by Yang, Hao
Lost Revenge
By Hao Yang
Copyright ©2016 by Hao Yang
All Rights Reserved
The book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and invents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual incidents, persons or locations is entirely coincidental. No part of the book can be used or distributed or reproduced in any manner (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author.
Head pain wakes me up, but I don’t want to open my eyes. I remember my astronaut training and it says if you just wake up from a coma, you should execute a quick playback to see whether you suffer any memory loss. So here is my playback.
I was born in Dallas Texas in 2015 and lived there until I enrolled in University of Houston. Around that time I made up my mind to become a pilot and astronaut. After college I joined the air force and became a fighter pilot. When I was promoted to captain, I started applying for astronaut program. After 13 years of sending resumes, I got accepted and I did know why. NASA mistook my name with someone else and they were too embarrassed to correct it. Anyway, I went through all tests, trainings and evaluations, ending up as a Mission Commander but with no one to give order. At that point, human had touched down on Mars and Luna station was just completed on the moon. Suddenly, for no reason, NASA and ESA decided to go to Jupiter as if we are on a rescue mission for Optimus Prime. Everything was in a rush and they didn’t even say the mission objective. All they could tell me was “We will let you know when you reach Jupiter.” It’s just like that and now we are on the way with my crew of nine astronauts.
No memory loss. This is a good sign.
Listening to the peaceful humming of equipment, I know at least Achilles is still functioning. It is the most expensive spaceship with a price tag of 400 billion US dollars. It is designed to go deep, very deep, into Jupiter.
Taking a deep breath, I suddenly recall the three levels of fucked up. First, you know you are fucked up. Second, someone tells you that you are fucked up. Third, everyone knows you are fucked up. Right now I am at level one and I remember how I ended up here, lying on the bed with head pain. I was in the kitchen with my fiancée Lily and there came a strong shake. I dashed forward and grabbed the edge of the table. Then everything went inverted. While I was holding on to the table, a sharp pain struck the back of my head and that was it.
“Lily!”
Opening my eyes, I slowly sit up in my cabin. As the Commander, I have my own room, even though it’s only big enough for a small table, a chair and a bed.
I rub the back of my head. Some swelling but no blood. The pain feels like something is drilling in my brain.
“Commander, are you there?” A sweet female voice flies out from the intercom.
“Yes.”
“How do you feel?”
“Head pain, but I am all right. Bertha, what happened?”
“You had an accident.”
“How about everyone else? Are they alright?” Actually I am only thinking about Lily.
“Ah, actually—”
“What is it?”
“Maybe we can talk about it in the bridge?”
“On my way.”
I get off my bed and walk out of my cabin. Thanks to artificial gravity, we no longer need the rotating carrousel used in the trips to Mars.
In the corridor, Bud, our communication officer, is checking something on a panel. The name Bud is a short version of his first name Budhpreetayana. He is an Indian, 30 something, short, bald, dark skin and a little different from the rest of the crew. That means his shape requires a special spacesuit. He always has a friendly smile on his face and he smells like curry most of time.
“I thought we lost you there, Commander.” Bud walks to me and pats my shoulder.
“It won’t be that easy. Everyone is alright? Nobody else is hurt, right?” I am sweating.
“Yea, pretty much.” Bud’s face stiffens,
“Who else is hurt?” I am right at the edge of explosion.
Bud sighs and says, “Lily is in coma.”
Fuck! That is exactly what I am worried about! I know something is wrong. I can feel it.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly to recompose myself.
“She is fine, right?” My voice is still shaking.
“Yea, yea. Don’t worry. I gotta go to check the antenna. We have some communication problem with earth.”
Hearing she is fine, I settle down a little bit.
“I see. I need to go to the bridge. I will talk to you later.” I say while walking away.
Achilles is like a spindle but with a fat belly which starts at about one third from the front and trails off gradually. The bridge locates at the top of the belly. It’s like a submarine control room, but we have great view thanks to the huge window. There are ten seats, two pilot seats at the very front and the rest seats along the wall.
In the bridge, pilot Bertha is sitting at Lily’s seat. She is a typical German girl with the look of a young movie star, even though she is over 40. She cares for everyone and as a result everyone likes her. I wish I could say that for myself. She loves chatting and can go on and on like forever, if you count dream-talking. Beside her, Lock is standing near the huge front window, his eyes fixed on Jupiter. He is the chief engineer, but has a weathered face of a cowboy. He did grow up in a ranch in Texas and did all cowboy stuff during his adolescence. That is why we like to call him cowboy from time to time. He always wears his black cowboy hat everywhere, but not right now. I don’t know why.
I clear my throat. Both of them look back and nod at me.
“What do we have?” I ask quickly.
“We went through an asteroid shower.” Bertha says in a calm voice.
“I see. I remember the strong shake before I was out. Any damage?”
“We lost contact to Earth,” says Lock.
“For how long?”
“Seven days,” says Lock seriously.
“Seven days?” I am surprised, because it certainly doesn’t feel like seven days. It feels like seven hours to me.
