Orbital by bill zhao copyright 2017 Bill Zhao Table of Contents act one (earth)

it. The device was rather self-explanatory. A shallow groove was carved
out into the panel in the shape of a hand. Derek placed his there. He felt
a prick in his index finger as he saw the display light up with details of
his identity, DNA and heart rate. He saw his name appear on the
display then suddenly, a light flashed in front of his eye. It scanned his
head top to bottom within a fraction of a second. Derek felt like he’d
just stared at the sun. The display lit up yet again, only this time with
the single word ‘APPROVED’. And for the first time since meeting
him, Derek saw Admiral Cheng smile. Truly smile. He laughed “that is
it! The hard part is over now, Derek” he said as he put Derek’s glove
back on. “Now the room only expects one of us to go in, it only expects
you to go in. If we do, which it will find out, I don’t know what will
happen.” He pointed into the unlocked room. “You see that grey trunk
at the back? Bring that out along with anything of interest you find.”
Cheng’s smile wasn’t fading, but the opposite expression started to
arise on Derek’s face. But he had come this far. And he didn’t want to
disappoint. Derek entered the modestly lit room. Various photos of him
and his father were framed on shelves on either side. One particular
photo stuck out to him. One of him with his father and presumably his
mother. Out in a forest somewhere, having a picnic. That was a long
time ago, but the photos were worth keeping. Derek took a few of them
from their frames and slotted them into his suit’s pockets. Small
wooden desks sat at either side of the small room, attached to the wall
most likely. He opened the drawers and found various documents. If
anything was supposed to prove his father’s innocence, this would be it.