“That was all quite unnecessary,” said Ray. “You shouldn’t have assumed that we would reject you as a member of the crew. In fact, we couldn’t have said no, we had no right to refuse anyone who wanted to come with us, up until we ran out of quarters. Right, Christie?”
Christie remained silent.
“Well you succeeded,” said John. “You might as well tell us what kind of special skills you think you bring to the ship.”
“I’m just that good,” Byron said.
Ari walked over to Byron and crossed behind him.
“You know what I find interesting?” she said. “The CIA couldn’t track us anymore after we figured out about the signals Seth was inadvertently transmitting. We never went back to any of our homes after I got grabbed. The only phone calls we made were on pre-paid cells purchased with cash. And yet, here we come back to the motel and find two dozen jack-booted thugs waiting for us. You wouldn’t know anything about how that happened, would you Byron?”
“Sure. I called them.”
The others expressed various forms of pejorative surprise.
“Why the fuck did you do that?” asked John, livid.
“Whoa, take it easy. I can explain.”
“Good,” said Ari, “because the airlock is starting to look too good for you.”
“Come on, you guys. I saw what was being forged here. I’m an amateur like you when it comes to this, but I could tell you weren’t hard enough for what might come. You were too naive and too innocent. I knew what you needed was a baptism by fire. So I arranged a little meeting. I wanted to see how far you were willing to go.”
“Holy shit,” said Ray.
“You are seriously messed up in the head, Byron,” said Christie.
“You’ll thank me later,” Byron said, “you can bet on it.”
“There won’t be any later,” began Ari calmly, “because I’m going to take you down to the waste reclamation bin and cave your skull in with the side of my boot.”
“And you think I’m crazy? You’re the one with Lizzie Borden as a crewmate.”
“Don’t give me any ideas, kid.”
John approached Byron. “Byron, you are responsible for the lives that were lost tonight. You caused that fight, and you have to live with knowing that those men died because of you. We can’t kick you off the ship, but you’re no member of this crew. You’re going to spend the next six weeks confined to quarters. Perhaps dropping you off on the first habitable planet is in order after that.”
Byron shrugged. “You’ll change your mind before too long. You can’t keep me away from this mission forever.”
“John,” began Christie, “we don’t have anymore crew quarters available. Richter took our only spare.”
John nodded. “We’ll set up one of the spare mattresses in cargo hold. The less comfortable the better as far as I’m concerned. Ray, would you mind bringing our new guest downstairs?”
“No problem,” said Ray, grasping Byron’s arm.
“No need for that, I’ll go with you,” Byron said.
“Seth,” began John, “lock Byron out of all command functions other than light and temperature controls for the cargo hold.”
“Understood,” said Seth.
Ray and Byron exited the bridge. John sank down into his chair.
“I can’t believe this kid,” he said.
“Byron worried me a little bit, but I didn’t think he was downright insane,” Christie said, shaking her head.
“He’s delusional,” said Ari. “He expects us to appreciate his attempts at deus ex machina. The firefight as a crucible? None of us wanted that kind of experience.”
“We’ll see if a couple of weeks in the cargo hold changes his mind,” said John.
Christie looked at Friday. “Seth, why didn’t you tell us there was somebody sneaking around the ship?”
“You didn’t ask,” Seth replied.
John rolled his eyes. “Fine, from now on I want you to warn us if there’s anyone or anything aboard other than who is currently here.”
“Understood.”
“We’ve sort of been ignoring Seth’s development as an artificial intelligence,” said Christie. “Does this kind of behavior really surprise you?”
“Ever since we started trying to integrate our technology aboard, it’s been all about what Seth can do for us,” said Ari. “I think we’ve become complacent with his role in all of this. He’s still the only reason any of us are here right now.”
“As long as his memory is fragged, we’ll have to do our best,” said John. “Like I’ve mentioned before, I don’t think Seth is supposed to be so... slow on the uptake. Let’s just hope that Umber didn’t actually go nova and all that’s waiting for us is a dust cloud.”
“Indeed.”
Christie stood up. “I’m going to go see how Dana’s doing, and tell her about our new visitor.”
“Okay.”
Christie exited the bridge. Ari walked over to John. They stared out of the viewscreen for a while in silence.
“One more surprise in a string of unbelievable circumstances,” Ari said.
“It makes you wish for something stable,” John said. “Something you can rely on.”
“We can rely on each other.”
John looked at Ari. “We need to decide where we stand.”
“Let’s just say we stand together. Let’s leave anything else up to chance.”
“I can live with that.”
Ari rested her hand on John’s shoulder.
“What do you think will happen at Umber?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but I sure as hell can’t wait to find out.”
FACILITIES: DECK ONE
FACILITIES: DECK TWO
FACILITIES: DECK THREE
1. Bridge: The nerve center of the ship, the bridge consists of five computer consoles, one of which is also a dedicated piloting station. Each station can be used for any purpose, but they are usually configured, counter-clockwise from right to left: navigation, communications, pilot's station, remote weapons operation, and systems monitoring. The forward-facing window is also capable of projecting a wide-angle Heads-Up Display (HUD).
2. Conference Room: A room with eight chairs around an oval table, with a large wall-mounted monitor for demonstrations.
3. Lounge Area: An open area with several couches.
4. Secondary Server Room: This room contains two of the twelve computer servers, and is also used for spare storage.
5. Dorsal and Ventral Gun Rooms: These rooms provide gunner stations for and access to the dorsal and ventral GAU 19/A turrets. A limited amount of spare ammunition can also be stored here.
6. Living Quarters: Six nearly identical quarters, each with a private lavatory. The lavatory can also be used as a shower stall.
7. Zero-G Room/Airlock: A variable gravity area, this room can be used for Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVA) and for docking with other vessels while in space. It is also used for spare storage and occasionally for recreational purposes.
8. Forward Gun Room: This area houses the GAU 8/A weapon system and magazine.
9. Cargo Bay and Cargo Hold: These areas are used for storage. The cargo hold has also occasionally served as a brig or spare quarters. The cargo bay has a ramp (outlined in gray) for accessing the exterior of the ship and loading large pieces of cargo. The cargo bay is double height, with the armory overhanging the rear portion of the bay.
10. Armory: All small arms used by the crew are stored here, along with ammunition, spare parts, and cleaning supplies.
11. Orb Room/Primary Computer Server Room: The Quasi-Actualized Intraspace Quantum Grid is stored here, along with ten of the twelve computer servers.
12: Storage Room
13: Galley: The galley contains a full kitchen, dining area, and a cold storage room.
14: H2O Storage Tanks: These tanks store 1000 gallons each of water for fuel, drinking, and sanitary purposes.
15. Engine Room: This
area is home to the fusion drive and most of the secondary components. It also houses the rear-facing GAU 8/A. Located on decks two and three (double height).
16 & 17. Port & Starboard Engines
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to Marc Housley and John Wheaton for brainstorming sessions, and to Matthew and Sarah Campbell for editing assistance.
Cover art by Kristie Moeller
The adventure continues in The Tarantula Nebula, available now in both printed and e-book format on Amazon.com and other fine retailers! If you enjoyed this book, please leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
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