Tomorrow's Child

By DG Barnes

It should have been easy money: deliver the cargo to the Proxima Colony via the Jump Gate, don't ask questions, collect the pay cheque. But a freak accident, one that shouldn't even be possible, sends the tramp freighter Calypso to an uncharted star system. After a forced landing on the system's only habitable world, Captain Jax Hunter and the crew of Calypso find themselves questioning everything they thought they knew about time and space.

Join Jax as she unravels the secrets of this alien world and explores a burgeoning romance, all while struggling to get her ship and crew home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: DG Barnes
• Release date: May 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781999452933

Book preview

Tomorrow’s ChilD

D.G. Barnes

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Copyright © 2022 by D.G. Barnes

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 978-1-9994529-2-6

ISBN-13: 978-1-9994529-3-3 (ebook)

Cover Design & Calypso Spec Sheet by: Deni Weeks

Aliphus Map by:   www.dewihargreaves.com

Editing Services Provided By:  M.C. Knight (www.editsbyknight.com)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A big thank you to my friends aboard the Resilience for their support.

&

A special thank you to Deni Weeks for the fabulous job she did creating the cover art and the spec sheet for Calypso. Also, to Belle for narrating my social media ads.

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Chapter 1

Jax was exhausted. Her back ached, her muscles ached, and even her butt was sore from too many continuous hours in her command chair. But Jax Hunter, captain of the tramp freighter Calypso, still managed to smile at the image of Jupiter Station on the view screen. Her smile wasn’t so much about seeing the station but what it meant, as it marked the end of their latest contract – and a handsome pay cheque in return. Five round trips to Proxima Centauri b over the course of four days had been taxing—to say the least—on both ship and crew. Jax and her pilot were now looking forward to a few days of R&R on the station. Jax thumbed the comms button on the arm of her command chair and spoke.

"Jupiter Station, freighter Calypso with you to dock at maintenance," she said.

"Calypso, proceed to nav point Charlie-three-six and hold. Contact yard master on one-five-seven point six. Good day." Came the controller's reply.

Charlie-three-six and hold. Going to one-five-seven point six. Good day. Thumbing off comms she glanced to the helm station. Pilot, Charlie-three-six if you please.

Nick Denton nodded as his hands moved over the ship’s controls. Charlie-three-six. Aye. Only five years out of flight school, Nick flew the ship with the skill and confidence of a more seasoned pilot. The brown-haired, blue-eyed Vancouver, British Columbia native was finishing his second year aboard Calypso, which also meant he was nearing the end of his contract. Jax reminded herself to get on that and offer him a new one before some other captain lured him away.

Station keeping at three-six, Captain, Nick reported a few minutes later.

Jax adjusted the comms frequency and spoke. "Dockyard, freighter Calypso at station keep Charlie-three-six."

"Howdy, Calypso. Maintain position, we’ll be with y’all in two shakes," The dock yard controller acknowledged with a very noticeable Texan drawl.

Holding position, Jax confirmed and shared a grin with Nick before turning her attention back to the main screen. Jupiter Station was massive, the length of several city blocks and hundreds of meters high. Orbiting far above the gas giant, the station served as a hub to receive, process, and ship the ore extracted by the various mining operations taking place in the asteroid belt and on the Jovian moons.

Jupiter also provided its share of much needed resources. A series of gaseous collectors sat in low orbit along the equator, dragging long siphons through the upper atmosphere and sucking in thousands of kilotons of planetary gasses into their primary storage tanks every minute. Here, the crude gas was processed, and the unwanted elements vented into space, while the remainder—such as Hydrogen, Deuterium, and Helium-3—were compressed, packaged, and moved to Jupiter Station. Then they were forwarded to the inner solar system or the Proxima Centauri system via the Jump Gate.

"Calypso, apologies for the delay. There was a minor technical issue with your assigned spot. It’s all good to go now. You’re cleared for approach. Proceed direct to Bay three-two-five. Caution the YT thirteen hundred departing Bay three-two-seven."

"Cleared direct Bay three-two-five. Have the other traffic. Calypso out. Jax pointed at the screen. Take us in, Nick."

Aye, Captain.

As Calypso moved closer, the bulk of the station quickly filled the view screen, blocking their view of Jupiter and the surrounding space. Nick nosed the ship downward to line up with the maintenance bays at the lower levels of the station.

Without warning, Calypso lurched to starboard and rolled slightly. Jax grabbed the arm of her chair for support as the ship righted.

