Two for One - 1. Chapter 1

Marc Alexander

Student Training Center

Low Point Station

Moira Sector

My Link vibrated to let me know I had a message. A look around the room and everyone was busy. Including our instructor. Quick flip of my arm and a glance at my wrist allowed me to see the message. The flying brick has returned. I smiled as I packed up my tablet and stood to depart the classroom. We can come and go as we please. Especially since I am over a week ahead in my instruction for this term. I gave a quick nod to Tom and pointed my chin towards the door. He started packing his tablet and followed behind me.

“Your ship is back, Sa Alexander?” Asked Instructor Myncoff. It’s no secret I am only here because I don’t have a mining vessel available or any other training on my schedule. I slowed as I turned my head to our Astrophysics Instructor.

“It is indeed. I expect I’ll be gone a few days.” We only had class tomorrow and then we were off for three days anyway, but I have plans.

“Good luck then and I’ll post some additional work later for you to check out on the new module we are starting in the next session.” Instructor Myncoff said. Which was not a punishment but knowledge that I am already a week ahead in my studies.

“Sounds good. Thanks Sa Myncoff.” He gave me a smiling nod as he turned back to the smartwall to continue his explanation to the group.

I tapped out a request on my Link and was notified immediately of the answer and smiled.

Looking up at Tom, “Shall we eat and then grab our gear? The Mining Shuttle is all ours in 58 minutes?”

“Sounds good.” Tom said as he high fived me before we headed over to one of Low Point Station’s cafeterias. “Rachel was asking if we could take her out with us again.”

I smiled as I thought that over. “We could, but it will be crowded and we would have to hot bunk.”

“I’m fine with that. I hold you most of the time, anyway. Maybe she can too.” Tom said with a smirk, as he knows I have to be held a certain way. Rachel forgets that and lets me go, which means I roll, then snore.

“Should I Link Rachel now and see if she wants to go or is this too short a notice for her?”

Tom thought that over for a few heartbeats. “We could delay an hour if she wants to go. Besides. I could work up the new Mining Laser setting while you plug into the probes and find us a rock. That way, we could socialize on the way out.”

Socialize! That means she has been pumping Tom for the latest gossip and let her ask me instead. I snorted. “Fine. You win. I’ll give her a Comm and see if she wants to socialize, or not today.” Tom just smirked at me with a dip of his head as I tapped out a message and sent it off to her. I had to laugh as she responded immediately asking, when and where. I held my Link out for Tom to see it and he chuckled as he shook his head.

Walking into the cafeteria, I took a quick look at all the tables to see who was here. The cafeterias are not high-end restaurants. Chairs are comfortable. Tables set around interspersed planters with a variety of flowering plants in them. The food is decent. We had our lunch, which Rachel joined us for, allowing me to confirm what we needed to bring. The usual. Our skinsuit pressure suits, tablets, three days change of clothing since I have a Hauler this time for that period. And any snacks not on board. I’ll load standard food packs for the meal replicator system, but will add some specials if somebody likes certain ones. Otherwise, it’s all pre-planned, different for every meal. Which are bought in number of people for number of days quantity. I planned for three, so I will load a three person, three-day pack into the system which I just ordered and need to pick up from the Chandlery on my way to the shuttle.

Rachel walked alongside me with her gravtrunk in tow. I smelled the rock dust ladened air and looked around for the source. Spotting the mining vessel unloading down at the end of the dock. I smiled as I turned back to Rachel as we approached Tom standing by the shuttle hangar entrance.

“You brought the food packs?” Tom asked as I patted the container on top of my gravtrunk.

“Drink packs too. We just need to check the volatiles and water.” Tom nodded as we approached the shuttle on the pad. I dropped the handle of my gravtrunk and started a walk around as Tom and Rachel followed my lead.

“I see why you call it a flying brick. Is it a heavy cargo shuttle?” Asked Rachel as she examine the boxy-looking shuttle. Observing the mining laser mounted on the front.

“Correct Rachel. It’s an old heavy lifter that they modified to work the belts as a prospector.” I replied as I tapped my Link to the hatch controls.

We stood back as the hatch split open and the boarding ladder slid out into position. I tapped the controls on my gravtrunk and it followed me up the ladder and into the Lock as I tapped out another command and the inner hatch opened. I took a second to let the airs mix before I stepped through. My nose wrinkled, and I sighed.

“Scrubber matrix smells off. Again.” Said Tom as he turned and pushed his gravtrunk into a slot and then slipped down another narrow passage into the rear confines of the ship. I heard the clonk and muttering. “Yep. Ten, fifteen minutes. Do you have enough for an atmosphere flush or are we going to live with it while the new cartridge cycles up?” Tom yelled from astern as I was headed up to the cockpit.

