Read Below Mercury for Free Online Page B

go this afternoon; we’ll try some landings on a different asteroid.’
    The three students clambered out of the simulator, and clanked down the access gantry, their voices fading into the distance. Clare stayed behind in the copilot’s seat, resetting the controls and selecting a new scenario from the simulator’s computer.
    As she worked, a head looked in briefly through the open door, and the substantial bulk of Group Commander Colonel Helligan manoeuvred himself into the cockpit. The smell of aftershave and stale sweat preceded him, and Clare knew who it was before she even turned round.
    ‘Good morning, Colonel Helligan.’ She turned to face him. Helligan was 52, with a heavy-set, footballer’s body that was well on the way to turning to fat, and his greying, wiry hair was cropped close in a crew cut that accentuated the hard line of his jaw. Small, close-set eyes under deep brows gave him a mean, unpleasant look. He was dressed in a short-sleeved uniform shirt and dark blue trousers.
    She resented him being in here, his bulk filling the small cabin, intruding on her personal space with his presence, his aftershave, his … body .
    ‘Well, well, well. Another crash on an asteroid,’ he drawled lazily, as he leaned over the back of the pilot’s seat. ‘Are you teaching them how you did it?’
    ‘You know this is the first time for them, colonel. And I’d respectfully remind you that I never crashed any ship into an asteroid.’
    ‘Yes, but if you hadn’t pulled up at the last moment you would have.’ He paused. ‘Captain.’
    ‘The review panel completely exonerated me of any—’ Clare began, as patiently as she could, but Helligan cut her off.
    ‘I know what the panel said, Foster.’ He drawled the word. ‘It’s what they didn’t say that interested me. What’s between the lines, not what’s in them.’
    Helligan glanced round the cockpit, looking for something to criticise, and, finding none, continued: ‘I’ll be watching how the others do. Let’s hope they aren’t too shaken by that little ride that you gave them.’
    ‘Is there something I can do for you, sir, I really have to get this set up again.’ Clare scarcely bothered to keep the contempt creeping into her voice. She knew it was unwise, but she wasn’t going to cave in to this bully of a group commander she had been landed with. Since her return from space six months ago, she had been seconded to the Training Squadron and to tanker duties while her case had been reviewed.
    She had assumed that after the review panel had reached its verdict she would have been straight back out on another assignment. Month after month had passed without any word, however, and she was beginning to think that the Astronautics Corps intended to get rid of her by boring her slowly to death.
    Helligan thrust a folder at her, which he had been keeping under one armpit. A faint whiff of his body odour accompanied the folder, and she saw that one edge of the paper had a patch of damp on it. The title on the cover of the folder read: Erebus Mine Accident Investigation Team .
    ‘I’ll save you the trouble of reading it. You’re being offered a temporary secondment to Deep Space Transportation while your case is being considered. I strongly advise that you take it.’ He paused to let the words sink in.
    So that was it – the end of her career as an interceptor captain. Clare tried as hard as she could to look impassive, to be neutral, but she knew her face was leaking the crushing despair that she felt.
    Helligan watched the emotions flit across her face. A slow half-smile broke his features. It had been worth it, he thought, putting up with this high-flying bitch for the last few months, just to see her brought down to earth.
    She said nothing, just looking back at him.
    Eventually, Helligan spoke again.
    ‘Don’t get excited, Foster. You’re going to ferry some a team of accident investigators to Mercury. Seems they want to take another look into