Preparing the full expertise concerning the accident was to take another three days at minimum. During that time, everyone involved in construction works had time off which they could use for any activity as long as they stayed within set bounds of Orbital Ring.
One could think that people temporarily free from duties were forced to sit idly and sink into dark thoughts, but it would have been a complete mistake.
Orbital Ring, despite being an artificial construction built mainly of metal parts, and only slight percentage of different materials, it offered many interesting places, allowing inhabitants of the Ring to enjoy both entertainment and rest. What was more, the environment in many such places could not be told apart from the natural environment of the Earth - architects and engineers who were involved in Ring's creation were well aware that long-term stay in artificial conditions is likely to cause a huge stress and put a big burden on humans, hence the creation of areas imitating Earth's nature as much as possible, including lakes, meadows and forests. Some of these facilities looked even better than their natural counterparts mainly because access was granted to a limited number of people, who either purchased estates on the Ring, worked there or had enough money to buy a ticket to access there.
Many crew members decided to make use of the special offer to relax in environment simulating Earth's ecosystem. One of such people was John Marlow. He heard about these technological wonders for years and, since joining the Future project and arriving at the Ring, John promised himself to check these places should opportunity arise. And now, he finally had such a chance. Major hoped that a decent rest far from the dock will let him forget or at least stop thinking about all the bad things that happened so far, clear his mind.
In different circumstances, it would have been much easier, but recently the same topic seemed to be common in every place Marlow visited and even holiday resorts were no exception. In the end, he decided to go away from everything as much as possible, setting his rest spot just by the forest, where he set a deck-chair and lied on it, closing his eyes.
John's plan was seemingly easy - to think about anything but the dock and fights between the project's overseers. He especially focused on megacity on New Gaia, buildings and systems they were aware of. The part that seemed to be the most interesting was the structure's power source - how it worked without living, sentient beings on the planet's surface, without maintenance. Of course, there was a chance that sensors did not pick something, but since there was no reaction whatsoever after several years from different probes - maybe except being destroyed by the city's automatic defense systems - it was unlikely that the megacity was still inhabited. After all, humanity also tried find any intelligent life form by sending a variety of messages, but there was not reply whatsoever.
While he was lying down like this, far from everything, using his all mind to keep thoughts away from the dock, to not worry about this for now, John heard someone's footsteps.
"So that's all for my peace and quiet" - he thought to himself.
Marlow opened eyes and raised his head. A young girl, wearing a staff uniform, stood next to him. Weird thing that someone was sent so far, especially since service bots were usually used for contacting guests.
- John Marlow, sir?
Major kept looking at her a bit longer, curious. In the end, he nodded.
- Well, it's obviously me. How can I help you?
She seemed a bit embarassed.
- I am sorry for disturbing you, but for about one hour now, a person is trying to contact you, sir - she informed - Unfortunately, we were unable to locate you until now.
Marlow wondered who could be that person she mentioned. Obviously, he turned off his PEC intentionally so no one would disturb him, but he still had the chip he got from Mathias, so it was unlikely the person looking for John was project's chief. Maybe Keira? Unlikely. Knowing her, even if she could not reach him, she would not have called the hotel. So, who else?
The staff girl was still there, waiting.
- Excuse me, but would you like to wait for the call in lobby or...?
- I prefer to use my PEC, thank you.
Young woman bowed and walked away. For a bit longer, John continued enjoying the silence, before turning his implant on.
Immediately after turning it on, a long list of missed connections appeared. Such situations were often tiresome - processing a bigger amount of data was likely to put a huge burden on the brain, and eyes had to register all entries. Sometimes, such lists could cause a terrible headache.
Major recovered from initial pain, and started browsing through entries - all came from mechanics, who worked with him on the project. He wondered what could this be about. Based on the names on the list, John got worried immediately.
Any unanswered ID would have worked, but to Marlow there was a single best choice - he decided to contact Martin, whom he knew the best and whom he considered to be his closest colleague in this metal can, maybe even a friend.
Johnson answered really fast, as if he waited for the call. It seemed Marlow's guess was correct.
- John, we need to meet - Martin said without a hello - I have a really important matter to talk about. Do you have time today?
Tone of his voice was unusually serious. He never talked to John like that.
