by Leon Castle
‘Thanks for the congratulations, guys.’
Kenny smiles tightly. ‘I would have loved to have celebrated with you but Chaze was on the flight deck.’
‘I thought it was something like that.’
She wondered how much she should ask with George there. Kenny senses her hesitation.
‘George is OK. He’s onto them now.’
‘Why? What happened?’ She is glad George is their ally, but the situation must have worsened for Kenny to finally let someone else in on his trust.
‘It was just Ben stirring today out on the field with George and Bekky. He’s trying to cause trouble between us.’
Denise is relieved. That was a minor problem, but still, she senses something else he isn’t saying. ‘Come on, Kenny, what else is happening?’
‘It’s not just Ben. They are banding together, him, Enzot, Drummer and Chaze, I don’t know why…I feel like they are up to something. It’s just a gut feeling and I don’t like it.
‘What’s new? We always knew Chaze and Drummer were as thick as thieves.’
‘There’s more. Apparently, the cameras on Enzot’s drill rig were switched off for a while and Chaze didn’t report it. Davis came in and saw the warning light on the display panel. He questioned Enzot when he returned and he said it must be faulty but when Helena checked, there was nothing wrong with it.’
‘What did Ben say about it?’
‘That’s it. He defended Enzot, telling Helena she must have stuffed up.’
Denise frowns. ‘Helena is one of the best system’s technicians there is. I can’t see it being her mistake.’
‘That’s what I thought, but Drummer said Enzot didn’t touch the cameras so Helena is being blamed.’
‘That’s ridiculous. Wait till Mondok hears about this, he’ll…’
‘No Denise, you can’t say anything to Mondok, not yet. There isn’t any evidence of them doing anything wrong and it would look bad for us, especially with Ben being the team leader.’
Denise sighs. ‘Well, what are you going to do?’
‘George thinks Ben is trying to divide us for some reason by stirring trouble between me, him, and Bekky. We have to stick together and we have to prove that something is going on before we can report it.’
Denise shakes her head. ‘I don’t like the sound of all this, Kenny. Please be careful.’ She glances at Bekky and George. ‘All of you.’
The sensor for the door beeps. Kenny motions for George to go into another room.
‘I’ve got to go, Denise,’ he says quietly. ‘I’ll call you again, soon.’ He closed communications before Denise could answer. She sat staring at the blank monitor, her thoughts spinning around in her head. ‘Really, what harm could they do, anyway?’ She reasons. They are outnumbered. She’s is glad George is on their side. He would be a formidable foe. Feeling better, she goes to the kitchen for some chocolate ice-cream. Standing at the counter, eating the chocolate chips from her spoon, it occurs to her that she could ask Mondok for some information on them, not directly, of course. She wants to know more about Enzot.
Why did he shut down the camera on the drill rig? It had to be him. Denise put the ice-cream back and went to the monitor. She called through to Mondok, but there was no answer. ‘He must be working,’ she thought, but she didn’t want to call him on the main communication link. Her request would need to be kept confidential for a while. She left a message for Mondok to return her call.
Chapter 55
Kenny stood to move to the door then stopped. ‘You’d better keep out of sight, too,’ he told Bekky. ‘I’ll tell you when to come back in.’
She slipped into the bedroom.
‘Howdy,’ Ben said, smiling, as Kenny opened the door.
Kenny didn’t return the smile. ‘Well, what a surprise.’ He stood there for a moment, barring Ben’s way.
‘Are you going to let me in?’
Kenny stands aside without a word and Ben wanders in, gazing around the room.
‘I’m sure you didn’t come here to admire my quarters, Ben.’
‘Well, of course they are very nice, but no. Where’s Bekky?’
‘At her place. Why?’
‘I just thought you would have her safe here with you.’
‘Safe from whom? You?’
‘Me? Oh no, not me.’
Kenny raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say a word.
‘I have to warn you, though about the big guy,’ Ben continues.
