2120 Titus Read online

  “Maybe he took the drone out for a spin and forgot to close the hatch. Explosive decompression can do that to a person.”

  “So how did the drone get back in the ship if was dead?”

  “I suppose the drone has some sort of homing mechanism, in case of an emergency,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  “It doesn’t,” Humphry replied as she stepped into the room. ‘But we can steer it back to the landing dock from the bow control center if needed.

  Dr. Mueller was surprised to hear Commander Humphry’s voice from behind him. “Then I don’t know,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  Lange said, “Don’t we have video surveillance of the docking bay?”

  “Only when the drones are activated, otherwise there is no reason to run the cameras. It eats power.”

  “So there’s no way to find out what actually caused Diller to die?”

  “Oh, there are ways, we just need to do an investigation. Find out where everyone was in the last day and track his movements the best we can.”

  Dr. Mueller asked, “Don’t you have chips in all of us to keep track on the computer?”

  “No,” Humphry replied. “In the US, you still have rights and one of those rights is to be free of being surveilled 24/7.”

  “So we seem to have a mystery on our hands,” Dr. Mueller said. “A real who-done-it. Who would have wanted Diller dead?”

  “First we need to find out how they did it,” Humphry said. Then a beeping sound filled the cabin. It wasn’t loud, and repeated about every half second. Then a slight shutter was felt from the floor and then was gone. “What was that?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  Lange stepped over to the computer terminal and started typing. In a few moments the screen was filled with the communication board where all the messages from the main computer were displayed. She read aloud, “Docking bay one open, drone C44A launch sequence activated.”

  “Holy shit, someone is taking one of the drones out,” Humphry said. “Bring up the camera from the outside.”

  Lange punched buttons and a real time picture popped up on the screen of the docking bay door. It was already open and the drone was sliding out of Plios 3 into deep space.

  “Who’s on board that drone?” Humphry asked. She was anxious and angry.

  “That’s the drone Diller was on,” Lange replied.

  “If he’s dead, who’s driving that thing?”

  “Lange looked at the bottom of the screen and got her answer. “We are,” Lange replied. “By ‘we’ I mean Plios 3 is commanding the done by remote.”

  “How can that happen?” Humphry asked. “Get it back!”

  Lange punched the keyboard and ran through several pages until she found the section she was looking for. The program that ran the drones remotely. What she saw looked strange to her, she could read out all the parameters for the drones, the speed, the orientation and all that, but the section for navigation was all in light grey. There was no way for her to input new data to correct the course of the drone.

  “What’s wrong?” Humphry asked.

  “Someone has tampered with the control panel. There is no way for me to do anything. We’d need a computer expert, or someone from Earth to look at what happened.”

  “Where is the drone headed?”

  The heading listed on command prompt was clear as to the drone’s destination. “4 Vesta,” Lange read aloud.

  “What the fuck? Why is it heading to another asteroid? It will never make it that far. Is there any way to get it back?”

  “We don’t have a tractor beam like they do in Star Trek, and we can’t vary our course to pick it up,” Lange replied.

  “So we’re fucked,” Humphry said as a statement and a question.

  “Yes ma’am, the drone is lost to us.”

  “So now we need to figure out why Plios 3 decided to jettison a drone without authorization.”

  Dr. Mueller spoke up, “Couldn’t Earth control do that? I mean, they have as much control over the ship as we do, right?”

  “Technically yes,” Lange replied. “But they would have told us first.”

  Humphry thought for a moment. “Who would have wanted the drone off the ship and leave us unable to retrieve it?”

  Dr. Mueller stood up as if he just had an Epiphone. “It was Diller, he preprogrammed the drone to leave the ship, there’s no other way.”

  The explanation Dr. Mueller gave was plausible to Lange and Humphry. It very well could have been Diller who somehow committed suicide and decided to have his own burial in space. He probably figured there would be plenty of time before anyone found his body and preset the drone to take off.