“Yes, seven days.” Lock looks at his watch.
“Has Jim taken a look at the problem?” I ask.
“He is working on it right now. Oh, by the way, Commander, can you give me the access code to the mainframe? I want to make sure everything is working there,” says Lock.
“Mainframe? That is for Zeus' higher function. What do you need that for?” Zeus is the supercomputer running most daily chores.
“Just checking.” Lock sounds nervous. That is the first time.
“I will do that.”
“Well, you just woke up and you have this head pain going. I just want to help.” Lock says sincerely.
“Well, thank you. But I am fine. How is Lily?” I don’t have time for this shit. Lily must be waiting to see me.
“All right. Suit yourself.” Lock looks unhappy and quickly leaves the bridge.
I turn my attention to Bertha.
She gives me a kind smile and says, “Lily is fine. She is still in coma—”
“I see. Well. Who was in charge for the past seven days?”
“Roy, but we all miss you.” Her voice is soft as usual.
“OK. I will talk to him after I see Lily. Let me know when we get in touch with Earth.” I head directly to the medical bay.
Achilles has eleven compartments and the medical bay is right below the bridge, but I am running anyway. When the door slides open, I dash in and almost hit Dr. Akio. He is Japanese and of course a big fan of Sushi. He even brought some onto Achilles along with his chopsticks. His sleek figure, small teeth, and deep eyes remind me of Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
“What is the rush, Co
mmander?” He sounds like Dr. Lector as well.
“Where is Lily?” My eyes searching the room, I completely ignore Dr. Akio.
“She is over there. The second ward. She is still in coma.” Dr. Akio says in a low voice with his right hand covering half of his mouth.
I run to the second ward, knocking over a chair.
There she is, on the bed, covered by white sheet, with all kinds of types attached to her body. She looks tired, dark circles under her eyes, her lips swelling. I lean forward slowly and brush her wavy blonde hair with my hand. They feel like silk and they are shining like silk as well.
“She is fine. Don’t worry,” says Dr. Akio.
“What happened?”
“Same as you. A chair hit her head. You think we should bolt them on the floor?”
“Her status?”
“All vitals are fine. It took you seven days to wake up. For her, maybe longer. How about yourself?”
“You are the doctor. You tell me.”
Akio freezes for a second and then squeezes out a smile, but no word.
“Anyone else is injured?”
“No.”
“It must be a big rock?” I try to be funny.
“Oh, yes,” says Akio nodding like those shaking head toys.
I pull over a chair and sit next to Lily.
“Commander, we are all very worried about you.”
“Thanks. Now leave me alone.”
Akio smiles politely and leaves the medical bay.
I just sit there looking at Lily. We are going to get married once we reach Jupiter. This is her idea. She always likes to be the first and she told me that we would be the first couple entering Jupiter. Thank God, we don’t have other couples onboard. I told her that I would make sure no one else get married so that we could claim this honor.
“Lily, you gotta wake up. If not, we can’t get married.”
Lily turns to her right side and the sheet slips down to her waist.
I am holding my breath and looking at her without a blink.
Nothing except her rhythmic breathing.
I sigh, lean forward and pull the sheet over her shoulder.
Suddenly a weird feeling stings me like a bee. I freeze there and let it sink in. It is like those moments when you sense something wrong but can’t put a finger on it.
What is it?
Something is missing.
Something is missing!
I slowly grab the edge of the sheet and pull it down to her waist where it rested several seconds ago. Looking at her from this angel reminds me the way she lies in my arms, her soft body, her scent and her smooth skin. I scan up and down, but can’t really figure out what is missing. I hold her left hand in my hands and kiss its back.
The ring! The wedding ring I bought for her is gone.
I quickly search around the bed.
Nothing.
Then I comb every inch of the medical area.
Still nothing.
I remember see the ring before I passed out, so it must be in the kitchen. It probably went off when the chair hit her. She never takes it off. It must be in the kitchen. I head to the kitchen right away.
Thank God-the kitchen is only about the size of a two-car garage. On one side, we have sink, pantry, fridge and cabinets. On the other side, an oval table and ten chairs take all the leftover space. I used to complain how small this kitchen is, but now I am grateful. I kneel on the ground and start looking. I believe it is still here. If someone already found it, he or she would give it to me.
Soon I am soaking in sweat, my knees hurting as badly as my head. I don’t care. I will find it. I will find it!
One hour ticks away and I get nothing.
If someone found it, would he or she give it to me?
OK. Let’s think about it.
NO. 1, Lock. He is one of my best friends and he will be my best man in the wedding. If he found it, he would give it to me. Besides, he is married. What does he keep a ring for?
NO. 2, Jim. I know him less than two years. He is a Briton with some royal lineage. He is rich and care for reputation, a little too gentleman though. He wouldn’t even pick it up if he saw it. One funny fact about Jim is he can’t bear the sight of blood and he keeps a blindfold in his pocket just in case there is a blood test.
