Bones Burnt Black: Serial Killer in Space

by Stephen Euin Cobb

  The medsys withdrew its black snake from Kim’s throat and removed its hand-like appendages from her arms. She floated free for a few seconds, then spun her arms in tight circles to rotate her body on its vertical axis through 180 degrees. She looked around the hangar as though confused by all the bright lights.

  “Ms. Kirkland,” the captain said, “how do you feel?”

  Ignoring the question, she stared at Mister Marcus who was once again floating outside the pod. She extended her arm toward him and pointed an index finger straight at his face. “Do I know you?” she asked.

  “I don’t think so. I’m Bob Marcus. Aquila’s chief flight engi—”

  “Bob Marcus? You’ve got to be kidding.”

  He squinted and shook his head. “No, that’s my name.”

  Kim used one leg to push-off, somewhat rudely, from the center of the medsys’s chest. Grabbing Bob Marcus in a bear hug, she gave him three long kisses on the cheek as the two of them coasted past the startled captain and bumped gently to a stop against the black soot-covered hull of the pod near its open hatch.

  Bob Marcus protested, but even Mike could tell the man’s desire to get free of Kim was weaker than her desire to hold him. “Please, ma’am. It’s natural to be excited when someone rescues you, but this really isn’t necessary.”

  Releasing him from the hug, Kim shook both his shoulders. “Uncle Bob, don’t you recognize me?”

  The man looked confused. “Kimmie? Little Kimmie Kirkland? What are you doing out here?”

  She slapped his chest—a playful punishment. “I thought your boss said we were famous?”

  Bob shrugged. “You know I never watch TV.” He squinted. “I thought you were on Earth.”

  She giggled like a teenager. “I haven’t been on Earth in eight years.” She raised her head and held it high in mock pride. “Uncle Bob, I’m an engineer now. I hired-in to Hyperbolic Shipping five years ago and last year was promoted to chief flight engineer of the spaceship Corvus.”

  “Carol and Ted must be very proud.”

  “Yeah.” She smiled, modestly. “I really think they are.”

  “So what’s the story?” Bob asked. “What went wrong with Corvus?”

  “Sabotage. Course we didn’t know that at first. It all started when the engines went into auto-shutdown. Captain Palmer sent me out to—” She stopped talking. Her mouth hung open and her eyes grew wide with fear. Several seconds passed in silence.

  Mike tried to turn his head to see better but the snake tickled the gag reflex in the back of his throat. What’s wrong with her?

  She found her voice but it was softer and possessed a flat, lifeless quality. Her eyes remained wide as though she were in some kind of fear-based trance. “He sent me out to get the engines back on-line,” she said. “I found a fuel filter clogged with human hair and an engine rigged with plastic explosive.”

  Her voice grew weaker, descending into a whisper. “The bomb exploded, creating the fuel leak. There was snow everywhere: hydrogen snow. That’s when I was slung.” Her voice was almost gone. “I was slung. I was…” And her voice was gone. Her lips continued mouthing words but there was no sound, not even a hiss of air between her teeth. Then she froze. Not a blink; not a breath; not a twitch.

  The snake in Mike’s throat began sliding up from the depths of his stomach. It brought up—clinging to its surface—the most horrible taste. He winced as it scraped out across his teeth. When able to, he spat several times in rapid succession.

  As soon as the medsys released his arms, Mike pushed-off gently and stopped himself at the pod. Grabbing a sooty handhold, he eased closer to Kim and was about to call her name when Bob held up his hand to cut him off. Mike looked at Bob but the man glanced at him and gave his head one small quick shake.

  Kim’s eyes slammed shut and remained tightly squeezed as though hiding themselves from sunlight too painfully bright. Her whole body jerked, then her eyes came open, her hands came up and she yelled, “Miiiieeeek! Where are you?”

  “Here I am!”

  She pushed-off from the pod with both legs and grabbed Mike’s chest in a powerful hug. Her momentum sent them both spinning away from Bob and out into the hangar’s open air.

  “Mike! Mike! Mike! Don’t leave me again!” She pressed her vacuum suit against his, but with all the gear on their chests and the layers of thermal insulation between them, this felt no more romantic than hugging the side of a motorcycle while wearing a parka. “How could I have forgotten how much I love you? How could I have treated you so cruelly?” She kissed him on both cheeks and then on the lips.

  “It’s not your fault,” he said. “It was the amnesia.”

  “Can you ever forgive me?”

  “Of course. Of course. It’s already forgiven.”

  “You’re an angel.” She kissed him with such enthusiasm he barely noticed when they bounced off the large hangar door and began coasting—much more slowly this time—back toward the hangar’s center.

  When the kiss ended Mike’s head was filled with thoughts of passion but he knew there were things that had to be done. Forcing his mind to return to the business at hand, he cleared his throat and spoke loudly but without taking his eyes away from Kim’s. “Captain, we captured Corvus’s saboteur. She’s the one tied-up in the pod. She’s killed seven people that I know of, some with little more than her bare hands, and I doubt she’d show you and your people any more mercy than she showed them. The woman is clever and ruthless. I recommend keeping her sedated until you can turn her over to the authorities.”

