Colony - Orbit the Sun – Part 9
John Stevenson
Colony
Orbit the Sun – Part 9
By John Stevenson
Copyright 2014 John Stevenson
“It seemed to Matt that he had run dry his emotions; there had been so many highs and lows that he wasn’t even sure if being depressed was the norm, but he wasn’t that as he sat beside Emma in the restaurant.
“Is it true?” she said eagerly
“That depends what you are referring to, but if you mean the supply capsule; then yes it appears so?”
“I can’t believe it, only a couple of days ago we were resigned to starving to death in outer space?”
Matt didn’t want to sound too confident. “We still could, but if we’re lucky, and things work out, and nothing else…”
She looked at him in a reprimanding way. “Has anyone mentioned that you’re turning into Mr. Grumpy?”
Matt shrugged and forced a smile. “There have been so many times when hope has turned to disappointment it’s safer to be a bit on the pessimistic side?”
“A bit, you used to be the life and soul of the party… no wait a minute that wasn’t you?”
Now he did smile genuinely. “I guess it’s becoming habit not seeming enthusiastic. I’ve let people down before by being enthusiastic; I don’t want to it to seem like I have my hopes up in case everybody thinks it’s a certainty?”
“It’s not your fault if things don’t work out; your not God or something; at least not like others that I won’t mention… anyway you haven’t answered my question?”
“The full story is that we’ve picked up a signal, and it’s most likely from it.”
“And that’s it Mr. Grumpy?”
“Isn’t that enough, a signal that tells us it’s still out there and still moving.”
“Do I have to drag every detail out of you?”
“The transmitter is directional; if it can’t locate us it won’t transmit so it shuts down. That’s what happened when we changed away from the sun…”
Emma was almost shocked. “From the sun, that was ages ago; are you telling me that you knew about it before then?”
Matt looked at her guiltily. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I seem to recall I did, but everybody thought it was just a ploy to quieten things down?”
“That can’t be right, everybody would have partied?”
“They did if you remember?”
“You know what I mean?”
“Anyway once the scanners located us, and it could plot our position, and forecast a likely future position, it woke up the transmitter to say hello, and then we confused it by changing course and…”
“It shut down; yes I get that bit so what’s happened now?”
“When it can’t find us the transmitter shuts down but the scanners don’t. They kept looking and plotting trying to make sense of why we weren’t in the place it was programmed we would be. Obviously the computers worked that out because the transmitter has sent out a signal.”
Now it was Emma’s time to have doubts. “But we can’t be sure the signal is directed at us?”
“Actually we can; it’s directional. It’s a waste of power to broadcast to the entire solar system so the transmitter is directional. It’s definitely following us.”
Emma regained her smile. “When?”
“That I’m not sure of. The signal is weak and the only way we can determine distance is to find out by how much it is strengthening.”
“So good news all round; we have food: probably, and Mars is a goer?”
“We’ll not for…”
“Mr. Grumpy?”
“Mars is a definite possibility.”
She tipped her head a little and looked expectantly at him. Matt smiled and the thought occurred to him that she was cute. “Hopefully the fuel left in the refuges may just be enough: if we close at a shallow angle; and we don’t have to intersect Mars at any one place, so as long as we have enough fuel to intersect somewhere, can probably intersect.”
“What your trying to say is that we can run alongside until we’re close enough to jump off?”
“Pretty much that, but without the jumping.”
“Then say it so us non-techie’s can understand?”
“We run alongside on a converging path until we’re close enough to launch the shuttle.”
“There enough fuel in the shuttle?”
“Mr. Grumpy will have to answer that… we think so?”
“How long will we have to launch?”
“We’re trying not to pass; we hope to get into orbit around the planet?”
Emma let out a long low gasp; making people even several tables away look at in their direction.
“Orbit?” she said longingly. “Matt you have to make it happen?”
He was almost laughing. “There’s no guarantee, but intend to do our best.”
“And it’s all down to Jennifer?”
The laughing faded. “Yes; would you believe it, while we were all obsessed with getting back to Earth; probably the least expected amoung us thought about the big picture and came up with the goods?”
“Don’t underestimate her just because she s a woman?”
He hadn’t been, he was thinking about her opportunities, but he said nothing
Emma’s smile had changed; it wasn’t a happy smile but a sympathetic one now. “What are you going to do about her?”
“Do; there’s not a lot I can?”
“You can tell her how you feel?”
“I’ve tried, but she said it was over?”
“But it’s not for you?”
“I thought it was but I can’t get her off my mind?”
