Promissory Note Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  About Promissory Note

  Praise for Promissory Note:

  The Endurance Timeline

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next book in The Endurance series

  About the Author

  Other books by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  Copyright Information

  About Promissory Note

  They can change life aboard the Endurance, if only they can work together.

  Thanks to a small disaster aboard the Endurance, popular, beautiful and adored Laura Hyland is unable to meet the terms of a promissory note she wrote. The note has been signed over to the horrible Micah Thorn, an elite coder with a dark reputation and no social skills. The note ties Laura to Thorn and forces her to work with him. When she digs into his personal history, though, his work takes on a far deeper meaning…and could change everyone’s life for the better.

  Promissory Note is the third book in the science fiction romance series readers are calling gripping, superb and fantastic. Written by award-winning SFR author Tracy Cooper-Posey, it is set aboard the closed-system marathon-class vessel Endurance, a generation ship a thousand years from its destination. If you like the smart, romantic SF of authors like Linnea Sinclair and Anna Hackett, you will love the Endurance series.

  Dive into this thought-provoking new romance series today!

  __

  This book is part of The Endurance SFR series:

  Book 0.5 5,001

  Book 1.0 Greyson’s Doom

  Book 2.0 Yesterday’s Legacy

  Book 3.0 Promissory Note

  Book 4.0 Xenogenesis

  …and more to come!

  A Science Fiction Romance Novel.

  Praise for Promissory Note:

  I really loved this book with its different kind of hero and heroine and can not wait until the next book to continue the journey of the Endurance and the people aboard the ship.

  Who would have thought that a romance could be based around market economics, and yet Tracy did it.

  Good science fiction ties a very human story to science and technology. Great science fiction uses the science and technology as a backdrop to support the very human story. Promissory Note is great science fiction.

  A beautiful Space Romance!!

  These characters were delightful in their slowly revealed layers of complexity.

  There are a great many layers to this book and I think it's my favourite so far. Please read it, you won't be disappointed.

  The science and the romance both have the perfect depth to them. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series. You will love this book.

  The best yet! This series is better with each book and I absolutely loved it.

  Must Read book in a Must Read series.

  The Endurance Timeline

  Ship Years 210 – 219

  The events of Greyson’s Doom

  Ship Year 313

  The events of Yesterday’s Legacy

  Ship Year 402

  The events of Promissory Note

  Ship Year 735

  The events of 5,001

  Chapter One

  When the alarms first sounded, Laura didn’t realize the radiation leak was anything more than the inconvenience radiation leaks generally were. Even if she had, it wouldn’t have averted the disaster that followed.

  She was working in the Field of Mars that day. It was not unusual for her to be assigned there. The Field had a lot of self-sustaining systems that required at least minimal maintenance and inspection every year or so. As a software engineer, it was up to her to make sure the systems were ticking along smoothly. There were still some legacy systems in place that needed manual updating, too. They were the worst because no one really understood the legacy stuff—except for coders. Sometimes Laura suspected even the coders were baffled by the antiquated routines that were the basic structure of the ship.

  Still, it wasn’t her job to understand the legacy coding. She found the silo that was her assignment for the day, climbed up to the loft and spent a few minutes staring out across the length of the ship she could see through the forest of silos, towers and piping that was the Field. It was a rare view that very few people ever got to see. From just beneath the roof hull of the ship, she could see all the way to the Palatine torus hub. Through the hub she could spot the slowly rotating green parkland beyond.

  It was as close as she ever got to the Palatine, anymore, except for visits to the park, which wasn’t the same thing at all.

  She stirred and got on with the day’s work, which included cleaning the grime that had accumulated since the last engineer had been there. She had brought food squares with her and ate as she worked, keeping up her energy. If she didn’t stop for the break she was entitled to, then she could be done early.

  That was why she was still on the loft when the leak alert started up.

  There was no mistaking a radiation leak alarm for anything else. There was no chance of overlooking it, either. The alarm was always ship-wide and ear-piercing. Laura jumped and gripped the safety rail, staring at the purple light flashing only a little way from where she was standing. Up here near the roof, she could see all the purple alarm lights revolving in fast circles.

  “Ah…damn it,” she muttered.

  Far ahead, she saw the plasteel doors close on the Palatine hub. If the leak was here in the primary section of the ship, then everyone in the Palatine would hunker down and wait for it to be dealt with, safe behind their blast doors.

  Protocol said that as she was not inside a radiation-proof construct such as her apartment, she had to wait where she was for the all-clear. There was no way she was going to climb down in the rain, though. Even when the ladder was dry, climbing down took strength and patience.

  She closed down the cupboards she had been working in, threw her tools into the pack and sealed it carefully, then slung it over her shoulders. She scrambled down the ladder, moving faster than usual, her boots slipping once or twice and making her heart pump.

