Project Columbus: Omnibus

by J. C. Rainier

  She would never have forgiven you if you hadn’t, Cal. His fists balled up and rage swelled within him. His anger spewed forth as he screamed at the top of his lungs and punched a sleeper unit. The metal clanged like a rock had hit it. Cal felt a pop and saw the dent his fist made in the door. It took his body several seconds to realize what happened; he howled in pain when it caught up.

  Cal floated in the hallway, clutching his hand. He tried to squeeze the pain away by digging his fingers in to his wrists, but it would not abate. He breathed in deeply which helped somewhat, but it felt as if he had stabbed his finger.

  He bumped and crashed his way out of the sleeper pod and headed for the belly of the ship. Maneuvering down the ladder proved to be very difficult with one good hand, and Cal hurtled end over end into the railing at the top. He muttered and swore, then sucked in another great breath and continued on.

  Cal struggled through the dark corridor, almost blinded by pain. He fumbled as he input his security code into the key pad for the gym door and then slid it open. He was relieved to find Dr. Taylor still inside, working on an abdominal machine. She startled when he opened the door.

  “Ugh, Cal. How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on an old woman,” she said after she recovered.

  “A few more times,” he replied sarcastically. Pain shot through his hand again and he winced.

  Dr. Taylor wiped the sweat from her arms with a towel and then rubbed it across her brow. “You hurt yourself again?” Cal nodded. “Come here, let me take a look.”

  “I think I busted something,” he said as he advanced toward her.

  Dr. Taylor took his bandaged hand. “Tell me where it hurts.”

  Cal pointed at his middle finger. Dr. Taylor squeezed it and he tried to stifle a yelp. She grunted and then scrutinized his other fingers, and then worker her way down the hand. “Does any of that hurt?”

  “No, just the finger.” Cal felt as if he had been stabbed again. He gritted his teeth and drew in a deep breath.

  “I see. How did this happen?”

  “I ah… had a little run in with my sleeper berth.”

  The doctor finished her examination and looked at Cal with her wizened brown eyes. “A word of advice, Calvin. Punching hard objects is a great way to break a finger, which it looks like you’ve done. If the hard object happens to be a piece of equipment on this ship, it’s also a great way to upset a commanding officer.”

  Cal’s eyes dropped as if he were a scolded puppy. “I know, but I couldn’t help it.”

  “Well, you could have spared yourself a lot of pain by coming down here and working out your frustrations. Come with me and let’s take care of that finger.”

  Dr. Taylor led Cal back down the lower gallery to a pod three rows away. She indicated for Cal to wait outside while she went in. After about a minute she came out with some tape and a few tiny packets. She taped his middle and ring fingers together in two spots as Cal bit his lip.

  “Nothing more strenuous than eating or using your computer with this hand, and these fingers stay together until I tell you otherwise, understood?” Cal nodded. She handed him the packets. “Ibuprofen for the pain and swelling. If you think it is swelling too much, it probably is. Get an ice pack and come find me.”

  Cal gave her a pained smile. “Thanks, Doc. One of these days I’ll go without you patching me up, I swear.”

  She did not return the smile. Instead, the wrinkles on her forehead became more pronounced and her eyebrows arched. “Calvin, I don’t want you to be alarmed, but this is serious. I need you to tell me if you have any sort of sudden mood swings. You will not upset me by coming to me with problems. But you have to trust me on this, it’s extremely important that you tell me about these kinds of things if they happen.”

  An eerie chill washed over Cal. “Why?”

  Dr. Taylor pursed her lips and shook her head. “I can’t tell you that. You just have to trust me, Calvin.”

  “I do, Doc. But you’re kind of freaking me out a little bit.”

  “You wouldn’t be the first person to be a little unsettled about something on this mission,” she replied in a flat tone.

  Cal flashed back to his earlier encounter with Alexis. I wonder if she knows just how true that is.

  “In any case, Mr. McLaughlin, I do believe it is lunch time. I’m sure Hunter is off duty and looking for us.”

