The new information tickled the hairs on the back of Gemme’s neck. Here it was: proof they weren’t alone in this galaxy, and yet her stomach still churned with bitterness. The secret mission explained a lot of Brentwood and Luna’s private conversations, yet it didn’t explain anything about the kiss she’d just witnessed.
She glared at him as he continued. His words faltered when he looked at her. “My relationship with Ms. Legacy is purely professional. There’s nothing going on between us, despite some of the things you may have heard or seen us do.”
Gemme couldn’t contain her hostility. She’d thought Brentwood was valiant and noble, and instead he snuck a kiss on the most important mission the Expedition offered him, and lied about it afterward. Why couldn’t he just come clean? Tell them he had feelings for Luna? He was as bad as the politicians from Old Earth. “Pfft. You don’t see me kissing Tech.”
Tech scratched his head. “What?”
“I caught them with their faces stuck together.” Gemme seethed under her breath. A small doubt that Brentwood had kissed Luna on purpose nagged at her heart and she squashed it down. “Just a few minutes ago.”
Tech shook his head like she suggested hyperthium and oxygen combined to make up air. “Brentwood and Luna?”
“Enough.” Brentwood interrupted them. “Luna misunderstood me, that’s all.”
“That’s one hell of a misunderstanding,” Gemme shot back.
Luna frowned. “It was pretty clear to me.”
Brentwood shook his head, waving his arms to calm everyone down. “Luna, you should never force yourself on anyone, especially a higher officer. What you instigated was wrong, and would be reprimanded had we still been on the Expedition. But we’re trapped in a cave in the middle of nowhere—”
“With possible little green men.” Tech interrupted, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
Brentwood nodded. “Yes, with possible aliens, and we have a mission to accomplish.” He turned to Gemme. “I’m sorry you had to see that, and Tech, I’m sorry to have to wake you up.”
Tech waved his hand. “No apology necessary, sir.”
“Right. Thank you, Tech.” He perused the three of them, meeting Gemme’s gaze. When his eyes locked on hers, they held a glimmer of deep melancholy and pain and she wondered just what he regretted: the fact that he kissed Luna on the mission, or the fact that she caught them red-handed, or red-lipped for that matter.
Brentwood tore his gaze away and continued. “Above all, we have a mission to accomplish; two missions if you heard me correctly. The Expedition is relying on us and us alone. We can’t bicker like this among ourselves. For decency purposes, all our conversations from now on will be held out in the open.” He stared at Luna. “No more private meetings about Beta Prime. No private meetings between us. At all.”
Gemme thought back to the comment Luna had made in the landrover about Beta Prime. Maybe all of their secret meetings had been centered around work. Maybe Brentwood was right? She thought about the kiss and stifled the thought. No, that lip-lock looked pretty real.
Brentwood paused when he saw her face, and faltered on his words before he continued. “N-now, get some rest. When the storm lifts, we have a six-hour drive ahead of us. Then, we’ll find this alien object while Tech sets up the mining equipment.”
“Yes sir, chief.” Tech stood up, patted Brentwood on the back, and returned to the landrover. Brentwood stormed away into his tent before anyone could ask any further questions. Once again, the men left Gemme with Luna, alone. She moved to her tent, but Luna caught her arm.
Her eyes shone so fierce, she looked like a wounded animal about to pounce. “He’s still mine, you know. He’s just covering it up because you caught us.”
“Good.” Gemme gave Luna a curt smile before darting into her tent. “No need to push me into a recycling shaft this time. You can have him.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sacrifice
Lieutenant Brentwood flashed on the mainframe. Dark circles framed his eyes, and he’d pushed up his hair at odd angles. His haggard appearance heightened Mestasis’s concerns. For a moment, she forgot about the pull of her memories to listen. “We’re stuck in a snowstorm, but it should blow over by morning. Tech says we’re only a day away from the mining site. After we reach it and get the equipment set up, we’ll begin our quest for the beacon.”
The beacon. A drop of sweat ran down her cheek, dangling from her chin, and dripped onto the chrome floor. Did she really want them to find the beacon?
Abysme had ordered it, not her. Now her sister lay hanging like dead weight.
A thought tugged at her mind. She could call the mission off. Would Abysme even know?
But the orb and the beacon were the only objects interesting her sister. How could she take away Abysme’s last wishes?
Her heart panged. The old muscle beat feebly, but the ache was still acute. Only one thing eased the pain. Memories. Sweet memories.
§
Old Earth, 2446
“Excellent. I’ll secure two commander seats for you and your sister and three hundred civilian positions onboard. Now, if you’ll just press the touchscreen here for a digital fingerprint signature…” An older man with thick black eyebrows and a head bald as a pin hovered over his desk, leaning toward Mestasis. He looked so eager she could picture him rubbing his palms together once they’d completed the deal.
