“Fred, wake up. We"re being hailed.”
His eyes snapped open, his first thought: Ukraine patrol.
“Garbage scow Zelazny Six to unidentified craft, are you there, over?”
Fred realized he"d heard the same voice in his dream. “On screen.”
A face materialized, the heavy jowl covered with a thick, black beard, the brow and head of hair equally dark and thick. “Captain Kyrylo Voloshyn. Just call me Kiri. We have a thruster solenoid that"s acting up. Got a spare aboard?”
Funny he would ask. Just before sitting down and drifting off, Fred had done a full inventory of their vessel. A four-person commuter model, the execuyacht had enough fuel to get them to Tantalus and no further, food enough for two people for two weeks, and about enough room for four people to travel, albeit in fairly cramped c
