He stared around him. He was not in his own familiar cabin. When he realized where he was, he knew that part of the nightmare was no dream. Alice had died, in an agony of ruptured lungs and exploding air that turned to a fog of ice crystals. Every other apprentice had come within seconds of that same fate.
He rolled off the bunk and lurched to his feet. His stomach hurt, and he felt drunk or drugged. How long had he been asleep? Where was everyone else?
There was no sign of Jigger Tait, although it was his room. Rick went outside and staggered along the darkened corridor to the dining area. Everywhere seemed oddly quiet, with the hushed silence of a hospital or a church. All Rick could think of was a drink. His throat was parched and his tongue felt like a withered lump of flesh in his mouth.
He walked into the bright room, squinting his eyes against the sudden light. Only after he had bent over the spigot and allowed cold water to run into his mouth and over his whole face did he take any notice of the people at the tables.
There were three of them. Deedee Mao, Vido Valdez, and Polly Quint were sitting with drinks in front of them, but they were not talking to each other. All of their faces had a pale, waxen look.
Rick moved unsteadily over to them and slumped onto a hard chair. “What time is it? I mean, is it night or morning?”
“Half and half,” said Polly. “It’s the middle of the night. We’ve tried but we haven’t been able to sleep. Even after Barney’s explanation, we can’t decide what really happened.”
“I wasn’t there with Barney.” Rick paused. Was he ready to talk about this? “But I was there when Alice died.”
“Moira,” said Deedee. “That’s what Jigger Tait called her. But I’m like you, I can’t think of her any other way than Alice.”
“And twenty-six years old.” Vido shook his head. “First time I saw her, I guessed she was thirteen. She could have passed for it, easy.”
“How did she die?” Polly asked. “Barney didn’t actually say.”
“Jigger killed her.” Rick felt obliged to add, “In self-defense. And I almost screwed that up, and killed all of you.”
While the others stared, everything came blurting out. Rick made no attempt to excuse his own naivety and incompetence. The others did not offer a word of criticism, though he knew it was well-deserved. They didn’t seem in the least surprised that Rick had been seduced by Alice, and it turned out that Gina Styan had already told them that she and Jigger worked for Vanguard Mining’s security office.
The surprise was on Rick’s side, when after describing Alice’s terrible death he said gloomily, “The rest you know. Jigger didn’t come right out and blame me for getting in the way, but I’m sure he thought it. I guess you can cross my name off the short list for exploring the moons of Jupiter.”
The other three exchanged looks. “Jigger didn’t tell you?” Deedee said.
“Tell me what?”
“That the whole thing was a set-up. Security knew there were information leaks somewhere in Vanguard. The people from Avant Mining had been finding out about valuable asteroid discoveries made by our surveys, and flying out there to stake claims before we did. So Security planted stories, different ones in different places. Then they watched to see what Avant did. And Avant took the bait on this one.”
“You mean the Jupiter moon exploration—”
“Isn’t real,” said Polly. “Not a word. And I had my heart set on it.”
“Yeah,” Vido snorted. “You and everybody else. Move over, lady.”
“Outer System exploration will happen, maybe in another ten years,” said Deedee. “It won’t be those moons, though. So far as Vanguard’s remote surveys can tell, the lesser moons of Jupiter are just big useless lumps of rock. But Gina has been monitoring the shipping records, and a few days ago three of Avant’s main prospecting vessels went whomping out through the Belt at maximum acceleration—heading for Jupiter.”
“Pulsed fusion, two and a half gees on and off every few seconds,” Vido smiled with vicious glee. “Serves the bastards right. Let’s hope it takes ’em a long time to get there and longer to come back.”
“No Jupiter project.” Rick leaned forward and rested his head on the table. “What else have we been lied to about? I’ve had it. I say screw Avant Mining, and screw Vanguard Mining, and screw everything. We’d be better off in the Pool, back on Earth.”
“Amen,” said Vido.
The other two seemed to have nothing to add, and after a long pause Vido stood up. “Well,” he said, “I’ve been to bed twice, and I’ve got up twice because I couldn’t sleep. I’m going to take another shot at it. Third time lucky. Good night, all.”
“Wait for me.” Polly dragged herself to her feet. “Anything you can do, Vido Valdez, I can do better.”
Rick and Deedee were left alone at the table. He did not speak or lift his head, and after a while she sighed and stood up. “Maybe they have the right idea. I’m going to give it a try.”
She began to leave the table, then reached across and gently ruffled Rick’s hair. “You too, hero. That’s what Barney and Gina told us you are, even though you don’t think so. Jigger says you saved everybody. Better get used to fame.”
She was at the door before she turned and spoke again. “One other thing you may have missed. Barney says that a day to get over shock is the maximum allowance when you work for Vanguard. She told us the party is scheduled for tomorrow night, come meteor shower or solar flare. And it’s going to take place the same as before, in the smelter. Still want me to give you dance lessons?”
She waited. Rick did not speak or move. Finally Deedee shook her head and said, “Why don’t you sleep on it? But do it in your bunk and not here. Even a bonehead deserves a softer pillow than a table.”
And she was gone.
Morning was not pleasant. But it was tolerable, as the middle of the night had not been tolerable.
Work helped. For reasons either therapeutic or punitive, Barney French drove the apprentices as never before. She piled on cleaning chores and exercise fatigues and maintenance details with a vicious disregard for human limitations. Rick reeled through the day from one assignment to the next, without time to rest or think or even eat a proper meal, until a general siren sounded. He realized with astonishment that it was the signal to down tools and head for the smelter.
All for a stupid party.
Rick felt that he wanted nothing in the world less—until he reached the racks at the exit port and saw his suit. He stared at it with a distaste that bordered on horror. More than avoiding a party, more than anything, he did not want to put himself inside that suit and drift through open space to the SM. His mind flung at him a vivid image of Alice, face plate smashed, limbs contorted, dying in the airless void.
He was still standing and staring when Jigger Tait and Gina Styan arrived. They did not notice—or chose to ignore—his frozen immobility.
“This is a bit of luck,” said Jigger. “I’ve been wanting a quiet word with you all day, but Barney told me she had you fully scheduled and I was to stay out of your way. Let’s take five minutes when we get over to the smelter, all right?”
It was easier to go along than to admit the truth. Rick found himself climbing lethargically into his suit while he read the sign on the wall.
You may feel SICK, you may feel SAD, you may feel STUPID. . .
He felt all of those, as well as scared. But he followed protocol, and together with Jigger and Gina performed the thirty-six point check of the suits. That ritual somehow helped.
They went into the airlock together, and he floated across to the smelter with one of them like a guard on each side of him. In the pressurized second hatch of the SM’s airlock, Jigger halted.