Pushing Daisy

by Scott Baron

  It was a control panel. One that had been hidden behind a protective rock covering, until the attack all those years ago had scorched it and broken much of it away. She pried the remaining bit of the cover free and examined the mechanism. It was intact, she noted, and was a much higher level of security than any of the other panels she’d ever encountered, but why?

  Daisy’s gaze shifted, scanning the rock face. Something about it seemed different. The way some of the rocks lined up. Almost as if—

  “Holy shit, it’s a hidden door!” she gasped.

  “What was that, Daisy? We didn’t copy you.”

  “Um, nothing, just looking at the big door I hot-wired. Yep, all seems good there. I’ll be heading back in just a minute.”

  “Copy that. Thanks, Daisy.”

  They bought it.

  “You’re lucky they did. Gotta be careful using your outside voice. So what is this thing?”

  Looks like a secret access panel. You know, if its cover hadn’t been broken off, I’d have never even seen it.

  “As it is, if you hadn’t cross-wired all those feeds to get power back to this section, those lights wouldn’t have been on. Again, you’d have never seen it, even with my extra set of eyes helping.”

  But what is it?

  “Beats me, but let’s find out!”

  Daisy broke out her tool kit and set to work on the panel, but unlike the large door she’d hot-wired earlier, the mysterious panel was sealed shut and entirely inaccessible.

  “I’m going to have to get creative with this one,” she muttered, then tried again. Ten minutes later, she had made absolutely no headway whatsoever. Whatever confidence boost she’d been enjoying earlier was rapidly depleting even faster than her oxygen levels.

  Shit.

  She checked her levels. Dangerously low, and she still had to make it all the way across the base.

  “Daisy! What are you doing? Get back here. You’re almost out of air!” Chu was nearly yelling into the comms.

  “Sorry, I was Zenning out and kinda lost track of time. On my way back now.”

  Daisy jammed a rock over the panel, hiding it from prying eyes, then, reluctantly, turned back and started the long walk to the airlock.

  “You know we’re coming back, right?” Sarah said.

  Oh yeah, she replied. Yes indeed, we are.

  Chapter Nine

  The hidden door was a problem of the most delectable variety, and Daisy found it difficult to push the new challenge to the back of her mind and focus on regular conversation with her Dark Side companions as they sat down to dinner. It was titillating. Something secret. Something no one else on the base knew about. A mystery to be solved.

  And it was all hers.

  “Hey, Daze,” Gustavo said as he plopped down beside her at the metal table. His plate was piled high with the special treat Finnegan had whipped up for them that evening. “Can you believe it? Steak and lobster! I love lobster, though some would say it’s really just a fancy way to get more butter in your mouth.”

  “It’s machine-replicated protein, Gus.”

  “You say that, but my taste buds can’t tell the difference.” He dipped a bite in the cup of drawn butter—another replicated delight. “Besides,” he added, “if we were on Earth, I don’t think I could bring myself to eat an actual animal, you know?”

  Daisy flashed back to the rabbit she had caught and killed during her brief escape to the surface. With all of the food stores centuries out of date and extremely limited edible plant-based resources within the city—at least ones that didn’t require a great deal of labor to find, determine their edibility, and harvest— it was a good old-fashioned snare and a roasted rabbit that had quite literally saved her from starvation.

  Morally, she did not like taking life, but from a true hunter-gatherer perspective, she was glad for the protein in whatever form she could find it.

  “I hear you, Gus,” she replied. “Though I wonder how well that moral stand would hold up if you were truly hungry. You know, they say society is only three missed meals away from anarchy.”

  “I like to think I have stronger character than that.”

  “Wouldn’t we all?” she said through a mouthful of perfectly cooked, machine-grown beef protein.

  Finn made a round of the tables, dropping fresh-baked cookies on everyone’s plate whether they wanted them or not. Given his baking talents, however, non-takers were a rare thing when the baking bug bit him.

