New World

by Nathan Hystad

The back door closed and Nick sauntered into the room, a beer in hand, wearing an apron that said “Kiss the Cook.” They’d really gone all out, bringing supplies from Earth. “Burgers are almost done. Grab your buns and get ‘em while they’re hot.”

  I couldn’t believe we were having a barbecue in a house on New Spero. Not just any house, but one that Patty said they’d built for us years ago. It had stood empty and was only a few miles from Magnus and Natalia, which suited us just fine.

  Carey nudged my leg as he came in from outside, leaving his perch beside the barbecue that any red-blooded dog would be happy to drool by. The younger pups came along with him, following his lead, and Maggie plopped down on my right foot. I scratched behind her ear, and Carey looked up at me before moving over to Natalia. He hopped up and lay his head on her lap. I caught Nat looking over at me, to make sure I was okay. I loved my time with Carey, and when they left later than day, I would give anything for Carey to stay behind, but I knew he couldn’t. It had been too long. He had a new family now.

  “Dean?” Mary elbowed me lightly. The room was looking at me, waiting for a response.

  “Sorry, what was the question?” I had been so lost in thought, I hadn’t heard them.

  “Do you think we should send someone to Earth?” Patty asked. I didn’t like the way she was looking at me, like there was a secret being passed between us.

  “I think it might be a good idea. Maybe it could be resolved by having a face-to-face with them. I’m sure she was pissed after her little puppet man from the station was apprehended, trying to keep our arrival quiet.” Or the Bhlat had already shown up, destroying Earth and stripping it of all its minerals and water. I closed my eyes and pictured people around the world, chained to each other, faces dark with dirt and backs slumped in exhaustion. I wasn’t going to tell the rest of them what I really thought might be happening, not that I believed that.

  “Food’s ready,” Mary said, changing the subject. I knew she was tired of speculating. “Patty, if you want to send someone to Earth to check on things, I say do it, but know that Dean and I won’t be on that ship. We just got here and can’t leave it all behind again.” Mary’s words poured out hot and fast, her back turned to us in the living room.

  I noticed Patty’s eyes widening just slightly before settling back to normal. “I wouldn’t dare, Mary. I was thinking of asking for volunteers.”

  Magnus grunted, and I caught the tail end of Nat’s elbow hitting his stomach. That was her way of telling him there was no way he could stick his hand up. Magnus made eye contact with me and winked.

  For a minute, no one spoke, everyone seeming to ignore Patty’s comment.

  “I’ll do it,” Slate said, speaking for what felt like the first time that evening.

  Patty brightened. Slate and I had discussed a plan, should the need arise, but I wasn’t sold that the need was there quite yet.

  “Good. I need a strong young man like you beside me.” Patty stood up, moving toward the kitchen, where the food was laid out on our table.

  “Wait. What do you mean, beside you?” I asked, following her. Maggie slipped off my foot and trudged along behind me, sitting between my feet when I stopped.

  “I’m going,” she said matter-of-factly. “If it’s just the new woman being spiteful, then I’ll talk to her and explain the truth we know. If it’s the worst, and the Bhlat are there, we need to know.”

  “Your people need you here,” Mary said, coming to my side.

  She shook her head slowly. “These aren’t my people. I’m not their leader anymore. I’m just Patty. They have leaders at each Terran site, and we have people like Magnus in place to care for us. And now you.” She looked side to side from Mary to me, a sad smile on her face.

  “It’s too dangerous.” I didn’t know what else to say. She made a good point. She might be the only one who could talk sense into Naidoo.

  “What you all have done for our people hasn’t been dangerous? I’ve sent you across the galaxy only for you to have to kill again, and then come back to see your lives turned upside down. Let me have this. I need it.” Patty grabbed a plate, putting potato salad on it, and prepared a bun for her hamburger.

  Doing something as normal as having a barbecue while talking about sending our former president on a ship to a potentially hostile Earth wasn’t the strangest thing I’d seen in the last few weeks.

