Last Days
Orbit the Sun – Part 10
By John Stevenson
Copyright 2014 John Stevenson
Mathew looked across the beds; Andrew was in the furthest from him. “How is he?” he said, barely above a whisper.
Emma replied equally softly. “I’ve done all I can? He’s had a complete transfusion, and I’ve prescribed regular potassium Iodide… Mathew there’s nothing more I can do?”
“How long?”
“Ten… fourteen days; maybe more… maybe less?”
Matt nodded and walked over to the bed. He looked at Andrew, his face was drawn and there were sores around his lips. “Commander?” he said quietly but respectfully.
Andrews’s eyes flickered, and slowly opened. “Is everybody?”
“Everybody is…” he was going to say okay, but it emphasized that at least one was not. “Wishing you a quick recovery.”
Andrew closed his eyes for a few moments before opening them again. “Command is yours Mathew.”
Matt felt embarrassed and deflected the words. “Emma says you will be up and about soon?”
“I’m giving you command of Earthrise Mathew; you are my deputy and I want you to take command.“
It was what Matt had argued for, for a long time but now he was offered it he didn’t want to accept. “Commander…”
Andrews voice was stronger. “Mathew; I have relinquished my command. I hold you responsible to get everybody back home.”
Matt was silent for several seconds. “If it can be done; I’ll do it.”
“And Matt…”
“Com… yes?”
“You were right I should never have trusted him?” Andrew closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Matt stared at him unsure what to do until Emma came by his side. “He’s sleeping… Matt are you okay?”
Mathew took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I am, but now I have to get everybody home?”
As Peter walked through the door he knew there was something wrong: even before he saw the blood splattered on the front of Vincent’s shirt. Vincent was sprawled on the lounge watching a video and didn’t even bother turning around.
Peter strode to the coffee table; picked up the remote, and switched off the screen.
Vincent’s face hardened and he moved suddenly as if he was about to stand, but then he slowly relaxed back.
Peter looked at him. “What’s happened?”
Vincent gestured with his head towards the bedroom.
Peter dropped the remote and made his way to the connecting door; he heard the sound of the video switching back on.
The woman was laid on the floor; he knew she was dead by the angle between her head and her body. Peter shook his head, he didn’t have concern for her; after all she was just a toy, but it was obviously not an accident, and that could be a problem. Killing someone almost always left a trace, and he had always tried to make those give aways hard to prove. A snapped neck was easy to blame on a fall, as was her arm: broken and twisted up the wrong way could also be. What was the problem was her face; she was almost unrecognizable, and it couldn’t be anything else but a severe beating. It annoyed him; it wasn’t professional and he prided himself on doing things right, but this was the work of a maniac, and Andrew wouldn’t be able to cover something like this, no matter how much he was pressured.
Peter remembered seeing her just a couple of days before; she was in the shower as he came for one himself. She was washing her body and Vincent was sitting on the toilet. A naked woman was one thing but Peter found the sight of Vincent distasteful.
‘Do you mind?’ he had said: in a way that also meant I want to be alone, as he began to undress. Of the two sights Peter looked at Sara: the water in the shower tray was slightly pink: obviously Vince had beaten her, and she had the look that he recognized, somewhere between terror and utter hopelessness. He knew it well; all the girls had it when they were broken. As he undressed Peter glanced dispassionately at her body; there burn marks that burned bright red. ‘I thought we talked about not marking her?’
‘You said you wanted her to do as she was told?’
‘The drug will do that?’
‘It wasn’t working fast enough; I thought I’d speed things up?’
‘I need her looking good, so next time you think she needs encouragement you ask me.’
‘Okay… I get it… check with you, but all she needs is a couple of days and she’ll look as good as ever.’
Peter forced himself to be more conciliatory. “Look Vince our plans are going nice and steady, we don’t want things stuffed up?’
‘Nobody is going to be worried about a piece of meat.’
‘Her clients will be.’
‘They’ll wait, Hey where they gunna go?’
‘That’s not for you to decide; meat she may be, but she’s our only supply, and if she’s available we get the things that money can’t buy? She’s our power Vince, is that too hard to understand?
‘You’re the boss,’ Vincent said it like he didn’t agree with what he was saying.
‘Yes I am and I’m warning you, you have to learn to control your temper.’
‘I just slapped her about a bit?’ Vincent protested as he fingered the piece of electrical cable wound round his fist just below the knuckle-dusters.
Peter knew there was no point in arguing; it wouldn’t make any difference; he knew what men like Vince were like. ‘Just get her compliant; you don’t have to enjoy it?’
Vincent shrugged. ‘She’s just a bitch?’
‘Yes she is, but your going to go too far if your not careful?’ Peter had felt angry; back home he wouldn’t have anything to do with petty thugs. They were a danger to everyone; he preferred to surround himself with professional criminals: like he was, but there were non aboard Earthrise; at least none that would actually work for him. Instead he had to make do with scum like Vince, and it always turned out the same, give a thug a chance and they went feral. If only he had a professional: brought up through the ranks, authority step by step, so that in the end they knew exactly how far to go. People like Vince didn’t; once they had power over people a brutality emerged that often they didn’t even know they had.
