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

So then what was in the trunk? Regardless, Derek grabbed hold of it
and pulled it out with him.
Cheng’s satisfied smile seemed to become increasingly evil by the
second but Derek didn’t care. He just wanted this to be over. This
whole ordeal was beyond what he thought he was capable of and he
couldn’t take it. Derek pushed the trunk to Cheng. He didn’t know how
much it weighed, but he could assume it wasn’t photos and documents.
All those were already in his pockets.
“
Cheng” he spoke through the radio. The Admiral looked up at Derek.
“Whatever’s in that trunk won’t clear my father’s name, will it?” The

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Admiral looked back with a solemn face.
“
No, it won’t” he replied. “I am sorry for misleading you, but I hope you
have found closure with whatever else was in that room.”
“
So what’s in the box then? You at least owe to know that.”
“
In the box are plans, instruc ons and a journal of your father’s lightning
bomb. The one he struck Earth with. A nuclear weapon small enough to be
undetected by An -Aircra lasers, and fast enough to evade everything
else. Whoever holds the recipe will be the dominant military force. Wya
brought it all down, and he will try to do so again soon. I am truly sorry,
Derek, but a device with a speed of poten ally Mach 40,000 is truly
remarkable. I am assuming much of the contents of the box will revolve
around the rail mechanism used to launch the bomb, rather than the
device itself. The one on this ship was unfortunately destroyed. By your
father, when he found out USOC was closing in. I’m afraid we don’t have
much me. We need to leave before Wya reaches us.” Derek looked out
through the sockets of what used to be windows and saw a mul tude of
bright flashes in the distance. Cheng was looking as well. “The Matador has
reached us. The bull fights the bear. We need to move.” Derek couldn’t
argue with that. The Admiral handed the container to two of his men
before making his way back out where they came.