The Money Star

by Jon Lymon

  “Believe what you like, Remnant,” said Bettis.

  “You can shut up. Why were you in the room with him for so long anyway?”

  “I was going over my test procedures with Mitch,” said DT. “I wanted to make sure I hadn’t missed anything out. That I was testing the diamond in the correct way. It has been a long time since I have conducted any tests. I wanted a witness to make sure my methods were accurate.”

  “And unfortunately they were,” said Bettis.

  “I don’t believe either of you. You both want me and her out of the way so you can share the diamond between yourselves. You’re planning to poison us or something, I don’t know.”

  “Calm down, Sye,” said Aurora.

  “No, Aurora. I overheard them earlier in the mission planning to take me out and split the loot between them. I heard them say it. And now we’ve got them the loot, they don’t need us anymore, so they’ve thought up some plan to get rid of us. We need to watch ourselves darlin’, else these two will have us.”

  “How can you jump to such conclusions?” asked DT. “I have merely given you the benefit of my expert opinion. The diamond is a fake. It is a compound of rock and coloured glass. Now, why can you not accept an expert’s opinion? Why can you not accept that someone knows more about something than you do?”

  “Because I don’t trust you. Either of you.” Remnant stormed out of the cockpit.

  DT looked at Bettis but neither man spoke.

  Aurora followed Remnant into the hold where he picked up one of the lumps of diamond. He ran his fingers along its hard, uneven surface and peered into its heart, enjoying the myriad shades of light that bounced back at him.

  “You wouldn’t mind wearing some of this, would you?” he asked Aurora.

  “It’s beautiful. But what if he’s right, Sye? What if it isn’t real?”

  “It looks real. It feels real. Why would anyone go to all the trouble to dump a fake diamond this far out into space? It doesn’t make sense.”

  They both stared into the captivating rock. Aurora ran her fingers over its cold surface. “I think we carry on presuming it’s real,” she said, “until we get home and get a second opinion. Agreed?”

  Remnant nodded.

  “That would look great encased in a band of gold, by the way,” she added, looking him straight in the eye.

  47

  Remnant extended his right leg and prodded the bump in the bed above. Although the move caused DT’s snoring to falter, a few breaths later it was back to its original velocity. Tired of trying to sleep, Remnant admitted defeat and crept back into the cockpit, passing Aurora who was snoozing on the rear seat and heading towards Bettis who was sitting bent over the controls, looking like he was sleeptalking. Remnant edged closer until he could make out what he was saying.

  “There isn’t one. Repeat, there is definitely no shield.”

  Remnant froze. What was going on? Did he hear that right? “Who are you talking to?” Bettis reacted to Remnant’s voice like he’d had an electric shock, and fumbled with a few buttons on the dashboard.

  “Who were you talking to about shields?” Remnant repeated.

  “No one, there was no one there.”

  “Don’t give me that. Who was it? You’re telling someone we got no shields, ain’t you?” Remnant’s raised voice woke Aurora who, after blinking sleep from her eyes, saw the two men facing each other.

  “Who you grassing us up to?” Remnant raged.

  “No one, honestly. It was no one.”

  “I don’t fucking believe you, mate.”

  “What’s going on, Sye?” Aurora asked.

  “I caught him on the radio telling someone that we’ve got no shield.”

  “Mitch?” DT’s sleep had been disturbed by the ruckus and he stood in the doorway to the cockpit.

  “I didn’t…”

  “Mitch?”

  Bettis was shaking his head, fighting back the tears. “They threatened to kill me.”

  “Who?” Remnant demanded.

  “I don’t know who they were. They forced their way on here while I was waiting for you to get back from the SEC facility on Mars. They said I was to let them know if you got any diamond.”

  “And did you?”

  “I had to.”

  “Did they pay you?”

  Bettis looked away.

  “You’re scum, you know that.”

  Bettis pushed Remnant away. “You think you’re the only one with problems?” he shouted. “I’m forty-five and finished. I’ve got nothing to go back home for, like you’ve got nothing to go back for. So why shouldn’t I cash in?”

