Lifetime of Fear

By Gary B. Boyd

Space Train Engineers are a contrary lot. The most contrary of all is Adin Bartlett. Joint Commander Kevin Masters personally selects Adin and his Bountiful Express crew, Conductor Bella Bok and Space Miner Shendo "Spook" Khoper, for a historic assignment to mine microbes on a distant planet in Home's solar system. The microbes are needed to replenish surface life on Home, a planet whose loss of atmosphere has forced humans to burrow into tunnels for survival. The adventure is fitting of true Home Heroes. Only Spook, a Technologist with unnatural intuitive abilities, has reservations about the assignment. Adin's only complaint is that the desk Engineers thrive on theories that don't fit and ignore realities. Bella is the balance for the combination of the aggressive and tentative natures of her crewmates as the space train encounters the unknown with minimal information.
The adventure opens the crew's minds to unbridled fears, fears that far exceed their experiences as asteroid miners, and exposes them to dangers outside of human understanding. The crew's complementary abilities are the only things that can bring their assignment to a safe conclusion - if their assignment can be completed at all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665536301

Gary B. Boyd

Gary B. Boyd is a story teller. Whether at his cabin in the Ozark Mountains, at his desk in his home or on his deck overlooking Beaver Lake near Rogers, Arkansas, he writes his stories. His travels during his business career brought him in touch with a variety of people. Inquisitive, Gary watches and listens to the people he meets. He sees in them the characters that will fill his stories … that will tell their stories. A prolific author with more than a dozen published titles and a head full of tales yet to share, Gary submits to his characters and allows them to tell their own stories in their own way. The joy of completing a novel doesn’t lessen with time. There are more stories to tell, more novels to write. Gary expects to bring new characters to life for years to come. www.garybboyd.com

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© 2021 Gary B. Boyd. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/25/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-3631-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-3630-1 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Chapter 1 Space Train

Chapter 2 Risk Vs. Reward

Chapter 3 Bella Sierra Bok

Chapter 4 Shendo Khoper

Chapter 5 The Single Step

Chapter 6 Companion

Chapter 7 Specters

Chapter 8 Approach

Chapter 9 Choices

Chapter 10 Prospecting

Chapter 11 Mining

Chapter 12 Mud

Chapter 13 Adrift

Chapter 14 Animals

Chapter 15 Payloads

Chapter 16 Dust and Smoke

Chapter 17 Wildfire

Chapter 18 Threat

Chapter 19 Doomsday

Chapter 20 Friends

Chapter 21 Realization

Chapter 22 Storm

Chapter 23 City Life

Chapter 24 Nagging Fear

Chapter 25 Relationships

Chapter 26 Great Illness

Chapter 27 Straggler

Chapter 28 Home Run

Chapter 29 Lifetime of Fear

DEDICATION

One can but wonder how a creative work would be without the assistance of caring family and friends. I will never know because I am blessed with dedicated supporters.

My wife Shirley and my daughter Tina are by my side to guide my hand as I struggle to stay on task, to keep the story sane and to edit my work.

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CHAPTER 1

Space Train

Scritch. Scritch.

Adin scratched at the stubble on his jaw. He didn’t notice the sound it made. He didn’t know or care whether anyone else heard it or not. He didn’t normally notice background sounds anyway. Too distracting. He was thinking. The stiff, dark hair of his day-old beard was interspersed with gray, not unheard of for a man of twenty-three. The sun’s glare on the lens caused him to squint so he could see the console display. Squinting didn’t help. The glare was there regardless. The glare was all he could see. The distant sun’s rays were at the wrong angle. He couldn’t see what was causing the docking clamp to fail. Damn it! he muttered, more to himself than to Bella or Spook. Camera’s misaligned. Only way to see it is to go out there.

Bella exhaled heavily. From her console chair, she had been watching Adin and staying out of his way while he punched buttons on the control console. Spook was in the way enough for both of them. For some reason, he was out of his chair. He was intuitive. Spook’s hand always seemed to be where Adin wanted his to be, maybe because he knew what Adin’s next move would be and thought it was the right place to be. Adin, the train Engineer, was vainly trying to engage the couplers on the last cargo tube. I’ll go, she said with a tone of long-suffering resignation. It’s my turn to go extravehicular.

Spook apologetically glanced toward the petite Conductor. With raised eyebrows, Adin absently noted that the expression was the first overt communication either of them had received from Spook since the attempt to couple with the last tube initially failed, when Spook inexplicably unstrapped and rose from his chair.