  “Thanks, Finn,” Vince said as he slid into a seat and joined Daisy and Gus. “That all you’re eating?” he said, gesturing to Daisy’s modest plate. “I hear you had one hell of a workout today. Figured you’d be loading up.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing, just that Chu mentioned whatever you said to Fatima earlier had her running you all over the base. Like, seriously far. I guess she had originally planned to just have you do a simple series of tasks more or less right outside the airlock door, but after you pushed her buttons, she suited up and changed the whole thing.”

  “Well, I could have been more tactful, I suppose.”

  “So, what was it like?” Gus asked between bites. “I’ve only done a couple of really quick EVAs on the surface just outside the doors, but nothing like what you were up to. Was the funky gravity hard to work in?”

  “Nah, you get used to it. Besides, Tamara switches up the gravity when we spar sometimes, so I’m kinda accustomed already,” she said. “Though trying to run in it—now, that is a different story. You can’t really dig your feet for traction unless you let your legs really bend. Otherwise you’ll just rebound off the surface up and down and not make much forward progress.”

  “Heard you found something, while you were out there too,” Vince said.

  “Shit! He knows!”

  He doesn’t know anything, Sarah. Chill out.

  She cast a calm eye on him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Chu said you made a surprise discovery.”

  “Um…” She searched for a way out of the topic.

  “Yeah,” he continued. “I guess she was one of the original victims of the attack. Ash brought the body in a half hour ago. Commander Mrazich is having her prepared for a proper ceremony before we cremate her.”

  Daisy didn’t know why, but the fact that the steel-jawed, crew-cut commander would do that for someone long dead made her dislike of his replacement part-enhanced self diminish just a little. It still creeped her out, but his decision somehow made him seem more human.

  “Makes sense,” she said. “Can’t very well be burying people on the moon. They’d never decompose, which kinda defeats the purpose.”

  “Yeah,” Gus chimed in, “and this way, it really is a true ashes-to-ashes kinda thing.”

  “And there’s nothing but dust out on the surface,” Vince added.

  “So, what about you, Gus? How’s your mapping of the debris field been going?”

  Gus lit up at the mention of his pet project, and the conversation quickly shifted to less morbid topics from that point.

  By the end of their meal, all were happy, full, and in good spirits.

  Back in her quarters, Daisy was enjoying a much-deserved evening free from tasks and training, which also afforded her time to think further on the hidden panel mystery awaiting her far across the moon’s surface.

  “So, what do you think it is?” she asked her clever mental passenger. “It’s obviously hidden for a reason, but it also looked like it wasn’t tied in to the normal base systems.”

  “Yeah, I saw that,” Sarah answered. “We won’t know for sure until we get inside, but from what I could tell, it looked like a totally stand-alone facility. It was probably just a bit of blind luck that there was that one backup power cable running through the main conduit, otherwise I doubt you’d have ever powered that door up.”

  “Agreed. So what do I do about it? I mean, I can’t very well go running off across the base every time I
do one of Fatima’s training circuits. Eventually they’ll notice.”

  “What about creating a shadow suit locator scan? You could load it into the system from the console itself. Keep it localized to where Fatima and Chu monitor from. That way it should stay off of Sid’s readouts entirely, and if it does show up, it’ll register you as wherever you want it to.”

  Daisy liked the idea. So long as she was quick about finishing whatever tasks Fatima had for her, she could use the extra time to work on the mysterious door, and if her understanding of Sid’s scanning system was correct, she could likely even re-configure her EVA suit to not register at all, if she wanted it to.

  “I’d be like a space ninja, stealthily walking the surface, undetected.”

  “Only ninjas carry swords. And don’t wear space suits.”

  “Or maybe they do, but no one has ever survived the encounter long enough to spill the beans,” she replied with a chuckle.

  It was a good idea, though, and the intriguing task warranted further thought. She settled into a comfortable position and started her routine.

