A World Too Far (Terran Trilogy Book 1)

by Sheron Wood McCartha

  She scowled at his comment.

  “However, I promised the kitchen I’d let them know about food supplies after I see Andy over at the farm and find out what’s available.”

  Carter lifted his hand. “There’s another area where robots or machines can help make work more efficient. Ask the commissary what automation they might need for slicing, mixing or packaging food.”

  Again Brad tapped in notes and checked his wrist monitor. “Got to go. Great talking with you two.” He put a hand on Elise’s arm. “We need to get together again and bounce ideas around… maybe over dinner? Have Jazz contact my office and set it up.”

  She noticed Carter tighten his hands into fists when he heard the invitation, so she played it cool. However, it wouldn’t hurt to let Carter know she was available, and that there might be competition nearby. A little incentive wouldn’t hurt.

  “I’ll have to check my schedule and see when I’m available, but I’ll call you sometime soon.”

  And with that, they left for engineering.

  In engineering, Jimbo eyed Carter, at first a bit stiff over his departure, but when he heard about Carter’s idea of using robots in the antimatter chamber, he warmed up fast.

  Jimbo’s baritone voice boomed out, “As you know, we deal with radioactive material. Keeping the antimatter cyclon functioning properly is hazardous for humans. Big magnets need constant monitoring. If you can make robots to handle the more dangerous tasks, it would be—” The big man ran out of words and flailed his hands awkwardly in the air.

  Carter put a hand on Jimbo’s shoulder. “Make notes on what you want and shoot them over to the Storage Locker. We’re backed up, but if you give me time, I’ll make sure you get what you need.”

  Immediately, Jimbo had a slew of ideas and wanted Carter to stay and discuss them.

  So, she left Carter in a discussion with engineering, but he promised to meet up later in her quarters. First would be a nice intimate dinner, and then they would see where things went from there. Romance was in the plans, she hoped. The shift looked promising.

  Worried about Trajan, she stopped by the Medlab before returning to her unit to change. He’d seemed excited about the operation, but she wanted to make sure that he was recuperating properly. John was always too optimistic about his projects.

  The entrance to Trajan’s hospital unit was partially opened. Not wanting to wake him, she slid the panel wider and peered in.

  He stood by his bed, buttoning up a black shirt, his muscular chest partially bare. She’d never seen him anything but buttoned up and buckled in.

  The sight was magnificent.

  She pushed the door some more to walk in and stopped when she saw Amanda move up next to him. He finished his shirt and ever so gently gathered the young woman into his embrace. He bent his face to hers in an act so intimate and tender, it left no doubt they either were lovers or would be soon.

  Oh, Trajan, she thought, as she quietly shut the door between them. I will miss your constant presence and strong arm. How will I live without your nearby calm in the midst of chaos, your strength that protected my weakness?

  Wetness dampened her face. She felt a sense of profound loss for herself, but then realized it meant great happiness for him. And anyway, wasn’t that was what she really wanted in the long run?

  Chapter 26

  A Dangerous Fix

  “I can’t do it. I just can’t.”

  John Luttrell slanted a look at Jacob. “What are you talking about?”

  Jacob leaned on the lab table and handed the doc another beaker of a nutrient solution.

  “Everyone seems to think I should work at the farm. My Da did, but I can’t.”

  “You can help out here in the lab.”

  “This isn’t my thing either. Too much thinking needed. I don’t have the patience or the resources to get the necessary education. No, I want Trajan’s operation. I want strong bones and fast muscles. For a guy like me, that would be best. Problem is, I can’t pay for it.”

  An interested expression flickered across Luttrell’s face. “I have a long-term job in mind that would be a lot like Trajan’s old job. You get along so well with Jennie that it might work out for you.”

  “If I agreed to this job, you would fix my bones and muscles like you did for Trajan?”

  “I might consider it. I would do the operation now, but you would have to put in a couple of years training with him to program your new body and learn certain skills. Trajan didn’t get the way he is without a lot of hard work and discipline. You would have to sign a two-year apprentice contract and be prepared to risk your life for your client if necessary. Would you be able to put your life on the line for someone else?”

