Belters

by Greg Alldredge

  He only half played dumb this time. “Listen, lady, I’m only a rock pounder, I ain’t got none of that fancy learning…” Jacob hesitated before asking. “Why do I feel there is a but coming?”

  Sweets shrugged. “They are behind this heavy panel to keep fingers away… safely away from danger. The human body abhors high voltage… If we slip, we will be dead. Also, if the rods pull out and we can’t lower them…”

  “What?”

  Sweets snorted a sick laugh, “Boom, or maybe only a meltdown. Either way, we die.”

  “We will be dead soon, anyway.” The timer kept a steady pace.

  “My point…” The panel free, Sweets pushed it to Jacob’s waiting hands. “Time for something drastic, I think.”

  Jacob watched as the woman eyeballed the internal workings of the unit. For him, the interior was a mass of pretty lights and undistinguishable components. It would be a deadly gamble for him or Ava to try any of this.

  “Here goes nothing.” Sweets held her hand dangerously close to the glowing innards of the control box. A cold sweat dripped from the tip of her nose.

  Jacob didn’t hesitate, “Wait… Maybe I should be the one to stick my fingers inside that damn thing.” His guts tightened as soon as the words finished.

  Sweets shook her head and chuckled. “I’m not sure now is the time for misplaced gallantry or machismo… I am capable of doing this myself.”

  “You misunderstand, this is all about logic. If you fail, we all die. You and I both know Ava or I are not going to figure this damn problem out. However, if I do it and die, you have a second chance to try again… after…”

  “You’re dead.”

  Jacob forced a weak chuckle. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” He still had plans for a peaceful death if he had a choice.

  “I have to admit, your logic makes perfect sense, even if it rubs me the wrong way. Okay, cowboy, you get to play hero.” Sweets pushed away from the exposed unit. “You need to press right here… and touch nothing else.” Sweets pointed at a clear hunk of plastic that looked harmless enough. The blue, glowing rods surrounding the target all looked killer.

  “Or else…”

  “Yes. Or else…”

  Jacob took a deep breath, stalling. “I have to ask… How many volts we talking about?”

  “Enough to push a spaceship…”

  “Thanks… I figured as much.” He moved to push where she told him.

  Margaret’s words caused him to pause. “Besides, it isn’t the volts that kill, it’s the amps.”

  “Great, I’ll try to remember that.” Left hand braced on the panel, Jacob pushed his right hand where Margaret told him too.

  His body lit up with fire as the voltage coursed through him from a live wire he slipped and brushed against. A screaming reached his ears, but it couldn’t be his voice. His muscles seized at the jolt. He stopped breathing, body one giant spasm.

  In all his life, he’d never felt the pain that he did for that split second before he was thrown off the hot circuit and bounced off the far bulkhead, more like a rag doll than a broken human. Thankfully, somewhere between electrocution and impact, he lost consciousness. He was wrong, death was extremely painful.

  <=OO=>

  AD 2100 Inner Belt – Virgil

  The ship left Ceres Station and all the drama between the factions on the docks. Lea wanted to learn more about the riot and the strong-arm tactics of the corporations to shut down dissent, but right now, she didn’t dare search for any news about the incident. Chances were high she was monitored.

  She wanted to corner this Doctor Abe and choke some information from her in private, but there was no way that might happen any time soon. Due to her rash actions, Lea was committed to the journey now. No matter the cost. If she caused too many problems with the mission, she might be locked in her quarters, or worse. The deep dark of space was a large place, and easy to hide a body in.

  As a last-minute addition to the crew, the chances were good she never made the manifest listing the passengers of the Virgil. In a way, that was good. She would be safe if the people after her were other than FlyRight.

  If the conglomerate was the one behind her recent heartaches, Lea literally walked into the lion’s den with less than a stick for protection. That wasn’t completely true. The woman was not without a few skills to protect herself. Hopefully, she would not need to put them to the test. Space, after all, was not her prime element.

  The Virgil was huge compared to the scows she’d traveled on in the past. This one was a design she’d not seen before. In truth, she hadn’t seen outside the skin of the ship. Once Master Baal approved her joining the expedition, she was hustled into her small private quarters. Larger than anything she had on the Conveyor or the lift into orbit. At less than nine square meters, it was still larger than what she expected. This family ship must be made for the long hauls. That was the only explanation for such extravagant use of space.

  Her few things stowed, the time came for her to explore the ship. If there was any hope to discover what this Doctor Abe played at, she needed to know what obstacles lay before her. The palm of her hand opened the sliding door from her quarters, and right outside stood Tian, ready to key the intercom. Both took a reflexive step back as their noses nearly touched in the exchange.

  “I couldn’t believe it when I heard you made the ship.” Tian started in zer voice filled with youthful exuberance.

  “I can hardly believe it myself…” There was no lie in that statement.

  Tian prattled on, “If they didn’t tell you, you’ll need to make any last-minute calls or data queries within the hour. After that, all coms will be censored by the captain and Doctor Abe.”

  “What the hell?”

  “I know, right… It all sounds so mysterious. Just like a spy movie.” Tian grabbed Lea’s arm and pulled her from the safety of her quarters.

