The Phobos Transit Quilters Guild

Chapter 6 - Ever Been Kissed in Zero-G?

[Cassy]

I've always been the shy, timid girl who hid while life whizzed by. But after getting my PhD, I resolved to go off-world and become more adventurous. Let's see — how has that gone thus far? Blackballed from my first job, disarmed a ticking nuclear bomb, and now stuck in an armed incursion. Isn't there a medium setting on adventure? There's one good thing, though — Eric. We only recently met, but I'm already falling for him. Hope I don't add heartbreak to the list.

By the time Val, Kate, and Harley returned to the quilting room, we were already poring over the security feeds on our com-viewers. Val really came through.

"Ma, where is your husband?" Mona asked. "Is he okay?"

Phfft!" Mavis spat. "He went down to Mars for a booze run, leaving me with the headaches. Like usual."

The barmaid, Lilli, entered the room and said, "Ma, some of the bad people are here, and they want drinks."

"Okay," Mavis replied. "Maybe if we booze 'em up a bit, they might give us some info. And you know they ain't gonna pay."

Mona shrugged. "Spoils of war, I guess."

"I just hope some drunk thug doesn't think I am, too." Lilli huffed as she and Mavis exited, closing the door behind them.

Greta's eyes widened as she stared at her com-viewer. "There's still some children at the child center. Val, can you take me there through your secret passage?"

"I can get you most of the way," Val replied, "but then you will be exposed. You might get caught."

Standing resolute with arms crossed, Greta narrowed her eyes. "I'm in charge of the Child Center, and nobody threatens my kids!"

I took a measure of courage from Greta's dedication as she and Val disappeared down the floor hatch.

"They're spread thin," Kate remarked while scrolling through her viewer. "They don't have enough soldiers to occupy the station for very long. That means more are coming, or they're planning to do something bad and leave soon. Not sure which is worse."

That got me thinking — how had those commando's, or whoever they are, gotten here? So I accessed the station's external monitors, starting with the inner ports that the mining ships usually used. What I found made my blood boil. "That witch!" I yelled.

The room went quiet. "What?" Kate asked.

I pointed at my viewer, showing a boxy mining vessel docked at gamma port. "That's Khlo's ship, the Erobus. The commandos came in on her ship."

Switching to an internal video feed confirmed my accusation. There she stood on the dock, talking with two black-uniformed commandos and a suited man with his back to the camera.

"Aargh!" I fumed, gritting my teeth. Eric's eyes widened. He had not yet seen the angry side of me.

"There's a special place in Hell for that shrew," Kate grumbled. "And I'm willing to make the delivery."

"Kate, I found your captain and crew," Shera exclaimed. "They are in the station brig."

Looking over Shera's shoulder, Kate asked, "Are they all there? Should be forty, not counting Eric and me."

"Twenty? Thirty, maybe? It's hard to tell."

"Some took shore leave down on Mars," Eric speculated. "That might be all of them."

Kate pointed, "And there's your friend, Cory."

Shera blew out a breath. "At least he's still alive."

Standing next to me, Eric shook his head. "I'm worried about the Ark Hope. They tried to destroy it once, and might try again."