by Leon Castle
He feels them watching him as he reads through their files, but doesn’t look up until he has finished. ‘Well, you both must know that we need a co-pilot and a driller’s offsider for PV 013.’
‘Hey, I’m a driller, not a blasted offsider!’ snorts Drummer.
Mondok raises his eyebrows. ‘You’re a driller with a record, and lucky to be given an opportunity to work on a prospecting vessel in any capacity…understood?’
‘I’ll be treated like dirt,’ he objects.
‘Well, you do have the option to refuse.’
‘Don’t’ be stupid, Drummer,’ Chaze warns. ‘There’s only one trip.’
Drummer glares at him. ‘It’s OK for you. You’ll still be a co-pilot.’
‘A reserve co-pilot,’ Mondok corrects him. ‘You’ll both be on probation until you prove yourselves trustworthy again. So, the first question is, do you want this opportunity to clear your records?’
They both reluctantly nod.
‘OK, then, I’ll get you to sign this agreement and then take you through the usual tests.’ He pulls out two documents and passes them to the men to sign.
‘Read it carefully first,’ he says. ‘I’ll be back.’ He leaves the room and walks over to the dock where the PV 005 is.
Denise is finishing off the last couple of boxes.
‘Denise, could you please do me a big favor?’
She stops, looking at him wearily. ‘I hope it’s not too tiring, because I have had it.’
Mondok shakes his head. ‘It’s a quick crash course, more of a refresher, with the drill rig for a driller’s offsider for PV 013. He was a driller.’
‘Oh, you mean Drummer? Why don’t you get his shift boss to do it?’
‘I’ve just had to give Drummer a tune-up. He’s far too cocky. I know you can deal with that. I don’t have the same faith in Ben yet. I want this expedition to be a success.’
Denise sighs and pulls herself up from the floor. Mondok puts out his arm to balance her.
‘I’m so glad I’m on PV 005,’ says Denise. ‘I wish Kenny were here, and Bekky, too.
Chapter 48
The dock for the prospecting vessels is crawling with crew members applying last minute preparations. Sofia can’t help smiling. Mondok is strutting about like a little bantam rooster, ordering people to get a move on and get the PV’s in the correct alignment for launching. She imagines he will crow with delight when they are all out there finally on their way. PV 005 is positioned at the rear of the first five to be launched. Some of the crew stand outside waiting to have their names checked off before they enter the launch area. Sofia takes her case from Ven.
‘Thank you,’ she says.
She reaches over the case and kisses him lightly on the cheek.
He seems surprised by the gesture, and she forces a smile then turns away.
Denise has been half listening to the chatter from the co-pilot, Vardok, when it is announced they will be leaving in 10 minutes. ‘Damn,’ she says, cutting off Vardok mid-sentence. ‘Sofia’s not here.’
‘I’m sure she will be soon,’ says Vardok, in his easy going drawl.
‘I’m not so sure,’ says Denise, thinking of her disappearing act in the hotel. She catches hold of Mondok as he goes past. ‘Mondok, Sofia’s not here.’
‘Keep your frills on,’ he says. ‘I saw her with Ven. Look, there she is now.’
Denise looks where he is pointing and sees Sofia trying to run while clutching her case.
‘This is going to be mega cool,’ says DJ, one of the trainees. His identical twin AJ just nods vigorously in agreement.
Mondok laughs at their enthusiasm. ‘Well, I wish you well on your expedition, guys,’ he says.
They watch him rush off to the next PV, then they enter PV 005. Sofia rans up the ramp after them, puffing. ‘Sorry I’m cutting it fine,’ she says to Denise.
‘There’s nothing to be sorry about, Sofia,’ says Denise. ‘You’re here now.’
‘Count down in one minute.’ Nolack-1’s voice takes them by surprise and they scramble into their seats, buckling in. ‘Ten, nine, eight…’
‘We’re really doing it people!’ whoops a huge Norok looking guy when the vessel lifts from the pad. Sofia sighs, her earlier tension vanishing. PV 005 is space borne and heading for the asteroid belt. ‘Hey, Thirz,’ she says to the big guy. ‘How are you going?’