  “Yeah,” Humphry said. “I can see that. He did it himself,” she added almost lost in a daze as she thought about how much effort went into his suicide and eventual burial. “I will contact Earth base and talk to them.”

  “What is the communication time delay now?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “Seventeen minutes from Earth to our present position,” Lange replied.

  “So Earth base doesn’t know the drone has left yet.” Dr. Mueller stated.

  “That is correct, but they will soon and I need to figure out how I’m going to explain how a crew member got into a drone and somehow killed himself, and then jettisoned the drone into space without any of us knowing what was going on. If I were Earth command, I would think we were the biggest bunch of dumb asses they could have found to fly this mission.”

  Chapter 7

  Servo

  Reading the news off his tablet, Dr. Mueller was deep in thought when he heard his com link ding at him. He touched the screen on his wrist communicator and saw a message from Commander Humphry telling, not asking him to come to her office. He said, “What’s up?” into the communicator which turned his voice into text and sent the message. The response on the screen read, ‘Immediately.”

  Although he was bored with nothing much to do, he dreaded speaking with Humphry. She was short with him, never said a kind word and she seemed like an overall cruel bitch. But what the hell, he had nothing better to do and got up and left his room.

  Upon arriving at the Commanders desk, Dr. Mueller noticed the stench of Jessica Hart, the Chief Science officer and sexual predator. Humphry motioned for Dr. Mueller to take a seat and handed him a sheet of paper.

  “What’s this?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “A complaint,” Humphry replied.

  “About what?”

  “Jessica Hart claims you sexually assaulted her in you living quarters.”

  Dr. Mueller lost his shit and his jaw almost hit the floor when he heard the accusation. “What the fuck are you talking about? I never laid a finger on that ugly ass bitch.”

  “Not what she says. If you read…”

  “Fuck, I’m not reading this, just tell me what she said,” Dr. Mueller replied setting the paper on the table.

  “She says you called her to your living quarters and proceeded to expose yourself to her. She says you stepped out of the shower naked and wouldn’t let her leave.”

  Dr. Mueller turned red. He was so livid he could barely reply. “That piece of shit came into my bathroom and opened my shower door. She stood there and gawked at me and I told her to get the fuck out.”

  “Do you expect me to believe you?” Humphry asked. She shook her head in total disbelief. “What woman would do that?”

  “This is bullshit and you know it. She said she had a record. Look it up.”

  “What record are you referring to?”

  “I don’t know, she just said nobody could prove anything.”

  “I see,” Humphry replied. “So you claim she is some sort of peeping Jane?”

  “She said she wanted to screw me,” Dr. Mueller replied. “Ask her.”

  “I don’t think I need to ask her Dr. Mueller. You are the one with a record, not her. I find it much more likely that you exposed yourself than she forced herself on you. Most women can get any man they want.”

  “What
kind of witch hunt is this? I didn’t do anything wrong. And you have no proof to substantiate your claim.”

  Humphry knew Dr. Mueller was correct. What she had was anecdotal at best and not much better than hear say. “I will call this a written warning,” Humphry said.

  “Written warning of what? What are you warning me about?”

  “That you exposed yourself. At least you didn’t touch her, which would be something altogether different.”

  Dr. Mueller shook his head in disgust. What he was hearing was so absurd that he couldn’t make sense of it.

  “I just need you to sign the paper that you’ve been given a warning.”

  “I’m not signing anything,” Dr. Mueller said as a matter of fact. He kept his voice low and steady and tried his hardest not to raise his voice.

  “I’ll make a note that you refused to sign.”

  “Good, make a note that I didn’t do what you are accusing me of as well,” Dr. Mueller said. This time he was more anxious. He looked around and found the camera that was recording the conversation. He looked into the lens and said, “For the record, I didn’t do anything to Jessica Hart, she assaulted me.” He looked at Humphry and said, “Don’t delete that video file.”

  “Is that a threat?” Humphry asked.

