As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been on a big fiction kick of late. Writing as well as reading. I thought I’d share one of the short stories I recently wrote in this space, because it was an exercise more than an attempt to create something for publication.

This one started years ago, when I was (as usual) facing writer’s block. I fired up a story starter from some random website, and wrote a couple pages. Having recently come “unstuck” on fiction writing, I cracked this one open again and took another shot. This was the result:

The Car Salesman of S-15

“I’ve got just the one for you.”

Jimmy took note of the eagerness in the girl’s eye as he turned to lead her through the lot. He could feel her father staring at him, sizing him up, looking for the scam. She was about sixteen, he guessed. First car. She was the only one he had to convince – once she was sold, Daddy would buckle under the pleading gaze of those big blues. After all, no pretty young girl would wind up on a rock like this unless her family dragged her, and that meant that Daddy – the guy said his name was Henderson – probably had a guilt complex. He had pulled her away from family and friends to come to S-15 for the sake of his job. He didn’t look like a scientist. Probably a mining exec. Probably had money. You had to figure out these things if you wanted to make the sale.

The lot was a huge slab of reinforced concrete, interspersed with iron-grate drains for washdown. They’d run the washing program this morning, but already there was a thin layer of red dust on the inventory, dust that permeated everything on this God-forsaken rock, even the self-contained habitats that made up the colony. The dust made the brand-new cars look older, outdated somehow. Old-fashioned halogen bulbs buzzed overhead, reflecting off of the transparent dome, obscuring the otherwise clear view of the stars. S-15 didn’t have its own atmosphere. It was night time, all the time, and the heavens shone brightly with no ozone to dim their twinkling lights.

Jimmy took a left turn at row seven, stopping at the third car in. He uncoiled a compressor hose from the spool on his pack and fired a burst as he circled the vehicle. A small dust cloud swirled overhead and was quickly sucked up by the air scrubbers.

“Oooh, I love the color!” She squealed through her gum, jaws pumping as she smiled broadly, slowly walking around the machine. The vehicle’s paint job was opalescent, and it sparkled and shimmered different hues depending on where you looked at it. It was an entry level model, but a good reliable Martian brand. This version had a sport package on it, and the super-rugged tires were accentuated by the impressive lift-kit. She ran her finger across the hood, tracing the contours as she walked around it. Shielding her eyes from the glare with her hand, she pressed her head against the driver-side window and peered inside. She spun around with a wide grin.

“Leather seats?” Her eyes were wide. “What’s it called, anyway?”

“It’s an Excalibur XR.” Jimmy liked the name. It appealed to people. Sword in the stone-world. He glanced at Henderson, who was obviously searching for the sticker price.

“What model year is this?” He asked, trying to sound knowledgeable. He was a paper-pusher, Jimmy was sure of it. Maybe an accountant, an expert on the cost/benefit ratios of Helium-3 extraction…

“It’s a ‘52. We’re trying to make room for the ‘53s, so we’ve knocked the price down a couple grand. There’s also a manufacturer’s rebate on it. I can do the numbers for you in the sales office and give you an actual price.”

“Can I get inside?” The girl asked excitedly. “Can I drive it?”

“Shannon, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…” It was time to act. If Jimmy wanted the sale, now was the time to gently push things along.

“It’s not a problem Mr. Henderson, not a problem at all. Why don’t we all take it out for a spin? I’ve been wanting to get off the lot for a bit anyway. It’s been a slow day, and I heard there’s supposed to be an eclipse this afternoon. Maybe we can get a view of it from outside?” Henderson started to object, but the girl’s pleading caused him to relent. “Come on then, Shannon,” Jimmie smiled. “I’ve got the keys right here.” He tossed them to her. The fish was hooked. He just had to reel it in. There was a fat bonus at the end of the month if he could unload the last of these models.

They climbed in, the heavy suspension rocking slightly as they ascended from the running bar into the cabin. Jimmy took shotgun so he could show the girl the features. Henderson sat anxiously in the back.