  “You mean be a guard? Would Trajan agree to train me?”

  Luttrell smiled. “I think so. He wants to find ways to make money now that he’s thinking of his future. You might be the right challenge at the right time.”

  Jacob gave that a thought. “A guy has to think of the future, or some other dude might come and take her, er, it away.”

  “Yes, I see that,” said Luttrell.

  And knowing the ways of men and women, he was painfully aware of the fact.

  ***

  Elise clasped a drink in her hands and leaned forward on her elbows at the dinner table. She had agreed to Brad’s dinner date. “The Commander wants me to fix the damaged jump sensor in addition to the topside solar array. We’ll jump again as soon as all ships are ready.”

  Brad puffed out his cheeks. “The doc says Trajan’s ready, but the Medlab needs at least three shifts for two more volunteers who are still in recovery. Jimbo is preparing diagrams and instructions on what needs to be done.”

  “Who will you send?”

  Brad rubbed the table’s top with his hand and gazed away. “Trajan insisted…” He hunched his shoulders as if he expected an attack.

  Elise wrinkled her nose, and then as if facing the inevitable, she nodded. “I figured he would want to do it. I doubt I could stop him, but who are the others?”

  “Mika is in recovery and has volunteered for the repair. She’s studying the system now.”

  “No surprise there, but you’re holding back. Who’s the third?”

  Brad sat forward, concern on his face. “Now Elise, don’t get upset. He really wants to go, and we need someone small enough to fit inside the jump tube.”

  “Who?” She had a bad feeling she might know who. A very bad feeling. At least Brad hadn’t said, “she.” At least it wasn’t the adventuresome Jennie.

  “Jacob.”

  With a jerk backward, she pushed away from the table. “Jacob! He’s a child.”

  “At fifteen, he’s a young man.” Brad reached to reassure her. “He asked for the assignment, and we need someone smaller than Trajan or Mika.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “And I respect that.”

  “No one else can do this?”

  “No one else wants to. No one else will be ready, physically able, or fits inside that tube. You do need to make this repair, right?”

  Sometimes, circumstances forced a captain to do things for the good of the ship that she really didn’t want to do. This might be one of those times.

  “All right, but provide every safety measure available. These people mean a lot to me, personally.”

  “Of course. I understand.” He reached for her hand. “Are we still friends?”

  “For the time being.”

  ***

  Jacob wiggled his fingers inside the glove of the custom made suit. While he recuperated from his operation and trained with Trajan, the 3D printers had been busy repurposing donated astronaut suits, compliments of Captain Dance. No suit had been available in his small size and no suit had been large enough to fit Trajan. So they had needed custom designs. Captain Dance called them an apology gift since his ship had twanged their jump regulator and crumpled their solar array in the first place.

  Fresh from the o
peration, his muscles still ached and fatigue plagued him, but Jacob felt stronger and faster with each new shift. His main concern now was not to damage property by squeezing too hard or moving too fast. He’d already dented Jennie’s entrance when he pushed too hard on her chimes and fractured the legs of her table by just freakin’ moving out a chair to sit down.

  He’d expected admiration on her face, brought about by his new physical strength and power, but instead got irritation and consternation as he destroyed everything he touched. Gradually, he adjusted to his new body, although he still walked on eggshells anytime he went anywhere.

  Stretching in his astronaut suit, Trajan eyed him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  He puffed out a breath. “While I’m not getting responsibilities like some guy I know; I still need the money. Stop asking me, will you? You act like I’ve lost my mind.”

  “I think you have.”

  “If I say no, who else you got?”

  That silenced the man, because the answer was, “No one.” Mika wouldn’t be ready in time. She’d had complications and was too big for the job.

  “Besides it’s taken so freakin’ long to get into this suit, I might as well go somewhere in it.” Jacob tapped the large white helmet with lights on either side and a built in vidcam that transmitted everything he saw to engineering and the bridge.