It’s probably a chunk of ore that fell off one of the minebots, Adin said. Maybe I can jar it loose. I don’t want to unload a minebot to do it. That’ll take too much time. He watched as Bella retrieved her pressure suit from a latched closet with her name emblazoned in block letters on the door. BELLA SIERRA BOK. She put the letters on the metal door. Full name, not just BELLA. The fabric of her two-piece bodysuit glistened and sparkled as she lithely moved across the cabin of the engine in the low artificial gravity. Donning the suit would take too long. The irascible train Engineer activated the hydrogen thrusters on his space engine. A few seconds passed as the thrusters’ force gradually overcame inertia. The move required a delicate touch. Too much force could lead to disaster.

Bella scowled at Adin. You’re going to break a coupler. Stop dicking around and at least let me go get a visual before you wreck the train.

Adin glared at his Conductor and snarled, If I wanted a visual, I’d have Spook send a minebot to get a look-see. I already said I don’t want to do that. His brown eyes cut from beneath his thick brows, irritably drawn together over the bridge of his nose.

Go ahead, Bella snapped. Do your damnedest to wreck it. It’s your train. Her normally smooth brow wrinkled angrily. Her epicanthic folds made her eyes appear as glistening slits. She was prone to ignore Adin’s gruffness. She knew him better than a wife could and had no reason to fear his crusty facade. I’m going to put on my suit just in case you crack the hull with your game.

Adin turned his attention to the task at hand. Bella might have talked him out of the attempt to bump the long train against the stubborn coupler, but he became more determined to do it his way when he saw her slip her legs into the pressure suit legs. He sensed Spook’s uneasiness with the exchange between the two of them. He was uneasy himself. He should have insisted that everyone was already suited. Safety protocol demanded it when launching from or planting on a large body. He, and his crew, rationalized not wearing the suits because the asteroid was not big enough to be described as large. Adin focused on console telemetry. The train was moving slowly, just as he intended. He reversed the thrusters to overcome the inertia of motion that his first command had created. The engine with nineteen cargo tubes attached didn’t stop any faster than it had started, but it did stop. A gentle application of the thrusters began the slow reversal. Adin tensed in his chair to be ready for the tap against the unattached tube. The bump shouldn’t be enough to toss him, or the others, off balance. His reaction was simply instinctive.

Adin was a good Engineer. He could finesse a space train better than any Engineer in the system. His father was a train Engineer. His grandfather was a train Engineer. His brother was an Engineer, but not a train Engineer. His brother Alan was a sit-behind-a-desk-and-perform-intricate-mathematical-calculations kind of Engineer. Adin didn’t have the patience to be a desk Engineer, so he followed in his father’s adventuresome footsteps to become a train Engineer. He kept the family tradition alive. The tradition would probably die with him, a bachelor with no inclination to change his status. Even long, boring months cooped inside the engine’s living quarters with a sultry woman like Bella couldn’t distract him from his passion, his train. A shudder passed through the nineteen cargo tubes between the space engine and the lone tube with the resistant coupler. The onboard visual system displayed all the couplers except for the tube at the end of the space train. That camera’s angle was misaligned for some unknown reason. The only visual of the errant tube was the top half of the long cylinder, glared unrecognizable by the sun. Adin was guessing … hoping … that the problem was a chunk of ore inside the knuckle of the coupler, a chunk that should easily flip out of the way with a gentle nudge.

I hope you don’t knock it off the asteroid’s surface, Bella grumbled. Chasing a loose tube without a visual won’t be easy.

Adin pursed his lips. Bella was right, but he couldn’t give her the satisfaction. He sensed more than he saw the last tube slide in response to the nudge. He slowly pulled away from the straggler … breathlessly hoping that his actions engaged the couplers and the locking clamps.

It worked. The console lit a strip of green dots to indicate that all couplers were engaged. Mockingly, once the locking clamps engaged, the rear camera on the last tube came to life and showed its rear coupler, open and ready for cargo tube number twenty-one … a tube that didn’t exist. Adin shook his head angrily as the rear camera on tube number nineteen slowly changed angle until it was once again in its proper position, staring at the couplers as it should have been all along. There, he stated triumphantly. You can stow your spacesuit and relax. The Old Master did it again. Adin smiled his relief. Problem solved … and nothing broken in the process.