The woman was out of the shower now and was quickly rubbing herself dry. Peter stepped past her as Vince slapped her buttocks hard with his open hand, making her yelp. He grabbed her upper arm and marched her out of the bathroom. Peter looked at the welts and long narrow strips of glowing red on her white buttocks. He knew the cable caused them: it had a heavy copper core that showed through the insulation where it had been stripped away. Vince liked to use it whenever he was given the slightest reason. ‘Vince?’ he had snapped.
Vincent looked back.
“Last warning; back off I can’t sell her like that.”
Matt had no time to consider his promotion; as soon as he left the ward he ran into Georgi; she was carrying a package that Matt realized had come from the capsule. “Where are you taking that?” he said already guessing the answer.
“To Peter’s pod?” She realized from his attitude there was a problem. “He said Andrew had left instructions that we were to take everything to his pod?”
Matt tried not to sound too harsh. “Not any more; give it here.”
She handed it over to him.
“It’s okay you can go back to whatever you were doing before?”
“Actually I wasn’t doing anything much.” She stood waiting.
Matt tried not to smile; she obviously sensed a confrontation, so he started back to the docking area with her beside him. They were hardly inside the next pod when Tricia came towards them also carr
ying a box. She looked puzzled as they approached and stopped.
“We’re taking everything back?” said Georgi, a smile on her face.
They had Ali in tow by the time they arrived at the docking point. Peter was checking off the manifest as they arrived; he looked up, in both surprise and annoyance.
Matt spoke before Peter could. “Everything stays here,” he said firmly.
Peters face was blank, and his voice was condescending. “Andrew said I was to keep everything safe?”
“Yes, I’m changing that.”
Peter s face was a picture of innocence. “I’m sure Andrew would be interested in knowing that you don’t want everything to be stored safely?”
“That’s the reason I’m changing where it’s stored.”
Peter smiled and looked back at the manifest dismissively. “You can’t, Andrew calls the shots.”
Now Matt smiled: it wasn’t an amused smile. “Actually he doesn’t anymore; he has relinquished command to me. I am now commander of Earthrise and I say everything stays here.”
The smile disappeared from Peters face. “We’ll see what he says about that?”
“Feel free; but he won’t be able to tell you anything for a while, he has been given a sedative and is asleep.” Matt stared challengingly at Peter. “I have given instructions that he is not to be disturbed; but by all means I’ll let you know when he is awake and we can go together?”
Peters smile returned. “As you say commander, but as Andrew understood our food supplies are critical to our survival; we cannot afford to have any go missing?”
Matt was conscious of a queue forming behind Peter. “No, and I doubt they will… now.”
“You are too trusting, if people know they can raid the store with impunity they will break the rationing?”
“No, I will not make the mistake of being too trusting; the same rules will apply; and the rationing will be maintained.”
“As you wish commander, and the penalty?”
“Penalty?” Peter’s quick acceptance disturbed Matt.
“Anyone caught hording… will be restricted to their cabin and deigned their ration” There has to be a punishment?”
It was a rule that he had been part of even though he didn’t want to. “Yes; for the moment...” Matt realized he hadn’t thought everything through, and Peter was taking the lead.
“So we put everything back?”
“Yes…” Matt looked back down the pod. “No… There’s an apartment in the next pod: put it all there… I want everything put there, including the stuff that you already have.” Matt deliberately avoided saying in your pod. “I’ll get Leeshia to update the manifest so we know exactly what we have in total?” He handed the package back to Georgi. She was almost giggling as she took it. Matt didn’t feel as amused; Peter had given in, but he was unlikely to give up; this would be only the first confrontation.
“Commander?”
Matt was still not used to the name and for a moment he ignored Tricia. “What me?”
“I have commander Feng on the radio… The colony’s commander?”
Matt moved quickly to the communications desk. “Commander Feng: Mathew Rain; commander of Earthrise.”
“People call me Tom, it’s less confusing over the airwaves?”
Matt’s voice became less formal. “Tom; and please call me Matt.”
Toms voice became curious. “I must be mistaken; I thought Andrew Craig was commander?”
“He was; he’s had a bad dose of radiation.”
Bobs voice sounded concerned. “I’m sorry to hear that… Is he…”
“He was exposed to close to over nine hundred Rads.”
“Oh…” there was a brief silence. “I’m sorry.”
“We could have lost the supply capsule but he refused to leave the controls.”
“Did he… brave man.”
“Yes, we think so.”
There was a short uncomfortable silence as they both sought a way to change the subject with respect. Tom began first. “Look this is just to let you know we’re powered up and on our way back to Earth; you probably don’t want to be reminded of that place though?”
