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

More pings got him moving, scrabbling higher along the Station. He was almost home free. The docking port was just around the edge of the Harmony, planted in the bow. On the other side of that, his crew at the command consoles and John, his beautiful John, waited.


“I’ll be there in ten minutes, guys.” A jubilant wave of relief swept through his soul and settled his heart as Jason unwound his line and latched back on the rail. A beep intruded on his happy feeling. “I really hope you’re ready.”


“Report!” John demanded. The beep must have carried down the comm.


If it wouldn’t have used up the air, Jason might have groaned at his lover. “It’s nothing. Just the backup alarm on my oxygen. No need to panic.”


Something crashed in the background when ‘Lach broke in, hesitant. “You say that, but we’ve had a slight hiccup in the diagnostics here.”


Chapter 43