Titan's Plague: The Trial by Tom Briggs (story reading .txt) 📕

Pati couldn’t help but feel Nancy might not be at one hundred percent as her attorney. The next few days were critical; the time Pati needed her the most. If worse came to worst, she could relieve Nancy and find another lawyer to represent her. That action, unfortunately, had significant drawbacks. It would take more time, so escaping Titan wouldn’t happen soon, and there weren’t many lawyers as good as Nancy on Titan.

Pati mulled it over lunch at the Grand Center. After filling herself with a light meal comprised of chicken, eggs, rice, and spices she couldn’t name, she walked to the trolley station. This took almost as long as the trip there because the lunch crowd was getting out and heading back to work.

She waited, followed, and then entered the station for the north-bound line. There were so many people on the platform that the next train filled up before she could get on. The doors shut in front of her, while the windows showed a car packed with people.

With nowhere to be that afternoon, she didn’t worry. Some people shouted expletives after being denied a ride, and one guy punched the side of the train as it pulled away. Pati hid her smile, thinking the man might accost her for finding humor in his distress. She would walk away if he did, although, with this tight crowd, she might not be able to.

She stood straight up on the edge of the platform, hoping to take up even less space. Everyone else around her was taller, even the crowd on the other side waiting for their train heading south, which she heard coming from her right.

Like the northbound train that’d just left, the people squeezed in. Pati could no longer see through the windows to the other side and expected some would be left to wait for the next train like herself. The train didn’t leave right away, though.

She heard the clanging from the left side. She didn’t bother leaning over like most people to observe a train she already knew would soon arrive. Pati just stared ahead at the southbound train and waited, when she felt a push in the small of her back.

Pati couldn’t keep her balance. She fell off the platform and into the path of the northbound train. The distance down was little more than a meter. A distance that took longer to fall than on Earth, and long enough to let the train get within striking distance.

The southbound train blocked one means of escape. The platform was flush with the northbound train, blocking another. When Pati struck the steel rails, the train had only a few more meters to get to her. It looked heavy enough to crush her to death, even in one-sixth gravity.

Her torso bounced from one track, and the track gauge was short enough she could grab the other rail as she hit. She swung her feet under her into a crouch. The clanging filled her ears, each clang getting louder and louder.

The danger flashed into her brain: avoid the wheels. No time to plan. She had to act. From her crouching position, she jumped straight up, facing the train that rapidly approached.

On Titan, she could jump over a four-meter-high train. Time was not on her side, however, and the train’s windshield met her as she rose. The force launched her down the tracks. Her body flew out the north side of the station, and she landed on her back, hitting a rail. Her body twisted, and she rolled perpendicular to the rail for a few meters. She stopped rolling face down.

Pati didn’t stop thinking. She popped her head up to see where she was. She stopped between the northbound and southbound tracks and was apparently safe. Her right-side torso ached, maybe she broke a rib or two?

“Are you okay?” a man’s voice said.

The station was to her left, and from that direction, she saw the man in a light-brown utility uniform. Of European descent like herself, he looked tall enough to be a secgen.

“Ah, I just got hit by the train,” she replied, without getting up.

“Don’t move then,” he said. He carried a package. He set it next to Pati and pulled out a handheld device to scan her body. “I’m Mike Fineman, the station-master here. Let me check you for injuries.”

Pati didn’t argue. She studied the surrounding area and decided no other dangers awaited. She relaxed for the moment.

“You’re obviously Earth-born,” he said while scanning her body.

“I think my ribs are broken,” she replied.

He focused on her torso and spent a few more seconds with it. “No, just bruised. Nothing inside of your ribcage has been damaged, so that’s good news.” He scanned her legs up and down and placed the handheld back in the package. He helped her to her feet. “Looks like you came out of this little worse for the wear.”

“Did you see who pushed me?” Pati asked.

“That’s why you fell?”

“I didn’t jump.”

“We might have the event recorded, except it was really crowded, and, well, you’re not very tall. I don’t know if the recordings will show who was near you.”

“What about the people there now?” Pati asked. “Can you ask them?”

“I can call the constables, but I think if someone pushed you, they’re gone by now.”

Pati tried to take a deep breath, feeling the pain in her right side as she did. “Shouldn’t the train at least try to stop when someone falls in front of it? I mean, aren’t there safety measures for that kind of event?”

The station-master looked down. He then reached for Pati’s arm. “Let’s clear the track so the train can get through,” he said.

“Wait, answer my question,” she said.

He met her eyes. “Okay, there are brakes in the station that’s supposed to bring the train to a quick stop if someone falls in, but that didn’t happen.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged. “I think, because we had maintenance on the tracks this morning, and those brakes were not re-activated after testing. That’s the only explanation I can think of before I investigate and I don’t want to bias my opinion by speculating now.” He pulled her arm. “Come on, we need to get off the tracks.”

Pati let him pull her to the side. He then let go of her arm, and they walked back to the station. The train that hit her clanged and pulled out, heading north full of passengers. She saw the faces staring at her as it headed north, and she wondered which one of them had pushed her.

This Mike was right, though. Whoever pushed her would have admitted to the act right away if it was an accident. They were long gone because it was intentional, or maybe it was an accident and the person was too scared to come forward?

She wondered if the constables would investigate what happened. Given how they investigated her rebreather sabotage, she wasn’t hopeful. It was time for her to act because people were still trying to kill her.