by Kate Rauner
"I'll send for a second shuttle." Fynn tapped his sleeve and paused for the response. "Those of you on the station team, you'll have to board at the fuel depot and wear surface suits for the entire trip. Evan says he's sending the shuttles on an emergency descent path, so get going now."
He turned to Greta. "Let's talk about arranging to meet Maliah."
"Before that, one more question," Rica said. "What if Maliah decides to kill you?"
Fynn frowned. He couldn't believe... but, yes, he could. "Whatever happens, you guys stick to the plan. But don't worry. Mom will be with me. She's very persuasive."
***
Drew flew through the station's core, zig-zagging upward from one rung to the next. The stasis pods were all stacked in the aft end so there was nothing to smash into if his aim wobbled. He made it before Evan docked the Hera. Erik and his medics were waiting.
The rescued greenhouse crew drifted out and Erik pulled those with obvious injuries to one side. Evan came last, taking time to assure that none of his passengers had passed out and been left behind.
Erik positioned himself to speak to the new arrivals, hooking a foot under a rung in the overheads. A few Kin looked away hurriedly, probably hoping their stomachs wouldn't notice he was upside down. Or that they were upside down. Or something else equally nauseating.
"I've been elected cohort of the space station. You're on a space hospital, actually. Over the next few days, each of you will be examined and assigned a treatment plan. Those I've designated..." He nodded to the most severely injured in the group. "You will be examined right now, here in zero-g.
"You'll all be quartered in the green segment with the pilots. I want each person to be escorted down there by one of us who's adapted to the ring's centrifugal force. So, first group, form up here. The rest of you may want to view videos on adjusting to gravity while you wait."
Drew nodded approval. The pilot's green segment was as far from the current group of Kin as they could get. Let them adjust to gravity first and then see how the two groups mixed.
That would be even more important when evacuees from Fynn's Mechanics crew arrived.
Drew spotted a man he knew from barracks on Earth. A Samurai, he was short and compact with shiny black hair plaited in a single short braid. His face looked a bit gray, though, rather than dusky.
"Hi, Yuki." Drew carefully oriented himself relatively right-side up. "Need another barf-bag?"
"Why did you have to say that?" Yuki grabbed for the bag Drew held out, but didn't have anything left in his stomach.
"Keep it in your handiest pocket." Drew spun slowly. "Grab hold of my collar and try to relax. I'll tow you down to the spokes."
The other escorts followed with their charges, spread out with plenty of space between pairs, so he talked to Yuki in privacy.
"Watch out for a guy named Knut," Drew said. "He's a psychologist, so I bet he'll be in touch with you, but he's also a big fan of Tanaka. Watch what you say."
"Thanks. I'll pass the word."
"We couldn't see much of the Blue Kin raid. What happened?"
Yuki seemed to take the question as a challenge. "I'm proud to be on Max's team. He's a brilliant teacher."
"Never said he wasn't. One of my favorites in Earth barracks."
"What am I going to do up here? There aren't any gardens. Does the station need a utility crew?"
"Not really. Robots handle that." Drew frowned. People with nothing to do meant trouble. "Check out the videos on station life. Hey, I know. There are planting boxes along the outer edge of every segment's upper level. I have packets of seeds and some kind of soil starter in the bio lab. That should be right up your alley."
He swung Yuki around to the spoke's ladder rungs. "Feet-first into the spoke. That'll make sense in a couple minutes. I'll go ahead of you. That way I can climb up and hold you against the ladder if you feel dizzy."
"No problem," Yuki said. "The Gravitron builds up weight against my legs faster than this climb should, and I've been doing all my exercises. I'll be fine."
Maybe he would be. Drew hoped Kin left their factions behind on Titan. Like leaving unit rivalries on the playing field. Like they used to do on Earth. Life in the ring was better than the domes, but everything was better on Earth.
He pushed down a couple rungs with his arms and watched Yuki carefully position himself. It would probably take thirty minutes to get Yuki down and settled in a bunk.
