Spaceport Atlantis

By J.R. Bacon

Spaceport Atlantis is the Sixth book in the Birth of the Gods Series.

 

Starship Orion Four travels almost 50 years to reach Mars, the planet of origin of the Mayan people now living on Hyksos in Constellation Draco.

 

After reaching the intended destinat

• Language: English
• Publisher: On the Write Path Publishing
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638370093

J.R. Bacon

John Bacon grew up along the shores of Lake Champlain in the Adirondacks of northern New Champlain in the Adirondacks of northern New Champlain in the Adirondacks of northern New York. At age seventeen he dreamed of becoming a writer. He started his college education at the University of New York in Albany and finished at Adrian College in southern Michigan. After graduate school at Wayne State University in Detroit, John taught English in Farmington, Michigan for thirty-three years. He started his writing career when he retired. He has three children and six grandchildren. John resides in Florida.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Tryst

Starship Orion Four

Pod 2

Level 3

Compartment 322

2M, Day 16, 5156

3:18 a.m.

P

haedra Zeus awoke with a start. For just a second she didn’t know where she was. Then she realized she was totally naked – well except for her wrist control.

She heard easy breathing next to her right side.

She smiled. Of course, she was with Coptos and they were in Selene's compartment.

Phaedra slipped her left arm out from beneath the soft sheet and tapped the surface of her wrist control with the index finger of her right hand.

The surface glowed a soft orange and the black figures 3:19 a.m. appeared on the orange surface.

Her husband's shift ended at 6:00 a.m. She could easily get back to her own compartment before he did.

The bed shook.

Now she remembered. The starship was approaching the planet Jupiter. They would be doing a flyby of that monster over the next three or four days. Nobody seemed to be sure how long it would take. Even her husband didn’t know for sure and he was the commander.

Of course Armant never admitted he didn’t know. He would just say, It will be approximately three days. Her husband didn’t like admitting that he wasn’t absolutely sure of anything.

The bed shook again, this time violently.

Phaedra could feel herself being vibrated toward the edge of the mattress. She twisted to her side and grabbed onto the mattress with both hands.

She felt a hairy arm slide around her and a large hand grab her hand on the edge of the mattress.

There was breathing on the back of her neck.

The violent shaking stopped.

I was going to see if you wanted to do things again this morning, but we might fall out of bed if we did, said a deep male voice. Coptos kissed her neck just below her right ear.

Phaedra rolled back against him. Hi. How are you this morning?

The handsome, dark face smiled at her. Never better.

What time do you have to get back to your compartment?

Around five. Armant sometimes finishes his shift early. I have to shower and be in bed by the time he comes in. He's the suspicious type.

When are you going to tell him, Phaedra?

She hated that question. It always made Phaedra feel apprehensive. It was like asking when you were going to turn yourself into Starship Security. I have to wait until the time is right.

You’re afraid of him.

Phaedra focused on the kind brown eyes. A little. He doesn’t like being surprised. He wants to control everything. It's like an obsession. Sometimes he scares me.

Do you want me to tell him? Or maybe we can do it together.

At that moment Phaedra was reminded why she loved Coptos. He was no commander of the starship. He wasn’t even a pilot. He was a mere lieutenant. But he was so kind and so considerate and so sweet, and she loved him for it. Phaedra looked at him. Let me think about it, okay?

Sure. I just don’t want you to get caught. He might be really pissed if he caught you. If he did, I’d try to protect you, but I don’t know if I could. A lieutenant doesn’t have much clout around here, especially when it comes to the commander of the starship.

We won’t get caught. Selene will never say anything. Phaedra slid out from under the sheets and the hairy arm. Then she rose to her feet and crossed the cold metal floor to the chair at the end of the bedroom.

The floor shook violently.

She grabbed for the small chair attached to the wall near the end of the bed.

The shaking grew more violent.

She dropped into the chair and grabbed onto the arms. She hoped Coptos didn’t flick on the overhead lights. She was naked and she felt very self-conscious about it, especially when she was a mess like this.

Coptos threw back the covers, rose out of bed and staggered toward the dresser. He grabbed the rounded edges and held on.