Spook piddled with some of the ancillary control settings. He changed nothing but he made sure everything was set for the long journey home. He smiled nervously at Bella before he cautiously took his usual seat in front of the ancillary control console. He would remain there until Adin dismissed him, an informal affair.

Bella re-stowed her pressure suit with a sly grin behind Adin’s back. The Engineer was bullheaded, but she didn’t let that bother her. She had no desire to do an EVA, but she knew by pretending to prep for extravehicular activity, Adin would insist on solving the coupler issue his way. His way usually worked. After four round trips between the planet and the Asteroid Belt with Adin, she trusted him – even when he was his contrary self. Couplers didn’t break easily. I’m going to the toilet. Do you need me right now? In her role as train Conductor, her duties were clear. She was the Mission Specialist. She was also Co-Engineer in a crisis. She was engineer trained, but she had no desire – nor the funds – to be a train Engineer. Most train Engineers owned their own space trains. Risk versus reward. Lots of value to be earned mining asteroids, but most of that value was spent paying for the train and equipment – and crew. She just wanted to add value to her family – without the boredom of a desk Engineer job. She had held that kind of job since graduation while raising a husband and two children. She was a working mother with two sons, both on the cusp of adulthood – or so they thought. She loved them and her husband deeply. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. She enjoyed the adventure of space mining.

Sure, Adin replied. It’s going to take a few minutes to get this thing moving … but don’t dawdle. We’ll need to do a full system check before we reach travel velocity.

Adin didn’t tax his space engine to achieve calculated return velocity. It was a practiced maneuver; one he had completed numerous times. To be exact, he had completed twelve successful asteroid mining trips since he bought his own space train at age sixteen, barely two years after he decided he could never be a desk Engineer. After graduation from the Academy of Engineers at age eleven, he became a Conductor on his father’s space train. He learned to be a train Engineer under his father’s tutelage and saved value until he had enough to buy his own train.

Adin liked the adventure of asteroid mining. Every trip presented something different. Shendo Spook Khoper joined him two years earlier, only a week after Adin hired Bella. The quiet, oddly turned young man came to him looking for a job at age fourteen. And Spook looked more than he spoke. Almost three years out of Technical Academy, the terminally introverted man begged for a job with his eyes. Adin could see the pain behind Spook’s blue eyes – and the intuitive nature that made him different. As the train slowly accelerated, he absently reflected on Spook’s job interview.

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How come you’re not working in Tech manufacturing? Lots of demand there. Mining’s tough duty. Adin was suspicious by nature. He was doubly suspicious of someone yet unsettled at age fourteen. Shendo Khoper’s submissive stance and hesitant speech pattern was cause for suspicions as far as Adin was concerned. He preferred a crew member who functioned on the edge of insubordination. He didn’t want yes men … unless the answer truly was yes. Two respectably decent hands, a Conductor, and a Space Miner, both with years of experience, had quit immediately after delivery of the last trainload of ore – retired to live out their days inside the tunnels. Adin wasn’t sure retirement would ever suit him, especially if it meant being docile and dormant inside the subterranean city.

I … I … didn’t like it very much, Spook said hesitantly with averted eyes.

Adin scowled. Spook was stingy with his eyes. He didn’t like a man who couldn’t look him in the eye at least once in a while. The eyes are the window to the soul. If the soul doesn’t believe what the mouth is saying, the words can’t be trusted. Besides, for a man to not look someone in the eyes was a sign of no backbone – the same for a woman. Of course, most women would look you straight in the eye. They weren’t afraid to go head-to-head. Adin was generally uncomfortable around women. His mother was a strong-willed woman – and she imposed her will on everyone around her. He momentarily thought of the woman he had recently hired to be his Conductor. What’s not to like about a job in a controlled environment? Good value. Low risk.

Spook’s head lowered and he twiddled his fingers. I … they made fun of me because I don’t say much.

Adin studied the nervous applicant. He was in desperate need of a Space Miner. Someone who could tend to four minebots. That included electronic and mechanical repairs. He could do most of that himself, but he couldn’t do it all. Not too many people were willing to risk their lives for a job, and asteroid mining was a risky business. Value only had value if you were alive to spend it. His Conductor presented herself as strong on prospecting knowledge, capable of finding the right spots to harvest whatever cargo the Planetary Government told him to mine, but she wasn’t experienced at repairs. She admitted to that. His Space Miner would have to be able to do that. Shendo’s training as a Technologist should fit the need. Are you any good? He was blunt. The kid better think he was good. Nobody would think it for him.

