“Lieutenant.” Mestasis’s voice yanked him away from the globe. “Leave the orb and tend to my sister. She’s still hanging from the ceiling.”
He gazed up to see the old machine-woman slouched over, her chin resting on her chest. Confusion shot through him. Why had he put his own cravings first?
Shaking his head, he searched for anything to stand on to reach her. A ladder would have been ideal, but the Seers had no use for such things. He pulled on a cable dangling from the ceiling. The anchor felt solid, so he climbed hand over hand.
“Bysme.” He called to her as he dangled just before her ashen face. “Bysme, do you hear me?”
Her skeletal remains hung motionless.
“She’s not responding. Mestasis, what should I do?”
Her voice resonated directly in his head. Use the respirator.
An oxygen mask hung beside Abysme. Holding onto his perch with one hand, he attached the plastic to her mouth. Her chest rose and fell with the airflow.
He tried again, “Bysme?”
Two blind eyes popped open and stared at him, sensing his presence. He almost lost his grip on the cable. “Jeez.” He’d had enough close encounters for today.
Her voice resonated on the intercom, even though her lips sucked at the breathing apparatus. “Location of the beacon?”
“What?” Brentwood had never heard of a beacon.
“The beacon is not your concern, Lieutenant.”
It must be if one of the Seers placed it above a falling apart ship with crashing systems. A current of anger rose inside him. Brentwood hefted Mestasis and hung her back on the ceiling where she could see the viewing panel with her one good eye. “Everything on board this ship is of my concern.”
Mestasis spoke as if she assured a child. “The beacon is not on this ship and doesn’t concern you. I’ve regained much of the systems control. Please, leave us to sort out the situation on the ship. We’ll brief you shortly.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He lowered himself down and jumped to the deck, eager to get to the ship’s core. “Are you sure you don’t want any of this cleaned up?”
“All in due time, Lieutenant. You must see to your other duties.”
“All right.”
The Seers fell silent, and he wondered if they conferred amongst themselves in mindspeak he couldn’t hear. Brentwood stepped over the debris and exited, sealing the portal behind him. The encounter made him uneasy, and he couldn’t tell if it stemmed from the fragility of the Seers, their cryptic communications, or the strange globe they’d kept hidden underneath their noses. The object looked like something from one of his Old Earth fantasy novels, and he knew the strange globe filled with golden swirls wasn’t originally part of the ship. Even now the misty swirls called to him like a song yearning to be vocalized.
§
Gemme rushed up the emergency stairs to Deck Sixteen. The smoke thickened the higher she climbed. She choked, tasting ash on her tongue. Hopefully the ventilators would kick in soon.
Sixty-seven
Sixty-eight
Sixty-nine
She couldn’t remember how many times she’d counted to a hundred; anything to keep her mind off of all the horrible imaginings of what could have happened to her parents and Ferris. Deck sixteen’s red numbers shone through the smoke and she slapped the panel, catching her breath as she waited for the particles to dematerialize.
The corridor lay empty as a tomb. She ran six portals down to her family cell on the right, taking steps she’d walked a thousand times in her childhood. Buzzing the intercom, she stared at the blank screen and prayed. Please be safe.
Ferris’s face flashed back at her in surprise. “G! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Relief shook her body to the core. “Ferris, I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“I walked all the way to your cell, but you weren’t there.”
“I was helping a man bring his wife to the emergency bay.”
“Always helping others before yourself, aren’t you?” The screen went blank as Ferris initiated the portal sequence to let her in.
The wall separating them dissolved and Gemme fell into her brother’s arms, squeezing him. He towered over her, an entire foot taller. But he still looked up to her in all other ways. “How bad is it down there?”
“Hundreds of wounded overrun the emergency bay. The man’s wife had to wait in line for care.”
“That bad, huh?”
She nodded. Scanning the room behind him panic jolted through her. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”
“You know them. Workaholics like you. Dad’s with a team stabilizing the fusion core and Mom’s checking on her office. She’s compiling a report of the life support systems.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m staying right here where Lieutenant Brentwood instructed. No use running around when there’s nowhere to go but outside on the ice.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you’re not in your office. That’s the next place I was going to look.”
“It’s gone, Ferris. Everything’s gone.”
His hazel eyes crinkled. “What do you mean gone?”
“The deck’s not there anymore. My entire office is drifting in deep space.”
“No way.”
Gemme nodded and collapsed onto the synthetic sofa. The cold plastic rumpled underneath her as she sunk down. Although she sat in the same seat she’d cuddled in since a toddler, she had never felt more lost.
“You mean there’s no way to pair us up anymore?” Ferris shook his head, wiry hair falling in his eyes. “I have no idea how to feel about this.” He swiped his hair back. “It blows my mind.”
Gemme knew what she felt: fear. Their world of predestination had been shattered, allowing the chaotic universe to stream in. Live feed to pandemonium, here we go.
