Talia's Planet

by Heather Lee Dyer

  When the night shift comes to relieve us, we're all barely walking. I head to my room with my suit light blinking low battery. I'm so tired I tell myself I'll charge it in the morning. I strip it off and fall into bed exhausted but feeling accomplished.

  CHAPTER 19

  Tank Walking

  I finally sleep well. I wake refreshed and ready to go. After a quick but enjoyable hot shower I gather my pack and suit and head to engineering.

  Doc is there already and hands me an energy bar. "Thanks, Doc. I forgot about breakfast."

  "You usually do." He chuckles. I can see why Zayn enjoys working with Doc. He’s easily becoming one of my favorite people here.

  We walk over to the main engineering console to check diagnostics. The backup engines are only designed to be used for short periods of time, so we need to get the main one online soon.

  Everyone scatters to work on their assigned tasks. I take my suit back to the locker room to charge. I get it plugged in, and then I sit down on one of the benches for a moment. It hits me again that I miss being on my old ship. Without my sight, I can almost imagine I'm back in the locker room on the Gryphon. I frown and run my fingers over the bench. But the smells and textures are different here.

  Then Zayn pops into my mind. The first time we had a real conversation was in the Gryphon locker room, because that's where I had hidden his two nav boxes. It seems so long ago that those nav boxes started all these events into motion. Secrets and Captain Kae. I straighten up, suddenly remembering something.

  I comm the Commander.

  "Yes, Miss Jade?"

  "Commander Saj, have you heard how the progress is going to catch Kae?"

  "Commander Mise left last night and is closing in on her. She shows no signs of slowing down, however."

  I slump forward. "Any messages for me?" My chest constricts as I wait for his answer.

  "No, sorry Miss Jade. But I'll send access to the main comm to your cube."

  Well that's something at least. "Thank you, Commander."

  "Also, the Council would like an update every day at dinnertime." The Commander sounds apologetic.

  "I understand, Commander. I'll come up to the bridge at that time."

  The comm goes silent, and I stand up to leave. I start toward Doc at the main console, but instead I change course toward the bio star fuel tank. The familiar rumblings and vibrations are absent since the emergency engine runs on a gas mixture instead of bio star fuel. I locate the diagnostic panel and jack my cube into it.

  I lean against the console as I run my fingers over the data. From our spacewalk yesterday, I knew there weren't any holes in the tank, but it was hard to tell if any parts inside were dislodged from the blast. I'm getting some slightly odd readings, but the computer says they’re within satisfactory range. Still, I'm not happy with them.

  The comm console is in the quietest part of engineering, which isn't saying much since the whole bay is open. But here at least I don't have to yell to be heard. I comm the Gryphon.

  "Reyes here." The gruff, impatient voice is heaven to my ears.

  "Hey, Captain."

  "Talia? Is everything all right?" And just like that his fatherly tone kicks in. I grin.

  "Yes, the repairs are going smoothly here."

  "Right. Finding explosives on the outside of the emergency engine is smooth?" He catches my white lie.

  "Well, except for that part."

  "Yes, well, what excitement do you have for me today, Talia?"

  I fight back tears. I miss this with him.

  "I was just thinking. I have a bio star fuel tank that was pretty shaken up with the explosion, and you have a new fuelie over there that hasn't tank walked yet, am I right?"

  He grunts. "He hasn't done much of anything."

  "Isn't he doing well?" My stomach sinks. This fuelie has been my competition over the years. I know he's good.

  "Not very well organized. And I had to make sure he was actually training the crews at each gas stop," Reyes huffs.

  I grin. "He'll get the hang of it. He's good, Captain. He just needs time and experience. Which is why I'm calling you. I think it would be good if he did the tank walk with me. So he'll know what it feels like, and what to look for."

  "Hands on experience? Sure, that'll be good for him. You doing it today?"

  "Yes. I have a few things to do first, but by the time it takes him to get here, I'll be ready."

  "Sounds good. And Talia?"

