Recycling Humanity Series Boxset Read online

  Recycling Humanity Series Boxset

  Books 1-5

  Heather Lee Dyer

  Recycling Humanity Series Boxset: Books 1-5

  By Heather Lee Dyer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  RECYCLING HUMANITY SERIES BOXSET: Books 1-5. Copyright (c) 2018 by Heather Lee Dyer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Heather Lee Dyer.

  www.heatherleedyer.com

  Heather Lee Dyer on Twitter

  Find Heather Lee Dyer on Facebook

  July 2018

  ISBN-13:978-1-7322800-2-1

  Contents

  RECYCLING HUMANITY, Book 1

  STARLIGHT MAX, Book 2

  BIOLAB ZEG, Book 3

  MIDPOINT STATION, Book 4

  TALIA’S PLANET, Book 5

  Recycling Humanity

  Book 1

  By Heather Lee Dyer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  RECYCLING HUMANITY. Copyright (c) 2015 by Heather Lee Dyer. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Heather Lee Dyer.

  www.heatherleedyer.com

  Heather Lee Dyer on Twitter

  Find Heather Lee Dyer on Facebook

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2015965851

  First Edition May 2015

  ISBN 978-0-9962564-0-7 Ebook

  For my mom who encouraged me to read anything I could get my hands on, and to always reach for the stars.

  1

  Orbital Debris

  Two hundred thirty-six miles above Earth, reality sinks in as the adrenaline fades from my body.

  I push off from the satellite and pull myself along the tether cable, back toward my ship. The nuclear weapons I’ve found stowed away in this satellite not only are illegal, they complicate my recycling job.

  I signal the other ship, using my suit’s comm unit. “Kaci to Retriever Ship One I’m leaving the satellite now. There are ten missiles on board, but no radiation leaks detected yet. Her orbit is degrading rapidly, so we need to get the demo team here immediately to take care of the missiles.” I disconnect my comm, so I don’t have to hear their arguments or questions. I’m freaking out enough being this close to such potential destruction.

  Below me, the dying planet is covered with angry, swirling clouds that cover most of its surface. A few clear areas show lifeless brown continents and gray bodies of water. Since I’m one of the first generations born and raised in space, I’ve never been down to the surface. As I hover weightless, high above abandoned cities, I try to imagine how it used to be beautiful and full of people. But that was before. Before the environment was overcome by pollution, overpopulation, and careless consumption of natural resources. And before the Polymer Bacteria finally finished destroying our home world, killing billions of people over the last couple of decades. Of course, that all happened before I was born, something I’ve only read about at school, like some distant, disconnected lifetime. Flying in low orbit recycling space junk is the closest I’ve been.

  I tear my attention from the view below and continue toward my ship. I bought the Celeste last year, right after I earned my space pilot’s license, a full two years before any of my classmates. Inside my space suit I can feel the calluses on my fingers from all the years of working alongside the mechanics in the bowels of Jupiter Station. It was exhausting work, but it paid very well, enough to buy the Celeste, a used short distance recycling ship, and feed my mom and me. Sometimes Mom kind of checks out mentally, so my after school jobs supported us through her episodes.

  Now, I have the perfect high school job; Orbital Debris Recycler. On weekends, I fly in my ship between Earth and the recycler barges to capture old satellites, spent rockets, and any other space junk I can find circling the planet. It’s amazing how much stuff we’ve left up here, millions of pieces of orbital debris, just left, discarded.

  Of course, if I lose this satellite, I won’t have a job anymore. I’ll have to go back to working on barge engines. The time for our migration out of the solar system is coming very soon, and we need all the raw materials we can find before we leave.

  I reach my ship and pull myself over to the entrance hatch. Carefully, I disconnect the tether cable, pull the hatch open, and wriggle inside. I take off my helmet and shake out my hair, which has plastered itself to my head. Mom says my dark brown, annoyingly straight hair and my warm skin tones come from my father. She always says this with tears in her beautiful blue eyes, since we lost him when I was a little girl. Some days I wonder if we lost more than just my father.

  I pull off my suit, groaning as I realize it’s going to need to be cleaned when I get back. Sweating in this suit for the last eight hours means I probably look pretty scary. I pause, trying to remember when my last sani-shower was. I’ve been so busy this weekend that I seriously doubt it was anytime recent.

  I bring my attention back to the problem outside. Usually, after stripping everything useful from inside the satellite, I would drop to a lower orbit to allow a retriever ship to grab it, and tow the space junk to the recycler barges. There, they would weigh it, and I would split the profits with the retriever team. Unfortunately, my discovery of the nuclear weapons has complicated a normally simple job.

  I pull myself over to the main control console, a blinking red light alerting me to a message. The demo team is still a good twenty minutes from my location. I check the satellite’s orbit and trajectory, and cringe. Crap. It’s headed toward the only spot on the whole planet that still has human inhabitants. I know from the news vid feeds, that old Seattle, in the North American continent, is where the Compound is located. The Compound protects the scientists who are still working to complete the Eugenesis Project before they, too, have to leave Earth and join the migration out of our solar system.

