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We were despondent. Everyone's face expressed grief for Ji Cheng mixed with bewilderment. The captain spoke up.
“I have to ask,” he said after a pause, “if anyone had a personal conflict with Ji.”
“What are you talking about?” Leonov snarled. “We passed the compatibility test.”
“I don't know,” Fi
“Then why would you exclude yourself and Lisa?” I retorted angrily.
Fi
“I think it's Werner,” I looked straight into the captain's eyes.
“What about his motive?” he asked.
“Ji saw something she shouldn't have, and she would tell us about it.”
“I agree with Max,” Leonov said.
Fi
“I'm sure it's not one of us.”
“Fine,” the captain concluded. “Let's accept it as our operational assumption. But she was always with us, what could she see? And it turns out that Lisa and Werner were walking toward her room from both sides of the corridor. Is Werner the prime suspect?”
“Unless someone snuck in earlier,” I said. “There wasn't much time, but just enough to make it through the corridor.”
“What do you think about the base?” Boris asked.
“Trevor showed us the surface on the display and promised a tour. It's not Earth, I'm inclined to believe him.”
“Hopefully, it's true,” the biologist lowered his head, but then raised his gleaming eyes again. “There is something strange here, but I can't nail it down.”
“It's clear enough from Ji Cheng's murder, and we must find out what it is,” Lisa said. “We are going to live here for the rest of our lives, unless a ship from Earth arrives.”
“I think we should have a rest,” Boris said. “Tomorrow I will initiate a thorough physical examination. DC is not a wellness procedure, you know.”
I took a shower and was sitting on my bed mulling over the recent events when somebody knocked on the door.
“It's open,” I replied, thinking that given Cheng's death, it wouldn't hurt to start locking the door.
Unexpectedly, it was A
“Max, that's terrible! Sheila told me about the murder,” she said in a ma
“Please sit down,” I offered.
“Have you talked to Trevor?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?“
“He said there would be an investigation,” I shrugged. “He believes it's one of us.”
“It can't be you,” she said adamantly.
“Thanks, but you don't know me well enough.”
“I just see it. I feel people. But your shifty-eyed friend could well be the killer.”
“Leonov? Nah, he wouldn't hurt a fly. So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I'd like to take you with me tomorrow to show the power supply systems of the base. You should get down to work as soon as possible, and being an engineer makes you my subordinate,” she smiled.
“Aye, boss,” her smile made me feel like melting, “but I can't come tomorrow. Leonov is going to torture us with medical tests. If he's satisfied, I will be at your disposal the day after tomorrow.”
“That's quite reasonable,” she said, getting up. “Well then, see you when you are free. Good night.”
I walked her to the door and locked it, because a danger foreseen is a danger half avoided. Then I dropped on the bed and passed out.
Day 2
My sleep was unceremoniously interrupted by the sound of someone smacking their hand on the door, and it took me a while to realize where I was. Luckily, Boris Leonov's voice barking from the corridor brought me back to reality quickly enough.
“Max, John, get up. Sheila is already waiting; they've provided me with a full set of equipment for one day only. Come on, Lisa is already here. We are waiting for you two.”
I valiantly suppressed the urge to pull the blanket over my head and tell the Russian to get lost. Five minutes later I was in the corridor, a minute ahead of the captain. We greeted each other.
“Follow me, you lazybones,” Leonov led us down the corridor.
We took an elevator down to the medical bay again, but not to the compartment where our capsules were. Boris handed me and John over to Sheila's care and nudged Lisa into another room. There were two scan beds against the right wall. Sheila told us to lie down there. She had a disgruntled look again. Maybe it's her natural expression, I thought, making myself comfortable. I knew a guy like that back in college. Everyone thought he was an idiot, because he smiled all the time when he talked. Then we found out that his facial nerves had been damaged in an accident.
Of course, scans were just the begi
Taney visited us once. Obviously, he wanted to ask a few questions about the murder. He just silently stood at the entrance for a couple of minutes, then left without uttering a single word, rightfully considering us too busy at the moment. Leonov kept harassing us on and on. Even during lunch his hovering presence was so a
In the evening, unexpectedly for all crew members who accepted the fate of endless suffering, he declared, “That will be all for today, I believe.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” John asked ironically, putting on his shoes.
To our dismay, Leonov kept silent for moment, quite seriously trying to recall what he could possibly miss.
“Yes, you can go. I'll check the tests.”
“Let's have di
“I can hear everything,” Boris' loud voice commented from the next room. “You see, I just love my job. But you wouldn't understand, would you?”
“It was a joke, right?” John asked.
“In his case, you never know. Come on, I'm sick of this place,” Lisa said.
The three of us headed to the mess hall.
The di
I was listlessly picking at the green mass on my plate and listening to Fi
“Today I also plan to discuss our place at the base with Trevor, as well as an excursion to the surface to our lander,” the captain was saying.
“We also need to know how and when Cheng's funeral will be arranged,” Lisa said.
“I think they cremate bodies here, but I'll clarify this question,” Fi
“About Cheng, what else?” I dropped my spoon with distaste. “I'm trying to understand the motive. Because that’s most important. I can't let go of the feeling that we all saw something, but couldn't realize its true meaning. We missed it. And she didn't. I keep replaying the events in my mind, but I can't point my finger on anything, except that she often checked her watch. But why? To monitor the flow of time? I don't understand why. She was a physicist, so she could know something that we don't. I have no idea.”
“I'm thinking of something else,” Lisa said. “About justice. It's truly sad how Ji ended up. A person grew, studied, aspired to something, to the stars, dreamed. Then some bastard just cut it all off. And we were powerless, we failed to help her.”