“Two women!”
“And only one man to protect them!”
“He sounds like a kid.”
“Keep your pants on, you apes,” Valker said, raising one hand to silence them. “Nicco, check the IAA registration for
“You? By yourself?”
“That’s right. I don’t want you baboons scaring the ladies.” Before they could complain he added, “Or making the lad suspicious. Easy does it. They’re not going anywhere without us.”
Theo was so excited it took him three tries to punch out the code on the wall pad that controlled the airlock. He stood fidgeting inside his space suit as the ’lock cycled from vacuum to normal air pressure, all fatigue forgotten, all the worries and fears that he had carried inside him like a gnawing tumor for more than three years, gone, disappeared.
We’re saved, he kept telling himself. We’re saved. We’re saved.
In his helmet earphones he heard his mother and sister bubbling.
“It’s a miracle!” Angie said, her voice brimming with joy.
“I never thought it could happen,” Pauline said, just as elated. “In all this emptiness, to run into another ship…”
Theo heard his mother’s voice catch, sensed her struggling to hold back tears.
When he finally clomped out of the airlock, Angela and Pauline were both half out of their space suits, down to nothing but their leggings. As soon as he pulled the helmet off his head they both wrapped their arms around his neck and broke into wet, blubbering sobs. Theo wanted to dance a jig, but they were pressing too close to him and he was afraid of tramping on their feet.
“We’re saved, Theo, we’re saved,” his mother said. “You’ve brought us through it.”
“We did it together, Mom. You, Angie and me.”
Angie said, “Let’s get these leggings off and put on some clean clothes. I want to look presentable. You too, Mom.”
Pauline laughed through her tears. “Yes, yes, of course. We want to look our best.”
ORE SHIP
LIVING QUARTERS
Valker beamed a brilliant smile as he sat in the cushioned armchair that Theo had avoided using since his father had left them. It had been his father’s chair, but now Valker sat in it, perfectly at ease, a big-shouldered, handsome smiling stranger in a hodgepodge of a uniform that seemed to be made up of odd bits and pieces from half a dozen other outfits.
“Very comfortable quarters you have here,” said Valker smoothly.
Pauline had put on a clean set of pale blue coveralls that complemented her sandy hair nicely. Angela was wearing an actual dress, something she hadn’t done since they’d left Ceres. Theo was shocked to see how really good-looking his sister was, and how Valker stared admiringly at her. Angie had pinned up her hair and put on lip gloss. She had also left the top three buttons of her dress open; Valker seemed especially impressed with her breathing.
Pauline sat on the sofa, her daughter beside her. “I’m afraid we don’t have much food left,” she said. “We’ve been rationing it out all these months, to make it last long enough for us to get back to Ceres.”
“I understand,” Valker said, his eyes never leaving Angie.
Sitting nervously on the edge of the smaller armchair, on the other end of the coffee table from Valker, Theo said, “It’s a good thing we were in our suits when you hailed us. Otherwise we wouldn’t have known you were nearby.”
“Oh, we would’ve boarded you anyway,” said Valker. “We’re in the salvage business. At first we thought your vessel had been abandoned, like so many others in the Belt.”
“Salvage business?” Pauline asked.
“It’s not much, but it’s a living for me and my poor excuse of a crew.”
“How many in your crew?” Theo asked.
“There’s nine of us, plus me. I’m the skipper.”
“How many women?” asked Pauline.
Valker shook his head. “None. Women cause trouble on long missions. They don’t mean to, but men just naturally start to compete over them.”
Theo understood. “I guess that’s normal, unless you’re family.”
“You bet it is.”
Angela spoke up. “Are your men homosexuals?”
Pauline glared at her daughter.
Valker threw his head back and hooted laughter. “My crew? No. Not at all. Quite the opposite.” Still chuckling, he added, “Although, after they’ve been out on a mission long enough, they’ll take whatever they can get.”
Angela flushed, but said, “You wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“I haven’t had to … so far.”
Theo wanted to make Angie disappear. She’s giving this stranger all the wrong impression, he thought.
Pauline changed the subject. “If you could give us some propellant for our fusion drive we could get back to Ceres within a few weeks or less.”
“Certainly,” said Valker. “No problem. We’ll repair your antennas, too, so you can communicate again.”
“No need for that,” Theo said.
“You’re wrong, lad. You can’t go barreling into the Ceres sector deaf, dumb and blind. There’s too much traffic in the region. It’d be dangerous for you and all the others.”
Theo glanced at his mother and saw that she didn’t want Valker’s men coming aboard
“We appreciate your willingness to help,” Pauline began. Theo interrupted. “I can go back to your ship with you. If you’ll give me a spare antenna from your stores I can bring it back here and set it up, no sweat.”
But Valker shook his head once more. “It’s not that easy, son. We don’t have spare antennas. Our antennas are built into the ship’s hull, just like yours. But we have the materials to lay down a new set of antennas for you. Materials and men to do the job.”
“I can do the job myself if you just give me the materials,” Theo said.
Valker looked at him, smiling toothily. “I understand? You’re scared to let my men aboard your vessel. Two beautiful women and nine hungry men. Right?”
“Ten men,” Theo corrected. “Including you.”
“Including me, that’s right,” Valker acknowledged, laughing. “But you don’t have anything to worry about, son. I guarantee that my men won’t bother your mother or sister. That’s a promise.”
And he held out his right hand. Theo glanced at his mother, thinking, I’ve got no choice. Reluctantly, he took Valker’s hand in his own.
The three of them went with Valker to the airlock. Theo couldn’t help but be envious as he watched the man pull on his nanofabric space suit.
“I’ll be back with two men to help you install a new set of antennas,” Valker promised as he pulled the suit’s