  Lea had worked in the dark before when a ship killed all coms, but it normally was some sort of research mission or, worse, a paramilitary vessel. However, those were always run on a corporate ship where the captain was god personified. On this family ship, it would be hard to keep secrets of any kind.

  Lea whispered while they walked down the corridor alone. “Do you know anything…? Do you have any idea what we have gotten mixed up in?”

  “Sorry… No… At least we have each other.” Tian remained too happy, like this whole experience was exciting. People normally thought naïve ideas like that right before the screaming and dying started.

  “We need to find out what the hell is going on.” Lea struggled to get the words out. Tian was all right to pass the time with, but her need for constant contact would only make Lea’s work all the tougher.

  “Have a little faith… I’m sure we are on the right path. Something larger than life put us here. Everything happens for a reason…”

  The weird clichés worried Lea nearly as much as the puzzling situation she was forced into.

  “Let me show you around. The galley is huge.” Tian yammered while giving her the grand tour. How the youngster learned so much in such a short amount of time was beyond Lea. The programmer might be a better source than she thought.

  Despite how cheerful the crew seemed, the passengers didn’t share their enthusiasm for being torn from their lives. No matter how Lea sliced it, this was going to be a long trip.

  Chapter 15:

  AD 2100 Inner Belt – Daniel Frazier

  Jacob opened his eyes to see Ava’s unusual shade of light green bloodshot eyes staring back at him.

  “What happened?” He tried to sit up, but a firm hand held him secure to the mattress. His face itched from the tubes that ran into his nose, and an IV trailed into his right arm.

  “Yo, dude, you died.” Ava’s voice had changed. Gone was the stress from earlier. Some of her misplaced cheerfulness had returned. At once, the exuberance wore on his nerves. His head felt like it had been sat on by an elephant.

  Jacob rec
ognized the Frazier’s infirmary. He was certain they hadn’t been rescued, if any of that nightmare was even real. He doubted this was any version of heaven, though perhaps hell. “What? What do you mean…? Let me up…” He wasn’t held down by a hand, but he was strapped on the medical couch. Bound tightly, he wasn’t going anywhere until the straps were released.

  Ava leaned back, and the strange woman from the Miyajima floated behind her, watching the pair. Her blanket had been replaced. Sweets now wore platformed sliver combat boots and patterned black on white pants with a black tank top. Jacob knew the garish outfit. Ava had worn it the first time they met.

  His friend kept chattering onward. “Your heart stopped for over ten minutes… Sweets here saved your ass. She did CPR…”

  Margaret spoke in her usual calm manner. “Consider us even.” It was the first he’d ever seen the stoic woman crack a sincere smile.

  “I didn’t know it was a contest. Wait, so I started the reactor?” The majority of events remained lost in a fog, but he remembered that part, the pain of it all.

  Sweets shook her head. “No… Technically I did, but your error gave me a clue where not to touch. So your pain was instrumental to my success. If you need the stroke to your ego, you may have it…”

  “And here I thought I was a hero.” He tried to sit up once more. “Why do you have me tied down?”

  Sweets continued to explain, “There was a fear the damage might have caused more harm than the medical computer was able to diagnose.” She cleared her throat. “We didn’t want you floating off while we rested.”

  He understood Sweets’s words, but the meaning didn’t register at first. “Rested… how long was I out?”

  “Some time.” Sweets looked at the scanners.

  “How long, damn it…? Is the Frazier safe?” Jacob wanted to ask if he was safe, but the words seemed so self-centered coming from a hero.

  Ava cut in, “Two rest cycles… forty-eight hours. Listen, that isn’t important, you needed the rest. But I need to ask you the important question…”

  He had lost two days. Hopefully, some work had been completed. The women would not have lounged about while he slept, no matter how involved he wanted to be. He asked, “What question?”

  Ava leaned back in, her words whispered softly, like the question was forbidden knowledge. “Did you see the light… have a near-death experience, or maybe a visit from a long-dead loved one? What is death like?”

  “Sorry, no… no light… or anything else…” What did the crazy Martian expect him to say?

  “Damn… nothing? No dreams over the past two days?” Ava released the straps as she spoke.

  “Only intense pain.” He thought for a moment, trying to recall the lost memories. “Maybe a bright light… with the pain…” Each memory needed to be pulled out. “I remember a shitload of pain.”

  “Wow, a near-death experience.” Ava clapped her hands together. Her reaction completely over the top.

  “That was probably the two thousand one hundred sixty volts of power that you touched. Main power is a real killer.” However childlike Ava acted, Sweets remained analytical. The difference between the two as they stood near each other was startling.

  He was finally able to raise himself to a sitting position. “Then why am I not dead…? I expected death to be a tad more… final. Why am I talking and thirsty as hell?”

  Ava adjusted the bed for him. “Not sure… I am glad you didn’t head into the light… You’re one lucky S.O.B. That is for sure.”

  Margaret shrugged. “Could be you’re just lucky, but I believe a combination of the cold and CPR kept your brain alive until we could get your body functioning once more.”

  He nodded, not fully understanding what happened while he was out. “So the ship is safe?” Jacob asked once again.

