TEN
I didn’t get to frequent the Piccolo’s command deck much; it didn’t often get messy enough to require cleaning like the rest of the ship. Cora’s ID card got us in, and the blinking lights and green-text-filled view-screens of the consoles wrapping the circular space greeted us.
The room was about ten meters in diameter, with a transparent dome arcing over the top and front. The atmosphere of Saturn was visible beyond it, whipping about in amber hues.
Cora took her spot at the command console and canceled auto-pilot. I sat beside her at a less important-looking console. Every bit of tech in the command deck was so simultaneously dated and complex that it all appeared foreign. It took seeing the command console and its innumerable buttons, along with a series of screens filled with information, for me to realize I wasn’t even sure where to connect a hand-terminal to it.
Cora’s slender arms extended over the console and her fingers danced across the keys. She didn’t just move fast. There was a grace to it that I hardly thought could be possible in the act of typing.
She stopped and looked at me. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“For what?” I asked.
“John. I didn’t say it before.”
“Oh, that. Don’t worry about it. Like you said, I’m sure he wouldn’t have done anything. Everyone’s just on edge.”
“Everyone’s always on edge. It was the same before you got here. Someone mouths off and someone else decides they’ve had enough.”
“Makes you wonder why Captain Saunders even bothers hiring people like us.”
“Like you—remember?” She pointed to her mouth and lack of sanitary mask.
“You’re one of us, Cora. Can’t change that.”
The flickers of a grin showed on her face for a fraction of a second before vanishing. I couldn’t think of a time when she’d truly smiled, with no reservations.
She turned her attention back to the command console. Something was clearly on her mind, but she remained silent. I took the opportunity to lean back in my chair and stretch my aching arms. To be honest, I was more grateful for her saving me from the cleanup job in the galley than anything else. When we left, food was spilled all over and barely a piece of furniture seemed to have survived being toppled.
I studied the command console. Circuits ran up underneath it to provide power and Trass-knows-what-else. They weren’t what I was searching for. As with any console, there had to be a slot to plug in a hand-terminal to transfer data in case connection to Solnet wasn’t possible. A number of different ports along the front might have been able to fit it. Or break it. I couldn’t read the labels above them from my angle. I peeked at my hand-terminal to figure it out and then leaned in to get a better view of the equipment.
“Another new hand-terminal?” Cora asked. I retreated immediately and was relieved to find that she’d been busy studying Saturn’s current meteorological charts when she’d said it. She seemed distracted.
“What?” I shoved the hand-terminal back into my pocket. “Oh, not exactly. That new one couldn’t be fixed so I went back to my last model. Old, but it does the trick. Venta’s tech is always reliable, even if it’s weaker.”
She grunted in agreement. It was only then that I realized she wasn’t really working. She aimlessly rifled through atmospheric data, but that was it. Something had her distracted.
“Kale,” she said, almost in a whisper.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“Is everything all right?”
“What do you mean?”
She stopped typing. This time when she turned to face me, she rotated her entire seat. “You’ve been here two years, and you’ve never been the one to start a fight.”
“I didn’t start it,” I groused. The way that John and the other guard said the word skelly repeated over and over in my head. They’d asked for it.
“You know what I mean.”
“It was nothing. I just don’t like that word. ‘Skelly.’”
“He’s used it before. It’s just... I’ve never seen you like that. So angry. Something happened to you during the last shift, didn’t it? Same thing that made you want to quit.”
“Is that what this is about?” I questioned, getting defensive.
“No!” She sighed. “Never mind.”
Her gaze fell back toward the console. The most words we’d ever exchanged, and again I was blowing it. If she was going to make saving me a habit, I at least owed her a bit of truth. I slid my chair closer. This allowed me to figure out which port was labeled for hand-terminal intake, but that was no longer my focus.
“I wanted to tell you, Cora,” I said. “I just didn’t know how. I thought I had to stay on Titan. I... My mother—”
“Is sick,” Cora finished for me. She turned back and stared into my eyes. Straight into them.
“How did you know?” I asked, brow furrowing.
“I can hear it in your voice.” She reached out slowly and placed her hand on my arm. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. “I can see it in your eyes. The helpless feeling. I’m so sorry.”
My lower lip began to tremble. I bit it so that Cora wouldn’t see my sanitary mask moving with it. Before long, my eyes welled with tears, and I couldn’t stop them. All the emotions I’d been struggling to bottle up came gushing out of me. The only thing I could manage in response was to murmur, “Thanks.”
“I understand,” she said. “I lost mine to that place right after I was born.”
Based on the way she looked, I knew, as did everybody else, that her mother had been forcefully impregnated by an Earther, but I’d never asked her about it. Because she was born alive, I’d figured that her mom had survived as well. Apparently, I’d been wrong.
“I had no idea,” I said, finally able to compose myself enough to speak. “I didn’t know my father for very long, but I always had my mom at least. I can’t imagine growing up alone.”
“Not really alone. The Darien Lowers’ orphanage took me in for a while, but they were even more crowded than now, and I was lucky to get crumbs from the other kids. Once I grew enough for everyone to realize what I was, they eventually had to kick me out for my safety.”
