CHAPTER 5
The nearest ship to me was a decent-sized freighter with passenger modules already locked in place. I took a deep breath and headed for it, Juletta still clinging to me. In fact, her nails were cutting into my neck.
“Not so tight, sweetie,” I said. “We’re almost to the ship.”
“Mom and Dad?”
“Ship first. Have you ever been on a ship?”
“No. Not without Mom and Dad!”
“We have to find them, Juletta.”
I wasn’t sure how long I could keep her from a tantrum.
I reached the lock ramp and the crew were armed with stunners, standing behind clear shields they’d either had on hand or fabbed fast.
The guy in front of me was huge, mostly muscle with a bit of padding, bearded and bald with a mean stare.
I walked right up, slowed enough to avoid a fight, stopped three meters short and introduced myself.
“Hi. Angie Kaneshiro, Able Spacer, certs for medical, internal and external cargo, galley and services. Distressed Spacer Rule. I need transport but can work my fare.”
He shrugged and nodded.
“Better than the shallow bitches following, I guess.” He turned his head, “Phil, got an actual spacer. Sending her up.”
He turned back and waved his thumb over his shoulder.
“We’re bound for Caledonia. If that’s not where you want to go, too bad.”
“That’s where I’m from. Perfect.”
“Yeah. Good luck with the girl. We don’t have much for kids.”
“We’ll be fine. Thank you very much for your help.”
Behind me, a crowd was gathering. I’d beat the rush by about thirty seconds.
At the top of the ramp, a woman said, “Aft twenty, Portside up . . . no, let’s make it level,” she said, looking at Juletta. “Double for the two of you, but we may have to put someone else in as well.”
“I’m sure you will. Thank you.”
I found the stateroom. It was minimal crew quarters, but workable. I dropped my bag, slapped my phone against the terminal to access it, and punched in a hatch code.
I turned right around.
“Come with me, Juletta. We need to go see the captain.”
“Ship captain?”
“Yes, he is.”
Actually, any officer would do, but I wanted to explain things to someone.
I secured my hatch, went forward and hoped things would keep working.
I made it through two hatches before I did run into the captain. They had a roomy lounge behind the C-deck, and he had a polo with four stripes on his shoulders. He wore a headset with glasses and was talking to someone. I waited until he was done giving orders, which seemed to be about how many people they could stuff aboard.
“Sir, Angie Kaneshiro. Able Spacer, medic, cargo, cook, clean. Thank you for your hospitality. Your crew let me aboard. I can work while I’m here. What do you want me to do?”
He grinned and said, “Well, we’re tossing our ID chips. Want to join the party?”
Behind him, someone was running a chip through an arc demagnetizer.
“I, uh, already ditched mine,” I said.
“Hah. Most trif.” He looked impressed. He spoke my dialect. That felt so good.
“Yeah. Thanks for the lift. It’s getting ugly there, fast.”
“It is. I wish we could pay you, but given the loading and all . . .”
“Yeah, I know,” I said. His margin wouldn’t support paying deadheads, even if they stretched out the workload. “It’s fine.” I pointed at the girl. “Juletta isn’t mine but she’s traveling with me for now. You’re flying, I’m working. Tell me what you need.”
He said, “I put all the women with children in Port Mod Two. I’m keeping the men back in Starboard Three. Can you take charge of those habitat bitches and show them how to survive aboard ship?”
Yeah, he’d need that. His crew didn’t like station women, I gathered. They seemed to like having me to help, at least.
I said, “I’ll do my best.”
He actually smiled. “Good. Be all MI on them.”
“Got it.” I’d try.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to do in Caledonia with a stray child. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her here.
Juletta went with me, clinging on my arm and neck. I closed locks on the way. They’d all been left undogged, which was really stupid after a pressure failure.
“Mom?” she asked.
“We have to keep looking,” I said as I monkeyed back, walking and grabbing stanchions. “There are too many people here. We’re going to a meeting place. You know, like school has a meeting place for fire or air incidents?”
“Yeah.”
“This is a stationwide air incident. We all have to get off the station, then meet up. Mom and Dad should be there.”
“Cap’n will help?”
“Yes, he’ll take us somewhere safe.”
“Okay,” she agreed, as we reached the passenger space.
The pod was full, with kids in a mostly happy swarm and the women chattering away, but some were arguing, two of them face to face. There were four men with kids. Kids adapt fast. It’s always amazed me.
Why does everyone think their kids look cute? Some were. Some were little trolls. One was shoving another and shouting, “Bitch!”
Several of the adults looked at me. Some were hopeful, some looked like they wanted a fight, most just curious.
