Stowaways

by Matt Phillips

  "This place is dirty," Ernie stated matter of factly.

  Ani stood in the center, her head barely below the ceiling and eyed the long, dingy space carefully. "It looks like nobody ever comes here."

  "What is this room?" Ernie asked.

  "I don't know, but it doesn't look like people come here very often," Daniel answered.

  Daniel led them away from the access hatch until he found a spot between two large equipment pieces. The pumps were silent, but they felt safe from discovery. The four kids sat in silence for several minutes.

  "We need to tell your Dad and get off this ship," Ani said.

  "I agree with Ani," Nathan chimed in. "We only have enough sandwiches for lunch. We can't survive a week up here."

  "Harry packed enough sandwiches for two days at least," Ernie said looking in the small pack that KAS-7 had made them earlier. "I say we wait as long as we can, then it will be too late to send us back. It's spring break anyway. Let's have an adventure. So what if we get caught?"

  "You are crazy," Ani said. Her patience with the boys was wearing out. "When we are not at home for dinner our Mom's will freak out."

  Ani and Ernie continued arguing, while Nathan weighed in against his older brother whenever he could get a word in. Daniel stayed silent.

  "Well, we wanted an adventure, we got it," he finally said with a slight grin. He resolved himself to the fact that they were going to be in trouble when they got caught. They might as well enjoy it until then and his grin turned into a full smile. "I sure would like to see Kappaqilla."

  "I bet we could sneak food when most of the crew is busy or asleep," Ernie said.

  "Maybe," Daniel allowed.

  "You want to just spend the whole week sitting here doing nothing," Ani asked.

  "Why not?" Ernie replied.

  "I should have stayed home," Ani snapped.

  "What about our moms?" Nathan asked quietly. He was beginning to feel a little homesick at the thought of staying away for a week.

  "If only there was a way to call them. We could convince them we were still camping or something," Ernie said.

  Daniel's face brightened. "Mom would have a lot of questions if we're camping for a week. But not if she thought we were with an adult."

  "What adult?" Ernie asked.

  "Ani's mother," Daniel smiled. "Nathan, do you think you can access a computer onboard to connect a video call to Mom?"

  Nathan thought for a minute and then nodded.

  "What?!" Ani did not understand the plan and she was defensive.

  "Look, if both of our moms think we are with someone else then no one will worry," Daniel said matter-of-factly. "As Ernie said, I'm sure we can sneak some food. And we are safe here," Daniel said waving his arm around the space.

  "Yeah we've camped in worse places than this," Ernie agreed.

  "This will never work," Ani said.

  "It will work," Daniel insisted. "If it doesn't work I will take all the blame. But if it does, we all get to spend a week traveling through space. How cool is that?"

  Ani had to agree that the idea of traveling through space was pretty cool. But if they got in trouble... Ani never got in trouble. She was not sure what she would do.

  "Okay, "Ani said. "How would we call our moms? "

  Before Daniel could answer the ship shook, and the four children bumped into each other and the equipment.

  "What was that?" Nathan asked nervously.

  "The ship is undocking from the space station," Daniel wished he could be on the bridge watching everything that was happening.

  The whirr of electric motors startled them even more than the undocking. It took more than 30 seconds before the motors stopped.

  "Solar panel deployment," Daniel answered. "This equipment must control the solar panels. Dad is probably on the bridge right now making sure the ship undocks safely. Dad says that as soon as the ship leaves the dock, the solar panels deploy and the thrusters will begin accelerating us for deep space travel. Come on let's move down this way."

  The children quietly crept forward along the ship, the mechanical equipment forcing them to move this way and that to get around it. Finally, they reached the forward-most part of the mechanical room.

  Daniel motioned them to sit by the wall.

  "If I'm right, Dad's cabin is just on the other side of this wall." Daniel needed to see inside to be sure. He looked desperately for some kind of a seam like he had used in the shuttle, but there wasn't one. There was an access panel similar to the one they came through at the other end, but popping that open was too risky until they knew what was on the other side.