A tinge of doubt tweaked in her stomach. She paused, finger hovering over the touchscreen as golden swirls of pixels danced at her fingertips. “What about TINE, Mr. Legacy?”
“They will be well taken care of, of course. We’ll offer Dr. Fields a place on onboard the ship as well.”
“And James Wilfred?”
“Certainly. Granted, everyone must pass certain blood and DNA tests to ensure the health and well-being of the crew and future generations aboard the ship.”
Her finger twitched above the screen, fluorescent light reflecting off her dark skin. “Routine tests?”
His eyebrows rose like two caterpillars on his face. “Yes. Harmless and practical to ensure we have a divergent supply of DNA. With the exception of you and your sister, of course.”
“And what’s this about favoring the Legacys throughout each generation?”
“Just a little condition I put in to ensure my descendants aren’t overlooked.”
“Looks to me like these arrangements destine them for lieutenanthood, among other things.”
“Well, you can’t be too careful, now can you? I need to know my children and their children’s children will do well.”
Although the bargain did favor the Legacys, it saved many others and seemed too easy, too good to be true. Mestasis thought back to the day she took a chance on TINE. Besides the distance it caused from her mother, that risk had kept her and her sister well fed and safe all this time. She’d take it again if she had the chance, and here it was: an opportunity off this doomed planet in a controlled environment complete with food, medical supplies, and everything they’d ever need. No more worrying about securing jobs or the future of TINE, no more searching for nukes in the sky. She pressed her finger down on the digital contract and the screen beeped as it read her impression.
“Wonderful! The Expedition’s crew manifesto is now complete. We leave in two days.” Mr. Legacy tilted his head, pressing a panel on his desk. The top drawer opened and he pulled out a cigar that smelled sweet enough to be made from real to�
�bacco leaves, something Mestasis had never seen before.
“So soon?”
He lit the end of the cigar and a puff of sweetly scented smoke wafted her way. “We’re behind as it is. A ship called The New Dawn took off three months ago, destined for Paradise 21. We’ll be headed to Paradise 18, a smaller planet, but chocked full of water and greenery with only a small amount of terraforming necessary. We won’t reach it in my lifetime, or that of my children or grandchildren. But at least I know my family will enjoy a safe and productive life, and that my descendants will live on.”
His answer still didn’t address the rush to leave. If his planet had already been secured, and they wouldn’t reach it in his lifetime, why did he feel such an urgency to leave? “But why the rush?”
“Beware the things they don’t tell you on the news, my dear.”
She leaned forward, her fingers shaking, despite the coolness she kept in her voice. “Is the world falling apart?”
“The Foreign Union is dissolving as we speak. Wars over rivers rage in Europe, and you know about the refugees outside the city?”
She thought back to what James had told her. “I’ve heard, yes.”
“Patrols shoot whoever gets close to the border, but the guards don’t have enough firepower for them all.”
Horrific images flashed through her mind and she blinked them away. “What is everyone going to do?”
“Who knows? It’s not our problem, is it?” Mr. Legacy’s leather chair creaked as he sat back and sucked on the end of the cigar. “I’ve been planning this escape for most of my life, saving credits to purchase the supplies, conducting research on paradise planets. I was lucky enough to see into the future, to make preparations. So many did not.”
He reached over and clasped a tracking bracelet on her wrist. Mestasis shot him a look as if he’d betrayed her.
“You’re too important for me to risk losing. This will monitor your health at all times. Nothing more. This one’s for your sister. Make sure she attaches it immediately.”
He handed her another bracelet and motioned for one of his guards to escort her out. “I’ll send word when the preparations are complete.”
She put her other hand over the bracelet as if it stung her skin and bowed her head. “Thank you, sir.”
His dark eyes widened with intensity. “No. Thank you.”
The guard led her through an atrium with real, fresh plants, and she resisted the urge to reach out and touch a leaf, the shiny green reminding her of the one blade of grass they had cultured as children. The memory of her mother came back to her, and she pushed it away. She couldn’t deal with it, not now. Part of her felt as though she left her mother behind. She had to remind herself that her mother was gone, her body cremated, and their small apartment issued to another family, just as desperate. There was nothing left for her here on Earth.
They crossed a corridor between Thadious Legacy’s building and the recycled food compactors the government had issued built in Quadrant Three. The pungent smell of stale compost and human waste wafted up from the heated vats below. The guard left her at the gate with only a nod. Eager to get out of the factory, she darted through the main lobby and into a courtyard constructed between the factory and other office buildings.
Greenhouses lined the walkway, each glass door panel locked and wired with an alarm. The energy of the security systems buzzed in the air around her, and she had to block out her tendency to connect to the electromagnetic pulses. A figure appeared between the glass domes and Mestasis ran to him, burrowing herself into his arms.
James held her close, his breath tickling her hair. “How did it go?”
