Something is Eating the Dragons
Silver Queen Series
Book 2
By Justo Miranda
Silver Queen Series
Book 2
By Justo Miranda
When it was possible to travel to the stars at a reasonable price, the number of people who chose to flee from lawyers, taxes, and unbearable environmental legislation was surprising. Historians named it the ‘Mayflower Effect’.
Tragically, the wave of colonization collided with the cruelest reality of strange worlds that had not been conveniently explored. Entire colonies were exterminated by extra-terrestrial spores and viruses whose existence was discovered too late. But in just thirty years the diaspora lost strength, the situation stabilized and once the hard work was done, lawyers appeared again.
Many exploration ships that had lost their usefulness were modified for other tasks. The Silver Queen (Silver Rat for enemies) was one of them.
At present, we no longer run the risks of the early days. We accept that when someone interferes with complex biological systems that we don't fully understand, unintended consequences may arise.
When any kind of dangerous fauna threatens the development of a colony, the Stellar Authority tends to solve the problem using the Mech-Marines. In the case of an unknown epidemic, the Smithsonian Institute usually takes over for the research of alien diseases. When they do not know what is going on, they call me.
The possibility of traveling to distant worlds to hunt extra-terrestrial monsters would have been the zenith of epic fantasy for an imaginative mid-20th century teenager. Today it is only an unpleasant job, even socially poorly considered. I often wonder how the hell I came to live off this and you may probably be wondering, what does this guy actually do?
While my ship's I-COM runs its algorithms, I have a few minutes to explain how my family's business evolved from my great-grandfather's old 'Pest-Control' van to the Silver Queen interstellar ship, in just four generations. Though frankly, I do not expect you to believe me.