  "Yes, sir?"

  "It's good hearing your voice. Stay safe over there."

  "Same here. And yes, I will."

  The comm goes silent, and I hurry to get my preparations done before the fuelie gets here. I work with Doc to make sure that all the parts we think we'll need to repair the damage are either on their way here or are being printed. The outside ship material is rolling out of the large 3D printer as I walk by, the familiar smell and sound causing anxious memories. It takes special materials to make sheeting for the outside of our ships. The only other time I've made it was when the Gryphon was struck by a bunch of asteroids as we were entering this new galaxy. We were able to fix those while still moving, but it was touch and go for a while. It was my first hands on experience with what an asteroid can do to a ship.

  My comm blinks, and I answer. "Talia here."

  "Tan is here from the Gryphon," the dock master replies.

  "I'll be right down."

  Down in the busy docks, I find Tan waiting with several hover crates of tools and supplies.

  "Hey, Tan, how are you?" The fuelie has a strong handshake, and I smile knowing that he's also almost a foot taller than me. I look like a kid next to him, even though we’re about the same age.

  "Good, Talia. Thanks for including me in on this. This is one experience I haven't had yet."

  Tan had been stuck on the gas cats until I pulled him onto the Gryphon last year to work with me in engineering. I'd hoped to get him up to speed before he had to take over for me; I just didn't realize it would be this soon.

  "I need to make sure the Gryphon is in good hands." I smack him on the shoulder and head toward the door.

  "So, you really are going to stay on this ship?"

  "Yes, I am. It's a good opportunity for me. Not only will I be the youngest engineer on a habitat, I'll be part of the crew that gets to see our new planet first." Grief that Zayn isn't here washes cold over me.

  Thankfully, the corridors are busy, so Tan and I have to walk single file along the wall. I need the time to pull myself together.

  Once on the lift it's just the two of us. "It does sound like a great opportunity for you. And because of that, for me as well." He chuckles. "I thought I'd never move up with the great Miss Jade in charge of the Gryphon."

  "Seriously? Is that how everyone talks about me?"

  "Well, that and other things. But don't worry about it, it's just because we're all just jealous of you."

  The lift stops on the engineering level, and we step off, bringing the hover crates with us. I have to raise my voice in the loud bay to be heard. "What's there to be jealous of? I just work hard and concentrate on my job." I shrug.

  "You're more than just hard work, Talia. You have a natural talent for diagnosing problems. You not only use your in-depth knowledge of the systems, but you’re capable of listening to the rhythms, the patterns, the sounds of everything working together.” He stops and turns toward me. “You know, my people have an ancient story about one of our ancestors much like you, except they communicated with animals and spirits, not machinery."

  "So you think I'm like some kind of machinery whisperer?" I push down the laughter trying to bubble up.

  "Hey, it's a true thing. Don't dismiss the idea just because it's an ancient story. Sometimes those stories are still true today, just not as talked about."

  "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you." I place a hand on his arm.

  "It's all right. I sometimes talk too much." He tries to walk again, but I hold tig
htly to his arm.

  One of the supply bots buzzes in front of us, passing within centimeters.

  "Whoa! What was that?"

  I let go of his arm and start walking again. "That is one of the supply bots. They run on a regular pattern throughout engineering, so keep an eye out for them." I grin.

  "What other surprises does this ship have?" Tan asks as we hurry across the open space.

  I laugh. "Actually it has many, but I think the best one is real hot water showers."

  "Real water? Not sani-showers?"

  "Yep. There's only been a skeleton crew on board the last few years, so the engineers had time to design a recycled hot water system that is absolutely amazing. You'll want to stay overnight at least," I tease.

  "No wonder you like it here," Tan says with awe in his voice.

  "I'll show you the designs. Maybe you could work on your own design for the Gryphon."

  "That would be great."