Phaedra liked looking at him when he was naked. His skin was dark and he had some hair on his body. Not as much as some men. For instance, her husband was quite hairy and his skin was pale white. But she’d rather not think about that just now.

For some reason she didn’t like to think about her husband when she was naked. Phaedra didn’t really know why, but she was pretty sure it had to do with her fear. It was almost like he might do something brutal to her if he knew she was cheating.

The shaking subsided.

Coptos turned away and picked up his clothes from the top of the dresser. He pulled on his underwear.

Phaedra rose from the chair and unlatched the closet door. She slid it sideways. She had hung her clothes on a hanger at the end.

She grabbed the hanger and pulled off the white panties. She stepped into them. She had thought about buying some with color at the starship store but the women who ran the store talked a lot and then Armant might notice that she was wearing colorful underwear. No, she couldn’t take the chance.

It was just that these white ones were so drab and she wanted to have fun with Coptos. He might like to see her in pink panties or maybe blue or even sexy black.

They were made out of a recycled nylon so at one time part of this material might have been in another woman's panties. That was a reality of living aboard a starship.

When she reached around to hook her bra, she felt a pair of hands on top of hers. She turned her head.

Hey, I just thought I might help you get dressed for a change, instead of undressed.

Phaedra grinned. Thanks. But don’t touch me. We don’t have time to do anything and when you touch my skin I get all tingly. I really do have to get back. I also have to wash these sheets.

Hey, I can strip the sheets off the bed. Coptos walked over to the wall switch next to the pocket door. He flicked it upward.

Bright light filled the small bedroom.

Phaedra swung her arms around to cover her body.

It's only me. Coptos grinned. Sorry, but I have to see what I’m doing. He pulled back the coverlet and tugged out the top sheet.

Phaedra slipped on her blouse, then her slacks. Finally, she sat down and tugged on socks and tennis shoes. She tied them, making sure she did a double knot. That was required on the starship for safety reasons.

There - she was dressed at least. Maybe she should check her hair in the bathroom mirror. Selene had let her keep a hair brush in the bathroom cabinet.

When she stepped into the bathroom, the light over the small mirror blinked on.

Phaedra slid the mirror on the medicine cabinet to the left and picked up a red-handled hairbrush from the bottom shelf. Then she slid the mirror back to the right.

Her short, wavy brown hair was pressed down over her left ear. She usually slept on that side. Sometimes Coptos would snuggle up behind her. It was at times like that when she felt very safe. The man who loved her was protecting her.

When she was in bed with her husband, it was so different. Phaedra had often wondered how she had happened to marry Armant. She had chosen him when she was younger.

Maybe it was all the excitement of being with a starship pilot. That's what he was back then. He was the youngest pilot the starship had ever had in its nearly fifty year history. Armant had been just twenty-four years old. Usually starship pilots were beyond their mid-twenties.

Coptos stepped into the bathroom doorway. The sheets are in the washer. Can you put them in the dryer? I really have to be going. I’m on duty at six and I should eat some breakfast.

Phaedra turned. She held the hairbrush at waist height. Sure.

Coptos folded his arms across his chest. Phaedra, when are we going to bring this thing out into the open?

She shrugged. Soon.

Honey, I know you’re afraid of him and I can understand why, but we have to tell him. I don’t like this sneaking around.

Coptos looked down at the floor. Then his gaze came up again. And I’ve thought about this. What we ought to do is confront him together. I don’t want to leave you to do it alone. And after we do it, you should move out right away. I can help you do that.

Selene said she’d help me when the time came.

Hey, that's fine with me. I just think we ought to clear the air – get it out in the open. The longer we wait, the harder it will be.

Phaedra nodded. You’re probably right.

The room shook violently.

Phaedra lurched to her right.

Her head bashed into the clear plastic shower stall. She fell.

CHAPTER TWO

Suspicious Sort

Starship Orion Four

Pod 1

Level 2

Compartment 103

2M, Day 16, 5156

6:18 a.m.

C

ommander Armant Zeus slid his key card into the slot on the door to Compartment 103.

The light blinked green and the pocket door swished to the left.

He stepped into the compartment.

The door swished closed behind him.

It was good to be home but this would be a short stay. Perhaps he should get some sleep. With their approach to Jupiter, he would have to be at the bridge most of the time.

