Family Circumstances by Oleg Khodko

The "Stilbon" mobile station rolled sluggishly across the rocky Mercurian terrain.

On its highest, third tier, inside the aft cabin—which had only recently become his own—Marko Bondar sat in his chair, staring nervously at his communicator screen. In a few hours, the sun would rise from behind the cliffs in the rear, incinerating everything left on the surface. Of course, the Stilbon would move further west by then—as it had been doing every single moment since landing on Mercury, constantly fleeing into the shadows—but the station had to take its entire crew with it. And that was exactly where the problem lay.

Marko radioed the control center: “Larry, what’s the status on Davidson’s expedition?” “Loading the last samples. They’re rolling out in five minutes. There’s still time; we’re good.” “Thanks. Listen, have you seen—” Marko’s communicator flashed green, and the screen read: Incoming call from Danylo Bondar. “Never mind. Out.”

Marko picked up the call and, skipping any greeting, rasped, “Where are you?” The line stayed silent for a moment, and Marko realized he had sounded too harsh. But then, didn't he have every right to be harsh under the circumstances? Finally, a voice came through the communicator: “My boy, is that any way to speak to your own uncle?”

“Forgive me, but you’ve been away from the Stilbon for at least the last two hours, you’re completely off the grid, and I wasn't given any heads-up—”

“Look at you, quite the big shot now, lecturing me?” “No, but—” “Get this straight: just because I pulled the strings to make you commander of the Stilbon doesn't mean I have to report to you. You could thank me for once, sitting there all nice and warm on Mercury instead of rotting in some trench back on Earth.”

Marko wanted to hang up, but he managed to control himself. “I am grateful to you.” “That’s more like it. Now, hurry up and order a rover to be sent my way. Today’s haul is bigger than we hoped. Chao.”

So that was where he was. Danylo Bondar had made a fortune mining Mercurian Helium-3, and ever since Marko took charge of the Stilbon, he had been saving a pretty penny on equipment, quietly skimming gear from the European Space Agency. Before, they might have had to worry about inspections, but ever since a new war erupted in Europe, Earth had bigger things to worry about, and no one on Mercury risked crossing old man Bondar.

Marko called the control center again: “Larry, I need a rover sent to these coordinates.” “Are you joking? That’s an hour and a half drive east! The sun rises slowly on Mercury, but not that slowly! Can’t they just come back in the rover they took?” “Certain circumstances have come up...”

Larry paused meaningfully. “Fine, but keep in mind that’s our last rover. Hold on... Yes, Davidson... What? Stay on the line. Damn it!” “What is it, Larry?” Marko felt a sudden chill run down his spine. “The rover for Davidson’s expedition broke down. They’re asking us to send ours.” “Have the rover pick up Danylo first, then Davidson.” “You don’t get it. The rover won’t make it in time to get both.”

Son of a bitch! “Hold on.” Marko switched back to Danylo’s line. “What do you want, nephew?” “We have an emergency. Turn back in your rover. We’ll harvest the helium next cycle.” “Is this a joke? My rover is already halfway to the Stilbon.” “Have it turn back for you.” “It’s fully loaded. It won’t make it. Send another one out here immediately!” “It’s picking up Davidson. Theirs broke down.” “To hell with Davidson, they’ve got three hours until dawn! But for us, it's about to break. No games, kid. Not unless you want to end up back in the hellhole I dragged you out of.”

Marko switched back to the control center line. He looked at Danylo and Davidson's geolocations. They should make it.

Danylo Bondar leaned back contentedly in the chair of Marko’s cabin. “What did I tell you, nephew? Everyone's safe and sound, the helium is flying to Earth, and the money is rolling into our pockets!” “This is the last time,” Marko muttered. “What do you mean, the last time? Where do you think you're heading off to?” “To my cabin.” “We’re in it!” “Starting next shift, this is Larry’s cabin. I’ve filed my resignation.” “Oh, really? And what reason did you give?”

The last words came out far too sharp, and for a while, silence filled the room. Finally, Marko replied:

“Family circumstances.”