Messinants

by S. H. Jucha

  “We’re not to put them under,” the medic told her teams.

  “Lindsey, Sasha, stay with them. I need to talk to Captain Harbour,” Aurelia said.

  As the group hurried toward the Belle’s shuttle, Aurelia caught one of the YIPS personnel by the arm. “Patch me through YIPS admin to Captain Harbour.”

  When Belinda saw Aurelia stand back with the tech, she tapped Nate on the shoulder. “We stay with Rules,” she said.

  The tech called admin, and Evan Pendleton was alerted. Aurelia updated him on the retrieval of the three engineers and requested a comm transfer to the Belle.

  “The Belle,” Birdie announced, when she received the call from Evan.

  “Birdie, this is Aurelia,” the young empath replied without waiting for Evan to speak. “I need Captain Harbour.”

  “She’s here, Aurelia,” Birdie replied, and switched the call to bridge speakers at Harbour’s signal.

  Aurelia informed Harbour of the rescue of the engineers and their impending transfer by the medics to the Belle’s shuttle. Harbour waggled her hand at Birdie, as if it were flying, and Birdie contacted Danny to notify him of the incoming personnel.

  “Captain, I had a thought,” Aurelia said. “We found the engineers through our empathetic abilities. Could that work to find the attackers?”

  “Whomever they are,” Evan interrupted, “they’re still on the YIPS. I shut down all shuttle flights, in and out, from the JOS, except for yours, Captain.”

  “Good thinking, Evan,” Jessie interjected. “The question is whether this is a YIPS employee or an interloper.”

  “I’m sorry to say, I think he’s a YIPS tech,” Evan replied.

  “What leads you to that conclusion, Evan, besides the type of vac suit the attacker was wearing?” Harbour asked.

  “No vac suits have been reported stolen. It would be a rare thing in the first place because they’re all fitted, as you know,” Evan replied.

  It was something Harbour didn’t know, but she kept that piece of information to herself. “The attacker could have brought the vac suit with him or her,” Harbour said, challenging Evan’s logic.

  “It’s possible,” Evan replied.

  “Evan, what did the two techs, who were present at the attack, say about the way it went down?” Jessie asked.

  “Wait one,” Evan replied. A couple of minutes later, the emergency protocol chief joined the conversation.

  “In answer to your question, Captain,” the chief said, “Hadley and Jensen said that it was creepy how the job was done.”

  “Explain,” Tacticnok requested, not understanding the term.

  “It was the timing and the placement of the gas that was seemingly fluid,” the chief replied, when he heard the translation in his ear. He’d been issued an ear wig to enable him to communicate with the Jatouche in case of problems. “The techs believed he had an extremely small window of time to set the device at the corridor corner and trigger the timer. The engineers must have been fewer than fifty or sixty paces behind the attacker.”

  “It’s an employee,” Jessie announced firmly. “Whoever it is, they know the YIPS intimately. They knew when and where they could release a small amount of gas and ensure they sprayed the target, which presumably was Olivia.”

  “Are all employees accounted for?” Harbour asked.

  “Yes, that’s one of the first things we do in an emergency situation,” the chief replied.

  Jessie had his hand on his chin deep in thought. As a company owner and captain, he had intimate knowledge of job assignments and rotation. The YIPS ran three shifts around the clock so the furnaces were never shut down.

  “This employee was off during second shift,” Jessie announced. “Otherwise they would have been reported, as missing duty. Any reports like that?”

  “Two,” the chief replied. “Both have been in medical for more than a day.”

  “This tech we’re looking for could have been with the teams searching for the engineers,” Evan volunteered.

  “No, Sir,” Aurelia replied. “The empaths would have noticed someone who was emitting emotions related to this attack.”

  “Unless they’re a cold-blooded murderer,” Jessie offered.

  “No, Aurelia’s right,” Harbour said. “They would have been detected. Captain, you’re suggesting the attacker might have been a psychopath or some such thing. If that were correct, he or she would have come across as an emotional blank, and that would have evinced an empath’s concern.”

