by Jason Hutt
Max shook his head and swallowed hard.
“It should’ve never happened,” he finally continued, “So I make sure nothing like that will ever happen again. I know every part of this ship, every nuance, every eccentricity. I can never let anything like that happen again.”
Max tapped a couple of buttons on the console and a picture of a smiling, happy ten-year-old appeared above the console. She looked like any other happy kid. She had long, curly brown hair, a slightly gap-toothed smile, and a mass of freckles on her cheeks. Max squeezed the tears out of his eyes.
“You’re not supposed to outlive your kids,” Max said softly, “I’d give anything to have her back. A day doesn’t go by when I don’t wish I had done something differently that day.”
“I’m sorry, Max,” Nick offered weakly. He couldn’t really understand Max’s pain, but he could easily see how strongly the rugged and strong-willed man was affected. He could think of nothing else to do or say, so he stood there in the hatchway in what felt like a silent vigil for the long departed little girl.
“So am I, Nick. So am I.”
***
Chapter 7
Nick slept exceptionally sound that night. Opening up to Max had lifted a burden from his chest; he could breathe again. With a bit of a spring in his step, he grabbed a quick cup of coffee from the galley and made his way to the cockpit, where he could hear Max and Reggie chatting.
“What’s the data telling you, Reggie?” Max asked.
“There’s a 99% probability that the containers are the source. All other sources have been eliminated.”
“Good morning,” Nick said as he entered. Max once again had his boots up on the console with his fingers laced behind his head.
“Good morning, sir,” Reggie replied. Max simply gave him a nod as he chewed on the inside of his lip.
“How are the CO2 levels this morning?” Nick asked.
“Present readings show the carbon dioxide levels are at three millimeters of mercury and holding,” Reggie said.
“We’ve got nothing to worry about, Nick. At full capacity, the ship’s systems can handle over a hundred people being on-board. I just don’t like to run things at full capacity; causes too much wear and tear.”
Max suddenly swung his feet down to the deck with a loud clang and stood up.
“Come on,” he said, “Let’s see if we can find out what we’re carrying.”
Nick quickly chugged down half his cup and scampered after Max and Reggie. Max stopped briefly in the corridor to grab a tool bag from his quarters. Moments later, the three of them stood staring at a stack of five of the jet black crates.
“Any ideas on how we break into it?” Max asked. They had found no seam, no exterior control panel, no air vents, and no access ports. The crate looked like one solid block of metal.
“It’s possible Doctor Sinclair used a shape memory alloy to construct the box,” Reggie said, “The actuator to get the material to change its shape could be a communications signal of some sort. I could try a range of frequencies, sir, and see if there’s any response.”
“Are we sure that’s a good idea?” Nick asked. “These are supposed to be weapons, right? I’d hate to accidentally set something off.”
Max frowned. “I feel like I’m violating the Doctor’s trust just poking around this thing. I hate not knowing what the hell’s causing this though. Reggie, if the box is sealed, are we just seeing off-gassing?”
“Possibly,” Reggie said, “I could attach some sensors to the crate in order to confirm that.”
“Do it,” Max said. Reggie trundled back to the forward section of the ship and returned a few minutes later with two palm-sized, flat cylinders. Reggie tapped a couple of spots on the face of the cylinder and a couple of indicator lights came on. Reggie then placed the sensor in the middle of one side of the crate.
“It should take-”
There was a slight crackling sound and small tendrils of electricity washed over the sensor. It detached from the crate and fell to the ground.
“That was odd,” Reggie said.
Max had a tight-lipped grimace on his face. Reggie configured the second sensor and moved to attach it to the crate.
“Not sure that’s a good idea,” Nick said. As the sensor made contact with the crate, bolts of electricity immediately washed over the sensor and then arced across Reggie with a loud crackle. Max and Nick winced at the bright flash and loud squelch that Reggie emitted.
A moment later, the flow of current stopped and Reggie dropped to his knees.
Max ran up to him. “Are you okay?”
Reggie didn’t respond. A red indicator light appeared on his chest. Another light appeared next to it, blinking rapidly.
“What now?” Nick asked.
“He’s rebooting,” Max said, “Should be back on-line in a minute.”
“Well, I don’t think we should try that again,” Nick said.
“I wholeheartedly agree, sir,” Reggie responded.
Max cracked a smile and slapped Reggie on the shoulder. “That was a close one. Don’t have time to replace all of your processors today. Log all that, Reggie. Let’s note the issue and we’ll take it up with Aldous when we return. Let’s leave these things alone for now.”
“Any reason not to trust Sinclair on this one?” Nick asked. “Whole thing seems strange.”
“Aldous Sinclair is a good man, Nick. He’s done more-.”
“I know,” Nick interrupted, “You’ve told me. But, do you really trust him?”
“He’s done a lot for my own family, Nick. So, yes, I trust him. I’m sure there’s a good reason for all of this.”
***
Nick was taking a nap on the couch in the lounge when Max woke him with a nudge.
“Wake up, kid,” Max said, “We’re almost at the jump point.”