  Cal did not want company, not even from Dr. Taylor. He thought for a second, searching for a polite way to decline, but decided on an honest approach. “Sorry. And tell Hunter I’m sorry too. I just want to be alone right now. Maybe catch up on some reading.”

  She nodded. “Just remember what I said. I will see you later for passenger scans.”

  Cal quickly retreated to pod twelve and settled himself into the cockpit with a meal pouch and Practical Chemistry. He paged through the book to the last section he had been reading. If I’m going to screw up everything here, I might as well learn something useful for when we land.

  The stresses of the day had taken a toll on him. No sooner than he had eaten lunch and read three pages, he fell asleep, harnessed in the seat of the lonely control room.

  1st Lt Haruka Kimura

  26 September 2019, 13:34

  Raphael

  “Just a minute, Lieutenant, my head is still spinning.”

  Haruka idled by as Major Nathan Emberley rubbed his temples. His brow glistened with sweat and his salt and pepper hair was a tussled mess. Mercifully for both of them, the major did not throw up when Haruka revived him from hibernation.

  He pulled himself out of the berth and stretched his long, lean frame. He squinted one eye and rubbed a hand across his stomach.

  “Get me something to eat please, Lieutenant. Then tell me again what it is you need. I’m not quite sure I heard you right the first time.” His voice was a soothing baritone.

  Haruka saluted and raced to a locker in the adjacent corridor. She retrieved a meal packet from within and returned to the major, who was still stretching various muscles. Haruka tore open the package and handed it to Emberley.

  He opened a smaller package and produced a biscuit, which he attacked like a starved wolf. Haruka watched as he consumed the piece in two bites. His eyes met hers as he looked up.

  “I’m sorry. Please, explain the situation again. I’m listening,” he said as he smacked his lips.

  “Thank you, sir. I believe that Colonel Fox may be jeopardizing Raphael, her crew, and passengers. She has been acting in a very bizarre manner and has given orders that do not make sense. She has also at times acted in an abusive or paranoid manner,” Haruka said, enunciating every word.

  Major Emberley took a bite of scrambled egg from another pouch. He chewed with great deliberation as he gave a Haruka a pensive look. “Can you provide me examples of actions she has taken?”

  “Yes, sir. She has baselessly suspected other officers of attempting to undermine her authority. She has stripped officers of their duties based on her idea that they are part of a conspiracy, when an admitted conspirator has denied their involvement in anything. She has placed unnecessary time constraints or demands on the propulsion crew during the maintenance cycle.

  “These are just the items that I know about, Major. I am fairly certain that other crew members will have seen other incidents. The worst part, sir, is that she refuses to listen to the possibility that one of her nav crewmen may have miscalculated our course after she initiated a low-orbit slingshot, counter to mission plan.”

  Emberley took a deep drink from a packet of coffee. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and placed his collective wrappers in the outer packaging.

  “So you say that the colonel doesn’t want to review the course calculations, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And do you know if this officer took up the issue with the crewman who allegedly made the mistake?”

  Haruka cleared her throat, “I know for a fact they have not, sir.”

/>   Emberley’s brows raised and the corner of his mouth tightened. “Do you know why, Lieutenant?”

  “This crewman is aware that he may have made a previous mistake that almost ended in disaster, but is unwilling to acknowledge it, sir.”

  “I take it by your knowledge that you are the one confronting Fox and this crewman, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “So you want to spite Fox by bringing me in to watch her?”

  “No, sir.”

  The major scratched at his short stubble of a beard. “Do you believe that Colonel Fox is an imminent threat to the safety of the crew and the security of the mission?”

  “Yes, sir,” she said with absolute confidence.

  “I see. And what is your direct reasoning for this?”

  “The low orbit slingshot forced a course change for Raphael. It also meant that she gained speed faster, requiring a recalculation of burn time for the plasma drive as well. If either factor is off even just a little, then the ship could be in grave danger. We could possibly miss our target altogether, sir.”

  Emberley stretched again and yawned. “And you want this reviewed, correct?”