“You’ll be pleased to know, Mr. Henderson, that the Excalibur has the highest safety rating in its class.” Jimmy turned sideways to look Henderson in the eyes, doing his best impression of the reassuring friend. He went effortlessly into his schpiel. “There’s the patented carbon-fiber roll cage design,” Jimmy’s finger traced the outline of the padded endoskeleton inside the cabin, “and an additional exoskeletal cage on the outside, which you might have noticed. The Excalibur is designed for mining colony and rugged-environment recreational use.” He paused to let that soak in, and turned to the girl beside him, studying the controls.

“Shannon, go ahead and start it up. The ignition is right there.” She turned the key and pressed the ignition, and the vehicle hummed to life. The interior instrumentation lit up, a collage of neon blues, reds, greens and whites. Jimmy turned around again to continue his conversation with Daddy. “The Excalibur also comes with standard front and side inertial dampening fields, the highest rated life-support system in a small offworld-utility-vehicle, and adjustable ballast tanks for variable-gravity environments.” He turned back to the girl. He was in the zone now, working them both at the same time. “Shannon, go ahead and activate the life-support systems there – that blue button on the steering wheel – that will turn on the air seal and start the atmospheric pumps.” Shannon pushed the button, and with a whine, the systems came up, and air began to flow through the vents. “Now those can only be deactivated when the exterior vehicle sensors detect you are in an atmospheric environment. That will prevent you from bumping that button out on the planet surface and cutting off your air.” He turned back to Henderson. “Another great safety feature.” Jimmy smiled again. He could see Henderson beginning to relax. “I’d also like to point out that since this model has a sport package, there’s also an external vehicle winch, which is remote-controllable from inside the safety of the cabin, and a low-level magnetic repulsor-field – MRF for short – which will help to deflect any ambient debris from ranging in size from surface particles to small meteorites. Keeps the paint job cherry.” He smiled, turning back to the girl. “Why don’t you go ahead and turn on the MRF before we leave, Shannon? It’s the green button just above the blue one you pressed a minute ago.” Jimmy settled back into his seat and fastened his shoulder harness. The others did the same. He then directed the girl to follow the illuminated arrows on the drive-path toward the airlock. She hit the accelerator and the buggy took off with a lurch.

“Sorry!” She giggled. “I’m not used to this yet.”

“That’s fine,” Jimmy cooed. “Just take your time. Electric motors have a heck of a lot of torque. If you’re used to fuel-engine cars, it can take a while to adjust.” As they approached the bay doors, Jimmy pressed a transponder clipped to his belt that opened the airlock primary doors. They drove in, and he instructed the girl to wait while the bay depressurized. The loud buzz of the vacuum pumps could be heard through the thick hull of the vehicle, and when they banged to a stop, Jimmy pressed the transponder again. The secondary door opened up, and he instructed Shannon to drive out onto the road ahead of them. As she pulled out into the darkness, the LED-array on the front grill came to life, flooding the road ahead of her with clean, white light.

“The road’s yours, Shannon.” Jimmy said. He hoped the car would soon be hers as well. Shannon accelerated, tentatively at first. Offworld driving could be complicated – the low gravity environment amplified the power of the vehicle and made it hard to keep all four wheels on the ground. It was a good thing that the surface of the planet was far more wide open than any mall parking lot back on Earth had ever been.

* * *

The test drive was uneventful, as father and daughter conversed and Jimmy taught them about the various other useful features of the car. He suggested they take an off-road trail to Com-Station 12 to catch a view of the eclipse, which, according to the nav-screen, was supposed to be occurring within the half-hour. It was a good friendly experience for them to share together and personalize the sale. It was also an excuse for Jimmy to witness this solar event he’d been unable to take off work to go and see.

