When contact is lost with Mission Control, Commander John Dennington isn’t overly concerned. Such hiccups in communication are common. The first inkling of the larger problem occurs when he sees the very shape of the world change before his eyes.<br><br>John must ease his crew into a new mission and keep the Station together by any means necessary. The crew jeopardizes their chances by fighting his orders, but Jason Weiss, his mission specialist and the light of his life, makes John’s situation more bearable.<br><br>The smallest malfunction to Station or crew would spell the end for six astronauts trapped high above a ruined Earth. It’s their mission to carry on. Random chance of the universe hasn’t operated in their favor so far, but John is determined to see them all safely home.

Expedition 63 Book 1: Dusk

“You might have a point there, old man.” With a last flourish of encoding, ‘Lach turned and grinned at him. “Ready as soon as you give the word, John.”


Jason was on the line a second later. “I’m ready to head out.”


He swallowed down the brief tide of panic that tried to swamp him again and stiffened his spine. “Let’s get this going. The sooner we’re done, the faster Jason will be back inside.”


A spark of sympathy was in ‘Lach’s eyes and then he was at the console, back to John. It was a couple minutes’ worth of work before his crewman touched one last key. “Airlock opening.”


Static-lined footage popped up on the far left screen in Turlach’s area. It was the inside of the cramped airlock, gray-white walls and hatch clearly shown from the helmet’s camera. He wished it showed Jason too, just for his own peace of mind. The door on screen slid aside in silence, but John heard the muted whoosh of it over the comm.


Chapter 37