‘Come in, Ms Stroder…Ms Stroder?’ Mr Anton’s voice grew louder. I wiped sleep from my eyes and flexed my stiff leg, tingling with pins and needles. I’d slept with the metal plate on again and this time it had cut off the circulation. I could hardly breathe as I rubbed some feeling back into my calf muscles.
‘Ms Stroder. I assume you are at your post. It is oh-nine-hundred.’
‘Oh asteroid dust,’ I cursed as I hopped up from underneath the console and hit the acknowledge button. ‘Rae here, Mr Anton. What can I do for you?’ I said a tad breathlessly. I was suppressing a moan after all.
‘Plenty. I’m sending you a copy of the letter of authority for AllEarth Corp for your records. You can read, can’t you?’
I sniffed. Hadn’t he seen me read? ‘Yes, I can, though I don’t have much need for it on the outpost. We don’t have a library.’
‘If you are attempting humour, then you are wasting your time on me. I don’t have a sense of humour. It’s not in my job description.’
‘Sorry, my mistake,’ I replied, through a yawn. I dragged my fingers through my clumped, dirty hair and, as I did, I thought of how clean the auditor’s was. How did he manage it?
‘I want you to rendezvous with me on level 3. I will undertake a random inspection.’
‘Level 3?’ I had to think fast. ‘Um, that’s not a good idea.’ I angled my head, trying to see if Gris was around. He wasn’t. Bother. I had to think of something else. ‘We had to close that down three days ago. There was a radiation leak.’
‘Really? A radiation leak? What kind of radiation, Ms Stroder?’
‘Can’t recall. Gris was looking after it. Please call me Rae. I don’t think I’ve ever been called Ms Stroder before and it makes my skin crawl.’
‘I see. Then I will check the Beta landing bay. I assume that’s functioning.’
‘Yes, it is, but Gris is working on it right now. When your ship docked, it caused a power flux, or surge or something.’ I prayed Gris stayed out of sight.
‘Are there any areas of the outpost that are fit to be seen, Ms Stroder?’
‘Rae,’ I prompted.
‘Excuse me, Rae.’
‘Yes, of course. I’ll take you on a tour of the hydroponics bay.’
‘Hydroponics? Ms Stroder, I mean, Rae, there is no hydroponics bay listed in the outpost’s schematics.’
‘Well, I don’t know about the schem…the schematics but there’s been a hydroponics bay ever since I can remember.’
There was a pause. The line was still open. I could hear it. ‘This is most unusual, Ms Stroder.’
‘Yes, we’ve never had an audit before.’
‘That is not what I meant,’ he replied with a sigh.
‘Oh, but I meant what I said,’ I added and smiled.
‘Meet me at my ship. Right away,’ he barked into the comms. My smile faded and I felt quite faint suddenly. I said the first thing that came into my mind.
‘Yea, okay. Be there in a jiff.’ I punched the commlink. ‘Shit, shit, shit.’
‘Don’t talk bad. Gris don’t like,’ said Gris from the doorway.
I turned on him, fists clenched. ‘Gris. Where were you? He’s tying me up in knots. What am I to do? Dad’s list is a joke and I don’t like that guy. He’s so, so…stiff. He doesn’t cuss—he’s clean and he’s doing honest work.’
‘Gris fixing things.’ He fumbled with his lap plate.
My eyes followed his hands. I gulped. It was time to leave. ‘Gris, now is not the time to start fixing that thing, okay. Tie yourself up and fix something that’s broken or I’m not sure what will happen. Gotta go and meet Mr Anton Audit.’
I ran from the command centre before Gris’ urges got the better of him. It was probably Mr Anton’s visit that had set him off. Usually only the pirates stressed him out that much.
Confused, I took a wrong turn and had to double back. Some corridors were still closed due to the broken reclamation unit. I was huffing by the time I made it to Lollydrop’s hatch. I hailed Mr Anton and the hatch slid open.
The ship was really clean and new looking. I ran my hand along the walls and when I noticed how dirty my fingernails were, I pulled them back. My scruffy handmade boots clanked on the metal floor as I headed towards what I thought was the bridge. Highlighted arrows flickered and lit the way so I followed them.
He was standing with his back to me, scrolling through data on a screen. In front of the bridge console stood three chairs in a line. I waited for him to notice me. He must have heard my footsteps. Even I could hear them echoing around me still.