  As if to answer their question, the four stowaways heard voices on the other side of the wall. If they couldn't see inside, at least they could hear inside. They leaned against the wall to listen.

  Going to Kappaqilla

  "Have you ever been to Kappaqilla, XO?" Dad asked his second in command, Lieutenant Commander Samantha Hondak. He called her XO, which was short for her official title – Executive Officer.

  "No sir," she replied. "In fact, I know very little about it."

  "That makes two of us. Mildred, pull together a file on Kappaqilla," Dad said to the ship's computer. He sat down in a soft leather chair at his desk and spun sideways. The XO stood next to him.

  Diagrams of the planet, charts for the capital city and other information showed up on a three-dimensional display above Dad's desk.

  "Kappaqilla is a planet of over 12,000 square miles," Mildred began. "Roughly half the size of Earth. The indigenous population is of equal technological advancement with humans. Recently, the first-ever human Ambassador was appointed to Kappaqilla, Dr. Neils Lineus."

  "I assume that's who we are delivering this equipment to," Dad said as the computer presented various pictures and video clips of the Ambassador. The XO nodded.

  "The Kappaquillians are a race of bipod humanoid life forms, whose mature height is normally no taller than four feet six inches, Mildred began. “Notable differences between humans and Kappaquillians are that the Kappaquillians possess only three fingers per hand--more accurately two fingers and one opposable thumb. The Kappaquillian language has been difficult for translators to understand, but I have collected all known interactions between humans and Kappaquillians. Based on that, I am developing an algorithm for basic translation that might help us in an emergency. It will not be perfect, but it may be useful. Shall I continue with the briefing?"

  "No Mildred that's enough," Dad said

  "Mildred," the XO said. "Report ship status."

  "Ship status report: all systems are functioning normally. Environmental conditions are within the normal range. We have approximately 41 days of supplies on board. Water and air filtration systems are nominal. Engine pulse rate is 73% and accelerating. Current course matches the navigation plan," Mildred paused. "I have one anomaly to report."

  "An anomaly?" Dad asked. "Mildred, you told me you did not like anomalies."

  "I do not Captain, but I have one nonetheless. "

  "What is this anomaly?" Dad asked with a smile. He was not concerned; computers worried about the slightest deviation in operations.

  "Our crew complement of 44 has been verified. However, I have detected as many as 48 biometric signatures."

  "So we have extra crew members?" XO asked.

  "I am only tracking 44 comps. All crew members are accounted for."

  "How many biometric signals are you detecting now?" Dad asked.

  “Forty-four, Captain."

  "Probably just a hiccup in your biometric sensors," the XO said.

  "Perhaps," Mildred replied.

  "Don't worry, Mildred, we all make mistakes," Dad said chuckling.

  "I do not make mistakes, Captain," Mildred answered seriously. "I will run another diagnostic scan on my sensors."

  "That's fine, Mildred. How long until we reach Kappaqilla?"

  "We will establish orbit around Kappaqilla in 43 hours and 19 minutes precisely."
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  "Okay thanks," Dad said to Mildred. He turned to Lieutenant Commander Hondak. "XO, I'd better call my wife and let her know I'm not going to be home for a week." The XO nodded and left Dad alone in his cabin.

  “Mildred, call Liz," Dad ordered. Seconds later, Mom appeared on the monitor. "Hi, Liz how's your day going?"

  "Well, we are about two days away from our first real test. The accelerator is ready but the plasma injector is failing diagnostics and we can't figure out why. I will probably be home late tonight."

  "Not as late as I will be," Dad said.

  "Oh no," Mom looked up from her other screen. She looked directly at Dad. "Where are you going?"

  "The Ambassador on Kappaqilla needs some cargo delivered immediately. Not sure I understand why it is so urgent, but the Aldrin had some engine problems so we have to go."

