Not With A Whimper: Survivors

by D. A. Boulter

  “I need more time,” she said to the empty room. “I need more time.”

  CHAPTER 27

  Venture

  Tuesday 24 August

  Angela boarded the shuttle, and poked her head into the cockpit.

  “Hi, Wen.”

  “Angela. You have duty here – or are you just wanting to get some more experience flying a shuttle? I’ve heard things about you. Congratulations.”

  She smiled. “Duty. Thanks, Wen. Now I know why you love it so much. Cargo loaded?”

  Wen gave her a thumbs-up. “Passengers?”

  “Should be here any time now. I’d better get ready.”

  She went through the passenger cabin quickly, ensuring that everything remained in order. With passengers, they really should have had a co-pilot as well. But everyone seemed busy all the time, and Captain Yrden had given her the responsibility of taking over and docking the shuttle should anything happen to Wen.

  “Rolf and Ken Ritter have informed me that you can do it,” the captain had said.

  The pleasure hearing that evoked came just ahead of the anxiety. But, then, nothing would happen to Wen.

  She exited the airlock just in time to greet the first of the passengers. “Just go to the back, put your ready-case in the overhead bin, and sit down. I’ll be in to make sure everyone gets properly strapped in.”

  She kept a bright smile on her face, even though she now knew who some of these passengers were, and why the Families had taken them off of Earth. She felt privileged by Captain Yrden’s trust in her.

  “Helen, Carol!” She greeted the two women. “Ready for your next adventure?”

  Helen looked much better than she had that first day. When she had come to supper, she looked like the world weighed on her shoulders. Now, she appeared much more relaxed. And Carol had come to terms with whatever Helen had told her.

  Carol threw her arms around Angela, and hugged her tightly. “I’m going to miss you so much,” she said.

  “I’ll miss you, too. But I’m on the shuttle, too. So, we won’t have to say good-bye until you get to Twin Star.”

  She sat the two sisters, checked that everyone wore their emergency suits properly, had them hooked up to air, had properly fastened their restraints, and had space-sick bags at the ready. She then took Hurricane in her carrier up to the pet room – basically a small closet where she could securely clip the carrier to the wall.

  Then Wen kicked the shuttle off Venture and, one minute later, they were all pushed back into their seats by a powerful burn. He wasn’t wasting any time. When the burn ended, she went up to the flight deck.

  “Why the rush?”

  “Everything’s a rush these days,” he replied. “Even with Venture closer to FTL-1 than usual, it’s still a four hour trip.”

  She sat in the co-pilot’s seat, and watched out the front screen. It felt good to sit near Wen again. They hadn’t seen much of each other the past month, and especially the last few weeks. They sat in companionable silence for half an hour, before she rose once more.

  “Have to check on the passengers,” she told him.

  The passengers mostly had their attention on entertainment screens or had their eyes closed listening to music. She took the seat next to Carol, and opened a conversation. Carol had become resigned to the trip, scared for her friends back on Earth, and worried that if nothing happened, she would lose her job – and wondered where might she find another.

  “Ms Fulton, please report to the flight deck,” came Wen’s voice over the InShip. She excused herself, and went forward.

  “What is it, Wen?”

  “Sit down. Check the detectors.”

  She sat. “There’s something accelerating towards us from FTL-1 or Twin Star,” she said.

  “Will we collide?” he asked.

  She fed the information across to the navigation tank, and then observed it. “Close, but no. Who is it?”

  He showed her how to check the IDs.

  “Oh, it’s one of FTL-1’s shuttles. Heading for Haida Gwaii.”

  “Well done. Anything different about it?”

  She checked again.

  “It’s still accelerating. Wow! That’s quite a burn. She’s moving.” Angela watched it for a few minutes. “She’s still burning. That’s a lot of fuel wasted.”

  Wen nodded. “Time seems to have become more important than the cost of fuel. Everyone’s worried. I wish I knew why.”

  She looked over at him. He kept his eyes on his instruments. Hadn’t anyone told him? Should she let him know what Captain Yrden had told her?