- Did something happened, Martin? Is it about the accident?
A moment of silence as if Marlow's colleague got lost in thought.
- It's not something we should talk like this, John - he said finally - I need to talk to you, face to face. If you can, of course...
"So much for my attempts to run away from this shit" - major felt his mind will not easily get free from these problems.
- I'm in natural zone, so getting back to residential zone will take me two or three hours. Since it's so important, I'll try to return as soon as possible. Where should we meet?
- At the "Key".
- Got it. I'm going now.
John finished the conversation. "Key" was a pub located in residential area, where they went several times to talk by the beer, and the place where he met both mechanics who died in the dock. He wondered if Martin chose that place intentionally, since the choice felt unfortunate.
As Marlow walked on the promenade by the lake's bank, people sitting by the tables kept looking at him. Most of the crew members knew who he is and where he was when this disaster occurred. From what he heard, there were those who blamed him for everything, even though none of them was in the dock at that time and had no basis to support that claim.
No matter how much John wanted to forget, and kept his mind in check, there had to be people making him remember.
Natural zone in this sector had about twenty square kilometers, and location Marlow chose was placed in the farther edge, about seven kilometers away from airlocks leading to residential zone, and another five to the border of the area set for the Future project in this part of the Ring. The "Key" was located in the opposite side of the zone, counting from the spot John was right now, adding more distance to the route. Given how specific parts of the Ring were connected, it meant he had to travel about fourty kilometers with limited usage of vehicles in natural zone.
Ultimately, getting to the section where he could rely on faster transportation took him about one hour, and another thirty minutes was needed to reach his residential zone. Initially, John planned to go directly to the pub, but he decided his appearance at the moment was not a good choice in current circumstances. Besides, he did not want to drag his travel bag around.
Taking into account the time needed to take a shower and get through the project 's section, he entered the pub nearly three hours since the talk with Martin. Johnson was already there, and not alone - accompanied by four other mechanics. A short look at their faces said everything about the mood they were in, but who could blame them?
- Hello, John, thank you for agreeing to meet me - said Martin, inviting him to take a seat.
"You could've told me about other guys coming though" - thought John, but he sat down without any additional comments, while one of the mechanics, Liu, ordered a beer for him.
- How did your medical check-ups go? - Marlow asked the very first question that came to his mind.
After the explosion, he also went to medical section, mainly out of care for the mechanics he knew, but was also forced to go through check-ups himself. Back then, Martin and the mechanics who were in the pub with him now were - at least according to the doc - in decent shape, given what they went through,but still had to stay hospitalized. Given all of them came to the pub, doctors must have decided they were in good enough condition to be released.
- There were times when I felt better - Johnson summed up his state, close to his usual style - We all here are fine now, but some of the boys will need a bit more time to recover. Still, the other two...
There was nothing more to say, everyone knew what was that about.
- Fuck, John, what happened there? - these words came from Julian, one of the newbies; before, only Steve was younger than him - I've never seen something like this in my whole life, even in movies. Engines were off, shutters closed, so what in the hell could have exploded?
- Easy, Jules - Thorsten put a hand on his arm - I get this agitation, but we need facts, not a quarrel.
- Oh, you know well I didn't mean too. I just can't keep my temper.
Marlow was not surprised. Owing to the time they spent together, he came to know most of mechanics, thoughs some he knew slightly better than others. Still, Julian's behavior was something to be completely expected.
Not something John wanted to go through yet again.
- I'm really not sure myself. It's all only suspicions.
- Can't you tell us at least that much? - he never saw Martin that serious, maybe except the day of the accident.
- I thought about this for some time already. I've made sure we secured everything as we should. We didn't make a mistake.
- So, why...?
- Does it really matter? Expertise is supposed to be released soon, so why do you need me to say anything?
- To have a comparison, to know if they lie to us.
John had a look around. Around this time many people were visiting the "Key", so talking about any kind of confidential matters was not considered a good idea. However, he felt like he owed the team an explanation.
- We will do a secure link to discuss that matter, and everything I tell you should stay between us - he said finally, leaning towards others to establish the connection - That's my condition for talking about this matter - others nodded and enabled the link - Okay, then. So, I have checked damage reports. The explosion ruptured the coating alongside, destroying only two compartments. You all know well what kind of material these are made of. Destroying from the outside is basically impossible in conditions we had.
