From the author of *The Anuvi Incident* and *Hope's Surprise,* *The Dreaming Oceans of San Miguel* is the second tale of the Far Frontier Series.
Discovered by the crew of the *HSS Lalande* less than a year ago, the world of San Miguel is the very expectation of a warm ocean world with a moderate-sized continent and thousands of island chains with countless islands. The Imperial Exploration Service is eager to survey the world and make it available for settlement. But the *Lalande* is overdue back at Silmais Orbital, and Vice-Admiral Arinze has ordered the crew of the *Solstice* to find the *Lalande* and complete the survey. When the *Solstice* arrives at San Miguel, the crew find the *Lalande* , but her entire crew is missing.
In the course of their investigation, Talbot, Kessler and Van Zant experience the most intensive dream-memories of their lives. It was on the *Lalande* that Talbot and Kessler first fell in love, but Talbot must also relive a memory of her father, and Kessler revisits a disastrous mission from his career. Van Zant experiences memories of his brutal childhood, and the horrors he has seen while serving as an agent of the General Intelligence Directorate. What is the source of these dream-memories, and what do they portend?
The crew of the *Solstice* discover wondrous and fantastic life forms on land, in the skies, and in the depths of the oceans. When the missing crew of the *Lalande* reappear, Talbot, Kessler, and Van Zant realize, yet again, the worlds of the Far Frontier are not there just for the taking.
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A profusion of branching structures, of different textures, sizes and colors, covered the wall, and huge fans, some three or four meters in diameter, waved in the slight current. The jellyfish were not quite as numerous as at the surface, but scores still hung suspended in the water.
Hello!" Drucker said, tapping on his keyboard.
"Whatchya got?" Kessler asked.
"Sonar soundings have revealed a fissure leading into the island."
Kessler saw it immediately. "Cool. Shall we take a look? Let's send in the drone." Kessler pulled back on the stick and stopped the sub.
Vargas punched a button on his console, and with a bump and a click small circular craft appeared in the forward viewport. The video feed from the drone appeared on the computer's screen. Tapping on the keyboard, Vargas steered the drone into the fissure. Like the island wall, the passage was covered with branching structures and fans, as well as kelp-like life growing from the bottom. Scores of the jellyfish hung suspended in the water. The drone pushed itself through the leafy kelp and the jellies; after about thirty meters, the passage opened up into a chamber.
"This is a long passage, over a hundred meters long and thirty meters in diameter," Vargas said.
"What the hell is that?" Kessler said. He saw a white object tangled in the kelp and coral near the left side of the chamber, and Vargas maneuvered the drone in close. A few meters beyond he saw another, similar object, but this one was more obscured by the kelp. He suddenly realized what they were. "Pressure suits!"
"Are you serious?" Drucker asked.
The three men crowded around the computer console. "Must be those used by Dr. Kanas and his student," Vargas said.
Kessler's heart almost stopped.
Description:
From the author of *The Anuvi Incident* and *Hope's Surprise,* *The Dreaming Oceans of San Miguel* is the second tale of the Far Frontier Series. Discovered by the crew of the *HSS Lalande* less than a year ago, the world of San Miguel is the very expectation of a warm ocean world with a moderate-sized continent and thousands of island chains with countless islands. The Imperial Exploration Service is eager to survey the world and make it available for settlement. But the *Lalande* is overdue back at Silmais Orbital, and Vice-Admiral Arinze has ordered the crew of the *Solstice* to find the *Lalande* and complete the survey. When the *Solstice* arrives at San Miguel, the crew find the *Lalande* , but her entire crew is missing. In the course of their investigation, Talbot, Kessler and Van Zant experience the most intensive dream-memories of their lives. It was on the *Lalande* that Talbot and Kessler first fell in love, but Talbot must also relive a memory of her father, and Kessler revisits a disastrous mission from his career. Van Zant experiences memories of his brutal childhood, and the horrors he has seen while serving as an agent of the General Intelligence Directorate. What is the source of these dream-memories, and what do they portend? The crew of the *Solstice* discover wondrous and fantastic life forms on land, in the skies, and in the depths of the oceans. When the missing crew of the *Lalande* reappear, Talbot, Kessler, and Van Zant realize, yet again, the worlds of the Far Frontier are not there just for the taking. \---------- A profusion of branching structures, of different textures, sizes and colors, covered the wall, and huge fans, some three or four meters in diameter, waved in the slight current. The jellyfish were not quite as numerous as at the surface, but scores still hung suspended in the water. Hello!" Drucker said, tapping on his keyboard. "Whatchya got?" Kessler asked. "Sonar soundings have revealed a fissure leading into the island." Kessler saw it immediately. "Cool. Shall we take a look? Let's send in the drone." Kessler pulled back on the stick and stopped the sub. Vargas punched a button on his console, and with a bump and a click small circular craft appeared in the forward viewport. The video feed from the drone appeared on the computer's screen. Tapping on the keyboard, Vargas steered the drone into the fissure. Like the island wall, the passage was covered with branching structures and fans, as well as kelp-like life growing from the bottom. Scores of the jellyfish hung suspended in the water. The drone pushed itself through the leafy kelp and the jellies; after about thirty meters, the passage opened up into a chamber. "This is a long passage, over a hundred meters long and thirty meters in diameter," Vargas said. "What the hell is that?" Kessler said. He saw a white object tangled in the kelp and coral near the left side of the chamber, and Vargas maneuvered the drone in close. A few meters beyond he saw another, similar object, but this one was more obscured by the kelp. He suddenly realized what they were. "Pressure suits!" "Are you serious?" Drucker asked. The three men crowded around the computer console. "Must be those used by Dr. Kanas and his student," Vargas said. Kessler's heart almost stopped.