The Jovian Conflict

Chapter 12

The Jovian Conflict

Down to the Felt

Shelton was suffocating. The tension was unbearable in that tiny truck they stole. Between Riedel's freaking out every five minutes about how they'd killed someone and the teary eyed pleas of the two miners, things were intense. Not to mention they were constantly have to think about how the hell to get off of Callisto. He needed Antanas to come through for him now more than ever.

Ashley was explaining to Riedel the encounter they had with Simon. Their conversation included speculation about what was going on inside the blacked out sectors. What purpose would the two serve in JOC's plans? It took a lot of planning and luck to end up with the two of them, and Simon had made it sound as though he was after them in particular.

The two miners had no choice but to listen in. Finally, Ronson gathered enough to courage to speak up. "Um, excuse me but… I thought everyone involved with JOPA knew about JOC Patrol."

"Everyone knows about them, that doesn't explain everything else," Shelton said. The others agreed silently.

"Yeah, like what they need with the Doctors, or why they'd shoot us down," Romeo added.

Ronson was still puzzled. He said with an unsure tone, "Isn't it because of the Saturn Mission?"

Silence. It was like a wall that suddenly struck them, just another heavy dose of pressure to add to their suffocating bodies. No one was sure whether they should vocalize their confusion. Had they missed an important memo, been away during a meeting? This supposed Saturn Mission was news to them.

It was Riedel that finally said what they were all thinking. "What the hell is the Saturn Mission?"

This time, Ronson didn't say anything. Neither did his female companion. Apparently they had already said too much and perhaps to the wrong people. When the lack of conversation invaded that cramped space again, Shelton realized how annoyed he was. Fear wasn't driving him anymore. Survival was important but not at the forefront of his mind. Revenge was too simple a word for what he planned. It was clear that Romeo had a grand dream of avenging their comrades, but for Shelton, it felt much more personal.

These thoughts caused him to sigh. How much supplies did they have left? They had left quite a bit back with the IFV, but the size difference was the main reason. The crew chief vehicle was meant only to carry two people at a time with enough supplies for a weeklong trip. Trying to fit six people inside took up precious space. A thought crossed Shelton's mind, a glimpse of him kicking the two miners out and letting them die so they could have more oxygen left. It faded quickly, as his better senses told him that wasn't the right thing to do.

A thunderous sound hit Shelton's ears, followed by a few frightened screams that finally broke him from his depressing musings. At first the small vehicle only rocked slightly. A second hardy hit send them lurching forward to a sudden halt. The low gravity had them bounce rather high. The only person fully strapped in was Shelton. Out of instinct he went to stabilize the person closest to him – Romeo.

Someone flew over his arm and face planted onto the dashboard. Their boot collided with Shelton's face, leaving a deep gash along his cheek. Whatever happened next went unseen. With his teeth clamped tight together and his eyes shut, he braced for an impact he had felt once before. All of eternity seemed to pass before it felt as though his entire world stopped spinning.

At a standstill, Romeo barked, "Status!" Aside from a few groans, no one answered. No one was sure what exactly had just happened. The person flung over the seat was revealed to be Ronson. Out cold, he stayed awkwardly placed face first on the floor. The chirpy feminine voice of the computer blared out above all the grunts of pain, "System critical... System critical…" Everyone knew it was time to ensure they had their helmets on properly and tightly latched. Only the female miner was slow to react. Calm and collected Ashley shoved it on for her.

It was just in time. For the second time in less than ten hours, the survivors lost their hijacked escape vehicle when its emergency hatch was blown off by an intruder. All they saw to greet them was a gun. They didn't bother to process what kind of gun or what lied at the other end. Most froze at the sight, but Romeo fought. The ray gun was drawn and a shot was fired within a blink. The intruder fell forward, the death blow a hole that went through the heavy spacesuit and the flesh of his chest.

Shielded by the body, they were unable to see whomever or whatever might lie just beyond the small exit hatch. Unable to catch even a small glimpse, Romeo fired aimlessly toward the horizon. Shelton snatched the gun that the dead man had dropped. Upon inspection of the man's spacesuit, it became clear that he wasn't JOC Patrol. The flag on the shoulder pegged him as Jovian born; the emblem that was half burned off appeared to be that of the miners' union.

"Sarge," Shelton called to him. Romeo was more interested in shooting blindly toward the enemy. Shelton repeated, "Sarge." Still nothing. "Sarge. Dammit, Romeo, stop!"

Shelton grabbed Romeo's arm, which finally got his attention. "What?" he demanded. All Shelton had to do was motion to the miner's patches. Romeo growled at the realization but still reasoned, "Only an i***t would charge into a car pointing a gun!"

He popped the top part of his head just above the body and he eyed the scene. There was nothing out there. Flustered, he smashed his head forward making a soft "flumph!" sound as it connected with the bulky suit. The body was pushed out of the way and out of the car. One by one they filed out – Romeo, Shelton, Ashley, Riedel, and the female miner. Ronson, whom never got a helmet on, was left for dead.