‘Really? What about him?’ Kenny hopes his surprise looked genuine, but soon sees that Ben was caught up in his own little story he had invented.
‘I think he has his eye on your female.’
Kenny chokes back a laugh.
Ben took it as a gasp of shock. ‘I hate to tell you this,’ he continues, ‘but I saw him leave Bekky’s quarters just 15 minutes ago.’
Kenny nods seriously. ‘Well, thank you for the news.’
‘Come over for a beer, sometime,’ says Ben, as Kenny directs him to the door.
Kenny didn’t answer. George and Bekky emerged when Ben had left.
‘Why didn’t you call us when he made that terrible accusation?’ asks Bekky with a frown.
Kenny looks at them both, thoughtfully. ‘I’m sorry, but I think this is more involved than just accusing you both of two timing me. I want to wait and see what it is.’
‘He seems to be trying to be your best mate,’ says George, following as Kenny and Bekky sit in the lounge room.
‘That’s what I think. If I pretend to be friends with him, maybe I’ll find out what he’s really up to.’
‘And what if he’s not up to anything?’ Bekky asks. ‘What am I supposed to be doing while you’re being his best buddy?’
Kenny forgot Bekky in his plan. How can he carry it out without making her look bad?
‘Did you ever think that perhaps Davis and Helena are having the same doubts about this dude as us?’ says George, sitting forward in his seat. ‘Maybe we should just talk to them.’
‘And say what?’ Kenny asks.
‘Exactly what has been happening, honey,’ Bekky says. ‘He has just made Helena look like an idiot. Do you think they would be friends with him?’
Kenny thinks for a moment and then goes to the monitor, followed by Bekky and George.
Davis appears at the monitor after a short while, his face flushed. ‘Oh, it’s you,’ he says.
‘Happy to see you too, Davis,’ replies Kenny.
Davis frowns. ‘We’re in the middle of a nice dinner.’
‘Sorry, but it will only take a few minutes.’
Helena came into the room. ‘It can be easily reheated, Davis,’ she says.
Kenny sums up what had been happening as quickly as he can while Davis appears to be getting more and more irritable. Finally, Davis speaks. ‘Well, that’s really your problem. While, he’s bothering you, he’s leaving us alone.’
Kenny sees Helena in the background. She seems a little uncomfortable.
‘Helena, you were accused of tampering with the drill rig cameras. Doesn’t that bother you?’
She comes forward and stops Davis from switching off the monitor. ‘Yes, it does. That drill rig had to be tampered with by a systems technician and, of course, I am the only one on the vessel. Any malfunction would have shown in the system but there was nothing.’
Kenny can see Davis becoming impatient. He continues quickly. ‘OK, this is what we need to do. Keep going on as we were but be alert for anything unusual happening, and don’t tell the others too much. Davis looks skeptical. ‘I really think you lot are far too paranoid. They are too stupid to be up to anything. What can they do, anyway?’ Helena catches his eye and he sighs. ‘But if Helena wants to go along with your plan, then so will I.’
‘Good. Enjoy your dinner.’ Kenny switches off the monitor and smiles. He can guess Davis’s reply.
‘What about me, honey?’ Bekky asks. ‘You’ve just allowed Ben to accuse me of being with Ge
orge.’
Kenny grins. ‘Well, at least no-one would ever dare to bother you with George around.’
Bekky becomes flustered. ‘It’s no joking matter.’
Kenny takes her hands in his. ‘Look, I know and you know there is nothing going on, and now so do Davis and Helena. The rest can go to hell, as far as I’m concerned.’
‘But we won’t be able to see each other.’
Kenny hugs her. ‘Only until I find out what Ben is up to. We can still talk to each other on our monitors.’
‘The biggest problem is getting me out of here without anyone seeing me,’ says George with a nervous giggle.
‘Oh yeah, you’re not exactly inconspicuous.’ Kenny thinks for a moment. ‘We’ll just have to wait until later.’
Bekky sighs. ‘Well, we might as well have dinner now. It’s probably the last time we’ll eat together for a while.’
