Ramirez Albedo wasn’t a handsome man, or so he was told by many women he’d tried to date in the past. He was short, with a thick brow that almost unified over his sloped forehead, making his eyes look angry all the time. Girls kept calling him “the missing link” or “Neanderthal man”. And Yet, those same girls who dissed him constantly, they kept coming back to ask for a date. Probably because he was nicer than most men they’d been with. Or that his personality was far superior than his looks.

Only one woman managed to get his full attention, she at least appreciated him for both his looks and personality combined. Yolanda DeSusa was a heavy set woman when they met, but that didn’t bother him in the least, she was defiantly a woman he liked to get his hands on. Despite her size, she was kind, attractive and loved him for him. They were best friends from the start, lovers when they were alone, and amazing parents to four kids.

The job tended to get in the way of their happiness, Ramirez not being home for great lengths of time (months and years), but they would always stay connected and make up for those missed family moments. He loved being a father, he love being married to such a wonderful woman, and he really started to hate being away for so long.

All he needed was one big score, one big job that would set him for life. This was the dream, to be a Space Rocker out among the stars. But, he didn’t always want this life, his father influenced his decision, and really, this was more about living the dream for him. His dad (or Papa, as they called him) was very much a Space Rocker at heart. His father loved the job and the prospects of striking rich one day.

Ramirez remembered his childhood days, those times he’d never see his dad come home on holidays, his graduation and especially his marriage. That caused a lot of tension between them, often getting into heated arguments and then not talking for long bouts. Eventually, they’d forget about it and get back together, especially when it had to do about asteroid mining. As always, there was a sense of duty and pride in the Albedo name, more importantly, to the ship that gave them all such an easy life, The Calista.

So while he might hate being stuck in the role he was given, at least the wealth would continue to flow and give his children the education and lifestyle his family business provided. He came on board shortly after his father’s passing. It was a terrible accident, involving a mining drone that got out of control, it hurled his father through the asteroid belt around Saturn, and killed him instantly as he impacted on the surface of one of those rocks.

Ramirez only had been on the ship a few times when the old man was alive. He’d be put to work immediately and learned everything he could from his dad, the joy of teaching of his son the business pleased him immensely. In his father’s will, he stated that Ramirez was to take over as captain and continue the family legacy, should anything happen to him. And so, as if it were prophesied, he was now the owner of the great Albedo family mining empire, such as it was.

Ramirez made sure the drones were not on his vessel once he was in charge. They were too untrustworthy. He felt men and women, rather than robots, could think better in dangerous situations. He took on a smaller crew as his uncles and aunts retired. Family is always welcome to join, but he never pressured them to do so, or stay on out of obligation. Instead, he replaced them with people he felt were more suited for this type of job.

Most were down on their luck, or had crappy lives they wanted to get away from. It was understandable to him. If they could do the work, they were well worth the pain of having around. Personalities weren’t really a concern for Ramirez, he knew how to handle just about anyone, hell, his family was more than enough proof of that.

At least, that was his belief many years ago. With Mike’s ongoing racial slurs and hot tempers flaring among the crew at times, it was starting to grate on his nerves. It’s one thing to be working with someone that had such strong convictions, it’s another having to manage a group of individuals like that. He didn’t know how his father seemed to keep it all under control, workers practically at each others throats at times, especially with so many family members butting heads.

“Alcohol… that’s probably the key” He thought. “Lots and lots of tequila…”

He made sure there was plenty when they were on their off-hours, but locked it away during working shifts. The mess hall had to be fully stocked just in case. Last thing he needed was a mutiny, and certainly not in the endless void of deep space. Being out here, beyond the solar system, this had been the furthest they’d ever gone. Perhaps, this would be his limit, and refuse any more offers to go beyond that.

And maybe, one day, he’d give up this responsibility. An early retirement sounded good to him. He could pass on the burden to someone else, maybe to a cousin, or even his little annoying sister… a possibility that even now felt oh so tempting.

* * *

“Hey, boss man?” Mike signalled to the Captain, “What’s the word on us getting some time off this month?”