His companions looked at each others - some of them worked on this project longer than Marlow, and each of them had a chance to work with different propulsion systems, so the thing he said was understandable for everyone.
- So, it was definitely an internal factor - Liu concluded - We had no access to the dock since the explosion, and we left in a hurry, so none of us had a chance to take a look...
- But how in hell there could be an explosion originating from the inside? - Julian wondered - Sure, some of the compartments have flammable gases, but the tanks should be hermetic, none of sensors pointed otherwise. Besides, any redundant electricity was cut, so there was no chance this could be a trigger. Martin, what do you think?
Martin was not reacting to John's explanation, obviously lost in thought. Only after Julian said his name, Johnson replied:
- There shouldn't be any self-ignition, that's true. In order to cause such an explosion you need a right amount of energy. I can't think about anything that could cause such reaction right now - he looked at Marlow - but John, you surely have some suspicions, right?
Major sighed. He kind of knew that going into the topic will lead to this kind of conversation, but there was no other choice than to share his theory.
- Ok, but I really need you to keep it to yourselves. At least for now - others nodded again - System should not be capable of causing this type of accident as you said. Even if we consider full power circulating and a surge, coating is capable of withstanding such situation. But, planting explosives in correct spots is a different matter, especially close to vacuum chamber's airlock.
Mechanics looked at each others, equally angry and scared.
- Holy shit - Thorsten was the first one to react - But, John, it would mean that someone wanted to kill us... intentionally. Man, no one mentioned stuff like that when they offerred me a contract...
- And it had to be either mechanic or an engineer, an inside work - Julian pointed out - Fuck, human error would've been much easier to swallow.
Still, the whole theory hit Martin the most - his face, having the same reaction as the others until now, became pale.
- Sabotage... done by our own... and we are supposed to return to work after that?
The tone of his voice felt anxious.
- Martin, I don't know what to say - John had no idea what kind of words could comfort his colleague - These are just my suspicions - he intentionally left out the part about Mathias having similar idea - I don't think we should be jumping to conclusions with that...
Johnson shook his head.
- It's not about your theory to be honest. Even though we started this topic, there was another thing we would like to consult you about. You see, we all here think of applying for contract termination.
From the very moment he was invited, Marlow was expecting something bad is going to happen, but not this. He could forsee his companions blaming him for the whole situation, venting on him and calling him incompetent. However, neither of them did that - they were all strangely composed, but bitter at the same time.
John understood their point really well, and most of the people would likely consider the same thing in such a scenario, not even asking others for their opinion - they would simply make a decision and leave. So why they did not? Marlow did not want them to leave since he trusted their abilities and considered them important, needed here. Still, if they decided to leave, he would never try talking them into staying - after all, he did not want to be somehow involved in providing the reason for them to continue this job.
He calmly looked at their faces - everyone nodded, confirming Johnson's words to be true. Indeed, it seemed they seriously thought about leaving. John really did not want to participate in this - what he said could affect their decision after all. Unfortunately, he could not just remain silent in this situation.
- I'd never blame you if you leave - he assured them - After something like this happening, the idea to leave seems normal to me. I'm scared and no longer sure about everything myself.
- It's not only about being scared - said Martin - It's true everyone feels that, even more after hearing your theory - And no - he continued - no one is blaming you here. We only wanted to hear your opinion, and confront it with the official statement. The more important thing here is that, despite urge to cancel the contract, each of us has doubts. Well, it's hard to not have doubts here.
- Sure it is hard - Liu jumped in - It's a gigantic project after all. A historical one. Future people will be learning about it at schools. Maybe even our names will go down in the history.
- Besides, the salary is really good - added Julian - And they provide us with everything we need. If we get back, we get back as rich people.
- That's right, we'd be well-off for the rest of our lives - summed up Thorsten.
Johnson kept nodding while listening to his colleagues and finally spoke himself.
- True, but all these "ifs" and "buts" are key here - he turned to Marlow when saying that - You see, John, everyone here has their reasons to stay here. Money and fame sure are tempting. Still, how can these be useful to a corpse? That's why we are wavering, since we don't know if this game is worth it.