  For the normals on the line and within earshot that was a piece of news about empaths that none of them had known, and it took a moment to be absorbed.

  “Evan, if the YIPS personnel, who are accompanying the empath teams, stay at the Belle’s shuttle, where will the rest of the techs be at this time?” Harbour asked.

  “We’re into our third shift, Captain,” Evan replied. “Most techs will be on the wheel, asleep, or eating. The rest will be tending the furnaces and the pours. Third shift is our smallest employee group.”

  “Aurelia, I’ll send the teams out to search for the attacker. Evan coordinate with the teams to direct them to the furnace and the wheel,” Harbour ordered.

  “Many of the techs will be asleep,” Evan countered, “We’ll have to get access to their cabins and wake them up.”

  “Probably not, Sir,” Aurelia said. “The stronger empaths should be able to sense the emotional states without entering the cabin. If they’re asleep, you’ll only have to knock, and we’ll know quickly what they’re feeling.”

  “Captain, I’m headed to the wheel,” Aurelia said.

  “Chief, you need to ensure every empath team is prepared,” Jessie said. “You don’t know what this attacker will do, when he or she realizes they’re discovered.”

  “Do you think they’ll release more gas?” Evan asked with trepidation.

  “I’ve no idea, and that’s the problem,” Jessie replied.

  On Harbour’s signal, Birdie cut the comm. Then she ordered contact with the shuttle and Danny.

  “Danny, once the engineers are aboard, get them back here soonest,” Harbour ordered. “Lindsey and Sasha are accompanying them. When Lindsey reaches the shuttle, I want to speak with her. The active empaths are going to be assigned to locations to search out the attacker.”

  “Captain, many of the younger or weaker empaths are spent,” Danny replied. “You’re only going to have five or six who can still do the job.”

  “Understood, Danny,” Harbour replied.

  “Wait one, Captain. The med teams are arriving.”

  A few minutes later, over the bridge speakers was heard, “This is Lindsey, Captain.”

  “Lindsey, you’re going to search for the attacker,” Harbour said. “Aurelia believes the individual will stand out emotionally in contrast to other techs.”

  “Clever girl,” Lindsey commented.

  “YIPS admin will direct those empaths teams, which are still viable, to search the furnace areas and the wheel. I want you to make sure any empaths who are drained return with Danny. I don’t want to have one of our women shutting down.”

  Dingles and a few spacers glanced at one another. This was the third revelation about empaths in as many minutes.

  “Understood, Captain,” Lindsey replied, ending the call.

  -37-

  Celebration

  David was overjoyed. Everything had gone as planned. He frequently eyed his comm device but stayed his hand. It was too early to check his account for the second payment. News would have to reach downside about the release of gas aboard the YIPS, which injured three engineers. He didn’t know how detailed the announcement would be, whether it would mention the Jatouche or not, but he knew Jordie MacKiernan would recognize his handiwork.

  To occupy his mind, he hooked a memory stick into his comm device and played a vid. He had time to play several, while emergency announcements were sent over the station and then quieted. He was curious about the type of gas released, but
that information was never provided.

  David, relaxing and celebrating his success in his cabin, was unaware that the empaths were searching for him. Nor was he aware that Evan was personally leading one of the strongest empaths, Aurelia, to search the wheel.

  “This is the meal room, Aurelia,” Evan said, stepping through the twin doors, as they slid open.

  Aurelia walked into the room, her senses open. Evan started to follow, but Belinda laid a hand on his arm.

  “She doesn’t need any more interference from us,” Belinda told Evan.

  Men and women looked up from their food, as Aurelia circulated the room. Her reputation preceded her: a powerful empath, judged innocent by Captain Harbour, and still sought by JOS security. Fortunately for Aurelia, there were no legitimate security officers aboard to ensure the commandant’s edict was executed.

  “Nothing,” Aurelia commented to Evan, when she finished perusing the room. “Curiosity, concerns, anxiety, and some fear, but nothing to warrant a second look,” she added.

  “We should check the tech cabins next,” Evan volunteered. “The majority of them are off duty. At this time, that’s where they’ll be.”