Spook looked up with a jerk. His eyes widened and his jaw set. YES! he replied defensively.

Adin hid a smile. If you were good, why did they make fun of you?

I don’t know. Spook’s eyes lowered to look at his feet.

Adin watched the young man shift his weight from one leg to the other several times. Tears filled the blue eyes. The young Technologist knew. He asked less harshly, Why do you reckon they poked fun?

Spook bit his lower lip and blinked away the tears. He slowly raised his eyes. Because I don’t talk much. I didn’t have to. I could anticipate their actions, what they needed, without words. I hear better when they talk less. They said I was spooky. That’s why they called me Spook.

Adin twisted his mouth in thought and scratched his jaw. The young man’s comment made sense. Sometimes too many words get in the way of understanding. You introduced yourself as Spook. If that name bothers you, why did you tell me that was your nickname?

Because I suppose I am spooky, understanding people without hearing words. Spook’s attitude was resigned acceptance, and his eyes looked into Adin’s – with confidence.

Adin studied Spook for a few minutes, long enough for Spook to fidget in place with increasing anxiety. His challenge had awakened the drive in the young man. Maybe there was potential in the Technologist. Can you handle remote robots … like minebots?

Spook relaxed and answered, Yes. And fix’em. His eyes remained on Adin’s.

Have you traveled off planet?

No.

If I give you this job, you will be gone more than three-hundred days at a time. It will just be you, me, and the train Conductor. Just us three for three-hundred-thirty days, or more. How will you handle that? The boredom? The closeness with strangers?

Spook finally raised his shoulders. I’ll do my work and make you proud of me. I don’t get bored. And if there are only three of us, we will be close as friends, not crowded.

A space engine’s quarters are not very big. It will seem crowded before the trip is finished. Adin watched for a physical reaction. There was none.

As long as we have separate beds … Spook said with a hint of a grin.

Adin couldn’t help but grin in return. We do. Separate quarters in fact, though small. We have a community toilet and mist shower.

Spook’s brow wrinkled with mock concern, With a door, right?

Adin laughed, Yes. With a door … it even latches. What about boredom? The mining cycle, the flight out and back is nothing. No action or distraction at all – unless a catastrophe strikes. Of course, if something catastrophic happens, there probably won’t be time for any action on our part, no time to enjoy the break from the boredom.

I like to read and study … and being gone won’t be a problem. I tend to stay to myself anyway.

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Adin remembered the doubts he had at the time. He wasn’t looking for someone to party with, but he was looking for someone who would fit with his personality and with Bella’s, though he didn’t know Bella’s at the time. The fact that Spook didn’t hide his nickname, even embraced it to a certain extent, indicated the young man was not easily offended. Just sensitive. Adin knew his personality required someone with thick skin. He hoped Spook had thick skin, even though the Technologist left a safe job in manufacturing because his co-workers made fun of him. Adin wouldn’t make fun of him … or anyone else, but Adin would be tough on him. Space mining was a tough business with no room for error. He told Spook that he would take him on as a Space Miner in charge of the minebots. Fortunately, the concerns he had at the time never evolved into regrets. Spook not only anticipated the needs of him and Bella, but he also seemed to intuit the needs of the minebots. That was spooky.

Bella returned from the toilet. Anything wrong?

Adin smiled at his Conductor. Nope. Another boring acceleration. Check my numbers to make sure I have it pointed in the right direction. If so, we should be good. Only one-hundred forty-three days to go.

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Bella Sierra Bok applied for the job of space train Conductor almost on a whim. She was educated as an Engineer, starting at the Academy two years later than Adin Bartlett. She knew him by reputation as a not-too-eager-student whose interests seemed to lie elsewhere. He was an example that others pointed to as what not to be if she wanted to succeed in the field of engineering. She met her husband while attending the Academy of Engineers.

Copeland Bok was an Agronomist. He attended the Academy of Nutrition in the Planetary University complex. Both found good jobs after they graduated. Copeland managed a large vegetative growth room, largely focused on growing natural crops to complement the more readily available algae-based and yeast-based foods. Seasonings. The items his growth rooms provided were seasonings, vegetation whose leaves, seeds and stems added flavor to the otherwise bland algae and yeast products. His leadership skills and vegetation knowledge eventually evolved to the point that he was chartered to lead an effort to expand vegetation growth onto the surface of the planet. There was simply not enough tunnel space for anything other than basic hydroponics. Hydroponics could not support large scale crops. Human population growth required large scale crops.

