Jupiter's Reef (13 page)

Alex took a puff when Matt offered it to him but saw no reason to repeat the experience. It made his head spin and twice he nearly confessed to stealing a Corporation shuttle.

And Mary, who refused the smoke herself, knew when Alex nearly confessed because her mental faculties were tuned to him. She had been focusing her full attention on Alex’s mind rather than on the cacophony of radio static that seemed to come from everywhere.

“You shouldn’t smoke that stuff,” she said to Alex.

Alex knew Mary was annoyed because of the radio static. EarthCorp had promised her new com-tabs that could filter out most channels, but they had yet to make good on the promise.

“Don’t worry,” said Alex. “We’ll get you those tabs.”

“I don’t know how much more of this radio static I can take,” she said.

Matt Howarth heard her and looked up from his smoke mixture.

“Oh my god, that’s right,” he said. “You hear radio. Jeez. That must be horrible, here on Earth.”

“Yes, and it can be loud,” said Mary, thoughtfully. “But at least the hotel’s low-gee field filters out some of it. That’s why I like the sauna. The stronger the field, the weaker the static. There’s almost no radio, there. I like going there, anyway,” she added. “If I hadn’t been sunning there near the atrium I wouldn’t have met Poosty, my zero-gee kitty.”

Matt was making notes in a small electronic note pad that he carried in his shirt pocket. He was a young man, with short hair and a day’s stubble on his face. He wore a t-shirt and a fancy looking vest.

When Mary mentioned the cat he looked at her through round wire rimmed spectacles.

“You like cats?” asked Howarth. “Why would you be into cats? You’re a clone from Mars? They don’t have pets there, do they?”

“My mother has an otter,” said Mary, spitefully. “And he’s more polite than you.”

“An otter?” Matt laughed uproariously.

“People like cats, Howarth,” said Alex. “In case you forgot that Mary is people.”

Tony Sciarra was shorter than Matt, with sleek black hair and horn rim glasses. Like Matt, he was usually looking at his own notebook. He looked up from his notes and laughed at Matt. “You turn into a real politician when you smoke that shit, man.”

“I apologize, Mary,” said Matt. “He’s right. I didn’t think. But as to my smoke. All I can say is aside from the legality issue, it’s better for me than that swill you pour down.”

“Whoooa, you guys,” said Johnny, entering the room, buckling his belt. “Don’t you ever give each other a break? I could hear you in the bathroom.”

Alex smiled at Mary. “You didn’t tell me how you knew his name is Poosty?”

Mary lowered her eyes. “I don’t really know his name but he’s a big fat brown and white bushy thing that lives there in the atrium. He brushed against me when I was sunning by the pool. I nearly jumped out of my skin. Then I introduced him to you.”

That afternoon everyone gathered for the three o’clock briefing that had become a routine. Like clockwork a tone sounded and Harold Stubbs’ face appeared on the large wall screen across from the lounge area. Everyone took their customary seat: Johnny in the leatherette lounger; Mary and Alex on the gold sofa; and Tony and Matt chose two seats on either side of a small table with an ash tray.

“Finally, some news that will please you,” said Stubbs. “I have a list here, so bear with me.”

Stubbs was sitting at his desk. Alex looked past Stubbs to see if the military were still outside his bay window. But all he could see was grey clouds and part of a tree.

“First, Mary, we have your new com-tabs. They can selectively filter out most radio. Of course you won’t hear anything. I don’t know how you feel about that. Anyway, I’ll have them over to you with two duplicate sets within the hour.”

Mary grinned at Alex. But, before she could comment, Stubbs continued reading from his list.

“Next, the
Houston
. This is great, guys. It’s confirmed. They will be shuttling
Diver
to Ganymede.”

“When?” said Alex and Johnny in unison.

“Soon,” said Stubbs.

“Soon!” Alex groaned and slumped into the sofa. The telecom system was two-way. Stubbs saw Alex’s reaction and raised an eyebrow. “I understand your impatience, Alex, but you must realized that a mission of this type takes time to prepare.”

“For you, I guess,” answered Alex. “But you said you needed samples. The fact is, I can get them if you just strap a balloon pack on
Diver
and gas us up. Done deal.”

Stubbs looked bemused by Alex’s comment. “I know this is hard, Alex, but it’s only going to be a few more days. You’ll be off to your reef. Mary will have her new com-tabs.”