‘Brilliant now that I’m on this mean machine.’
Thirz is a born systems technician. He lives and breathes technology, like Ven. She thinks of Ven then. She shakes her head as if to break her thoughts. Distraction, that’s what she needs.
‘Quadrant coordinates locked in,’ Frances’s voice drifts back from her pilot’s seat up front of the flight deck. The unfasten seatbelts sign chimes.
The crew unbuckle their belts and Sofia wanders up front. Tom’s face appears on the communications screen. Sofia stares, forgetting he can also see her. ‘Hello Sofia,’ he says.
‘Oh Tom, hello,’ she says after a moment, trying to cover her surprise.
‘How was takeoff?’
‘Exhilarating.’
He grins. ‘Speed freak.’
‘Yeah! Look who’s talking.’
Sofia becomes aware he is looking past her and she turns around. Denise has moved in and is waiting to speak. Sofia senses something from the team leader, disapproval perhaps. Maybe she thinks she is out of line with the banter. ‘You’re imagining it, she tells herself.’
‘I’ll leave you to talk to Denise now,’ she tells Tom.
She wants a hot shower and to get into something loose and comfortable. There is less than 14 hours now before they reach their quadrant, then she will be busy with instructions for the drill crew.
Tom has just nodded without answering. The rest of the crew still sat in their seats, with seats swiveled so they can chat with one another across the aisle. ‘Sorry,’ she says as she walks between them, heading towards the biosphere.
The biosphere is refreshingly cool compared with the flight deck, and Sofia finds her unit as luxurious as the one she had back on the Sobek. Smaller, but everything is available to her, even a full wall communications monitor. She toys with the idea of contacting Ven. No, she tells herself. She likes Ven but seeing Tom again, even on monitor has been enough to reignite that stirring within her. No, it will be best to leave it until tomorrow, when hopefully Ven will call her instead. She senses that Ven was holding out for more than friendship with her, and she wishes she could return that feeling. Ven is a nice, genuine, guy. It would be far less complicated.
Her unit seems empty. She turns on some light rock music, and wanders through to the kitchen where the same marble bench tops form an L-shaped kitchen, a home away from home. She touches the pantry and watches the door slide open.
The shelves are fully stocked. Taking a can of chicken and vegetable casserole from the shelf, she places it on a metal plate under a laser hood, removing it after a few seconds. Steam rises from the instant meal and she sets it down for a minute to cool.
After a while she goes to the bedroom to pick out something to wear. The bed looks inviting with the ruffled cover and plump liquid pillows. She lays down on it, feeling the bed move and shift with the pillow to accommodate the shape and contour of her body, fully supporting her in a gentle embrace. She closes her eyes. ‘Just a nap,’ she thinks. Her mind wanders over the day’s events in a haze until she feels herself slipping into a deep slumber.
Chapter 49
Mondok sits, his eyes glued to the screen. The first four vessels have just set off their identity bench mark beacons, with PV 005 due to at any moment.
‘How is it all progressing,’ Tom asks, from behind his shoulder.
Mondok keeps his eyes on the screen as he answers. ‘Like clockwork.’
‘Uh huh,’ Tom replies, amusement in his voice. ‘So have you had a break from that screen?’
‘I did go home to bed,’ says Mondok. He won’t mention he slept for
only three hours before returning to monitor operations, though he suspects Tom already knows that.
‘Well, I have come to relieve you so you can at least go and have something to eat.’
Mondok points to his thermal food and drink container. ‘I’ve got food,’ he says.
Tom sighs. ‘Mondok, you have to take a break in the interests of your own safety. You know that.’
‘OK, just as soon as PV 005 has dropped its identity bench mark beacon,’ he says. ‘Then it’s all yours.’
Tom laughs ‘Deal.’
PV 005 is approaching ‘0’ point. Hearing the pilot’s report, Mondok and Tom turn to the monitor and wait.
Frances maneuvers PV 005 until the vessel hovers precisely above ‘0’ point. Unobstructed space stretches in each direction for 500 km, essential for the laser beams the beacon will emit. Frances gives the guys waiting in the airlock the signal. Thirz and Ivan launch the identity bench mark beacon, rolling the 200 liter drum sized tube from the rear airlock into space, then position it by remote from the flight deck panel. Its tiny Boddington reactor is activated and immediately laser beams pierce out into the darkness.