“Let me run the system checks first and see what else I want to yell about before I make that decision.” I yelled back before turning, “Rachel could you bring that station to life,” I said as I pointed to a seat behind mine on the left bulkhead, “And run through the logs. See if they bothered to falsify them.” I collapsed into the seat as I was now calculating our new departure time.

“Sounds good Marc. Want me to check in with the mining team too while I’m at it? See if I can get the latest probe settings?” Rachel asked as the station came to life while I brought my station up and through a sequence of queries to the shuttle’s systems. This isn’t her first time out with me and she knows what to do.

“Yes please.” I said absently as I reviewed several screens. I sat back as I tapped out a request to top off the tankage and for an atmosphere exchange. Within seconds, I heard the telltale sounds of the station connecting to the shuttle and the feeling that my ears would pop with the change of air pressure as the atmosphere was siphoned out and replaced with fresh.

“That’s better.” Said Tom as he entered the cockpit and climbed into his seat. Bringing his station to life.

“Here are the entries from the logs, Marc. Looks like they just didn’t follow the maintenance schedule.” Rachel said as the entries popped up on my screen.

I huffed out a breath. “Idiots. OK. Thanks Rachel.” I said as I tapped out a few lines and attached that log listing and a few other screens and to send them off to the rental office with a request for reimbursement of funds spent to correct the discrepancies. “Are we good Tom?” I asked before I hit send.

“You topped off the tankage and volatiles, which should have been filled, but yeah. We are good now. I’ll hop down and grab the box to load the food packs into the galley system.” Said Tom as he rose from his seat.

* * *

“What is the story between you and Chris?” Rachel asked as I brought the shuttle down around an asteroid to get into the position for the one next to it. Socialize, ran through my mind as I chuckled. Since Tom had disappeared and didn’t come back. This must be what she was bugging him about.

“Nothing.”

“Really?” Rachel dragged the word out much longer than it was. “I heard the two of you were thick as pirates for a week and then he disappeared.”

“His family’s ship was finished. They were only here for two weeks and then they left.” I said nonchalantly.

“So you did like him. I thought you would,” Said Rachel almost triumphantly.

I brought the shuttle to a stop and set the controls to station keeping before I opened a few new screens and began shunting power to the Mining Laser and Ore Capture Systems. Since I had busied myself, Rachel took her last response and my reaction to it as a correct assumption.

“Are the two of you dating?” She asked coyly.

“No.” I scoffed, and she pouted.

“You two were looking good together. What happened?” She asked.

I turned to look at Rachel. “He had a girlfriend he forgot to tell me about until I caught them.”

“Oh.” She said and paused before continuing softly. “I’m sorry Marc.” She stood and wrapped her arms around my shoulders in a hug. I patted her arm to let her know I was fine. And the funny part, I was. I’ll never trust him again, but I don’t waste my time providing him with rent free space in my mind either.

“Not, I think, as sorry as he is.” I said mischievously. “Both of us ripped into him. And a few of his friends, too. I think the story also got back to his family.” I said with a smirk.

“You didn’t?!” She practically purred out.

“I did?! Well, through one of my cousins, anyway.” I said with a slight lift of the corners of my lips. I instructed Rhasta to convey my displeasure. And he did, ever so subtly. Unexpectedly, they finished their upgrade two days early and loaded their cargo to depart the station. I disregarded Christoper’s attempts to contact me multiple times before that because I was fully absorbed in my own work. I stood in the gallery viewing area and waved as the ship departed. He smiled back as he thought I was smiling at him. Even tried to Comm me twice, which I refused. The smile on my face, that was anything but friendly, grew even wider as the bow crossed the threshold. Marked by the closing of the hangar doors just after they cleared them. The equivalent of slamming the door in the face of someone you didn’t like. The look on his face as the entire Bridge crew noticed the doors were closing clearly showed that he understood I was finished with him. His family got the message too. I am sure his sister, who was in command for the undocking, was berating him in front of the Bridge crew once they realized I commanded the hanger doors to shut. That also is a subtle way of saying you are not welcome here, to a ship you wouldn’t mind not seeing again.

“So it was you that shut the hangar doors on them.” She asked.

“As a matter of fact, it was.” I said happily. Rachel shook her head and chuckled.

Tom came in a few minutes later and informed me we were ready. I took a few seconds to look at the scans and probe data before in nodded to myself and engaged the Mining Laser on the rock I choose. Nodding in satisfaction as I opened a new screen and checked the ore we were collecting. Tom, looking over my shoulder, made happy sounds as he saw the quality of the ore.

Four hours later, I was calling in the first of the pickups. We had a brand new Mauler Mining Vessel only 3 kilometers away from us and they were happy to take our ore on at 95 percent of the going rate. I was happy with that as I only had to drop the disposable cannister and they would tractor beam it into their holds.