  Soft is strong, she thought as she took a slow, deep breath.

  A calm began to flow within her, but just as she was settling into a comfortable meditation, her door chimed.

  Daisy sighed as she rose to her feet and answered the comm panel.

  “Yeah?”

  “Hey, Daisy,” Vince said. “Fatima mentioned she gave you the evening off. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to watch a movie with me.”

  “Ooh, look who’s coming around early. You gonna let him in?”

  I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. I should probably focus on meditating tonight. Need to figure this thing out, she replied to her sister.

  “Come on, Daze, you can do that anytime. After a few hundred years, it’s not going anywhere. Besides, I get bored in here too, ya know. Even if you zone out, at least I can still watch the movie.”

  She considered a moment longer, then reached for the door controls.

  “Hey,” she greeted Vince as he leaned against her doorframe.

  “Hey,” he replied with a warm smile. “So, whaddya think? I found some pretty fun sci-fi flicks, but then there’s always that Japanese cartoon stuff you dig—”

  “Anime,” she corrected him.

  “Yeah, anime. Whatever you’re in the mood for.”

  “Wow, that’s almost as impressive as giving you the remote,” Sarah joked. “You sure you want to keep him in the doghouse?”

  Daisy ignored her and invited him in, moving aside as he slid by her passing through the doorway. The brief contact flared a physical longing, a memory of times they’d shared before she found out what he was. She took a deep breath and focused on lowering her heart rate. The heat in her belly, on the other hand, took a fair bit more concentration to vanquish.

  “I’m telling ya, Daze, you should give him a second chance.”

  You keep trying, but I’m not having any of that. He’s a machine, Sarah. Stop pushing it.

  “It’s for your own good,” she replied. “He treats you well, and you still like him. I’m your sister, I can tell these things.”

  Daisy tuned out her sister’s voice and shifted her attention back to her visitor.

  “So, you want some tea?”

  “Yeah, that’d be great, thanks.”

  Daisy brewed up a quick pot of smoky lapsang souchong and poured him a cup.

  “I brought something,” Vince said, pulling a sealed container from behind his back. He opened the lid, and the smell of fresh popcorn wafted into the air. “The real deal, not food replicator made. Tamara had a few ears that she grew on the way here that dried out, and a bunch of kernels were left over.”

  “I was in the mess hall the same time you were, but I didn’t see you make this.”

  “I popped ‘em over the hydrogen generator’s heat sink. Wanted it to be a surprise.”

  Daisy smiled, and the damn fluttering stomach flared up again.

  Stop that! she told her uncooperative organs.

  “Pretty sneaky, Vince. I’m impressed.”

  He beamed brightly.

  “I hoped you’d like it. So, pick a flick while I use the head, okay?”

  Daisy selected a film from the mid-twenty-second century—a silly buddy cop movie following the exploits of a human detective and his Martian partner—then settled on her bed with the bowl of popcorn. Vince joined her, keeping a slight space between them, as she’d made clear was the way things had to be many times before.

  The movie played on, and despite herself, Daisy felt the exhaustion of the day take hold. In no time at all, she drifted off to sleep, sliding down into the comforting, familiar warmth of Vince’s shoulder. He gazed down at her, resting so peacefully, and smiled. Then he turned his attentions back to the vid screen, letting his wiped-out friend catch some much-needed sleep.

  Chapter Ten

  It had been two days since she had been pleasantly surprised by Vince’s popped treat, and Daisy had barely begun her morning centering exercises when Fatima dumped a particularly large box of parts in front of her.

  “What’s this?”

  Fatima pointed to the label on the box. Heavy Machinery Transport, it read. Daisy sighed and began assembling the model.

  Fatima had taken up the habit of randomly giving her this task at any point in their training, saddling her with any one of the dozens of ship models stored in engineering. For Daisy, the reassembly process was becoming second nature at this point, and almost a meditative practice.