Jupiter was a gigantic planet. In most instances, they would be better off avoiding its powerful gravitational pull. However, they had to slow this starship down. Passing through the gravitational zones of both Neptune and Saturn had slowed them appreciably, but they were still traveling much too fast to establish an orbit around Mars.

That was the goal – an orbit around Mars so they could explore the surface of the planet.

In many ways, Armant thought calling Mars their home planet was presumptuous. Their ancestors had left thousands of years ago – perhaps as much as four or five thousand years in fact.

In so many ways, it was a silly idea to explore the surface of what was probably going to be a wasteland, but the archeologists and anthropologists onboard, as well as that one female historian, Doctor Tuan, all wanted to study the surface of the planet.

He, for one, would much rather move on to Earth, where there was a chance for life. They had been observing the little green and blue and white planet since they had entered this solar system over seven months ago.

However, in spite of all this, he needed some rest. He was very tired tonight.

As Armant passed by the tiny kitchen, he noticed something in the aluminum sink. He stopped and then circled around the end of the breakfast bar and stepped into the kitchen.

He placed his thin briefcase on the breakfast bar and stepped over to the sink. Down inside was a plastic cereal bowl with a steel spoon resting next to it.

He stared down at the two objects and then he shook his head. Won’t that woman ever learn how to take any responsibility?

He reached into the sink, as if he was going to pick up the two items, but then his hand stopped. Perhaps he should teach his wife a lesson in responsibility. She was so damned careless.

He turned around and picked up his briefcase from the countertop, then walked out of the kitchen into the small living room, finally into the short hallway that led to the bathroom and bedroom.

At a pocket door on the left, he stopped. Then he pushed his right index finger into the slot on the door, pressed the small lever and slid the door to the left into the wall cavity.

He then reached around to his right and flipped up the light switch with his right index finger.

The bright ceiling light glared down onto the bed.

A woman with short, light brown hair lying in the bed rolled over and shielded her eyes. Is that you, Armant?

Who else would it be?

Please flick off the light. It's much too bright. It hurts my eyes.

No.

The pretty woman swung her feet around to the floor. She clamped her hands over her eyes. Why did you turn on the lights?

To make a point.

She waved her right hand, revealing that her right eye was closed. Please, turn off the lights.

No.

Okay, Armant, you’ve made your point. What is it you want to talk about?

Armant Zeus recognized this as her ploy to belittle his attempts at straightening out her personal habits. "You know we’re approaching the planet Jupiter. I’ve been talking about it for at least three days. In spite of that, you insist on being careless with your dirty dishes, leaving them in the sink.

You know very well that they could become dangerous missiles when we’re doing a flyby. We’ve done two other flybys. I would think you would have learned something by this time.

Phaedra slid her hands down from her eyes and looked up at him. She squinted in the bright light. I’m sorry, okay. I’ll take care of them.

Please do it right now before one of us is hurt because of your carelessness.

Phaedra raised her right hand. I get it, Armant… enough. Please, no more. I’ll take care of it.

I’m waiting.

The woman rose to her feet and shuffled to the doorway.

Armant stepped back to his right. Now he noticed that there was a bandage across her right eyebrow. He wondered what that was about. Did you fall?

His wife stopped. Yes… against the shower stall.

You should be careful during a flyby. Accidents do happen.

Phaedra walked by him.

Armant was surprised by a certain smell. It was a familiar, soft fragrance.

Now he knew. Phaedra had bathed before she went to bed. That was strange. She really never did that kind of thing anymore. She used to when they were first married, especially if sex was a possibility. He wondered why she would bathe before she bedded down tonight.

He watched as she crossed the small living room among the chairs on pedestals and stepped into the small kitchen. She was wearing pajamas. They were blue and white striped. To him, they looked very much like a man's pajamas. He bet they actually were.

He wondered why she didn’t wear those pretty night shirts she used to wear. She’d wear them and a pair of panties. Her little ass always looked so good in her panties.

They hadn’t had sex for a very long time. He was trying to remember how long it had been. He would change that once this Jupiter flyby was over.

These flybys took a lot out of you. They required long hours and focus on the part of everyone in the crew and all the Starship Security people.

In fact, early tomorrow morning he was conducting a briefing of the whole crew.