“We got it Marc. How long are you staying out here this time?” Asked Sherwood. The Captain of one of my family’s mining vessels.

“Thanks Woody. Three days, it looks like.” I replied as I watched them draw it in.

“We’ll be here for most of that unless they move us to another location. You’ll need a hauler on the last day, probably. Do your parents know you are out here?” Sherwood asked, giving me a knowing grin.

“Probably by now. I haven’t heard from them yet.” I said.

“Good luck with that. Anyway. I need to get back to work. Oh, and the Patrol just picked up a Mini. Looks like they seized it. You might want to look into it.” He said, as my eyebrows popped up.

“Really! You saw it?” I asked.

Sherwood sat back and chuckled. “No. Elsie dropped me a note about an hour ago. She was over in the west end of ring 6 and saw it happen. Little bugger was sniffing our claims, according to her.” He said.

My fingers were already tapping out a Link into the Stations System as I looked for information on it and sure enough there it was. A Rock Prospector Mini Miner. Room for 7 people in tight quarters. 4 comfortably. Two weeks of consumables. Micro Jump is capable with good range and most importantly. Two larger Mining Lasers with the power to run them and the holds to hold 10 times what I could hold aboard the mining shuttle with enough disposable cannisters that I could mine for 4 days before I needed to switch to direct unloading of our ore. Always a pain in the ass unless you had a dumb barge that you could use. That increased your hold storage, but you had to have a tug to bring it out and pick it up when full. We have tugs and dumb barges that we use when the push is on. Not as cost efficient as having a hauler tractor beam in the cannisters, but… I could hear Sherwood chuckle over the Link.

“OK Marc. I will catch you later. It looks like you have something to occupy you now.” He said as he waved goodbye and the Link disconnected.

“Thanks Sherwood.” I managed before the Link closed. And my Wrist Link signaled a Comm. I glanced at it and sighed before I accepted.

“Marc. Are you out in the fields again?” Said my father’s amused tone.

“Yes, Dad.” I replied.

“Make sure you are back in time for the meeting Saturday at 1900 hours.” Dad said with a smirk. He knows I hate those meetings and politics in general. I know my eyes rolled.

“Fine.” I said, exasperated. Which made him chuckle.

“I see you found the latest ship we seized.” He said as his eyes darted to another screen as he was looking at some information.

He had my attention now. “Yes. Sherwood told me about it.” I replied, as he nodded.

“Figured someone might as our gangs saw it happen. Sunday we can drop down and look at it if you want,” Dad said as his eyes returned to mine and I swear he was trying hard not to smile as he said it. I almost bounced out of my chair as I tried to hide my excitement.

“Yes please, Dad.” I said just as he smiled, and I realized what he had just did. Presenting me with a perfectly good reason to make sure I was at the meeting. Even with that I was thinking of skipping it anyway, but he had now clarified that if I didn’t come. He, or Mom most likely, wouldn’t let me near that ship. I sighed. “Fine. I’ll be at the meeting.”

“I thought you would, kiddo. I’ll see you Saturday. Bring Tom and Rachel to dinner if you get in early enough.” He said as the Link disconnected.

Tom chuckled and patted my shoulder before he headed over to the galley area to join Rachel as they made our dinner.

“Thought you would get out of it?” Asked Rachel over her shoulder.

“I was hoping.” I replied as I tapped the commands to relay the ship’s repeaters to the galley area so I could watch the shuttle’s status as we ate.

* * *

Even though I cut us short on the mining by almost 24 hours, it was still a good trip. Once Rachel moved past the Christoper Bennett drama, I thought as I walked into the family office to get more information on the latest seizure. Not even five minutes later, I shifted my chair slightly and moved one arm before the body dropped down on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“And what kind of trouble are you trying to stir up today, little sister?”

Jessica snorted before she spoke. “Brat. I just stopped in to give you a hug, since you couldn’t skip the meeting tonight.” She said. Which made me chuckle as my eyes left my screens and centered on her.

“Thanks. Would you like me to sit next to you again?” Which made her smile as she nodded. I gave her a one-armed hug as I kissed the top of her head. “That will be fine. You can wake me up if I fall asleep. So what else have you been up to?”

That was all it took. She was off and running in her commentary on everything she and her friends are doing, as well as asking me if I could take them out to Aris to the market there. Which made me smirk as I shutdown my system since I would not get any work done.

“Just a little busy, but we’ll see if I can stop off on Aris on my way through. Or I could just order you something.” I watched as she thought that over. I know what she really wanted was for me to let her fly out and back, but I really don’t have time right now.

“I guess you could just order me some chocolates.” It was almost a pout that her plan didn’t work out as expected. I kissed the top of her head and lifted her out of the chair before I shifted her to my hip, carrying her to our family dining room for dinner with the rest of the family.