Alex squirmed in his seat. His muscles had been sore ever since they hit Earth. He glanced at Mary briefly then looked back at Stubbs.

“We really need those tabs,” he said. “I have no problem if we’re out of here in days. It’s weeks I’m worried about. Okay, what else is on that list of yours?”

“Well,” said Stubbs. “That’s the part I don’t like. It seems we’ve wasted someone’s time but I’m not sure whose, yet.”

“What are you talking about, Stubbs?” asked Professor Baltadonis.

“The engineers have re-thought the weight issue and concluded that Tony or Matt will have to stay home. They did mention that, uh, Matt is the heavier of the two.”

Tony and Matt looked at each other in surprise, then at the screen.

“Why’s that?” said Matt. “Are you serious? Hey, I have to cry foul, here. We’re both younger than Baltadonis, you know.”

“Not to mention being a bit more up on current science,” added Tony.

“And, not to sound mercenary, but you’re sending an old guy to do a young man’s job.”

“Johnny is in by default,” said Alex.

Tony and Matt looked surprised.

“Oh, that’s it?” said Matt. “Alex says frog and we jump? Do I have to point out that Tony and I went to some trouble to be here?”

“Nothing big, though,” said Tony. “We just rearranged our entire lives for this.”

“By my count, Tony,” interrupted Alex, “we were planning to take about five people down to the reef. Now we’ve knocked it back to four. Do I detect a little problem with our math?

Neither Tony nor Matt added a word. They, too, stared at the image of Stubbs on the telecom.

Stubbs nodded. “You know, Alex, I’ve taken more grief from you than I feel is my due. And I’m still suspicious about how you got access to that ship.”

“I won it in a bet, Harry, and it’s mine by deed and by salvage and by Johnny, according to Mars law,” said Alex.

“This is the first I’ve heard of the bet,” said Stubbs.

Mary stood up. “Can we stop this?” she shouted. “Let’s just get on with it.”

2
The plain truth of it was that the engineers working with Stubbs hadn’t figured on Johnny’s going along at all. Johnny tried to explain it to his old friend from university days as an “Earth orientation thing.”

Despite their incessant arguing and frequent jabs at one another, Sciarra and Howarth were a team. And, like two musketeers, they maintained a one-for-all, all-for-one attitude. If one stayed home, they both would. Or so said Matt, while Tony read a magazine.

Sciarra decided to go to the zero-gee sauna, saying he might never get to experience one again. When he returned the meeting had ended and the telecom screen was dark. Dripping wet and dressed in swim trunks and a hotel towel, he said it was hard to leave the sauna.

“You know,” said Tony, “they could improve the zero-gee effect using focused valence waveguides. It might take some construction changes but it would make it almost completely weightless. I might speak to the hotel’s management.”

Alex thought Tony was making an attempt to bow out. It was true, someone had to be excluded from
Diver
’s crew. But as Alex saw it, Tony was the one who to go because
Diver
needed an engineer in its crew.

After he dressed, Tony joined them in the suite’s living room. A bottle of his favorite vodka was left at the bar by Johnny.

“Is this my consolation prize?” he asked.

Matt was reading a zine, smoking his white stiletto. He reacted to Tony’s question with one of his own.

“Okay, you guys,” he said. “Who’s the fall guy, me or Tony?”

Before Alex could answer, the door opened and Johnny entered the suite carrying a basket of fresh fruit.

“Something from the hotel management,” he said, putting the fruit basket on the bar.

Johnny looked around and found all eyes on him.

“I heard that question, Matt,” he said. “Not to worry. No one’s off the team.”

Alex looked surprised. Johnny saw his eyebrows rise and smiled. “Well, one of you is off
Diver
, but not the trip. Our mission will be monitored by an orbiting support ship. A virtual link could be managed. Even a simulator. With cameras we could have recreations – real time – for us to analyze.”

Alex nodded. “That way others can join our crew without adding weight.”

Tony and Matt looked at one another. Then, like two poker players who’d just folded, their expressions returned to something approximating disgust.

“So I’m going to the Reef?” said Tony. He looked down his nose through his glasses at Matt and grinned. “I’ll bet that pisses you off.”

