Drifting Dark

Chapter 6: Going Dark

Helen tapped the side of the console silently, leaning back into the well-used, cushioned chair. A few feet ahead of her, Mike and Shrey were working away on their own workstations, running through their checklist. Unlike them, she wasn't paying attention to the screens in front of her, instead, her gaze was forwards, on the wide view screen located at the front of the flight deck.

Even though it was black.

That's was all the camera outside could see at the moment. The dark zone was aptly named. She glanced sideways at one of her own screens, set to scan the area. Their sensors also confirmed there was no one out there. No one they could see.

It was a good sign. No ships was a good sign.

They were far past the point where any Terran or Martian civilian ship would dare to go. Nobody went this close to the dark zone, unless it was a military vessel, or they intended to cross.

Everything on this trip was looking normal so far.

"We're approaching the border," Shrey announced. "We should turn on the cloak soon."

Helen nodded. "Let's take one more look at that new flight plan before we head in."

Shrey hit a few buttons and the viewscreen switched from the camera view to a limited map of the solar system. The Sun, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. All the major asteroid stations were labelled. Their ship was represented by a small green triangle, not to scale, and their journey up until now marked with a solid white line.

They were almost at the border of Mars' territory, the edge of the asteroid belt, an area completely covered in red. The overlay showed the sections of the solar system under enemy control or currently disputed, based on the updates from military intelligence. A few seconds later, a white, dotted line appeared on the map, showing their projected course to Phoebe Station, a path directly through the red area.

"Everything is matching expected trajectories. No stray asteroids as far as I can see," Shrey announced. "We'll pass by Jupiter, giving it lots of space, then it's right on to Phoebe Station."

Helen leaned forwards in her seat, silently studying the image.

"It's not a big change from our original flight plan," Mike added. "Adds a couple days, but that's it."

Helen tapped her chair's armrest. "And what was wrong with our usual route again?"

"Someone else got themselves spotted on that path," Mike answered. "It's been swarmed, according to the latest intelligence reports."

Shrey leaned back and crossed his arms. "Weren't we the only ones using it?"

Mike shrugged. "I guess not."

Helen got up and the screens of her station dimmed to black, just like the other empty workstation to her left. She stepped up just behind the two pilot seats, resting her arm on top of Shrey's headrest. "What do we know about this route? Anyone flown it recently?"

"Not according to intel," Mike answered. "They're eager to get their hands on our sensor logs as soon as we get to the other side."

Helen scowled. "They're using us as a test run," she muttered irritably. "We're not one of their damn spy ships."

"And the extra fuel is going to cost us," Shrey remarked. "Those Ellidium prices aren't going down anytime soon."

"How do you always manage to find the negative side to everything?" Mike said in mild annoyance, but there was no real heat behind it.

Shrey smirked. "It's a talent."

"He's right." Helen's scowl had only deepened. "This is going to eat into our cut."