The trail to the station was rougher than the main road, but the vehicle was designed for rugged terrain and handled it expertly. Shannon was becoming increasingly familiar with the ride of the Excalibur, and showed a natural talent for handling the unique conditions of the low-gravity mining world. They talked as they drove, filling in details between the lines of Jimmie’s suppositions. She was from Earth, and as Jimmy had already guessed, her father was on track to become regional CFO of Minerex, the multinational corporation which had funded the colonization of the planet. He had been transferred six months prior, and Shannon had not quite forgiven him for having to leave everything and everyone she loved behind.

“I have to say,” she admitted as she jumped the OUV over a crater in the rock, “I’d never have been doing something like this back at home. This is pretty cool.” Daddy looked pleased, sitting in the back seat, knowing that he had at last found something to help make amends with his daughter for the difficult change. Jimmy imagined that Mr. Henderson would soon find himself willing to pay full price for that.

Shannon rounded the top of the trail and swung around the right side of the Com-Station to get a better vantage point. As she turned, Jimmy’s eyes widened in horror. The ledge where he had told her to park was gone, broken off by the smoldering remains of a meteor. Shannon hit the brakes, hard, and the studded tires sought a grip on the loose rocky surface. They slid forward, unable to find purchase, and the vehicle, with everyone in it, plunged over the edge, down, down, bouncing and rolling until there was nothing but blackness.

Jimmy awoke first, slowly, not knowing where he was. His head ached, his lip was stinging, and he tasted blood. They had gone over even harder than he had expected. He looked over and saw Shannon, unconscious, her arms raised above her head. It was then that he realized they were upside-down, and that his own arms were likewise dangling above him. Henderson groaned from the back seat.

“You alive, Mr. Henderson?” His voice was thick, slurred.

“I’d damn well better be, considering all the inertial dampening fields you said came standard on this thing.” He coughed, then groaned again. “Shannon?” No answer. “Shannon?” The panic in his voice was evident. Jimmy looked over at Shannon, her face lit softly by the pulsing flash of a red dashboard error light. He could see her head bobbing slightly as she breathed.

“She’s alive Mr. Henderson, she’s breathing. She seems to be out cold, though.” Jimmy rubbed the back of his neck. The low gravity kept the blood from pooling in his head the way it would have on Earth, but it was still uncomfortable as hell hanging upside-down. “We’ve got to get this thing upright, see if we can still drive it.” He reached over and turned the key, then pushed the ignition. Nothing happened. Feeling his way across the dashboard, his fingers found the small plasma-panel screen. He pushed a button and it lit up. When he read the screen, he swore under his breath.

“What is it? What does it say?” Henderson was trying to see from where he was hanging, suspended, in the back.

“That’s the system diagnostic. It says the main battery cell is ruptured. A number of other non-critical systems are also damaged, but without the battery, nothing else matters. We’ve got no propulsion, and life support is running on the reserve battery.” Jimmy attempted to turn and look back at Henderson, which worked only about half as well as he had intended. “According to spec, the reserve can run the atmospheric pumps for thirty minutes, tops. From the looks of things, we’ve got less than fifteen.”

Jimmy tapped the phone stud in his ear. The ready indicator bathed the right side of the cabin in blue light when it came online, and it played a happy little tune as a virtual keypad and display unfolded before him, visible only to Jimmy, courtesy of the phone/brain interface chip he carried in his head.

“Shut up.” He snapped. “Just find me a signal.” He punched an invisible key and the phone searched for available bandwidth. After fifteen seconds, the display flashed the message: No Signal. “I’ve got nothing,” Jimmy muttered. Henderson snorted from the back.

“You think you’re gonna use that down here? We’re cut off from the colony by that cliff ledge you led us over. These rocks are riddled with exotic metals that distort cellular transmissions. You’re never going to get reception. You might as well be sitting in a jamming field.”

“I didn’t lead you over a ledge, Mr. Henderson,” Jimmy snarled through his teeth, “I offered to bring you to a place that’s very special to me so that your daughter could see what there is to enjoy about this hellhole of a planet. It’s not my fault you brought her here. It’s not my fault the meteor service didn’t report a collision by the Com-Station this morning.”