  Margaret handed him a flask of water. “Somewhat. Let’s call it safe-ish. We still have a huge list of things not working, but we will not freeze, and we got plenty to breathe and rations. We should last until we are rescued.”

  “So your ship reported in before the event?” Jacob took a long drink of the cool water. The liquid did little to quench his dry mouth.

  “I’m not sure.” Sweets studied the deck at the foot of the medical bed.

  Jacob wasn’t finished. “How long before you are reported missing?

  “At most, ten days.” Sweets never averted her gaze from the deck.

  “When help will come.” Ava butted in.

  “I can’t answer that. I am not familiar with the last transmission of our location. If the event shorted out so many systems on this ship, chances are high the Miyajima never got off an S.O.S. In theory, we might never be found without active coms working.”

  “Then we need to fix that.” Jacob removed the few remaining straps and floated from the bed.

  “I agree.” Sweets nodded.

  “Am I cleared to help out? I’ve goofed off too long.” He removed the O2 tubes from his nose and the IV from his arm.

  “The scans say there should be no permanent damage—” Sweets paused before finishing her thought. “Except what you already knew about.” Strange, the woman blushed after the last comment.

  Jacob wasn’t surprised. It was a common enough effect. His disability, the chair specifically, made people uncomfortable. The sight of anyone stuck in a wheelchair became less common every year. Medical advances continued to cure those who could afford the treatments.

  Off the O2 and free of the bed, he started to feel lightheaded. “Tell me, are the scrubbers on the list of items to fix?”

  “Yes, and coms… Well, a shitload of things aren’t working.” Ava pushed herself back, giving Jacob some room.

  “I think the air mix is wrong… Something isn’t right with life support. Do either of you feel… odd?” Jacob fought his urge to laugh at the sound of his voice.

  Ava giggled. “Stranger than glowing like a lightbulb?”

  “The nitrogen might be building up in our blood.” Sweets nodded. “I feel off. I thought it was the radiation treatments.”

  “We need to check the scrubbers and life support…” Jacob followed Sweets into the corridor.

  Ava floated out of the medical spaces. “Yes, dear…”

  They needed to fix the life support quickly, or they would only grow more irrational. Ava was already showing signs of narcosis or something similar.

  “We might need the emergency O2 breathers if we keep feeling… odd.” Jacob called behind him.

  The floating Sweets changed direction aft, toward the engineering decks. “Agreed.”

  “I’ll get some ready.” Ava floated toward the suiting out room.

  The Frazier wasn’t dead yet, but they had a long way to go before they might consider themselves safe. Jacob doubted the ship would ever fly again without extensive repairs in drydock.

  <=OO=>

  AD 2100 Inner Belt – Virgil

  In the few hours Tian and Lea had been apart, the programmer did the unthinkable. Walking the corridors, people called to the androgynous person like an old friend. Tian called back, somehow knowing each person’s name they encountered.

  During the journey to Ceres, Lea never noticed Tian’s natural ability to make connections with fellow travelers. For the standoffish Lea, it seemed a minor miracle. Tian seemed to care about everyone they met.

  Once in the mess, Lea was even more impressed. A great deal of the crew family was there. Those between shifts had gathered. A huge celebration was in the making. One by one, Tian introduced Lea to the ship’s family by name and occupation and the passengers by name and job description. By the third introduction, Lea was lost in a cloud of names and duties she would never remember. What surprised her more, Tian poured them both a cup of hot black liquid.

  One sip and Lea realized it was real coffee, not the normal sludge transport ships tried to pass off as real. One sip and a small part of her relaxed. Amazing what a simple luxury like coffee could do for a person’s mental sta
te.

  “You have done so much… surely you learned where we are going… or why?” Lea asked. The awe was evident in her voice.

  Tian’s voice lowered, whispering like a conspirator. “No one knows but the captain… and maybe Doctor Abe… Perhaps that should be said the other way around…”

  “That sounds hinky… Doesn’t all this secrecy sound mysterious to you?” Lea whispered back. Lea was used to tightly controlled ships, but she never expected a family ship to be so anal about company secrets.

  A shrug. “Not really… with all the corporate espionage and piracy that takes place, FlyRight holds a great deal of their actions guarded…” Tian stretched back. The chair, welded to the deck, remained in place.

  With the Virgil currently accelerating at a comfortable half-G, the ship experienced an artificial gravity of sorts. It would last until the burn completed and max speed was reached. Then the crew and passengers would need to suffer through zero gravity until deceleration. Space travel was boring for most and at least predictable. With this size of a ship, Lea hated to guess how long they could stay away from a station for resupply.

  Tian kept up the chatting. “The family is used to this. The Virgil has worked many times with FlyRight, and often no word of the cargo or mission will be announced until after coms have been secured and first supper is finished.”

  “First supper?”

  “Sure, it’s a Virgil family tradition. The first meal after leaving port is a huge feast. That’s what’s going on here… Master Baal spares no expense. The crew prepares all manner of delicacies from Earth for the first supper after leaving port. No one really knows how long we will be away from station. This ship… this ship is outfitted for very long hauls. Longer than I ever thought possible…”