Space Station Acheron

by F Stephan

  After three hours of careful checks and without any new findings, he retrieved his sniffer and left his cabin. He activated the device and linked it with his bracelet to record everything. Kimi hadn’t arrived yet, and if he could, he wanted to solve all of this before she arrived. Dimmer lights now ran along the corridors, and he barely noticed the noise of the ventilators continually moving air around the module.

  “No signal. Would have been too easy,” he mumbled to himself. He moved on to check the first module – the command center, as it was usually called.

  Maricar, wearing her usual black-and-white uniform, appeared within a few minutes. “Can I help?” Does she ever sleep? How did she know?

  Wilfried checked his sniffer. She was clean, and had been for a while, because the readout stayed neutral. Nanites tended to stick around for a long time, or so he had been told.

  “No, thank you. Running another routine check. Trying another approach to our issue.” He didn’t want to lie or reveal too much.

  “I can show around if you need. I don’t sleep a lot.” Without letting him respond, she took charge. Her eyes were red. Anyway, she cannot disturb my sniffer. This won’t do any harm.

  “Trouble?”

  “Nothing you can help me with. Family matters.”

  Unlike the station on Adheek, they had to go through actual airlocks between each module, making progress slow and the silence between them uneasy, increasing in intensity by the minute.

  Two modules along, the power blacked out. In the darkness, Wilfried asked softly, “Still power issues. I can’t find where it’s still not working.” Two full minutes passed before power returned.

  “With all the work we’ve done over the past months, we’ve meeting the different internal requirements. But the solar flares disturb our generators and power spikes all day long. We just can’t adjust fast enough to the variances.”

  “And water and air flow?”

  “Too much maintenance, too long to cross the station.”

  Wilfried had to concur with her. He had felt it since his arrival.

  In each module, he checked all sections. Whatever the occupation – housing, storage, farming, engineering, research, communication or entertainment – Wilfried found lingering traces of nanites, spread everywhere, but nothing conclusive. They also met crew members, a few with lingering bots, most without, but nothing conclusive. They could have been picked up from the traces that had been left. Nanites have been here, but few and seldom.

  They left to survey the external ring where the missing modules would be inserted. There, too, Wilfried found remnants but no clear evidence.

  Later, in his cabin, Wilfried opened a secure communication to Earth and CPC headquarters in Zurich. He winced at the severe look from the Chief Iakoubi as he transmitted the meagre information he had found.

  “What did you expect, boy? You aren’t facing amateurs. They knew you would come and they prepared for it. They probably knew how you would search for it.” She sighed. “Well, you had to try anyway. Continue your sweeps as often as you can.”

  “You think this is useless. Why?”

  “You never know. Remember your past. Cops rarely stumble upon smugglers by chance. But it does happen.”

  Images flashed in his mind. Mistakes happen. Sooner or later.

  “Regularity is key. And in the meantime, you restrict their ability to work. Kimi is training for space operations and will arrive in a month or two. Keep me updated. In the meantime, I will investigate Maricar’s family issues. Just to make sure those personal matters only.”

  Wilfried saw her turn to look beyond his field of vision and then she shut the communications. He tried a call to Leopold and Tasha, but no one answered. He sat alone in his room for long hours, wondering how he would find the drugs.

  Leopold

  Charon, en route to the asteroid belt, August 26, 2140

  “Acheron, we’re leaving for a new exercise trip.” Leopold sent the customary message with some apprehension. Are they ready? There was only one way to know, and a short trip to the asteroid belt would help build them as a team. This is not an exercise. This is the real thing. But they had to demonstrate they could operate Charon.

  “Safe trip, Charon. Have fun,” came the reply from Wilfried on the station.

  Leopold engaged the singularity and distorted reality around the ship.

  “Nick, plot?”

  “Yes, Pilot.” The incident around the moon had shaken the navigator and his answers had been subdued. A 3D appeared in the middle of the bridge, showing the trip in front of them complete with jump area, dangerous objects and gravity field measures.