Nick blinked, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes and the fog from his mind. He got up slowly. A minute later, they took their seats in the cockpit, taking the time to strap themselves into the seats. Nick looked up just in time to see a bright flash of light out the right side of the window. Max checked the display. Two ship transponders continued to broadcast.
“Looks like Charlie just jumped,” Max reported, “We’re last in the cue.”
Nick nodded. He reached forward and tapped on his console initiating diagnostics on several of the Hannah’s critical systems. The main computer ran a health status check, followed by the jump controller, and the reactor controller. Within a minute, they all came back in the green. Nick gave Max a thumbs-up.
Max initiated the reactor spin-up. A countdown timer appeared on his display. In thirty minutes, they would be ready to jump. Nick felt a little tightness in his gut in anticipation of the jump. He found out on the trip from Valhalla to Nexus that he was one of the ten percent of people who didn’t handle them well. He knew he would feel a few minutes of disorientation afterwards and more than a little bit of nausea. Nick had skipped lunch, just to be sure.
“You okay, Nick?” Max asked. “You look a little pale.”
Nick tapped his foot nervously on the floor as he poured over the telemetry data on his console. “Just not a fan of the jump.”
“Do I need Reggie to fetch you a bucket?”
“Very funny,” Nick said.
At that moment, Reggie’s voice broke through the intercom, “Propulsion systems nominal. Report ready for jump.”
Nick’s attention turned to the jump beacon that floated roughly fifty meters ahead of them. Blinking red and green lights on either end of the beacon held Nick’s gaze. It was just about that time. The countdown clock flashed red as it fell under one minute remaining. Nick double-checked his restraints then waited for the jump to initiate. His right hand was holding on to the edge of the console so tightly that his knuckles were white. Max smiled at him.
“What?” Nick asked.
“Nothing, kid,” Max responded, shaking his head.
As the timer hit zer
o, Nick felt himself being pulled forward, stretched through space-time. The cockpit filled with an almost blinding white light. Then, seconds later, it was over. Nick’s stomach heaved. He blinked his eyes and breathed deep, willing himself calm. Sweat broke out along his forehead and he began to doubt that he would be able to hold it together.
Within a minute, the feeling passed and Nick began to breathe normally.
“You know, Nick,” Max said, “Not really good for a spaceship pilot to suffer from jump sickness. This might not be the career for you.”
“I’m fine,” Nick said, slightly agitated.
“You sure you can handle it?”
“I’m good,” Nick said.
It took only a few minutes for Nick to feel like they were back in civilization. He could make out dozens of blue and white thrusters firing against the backdrop of space and stars. Whereas Max and his three friends were piloting the only ships departing Dust, new ships were arriving every five minutes at this Nexus Station jump beacon.
The ship’s computer established a connection with the local network and emitted a chime. At that moment, Nick’s wrist computer started beeping and vibrating. Nick looked at the display; dozens of messages were filtering in. Two messages were from his mother, imploring him to come home. A couple of messages were from friends, wondering where he had gone. The rest were from his father.
You can’t hide from me.
I’m getting close, Nick. Hope you’re ready to see me.
You’re an ungrateful, little brat.
Stealing is wrong, Nick. I thought we taught you better than that.
Message after message scrolled across his display. His father became increasingly irritated with the passage of time. With each message he read through, his mouth dried out a little more until his tongue felt like a dried up, but swollen piece of meat. Nick read the last message.
You must realize, Nick, that your actions will have dire consequences.
Nick tried to swallow.
“You okay? You look a little pale again.”
Nick nodded weakly. “I’m okay.”
“Bullshit,” Max said, “What is it?”
Nick gritted his teeth and stared at the face of his wrist computer for a moment. His fist was tightly clenched. He slowly released it and stretched out his fingers.
“Messages from my father,” Nick said, “He’s still looking for me.”
Nick touched a spot on the face of the screen and the messages were projected above the cockpit console. Max read them for a moment before letting out a long, slow whistle.
“Your old man is a piece of work, Nick.”
“Yeah,” Nick said, nodding.
“You’ll be better off facing him; getting this over with. Then, you can put it behind you and start figuring out what to do with the rest of your life. You’ll be glad when it’s done.”
“I’m sure,” Nick said with little conviction. His right hand started trembling and he hid it from Max’s view. “If you don’t mind, I need a few minutes.”
“Sure thing, kid. Nothing to it from here anyway,” Max said. Max laid in a course for the shining silver dot on the horizon that was Nexus Station as Nick got up from his chair. Nick dazedly walked down the hallway to his room and closed the door behind him.
***
Max stared out the cockpit window as dozens of ships from dozens of colonies converged on Nexus Station. His eyes were focused on the spot where Nick’s messages from his father had just been displayed. The content of the messages stunned him; he couldn’t fathom sending anything like that to his own flesh and blood.
If his daughter was still alive, she would’ve been about a year older than Nick. She would’ve been the one trying to find her place in the universe; she would’ve been trying to assert her independence. Nick didn’t need to be threatened; he needed guidance. He needed someone to show him a good example.
Max sighed and shook his head. He was about to get up and head to the lounge when Nick popped back into the cockpit.