What Drew wanted was to greet Fynn. In barracks on Earth, Fynn had always been right beside him. Fynn laughed at his jokes. He was better with Fynn around. Stronger. But his friend wouldn't arrive for a while, so fussing at Yuki to hurry was stupid.
Thinking about Earth made Drew's chest tingle. If an opportunity arose, if his vague plans solidified, he wasn't sure that he'd be brave enough to try to return. The space station would be comfortable. That might weaken his will, which might strand him here forever.
Worrying now wouldn't help. He stroked his thin mustache with a thumb, balanced on the ladder with the fingertips the other hand, and waited for Yuki to creep downward.
Chapter 26
T he day settled into an endurance rally. Kin crept out from barracks until a couple hundred circled the playing field.
Stomping feet rattled the door to the tower's ground floor cyber room. Fynn didn't pause to peek in. Brigit was inside, and he'd trust her to keep the messaging servers secure. He followed Greta up the spiral stairs and paused on the balcony while she slipped through the door.
His stomach had been in knots on the walk through the domes, but now that he stood at Maliah's door, tension melted away. No more decisions to make.
He switched his coveralls from medic white to khaki. His father had favored khaki, so the reminder was like Yash's hand on his shoulder. It would irritate Maliah, too, and that was a good way to start their meeting. He could flip his coveralls to blue at some point and use that as a sign of submission. A way to become the little brother again, the younger brother who always followed her. He'd pretend one last time.
The door swung open, and Greta gestured to Fynn. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Maliah faced him, leaning against the front of the ornate, plastic desk. Reflecting the room's lights, her face was polished amber. Maj waited at her side. The adjunct looked tired with her eyes sunk in shadow.
Maliah spoke coldly. "I didn't expect to see you in Tanaka's tower, Fynn."
Greta interrupted. "Let him wait for a moment." She gestured toward a large wall screen where a camera feed played. It was focused on the playing field in front of the men's barracks.
After a moment, Maliah shifted her attention to the screen.
As they'd planned, Greta tapped her sleeve and Kin marched in single-file from the tunnel, the last of Max's crew, a few dozen dressed in green who'd managed to hide in the hydroponics frames. As each came into view, True Blue flowed through their coveralls. They paused at the outer edge of the rally where Village Kin circled, apparently too enraptured to notice them.
Greta continued in her best professional voice. "These people are from the greenhouse crew, and they didn't fight you. They want to rejoin the Village."
Maliah stared at the screen, pivoted away to lean toward the empty chair, and then returned her gaze to the screen. Max's crew stood quietly, apparently silent and passive.
Fynn never twitched. He focused on a nearby hologram image of Indus Valley pottery. The bowl was deep taupe, bell-shaped, and circled with stick-figure sheep. Or goats. Staring at the figures quieted his mind as he waited.
Maliah abruptly turned and flicked a hand. "Maj, go down and welcome our lost children back into the Kin."
Everyone was silent as Maj's footsteps echoed away on the stairs outside.
Maliah jerked her chin toward Fynn. "Mom asked me not to call my trustees to seize you. She's been studying you, cultivating your trust, planning what's best for Kin, so I agreed."
Fynn's eyes flicked to his mother in an i
nstant of doubt. Then back to Maliah, who snickered. He trusted his mother. His sister was the crazy one.
"Mom said to listen," she said. "So I'm listening."
Fynn stood tall and still, his dark eyes locked on his sister. "You've won, Maliah. I know that now. I trapped my crew in the furnace dome, but I can't hold them any longer. They want to come home, back to their barracks. Accept them back. They belong in the Village. This was all my fault, and I'll leave the domes without a fight."
A sneer lifted Maliah's lips. "Oh, little brother. If only you were as smart as the boy who used to follow me everywhere. You're too much like our father."
Heat flushed through Fynn at that. He bowed his head to hide his reaction in a move that he hoped looked like shame and tapped his sleeve to send signals through the coveralls, changing them to True Blue. "Please, receive the rest of the Kin into your rally."
"Call them to join us. I'll tell Maj to scatter them into the circles."
