Talia's Planet

by Heather Lee Dyer

"It's not quite over yet, Zayn. Let me know as soon as you get over to his ship how he and his crew are. We've got a recycle jump ship on its way. Looks like the Aurora is dead in the belt now."

  "Oh, no. We need that fuel plant. What are we going to do?"

  "I'm not sure yet. Now that Destry's out, and hopefully safe, I'll look into the Aurora's condition. Let me know the minute you get to your father, all right?"

  "Yes, I will. And thanks, Talia."

  I mute the comms and pull up more sensor readings of the area where the Aurora disappeared. I find her near the edge, but drifting. I type in more commands for Midpoint's sensors and wait for the response.

  I startle when a hand falls heavy on my shoulder and squeezes.

  "Sorry, Talia, didn't mean to scare you."

  "Doc. I thought you were in engineering." I slump back down in my seat.

  "I wanted to bring you something to eat. It's not much, but you've missed a few meals."

  "Thank you, Doc." I eat the protein bar he's brought me. The seat next to me creaks as he sits down. We sit there in silence. I keep one hand on my comm screen, waiting. I'm assuming Doc is watching the same thing on the vids above us.

  My computer beeps, and I shove the rest of the bar in my mouth and answer Midpoint's communication. "It's ready." I pull up all the vids and concentrate all of the newly aligned sensors toward the Aurora.

  "What did you have Midpoint do?" Doc asks.

  "The Aurora is in a mineral rich area of the asteroids. I recalibrated the sensors for bio star fuel. That way her tank will light up bright on the sensors and be easier to track. Before I was just getting blurry images of her general coordinates."

  "I didn't think our sensors could do that."

  "I've used something similar to this with our gas cats. There were a few times when we thought we had a leak in a tank, but the built-in sensors couldn't detect anything. I realized then that the sensors were only programmed to detect gaps in the tank. But I reconfigured the sensors to detect the bio star fuel instead. This helped us find not cracks, but bolts and seams that were loose or separated enough to cause the tiny atoms of the bio star fuel to escape. So I did the same thing with Midpoint."

  "Good thinking, Talia. Sounds like you had to get creative as a fuelie."

  I smile. "Yes–” A piercing alarm interrupts, and I sit up and run my fingers over my computer. It's all garbage data coming in from the sensors. I tilt my head and try to stop the influx of nonsense, wondering now what in Charon's ice is going on.

  "Well this isn't good," Doc says beside me.

  CHAPTER 22

  More Sabotage

  I can barely hear Commander Saj's voice over the alarm wailing throughout the ship. "Talia, I need you to reboot."

  "Reboot what?" I shout back through the open comm channel.

  "The whole ship. It's not responding to any of my commands."

  The data is still not making any sense, and we're getting warnings flashing in every ship's system. I worry about the interruption to our communications with Destry and Zayn.

  "Doc, what do you think? Will a reboot stop this? And why can't he do it from up there?" I'm kind of hoping the vids above us aren't as scrambled as my computer says they are.

  "I'm not sure, but something is damaging our systems. He must think you know how to reboot even though he can't."

  I try the normal commands. Nothing. Then I remember the security codes from the Council. I enter those in. I have to do it several times since it keeps erasing my commands as I type. I finally get the whole sequence in and hit enter.

  The alarm suddenly goes silent, leaving my ears ringing. Every system under my fingers goes off, except for life support. To turn off life support it takes a physical trip down to the bowels of the ship.

  I try to pop my ears as I wait. "Doc, did you see anything on the monitors before that happened?" I'm really nervous now about Destry and Zayn. They won't know what happened and won't be able to reach us.

  "No, all the vids just went to static right before the alarms went off."

  The systems flicker under my fingers as I get messages from all over the ship that a reboot is in process. Come on, hurry up, ship!

  "I wonder if we overloaded our ship's capabilities with all the modifications we made between here and Midpoint station?" Doc enters some commands into the computer next to me.