NO. 3, Bud. Except his duties, he seems to only care about his own stuff. We have to take one guy from India and if I had an option, I wouldn’t take him. He might take the ring, because he comes from a poor family. You know what they say: if you were born poor, you have it in your genes. I definitely need to ask him and see how he reacts.
NO. 4, Charle. He is the reactor specialist. Being a French and having a look of young Jean Reno, he can pretty much get any girl he wants. He bought a bottle of best French champagne for this trip and selflessly claimed that he would share it with everyone. He is a very handy man and can pretty much fix everything. I can tell he likes Lily and cares for her. If he found the ring, he would put it back to the exact place on her finger instead of giving it to me.
NO. 5, Bertha. This is a tricky one. I know she likes me and we used to fuck a lot when we got trained in Luna station on the moon. Later Lily joined the team and stole my heart. Bertha quitted and gave us her bless. She is not that kind of woman who plays tricks under table. But you know what, you can never guess what a woman is thinking. I need to talk to her as well.
NO. 6, Lisa. Another woman but this is a geologist and a nerd. She is a nerd inside and outside. She looks like someone from Middle Ages but with baggy eyes and a very man eagle nose. In private she is actually more like a man. I really think she marries herself to rocks. In her eyes, the ring is probably a circle.
NO. 7, Akio. I can’t read what he is thinking and I don’t know him very well except the fact that he loves Sushi. He is always polite but cold. He acts the same between his working hours and private time. For him, I really don’t know. I will put him on the list.
NO. 8, Roy. He is an astronomer from Russia, strong like a bear and hairy like a bear. His beards are longer than his hair and he is just too lazy to cut them. He has a solid pride of his motherland and his personality is straight like an arrow. He loves chatting but not in Bertha’s way and can tell some funny adult-only jokes. It seems to me that he doesn’t take anything seriously. He first started no business during dinner rule and now we all adhere to it. He won’t lower himself to keep the ring.
So now I have three people on the list.
I suddenly feel sorry for myself. They are my crew and I should trust every one of them with my life.
What am I doing? Shame on you.
The ring could fly to anywhere. It could be in drawers or cabinets or trash cans.
I walk back and forth in the kitchen, rubbing my temples to alleviate the head pain.
I need evidence.
Asking around? No, nobody wants to be a rat.
“The video records!” I shout in excitement.
Yep! Kitchen is one of the areas monitored all day and every day. The record is kept in blackbox. Thinking about this, I head straight to where the blackbox is located.
Nobody onboard Achilles has the access to the blackbox. I actually wonder whether others know where it is. I know it because I was actively involved in the design of Achilles. Others only saw the blueprint after the ship was complete and I doubt anyone even notice it.
Near compartment six, there is an escape pod that is only slightly bigger than a coffin and of course there is only one seat. I guess we will have to do a draw when that particular moment comes. Right under the seat in the escape pod lays the blackbox. I pop open the seat and there it is. A steel box welded on the base of the chair. Two locks secure the lid and nobody knows the password. I take out my laser knife and cut through the steel. After about 40 minutes, I prize the lid up.
“What the hell!”
There is nothing in it!
“Yea, I guess they really have a tight budget.”
I look into t
he box again just to be sure.
Yep! It is empty.
I don’t really know what to do. Since I am here already, at least I can check when lid was opened last time.
I activate the screen in the escape pod and choose the activity option. A window pops out and it reads,
“Blackbox content Installed at 9:35 AM, Central Time, 01/27/2055. Lid closed at 10:04 AM, Central Time, 01/27/2055.
Lid opened at 10:20 AM, Central time, 09/13/2055. Blackbox content removed at 10:23 AM, Central time, 09/13/2055. Lid closed at 10:25 AM, Central time, 09/13/2055.”
Wait! 09/13?
I check it again. The record indeed says 09/13 and right now the clock shows 11:34 PM 09/14/2055.
But why?
As the commander, if I knew I was out for seven days, what would I do first? I would check what happened in the past seven days and I would check all recordings.
Someone did it just to fool me.
Someone doesn’t want me to find out what happened in the past seven days.
I look out of the window from the escape pod. On this side of the ship, Jupiter steals most of the sky and its great red spot looks angry. There is also...something on the window.
Inside or outside?
I get closer to the window. It looks like smears or something. I blow hot air to the window. The smear grows darker. Three large fingerprints, much larger than any human, with no friction ridges; instead they have dozens of suckers like the one on the tentacles of squids.
“What?”
Goose bumps start crawling all over me. Holding on to the wall, I stumble out of the escape pod.
“Calm down. Calm down.” I recite it again, again and again.
Remember you training! Well, there is one universal rule. It says if you feel you are fucked up, you are indeed fucked up.
Boy, isn’t that right!
OK. OK. OK. At least I still have Lily, so it is not that bad. Thank god she can’t see this.
I start walking along the corridor very slowly, buying some time to think it through. I don’t know where I should go or who to talk to. If Lily were awake, I can ask her for opinion.
First scenario, this is just a prank. My crews are playing with me.
