Chapter 16
Not a Scratch
I'm going down in the prawn now. Rekha told Alandris as she passed by.
Suit up. Alandris ordered. If the prawnsuit is breached, I want you as protected as possible.
She always wore her dive suit in the prawn. Of course.
Full gear, Rekha. Tanks and rebreather.
Full gear. Why hadn't she thought of that? Yes, ma'am. Because she wouldn't live long after a breach.
"Good idea." Venjie said as Rekha shrugged on her tanks. She helped with settling them, checked gauges and the suit for maintenance, welded a loose seam. "I'm glad the designers accounted for pilots getting in and out in full gear. It's made our lives our lot easier."
"You'd think people who thought up the prawn would've thought up a clean way to unload in it too."
Venjie was pushing aside a tree branch to get to the hatch. Lantern fruit dangled everywhere, threatened to fall into the prawn. "I'm trying to be positive over here."
"It's a beast of a machine. I won't need all this gear."
"Thank you."
A brief grin softened her mood before she tugged her mask on. Venjie checked that too before she let Rekha put a leg on the ladder.
"Green to go. Don't pull any fool moves out there, exohead. Bring this bucket back in one piece!"
Laughter burst out. Those were Rekha's own words, ones she'd yelled at idiot pilots regularly, were never listened to. The bulkheads always found a way to break her prawns on the simplest of missions. Well, that deserved the regular response she always got. "Aye, crew chief! Not a scratch on your baby!"
Their crew chief never failed to shoot Rekha an irritated glance at that. A nice enough person, but a terrible chief. Rekha did all the hard work. Prepped the logs, did the inventory, assigned details. But she always signed Rekha's requisitions. She consulted Rekha before briefings. She knew she was shit at her job, that Rekha's hard work kept her there. She also knew that Rekha didn't want the job and didn't complain. She'd given Rekha a fine bottle of smuggled Iolian Cognac for last Charter Signing Day.
Something about the volcanic nature of Io imbued the cognac with unparalleled deliciousness. Light, the crew chief must have used her entire good-year-bonus to buy it. Or known someone who owed her a pinnacle favor. She hadn't explained. Rekha hadn't asked. She'd thanked the woman and taken the bottle back to her bunkmates to get stupid drunk that night.
Rekha settled in the prawn's seat. Systems lit up green. She knew exactly which way to start pushing the prawn. Ready. She hit the comms. "Green to go."
"Go."
Fear tickled up her spine. Dozens of meters below its max range, the prawn could collapse like a souffle at any moment. Just one crack would let in boiling water.
Gritting her teeth, she hit the release button. The prawn dropped through the stasis field and immediately groaned its complaints. Depth warnings blared. As it fell, Rekha directed it toward the moonpool. Only a few meters away. She would make it.
The prawn hit the bottom. Nothing exploded. Or imploded. She pushed it forward, its jarring walk as obnoxious as her pounding heart. Four meters away, a crack appeared in the glass, slowly spidering from top to bottom. Three meters, plasteel shrieked and buckled.
"Warning. Hull breach detected." The prawn warned. Internal temp began to rise. She jerked around, looking for water. She felt it first. Not directly on her right thigh, but close enough to feel the heat. Water was pooling under her feet.
"Focus!" she yelled at herself. "Forward!"
Around her, the prawn continued groaning, shrieking, and crackling. More hull breach alerts sounded. The right leg started to gum up. It gave out right under the moonpool. Luckily, one leg and boosters was enough to get the prawn in the moonpool's reach. Magnetic arms locked on and brought her up.
The glass shattered, exploded. Rekha screamed as shards ripped through her suit and opened her flesh. Glass tinked everywhere when she dropped her arms. Instinct must have brought them up to protect her face. They were covered in a dozen bleeding stripes now. Around her, the prawn continued crackling, groaning, hissing. Steam billowed around the moonpool in a swirling cloud. Below, water boiled against the moonpool's stasis field.
The way the prawn was drawn in, she couldn't jump out where the glass had been. Correction. She could. If she wanted to leap into the deadly water below. She looked up at the prawn's hatch, tried to open it with psi. It wouldn't budge. Dammit. She pulled her new gloves and shoes from storage, whimpered in pain as a thousand cuts protested her movements. Her hands reached hesitantly for the hatch.
"hiss-kh-crackle-p-hiss-rt," came from the busted radio.
I made it. She reported to Alandris. Radio's out. Prawn needs repair.