  “Where are these people you have betrayed us to?” DT asked solemnly.

  “They’re on their way.”

  “They? How many are there?” Remnant fumed.

  “I don’t know.”

  “We need to get out of here, now” said Remnant.

  Bettis shook his head. “It’s pointless. They’ll catch us up. They mean to have that diamond.”

  Remnant turned to DT. “Did you know about this?”

  “Of course I did not. I am as shocked as you are.”

  Remnant turned back to Bettis. “Do these people know the diamond’s fake?”

  “I tried to tell them but they wouldn’t listen.”

  DT could not hide his disappointment. “You have betrayed my trust in you, Mitch. I paid you well to be my pilot.”

  “Not well enough,” Bettis mumbled, unable to look DT in the eye.

  “I paid you above the going rate, my friend.”

  “And for what?” Remnant asked. “He’s hardly done anything.”

  “I landed us on Mars. I controlled the take off. Look, I’ve got to take care of my future.”

  “We would have given you a share in the profits from the diamond,” said DT.

  “I didn’t know we were going to find any diamond, did I? And anyway, they promised to double whatever you offered me.” The others looked at him in disgust. “When I get back home, I’m going to need to support myself.”

  “Can’t you stop thinking about yourself for once?” DT roared. “You have put all of our lives at risk with your greed. You have got us into this mess, and you will have to get us out of it.”

  “No.” Bettis turned to stare out of the cockpit window then slowly back to face DT. “When they come and take the diamond, they will take me with them.”

  “You what?” Remnant exclaimed

  Bettis nodded.

  “So who’s gonna fly us home?”

  Before Bettis had time to answer, the Baton Uric was rocked by a red laserbolt out of the blue. It slashed its way along the starboard side of the ship, catapulting the crew across the cockpit with its immense force before disappearing.

  “Friends of yours, are they?” Remnant yelled at Bettis as he hauled himself to his feet.

  “They’re not meant to shoot us down,” said Bettis in a panic.

  “Seems there’s been a change of plan.”

  Remnant caught Bettis glancing at the pilot’s seat.

  “Well? Are you going to help us get the hell out of here, or shall we wait until they kill us all?” Remnant shouted at him.

  Bettis jumped into the seat and flicked off the autopilot.

  DT had been shocked by how close the laserbolt had come to destroying them, and remained where he’d fallen, cowering on the floor by the cockpit door.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” Aurora asked, still strapped in the rear cockpit seat.

  “Just start praying,” said Remnant.

  Two fighters roared past the windscreen, each with twin laser gun turrets either side of their cockpits.

  “They’ll be back,” cried Bettis. “Hold on.”

  Bettis pulled back hard on the control stick and the ship performed a rapid, internal organ dislodging hundred and eighty degree loop.

  After the yells and screams, Remnant was the first to gather himself. “Are we faster than them?” he aske
d.

  “I doubt it,” said Bettis, yanking the control stick hard left then hard right in quick succession. He was pleased by the responsiveness of the controls, even if his crew were less than delighted with the effect the moves had on their insides.

  “Any sign of them on the radar?” Remnant asked.

  “They’re on their way back.”

  “Shouldn’t we be facing them?”

  “We’ve nothing to attack them with.”

  Remnant glanced across the cockpit. “Turn the ship around,” he shouted.

  “They’ll kill us. We have to try and escape.”

  “Yes, listen to him, Sye,” said DT weakly. “We need to get out of here.”

  “There is no escape,” said Remnant. “You said yourself they’ll catch us up.”

  Bettis looked to DT who looked ill.

  “I don’t like this, I want this to stop,” said the jeweller.

  “I’m with you on that one, mate,” said Remnant, “but I’m not sure that’s gonna cut any ice with our friends out there. Turn us around, Bettis.”

  Bettis crossed himself before ramming the control stick left and turning the ship sharply around. “The fighters are dead ahead and closing in fast.”

  Remnant switched on the vessel’s robotic arm.

  “Incoming,” Bettis shouted.