- And that's why you are asking me what to do? - John felt confused - The only honest answer I can give you is "I don't know". You said it yourself that everyone has their reasons, pros and cons. And I'm no different. Until now, our work went smoothly, we had no serious problems until this tragedy. If you want me to tell you whether such things will keep happening, I'm afraid this will be the case. There's too many unknowns in the whole project to be sure of anything, especially our safety. First of all, we can't be even sure we manage to reach our destination.
Mechanics looked at each other.
- And knowing all of that, you are staying? - asked Martin.
It did not seem to have anything to do with their concerns, to Marlow at least.
- I thought we were talking about you, not me - he pointed out - If your decision has to rely on what I'm planning, I don't think this conversation has any sense. This matter is serious and you should make your own choices.
No one spoke immediately, and John took a sip of beer as he waited for how the things will play out. If he were to be honest, major actually started to feel tired, and would gladly returned to his Earth apartment, for which he worked for so long. Sadly, he had no comfort to make such a decision.
- It's not about getting ideas from you, John - assured Thorsten, who decided to break the silence - We are considering pros and cons, and hope to get something more... We keep seeing as many pros as we see cons...
Marlow sighed. At this rate, it could go on forever.
- I stay, fly and don't quit - he declared - While I'm a scientist, I'm also a part of military, where leaving this place could be treated as cowardice. I actually hesitated on the day I was offered to join this project, same as you waver about continuing now. I considered all the chances this project could give me like possibility of making discoveries, my name going down in history, and getting rich while at it. However, I made my final decision because I was afraid of losing what I gained until now. I definitely prefere to risk my life during expedition than to go back to being poor, or whatever fate the army could give me for declining my duties.
Others were obviously shocked by his words.
- You really thing they'd go so hard on you? - asked Martin.
- Not sure how hard would that be, but I was informed it won't be let by.
Looking into Liu's and Julian's eyes, it could be easily said they are terrified, while Martin and Thorsten showed no change in their behavior - one could easily tell who is still a newbie and who is a veteran. Despite that, John expected that the older two are more worried than they let others see.
- Thanks for your honesty - said Johnson - I'm sorry for being nosy. I had no idea.
- Let bygones be bygones - replied Marlow.
He finished his beer and stood up.
- I hope you find your answer. Bye.
For a moment, Johnson looked as if he was about to stop him, but it seemed the mechanic felt it would be too much of using his patience, so he let him leave.
John did not feel well. He had his doubts for a long time now, but he was sure they were buried deep inside. But this talk just now made them resurface. Obviously, he was scared, scared really bad - who wold not have concerns about such a thing like traveling to another world? Sure, he wanted to discover something, and go down in histroy, but still - he was scared.
Recent months were to him like usual job, just carried in slightly different conditions. Marlow simply got used to everything going smoothly and without disuptions. Unfortunately, one moment made all of it fall apart. Even without someone's death he was anxious, and how could he calm down still remembering the sight of dismembered bodies? No, it was definitely not a trip as some kept calling the whole expedition. Still, even quitting was a risk for him.
Traveling back to residential section took him too much time yet again. He felt tired, weary and tensed up. Too many such thoughts, doubts and problems. Whatever he was to do, there was always something to fear. Staying on Earth would put him at risk of losing his position and money, while participating in expedition and fulfilling his duty could cost him health, or even his life. Whenever John started weighing pros and cons, staying had more cons that pros, when counting them at least, in number. Funny, indeed. Especially after knowing potential sabotage could be done that easily. If that was the case, what could saboteurs do during the flight? And with so many people in the crew? Maybe he should really reconsider his priorities and resign? But what next?
He entered the room in bad mood. No urge to do anything. Of course, it was not like he had that much to do with no usual daily duties at work anyways. His job until now was taking most of the time so there was not much left for any other activities after all. However, now that he had some spare plan he did prepare plan for each day - still, major rarely managed to follow the original plan in the end. So, this lack of motivation was nothing new then?
Marlow looked at the clock - it was a couple of minutes past five PM, a bit too early for a sleep, at least according to Earth standards as he did not see day or night for a year now - natural ones obviously, not artificial imitations. Maybe try and make another entry in the journal? No, he felt numb, so lying down seemed like a good idea.