“Clearly, young man, you were outside the normal operating parameters of a standard test drive when you took us up here. That was an un-maintained road up there. They only do maintenance on those Com-Stations twice a year, and I should know since I handle the budget for them. You think that was safe? You think it’s okay to put your customers’ lives in danger just so you can make a sale?” Henderson was yelling, and the noise stirred Shannon from her unconscious state. She whimpered, then went back under.

“Look, Henderson, we need to get your daughter to the medic. This was nobody’s fault. I take people out so they can experience what our vehicles have to offer. I never intentionally put people in danger.” Jimmy lowered his voice. “We need to fire the winch and see if we can at least right ourselves. There’s an auxiliary solar inverter built into the roof. If it’s not damaged, we should be able to keep power to the life support systems until we figure out what’s next.”

“The Sun in this system is far enough away from S-15 we never get full daylight. At its best, it’s the strength of the full moon back on Earth.” Henderson cocked his head and looked out the window. “I can’t see whether it’s up yet or not, but even if it is, do you think it’s enough?”

“Let’s hope so.” Jimmy reached over and tapped his way through the nav-screen submenus. The screen was a power drain, and was running in low-luminescence emergency mode. Many features were disabled, and Jimmy was grateful that the engineers at had kept the winch option available along with the other emergency functions. The winch menu itself had the look of an aftermarket plug-in, and didn’t integrate seamlessly with the nav-GUI. It had too many options, and the screen colors didn’t quite match with those of the parent menus. As his finger hovered over the various choices, he found what he was looking for: auto-mode.

“This winch package,” Jimmy announced as if he were back in his sales pitch, “Has a lot of versatility. One of the most valuable features is its auto-mode, which will use the vehicle’s AI to evaluate and execute the best extraction maneuver.” And it’s a damned good thing, Jimmy thought, because I have no idea how to use it. He touched the screen in the appropriate spot, and a warning popped up:

Battery Life Critical – Winch Will Consume 73% of Remaining Power. Continue? (Yes/No)

“Shit.” Jimmy spat, and Henderson strained to look past his shoulder from the back.

“That doesn’t look good.” Henderson said, the anger gone from his voice. The gravity of their situation was finally hitting home.

“Nope, but I don’t see what other choice we have.” Jimmy didn’t wait for an argument. He stabbed his finger at Yes and listened as the winch powered up.

“Calculating options,” a canned, female voice announced from the speaker system. There was a pause, as a green status bar crawled across the screen. It filled its allowed slot, and then the voice returned. “Calculation complete. Engaging winch targeting system.”

They had bounced and spun enough as they had come over the ledge that the Com-Station tower was now more or less in front of them. Though the cliff face almost completely obscured the view from inside the cabin, Jimmy could just make out the lower supports before the vehicle’s hood got in the way. He hoped that the adjustable winch grapple could compensate for the weird angle.

“Targeting complete.” The computer said calmly. “Firing winch grapple.” There was a loud bang and the sound of nanotube cable unspooling, both carried as vibrations through the body of the vehicle. Any sound beyond that, like whatever the grapple may have hit, was lost to the vacuum outside the car. Jimmy realized he was holding his breath, waiting for something to happen. He waited more, finally exhaling loudly when nothing did.

“Is that it?” Henderson asked nervously. “Are we done for? I don’t want to die out here…”

“Winch engaged.” The computer voice interrupted. The rover jerked forward, the roof scraping loudly along the rocks. Jimmy realized the MRF must have been shut off by the computer to save power. The thick hull of the vehicle was designed to withstand changes in atmospheric pressure, but not being scraped across hardened, metallic rock. If one of those rocks gouged the roof, their air would be gone in a heartbeat. They lurched again, this time vertically, as the cable began pulling them up the cliff face. Soon they were suspended by the winch alone, the front end nosing up like a rocket headed for the stars in slow motion. They spun on the cable, twisting until the fat rubber tires hit the cliff face with a heavy thud, and that seemed to stabilize them somewhat, as they rolled and bounced the rest of the way up the cliff. Jimmy could see that the electromagnetic grapple had attached itself to the struts of the Com-Station tower, the heavy magnetic tip holding fast as they scraped up and over the ledge.