The dishwasher door clicked shut and Phaedra moved across the living room among the pedestal chairs.

Armant folded his arms across his chest. He didn’t know why he felt he had to do this. Phaedra…

She stopped in the short hallway. What?

From now on make sure you don’t forget to put things away. That spoon, for instance, could become a dangerous missile if this starship shook hard enough.

She avoided his eyes. I’m sorry. I just forgot.

Don’t forget again. It could mean your life or mine.

She seemed to be looking down at her hands as she rubbed them together.

Are you all right?

She glanced up. Of course. Why would you ask such a thing?

I don’t know. You just seem preoccupied.

I guess I’m a little nervous about this flyby. She shrugged.

For some reason, Commander Zeus got the sense that she wasn’t telling him everything. Anything else you’d like to talk to me about?

Her head snapped up. Then she looked down again. No, she said in a barely audible voice.

Why don’t you go to bed. I’ll be there in a minute. I have some notes to look over for the briefing tomorrow.

Phaedra moved past him without looking up.

The bedroom light went out.

Armant could hear the rustle of sheets.

He glanced inside.

His wife was in the bed, the sheet was drawn up under her left arm and her back was toward him.

Good night, he said.

Night, came the answer. It was just above a whisper.

Armant slid the bedroom door closed.

There was subtle click when the door reached the right side of the casing.

He realized that he was a naturally suspicious person, but he did have the sense that his wife wanted to tell him something. For some reason she wasn’t. Perhaps he would talk with her tomorrow.

CHAPTER THREE

Instinctive Thing

Starship Orion Four

Pod 1

Level 1

Conference Room 2

2M, Day 17, 5156

5:03 a.m.

C

aptain Alexander Cairo hated briefings, especially briefings by Commander Zeus. It was embarrassing to admit this, but he didn’t like the man.

True, he would have to work closely with the commander throughout this flyby, just like he had with the Neptune and Saturn flybys, but he still didn’t like the man.

What was the reason? Cairo wasn’t sure. It was this instinctive thing. His personal radar told him to beware of this man. Why in hell would he feel that way? He didn’t know. It was just something about the guy.

On the other hand, he did like the old man, Noah Saqqara, the previous commander of the starship. Now that guy was a real gentleman. What was funny is that Cairo could tell that old Saqqara wasn’t all that thrilled with Commander Zeus either. Sometimes it was very obvious.

Cairo never really found a definitive answer for why he didn’t like the commander, but he did realize something. Zeus wasn’t one of the boys and Zeus knew he wasn’t one of the boys. What's more, he resented that fact.

Cairo thought this was hilarious. Here was the commander of a starship – the most powerful man aboard this giant aluminum hulk - and he felt insecure because he wasn’t one of the boys. Didn’t the man have any social skills?

Actually, Commander Armant Zeus didn’t know how to handle people. Oh, he knew how to organize and give orders, but he didn’t know how to make you want to carry out those orders. As a consequence, members of the crew carried out their orders. Of course, they had to carry them out, but the important thing, however, was they didn’t like carrying them out. Morale was in the dumper.

The rest of the pilots of this starship weren’t half bad. Take Lieutenant Hera. Cairo wasn’t crazy about her. The woman was always watching, studying everything – almost like she was planning something. Now, how the hell was she going to plan anything? She was only a lieutenant. True, she was the youngest pilot with the lowest rank so he guessed she had to be pretty damned good at what she did. But something was going on in that chick's head and Cairo was curious about what it was.

On the other hand, one of the other pilots, Captain Pallas Athena was really nice. He liked her. Cairo got the sense that with her what you got was what you saw – no secrets. Cairo liked that – everything up front. She had a strange name, but she was a cool woman.

He had once thought about asking her out. It was just after his marriage went south, but then the older Wenamun brother who worked in security told him that Captain Athena was living with some guy – an elementary teacher, if you can believe it. Now there was an interesting couple - this focused, smart A-type woman and an elementary teacher.

Cairo smiled. He wondered what sex was like in that compartment where Captain Athena lived. He bet she initiated it or at least she told him when and where, and maybe even how.

Actually, that might be kind of interesting. Cairo realized that his problem was that he had been single much too long. Well, maybe that would change soon. He hoped so. Right now, he sort of felt like he was a segregated leper or something, and it was not a good feeling.