“What needs to be done around here?” Nick asked. “I could use something to help pass the time.”
Max looked the young man over for a minute. Nick’s jaw was clenched; his expression resigned. Whereas so many other times Nick’s gaze was cast at the floor, now he locked eyes with Max ready to get on with things.
“You can change out some of the urine processor filters in the head,” Max said, “It’s a bit of hazardous work, but I always like to change them out before I hit Nexus so I can stock up on a fresh supply.”
Nick frowned slightly but smiled back at Max. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s not too bad, Nick. Less gross than it sounds.”
“I’ll do it,” Nick said.
“Want me to walk you through it?”
Nick shook his head. “I’ll follow the procedure. If I run into problems, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good,” Max said. Nick turned and left and Max was once again in the cockpit alone. He’s still just a kid, Max thought.
***
“Maisha,” Nick said, “If I could go anywhere in the galaxy, I’d go to Maisha.”
Max gave him a slow whistle and said, “Nothing like reaching for the stars on that one, Nick.”
Max looked down at the virtual cards he had been dealt. He had a pair of jacks with the dealer program showing another jack. Max looked around the table at the three-dimensional, photorealistic projections of Charlie, Roman, and Zanth. They each had lost most of their money and were down to their last few dollars. Nick was in a little bit better position, but his eyes looked tired and heavy. They had been playing for the last hour, trying to make the final stretch to Nexus bearable.
“Think about it though,” Nick said, “A world untouched by human hands. The only world we’ve discovered with a developing intelligent civilization. But they’re primitive, in their relative stone age. You could get away from all this crap, roll back time, and live like our ancestors did thousands of years ago.”
“In the heat,” Charlie said.
“Or cold,” Zanth added, “With no connectivity.”
“You can pry my ability to watch robo-ball from my cold, dead hands,” said Roman.
“Not me,” Nick said, “I’d love to sail across those open seas, hike up those mountains and just take it all in.”
“Max, it sounds like he’s got your first date all planned out,” Charlie said.
“Very funny,” Max retorted, “Way to pick a place you can never go. Maisha is off limits to anything and everything. It’s the one thing the Republic’s done right.”
“Have you ever been there?” Nick asked.
Max nodded in the affirmative, “I delivered a shipment of spare parts for an observation team that was doing some sort of migration study. They had set up shop on Maisha’s moon. They were shut down though after their grant ran out. No idea if anyone’s ever been back there.”
“What was it like?”
“From space? Just another floating marble,” Max said, “Just like all these other worlds. From that high up, every planet is beautiful. You have to get close to the surface to see any scars that humanity has left behind.”
“That’s the great thing about Maisha,” Nick said, “No scars.”
“Don’t you guys give him a hard time for being a romantic,” Charlie chided, “Kid, keep on dreaming and maybe you’ll find a better lot for yourself than we have.”
Nick called but Max took the hand.
“I think that’s it for me,” Roman said, “I want to get a little shuteye before we reach the station.”
The others agreed and the game came to an end. They each said their goodbyes and then Max deactivated the game link.
“That was fun,” Nick said, “Thanks for setting that up.”
Max shrugged. “Something we like to do whenever we get the good fortune of making a run together.”
Nick stretched and yawned, extending his arms as far behind his back as he coul
d.
“Think I’ll try to get some rest,” he said as he got up from the table.
“Nick,” Max said and then he hesitated as Nick looked back at him with tired eyes. “If you’re not ready to do this, to face your father, I understand.”
“I…I don’t know.”
“I think your father needs to calm down a bit, judging by those messages,” Max said, nodding towards Nick’s wrist computer, “You can stay on-board the ship. It’ll probably be a day or so, but I think you can survive cooped up in this can that long.”
“Won’t they pick my chip up with a scan?”
“I have ways around that, Nick. You wouldn’t be the first person I’ve had to, uh, be discrete about.”
Nick let out a long, slow breath and shook his head. He stood there for a moment without saying anything. Max watched him; he could see that Nick was trying to figure out the right thing to do. Finally, Nick stood up straight and looked Max in the eye.
“Thank you, Max. Thank you. Whatever I can do to repay you, let me know.”
Max gave him a smile. “You’ve earned your keep, kid. We’ll get through this.”
Chapter 8
“Contact Echo-Sierra-Victor-Two-One-Five-Alpha this is Nexus Control, we have you on final approach,” the controller’s voice boomed over the cockpit speaker, “You are clear for docking port one-niner.”
“Copy, one-niner,” Max replied. Nexus Station loomed in front of them; its cylindrical shape completely filled their view. The curved surface of the station facing them was littered with brightly lit docking ports cut into the smooth gray exterior of the station. Just at the edge of their view, Nick could see the jagged forms of control towers that dotted the edge of the cylinder’s rim. The station dwarfed the Hannah and the hundreds of other ships that buzzed around it like a swarm of very organized bees.
Nick spared a quick glance at the traffic around them. A dozen or more ships were on parallel trajectories, each headed for a different docking port. Floating just above and below their plane of approach, Nick made out the silhouettes of a couple of security patrol ships with the Conglomerate logo prominently emblazoned on the sides of the ships.
