Connection Unknown: Chapter 1 Part 1 of 9 (Patreon)

Chapter: 1

08/03/2242

Luke yawned and stretched, hooking his number two line to the wire runner and the number one to the second wire runner. He stretched his jaw with the last of the movement. His mag-boots clanked on the ladder as he continued up the second cargo arm, humming to himself.

He glanced over the containers stacked and interlocked within the Dahlia’s superstructure. Different markings, old and brand-new—all identical in size—created an orderly mass.

The running lights of the freighter blinked against the backdrop of vacuum and stars. Luke focused on his breathing and kept climbing. You been on a hundred space walks, you’ve been on a thousand.

The Dahlia was made of four parts: the boxy engines/living quarters, at the rear, glowing with constant one gravity acceleration, massive, long struts that acted as anchor points for the thousands of cargo containers, reaching forward to the forward armored bow. A big composite pyramid that protected the rest of the freighter and cargo from micro-meteors and other debris

Grounders always found it weird how under accel, the pyramid was above your head and the engines were under your feet. Starships were laid out like skyscrapers rather than boats.

Everyone thought that in space you were weightless all the time. With Fusion plants and proper ion engines, constant acceleration was a must to keep the universe on time. Humanity always wanted to go faster.

With constant acceleration, as long as you were in contact with the ship, then it felt just like you were on Earth. Only the ‘ground’ was whatever direction the main engines were pushing the ship away from.

It was also why Luke had to climb a kilometer of ladder. He paused, cooling down, sweating in a spacesuit was no fun. Elevators would be nice.

Luke hooked his arm into a rung and adjusted his twin safety lines. Grabbing his space suit’s sleeve, he turned it to see the screen built into the forearm. “Echo-Nine-Bravo.”

He’d grown, but not enough to fit his father’s hand-me-down suit. The shoulders and chest were filling out, but it was still a bit too tall.

He checked the markings around him, spotting hatch E-9-B.

“There you are.” He climbed up, adjusted his lines, and stepped off the ladder onto the platform, taking a moment to shake out his arms and legs.

“Bridge, this is Luke. I’m at maintenance hatch E-9-B.” He tugged on his lines to make sure they were secure.

“Hey, Luke. This is Marissa. I hear you.”

“Yay,” Luke said in wry amusement.

“Don’t get too excited,” Marissa returned in the same tone. She paused, reading the logs.

He was just about to check if she was still there when she continued. “We’re showing a warning light on the thruster comp.”

“Got anything more specific?” Luke frowned, loosening the hatch locks.

“That’s all I got.”

“Thanks, sis. Okay, let me have a look.”

He opened the hatch and secured it. A developing headache with the rat’s mess of lights, circuit boards, and wiring greeted him.

“Awesome.” Luke unhooked a scanner from his tool belt, a safety line running out from a small tension spool. He pulled it out to the bite and started to go through the mess.

Fifteenth time’s the charm. Luke bent the connector’s metal prongs outward to make a better connection and inserted it back into position.

“Marissa, try a reboot.” He leaned on his lines, stretching but not letting his hopes build.

“Got it.” She went silent as he waited for the report back. “Looking good on my end.”

“Awesome. I’ll clear this up and head back.”

“Only took an hour!” Marissa tried to inject some faux excitement.

Luke grunted, clearing his gear away, and locked the maintenance hatch. “All secure. Coming back in.”

“All right. Mom is working on her chicken bake.”

“Is it actually chicken?”

“It’s something. Smells good, though.”

Luke could picture Marissa shrugging in her place in the captain’s chair. “Yum. See you in a bit. Luke out.”

Luke hooked his lines to the ladder’s guides and turned his mag-boots off, resting them on the ladder’s front, glancing at the light plume from the engine below he released, sliding down just inches above the ladder. He tightened his grip, slowing and controlling his descent and stopping at the next wire guide.

He hummed tunelessly, undoing his old safeties and putting them onto the new wire guide.

“Away we go,” He released, sliding down his wrist screen vibrated against his forearm. Wonder who it is?

He came to a stop at the end of the railing, putting his feet in it to hold himself as he read the message.

[Jynx] Was gonna jump online in an hour. You going online soon?

Luke stopped at the next break in the wire guide, hooking a leg in the ladder his helmet showed a keyboard as he used the press balls inside his gloves fingertips to scroll and tap out his reply .

[Luke] I’m just heading back in, gotta have dinner then I’ll join you

[Jynx] K, meet you at Wallys

Luke was panting when he reached the air lock. The freighter was as silent as the grave, other than his breathing. Beneath his feet were several floors of engineering, ending in Dahlia’s main engines, which lit up the area behind the ship.

The air lock door, double-walled metal a foot thick with a tiny viewing window, rolled sideways on heavy gears. He squeezed inside as soon as he could reasonably fit sideways. A blue light blinked silently.

He worked the touchpad in the middle of the room.

The door slowed and reversed, closing. Heavy locking mechanisms and seals cut him off from space, and air and noise started to return. The air lock’s light turned yellow.

When the light turned green, the inner door took a half-second to unseal and open. Luke went through the door, into the locker room, and hit the touchpad next to the door with his left hand. The airlock started to close as Luke turned his helmet, unlocking it and pulling it off. He opened his locker and put the helmet up top; a quick press and pull unhooked his metal collar. He took his boots off and shed the outer suit; he wore coveralls underneath. He checked his securing lines and the rest of the outer suit. It had patches in several locations, but it was tried and trusted.

He slid his feet into his boots and ran his hands over his suit. “No cracks, burrs or tears.” He hung it up and connected the wrist screen and air tank port to chargers. He repeated the quick check on his gloves and stored them in the suit’s pockets.

He patted his emergency hood and gloves shutting his locker and leaving the room.

The hatch opened to the smell of herbs, spices, tomatoes, and possibly chicken.

“Wash up!” his mother Adeline called out.

Sneaking past wasn’t possible in mag-boots that clicked to the ground.

Luke dodged into the bathroom for a sani-cloth. He threw it into the cleaner, following the smell of the chicken-something.

His mother came from the settled worlds, a mining colony. She’d lived in mining and hauling ships most of her childhood. She had the long bones of a spacer to prove it, although she was still shorter than Stephen, his father. They prepared the meal together, Stephen holding open ration boxes—hard plastic containers with magnetic feet and a cover under tension that would snap shut if someone didn’t hold it down—as she served up dinner.

Luke gained his perpetual scowl, darker skin tone, and bulk from his father.

Stephan had grown up on planet Bajra in the Federation-controlled Redeemer system, joined the Federation Navy to see the stars, and never returned. He finished his service, jumping from ship to ship in his younger years, getting as far from Federation-controlled space as he could until a miner’s daughter stole his heart, and they made the freighter Dahlia their home. She’d been a rust bucket then, but they’d kept her flying.

Joey climbed the ladder up from the work areas and engine bays below. Thank the stars. Luke relaxed, happy to not be eating alone with his parents as Marissa was on watch. They nodded to each other and approached the dining area.

“Smells good,” Joey volunteered.

“I added in some of your father’s tomatoes,” Adeline said, giving Stephen a proud smile and hip tap.

Stephen laughed, embarrassed but proud. “Not much right now. Should have tons over the next few weeks.” He turned, his smile halting as he saw Luke.

Luke gut tightened.

Adeline pointedly cleared her throat as she picked up two more boxes.

“How are we looking with the reactor flush?” Stephen asked as they moved to the seating alcove. Luke let Joey in first, wanting the outside seat for an easy exit.