Being the first one out, Romeo was the first to round the car. Immediately something peppered the ice at his feet. Surprised, he jumped, falling back as he tried to catch his balance. More gunfire flew past his head and he stayed ducked and huddled behind the crew car. It didn't take long for the others to realize what was happening and join him.

Once more he had his pistol ready to fire. This time, Ashley stopped him when she forced his hand to stay put. He screamed, "What are you doing?! They are trying to kill us!"

"I can see that, dumbass. But give me a chance to talk to them. As your captain, that's an order."

"You're a captain to a ship that was destroyed, not me!"

An expression of hurt crossed her features for only a beat. Anger replaced it soon as her lips didn't just curl into a frown but trembled, too. Then, her quick fingers clicked away at the side of her helmet. The screen embedded into her visor flashed as she scrolled through the options. International Emergency Channel – Limited Distance was selected.

Breaking into their airways, her best Captain's voice demanded, "State your business!" It was clear it worked; the gunfire that was once relentless ceased.

The response wasn't immediate. "State your business!" was the lame, delayed answer.

"I'm going to shoot them," Romeo declared. Both Shelton and Ashley kept him seated.

Ashley hoped they could hear her roll her eyes when she said, "You guys ambushed us, so I think you owe us an explanation!"

Static crept through the tranquil air when the stranger pressed on his communicator to talk but hesitated. A faint sigh started his sentence when he said, "An order to cease all movement just came down from JOPA HQ. We… when we saw a lone crew chief car we thought… can you come around? I don't feel comfortable talking like this."

"It's a trap," Romeo assumed. "I'll go and shoot him."

"What is with you and shooting people, you psychopath?!" Riedel screamed.

Romeo shrugged, "What? It's not like we can trust anyone. Or do I have to remind you of the Interceptor's fate?"

By this point, Ashley was already standing. To Romeo's comment, she could only say, "Sometimes I wish you were still on board."

As she walked around the car, braving the unknown, Romeo called out, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Figure it out, Engineer!"

Certain death awaited her, yet she boldly strolled out from their hiding spot and into the open. She approached the strangers. Revealed to her was a much larger mining group than they had originally encountered. Seven vehicles created a concave formation around them, all with their lights and eyes on them. No one walked out to greet her.

"Wait. Stop there. Don't move," she was ordered.

About five meters away, she did as she was instructed. For a solid thirty seconds they observed her, allowing their facial scanners to try and get a match. Two dozen red specks flashed against the horizon as each visor displayed its warnings.

Despite the newly found information, one man stepped out to properly greet her. The markings on his spacesuit made it clear he was the leader of this particular mining group. Although they didn't share a handshake or even their names, it was a calmer atmosphere once he stepped out to her.

"Miss Braun," was his greeting.

She corrected him, "Doctor Braun."

To this, he could only smile, even though it was difficult to see behind the tinted helmet. His index finger reached up and changed the settings on his radio. She followed his lead.

Always one to get straight to the point, she inquired, "What's going on?"

"Word came down from the very top to stop all operations. Problem is, if we don't work, we don't export, so we don't get paid. Economy is already in the shitter. It's not like we can afford a work stoppage," he explained.

She stated the obvious to show that she understood. "So you kept working."

He nodded, "You got it. Not sure what the consequences are but everyone knows JOC Patrol doesn't like people disobeying orders. I reckon we're in the same boat. Part of the same team."

A crack of gunfire caused Ashley to jump. It was her turn to be shocked and startled enough to fall on her butt. Even in the light gravity, it never felt good to have your tailbone connect with ice. The man that she had been speaking with fell forward. Gravely injured, he withered around in pain. Ashley moved to help him, but another shot ended any hope of that.

She found herself staring down the barrel of a gun. All of these people out to kill everyone – it was getting old. She was getting real tired of everyone's s**t. Unfortunately, all she could do to convey that was glare as hard as she could and hope the b***h holding the weapon saw it.

The miner apologized when she said, "I'm sorry, Doctor. But my family… well, you heard him. The economy is so bad right now. And your bounty is worth a lot of money so – "

That was the end of her. Romeo came barreling out of hiding, guns blazing, screaming, "You god damn murdering sons of c**k begging whores! I'll kill every one of you traitorous wannabe space thugs, you fart sucking waffles!" His actions could be chalked up to him being a psychopath as Riedel decided, or it could have been the frustrations and stresses of their trip finally reaching boiling point. Either way, he heard a gunshot and saw Ashley on the ground. No one – asbo-f*****g-lutely no one – f***s with his crew and gets away with it.

The ray gun appeared to have unlimited ammo up to that point. After relentlessly shooting the pistol at the ground of miners, the grip grew too hot. It started to burn through the glove that protected his hand. The heat was getting more real as it inched closer to flesh. Instinct had him it drop it. Now, both he and Ashley were defenseless in front of a lot of angry miners.

