Free Ancient Relics (Shadow of the Ancients Book 1) by Ellema Ummia

planet’s
surface, to reach orbital space with very little power required. The ships
consume less energy than the old space elevators of earlier times.
    As each team, engrossed in their duties, prepares
the shuttles for launch, The Wayfarer sets stable orbit around Orsen II, the
speculated planet of the ruins.
    Slightly out of range of the heliosphere of the red
giant that previously inhabited the system, the atmosphere mostly remains
intact, but the ground heated-up enough to cause structural destabilization and
some ground melting.
    The atmosphere of Orsen II thinned, due to the
release of ionized gases during the nova of the system's star Orsen Sol. The
release of Orsen Sol’s energy was slow, and spread-out over time. It was not
like the commonly perceived Super Nova, where the star bursts at its seams and
releases all of its energy at once.
    Orsen I was not as lucky. With a position just
outside of the coronasphere of the red giant, its entire atmosphere burned away
and the ground melted into a single, planet wide lake of molten rock.
    Now all that remains of Orsen I is a charred
moon-like planet that orbits the white dwarf, outside of the dwarf’s sphere of
warmth.
    Since Orsen II is further out, even though it has
retained much of its atmosphere, the planet is very cold. The cold and the thin
atmosphere require the team to wear Class II suits.
    Like space suits, which are Class III, a Class II
suit’s design is for low-pressure atmospheres like Orsen II.
    The teams finish their procedures and prepare to
launch the first wave of shuttles to the planet’s surface.
    Logan walks through from shuttle to shuttle checking
and double-checking each shuttle before launch.
    “Is this pallet part of this load out or the other
one,” Logan asks one of the deck hands.
    A pallet stands alone between two shuttles,
seemingly disregarded by both shuttle crews.
    “It’s extra, Sir,” the deck hand informs Logan.
    “Extra?” Logan inquires.
    “Yes, Sir. The shuttle this pallet is supposed to be
loaded on can’t hold any more pallets, because the shuttle has to carry four
extra passengers,” the deck hand explains.
    “Four extra passengers? Why?” Logan continues his
inquiry.
    The deck hand shows Logan a flight manifest and
points out one particular shuttle, “This shuttle has a faulty stabilizer, and
while it gets repaired we divided the crew into two equal parts. One half will
go on this chalk, while the other half stays to assist with repairs.”
    Logan nods in acceptance, “Good job crewman. Let me
know when the damaged shuttle is ready. I’ll go down with it.”
    “Aye, Sir,” the deck hand confirms.
    After all shuttles depart, save for the one
undergoing repairs, Logan calls his main team together.
    “I’ll be going down on this last shuttle with Paige
and Justine,” Logan begins to explain, “The rest of you stay here to sift
through the data and send back reports designating areas of interest.”
    The remaining team members acknowledge Logan’s
orders and head back to their stations in the science lab.
    Paige and Justine prepare their equipment and get
into their suits for their trip down to the surface.
    Logan makes his final checks and suits up just as
the call comes in that repairs are complete on the broken shuttle and it is
ready for transport.
    “The last of the pallets are loaded and the shuttle
is ready to disembark at your command, Sir,” the deck hand informs Logan.
    Logan answers back on the comms relay, “Understood.
My team and I are on our way now.”
    Logan, Paige, and Justine pile into the shuttle,
take their seats and strap in.
    Shuttle seats come installed with safety harnesses
just in case a malfunction occurs, leading to a bumpy entry.
    It does not occur often, but sometimes stabilizers
may break in flight, causing the occupants and loads to shift abruptly. Highly
trained and experienced flight crews tend to keep ships and other equipment
properly maintained and serviceable.
    On the