“It’s on our minds constantly, but we’re kind of resigned to not going home just yet.”
“Don’t worry, we will make sure they send help, though I’d be surprised if it isn’t already being organized.”
“We’re hoping that too, but in the meantime we appreciate all the help we can get.”
“I’m sorry to leave you like this, but the window is closing… I have my own men as apriority; you understand?”
“Tom; it’s all right; it’s hard to see you go, but we understand.”
“Anyway we’ve left the lights on and the kettle is boiling, and that’s not an exaggeration. A couple of the guys put their hands up to help settle in.”
Mathew was surprised and his voice showed it. “They have?”
“Yea, a couple of our old timers; though don’t you tell them that. They didn’t say anything but I recon they were delighted you turned up.”
“Oh… I hope we live up to their expectations?”
“Don’t get me wrong; but it’s nothing to do with you personally. They have been there from the start, and think of Mars as home now, so you became the ideal excuse to disobey orders and stay.”
Matt decided he liked the man behind the voice. “Anyway our deepest thanks; things have been a bit too busy to think too much on what is waiting for us, but knowing were welcome is good news.”
“Yea… actually I’m beginning to think they made the best choice. It’s not going to be a great trip for us either; I think sardines in a can is the appropriate way to describe conditions here?”
Matt laughed. “I sympathize; even with the extra space we pretty much lost any sense of privacy?”
“Well we can all see the end: us a little sooner than you, so we will put up with it. Look the guys know where everything is and how it works and will show you around, and maybe if you all get bored you can carry on some of the work were doing?”
“That sound like a great idea; it’s been a big problem getting everybody’s minds off the fact we were spinning off into the cosmos?”
“Yea, we’ll it’s not that exciting so maybe you will change your mind?”
“No, I’m sure doing anything different and constructive sounds like a holiday.”
“Okay Matt, I’d better go and make sure nobody is sleeping on the shelf I call my bed; the guys back at the Colony know everything, but by all means give us a call if you want, as long as you don’t expect an instantaneous reply.”
“Good trip Tom and say hello to Earth for us all?”
“Will do, and good luck to you guys… call me when you back and we’ll have a drink and we can talk over all our experiences?”
“That’d be good; see you then.” Matt closed down wondering when that time would be?
Mathew was in his cabin working on loading the St. Louis; when Emma knocked on the open door.
“Commander?” she said stepping just inside.
“Emma; you don’t have to call me that; especially when were alone.”
He expected a friendly reply but she looked serious. “We’ve found Sara’s body.”
Matt immediately stopped and stared at her. “Body?” he said in shock.
“She’s in one of the empty rooms.” Emma looked even more serious. “She was murdered?”
“No, no, no.” Matt sighed deeply. “Your sure?”
“Her neck has been broken.”
“She fell?”
“Whoever did it intended us to think that, but that can’t explain how she sustained the other injuries?”
He looked at her waiting.
“She was beaten; really beaten.”
“Damn,” Matt thumped his desk. “It’s my fault; I should have gotten her out of there before he had chance to beat her to death?”
“The bruising had had time to rise, she was be
aten hours before she was killed?”
“I was hoping she had just gone somewhere to hide and get away from Peter?” So many things had happened in that last few hours that he had forgotten her, and now it sounded like a pathetic excuse.
“I think everybody hoped that… You think it was him?” Her voice indicated that she did.
“What I think and what I can prove are probably going to be two different things… her… is there anything that could implicate him?”
“Possibly; there were marks that I think were made from something heavy and pliable?”
“Such as?”
“A whip, but whoever whipped her it was prior to her murder. What are you going to do commander?”
Her using the word you struck home that it really was his problem. “Firstly I need a cause of death from you, and then we will see what he has to say?”
Mars had been visibly growing larger for some time, and it would still be almost a week before their paths merged, but excitement pervaded the station
It had been months of fear since the separation; never knowing what was to happen next, or even if they would be dead in hours to come; so no matter what conditions were like on the surface of Mars they at least could hope once more.
Nobody was immune from the need to get off the array and step on solid ground: alien as it may be, but the problem of getting there was now not just hypothetical.
Though none would have said it until after the capsule arrived, the extra food was now a problem. The St. Louis was the only way down and once on Mars it would never leave, so they had the one chance of re-supply. Fearing starvation during their long enforced stay it was natural that they should take all they could but whoever stayed on Earthrise would have the same problem.
The solution was forced upon Mathew. A life-sustaining intake for each and every person to last a minimum of two years was needed and determined; then what was left was divided up by number of mouths it would have to feed. Matt gave a cursory look at Peters list, and discarded it.
The women: ten of them, and their food rations were calculated, next the guests. Seven excluding the two females already counted; that was seventeen already. Mathew decided he had no option but to stay; he couldn’t ask others and not be one of them. The ideal would be for Andrew to be in charge on the surface but he refused and suggested Alisha. Alisha would pilot the shuttle down so that seemed a given.