed. If we are under
attack there won’t be much easing, so there will be a much greater
risk.’
    ‘ I’m sure the ship won’t let us down,’ said Michael, but his
tone revealed his doubt.
    Sara smiled.
‘She’s a good ship, Captain. We’ll have to wait and see.’
    **
    Ivan was still
working on the jetpack. He had taken off the back panel and the
shoulder straps, and he was working on the inner circuitry. He
still hadn’t been able to locate the source of the malfunction.
    Cynthia
watched him as he worked, and it struck her as odd that a machine
was fixing another machine. Ivan glanced up at her and smiled
robotically.
    ‘ I imagine it is strange to watch a machine repairing a
machine,’ he said in dry monotone.
    She stepped
back, taken off guard. ‘How did you know what I was thinking?’
    ‘ I was originally employed as a receptionist for a trade
consulting firm. I am programmed to be able to read human
expressions and body language. This skill is an essential aspect of
my appointed occupation. Human beings often don’t realise how much
they are communicating through their facial expressions and body
language’
    ‘ But I didn’t say anything,’ she gasped.
    ‘ You were staring at me with a combination of curiosity and
bewilderment. I used a program which analysed everything I have
learned about you and filtered your expressions and body language
through a second analytical program that revealed what you were
thinking to a statistical probability of eighty five
percent.’
    ‘ That’s a little frightening,’ she said. ‘Do you always know
what people are thinking?’
    ‘ I often have a certain understanding of their intentions and
the direction of their general thought patterns.’
    ‘ I had no idea androids