STARSPINNER

Chapter 1

"Scanner Control," cracked the comboard to my left, "this is Delta Base Monitor. Is there a module out? Lock 1-12 reads open."

Damn that monitor. Glancing out at the four tiers rising in a high semicircle around the wall of Scanner Base, I chopped off a tired yawn, dropped back into the seat and flipped the Tier One lock control into the ON position. Keyed in 1-12 on the Tier One board.

Waited for the readout.

Nothing happened.

The next second I remembered. Tabbed Delta Base channel. "Delta Base, our board reads all Tier 1 locks closed and all modules accounted for. One-twelve is up on T-4 for repairs."

Through the plastiglass screen surrounding me I studied the tiers. Shift change proceeded at a slow pace, the afternoon shift pilots packing it in for the day, the nightshift pilots on Tier Three still making their way to their locks. All of them should have been on board by now, should have started their preliminaries. But that wasn’t my problem. On the bottom tier, in partial darkness, 1-12’s lock looked normal, yet from this distance, who could say?