Captain Albedo stood on the bridge of the main ship, the interior looking like it had seen better days, and leaned against the rusted railing a few meters away from his chair. He could see them all from where he stood, a massive window showed him the whole asteroid field and the small pods moving about. They looked like small fireflies to him, the lights beaming in the darkness and twinkling about as they repositioned on the rocks.

“Mike…” Albedo extended with annoyance, “You’ll know when I know, Ok? That’s the fifteenth time you’ve asked this morning, in fact, that’s like the hundredth time in the past week already…”

“Oh, right…” He replied. “So, when then?”

“Hijo de puta…” Albedo grumbled inaudibly. “When I say you get it! Stop being such an ass and get to work.” He ran over to the console and switched off Mike’s communicator.

Each one was displayed on the flat panel on the side of his chair’s interface. The chair itself was not in great shape either. Years of dust, grime and rubbing on the screen had dulled the finish in several places. The two pilots at their stations on either side of the rounded bridge, gazed back at him with concern as he continued to curse under breath.

Noticing their stares, he held up his hands to them as if to say, ‘what?’, and then proceeded out of the room as the door slid away. The two pilots, the young black woman and the South Asian male counterpart, grinned slightly as they knew Mike’s usual antics got the better of their Captain. Rather than dwell on the situation, they returned focus on their jobs of keeping the ship stationary.

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* * *

“I knew that would piss him off.” Mike laughed as he vaped casually. He sat in his pod, messy and full of nude photos of women plastered around the control walls, and used one of the robot arms to tap the helmet of one of the space-suited workers the asteroid they were on. “Hey-hey––what be shaky, Greg? How’s my African-native today, brother?” He said in a mocking tone.

The man turned about and smacked the robot arm off of him. “Hands off, ya racist son of a bitch! Besides, you sound like a Jamaican, I’m African! At least get your accents right, ya filthy white pig!”

“Ok, ok!” He said raising his hands up submissively. He sucked in another long puff of his vape and motioned to the angered man holding a long shovel in his direction. “Chill, bro, I’m just checking up on ya.”

“Screw you, Mike.” Greg said, coming closer with the shovel. He tapped lightly on the rounded glass of the pod and grinned devilishly. “A few good cracks on here would end your miserable life, but good.”

“I said––ok!” Mike snapped back. “Damn, you guys are so hard core. Loosen up, will ya? I”m just messin’ around ya damn nig..”

“Don’t even finish that last bit, bro!”

“What?” Mike shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna say it…”

“Yeah right…” Gregg tapped on the pod’s window.

The two shared an intense stare for a few moments, but soon looked away from each other. It was better to stay focused on the work, then getting into a scuffle that might have deadly results. Greg hated Mike’s lack of respect for others. He was always spewing out racial or socially awkward comments for sheer fun.

Despite the progress the future, with the technological wonders, advancement of space travel––racial bigotry, hate and intolerance was still somewhat of an issue. The separation of Earth into colonial settlements had taken some of the worst of humanity and brought its failings along for the journey. There had been movements in the previous centuries to curb this line of thinking. But, human nature is a hard thing to unlearn.

Greg Umbatta, who was originally from a small village in South Africa, hadn’t lived on Earth for years. He and his girlfriend moved to Mars during the great migration to expand the colony. Greg liked working on Mars, creating tunnels and coring out the martian rock. But he also liked being mobile, especially in space, which led him to asteroid mining. He soon found Albedo a few years later, who was looking to recruit some new blood, and Greg decided to take him up on the offer. Those long bouts of being away caused a rift with his girlfriend, and they eventually split up.

Mike was a different story. He was the third son of a wealthy tech-giant, En-Com. He was a spoiled brat who spent most of his time getting into trouble, getting into situations with the police, and embarrassing his family to no end. He’d once stolen his dad’s private space yacht to take a joy ride around Venus, began a riot during the second election of the Earth United President, and had numerous financial scams going on with his father’s employees. Finally, his father and mother couldn’t take it anymore.

This was the end of the road for him. The constant criminal convictions and bailouts was costing his family too much. They cut off his privileges, wealth and informed him that they would no longer give him a free ride anymore. With little experience and no real skills, he was finding hard to secure employment. His father pulled one last favour for him and had Albedo take him on as part the work crew. This would be the only job left he could get, and now he was stuck mining rock for a living far away from home. His father had once said to him: “If you fail this, you’re going to prison; I won’t coddle you any longer.”