  Leopold pointed the ship toward the jump area, above the ecliptic, in a low gravity area. Slowly, he initiated acceleration. “Three hours before jump. Run your checklists, people.”

  He withdrew from the console and began his tour of the ship. He had to leave them alone a little, give them some space to work. He walked to the secondary control room and verified the jump parameters with Hawkeyes Noul. Everything seemed to be running normally, so he spent a few minutes composing a message to his father. They hadn’t been close before his departure to Adheek, but his gesture with the trip to Sydney had brought them a bit closer. Leopold didn’t want to let this new relationship go.

  He returned half an hour before the jump and spent a long time with each crew member. Their work had improved immensely since their arrival, but they still had room for improvement. It will come in time.

  Finally, he walked back to his console and activated his nanites. For a professional gamer, this felt near ecstasy, and it would be hard to shut it down. Later. Focus on the now. With supernatural speed, he rechecked the final corrections and confirmed a go for departure.

  “Countdown to jump. Four.”

  He sensed his crew behind him. It was their first jump, after all, and for the first time in weeks he smiled inwardly. Let them see for themselves.

  “Three. All clear. Ready for the jump.”

  The singularity forced the rift to open. New stars appeared behind it. Leopold felt the pull on his body by the nanites, the temptation to let them loose and use all the power he had in a blast of glory. He hadn’t taken all the injections, scared by his body’s reaction and by the whispers of his nanites. Once again, he kept them under control, a constant fear running deep within him.

  “Two. Engaging.”

  The hole in space in front of the ship was wide enough to let them in. He heard a sharp intake of breath behind him.

  “One. Jumping.”

  The threshold was behind them in an instant. Leopold was fully absorbed by the spike in power in the singularity and the need to control it. Jay wouldn’t know how to help him yet, and Leopold had to bring it to a safe margin. Leopold’s every cell burned, and he heard himself scream. The ship had caught an unknown gravity wave and had dropped to the red zone. Leopold fought with his whole body and mind, in an agony of fire, until the wave passed and he stabilized the singularity again. At last, he released the nanites and gasped, kneeling on the floor.

  Hawkeyes Noul’s voice echoed solemnly around the bridge. “Fellow, crew members, welcome to the stars.”

  Cheers and applause rang throughout the bridge.

  Nick coughed and said in an awed voice, “I’ve got some champagne, sir, for this occasion. Would you open the bottle?”

  “Is it allowed in the regulations?” croaked Leopold with a laugh.

  “It isn’t explicitly forbidden. And it is just a single bottle.”

  “Engineering, status?” The fog in Leopold’s head began to dissipate.

  “Good, sir. We couldn’t know about the gravity wave. You saved us. I can see that. How did you do it? Could I have helped?” Jay was quick. She thought too highly of herself but, damn, she grasped what happened around her when she set her mind to it.

  “Yes, I’ll show you how once we’ve cleared the jump zone. Tom, your status?”

  Tom was slower to answer �
� far slower – but his answer was firm. “All equipment clear. We had several failures, mostly in environmental, but everything restarted correctly when we left the hole. Environmental concerns me a little.” Again. Damn, what’s the matter there?

  “This is fairly normal. When we cross out of the universe, some equipment develops bugs. And the gravity wave didn’t help. You’re going to have to learn what’s normal and what isn’t. It’s different in every ship.” I need to restore my energy. “Let’s eat something, and then we’ll debrief more.”

  They all moved to the main lounge, and Leopold, after drinking a large cup of water, opened the bottle of champagne and poured it for his crew. They cheered again, talking excitedly of their first jump. Leopold sat to one side, chewing energy bars and drinking glasses of water. He had barely touched his champagne. On the other side of the lounge, Anton seemed withdrawn as well. The jump seemed to have scared him. He will get used to it.