  The group worked their way around the YIPS giant gravity wheel. Unlike a mining ship, there were four tubes of corridors — housing admin offices, cabins, meal rooms, vac suit rooms, and other structures — fused together inside the wheel.

  At the first tech’s cabin, Aurelia paused. She sensed the slightest of emotions. They were at the level of her sister’s dream state.

  “Knock, Evan,” Aurelia requested.

  “Yeah,” came a hard growl from inside the cabin, after Evan firmly rapped on the cabin door.

  “Evan Pendleton,” the YIPS manager announced. “Due to the emergency, we’re checking all cabins to be sure that we haven’t lost anyone.”

  “Sorry, Sir, all good here,” the voice announced.

  Aurelia shook her head, and Evan said, “Good to hear. Back to sleep.”

  At the next door, Aurelia sensed an awake individual. By the emanations she received, she thought they belonged to a woman. The emergency chief’s report indicated the attacker was most probably a man and likely a young individual, judging by the frame and the walk.

  “No,” Aurelia said, shaking her head.

  Thus it went, cabin after cabin. Either Evan knocked to wake the occupant or Aurelia received something through the cabin’s door of a tech already conscious.

  At one cabin door, Aurelia sensed nothing. She frowned and opened her gate wider. Still nothing.

  “Is someone supposed to be here?” Aurelia asked.

  Belinda tapped the access panel next to the door, pointing to a row of lights. “Occupied,” she said.

  “Dead?” Nate asked, screwing up his face at the oddity of his own suggestion.

  “Give them a moment,” Evan said. “They could be in the facilities.”

  Sure enough, a few minutes later, the group could hear a woman humming loudly.

  “No,” Aurelia said, smiling to herself.

  At the next door, Aurelia received a strong impression of excitement. She frowned, concentrating on some of the other subtler emotions. The celebratory joy was wrapped in the output of a powerful ego. The individual was luxuriating in a sense of superiority.

  “This one is all wrong,” Aurelia said. “You’d think he was a miner, who struck it rich.”

  “A fat payday of coin for a successful gas attack might produce the same result,” Belinda commented.

  “Who’s in there?” Nate whispered.

  Evan pulled up his comm unit, checked the cabin number, and said, “David Yersh, tech, been with us four years.”

  “Does he fit the profile? Young and about the right height?” Belinda asked.

  “He does,” Evan replied, after perusing the details of Evan’s employment profile. “I’ll call for reinforcements,” Evan added, bringing his comm unit close to his face and stepping away from the door.

  “Don’t, Sir,” Aurelia whispered softly. “There’s something strange about this individual. I don’t think he’ll put up a struggle.”

  Evan and Nate stared at Aurelia in confusion.

  “If you say so, Rules,” Belinda said, using Aurelia’s spacer name, which cued Nate to latch on. “Knock, Evan, and nicely invite David to a discussion. We’re questioning every tech about their whereabouts at the time of the incident. Just routine.”

  Evan nodded his understanding and rapped on the door.

  “Yeah?” came a young male voice.

  “Evan Pendleton, David. Get your skins and boots on. We’ve got questions for the techs.”

  “Sure thing, Sir. Be right with you,” David replied.

  The group could distinguish movements within the cabin.

  Aurelia strained her senses to detect any change in David’s mood. “This man is as odd as they come,” she said.

  “How so?” Evan asked.

  “No change in his emotional state after being told by the YIPS manager that he’s about to be questioned,” Aurelia replied.

  “None?” Nate asked.

  Aurelia shook her head and frowned.

  “That’s freaky,” Belinda commented.

  Minutes later, the door opened. A slender, dark-haired, young man stood in the doorway. “Ready, Sir,” David said cheerily.

  “Go with these people, David,” Evan directed, “I’ve others to collect,” he added, sticking to the line that the group had agreed to if a suspect was found.

  “Lead on,” David said to Nate, supposing he was the senior individual.

  Nate gave David a congenial smile and started off toward a spoke that would take them from the wheel to the axis.

  Belinda walked beside David, and Aurelia took the rear.

