The Belt: The Complete Trilogy

by Gerald M. Kilby

  The QI had voiced its concerns to Solomon. But the great mind kept reminding Aria that the mission was for the benefit of all humanity, which far outweighed the petty dramas of the crew of the Hermes. While Aria could see the logic in Solomon’s reasoning, it still felt a deep-rooted desire to do right by its crew. So, it opened a comm channel to Scott McNabb’s cabin.

  “Commander, since we will be arriving in Ceres’ orbit in just a few days, I wanted to discuss the transfer arrangements.”

  Scott was sitting at his small desk, studying a video feed. Aria knew he was watching the analysis put forth by a small group of scientists, surrounding their efforts to reintroduce life to the eastern edge of the Pacific Rim, the worst-affected area after the war. While holed up in his cabin, the commander had grown increasingly fascinated with the war’s history.

  “What do you need me for?”

  “You are the captain of the ship and commander of the mission, that’s why.”

  “You handle it, Aria.”

  “I would be happy to. However, protocol dictates that you be, at the very least, conversant with the proposed rendezvous and transfer procedures.”

  Scott let out a sigh. “Okay, if you insist. Just don’t take forever.”

  “Once we arrive in orbit around Ceres, we are to rendezvous with a ship by the name of Redeemer. We will then transfer several passengers onto the Hermes by way of a shuttle. Fortunately, they will facilitate the shuttle service, as our craft is currently out of action. This aspect of the rendezvous concerns me.”

  “Oh really? How so?”

  “Because our shuttle is still inoperable. It should have been tested and fully rigged to fly by now. However, Cyrus is loath to do any work on it without your assistance.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter now since they’ll be using their own.”

  “Yes and no. True, we don’t need to use ours. However, it happens to be currently attached to our primary docking port.”

  “So, they can use the auxiliary port.”

  “Indeed. However, this is not ideal, as it is smaller and farther from the main body of the ship. Also, it is primarily designed as an emergency route, so it will be awkward for the passengers to navigate their way through the connecting tunnel.”

  Scott gave another long sigh. “Well they’re just going to have to slum it, aren’t they?”

  “If I could make a suggestion.”

  “I’m sure I’m not going to like it.”

  “I suggest getting our shuttle space-worthy, at least to the point where it can be moved over to the auxiliary docking port.”

  “Well, you should inform Cyrus. You can let me know when it’s done.”

  “Yes, well, therein lies the problem. Cyrus will not work on it without you. He was pretty adamant about it.”

  “Order him, then.”

  There was a momentary silence before Aria responded. “Scott, I appreciate that you have been feeling somewhat despondent since the departure of our flight officer, and I too have felt her loss. But life goes on, and this ship needs your input. I cannot do this alone—I need your help. Please, as a friend, I am asking you to cut me a break on this one.”

  Scott placed both hands on the small desk and lowered his head. “‘As a friend,’” he repeated in a low voice. “I had never considered that before.” He paused for a beat before rising from his seat. “Okay, Aria, you win. I suppose I owe you one.”

  “Thank you, Scott. I really appreciate this.”

  “Don’t go all mushy on me, Aria. Go tell Cyrus I’ll meet him on the bridge, and we’ll get started.”

  “I will inform him straight away.”

  The Hermes had acquired a small shuttle craft at the outset of its mission to survey the moons of Saturn. It was more commodious than the two landers that had been part of the ship’s manifest since it was built. These were designed primarily to transport people rather than cargo and, as such, had been built very small. They did have the advantage of being able to park these inside the main hangar of the ship. But since the Hermes had originally been designed as a space station for Mars orbit, the engines on the landers used methane. This was a fuel easily manufactured on Mars due to the availability of CO2 in the atmosphere. However, out in the Belt where water was plentiful, the fuel of choice was hydrogen. Most asteroids had H2O in some form and, over the decades, an efficient process had been developed for extracting this resource and converting it into hydrogen and oxygen, the two most important elements in humanity’s efforts to colonize the solar system.

