“All the more reason why I should go with you.” Ava corrected herself, “Someone should go with you.
“Listen, we have been over this. It is a one-man job. If the locks fail, we only need to risk one person. Besides, I need you two on the bridge to make sure this stupid fix works… We are running out of options… I don’t want to have a second crack at this.” He cleared his throat. “Sweets… can you make sure she is safe… stays out of here?”
“Sure… I’ll do my best… You know how she is.” The security woman didn’t even look up from her task. Her suit might never work again, but she refused to give up on it.
Jacob knew she was right. Ava would do whatever the hell she wanted to. “Time for you two to clear out… I got this. Trust me.”
Ava added, “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“That’s the spirit…” He nodded. “Time for the helmet.”
Jacob didn’t imagine Ava’s eyes glistening as she lifted the foul helmet over his head. Once sealed in, rather than hold his breath, he just bit the bullet and took a huge deep breath. He coughed for several seconds, but the drugs did the trick and kept his stomach contents where they belonged.
The heads-up display sprang to life. With the suit powered up, he used all four hands and motioned the other two out of the suit up room.
Ava placed the coil of bypass cable on his shoulder.
For a test, he waved goodbye with the suit’s prehensile tail then ran all the servos through a set series of motions to test the unit.
The two women floated through the last hatch to the crew’s quarters, Ava’s pause was cut short by Sweets pulling her on through and sealing the door behind them.
With the mag-tight boots activated, Jacob walked to the hatch and double-checked the seal before turning his attention to the upper airlock.
At the ladder, with a thought, his boots disengaged, and he used the four arms to pull himself to the top of the ship. Inside the airlock, he waited a few seconds to make sure the seal held. Then depressurized.
Once exposed to the void, he took a moment longer to let the suit rest. He’d never felt happier when the HUD gave him green indicators all across the board and the seals on his unit all actually held. Looked like this was not the end after all.
Rather than rush to reach the first junction, he did what he promised not to do. He took a look at the stars splayed out around him and fought desperately to catch that feeling he once had in his youth. The feeling of grandeur the dark once offered. The feeling escaped him. The years in space had finally jaded him to the point where the simple beauty of the stars was lost on him.
With a sigh, he pulled himself slowly along the fore-and-aft safety rail to the first junction. It would be safer with tethers and mag-tight boots engaged, but he didn’t want to spend longer outside than he needed to. There was an uneasy feeling about this EVA that hastened his pace.
“First link engaged.” He spoke aloud, even if no one heard his words. The long-range antenna was easy to spot, right over the bridge. Ironically, it was the shortest, squattest of the lot. Some designer had a sense of humor. Jacob assumed there was some other factor than irony at play with the design, but he still smiled at the thought of the other antenna mocking the little guy.
His mix must be off. His mind wandered while he should remain focused. He forced himself to bury any thoughts other than hooking up the last bypass and getting his ass back inside.
There was no sound, but he felt the click when the last connection was made. Jacob exhaled a sigh of relief. He was so happy to have this little chore finished. Now he needed to see if the damned thing worked. Some sort of indication light for transmitting would be a needed addition to the antenna array, but the engineers probably never expected a ship being fragged by a gamma-ray burst like they had experienced.
The four arms of the suit pulled him to the windows that gave the bridge the only exterior view from the ship. Peeking over the edge, the first thing he spotted was Ava’s face plastered to the port, breath fogging the glass with each breath. Below her, Sweets glanced over her shoulder from the coms console, and when their eyes met, she gave him a thumbs up.
Jacob smiled but fought the urge to celebrate. Their chances of rescue went from zero to slightly above that. He didn’t want to think of the odds. It would only give him a headache. Ready to return to the safety inside the ship, he waved to Ava.
Sweets flailed her arms, struggling to get his attention.
He moved closer to where she stood, and she pointed out toward the forward part of the ship.
After a quick glance, Jacob didn’t believe what he saw. His mix must be off more than he thought. Out in front of him was the impossible.
Crawling toward him, straight from a horror vid, a huge creature that could only be described as a spider cautiously made its way toward him.
Irrational fears by their very nature are illogical. Since childhood, Jacob hid an overwhelming fear of spiders. Despite his obvious size advantage, the sight of an eight-legged creature sent him into a panic. He knew if anyone learned of his weakness, the practical jokes would never stop. Some humans relished in taking gleeful advantage of any perceived weakness. His chair would not have protected him from the expected torment. Everyone held secrets. Jacob learned that lesson long ago. His was just a little stranger than others.
Since he entered space nearly twenty years ago, his arachnophobia was moot. He’d encountered zero spiders in space. The fact he was so scared of them even spilled from his mind. Why worry about something that was so unlikely?
Chemical-induced hallucination or not, Jacob’s body reacted to the sight of the creature creeping closer. His suit misread the cues from his brain and overreacted.
In a panic, he lost control of the grip that held him safely onto the ship. Thrashing to get away, he started a spin.
He scrambled to regain his grip on something solid.
Contact with the rails lost, he drifted toward the side of the ship. Bouncing off the hull every few rotations, he finally tumbled slowly over the side without regaining control of his tumble.