  “You haven’t asked me about our medical condition, Leopold?” Rana’s voice was soft, but she was frowning deeply. And she had used his name instead of his title.

  “What about it, Doctor?” Leopold answered formally.

  “Crew is fine. Our pilot, I don’t know. What happened during the jump? Why did my monitor turn amber during it, and then returned to normal?”

  The others had begun singing, recording the video to send back to their families.

  “Because I was under stress and my nanites tried to take control of me. Then I bested them, and everything went back to normal. They’ll do it every time I jump.” His voice was small, dreading the next question.

  She uttered it without hesitation. “And if it turns red?”

  “Then, my dear Rana, you follow the protocol. Red light. Red button. Simple, easy and straightforward. You shouldn’t have a single hesitation on a simple procedure like this.”

  “I know the procedure. What does it do?”

  “Get the nanites under control.” He had regained his nerve by now, enough to flash a bright smile at her. And obliterate me at the same time. But she doesn’t need to know. “We can’t ever let them take control over me. Ever.”

  She looked at him defiantly, but Leopold kept his eyes and his smile boring into her until she lowered her head and acquiesced.

  “Rana, piloting is extremely dangerous. Your job is the most important on the ship. You’re in charge of the health of all crew members except the pilot. I’m not in your care. That should be clear from the regulations.”

  “I had read that, but I hadn’t understood. I do now. Can I still help?”

  “Anything you can find to help me contain those bloody vampires will be welcome. There are research ideas in the Core Data Sphere.”

  She brightened. She was a brilliant doctor and she would try to help him. Well, I’ll take anything I can get.

  Anaru

  Neutral New York, August 30, 2140

  Two days later, during the last week of August, the Council of the United Organization convened in New York for its monthly reunion. Within the legislative chamber were gathered representatives from all countries, elected or designated depending on each government. The sessions were usually long and tedious, but today’s meeting was almost a riot.

  From the central stage, the speaker, a small Brazilian man, began shouting at the top of his lungs. “Order, I want order, or I’ll evacuate the room.” No Speaker had ever carried out such a threat in the Council's history, and the representatives weren’t quieted at all by the outburst. Above the speaker, several 3Ds rotated in mid-air, showing the unfinished ring of the space station and the bridge of Charon during the moon incident. Other indicators were shared, too. Local or global projects submitted for approval, weather summaries discussed at each session, bee survival rates at different locations on Earth.

  From a side chamber, Anaru looked at the proceedings with the detachment of one used to twenty years of political bickering. Serious matters handled chaotically. He snorted inwardly and pointed out different figures in the crowd to Tasha. She wasn’t paying attention, looking instead into a small projection from her bracelet.

  “You need to learn this game. It will be part of your job, Pilot,” Anaru whispered when she sighed. She has so much to learn, and so little time. “Look. Who’s too calm?”

  She took an instant to reply, “Killian Lacazette. He’s the representative for the European Confederacy, isn’t he? I went to summer camp with him. He was an asshole back then.”

  “He hasn’t improved. He’s just more controlled today. Now, remember. He works with us. Who else?”

  Another person stood out. Anaru saw Tasha frown, trying to identify her. “Laureen Cattlin. A representative for the NorAm Alliance.” She was a plump woman of indeterminate age, with grey hair tied up in a bun. She was dressed in a traditional dark blue NorAm business suit.

  “Cattlin? Is she related to—”

  “Your friend Emily, yes. But, she’s a lost sheep in a very conservative family. One of the oldest powers in the NorAm Alliance. Don’t get entangled in their webs, Natalya. Their machinations are generations ahead of all of us.”

  Anaru had always wondered about that family. Emily Cattlin, one of the brightest Pilots from Earth, now studying on the Core Worlds of the Federation. To one side of her stood her aunt Laureen and, even worse, her mother, Elisabeth, among the fiercest enemies of the Federation on Earth. How was it possible to have such extremes under the same roof?

  At last, the speaker sent the session for a twenty-minute recess. A group of representatives rose and moved quickly to leave the room.