Ferris scratched his head. “Wait a second. You’re telling me we have to find our own lifemates?”
“I don’t what’s going to happen, but I would assume with no program, odds are slim the Seers would work on building another one with so many other problems to fix.”
“Woot!” He punched the air with his fist. “I was so worried you’d set me up with Marla Simmons or Reilly Foster.”
Gemme covered her face with her hands and groaned. Why was she the only one lamenting the loss of the pairing program?
Because the computer matched you to Miles Brentwood. She gritted her teeth, shirking the thought. No, because I excelled at my job.
The sofa crunched beside her, and Ferris put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry, G. I’m such a blockhead. I wasn’t thinking about the loss of your lifetime’s work. What are you going to do now?”
“I’ve already been reassigned. Exploratory team Alpha Blue.”
“You’re going out there?” Ferris pointed to the frosty sight panel. He sounded like the Seers had given her a death sentence. “But you hardly come out of your office. You don’t even want to visit Dad in the fusion core.”
Gemme pursed her lips. Ferris’s points hit home. Some adventurer she’d make, and Brentwood would be the supervising officer to watch her fail. Tears brimmed in her eyes and she blinked them back. She was supposed to be the older sister, the one who had everything figured out.
“Aw, I didn’t mean that, G. You’ll be a great explorer. You watch; I bet you’ll save us all.”
Gemme sighed, gazing at the ice slabs sprawling in all directions from the sight panel. “If I’m going to sav
e us all, then we’re doomed.”
Chapter Eight
Fluctuating Systems
Brentwood slipped into a white protective suit, zipping the front up to his chin. He pulled the hood over his face, his breath steaming on the plastic visor. The synthetic fabric felt too thin to protect him, but thick enough to suffocate him. Repressing his nerves, he moved in between the portals separating the fusion core from the rest of the ship. Warnings beeped at him. A recorded voice spoke on the intercom.
Caution: Must wear protective gear at all times beyond this portal.
He suppressed the urge to hold his breath as the second to last portal closed behind him and the chamber sealed before initiating the final portal sequence. His logical mind told him it would do no good. Besides, he knew his breath capacity limits from his races on swim team. Although he’d always come in the top three, he couldn’t hold his breath long enough to find the supervisor, walk back to the portals, and wait until the defensive sequence of portal panels played out.
Men and women in protective gear scattered on the circular walkway. Some recorded readings on the coolants and pressure gauges while others dragged hoses and wires over their shoulders. A high railing separated him from thirty-foot drop where a gigantic gray cylinder towered up like some poisonous mushroom in a fairytale. The sight always spooked him, like the Expedition held a ticking bomb in its belly.
Brentwood grabbed a man’s arm, not wanting to spend any more time than necessary down in the dungeon as the other Lifers called it. “Who’s in charge?”
“The chief engineer’s over there.” He pointed to a man holding a miniscreen, punching in numbers with his clumsy gloved hand.
“Thank you.”
Brentwood pushed his way through and tapped on the man’s shoulder. “Sir, Lieutenant Brentwood.”
Usually he flashed his lapel pin, but any identification lay underneath the plastic. The engineer would have to take his word for it. “Can I have a moment to speak with you?”
“Certainly.” Misty, blue-gray eyes flashed up in the man’s visor, triggering a nudge of recognition. The man gestured toward the portal. “Let’s talk without all this gear in between us.”
Brentwood followed him to the portal locks and waited until the man pulled off his hood and breathed in before pulling the plastic off his own face.
“You’re the Chief Engineer?”
“That’s right.” He extended his gloved hand. “Joe Reiner, sir.”
The name jolted him. He shouldn’t be asking during a crisis, but curiosity won. “Wait, you’re related to Gemme Reiner?”
Joe paused and his voice softened. “You know my daughter?”
Brentwood stumbled on his words, feeling boyishly shy. “N-not really. Not very well. I found her during the crash. The emergency portals had trapped her on the upper decks.”
“Thank goodness she’s all right.” He braced himself against the chrome wall.
Brentwood wanted to reach out and steady the man, but he thought his gesture would be too personal. “Last I saw her, she was safe in the containment area.”
Joe regained his composure, giving him a look of utter gratitude. “Thank you for looking out for her.”
“I was just doing my job, sir. The Seers had me scanning the upper decks looking for stragglers.”
Joe shook his head, looking away. “That’s Gemme for you, always at work, even at the end of the world.”
Brentwood smiled, warmth radiating inside him. Gemme’s devotion impressed him. So many workers grew disillusioned with the Expedition’s practices, and she performed her job until the very end, just like him. “You should be proud of her.”
Joe’s face crinkled around his eyes as he smiled. “I am.”
So many questions about Gemme sat on his tongue, but he had a mission to accomplish and didn’t want to seem overly intrusive.
Pushing thoughts of Gemme away, Brentwood took a deep breath to prepare himself. “What are the conditions in the fusion core?”
