Free The Aftermath by Ben Bova

Ceres?”
    He heard the stress in her voice. “Unless I can figure out a way to shorten it.”
    â€œEight years?” she whimpered.
    Trying to fight down the anger rising inside him, Theo said, “Yes. Eight years, seven months and four days.”
    â€œYou don’t have to be so happy about it!”
    â€œI’m not happy, Angie.”
    â€œYou’re gloating! You don’t care how long it takes. You don’t care about me at all!”
    â€œI told you I’m trying to figure out a way to shorten it,” Theo protested. “What more can I do, for Christopher Columbus’s sake?”
    She plopped herself down on the bench beside him. “Eight years! I’ll be an old woman by the time we get back.”
    â€œIf we get back,” he said. He knew he shouldn’t have said it but there it was.
    â€œIf?”
    â€œThere’s a good chance we’ll die on this bucket. The recyclers might wear out, the fusion reactor could fail, our hydrogen fuel is going to run out—”
    Angie clapped her hands to her ears. “I don’t want to hear it! You’re just being spiteful!”
    â€œIt’s the truth, Angie.”
    â€œNo,” she said. “We’ll live. We’re not going to die here. If something breaks down we’ll fix it.”
    â€œIf we can.”
    â€œAnd you’ll find a way to get us back to Ceres quicker, too, won’t you? You’re just teasing me, trying to make me cry.”
    â€œAngie, I’m just telling you the facts.”
    â€œI can’t sit here for eight years, Theo! I’ll be twenty-six years old by then! Twenty-six! All the guys my age will already be married.”
    Suddenly Theo understood what was really bothering her.
    â€œAngie,” he asked, “that bozo you dated when we were docked at Chrysalis last year—”
    â€œHe’s not a bozo! His name is Leif Haldeman.”
    â€œHow serious are you about him?”
    She blinked several times before murmuring, “I love him, Theo.”
    â€œHave you been to bed with him?”
    Her cheeks flamed. “That’s none of your business!”
    â€œDoes Mom know? Or Dad?”
    â€œThere’s nothing for them to know. I love Leif and he loves me. We were going to tell Mom and Dad about it when we got back to Ceres.”
    â€œHe was living on Chrysalis? ”
    â€œHe was looking for a job with one of the rock rats. He’s a mining engineer.”
    Feeling totally miserable, Theo said softly, “Angie, if he was still on Chrysalis when we were approaching Ceres…”
    Angie’s eyes went wide as she realized what her brother was trying to tell her. “You think he was killed?”
    â€œI don’t think anybody aboard Chrysalis survived, Angie.”
    â€œNo,” she said, shaking her head. “He probably found a berth on one of the mining ships. He was probably out in the Belt somewhere when Chrysalis was attacked.”
    â€œI hope so,” said Theo.
    â€œHe had to be!”
    â€œI hope so,” he repeated.
    *   *   *
    Victor was roused from a troubled sleep by a beeping noise. Any sound at all aboard the cramped little pod was alarming. The muted hum of the air fans and the constant buzz of the electronics had long since faded into an unnoticed background. But a new sound—a ping, a beep, a creak—meant danger.
    Instantly awake, Victor swiftly scanned the control board. No red lights, all systems functioning nominally.
    The beeping sounded again, and Victor saw a yellow light flashing in a corner of the control panel.
    The comm laser, he realized. What’s wrong—His breath caught in his throat. That’s the message light! Wiping sleep from his eyes with the heel of one hand, he punched up the communications system on his main screen.
    TORCH SHIP ELSINORE. The yellow letters blazed on the otherwise dark screen. His mind raced. Elsinore