The hardest part in dealing with Mike was his constant need to press buttons, namely, those of the crew of a different culture or background. The strange thing about it was that Albedo was never a target of some of those awful comments. Mike seemed to respect him, in a way, almost like a surrogate father. He wondered if the young man was in need of one, seeing how distant and immovable his own flesh-and-blood dad was never as approachable. When Albedo would admonish him for spouting his harsh words on to the others, especially Milo, Mike would back off and apologize. Again, that fatherly respect he would never give his own.

Milo, was just as stubborn as Mike at times. A tall and strapping buff Navajo indigenous man, Milo had a bit of a rough past as well. He often got into brawls in bars, when he had too much, and hated hearing anyone mock his culture or beliefs. For a man with deep values and one hell of a work ethic, he was extremely sensitive when it came to being mocked. A prime target for like of Mike’s antics. Albedo wasn’t sure if he could keep the two of them on board at the same time, but, somehow, the two managed to not kill one another. Not yet, at least…

* * *

The entire crew had similar colourful backgrounds, though not as annoying as Mike’s had been, that’s for sure. But, Captain Ramirez Albedo felt all were welcome on The Calista, so long as they did the work and wanted a change from whatever they had been in before. Only Albedo had the most experience of being a Space Rocker, he and his family that is. Serrano Albedo (Ramirez’s father), had started the venture back in its earliest day.

Only a handful of his sons and daughters joined him during those adventurous times, building a business to be proud of and pioneering the newest form of space mining. Albedo took command of The Calista (his father’s pride and joy, not to mention legacy), shortly after Serrano died from an ill fated collision while mining the rings of Saturn.

Ramirez, his sister Annabelle, and his cousin Chaz Pablo Ferdinands, are the only family members left keeping the operations going. Annabelle took over as head of engineering once her uncle retired, much to the dismay of her brother. He felt this life wasn’t the best of one to have, especially for such a young one like her.

A spirited twenty-seven year old with a masters in spacial engineering and geological studies, was going to waste in his mind, especially on a rig like this. He fought vigorously to keep his baby sister from doing such dangerous work. But she asserted her right as a family member to join his crew. That, and his mother guilt-tripped him into doing so.

So while he was on his way to check out the cargo sections, and help to prep the area for all that raw material, Annabelle (or Anna, as he called her) marched at him full speed en route.

“Hey?” She screamed over the loud steam hissing pipes. “When are you going to let me get out there and do some of that digging, huh? You think I don’t know how to find the right spots on those rocks?”

“Aquí vamos de nuevo…” He lowly grumbled. He looked back to see her rushing behind. He tried to increase his steps, hoping it was enough to avoid the conversation, but she was not letting him getaway that easy. He quickly saw her and passively smiled. “Oh, hey sis! Cómo estás… look I’d love to chat but I’m busy, okay?”

“I can do the work ya know…” She hollered at him. “Don’t treat me like I don’t––I”m smart, smarter than you…”

“Uh huh…” He replied. He moved faster down the corridor and bobbed past the various pipes jutting out. The ship, big as it was, was still rather compact for moving about. “We’ll talk later, bye-bye for now.”

Suddenly, a large metallic wrench came flying past his head, narrowly missing it by a few inches. Albedo reactively ducked and turned back in anger. The one that had been dangling from her work belt was missing. He quickly pointed at her in fury.

“What the fuck was that? You could have killed me.”

“I meant to miss, stupid…” She said with arms raised. “Next time, pay attention when I’m talking to you.”

“Shit…” He said, still looking relieved it didn’t make contact. He saw she wasn’t going to let it go and gave a drawn out sigh of submission. “Ok, fine… come with me and talk on the way. Geez, I’m telling mom what you did though.”

“Dah, ya damn baby…” She said jumping up at him and tossing his hair. “Momma’s boy didn’t like lil’ sis fuckin’ with you.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek as if all was forgiven. Too bad he didn’t feel the same. With a slight hesitation, he gave one back to her and the two carried on to inspect the cargo hold.

“Mom was right, you really are loco.”