Red gods, puffed at her. We saw bubbles.
Had a few leaks. Not a problem.
Not a problem… Alandris grumbled, went quiet as she probably spoke aloud to Venjie. Commence repairs. I want hourly reports.
Aye. Rekha dropped the channel to stare at the hatch. "Let's get started."
Even through the gloves, she could feel the heat. She let the back of her hand touch the hatch for a second. No sizzling pain. A second, longer test was uncomfortable, but not intolerable. Good enough. She gripped the handles and heaved.
It groaned, but didn't move. Several sweaty minutes passed without any change.
"It's like the island all over again. An injured weakling struggling with broken Alterran tech." She gave another heave. "But I don't have lube or a Martian soldier to rescue me."
Puffing, she sat back, rubbed at her shoulder. What were her options? Laser cutter? No. Left it on the cyclops. Climb out and clamber along the hull? One slip could have her body making an unpleasant amount of contact with the hull. Or falling. Barely viable option. Fix it? Welder was in her d-pocket. Yes! Fifteen minutes later, the handle spun with ease and the hatch released.
Her knee touched the rim as she climbed out. She squeaked at the burn, lost her grip, and fell off the prawn, landing with a whuff on the docking ramp.
"Ow," came out when she finally caught her breath.
She glared up at the crumpled prawn from her prone position. A yawn escaped. Good thing it wasn't comfortable or she'd close her eyes for a nap.
Get to work. No time to lay about like an Alterran. Grunting, she sat up, took off her gear between yawns. Not enough sleep last night. Not going to get enough tonight either. Sleeping long nights could be a thing again after they found a cure for Alandris, for Venjie, for herself. Time to work.
Where to start on the prawn? The glass, obviously, was gone. Every inch of the hull looked hammered, ripples and bends across the plasteel. Several open seams. The right leg was missing below the knee. Rekha frowned into the waters, fished around with psi, and brought the twisted mess up. It shrieked and twisted further in the cool air. The hab builders and locker waiting on the bottom complained similarly. She shoved it all in the recycler.
"Glad I stowed extra materials." She muttered into the steam. First though, she pulled out a builder and started on the moonpool console that allowed upgrades, maintenance, and aesthetic changes. When that was done, she put in the materials for the depth upgrade and started the fab.
Her injuries started to complain louder. Most were shallow enough to ignore, a few might have glass in them. Annoyed, she pulled out a medkit and grumbled about a better life as she stripped out of her suit. Scanner confirmed that glass remained in four places. Two pieces came out under her fingers. Psi had to get the rest.
"Suppose I'm lucky." She glared at bloody glass cubes. "If this wasn't safety glass, I would've been torn to shreds." Safety glass specs kept it from shattering in thin slivers. Sharp, but infinitely less dangerous when flying at high speeds.
Alandris.
Report.
Got the dock console up. Depth upgrade is fabbing.
Were you injured?
A few cuts. Nothing major. She sprayed sealant on the worst cuts, hissed.
Explain.
Rekha sighed. Glass shattered as soon as it was out of the water. A few pieces went through my suit. I've removed them and sealed the injuries. I'm not inhibited or in major distress.
Estimated time for repairs?
She consulted her PDA. Seven hours was its suggestion. She eyed the prawn. Four hours.
Get to it. Continue hourly reports.
Aye.
Injuries were sealed and wrapped, then her suit got repairs. Despite her body's protest, she put it on for access to the d-pocket and started work on the mangled prawn. About half of the scattered glass was found and given to the welder to fuse. The remainder came from stored material. Same with the hull breaches. Repairs required a little fresh lithium, plasteel, and aerogel. She barely remembered to set an hour alarm before she totally zoned into work.
Her next report was given via psi. The third was by radio. By the fourth, she'd completed the majority of repairs and was ready for lunch and a break.
"Alandris didn't tell you she's puked three times since breakfast, did she?" Venjie said.
"No."
"At this rate, she'll be a dry husk in two days. She needs a saline drip. I'm going to fab a growbed so I can cannibalize the tubing. A needle should be easy enough to fab." Venjie's fingers drummed noisily on metal. "I'll have to make Alandris stab it in herself. An old soldier like her should know how to do something that archaic."
Rekha swallowed. "I'm sure she does. If she can't, I'll figure it out when I get back over there."
"If you weren't you and psionic, I'd think you were patronizing me."
"I'm glad you know I'm not."
"Yea. Look, how are repairs coming?"
