P. E. Knapp

Thanks for the comment @ReaderPaul! Jumping in the asteroids is just plain stupid as it is dangerous, even more so if you have rogue chunks flying around like here. Also, if you don't plot a location that is large enough for your exit at whatever speed you entered, you could easily splat yourself on the side of a rock. The plotting itself is relatively easy and most pilots can do it with one hand, mostly point and pick, then connect the dots. With Marc having a probe out he has hypersensitive scans of the area. Making it even easier as well as safer to Jump. Not something that is currently taught... yet. That being said, Marc's father, Lloyd Alexander was quite the handful when he was young too... I think it runs in the family like the fast tempers.

Thanks for the comment @centexhairysub! Book 2 is already in edit as is book three. Four, maybe five more chapters here. Other stories are also in the works, one of which will probably drop in two weeks, at the same time this one ends. Not Sci-fi, but romance. The Sci-fi will continue, regardless, with Book 2.

Thanks for the comment @akascrubber! Knowing Marc like I do. I'm just not thinking he is going to enjoy this job too much. But like the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished!

My apologizes! I posted this chapter and had to edit it immediately as I lost almost 1000 words?! Not sure why, but it's here now. Enjoy!

Dropping into the command pilot seat as I started running my checks, I waited for Lt. Freiman to confirm our load out and begin her station’s checks. We had time. They were heading out to find us this time, but we would jump out and they would fly the thirty-seven minute trip. My thoughts were drifting as I wondered if Janek could stay with me tonight. I wanted to hold him in my arms again. I sighed softly as I finished my checks. Fifteen minutes later, we are entering the outer rings of t

And the list goes like this: Dog Dog Cat Cat, cat, dog No cats or dogs, just kids. Gave them back after 10 years.🙂 Cat - outdoor hunter. What my grandmother called a guard cat. Guaranteed to tear you or anyone else apart. 2 dogs... ankle biters Today. No animals - I borrow the neighbors black lab and husky once a week for a thirty-minute fix and I am good. Just like having grandkids.

Thanks for the comment @ReaderPaul! Stanyear is shortened version of standard year. A length of the year based on the Earth standard year as a universal year length to make all human space run on the same calendar year, regardless of rotation time around the planetary primary. I personally hate having more than one calendar or the creation of one, so I hijacked one instead and just dropped in my own special holidays. If you went back to check the prologue, you'll notice I didn't add a specific date, just a year... Sort of. And then a year in the first chapter.

Thanks for the comment @centexhairysub! Marc likes to teach, even when Jessica calls him a brat. 🙂 Second person to ask about Sa. Will be added to the Glossary. Which I will at some point edit into the Prologue. For future books in this series, I will drop it first before the regular chapters. It carries a dual meaning, depending on context. Either Sir/Ma'am in a military setting or Mr./Mrs. in a civilian setting. It's also gender neutral.

Thanks for the comment @drsawzall! Every once in a while, you meet somebody that seems to do no wrong. The watch word here is, seems.

Thanks for the comment @ReaderPaul! For the record. When I have Word's AI read it out loud to me during editing, it does sound like Ashtray and Nipple. I consciously have to not pronounce it as Ashtray but do anyway when I read it. And since the 'K' is silent in my name, I too read Knippel that way. I nodded to myself as humor is a good stress reliever and decided they should stay as spelled. Marc really doesn't like politics entering into everything, hates even more when he has to use them to correct what he perceives as a mistreatment of someone using politics. Hence, yes Marc will have corrections made via a subtle suggestion the effects of his irate cousin's (Whom, if I am thinking of the right cousin, there are so many after all. Was an idiot anyway!) remarks should be reviewed. The suggestion from an Alexander, any Alexander, will make the military hierarchy look into it.

Thanks for the comment @VBlew! No Marc wouldn't be jealous, and he has a while yet, before he finds who he is looking for. Whether he realizes he has found his mate might be another story.

Thanks for the comment @akascrubber! Marc doesn't really care for the nonsense people cause when they throw tantrums trying to get others in trouble and will correct it when he feels the need.

Twenty minutes passed before I had lined up for our approach and we had been given landing clearance. Jerrand had darkened our canopy so no one could see in. Setting down in our designated spot, the crew came over to secure us as I shut the flight systems down. The aft canopy rose as the two ladders deployed and a Chief hopped up, talking with Jerrand. I lifted my helmet off and took my first breath of Renown’s air. Wasn’t too bad considering we were on the flight deck. Faint smells of lubricant

Thanks for the comment @ReaderPaul! I wrote this as a slow burn. More and more information are slowly released as the story goes on.

Thanks for the comment @ReaderPaul! I was having problems deciding on the name for this book and finally settled on this. Interesting it drew you in. I'm glad it did.

Thanks for the comment @drsawzall! Oh, trust me, it's not going unnoticed... much to his dismay.

Thanks for the comment @centexhairysub! Marc made sure Janek was ready for the next stage in his life and does miss Janek but realizes that it is coming to a permanent end.

Thanks for the comment @CincyKris! Marc is very much into the stories and history of his great grandfather. As such he prefers to do things himself and wants to be left alone while doing it. He's not above using his status if it helps towards his own goals.

Thanks for the comment @akascrubber! Anonymous. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. We'll see if it does this time or not.

Thanks for the comment @ReaderPaul! Always training for something. Marc does well in some things and needs work in others.

Three weeks ago, Janek left for his ship. Without him around, I had been spending as much time as possible out with the Mining Shuttle. I am finally solvent enough to be able to get a Prospector Mini Miner for forty-eight hours. I am already working out that plan. Unfortunately, I need to take an engineer with us to sign off on Tom’s qualifications. That costs credits and I can only go out for 24 hours with the hired engineer. Meaning I have to work the numbers and see if twenty hours of mining

Well. *Sigh* I guess that means no book 2? At least they finally found each other and can live happily together. Thanks, Tim, for the good read!

Thanks @ReaderPaul! Yeah. Many more adventures of the gang. Offshoots are in the works. Single short stories with some of the characters. Where Marc is just a cameo.

@ReaderPaulYou are the first person to ask! I love it. Dual meanings either Sir or Ma'am, or Mr. and Mrs.

I'm just thinking Marc was just getting their attention. They probably won't like it very much the next time he sees them.