Luckily, Shelton still carried with him his own commandeered rifle. A few rounds fired into the group and the miners started to scatter. Rushing out to snatch Romeo, he fired a few more shots. Grudgingly Ashley scurried away on her own, somehow finding time to berate Shelton for not saving her first. The trio watched as the crazed group hightailed it back toward JOC, leaving behind several dead comrades.

Riedel finally poked his head around the car and eventually joined the others. Once again, they were stranded far away from any help. A warning flashed on Riedel's visor: Oxygen Levels at 40%.

"Guys. Guys. Hey, guys," he repeated, eventually snagging Shelton's shoulder. When they turned to him, his eyes were focused solely on the yellow text. Everything in his mind screamed at him to calm down, don't panic because that'll only make it worse. The mental thought of suffocating became extremely frightful. Unable to control himself, he felt his lungs seize in a sudden anxiety attack.

Ashley was the first realize what was happening. She cursed, "Shit." Then she smacked the back of his suit, hitting a first aid device there. Instantly a strong sedative used to knock out injured cosmonauts flooded his system. The white of eyes was visible as the orbs rolled back into his head and darkness surrounded him. For a moment they just stared at his collapsed body, no particular thought crossing their minds.

"Great, now we gotta lug this i***t around," Romeo complained.

"Worse than that, we have to start all over again. Would've been better off staying on JOC," Shelton said.

"That was what I suggested originally!" Romeo reminded them.

That was it. Ashley had enough. She exploded. "For f**k's sake, Escobar! Can you stop being a dickwad for thirty f*****g seconds in your life? Just thirty seconds! How the f**k did you ever become a crew commander?!"

Shelton could hear Romeo seething as he attempted not to follow her example. Unfortunately, patience wasn't one of Romeo's strong points. He snapped. "Alright, Captain! Please explain to me how you became the commander of a ship! You're not qualified to drive a car, much less hold a position like that!"

"Was that a sexist comment?!"

"You bet your worthless little ass it was! Women do not belong in space! They belong on Earth where they can sort mail and breed babies!"

"What?"

That came from Shelton, officially butting into their conversation. He didn't consider himself a champion of social justice or women's rights, yet that last comment seemed forced, even for hardnosed Romeo. It took him a second, but Shelton soon realized Romeo wasn't being serious. Ashley never bothered to see it that way. She charged Romeo, colliding into him with as much force as she could muster. Smacking directly into his midsection, she somehow managed to catch him off guard and they both found themselves on the icy ground.

A brief wrestling match transpired. Shelton watched on in mild interest, not really caring at that point to step in. Romeo ended it speedily. He brought her back to her feet, even though she kicked and struggled against him. His strong grip snatched her shoulders and she finally stopped moving when his helmet clanked against hers.

Silently they stared at each other as they calmed down. His intense gaze forced her to seize up. For the first time since they had crashed, Shelton heard Romeo use a peaceful tone when he said, "Listen. Captain. Do you remember the first time you ever saw someone die in space? The first accident you ever witnessed? I do. I remember being seventeen years old, just an apprentice. I got DCS and had to watch the EVA from the ship. It was for a shuttle. A shuttle. Travelers. Regular people. Not frontiersmen like me. People with families and homes. One wrong move and that was it. One, tiny, seemingly insignificant mistake and my mentor along with twenty-three innocent people died within the blink of an eye. You hadn't even stepped foot outside your neighborhood when that happened, much less experienced the vacuum of space. I know exactly what I'm doing every time I take a step. I know the risks that come with it. And I know that space is a cruel bitch."

For a moment they stayed there, sizing up each other's emotions. Something – was it tears? – rested in Romeo's eyes. A sign of emotions never before seen, a moment of weakness he had probably never shown anyone. The sight caught her by surprise, and her agape mouth was unable to produce any words in response.

Before he pulled away, she whispered back, "Yes. Um, yes I do remember. Samuel Wong. A three year veteran. We were just above Europa. A piece of debris hit him, damaged his suit. By the time you got him back to the Interceptor…"

She never finished. She didn't need to. Shelton and Romeo were both part of that mission and they remembered it with ease. Something else came back to Shelton with that memory. Normally loud mouthed, arrogant, and barking all the time, Romeo had been eerily quiet in giving commands during that disaster. Every time it came down to the wire, Romeo always delivered stern but steady and sound orders. Saving lives was his entire career, after all. He wasn't about to jeopardize his entire life's work by shouting at an inopportune time.

The same realization hit Ashley when Romeo finally tore himself away and went to pick up Riedel. If Romeo was still yelling, still being an insufferable ass, then there was hope in his eyes that they could get off this hunk of ice. Somehow, that thought gave her a bit of hope as well.

Romeo's voice brought her back to the present when he commanded, "Come on. Let's go."

Toward an endless, icy horizon they trekked. Their destination was Earth, but how they would ever get there was unknown.