  The rain started as she got to the bottom. She jumped the last few rungs as the cold water soaked her hair and ran inside her collar. With a gasp, she pushed out between the silos into the secondary road through the Field. Other engineers, both mechanical and software kinds, were also moving out onto the road.

  Laura put down her pack and loosened the fastenings on her boots, before the rain swelled them and forced her to cut them off.

  The rain went on long enough to soak everyone to the skin. That was the point. Laura took off the multi-pocket jacket she wore almost every day. It was heavy with tools and all of them would have to be sterilized.

  All along the road, she could see everyone else doing the same thing. Some of the less self-conscious were stripping off their clothes already.

  She untied her hair, removed the clips and shook it out. It would let the rain get to the roots and the ends.

  While she waited for the rain to end, she tried to remember how long it had been since the last radiation alarm. It had been years, at least, although it had been after she had moved to the Wall.

  She shuddered at the memory of her time living in the First Wall. After living in a big house all her life, having to adapt to a slice apartment and an assigned roommate had been nearly overwhelming. The radiation leak that had occurred while she was living in the Wall had
been minor and she had been in the apartment at the time, so it had caused her no personal inconvenience. She had watched the protocol play out on a screen, fascinated.

  Now she was one of the players.

  The rain turned off, leaving the sound of gurgling and dripping water everywhere. The purple lights overhead switched to blue.

  Laura considered which direction she should take. She was at the Bridge end of the Field. Her apartment, though, was in the Esquiline, which was just on the other side of the Field.

  The engineer closest to her, Delgado, kicked off his boots and picked them up. “The Capitol is closer,” he said. He shucked back his wet hair.

  It was, unfortunately. Laura picked up her pack and slung it again, bent and retrieved her boots and fell into line with everyone else who was heading along the road toward the Capitol.

  A check station had already been set up at this end of the Capitol when they got there. Laura joined the line of squelching, dripping people. One of the largest mobile recyclers had been set up just ahead, so she started removing her clothes to save time. When she was in front of the recycler, she grabbed the fibrous string bag held out to her by one of the few dry people in the area. She dumped all her tools and possessions that could be sterilized into it, closed and tagged it and handed it Macy, who was running the sterilization unit.

  Everything else on her or with her went into the recycler. Naked, wet and shivering now, she wrapped the disposable robe they handed her around her body and moved over to the scanner. Her wet hair lay against the back of the robe, soaking the biodegradable tissue.

  She was not alone in her discomfort. Everyone was just as damp, cold and miserable as she was. The line of people waiting to step through the scanner was almost completely silent, even though Laura knew many of them. She had lived in the Capitol for many years.

  When she moved through the scanner, the medic at the other end waved her aside.

  “Something wrong?” Laura asked, her heart fluttering uneasily. “Was it gamma that got loose?”

  “Beta,” the medic said.

  Laura relaxed a little.

  “You were working in the Field today?” The medic was looking over the display on a board, frowning.

  “Is that where the leak was?”

  “It was minor, I’m told.” The medic picked up an injector. “You’re showing some levels. Nothing dangerous. I’ll freshen your anti-rad just to be sure.”

  Laura had seen other people suffering through the side effects of anti-rad shots before. The illness was one thing. The disorientation a lot of them experienced was something else.

  She put her arm behind her back. “I don’t have to, do I?” she asked.

  The medic frowned. “It’s better you do. There’s nothing in the shot that can hurt you if that’s what you’re worried about.” She reached for Laura’s arm, fully expecting her to cooperate.

  Laura took a big step backward, out of her reach.

  The medic made an impatient sound. “Come, come,” she snapped. “The shot protects people around you, too. You will expose everyone else because you don’t like injectors?”

  “You said I was beneath dangerous levels,” Laura said. Her voice was shaking. It wasn’t often she pushed back in this way. “I don’t want it.”

  Heads were turning, now. There was a large group of people who had been waved out of the scanning line to speak to the medic and they were watching the two of them with wary expressions. Some of them looked as though they were irked that Laura was holding up the line. Many more, though were watching the medic to see if she would try to insist.

  No one liked it when anyone tried to exert authority and take away anyone’s choice.

  The medic licked her lips and gave Laura a nervous smile. She was clearly as aware of the scrutiny as Laura was. “No, you don’t have to have the shot if you don’t want it.”

  Laura let out a breath, relaxing. “Then I’m free to go.”

  “Have another shower when you get home. Scrub everything, especially your hair,” the medic told her. She waved to the next in line. Laura had been dismissed.

  Still feeling shaky, Laura moved back to the other end of the sterilization unit and picked out her string bag of freshly cleaned possessions from among the pile on the table.

