Star Cops
Language: English
Pages: 416
ISBN: B00BX5QS02
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The year is 2027. When a swimmer is found drowned in a London park, the police computer rules the death as accidental. Chief Superintendent Nathan Spring’s natural instincts lead him to suspect otherwise, and he begins an investigation - despite the objections of his colleagues and superiors. To deflect him from pursuing this, Spring is manipulated into accepting a job that he does not want - as commander of the International Space Police Force, an organisation set up to enforce law and order on various space stations orbiting the Earth. The ISPF, disparagingly nicknamed the ‘Star Cops’, is an undistinguished force populated by undisciplined officers, concerned mainly with their own welfare and making money on the side, rather than upholding the law.
Arriving at the European space station Charles de Gaulle, Spring struggles to adapt to conditions in low gravity while working to mould his team into an effective force for law enforcement. Before he’s even begun to adjust, he discovers that several crewmembers have recently died, following unforeseen spacesuit malfunction. Although these apparent accidents fall well within the limits of statistical acceptability, Spring’s instincts again lead to him to suspect the work of a saboteur. He decides to expose the culprit by taking a desperate course of action - gambling with his own life...
Elsewhere, Spring’s second-in-command David Theroux investigates an explosion on a distant space freighter that has knocked the craft off course and condemned its two pilots to death, the Star Cops are warned of terrorist attacks by a communications expert based on the Moon, a scientist disappears without trace from the American space station - with the crew denying his very existence - and rumours begin to grow of alien artefacts having been discovered on Mars...
there any security codes I haven’t got?” he asked, because he couldn’t think of anything else. “The codes you are using will access all data available to the station commander from this terminal,” Box confirmed, reducing the general question to the specifics Nathan had originally requested. Nathan stared at the workstation screen. He was out of ideas and rapidly running out of time. Sooner or later, someone was going to come in. Sooner, he realized, as the door control activated. He
“You seem to know a lot about it,” Nathan said. “Only because he kept notes in his cabin,” Moriarty said. “Only convenient,” said Kenzy. “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” Moriarty said and nodded at the screen. “Whoa,” Goodman’s posture was suddenly tense. “What’s happening here? My God, they’re still dividing…” “The specimen was still alive?” Kenzy asked, incredulously. Moriarty smiled sourly. “Seems it didn’t register on the stupid bastard that if he bred a
it was the cold making his eyes water. Behind him, someone said, “I got your message. Have you been waiting long?” He was irritated to realize how dangerously preoccupied he had been. “Long enough,” he said, without looking round. “I began to think you weren’t coming.” “I considered it. But then I figured you might not leave it at that. How did you find me?” Nathan said, “Friends in low places.” “I guess you ran a trace on my user codes, didn’t you? That’s not
businesslike tone. “I’m not, actually. You should leave playing boy detective until there’s less in the way of traffic knocking about. And I use the phrase advisedly.” “Boy detective?” “Knocking about.” Theroux prepared to check each backpack prior to clipping it into place in the racks. “You’ve never complained before,” he said, as he took the first one, and began by making sure the transparent dustcover was unbreached. “My dear old thing, I will stretch myself to cover for
themselves untangled, and the Spaniard was eager once again to demonstrate his superior preparation. “His speciality could not be police work, how could it? None of the ISPF personnel are police professionals.” “I hate to disagree with all that background research, Geraldo,” Nathan said mildly, “but anyone who gets paid to do something is a professional. We can argue about how well they do it, if you like…” Theroux made up his mind that it had been a criticism. No question about it. He