Joe’s face hardened as if the last few hours had been the worst of his life. “It’s stabilized for now. Only small leaks, and we’re working on containment as we speak.”
“Excellent.” Brentwood settled back on his heels. One less problem to worry about. He moved to the portal, and Joe grabbed his arm, holding him back.
“There’s more.”
Brentwood had the same plummeting feeling he had when his father told him about the ruin of Old Earth for the first time. He could feel the hair on his head turning prematurely gray.
“The comets damaged several fuel cells. We’re conserving energy by rerouting to the emergency systems, but even under extreme conservation efforts, we only have enough hyperthium to operate for another three months at most. After that, the fusion core will begin to shut down.”
Brentwood nodded, numbness spreading as the reality hit him. The Seers must have predicted this. That’s why they reassigned him to Exploratory Team Alpha Blue. Responsibility fell heavy on his chest. He would have to find the hyperthium deposits on Tundra 37 or the entire ship would degrade.
Although panic ripped through him, he couldn’t spread it to the others on board, especially Gemme’s father. They needed a leader, and Brentwood was ready to take the job. He straightened up. “I have it covered, sir. The Seers assigned me to head an exploratory team for my next mission. We’ll find the hyperthium you need to keep the Expedition up and running.”
Joe breathed in. “Good. Glad to see someone’s on the job.”
“I’ll assemble my team as soon as possible.”
He put a hand on his shoulder. “Be careful; it’s a new world out there, and the scout ships only covered twenty percent. Who knows what frozen horrors lurk in those ice mountains.”
“Good advice, Mr. Reiner.” Brentwood paused as the old man slipped on his containment hood. He had to tell him about Gemme, and the words sat heavy in his mouth.
“Mr. Reiner, sir.”
“Yes?”
His stomach hardened as he spoke. “The Seers assigned Gemme to the team as well.”
“Andromeda’s sake! Why in all the galaxy would they choose her?”
“I don’t know, sir. Their actions are mysterious to me.”
Joe scanned the chamber as if he’d lost himself somewhere in the particles of the portal. His gloved hands clenched and the plastic crinkled around his fists.
Brentwood put his hand on the man’s shoulder to steady him. Breaking a promise to himself, he made a promise to Gemme’s father, one that would only bring him closer to her. “I’ll take care of her, sir. I’ll bring her home safe.”
Vira longed for her hoverchair. Without it, people had to carry her everywhere and she became more of a hindrance than anything else. Smoke seeped into the ceiling above her like an evil being convalescing to smother her whole.
“I can’t get the damn thing to work, Natalie.” Her father’s voice echoed from the family room down the hall. She winced, hating when her parents fought.
Her mom yelled back. “You’ve got to do something! The lieutenant said to stay in our personal cells.”
“We’re not staying here if the smoke is going to get worse.”
The anger in her father’s voice soured her stomach. She cringed underneath the blanket and peeked above the seam with both eyes. They’d opened the portal to her room, allowing for fresh air. She couldn’t see her dad, but she knew he fumbled with the ventilator
panel. Her mom stood in front of the portal to the main corridor, fanning the air with a towel.
“Half the ship is gone. We have nowhere else to go.” Her mother flung the towel across the family room. Something shattered and Vira hoped it wasn’t the antique globe of Old Earth. She loved spinning it around and letting her fingers rest on a different paradise spot each time.
Her mother disappeared into the family room and Vira slipped off her blanket, slowly bringing herself out of her sleep pod. She dropped to the floor with a plop, bumping both her elbows. Stings jolted up her arms. Rubbing her elbows, she checked to see if her parents had noticed, but they argued in the back of the family room, where they thought she couldn’t hear them.
“We could visit the Foresters. Rizzy’s there now.”
Her mom’s whispers carried to Vira’s ears. “I don’t want to intrude. Besides, I’m not sure what they’d think of us choosing our pairing for our daughter. I don’t care if it’s the end of the world, we’re not going to disobey the Guide. It’s meant to protect us. We shouldn’t have let Rizzy go.”
Vira pulled herself arm over arm, puffing and heaving. She’d have to develop more muscle strength. She wondered how long it would take for someone to build her another hovercraft. Finally, she reached the back wall in the corner of her room. She propped her back against the chrome, catching her breath.
Vira tore down Rizzy’s antique poster of some fantasy movie from Old Earth to touch the bare wall. Her ancestors had stored it in thick glass for a hundred years before Rizzy pleaded with her parents to take it out and hang in their room. Rizzy would scream at her, but fixing the smoke was far more important. She’d endure her sister’s wrath to keep them safe. Besides, Vira never liked the staring eyes of the white-haired mage and his scepter of lightning. He reminded her too much of her own secret powers.
She double-checked on her parents. They’d have a fit if they suspected anything strange about her. She already had such a great deformity, any additional abnormalities would be too much for them to handle.
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