As John was about to disconnect the implant, he heard a familiar, but rare sound - text message, an unusual thing nowadays. Maybe leave reading it for later? Better not. He turned on the interface and displayed the message - it came from Martin.
"Hi John. Apologies for writing you just after forcing you into such situation. Originally, I wanted to ask you in the pub, with everyone present, but I didn't want to make it seem as forcing you. We may not know that yet, but when it happens, we would like you to accompany us to the funerals. It's obvious it may not be easy to get there at all, especially with all these security measures, but it's really important to everyone. Especially for the kid. You were a role model to Steve, he wanted to become a capable engineer like you... So, if you could, please join us."
Marlow cursed at himself for deciding to read the message right now, still freshly agitated after the previous talk. He felt as if Johnson used such words to play with his feelings, to suggest that declining would be something inhuman, like not going along the dying person's wishes. Well, it seemed that way to him at least, at this very specific moment. He remembered Steve asking him about various things related to engineering stuff, but never said anything about aiming for such a job in the future. So how could John actually know it was like this? Even if the kid thought of him as a role model, he could never expect to die anytime soon, and was unlikely to think about the people who should attend the funerals. But what the hell are these thoughts? No matter what Steve thought of him, Marlow felt it was his duty to come to the funerals of the people belonging to the crew since they worked together for some time - he had to be there, as a colleague at least. Besides, he was the engineering chief during the time. He owed his presence to families of the dead. Not like it was going to be easy though.
Unfortunately, confirming with Martin that he will go to the funerals did not mean it would actually happen. If the obsequies were to be taken care of on the Ring, it would not be a problem, but since it was unlikely, and knowing that project's crew was not allowed to go back to Earth without authorization, making it happen felt like a really hard task. There were no exceptions - both John and Martin, and all mechanics were subjects to this rule. Getting a permit required going through a special process, and Marlow doubted everyone from the group would get the authorization for the same time period. Of course, if they were to resign from the participation in the project, it would have been a different matter. John wondered how would they react if their request were to be declined after they decided to stay.
Some say it is better to tackle the problem once it arises, while others claim waiting to see how thins will play is smarter. Major was not superstitious, but he hesitated before making a call to Mathias. He could not be even sure if professor was to have time to talk with him, or even if he could answer at all. Much to Marlow's surprise, Kaller answered immediately, though pointing out that he has a limited time so he needs a short summary of the situation.
John made an effort to fulfill the request, explaining the situation in a concise manner as much as he could. Once he finished, Kaller sighed so expressively that major could almost see his wry face.
- Thank you for letting me know - said professor - To be perfectly honest with you, that's something I did expect. That was also one of the reasons why I asked you to stay in touch with me. You see, given the circumstances, no one could blame them for wanting to leave the team, won't you agree? They are not the first ones to consider resignation despite the consequences their contracts include. I have already received official request from many, who didn't even work nearby, making my schedule really tight. The general situation doesn't look well concerning the team composition, so we need to react accordingly. We need to persuade them to stay and prevent others from leaving. Otherwise, we will have to recruit new people for technical positions, and doing so at this stage of the project is extremely risky. But I've already told you before so you should be aware.
Of course, John remembered their previous talk on that matter. Struggle for power. People leaving the crew made it possible for concerns, countries and various powerful organizations wanting to make a profit on the expedition to put in their own pawns in the staff.
- Yes, I know what you are getting at, professor - he confirmed, not wanting to waste time and focusing on the main things he wanted to discuss with professor. One thing was especially important.
- Talk to them, John, persuade them for me - Kaller continued, his voice sounding nervous - We cannot allow so many people to leave. Even with how their contracts were written, this is going to be a mess. We already have our hands full with finding replacements, and this makes it much harder to check everyone's background properly.
- You are worried more saboteurs will join?
- Saboteurs, terrorists or casual industrial spies. In other words, people who don't think about this whole project, the expedition being successful, but worrying only about their own business, or businesses of their employers, looking for gain. And, obviously, I'm aware we already have people pursuing money on board. Still, there's a difference between earning your pay by being an asset leading the project to success and focusing solely on gain. Between us, I'm fine with people being greedy for money as long as their motivation and goal go in line with what we aim for this expedition.
Marlow bit his lip. Mathias seemed to rush when talking to him, as if he really had to finish this conversation as soon as possible. And John still needed to push one thing through.
