Space Rats

by Jacqueline Kirk

  NINE

  Troy led Orla back to the kitchen where everyone had returned and sat down, Lena and Ziggy were tidying away what was left of their abruptly ended meal while Krista was putting the dishes through the sonic cleaner.

  “There wasn’t any damage really,” Ziggy told him, “Just a cup and an old bowl that must have got knocked to the floor when that big rock hit us.”

  Lena just gave him a sharp look when she saw Orla with him but didn’t say a word, just carried on clearing the last of the dishes off of the table. The rest of the table was taken up with a map Tristan had pulled from its protective tube and was now studying.

  As Troy sat down heavily in his chair the others also came over and sat down too. He needed to get his brother alone to tell him about Red Raven. When Tristan continued to ignore everyone and study the map Troy frowned and leant forward so he could see the map too.

  “What are you looking for?” he asked Tristan.

  “Trying to find somewhere to dock so I can repair the ship of course!” Tristan told him as if he was an idiot.

  “What repairs?” Troy demanded hotly as if Tristan was blaming him for whatever was wrong.

  “That last blast damaged the outside hull and a couple of circuits,” he looked up and noted everyone’s worried expression so quickly added, “It’s nothing to worry about just now. The shields absorbed most of the impact but they can only stand so much! I’d like to get it fixed sooner rather than later though! Especially since we’re not too sure where we might be – I’d rather be safe than sorry!”

  Troy nodded, mollified at his brother’s explanation but also slightly annoyed at his constant practicality. “So, where do you have in mind?”

  Tristan tapped the map in front of him and the image zoomed in to where his finger was. “We’re here right now,” he told them, “Over here is where we should go.”

  He lifted his finger from the map and it zoomed back out to the original image and then placed his finger on a spot just beneath where he had pointed before and the image of a large space station appeared. The others leaned forward but it was Krista that spoke first.

  “What is that place?” she asked.

  “That is Phoenix Space Station, one of the bigger space stations, lots of people live there!” Tristan told them.

  Troy stared at his brother waiting for him to go on but when he didn’t he said, “But?”

  “But,” Tristan repeated, “it’s also quite well policed. It might not be so easy to get permission to dock than it was at Andala. And if we do, there’s the problem of staying undetected long enough to check Star Chaser over and repair her if necessary.”

  He sat back taking his finger off the map, leaving the others to look at an image of a large tract of stars and space.

  After a brief silence it was Lena that spoke up first. “If this ship needs to be repaired I’d rather take the chance here than be out in the middle of nowhere when something goes wrong. I think it’s worth the chance.” She bit her lip and they could see she was trying not to grin. “Besides, it would be interesting to visit a large space station like this.” The wide-eyed, innocent look she gave Tristan didn’t fool him for a moment although he did smile at her feeble attempt.

  “What about everyone else?” He asked, looking at the others, “Do you think we should chance it? Stop playing with the map!”

  Ziggy snatched his hand back from the map he had been studying and blushed slightly when he noticed everyone looking at him. “Umm, yeah, I agree with Lena. Better now than sucked out into space later!”

  Troy sniggered at his friend’s words but could tell that the decision had been made. “I’ll set a course for Phoenix Space Station then,” he said cheerfully and headed back to the bridge.

  The next morning found them dropping out of hyperdrive within close proximity to Phoenix Space Station where they stopped for a moment to go over their plan one more time. But first they all stared in awed wonder at the sight of the space station in front of them.

  “It’s like a big spinning top with lots of lights!” Ziggy breathed, mesmerised.

  Troy looked at his friend and was about to say that this wasn’t the biggest he’d seen when travelling with his parents when it struck him again that this was his friend’s first time off planet. Looking back at the space station he tried looking at it as if seeing something like this for the first time and had to admit to himself that it was quite a sight.

  Phoenix Space Station did look a little like a big spinning top, all lit up with multi-coloured lights. There was a large oval shape that seemed to make up the bulk of the station and just beneath this there was a long, round tube that ended at the bottom with another oval shape half the size of the one above. Above the main oval there was another long tube but this time it ended with a large disc that revolved slowly.

  “It’s the bottom area we need to head for,” Tristan told them, “that’s the docking area. There’s no other way to get on to the station except from there. So, everyone clear on what they’re doing?”

  They all nodded then settled into their seats in preparation for their approach, the nervous tension in the air was almost palpable. Krista was busy at her computer, tapping keys and checking her monitor.

  “We’re in the queue,” she told Troy who nodded not trusting himself to speak without his voice giving out he was feeling so nervous. His heart was hammering so loudly that he was sure the others must be able to hear it.

  Taking deep breaths he closed his eyes and concentrated on nothing else but his breathing until he felt as if he was a little more in control. He retrieved the Holo Hoop from one of the drawers beside him and set it in place so he was ready when it came to their turn. He went over in his mind what Tristan had made him memorise in case he was asked certain questions.