He swung round. ‘Thank you, Ms Stroder. Take a seat.’ He swivelled a chair around for me to sit in.
I looked at it warily and then eased myself down. It was comfortable and didn’t appear ready to fall apart.
‘So, Ms Stroder. I would like an accounting of where your father is?’ Mr Anton spoke as he paced around my chair, stopping occasionally to hold his chin in his hand. My eyes flicked around the bridge, noting its cleanliness and its functionality. The air filters even looked clean and I could smell Mr Anton from where I sat. And he smelt clean too.
I sniffed myself and wrinkled my nose. I smelt bad in these spotless surroundings and I no longer blended in.
‘Ms Stroder, please pay attention. Your father is where?’ His hand now rested on his hip and he softly tapped his shoe on the floor.
‘Dad was taken by pirates a few years ago.’ I watched his face. It seemed to freeze.
‘What did you say?’ he said and began to pace five steps to the right and five back again and again. I watched, fascinated by his precise moves.
‘I said he was taken by pirates. A few years back pirates began to attack the outpost. That’s when the crew began disappearing or were found dead after the raids.’
He slowed his pacing. One eyebrow tilted ready to slide off his smooth-skinned forehead. ‘They were taken,’ he repeated. ‘When was that?’
‘I don’t know. I was younger. Dad went…about three years ago, I think.’
‘How is that possible?’
I blinked. ‘What do you mean how is it possible? We are very isolated. Our comms are weak. The distress beacon was blasted out of space. We’ve had no ships stop for refuelling for years, even before the attacks. Dad said it was the new space station around Saturn that took away our business.’
I shut my eyes, trying to block out the memory of that attack and the loss of my father. I heard a noise and my eyes flew open. Mr Anton had plonked himself into his seat and was running his hands through his short, dark hair.
‘Let me get this straight, Ms Stroder. You and Gris are the only ones here.’
‘Yes.’
‘And the outpost is barely functional?’
Avoiding his eye, I shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t say that exactly It’s…it’s almost functional,’ I said.
‘You have no supplies or fuel to offer ships accessing this station?’
‘Ah, not much of that, no.’
He launched out of his seat. ‘You are lying to me,’ he yelled.
I flinched and covered my ears. ‘Not lying. I’ll show you.’
‘Oh, there is no need for that. I scouted around last night and did a sensor sweep. You are in serious trouble, Ms Stroder.’
‘I am? Why? What have I done?’ I hated the way my face heated.
He drew closer, almost nose to nose. ‘Embezzled funds, stolen supplies, destroyed AllEarth Corp property. Need I continue?’ He retreated backwards, nodding his head knowingly.
I stared open mouthed for a bit. ‘What does embezzled mean?’
‘Theft, Ms Stroder.’
‘We haven’t stolen anything. We’ve had no supplies for years I tell you. I don’t even have clothes.’ I plucked at my body stocking. Unfortunately, a piece tore off in my hand. ‘See,’ I said waving it at him. He peered at it, revulsion etched on his face.
My outburst stalled him. Then after a few moments, his brow furrowed and he added, ‘Embezzled means you took money, the Corp’s money, and took it for yourself.’
My eyebrows shot up. ‘You’re kidding me. Aren’t you?’
‘No. Here, look at these transactions.’ He turned a storage wafer in his hand and passed it to me. I stared at it uncomprehendingly at first and then I saw it. Money transfers to Captain Stroder, salary, supply purchases, crew bonuses and more. Then there was even a list of supply deliveries. I scrolled through the list, shaking my head. There were hundreds of them over the years.
A tear of fear escaped. ‘None of these supplies ever came here, Mr Anton.’ I handed the list back and gulped. ‘But I’m worried about what happens now.’
‘You will be taken back to Earth for trial.’
‘But I haven’t done anything. I don’t know about these supplies. Surely your link to the datacore told you that? Haven’t you scanned the supply holds…what’s left of them?’
‘Yes.’
‘And were there signs? Even a drop of grain or a smattering of fuel or a crumb of bread?’ My hands had near ripped the padding off the seat. I don’t think I’d ever been so scared before. I had thought Mr Anton would make a handsome vidmovie actor. At that moment, I decided that I didn’t like him at all. He wasn’t nearly good looking enough for the job.