THE DEMISE OF THE STAR
VENTURE
Star time 2104.232.2131. This is the final
log entry of Jon Leary, Captain of Euro-America’s Nuclear Space Tug, Star
Venture. In thirty minutes I must either turn the ship or risk destruction by entering
the Asteroid Zone. My first officer, and
engineer, Henri Gabbert, is dead, and I am wounded, most likely fatally. My
other crew member, Doctor Lesley Brown, is… well, let me start from the
beginning.
We left Moonport Three, nineteen months ago.
This is my second three year voyage to Beta One, the asteroid mining station on
asteroid 721. My outbound cargo included; three containers of fresh water and
two containers of supplies, plus twenty miners in deep sleep stasis. I was
returning with five containers of processed ore mined from the asteroid and
nineteen miners, in full sleep mode. Each container, as you know, is worth in
the neighborhood of five billion Euramerica dollars. My share was to be five
million.
I was against the hiring of Doctor Brown. Women
on deep space excursions can be a big distraction, if you know what I mean. Of
course the doctor gave us the mandatory testosterone inhibitors to lessen our
sex drives, but that usually wears off in six months and I refused the second
one. I don’t know what kind of inhibitor the good doctor gave herself, but she
needed a better one. Of course the inevitable happened when the testosterone
kicked back in. Doctor Brown and I became lovers and stayed that way until we
reached Beta One.
We
passed the Space Tug, Star Explorer at about nine months out on her return to
Moonport. The captain said some of the miners were rebellious and he left them
behind. He wished me luck as they would most likely try returning with me. He
did have fifteen miners in stasis, but his doctor wasn’t able to get the ten left
behind to consent, and that was the only way he could have taken them; not
having enough oxygen, water or food products to sustain them awake for the
eighteen months trip back toward Earth. The station refused to let them proceed
beyond the stasis chamber. They held his doctor hostage so he left him too,
hoping he could return with me.
A week before we were to arrive at the asteroid
station, Henri powered down the reactors to save on the fuel rods and we coasted
in from there. As it turned out we had only consumed thirty percent so we had a
surplus for the trip home, though it looks like we won’t make it now.
Everything went according to schedule when
we arrived at Beta One. I parked my cargo in the mooring yards and picked up my
new load immediately. As per timeline, Beta One sent their shuttle out to
retrieve our passenger pod and attached the home-bound one. Before I allowed
them to attach the Pod to the gravity ring, I had Doctor Brown check the
telemetry to see if all were indeed in deep sleep mode, remembering the Explorer
Captain’s warning. She confirmed that nineteen men were in stasis, but a Doctor
Wellman was awake and wanted to board to relate some important information. I believed
this to be the Explorer’s Doctor that they left behind, so I granted the go
ahead to dock.
As per directive, when taking on personnel
not in stasis, I put the ship on auto guidance and locked down the controls
which are command code protected. Until I considered everything to be okay, I
would not bring them back on line. It was good that I did this as it turned
out, but in a few hours I knew I would need to make a course correction to
avoid the asteroid field. I didn’t think this posed any kind of problem.
When I checked the data of the passenger
pod, I found all nineteen men in deep sleep. Doctor Wellman was not there, but was
with Doctor Brown in the transfer tube. He was armed when they ascended to the
bridge. He immediately demanded control of the ship, but I refused. It was at
this time Leslie embraced Wellman. This confused me until she blatantly
declared him to be her husband. I’ve patched the bridge voice recorders into
the log so you can hear what was said.
“Are you surprised, Jon? Harry is my husband.
I guess you might say we are pirating your vessel. We’ve been planning this for
five years now. Harry was one of our passengers, but I brought him out of
stasis just before the pod was taken away. After we sell this load to the Asian
Consortium we will be rich enough to go where we please. They told us that
after retrieving the ore, they will give you back your ship, but for now we
need you to set a course for the Mar’s Asian Depot. Harry will give you the codes
to set into the Astro-Elite Computer.”
“Leslie; does Wellman know you have been
sleeping with me for the last year?”
“I didn’t, Captain, but it doesn’t surprise
me, nor does it make any difference. I told her to do anything to make this
work.”
“Henri! Stay back. Oh no! Good God, Wellman,
why did you fire on him? He’s my engineer, I need him you idiot.”
As you heard, Wellman shot and killed my
friend Henri when he tried to jump him. I needed his expertise to bring the engines
back on line. I can only guide us right now with thrusters, and I can’t do that
until I unlock the controls.
Wellman pointed his weapon at me, demanding
I do so. He said he had nuclear training and could get the engines running, but
he needed me to set up the guidance system.
I am already heartsick about Leslie, but of course I had to play along
if I didn’t want to end up like poor Henri, but it looks as if I will now anyway.
The nineteen
men in stasis are innocent, hell-raising miners, but they are doomed with the
rest of us unless I unlock the controls, which I refused to do until Wellman
gave up his weapon. We were at an impasse, but they didn’t know about our
heading into the asteroid field. I will release all the data pods, before we
hit.
You might be wondering how I was wounded.
Listen, I’ll feed in more of the bridge voice recording.
“Leslie! Why the lies? I thought we had a
good thing going. I was about to propose; did you know that.”
“Shut up, you fool. You were only a
convenience. Girls have needs too. I almost brought Harry out of stasis a
couple of times, you weren’t very satisfying you know.”
That’s
when I started slapping her and Wellman began hitting me. We wrestled with each
other as I was trying to get his weapon away from him. In the scuffle it went
off and I felt the searing pain in my gut. I managed to shove both through the
bridge door and lock it. They are screaming at me, but they won’t be able to
get in, the door is blast proof.
I’m bleeding badly, but I’m using my
remaining strength to release the passenger pod. Maybe the miners can be saved
by the station when their emergency beacon goes off. I’ve also cut away the cargo
containers; they will drift until someone can salvage them. I’m unlocking the
controls and reversing all thrusters, but I doubt if there is enough time to
stop our momentum. Leslie and Wellman are screaming, they can finally see what
is about to happen. I don’t think I need worry about how it ends for me. I do
know when that first rock hits our reactor there will be an all-consuming
fireball, but out here in space there will be no sound, not even of their screams,
and they are screaming louder now. Pray
for us... Leary, out.
Don Westerfield