  “News feeds are talking a lot about a possible war. They say that India and Pakistan almost attacked each other a little while back.”

  Wen shook his head. “Nobody’s stupid enough to go to war.”

  She hoped he was right.

  “I figure that someone’s mad at the Families,” Wen said after a long silence.

  “Why?”

  “Why do I think that, or why are they mad? Doesn’t matter. The Yrdens – and probably the other Families from what I’ve been able to see – are buying like there’s no tomorrow. They’re loading up Haida Gwaii with massive orders. Only reason I can think of is that someone plans on sanctioning the Families. They’ll use the supplies on Haida Gwaii to stock their ships until whoever it is comes to their senses.”

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  Wen triggered the comm. “FTL Shuttle One, this is Venture Shuttle Three. I’m altering course sun-wards to give you more room.” He clicked off the comm after receiving an acknowledgment.

  “We’ll give them a couple hundred kilometers. No sense taking any chances.”

  Angela kept her eyes on the navigation tank as the station shuttle sped by. Then Wen altered course back to rendezvous with Twin Star.

  “Twin Star, Venture Shuttle Three. ETA one hour.”

  He received docking instructions.

  “Better get back to the cabin, Angela. I’m going to do a braking burn.”

  The burn and docking went without incident. Carol White, though in the front of the passenger cabin, waited until last to get off. She again hugged Angela.

  “Perhaps we’ll meet again sometime. But it’s a big galaxy.”

  “Not that big. And the Yrden ships go everywhere in it.”

  “Say good-bye to Ken for me. We had fun. Tell him how much I appreciated him, his wit, his ... his just being there.”

  Angela tilted her head. “Didn’t you already tell him?”

  She laughed. “Yes, but tell him again, anyway. It’ll count for more coming from you.”

  Angela blinked. “It will?”

  “Yes, because there’s no need for me to say it now if it weren’t true.”

  Unsure of the logic in that, Angela merely shrugged. “I’ll tell him. Safe trip.”

  “And you.” Carol left, and Angela sealed the airlock.

  Wen appeared from below decks, just coming up from the cargo hold. “New orders. As soon as they finish unloading the hold, we’re to head for Topside One. Apparently the Families have some cargo still there – and a couple of passengers for Haida Gwaii. Come on and strap in. This’ll be a new experience for you.”

  Angela sat in the co-pilot’s seat, and looked at the display. Different, indeed. The navigation tank showed considerable traffic.

  “Not as easy as before, hey?” Wen said. “Here, we follow Traffic Control’s instructions. We give the nearest station – in this case FTL-1 – our flight plan. They direct us until the next station takes over. We could, of course, avoid this by going very high orbit, and then coming back down over the station we want, but that entails fighting our way out of the gravity well – in other words, wasting fuel and time.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Nothing at all. This is only orientation. I’ll put the comm on speaker, explain what I’m doing as I’m doing it – when there is time. If things get tight, I’ll probably go quiet. In any event, just watch,
don’t ask questions, and enjoy.”

  Wen kicked off Twin Star, and called in to FTL-1 to get instructions. Angela watched, fascinated. Eventually, she would have to learn this stuff. For now, she just felt privileged to sit in the co-pilot’s seat.

  A couple of times, she wanted to warn Wen about traffic that seemed like it would intersect with their flight path, but she controlled herself. Traffic Control routed them around any potential problems, and an hour later found them on approach to Topside One.

  “Nothing to it, hey?”

  Angela shook her head. “How do you do it? How do you keep so many things in mind?”

  Wen laughed. “Not so hard once you learn the secrets. Actually it’s Traffic Control that keeps everyone from colliding with each other. I just followed their instructions. True, I kept a good lookout just in case, but these people know what they are doing.”

  Docking on Topside One went smoothly. Angela went to open the airlock, and got the surprise of her life when she saw Brian Richardson waiting to board.

  “Mr Richardson!”

  “Ms Fulton. And I understand Pilot ... uh ... Pearson brought the shuttle in.”