  “No, it isn’t,” Dr. Mueller stated. And then something crossed his mind. “Why are you bothering with this in the first place? The Earth is going to be destroyed and we will be the last five people alive. What are you going to do to me? Put me in jail?”

  “Is that were you belong? In jail? Are you making a confession?”

  Dr. Mueller was in a rage. He had to calm himself down before he lashed out at the Commander. “I am confessing to nothing,” he stated as calm as he could. “But for the record, I am innocent.”

  Humphry rubbed her double chin and leaned back in her chair. “You know I can take you out at any time don’t you?” she asked.

  Silence. “What are you talking about?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “Before they transported you to the station, you had a physical, remember?”

  Dr. Mueller remembered going to the medical unit and being examined. “Yes, I remember.”

  “During the physical, do you recall an IV inserted in your arm?”

  Dr. Mueller had to think hard, but he didn’t recall an IV. “No,” he replied.

  “That was the anesthesia. For the surgery you had.”

  “I’m really getting tired of this. What surgery are you talking about?”

  “Have you noticed the surgical wound and stitches you have on your chest?” Humphry asked.

  Dr. Mueller shook his head and looked down at his shirt. He lifted the shirt up and saw between his nipples a small one centimeter wound with four stitches. “How did that happen?”

  “You were taken to surgery and a valve was placed in your Superior Vena Cava just above your heart.”

  “A valve? Why?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “To control you in case you went insane and tried to kill the crew. The valve has a servo motor that I can control. If you become a threat, I activate the valve and the blood flow to your lungs is shut off. You die in six minutes.”

  Dr. Mueller swallowed hard and tried to make sense of what he was hearing. He could see the evidence of the surgery with his own eyes, and he knew the technology was current enough to install the valve, but his lack of memory confused him. How did he not realize he had a surgical wound? “How did I not see this before?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “You were hypnotized. Only when someone brought it to your attention would you realize the incision was there,” Humphry replied.

  “So why did you ask me if I knew about it. Obviously you knew I didn’t”

  “That was a mistake on my part, it was more a figure of speech.”

  “So why bother with the paperwork. If you want me dead, just do it.”

  “I’m not going to kill you for sexually assaulting a female crew member.”

  “I told you I didn’t do it!” Dr. Mueller snapped.

  “Sign the paper,” Humphry said.

  Dr. Mueller stood up and stepped away from the desk. He pulled his shirt down and tucked it into his pants as if he had never seen anything. “You can take your paper and shove it,” Dr. Mueller said. “You may have power over me, but I won’t let you control me. I didn’t touch that fat cow and I don’t care if you believe me or not. By this time next year it won’t matter anyway. The Earth will be burned to a crisp and we won’t have anywhere to go.”

  Humphry stared at Dr. Mueller and didn’t reply. She took the paper and put it in an envelope and set it on the counter next to her.

  Dr. Mueller left.

  Chapter 8

  Mass Extinction

  The calculated distance from 2120 Titus to the Earth was now sixty days, the distance from 2120 Titus to Plios 3 was now forty five days. The space craft had been heading towards the asteroid for five and a half months and was at maximum speed. In a few days they would need to start slowing down in order not to pass the asteroid and miss the rendezvous.

  Life on Plios 3 had become routine and dull with not much to keep the astronauts busy. The main mission wouldn’t take place until they reached the asteroid and surveyed its makeup and discovered what was transmitting the radio signal. Was it part of the asteroid? Was it something attached to the asteroid? In the meantime, the crew found busy work to keep them occupied and Dr. Mueller took the opportunity to study and do research on a variety of topics. He enjoyed learning, not because it made him smarter than everyone else, but because he had a natural curiosity for knowledge.

  The science lab was where Dr. Mueller spent the majority of his time. He would spend hours surfing the data files looking for something to read. Currently he found interest in the formation of binary star systems. He had studied them as part of his classes for his astrophysics degree, but now he could find new information, and papers written by his colleagues that put a new perspective on the topic.

