Tevun-Krus #57 - Colonisation SF

Sirens' Song - A Short Story by @jinnis

Sirens' Song

By jinnis 

I'm convinced there are better reasons to sign up for a space mission than a toothache.

But for me, that's exactly how it happened. Want to hear the story? We've nothing to do but wait for the storm to abate, anyway. If it ever abates. Jean, bring us another round and sit down, I'm about to tell a story!

...

So, here's to toothaches and space exploration. Cheers!

The particular, cursed morning I woke with a hurting tooth, I had nothing else to do—who had, in the middle of the depression following the hydrogen crisis. So I went to the dentist. I hadn't visited for ages. The lack of a job and cash pushed dental care a long way down on my to-do list.

I was trapped the minute I entered the shiny premises. The nice young assistant at the front desk asked for my insurance number with a perfect smile and guided me into the consultation room, straight into destiny's claws.

The doc took one glance at my rotting tooth, my worn coat, my scuffed shoes, and insisted on charging me in advance. Not that I can blame her. When I politely refused, buttoned my coat and made ready to leave without a fuss, she presented me with the recruiting poster.

What can I say? How could I resist a beautiful blonde offering release from the pain in my jaw and a secure job in addition?

We left Copernicus station ten days later. The positive thing, the dentist did a thorough job. My teeth never ached since. The bad thing, well, we all sail the same boat.

I was hired as an unskilled worker, like the brunt of the recruits. Then they found out I'd grown up on an algae farm on Mariana VII, so I was sent directly to the agri-domes.

I won't complain, life out there is hard but fair. Six days of work, seven-hour shifts, with nine hours to yourself in between. Two days off after each cycle to visit the central hub. Not enough water, if you ask me, but then I'd seen more than enough of that on Mariana.

Well. As mentioned, life out in the domes is hard, fair, and boring. As soon as I'd adapted to the rhythm, I found myself wondering about the planet beyond the dome. I read the reports of the first lander team. Free library access is one perk in the agricultural zone.

The pioneers had it rough, but the company invested with a generous hand and built the main habitat within cycles from first landing. However, they registered twenty-something unaccounted losses, supposedly due to heavy planetary weather.

Human ingenuity is legendary though. Within one grand cycle, the dream of colonising the storm planet became real, the central hub was built and the colonist recruitment began. It's hard to believe this happened only three GCs ago.

The early reports caught my imagination, and what came next is entirely my own responsibility. I wouldn't miss a minute of it.

Ha, now I got your attention. Jean, we need a refill, it's on me! No guarantee we ever get the chance to enjoy your best booze again.

...

Yes, my interest was piqued. I wanted to walk a planet unprotected by a dome. See, I've never had the chance to experience outdoors before.

Sneaking through the emergency lock proved less of a challenge than I feared. It took five cycles to gain the janitor's trust, but we became buddies over a few beers and card games. Drake was an old hand, the one-hundred per cent real thing. Born on Earth in the aftermath of the climate catastrophe, left with the first settlers as a kid, and spent his life during the big expansion. He was in his seventies and had some tough stories to tell.