Colony One

by E. M. Peters

  Ndale replaced the panel he had removed and stood quickly, his cheek still full. He chewed until he could swallow and nodded in way of answering Demetri’s gratitude. “I think I need to lay down now.” He said, feeling the full weight of his beating hit him all at once.

  Demetri moved to his side and pulled Ndale’s arm over his shoulders to help him walk. Taking most of the weight, the man was able to walk with relatively less pain and was instantly thankful. They walked that way until they got to more populated areas of the ship. They separated and Demetri held the metal pipe by the middle point to make it look slightly less intimidating.

  “Where did you find that thing, anyway?” Ndale motioned at the pipe as he hobbled.

  Demetri shrugged, “When I realized what was happening, I ripped it from the railing of a catwalk.” He explained.

  Ndale stopped to look back and stare at the man, “You ripped that thing off a catwalk?”

  He shrugged again in way of answering.

  “I guess I made a good choice of body guard.” Ndale murmured and kept walking. It wasn’t long until they found the purple section and they parted ways after arranging a time to meet next. It looked like Demetri would be on the clock like a regular 9 to 5 job. It suited him, so long as he could go home and provide a meal for Lucy.

  ɸ ɸ ɸ

  Ndale shuffled into his compartment and was grateful to find that it quiet – most were sleeping and those who weren’t sat at the common tables with vacant looks in their eyes. His eyes swept the compartment until they fell on a certain bunk. There was an outline of a body in it, which made his shoulders slump with relief.

  He made his way to Alexa’s bunk and bent down to bump her mattress. She rolled over and held up a hand to block out some of the shared compartment’s light from her eyes. Hunger headaches were one of the symptoms that had taken a strong hold of Alexa – between that and the liquor withdraw, it was something that plagued her. She squinted up at Ndale and once her eyes finally focused, she asked, “Who did you piss off?”

  “Would you believe me if I said a doorknob?”Ndale asked.

  “No,” Alexa answered humorlessly.

  ɸ ɸ ɸ

  Once Ndale was in his compartment safe and sound, it took all of Demetri’s self-control to not sprint back to the blue section. He walked as fast as possible without seeming out of the ordinary and was relieved to find Lucy where he had left her. He took a moment to stow the pipe he carried in his own bunk, and then crossed the compartment to where Lucinda slept.

  “Hola bonita,” He said softly after he knelt by her side. She rolled towards him and instinctively took his hand, curling her knees up almost to her chest. He smiled at the gesture. It looked like she had every intention of remaining asleep, but he couldn’t wait another moment. “Wake up; we’re going to take a walk.”

  “No,” she said defiantly, squeezing his hand, “I’m comfy.” She explained.

  “I promise you will be glad you did.” He said softly with a smile in his voice. This made her open one eye. The supplements he had administered made her cheeks look a little more alive. She smiled because he was smiling.

  “Alright,” she conceded. “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Demetri answered, then glanced around to the other bunks to indicate he didn’t want anyone else to know. She picked up on the gesture quickly, nodded wordlessly and then worked to swing her legs out of the bunk. Demetri helped by putting the slippers she kept on the floor on her feet and pulled her up by her hands.

  They walked hand in hand, entering the maze work of the interior of Colony One for some distance. Lucy worked hard not to question Demetri, but after so much walking and how weak she already felt, she finally broke down, “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

  “Somewhere that we can be alone – just you and me.” He answered.

  Lucy’s eyes narrowed, “I know we’ve been having a dry spell since the rationing, love, but I don’t think…” She started.

  Demetri laughed, “Not for that,” he assured. “Right now, it’s even better than that. Which, you have to admit, is pretty impressive,” Demetri turned to look at her and wagged his eyebrows. She couldn’t help but laugh – and be intrigued.

  “Something better than sex? This has to be good,” she said with a grin she hadn’t felt on her face in what seemed like ages.