“Listen up, please,” I said. The rest turned my way and the volume dropped. Some kept whispering.
“I need all your attention for a few segs or you might die in space.”
A chick who looked about eighteen G-years, dressed like somebody’s trophy wife or escort said, “We’ve lived in space most of our lives.” She was leaning across a bunk, careful not to mess her hair, but still taking two people’s seating spaces.
I looked back at her and asked, “On a ship? Or just one of those artificial island hotel thingies?” I waved.
She wanted to argue. “Pressure, water, bulkheads, clock cycle. Got it.”
I was learning quickly how a military instructor felt.
“Where’s your nearest egress? What is your evacuation drill? What is your hull breach drill?”
She looked at me and started to open her mouth again. It looked out of proportion. She didn’t know how to do lipstick.
I cut her off with, “Shut the hell up and listen.”
She still came back with, “Yeah? Who the hell put you in charge?”
I didn’t raise my voice. I did lean forward slightly and focus on her. “The captain. If you have a problem I’ll give you a chit to see him. He might just leave you here. There are plenty of others who won’t cause trouble.”
That got her attention, but I wanted to drive it home.
“So, can I be in charge now, Miss Gio Pants Ensemble with Diamond Accents? All I have is a shipsuit with two thousand light-years of wear on it. Will that satisfy you?”
“Uh . . . yeah, go ahead.” She tried to shrug me off and sat back, trying to look casual.
Oh, hell no. “You can address me as ‘spacer,’ ‘crewwoman’ or ‘lady.’”
There was a pause that started getting embarrassing, with people staring at me, but mostly at her.
An older lady said, “She means it. I know a vet when I hear one.”
The woman finally said, “Yes, Spacer.” She wasn’t going to call me “Lady.”
The matron said, “I’m a vet. Groundside only, but I can take and give orders. I’ll help.”
Oh, good. That would help a lot, and I was glad the faceoff was over.
“Thanks. What’s your name?”
“Claire Copley.”
“Thanks, Claire.”
I looked them all over. “I’m Angie Kaneshiro, medic, stevedore, cargomistress, Able Spacer. This is what I do for a living the last seven years. These pods are really tight for space at the best of times, and this one is basically a bunkroom for laborers. Now, you each have a rack, and either the kids share with you, or we’ll improvise some bedding for them. You need to hold onto them, with webbing, during Jump Point transit. They may feel nauseous; I’ll tell you what to eat before we go. One person sleeps per bunk. This pod is women only. Men are diagonally across and aft. If you want to bump or spread you can use the shower in the head together. We’re going to appoint people to cover stray kids while we work. You’ll be keeping this clean, getting your own meals, and staying out of the crew’s way . . .”
They listened to me, and didn’t argue much.
In five segs they had a summary I knew they’d forget, but they knew I was in charge. I hoped.
Intercom sounded, “All hands, secure for space. Departure imminent.” I felt the outer lock seal.
The next announcement was, “Umbilicals separated, vessel secure. Undogged and moving.” I could feel it. That wasn’t just a ram. There were maneuvering engines at work. That probably wouldn’t hurt the station regolith, but it might melt hatch equipment.
Then, “We are in space. Duty rotation to commence. Passengers stand by and await instructions.”
That was the most abbreviated pullout I’d ever experienced. With a ship, I mean.
I wasn’t a passenger, or was I? And I had Juletta.
She looked up at me with big eyes. I figured she wasn’t sure what I had been doing, but I’d been telling adults off. She was probably either scared or impressed.
I gathered her up and stepped through the hatch. As I dogged it, she said, “You strong, Anzhie.”
“I am when I need to be,” I said.
“Are we friends?”
“Yes, Juletta. We’re friends.” I fastened her hands around my neck and started dragging myself along grips, glad I was only in the passage, not in the long umbilical to towed pods.
“Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“We’re still trying to find them. There’s an air leak in the station, so we have to go to another.”
I hoped we’d meet them in Caledonia. If not, they’d still be in this volume of space. Assuming they weren’t dead, but with what info I had, I didn’t think many, if any, were.
“Find a safety ofser?”
“They can’t help with that, sweetie. We need the ship for that. Have you ever been on one?”
“No.”
“Well, it might be a few days, but we’ll be safe.”
“You make me safe.”
I’m going to try. “I’ll do my best.”
How did I get into this crate?
I got into the stateroom as engines started thrusting. I lunged for the bunk, grabbed her with me, and said, “Hang on, we’re moving.”
“Rockets?”
I didn’t even know if this one was string drive or forceline propulsion.
“Yes,” I agreed.