Chapter 56
Drummer passes through the biosphere but he doesn’t stop to admire the idyllic setting. He’s using it for cover so no one can see him approach Davis’s quarters. Enzot had told him to be careful about being seen. His eyes dart to each side to alert him to anyone watching. He hears laughter and flattens himself against a rocky column, covered with ivy. From his cover, he watches Davis and Helena walk around the oasis, hand in hand. He glances at Davis’s door and smiles. It was ajar, so this would be easier than he thought. He dashes across the open area between the oasis and the quarters and slips through the door. Checking the cooling unit, he sees that it has a large selection of drinks, wine, milk, juice. ‘Which one should I choose?’ he thinks. A noise at the door startles him. He searches for a place to hide and sees a gap beneath the meal preparation table. He squeezes into it as Davis and Helena enter the kitchen, laughing. He watches their legs pass him.
‘I’m having a coffee, Helena. Do you want one?’
‘Oh, no thanks. Isn’t that oasis just beautiful?’
‘Yes, I won’t have a chance to see much of it again for a while after tomorrow.’
Drummer watches Davis bring the cup from the heating plate to the bench. He splashes some and coffee drips down the preparation unit and spatters the floor in front of Drummer, He withdraws further into the cavity, hoping Davis doesn’t decide to be particular about the mopping up, but he’s more concerned about being burnt.
Davis shakes his sore hand. ‘Damn, I’ll have to let that cool down.’
Helena follows him into the lounge room and continues with the conversation.
‘Perhaps when Chaze relieves you, you could get some more time.’
‘I’m not leaving Chaze completely in charge. I don’t think I could ever relax with that twit at the helm.’
Drummer peers around the corner from his hiding place into the lounge. They aren’t in sight, which means he won’t be seen. He climbs out and takes the lid off the tube, wondering just how much he should put in the cup. Enzot had said it was a new tasteless laxative, so Davis would never know it was in there. Then he hears Helena remind Davis about his coffee, and with Davis still talking as he moves toward the kitchen, Drummer feels a sharp jolt of fear and pours the entire contents of the tube into the coffee, leaping back into the safety of the cavity just as Davis enters the room. His heart hammers in his chest as Davis picks up his coffee for a sip then takes it to the lounge.
Drummer notices, that in his haste, he has dropped the tube onto the floor. He reaches out and snatches it back, stuffing the empty tube in his pocket. He has only been there 10 minutes when Davis suddenly cuts short the chatter and walks Helena to the door. ‘That worked fast,’ thought Drummer, then he realizes that in his panic he has poured in the entire tube into the coffee.
When sounds of Davis spewing his guts up come from the bathroom, Drummer knows he can safely leave. Davis is going to be occupied for a long time.
Chapter 57
Denise wishes they hadn’t been given the day off. The twins drive her crazy and the rest of the crew has become restless with the spare time on their hands. There is no chance of relaxing in the oasis undisturbed, and she isn’t able to contact Mondok until that evening. So she calls Ven.
‘Hey Denise, I was going to call you but I didn’t want to disturb your celebrations and day off.’
She smiles. ‘Go ahead and disturb. I’m bored already.’
Denise notices Ven isn’t smiling.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Mondok has been taken to the medical center, pains in his chest. He’s having an enforced rest.’
Denise’s hand flies to her mouth in alarm.
‘Don’t worry, it’s just stress,’ says Ven, quickly. ‘He’ll be out in a few days.’
‘Why didn’t he tell me?’
‘He didn’t want to worry you.’
Denise remembers Mondok’s smile on the flight deck monitor the previous day. He was covering up how he really felt. This changes everything. She can’t ask him for help now.
‘Denise, there’s something bothering you. I know that look.’
She wonders whether to tell Ven. No, he would go digging for information for her and most likely get himself into trouble. ‘No, it’s nothing. At least Mondok is OK. So what’s happening with you?’
She listens as Ven tells her about his new apartment. She smiles where appropriate but her mind is distracted which Ven soon senses and telling her again not to worry, brings the conversation to a close.
