The Jovian Conflict

Chapter 3

The Jovian Conflict

JOC Patrol

The foursome was snatched by silent guards of the JOC Patrol and immediately brought to the Jovian Outpost Callisto's HQ. A large, sprawling colony that had two levels, a surface base and one miles beneath the icy surface, JOC was once touted as being the best mining colony in the Jovian sector. In recent years, the base had gone "dark." In other words, more and more parts were becoming classified by the Jovian Outpost Port Authority. It still housed the most traveled surface museum in the entire sector, and space tourism to Callisto remained an important part of its economy. Being just out of reach of Jupiter's radiation belts, the satellite was seen as a safer alternative for school children and curious scholars, compared to the other colonies in the area.

The JOC patrol ship took them through the more popular tourist section of the base. Riedel was swooped up by medical personal and dragged away toward the base's large hospital sector. The other three went through a very brief acclimation routine and were soon breathing in the seemingly limitless artificial air of the base. They were escorted through a private hallway adjacent to the museum's crowded entrance and were brought to a busy section that demanded their Zimmerman-Li credentials and JOPA passports be presented to pass through.

Soon they were presented to a JOC Patrol commander that didn't appear too thrilled to see them. He gave them all an onceover. Ashley was glaring bullets at him; Romeo could only raise a brow; and Shelton had his eyes everywhere but at the commander. Even after the commander introduced himself, Shelton didn't pay him any mind. He was too distracted by the diligent officers, dressed in their drab dark gray, as they rushed about in mad dashes. JOPA was not a military organization, and neither were their Earthly employers, Zimmerman-Li. Yet the JOC Patrol all carried pistols, even the low ranking secretaries.

Shelton turned to face the commander only after Ashley said his name. "… and this is Shelton Lund. We got marooned here on our way to rescue the astrobiology ship Quantum. Did you receive Her distress signal?"

The commander, Simon, scowled. "Of course. We relayed it at once to JOPA HQ. Did you successfully rescue Her?"

Despite not trusting the JOC Patrol, Ashley answered honestly. "No. We were unable to find Her. We were… sunk."

"Would you stop saying that?" Romeo interrupted. "We're in space, not the ocean. Ships don't 'sink.' They explode."

Simon looked between the two, not amused in the slightest. It was time to get back to business. His voice was demanding of their utmost attention and respect when he broke into their argument and said, "Then we will have to continue the search for Her. We will do everything for you in the meantime. Ellington? Please escort Doctor Braun and her crew to the lodging sector of the ASB. Provide them anything they need."

The woman he called to said nothing in response. As she passed by, he whispered something into her ear. Neither Shelton nor Ashley heard, but Romeo couldn't help but make out a few of the words. The way his face twisted in confusion didn't go unnoticed by Simon. The commander made sure to send a hard stare at Romeo, which the engineer caught and read. It only made his confused expression grow stronger. He was broken from his odd staring contest when Ellington politely asked, "Follow me, please."

This time they ignored the private hallway they had taken and were brought straight into the museum. Carefully dodging all the gawking patrons, Ellington took them on a winding path to the moving walkway. Finally able to relax, Ellington informed them, "If you need anything at all, I'll be here to assist you."

"With the gun?" Shelton jokingly asked, his brow raised and hand shaped as a pistol as he pointed to the weapon at her hip. She was unfazed. "You're pretty cute, and fortunately for you, I'm not afraid of a girl with guns."

Straight faced, Ellington said, "The JOC Patrol has an oath of celibacy, sir."

"That explains a lot," Romeo muttered.

The group fell back into silence. Their eyes tried to take in the sights as the moving walkway sent them passed the main museum entrance and out to the above surface base's main lobby. Despite the sped, Ellington stepped off the walkway gracefully. The others nearly tripped as they disembarked. If she was amused, Ellington didn't show it. She waited patiently as they lined up in front of her, awaiting the next move.

"Do you have preferences as to your sleeping arrangements?" she inquired.

"I prefer girls, Braun prefers boys, and Shelton is questionable," Romeo joked. Ellington, again, didn't seem to approve of the humor. Annoyed, Romeo folded his arms over his chest and said, "Just point to the 'lodging sector' or whatever it was that brickhat called it. We can figure it out."

"I'm afraid I must escort you there myself. Please answer the question," she softly ordered.

"Because that Simon squirrel said to keep an eye on us, didn't he?" Romeo challenged. Finally, a sign of emotion developed on her face. A sudden retreat and frown proved that Romeo hadn't misheard. They were keeping a secret at that base that Simon was afraid the crew would find out about.

Ashley placed her mouth within centimeters of Romeo's ear and harshly whispered, "Just let her escort us there. We'll lose her later."

"She has a gun. And you whisper really loud," Shelton hissed into Braun's ear.

She growled. "Just follow my orders!" Shelton and Romeo passed a look between each other and shrugged. Ashley raised her voice and said to Ellington, "I'd prefer to room by myself but with a room adjacent to theirs. Nothing fancy. Whatever you have is probably better than the dorms on our tiny ship."