  Finally, he led them to a place he felt was safe and after leaving her so he could walk to the nearest cross sections to look for traffic, they hid away behind some a humming bank of batteries.

  They sat on the floor and Demetri reached behind his back to pull out the ready to eat meal pouch. He presented it to her proudly.

  It took a moment for Lucy to recognize what he was handing her. When it did finally register, she felt tears well in her eyes. She tentatively reached out to brush her fingers against the packaging, as if to check that it was real. “Is this what I think it is?” She asked with disbelief in her voice.

  “Yes,” Demetri answered with confidence. He set the package down between them and ripped it open. “Eat!” he exclaimed happily, though in a whispered voice.

  Lucy did not have to be told twice. She took the larger packet that was in the inside and ripped it open, tipping the opening to her lips and ate without reserve. It tasted like it was meant to be lasagna. She chewed with her eyes closed, feeling like she was in absolute bliss. She was so happy to be tasting and chewing real food, that for a moment, she completely forgot about Demetri.

  She opened her eyes and fixed him with a sloppy smile. He was watching her with a pleased look on his own face. “What are you waiting for?” She asked. “Eat!” She gestured at the pack.

  He shook his head, “No, my love. This is for you.” He insisted.

  “That’s not fair,” Lucy protested.

  “I already ate,” Demetri lied. “This one is for you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him, “How did you come by this?” she asked, putting the packet to her slips again and squeezing the contents into her mouth as she eyed him with a loving kind of suspicion.

  “That was the other thing I wanted to tell you,” Demetri answered. “I have a job now.” He said and squared his shoulders proudly.

  “Uh huh,” she answered, abandoning the lasagna bag and picking up another packet. When opened, she discovered it was a chocolate covered biscuit and ate half of it in one bite. “Does it have much room for advancement?” She joked and then asked seriously, “Doing what?”

  “Maybe it’s better if you didn’t know,” Demetri postulated.

  “I have ways of getting you to talk,” she warned. “Did you have a chocolate biscuit in your dinner? Probably not.” She took another tiny bite of what she had left, then pushed the rest to Demetri’s lips insistently. He tried to pull away but she followed him with a renewed strength and he finally had to surrender and eat the sugary treat. As he did, he ensnared her by putting an arm around her back and pulled her onto his lap so she was facing him with her legs around his torso and her arms over his shoulders.

  “That’s it for me. You must promise me you will eat the rest,” he said.

  She kissed him without warning and she tasted like chocolate. His arms wrapped around her, holding her in place until she was done, “I promise,” she finally answered. “Only if you tell me what your new job is.”

  Demetri shrugged, “I am Ndale’s new personal security.” He answered and watched Lucy’s expression very carefully.

  She did not react immediately. She took a moment to process the information and then finally asked, “Can I help?”

  He should have known she would volunteer herself for a job like professional ass-kicker. He laughed and reached up to brush her hair back, “Maybe once you’re back to your full strength.” He said, and then frowned, “But we must remember to not act differently. It cannot be known that we have more food than anyone else. It will become dangerous.”

  Lucy nodded with full understanding. “It shouldn’
t be much longer until we’re on Colony Alpha,” she reminded him. “The Captain said it will just be another month.”

  Demetri’s expression soured slightly at the mention of the Captain, “She’s said a lot of things that have turned out to not be true,” he pointed out.

  Lucy raised a hand to brush his cheek – something that always calmed him down. “We are almost there, love.”

  He had closed his eyes at her touch and he found himself nodding. “Yes, I am seeing our house now, by the running water of a river. The windows are open to let in the fresh air.”

  “Our house?” Lucy asked and Demetri blushed as he opened his eyes. He nodded tentatively, and she let her feelings be known about his proposal by planting another firm kiss on his lips.

  15

  Hyperion, Mission Day 46

  Niko had not left his console for longer than five minutes at a time for over three days. The only reason it had not been six whole days was because Winston had used his power as ship’s doctor to order him to bed on the first round of three days at his post.