“Winch disengaged.” The computer reversed polarity on the grapple and it dropped, then snapped back as the winch re-spooled the length of cable with a metallic clang. Back on all-four wheels, Shannon was slumped awkwardly against the driver’s-side door. She began to move.

“Unh…my head…hurts. What…happened?” Henderson was already leaning over her seat, trying to get her harness off. “Are you okay, baby? Does it hurt anywhere other than your head?” Jimmy felt genuinely crappy that he had gotten them into this situation. However much family time this guy sacrificed climbing the corporate ladder, he obviously loved his child.

“If she needs it, there’s a first-aid kit under the…” Jimmy stopped suddenly.

“What is it?” Henderson asked.

“Shh! I hear something.” There it was, unmistakable now in the silence. The whistling sound of rushing air. Jimmy moved his hand slowly along the ceiling until he felt the draft. There was a puncture. It was small, but they were losing their air supply. How much had already escaped?

“Computer,” Jimmy tried to keep his voice calm, but he felt the panic rising. He had always been horrified of asphyxiation, a death that was an all too possible threat in the life of a space colonist. He wouldn’t let that happen. “How much air do we have left?”

“Atmosphere is at 57%, and falling.” The computer responded, matter-of-factly.

“Keep me updated on the status, computer. Ten-percent intervals.”

“Acknowledged.” The voice sounded bored.

“Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink…” Jimmy muttered, his eyes going over every inch of interior space, searching for the solution. He looked to his left, and could literally see the dealership off on the horizon, so close, but impossible to reach without the main battery. He suddenly remembered that up near the tower, his phone should work. He tapped the earpiece, and the virtual computer unfolded before him again, to the same happy tune. He had signal bars this time…

“Atmosphere is at 50%, and falling.” The computer announced. That leak was more serious than Jimmy had originally thought. Even once he got the call through, it would take a little bit of time for them to get a crew out here to bring them in. Time they didn’t have to lose. He needed to stop the air loss, but he couldn’t afford to put off the call, either. He patched the phone through the Excalibur’s speakers, tapped a number into the air, and waited as it rang.

“Colony Motors.” A pleasant voice on the line said. It was the automated receptionist.

“Nancy, it’s Jimmy.” He began, trying to use as little air as possible. “I need a rescue crew to Com-Station 1, A-Sap! There’s been an accident and we’re losing atmosphere, fast. We can’t get back under our own power.”

“Relaying your message to emergency services now, Jimmy.” Nancy replied. There was a bit more emotion in her voice than in that of the vehicles on-board computer, but not much. What there was, was only because the store had purchased an upgrade. People seemed to like it better that way. “Emergency services are on route to your location. I have given them your beacon coordinates.”

“Thanks, Nance.” He said. “Will you stay on the line, in case I need you again?”

“I am not supposed to maintain a single call for more than five minutes, but…” there was a pause, and Jimmie knew she was accessing a subroutine. “Emergency protocol overrides standard operating procedure. I will stay on the line.” Jimmy made a mental note to find whoever was responsible for the programming of their system and thank them for emergency protocol. For the moment, he had more pressing concerns.

“Atmosphere is at 40%, and falling.” He looked over at Shannon, her father’s face a mask of worry. She pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger, her jaw working absently.

“Chewing gum!” Jimmy shouted. Henderson jumped, and Shannon cast a wary look at him.

“What?” She said, her voice sounding tired.

“I need your chewing gum. I might be able to use it to plug the hole.” She handed it to him, and he jammed it in the pinhole in the roof. It sucked tight, and slowly began oozing through.

