by Kate Kyle
"Why is there any oxygen at all?" Ms. Zhou asked.
"So that you and the other person could be retrieved from the pod and taken to a more human-friendly area. Is the oxygen indicator on the control panel flashing yet?" Jax asked.
"I can't see it from here."
Jax's stomach clenched again. She'd already wasted too much time talking to this woman.
"Well, it should be, and I'm sure you'll feel it very soon," Jax said lifting the hand holding the paralyzer a little higher. "We need to leave the room. Now." She jerked her head pointing towards the exit. "Now," she repeated, and louder.
The woman seemed to have taken root. She simply stared at Jax.
"I'm not leaving until I'm reassured that my… the safety of all remaining passengers is confirmed. I demand that you grant me access to the control panel so that I can check their health status."
Jax exhaled slowly.
Usually, this little trick helped calm her down, but her heart rate was already heading towards Mach 1. No doubt, the effect of the dropping levels of oxygen in the room and the stupid, frustrating conversation with a clearly mentally compromised woman.
A large drop of sticky sweat formed at the nape of her neck.
Strangely enough, Ms. Zhou's face looked just the same–pale and immovable.
Jax poked the woman's arm with the gun.
"Go," Jax said. "If we don't leave before the oxygen level drops to dangerous, the safety system may go haywire. This may have a negative effect on the people in the pods, you seem to care so much about. And you wouldn't want that, would you?" she added, drawing out the words. "Turn around and walk to the exit."
The woman's lips trembled, but she slowly carried out the instruction.
Jax followed a step behind her, nudging her rhythmically until they were both out of the sluice.
Jax's chest immediately relaxed. The hallways also had a limited amount of breathing mix. Like most areas of the ship, they were not designed to be used regularly. And actually, Jax should be wearing an atmo suit.
The ship's air recycler could deal with the oxygen deficit and the buildup of carbon dioxide, but with two more people aboard, she'd quickly run out of vital supplies.
She'd have to run a few stimulations to check how long they could last, and balance it against the fuel and the distance they still had to cover.
"And now, to my cabin," Jax said, giving Lulu Zhou another nudge. They walked in silence. Jax's brain was stirring. This situation was out of her league. She could definitely pilot a ship to its destination within the solar system. She could crunch numbers using only basic tools. She could even disarm and disable a feisty passenger, but how on earth, or in the heavens, was she supposed to keep an eye on all of them at once, with the computer system down?
Leaving the woman in an unlocked room had proved dangerous. Leaving her in a locked room might have been a step too far, and given that the computer system was down, could be plain dangerous in another emergency. The ship was not fitted to cater for more than one fully functioning person at a time, hence the shortage of communication devices. Jax had already given the only spare to Rutger. The wrist unit she'd given the woman was obviously not enough.
There was only one solution Jax could think of, but she didn't like it at all.
Once in the cabin, Jax reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out her handheld unit.
"Wear the wrist unit I gave you at all times. This is for your own safety. You've got everything you need in this room, apart from food, which I'll bring you later. Here's some water." She pointed to the small drinking container on the shelf above the sleeping pod. She also showed the woman how to access the toilet-shower combo and the entertainment unit.
Lulu Zhou showed complete indifference to what Jax was saying and showing her.
"You must stay here unless you're called to go somewhere else." Jax carried on. It was pointless making the woman aware that by giving up her own quarters for her safety and comfort, Jax was making herself eat, sleep and rest in the pilot's chair for the next few days.
"In case of emergency, use the emergency button on your wrist unit, as I showed you before."
The woman kept staring at her.
"Are you planning any more emergencies?" she asked.
"No, but if you don't stop behaving irresponsibly, I may need to stop to kick you off the bus. And returning to serious matters," Jax said quickly, seeing the woman open her mouth again. "This unit will act as a monitor. If you attempt to leave the room unauthorized, it'll let me know immediately. I'll lock the door remotely, so you cannot leave…" she paused to let the words sink in. "And come to deal with the matter at a more convenient moment."
Yeah, that sounded pretty good as a threat.
"Understood?" Jax asked calmly.
"What is here to understand?" Lulu Zhou replied. Coldness peeked out from behind her eyes.
Don't get dragged into this pointless conversation, Jax…
"Your responsibility for the safety of yourself and others," Jax said through the clenched teeth. "If you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of nowhere, too far from Earth to go back, so there is only one thing we can do. And I, as this ship's captain, will do everything in my power to get us all safely to the destination, even if it means stunning you and strapping you to the bed. So, cooperate or-"
"Die?" Lulu cut in.
The woman's eyes glinted. Jax held the gaze.
"I'm not afraid of dying," Lulu said coldly.
Somehow, Jax was not surprised by the woman's defiance, but the stand-off was dragging on too long. She needed to return to the pilot seat.
"And I'm not here to kill anyone. All I want you to do is to stay here and rest. That's your part of keeping us all safe."
Jax didn't wait for the reply. The technology would do its job with no frigging emotions or other unnecessary drama involved. And that was all she needed.
She turned on her heels and marched out of the room.