Thank you for coming this morning. I thought it would be wise to go through the process of the flyby. Commander Armant Zeus looked around the rectangular table.

Cairo braced himself for the commander's stare. It was as if he was trying to impress you or something. Cairo's normal reaction to the man was a kind of irritated anger, but he put on his best friendly face. Well, actually he was sure it came off as a kind of deadpan, but that was as friendly as he could muster for the commander this morning.

Once the focus of the deep-set blue eyes had passed over him, Cairo turned to look to the commander's right. There sat the former commander, Noah Saqqara, and his wife and former pilot, Asheru Saqqara.

It occurred to Captain Cairo that Asheru Saqqara had, at one time, been a real good-looker, a knockout in fact. Right now she was a really good-looking, grey-haired and tall old woman with beautiful blue eyes.

What was interesting was that every time her husband spoke, she looked at him with pride and Cairo could see her affection for him in her eyes. He thought that was so damned cool. The woman was still very much in love with her man, even after all these years.

He envied both of them. Here was this retired commander over eighty years old who still had his shit together, and there was his beautiful wife at his side and she was still in love with him.

Captain Cairo wished that one day he could find a woman like that one, a loyal, loving, beautiful woman. His own marriage had lasted only four years. His wife had cheated. He had tried to save the marriage, but it was no go.

Cairo had gone through the divorce like some kind of brain-dead robot and then he was left empty. He had requested counseling from Doctor Manetho, the onboard psychiatrist. The divorce had torn him up.

At one point, Doctor Manetho had told him that unfortunately in the confined environment of the starship cheating was much more common than it had been back on Hyksos. Cairo had assumed the good doctor had said this to give him a frame of reference, one which was somehow going to console him. It didn’t.

First of all, he felt no connection to Hyksos where his grandparents and parents had lived because the only way he knew anything about it was from the old videos. When he watched those, it was like watching something from some place in a fantasy land. He just couldn’t connect to it on any level.

Anyway, Doctor Manetho had helped somewhat, but Cairo still had to live in the empty compartment and come back to it every time his shift was over.

He had gotten into the habit of stopping by the Recreation Center in Pod 1, Level 1 just to hear other voices and be around other people. But then going there reminded him that he was alone because almost all of the people who stopped off at the combination bar and restaurant were in pairs. They were dating or married couples.

He always sat at the bar. The receptionist encouraged him to do that. He supposed it was because that way the few tables they had could be saved for the couples.

Captain Cairo, are your people ready?

Alexander Cairo popped back into the meeting in Conference Room 2. He hoped his face wasn’t pink from embarrassment. He had been caught off guard. Yes, sir. As we did for the other flybys, we will have personnel stationed around the starship, especially on Levels 1 and 3 because of the possibility of meteorite punctures of the outer shell of the ship. Obviously we will have some personnel on Level 2, but the focus will be on Levels 1 and 3.

And you will be ready for any situation, Captain?

As ready as we can be, sir. As you know, these flybys are always very fluid and there's no telling what might happen. I’m hoping that Lieutenant Gurab will have repair people in Levels 1 and 3.

The commander turned to the tall lieutenant to his right midway down the table. What about it, Gurab?

We’re ready, sir.

The commander nodded. Very good. He turned to his left toward a pudgy man near his end of the table. Doctor Shemu, our astrophysicist will speak to you now. He nodded toward the man.

The astrophysicist stood up. I know this must seem like the same old thing all over again, but this will be the last one. He looked around the conference room. "Well, maybe I should say that this will be the last one for a while. I know that doesn’t give most of you much relief and I do realize that these flybys are not pleasant.

"This will be the most difficult, no doubt. As Doctor Amenophis, our rocket engineer, will explain to you, this will have to reduce our speed by over thirty percent, or we may have to go back out to Neptune and start our flybys all over again. At this point we’re traveling much too fast to establish an orbit around Mars.

"Mars, the home of our ancestors, is a relatively small planet, as is Earth, the third planet from this sun. Both of them might provide some reduction in our speed, but not nearly as much as Jupiter, which is many times larger.

