Becoming Chosen

How do you prevision a six-hundred-year trip? At first glance, our hollowed-out asteroid of a ship should have plenty of cubic space to hold anything. But a closer look at the requirements of the habitats and the crew spaces shows it would be a close thing. So, we’ll use the space on the surface for bulk storage. During the trip it will be cold, and dark, and out of the way. The perfect place for all the extra raw materials they will need.

-Nick Tolland, Stores Design Chief, Sealed Archives

Miri had assumed they would just make their way to the elevator to the Town, but Ronan was sure all the doors to it would be monitored, at least all of the ones accessible from inside the ship.

He knew there was a way to bring the elevator car to the surface, and was more than willing to bet it wouldn’t be monitored.

“No way are they going to be looking on the surface, if they even can. The maneuvering jets throw out a lot of radiation. If I know the Surface Chief, he’s going to have all the external sensors shut down for the duration. No sense in making extra work for the crews.”

“Um, won’t we be exposed to the radiation too?” Miri had asked.

“Sure, but we’ll be better protected than the sensors,” Ronan had said with a wolfish grin. As nervous as she was about being anywhere near the Skin-Melter, she liked the brash confidence Ronan was showing. She’d begun to think the death of his uncle had sapped the boy of all his motivation.

So, the two of them had crept through the ventilation system, taking access-ways down towards the outermost level of the ship.

They were close to the suiting bay Ronan usually used when a klaxon nearly scared the wits out of them both.

“Attention Crew, Attention Crew,” a voice bellowed through the halls. “Prepare for antimatter maneuvering. All crew to stations.”

A laugh made shaky from the adrenalin surge forced its way out of Miri’s mouth.

“Gods of Earth! I thought they had found us.”

“Me too,” Ronan agreed. He looked both ways down the deserted hall. Other than the lack of people it looked as it always had to Miri, smooth stone walls, creamy white light coming from the entire ceiling above them, doors to the wide space on the left and right. “C’mon, we’re almost there.”

In less than a minute they had made it to, and through the door to the suiting bay. Ronan led her quickly to where the suits were stored. As he started to open the cabinet marked with his name, a gravelly voice spoke.

“I knew you’d think of the surface as an escape route.”

Miri whirled around. She was face to face with an older man. He was short, wide and strongly built. If it were not for the paleness of his skin, he could have been any of the farmers in Habmo6.

Miri looked to Ronan for some clue how to handle this, but she saw him slump his shoulders and hang his head.

“It seemed like the best idea, sir,” Ronan muttered.

“And it was, I’ve always given you full marks for smarts, Candemir.”

As much as she wanted to do or say something, Miri was unable to think of anything that would help. Her stomach began to cramp at the thought of what faced both of them when Nesbit had them in his hands.

“Boy,” said the squat man, “They are saying you and this girl killed the Captain. I am going to ask you one time, and one time only. Did you?”

Ronan’s head snapped up, now there was some fire in his eyes. “No, Chief Anderson, I did not.”

Miri expected Ronan to follow up with the fact that it was Ferro and Nesbit, but to her surprise, he didn’t. She had seen this blank assertion of truth before. Unlike the Chosen, when a Tech flatly said something was true, it was believed. The three of them stood there, surrounded by the suits and gear, and stared at each other.

“Right, as I thought,” Chief Anderson said. “Do you know who killed him?”

“Uh, I do, Chief. But I don’t think it is a very good idea to get you mixed up in this,” Ronan said.

Anderson nodded, “And that tells me all I really need to know. If you are going, you better be fast about it.”

“You’re not going to take us to Nesbit?” Miri asked, not believing what she was hearing.

“No, I won’t be. I’ve been Chief of Surface Operations for nearly fifteen years, and I’ve trained many young Tech. I can tell when I’m being lied to. Ronan may be many things, but I’ve never known him to be a liar. His life might have been smoother if he were,” Anderson finished, mostly under his breath. “What is your plan?”

“Over the surface to the elevator access, then down to the Town, and on to the habmo’s,” Ronan answered.

Anderson nodded, “Smart, but not smart enough. The new Captain has shut down the elevator to the Town for the duration of the maneuver. Plus, they will know what you did, once they pull the airlock logs. Your ID numbers will be needed to open and close the locks.” Ronan slumped again, but Anderson held up a hand. “What you need, you couldn’t possibly know. But a Chief would, and as luck would have it, I’m a chief.

“There is a code that can open and close all surface locks, but does not record in the logs. I assume that it was put in the system by one of the Builder Chiefs so he could check on work without giving a heads up. It’s been passed down ever since. I never thought I’d have reason to use it, but it seems things are changing.”

“But how does that help us, if the elevator is shut down?” Miri asked.

“That’s the other thing you would need a lifetime of surface work to know,” Anderson said, looking at her. “At the far end of the Habitat Cavern, there is another elevator, it’s only used for maintenance, and it won’t be shut down. From it you can get to the bearing the habitat cradle is mounted on. It lets the rest of the ship spin separate from the habitats. Then you can cross to one of the emergency doors on a habitat. Once you are inside, you should be safe, for a while.”

“That is a long way. Is there a surface tram to it?” Ronan asked.

“Most of the way, but you’ll have to walk the last bit,” Anderson told him.

“How long?”

“Forty minutes or so,” Anderson said, and shared a significant look with Ronan. Miri wanted to know what it was all about, but there was a suddenly a low whooshing sound, seemingly coming from everywhere. It stopped for maybe a second, then came again.

“Ah, they’re starting. Right, you only have nineteen hours to get to safety, we’d better make a start. Candemir, you suit up, I’ll get the young miss sorted out.”

Ronan turned to his locker and started to take his clothes off.