Despite the behavior of Ashely and her crew, Ellington nodded and did as she requested. The lodging sector was just one large building with several sections of various luxuries. The most basic rooms were for delivery men and women that were stopping on cargo runs; next in line were for tourists, and these featured special amenities like snack bars and entertainment; the highest level was for business travelers high up in the chain of the Port Authority of Zimmerman-Li, as well as government officials. Ellington placed them in a midlevel tourist room with two separate bedrooms.

Once Ellington was gone, Ashley retreated to her own room. Left with just Romeo, Shelton collapsed onto the bed and began to strip to his underwear. As each piece of his clothing was removed, his injuries became more apparent. At first, Romeo was tempted to make a joke about Shelton's eagerness to strip in front of him, but as each new bump, bruise, and scratch made itself visible, his face grew grimmer. Shelton had done a good job powering through his injuries.

"Kid, I think you need to go to the hospital," Romeo told him. Shelton looked up at his boss and saw that he carried a deadly serious expression.

"And disappear like I'm sure will happen to Riedel? No thanks, Sarge," Shelton said.

Romeo surprised him when he leaned in. Close enough to kiss, Romeo snarled, "Look. I don't trust these JOCs, alright? That brickhat's hellbent on keeping us out of the way, which means he'll kill us before we can leave. I bet Doctor Braun's already thinking of a way out. We can't escape unless you're one hundred percent. One hundred! So get your ass to the medibay and get some damn help! Now!"

Shelton scrambled out of bed as fast as his injured body would allow and left in a flat hurry. Ellington hadn't even made it all the way down the long hall toward the elevator before he'd caught up with her. Seeing him half naked didn't bother her, and his request to see a doctor couldn't even be vocalized before she advised, "Mister Lund, I suggest you allow me to take you to our hospital sector." All he could do was nod.

In the adjacent room, Ashley had actually attempted to sleep as soon as she saw the bed. Escape wasn't something she was concerned about. Exhausted, she knew that thinking about anything would have been futile. Yet once she tried to rest, nothing came. Perhaps it was the light gravity that made it hard to find sleep. Regardless the reason, after a few hours of lying still, she decided it was time to explore.

Poking her head out the door she looked around for any guards. There were none. Maybe the JOC Patrol didn't seem them as a threat after all. Once in the hallway, she lightly touched the computer panel near her door and searched for a map. Every level of the hotel had a very small private lobby, which included an AI operated bar. That seemed to be a good place to take her mind off their situation.

The short trek there ended when she found herself at the entrance of the lobby. It was blacked out save for a wall clock and television set. The clock said it was near midnight at JOPA HQ. Artificial blackout was the standard, which explained the dead hallways. Apparently she was lying around longer than she original thought.

The light from the TV cascaded into the small lobby. Endlessly it played the same economic reports, travel news, and mining logs that every JOPA TV played. Situated in front of this lone light source was Romeo. Cautiously, she approached and took the seat next to him. The chair was damned comfortable as it embraced her. She looked to her comrade. His elbows rested on the arms of the chair, his hands folded in front of his eyes, and his eyes gazed distantly at the television.

His mind was elsewhere. It was brought back to their present when Ashley put something directly into his line of sight, almost touching his nose. His eyes followed her arm back to her shoulder, collar bone, neck, and then face. "Vape?" she asked.

He grabbed the device and questioned, "Which is it? Tobacco?"

"A sedative," she answered.

For a moment he just stared at her, surprised. Then, he took a hit and handed it back to her. He offered a quiet, "Thanks."

"No problem. It helps sometimes," she told him.

They allowed a tranquil beat to pass. It was clear both were fatigued but unable to rest. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since they received their orders to intercept the damaged Quantum and repair it. Nearly their entire crew had died. They were more than coworkers and shipmates, they were their family. Spending nearly every moment of everyday with them had made those feelings unavoidable.

"You really think we were shot down?" Romeo suddenly asked.

"Yeah," was her quiet response. The tone of her voice sounded hurt. She was upset, although she was well aware there was no time for them to cry about it. Ever the diligent leader, she wouldn't show any sign of weakness so long as she could keep her mental barriers strong.

"What are we going to do? Just sit here and see if they kill us?"

"What do you want to do?"

He smirked, "I'm an American. I like danger and I like fights."

"Well, I'm from Hong Kong and I like winning," she said. He could only increase his smile more. It fell when he watched as she hugged herself and sunk further into the chair. She looked vulnerable. Maybe she had too many hits of that powerful sedative. "Tomorrow, then. We'll pick up Riedel and storm into Simon's office and demand some answers."

He nodded. Now that they were within the warm, comforting base, they felt much braver. Alone with only an endless horizon of ice as company had depleted their hopes before. This time, it was less about surviving and more about something else. Revenge? Maybe. Finding out the truth? Only if they could. They had to break the JOC Patrol into spilling some serious secrets if they wanted to discover what was happening, of that much both Romeo and Ashley seemed to agree. When they finally did see the facts for themselves, how much would provide answers and how many would lead to more questions?

One thing was clear: even though they had been rescued and they were labeled survivors, there was an undeniable sense that their struggle had barely begun.