“Astronomically well. I secured your three hundred seats, and a place for you, myself, and my sister.”
James pulled his head back, his eyes full of awe. “All three hundred?”
Mestasis shrugged. “When the vessel carries several thousand, three hundred isn’t much to ask for, I guess.”
James shook his head as if he couldn’t imagine it. “I never meant this to help so many people; I just wanted to make you happy, keep you safe.”
Mestasis put a finger over his lips to silence him. “I know. I wanted to give you something in return. No one has ever shown such an interest in helping me, besides Dr. Fields. But his intentions lay solely to develop my abilities for TINE. Most people, that’s all they see. I’m not a person, but a tool. When they see what I can do, they see endless boundaries, unlimited control, unhindered power.”
“I don’t.” James trailed a finger from her cheek down to her neck. Her skin tingled underneath his touch. “I only see you.”
Engines roared above them and Mestasis watched the sky. Five hovercrafts, all military models armed with missiles on either side flew by. TINE didn’t need her to detect those bombs.
“Where are they going?” Mestasis ran in between the greenhouses to the edge of the roof. The city sprawled out before her. High-rises poked up like weeds, so close a kid could jump from one to the next. She followed the arc of the hovercrafts as she held back stray wisps of her hair freed by their exhaust winds.
James ran up beside her. He gripped the railing with both hands, staring at the horizon, his face slack. “While you were in the meeting, the Razornecks launched an attack on Utopia. They’ve killed all the guards and claimed it for themselves. All shipments of food have stopped. They’ve taken over the building as their own. I didn’t think the retaliation attack would come so soon.”
“So the government is just going to blow it up? Waste all that food? It’s the largest greenhouse in the city. How will everyone eat?”
“There’s nothing else they can do.” James shook his head in resignation. “They can’t let the Razornecks have it. They’ll grow too strong and take over the city. It’s the only chance they have to eliminate their terror cell while so many of them are contained in the same place.”
Mestasis clasped James tighter. “Thadious Legacy was right. The world is falling apart.”
In front of them, a plume of black smoke rose from the center of the city, mixing with the smog in the gray sky. The desolation in James’s eyes made her chest tighten so hard she couldn’t breathe.
James held her close, his body warmth giving her comfort against the cool, tainted air. “If so, we’ll leave just in time.”
§
Mestasis stared at the blank white of the snow covering the main sight panel. She’d never see anything outside the ship ever again. But, in her memories, she saw the entire city where she’d lived. And most of all, she saw James.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Samples
The tension in the landrover made Gemme’s hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Brentwood and Tech sat in the front seats, leaving her with Luna in the back. No one spoke about the previous night. In fact, no one spoke at all. The mining site lay only hours ahead, and the culmination of their mission heightened Gemme’s anxiety.
What if the first scout team reported the deposit incorrectly hundreds of years ago? What if the minerals were gone, already mined by the owners of the beacon?
And more importantly, what kind of device did the orb send them to? Who or what would be there to receive them?
Her own personal matters seemed trivial compared to the answers lying just hours away. Peering out the sight panel at the newly fallen snow, she marveled at how Tundra 37 seemed frigid, harsh, and unpredictable, and her stomach clenched as she anticipated the day to come.
The landrover plodded slower than usual. Tech had welded two metal slabs to the front bender to plow through the newly fallen snow. The vehicle wove a path like a tunnel, and Gemme could see their trail twisting in a worm shape all the way back to the ice mountains they’d left behind.
Eventually, her mind roamed back to last night’s kiss. Luna had been pushy her whole life, and Gemme had witnessed Luna’s capabilities first hand by the heel of Luna’s palm. An inkling of doubt festered as to her accusations toward Brentwood.
Maybe Luna had pushed herself on him. Gemme wouldn’t put it past her. But entertaining that idea just gave her heart hope, and it made her feel weak and vulnerable all over again. No, it was easier to make him the bad guy, not to trust her heart, but trust her head.
“Look!” Luna squeaked, pressing her finger against the sight panel. “Stop the landrover!”
“What is it?” Brentwood sounded suspicious, and after last night, Gemme would question anything that came out of that woman’s mouth. But the sheer excitement on Luna’s face made her change her mind. She pressed her face against the glass. “Vegetation. A whole field of it.”
Brentwood slowed to a stop and opened the hatch. Luna pushed by him and jumped out, jogging across the ice.
“Well, take me out to a black hole and drop me in.” Tech shook his head. “Guess she was interested in samples after all.”
Gemme wasn’t as easily convinced. Maybe since she couldn’t have Brentwood, she decided on the next best thing: her career. Trying to appear supportive, Gemme followed Brentwood and Tech to where Luna knelt on the ground. Thin grasses surrounded her, bending in the light wind. Gemme thought of the wheat field, but these grasses were white with a tinge of blue, so close to the hue of the snow she’d never notice them.
Tundra 37 Page 21
