“Certainly, Daryl,” Manuel said, “Do you wish to notify Tripp about what we’ve found?”
“Not yet. I’ll update him myself when he’s oriented.”
“Understood. Releasing chamber two, now.”
Katz approached Tripp’s chamber and pressed his palm to the wall. “Okay, Tripp...”
The Perspex on the second chamber unbolted and lifted down. Tripp remained asleep for a few moments. His eyelids fluttered against the vibrations of his unit.
“Tripp?” Katz asked, softly. “Wakey-wakey.”
He opened his eyes very slowly, adjusting his retinas to the light shining down on him.
He reached up and wiped his mouth.
“Ugh,” Tripp inspected the thin layer of black film that had wiped off on his finger. “Are we here?”
“Yes,” Katz said, making his way to the computer console. “Be careful with your first few steps. I’ll fix you a drink.”
“Thanks.”
Tripp stepped out of the chamber and temporarily lost his balance. He looked down the length of his body, analyzing his underwear and paper footwear.
“My legs feel like concrete logs.”
“You’re acting like you’ve never been in space before.”
“I know, I know,” Tripp pushed himself away from the wall and ground his right heel into the ground. “I’ve been asleep for a year. Somehow, it doesn’t feel that long.”
Tripp looked at the remaining chambers that housed the rest of the crew. He clocked the opened sixth chamber. “Haloo is awake, as well?”
“Yes. You, me, her and Manuel,” Katz said, offering Tripp a cup of coffee and a small, white pill. “Get some caffeine in you, and take this.”
“Thanks,” Tripp tossed the pill in his mouth and knocked it back with a swig of coffee.
Katz eyed him, trying to see if his colleague managed to retain his faculties after a year of deep sleep.
“All good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tripp rolled his shoulders and tilted his neck. “So, what’s the news? When did you wake up?”
“This time yesterday,” Katz moved to the console and hit a button. A spectral image of Space Opera Alpha hovered over the desk, turning around on its axis. “Look at this.”
“Opera Alpha?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you showing me Alpha?”
Katz looked at Tripp and performed a last-minute check to see if anyone was eavesdropping. “Manuel discovered it en route to Enceladus about two months ago. It never disappeared.”
“What? Where is it now?”
“It’s orbiting the dark side of Enceladus, about two hundred thousand miles away.
“That’s ridiculous,” Tripp shook his head, thinking he was still dreaming. “That moon doesn’t have enough pull for orbit.”
“It’s not gravitational, Tripp,” Katz pointed at the thrusters on the back of the holoprint. “The vessel is active, still running. Traveling alongside it. Our star drones never picked it up. It’s been sheltered in darkness.”
“Have we tried making contact with Opera Alpha?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Nothing. It’s not responding,” Katz enlarged the image and kept his voice quiet. “It’s been missing for four years, all communication lost. Until now.”
“Do the others know?”
“Of course they don’t, they’re all asleep.”
“No, I don’t mean them,” Tripp waved his hand at the hyper sleep chambers. “I mean back home. Does USARIC know?”
“Not yet. I’ve waited to inform you before proceeding. I’ve talked it over with Manuel.”
“What did he suggest?”
“That we wake everyone up and inform them, then report to USARIC with a unanimous decision to divert our course.”
Tripp found the revelation compelling. “What are we going to tell them?”
“The truth, of course.”
Tripp walked along the concourse, tugging on his inner-skin suit, ironing out the creases. He reached the single door and pressed his palm against the panel on the wall.
“Level Three. Botanix,” a female voice announced. “Please ensure all incendiaries are secure.”
“The door beeped and slid open, allowing Tripp into the area.
Six rows of plants covered in silver foil lined the room. Tripp glanced at the newly-installed fresh water filter in the middle of the room.
“Haloo? Are you here?”
“Tripp?” Haloo poked her head out from around the fountain and lifted the watering hose. “You’re awake?”
“Yes, came out about an hour ago.”
Tripp walked along the plant life and took the opportunity to get a lungful of the freshest air aboard the vessel. “Remind me to spend more time in here when I’m resting.”
Haloo returned to watering a row of flowers by her feet. “Have you come to chill out, or do you need something?”
“Just saying hello before everyone else wakes up.”
Haloo didn’t seem impressed. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re here to ask a favor?”
Tripp watched Haloo hose down the soil, wondering how on Earth – or space – she knew his real intentions.
“What makes you say that?”
“Your posture,” she said. “The way you entered the room.”
“That’s creepy.”
“Also, you gave me an answer to a question I never asked.”
“You asked if I was awake?”
Haloo spun the dial on the hose, shutting off the water. She arched her back and smiled at him. “I didn’t ask. I made an observation.”
Tripp chuckled. “Are you always like this?”
“You want me to soak you?” Haloo lifted the nozzle in Tripp’s direction.
“No.”
“Explain this for me,” Haloo said, retrieving a black capsule from her inner thigh pocket. “Is this what I think it is?”
“Yes. Standard issue for all galactic exploration.”
“I don’t like it. We’re not in the KGB. We can’t be expected to commit suicide if it all goes wrong.
“You may find you’d reassess that decision if you found yourself in serious trouble. It’s just an insurance policy. Everyone has one.”
A spurious silence fell between the two. She slipped the black capsule back into her pocket with displeasure. “Anything else?”
“Opera Alpha has been found.”
“Katz has told you, then?” Haloo and Tripp stared at each other for two seconds longer than comfort allowed. She finally looked away and rolled up the hose. “Of course I knew. What do you think Katz and I have been doing while you guys have been asleep?”
“Do we know if Botanix on Alpha is operational?”
“We don’t know anything, yet.”
“Because if it is, there’s a good chance Zillah and her crew might still be alive.”
Haloo stopped and turned around, upset. “Don’t you think we already thought of that?”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Haloo made her way to the door. “We need to investigate Alpha. Make sure that they’re actually dead…”
The hub served as the crew meeting point in the nucleus of Space Opera Beta – the fixed point of gravity within the ship.
The screen on the wall provided a beautiful view of space and Saturn revolving some hundreds of thousands of miles in the distance.
It had taken the best part of the day to ensure everyone disembarked their hyper-sleep chambers successfully.
Captain Katz stood by the window and caught everyone’s attention. “Beta team, I think we’re ready. We’re just waiting for Wool.”
Haloo and Tripp sat next to each other at the conference table.