by F Stephan
Andrew pointed to the cupola above them. A dark mass of cloud was blocking the view of South America. “Class five hurricane. You won’t reach him for days, maybe weeks.”
Tasha took a quick look at the monster. The monster wouldn’t move until it lost its strength, raging against the Andes Cordillera. I could use a break sometimes. She opened a new communication channel. “Maricar, can you open a link to Earth and the Podorovski headquarters?”
Maricar was in the operation center, coordinating the emergency repairs. She acknowledged the instruction and soon a 3D opened in front of Tasha and Andrew.
“Mother, I need you.”
“What is it, daughter of mine?” The communication was barely audible because of distortion in the signal. Something was interfering with it.
Tasha told her quickly of the analysis she had made with Andrew. “Does it exist on Earth?”
Her mother called her back the next day. Tasha was in her own room, asleep at her desk, exhausted from the constant work.
“I’ve found what you need,” her mother said. “But there are only ten on Earth that would fit all your requirements. Especially working in space.”
“Can you find one?”
“I’ll secure one for you, daughter of mine. Don’t lose it. I may find one. I won’t find two.”
“Thank you, mother.” Tasha’s answer was subdued. After all those years in which she had tried to run independently from her clan, she had come for direct help and had been answered. She would have to return the favor some day.
Susanna
JapEnglish Imperium, London, October 17, 2140
Behind Susanna, the sky above the industrial quarter of London was mournful. She wore a dark, tight-fitting blouse, her hair bound with a black ribbon. The Thames had flooded only a month before, giving the place an air of waste and destruction.
“Naturally, our thoughts go to the family of the station member, all the anxiety they bear following the current electrical blast. We’re fortunate and grateful that we haven’t lost anyone yet. But how long until someone dies up there?” She beamed a bright, flashing smile, a total contradiction with her true feelings. She had expected that the integration of the energy grid would lead to real accidents. She had prepared for it, setting up shop in front of one plant that provided the energy regulators. But the little Russian brat had avoided any real casualties. Still, Susanna could salvage some of her preparation.
“This plant here in London is a crucial component of our space industry. And its employees will work double shifts to replace the precious components lost yesterday. Work will be diverted from more urgent concerns on Earth. Energy regulation deprives all of us of access to heat, warmth, sometimes information. Shouldn’t it go first to the population and then to space? Are we ready and capable of running a space station as other planets do?”
The drones rose to show the bleak industrial surroundings and the brick houses of past centuries.
Isabel Mascherano stepped forward, accompanied by Lord John Burroughs. “You cannot say that. This plant doesn’t make local energy regulators. Its production wouldn’t affect people’s lives. Let’s be precise about this.” She continued charismatically, “What we can tell is that we could use our resources differently. We should reduce the pressure from the Federation and delay our work in space. Refocusing our efforts would allow us to build other plants and produce what’s needed here. We shouldn’t send into space the critical components we produce. We should keep them here.”
Lord Burroughs played the wise, experienced old man. His alliance with EarthFirst would not go unnoticed in political circles and would bring other supporters to their cause. “The Federation has only had the station under its control for a month and yesterday they blew up half of it. The current failure to administrate the station properly is why we are asking to get back control of the station and transfer it to a civilian authority.” He turned to face directly into the camera. “Some have taken violent action against our industry or the Federation. I call to them today. Cease fire. Stop the murders. And join us to ask the United Organization to get the station back!”
Susanna knew the request would be refused by Anaru, but it would raise questions in the Council and open the way for the takeover of the station. She tasted the sweetness of her revenge on Tasha, and bared her teeth in a snarl. It might be unfair, the brat having nothing to do with the decision of her own parents, but she didn’t care. Polls would shift her way by nightfall. With Lord Burrough’s support, she could finish her own agenda against her family’s own company. He wants the star and I want revenge. What a sweet combination.
Anaru
Geneva Governmental Complex, October 19, 2140
Anaru awoke before dawn for his morning routine. He always kept an hour for himself before daybreak. But before he could begin his run around the complex, Killian Lacazette called him via a priority connection from New York and the Council chambers. The Frenchman had sunken eyes.
“What can I do for you, Killian?” Anaru squared his shoulders, ready for the news.
“Anaru, the polls are against us since the blast. The public wants us to reallocate our resources to issues closer to home. They are tired of the ecological collapse and they are not convinced by our space activities. The drug runners are also hurting us slowly. I need Chief Iakoubi to come back with results.” He looked down, avoiding Anaru’s gaze.
“Running that river to its source is taking time. They’ve set up their operation carefully.”
“Yes, but with the death toll rising, I can’t withstand the tide. I must reduce the effort put into the station and ask for more efficiency from our team up there.”
“Your friend Tasha can’t deliver this with an unfinished station,” fumed Anaru. Not only was it impossible, but he’d have Nashiz on his back in half an hour. And this is just the beginning. It’s going to be one of those days. “What do they want? She has already delivered a working station and more rare earth than we have seen in a century!”