  Earlier, he’d needed to wiggle into a skintight insulation outfit that circulated oxygen and water to keep his suit at the right temperature, in addition to providing a sip tube to hydrate him and air to breathe. Then, the outer shell had to be held while two people slid him in and propped him up. He looked like a white, pregnant kangaroo with a front pouch full of tethered tools. The heaviest part was the large backpack which held a computer and the equipment that kept him alive. He adjusted an uncomfortable strap, his fat fingered glove not making it easy.

  Inside his helmet, over comm, Jacob heard Jazz’s voice, “One, two, three, testing. Jimbo, you on the line?”

  “I’m here. Can the Captain hear?”

  “We’re five by five here on the bridge.”

  “Jacob, Trajan?”

  Trajan grunted as Jacob said, “Loud and clear.”

  “Trajan?”

  “Loud and clear.”

  “Chay, all suit systems a go?”

  Next to Jimbo in engineering, Chay T’Sang replied, “All read green. Now remember not to touch the array directly. It’s live. Use your tools to move that.”

  Trajan clicked the helmet lock in place and peered at Jacob. “Got it.”

  “Deactivate ship’s magnetic field,” Jimbo’s voice rumbled.

  “Magnetic field is off,” a voice responded.

  Jacob gave Trajan a thumbs up. Trajan activated the airlock, stepped inside, and said, “Entering airlock.” He swung to face Jacob.

  If Trajan asked him one more time whether he wanted to go or not, Jacob swore he would cut the tether and push the man out the airlock.

  Instead, Trajan motioned him inside.

  Jacob joined him as the airlock vented atmosphere. Trajan leaned toward him and yanked on his tether to test it.

  “Activate magnetic boots,” Chay’s voice informed them.

  Jacob lifted and felt the tug. “Activated.”

  Trajan stomped. “Activated.” Straightening up, he wrenched open the outside hatch.

  Before them, a universe of stars greeted them. Bright diamonds sparkled over a deep black background, brilliant and numerous. Nearer, moving lights confirmed the accompanying fleet. Far off a gauzy nebula of green and blue floated like a fine mist and farther out a twin star galaxy emitted hazy orange and red colors.

  The sight dazzled him; the sheer quantity of stars overwhelmed him. The variety of colors and shapes of distant galaxies made him feel small and insignificant. He froze in awe. Beside him, Trajan also paused to stare and then tapped his shoulder as he stepped out onto the side of the ship.

  “Remember, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” Trajan stood erect, his suit sticking out at a ninety-degree angle as he walked upright on the side of the ship.

  “Well, duh,” Jacob muttered. He eased out and checked the tether, not as confident as he tried to act. Walking on the ship felt like wading in mud. The magnets stuck on the hull, and he had to tug each foot up to move forward. He used various sensors and handholds along the way to steady himself. Since this was an exploration ship, and not a military one, stuff necessary to run the ship stuck out everywhere. He just had to be careful what he grabbed: some of it was sensitive, some of it lethal.

  “Almost there,” Trajan huffed. He pointed with a fat white arm to a round shaft.

  Jacob eased up to the edge and peered in. A long metal stick with skinny metal branches stuck out and crooked to the side.

  “You need to work your way down into the shaft and unscrew the broken sensor.” Trajan leaned in. “I’ll straighten the bent part up here first.”

  “I know, I know. I was the kid who sat next to you during all those briefings.”

  “Oh, so that was you. Well, good.”

  Jacob grabbed the edge as Trajan boosted him over. Then he inched his way down one side and used the jutting pieces to guide him inward. At the bottom, he studied the broken piece. He pulled out a variation on a wrench and applied it to the base, praying the sensor hadn’t warped too badly when it was hit.

  “How’s it going?” Trajan’s worried voice floated in his helmet.

  “He’s doing fine,” Jimbo reassured everyone. “I have him on screen.”

  Once Jacob felt the wrench seed in place, he applied pressure to twist the base out. Grunting, he noticed the temperature controller in his suit inching up into the hot zone as he struggled to turn the wrench.

  “You’re heating up.”