  Anxious energy pulses through me, and I have to stand up. "Maybe. But with our upgraded hardware we should've been all right."

  "Then this must've been done to us on purpose," he states flatly.

  "Like more sabotage? Maybe something we missed?"

  "Could be."

  "Great. She really had this place set up to fail. Did we ever find out who helped her?"

  "I heard two engineers left with her. If someone stayed here they've been blending in with the rest of the crew."

  I frown. "We missed something."

  "It's got to be code, not hardware this time. How could she have hidden code in something that would need the whole ship to shut down?"

  I look toward Doc. "Life support." A bolt of electricity goes up my spine. "Oh scarp it. Doc, don't let the systems turn back on yet. I've got to get down to life support. I bet there's a data cube jacked in doing this." I turn toward the lift.

  "All the lifts will be dead. You can't get there."

  "Yes, I can. The maintenance shafts," I yell over my shoulder as I jog out into the corridor and find the maintenance door. I run my fingers along the seam until I find the mechanical latch and push it. The door pops open with a metallic whisper.

  I step onto the metal rungs and start climbing downward. I picture the schematics of the Resurrection again as I go down. If they didn't change anything, it should be four levels down, right above the seal where the Biolab Zeg interfaces with the habitat.

  I groan inwardly as I remember all the animals and fish and other life forms in the Biolab that probably aren't doing well without power. I hurry faster down the rungs.

  When I reach the correct level, I pop open the door into the corridor startling someone walking in the dark.

  "Sorry," I say as I brush past. I keep one hand along the wall, the other outstretched so I don’t run into anyone else.

  I reach the life-support room and swear solidly as I realize the scanner won't work without power. There has to be a manual way of getting the door open in an emergency like this. I feel around the edges of the door.

  Nothing.

  I grit my teeth and punch the wall in frustration. There's got to be a way. Zayn and Destry are counting on me–I need those comms working. I turn back to the wall and use both hands to feel the whole length of the wall this time. About ten feet away from the main door I feel the edge of a recessed emergency door. It would’ve been nearly invisible to someone with sight. I push all around the edges until it pops open.

  "Yes!" I quickly step inside and get my bearings. This is the room that has all the controls for every part of life support. Air, water, electricity, fuel pumps, and anti-gravity. Where would she jack a cube in that would do the most damage, but be hidden enough to avoid routine maintenance inspections? I walk the perimeter of the room checking each computer console, but I find nothing. Then I remember how I was able to use the plumbing system on Midpoint to draw power for my cube. She could've done the same thing.

  I find the plumbing system and search around the wastewater and fresh water controls. I reach through the tangle of wires and feel as deep into the wall as I can.

  My fingers brush up against the square edge of a box. My adrenaline spikes, and I follow its surface to find it plugged into an emergency circuit. I pull the jack free and pull the cube through the tangle of wires.

  The room, warmer than it should be right now, is suddenly filled with a quiet strobing alarm. I quickly cross the room and switch on the emergency comm system. Just unplugging the cube hopefully stopped whatever kind of virus was in the system.

  "Doc?"

  "Talia. Ye
s, I hear you," Doc's relieved voice echoes. "You must've found it?"

  "Yes, it was hooked into the wastewater system. The ship should auto-reboot now. I'm coming back up. Can you comm Destry and Zayn and make sure they're all right?"

  "Sure can. See you soon."

  I take the maintenance shaft again, not wanting to wait for the lifts to come back online. I tuck the cube under one arm and hurry upward. When I enter the comm level, I can hear Zayn's voice. My whole body warms at that wonderful sound.

  He doesn't sound upset, so he must be all right. I take a deep breath and join Doc at the comm.

  "Here she is. Talia, both ships are stable, Destry and his crew are aboard with Zayn. They just need to know what to do next."

  "Hey, Zayn." I plop exhausted into my seat and hand Doc the cube.

  "Sounds like you had some of your own excitement over there."

  "Yes, Kae strikes again. Why can't we be rid of all her already?" I shake out my hands and place them on my computer.