  Should I tell her about the Shandra? I wanted to, but I also didn’t want the details to leak out. If she went to Earth and was taken by the Bhlat, they would have ways to make her talk. I needed to keep the stone portal in our tight little circle.

  “I can’t argue with that,” I said. “What do you have to say, General?”

  Magnus shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “Believe me, we’ve had this discussion a few times. I never win. I support her at this point.”

  Patty walked by him to the pile of burgers Nick had set down. “Damn right you support me.”

  “I’ll go,” Clare said, surprising me.

  “You will?” Patty asked.

  “Me too.” This from Nick. “I have nothing here but some distant family I don’t even know. I’d rather be useful than static.”

  “Quite the team I’m amassing. Thank you, everyone.” Patty moved back to the living room, her plate full.

  Mary and I stood flabbergasted in the kitchen. Guilt coursed through me, but I wasn’t going to leave so soon after coming. We had a new life here. “Then good luck to you all.” I raised my glass of beer in the air, and we drank to their venture.

  Magnus put some music on, trying to break the dark mood that was settling over the room. We chatted, ate until we were stuffed, and drank more than we should have, a group of old and new friends in our house.

  It was close to midnight when people started to file out of the door, a friend of Patty’s arriving to usher everyone back to their own places.

  “When will you be leaving?” Mary asked Patty as we stood by the door, the night fighting to get inside our house.

  “In three days,” Patty said before turning and walking in an unstable line toward the passenger van waiting for her. Only Magnus and Nat were left with the dogs as the van drove away, a cloud of dust lifting as it moved down the gravel road. It was the only sound in an otherwise silent night. The only other noise was a humming sound that echoed down the countryside every night as the sun went down, and Natalia explained it was a bug akin to our grasshopper.

  “Good party.” Magnus slid his free arm around Natalia’s waist. His other arm was propping up his son Dean, who was sound asleep with his face tucked into his dad’s neck.

  “It was nice to have you all over,” Mary said. I hardly heard them. The journey my new crew was about to take worried me too much. “Dean?”

  I was at the edge of the front porch, my toes hanging over the first step, staring up at the sky. I saw thousands of points of light in the dark space above. Could I travel near some of them with the Shandra, or were most of those stars dead a long time ago? The chaos of the universe threatened to overtake me. So many worlds, each with their own climates, animals, plants, and insects. So many other races of beings. So much love and hate, peace and violence.

  “Dean?” Natalia asked this time, and I could make out her soft footsteps on the wooden porch. “It’s okay, you know? It isn’t your responsibility.” Her hand moved to my shoulder. She was right, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was my calling.

  I remembered working for a big accounting firm in New York when I first started out. They’d seen something in me: the way I worked overtime, how I was extremely affable with the clients, and how I always got the job done before the deadline. I was promoted a couple times and felt the weight of the company on my young shoulders.

  One day, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was working too much, and too hard for someone in his twenties, and I ended up quitting, taking the plunge to become my own boss. I’d thought they would fall apart. There was no way they could survive
without me. The thing was, they didn’t just survive; they flourished. A new guy came in, attracted some huge corporate clients, and they were on top of the world. Lesson learned: you’re always replaceable, just like I’d replaced that muscle-bound army guy in the Boathouse that night I’d met Janine.

  I blinked, and the stars zoomed back out, just pinpoints of light again. “Thanks, Nat. You’re right. My place is here with my friends. We deserve a break, don’t we, babe?” I called back to Mary, who stood in the dim glow of the porch light smiling at me.

  “We sure do. Maybe we can make our own little mini-Dean.” I winked at her, and we all laughed.

  “If you’re getting started on that, we’re going to get going. Thanks again, buddy. See you tomorrow?” Magnus asked.

  “You bet. I need someone to show me how to use that backhoe so we can get this garden planted,” I answered.