Rekha glanced at the hanging prawn. It had two legs again, smooth glass, and zero hull breaches. A few bubbles remained. "It's far enough along that the depth upgrade will complete the job when it reworks the hull."
"You have supplies to get you through the day?"
Food. Water. Material to start building the scanner room. She could do it from the comfort of the moonpool. She stifled a yawn, cleared her throat. "Yes. I'm good."
"Take a break. Eat. I'll be here for your report in an hour."
"Aye, mom."
Venjie made an annoyed noise and cut the comms.
Without her voice, Rekha's ears filled with the static of electronics. She almost reopened the comm channel. Even Venjie telling her off for being a bulkhead would be better than being alone.
Rekha slapped herself. "Get a hold of yourself, Sharma. You've got a job to do." She pulled out her lunch. "Of all the women you could've fallen for, it had to be a light-forsaken Martian. Alterran-Martian. Worst possible combination. Your dumb ass should've found a Mongolian freighter to work on." She eyed the dried fish in her hand. "The food would've been a hell of a lot better."
Delhi and Mongolia had a few trade agreements. Mongolians weren't as adverse to revised people as Alterrans or Martians; Rekha might have had a chance with a Mongolian woman. Her appetite died. Nose wrinkled, she forced the fish down her throat, then some dried kelp, and drank a third of a bottle of water.
"Lunch is over. Go to work."
Vertical, her bladder said hello.
Dammit. She unzipped her suit and straddled a corner of the bay. Knuckles going white as she held onto the docking ramp, she unloaded over boiling water.
Maybe the multipurpose room with its hygiene closet needed to come first. She stepped back, misplaced her foot, tripped on her suit, and fell into the water.
Almost fell in. Her hand, arm, and shoulder screamed at the sudden jolt, but she managed to keep her grip on the docking ramp.
"Damn this planet!" Fury raged at her situation while she hauled herself up. It continued raging as she zipped back into her suit, yanked out her builder and started work on the multipurpose room. The monotonous work and sleepy yawns cooled it by the time she started on the scanner room. Dinnertime saw the habitat finished.
Rekha jumped into the prawn and tried not to remember the sound of shrieking plasteel and the exosuit trying to implode on her. The five minute trip to the cyclops was uneventful. While the docking arms were situating the vehicle, she used psi to check for parasites and get rid of them. Venjie greeted her at the hatch.
"Welcome back."
Rekha yawned, jerked at the pull on a cut, and sighed.
"A few cuts," Venjie grabbed Rekha's jaw to push her head back and lower bandaging for a clear view of the gouge along her neck. "This could have killed you."
"It didn't."
Venjiee sneered. "I suppose you have more hidden under your suit too."
Rekha brought out a smirk. "Are you finally asking me to take my clothes off?"
"Yes. Go clean up. You stink and dinner will be ready soon." She strode away.
Definitely should have gone to Mongolia.
Alandris wasn't at the table. She was wheezing in bed when Rekha passed through, a tube leading from arm to a bag hanging from the wall. Green pustules peppered her arm, climbed up her neck, were threatening to take over her face. Her hair was a tangled mess. All semblance of her once neat tail was a frizzy memory.
Looks like Venjie figured out how to get fluids in you.
I had to stick the needle in myself. Alandris grumbled. After the Grass Moon War, I didn't think I'd ever have to do that again.
Sorry.
She snorted, then looked Rekha over. You look like shit.
Thanks.
I'm glad you're here to look like shit. Now, go eat so you have enough fuel to keep going.
Her answer was a yawn and smartass salute. Food and Venjie was waiting at the table. She took her chair and dug in.
"I managed to get a little broth in Alandris this afternoon. It stayed down for an hour."
Only an hour? That wasn't good.
Venjie grimaced. "Her other end will probably follow suit soon, not that there's much inside her to go."
"I set the scanner to search for precursor tech before I left." Rekha spoke around a surprisingly sweet bite of fish. This was new.
"Expected."
"Is this a new fish?"
"Energy parasite."
Rekha's head jerked up so hard her teeth snapped. "What?" She'd gone outside to fish? How was she not one giant burn bubble?
"Used a propulsion cannon to grab one through the stasis field. Scanner said it was edible. I got a couple more." Venjie shrugged. "They're not bad."
"Oh."
A nod. "Alandris and I were talking about whether to move into the habitat." She looked around. "I could use a change of scenery."