Nick? What was that?

The starboard gyro and stabilizer fritzing again. I’ve got it under control. Nick replied.

Are we good to dock? I don’t want to be slamming into the side of the station.

All’s well, Captain. I’ve taken them offline for now. I’m glad it’s at the top of the repair list though. Marcus did a fantastic job patching it up before he left the ship, though the lack of proper components and spare parts at Proxima concerned him.

Understood. Take us in then.

Jax glanced over at the vacant seat next to the engineering console and she was touched by a sense of loss. Marcus Mendez was—well, had been—the ship's engineer for the last five years. Not only was he a brilliant engineer and a close friend, but on a few occasions, it happened, a great lover. During their last stop at the Proxima colony, Marcus had left Calypso to take a more lucrative position with the colony’s engineering team. Jax understood and fully supported his decision to leave, but it still hurt. They had spent one last evening together, sharing a meal and a bed before parting ways.

Marcus had lined up his replacement before telling Jax that he would be leaving the crew. He had picked someone he knew well and trusted. Jax was glad for that, screening crew applications and conducting interviews were not her favorite pastimes. Their new engineer was scheduled to meet them at the station the following day.

The sound of landing struts being deployed snapped Jax from her thoughts. On the view screen, the large hangar doors slowly slid open, the interior lights dazzlingly bright in contrast to the darkness outside. A docking platform extended from the side of the station and Nick gently set Calypso down upon it. Once the magnetic clamps were engaged the platform retracted, bringing Calypso through the station’s energy shield and into the hangar bay. As the exterior doors of the bay closed, Jax and Nick set about shutting down Calypso in preparation for the maintenance and repairs she so desperately needed.

With their duffel bags slung over their shoulders, Jax and Nick headed down the boarding ramp. I have us booked at Journey’s End, Nick. You go ahead; I need to check in with the foreman to go over the repair list, Jax said.

Okay. Do you want to meet up for a beer later, or do you have other plans for tonight?

Jax nodded. Once I’m done here, I’m going to go take a long hot shower and I think I may even splurge for one of those in-room massages. Jax rubbed at her neck envisioning skilled hands kneading the aching muscles. They had earned enough credits this week that she could pamper herself a bit. Hell, she might even go all out and get a massage that offered a happy ending. Jax tapped the Multicom strapped to her forearm and checked the time, Let’s meet in the hotel lobby at say … eighteen hundred.

Sure thing, Cap. See you then, Nick said, and headed out of the bay.

Jax adjusted the bag on her shoulder and walked purposefully across the huge maintenance bay to the service counter. A middle-aged man in a pair of grease-stained coveralls stood behind the counter, a rag in one beefy hand and a large wrench in the other. He gave it a wipe and hung it on the wall with other similar tools.

Jax caught the quick movement of the man’s eyes as he looked her up and down. Hey there, he said, you Hunter?

Yeah. You’re the foreman, I take it?

He gave her a toothy smile and held out a hand. Felix Langer, at your service.

Pleasure, she said, wincing a little at the firmness of his grip.

I went over the list of needed repairs you sent us earlier. We have everything in stock except for the gyro phase module for that starboard stabilizer.

Jax frowned. Naturally. The one item that’s a must.

Felix held up a hand. Not to worry. I put a rush order on one for you. It’ll be shipped from Mars, and we should have it by tomorrow evening.

Thank you, Jax said.

No sweat, Felix nodded toward Calypso, She should be good to go by mid-day the day after tomorrow, barring anything unforeseen. I’ll message you once we have the stabilizer out and can get a good look inside.

Sounds good. I’ll leave you to it then.

Enjoy your time at the station, I’ll be in touch soon, Felix said, picking up another tool to clean.

Jax made her way to the elevator and rode it up six decks to the promenade level. Exiting, she made her way along the concourse, past the various shops, bars, boutiques, and eateries. It was midafternoon station time, so the foot traffic was relatively light and consisted largely of tourists. The 20 thousand permanent residents of the station would either be at work in the offices, clinics, and schools on the decks above, in the factories, machine shops, and repair bays below, or spending their off hours at home in the residential modules connected to the station.

Jax soon reached the Journey’s End Hotel. The glass doors slid open at her approach, and she made her way to the front desk. After checking in and taking a quick elevator ride up to the hotel’s eighth floor, she found her room and entered. Dropping her duffel on the floor, she stripped down to her underwear, grabbed a beer from the minifridge then flopped onto the bed.