Bella went to work for the Planetary Science Group, in a job that her future boss would call desk Engineers. But, unlike Copeland’s job, which evolved into one with greater challenges, Bella’s job as an Engineer was relatively stagnant. That was partially because her marriage required more of her attention during the early years. Copeland … and men in general … didn’t seem to worry as much about his home life as he did about his job.

Bella married Copeland before graduation. She was ten at the time, as was he. By eleven, not long before graduation, Bartolomeo was born. In honor of Copeland’s chosen profession, their first son was given an ancient name that meant farmer’s son. Bella and Bartolomeo came to use the nickname Bart. Copeland preferred the full name with all its syllables. Their second son, Gang, was born before Bella was thirteen years old. The name Gang was also ancient. It meant rigid. Bella chose it for no reason other than she liked the sound of it. When Gang reached puberty at age seven, Bella decided to do something more adventurous than performing mind work.

That decision, when she was not quite twenty, put her in front of Adin Bartlett, a respected space train Engineer. The train Engineer with dark hair and perpetual stubble that must have itched because he constantly scratched at it had a brooding personality. Always deep in thought and slow to smile. She didn’t know that until she stood before him inside his little train station nook. All the space train Engineers had a nook from which to conduct business when on planet. Computer access. Standing room only. By nature, train Engineers are filled with wanderlust. They don’t sit for long – except to fly their trains … usually only to launch and to plant.

Ever attentive to detail, Bella did a thorough background check on her potential employer before she applied for the advertised job of space train Conductor. She knew Adin chose the profession of train Engineer over traditional engineering work. She also knew his choice was precipitated by the fact that his paternal lineage was replete with train Engineers. Adin Bartlett’s reputation was good. His original crew - vastly experienced - retired. They had only good things to say about him. The fully vetted and experienced train Engineer was in need of a new crew. The idea of traveling through space, of mining asteroids, appealed to her sense of adventure. The idea did not appeal to Copeland. Mining trips required lengthy absences. As much as she hated to admit it, the thought of being away from the drudgery of married life, of childrearing and homemaking plus working full time was exactly what she was seeking. Three hundred plus days might be more than she bargained for, but she was willing to give it a try, willing to make a success of it.

What makes you think you want to go into space for three-hundred-fifty days at a time? It says here that you have family. Adin didn’t look up … or down, as it would be, since he towered over the petite applicant … from the computer screen, from his perusal of the application Bella had sent him.

Bella knew Adin used the longest expected duration to make his point about the absence from family. My boys are old enough to take care of themselves. The oldest is in the Academy of Nutrition. My husband is an Agronomist, a manager. He works long hours. She grinned, a face splitting grin that elicited grins from those who saw it – except Adin at that moment. He probably won’t even notice I’m gone.

Adin glanced away from his computer screen without moving his head. He scratched his jaw before he asked. What makes you think you’re suited to space travel? His two-piece bodysuit, made from the standard fiber filaments with triangular cross-section and measured twists, glimmered beneath the overhead lights as his breath expanded the chest of the shirt. He was leaner and more angular than most men Bella knew. Copeland looked soft in comparison.

Well, Bella replied with a sly grin as she made a sweeping motion down her body with both hands, I have a small mass. I won’t be much of a drain on energy reserves. And I don’t eat much. She felt his eyes follow her hands. In retrospect, her action was probably a bad presentation on her part. She wasn’t offering anything other than her engineering skills.

I suppose that’s true enough, but if you’re naturally bulimic, it could get messy in weightlessness. Adin grinned.

Bella laughed aloud, relieved that Adin’s reaction was fitting. Relieved that beneath the all-business presentation was a sense of humor. Okay, my real response. During my job as an Engineer …

Adin interrupted to inject, "Desk Engineer."

Bella paused to understand what Adin had said, then continued, barely flustered, "as a desk Engineer, I was off planet for short hops to fly-by asteroids. I was sent there to study their composition. I was generally assigned to gain an understanding of the potential water content of asteroids, so I had to be hands-on."

Adin nodded thoughtfully. Isn’t there enough water on Home? Home was the name of their home planet. Not very imaginative, but someone in ancient times decided the name was fitting and necessary.

There is - sure. But the water on Home doesn’t contain microbes. Like I said, my husband works in Agronomy. He’s trying to develop surface crops. Surface crop production requires microbes the planetary soil apparently doesn’t contain. We were trying to see if asteroid water could provide microbes to enhance plant growth.

