Free Fatal Boarding by E. R. Mason Page B

into it. "Taurin to R.J. Smith.”
    The tiny screen read, ‘please wait.’ There
was an unusually long delay. Finally a very scraggling image of
R.J. came into view. He needed a shave. His hair was sticking up in
a cowlick that reminded me of ‘Our Gang’. His eyes were rebelling
against the command to open. I could tell he had gotten up and was
sitting at his computer terminal, leaning too close to the
monitor.
    "God R.J., you look bad even on a little
screen!"
    "No, no, don't give it a second thought,
Adrian. It's perfectly okay. I had to get up anyway."
    "I didn’t see you at the jump we didn't
make."
    "I was going to ask you not to remind me of
that. What time is it?"
    "It's 07:00. Meet me in the mess. I'll fix
you a coffee, and tell you more things you don't want to hear."
    "Okay, give me thirty. But I bet my news is
worse than yours."
    "I don't see how."
    "I'll meet you in the mess."
    "I'll try for a window seat."
    "Keep your humor while you can, Mr.
Tarn."
    The lack of patrons in the Mess hall left an
ominous air about the place. Earlier in the day, when the place
should have been deserted, it had been packed. Now at this time of
day, when the first shift people should have been celebrating their
normal time off, there were only a few groups, scattered around the
hall. The mood had changed. Instead of the casual cheeriness that
had been so apparent this morning, the tone of the conversations
was subdued. There were a few casual glances my way as I took a
table by the observation windows. No jovial greetings accompanied
them. I placed the coffee server by R.J.'s seat, and sipped the ice
water I had made for myself.
    R.J. came striding in a few minutes later,
his prided flower-child mug swinging along in his left hand. His
off-duty wear consisted of an aging gray sweatshirt with the
collars and sleeves cut off, washed out jeans, and dirty, high top
athletic shoes. He sat down across from me and reached for the
coffee. His usual flippant stare was missing. He looked tired, and
unamused.
    "Ah, the coffee. I'm not sure I will care
for the awareness it will bring."
    "R.J., what is with you? I've never seen you
like this."
    "You first, my unorthodox friend. I will
keep score to see which of us has the more chilling horror story.
Why have we not left this godforsaken place? Has Ms. Maureen
Brandon so corrupted the navigation computer network that we may be
stranded here, forever?"
    "It's not the nav facility this time. That
is apparently working just find. First, they couldn't get a good
initiation test on the AmpLights, then the maneuvering thrusters
would not accept new commands. A massive effort is underway, as we
speak. Two tiger teams, one on the main engine clusters, another on
the thruster control systems."
    "Well, I find that all very depressing,
indeed. But you will lose our little contest on points if that's
the best you can do."
    "Okay, you want points? The rest is just
between you and I. Contingency plan number one is to fabricate
bumper fixtures and attach them to two of the scout vehicles to
push us out of here if all else fails. How'm I doing now?"
    "Your point total has jumped considerably.
Is there more?" "Contingency plan number two. Equip an assault
team, and go back on board that ship out there to see if we can
secure it."
    "And who would lead such an EVA?"
    "Can't you guess? I'll give you a hint. As
far as I can tell, only you and I have heard about this."
    "Adrian, that is disgusting."
    "But is it disgusting enough to win?"
    R.J. wiped one hand down his face, and
looked around as though he had forgotten where he was. He took a
drink of coffee and shook his head. "My story is so invincible, I
hereby declare you the sole judge of our contest. Your decision
will be final. Do I sound overconfident?"
    "Just a bit."
    "After Ms. Maureen botched the nav systems,
the work on the alien gibberish sort of ground down a bit.
Eventually they got copies of the most recent charts we made and
loaded them into the