  A pair of red laser bolts whizzed over and above them, their searing balls of flame sizzling through the dead sky.

  As the fighters zoomed past, Remnant yanked the bulky robotic arm outwards, cracking it against the wings of one of the fighters. The velocity of the impact sent sparks flying. The arm was swiftly torn from the side of the Baton Uric, causing the ship to list heavily first to the right, then to the left.

  Bettis battled to keep the vessel horizontal. “Did you get it, did you get it?” he shouted.

  “I hit something,” Remnant replied.

  Bettis’ eyes darted down to the radar. “There’s only one. I’m only seeing one dot. I think it’s down.”

  Remnant was tempted to celebrate but knew there was more work to be done. “Aurora, where’s your gun?”

  Remnant glanced over his shoulder to the rear cockpit seat. It was empty and DT was no longer cowering in the doorway. “Where did they go?” he shouted.

  Bettis was totally focused on the dashboard. “The other fighter’s coming back,” he said, fear in his voice.

  Remnant rushed out of the cockpit and threw open the cabin door to find DT sobbing on the top bunk.

  “Have you seen Aurora?”

  DT shook his head. “I want to get off. I want to go home,” he sobbed.

  “Me too, mate. Me too.” He slammed the door shut and tried the handle of the hold. It was locked. “Aurora! Aurora!”

  Remnant slapped the door with a flat palm. “What are you doing in there? Let me in.”

  Aurora’s oxygen mask was on and she was on the rising platform, laser gun drawn.

  Remnant rushed back into the cockpit. “I think Aurora’s going up top,” he shouted to Bettis.

  “What’s she playing at?”

  If Aurora had time to enjoy the view from inside the perspex tube atop the Baton Uric, she would have appreciated the beauty of the vast emptiness that surrounded her and the clarity of the millions of stars that enveloped her. But, instead, she was focused on the roar of an approaching fighter.

  “What shall I do?” Bettis asked Remnant.

  “We need to get behind the fighter so she can shoot the engines, don’t we? Is that the best way to knock it out?”

  “I don’t know. I fly planes, not shoot them down.”

  “How far away is it?” Remnant asked.

  Bettis glanced back down to the radar. “Not far.”

  The fighter let rip with a double laserbolt. Aurora didn’t see either of them coming, but Bettis instinctively pulled the control stick towards him.

  Aurora bit on the laser gun and pressed her palms against the inside of the perspex tube in a desperate attempt to keep her balance as the tube rocked on the Baton Uric’s roof. Remnant was thrown to the back of the cockpit, slamming against the rear wall as the ship doubled back on itself, dodging the dual laserbolts and falling into line behind the remaining fighter.

  Aurora gathered herself, her head and shoulders peering out from the top of the perspex tube, gun trained on the roaring red circles of the twin engines ahead.

  Bettis maintained top speed, heading straight for the fighter. “Now, Aurora, now,” he shouted.

  She didn’t need any prompting, having already fired a trio of bolts directly into the fighter’s engine. Its glowing red turned to purple turned to black turned to a blinding flash of white as the fighter disintegrated into millions of tiny diamonds of fire.

  “She got him, she got him,” Bettis yelled, turning around to see Remnant struggling to his feet, rubbing his sore shoulder. “She did it, she did it,” he repeated, embracing Remnant, who didn’t return the gesture, but merely smiled.

  The two men took a few minutes to gather their breath, Bettis stifling nerve-induced laughter.

  The cockpit door opened and Aurora rushed in, her laser gun barrel still smoking.

  “Good shooting, Aurora,” shouted Bettis.

  She ignored him, heading straight for Remnant. They embraced, and he kissed her gently on the forehead.

  “Well done,” he whispered.

  “That was close,” she said.

  “Are we expecting any more of your friends?” Remnant asked Bettis, who turned away, feeling the shame.

  “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

  Aurora pulled Remnant back towards her, wanting him to forget about Bettis for a moment.

  “Where’s DT?” she asked, her pulse still racing.

  “In the cabin,” said Remnant.

