
On the bleak, dust‑covered plains of Callisto, rocket‑port dispatcher Mart Wells lives by a strict schedule of freighter hops and ore‑smelting cycles. One morning his routine is shattered when a flash of metal catches his eye on the horizon—a small ship where none should be. The sight sends him racing toward the administration building, where the colony’s tightly run operations are suddenly interrupted by an unexpected arrival.
Beneath the routine, a deeper danger looms: Director Barrow’s powerful grip on the settlement hides a desperate bargain with a Venusian pirate, Tar Norn, whose freedom could cost the life of the Director’s own daughter, Leah. As Mart becomes the first to notice the mysterious craft, he finds himself pulled into a clash of loyalty, intrigue, and a looming threat that could upend the fragile peace on Callisto.
Language
en
Duration
~30 minutes (29K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Nov 6, 2020
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1908–1999
An Austrian-born American writer and longtime literary agent, he moved between pulp science fiction and the practical world of publishing. He is especially remembered for running a Milwaukee agency for decades while also writing short speculative fiction.
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