  "I don't how we've gotten this far with all the problems she's caused."

  "So, your dad's all right?" I'm tired of talking about Kae.

  "He and his crew are shaken up quite a bit. Bruises and sprains, mostly. The ship has a huge hole in its side."

  "You're going to need to tow it back with the tractor beam."

  "What about the Aurora? Do we need to stay to do something about her?"

  "No, I've got the security forces ready for her. Thanks to the Council's assistance for once. And the recycle ship should be passing your location right about now, thanks to Commander Saj’s quick thinking." I work my fingers over the console, pulling up all the vids I had open before.

  "I see it. Now that I'm out of the asteroid field, my sensors are working again."

  "Good, why don't you guys head back now before anything else happens? Quickly." I know I sound grim, but my normally resilient nature has been tarnished over the last few weeks. I don't want to take any more chances, especially not with Zayn's life.

  "All right. I'll get the tractor beam set and head toward Blue Ridge. Let me know how things are going, all right?" His voice comes across the speaker deeper and full of emotion.

  "I will. And Zayn?"

  "Yes, Talia?"

  "I'm really happy that you're all right." But I leave out how sad I am that he’ll be going back to the Blue Ridge.

  "Thanks. Me too. Talk to you soon."

  We cut the comm, and I hear Doc shuffle in the seat next to me. I forgot he was here for a moment.

  The comm beeps again.

  "Miss Jade?"

  "I'm here, Commander Saj." My stomach twists expecting more bad news.

  "Did you get rid of whatever was poisoning my ship?"

  "Yes, sir. Kae had planted a data cube into the wastewater connector in life support. When I unjacked it, the emergency systems came back on."

  "Everything else is back up and working now, thanks to you. I'll be down in a few minutes."

  "I'll be right here." I slump into my chair and lean my head back.

  I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. I try to picture in my mind what's left to do. We've got Midpoint Station working, which has proven successful with its quality of images.

  Instead of a recycling mission into the asteroid belt, the engineers are retrofitting the new bio star fuel engine upgrades onto every habitat. The Blue Ridge will no longer be used for recycling or for going to Planet 1. I’m actually quite happy about that change of plans. I didn’t like the scans out of that galaxy.

  Which leaves the Resurrection. I groan inwardly. The project I'm actually in charge of and so far I'm behind. Now that we're unable to move more than just a crawl until the engine is totally rebuilt, we're going to fall behind as the Migration passes us. We'll need to make up time somehow.

  Okay, Talia that's the machines. What about the people?

  The people are unhappy with the decision to not recycle. They want the raw materials. But they really don't understand the danger in the asteroid belt. They've gotten comfortable living on our safe habitats where all of our needs are met.

  How are we going to forge new societies on a wild, untamed planet? How will we endure the problems and hardships that we'll encounter? There are very few of us left that have actually ever been on a planet, or worked hard on a recycler barge. Will we know what to do with all of our colonization supplies and machinery once we get there? Have we forgotten too much over the last generation?

  CHAPTER 23

  The Aurora

  Commander Saj is suddenly next to me. "You look deep in thought."

  I bolt upright, crashing my leg into the console.

  "Are you all right? I didn't mean to scare you."

  Doc snickers on the other side of me.

  I turn my head toward Doc. "You could've given me warning," I grumble.

  "Like the Commander said, you looked deep in thought. I didn't want to interrupt." The humor in his voice is obvious.

  "So what were you thinking about so deeply, Miss Jade?" Commander Saj asks in his quiet voice. I swear he's grinning.

  "I was going over how much more work there's still left to do. And it got me thinking how unprepared we are for the hardships that we'll face when we get to our new home."

  "Why do you think we're unprepared?"

  "Because our society is already unraveling. We have a rogue captain taking off away from the Migration, a whole habitat full of people that tried to follow her, and people everywhere rioting instead of pulling together. How have we not learned from our history? The whole reason we're in space looking for another planet is that we destroyed the last one, and most of our population with it." I sit back down, embarrassed at my frustrated outburst. "Sorry, I get worked up when I think about all the problems we've caused for ourselves."