Room, she spoke loudly to the ceiling.

Hello, Jax Hunter, the soft female voice of the hotel’s AI responded. Is this form of address satisfactory?

Jax is fine. She took a large swallow of her beer.

Very well. How may I be of service, Jax?

Book an in-room massage for one hour from now.

Would you prefer a male or female attendant? the AI asked.

Jax paused for a second. Um … female I guess. It didn’t really matter but it had been a long time since she had been with a woman. This could be fun. And add the benefits package.

Package added. Your masseuse today will be Tyler. Will there be anything else, Jax?

Dim the lights and play something relaxing, and that’ll be all for now.

The lights dimmed and soft instrumental music began to play as Jax stood and strolled into the bathroom. She shed her underwear and turned on the shower. The Calypso had a suitable shower, but it was nothing compared to this one. Jax let the spray of hot water redden her skin and fill the room with steam.

An hour later, Jax was lounging on a comfy chair wearing a pair of boy shorts and the luxurious terrycloth robe provided by the hotel. The shower had been great, and she was really looking forward to the massage—as well as the bit of naughty fun that would follow. As she stood to grab another beer there was a knock at the door.

Answering it, Jax was greeted by an attractive woman. Straight brown hair touched the collar of her blue shirt under a leather vest that perfectly matched the blue of her eyes. The legs that brought the top of the woman’s head level with Jax’s nose were clad in tan khakis.

Are you Jax Hunter? I’m Tyler. I’m early I know, sorry. I was just excited to get started, Tyler blurted out; her eagerness was apparent.

Jax raised an eyebrow, somewhat confused by the statement. The AI had said the masseuse’s name would be Tyler, though. Yeah, I’m Jax. Come in and we can get started. Jax closed the door and led the woman further into the room, near the bed.

Where do you want me? Jax asked as she slipped out of the robe.

Tyler’s eyes widened in surprise seeing Jax’s exposed breasts. Oh, my! What are you doing? she gasped and turned her head. Jax could see the pink crawl up the woman’s neck and spread to her cheeks. What the hell? She thought, confused by the woman’s reaction. Realization struck then. Not only was Tyler dressed strangely for a hotel employee, but she didn’t have any of the items you would expect a traveling masseuse to have.

Jax quickly grabbed the robe and put it back on. Before she could ask any questions there was another knock at the door. Opening it, Jax found another brown-haired woman standing there. This one was wearing a more appropriate outfit with the hotel’s logo on her shirt pocket. Trailing behind her was a small cart with a portable massage table and a caddy holding bottles of oils and lotions.

Hi. I’m Tyler. You ordered a massage? The new arrival said.

Jax stared, at a loss for words for a moment. I did. But, if you’re Tyler, the masseuse... she turned and looked at the first woman questioningly. Who are you?

The first Tyler grinned. Apparently, she understood what was going on. I’m Tyler. Your new engineer.

***

Ten minutes later Jax was dressed and sitting with Tyler, the engineer, at the small table in her room. She had reluctantly sent the masseuse away with an apology and a promise to reschedule and begrudgingly accepted the cancellation fee that had been charged to her room.

I’ve dropped my gear off at the ship already, Tyler said after swallowing a mouthful of her beer. Hope that’s okay.

That’s fine, Jax said. Marcus speaks very highly of you. Says you’re a top-rate engineer, maybe even better than him.

Tyler smiled, a blush coloring her cheeks. He’s too kind, but I can hold my own.

Yeah? Jax sat back in her chair and took a drink from her bottle. Do you know your way around an Atlas Class freighter?

My father was a senior shipwright working at the yards at Gale Crater. When I was a kid, he would take me with him to his workshop and let me tinker around with old bits and pieces. Wasn’t long before I was fixing things that had been left for scrap. Dad recognized my talent and gave me some harder projects to tackle and when I accomplished those, he had me hired on as his apprentice.

That’s an impressive story but it doesn’t answer my question, Jax said.

Right. Well, my very first assignment was to strip down and rebuild an Atlas Class just like yours. Oh, and I was only fifteen, Tyler said, very proud of herself.

Jax narrowed her eyes. At fifteen? Really?

Well, Dad did help a bit, but I did most of the work.

Jax chuckled. We’re in good hands then. Welcome aboard. She checked the time and stood, taking their empty beer bottles to the recycle chute. I told Nick, our pilot, that I would meet him in the lobby at eighteen hundred. Seeing as we have some time to kill, let’s head down to the ship. You can touch base with the foreman about the repairs. I’ll send you a copy of the work order.