“Your sure its not some macho thing?”
“No, I don’t want her more because she dumped me if that’s what you mean?”
“How do you feel about that?”
“How do I feel? Steady on that’s a bit on the personal side.”
“I’m a doctor: well as good as you are going to get; your supposed to tell your doctor things that you don’t tell even your family.”
His wife and child now entered his mind, just to complicate things. When he didn’t respond she did.
“The station is under your control, I think as the most qualified medical practitioner aboard I need to understand your mental state; for all our good?”
“Metal yes but sexual no.”
“Does it worry you what she’s done?”
“Dumping me?”
“No, in the past?”
Matt looked at her unsure what to say. “She told you?”
“She’s confirmed it; more or less; but secrets are hard to keep in a community like we have.”
“Everybody knows?”
“I don’t know? But when the two-I-C, is dating a… another mans wife; that gets around.”
“”Everybody must think I’m an idiot?”
“No, jut half: all the others can’t believe it?” she smiled. “Matt we have almost no control over who rings our bells, and it’s often those who are the least expected?”
Matt sighed. “No... I suppose?” he said hesitantly,
“All men crave a virgin; but few of them end up spending happy lives living with one… you know what I mean?”
“She’s definitely not a virgin.”
“That’s a bit harsh?”
“Sorry yes; it is; so yes I suppose I’m am upset, but not enough to do anything stupid.” He expected her to smile sympathetically, but she didn’t.” “Okay she hurt me, are you happy: I admit it I was beginning to fall for her?”
“By having sex with Vincent, or just with anybody?”
Matt drew in a deep
breath. “Actually it made me feel small; everybody laughed at me?”
“No they didn’t,” she said sternly. “And get that out of your mind; He’s a piece of shit; they may have felt sorry, for you yes but nobody laughed.”
Matt didn’t know how to reply.
“I’ll tell you something about Vincent and men like him; they are the kind of men that mothers warn their daughters about: but he’s the kind of man that women can’t help but be attracted to. I know it’s worn thin with use, but it’s the old bad boy, good girl thing: a taste of the forbidden. Girls don’t want to marry men like Vincent they want to dangle their toes in the pool of evil, and once they have they want to spend their lives with people like you.”
Matt thought of his troubled marriage. “Not every…”
“We’re not Disney characters; things go wrong, but that’s the point with people like Vincent; things go wrong a lot faster and with more certainty. Look the man even intrigues me.”
Matt raised his eyebrows in suspicion.
“It’s true; before all this happened he came onto me, and I was tempted, but thankfully I’m not a teenager… I never thought I’d say that and be thankful? Anyway when you’ve been around for a … a bit longer, something inside of you makes you hesitate, and him being the man he is he didn’t want to work for it, so he just moved on.” She smiled in an embarrassed way. “If you feel humiliated how do you think I feel when I think back and remember once he lost interest I tried to chase him?”
Matt could hardly believe what she was saying. “We are talking about the same Vincent?”
“No, a completely different Vincent; but in the same body. He can be charming and attentive. He laughs at your jokes no matter how feeble, and knows exactly what to say to make you feel like you’re the only person in the world. Matt he knows women like better than we do ourselves, and when he’s had enough he lets us down and moves on.”
Matt said nothing but he nodded his head. “I used to be jealous of guys like that… I don’t mean the bad things, just being someone that women like.”
She reached over to touch the back of his hand. “Matt, you are that kind of man; trouble is you are too close to see who you are. You are exactly the man she desperately needs?”
He looked at her.
“She loves you?”
“And yet she slept with him.”
“Yes, but for you.”
Matt pulled his hand away. “That’s not how it generally happens?”
“Were not in a place where things that we’re used to happen?”
“How could I ever truest her again thinking she’s the female equivalent of Vincent?”
“I don’t know; that’s something you have to work out for yourself, all the physiotherapy in the world can’t change your prejudices without you excepting that they are?”
“Point taken.”
Emma looked up at the clock. “How long before you are back on deck?”
Matt looked to. “Split shift; I have a few hours off.”
“Good, come on then.”
“Where are we going?”
“The surgery, to do what tests I can.”
“Tests?”
“Matt we’ve not been discussing your sexual state for nothing, I want to know if you have the zombie bug and how you it’s going to impact us all?”
His eyes opened wide in shock. “You think I’ve got the zombie bug?”
“No, it’s been a while now, but we can’t be sure its worked its way through all of us? The last thing anybody needs now is you getting so depressed that you’ll do something that’s going to put us all in peril?”