  Down time was Niko’s worst enemy at present. Rather than be tormented by his thoughts of worst case scenarios for all the people aboard Colony Two, and for his brother on Colony One, he preferred to stare at the ever-present steam of lights that ran across his console. When he wasn’t evaluating sensor data, he made sure they were following Colony Two’s course plan to the exact degree and while he had all the physical signs of sleep deprivation presenting, his mind remained hyper-focused.

  From the mess area, Finn was explaining to the doctor, “It’s time to send Niko to bed, again.”

  Winston checked the time on his OMNI and frowned, “I can give him a few more minutes. Last time I sent him for bed rest, he looked like he might never forgive me.”

  “Can you blame the man?” Charlie asked, sitting down with a can of peaches. He speared a slice with his fork and shoved the entire thing in his mouth at once. “His brother is out there,” he spoke around the slice.

  “Which is probably compromising his judgment in ways we don’t even know,” Finn countered. “I just don’t want him to burn out.”

  “The man needs his work,” Charlie maintained. “Don’t you agree, Doc?”

  Winston made a helpless gesture, “Sleep deprivation is a very real thing.”

  Charlie made a face and, in an effort to buy his friend some more time feeling useful and diligent, he changed the subject, “So Doctor, speaking of work. I don’t think I’ve ever asked you what your specialty is.”

  Winston huffed a short and somewhat awkward laugh, “Oh, you know. General medicine.”

  “I thought most doctor’s had a specialty.” Finn put in.

  “No. Nope, it is certainly acceptable to just… generalize.” He nodded along with his words.

  Charlie and Finn exchanged glances.

  “How long have you been practicing general medicine?” Charlie asked.

  “Well, let’s see…” Winston looked up as if accessing the darker parts of his memories. “We’ll say about ten years now.”

  “Impressive,” Finn complemented.

  “So where did you go to med school?” Charlie continued.

  Winston opened his mouth, hesitated, and then said abruptly, “I should go make sure Niko gets some rest.”

  “Nah, Doc, let him be for a minute.” Charlie insisted.

  “I really should –”

  “Captain to the bridge,” Niko’s voice sounded over the audio system, effectively cutting the doctor off.

  “He’s found something,” Charlie guessed. There was a beat of a pause between the three, and then they were on their feet. Finn snatched her camera from the table and slung it around her neck. Charlie abandoned his can of peaches and took the lead as they made their way to the bridge. When they entered, Captain Avery was standing at Niko’s station already, arms crossed and looking unhappy – though that wasn’t particularly rare for Avery.

  Niko didn’t look happy, either, which made any excitement the three may have been feeling evaporate.

  “Mr. Foster, please take the helm.” The Captain said when she noticed him step onto the bridge. “Dr. Waltham, I’m putting you on standby. Please gather any supplies you have for emergency response.”

  Color drained from the doctor’s face but he nodded and rushed off.

  “Ms. Connolly, I am going to ask that you refrain from taking any photos until further notice,” the Captain commented.

  Finn’s hand instinctively drifted to the camera that hung around her neck in a protective manner. “Why, what’s going on?” She asked.

  “Where’s Mak?” Charlie asked, noticing she had not reported yet.

  Avery chose to address Charlie’s question rather than Finn’s, “I sent her to inspect our docking bay.”

  “We’ve found Colony Two, then?” Charlie guessed.

  “I think so,” Niko answered. “Sending you the coordinates now. She’s drifting.” He added in a hallowed out voice.

  Charlie’s jaw set as he clenched his teeth in bitter frustration. That was not a good sign. He turned his attention to his console where he looked over the coordinates Niko had given him. “It’s not far,” he observed. “Adjusting our heading now. It should only be a couple minutes.”

  Niko activated the short range communications system and began to speak, “Colony Two, this is the Earth ship Hyperion. Please respond.”

