Chapter 26

I managed to lift the console while Eva pulled Abedi away. It was not the most optimal course of action for someone who was as seriously injured as he was, but we didn’t have any other choice. The only real chance of helping him was to bring him back to the shuttle and let the auto doc take care of his injuries.

We put him on a stretcher and carried him back to Ceres. Tanvi was asleep after the autodoc had administered her some drugs. I checked her biometrics, and they were fine. It was a simple injury, so the emergency unit was sufficient. But Abedi… He would be lucky if the autodoc kept him alive until we reached the station, where the more advanced machines would have a fair chance of saving his life.

“Will he be okay?”, Eva asked as we placed him in the machine.

“He has a chance.”

I took Eva’s hand and squeezed it.

“Let’s go back.”

She nodded, and we went to the cabin. After briefing our flight, we set the course, and I started the engines, letting Ceres’s autopilot take us back to the station and leave the cold wreckage behind us. I suspected that in a few days, a ship would be sent from Titan to tow it back to the harbour from where it had started its journey, and another ship would be sent to supply us. Our station was prepared for that scenario, and we could sustain ourselves for another two months, but I knew that the crew would prefer to avoid living on emergency rations for any prolonged period of time.

I assumed that the Pony Express would be repaired and put back into service. Being so far from Mars, it was cheaper to put an effort into restoring it than to commission a new ship that would take months to build. People on the frontier were resourceful and known for their ability to repair almost anything, no matter how damaged it was.

I checked the data coming from the autodoc. Abedi’s vital signs were weak but stable. Good, I thought as I relayed it to the station. When we arrived, our medical bay would be waiting for him, fully prepared. I powered down some of my systems and relaxed, leaning back in my seat. Eva sat in the chair next to me, looking tired. Humans weren’t designed to be operational for such a long time.

“Get some rest,” I said, smiling.

“What about you?”, she asked.

“I am fine. I can function at 87% of my capacity for another 27 hours.”

“But you are still tired…”

I shook my head.

“It doesn’t feel the same way as for you.”

“Sure?”

I nodded, and she reclined her seat, trying to find a comfortable position.

“Rea… Could you tell me another one of your poems?”

I smiled. The fact that she wanted to hear them stirred something in my systems, but this time it was a pleasant feeling, and I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the wave of unnamed emotions that flooded me.

Lost in the void of space

between the fading stars

That shone so brightly

when your smile lightened the sky

I said quietly, and Eva looked at me. I couldn't identify her expression, and my systems reached full capacity trying to understand what was happening. 87% chance she liked it and 65% probability she wanted to hear more was the answer that came, but it didn’t stop the unnamed emotions from flooding my systems. I sighed, deciding to go with what I knew. Even if I was wrong, there was no chance my actions would cause any harm.

“I don’t have more. I only wrote those two.”

Eva blinked and looked away, leaving me even more confused.

“When I have more, I will tell you”, I reassured her.

She nodded and turned away, stirring in her seat.

“Wake me up before our final approach.”

“Sure,” I answered.

So she was just as tired as I thought. It would explain her reaction with 97% accuracy. My systems relaxed, and I gazed into the dark space in front of us. I still had a lot of time before I would need to wake her up, and not much to do, since the autopilot was perfectly capable of flying Ceres through deep space. My role was simply to supervise its operations and act in the case of an emergency that could not be addressed by the autopilot’s capabilities.

I heard the door behind me opening, and when I turned my head, I saw Tanvi standing in the doorway.

“Can I come in?”, she asked quietly.

I nodded, and she sat on the jump seat and looked around.

“Wow, you really took an old D-4 into deep space? You have guts.”

“You were in range.”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“How much reserve did you have?”

“182 minutes.”

She whistled quietly.

“Well done. Thank you, you saved our ass”, she smiled. “How… How is Abedi?”, she added quietly.

“Stable.”

She nodded and looked out the window and into the darkness of space.

“Do you want some food or a coffee?”, I asked, and she smiled.

“I could start with a coffee.”

I took Eva’s thermos flask and poured her a cup.

“Thank you.”

She took a sip and then offered me the cup.

“Do you want some?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t drink or eat”, I said, using the common phrase we used to tell humans that we are androids, so they knew they didn’t need to offer us anything.

She nodded.

“What are you working on at the station?”, she asked.

We spoke about our work and our time in space. She had spent most of her life in space, but this was her first time on route to Pluto. It was a long voyage that took almost 9 days, but the pay was good. She and Abedi hoped to save enough to buy an old D-8 and start to haul cargo between Jupiter’s moons.

I wondered what I would do when our mission was over. I hadn’t made any specific plans for it so far, assuming with 89% certainty that after my time on the Osiris station, I would be able to find all sorts of interesting work wherever I wanted. Especially now that we had made our discovery. But what did I really want to do?, I wondered. I assumed I could settle for anything, as long as I kept working with Eva.