Forcing himself to move slowly, as if defeated instead of anxious to get the Mechanics to safety, Fynn sent a pre-arranged signal. On the wall screen, a line of yellow-clad Kin walked onto the playing field, each switching to True Blue as they arrived. Fynn dropped his gaze to stare at the floor, afraid he might show a flicker of relief.
He gestured to the stash of surface suits piled in a corner of the lounge. "I'll don a suit now. If you track the beacon, you'll see me leave."
"Oh, I know you'll follow through, little brother. Go now, before the evening lights dim further. Accidents happen in the red light of nighttime."
Chills shivered through Fynn's chest. That sounded like a threat, but he stopped himself from asking what she meant. The plan was working, his crew was safe, and anything else was a distraction.
Maliah turned toward the empty desk chair. Her back was straight and rigid. Perhaps she'd accepted his offer. Maybe turning her back to him was a dismissal. Confused, Fynn drew in a breath but before he could speak, Greta took his arm and led him toward the suits.
"What's she looking at?" Fynn whispered.
Greta leaned close to his ear. "Her episodes of catatonia don't last long. Quickly. You're the last one to get to safety."
Fynn slipped into a surface suit and Greta smoothed the boot tops. With her back to Maliah, her doctor face softened. She let out a sigh and relaxed as Fynn sealed his gloves.
His beacon blinked on the wall screen that now displayed a diagram of the colony. Maliah could watch as Fynn left the domes. He walked out slowly and headed down the stairs with a helmet tucked under his arm.
Whomp.
Pain buckled his knees and something landed hard on his backpack, driving Fynn into the floor and leaving him gasping for breath.
***
Greta watched Fynn trudge out the tower door, standing patiently until his hollow footsteps echoed away. She needed to say something to support Fynn's plan, and to use his departure to heal the splits among Kin.
She held the door to the balcony open. "Maliah, come and see. Kin are marching together, just as Doctor Tanaka envisioned. You should be proud."
Maliah moved silently, passing Greta like a ghost. Her children had united the Kin. Maybe they didn't think of it that way, didn't even realize what they'd done, but Greta did. She filled her lungs with a long, deep breath. Their father would be proud.
Below on the playing field, two circles of Kin stomped out the endurance rally, with arms entwined and hands gripping their neighbor's shoulders. Most had their heads down, concentrating on the music playing in their ear gels to keep in step, knowing they had to endure for hours, but a few turned their faces upward, enraptured.
On Earth, rallies were rare events, maybe held once a year in conjunction with the barracks' track and field competitions. On Titan, Tanaka had called frequent gatherings. How her husband had hated the interruptions they caused when his crews abandoned their work. Max agreed. He'd probably grumble now and say that Kin's energy should go into repairing the greenhouse. But a lightness filled Greta's chest.
"I'm going down," she said to Maliah. "Why don't you come?"
"Maybe in a little while." Maliah was calm, her expression blank.
Greta left. She hurried to the stairs, half-way down, leaped to float gently over the railing. Feet shuffled against the textured floor as the outer ring of Kin moved by, facing away from her and inward to the circle that faced out. On Greta's sleeve, an icon for the audio file blinked and she tapped it. A steady beat filled her head.
She scanned the ring of faces, grim with fatigue but also ecstatic. These people were her Kin.
On Earth, Greta had been allowed to keep her family cottage because she was a doctor, because her schedule conflicted with barracks life. She and Yash loved the freedom her privilege gave them, and they'd made a family. Those memories were precious. Happy times when Maliah and Fynn were young and spent more time with them than any child from the barracks did with other parents. She was proud of her family and proud of the life she'd built. But it was over now, left behind on Earth.
Titan took so much away, but she had the Kin. She ducked her head under a pair of arms that opened to embrace her, their arms loosely twining on either side with hers. Her feet moved in a rhythm she'd known all her life. Stomp, stomp, stomp left. Stomp, stomp, stomp right. Moving together. Moving as one. Lifting her, weightless, in the wave of jumps. Buoyed by Kin, she was home.
***
Fynn levered himself halfway to his knees, then a weight hit his back again, his chest slammed to the floor, and his chin bounced against the suit's neck ring. Dazed, he couldn't stop whoever attacked him from pinning his feet together and twisting his arms behind his back.