  The shuttle that Scott and Cyrus now worked on was commonly known as a rock-hopper. There were hundreds—if not thousands—of these machines in operation throughout the System, transporting cargo and people from rock to rock and ship to ship. It had a primary engine for point-to-point journeys, as well as a cluster of smaller retro-thrusters for landing and take-off, rated up to 0.25 gravity. As a result, these craft were no good for Earth or Mars, but for everywhere else in the colonized System, they were perfect. Electrical power was supplied by a Low Energy Nuclear Reactor (LENR), and it could run for years.

  But the one the Hermes possessed was old, so Cyrus had decided to do a full systems diagnostic and overhaul to extend its life. They had started this procedure back during their long orbit around Enceladus, but between one thing and another, they had never finished. Now it had to be done, at least well enough to move the lander from the main hangar’s underside to the secondary docking port down near the ass end of the Hermes. Cyrus called it the “industrial sector.” It had been designed as an escape route, not as a grand entranceway to impress visiting dignitaries.

  Scott worked his way down through one of the central spokes connecting the one-gee environment of the rotating torus to the zero-gee environment of the ship’s hangar, and floated through the docking port into the shuttle’s cabin.

  Cyrus poked his head out from an open inspection hatch. “Ah, the dead have arisen.”

  Scott gave him a lazy nod.

  “All I can say is, thank God you’re here,” the engineer continued. “I was beginning to feel like I was the only person on this ship.” He paused and gave Scott a cautious look. “You okay?”

  Scott shrugged. “Yeah, I’m done licking my wounds. Time to move on, I guess.”

  Cyrus floated over and placed a friendly hand on Scott’s shoulder. “Good to have you back, buddy.”

  Scott smiled. “I never went away, you know.”

  “Sure you did. Holed up in your cabin for weeks. Give me a break, Scott. We thought you might never come out.”

  Scott looked down at his feet. “Okay, well… since you put it like that.”

  “Anyway, ready to get some work done?”

  “Sure. What’s the plan?” Scott glanced around the interior of the shuttle. The entire cockpit dashboard was lit up with blinking red icons—never a good sign.

  “Come on, let me show you.” Cyrus and Scott floated up to the cockpit, and he started bringing the commander up to speed. “We don’t have a lot of time between now and the final deceleration burn into Ceres’ orbit, so I suggest we just get the maneuvering thrusters back up and running. Fortunately, we don’t need the main engine or the retro-thrusters to move this puppy over to the auxiliary docking port.” He waved a hand over an area of the dash that displayed astro-positioning data. “Maybe you could run a complete diagnostic on our navigation and get it recalibrated.” He looked over at Scott. “It would be nice to know exactly where we are if we’re going to be operating so close to the Hermes.”

  Scott gave a nod. “Will do.”

  “I’ll get on with the maneuvering thrusters. I’ve just got one more to do, and then we should be good to go.”

  “How long before we can fire it up?”

  “Well, if we can get everything set up and tested before the burn, then we should have a few hours in Ceres’ orbit to do the actual transfer.”

  “Cutting it a bit tight?”

  Cyrus gave a laugh. “Gee, y
ou think? Well if the commander hadn’t been AWOL for the entire journey then, hey, we might have had the main engine singing like a sparrow on a summer morning.”

  “Okay, okay, I get it. I’m a dickhead. There, I said it. Happy?”

  “Did I just hear our commander say he’s a dickhead?”

  Cyrus and Scott both turned to see Steph’s head poke thought the docking port.

  “Yep, you heard right. I hope Aria has a recording of it,” said Cyrus.

  “So, how are you?” The doctor floated into the cockpit.

  “Honestly guys, I’m fine. Just needed time to get my head straight.” He did his best to sound convincing.

  Steph studied him for a moment before nodding. “Happy to have you back, Commander. It was getting very quiet around here the last few weeks.”

  “How so? What about all our distinguished passengers?”

  “Doing the same as you: holed up in their quarters. Haven’t seen much of them. Perhaps they don’t like fraternizing with the help.”