“It’s not gonna hold for long.” He said. “But it’s something.”

“What now?” asked Henderson.

“Now?” Jimmy shrugged. “We wait.” He pointed to the horizon, where the red and blue strobes of the rescue vehicles were now just barely visible. “They’ll be here soon.”

Shannon giggled.

“You okay, sweetie?” Henderson asked. He shot Jimmy a look that had “lawsuit” written all over it.

“I’m fine, Dad.” She smiled. “I’ve got a headache like you would not believe, but this is seriously the most fun I’ve had since we got to this stupid place.” She looked up at her father. “Heck, Dad, this is the first time I’ve been outside that damn habitat.” Her voice got quiet as she looked out the window. “It’s actually really pretty out here.”

Henderson looked like he was struggling to process what she was saying. Fun? Jimmy could see the question on his face, and he decided to use the moment to his advantage.

“All the same, Mr. Henderson, I’m really sorry for all the trouble.” Jimmy found it easy to make the apology sound sincere. After all, he was sorry for the trouble. He was just trying to make a sale, not get anybody killed.

“Don’t be.” It was Henderson this time, and he was staring at his little girl, a look of admiration in his eyes. He turned, finally, toward Jimmy. “That,” he said, “is the first real smile I’ve seen in months.”

“It was my fault anyway.” Shannon said, a pout creeping onto her lips. “I wasn’t really looking at the road. I’ve just never seen a view like that…” There was a far away look in her eyes. She turned back to Henderson.

“I want it, Daddy.” She stared up at him, the pleading look back in its place. She is good, Jimmy thought. A natural.

“You want what?” Henderson asked. “The view?”

“The rover, Dad! The car. This one. I want this one.”

“Well,” Henderson stuttered. “I can’t…I mean…”

“We have an excellent nano-bay, Mr. Henderson.” The reds and blues were growing closer now, the lights reflecting off of their faces as they talked. Jimmy needed to close out this sale while the closing was good. “We can have this thing good as new in a couple of hours, at no extra cost.” He grinned his most charming grin.

“Atmosphere is at 30%, and falling.” The delay between warnings had been longer this time, proof that the makeshift patch was slowing the leak. Looking out at the approaching vehicles, Jimmy said a silent prayer that it would be enough.

“We should stop talking. Conserve our air.” Henderson said what Jimmy was thinking, but Jimmy suspected he was using it as a stall tactic.

“Dad!” Shannon exclaimed, her eyes wide.

“Don’t ‘Dad’ me, Shannon. We don’t know how long we’ll need the air to last. They still have to get us out of here, which means a pressurization tent, and…”

“No, Dad. Look!” She had been sitting sideways in her seat, and could see what the other two could not. She pointed behind them. The others turned, and their eyes fell on what she was staring at. “The eclipse!” She squealed, delighted. “They didn’t ever look this good back on Earth.” Henderson looked at her face in the way that only a parent looks at their child, and found himself smiling too.

“It’s a deal, Jimmy.” He said, offering Jimmy his hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“You hear that, Nance?” Jimmy asked.

“Purchase confirmed.” Said Nancy, who was still holding on the line. Jimmy smiled with satisfaction, his fingers discreetly easing off the switch to the emergency air pump under his seat. They had cut it close enough that he had almost had to use it. Even though things hadn’t gone completely according to plan, it was worth the extra trouble. A little excitement gets them every time, he thought.

“Jimmy, there are some customers here to see you.” Nancy said. Jimmy switched the phone back to private mode, allowing him to communicate directly through his neural interface without verbalizing.

“I should be back shortly.” He broadcast the thought, watching Henderson and his daughter as they talked. The rescue workers were outside now, suited up and erecting a pressure tent over the car. “Please have them make themselves at home.” He looked out the window at the big retrieval truck, which bore the inscription, Courtesy of Colonial Motors.

“Oh, and Nancy?”

“Yes, Jimmy?”

“Ask them if they’d like to schedule a test drive.”

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