A man spoke in a harsh whisper. "Tie his feet. I'll get his hands."
"We don't have to be quiet," a woman answered. "Everyone's on the playing field with music pounding in their ears."
Fynn's pulse pounded in his own ears, but he recognized the voices. "Shun? Trina?" Fynn hadn't thought about the adjuncts in months. "What're you doing? Maliah and I have a deal."
They ignored him, but Shun had given up whispering. "I'll watch him. You grab a couple trustees and arrange for an accident in the greenhouse."
That turned Fynn to ice.
"It's still too light," Trina said. "Someone might see."
"Get going. It'll be dark by the time you're done."
The weight left his back and Fynn rolled enough to look up. His arms were pulled painfully against the sides of the backpack by whatever bound his gloved hands. Probably like the strips of plastic he spotted around his boots.
Shun dragged him to the aisle between the kitchen appliances and serving counters and dropped him on his belly.
Trina hurried away and Shun settled on the floor.
"Shun, listen..." Fynn began.
The adjunct slapped his head. "Shut up."
The counters cast shadows on the floor and, with illumination levels shifting to night, the kitchen was dark. Fynn couldn't hear any stomping feet, and for one hopeful moment, he thought the rally must have ended, and that Kin would soon drift into the mess hall. But it was just the tower behind the kitchen, shielding him from the marching circles.
Fynn tried to think. Only the whir of ventilation fans filled his ears. And something else. A steady sound of breathing.
Shun was propped against a cabinet, chin slumped to his chest, asleep.
Fynn stared for a moment. That's what happened after hours of rally-marching. A few minutes of quiet, and even planning a murder wouldn't keep a person awake. But Trina would return soon. She might be on her way already.
As gently as possible, Fynn explored his bindings. His boots were thickly insulated and stiff with heating elements, so the plastic ties didn't stop him from sliding his feet out. Unfortunately, the seal between boot and suit leg did.
Fynn folded his knees, arched his back as far as the pack allowed, and wriggled until his gloved fingers pushed against one boot.
Boots were sealed with a
band of fabric that touch-fastened to a band on the legs. It wasn't a pressure seal. No need since Titan had plenty of atmosphere. The arrangement simply kept the fabric together and the heating elements lined up.
Inside his gloves, Fynn's hands were awkward, but with effort he picked at a boot top until one finger slid between the fabric surfaces.
The strips separated with a tearing sound. Fynn froze and held his breath, but Shun didn't stir.
The insulated suit was miserably hot and sweat coated his face as, little by little, he freed himself of the boots, shedding the plastic ropes with them. He used his toes to pry at the glove seals, slid one hand out, and ripped the other hand free.
Shun jerked awake but before he could move, Fynn dove at him and slammed his head into the cabinet. As Shun rolled to his knees with a moan, Fynn scanned the floor for something to use as rope. The plastic strips that had tied his feet and hands were hopelessly knotted, but electrical cords hung from the counters.
With shaking hands, Fynn wrapped cords around the adjunct and staggered to his feet. He couldn't go through the greenhouse tunnel, not with Trina and the trustees on the other side. The Village dock was his only way out.
Fynn pulled on his boots and gloves and scrambled toward the tower stairs. His helmet lay in full view of the rally, but the outer circle faced inward, and Kin circled in a near-trance.
With a click, the helmet locked and rebreather air cooled his face. That made the swampy suit easier to bear.
Fynn dashed across the quadrant to the women's barracks and slipped behind the clinic and the new classrooms. That left a sector of the dome to cross in the open. Fynn straightened and ambled along the dome wall as casually as possible, hiding in plain sight. No one bothered him.
***
Maliah leaned on the balcony railing. Above, dark banners swayed in the ventilation currents, and below, Kin circled, united.
"You see before you my vision for the Kin." She'd studied him for so long, she could hear Tanaka's words in her mind with his every pause and inflection. "Always striving, they embrace pain, strife, and sacrifice to reach for paradise on Titan. I brought them here and you, my golden girl, have brought them together."
