Oct 6, 2015

Greetings friends and fellow readers!

So sorry for the lack of updates, school has sneaked up on me. But don't worry! I am actively working on the novel when I can! Here is a quick little scene from deep in the fifth chapter of the book for you to enjoy!!

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Scott and Alexis locked themselves in the airlock at the base of center structure.

“So you are sure this is going to work?”

“Yes.” Alpha and Beta answered in unison. 01 stood outside on the walkway, a blaster in one hand and Scott’s laserjack in the other. The side of the airlock that would provide access to the Hub, and Dr. Takh’s facility, was hard locked because the Hub had no power. They could open the outside hatch, as it was drawing power from the Living Quarters station. If all of the towers were powered though, they could get in. Scott was fiddling with a panel inside.

“Ready Oh-One?”

“Affirmative.” It pulled at the straps holding the jetpack, making sure it was secure.

“You two better be right...” Alexis tapped her foot impatiently.

“On the count of three...”

“One...” Beta started the count.

“Two...” Alpha continued.

“Three!” Scott finished, cutting a wire from an exposed panel on the door frame in the same instant.

The lights along the bridge flashed as the jetpack raised slightly off of 01’s back.

“Disengaging magnets in leg modules.” Lights flashed below 01’s leg panels and it floated off the walkway as well. 01 used the jetpack to slowly move itself towards the edge of the glass where it joined the Hub wall. The laserjack fired up, 01 guiding it around the glass slowly. The outlined circle was around two feet wide, enough for 01 to fit through.

“Okay... here goes nothing...” 01 pulled the blaster out and aimed it at the etching in the glass. The robot modified the strength of the beam to one above its lowest setting and fired.

The air from the walkway rushed around 01 as it fired the jetpack on its back. 01 travelled towards the hole it had made and adjusted its body to fit through. Once in the emptiness of space 01 moved its legs out from behind him and positioned them towards the underbelly of the Hub.

“Magnets, fully engage!” The digitized voice activated the protocol and its legs began pulling its entire body towards the starbase. With the sudden pull through, 01 lost its grip on the laserjack.

“Crap!” Scott exclaimed. The siblings were watching the evaporation of their plan from the airlock as best they could. Alexis jumped into action without a second thought, jamming on the control panel to open the door.

“Alexis!? What are you doing?!” Scott was in shock.

“Give me that panel.” Alexis motioned as she was drawing a wire from her belt. The lights in the room started to flash red, indicating the door was about to open.

“You are going to get both of us killed!!!” Scott stood up and was inches from her face.

“Scott, trust me, give me that panel or we are screwed. We can’t go back that way.” She tilted her head in the direction of the living quarters. Scott scrambled for the panel. “So this is what we’ve got to do. Now I’ve got about twenty five seconds before space kills me, but 01 needs that laserjack to open the access tunnels. So nut up little brother.” The door slowly started raising. She tore the panel out from his hands. “And hold your damn breath.”

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I am very excited to bring this book to life and thank you so much for helping me do so! I am going to keep pressing on, but in the meantime it would mean the world to me if you could tell someone else about the book, even if it is just your dog. By this time next week I hope to upload all of the character portraits to my twitter, @RyanMHolt, so be sure to follow me to see Alexis, Scott, 01 and everyone else in their full glory.

Thanks again and happy reading!

~ Ryan M. Holt