  “No offence,” the captain said, “but how can I be sure that she’s the saboteur and not the both of you?”

  “I have the audio of her confession in my pocketsize. I’ll transfer it to your ship’s computer as soon as I get a new battery; mine’s dead. Also, her personal computer—a headup—is in her thigh pocket. She used it to trigger explosive devices. It should contain evidence of her crimes. But be careful; it may be booby-trapped.”

  “Mister Marcus,” the captain said, “lend him your pocketsize battery.”

  Bob pulled out his pocketsize, removed its battery and tossed it, tumbling, across the hangar.

  Mike caught it, pulled out his own pocketsize and replaced the battery. The familiar picture of him and Kim French-kissing appeared. Kim noticed and hugged him gently.

  “Pocketsize?” Mike said.

  Its sultry feminine voice responded: “Yes?”

  “Upload the confession of Rebecca Dozier to—” Mike looked at the captain. “What’s the name of this ship?”

  “Aquila.”

  Mike completed the instructions: “Upload it to Aquila.”

  “Transferring data now,” it said.

  The captain said, “Ship?”

  From the captain’s breast pocket, a voice of indeterminate sex said, “Yes?”

  “The confession you are receiving: I want you to analyze it for authenticity.”

  “Aye, aye.”

  Mike’s pocketsize said, “Mike, the ship is requesting all information and evidence in my possession concerning the Corvus incident.”

  “Give it everything it wants.”

  “Some of that information will violate your fifth amendment rights.”

  “Give it everything.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Captain,” the ship said. “Mister McCormack is correct. His female prisoner is both a murderer and a saboteur. She is single-handedly responsible for the murders of at least seven people and for the destruction of the spaceship Corvus.”

  “How can you be so certain the information you were given was not concocted?”

  “The quantity of video and audio is far too great to falsify. Less money, equipment and time would be needed to make a major motion picture. Also, I concur that she should be kept in a semiconscious state until such time as she can be turned over to the proper authorities.”

  The captain nodded. “I understand.” He looked at a medsys. “We’re sch
eduled to dock with the SpaceGuard Cutter Carter in thirty-seven hours; I want you to keep her sedated until we can turn her over to them.”

  The medsys asked, “Shall I bring her up to medical?”

  “No. Once she’s sedated you can untie her and get her out of that vacuum suit, but keep her here in this hangar. Even sedated, I don’t want her near the passengers.” He raised his voice slightly. “Oh, and ship?”

  “Yes?”

  “After we leave, lock the doors to the hangar and the control booth. I don’t want the prisoner to have any unscheduled visitors; whether they want to harm her, help her or just stare.”

  “Aye, aye.”

  The captain turned to Mike and Kim. “In the meantime, you two will probably want to shower and change clothes.”

  “Definitely,” Kim said.

  The captain smiled. “You shouldn’t have any trouble finding your way around the ship. Aquila’s decks are almost identical to those of Corvus. And since we have only forty-two passengers at the moment, I’ve been able to assign you adjoining cabins: 2-B and 2-C. I’ll have someone bring clean uniforms to your rooms.” The captain’s smile widened. “I’d be pleased if you’d join me for dinner this evening, after you’ve had a chance to freshen up and get some rest.”

  “Thank you,” Kim said. “That would be nice.”

  “Yes,” Mike said. “Thank you.”

  _____

  Pushing-off from the control booth door, the two coasted hand-in-hand down the horizontal hall toward the door to the vertical hallway. As they coasted, Mike turned to Kim and pulled her around to face him. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while.” He hesitated for just a moment. “Even before the incident.”

  Tilting her head to one side, she glanced down to the metal ring around the base of his neck to which a helmet could attach. “I know.”

  He drew back and studied her face. “What do you mean, you know?”

  She did not respond. Instead, she just looked him in the eye with a tight little smile growing at the corners of her mouth.

  He tried again. “How could you know?”

  “I don’t know how I know.” She shrugged. “I just know.”

  Though confused, he pressed on. “Well then, what do you say? Will you marry me?”

  She slapped his cheek playfully and giggled. “You know the answer is, yes.” Then she grabbed his head with both hands, pulled him close and kissed him. While they were thus preoccupied, the door to the vertical hallway drifted by unnoticed. When their lips finally separated, Kim said, “You can have 2-B; it’s a little bigger than 2-C.”

  “No, no,” he protested. “You can have it.”

  “You should have it,” she said. “You’re larger than I am. You can use the extra space.”

  “But—”

  “We could argue back and forth all night,” she said. “I’ll tell you what: first one there gets to pick.”

  “No fair,” Mike said. “You’re faster in zero-g than I am.”

  “OK. When we get up there, I’ll arm-wrestle you for it.”

  Mike smiled. “And on the way, I’ll race you to see who gets to say: Go!” He flipped himself around, pushed-off from a doorway and headed back toward the vertical hall.