  I don’t really have any sort of personal attachment to the planet below, but this is my job. Which I need desperately. Most importantly, I need to show Jupiter Command that I’m not only the best pilot they have, of any age, but that I’m more than capable of handling any situation thrown at me. I’ve worked hard toward my goal of becoming the first female pilot on one of the super fast scout ships. I not only need to keep my job, I need that promotion as well. Besides finally getting the job I’ve always wanted to do my whole life, I know that my mom is counting on me.

  The comm crackles, and I see that it is Devon Durrant, who happens to be the second youngest certified pilot, as well as the son of the commander of Jupiter Station. Fabulous. This day truly can get even worse. Devon’s always resented that I earned my certification before him, and I continue to have better grades than him. High school sucks. I sigh, steady myself mentally, and answer him. “Yes, Devon.”

  “Kaci, what are you doing over there? Trying to get yourself busted down to working on the garbage barges?” As he laughs at his own joke, I can hear his friends, who I have named the Misfits, snorting with laughter in the background. I roll my eyes so hard I give myself a headache.

  Devon owns one of the largest retriever class ships. It’s capable of towing several of these satellites back to the barges at one time, but it takes a crew of at least four to manage. Devon is handsome, powerful, and rich. He’s the whole package. Unfortunately, he knows it, and has always tended to push the limits, break th
e rules, and pick on anyone he sees as weaker than him. Usually, that person is me. Although annoying to be the object of his bullying, it has made me stronger, and more competitive. I wasn’t going to let him make me a victim. He has always been in all my flight and physical training classes; my biggest competition, and my biggest problem. The Misfits are like ugly growths on Devon’s side; they go everywhere together, and pick on me together. I can’t escape their torment, especially now that we’re on the same recycling team.

  I swallow a nasty retort, take a deep breath, and explain my situation in as few words as possible.

  He doesn’t say anything.

  “So, are you going to help me out here, Devon? We need to get those missiles out and disarmed.” Having to ask him for help, makes me sick to my stomach, but I don’t have a choice.

  After another long pause, he finally answers. “Since the demo team won’t get here in time, I guess I’ll have to save the day.”

  I imagine the smirk on his face, enjoying my discomfort and the fact that I need him. He moves his ship closer to the satellite.

  “All right! Let’s try to catch this satellite before it gets sucked out of orbit. Hang on Kaci, and watch a real pilot work!” He cuts the comm, leaving me in silence once again, and slides his ship into the orbit below.

  Devon’s ship looks like a many-segmented beetle, the black kind that scurries around the plants in the greenhouse back at Jupiter Station. The bridge of his ship makes up the head of the beetle, the cargo area the body, and the many pieces of recycled junk attached around the hull look like crazy insect legs.

  The traction arms attached at the back end of his ship swing out and line up with the dead satellite. On my readouts, I see that the demo team is still too far out of range. I sigh again and move closer to Devon’s ship, getting ready to help if necessary. If the demo team doesn’t get here soon, we’re left with two options. One, I will have to transfer the nukes into my storage bay, and then Devon can take the satellite to the barge. I don’t like that idea, since my ship doesn’t have strong enough radiation shielding. It makes me nervous thinking of such dangerous weapons inside my ship. Our second option is to use Devon’s ship to tow the whole satellite to the demo team for disarming. Unfortunately, his ship uses strong electromagnetic energy in order to attach the space junk to his ship’s outer hull. This virtually fries any electrical systems left aboard the space junk, which is usually acceptable. But not in this situation, since we don’t know if it will trigger the nukes. Both options have me a nervous wreck.

  Another blinking light on my console alerts me to some space debris drifting nearby. I quickly open the comm, “Devon, that hunk of junk is heading for what looks like an expended rocket booster. Can you pull the satellite up farther into orbit, without setting off the nukes?” My hands are clammy and my heart is racing. Being this close to live nukes makes me wonder if any size of collision with the satellite would set them off.

  Devon’s deep voice sounds through the comm. “I see it, I see it! I’m still trying to latch on to the satellite without puncturing its hull. I’d rather not blow up my ship.” Calm, cool Devon sounds a bit nervous. Not good.

  Devon dodges the debris, just barely, and finally gets the satellite stabilized between the mechanical arms. Unfortunately, this takes his ship lower into the planet’s atmosphere, and they get caught in the gravity well. The planet is drawing him down.

  “Devon? What’s going on over there?”

  “I’m trying to use my side thrusters to get back up to orbit. The nukes are too close to my main engine.”

  This is not going well. I study the readings on the control panel and try to remember all my emergency training. We did go through sims where we had to land on Earth, but we’ve never practiced it in real life.

  “Kaci, I’m too low. We can’t get free without lighting up the nukes.” Devon sounds close to panic now.

  “Devon, looks like the only option now is to land on Earth. Then, we can wait for the demo team down there.”

  “No, Kaci, I’ve never done an Earth landing. None of us have.”

  “I know, but there isn’t any other choice. You can do this. I’ll be right behind you.” I wait, hoping he will listen to me and not light his engines. I’ve got to keep him calm.