“It’s not enough. And the public is afraid of being hit by one of those nuggets of hers. She’ll have to deliver more with fewer risks. I’m sorry.” Killian paused, ordering his thoughts. The prankster is hidden, today. “The shift of alliance of Lord Burroughs has hurt us a lot. The JapEnglish councilors have all flocked to the Cattlins and their agenda against the station.”
Anaru sighed. “Thanks for letting me know. We’ve got a new shipment of rare earth coming soon. And your friend will stabilize our space station soon. Gain her a couple of months and she will deliver.”
Killian smiled thinly. “Let’s hope it works as you expect. Give me good news and I’ll bring everybody with us. Just beware. Burroughs is out to take control of the station. And I think there will be foul play.”
The councilor shut the connection, leaving the President alone, looking out at the rising sun over the Alps.
What are we facing now?
Tasha
Space station Acheron, October 19, 2140
“Are you sure of those numbers?” Tasha asked, reading the report again.
“Yes, Pilot,” answered Maricar in her subservient tone. “Our doctors double-checked them twice.”
“So,” mused Tasha, “our unfinished wheel doesn’t offer gravity good enough for the human body. And the situation is far worse on Kalgoorlie.”
“We have to send our crews to a stronger gravity well with a constant pull or face permanent damages. At this stage, even the moon would be beneficial.”
Acheron with its Ancient gravity could help as well. But it will allow the mole to move around and increase the risks for our spaceship.
“OK,” Tasha said. “Thank you for bringing this to me. Anything else?”
“Complaints about the food and water are increasing among the crew. We need to increase the regularity of fresh food. We have had rumors of a strike to protest officially.”
Tasha couldn’t afford it. Talk about bad PR – and I can imagine how Susanna
would use such a strike. “I will ask the committee for more shuttles. I’ll let you know as fast as you can.”
“I understand.” Maricar bowed her head and left the office, a stern reminder of what failure would bring to Tasha. Her eyes were still red – she still cried at night, and Tasha didn’t know why. She had tried broaching the subject, but Maricar had evaded her. The CPC and Chief Iakoubi had checked on her family and everything seemed well.
Tasha sighed. I can’t help her now. Maybe she will trust me in time. She began preparing for her working session. It wouldn’t go well – she already knew as much from Anaru – but she had to face it and try to win whatever she could.
Two hours later, Tasha closed her connection in disgust, screaming in frustration. They’ve cut all our budgets. How do they expect us to succeed with so little? She left her office fuming and chanced upon Wilfried waiting just outside.
“What?” she shouted at him in anger.
“I was wondering about your meeting,” he answered calmly, “and it’s better for you to vent your frustration on me than anybody else on the station.”
She was stunned by his words, yet they made sense. “Any suggestions?” she said, more harshly than she would have liked.
“Let’s share a cup of tea in the dome. I prepared everything. The water should still be warm enough.”
“I can go for that.” She turned briskly and ran along the corridor, up to the upper floor and the small room with its set of windows looking toward Earth. She knew it had become Wilfried’s den, and she felt glad to be invited inside. Even on this most horrendous day.
“It’s the most peaceful place on the station. I hope you’ll like it.”
Wilfried had installed three recycled cushions, a spare plastic box as a table, and had brought from the cafeteria a small plate, a jug of tea, a couple of mugs and a pack of biscuits. The sight brought Tasha’s anger to an end, and she began laughing.
“Is there a problem?” Wilfried looked at her, baffled by her change of mood.
“A problem?” She shook her head. “We’re in the most expensive contraption ever built by Earth, we were trained on a faraway planet, and yet we’re eating rations on recycled junk.” Her laugh was turning hysterical.
“Junk it may be, but what a view!” Wilfried laughed with her and settled down on a cushion, pouring tea into the two mugs. She settled alongside him, calming herself by looking at the Earth in the distance.
“Now, what’s the news?” Wilfried said.
“Well, you know about the council session this morning?”
He nodded.
“The committee meeting was in the same mood. Middle East Cybernetics, the JapEnglish Electronics Consortium, and the Brazilian Energy Corporation are reducing their commitments to us. We should expect fewer spares to arrive from now on. And the others face heavy pressure to withdraw as well. Brian’s sister confirmed it, as well as Nikolai and my mother. We should make good use of what arrives tomorrow with the shuttle,” Tasha continued. “The next one will contain less equipment and we can’t plan the one after that. Fewer fresh foods. Fewer rotations for our personnel to the ground.”
“Everyone concurs. We’re left on our own.” Wilfried sometimes erred on the fatalistic side, she had found.
“Not entirely. We can push the popular vote toward us.” Tasha didn’t believe her own words, but she would have to deliver them to the whole crew by the night shift.
“What do we need?”
“We’re still missing two modules to complete the rings. A lot of electronics and spare parts. Food, water, air. Finding the nanite drug runners. We have had no progress on that.”
“Every other day I run a full sweep of the station. I’ve found nothing. Nothing on Kalgoorlie either. Chief Iakoubi is on my back. But I have nothing to report.” Wilfried seemed to want to say more, but stopped himself. Tasha didn’t want to pry.