Thirz and Ivan return to the flight deck. ‘Good job, guys,’ says Frances. ‘Now, it’s time for some fun.’
The vessel, now sighting the laser beams, begins moving steadily along the invisible lines marking the boundaries, and setting them in place. One 50km thick slice of space is marked, the size and number of asteroids within recorded, and the process is then repeated for the next 50km slice down, until a cube pattern was formed.
‘This is like dot-to-dot, drawing,’ Varik comments.
Frances laughs. ‘I’ve got some crosswords if you’re feeling bored.’
Varik shakes his head. ‘Never bored in your company, Frances.’
She smiles and continues watching the monitor. When the vessel has marked its last section, the quadrant is designated number five, correlating with the number of their PV to simplify identification. The beacon, already containing the communication coordinates of PV 005, will only link with that vessel and no other. It is the primary benchmark to work from, and their muster point in an emergency.
‘Grid pattern completed’ appears on the monitor. Nolack-1’s voice returns with ‘Operation five registered.’ Frances recorded the registration manually for extra back up.
She turns to Varik. ‘OK, now we can land this baby.
The crew of PV 005 buckles in ready for the descent into quadrant five. Even the twins are quiet as the prospecting vessel hovers to a gentle landing on the flattest area of the nearest asteroid.
Frances stands, and stretches. ‘OK, that’s it for me for a while, guys,’ she says. ‘It’s all yours.’
Denise laughs. ‘I suppose you’re going to laze around the oasis on a deck chair, are you?’
‘Yeah, shame it doesn’t have a swimming pool.’
Denise watches Frances and Varik as they leave the flight deck, then turns her attention to the crew. ‘OK, it’s time to move,’ she says. ‘Anything you want to say first Sofia?’
‘Yes, be alert for ice on the rocks. We will be mainly marking out where the drilling will take place, but keep a lookout for surface ice. It will resemble permafrost, blue green in color, and will be formed like a crust on the rock. If you have any reason for concern out there, contact us immediately.’
‘Right, let’s go suit up. AJ, you’re with Dave.’
‘And let me guess, I’m with Ivan,’ says DJ cheekily.
‘Lucky you’re so cute, DJ’ says Denise.
He grins. ‘Yeah, I’m the good looking rooster.’ He fends off a punch from his brother.
‘OK, enough mucking around you pair,’ says Denise. ‘Out to the dock now.’
She watches the two drillers and the trainees leave on the hover buggy, then returns to the flight deck. Thirz is holding Sofia captive with his usual techno talk. Denise watches the buggy seek out the drill site on the screen. The landscape is littered with rocks, some protruding like jagged towers, others flat and close to the ground. She wishes she could be out there.
She jumps when Mondok’s face suddenly appears on the screen. ‘Mondok, you scared me.’
‘Geez, I know I haven’t had much sleep, but I didn’t think I looked that bad.’
Denise hears laughing. ‘Who’s that with you?’
‘Tom. He’s told me I have to take a break. I just wanted to make sure you all arrived safely first.’
‘That’s sweet, Mondok. Now go have your break.’
‘OK, I’m going…catch you soon Denise.’
She smiles but he was gone.
Sofia manages to get away from Thirz’s conversation, and joining Denise at the monitor. ‘What’s happening?’ she asks.
‘Not much,’ says Denise, ‘They have begun marking out the grid.’
‘OK that’s a good start.’
The ship to ship communications monitor opens and the long face of Ben peers into the flight deck at them ‘Hey, PV buddies, how you all doing?’
‘We’re just great… ‘Denise replies warily ‘Is Kenny around?’
‘He’s in his quarters at present, do you want me to transfer you?’
‘No, I’ll catch up with him next time,’ says Denise, ‘so why did you drop in?’
Sofia looks around in surprise. Those last two words were laden in sarcasm. She didn’t realize there was so much animosity between them. Still, Ben could be irritating with his loud-mouthed egotistical attitude.
He laughs ‘Just a little healthy competition.’
