“We’re coming, Sir!” Samuels demanded.
“Well, isn’t that just fine and jim dandy....” Tucker placed his hands on his hips, “Better park your car on the side over there and get in. I don’t have all night, now.”
“Really, Tuck?” Sam asked, “Just like that?”
“Well, I really didn’t think you’d let me go it alone.”
Sam parked her car on the side of the road and the two climbed in the back seat of the Prius. Buster put it in gear and made a U-turn and headed back to the freeway.
An hour and half later, they approached the front gate to the Whidbey Island Navy Base and Space Port on Whidbey Island.
“Okay, guys,” Tucker said, “Let me do the talking, okay?”
“You’re the boss,” Buster nodded, and then rolled his window down for the guard.
“Evening, Colonel, Lieutenant,” the Guard said, “State your business, where you headed?”
“Tucker waved his hand in front of the guard’s face, “These are not the droids you’re looking for,” he smiled and turned to the two in the back seat, “I’ve always wanted to do that.”
The guard stared at Tucker and then shook his head, “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to pull your vehicle over there.”
“Tucker!” Same begged, “Quit messin’ around, will ya?”
“What,” Tucker winked, and then waved his hand at the guard once more, “You will not remember us being here. Open the gate and let us pass.”
“Yes, Sir,” the Guard answered, his eyes dazed.
The Guard stepped into his booth and opened the gate. Buster stepped on the gas and sped toward the flight line.
“Okay, I’m not sure how long that will hold,” Tucker cautioned. “We’ve probably got about ten minutes or so. You know what you have to do, Buster?”
“Yes, Sir. I’ve got this, I do pull my own...”
“...weight, yes, we know,” Tucker finished with a roll of his eyes.
“We’ll be there in just a couple of minutes,” Buster said, “But I don’t think your mind trick held for ten minutes, Sir,” Buster grabbed the steering wheel, turning his bony knuckles white.
Tucker looked back and saw two military police jeeps speeding down on them.
“Stop the car!” Tucker ordered.
Buster wasted no time, knowing what Tucker was about to do.
Tucker got out of the car and pointed his arms toward the speeding jeeps, “I didn’t want it to be this way, just believe me when I say that.”
A wave of power rippled down Tucker’s arms and shot out of this hands. The beam of energy split in two, hitting each of the jeeps simultaneously. The jeeps flew into the air, the drivers gunning their engines before crashing down into pavement.
Tucker turned and got back into the car, “Okay, let’s go!”
The men crawled out of each jeep and began firing at the speeding car.
Tucker held his hand and raised a shield, preventing any of the bullets from hitting them.
Buster quickly turned the corner and headed straight toward the Salvage-5 ship. The Lieutenant slid his car into a sideways skid and parked it nicely right at the lowered cargo bay door.
Tucker, Sam, and Sergeant Samuels climbed out of the car.
Sam smiled at the kid, “Nice drivin’!”
Buster blushed at the Captain’s kind words, “ah, shucks, thanks.”
“Okay, let’s get these engines online and get us up...Buster, I’m countin’ on ya!”
“Don’t worry, Commander, I got this!” Buster rolled his windows up and sped off toward the buildings and disappeared in the darkness.
Samuels and Tucker did a quick visual inspection of the SSV-5 while Captain Rothschild headed to the cockpit to boot up the ship’s systems.
Samantha flipped switches and set controls, the salvage ship came to life, spinning its turbine engines to full power.
Tucker and the Sergeant completed their exterior inspection and beat it back to the cargo door.
“Captain!” Tucker shouted, “We’re good down here, closer ‘er up!”
Samantha switched the door sequence and Tucker watched the door close, ensuring no one else got on board. He looked over at Samuels, “Get strapped in. I’ll seal her up the rest of the way.”
Tucker grabbed a headset off one of the cargo stations and placed it over his head. He tapped the button on the side, “Captain, do you copy?”
“Gotcha, Commander,” Tuck heard through his earpiece.
“How soon before we lift off?”
“Going over final checks...uh oh!”
“Uh oh? I don’t like uh oh’s, Captain!”
“We’ve got more company, and they just scrambled two jets! They must know, Sir!”
“Don’t wait for an invitation, Captain! Get us up, now!”