“To make matters worse, with fewer shuttles, the crews will have less rest on Earth in normal gravity. We must reduce the workload and increase gym time for everyone.”
“What can we do? In those conditions, we can’t succeed.” Tasha began to cry softly, tiredness overcoming her.
Wilfried cradled her in his arms. “You’re missing the point, Tasha. We can’t save Earth against itself. If they don’t want us, we can’t win. We have to find those who will support us and work on them.”
She opened her eyes, looking at him.
“This is our true goal,” he continued. “The station is just a way to catch their attention, you see. A very large beacon in the sky, mind you.”
“A beacon for what?”
“Hope! Hope for the better. Hope that Earth can do more than just survive from one day to the next. If we can make it, get this station to work, be a bridge with the stars, we will give hope to many down there. We have brought water reclaimers and rare-earth nuggets. Mathias may bring back the bees we need to survive. And we are only a few hundred crew members in space. Imagine what could be achieved with more people.”
She nodded and gave a thin smile. “Do you know how small this hope is?”
He looked at her, unflinching.
“And until we can show our true value to the people down there?”
He grinned at her. “We must pursue every idea that’ll keep us surviving another day. I’ve got a plan.”
Li Bao
Middle China, Sydney, October 19, 2140
“So, you’re leaving me?”
Since Li Bao’s return on Earth, Mathias had been a big brother, supporting her at every step. She corrected herself – not a brother, a crutch on which she depended to move ahead in her life. The air was cool today, the sky cloudy. She had asked her mentor to join her to supervise the weekly marathon of the latest trainees.
“You’re back to your full strength! You don’t need me anymore.” Mathias’s voice was reassuring, as if he knew how she felt.
“I’m not strong enough,” she retorted. “I can fall under any time.”
“You’ve got your meetings, and Wilfried. They’ll help you keep straight.”
“My meetings.” She spat out the words in disgust. “No one really understands anything.” The Federation forced her to go to support groups for former addicts. But who among the wreckage who attended knew about the true exaltation of nanites?
“Am I ready, or do you just want to travel away?” she accused him. She had seen the glimmer in his eyes the minute he had been offered the job. Damn you, Anaru, Tasha, you should know better.
“Yes, I want to see the galaxy.” His voice was stronger now, confidence seeping into it. “Finding bees compatible with our ecosphere will solve a problem that has threatened us for a century now. It’ll make a real difference to everyone on this planet.”
“Not to me. I don’t want to be left alone here,” she answered softly, turning away from him to avoid him seeing her tears.
“You’re strong and you’ve got important work here. Those trainees will run all space operations around Earth.”
“To what end? To go to Adheek and become addicts like me? Why travel if we can’t save ourselves here? We have enough to do on our planet without looking to the stars.” Before he could answer, she added, “Goodbye, Mathias. Have a safe trip.”
She controlled her voice while walking back to the main Academy building. He tried to grab her arm, but she jerked it free easily. The nanites which remained strengthened her body enough for that – the temptation to use them now inscribed in every cell. Damn them all for this.
Wilfried
Space station Acheron, October 24, 2140
A new crew left the small shuttle and entered the main airlock. Wilfried was watching them through his link. They would the last contingent of space workers for a while, but they seemed confident enough. He had received a small encrypted message from Chief Iakoubi that very morning, confirming that support was on its way. He was now scanning the group as they removed their spacesuits. In the lead, he was stunned to fi
nd Reiner, an old friend he hadn’t heard anything about in ages. Reiner was tall and broad-shouldered, with a large scar running across his forehead. Behind him came Kimi from the CPC, a petite Japanese dockyard worker with dark eyes, her hair tied up in a simple knot. The cavalry has arrived. I hope you’ll make a real difference.
“So, you’ve finally found the way to the station, you, old rascal?” said Wilfried as loudly as he could when they opened the door to the station. They all turned, but Reiner laughed first.
“They told me: shitty job, canned food, infrequent breaks. I signed up straight away,” his deep baritone echoed in return.
“And they didn’t talk about the foul air…” came a murmur behind him. Reiner turned and glared the man down. Wilfried wasn’t surprised by his friend’s instant leadership. He had run their group of kids back home in his previous life. He felt strangely disturbed by the past he had left behind, yet he welcomed the support it represented. He caught a disapproving look in Kimi’s eyes and laughed inwardly. His former friend wouldn’t win her with his easy charm.
“He’s right. But you’ll get used to it soon.” Then, Wilfried shouted, “Everyone, welcome to Acheron!”
They all cheered.
“We have an orientation conference in the main cafeteria. It’s straight in front of you. Let’s go, gents, we’re expected.” Wilfried moved on quickly, leading the way. Andrew had been preparing a small party to celebrate the arrival and this would be a good time. Isolated, maybe, but one learned to make the best of any situation.
Four hours later, after the welcome speech from Tasha and the orientation tour of the station, Wilfried left the newcomers in the care of Andrew. He brought Reiner to his cabin, joking about old times. But once inside the small cubicle, he closed the door, took a chair and sat facing his friend.
“What are you doing here? You were playing crew master for my brother, last I heard. What now?”