So not alone, but hardly noticed, then noticed for all the wrong reasons, and, finally, abandoned. It helped explain why she was so timid.
“Ringers kicking out Ringers,” I said. “That’s awful, Cora. And we wonder why we are where we are.”
“It was a long time ago. I’m just glad I grew a little taller than the others and am good with tech. Most kids leave the orphanage and wind up right back on the streets. I was at least able to get a job at a busy coffee shop in the Uppers. One day, Captain Saunders saw the way I worked the register and took me in. I’ve been here ever since.”
“You did it the right way. I—” I considered telling her the truth about who I was before the Piccolo, but after everything she’d been through, she should’ve been the one to turn to the shadows for answers. What was my excuse?
“I wish I’d found this ship sooner,” I said. “Maybe then I’d have enough credits saved to get my mom what she needs.”
Cora frowned. “They say it’s getting better in the Q-Zones, but from what I hear, getting the right medicine is harder than ever.”
“Try impossible. It might not seem it after what you went through, but you’re lucky you don’t have to worry about getting sick as much as we do. If I were you, I’d do whatever I could to keep your list of friends short, so you never have to step into one of those places.”
Her hand slid down my arm and fell to rest over my gloved one. “Don’t say that. I may feel lost sometimes, but I know what I am.” For once, she smiled fully at me. The sight made Saturn’s rings seem like a cheap sideshow. “As a fellow Ringer woman, I know your mother will make it,” she said.
I half-laughed, half-sniveled. “You sound so sure.”
“Mine fought through sickness long enough after an Earther took her against her will to
give birth to me. We’re stronger than they think we are, Kale.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.”
We held each other’s gaze. I’d never been so near to her. She was shorter than me, so I could feel her warm breath against my neck. It probably smelled like the grub she’d just eaten in the galley, but to me, I might as well have been in a garden.
“Drayton, what’re you doing up here?” somebody asked crossly.
Our heads snapped around instantaneously, and Cora reeled her hand away from mine. Captain Saunders stood in the command deck’s entrance. He appeared exhausted.
“Captain!” Cora exclaimed before I could answer, which was probably a good thing, since I had no idea what would have come out of my mouth. Heart-to-hearts with Cora were new territory for me. “Sir... I... Kale and I were just catching up.”
“You know the rules, Cora,” he said. “No maintenance allowed in here without my permission.”
“S... sorry, sir.”
“Don’t let it happen again,” he warned, his glare boring through her. Then his countenance lightened, and he leaned on my chair. “You two missed a hell of a mess down there.”
“What happened?” I asked. I peered at my outfit. A few spots of blood stained my hip. I covered them with my hand.
“Same shit as always,” he groaned. “Both our people seem intent on tearing my ship to pieces.”
“Anything I can help with, sir?”
“Not anymore.” Saunders leaned over the back of Cora’s chair. “Anything looking promising out there?” he asked her.
Cora turned her attention back to the ship’s myriad atmospheric readouts I could never in a million years understand. “There looks to be a potential Deuterium pocket a few thousand klicks south of here,” she replied. “It’ll be a little bit of a dive.”
“Good. Break’s over then. Let’s get back to work.”
“Yes, sir,” Cora and I said simultaneously. We both stifled a grin as we caught each other’s gaze one last time.
I then hopped to my feet, and only when I reached the exit and heard Cora hammering away at the Piccolo’s controls behind me did I remember the main reason I’d needed to be in the command deck. I’d been right there, the hand-terminal slot within reach so I could plant the device for R, and I’d missed my chance.
Cora was right, as usual. Soon after I reported back to the harvesting bay, the Piccolo struck gold with a major gas pocket located outside of any devastating storms. A fully-manned harvester like the Piccolo couldn’t afford to miss any like it and make a profit. Four hours straight of canister prep and tank cleaning ensued, all while listening to Culver holler. Everyone who could work after the brawl was tired and sore. A few others had to head down to the med bay for treatment. Faces had bruises and scrapes. I probably had one or two of my own, but none of the metal walls were polished enough for me to tell by reflection.
Desmond’s right eye was so swollen he could hardly see through it. He didn’t say a word the entire time we worked next to each other. At first, it was a relief, but toward the end, I found it eerie.
“All right, boys,” Culver announced after many tireless hours. “Pocket’s pressure is low and a big storm’s rolling in. Time for us to head up, so you’re done for the day. Get some sleep.”
We filed out lethargically. My arms and legs burned with soreness. My chest was so tight from being deeper in Saturn’s Atmosphere that it felt like I was pulling each breath. I couldn’t wait to get to the Ringer dorms and feel cool air against my filthy skin. The first days working under Earth-like g were always the toughest. It didn’t matter how many shifts I’d served or how recently I’d received a g-stim—my body never got used to it.
“Where the hell did you run off to back there?” Desmond said into my ear once we reached the ship’s corridor.
“Back where?” I said.
“Don’t play stupid.”