“Yes, Sir...hold on!”
Sam shoved the thruster controls and pulled the control stick full back. The Salvage-5 rocketed off the ground and shot nearly vertical into the night sky. Tucker was tossed to the back of the ship and held on the best he could, “Samantha!” Tucker shouted, “Was that really necessary?”
“Sorry, Sir. You said we had to go, so I went!”
Tucker climbed the deck of the ship and into the forward compartment. He slammed the hatch shut, sealing the cargo bay off. Sam leveled out her flight path as soon as they were fifty-thousand feet in the air to allow Tucker to climb the rest of the way into his command seat.
“Wow, that’s was fun,” Tucker chuckled. “Status report! Are your systems ready?
“All systems green,” Sam reported, “Ion turbine and thrusters online. Avionics green.”
“NAV Check.”
“Yes, Sir. Navigational gyros engaged, prepare for orbital sequence. Course set and verified. They’re trying to radio us to stop. Whattya want me to tell ‘em?”
“Radio base control and tell them we’re proceeding to secondary coordinates.”
“You sure that’s wise, Commander?” Samuels asked.
“Sure, why not? It’s better if they knew where we were off to.”
“Tucker,” Sam said, shooting him a glance, “I think they’re already aware of where we’re going.”
“Oh, right. Sure they are.”
“We’ve left those two jets far behind,” Sam smiled. “Prepare for weightlessness, we’re leaving atmospheric flight.”
“Navigation: engage secondary target.”
“Target locked,” Samuels acknowledged.
“Is the ring running up yet?” Tucker asked.
“Not yet, but I’m sure he’ll come through, Commander,” Sam smiled, “Buster’s one I would bet on.”
“Hey, what about me?”
“I lost that bet, remember, Tuck?”
“Okay, full power to engines. Increase speed to 20,000 KPH to mag-ring.”
“Engines are at full power. Accelerating to 20,000 KPH.”
“Come on, Buster,” Tucker whispered.
“We’re getting closer, Commander,” Sam anxiously said, “Should I back off?”
The three saw the 150 meter by 10 meter thick mag ring grow in size as they approached.
“There!” Sam reported. “The Mag-Ring is charging up!”
“Samuels, plot our course to 52 Europa.”
“Course plotted, Commander. We’re all set.”
“Mag-ring is fully charged and ready,” Captain Rothschild smiled.
“Okay everyone,” Tucker smiled. “Hold on, this isn’t my favorite part.”
Approaching Mag-Ring now... in 3...2...1 prepare for spatial distortion.”
“Let’s go get Cass, shall we?”
The SSV-5 flew through the charged Mag-ring, sending them on their twelve day journey to the asteroid 52 Europa.
“Delayed message coming in from Buster, Sir. He says, you’re welcome and to be safe.”
“Well,” Tucker began to answer as he reached for a cigar, “If I could write him back, I’d thank him. But since I ca
n’t, I’ll just enjoy one of these fine cigars.”
“I hope you packed extra scrubbers, Commander,” Sam balked.
“What?” Tucker shrugged.
“You know what.”
“Ohhh,” Tucker said, looking at his newly lit cigar, “Pardon me, Samuels, you want one?”
“Oh, hey thanks, Tuck. Sure,” Samuels said, smiling toward Sam.
Sam gave them both a roll of her eyes, “It’s gonna be a looong trip.”
“Sam? Do you want one too?”
“No!”
“Okay, okay, sheesh, where do they find these people?”
* * *
MORE WORKS
Secret of the Crystal I, II, & III
Secret of the Crystal
The Forge
Destiny
Secret of the Crystal IV & V
Forgotten Legacy
The Rune
Salvage-5
The Next Mission
A.M.P
Amplified Mental Projection
Phase 1 – The Gamma Project
Phase 2 - The Vanguard
New Releases
The Warlords of Antares
Coming July 17th 2015
Now Available For Pre-Order
Salvage-5: Another Mission
Thank you so much for your support and being a fan of the Salvage-5 franchise. I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of ‘Another Mission.’
Before you go, please remember to leave your favorite author an honest review for their hard work.
Thank you.
Brian K. Larson
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Salvage-5: The Next Mission (First Contact) Page 22