  “EarthFirst related,” Anaru commented in disgust. “Their delegate, Isabel Mascherano, is in a back room upstairs. They’re checking their strategy with her.”

  Tasha seemed aghast. “How can those murderers stand here unperturbed? As if they were truly innocent.”

  “Nothing was reported directly during a criminal investigation. The more violent acts come from Ecowarriors or Gaia Activists. Isabel is a doctor, a survivor of the terrible plague, her body a living reminder of how hard it was.”

  “Everybody knows they take their orders from EarthFirst. How can we let them influence councilors openly? The councilors should represent countries, not lobbies!”

  As astute as she was in business matters, Tasha lacked training in politics. “Your mother handles the political actions for your family?”

  The Pilot nodded sullenly.

  “Then you’re going to have to talk more with her. In short, we can’t do otherwise. It’s better to let them voice their concerns. Now, Rui has sent the Council in recess. Time to do our job, Lady Pilot.” Anaru motioned to Tasha and led her into the council chamber to face Rui and Killian.

  “Good morning, gentlemen,” said Anaru in a quiet voice. “What’s the status?”

  Rui seemed tired, slumping in his chair. Killian took the lead, stretching and then nodding at the newcomers. “Mister President, Tash. Long time no see. Shame on you for leaving me for the stars.” He rose and performed a quick, mocking bow.

  “Couldn’t find any place farther away from you, Ki,” answered Tasha, her irony barely contained.

  “Hush, Tash, we’re friends now. No hitting! Strange how life turns out.” Killian laughed harshly, a curious sound in the empty room, before turning back to the President. “In short, the Council is split on this. The decision will fall to Laureen, as it so often does. She will vote to get the station back under Earth control. Today, she will fail.”

  “Will she attack us?” Tasha blurted.

  “Absolutely. With every weapon she can think of. You don’t like me, Tash. Well, she’s a thousand times worse than me.”

  Tasha’s shoulders slumped a little. Killian wasn’t stupid, and he had trained all his life for this job. “What should we do? What’s your recommendation?”

  “Work as best you can. Don’t ever let your guard down. And strike back every time she gives you an opening. Traditional fencing. You enter the stage
in five minutes and you’d better be convincing.”

  Anaru had prepared her over recent weeks. Now he hoped she was truly ready. “Killian, will we go as planned?”

  “Yes, I will confront you before Laureen does. It will blunt her attacks. She prefers to remain in the shadows if she can.”

  Ten minutes later, Rui, the speaker, invited the President, ruler of the governing body, to the Council proceedings, and entered with his guest. It annoyed Anaru to no end, not being able to speak unless requested. Yet, this was the rule of the game.

  Rui introduced him, along with Tasha, and began presenting at length about the work to be carried that day. After an interminable minute, Killian rose. “Mister Speaker, do you mind if I cut the niceties and ask our guests directly what the Federation is doing about the bee issues? We know manual pollination isn’t enough to cover all crops. We remember last time we tried.”

  Rui had also risen and was facing Anaru squarely. Both remembered the riots of that time, having lived through them as junior officials of the southern hemisphere. Many others in the room bent forward and silence had fallen over the room.

  Anaru looked up and answered calmly and directly, “We’ve asked all the Federation biologists on Earth for input, and asked for support from Adheek with a passing scout. We hope for feedback within a few weeks. We hope to find, somewhere in the Federation, another genetic strain to boost our population. The best outcome would be a primitive and untainted group of bees.”

  “Hope? What happens if you find a candidate?” Killian’s attention focused back on the President.

  Tasha took over, calling up travel estimates in front of them. “We will send someone there to get it. Three to nine months travel depending on where we’ve got to go.”

  “Thanks, Pilot. Death rate projections don’t give us a lot more time than that. Any way to shorten this delay?” Killian’s light bantering tone had now disappeared. The audience was quiet, listening intently.