After Lulu's stupid performance, seeing Rutger still in his seat, poring over the tablet was a relief.
"Hey," she said approaching the station.
Rutger sat up straighter and turned to face her. His eyes were wide open, tense.
"You're back," he croaked. "All good?"
He probably should have had a drink.
What the heck was a procedure for post-unscheduled-stasis revival?
"Well," Jax said slowly, still unsure if she could trust him at all. "Time will tell. What have you got?"
"I think I've found why the computer's shut down," Rutger said and grabbed the device from the panel. He held it so she could read the screen. "Have you seen this before?"
The screen filled with an image of a small girl holding a balloon. It was an outline, a simple, static silhouette rendered in white. But the balloon was red, and it was gently swaying as if dancing in the wind. A vague memory flickered in Jax's head, but it disappeared before she could identify it. Some sort of well-known piece of art?
Maybe. She wasn't versed in higher culture.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Not sure, but I think it may be a virus."
Something stirred in Jax's chest. Was Rutger lying to her?
"Have you seen it before?"
He opened his mouth. The tension in his eyes increased.
"I think I may need to tell you something," he said.
Jax grabbed her pilot seat. "Fire away," she said.
A message flashed on the main screen.
Jax jerked her head to read it.
"Security breach, pilot's cabin," she growled. "That blooming woman's left the room again. Come with me."
She ran back onto the hallway, pulling the stun gun out of the upholstery.
5
Rutger
Rutger couldn't deny that the emergency had come to his rescue. Now, he had some time to consider what to say.
The most important part, had to remain secret for now. But the rest, he probably shoul
d disclose.
That'd be somewhere close to the full truth, without obfuscating it too much.
Good enough.
"Strong enough to manhandle her?" Jax asked as they reached the elevator.
"I'll do my best," he replied, trying to catch his breath. His heartbeat was elevated. His legs ached from the run, too. "The lower gravity should help, too."
He should have been back to his full physical capacity by now. At least according to what Dr Mousy, a fellow Seeker, told him. Maybe the tiny capsule inserted under the skin in his arm hadn't activated correctly on the initiation of re-vitalization? Maybe the cocktail of substances used for emergency revival was different to that used during a standard procedure?
The result was that instead of being fully combat ready within ten minutes of leaving the pod, he was still struggling to run half an hour later.
"Hey, hurry up," Jax growled, pressing the interface panel.
He held his breath and jumped into the elevator. The door closed smoothly behind him and the whole machine moved.
"Didn't you lock her in?" Rutger asked. The strange entomologist had seemed suspicious from the beginning.
"No. Safety," Jax snapped. "In case of another emergency."
"I see," he said. Actually, given the current situation on board, it didn't seem like a crazy move at all. "Seems like we're getting a few of those," he murmured.
She offered no reply.
The door opened and they rushed out.
"This is the medical bay level," he said, realizing they weren't where he thought they were heading.
"She's here. Again," Jax replied. "Tracker," she added, as if reading his mind. "I'll just stun her. Stay out of the way until I say otherwise."
Obviously, Jax had a plan.
Thankfully. Because his brain was far too foggy and sluggish. No, scratch that – it was foggy, sluggish and preoccupied with running through all sorts of theories about the current situation.
Mostly, it dwelled upon conspiracy theories involving leaks within the Seekers about his mission, and the setup. And speculations how really far Rebels had gone in their race to build a true General Artificial Intelligence.
Jax burst through the first sluice door. Rutger kept a few steps behind. Lulu Zhou was standing beside one of the pods.
Rutger watched as Jax stunned the woman and raced to catch her before she collapsed to the floor. Cool, smooth, fast.
"Help me lift her," Jax called.
Rutger followed the instructions, ignoring his accelerating heart rate.
Lulu Zhou's body seemed even smaller and more fragile since being stunned. Her face was a tone less pale than her pod skinsuit, which reminded him that he, too, was still wearing only his skinsuit. He needed to change into something more appropriate, but first things first.
"She's alive, right?" he asked, putting his arm under Lulu's head as Jax instructed.
"Sadly, yes," she replied gloomily. She got up and strode towards one of the walls. A hidden panel opened to Jax's touch. A moment later she returned carrying a small syringe.
"What's that?" he asked.
"An anesthetic. At least that's what the pharmacy bot says." She grinned, but her face was tense. "Got to keep things safe, and this is the only way."
Trying to justify her actions. Rutger didn't blame her. Lulu Zhou was unpredictable and potentially dangerous. And such a thing was bang in the center of what defined an emergency situation – together with a potential virus in the ship's command system.
Which made him wonder, yet again, why the ship had decided to wake him and this strange woman.
He'd think about it later, when he felt better.
"Let's sit her up. I'll inject her," Jax said.
They sat the woman up against the foot of the pod.
"Just stay by her for a moment. I'll check if she damaged any of the systems."
He crouched by the woman, which it only accentuated the tightness in his chest.
He took a deep breath, but it didn't help.
His head swirled. He leant on the pod and closed his eyes, fighting the urge to lie down.