"It'd be easier for Alandris to get from bed to hygiene closet."
"She insists she could keep her eyes open and monitor the scans."
Harsh coughing came from the other room. They both winced.
"If she wants to go, I'll take her." Rekha said.
"Okay. If she goes, I'll need to go with her."
"Nurse Remus." Rekha grinned. "Maybe you missed your calling."
She grimaced. "No. I'd rather clean gunked up coolant pipes over puke any day."
The last bite of fish went down with a scrape of salad. "Then good thing this is only temporary." She rose with her dishes.
Venjie eyed her before cleaning her own plate. "Your optimism doesn't wane, does it?"
She couldn't afford it to anymore. "I'd have offed myself a long time ago if it wasn't for Alandris."
Dishes clattered as Venjie nearly dropped them. "No."
Mommy! and the cries of the Sunbeam's crew echoed in her skull. "I'm going to see what Alandris' decision is."
"Yes," croaked at her the moment she stepped close. "I was listening."
"Okay."
Venjie nodded beside her. "Take enough to rebuild her bed. I'll gather more for a few comforts while I'm waiting for you to come back."
"Power cell charger is high on the list."
"Yes. So is a radio, food, water, chairs, and fabricator."
"Do we have enough to build another water filter?"
"Possibly."
Rekha left Venjie to it, gathered materials for two beds, a chair, radio, and had an epiphany about fabbing a rolling bag stand. Alandris wouldn't be tied to the bed because of her saline bag. She went to share her idea.
Oh good. I intended to train for a marathon while you're off exploring the mystery deep, was Alandris' bitter reply.
It's always good to have goals, old woman.
She wheezed what might have been a laugh. It quickly morphed into a hacking cough that left her pale and gasping.
If a lung comes up, I'm going to keep it as a memento.
A wicked glare was thrown at her.
Venjie yelled up from below about not enough titanium for everything. Rekha yelled back what she'd put in her inventory and her idea for the bag stand.
"Guess I'll break down a few things." Venjie noted when she came up. "Alandris, you ready?"
A nod. She gathered her small crate to her chest and walked slowly behind Rekha. Venjie trailed with the saline, then held the crate while Alandris eased down the ladder and into Rekha's lap.
"Rekha, grab these." Crate and bag were held out for psi to take.
A few cuts. Alandris grumbled. There's a lot of blood in here. On the seat, on the ladder, on the hatch.
A few bad cuts. A lot of little ones.
You are insufferable.
"Safe trip," called down.
"Be back soon." Rekha replied.
The hatch closed, and Rekha did her best to make the trip as smooth as possible. Vile smelling liquid came out of Alandris anyway. Without mercy, the stench hit Rekha's gag reflex. She urped, felt her dinner try to leap up her throat. Bitter self-control swallowed it back down.
Sorry, little girl.
Not your fault. Rekha struggled with stench and gagging until the prawn was docked. She threw the hatch open.
Put these on. They'll protect from burns. The heavy-duty gloves were dangled in front of Alandris. I'll get the shoes on your feet.
As fast as possible, she got Alandris up the ladder, keeping psi at the ready like a pair of steadying hands. Thankfully, they were unneeded. Gloves and shoes were transferred to Rekha, and she hopped out, went to the multipurpose room with builder out and ready.
Within an hour, there was a bed, fabricator, rolling bag stand, radio, and water filter. Venjie might argue the need. Their water stores were low, but not alarmingly, not for normal usage. Three sick people was not a normal situation. Nor was a habitat that had her sweating like an Olympic runner. Speaking of, she was thirsty.
The lone water bottle in storage gave up a trickle that her throat barely registered. Another hour before the filter started producing. Damn.
Time to go and get more. Chapped lips smacked at her.
Sorry. I should've thought about it.
Quit being sorry. You built a filter. Go get our engineer, and we can start planning your next adventure.
With a guilty grimace, she nodded and clambered back into the prawn, clomped over to the cyclops, and stopped venjie before she jumped down. "I forgot water. Filter won't be re-"
"I've got four liters on me," interrupted her.
A bottle was tossed down. She drank greedily, let out a satisfied puff.
"After you left, I was thinking about how quiet and hot the sub was. Between the heat and stress, I realized that I was drinking a lot more than I thought." Venjie was on the ladder. "A filter in the hab is a good idea."
She nodded, unable to unclench her jaw. Venjie was settling into her lap.
"Can you pilot like this?"
She swallowed. "Yes."
