Hugh looked up the length of the pipe. From his position, it really could be considered “up” because centripetal acceleration was at a maximum here. The pipe was a uniform two meters in diameter, and it ran from where he stood, on the inside of the outermost wall of the crew habitat, all the way to the engine. The crew habitat of the interplanetary space ship Maine was like a large, circular bicycle wheel with a long metal cylinder, about a fourth its diameter, running through and perpendicular to its center. The crew habitat spun relative to the cylinder, which was the unmanned, fusion-powered engine of the Maine. One end of the pipe Hugh was in terminated when it reached the engine cylinder. The other end of the pipe terminated in the irsing door that Hugh currently stood on. When the Maine was in “dry-dock” for engine repairs, and the crew habitat wasn’t spinning, the pipe could give quick access to an entry hatch on the engine. When the crew habitat was spinning relative to the engine, the entry hatch could periodically be seen by an observer inside the pipe as it passed over the hatch, but it would be impossible to open in the short time it was in proper position.
While the ship was traveling in space, the pipe Hugh was in served a less glamorous function. All along the pipe were small openings that allowed the material collected from the ship’s human-waste-removal units to empty into it. Centrifugal force and air pressure than forced the waste material towards the irising door, which was periodically opened to empty the material into space. It was Hugh’s job to see to it that the tunnel remained clear of obstructions and clogs. Every Tuesday, Hugh would clean a different section of the pipe, 15 meters ahead of the section he had cleaned the previous week. By custom, all of the apprentices on ship were supposed to take turns at this weekly duty, but the Junior Crewman in charge of making the duty roster each week had decided that Hugh would always clean the pipe. The J.C. had a grudge against Hugh because his father had once been laid off by the company Hugh’s father used to own, before the Chinese Prosperity Alliance Space Expeditionary Force had annexed the Earth’s moon and nationalized all non-C.P.A.-owned businesses.
Hugh didn’t complain about the injustice because he didn’t want a reputation as a “tattle-tale”, whining to the senior officers about every minor transgression against him. The Junior Crewman, Thomas, was visibly angry about it now. Hugh knew the J.C. had wanted to get a reaction out of him, but Hugh had quietly obeyed the duty roster every week, refusing to play Thomas’ game. Today, as Hugh put on his cleaning suit and breathing unit before entering the waste pipe, Thomas had declared, his face red:
“If you don’t like cleaning it every week Richie,” which was Thomas’ nickname for Hugh, “you can go and stuff it.”
“I haven’t complained have I?” Hugh had said, looking him in the eye.
“You think this act is going to make me feel sorry for you?” Thomas had then turned and stormed out of the locker room.
Hugh had finished cleaning this week’s section of the pipe, and had climbed back down, using the rungs attached to its inner wall when “gravity” got too strong. Near this end, there was also a small hatch on the curved wall of one side of the pipe that allowed entry back into the ship’s crew habitat. Hugh entered this side hatch into a small chamber that decontaminated his suit before allowing entry through another hatch into the habitat.
As Hugh took off his suit in the locker room, Hugh’s friend Larry Chang, another ship’s apprentice from the asteroid mining engineering department came into the locker room.
“Did you clean the waste pipe again?” Chang asked, with disgust in his voice.
“Yes, sir!” Hugh said, with feigned enthusiasm.
“Thomas is a major bastard. Why don’t you complain to the officers?” Chang said with a touch of anger in his voice.
Hugh knew that Chang had his own reasons for disliking the J.C. Thomas had once called Chang a racial slur, and accused him of being a C.P.A. spy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Chang’s family came from Taiwan, one of the few nations in Asia that remained independent of C.P.A. political domination.
There probably would have been a fistfight if not for the fact that a senior officer had overheard Thomas’ comment, and intervened before the situation could escalate.
“Hey, guess what I found while I was cleaning in there today.” Hugh said, changing the subject.
“Feces?” Chang asked with a grin.