Sounds like a job for a Geologist or a Hydrologist. Why a desk Engineer?

I can’t answer that question. All I know is that I was sent off planet twice in the last three years to gather data on flyby asteroids. It didn’t bother me one whit to do it.

Kind of dangerous. It’s risky planting on an asteroid – especially a fly-by. Adin commented questioningly to draw a response.

Bella was unaffected by the implication. Not if the calculations are done right … and I do them right … did them right.

Did you find microbes in the water?

The asteroids we investigated didn’t have enough water or water precursors to prove microbes exist on them.

Disappointing?

Not so much. We accomplished our missions. It was an adventure and the idea of space travel intrigued me.

You’re married. Despite your words about being absent for over half a year at a time … and a risky absence I have to add, will your husband accept the fact that you are alone with a man in a tiny space train Engine’s living quarters? I think I’d have issues with that if I were married.

We have a good marriage. I know how to keep my pants on. Bella stared straight into Adin’s eyes until he averted his to the computer.

Adin brooded over the application on his computer screen for a few minutes. You say you did the flight calculations?

I did the planting calculations. The Skipper on the flight had problems accounting for the asteroid’s motion. It tumbled rather rapidly. One revolution every two hours.

Adin nodded understanding. Must have come off a recent collision.

That’s what I was thinking. Probably threw it out of the Belt. We were probably lucky that it didn’t crash into Home. I suppose the inner planets need to be on the look-out. Bella grinned as she made her last statement.

Probably true. They say there have been a lot of asteroid collisions in Home’s past. Adin paused. I’m not the easiest man to work for. I’m demanding. Our lives depend on being right every time, not just some of the time. He looked at Bella and watched her eyes.

Bella didn’t blink. Her lips curled up at the edges and she responded, I’ve raised two boys and a spoiled husband. I don’t get to be wrong there either.

But that won’t kill you.

Maybe not fast. Bella stood with her feet at shoulder width and grinned impishly.

Adin scratched his jaw. Should I talk to your husband?

Bella’s grin faded and her brow furrowed indignantly, He doesn’t answer for me.

"No, but he might expect me to answer to him. Should I get it out in the open before you sign on?"

You can do that if it makes you feel better. It might change your mind, but it won’t change mine.

Scritch. Scritch. Scritch. Adin watched Bella, looking for a break in her resolve. Her bodysuit sparkled across her breasts as she rhythmically breathed. One of the things the planet provided in abundance was raw materials for polymeric fibers. The compositions of the fibers were limited only by human ability to coax the molecules into continuous strands, or into strands long enough to spin into yarn. The most popular fiber was one with a triangular cross-section. That fiber was then twisted into multi-strand yarn. The effect was to create tiny surface triangles on the fabric. Light reflected from the moving facets like tiny mirrors. Nearly all bodysuits were knitted from that fiber because it had a silklike feel and held body heat. Bodysuits were made to be form fitting for best effect, with pants and shirts sold separately to accommodate varied body shapes. Bella’s shape was small but womanly.

Bella withstood Adin’s studying stare. He looked her in the eyes and said, Okay. We’ll leave in twenty-eight days. I have a metal ore assignment. Metal has good value. If we are successful, you won’t regret it. I still have to hire a Space Miner to help wrangle the minebots. You wouldn’t know anything about robots, would you?

Some, but I’m not that person. I can learn though – gladly. Bella relaxed then asked, What is the value I can expect?

Standard contract. Thirty-three percent after costs. I get thirty-four.

An even split for everyone? Bella asked incredulously.

Pretty much. If we don’t succeed, there’s nothing to split. Maybe no one to split with.

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CHAPTER 2

Risk Vs. Reward

Adin had warned Spook that mining trips were long and boring. He knew that from experience. While the current trip, or cycle as each asteroid mining voyage was known among train Engineers, was his twenty-third lifetime cycle, it was his thirteenth cycle with his own space train. His train consisted of an engine and twenty cargo tubes. Some trains tugged more tubes, as many as thirty-five in some extreme cases. But his tubes were larger, newer generation models with an internal capacity of seven-thousand-eight hundred cubic meters each when fully packed. Older tubes were between three-thousand and five-thousand cubic meters. The issue during flight and mining was not weight. Mass was the only thing of importance for calculations during space travel, until planting on Home. Home’s gravity added complications, as did its growing atmosphere. Adin’s tubes were equipped with the latest design in retractable glide wings. The glide wings weren’t needed for planting on asteroids, not even the big one - Ceres. They were essential for planting on Home with fully loaded cargo tubes.