Quiet followed them. Tense, heavy quiet that made the five minute walk painfully long. Would time alone with Venjie ever be anything but? After they found a cure, there was likely to be months more ahead of them, waiting for rescue. There had to be a way to cut the tension.
Docking arms clunked, and the prawn shuddered into a secure position. Venjie immediately rose and reached for the hatch with her bare hands.
"No!" Rekha yanked her down by the hips.
"Red gods! What?" Anger barked.
"Put these on." Her hands locked tight, psi held up gloves and shoes.
Venjie twisted to look at her. "Why?"
"Because the hull is hot enough to melt the skin off your bones." And Venjie wasn't even wearing a dive suit.
"I thought these things were designed to withstand temperatures beyond this."
"They are." Environmental controls broke down around 200C. The prawn itself was probably fine up to 800C, near the melting point of silica. Though at these pressures, those numbers would be skewed. "The handles aren't bad, but the exterior will take hours to cool down from 80C."
The accessories were taken, put on. "I'll be careful getting out."
She sucked in a breath.
A hand touched hers. "Rekha." Venjie's tone was gentle. "You can let go now."
She yanked her hands away, held them tight to her sides, tighter when she noticed them trembling.
Venjie was waiting on the ramp when Rekha hopped out. The accessories were held up. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Steam swirled and played around them. Sweat dripped down her spine.
"Rekha?" Her jaw worked.
Rekha waited until a massive yawn overtook her.
"Nevermind," was mumbled. Venjie turned away, striding toward the sound of coughing.
Water was being sipped when Rekha plodded in. A bottle from Venjie was in Alandris' pale grip. The filter showed only 60% completion.
"Did you check what the scanner found?" Venjie asked.
Alandris shook her head.
"No." Rekha said. Didn't feel up to the walk?
Not without a chair waiting for me. Build me one in there. Did Alandris even know how to ask politely? Everything was a command with her. Venjie too.
Am I to carry you in as well, mistress?
Alandris' expression sharpened, raked over Rekha. Don't take your frustration with Venjie out on me.
Air was sucked in, let out through teeth. My apologies, Dr. Harrington.
And don't start treating me like a stranger either. I hate asking for help as much as you hate small places.
You don't ask so much as command and expect to be obeyed.
Her sharp expression tightened. I am your commanding officer.
"I'm glad you two can speak more than three words without Alandris having a coughing fit." Venjie broke in. "But if you can't speak without fighting, maybe you shouldn't at all. Don't glare at me because I'm the voice of reason. Act like adults."
Rekha tried to up her scowl, but a yawn overtook it.
"By adult, I mean solve your problems. Take a damn nap, Rekha!"
This time, she managed her scowl. "We don't have time for naps."
As though to emphasize her point, Alandris started gagging, then heaved into her little crate.
Time to see what the scanner had found. Rekha stormed out of the room, back through the moonpool, to the scanner room. Taking up most of the room was a holographic display. Most of the enormous cavern had been mapped. Pillars, alcoves, dips in the seafloor, and the mountain in the middle. What seemed like several tunnels existed within it. Seeing beyond a few meters was impossible, but it did register a strong precursor signal coming from within it.
Another blinked from over a 100 meters below it. Weak, fuzzy, the signal jumped within a wide triangulation. Too much interference to pinpoint. It could be directly below the mountain or herself and anywhere from a 100 meters away to 300. There wasn't an obvious path of descent. Several dips seemed promising, but exploring them all could take days! Weeks!
Alandris didn't have that long! None of them had that long. Frustration roared and wanted something to kick. She needed a chair.
No. Alandris needed a chair. To rest in while she and Venjie worked with Rekha to explore all these possibilities. Rekha pulled out the builder and a few minutes later, a chair was ready. No sooner had it finished materializing than both women appeared in the doorway.
I'm sorry for my attitude, Alandris. You were right. I'm angry and frustrated. It wasn't right to take it out on you.
The older woman sighed and sank into the chair. Her bag swung to a stop above her on the pole. She glared at the display for a long moment before coughing. She took a sip of water. Thank you. I apologize as well. I get even more overbearing when I'm scared and angry and feeling helpless.
Relief sighed from Rekha, and she touched Alandris' shoulder. Scarred fingers pat her own. Relationship patched, Rekha swung her focus to the job in front of them.
A/N - every time I sit down to write Venjie, I just want to kick her. that's normal, right? being annoyed with your own characters?