"I'm nearly done." He heard Jax's voice as if through a layer of cotton wool. "Open your eyes. Breath slowly. Oxygen is low, I know."
Ah, so that's was what it was. His body was trained to cope in low oxygen environments, but his current symptoms must have been an aftereffect of the stasis.
He forced himself to open his eyes.
"Get up, go to the sluice," Jax said and pulled him up. She gestured him to walk to the exit and grabbed Lulu under her arms. He walked on heavy legs into the sluice. With the external door still sealed, he turned and watched as Jax dragged the sitting woman to the sluice.
Luckily, the floor was smooth. Hopefully, Ms. Zhou's buttocks wouldn't suffer too much damage.
Once all they were inside the sluice, the external door opened. A puff of cooler, fresher air bathed his face.
"Breathe," she instructed.
She didn't have to. The instinct, common among all living creatures, did that for him. A few moments and a few wonderful deep breaths later, he felt better.
"To the elevator and my cabin now. I'll strap her in the sleeping pod."
"And lock the door?" he half asked, half stated. "She's a tough cookie and clearly determined to do whatever she's got in mind."
"Yeah, seems so," Jax murmured. "Grab her under the knees if you can.
He did. They carried the woman to Jax's cabin and slid her into the pod in silence. Jax moves were smooth, precise and decisive. This wasn't the case with Rutger, and he felt increasing frustration with his delayed recuperation. On top of that, by the time they strapped Lulu Zhou in the pod, his head felt like an overblown balloon. Light and wobbly and ready to pop
Shit. Why did he think of a balloon? He should have come up with a much better metaphor.
Rutger leant against the bulkhead.
"Okay?" Jax asked, glancing at him.
"I'm experiencing some malaise-"
"What?" she snapped.
Oops, he needed to mind his vocab.
"Lightheaded, achy, muddled," he said.
"That's still the stasis stuff. You need to eat and have a drink. I'll find you something."
"What about her?"
Rutger pointed with his chin at the insect specialist who was lying in the pod, eyes closed, limbs secured, immobile, but breathing regularly.
"She's fast asleep and should remain so for at least the next six hours. Should give us some time to master the situation."
This was the first time she'd used the collective term, 'us'. He smiled.
"What?" she asked, glowering at him.
"Have I been promoted to crew member?" he replied, cocking his head.
That'd be a good test if his captain had a healthy distance to herself.
Her eyebrows shot up, and her face froze for a second.
"No…" she said slowly. "But your assistance would be appreciated," she added. "Assuming you're able and willing to help."
"Definitely willing, able… may be a bit of an issue now."
"Thanks. You'll feel better once we're out of this room. And let's get you fed. I'd appreciate something other than adrenaline in my stomach, too."
She stretched a hand to help him get up, but he managed to push himself away from the bulkhead and stand up straight.
"I'll be fine," he said. Fortunately, once he got going, the lightheadedness eased.
"No gourmet meals on board of this vessel, but let's grab two nutridrinks," she said. "Got a couple in the flight deck."
Once back on the flight deck, she prepared two drinks and passed one to him.
The slurp had a color of fake café latte and tasted of greasy candy floss. He winced, feeling the bottom of his stomach climbing up. Anything sweeter than naturally grown veggies caused him to retch, even stupid genmod potatoes. Actually, the same thing happened when he ate any intensely farmed food coming from PanAm Confederation.
"Why's that so sweet?" he asked.
"That's fast sugars. To help you feel better and quickly." Jax reached into the foodstuff cabinet again. "Here's some water," she said, passing him a bottle. "It'll help you keep it down. Europeans, huh?" she added. "Used to fancy food."
He ignored the comment, but only because his stomach threatened to throw itself into his mouth. A few gulps of cold, perfectly tasteless water calmed his digestive system again.
"Thanks," he said. "Yeah, American food is in general much sweeter than anything we have in Europe," he added. She didn't have to know about what he had been forced to eat in childhood—the real reason why sweet foods caused his stomach to rebel.
She watched him carefully as he drained first the drink and then the bottle of water.
"Better?" she asked.
Rutger wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Maybe it was simply the sensation of fullness, but he did actually feel better.
He nodded.
"Thanks. Private Jansen reporting for duty," he added with a smile.
Jax's cocked her head. Her lips curved up.
And that was when it hit him.
Bloody stasis!
Or maybe rather: his bloody honesty.
"So, is that your real name, Baron Rutger?" she asked, her eyes piercing.
He slipped into his chair.
"Okay," he said. There was no point in continuing the deception. Given the disruption in the plan, sooner or later he would have to tell her at least some of the truth.
"We need to talk," he said.
"That's the second time you've said that."
"I was going to tell you, but then that stupid woman…"
"Sure. Now, she's strapped in my pod, fire away. I'm all ears." Jax sat in her pilot seat, sipping on her nutridrink.
Rutger took a breath. His head finally started to feel calmer, and his stomach returned to its usual position. The sickly-sweet drink had done a good job, and he needed all the clarity he could gather.
"My real name is Rutger Jansen. I'm an investigative journalist on a mission to find out why so many of the new generation implants are failing."