  “Um, yes, sir, he did.”

  And, as if called, Wen showed up on his way to the cargo hold. He looked at Richardson with no joy on his face. “Mr Richardson.”

  “Pilot. First things first, do you have anything for me?”

  “Afraid not, Mr Richardson. I do what I’m told. Workboats and shuttles only,” Wen replied.

  “Ms Fulton?”

  She felt slightly ill. “No, Mr Richardson.”

  “Ah, well. I didn’t really expect anything. However, Ms Fulton, I have something for you.”

  She looked at him warily. “Okay, but I’m supposed to see to some passengers.”

  He smiled at her. “They can wait. They will wait; I’ve seen to that.” He turned to Wen. “Pilot, I suggest that you open the cargo hatch, and supervise the loading. I also suggest that you don’t show yourself on the dock. We don’t want anyone recognizing you.”

  Wen looked as if he wanted to say something, but he bit back the words, turned and went down the hatch to the hold.

  “What do you have for me, Mr Richardson?”

  “A visitor. Captain Yrden let me know you were coming on this shuttle – actually, you were assigned to this shuttle so you could come here.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Richardson smiled again, stepped back to the airlock and called out. “Come on in, Darrius.”

  Angela gaped at the hatch, her breathing suddenly coming in gasps. She looked at the tall dark man who stepped through.

  “Angela!”

  “Dad!” She threw herself into his arms. “Dad, Dad!”

  “You have about twenty minutes, Darrius, before I have to let the passengers board,” Richardson said. “Angela, nice to meet you again.”

  “Thank you, thank you, Mr Richardson.”

  He laughed. “Don’t waste your time on me.”

  Angela went to him, nonetheless, pulled his head down, and kissed him on the cheek. He accepted it.

  “Now, talk with your father. I have to go; I have two hundred and forty farmers coming up tomorrow, heading for Liberty, and I’m not quite ready for them.”

  He gave Angela a final pat on the shoulder, and walked out.

  “I hope you weren’t too worried, Dad,” she said, leading him to a seat. She sat down beside him.

  “No, not at all. Brian told me he had seen you before he told me that pirates had destroyed 684. So I didn’t worry at all.”

  “And Mom?”

  “She knows, too. I brought a datastick for you. She ‘wrote’ you a letter – a video letter. I’m on it, too.” He handed her the datastick. “Now, tell me, what have you been doing for the last few months?”

  “You won’t believe it, but I’m training to become a pilot.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. And I’ve piloted – under supervision, of course – Venture’s Scout-1. They let me take her through jump and drop. I went out and saw Saturn and Jupiter. We picked up some Family members on Io Station.”

  She bubbled on, just feeling wonderful. Then she remembered how tense the passengers from Io were. It wouldn’t be betraying anything to tell her father that.

  “That bad?” he asked.

  “Dad, they’re talking about a war on Earth – and possibly fighting on some of the Sol System colonies and stations.”

  Darius Fulton smiled at her, and patted her hand. “Don’t you worry about that. It’s all talk. Nothing will come of it. If any government were to be so foolish, the Trans-Planetary Corporations – and the Families would likely join us – would simply cut off all trade with that country. They wouldn’t be able to get to their colony world, and they fear a colony world breaking away more than anything.”

  Angela felt relieved. But she couldn’t help worrying.

  “So, the Yrdens are treating you alright – even though they know who I am, and that you worked for Amalgamated?”

  She nodded her head. “They’ve been nothing but nice. And I’ve made friends there.” Should she tell him? Yes. “And Captain Yrden says that after the year, if I want to re-sign with them, they would be happy to have me.”

  “As they should be,” he declared. “I’m proud of you, daughter. And your mom will be, too.”

  “Captain Yrden says I’m the kind of employee that they’re always looking for, but never get enough of. Says that some members of her Family should look at me as an example.”

  Darius laughed. “I’m so proud of you. And you should stay with them.”