As with Neptune and Saturn, we will experience some serious vibration and because we are going to be approaching Jupiter just outside the path of its seventy-nine moons, we will experience much more violence here aboard the starship. With this flyby, we will be closer to the host planet – almost twenty percent closer. He turned to the small man next to him. What was that figure, Doctor Amenophis?

Seventeen point six percent, said the small man.

Doctor Shemu nodded. Yes. Now, let me give you a pictorial representation of what seventeen point six percent closer means. Shemu reached into his right pocket and took out a rectangular control. He pointed it at the large video screen on the near wall of the conference room.

A large orange ball in a sea of black space loomed on the wall.

This is a photo of the planet Jupiter taken through our onboard telescope fourteen days ago.

He pressed another button and a red dot appeared in the black area to the right of the screen. First I’m going to show you the approximate path we took with Saturn and Neptune. He moved his hand and the red dot swept by the large orange ball in the blackness of space almost at the edge of the screen.

Now, I will show you approximately how close we will pass by Jupiter. He moved the red dot inward toward the giant orange ball. You can clearly see some of the moons of Jupiter. We will pass very close to them. That's a danger, of course.

The red dot swept by the planet just beyond the rocky surface of one of the largest of Jupiter's moons.

The pudgy man looked back at the people around the table. That large moon is Europa. A number of Jupiter's moons are almost as large as small planets. We will pass very close to some of them as we do this flyby.

He flicked his control and the red dot on the screen disappeared. "Jupiter is a giant planet and should provide ample braking power to slow us enough so that we can establish an orbit around Mars.

"If this doesn’t work, then we will use Mars to brake our speed and, if we have to, we will travel farther inward toward Earth for the same reason. Frankly, I would think that would be our final attempt at reducing our speed, but these things are new to us.

"This braking system does work. Our ancestors used the same process to reduce their speed as they approached Hyksos, many, many centuries ago.

Are there any questions? He glanced around the table. Then he turned to Commander Zeus. Then, with your permission, Commander, I will turn this over to Doctor Amenophis, our engineer.

The commander nodded. That's fine.

Captain Cairo had heard all of this before. What he was listening for was anything different, anything that would warn him that his crew of security people should be more vigilant. So far, the only difference was that this flyby would be closer and, he supposed, much more violent. And with all these giant moons, who knew what could happen?

Amenophis rose to his feet. "You may have been noticing the occasional short periods of violent shaking that we’ve been having for the last three days.

"I’m sorry to say those will increase. This flyby will be much tougher than the previous ones. I am assuming that everyone onboard will have to be buckled into a safety seat for the full forty-eight hours of this flyby. During that time period we will experience enormous vibrations.

"In fact, I have suggested to our people at the clinic that if they know of any very old passengers on this starship, or people who are seriously ill, that they strap those passengers into beds inside the clinic for the duration of that middle period of the flyby.

"That will occur approximately four to five days from now. You will know when we are there. It won’t happen suddenly. You will notice, perhaps twenty-four hours previous, an increase in the vibration and the frequency of the vibration and you will notice that it will be harder to get around. Your weight will have seemed to increase.

"When that occurs, it would be wise to find a safe place, preferably your safety seats in your compartment. Strap yourself into that seat with some water in a sealed container and some food of some kind. I would suggest granola bars, or some other such thing that's relatively easy to handle.

During the midway point you will be nearly helpless because the ship will be vibrating violently and you will weigh approximately three times your usual number of pounds. In other words if your usual weight is near one hundred pounds, you will weigh three hundred pounds. You do that math for your own weight. As you can imagine, you won’t be able to move.

The small man gazed around the group of people. Honestly, I’m not trying to scare you. I just want you to know that we’re not kidding when we say this will be a tougher flyby than the previous two. You have to be ready to deal with it.

Captain Cairo raised his hand. Doctor Amenophis, how am I supposed to deal with emergencies in conditions like this?

That's a good question, Captain, and I don’t have the answer. All I can say is that this ship was built to withstand stresses like this. The people inside the ship should be able to survive this flyby if they take the proper precautions. I would think, Captain, that preparedness would be the key. You will have to make sure that all the people onboard take the proper precautions.

Commander Zeus folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. Doctor Amenophis, I was thinking that perhaps we might declare a state of martial law during this flyby. That way people might take their preparations more seriously.