  “Yes, sir. But I believe she is also unstable, sir. If I were to make the request again, I am certain I would be relieved of duty for it.”

  Or worse.

  “Very well, Lieutenant. I will see that Colonel Fox allows for a review of the course corrections.”

  Haruka sighed. “There’s more, sir.”

  Emberley quirked his eyebrows. “Oh? What’s that, Lieutenant?”

  She wrung her hands together. “Earlier today, a crewman was found dead. Not just any crewman, he was the conspirator I had referred to earlier. She has ordered an investigation into his death. My gut tells me that she’s going to make assumptions and accusations, no matter what the result of the investigation is.”

  “And this is why you believe she is a threat to the crew?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Understood,” he replied in a solemn tone. “I will watch for this behavior as well.”

  “Major, be careful. If she sees you snooping around, she might just snap.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant. You’ve made your point clear. Now I suggest you return to your duties before you draw unwanted attention from her.”

  Haruka saluted him and then snaked her way out of the crew pod. She hurried down the gallery and into the propulsion section. At the last moment, she turned away from the propulsion control room as she remembered that Nova had been in the computer core earlier. Haruka slipped through the hatch leading to the core chamber.

  She made her way past the racks to the mainframe interface terminal. Instantly she recognized Mancini’s squat frame belted into the chair as she approached. She moved up next to him, and he looked up from the terminal.

  Mancini smiled brightly. “Hey, Kimura. How’s it going?”

  She gave a slight smile in return. “Feeling a little better now, thanks.”

  “I take it your little meeting went well?”

  “As well as it could.” Haruka looked around the room. “Where’s Nova?”

  Mancini’s grin took on a devilish look. “Assisting Captain Maynard, of course. Which is why I’m pushing buttons on this terminal. She can’t be in two places at once, so I get to run her thruster sims. Exciting, huh?”

  Haruka rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re thrilled. Want me to take over?”

  “Not a chance. I’d rather be doing this than the last item on our checklist for the day.” He pulled a clipboard from the side of the workstation; the Velcro that attached it made a sick ripping sound as it peeled apart. Mancini flung it toward Haruka like a Frisbee. She snatched it from the air and read the list.

  “Reactor physical inspection.” She flung the clipboard back at him. “Yeah, thanks you jerk,” she said with biting sarcasm.

  “Hey,” he chuckled, “the early bird gets the worm. The late one gets to play with the nuclear device.”

  Haruka gave him one last sneer as she turned around to leave the core. She made her way through the propulsion control room and down the ladder to the reactor. The eerie glow from the reactor sent shivers down Haruka’s spine.

  God, I hate being near this thing. I know it’s safe, but still…

  Haruka grabbed a Geiger counter from a locker at the base of the ladder and began her physical inspection of the reactor casing. She listened carefully for unusual clicks from the counter as she moved slowly down the length of the reactor shielding.

  Her thoughts wandered from the inspection. Her attention drifted to her parents, and to her sister. She wondered if they were safe. The failure of Shipp’s sleeper unit chilled her, and dark thoughts of widespread problems came to her. She closed her eyes and pushed back the images of her family, gasping for air and dying.

  You can do nothing to help them. All you can do is to help make sure this ship makes it intact.

  Haruka suppressed her feelings and resumed her work as the twin generators cried a mechanical song of solitude.

  Calvin McLaughlin

  26 September 2019, 15:20

  Michael

  Calvin awoke with a start. The sound of metal scraping behind him made him jerk hard against his harness. He grunted and looked behind him. Lieutenant Hunter Ceretti poked his head through the cockpit door. Just beyond him was the blond lieutenant that Cal had accosted when he had arrived from the transport.

  Hunter spoke, “What are you doing here, Calvin?”

  Cal rubbed his eyes and stretched. His face twisted as his calf cramped. “Ugh. I fell asleep, sorry.”

  “Well, Dr. Taylor has been looking for you. She got worried when you didn’t show up to help her with monitoring.”