  "Kappaqilla? I know Dr. Lineus. He was thrown out of the University of Madrid while I was working on my degree. He was accused of conducting experiments with questionable science value, and others that were downright dangerous. We were all kind of relieved when he was named an Ambassador. At least that should keep him too busy to conjure up any crazy new theories or experiments."

  "The cargo is labeled science equipment, so maybe he has not given up his scientific spirit," Dad said with a smile.

  "Well, the boys will be disappointed, but they'll understand," Mom said. "They will find something to keep them busy I'm sure."

  "They always do," Dad said.

  "I have to get going," Mom said looking off the screen. "Be careful. I'll see you when you get back."

  "I love you."

  "I love you, too."

  The screen went black. Dad turned to the diagrams of Kappaqilla that were still projected over part of his desk. He pulled them back to the center and looked through the maps, charts, and files.

  “Mildred, put these files on the bridge. I'll review them up there."

  The files disappeared. Dad stood from his seat, checked the settings on his comp, and left the room.

  Mildred's Anomaly

  The kids sat back down on the floor a few feet from the wall and looked at each other.

  "See," Daniel said. "This is perfect. Dad is gone. Mom is busy. This will work."

  "What about my mom?" Ani said.

  Daniel nodded. "Right, we still need to call both of our moms. Nathan, do you think we can do that?"

  "I think even Ernie could do that," Nathan replied. Ernie snorted at the insult. "But what about Mildred?"

  "Yeah, she's a problem," Ernie agreed.

  "She must have a camera in Dad's cabin," Daniel said. "We need to disable it somehow."

  Everyone thought quietly for a moment.

  "If the camera is in the ceiling.... the wire for it might be one of these here," Ani said, pointing to nearly a dozen rows of cables that appeared to be coming from somewhere above Dad's cabin. The cables ran down the wall to some sort of junction box near the floor.

  "Right," Daniel said. Everyone looked closer at the cables and junction boxes.

  "But which one?" Nathan asked.

  Every silver cable looked the same, except for a small label attached to each.

  "One of these labels should match the label on the camera itself," Daniel said. "If we can see that number, we will know which one to unplug."

  "But if we go in and read it, the ship's computer will see us," Ani said.

  "Right," Daniel said.

  "What if we just disconnect all of the cables?” Ernie asked.

  "We don't know what they go to," Ani said.

  "Yeah, the computer would definitely alert people to a major signal outage, and it wouldn't take them long to find us," Daniel agreed.

  "If we can't call our moms, this is not going to work," Ani said dejectedly.

  The four stowaways sat in silence for several minutes.

  "I have an idea," Daniel said suddenly. "But it will take all four of us."

  They leaned in closer.

  "Ernie and I will open the access hatch," Daniel explained. "At the same time, Nathan and Ani will pull out all of the cables – all of them. Then I will run in, get the camera cable number, and run back out."

  The group nodded their understanding.

  "Then," Daniel continued. "When I get back through the hatch, Ernie closes it, and you guys plug the cables back in as fast as you can."

  "What about calling home?" Ani persisted.

  "One thing at a time," Daniel answered.

  "I'm smaller, I can get through the hatch faster," Ernie offered.

  "No, I'm the oldest. I will go," Daniel answered. An argument followed but Daniel was immovable. Going into Dad's cabin was the riskiest part, and he was the oldest. Ernie finally gave in and everyone took his or her place.

  "Get ready," Daniel whispered. Nathan and Ani knelt by the silver cables. They put their hands on as many as they could, ready to yank them out when told, then turned to wait for the signal.

  Daniel and Nathan began turning the connectors that held the access hatch in place. There were ten in total. When only two were left, Daniel moved back and positioned himself on the floor in front of the hatch. He looked around at the others and nodded. They nodded back. Everyone was ready.

  "Okay," he whispered to Ernie. “Go!”

  Ernie twisted the last two connectors and the hatch fell away from the hole. It hit Daniel in the head, but not hard enough to hurt.

  Nathan and Ani frantically pulled the silver cables from the junction box. One was stuck and it took Nathan two extra seconds to get the cable disconnected.