‘There’s no competition Ben, we are all looking for ice as well as minerals.’
‘So, how’s my gorgeous geologist?’ he asks ignoring Denise.
Sofia shoots him a withering look. ‘I am not your geologist! I belong with PV 005.’
‘You were so much better off here,’ he says.
‘We are busy, Ben,’ Denise interrupts.
‘OK, going now to friendlier people,’ He tunes out.
When the drillers return later that day, the PV came to life, with the twins exchanging stories and Dave and Ivan trying to be heard over the top of them.
‘Some quiet, please!’ Denise yells. ‘AJ, DJ, go chill out for a minute.’
‘Ok,’ they says and burst from the room into the biosphere.
She turns to Dave, ‘how did it go?’ she asks him.
He shakes his head. ‘Marking out went well, but no sign of ice yet.’
‘And was AJ following your instructions?’
Dave smiles, the wrinkles creasing further in his face. ‘That boy is full of questions.’ He laughs then. ‘He wanted to know all the nitty gritty of how the rig worked. I told him it was like a giant apple corer, and he didn’t know what an apple corer was.’
Denise laughs. ‘Well, they did go out of use over 100 years ago!’
Dave shoots her a look of mock hurt. ‘So, are you saying I’m old?’
‘Let’s say you’ve got a few years up on us,’ she says. ‘But you certainly hold your years well.’
He grins ‘That’s what Mandy says, too.’
‘She’s your wife, so she’s biased,’ chirps in Ivan.
‘Ivan, how did DJ work out?’ asks Denise, quickly.
‘I think I got the evil twin,’ he replies.
Denise frowns. ‘There is no such thing as an evil twin, Ivan.’
‘Well, no, what I meant was he’s a smart alec, and thinks he can’t learn anything from me.’
Denise is guessing that it is more likely a personality clash. She knows Ivan is tough on his trainees, which is something AJ could deal with much better than DJ.
‘Do you think you could handle DJ?’ she asks Dave.
He laughs. ‘Bring him on. I was a smart alec know it all, myself l when I was younger. The only difference now is, I do know it all!’
‘Perfect,’ says Denise, beaming. ‘They’ll swap tomorrow then.’
It is going to be a long three months. Den
ise wants everything to go as smoothly as possible. She looks up as Sofia enters, followed closely by the twins.
Chapter 50
Val stands at the entrance of Murple Bubbles and watches Gene, intent on taking an order. It still surprises him that Gene had chosen to own and run a café, though he supposes there really isn’t any other choice for her here on the ship. She looks over at him and motions for him to come in. He dodges some low hanging wind chimes and sits on a chair in the corner.
‘Hello stranger,’ she says smiling, sitting down opposite him.
‘Yes, I know, it’s been a while.’
‘Two months,’ she informs him, ‘but who am I to talk?’
‘I’ve just been so busy, what with getting the prospecting vessel’s out on the survey, and business side of it here.’
Gene waves her hand at him. ‘Don’t worry about it. You’re here now. What would you like?’
Val smiles, ‘Just some conversation with a beautiful lady.’
Gene laughs. ‘You’re as smooth as your son.’
‘Tom? You probably know more about him now than I do.’
Gene sighs. ‘I haven’t seen much of him either since Melissa started working as an intern at the medical center.’
‘Melissa is the girl he is going out with?’ asks Val.
‘Yes, she was one of my waitresses. Lovely girl.’ She gives Val a stern look. ‘Now Val, don’t you go organizing their marriage. He’s still young.’
Val laughs. ‘You would keep him unmarried forever if it were up to you, Gene, but enough about my son.’ He leans back and gazes at her. ‘I want to know all about you and what you’ve been up to since we last met.’
Gene smiles and shakes her head. ‘I don’t think you’ve got that much free time right now, Val.’
Chapter 51
Denise sits on her lazy chair near the pond and gazes into the water. She has been spending whatever time she could with her fish, Tiger, and her meditation. It had been two months and there’s still no sign of ice. The crew is starting to be short with each other, while the other prospecting vessel crews are wagering on who will be the first ones to find ice. Denise just wants peace restored to her prospecting vessel.