Cairo had thought of the same thing, but now that the commander was recommending it, he didn’t like the idea at all.

Doctor Amenophis turned to Cairo. What do you think, Captain?

Cairo hesitated. He was staring at his hands folded together in front of him on top of the table.

Finally, he looked up at the engineer. We had considered that, Doctor Amenophis, but we didn’t want to cause panic. So, frankly, I would be against declaring martial law aboard the starship. Our people have been through this before. I think they can handle it.

Commander Zeus stood up. Are you sure martial law wouldn’t work better, Captain?

Cairo's immediate reaction was repulsion. He just didn’t like this guy at all. Yes, sir. I really think it might cause panic. We can make several public announcements. I can formulate a series of steps all those onboard should take. I will get that information from the two doctors, here, and that should do it, sir.

The commander's small blue eyes stared at him.

Cairo could feel the hackles on the back of his neck tingling. Was this the commander's way of trying to make him back down? If it was, this asshole was doing the wrong thing.

If there are problems, Captain Cairo, you could be removed from your position.

I hope that's not a threat, sir. Cairo couldn’t believe what he had just said to the starship commander.

Of course not, Cairo.

Very good, sir. I will handle the issue of security, sir, and you run the starship.

There was a vacuous empty feeling around the table, as if the air had been sucked out of the conference room.

I’m sure everything will go fine, Commander. Cairo hoped that didn’t sound impudent. He just couldn’t seem to help himself.

I’m sure it will. The small blue eyes stared at Cairo.

He smiled and nodded. Actually he was sweating but he wasn’t going to let this asshole know he was.

There were many things about life that Cairo didn’t understand. First, he didn’t understand why his marriage had failed. Well, maybe he did. His wife, Itet, had been immature as hell.

The second thing was he didn’t understand how this asshole had become the commander of the starship.

This briefing is over. You are dismissed.

Captain Cairo stood up. He knew his pants were sticking to his legs because he had been sweating. He carefully tugged at the back of his pants legs by pushing down on his side pockets with the thumbs of both hands.

When he felt cool air against his skin, he knew they were no longer sticking to his legs. He didn’t want this asshole knowing he was sweating.

Captain Pallas Athena stepped over to him and leaned close to his right ear. Cairo, I’d be careful if I were you, she whispered.

Alexander Cairo smiled at her. Thanks for the advice, Captain.

Her eyes smiled at him and she patted him on the back. You’re welcome.

It occurred to Alexander Cairo that it was just too damned bad this cool woman was already living with a man. He really liked her.

CHAPTER FOUR

Sewing Quilts

Starship Orion Four

Pod 2

Level 3

2M, Day 17, 5156

9:32 p.m.

L

ieutenant Eris Hera stepped out of the elevator. She could feel Lieutenant Hapmen behind her. She hadn’t been with a man in a very long time, and she was tense.

The elevator made a hissing sound and the door rolled shut.

She glanced back at Hapmen. It's down near the end of this corridor, Sethos.

Lieutenant Hera was proud of the fact that she was the only lieutenant on record as a pilot of a starship, yet she wondered if this rank was as far as she was going to climb.

She was doing what some people might think was improper, but sometimes you had to resort to almost any means to get what you want. Besides, sex was not something she enjoyed anyway. It was a necessity to be used wisely.

She knew very well why she saw sex as only a necessary tool to manipulate people. It was that thing that happened to her mother when she was six. But she didn’t want to think about that, especially if she was going to get in bed with Sethos Hapmen.

She had decided that she needed an ally. So a little petting and maybe some screwing might seal the deal. She turned to Hapmen who was walking behind her. You like beer?

He shrugged. Sure. Wine's all right too.

I don’t keep any wine – just beer.

Hey, that's okay. You invited me so I’m not gonna be picky.

She had chosen Lieutenant Sethos Hapmen as her target ally because he had just been demoted by the commander. She was kind of curious as to why he was demoted. Of course, with Commander Zeus it could just be that he was pissed off or something.

What Lieutenant Hera had found out was that the commander didn’t like to be challenged – like in that meeting this morning when he had just about told Captain Cairo that he had better not fuck up or he’d be toast. She wondered what that was about.