  "Go," Nathan said looking up as he got the final cable disconnected. But Daniel was already through the panel.

  Daniel scrambled through the small access panel, with more difficulty than he expected. He made his way to the small black square in the center of the ceiling. In the middle of the square was a round glass window not much bigger than his hand. The camera looked a lot like one of Harry's cameras back home. Daniel stood underneath it and craned his neck, trying to read the serial number.

  "XR, dash, 003, dash, 11, dash CH174," he whispered loudly.

  "Okay. Come back quick," Ernie urged from the access hatch.

  But Daniel was not ready to go back. He was standing in his father's cabin, on a star schooner, bound for a distant planet. The room had dark gray floors, the same as the corridor, but the walls in here were a crisp, shiny, metallic blue. On one side of the room, an L-shaped desk filled two walls. Projected above the desk was the time and several other small readouts that Daniel did not have time to consider.

  Across from the desk, several picture frames displayed family pictures that Daniel recognized instantly— pictures of he and his brothers, family vacations and other memories. The pictures soon changed into other pictures and Daniel considered how much Dad must really miss being home while he was gone.

  Daniel caught himself, daydreaming of being a star schooner captain. He needed to focus. He sprinted back to the hatch and crawled through, but got stuck several times in the process. Finally, he pulled his legs back into the hole and Ernie slammed the hatch shut. Together they closed the connectors and made sure the hatch was securely in place.

  "What took you so long, Daniel?" Ernie said angrily.

  Daniel ignored him and looked at the cables. Nathan and Ani were just completing replugging the connections. "Did you find the camera cable?"

  "Yes," Nathan said with a smile. He pointed to one silver cable. "Right here."

  "Okay," Daniel said as he sat down to catch his breath. "Nice job. Now we have to make some calls."

  ◆◆◆

  The bridge of the star schooner was arranged in three-levels, each slightly above the other so that every station had a view of the front window and the main information displays. It was divided into four control stations, each with different functions for operating the star schooner. A narrow staircase ran down the center of the cockpit, dividing the individual stations. Two large windows gave the
crew a view of space as the ship sailed across galaxies. The entire array of sensors could be accessed by Mildred, and the ship's display systems provided more detailed views than the windows, but no matter how much information Mildred could present, the crew always preferred looking out the windows.

  "The Captain is on the bridge," Mildred announced as he walked in. Dad went directly to his chair, but instead of viewing the images Mildred had set up, he gazed absently at the view of space. Dad watched Saturn zoom past them as the ship continued to accelerate out of the solar system. He took in the view and thought about his sons. He hoped someday he would have the opportunity to share the views from the bridge with his three boys. They would love it. Unfortunately, the Earth Space Alliance strictly prohibited families from space travel. Someday that would change he hoped, but for now, he had to obey the rules.

  "Captain," Mildred said interrupting his thoughts.

  "Yes, Mildred," he said.

  "I have detected an unfortunate anomaly in your cabin."

  "Another anomaly?"

  "I know, sir," Mildred said apologetically.

  "What sort of anomaly?"

  "It is hard for me to say exactly," the computer said.

  "Come on, Mildred, tell me what's happening," Dad said as he took his seat. Mildred was an older model computer system, and like all of them, she had her flaws. Dad was patient with her, as always.

  "Yes, Captain, I lost all of the data feeds from your cabin,"

  "All of them?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "They have since been restored. Total downtime was 52 seconds," Mildred reported. "All except the camera, which is still down."

  "You mean you won't be able to spy on me in my cabin, Millie?" Dad said unworried about the report.

  "Captain, I do not spy," she said indignantly. "But there is one more anomaly I need to mention. Just as I lost the camera feed, I briefly saw...thought I saw..."

  Mildred was silent. Dad looked up from the view of Kappaqilla that he had been examining. It was unusual for any computer system to just suddenly stop in the middle of a sentence. Mildred's behavior was beginning to worry him.