  "You're right, of course. We're not ready to deal with the hardships of colonizing our new planet. Maybe that should be your next project. You can work with the Migration's first contact group to get our people ready for their new world." Commander Saj chuckles. "When we're done with this project, of course."

  Great. I just gave myself more work. "Interesting idea, Commander." I frown. "But, how are the repairs to the engine going? I've been dealing with Destry and Zayn and haven't had a chance to check in or ask Doc." Doc grunts next to me.

  "It's going well, actually. Doc here has them very well organized. He might give you some competition for Senior Engineer."

  I bite my lip. "Actually, I would be fine with that. Doc has proved invaluable to me and to this ship. And if you’re serious Commander Saj about me working with the first contact group, I would much rather do that than be Senior Engineer."

  A piercing alarm comes from my comm. I instinctively slap the channel open, my heart racing in my chest. "Talia here."

  "Talia, is the Commander there with you?" Destry's hard voice comes over the comm.

  "Yes, he's right here."

  "Good. That'll save me some time. Zayn and I are still on our way back to the Blue Ridge, but the security forces need to talk to you. Seems they couldn't get through the static. Can you raise them again?"

  I run my hand over the comm. "Oh no. When we rebooted, I lost the connection." Scarp it. "Sorry, I should've checked to make sure we were reconnected with them." I pull up the connection through Midpoint station again. "I'll talk to them right now. Thanks for passing that on, Destry. You guys must be far enough away from the asteroid belt to get a good signal. How are you doing?"

  "We're fine. Very angry she got away."

  "I totally understand. We'll make sure to get the Aurora back, though." I bite my lip and cut the comm with Destry, hoping we can fulfill that promise. I pull up all the vid screens again for Doc and Commander Saj to see. It looks like the Aurora is moving slightly toward the security force ships, which might mean her engines aren't as dead as we thought.

  I hurry and finish linking the comm connection. "Talia to jump ship Juneau."

  "This is
Captain Wiles of the Juneau. We're in place and awaiting orders."

  "I see that the Aurora is moving slightly toward you. Are any of your ships using a tractor beam on her?"

  "No, we can't even get a good signal on her. The asteroids are so mineral rich that our sensors can't penetrate. How are you able to see her?"

  "I'm using the Midpoint station's new equipment to boost my comm signals and sensors. The tech is working better than expected."

  "Good, then let us know when and at what coordinates we’ll see her."

  "I'm sending you the coordinates and distance right now." I send him the information using the same data stream.

  I turn to Commander Saj. "So the Aurora must still have some power. Which means we don't have any idea what she'll do when she's free of the belt."

  "Have the security forces fan out to block her from going farther."

  I nod and send that order to the captain.

  Doc speaks up. "Our engineering team is almost ready to try the new engines. They wanted us to know in case there's a power flux, and to get your blessing of course, Commander."

  "Excellent. Tell them to go ahead. I think this is the longest this ship has been still since we left Sol system. Makes me nervous," Commander Saj says as he paces behind us.

  I mash the comm button. "Captain, here she comes." I "watch" as the blip that is the Aurora passes through the edge of the asteroid belt and is suddenly in front of the semi-circle of security jump ships.

  I hold my breath, and I can feel Commander Saj and Doc leaning forward watching the vids overhead.

  The Aurora slows down and stops in front of the jump ships. Nobody moves.

  After a few heartbeats, I comm the captain. "Captain, how does she look? Do you have any communication from her?"

  "Negative. She's in rough shape. I'm surprised she was able to get out of there. Looks like she got tossed around quite a bit. Almost every side of her took damage, except for the bio star fuel plant tank–incredibly it looks undamaged. Someone knew how to protect it."

  A shiver goes up my spine. "Thank goodness." They must've maneuvered the ship so the tank was away from the storm of dirt and rocks, just as I had Zayn do with his ship.