Of course, it was pretty obvious that Cairo didn’t like his commander. Probably Zeus knew that too. He wasn’t stupid. You don’t become commander if you’re stupid.

Lieutenant Hera would like to be commander some day, but there were other things that came first – like becoming captain. Sometimes she wondered if they hadn’t kept her a lieutenant just because then they could brag about the fact that they were the first starship on record to have a pilot who was a lieutenant.

Yes, all that shit earlier happened because the commander knew that Cairo didn’t like him. Cairo was really good-looking in a sort of busy, confident male way. Maybe the old man was jealous of Cairo's good looks. No, that probably wasn’t it. Lieutenant Hera was sure it was the thing about Cairo not liking the commander.

Usually there was not a single soul down here on Level 3 this time of night, but Lieutenant Hera could see someone up ahead. A woman had stepped out of the compartment next to hers. That woman worked in the hydroponic gardens. What was her name? Selene something. The lieutenant couldn’t remember the last name. It started with the letter B. That's all she could remember.

Then Lieutenant Hera noticed something. This was not Selene walking toward her. It was another woman and she looked slightly familiar. Hera was trying to remember where she had seen this woman before.

The lieutenant turned sideways to let her move by in the narrow corridor. Shit! she whispered.

Behind her, Sethos leaned close. What's the matter?

Hera didn’t stop. Didn’t you recognize who that was?

Sethos didn’t answer.

Lieutenant Hera wondered why that woman was down here on Level 3. If she remembered correctly, the important people lived up in Pod 1, Level 2.

Hera stopped in front of Compartment 321. She stabbed her key card into the slot. The light flashed green and the door sucked open to the left.

The door next to hers rattled and a man stepped into the corridor. He turned toward them. Sethos, what are you doing down here?

Hey, Coptos! How's it going?

The other man shrugged. Everything's fine. He nodded toward Lieutenant Hera and held out his hand. Lieutenant Coptos Gurab.

Lieutenant Eris Hera.

Coptos smiled. Oh, you’re that younger pilot.

Yes, I’m a pilot.

And only a lieutenant. Wow, that's a first, isn’t it?

Yes, as far as I know.

Coptos turned to his friend. Maybe we can have a drink later, Sethos.

Lieutenant Hapmen shrugged. Sure. I’ll give you a call.

Coptos smiled and nodded at Eris Hera. Good meeting you, Lieutenant.

Same here, I’m sure.

Coptos walked down the narrow corridor toward the elevators.

Lieutenant Hera stepped into her compartment.

The overhead light flicked on.

Sethos followed her inside.

The door hissed and rattled shut.

Hera turned and pressed a rectangular black button next to the door. There… no one can come in now. She made eye contact with Sethos. Is that okay with you?

He shrugged. Sure, I guess.

Lieutenant Hera walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She pulled out two brown bottles with blue labels and placed them on the breakfast bar. Here, open these. My fingers aren’t strong enough to twist them off.

That wasn’t true, actually, but you did have to play the helpless female, at least a little bit. Do you want a glass?

Sethos shook his head. No. I have a hard time keeping my beer in a glass. I always pour the glass too full and then I spill some.

Yeah, the bottles do work better, don’t they.

Sethos twisted off a cap and held the bottle out to her.

She smiled. Thanks. She took a large swallow of the foamy beer, then walked around the breakfast bar and sat on the first stool. What occurred to her was that Sethos was probably kind of shy or timid so maybe she had better go slow with this. In fact, she might just not screw him tonight. It might be wiser to wait, make him wonder a little bit.

Sethos sat down on the stool next to her.

So, you didn’t know who that woman was in the corridor?

No.

Lieutenant Hera could sense that he was uncomfortable. Something bothering you?

No, I’m fine.

He had said it so quietly that it was barely audible. Hera was sure something was going on here. Then she saw it very clearly.

It just hadn’t occurred to her, probably because that Coptos guy was so friendly. He had come out of the same compartment as the commander's wife. He had to know that woman was the commander's wife.

Lieutenant Hera tipped up her bottle of beer and drank. The tingly liquid filled her mouth, then she swallowed.

The whole compartment shuddered.

Hera grabbed the edge of the breakfast bar with her left hand.

The shuddering