Chapter 58
The drill rigs are on the move again but without Ben following this time. It is their final day out on the asteroid. Drummer notices a new confidence in Ben, a swagger that isn’t missed by the others either, but as Enzot had directed, he doesn’t reveal their true plans.
Drummer has already spoken to Chaze. That had been the easy part. Davis blasted him for not noticing the cameras on the drill rig were off, telling him that as the only crew member on the flight deck at the time, he was responsible for keeping watch. ‘What if something had happened to the crew out there?’ Davis had yelled. But then Enzot had gone and put all the blame on Helena. Drummer only had to get Chaze alone then and show him how he could get even with Davis and have total control of the vessel.
Kenny stays away from the dock as the crew left. It will be too difficult to refrain from showing some sort of affection to Bekky. Instead, he remains in his quarters until they were well on their way. When he enters the flight deck, he was surprised to see Ben. For the first time in a week, Ben didn’t go out. Kenny smiles, Bekky will at least get a break today.
Ben sees his smile. ‘Good to see you’re a bit happier, Kenny. Something I’ve got to ask you.’
Kenny notices the Mazuban had a more relaxed, self-assured posture than usual. ‘He really thinks he’s split us up,’ Kenny thinks.’ He shrugs. ‘Sure, go ahead.’
‘No dude, in private. Confidential.’ Ben emphasizes ‘confidential’ with a twang.
In any other circumstances, Kenny would have laughed but instead he just quietly follows Ben to his quarters.
Ben points to a chair. ‘Take a seat, mate.’
Kenny doesn’t make a move. ‘Thanks, but I’ll stand.’
Ben shrugs. ‘Suit yourself. He remains standing also. ‘I’ll be quick then, I want to know what you think of us checking out some larger asteroids.’
Kenny stares. ‘The only large asteroid near us is in the hot spot.’ He shakes his head. ‘No, that is completely out of the question. It’s far too risky.’
Ben nods. ‘Ok, I just thought I would ask.’ He begins moving toward the door. ‘Clearly the conversation is over,’ thinks Kenny as he follows Ben.
Outside Ben’s quarters, he stands for a moment pondering what he had just heard. It’s not what he had expected. If he had known what was coming he might have reacted less offensively and played along.
‘He called me this morning’ Helena say’s getting herself in a fluster. ‘Lucky I had his door ID code. I can’t understand why he didn’t call me last night before he got th
is sick. I was here when he began getting pains, but he wanted me to go.’
Another spasm strikes, contorting Davis’s face in agony. ‘Help me,’ he gasps.
Helena looks at Kenny helplessly. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with him.’
‘Food poisoning, perhaps,’ suggests Kenny. ‘If we knew what he had eaten that would help.’
‘We were together and had the same food, same drink.’ She stops. ‘Oh no, we didn’t. He had a coffee and I said I didn’t want one.’ She turns and looks at Kenny in shock. ‘Was it the coffee?’
‘OK well, whatever the cause, we need to get him onto his bed and get fluids into him so he doesn’t dehydrate. Could you go to the main medical kit and find the capsules in the bright pink packet? They will help, and ask Ben to come over to help lift Davis.’
As Helena leaves, he goes to the bathroom for the towels. On the basin is a cup. Kenny guesses Davis has carried it there when the first pains hit. He examines it, and sees a pale cloudy film coating the inside. He finds a plastic bag to put the cup in. he knows now this was not food poisoning, not of the natural sort, anyway.
He decides to hide the bag until they return to the Sobek. He put it in a drawer and covers it. At the sound of Davis throwing up again Kenny races to the linen cupboard, throws some towels across the bed then gets Davis some water. Davis is groaning louder. Kenny lifts his head and gives him a small sip but he can’t manage more than that, and Kenny didn’t want it passing through him anyway before he was safely on the bed. He checks the time. Helena had been gone for an hour. He was about to go and see what was taking so long when she returns followed by Ben.