  “Hey!” Kim flipped around and pushed-off too but was nearly three seconds behind him. “Cheat! I wasn’t ready.”

  Mike laughed. He led by twenty feet all the way to the vertical hallway door. Even so, she passed him as they coasted up toward their rooms on deck two.

  The End

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed this novel. If you did, and if you happen to be in the mood to do so, please consider letting others know by jotting down a brief review on its page at Amazon.com. It needn’t be long; Amazon will accept as short as a single sentence. Reviews—even brief ones—can be powerful. They let people know if you think something is worth reading.

  Thanks for your help.

  Your friend,

  Steve

  Additional Novels by Stephen Euin Cobb

  Skinbrain: Secrets of the Rolling Head Tormented by the Ocean that Chases its Moon

  Plague at Redhook: Life Extension Without End

  Nonfiction by Stephen Euin Cobb

  Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science

  A Brief History of Predicting the Future

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the two people who have had a more profound influence on who I am and what I have accomplished than any others.

  It was they who created me from DNA of their own bodies; who formed the original cell from which I grew; who fed and clothed me when I didn’t know how to feed or clothe myself; who loved me when I was cute and loveable, which was rare; and still loved me when I was not, which was often.

  This book is dedicated to my parents: Jewel Caroline Cobb (maiden name: Hoover) and Melvin Euin Cobb.

  I am proud to be their son. They will never know how proud because human languages contain no words strong enough to say it.

  Thank you, Mom and Dad.

  I love you,

  Stephen

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank the little circle of proofreaders and critics which I have been fortunate enough to draw from my somewhat larger circle of family and friends. Their insights and observations have helped to make this a stronger book.

  They include:

  Terri Jolley

  Kenneth Phillip Doyle, II

  Michelle Ann Turner Ghant

  Stuart “Stu-Babe” Martin

  About the Author

  Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, magazine writer, futurist, and award-winning podcaster.

  A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture, and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen’s Universe Magazine.

  Since 2005, he has produced over 400 episodes of his weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores, through interviews, panel discussions, and commentary, all the ways the future will be different from today.

  His SF novels include Plague at Redhook: Life Extension Without End, Skinbrain: Secrets of the Rolling Head Tormented by the Ocean that Chases its Moon, and Bones Burnt Black: Serial Killer in Space. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. He is also the author of nonfiction books: A Brief History of Predicting the Future as well as Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

  Learn more at:

  www.SteveCobb.com

  Curious about the Future?

  The real Future?

  The one you are going to live in?

  Do you wonder about life extension,

  ways to make yourself smarter,

  and what’s to come with robots,

  the internet,

  and wearable computers?

  Stephen Euin Cobb does a weekly podcast in which he discusses every aspect of how the future will be different from today. If you want to know what’s changing, and what changes are yet to come, listen to The Future And You.

  Learn more at Stephen’s website: www.SteveCobb.com

  A Little About…

  Skinbrain:

  Secrets of the Rolling Head

  Tormented by

  the Ocean that Chases its Moon

  A runaway teenaged girl, sleeping under bridges and in the dusty basement of an abandoned church, is learning to scrape out a living in the alleys of the largest city on Big Sandy: one of several dozen human inhabited planets. Calling herself Leather, she falls for a successful thief and runs off with him straight into an assorted gang of mostly alien criminals who are struggling to steal advanced alien weapons technology. One of these is a weapons dealer—a human named Peter—who lusts after her and dreams of securing her to his torture rack,
which at the moment holds an alien physicist he’d kidnapped weeks earlier, and from whom he’s been extracting valuable information. Peter plots to kill all the other gang members and capture Leather alive and undamaged so that he can damage her slowly and repeatedly for his morbid enjoyment.

  A Little About…

  Plague at Redhook:

  Life Extension Without End

  Exploration of the newly discovered Earth-like planet Redhook stops when—for sixteen days—sleeping explorers refuse to wake, angry ones never calm down, and one lust-filled woman chases everyone. Discovering it’s caused by an alien-engineered nanoplague, the military places the planet under strict quarantine and, terrified it will spread to other worlds, consider using thousands of nuclear warheads to destroy the plague by annihilating the entire biosphere of Redhook, along with all forty-seven infected explorers. But this artificial disease provides quirks, problems and surprises that defy human solution.

  A Little About…

  Indistinguishable from Magic:

  Predictions of Revolutionary

  Future Science

  This collection of articles—written by an experienced futurist who has interviewed hundreds of people for their opinion about the future—describes several of the far future scientific and technological innovations which will transform our civilization from what it is now into an exponentially larger, faster, stronger and more dynamic civilization than can be contained on this planet, or in this solar system, or within this universe. These technologies will allow us to expand through those boundaries and find new unimagined boundaries beyond them to break through. Chapter Titles – We Will Transmute the Elements; We Will Develop Many Completely New Physics; My Father’s Watch; Hidden-Life May be More Common on Planets than Non-Hidden: And Earth May be No Exception; The Universal Diagram; Engineering Space: Altering This Universe and Making New Ones.