  We took turns at the goodbye hugs, and when they walked down to their vehicle, Carey stopped, saying goodbye, jumping up, front paws on my thighs. I leaned down and whispered something to him. He gave me a lick and bounded off after his family. Something was still sitting on my foot after they were all down at the SUV.

  “Dean, it looks like someone wants a sleepover. Do you mind?” Magnus called from the driver’s seat.

  Maggie looked up at me, her pink nose glistening, head cocked to the side.

  “We’d be happy to.” I wasn’t ready for a dog quite yet, but having this little girl stay over for a night seemed harmless enough. For some reason, she seemed to like me.

  Soon they were down the road, leaving Mary and me in the silence of the night, outside Terran One, on New Spero. Our new home.

  “We made the right decision,” she said quietly.

  “I hope so.”

  We sat on the porch, sipping our drinks, looking up at the strange night sky, while Maggie slept between us.

  ELEVEN

  “You have everything you need? Did you bring enough of that egg mixture? It wouldn’t be a trip without Nick’s omelettes.” I made the joke to cover the tension I was feeling. Seeing them loading a ship for the journey back to Earth made it all the more real. They were leaving, and Mary and I were staying behind. It felt wrong.

  “Of course we have the mixture. I even managed to pry a couple dozen real eggs from the market downtown.” Nick smiled widely, but I sensed part of him was wishing he could stay. If Clare hadn’t volunteered, I doubted he would have stuck his hand up.

  Magnus exited the ship, Slate right behind him. They chatted quietly for a minute, out of earshot of the rest of us, and the younger man nodded along to the advice Magnus was giving him. Slate got a clap on the shoulder, and they walked down the ramp toward the rest of us.

  “Slate, take care of everyone, would you?” I asked. “And yourself.” I added the last bit, and he gave me a hard stare.

  “I wish you were coming, boss,” he said. “Don’t worry about anything. They’re in good hands with this crew. We’ll make sure Patty gets where she needs to and talks some sense into them. If it’s the alternative, we’ll do what you said. Gather as much information as we can and relay it back.”

  “Perfect.”

  The trip would take them two months, with another month for any message to get back to us. Waiting that long was going to be next to impossible. My pulse quickened as I thought about the Shandra. Should I try to go to Earth? Sarlun had identified the icon for our home planet, but he did warn me they hadn’t tested it. It could be damaged, making it a one-way trip – or worse. Where would it open up? The unknown made it not only dangerous, but potentially deadly.

  Patty arrived wearing a black uniform. The New Spero colony logo of a red sun behind a series of buildings was on a patch sewn onto the breast of the garment. It looked sharp.

  “We’ll be in touch along the way,” Patty said to Magnus. “Take care of this place for me.”

  I had the urge to disclose the Shandra then but kept it to myself. Slate knew about it, but he wasn’t going to break under pressure, no matter what they did to him. I tried to stop thinking about the worst-case scenario, but lately, that was all I seemed to find myself in.

  A half hour later, we watched the ship lift up, then head away; the trip to Earth was under way.

  “Godspeed,” Mary said under her breath, and I followed suit, wishing them a safe and uneventful journey.

  “They’ll be okay. I have a feeling we’ll hear good news in a couple months.” This from Magnus. I was feeling the opposite but kept it to myself.

  “How about we go into town and get some supplies for our garden?” Mary asked, anxious to get working on our little house and yard.

  “Deal. See you later, Magnus? We still on for dinner?” I asked.

  “As long as you guys are bringing cash for the poker game after.” Magnus and Natalia had invited a few couples from the area over, and since there was no currency on New Spero yet, I had no idea what we were buying into the game with. I had the clothes on my back, and not much more for possessions. “The dogs will be happy to see you both. Maybe Maggie can stay over again?”

  Maggie had spent the other night over at our place, hogging the bottom of the bed and waking me up in the middle of the night to go outside. She was really sweet, and having an animal around felt right.

  On the other hand, she belonged with her family too. “I know what you’re trying to do. Mag, I really am okay with Carey being with you guys.”