  “It’s our turn,” Krista said, the worry evident in her voice.

  Troy jumped at her voice but quickly drew a steadying breath and switched the Hoop on. Indicating to Krista to put the station through he nodded to the woman who appeared on his screen. “Freighter Star Chaser, registration 065283.14 requesting permission to dock,” he said in as professional a voice as he could manage.

  “For what purpose?” the woman asked as she went through their details.

  “Repairs. We…” he started to explain how they had been caught in an asteroid shower but realised he would sound like he was rambling so stopped. Thankfully the woman on the other end didn’t seem to notice as she was too busy on her own console to pay full attention to him.

  His heart constricted as she frowned and he thought they had been discovered but she merely continued to tap on her console and then she smiled. “Permission granted for twenty- four hours. Go to Level 22, Dock 46 and welcome to Phoenix Space Station.”

  The screen went blank as she terminated the connection and Troy was left staring at it for a moment. He looked at Krista who grinned at him in delight.

  “We did it!” she said, “Whatever registration documents Old Ted got for us must have worked!”

  Troy grinned back at her then began the short flight to the docking area. When they arrived inside they stared open-mouthed at what looked like chaos. Little ships were flying back and forth while they could see level upon level of docked ships that seemed to go all the way around. The ship in front of them began to fly upwards and then suddenly one of the little ships appeared in front of them and they could see it wasn’t exactly a little ship. It was more like a robotic ball that floated in front of them.

  Krista looked at her screen for a moment then turned to Troy, “They’re requesting control of the ship and they will take us to our docking port.”

  Troy looked confused for a moment then smiled, “I get it! They’re little automatons that park the ships! I suppose you can’t just have people flying everywhere.”

  “Uh, yeah,” Krista replied, “They’re getting insistent.”

  “Oh, right,” Troy looked sheepishly at her then pressed a series of butt
ons on his console, “Sorry.”

  He sat back and the automaton guided the ship up to Level 22 where they glided along until they reached Dock 46 whereupon they were gently placed inside and the little automaton then zipped away for the next ship on it’s list.

  Inside Star Chaser there was silence as they looked out the window in front of them to see a wall with the number forty-six lit in brilliant neon. The silence was broken when Tristan joined them and looked around with a frown when he saw they were just sitting there looking slightly dumbfounded.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  Troy swung round in his chair and looked in surprise at his brother. “We did it. We got through. I just thought it would be a lot harder or we would be caught – something! It just seemed too easy.”

  Tristan grinned, “Old Ted really came through for us! Those registration documents did the trick! He used to be a policeman you know” He rubbed his hands together gleefully then noticed the others were still sitting quiet. “Come on, why are you just sitting there? Let’s go!”

  Lena looked at Ziggy and grinned, quickly unstrapping herself and helping Orla then practically running after Tristan. The others quickly followed, their excitement building as they realised they had a whole space station to explore.

  They congregated in the kitchen while Tristan rummaged in one of the cupboards, pulling out a little metal box. He brought it to the table and then unlocked it with a key from his pocket. They all crowded around to have a look inside when the lid was lifted to see coins and notes filling it almost to the brim.

  “I saved some proper cash just in case we went somewhere where they don’t take cards.” He explained to them, “But I also thought it would be handy for small things – like snacks and stuff.” He counted out some of the notes and coins then closed the box, locking it again.

  He shared out the money between them although Troy frowned when he noticed Lena getting a larger amount than he and Ziggy got. “Hey, how come she’s getting more than us?”

  Tristan looked to Lena’s side where Orla stood as quiet as ever, “For Orla? She has to eat too you know!”

  “Oh,” Troy said feeling a little foolish and looked at Orla who smiled at him happily.

  It was sometimes easy to forget about her because she was so quiet. Not just quiet in the fact that she didn’t talk much but she also moved quietly as if she was gliding instead of walking.

  “Okay,” Tristan leant on the table as he spoke to them, “I think that you four should really stick together. This is a busy place from what I remember and it’s easy to get lost!”

  “You’ve been here before?” Ziggy asked surprised, looking at Troy.

  “A long, long time ago,” Tristan explained, “I barely remember, I don’t think Troy will at all.” Troy shook his head with a slight shrug and Tristan continued, “Everything is set out like a small town, it has streets and such and there are a lot of people who make their home here so it can get really busy.”

  “What are you and Krista going to be doing?” Troy asked his brother.

  “I’m going to have a quick look at the ship, see what damage there is and then I might take a quick look around too. Krista is going to help me.” He frowned at their knowing looks but didn’t say anything.

  With excited smiles they ran to get ready.

  Stepping out of Star Chaser they left the docking area through the exit and found themselves in a brightly-lit corridor that was busy with people who all seemed to be going in the same direction. With a quick warning from Troy to hold on to each other he led the way into the crowd, going with the flow until they reached a set of lifts at the end. Waiting their turn it wasn’t long before they were inside the lifts going upwards until it came to a stop and the doors slid open.