“I’m not in the mood, Des.” If growing up as a pickpocket had taught me anything, it was that there were times to run. For someone who loved fights as much as him, I could only imagine what he thought about any man who did that.
He pushed me against the wall. The rest of the crew continued walking by. “I saw what you did, Kale,” he whispered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“To John.”
My eyes widened. I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him close so that I could be as quiet as possible. “Did he see?” I asked.
“If he did, he won’t remember after that hit. He’s in the med bay, probably with a bandage around his head.”
“Anyone else?”
“No mud stompers anyway. No way you’d be here right now otherwise. Lucky for us, they think we all look the same.”
I released him. “He was going to—”
Desmond shook his head to silence me. “I saw.” He patted me on the shoulder and smiled with pride like a father watching his son take his first steps. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” I said, shaking off his hand and continuing on my way through the corridor. He kept pace with me.
“Damn, Kale, what is it with you? Can’t take a joke. Can’t take a compliment.”
“Just keep it down, okay? I don’t want engine duty.”
“Engine duty? They’d probably put you through an airlock for that. ‘Assault with a deadly weapon,’ I think they call it. Might’ve been worth the punishment for putting that mud stomper down.”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.
“Relax.” Desmond slapped me on the back. “Captain’s too pissed at John for letting that get out of hand to care who it was. Your secret’s safe with us.”
“Us?” I asked. He ignored me and walked on ahead into the Ringer dorms. I wanted to follow, but my legs stopped working. Desmond was the last person I needed holding a secret over me, especially one that could get me killed.
As I stood still, I noticed the two members of John’s security team down the corridor. They were helping him out of the med bay, each one holding a burly arm. Desmond had been right about the bandage. Mom would have slapped me for feeling proud, but after robbing his hand-terminal and gifting him with a concussion, I had finally given John what he deserved.
The ship’s medical officer, Dara Orsini, was with them, probably explaining how John should be careful not to be too active. Doctor Orsini, a middle-aged Earther woman, was easy to deal with because she didn’t talk much, but she wasn’t capable of much more than setting a broken bone. The only way to wind up serving as a nurse on an old harvester like the Piccolo was to flunk out of every important medical training university in Sol.
They walked directly toward me. I didn’t move.
“Out of our way, Ringer,” one of them ordered, finally convincing me to step to the side. John and the others eyed me warily as they passed, but nobody said anything else. If any of them had seen me strike him, that wouldn’t have been the case. I breathed a sigh of relief and entered the Ringer dorm.
A minimal decon-chamber was constructed around the entrance. It didn’t require a full strip down, but electrostatic cleaners tickled me before I was allowed in. Cold air blasted through noisy air recyclers directly above as the entrance sealed behind me. The sweat on my brow dried almost instantly. I could’ve fallen asleep right there.
The Ringer dorms were as unimpressive, as one could imagine. A rec room on one end had some areas to sit and watch an obsolete view-screen. The only entertainment it had programmed on it were a few dated shows, the best being about an explorer traveling to the more desolate parts of Earth. Another featured a female modeling ring on Mars, which was less awkward to throw on when Cora wasn’t around. She outranked everyone in the room and barely talked to any of us, so the crew was basically surrounded solely by men for months, leaving us with certain... needs. As a result, most of us had seen every episode of that show. The others would talk about their ex
periences with girls as we watched. I’d stay quiet.
We mostly kept it set to the Ring-wide newsfeed, though. Reception on Saturn was awful, so the image was grainy and the sound quality poor, but occasionally, the Ring’s laser-relays shot us a few minutes of service to figure out what was going on around Sol.
The most cherished feature of the dorms was the bar tucked into the corner. Desmond and the others were already crowded around it, getting a head start on knocking themselves out. The cabinets below stored the cheapest forms of synthahol one could buy—if that was what all of it even was. I’d tasted an unmarked bottle once that made my throat feel like I’d swallowed fire. There wasn’t any potable water to wash it down either. That was reserved for the kitchen and communal showers.
Cora sat alone on one of the rec room’s grime-stained couches, wearing a sanitary mask and gloves as was required of her in the Ringer dorm. Our gazes met momentarily before I took a seat next to her. A story on the newsfeed about the status of a Pervenio-owned asteroid mining colony called Undina flickered on, sound and picture coming in and out. Apparently, they’d experienced an airlock failure a few months back, causing dozens of deaths and an entire sector to be devastated. It cut out completely before reports about the reparation status started.
“There he is!” Lester shouted over from the bar, his words already slurred. “The conquering hero has returned!”
He plopped down next to me and presented me with one of the two glasses in his grip. It was filled with something green, and the smell was so sharp it stung my nostrils. I pushed it aside as politely as I could manage. It might’ve felt good to calm my nerves and unwind, but I needed to stay focused if I wanted to figure out how to get my hand-terminal back to the command deck unseen.
“And here you thought he loved those mud stompers,” Yavik added from the bar. He stood next to a broadly grinning Desmond. Most of the Ringer crew crowded around them.
Children of Titan Series: Books 1-4: (A Space Opera Thriller Box Set) Page 34