  “It just must be so hard. You blinked and seven years went by. He still loves you.”

  “I know he does. That’s why I’m happy he’s been able to grow old with people that love him too. I don’t think we’re ready to have another dog yet, but I’ll let Maggie stay over any time she wants.”

  Magnus’ suit’s comm beeped, and he tapped his ear. “Good. Thanks for the update,” he said to whoever was on the other side of the conversation. “Our ship just passed the station. I have some work to do. See you two later.”

  “Bye,” Mary said, leading the way off the landing pad and toward the SUV we’d been given. Having our own wheels and house was a strange feeling, especially since it was just ours. There were no payments, mortgages, or leases. We were just given the keys, and our names were on the database as owners of them. The rest of the colony participated in the bartering utopia of ideal socialism. I knew it had been tried before on Earth, and while the thought was good, it never worked out as hoped. Patty and the other leaders had high hopes about their colony world.

  As we drove into town, the buildings got larger. The roads were paved, and traffic picked up heading into the core of Terran One. It was a couple hours after sunrise, and people were on their way to get supplies for their daily tasks or to work in one of the countless manufacturing plants or stores.

  We stopped at an octagonal stop sign: some things were universal, even on another world. My window was down, letting the early morning air creep into the vehicle. The sounds of a six-story apartment complex being erected carried to us, and Mary commented on how lucky we were to have a house in the country.

  “I think our days of city living are over,” I said, but as we drove on, we passed some quaint shops, coffee shops, and restaurants, and the idea of leaving your home to walk down the street for dinner did have a certain appeal. It was one of the things I’d always missed about being young and living in Manhattan.

  “How have they accomplished this in just a few years?” Mary asked, staring at the impressive inner core of the city.

  “I have no clue. I was expecting some metal buildings, cots set up with curtains to separate sleeping chambers, like a field hospital. Maybe not that bad, but you get where I’m going. It must have taken a lot of minds, a lot of work, to come up with plans for five cities.”

  “Nat tells me they’re all on the same footprint.”

  I thought about Terran Five and inwardly scolded myself for not noticing that. I blamed the exhaustion and the snow-covered streets. “That makes sense. Still…they’ve done
something quite amazing.” I followed a white van and turned where it turned. It had Garden Supply painted on the back and sides, and that was where we were headed.

  I parked, turning the engine off. “Babe, are you sure this is what you want?” I asked, looking at Mary in the passenger seat. She was in capris and a red tank top, her brown hair pulled into a loose ponytail. I was the luckiest man on New Spero.

  I was already starting to sweat, finding we were in the middle of what passed for summer in our region.

  “I want a garden, if that’s what you’re asking.” She pulled out her tablet, and she thumbed to the supply list she’d sent the store yesterday. “Should be ready to pick up.”

  I set my hand on her left arm as her right reached for the door handle. “That’s not what I mean.”

  She stopped, turning to meet my gaze. “Then what?”

  “This. Do you want to live in a country house on a strange colony, living out our days tilling the soil and chopping wood?”

  She didn’t speak for a minute. “Dean, I just want to be with you. I want the fear of an alien race coming to steal us, or kill us, or enslave us, gone first, though. Then I’m happy to sit on our porch, sipping sweet tea and watching you chop wood, while Mary Jr. plays with dolls beside me.”

  I smiled. “Me too. If things go south with our friends at Earth, we have to do something.” I didn’t ask this time; I just said it matter-of-factly.

  She nodded. “We will. I’ll be by your side.”

  “Mary Jr.?” I laughed, and we got out of the car. “That sounds like a good life to me. Let’s get there and start by loading up a trailer with your garden supplies.”

  “My garden supplies? Don’t think you’re going to put all of this on me.”

  We walked through the large building’s front doors, which slid to the side as we stepped near them. It reminded me of the large orange box store I had in my hometown, and the comforting smell of wood and soil reached my nose.

  There was a pick-up counter to the left, and we approached, waiting in line behind a large man talking to an employee.