  And those words brought tears to her eyes. She wiped at them. “Thanks, Dad. I didn’t know if I should tell you. I was afraid you’d tell me no.”

  Her father shook his head. “You’re a grown woman, Angela. As long as you’re happy, that’s enough for me. But if you ever want to come back, I’ll be happy, too.”

  He glanced at his chrono. Had they run out of time already? Too soon. She pressed her lips together.

  “There’s one other thing you should know, Dad.”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m in love with an Yrden pilot. Rolf Yrden. And I think he loves me, too. It’s still pretty new, and we haven’t talked about it, but we might get married.” She waited for his reaction.

  He bent down and kissed her forehead. “My little girl’s all grown up. Congratulations. Your mother and I will expect an invitation.”

  More tears came.

  “Wipe away those tears. We only have a few minutes left, and I want you to say something to your mother.”

  He took out a vid camera, and focused it. “Tell your mother all the good news, darling.”

  So, Angela repeated much of what she’d told her father, only in short form, concluding with the possibility of a wedding.

  “I miss you, Mom. I wish you could have been here, too. But I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

  Her father put down the camera, and now the tears really started. Wen took that very moment to reappear, and his face went stiff when he saw her crying. Before he could do something that he would regret, Angela smiled at him.

  “Dad, this is Wen. He saved my life.”

  “I’ve heard about you, Mr Carson. And I can’t thank you enough.” He reached out a hand, which Wen shook.

  “Pleased to meet you, Mr Fulton. I’m Pearson now. But I’m interrupting. I’ll start my checklist – and, Angela, you take your time. I’ll call for the passengers when you are ready, not before.”

  After Wen had disappeared, Angela wiped her face. “The nicest man on Amalgamated 684.” She grinned. “Second nicest man on Venture.”

  They took another ten minutes, with her father bringing her up to date on family and friends. Then he regretfully, stood. “I should go before I get you in trouble.”

  Though they both knew that wouldn’t happen, Angela nodded. “It was so nice to see you.”

  “And please than
k Captain Yrden for me. Her call came as quite a surprise – especially since the Yrdens hate Brian. But she found out that I was on Topside One, and called up Brian to let him know that ‘a recent hire’ would work this shuttle. If anyone wanted to visit her on the shuttle, they should do so when it arrived.”

  “Why do the Yrdens hate Mr Richardson?”

  “It’s not one-sided. He hates them right back. Something happened about twenty years ago, and neither side has forgotten or forgiven. Unfortunate, but not unprecedented. Take care, Daughter.”

  She started wiping at her face again. “Take care, Father.”

  She took two more minutes before poking her head into the cockpit. “I’m ready, Wen. Thank you.”

  The passengers were all old hands. They didn’t need any mothering. So, after Wen kicked off the station, she went to join him on the flight deck.

  “Your father?”

  “Yes. It seems that Captain Yrden found out he was on Topside One. She called up Mr Richardson to let him know I was coming so he could bring Dad to meet me.”

  Wen hit the thrusters, and the acceleration pushed them back, making it more difficult to move.

  “Captain Yrden did that? I guess she’s not all bad,” Wen admitted.

  Feeling mischievous, Angela asked, “How are the guitar lessons going?”

  “My mistake; she’s pure, unadulterated evil.”

  Angela laughed, delighted. Then she sat back to enjoy the ride.

  * * *

  Wednesday 24 August

  Owen watched Haida Gwaii growing ever larger. Even in her unfinished state, the station far out-massed FTL-1. And it belonged to the Families! He felt proud to be a part of that.

  “There you go, Owen.” The pilot waved to the door.

  “Dumped off along with the other cargo,” Owen replied as if it were a complaint. The pilot laughed.

  Outside, Owen picked up his bags, and followed the signage to the corridor outside the hold. He checked his reader for the deckplan. By dint of both the deckplan and asking directions, he found his way to Bill Tannon’s office.

  “Owen Yrden,” Bill greeted him. “Good to finally meet you. Your mother is anxious to see you, too. I suppose you’d like to see her right away.”