The gravity of the rock the Frazier mined was barely enough to attract his weight. If he jumped hard enough in the powered suit, he might have reached escape velocity.
As it was, he drifted in an uncontrolled spin toward the rock below. His suit was made for underground excavation not EVA. Without jets for control, he rotated on three axes during the descent. On the last time he faced the ship, he swore the dammed spider watched him fall and assumed it was laughing at the sight of a huge powered mining suit tumbling to the rock below. Thank goodness for the anti-nausea drugs, or he would have lost anything in his stomach.
Despite the lack of normal gravity, the mass of his suit was able to pick up considerable momentum during the minute it took for the hundred-meter fall. Not enough to kill him, but the awkward landing knocked the air out of his lungs.
It took him a second to regain his composure. As soon as he did, he flipped to his back, fulling expecting to see a hoard of spiders dropping in attack from above. He quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for any creatures that joined him on the surface of the asteroid.
When he spotted nothing, rather than wait for the attack, he used the tail to regain his footing and bounded toward the nearest cable tethering the ship to the rock. His eyes glued to the edge of the ship, the four arms of the suit carried him to the lower airlock.
“Please, God, let this damned thing work,” Alone, he said the prayer aloud to an uncaring universe. Out of habit, he held his breath while the door cycled open. He slipped inside, and the door sealed behind him.
The sound of the atmosphere rushing into the airlock made his shivers of fear subside. It looked like he might live another day after all.
The inner door opened, and he was happy Sweets and Ava both ignored his warning and entered the suit out room to help him escape the torment that was his powered mining unit. His logical mind knew there was zero cha
nce for a spider to have infiltrated his armor, but his skin crawled like a thousand tiny legs scurried over his flesh.
“What the hell was that?” Ava asked before she had his helm fully disengaged from his chest piece.
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Jacob said. “So you really did see it too? Did you get a good look at it?” he asked.
“After we lost sight of you, it crawled over the side. Like it followed…” Ava talked while she helped free him of the rig.
The thought made Jacob cringe. If it followed him, the thing must not be afraid of humans.
“Spiders freak me right the hell out.” Sweets volunteered.
“Yeah…” Both Ava and Jacob agreed.
Sweets asked, “Are there any weapons on board?”
Jacob helped Ava crack the seal that separated his torso and arms from his legs. “Weapons breed violence.” He desperately wanted to scratch the uncontrolled itches all over his body.
Ava cut in, “I think we might need some violence soon enough…”
Sweets nodded agreement. “It is better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have one.”
Jacob acquiesced. There was no way he would fight a spider the size of his chest with a rolled-up paper. “Captain Allen might have one in his quarters.” A sworn pacifist, he might need to rethink his position when it came to creatures in the dark.
They had not entered the other members’ quarters since the accident. It felt wrong, an intrusion of their dead friends’ privacy. Faced with the possible invasion of huge space spiders, it was time for Jacob to reconsider some things. They needed weapons now.
Words failed him while the two women chattered away. Stripped of the suit, he checked himself and let out a soft sigh of relief when he found no bugs crawling over his skin.
Chapter 18:
AD 2100 Inner Belt – Virgil
The added weight of one gravity affected Lea more than she thought it would. Without the advantages of meds, she woke up sore from the added stress of sleeping on the hard mattress. Perhaps it wasn’t the acceleration but the large quantity of alcohol she drank the previous night that made her feel like shit. There was a high chance she hadn’t moved since she passed out. A worse thought crept into her mind. What if it was only her advancing years that made it harder to reach the velocity needed to escape her bed—perish the thought.
She waited at least until the headache subsided, then her impatience could wait no longer. Coffee and painkillers called her name. Lea set off from her quarters to find Doctor Abe. She needed to discover why she was on this ship of fools seeking out what would probably be some senseless snipe hunt in the dark of space.
With the majority of the family crew drugged, Lea was forced to fend for herself. At least with a head clearing from liquor, she traced her steps back to the mess. Never a religious person, she did say a silent prayer for there to be coffee waiting at the end of her quest. The painkillers would need to wait.
Only the second day out from Ceres, with no end in sight, she expected to see more people working in the galley. She was wrong. Only one person sat alone at one of the corner tables. The other hundred or so souls probably nursed hangovers greater than Lea’s. Her target had ventured away from the safety of the crew. Now was the time to strike. Lea didn’t hesitate, she grabbed a cup of black gold and made her way over to Doctor Abe.
Before Lea cleared her throat to draw the woman’s attention, Doctor Dragon Lady looked up from a tablet she’d been reading. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke. “I’m so glad to see you are up…” With a quick motion of her eyes to the seat across from her, she said, “Please take a seat. I wanted to touch base with you, but with everything going on yesterday… Well, to call it hectic would be an understatement.” The unfamiliar woman smiled warmly.
Lea bit her lip in shock. The friendly manner of the doctor… From her limited experience, this was nothing like she expected. Off-balance, Lea sat and murmured, “Thank you. Doctor Abe—”
The small woman cut her off with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “Please call me Vizminda, or if you prefer, Mindy is fine. No need to be so caught up with titles, now is there? We will need to work as one for this venture to succeed.”