  We take the crates to the fuel room, and I give him a quick tour. The only computer in the fuel room is on the far end, away from the bio fuel tank entrance. I jack my cube into it and pull up the layout of the tank. I show Tan where the damage was close to one side of the tank. There is no physical damage visible to the giant tank, but I explain to him that some of the components inside it might’ve gotten shaken up. Since we have to empty the tank anyway to prepare for adding the bio star fuel plant, it's a perfect time to inspect the insides.

  "So that's what we’re dealing with. You ready for this, Tan?"

  "That's what I'm here for," he says. I love his excitement and passion for this work. He’ll be good for the Gryphon.

  I grin. "Then let's get our suits on. Looks like they've finished draining all the fuel." One of the gas cats is docked right outside and is holding the fuel for us.

  We get our space suits and add an extra layer of protection over the thin material. This extra layer was formulated years ago to protect us from the bio star fuel. If we were to be completely immersed in the fuel, the material wouldn't do much good. But for small exposures like standing in an empty fuel tank, it works just fine.

  I pull on my helmet and wait for the interface to connect, my vision focused on the fuel room. At the far side, the floor ends at the round edge of the fuel tank. Along the walls are the conduits that pull power and data through the tank.

  I walk over to the hatch. Tan is right beside me with several small crates of specially treated diagnostic equipment and tools we'll bring in with us.

  The hatch takes a bio scan and a twenty-digit code. Then we have to crank a manual old-style wheel to open it. There isn't much chance of anyone accidentally opening this tank door.

  I grin as the door swings open and the sweet aroma of bio star fuel sneaks into my suit before it compensates with extra air filtering. Tan's expression is curious and a bit excited too. Good, he's not scared. Over the years I've only physically seen Tan a few times when we did spacewalks, and again I'm impressed by his strong cheekbones and square jaw. His dark eyes sparkle in the light of our helmets. They're completely different than Zayn's ice blue eyes. I look away, frustrated that everything seems to come back to Zayn.

  The tank is in decent condition, and we find only a few minor repairs to make. We exit and lock the hatch up tight. I strip the outer cover off my suit and feed it into the recycler set into the wall.

  I comm Commander Saj. "We're done here, Commander. The fuel tank is in good condition and is ready for the next phase."

  "Glad to hear. Listen, I didn't want to bother you while you were in the tank, but I need you up on the bridge right now."

  "I didn't think I needed to talk to the Council for a few hours still." I wanted to be further along on this project before I had to give an update.

  "It's not the Council. It's Commander Mise's jump ship. They've sustained damage in the asteroid belt following Captain Kae."

  My body flushes hot with panic and my limbs feel like lead. "I'll be right there."

  CHAPTER 20

  Worst Case Scenario

  Instead of waiting for the sanitizer to clean my suit, I strip it off right outside the fuel room. Thankfully, I’ve got a jumpsuit underneath this time.

  "Can you take this through the sanitizer please? I'll return as soon as I can."

  "Sure, Talia. Hope everything is all right with your friend."

  I pause for just a second before I turn and hurry across engineering. I wanted to ask Tan what he knew about Destry and Zayn. I wonder if everyone knows that Zayn and I broke up. I bite my lip as I hit the lift button. Was there actually ever anything official between us that we could break?

  Voices buzz all over the bridge as I step out of the lift. I head toward the main console.

  "Talia, good. Listen to this."

  Over the comm comes a chaos of voices.

  "Can you fix that?" the Commander says to his comm officer.

  I cringe. Something's not right. "Where is this transmission coming from, Commander?"

  "The asteroid belt. It's so rich in minerals that it's messing with our signal," he says grimly. "This is from several ships all at once. I need to focus in on Commander Mise's." His voice is an order, and his comm officer apologizes nervously.

  The chaos doesn't subside. I step forward. "Commander, may I?"

  "Yes, you might as well try. It seems we either have the comm lines from them all at once, or nothing. I'm afraid to lose them again."