  Chay’s voice came through at the same time he felt the base rotate. He stopped to take a breath.

  “Looks like he’s got it!” Jazz’s said, excited.

  He applied more pressure and the base rotated. Once free, it was easier. The base unscrewed and floated up into his hands. He bobbled it a bit before shoving it up toward Trajan. “Here it comes. Grab it.”

  “Got it. I’ll send down the replacement.”

  Using the cleared area to shift position, Jacob stretched a cramped muscle on one leg. Then, as the new piece floated into sight, he grabbed it and carefully screwed it into place. Cheers sounded in his helmet.

  “Okay, finish fixing the solar array and come in,” Captain Fujeint ordered. She sounded pleased.

  He went to stand up, and the push to unfold his legs sent him shooting up the shaft.

  With a growing panic, Jacob clutched toward the lip of the funnel to slow down, but his gloves slipped.

  “Whoa!” Trajan reached for him as he shot past.

  He tumbled outward, flying off the ship into space. Terrified, he watched as the ship sped away, but Trajan caught and jerked his tether while he floundered about, weightless, dark closing around him.

  “I’ve caught a space fish,” Trajan commented and started to reel him in.

  Finally, he felt the ship again, solid and comforting beneath him. He grabbed on and gasped for air, trying not to hyperventilate.

  “Rest some until his readings stabilize,” Chay counseled.

  “Acknowledged.” Trajan gave Jacob a fat-gloved pat on the shoulder.

  Jacob secured a hold bar and steadied his breathing. He paused, vividly aware of the immensity of space, and the danger it held with one careless slip.

  “All right. The women want us back, so let’s finish this.” Trajan gazed up toward the looming solar array, with its crooked top.

  Jacob could also see rips along the top four panels. “Captain Dance tore out a few panels showboating through that wormhole.”

  “Not his fault,” said Trajan as he headed for the large structure. “We shouldn’t have been in his path. How was he to know what was happening?”

  Jacob fluttered his tether, making
sure it was free of entanglement. He unclipped the latch via a hand remote from the airlock bolt and reeled the tether in. Then he leaned down and reattached it to a nearer eyebolt. Gathering focus, he drifted toward the solar array, following Trajan’s bulk as his suit’s headlights illuminated the ship’s vast landscape.

  Carefully, they drifted toward the multi-paneled construction that sucked up random starlight and converted it to electrical energy for the ship.

  Reaching into his pouch, Jacob pulled out four panels and clicked them together, passing them up to Trajan, who perched off the side of the array, careful not to touch the live panels. The insulating gloves made the replacement panels awkward to handle.

  Trajan grasped the bent frame of the array with a ceramic vise and, with a series of grunts, carefully dislodged it. He reached for the panels in Jacob’s hand and placed them in the teeth of the vise to fit them into the empty pane. Finished with Jacob’s, he reached into his own forward pouch and pulled out a set of panels, which he snapped together and carefully set in place.

  “Finished,” he gasped.

  Cheering and clapping reverberated in Jacob’s helmet as engineering and the bridge reacted.

  Trajan bent down to reattach his tether. He unhooked it, then jerked upward. “Aaah, my eye!” Jacob watched in horror as Trajan let loose the handhold and slapped at his helmet. His body canted backward, falling away from the ship. “I can’t see,” he wailed. Trajan’s tether undulated at his side, unattached as he tumbled away from the ship.

  For a brief moment, Jacob watched, not believing how fast events were happening. Then, adrenaline kicked in and galvanize him into action.

  “Don’t move.” Jacob cocked his legs and shot toward the gyrating figure.

  Playing out his tether, Jacob focused on Trajan as he arrowed closer to the flailing man. “I’m coming in; get ready.” He smacked up against Trajan, grabbing his pouch. “Hang on to me.” He heard Trajan whoof out a breath, as momentum slammed Jacob onto the floating form, propelling them farther out.

  He hoped the push didn’t snap his tether.

  The line jerked and his forward motion stopped abruptly. Dangling out in space, they rebounded back toward the ship, which now appeared frighteningly small.