“The math is on your side, is all, Tony. Nothing to get hot about,” said Johnny. “And we need a biologist in the orbiter watching over us; somebody who’s the best in his field, like you, Matt. We have other biologists down below. Me, for instance.”

“We need a mechanic aboard
Diver
,” said Alex.

“An engineer,” corrected Tony. “I’m an engineer, Alex. You’re the mechanic.”

Mary was in the next room watching old Hollywood vids she’d found while browsing the hotel’s entertainment library. She had found the Loretta Young Library of Films, and had been watching them during the last week. She said they were ‘enchanting’.

Suddenly Mary burst from the bedroom in a long robe open to the waist, and stood in the doorway, arms folded across her breasts.

“Jeeps!” she said. “I’m watching a sad flick here and out here is this loud discussion. I’ve heard enough bickering to last a lifetime. Can you at least keep it quiet?”

Everyone in the living room stared at her silently. Alex bit his lip.

“That’s better,” said Mary Seventeen, turning back toward the bedroom. She was about to close the door when she stopped and turned around. “You boys all know that this trip is being arranged for us. It’s already concluded. Alex is pilot. You, Tony, are the mechanic, engineer, techie, call it what you will. And Johnny is our salient eye of biotechnology. Okay. Now that that’s settled, can some genius tell me why there’s no color in these flicks? Is there something wrong with the vid player?”

Professor Baltadonis smiled. “Those movies are in black and white, Mary. They hadn’t invented color when they made those films.”

Mary’s jaw slackened. “Hadn’t invented color? What does that mean?”

3
At the beginning of their third week on Earth, Alex and Mary returned to
Diver
. It was housed beneath a special hanger that had been built by the military, right where it had landed at Stubbs Field.

When the car dropped them off they walked, unaided by G-Scooters, to the ship. Alex trotted toward the ship, eager to see what had been done to it.

Before they entered
Diver
, Alex climbed the scaffold that surrounded the ship to inspect the new balloon package. Mary waited at the open hatchway. Alex was disappointed to discover there was nothing to inspect, really, because the package was sealed under a large white polyceramic shell.

“Dingers,” he said, poking a finger at the impeccable white shell, “They put a damned lid on it, Mary,” he yelled. “I don’t know what we’ve got here.”

“Maybe there’s an operating manual inside,” answered Mary, looking into the ship.

Their shouts attracted the attention of two guards who came around from behind the ship. Alex noticed them only moments after they noticed Mary, still at the hatchway. The guards sauntered over to the scaffolding and one of them, a helmeted young black man, pointed at Alex with an ominous silver wand he was carrying. Alex presumed it was some kind of stun weapon.

“Just make yourself at home!” the cop shouted. “Keep poking around and I might get to do something un-boring like arresting you.”

Alex was never happy when authorities threw their weight around without asking questions. He kicked
Diver
’s hull to attract their attention.

“And you guys are guarding this thing?” he said, smiling down at the men. “From where I’m standing I could have this ship loaded with poppers and your careers put in reverse by now. It only takes a second to plant a bomb. So should I detonate the charges before or after you poke me with that stick?”

The other guard was older and seemed less flappable.

“Earther by birth, but you’ve been out there, eh?” he said, removing his helmet and looking up. “You’re no Ganny. But from the sound you’re a rimmer. What is it?”

“The sulphur moon, Io,” said Alex. “Alex Rose, pilot of this tub.” Alex looked back at Mary, leaning against the hatchway door, sizing up the two guards. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“Tub?” she said.

“Pilot,” said the man, replacing his helmet. “Rose, the Jupiter guy. Sheeez!” He slapped his friend’s breastplate. “It pays to be polite, you know. It pays to
ask
!”

“I’m sorry, sir,” said the younger man. “I didn’t know it was you.”

“The point I was trying to make is that you should have stopped us, not asked our names,” said Alex. “But actually I really don’t know why you boys are guarding this ship at all.”

“The material, sir, it’s ... what we’re guarding,” said the older guard. “There’s new stuff on your ship.” The guard stepped forward and replaced his helmet. “But, since you asked, I think you should show some ID, or something.”

Alex dutifully nodded and dug out a hologram card he’d been issued at the spaceport. He flipped it down to the guard who picked it up and examined it carefully.

“Sir, exactly what are you doing up there?” he asked, fingering the card nervously.