  The comm officer gets up, and I slip into his seat. I immediately jack my cube in and isolate the comm signals and the local incoming signals. "I have to halt all traffic from your ship for a bit, Commander." I cut all local comms and focus the whole ship's comm system toward the asteroid belt. One by one, I separate and send the signals not coming from Destry to the secondary comm where the comm officer has taken over. My mouth is dry as I concentrate on listening for Destry's voice. My heart feels like it’s going to explode in my chest.

  Finally, I have just Destry's signal, and I put it up on the main audio so everyone can hear.

  "...close. We need assistance. Is there anyone out there that can hear us? This is Commander–”

  I boost our signal. "Destry! Can you hear me?" I adjust the settings as I hear variances in the audio.

  "...Talia? Is that you? We've boosted our signal as much as we can."

  "Yes, Destry. What's happened? What is your situation?" My chest squeezes.

  "Kae surprised us. And the asteroid belt is denser than we imagined. We were struck and disabled."

  "What about your other ships? And Captain Kae?"

  "The other ships didn't follow us in here. They're hovering just outside, but aren't capable of coming in after us. Kae got away. I'm not sure where she is."

  "Why won't the other ships come help you with repairs? Or tow you out of there?" I grit my teeth as I keep the signal stable. Those ships are full of the best of our security forces. They should be trained for any situation.

  "Their ships aren't shielded as well as my jump ship. And none of their pilots are confident enough to try coming in here."

  I punch the side of the console. "How long do you have? What exactly is damaged?" My stomach churns, as the situation feels worse and worse.

  "My crew has done all they can. We should have life support for at least another few hours. Almost all of our systems were damaged when our engine was struck."

  I cover my mouth. "Hours? What about your backup engine?"

  "It's currently keeping us out of the path of other asteroids. Barely. It's not strong enough to get us out of here, though."

  The bridge crew goes silent as that sinks in.

  "Destry, are there any other ships that you've upgraded like yours? Any others that could make it in there?"

  A long pause. "After Zayn's accident I upgraded his ship so he wouldn't have any other run-ins with asteroids like he did. Obviously, it's not perfect as my current situation proves, but it's the best in the fleet."

  I groan. "Okay, hang
on."

  "Talia, whatever you do, do not send Zayn out here," Destry pleads.

  "That would honestly be my last choice, Destry. Stand by." I mute the channel and turn to Commander Saj.

  "What do you think, Commander? Do you know of any other way to save them other than sending in another ship?"

  "No, not from here. It would take any of the habitats too long to reach him. That backup engine won’t last any longer than his life support. But I'm afraid that decision has been taken out of our hands." His voice is dark as he looms over me.

  "What do you mean? The Council? They have to let us try to save them."

  "No, it's not them. Check your forward sensors, Miss Jade." His careful enunciation of every word sends a painful shiver down my spine.

  I pull up the sensors on my cube. On the other side of the Blue Ridge is a ship heading toward the asteroid belt. "Oh no. Someone has left the Blue Ridge already." I state the obvious as my stomach threatens to upheave the protein bar from this morning.

  "Yes, Miss Jade. Can you see which ship?"

  I reroute Midpoint station's sensors to amplify ours. The image jumps and comes into perfect view. Scarp it all to hades! Hot tears threaten to overflow.

  "Is that the ship Commander Mise was talking about?"

  I want to scream and cry all at the same time. "Yes, it's Zayn's scout ship." It could be anyone flying that ship, right? My heart tells me I’m lying to myself.

  "Navigation has pinpointed the Commander's ship, Miss Jade," says the comm officer next to me. "He's stuck about halfway through the asteroid field. So far there aren't any large objects heading his way.

  "Well that's one good thing I guess."

  I run my fingers rapidly over the comm system. "Firebolt Wasp, answer your comm," I order, my voice wavering. I clear my throat and wait.

  "Talia?" comes Zayn's voice.

  I hang my head as I feel the tears running down my face. I take a deep breath before answering. "Zayn, what on Charon’s ice are you doing?"

  "I'm going to save my dad. I had our comm systems linked to his channel. Even before you linked into his comm, I knew something was wrong."