  They called out to him but there was no answer.

  “Leave him,” said Remnant. “Let him rest.”

  The adrenaline was still pumping and all took deep breaths to try and calm themselves. Aurora slumped on the rear cockpit seat as Bettis and Remnant walked to the front.

  “I’m sorry,” Bettis whispered. “I’m sorry for getting us into that mess. Captain.”

  Remnant didn’t answer, but he couldn’t deny hearing himself called ‘captain’ filled him with pride. Both men sat down and Bettis checked the direction of the ship. “We’re over halfway home, he said.”

  Remnant nodded. “Let’s hope for a quieter second half.”

  48

  Remnant tapped the door to the bathroom, but it creaked open revealing nothing but the worn appliances. He checked the cabin too. Empty. He rushed to the hold, expecting to find it locked, but it was open and there was no sign of DT. More disturbingly, there were only two lumps of diamond on the floor. He rushed back into the cockpit.

  “Where’s DT?” he asked.

  “What’s the matter?” Aurora replied.

  “I can’t find him. And one of the diamonds is missing.” Remnant rushed back into the cabin and threw the blankets and mattresses off the bunks.

  “Where could he be?” Aurora asked from the doorway.

  Remnant pushed past her and crouched by the hatch that led to the escape pod. A small red light was flashing above the door. Remnant pointed to it.

  Aurora tapped on the hatch. “Damilou?”

  They could hear movement inside, a creak of the leather seats that Remnant had stolen from a crashed vessel on Fetter Lane.

  “DT, what you doing in there, mate?” Remnant asked, rapping the hatch.

  “Go away,” he replied.

  “Why don’t you come out and we can chat about this,” said Aurora, calmly, not knowing exactly what ‘this’ was.

  “I am going home.” DT’s voice sounded weak, broken.

  “We’re all going home,” said Remnant. “A few more weeks and we’ll all be there.”

  “I want to go home now,” DT said. “I’ve had enough.”

  “The quickest way for us all to get h
ome is for you to come out and for us to discuss it, face to face.”

  “I want to see a blue sky. I want to hear a bird sing. I want to hear a distant train rumbling. I want to hear a car alarm, a mobile phone ring tune. I want to feel the rain.”

  “We all want those things,” Remnant told him. “But don’t be selfish about it. Come out and we’ll all help you get through this. It’s not easy. None of us is finding it easy. But let’s get through it together. I’ll tell you about the dreams I’ve been having. They’re scary. I’m hearing voices, me ex-wife’s, me daughter’s. Every night they’re screaming at me, and every night I’m screaming back. ‘I’m coming home, I tell them. I’ve got some diamond.”

  “It’s fake,” DT reminded him.

  “Then why are you taking a lump with you?”

  There was a pause.

  “Because I don’t trust my judgement anymore. I don’t know if I did the tests correctly. I need a second opinion.”

  There was a release of air pressure from inside the pod. Remnant looked at Aurora, alarmed.

  “I’ve got a red light on the dash,” Bettis called from the cockpit. “Everything OK back there?”

  Remnant banged on the hatch. “Don’t go, DT. Stay where you are.” Remnant panicked. “You were right about me,” he said, desperately trying to find something to delay DT’s departure while he tried to prise open the hatch. He banged the hatch harder. “I said you were right about me.”

  “What about you?” DT shouted over the pod’s hissing.

  “I was part of the gang that raided your shop.”

  Another silence followed.

  “I needed the money,” Remnant continued. “They offered to pay me to be their lookout. I took some cash in hand in advance. Bought meself breakfast. I only got a few quid. I was desperate. I was starving. But I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to be the lookout for a couple of young thieves. I was better than that. So when they came out all loaded up with your gems, I wanted to stop them. I tried to stop them. But they… well you know the rest.”

  “I knew it. I knew it,” DT cried out from within.

  “So why don’t you come on out and land one on me? I’ll give you a free hit. I deserve it, don’t I? Like you said, I’m a liar, a cheat, a bad husband. A crap father.”