“Yes,” Hugh responded, ignoring Chang’s sarcasm, “but I also found a small panel that could probably be removed from outside of the waste pipe. If I took the panel off, I think I could fit through the opening.”
“Hmm….” Chang said as he put on his jumpsuit. “Is that portion of the pipe accessible from inside the ship?”
“Yeah, I just looked it up on the ship’s blueprints. The irony is that the panel is located on the portion of waste pipe that runs through the Infirmary. I never noticed it because the opening on the pipe faces towards a corner, near the ceiling.”
“It was probably used when the ship was constructed,” Chang muttered as he finished lacing up his boots. “You up for cards later?”
“Yeah, Doctor Sloan said my quarterly apprentice’s examination would have to be postponed until next week, so I’ll be free.” Hugh said as he finished stowing the biohazard suit in its locker.
“Alright!” Chang said as they both headed for the exit. “Looks like there’ll be enough people for some serious poker tonight!”
Chang went back to Astrogeology, and Hugh went back to the Infirmary. Hugh had been the ship’s apprentice medical doctor for about six months now. He had arrived on the ship penniless, with nothing more than a few books and the clothes on his back. For several years now, Hugh had wanted to be a doctor, and he had planned to go pre-med at Sam Adams University on the Moon before the C.P.A. invaded. Except for his father, his family had fled the Moon with almost nothing, rather than live under the thumb of the C.P.A. occupation military government. His father had stayed behind to fight for the Lunar Free State Militia in a war of attrition against the C.P.A. Hugh had wanted to stay too, but his father had insisted that he leave with his mother and sister for Mars. Hugh had thought his career plans would have to be put on hold indefinitely since he could no longer afford the tuition at a university, and merely earning a living was going to be rough for a few years.
When Hugh had arrived on Mars, a message from his father had been waiting for him, telling him that he had purchased Hugh a one-way ticket to Alpha Station near the asteroid belt. Hugh was to be picked up by the Maine, to begin a five year medical apprenticeship under Doctor Sloan. His father had explained in the message that he had called in a favor with the current proprietor and captain of the Maine, who had borrowed the money to buy the ship, at bellow-market rates, from Hugh’s father several years earlier. This was the last time Hugh had heard from his father, who was missing in action and presumed dead after a major battle with C.P.A. forces a few days later.
Working and living on the Maine wasn’t easy, especially compared to Hugh’s lifestyle before the war, but he had always had a personal ambition not to take his father’s wealth for granted. His past self-discipline meant that Hugh had a good work ethic, and personal habits of frugality that served him well in his present state of poverty.
Dr. Sloan was in the Infirmary. He looked up from a monitor as Hugh entered. Dr. Sloan was in his late seventies, but he had the physique of a fit fifty-year-old. He was one of the smartest individuals Hugh had ever met. In addition to being a great medical doctor, he was also knowledgeable on many other subjects, and could converse for hours on philosophy, art, dance, or basketball. Hugh felt a warm sense of admiration and respect for the Doctor whenever he was in his presence, but he also felt completely at ease around him, and that he could really be himself.
“Are you here to do that dissection assignment?” Dr. Sloan asked as he went back to looking over a patient’s chart.
“Yeah, I decided to get it over with.” Hugh said casually. In reality, Hugh hadn’t been able to think about doing anything else since Dr. Sloan gave him the assignment yesterday, but his work schedule had made it impossible for him to do it until now.
“Well, as long as you’re here, I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Sure.” Hugh said with genuine enthusiasm at an opportunity to show Dr. Sloan his gratitude for all that he had done for him.
“Today we picked up a few passengers.” Dr. Sloan said.
“What do you mean?” Hugh asked, incredulous that anyone would be coming onto the Maine in the middle of the Asteroid Belt on a prospecting mission. Hugh knew that it would only occur if something extraordinary had occurred.
“Today, we responded to a distress call from a disabled civilian craft, and took on its passengers. One of the crew members was a young man about your age whose father owns the craft they were in. The Captain needs someone to keep an eye on him while he is onboard, and I volunteered you for the job.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Hugh responded. He knew it would be a lot of extra work, but he was willing to endure a lot to please Dr. Sloan.