While catastrophic pressure loss from metal fatigue or meteorite collision and explosions caused by propellant or minebot batteries were always possibilities for in-space accidents, space train problems were usually caused by couplers. The more couplers, the more chances for problems while under way. Even that was rare, especially for experienced train Engineers. Once the trains were in motion, the Engineers diligently maintained a straight-line. To do otherwise invited torque on the couplers. The Engine powered its turns, but the tubes were forced to follow, creating unpowered twists. Inertia of motion doesn’t like directional changes. The first tube generally reacted without significant torque issue during its directional change – until the second tube reached its point of torque. Inertia wanted the second tube to continue along the original course. It would yank at the rear end of the first tube until the power of the engine’s motion convinced it otherwise. And so on. Every tube yanked at the preceding tube and the energy was relayed forward through all preceding tubes until it hit the engine. Even the best train Engineer could not prevent the entire train from moving sideways for several thousand kilometers before the new course was achieved. Sometimes, if the train Engineer initiated an emergency turn, the last few tubes would whiplash until they accepted the new course – or broke free. The couplers had to bear the torque created by the battling forces of inertia.

Bottomline, turning – even minor course adjustments – was risky. The longer the train, the riskier it was to deviate from a straight line. Landing a train on an asteroid was risky. It required a safe plant of the engine on the moving body on a relatively flat plain that was large enough to accommodate the entire train of cargo tubes behind it. Because the asteroids’ movements – speed and rotation – were difficult to match for the space trains, the tubes were sometimes yanked to their plant. That is, unless the Engineer didn’t do a solid plant, which would cause the entire train to miss the plant. The inertia of the asteroid could cause any one of the train’s coupler knuckles and docking clamps to break loose and leave the tubes floating in space. The inertia of the tubes could resist the velocity difference between the train and the asteroid which could cause the engine to be yanked from its plant. That created the risk of being torn apart by impact with outcroppings on rotating asteroids. Tumbling asteroids were an entirely different risk – seldom planted with a train of more than a single tube.

Because of the risks of losing tubes, the minebots were stowed inside a minebot bay at the rear of the engine. That arrangement also allowed for minebot repairs within a confined space, so tools and parts didn’t float off into space.

Added to the complications of space train travel was the calculations for planetary departure to ensure proper arrival with asteroids traveling in a completely different orbit, three-hundred-fifty million kilometers further away from the sun. Varied speeds among the asteroids in the belt meant each assigned mine site required individualized calculations. Every space train Engineer knew that the calculated departure times from the planet and for the return from the asteroid were critical to a successful cycle.

Planetary plants were orchestrated beginning from several million kilometers distance. Approach began by aligning the train with the chosen plant site, in most cases the Space Train Station. To avoid potential damage to the city tunnels because of exploding train wrecks, the Space Train Station was located several kilometers from the inhabited labyrinths. The train followed a glide path that would allow it to gently slide onto one of the Station’s planting strips. The planet’s thin atmosphere was a blessing for space trains. Resistance was minimal and heat buildup did not pose major problems. The need for shielding was minimal. Adin knew that would evolve over time as Home’s atmosphere thickened. He doubted he would ever have to contend with it.

Ancient scientists determined the thin atmosphere on the planet was the result of a gradual loss of its magnetic field. Over the ensuing eons, the lack of a strong magnetic field allowed the solar winds to erode the planet’s atmosphere. Almost four centuries earlier, to remedy the problem and allow an atmosphere to develop, a large magnetic dipole shield was positioned at L1 Lagrange Point. Stuck in its equal gravity point between the sun and the planet, the shield deflected solar winds enough to prevent them from stripping away more of the planet’s atmosphere. The scientists who installed the shield predicted that within a millennium, maybe less, the planet’s atmosphere would be adequate to support human habitation. A thicker atmosphere would retain heat and allow liquid water to exist on the surface. The heat would allow a variety of crops to be grown in the open, especially around the equator. Efforts were underway to speed the process. They added gases from rocky ores harvested from asteroids. They released gases mined from deep within the planet’s mantle. Growing vegetation on the surface was already being attempted with limited success. Vegetation growth, in particular the process of photosynthesis, released oxygen into the atmosphere. The time required to achieve a breathable mix for humans was still beyond Adin’s concern, but it was a good project for the future of humankind.