  “Okay. Just like the sims, right? I’ll head for the Compound, since that’s probably the only safe place to land.”

  “Just remember our training, Devon, and you’ll be fine. See you down there.” I prepare my ship to enter the atmosphere and follow Devon down toward the last place in the universe I ever thought I’d be going to.

  He descends below me, his ship engulfed quickly in the gray swirling clouds. I leave another message for the demo team, letting them know our intended location. I anxiously watch my screens as my ship shudders and lurches as I fall toward Earth.

  2

  Earth

  I trust my training and my ship to handle the stormy atmosphere as I program in a landing course near where Devon and the satellite are headed. The Celeste is a small ship, but she handles well. I’ve made several Lunar landings with her, but I have no idea what to expect below the clouds here on Earth.

  My view screens go dark as I enter the dense clouds. I have to rely completely on my ship’s computers.

  I try to reach the other ship. “Devon, how are you doing? Can you hear me?”

  No response. I’m not sure if he’s just out of comm range or if our comms don’t work in these clouds. If you had told me years ago that I would be landing on Earth, following a tin can full of dangerous nuclear weapons, and worrying about the biggest bully on Jupiter Station, I would have laughed until I peed myself. I’m sure not laughing now.

  The comm crackles, and I barely hear Devon’s voice, but at least I know he’s still alive.

  “It’s going to be close, Kaci. I’m not sure about this landing. I hope the impact will not set off your stupid nukes.” Yep. He’s nervous, and still annoying.

  “I’m right behind you, Devon. You’re doing fine. Just keep those nukes from jarring and remember the procedures for landing in gravity.”

  No human these days would ever have created or kept anything so destructive as nuclear weapons. We have learned to be peaceful, and thankful for what little we have left of our civilization. These nukes are from a long time ago.

  Nowadays, scientists and engineers use their knowledge and technology to build habitat ships for all the survivors from Earth. They have already recycled everything useful from down on the planet. Now we’re just cleaning up the space junk.

  The comm crackles but then goes silent as Devon’s ship falls from range of my sensors. I switch frequencies to offset the magnetic activity, trying to keep contact with his ship. I track his ship to the northern most part of former Washington State. Good, at least he’s heading in the right direction. The clouds surrounding us have turned black and swirling, and are filled with energy. My little ship is knocked around, but she stays on course. Minutes tick by. I imagine Devon crashing, and the nukes exploding. I’m not sure why I care so much, but at this moment my stomach is in knots worrying about him. Unbelievable, Kaci! Years of imagining Devon being flushed out of an airlock or burned up in a fiery crash, and now here I am worried he won’t survive. The station psych would love this.

  Finally, the Celeste breaks through the clouds, and Devon’s ship comes into view. It looks to me like he’s going in too fast, too low. I hold my breath as he skims over dead and fallen forests, remnants of old structures, and mountains of dirt as far as the eye can see. Off to my left I see the Compound, giant metal structures pummeled by wind and dirt. A fence so large it seems almost as tall as the buildings, surrounds it, protecting its inhabitants. I wonder what this fortress of a fence was built for, since there is nothing and nobody else down there.

  My attention goes back to where Devon’s ship is headed toward the side of a small mountain. At least he’s not going to take out the Compound.

  His landing
is not at all graceful. In a cloud of spraying dirt, he lands halfway buried at the foot of the mountain. No explosions or smoke though. Now it’s my turn.

  Wanting to show Devon I can do this better than him, too, I calculate carefully so my landing barely disturbs any of the dry barren landscape. I settle the Celeste down gently, just a few meters from Devon’s ship. I flip the switches to open the hatch, and hurry to untangle myself from the harness and bio interfaces. I scramble out and immediately stumble for several steps, almost doing a face plant. Although I know better, the difference in gravity has caught me by surprise. Jupiter Station does have artificial gravity, but it must not be the same as Earth’s gravity. I feel heavy and slow, like I’m walking through water.

  I cover the distance between the two ships as quickly as I can. I see that Devon’s hatch is partway open, near where the beetle head would connect with its body. I see scratches and shallow gouges in the hull, and I feel sick as I trudge toward the ship.

  I realize I have been holding my breath, so I stop and take a few steadying breaths. I can’t let them see that I’m worried.

  I glance past where the grapplers still cradle the ugly satellite. It looks like it’s still in one piece. I make a mental checklist as I walk: I need to check the nukes and the satellite, and then figure out how to get them back up to the recycle barges. The barges are built with shielding that can handle the uranium in the weapons as long as we disarm them before delivery. Guess I need to add that to my checklist: figure out how to disarm the missiles. Hopefully, someone on the demo team can walk us through it.

  The demo team! I wonder if they are on their way still, or do they assume we are all dead? Would they follow us planet-side as we requested, or would they wait in orbit? I feel my brain start to freeze up. Again, I have to remind myself to breathe and stay calm. I can do this. If I can fight my way through pilot school by age seventeen, I can handle this. First, I need to make sure Devon and the Misfits are still alive. Then I can worry about the rest.