  “Done,” Daisy said a few minutes later.

  “Already?”

  The prodigal pupil smiled mischievously. That is until another larger box was emptied in front of her, its parts strewn across the table.

  “Go!” Fatima said, starting the clock once more.

  Daisy’s hands started moving with purpose.

  “So, Daisy, I hear you and Vince are spending more time together. Change of heart?”

  “No. There’s nothing there. We’re just friends, is all.”

  “So, you can be friends with him despite the processor in his head?”

  “I’m stuck here with him, so I might as well be, right?”

  She jammed her finger as a piece didn’t fit as expected.

  “Ow!”

  “Soft is strong, Daisy. Relax. Don’t get distracted.”

  “I know.”

  “Mm-hm,” Fatima said with a little smile. “And how about your training with Tamara? I understand she’s still whooping your behind something awful.”

  Daisy felt a surge of frustration.

  “She’s not whooping me, she’s just better, is all.”

  “Not what I hear. It looks like you’ve bested everyone on the base but her. Even Shelly’s pair of metal arms are no match, yet Tamara only has one.” She studied her pupil quietly a moment. “So, what’s the deal, then? Has she got your number?”

  “No, it’s just she’s still pissed I blew her out the airlock.”

  “Well, one would tend to be less than thrilled about something like that. Might even hold onto a grudge for a good, long while.”

  “But it was the logical thing to do at the time. She’s a soldier. She has to know that.”

  “Knowing and forgiving are two entirely different beasts, as I’m sure you are well aware.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Nothing, dear. So, if she’s not a better fighter than you, why does she keep beating you? Any theories?”

  Daisy’s hands moved rapidly as she mulled over how best to phrase her reply.

  “She’s got that angry edge, you know? I just can’t seem to get past it. Whenever I think I’ve finally got her beat, that rage wells up in her, and she finds some way to spoil my plans.”

  “Daisy, you mustn’t fight with your emotions. That’s a surefire way to lose. You have to disconnect from all of that and let the training within you flow out.”

  “Is this more of
that ‘The One’ stuff you all keep going on about?

  “Not exactly. The principle applies to all people. It’s just that in your case, there is a wellspring of talent that your own deep-rooted issues are preventing you from tapping into. You have to trust yourself. But more than that, you have to put aside all of your doubts and guilt and fear and just let it flow.”

  “Always back to that ‘Find what’s inside you’ line.”

  “And you will, once you stop fighting your power and instead learn to relax and embrace it. As they say, ‘Muddy water unstirred becomes clear.’”

  “Look, I know what’s inside of me, and if there was something special lurking around in there, I think we’d have found it by now.”

  “We?” Fatima said, a slight arch to her eyebrow.

  “I,” she corrected herself. “I’m not special, Fatima, and even if I was, I have no desire to go on some suicide run to Earth just because a few old-timers can’t accept that there was a war, and we lost. I mean, why don’t we just go find a new planet that’s not swarming with plague, and AI viruses, and nasty, four-armed aliens?”

  “You know how few planets there are with the right environment, Daisy, and no matter how you feel about the moon at the moment, one day, you’ll want to go home.”

  “Fat chance,” she replied. “Done.” She dropped the ship onto the table and made a clean hands gesture, like card dealers of old.

  “Daisy,” Fatima said, her eyebrow raised in an inquiring arch, “what’s that?”

  “That? It’s the ship you gave me.”

  “No, it isn’t,” she replied, picking up the sleek-lined vessel.

  “Fatima, I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, but that’s what you gave me.”

  “It’s the parts I gave you, yes, but not the ship.” Fatima turned the model over in her hands, smiling brightly. “Oh, but look at those lines. What is it? A fast recon ship, but with additional crew and research space? Such an elegant design. And the unconventional configuration of the crew quarters pods between the storage and water treatment ones—extra shielding given the different sizes, but also contributing to a more functional and atmospherically dynamic airframe.”