Bella, didn’t you tell me once that Copeland was working a project to grow crops on the surface? One-hundred days into the return part of the cycle meant past conversations were rehashed repeatedly.

Yes. I told you that … more than once, Bella grinned. A conversation was a conversation.

I thought so. What has he accomplished so far?

Mostly mosses and lichens. Those seem to be the only vegetation able to survive the temperature extremes. Until the atmosphere thickens enough to hold heat, they can’t do much more.

Seems like the atmosphere is pretty thick now, Adin responded querulously. I see more heat damage than I remember from when I first started mining with my dad.

Copeland says the Home Atmosphere Project is progressing much quicker than the original predictions. He thinks the atmosphere is capable of supporting food crops. If the Agronomists can make that happen, the plants will expel oxygen. We could possibly have a breathable atmosphere within a couple of centuries.

Hmmm, Adin pondered. That would be odd, no roof over your head. Mining asteroids required occasional EVAs for some tasks, such as tending to contrary couplers, minebot repairs, minebot stowage. The pressure suits’ helmets provided a sense of security as well as needed breathing air. He shivered as he thought about the sense of loss that would come with nothing but sky over head. His neck involuntarily withdrew into his shoulders. Real spooky.

I don’t know if anyone has thought about that, Bella replied. She glanced toward Spook whose normally expressionless face was filled with a grin. What do you think about no overhead, Spook? She knew he was entertaining the thought.

Spook’s expression changed. His brow wrinkled in deeper thought. His answer was a single word, but his body language indicated uncertainty. Different.

It doesn’t frighten you, not having a roof over your head? Bella asked.

The grin returned to Spook’s face. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

Well, I’d just as soon not, Adin emphatically replied. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll be dead and gone before that day comes. Fine by me. He abruptly changed subjects, So, Bella, are you planning anything with Copeland and the boys when we get back on planet?

Bella smiled coyly, I’ve got plans for Copeland – and they don’t involve the boys.

Spook’s eyes begged out of the conversation. They averted embarrassedly.

Adin laughed at both of his crew members reactions to his question. As long as your plans for Copeland don’t result in another boy, enjoy.

What are you going to do? Finally find yourself a woman?

I don’t need a woman for myself. I just need one for a while. Adin grinned, then added, I reckon I will be spending most of my time on repairs and wrangling a lucrative spot for our next cycle. He knew securing a lucrative mining assignment would not be difficult. Bella and Spook bolstered his already stellar reputation as a successful space train Engineer. Their skills complemented his. He always succeeded by returning with fully packed tubes. Joint Commander Kev Masters didn’t play favorites, but he favored those who demonstrated success.

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Bravo Xray 779. Cleared for approach, runway Eight-Zero. Over

Copy, Control, Adin replied. "Bountiful Express coming your way. Over." The final leg of his cycle was nearing its end. It was the most dangerous portion of the cycle in terms of potential for disaster, but the end none the less. Bella and Spook were suited and strapped into their chairs, watching telemetry, ready to react. Adin could see all the critical readings from the Engineer’s chair with relative ease, but if something went wrong, he would need all six eyes on systems. Bella’s array offered the same as did the Engineer’s, but control access was limited to what the Engineer allowed. Two heads were better than one, but not two sets of hands. Spook’s array was primarily focused on the tubes and their couplers. Depending on the location along the train, a coupler failure would affect the approach trajectory. Spook could release any or all tubes if necessary – with or without Adin’s command.

Disconnect at Yard Five-Zero. Over, came the call over the radio. Traffic Control wasted no time directing Adin’s train to the scheduled location.

The cylindrical cargo tubes did not have wheels, but they were designed with a top side and a bottom side. They were built with sled runners on the bottom side. The runners protected the tube skins and provided friction braking during planting. They also provided less resistance than the entire bottom of the tube during launch. They were a frequent replacement item at the end of each cycle. The back end of each tube was a large hatch for loading and unloading, both of which required uncoupling. The engine did have planting gear with huge metal studded wheels. An ancillary hydrogen powered engine used a camshaft arrangement to apply power to the wheels when on the surface. That arrangement offered more precise motion control than a thruster. After successfully planting, the train crept across the hard surface of the train station toward Yard Five-Zero. The drive would require a minimum of three hours to complete. The engine’s surface speed was not more