  “And we’ve got more coming on board at Ceres,” said Cyrus.

  “Do we know who’s arriving yet?” said Scott.

  “Chancellor Bezzio,” said Steph. “Envoy for the Belt Confederation, I believe.”

  “Okay, I suppose we better get on with sorting out this shuttle, then,” said Scott. “Can’t have an emissary from the Belt slumming their way through the ship’s bowels.”

  “I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be on the bridge.” Steph started floating toward the hatch.

  Scott glanced across the dashboard display at all the flashing red icons. “Are you sure this thing will fly?”

  “We don’t have to take it down to the planet’s surface, just move it to the auxiliary docking port.”

  “What about fuel?”

  “There’s little or nothing in the tanks, but that’s okay. Like I said, we’re not taking it out into space just yet. We can do that some other time. Anyway, we don’t have much time, so let’s get the minimum done to move this thing, that’s all.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure.”

  “Trust me,” said Cyrus, “it will be fine.”

  6

  Rendezvous

  Scott wondered how best to inform Cyrus and Steph of his plan to resign as commander once the Hermes had delivered its passengers to Mars. He knew it would come as a shock to them, so he needed to pick the right moment. Several times while working with Cyrus on the shuttle he almost blurted it out; but, in the end, he held off. Later, after they had finished and were all together in the canteen, Scott considered whether this might be the opportune moment to let them know. But as the conversation turned to Miranda and where she was along her journey home to Earth, he again kept his silence.

  After eating, they only had a few hours to get some rest before the planned two-hour burn to bring them into Ceres’ orbit. After that, he would be busy again. In the end, he reckoned that perhaps the best time would be when things settled down during the seventeen-day trip to Mars.

  Still, Scott found himself running through the script in his head as he sat on the bridge waiting for the shuttle from Dantu, the main population center on Ceres, to arrive. It had already departed, so it would be due soon. He was figuring out how best to phrase it so nobody got the impression he was just opting out of his responsibilities. Mostly, this centered around his feeling that he had simply spent too much time in space, and it was time to go home—wherever that might be.

  “Aria, what’s the ETA on the Ceres ship?”

  “Thirty-six minutes, Commander.”

  Scott looked over at Cyrus. “Shouldn’t you be moving that shuttle now?”

  “Yeah. It’s just as well we’re shifting it, because that auxiliary dock wouldn’t accommodate the ship they’re sending. It’s a big one—probably fits twenty people.”

  “I can’t see why they need something that big just to transport one or two people,” said Steph, who was monitoring the craft’s progress.

  “Maybe it’s needed to accommodate the size of their egos,” said Scott.

  Cyrus rose from his seat. “Any chance you could give me a hand with this? That auxiliary hatch is a bit sticky, and I need some extra muscle. Otherwise I could be stuck inside the shuttle for a while.”

  “What, and leave me here on my own to deal with these people?” Steph was not having any of it.

  “You’ll be fine, Steph. Aria can manage the docking, and all you have to do is point them in the direction of their quarters. Anyway, we’ll be back by then,” said Cyrus.

  “Well make sure you are. You know I hate this meet-and-greet crap.”

  “Just so you know, Dr. Rayman,” said Aria, “Councilor Goodchild will look after the embarkation of the Ceres delegation. So you will not be required.”

  “I’m not sure that makes me feel better, knowing that I’m not required,” said Steph.

  Scott rose from his seat. “Come on, Cyrus. Let’s get this done.”

  They made their way down to the Hermes’ hangar and into the partially operational shuttle. Scott strapped himself into the co-pilot’s seat as Cyrus booted up the power.

  “Aria, ETA on the Ceres shuttle?”

  “Eleven minutes, Commander.”

  “Thanks.” He turned to Cyrus. “Cutting it a bit tight. Only a few minutes before they arrive.”

  “Cyrus strapped himself in. “Okay, ready?”

  “Ready.”

  “Aria, you can close the airlock hatch now,” said Cyrus.