Okay, Tyler said. Her Multicom chirped and she glanced over the work order Jax had just sent.

Did you grow up on Mars? Jax asked as they made their way from the hotel and along the concourse.

Yeah. Born and raised in Sagan City.

Nice. I’ve visited a few times, Jax said. Not a very long tube ride out to Gale Crater if memory serves.

About twenty minutes. She confirmed as they stepped into the elevator. How about you?

From Earth, the city of Winnipeg in Canada, to be precise. Jax smiled thinking of her childhood home where her parents still lived. She needed to try to get back. It had been almost a year since she had seen her family.

I’ve never been to Canada. Would like to go, though. When I was young, and we went on family vacations, we usually went to Europe somewhere, Tyler said.

You’re missing out then. Maybe on our next run to Earth, if we have time, I’ll take you down to the city and show you around. There’s this place I know that makes the best surf ‘n’ turf you’ve ever tasted.

It’s a date, Tyler said, then blushed. I mean …

Jax laughed, glad that Tyler had said it first because that was exactly what she had thought as soon as Tyler had said it. Not that it was a terrible idea or anything. She had slept with Marcus after all. That’s okay. I knew what you meant.

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open letting them step out. They walked the remaining distance to the ship in companionable silence and Jax couldn’t help but steal glances at her new engineer.

A man in work coveralls stood near the foot of Calypso’s boarding ramp looking at a data pad as they approached.

Mind if we go aboard? Jax asked, being polite. They really didn’t need his permission.

Hold on there, the man said sternly, who are you?

Jax Hunter. This is my ship.

The man tapped his pad, scrolling through information. Very well. They’re buttoning up everything now, just a couple of small tasks to finish. The jump coils are still going to take a few more hours to align though, he said, stepping back to let a worker pass. You were damn close to having a complete system failure. Another jump or two and you would be looking at a total rebuild of the coil assembly. That would be a big job with a big bill. Once we’re done with the coils, you’ll be good to go.

He turned to leave but Jax stopped him. "What do you mean good to go? You couldn’t have possibly finished everything that quickly. Hell, one of the parts won’t be here until tomorrow!" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

I don’t know what to tell ya, lady. My orders are to finish realigning the coils and any of the little stuff that can be done before the coils are. If you have a problem with that, you’ll need to take it up with Felix. He huffed and then walked away, yelling at one of his workers about swapping out a deuterium filter.

Jax wheeled around and marched over to the counter where she had spoken to Felix earlier in the day. Tyler followed close behind. Felix was still behind the counter, this time talking with another man in a suit. What the hell, man? Why are you stopping the repairs to my ship? Jax barked.

Felix flinched, glancing at the suited man as he stepped out of arms reach from Jax. The suited man stepped forward; hands raised placatingly.

Please, Captain Hunter. Don’t blame Felix, this is my doing. The man came from behind the counter, offering Jax a hand.

And who the hell you are? Jax asked through gritted teeth.

My name is Arnold Sanchez, he replied, lowering his hand when Jax failed to take it. I represent Cyberstar Industries and we would be interested in hiring you and your ship.

Hire her ship? Cyberstar was a major company with millions of employees. Hell, they had their own fleet of ships. Why did they need hers? You have a hell of a way of making a first impression, Mr. Sanchez. Stopping the repairs on my ship has not won you any points.

Sanchez smiled. I do apologize, Captain Hunter, but it was necessary. I’ll explain everything … but not here, he said, indicating the large bay.

Damn right, you’ll explain! Jax snapped.

He nodded, then tapped on his Multicom. Seconds later both her and Tyler’s Multicom chirped. I just sent each of you, plus your pilot Mr. Denton, an access pass to the company’s lounge on the upper level. Shall we meet there in thirty minutes? That should give you time to meet up with Mr. Denton.

Jax studied him. He was an inch taller than her five feet, seven inches, and thin, with a dark complexion. His black hair, short and neat, matched his mustache and goatee. His expression was friendly and warm, which put her at ease a little. What is it you want?

Like I said, Captain Hunter, I will explain everything to you and your crew. I’m not trying to swindle you or anything like that. In fact, it will be worth your while to hear me out.

Jax sighed. Fine. We’ll meet you in thirty minutes.

Excellent. I look forward to talking with you again, Captain Hunter.

Please, she said,