  Several times, David glanced back at Aurelia. At one point, he began walking backward to stare at Aurelia. It was a good trick. Walking in reverse was a practiced art, when gravity was absent, such as in the axis, where they were.

  “Don’t I know you?” David asked Aurelia.

  “We’ve never met,” Aurelia commented dryly. She supposed David might be hitting on her. A month short of her eighteenth birthday, many young men had commented on her looks, when they tried to get close to her. Unfortunately for them, Aurelia had no desire to enter into any sort of relationship. After sixteen-plus years of confinement, ending in sexual assault, she was intent on embracing her freedom.

  The thought that did bother Aurelia was the lack of a shift in David’s emotional state. Not only had he not asked where they were going, but it seemed as if he didn’t care.

  When the group turned down a terminal arm, David finally had a question. “Shuttle ride to the JOS?” he asked.

  “The Belle,” Aurelia supplied, hoping for a reaction.

  “Great,” David replied. “I’d hoped to get a look at the colony ship one day. Will I get to meet Captain Harbour?”

  “I’m sure that can be arranged,” Belinda said.

  David immediately put two and two together, turned around to Aurelia, snapped his fingers, and said, “I’ve got it. You’re the girl who murdered Dimitri Belosov, the ex-governor’s nephew.”

  “Self-defense, if you haven’t heard,” Aurelia replied with a little heat. “But, yes, that was me who ended him.”

  “Hmm,” David replied, turning around. “Probably deserved it.”

  Belinda looked over her shoulder at Aurelia, her expression a confused query. David’s reactions were surprising her too.

  When they reached the Belle’s shuttle, Danny had already made the round trip to the colony ship to drop off the engineers and the first load of empath teams. David bound up the gangway. He ran into Danny on the other side of the shuttle’s hatch. “David Yersh,” he said, extending a hand to Danny.

  “Danny Thompson,” Harbour’s pilot replied, accepting the hand.

  “Sit anywhere?” David asked, seeing the shuttle was empty.

  “Be our guest,” Danny sai
d, sweeping a hand toward the shuttle’s bow.

  “Great,” David replied, hurrying forward.

  Danny gave Belinda a bewildered look, and she replied, “Don’t ask.”

  In the meantime, Evan called YIPS admin, requesting to speak to a senior empath involved in searching the YIPS aft end. His call was taken by Lindsey.

  “Yes, Evan?” Lindsey answered.

  “I need another empath team at the wheel,” Evan requested.

  “What’s happened?” Lindsey asked, with trepidation. She feared that Aurelia might have pushed her powers too far.

  “Aurelia thinks she has a suspect. She and some of Captain Cinders’ spacers are escorting him to the Belle’s shuttle. I hope Danny’s back by the time they get to the gangway.”

  “I’ve received word from the Belle that Danny’s docked on the YIPS. How did Aurelia identify the suspect? Fear?”

  “Negative,” Evan replied. “She said it was the absence of expected emotions. She thought he was celebrating, and she was especially alarmed when David, the tech, didn’t show any emotional change when he was told he was going to be interviewed.”

  “That would do it,” Lindsey commented. “What else do you need searched?”

  “Well, come to think of it, we checked the galley and most of the techs’ cabins. There’s only three left to examine. What’s your status?”

  “We’ve finished the search of the furnace and pour areas and found nothing suspicious. Our teams are headed to the terminal arm for our shuttle.”

  “Then, I believe that Aurelia probably has our culprit,” Evan said.

  “That’s my thinking, Evan,” Lindsey replied. “I’m returning to the shuttle with the others. We’ll be in touch, Evan.”

  “Lindsey, before you go, I must remind you that David Yersh is a YIPS employee and, as such, is protected by JOS protocols, including rules of examination, the right to counsel, and informing security and the Review Board of his detainment.

  “I’ll pass along your message to Captain Harbour, Evan,” Lindsey replied, ending the call.

  Despite Evan’s insistence on David’s rights, he was fairly certain that he heard a tone of dismissal in Lindsey’s voice. He hoped it was only because she might be exhausted from the search, which had lasted throughout the night and early morning hours. First shift was due to start in forty-five minutes.