  Cal tapped a button on the terminal in front of him and the time flashed on the screen. “Crap. I’m sorry, Hunter. I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”

  The blonde lieutenant interjected in a shrill voice, “That’s Lieutenant Ceretti to you, Mr. McLaughlin.”

  Hunter glanced over his shoulder. “No it’s not, Josephson. He’s not military so he’s not required to address me by rank. And I’d thank you not to yell at my friend.” He turned his attention back to Cal. “Anyway, that didn’t quite answer my question. What are you doing in here?”

  Cal suddenly remembered the markings on the door. He sat bolt upright, which made him jam into his harness again. “I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to be here, am I? I haven’t touched anything but the clock button, I swear.”

  Hunter reached out and placed his hand on Cal’s shoulder. “Take it easy. It’s not like you can cause much damage in here.”

  Josephson protested, “But the ESAARC pods are for emergency…”

  “Calm down, Lieutenant. We both know that Calvin can’t accidentally eject the pod. The system has to be activated elsewhere first.”

  Emergency pod? What the hell? Cal grabbed at his buckles but forgot about his finger. He yelped as he pushed against the release too hard. He grabbed at his hand with his uninjured one in an attempt to quell the pain.

  “E-eject the pod? Wait, what is this thing I’m sitting in?” His voice cracked from the pain burning in his finger.

  “It’s an ESAARC pod. There’s one attached to each sleeper pod, as well as one on the crew pod under the bridge. Jesus, Calvin.” Hunter looked at Cal with great concern. “What did you do to your finger?”

  Cal sucked in a breath and held it for a moment before he let it go in a rush. “Ah, broke it being my usual stupid self. What’s an ESAARC pod?”

  Hunter winced in sympathy. “Josephson. Care to tell him what it does?”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “Really, Ceretti? He’s a civilian.”

  “Who happens to be a crew member. Would you treat Doctor Taylor this way?” There was a momentary silence. “I didn’t think so. So just tell him.”

  “Fine,” she said, almost pouting. “ESAARC stands for Emergency Semi Autonomous Atmospheric Reent
ry Control. In a nutshell, if Michael has an emergency in planetary orbit, she can detach all of the pods. Two crew members then control the chemical thrusters attached to the sleeper pods to hopefully navigate a safe landing.”

  Cal’s face contorted as he processed the information. “Wait, you said these are attached to the sleeper pods, and so are the thrusters. What about the cargo pods?”

  Hunter smiled broadly. “You caught that, didn’t you. They detach too, but they come down differently. Josephson?”

  She cleared her throat and looked around. “Aerodynamic freefall and parachutes. And if all else fails, litho braking.”

  “I’m sorry, lithawhat?” asked Cal

  “It means they smash into the ground and we pray they don’t crater,” replied Hunter.

  “That’s… special,” said Cal. “Why don’t they have thrusters too?”

  Josephson scoffed, “Because it would cost too much, weigh too much, and require about four times the crew that we have.”

  “The passengers are more important than the cargo,” added Hunter. He motioned out of the pod with his hand. “Come on, it’s almost chow time. Josephson, can you go get Doctor Taylor, please?”

  “Yes, sir,” she sneered and then left the hallway.

  Hunter craned his neck to watch her as she departed. He then pulled himself into the seat next to Cal and reached for his buckles. “Here, let me get those for you.”

  “Thanks. The last thing I need right now is to go to Doc and tell her I’ve broken myself again.” Hunter grinned at Cal. Cal looked around to make sure they were alone, and then spoke in a hushed voice. “You don’t get along well with Josephson, do you?”

  “Actually, we’re fine. She just doesn’t seem to like you for some reason.”

  “I can’t imagine why. I only pushed her into a wall, escaped hibernation, and became an unwanted burden on the crew.”

  Hunter released Cal’s restraint and then looked him dead in the eye. “Your awakening was a shock to us all, no doubt. But don’t think for a second that you are a burden.” Cal scoffed, but Hunter ignored him. “Both Doctor Taylor and I are very glad to spend time with you. I like hanging out during meal time and talking with you.”