Lea reached out her hand from habit. “In that case… Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mindy, please call me Lea.” This wasn’t going at all how Lea expected. By now, she assumed there would be bloodshed and bruises rather than afternoon coffee with the woman she thought was the bitch who stole her money. If she was involved with the theft, the doctor’s bluffing skills were at a professional level. A killer gambling career was in Mindy’s future.
The doctor took Lea’s hand and gave it a friendly, firm grip. “I must admit, I was surprised when Master Baal contacted me and asked if you could join the expedition.”
“I… I don’t understand. I thought you wanted me on board…” Lea took a sip of coffee. She was in desperate need of intel. This wasn’t what she thought… What the hell is going on?
Mindy continued, “Once I saw you’d worked for the corporation as a freelance problem solver, I was intrigued.”
“Is that why you offered me the berth?” Lea fought to control her breathing. She needed her wits now more than ever. Her fuzzy head wasn’t helping.
“Of course not… I’m not of the habit of trolling the docks… for team members. No… if Reo hadn’t insisted you join the team, I would have never looked up your record.” She released Lea’s hand. “He was adamant you join the team.
Lea’s clenched jaw nearly cracked her paid-for perfect teeth. Despite her anger, she forced herself to smile. Another sip of coffee was called for before she verbalized the next question. “So the only reason I was offered the job is because of Reo?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes. I normally don’t take much advice from freelancers…” Mindy reached out and patted Lea’s hand. “Sorry, but it is true, but Reo and I have… history. I… he was so convincing, I felt I needed to follow his advice, so I made the offer.”
“History?” What the hell did she stumble into this time?
“Yeah. Explosive—kind of like Mount Pinatubo…” For a moment, a wistful look spread over the younger woman’s face.
The reference was lost on Lea, but it must have been bad. She asked, “You said freelancer. Who does Reo work for if not FlyRight?”
“Sorry. That’s classified.” She beamed when she spoke. Lea could not gain any read on this woman. “But now that isn’t really important. You are here. Ceres and all that trouble is in the past… We can use the help…” Mindy paused for what seemed like forever.
It gave Lea a chance to reconsider her losses. If Doctor Mindy wasn’t the evil dragon lady bitch on wheels Lea assumed she was… If she didn’t steal all her life savings… If she didn’t order her attempted assassination in San Francisco, who the hell did? Why the fuck would Reo even suggest Lea come on this stupid ship, and why would Lea accept the offer?
Mindy spoke once more. The words pulled Lea back to the real world. She blinked in surprise at the sound. “I’m sorry, I drifted off there for a second.” Lea took a drink of the bitter liquid to help cover her loss of acuity.
Mindy nodded. “I understand. It happens to all of us… I simply wanted to know what scientific background you had that Reo thought might come in useful on this journey.”
Shit, Lea’s guts tightened at the question. “That is a wonderful question… Can we say my skill set is more esoteric than scientific?” Lea gave the woman across from her a huge smile. What was she supposed to say? I take care of those problems others would rather not deal with. Most people who hired Lea knew what they were getting. Someone cold enough to do whatever was needed to end a situation.
“Can you be more specific?”
Maybe something not so sinister sounding. “I fix things…” Lea hoped that would be enough. She really needed to find Reo and choke some answers from him. Lea was certain Mindy wasn’t in need of a fixer or the services
Lea offered.
Mindy cocked her head like a dog that heard an unexpected sound. “So you’re an engineer… You don’t strike me as the type,” Mindy tapped on her tablet and made a few notes. “I’m sure the crew of the Virgil would love to have your help.”
Lea didn’t listen, rather her mind focused on finding Reo—now. “If you’ll excuse me… I think this acceleration is causing me… discomfort.” She quickly slipped from her chair and headed to the exit.
Doctor Mindy called to her back. “I understand. This trip has affected me greatly, as well.” Her voice went even louder. “Do you need a laxative?”
Mortified, Lea was happy there wasn’t a soul in the mess to overhear the final comment. Her bowels were no one’s concern. “No, thank you…”
Now that the brief, stressful, and most unhelpful chat was over, she learned nothing helpful. The talk had compounded her problems.
Walking down the vacant halls, she noticed someone had taken to labeling the unmarked hatches with a roll of tape and marker. The temporary fix was a little late in coming but better than nothing. She needed the guidance last night. It might have helped her find her quarters a hell of a lot quicker.
She whispered to herself, “Where might Reo be hiding?”
The talk had one desired effect, she was now completely sober, but she needed a moment to regain her composure. Better to return to her quarters for the time being. She needed a safe place to plan out her next steps.
What the hell was Lea supposed to offer this crazy train heading into the oblivion between planets? If she was called upon to fix… Lea growled softly to herself.
Reaching her door, she made an odd discovery. For whatever reason, no one had labeled her hatch. A wave of her hand and the door slid to the side.
The room was dark. Funny, she didn’t remember turning out the lights. The quarters might have some motion sensor to save power. Then why had they not come on when she entered?
Lea froze. A stranger, with back facing her, lay in her rack. The gray ship’s blanket was pulled over the shape’s head.
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