  Dr. Mueller was deep in thought reading about the system Alpha Centauri A and B and how a possible new planet had been discovered orbiting a companion star Proxima Centauri. He found the Alpha Centauri system fascinating because it was our Suns closest stellar neighbor at 4.3 light-years from Earth. He read how astronomers detected an Earth-size planet orbiting Proxima Centauri.

  The newfound world, known as Proxima b, about 1.3 times more massive than Earth, suggested that the exoplanet was a rocky world. He looked at the monitor on the wall that showed a vast star field stretching from one side of the screen to the other. The image taken by a camera mounted on the bow section of Plios 3. The camera was not pointing in the direction of Alpha Centauri, but the thought of other worlds orbiting those tiny white dots gave him shivers.

  Then Dr. Mueller heard the door to the science pod open and faint footsteps behind him. He knew he was no longer alone but decided not to turn around, instead keeping his eye on the star field on the screen.

  “Dr. Mueller, how are you today?” the familiar voice of Religious officer Tom Yapchanyk asked.

  Turning in his chair, Dr. Mueller replied, “Great.”

  “Just great? Looks to me like you found something to read.” Yapchanyk said as he leaned over Dr. Mueller to take a look at what was on his computer screen. “Binary Star Systems,” Yapchanyk read aloud. “I’m not familiar with those.”

  “Yeah, it’s dull reading,” Dr. Mueller replied trying to get Yapchanyk to leave. He detested Yapchanyk’s attempts to corner him into having ‘conversations’ about the Lord.

  “Dull?” Nothing that our Lord created is dull.”

  “If you don’t mind, I was in the middle of studying,” Dr. Mueller said.

  “If you don’t mind doctor, I am required by my employers to make at least three contacts a week with the crew of the station. You have been avoiding me consistently. If nothing else, could you allow me to speak to you so I don’t get in trouble?”

  Dr. Mueller took a deep b
reath realizing he couldn’t get away this time. “Fine, go ahead,” Dr. Mueller replied. He put his elbow up on the computer desk and crossed his legs. If he only had some coffee.

  “I have something for you, something very special.”

  Dr. Mueller watched as Yapchanyk pulled out an old ragged bible from a plastic pouch and laid it next to Dr. Mueller’s arm.

  “Pick it up,” Yapchanyk said like a giddy child at Christmas.

  “Why didn’t you just hand it to me?”

  “I didn’t want to seem like I was forcing it on you.”

  “But you just told me to pick it up.”

  “Sorry, I should have handed it to you---now please.”

  The bible looked old, like hundreds of years old. The leather cover was faded and brown, the hubbed spine had been scratched and scraped but the title was still readable. Dr. Mueller picked it up and opened it to the first page and read the printers note, ‘William Burkitt - Binns and Brown – 1796.’ The pages were worn but very readable with the old English font. “Where did you get this?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “I picked it up at an auction,” Yapchanyk replied. “I collect antique bibles.”

  “Is this one worth anything?”

  “About $2000 I’d say.”

  “Wow, that’s quite a present,” Dr. Mueller replied.

  “I didn’t pay near that when I got it.”

  Dr. Mueller flipped it over and checked the bible from all sides. “Ok, now what am I supposed to do with it?” Dr. Mueller asked.

  “Read it, of course.”

  “I’ve read the bible, most of it at least. It’s online you know.”

  “Yes I know, but online it’s cold and distant. When you read from a book like this the message comes through much clearer.”

  “Dr. Mueller flipped through a few pages and read. “And the earth was without forme, and voyd, and darkenesse was vpon the face of the deepe: and the Spirit of God mooued vpon the face of the waters.” I don’t see how that’s much clearer. You almost need an interpreter to read it.

  “Trust me, the word does not fill your empty soul from a computer screen like it does from the pages of a well-read bible,” Yapchanyk said. He was very sentimental.