In a possibly related item, several Mars stations have reported increasing Mars-quakes. Whether this is a precursor to the same process as we are seeing on Mercury or Venus is unknown at this time. However, Mars personnel have already started evacuation proceedings as a precautionary measure.

“Definitely Ivan.” Kemp pointed the remote and started surfing. The news was being repeated on dozens of stations, but they all appeared to be rehashing the same facts. No one was going on the record with any more than the most basic interpretation of events.

“We could check the internet,” Narang suggested.

Kemp shook his head. “It’s the guv’mint, it’s the military-industrial complex, it’s the liberals, it’s aliens.” He grinned at her. “They’d actually be correct on that last item.”

Narang rolled her eyes and headed back to the bathroom.

* * *

“It’s a good thing you’re richer than Midas,” Narang said to Kemp as the shuttle snuggled up to the Olympus Station docking port. “The ICDC auditors would be storming my office with torches and pitchforks by now, with all this travel.”

Kemp smiled. It occurred to him that, even in the short time that he’d been a billionaire, his attitudes toward spending money had changed drastically. The cost of flying up to the station would have once meant skipping his annual vacation; now it was cab fare.

They climbed out of the traxi and went straight to the Docking Information board, located beside the elevators. Kemp was an old hand at weightless movement, but Narang showed the noob’s tendency to put too much muscle into it. He gave her a few quick pointers, and she corrected immediately.

The Getting Ahead was listed in Berth 8. Kemp did a quick calculation, then headed for a traxi station.

In a short time, an automated cart stopped in front of them. They pulled themselves in, snapped the lap restraints into place, and the cart pulled out.

As they moved along the circumference of the hub, Kemp could see that most people were glued to their phones or tablets. He considered pulling out his phone and surfing, but decided to wait until they were on board the Getting Ahead.

They got off at Berth 8, and pulled themselves over to the egress point. Kemp identified himself to the attendant A.I. and the door opened.

They found Captain Jennings in the on-axis bridge. He nodded to them, then turned back to the monitor he’d been watching. “Interesting developments continue,” he said. “It appears that someone is engaged in some kind of planetary engineering.” The captain played with his controls, and the feed was duplicated onto the main bridge monitor.