  “How do we know its Colony Two?” Finn said in a small voice from where she still stood near the entrance of the bridge.

  “We’re assuming,” Avery answered without looking at her. To put a finer point on it, they didn’t know which colony ship it was. It was not transmitting any identifying signature and, worse, it was drifting rather than maneuvering under its own power. Avery did not want to put a finer point on it, however. She needed Niko focused and up to the task, not preoccupied with ‘what ifs.’

  No answer came from Niko’s hail and he repeated the message until the ship was within visual sight. They came up on her underbelly and Charlie had to maneuver to the top side to see the windscreen of the cockpit. It was dark – no lights you would expect from the compartment and no outer haul lights illuminating the ship’s name.

  “That’s not a good sign,” Charlie breathed aloud.

  “Mr. Andris, can you tell if their life support is online?” Avery asked.

  Niko projected an image of Colony Two on his console – the scans produced a 3D image. He changed the setting to show thermal scans, “The engine room is still hot,” he pointed to the red emanating from the aft part of the schematic. He tapped a sequence into his console and the image retracted. “I can try to access their computers. There is a channel open, but…” he waved his hand. “It’s just static.”

  “Very well,” Avery nodded and paced the small space between Niko and Mak’s consoles, keeping her eyes trained out of the viewscreen at the hulking mass of the ship that dwarfed theirs.

  Niko rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to keep them open and fighting the fatigue he had become an expert of chasing off. “I’m in,” he finally said. He accessed the life support directory and felt relief at what he saw, “Life support is still online.”

  “Great. Let’s hope this is just a little case of engine trouble,” Charlie said and then turned to look at Avery, “Should I start a docking sequence?”

  The Captain nodded once and Charlie went into action. She took the opportunity to quietly pull Finn into the briefing room.

  “I appreciate your role on this mission,” She told her, “But I cannot let you board that ship with your camera, or an OMNI handheld or tablet.”

  “But…” Finn started and Avery held up a hand.

  “If there is anyone still alive on that boat, you are welcome to take as many pictures of them as they will tolerate.”

  “I have taken pictures of the dead,” Finn rallied.

  “Not this time,” Avery insisted, placing a hand on Finn’s shoulder and sque
ezing tightly. Too tightly, in fact. Finn tried to pull away, but Avery kept a firm grip as she leaned in to whisper, “I will send that camera out the airlock if I have to, understand?” The squeeze persisted for an uncomfortable moment after Avery posed the question, and the then the grip was gone.

  Finn took a half step away from the Captain and looked at her wide eyed.

  “Please stow your recording devices.” Avery reinforced and then turned to join Niko and Charlie back on the bridge. “And join us at the docking bay. As an observer,” she called over her shoulder.

  Finn gaped for a long moment, and then angrily exited the bridge to hide her equipment somewhere the Captain wouldn’t find.

  Charlie watched out of the corner of his eye and was glad to see Finn leave without injury. He silently reminded himself to have a chat with Finn about not ever being alone with Avery.

  Niko was oblivious. He was checking the colony ship’s logs for anything that might help understand why it was adrift. He was becoming increasingly frustrated.

  “What’s wrong?” Avery asked when she noticed his agitation.

  “It looks like the hard drives have been reformatted. I can’t seem to get anything but real-time data. And after a time, that is getting erased, too.”

  “A virus, maybe?” Charlie guessed and turned his attention back to the docking sequence. The ship rocked slightly as they came alongside the Colony vessel, and then significantly rocked as they made a seal with the docking hatch.

  When the ship steadied, the Captain leaned down to tap Makenna’s console, activating the audio system. “Ms. Krasnov, begin pressurization of the docking bay.”

  “Already started, Captain.” Makenna’s disembodied voice came back almost immediately.

  “Overachiever,” Avery muttered under her breath and keyed off her end of the audio link.

  Niko keyed off his console after trying, and failing, to stop the automatic data purge. He stood and began heading for the door.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Avery asked.