  With a sigh, she started walking toward the trolley station, the bag swinging from her fingers. She was not the only one. Dozens of people had been caught by the alarm somewhere other than their home district. The trains would run more frequently, she hoped, getting everyone back home. Even though it was the middle of the day, the work day was over for just about everyone.

  Captain Ursula Middlesworth would talk to everyone tonight and tell them what had happened. Reviews and investigations would be promised. Radiation leaks were minor, although no one liked how they disrupted their lives. Captain Middlesworth would want to assure them it wouldn’t happen again.

  There was a train at the platform when Laura got there. It was waiting until it was full, although it looked as if it was already three-quarters occupied. Everyone wore the disposable robes. Everyone had wet hair and carried string bags with their possessions. Everyone looked pretty unhappy and subdued. There wasn’t a lot of talking, as there usually was on the train.

  There were no seats left so Laura found a strap to hang on to. She put her bag between her feet.

  “Hey, Laura!” The call came from farther up the carriage.

  Someone was pushing through, stirring everyone.

  “Laura!”

  Laura waited. They were coming to her, whoever it was. The voice was familiar. Then she saw his head. It was Tivoli Landau and he was smiling hugely, as usual. He was a naturally positive guy. Keton Hobson was following him, his frown in place, also as usual. Laura couldn’t remember ever seeing one of guys without the other.

  “So you got caught out, too,” Tivoli said, grabbing the strap next to hers. There wasn’t one to spare for Keton, so he gripped Tivoli’s strap, just above his friend’s hand.

  “I think most engineers would have,” Laura said.

  The train jerked into motion. It pulled out onto the mag strip and picked up speed.

  “I heard someone say they were going to cancel the tank game tonight because of all this,” Tivoli said. His smile faded, but didn’t die altogether. Tankball was his obsession. He favored the Planets, even though the Esquilino team hadn’t won a championship in its entire history.

  “Oh, I’m sure they won’t cancel,” Laura said soothingly. “Not on top of all this upset. Besides, the Warriors are playing tonight.”

  “So?”

  “It’s the Captain’s team,” Keton said quietly.

  “It’s not her team,” Tivoli said patiently.

  “She favors them,” Keton replied. “They sponsored her election, too.”

  “Where were you when the rain started?” Laura asked them both, deliberately changing the subject. She liked tankball well enough, just not with the same fervor that Tivoli did. He could talk about it for hours if she didn’t divert him.

  “Bridge end of the Aventine,” Tivoli said. “They say they’re going to have to run the rain again later tonight, just to make sure the last of the radiation is washed away…are you okay, Laura? You’ve gone all white.”

  Laura swallowed. “Rain…” she whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “It washes away the radiation.”

  “Unless it’s gamma radiation,” Keton said, his tone serious.

  “So the runoff would have the radiation in it.” She pressed her head against her arm, feeling suddenly weak.

  “That’s the way it’s supposed to work, isn’t it?” Tivoli said.

  “The leak was in the Field,” Laura said, trying to figure it out. “Which end, though?”

  “Our end,” Keton said quietly. “Aren’t your quarters right up against the Field?”

  She swallowed. “Yes.”

  “In the corner by the back tunnel,” Tivoli said. “Al
though quarters are all sealed and rad proof, so there’s nothing to worry about. The house AI will tell you if there are any problems.”

  Laura ducked to look out the windows. The train was pulling up alongside the platform, which was just as well. She didn’t know if she could stay on the train any longer. She felt sick.

  As soon as the train stopped, she pushed her way out onto the platform, apologizing as she shoved people aside. She got startled looks from almost everyone, especially those she knew. She couldn’t stop to properly make amends. She had to find out now.

  She hurried across the market place. Of course, her house was on the far end of the district from the platform.

  “Laura!” Tivoli called. They were following her. Probably they were wondering if she was crazy and why she was running. Perhaps she was out of her mind. She felt almost dizzy with anxiety. Maintaining even a fast walk would make it worse. She had to run.

  People called out to her as she passed and she tried to acknowledge them with a wave of her hand. She couldn’t stop. Not now.

  On the other side of the market place she dived into the narrow, irregular corridor formed by the sides of single apartments that had been positioned to look into the market square. There were no straight lines in this corner of the Esquiline, as there were in the Wall districts. Just apartments dumped into whatever space they could fit, turned to take advantage of any view there might be, which there usually wasn’t.

  Her own house looked upon the fronts of two others while the window in her bedroom looked upon the curved wall of the ship. Tivoli had called it a corner, which implied it was dark and isolated. It was a quiet section of the district, being right on the edge and up against the silos of the Field of Mars. It wasn’t dark in the slightest, though, for the banks of sunlights started in this corner. Because of the slight curve of the roof of the ship, the lights here were closer to the floor than they were anywhere else, which made the sunlight stronger and warmer.