“I think you’ll fit a standard suit liner,” Anderson said gesturing to a line of open lockers.

Miri stepped up and looked at the shelves. They were filled with what looked like full body quilted pajamas, in a slightly yellow white. Here and there were little raised plastic buttons, with odd ridges or clips just inside.

Anderson took one and shook it out. It even had covering for feet. With a quick gesture, he opened it from neck line to crotch.

“You’ll need to get out of all of your clothes to wear this,” the Chief said, handing her the garment and turning away.

Miri was happy he was giving her a little bit of privacy. Nudity wasn’t a big deal among the Chosen, they were far too practical for that. But getting naked in front of an older man she had just met was beyond even that casual attitude.

Turning, with only a quick glance spared for Ronan’s naked back, Miri stripped off her own clothes. He had been muttering under his breath, probably another of those rhymes that reminded him what to do.

She had picked up the suit liner, and was about to step into it, when Chief Anderson turned back. He was holding an odd funnel like device.

He obviously looked her in eyes, and only the eyes. “Before you get that on, you’ll need to position this,” Anderson said, holding out the little funnel.

“What is it?” Miri asked, resisting the urge to cover herself. There was nothing sexual in the old man’s gaze.

“It’s to channel your pee to the right place in the suit. You peel this backing,” Anderson said, showing her where a small tab stuck up. “That exposes the adhesive. Be sure to position it so it covers your entire vagina, and is secure.”

Now Miri blushed bright red. This was completely embarrassing. The only thing that kept her from refusing was the calm way Anderson kept eye contact. This wasn’t a joke or some elaborate way to get to see her body.

Miri remembered what he had said about training young Tech. That’s all this was to him, a necessary step to suiting up. And it was something he’d obviously been through hundreds of times. It did nothing to reduce the blush, but that calm, steady manner reduced her embarrassment.

As soon as she took the little device, Anderson turned and walked over to Ronan, leaving her to get on with it. Miri took a deep breath and without thinking about it too much pulled off the backing and set the funnel in place. The glue felt cold on her skin, but it seemed to fit just fine the first time.

The embarrassingly intimate job done she applied herself to wiggling into the suit-liner. It was stretchy and hugged every dip and curve of her body. When she was again fully clothed, she joined the two men.

It took most of an hour to get into the Void Suit, what with the connectors, and the pressure garment. Ronan and Miri stood still as Chief Anderson checked the suit systems. As thick and complicated as the suit was, it felt oddly light to Miri. That was until they backed her into an alcove and hooked up the big pack they called the EnCon, which stood for Environmental Control Unit.

Chief Anderson handed them each a big bowl-like helmet. “Now for the good news. After this you’ll both have new certifications. You, Miss Blaylock, will have your Surface qualification. And Ronan, you’ll have one for Surface Leader.”

Miri had a moment of fear as the helmet came down and locked into the raised collar of her suit. She knew the heavy pack on her back would provide all the air she needed, but there was still a small voice that told her she’d suffocate inside the helmet.

It passed as soon as cool dry air began blowing around her head.

Chief Anderson took a long cord out, and plugged into a socket at Ronan’s side, then plugged it into the same place on Miri. He flicked a switch.

“Can you both hear me?” he asked, his voice coming to Miri from speakers right beside her ears.

“Yes,” Miri said, at the same time she heard Ronan answering the same.

“Good. Now you two need to stay cabled together for communications. The radiation bursts from the jets will make hash of any transmission. So, no further than ten feet between you at all times, right?” He didn’t wait for them to answer, but looked directly at Miri.

“Now miss, you are junior on this walk, so you do what Ronan says. He knows what to do, and will get you to where you need to go.”

Miri nodded, as fear began to grow in her stomach. She had been trying very hard not to think of having the Breath Sucker all around her, with just her suit to keep her from it. She had thought the half-fearful way the Tech talked about vacuum was cute, but now that she was about to go into it, she understood all too well.

“Okay, Surface Leader, it’s your show now,” Anderson said, nodding in Ronan’s direction.

“Party to the airlock,” Ronan said formally.

The two of them walked to the big door of the airlock. Anderson did something and the door hinged back, then up out of the way.

“Sir,” Ronan said, turning back, “Thank you for your help. I hope this doesn’t get you into trouble.”

Anderson smiled, for the first time since Miri had met him. “Don’t you worry about me. If what I think is going on is true, then we will all be in for some trouble. You focus on the job at hand and get clear.”

Ronan nodded and led Miri into the long, plain white hall, with a similar door at the end.

“Sealing internal door,” Anderson said as the door came down.

Ronan turned to Miri. “So, what you need to know about working on the surface is this. ‘Breath calm, feet firm, tether tight, walkers will reach their destination all right,’ , got it?”

Miri nodded, but that wasn’t good enough for Ronan, “Say it,” he told her. She repeated the silly little phrase three times before he held up a hand. “That is what you need to concentrate on. Breath steadily, make sure when you put your foot down flat, so it’s stable and firm before lifting the next, and be sure your safety tether is connected at all times. Everywhere we go there will be a bar overhead to clip it to.”

He must have seen some fear in Miri’s eyes. “Hey, this is easy. Tech not nearly as smart as you do it all the time. You just worry about those three things and I’ll handle everything else. You can do this Miri. Don’t worry.”

Ronan made one more check of her gear, then walked over to the wall near the outer door and punched in the code Anderson had given him.

The lights overhead turned to red, and a graph on the panel started to get smaller as all the air was sucked out. The only change Miri noticed was the suit seeming to pull away from her skin slightly. Other than the lights there was nothing to tell them that they were surrounded by deadly vacuum. The door hinged up, exposing a ladder leading down. Ronan took a look back, then stepped in and led her to the Surface.