  Scott felt a slight vibration as the hatch closed, isolating the shuttle from the main ship. He was a little disconcerted by all the warnings and alerts still flashing on cockpit console. “Are you sure this thing will fly?”

  Cyrus looked over at the commander. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.” With that, he hit the controls to detach the shuttle. Scott monitored the readouts showing their position relative to the Hermes while Cyrus delicately touched the maneuvering thrusters. The craft slowly began to separate from the Hermes and move away.

  “So far, so good.” He looked over at Scott. “We haven’t blown up yet.”

  “I do not wish to put you under undue pressure,” Aria echoed around the shuttle cockpit, “but the Ceres craft will arrive in less than four minutes.”

  “Well, they’ll just have to wait until we’re finished with the maneuver, won’t they?” Scott countered.

  “Very well, I shall inform them.”

  “How did we get to be a chauffeur service for these people, Cyrus? I mean, we’re a scientific survey vessel, one of only a few in the entire solar system. Yet here we are, being chastised for keeping the politicians waiting. It’s all bullshit.”

  The craft cleared the hangar and was making its way slowly around the towering rotating torus to the ship’s rear.

  “It is what it is, Scott. Anyway, you think too much. Let’s just keep focused on getting this shuttle docked, okay?”

  Scott let out a long sigh. “Sure.”

  Cyrus concentrated on bringing the shuttle gently into position over the docking port. “Switching to auto.” He tapped several icons on the console and the shuttle’s own systems took over the docking procedure. On screen, they could see a rendering of the port overlaid with technical data as the shuttle closed in on its target.

  “So, why bring it up now, Scott? Why didn't you say something to Goodchild at the council meeting? You know, like, ‘the Hermes is a science vessel, not a chauffeur service.’”

  The shuttle docked with a satisfying clunk. Cyrus checked the console display to confirm the integrity of the seal.

  “Miranda deciding to leave for Earth had me a bit… distracted back then.”

  “Yeah, well like I said, it is what it is.” Cyrus unstrapped himself and floated up from the seat. “Come on, let’s get that hatch open and get out of here.”

  They worked their way through the body of the shuttle to the access hatch. Cyrus tapped on a control pad located alongside it. The screen count
ed to 100% as the pressure equalized in the airlock. “Okay, we’re good to go.” Cyrus leaned on the locking wheel on the hatch door. This being an auxiliary docking port, they would have to operate it manually. He pulled hard, but it wouldn’t budge. “Give me a hand here.”

  Scott moved into a position to give him maximum leverage, and as they both pulled at it in unison, it slowly began to turn. “You weren’t joking about it being sticky.”

  “Just to let you know,” Aria’s voice echoed around the shuttle’s interior, “our guests have arrived and are about to disembark.”

  “Yeah, yeah, we’ll be there as soon as we can.” Scott pulled harder on the locking wheel. After a few moments of grunting and swearing they got it open, floated into the airlock, and started opening the interior hatch that would give them access to the Hermes. This one was even tighter.

  “We need to get these airlock doors serviced, Cyrus. I can see why you wanted help.”

  “Hey, I’ll add it to the list. I might get around to it in a year or two.”

  “Just get one of the drones to do it.”

  “No way. I wouldn’t trust those mindless robots with this type of thing.”

  “Whatever, let’s just get it open. Come on, put your back into it.”

  The hatch door finally opened, but when it did it, it came with a violent vibration that threw both Scott and Cyrus back against the interior wall of the airlock.

  “What the hell was that?” Concern rose inside Scott at this sudden jolt to the ship.

  For a second, Cyrus didn’t reply. He wore a stunned expression that spoke of even deeper concern. “I think we should get out of this airlock as fast as possible,” he said eventually.

  Scott tapped his earpiece to contact Aria as he followed Cyrus out of the airlock and into the access tunnel connecting this part of the Hermes with the main body of the ship. “Aria, what just happened?” But before it could respond, another tremor rippled through the superstructure. “Aria, talk to me.”

  “That felt like it was structural,” said Cyrus as he moved along the tunnel. “I hope that shuttle from Ceres hasn’t crashed into us.”