- I have no idea what can I say to make them stay, and I don't really want to provide them with a reason, because I would feel guilty should anything happen to them - he announced straightforwardly - Besides, they are not sure how to proceed yet. However, there is one thing which can give them a reason to have a better opinion about the management of this project.
- And what's that thing?
- I believe the final report concerning the accident is not in yet, but is there any information about the funerals? Where and when will they be held?
- Both of them had families, so their remains will be send to Earth and cremated.
Cremation did not surprised Marlow since it was the most common approach to funerals in current world, mainly because of limited space on the surface. With the growing population, many countries introduced layered cemeteries, using similar approach to expanding the cities, aiming to limit the used space, but costs soon became too high, mainly due to continuous maintenance. Of course, old cemeteries were preserved, but recent deceased were rearely buried in coffins. Still, concerning the matter major was discussing now, not the process, but the place where it will be carried was a problem.
- People from the crew working in the dock want to attend the funerals - he told Mathias - I assume that they are likely to resign if they don't get a permit to leave the Ring.
Kaller did not respond immediately, most likely processing what Marlow said.
- Give me a day, John - professor said finally - This should be enough to check how can this be done. I can assure you that I will do everything in my power to keep them with us. Now, take care.
- Mathias, one more thing - Marlow reacted in the last moment - I'd like to go with them.
He did not see the face of his interlocutor, therefore another moment of silence worried him - to the point that he even checked the status of connection, but this turned out to be active.
- I'll keep that in mind. Until next time, John.
Major also said goodbye to him and, immediately after ending the conversation, turned off his PEC.
Another hard and tiring day was passing by. No official statement concerning the results of investigation as of yet, and Kaller's behavior suggesting that a lot was happening. Everything went crazy. People, who were focusing solely on work so far, were now forced to wait idly, while only a few were sent to train, or perform other dutues.
While John was never a big fan of training, he would much more preferred this second option in current circumstances, but due to being close to victims, and considered as one of potential culprits, he could not perform any official duties.
He would like to continue doing something constructive, and here he was forcefully made to go and relax inside this metal can. To be honest, staying in natural zone was not that bad, but he has already left that place to meet the mechanics - change in mood was noticeable between there and his personal room. Still, he had no strength for another, several hours long trip. Besides, he was awaiting a reply from Mathias - due to that, it seemed better to stay closer to project's zone. How long will this take though? Will he be allowed to go back to Earth, and attend the funerals?
Answers to these questions came much earlier than he thought. Despite professor Kaller saying he will need one day, everything got handled within a matter of several hours. If John had the implant turned on all the time, he would have learned even sooner.
Anyway, he read the message from Mathias just after waking up. Once he got up and connected his PEC, he received notification about several unread messages. Since he noticed Kaller among the sender, John started with reading the mail from him first. According to what was written, both mechanics and Marlow were granted to leave the Ring and attend the funerals. Moreover, professor made it so anyone in the crew can apply for a permit. However, there was one condition - they had to be escorted by military. While only one, it was an essential regulation. To major, something like this was not a subject to worry about - he had nothing to hide after all. Still, he had some concerns about this plan - mainly to the resources required, since a number of military staff had to be deployed. Fortunately, it was not his problem.
Message was not only focused on funerals though. Aside from this part, Kaller sent him an encrypted part. Marlow was slightly surprised by seeing something like this mixed in, but decided to connect the chip he received from professor to decrypt the text. Obviously, Mathias Kaller was not the type of person who would help you without getting something out of it. But this time it was not about gathering intel, but also about interviewing potential stand-ins whom Mathias wanted to recruit. While John did not feel obliged to follow up thoroughly on spying on others, since he never considered himself to be a snitch and only considered contacting professor on really important matters, interviews were a completely different thing as he had to provide a proof that it took place.
This whole connection to Mathias Kaller was really troublesome. Professor behaved as if John had to pay off a debt or something. If not for Kaller's standing and connections, Marlow would be able to decline without a second thought, but making a potential enemy out of the project director did not seem like a good idea, especially knowing it is a several years long ride.
Well, several interviews are not such a big deal. At least, he will not have to stay in this metal can for couple of days. All that was left was to wait.