“You’ll be responsible for him even in your off hours. I know it’s a lot to ask, so I saw to it that all of your usual duties, not related to your studies, would be handled by others for the duration of this voyage. Also, I understand that you have cleaned the waste pipe for the past three weeks in a row, despite ship’s custom on the matter?”
“That’s right.” Hugh said, offering no explanation, and keeping his voice unemotional. Hugh was not going to complain about his problems to the Doctor, if he could help it.
“I don’t know why you didn’t tell anybody about this irregularity, but cleanup of the waste pipe will now be in the hands of Junior Crewman Thomas for the rest of the voyage. Since he saw fit to break custom on the matter, the Captain and I decided that it would be acceptable to disregard it entirely this one time and allow a J.C. the privilege.”
Hugh thought he could detect a hint of sarcasm in the Doctor’s voice, but he could never be sure with the man, since he rarely smiled or otherwise compromised his stoic demeanor.
Hugh rang the doorbell to the captain’s office. After a few seconds, the door slid open, allowing Hugh to enter the room. The captain sat behind his desk. Sitting in a chair across the desk was a teenager about Hugh’s age.
“Hugh, this is Ted Stevenson.” The captain said as he stood up. Hugh walked across the room and held out his hand, which Ted took after what seemed like a moment’s hesitation. His grip was limp and his hand was clammy.
In the back of his mind, Hugh thought that there was something wrong with Ted, but he pushed the thought out of his mind because he didn’t believe in prejudging people based on his initial feelings, when he had no hard evidence of their character. Then Hugh recognized the last name.
“Are you the son of Robert Stevenson?” Hugh asked, with awe in his voice.
“Yes.” Ted answered, sighing heavily.
“You’re familiar with Mr. Stevenson?” The Captain asked Hugh.
“Sure,” Hugh said excitedly. “He’s the CEO and majority shareholder of First Space Industries Limited, one of the largest ship construction companies around. The ship construction techniques he developed have revolutionized the industry, cutting production time and costs nearly in half!” As Hugh finished speaking, he thought he heard Ted mutter something under his breath, but the Captain didn’t say anything, and Hugh had been too absorbed in what he was saying to be paying enough attention to be certain. Hugh thought he saw a flicker of annoyance cross the Captain’s face, but he couldn’t be sure. After a few seconds of silence, the Captain addressed Hugh.
“We were planning to take Ted back to Alpha Station after we finished our normal prospecting expedition, but the elder Mr. Stevenson has agreed to compensate us generously to return him by the end of this month. Mr. Stevenson also requested that we assign someone about his son’s age to watch out for Ted while he was with us. He has also agreed to compensate us generously for this extra courtesy.”
As Ted and Hugh walked back from the Captain’s office to Ted’s new room, he looked over at Hugh, seemed to consider something for a moment, then spoke.
“Is the Captain always that way?”
“Always what way?” Hugh asked, as he shifted Ted’s suitcase to his other hand.
“Oh…I don’t know…just…sort of mean…” He said this last word with emphasis, as if it had special significance.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hugh said in an unemotional tone, although he could feel himself getting angry.
“I just mean, he didn’t seem upset about the people who died in the engine room of my dad’s ship when it melted down, or whatever it’s called when that happens…he just doesn’t seem to have any….compassion.” He said this last word like he had said “mean”, as if it were a secret code-word that meant something else that Hugh would understand.
Hugh thought about the time the Captain risked his life to save some crewmen who had been trapped in a burning room on the ship after a pipe had unexpectedly ruptured.
“Here’s where you’ll be staying.” Hugh said to change the subject, and pointed to a door that was next to the door of his own small room. Hugh was beginning to suspect that he was going to have to put up with a lot from Ted, but since this was part of his job, he would try not to let the kid draw him into pointless arguments.
Complete Story Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Come-Read-Stories-Outside-Space-ebook/dp/B07D6FXKLT