by Jocelyn Han
“Who the heck was Barack Obama?” Tori mumbled, as they turned the corner into one of the larger hallways.
“I don’t know exactly,” Anna said absently. “I think he was American, but I’m not sure. I should have brushed up on my history years ago. By now, my knowledge is history.”
When they reached Saturn Boulevard, Tori slowed down and gaped at all the stores, restaurants, gyms and bars on the main street. In the middle of the gigantic walkway was a fountain illuminated by multi-colored lights and surrounded by Martian cactus trees. It almost felt like home, if not for the inexcusable squander of water. Mars was such a dry planet that water supplies had to be preserved and used wisely.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Anna beamed at her. “Would you like to see our favorite bar and entertainment center?”
“Yes, let’s have a drink at The Spark,” Shirley insisted. “You’re gonna love it.”
“Sure, why not?” Tori partially hid behind Anna when a group of journalists approached from the other side of the fountain. “I could do with a soda.”
They climbed the stairs running alongside one cluster of shops and ended up on a circular balcony overlooking the boulevard on all sides.
“Here it is.” Anna pulled Tori along to a bar decorated with stars and moons on the outside. A comet-shaped sign dangling above the entrance read The Spark in glow-in-the-dark letters. It looked old-school and cozy; just what she usually liked.
“This seems like a great place,” Tori said with a smile. “If you tell me they play music from the late twentieth century in this bar, I’m going to pitch a tent here and never leave.”
“They do!” Anne squealed. “Isn’t it just great?”
The three of them picked a spot in the corner next to the entrance, after which Shirley made a beeline for the counter to order drinks. Tori and Anna settled onto the old, blue sofa facing the rest of the bar.
“So… how did your parents take it?” Anna said with a sympathetic smile. “You coming to DSD 2?”
Tori picked at the hem of her bell-bottomed pants. “They weren’t amused,” she replied curtly. “But they did admit that this was a golden opportunity to build up an ‘impressive resume’.” She air-quoted the last two words, making her friend giggle. “Let’s forget about that for now.”
They steered away from the subject of Mr. and Mrs. Weiss and were chit-chatting about all the different assignments coming up in the next few weeks by the time Shirley came back with their drinks.
As Shirley started to gossip about a mutual colleague of her and Anna’s, Tori tuned out for a little bit. Her eyes scanned the room, stopping when they suddenly caught sight of a group of five men having drinks at a table not too far away. One of them was the guy from the cargo bay – the man who’d judged her for wearing Elite clothes. He was staring at her with a pondering look in his eyes, probably puzzled by her sudden transformation. Well, she hoped he felt guilty for looking at her with so much contempt before.
Tori quickly averted her gaze, hoping he hadn’t seen her look. “Shall I go get the next round?” she interrupted Shirley, who had launched into a saga about two people working in Hydroponics going on a disastrous date last week.
“No, just stay put,” Shirley waved away her offer. “This is on us. We’ll get more in a minute.”
Anna inconspicuously nudged Tori. “By the way, babe, I’d like to take a moment to point out that you’ve been checked out by Alen Novak ever since we came in.”
“What?!” Shirley hissed.
Tori swallowed. “Who do you mean?” she whispered a bit nervously, already able to guess what the answer would be.
Anna cleared her throat. “It’s a Croatian guy of about thirty years old, six foot three, shaggy blond hair, dark eyebrows, brooding look – you see him?” she mumbled.
Tori didn’t even have to look. “Yeah, I see him.”
“Not the best guy to be around,” Shirley said. “He was in jail for six years before getting a job here. Smuggling, theft, fraud, you name it.”
Tori gaped at her. “How on Mars did he end up here, then? Is Desida Two running an outreach program for ex-cons?”
“I’ve been told he took up several studies in prison to educate himself so he’d have a future by the time he got out. He’s a genius – he speaks, like, ten languages, he’s crazy good at mathematics…”
“I think he knew people who knew people on this station,” Anna added. “That’s how he got a job and a promotion in no time. He’s our Chief of Security.”
Tori bit her lip. “Right. And this criminal mastermind by the name of Alen Novak is interested in me?”
Shirley and Anna nodded simultaneously. “He’s still checking you out,” Shirley whispered. “Big time.”
“Well, I don’t care,” Tori snapped belligerently. “He’s disrespectful and mean. He was making fun of me in the cargo bay before, and – he thinks he’s cool or something.”
“What, you already talked to him?” Anna whispered.
Tori nodded. Stupidly enough, he’d still managed to make an indelible impression on her despite his rude behavior. He’d been flirting with her, for God’s sake – or had she started it? She had made that silly remark about him having beautiful blue eyes, after all.
Jumping up from the couch, she continued: “You know what, why don’t we go someplace else? I haven’t seen the upper decks yet. Are you girls coming?”
3.
“This is awesome,” Tori exclaimed as she looked around the giant laboratory within the Astrobiology Department. “I’ve never seen this much equipment in one room.”
Mr. LaFleur gave her a sunny smile. “I’m happy you like it,” he said. “We’re very pleased to have you on our team. Your grades are impressive. North Mars Uni must have been sad to see you leave.”
Tori shrugged. “Well, I’m still enrolled. I just don’t want to go to regular classes anymore. It’s much more fun to learn on the job.”
“Will Tori be joining the mission in two days, Mr. LaFleur?” Anna asked the Head of Astrobiology.
“Definitely,” Mr. LaFleur confirmed. “We’re going to fly down to Enceladus and take samples from the water under the south polar region. Right at the spot where the water is venting in huge plumes of vapor. We’re hoping to bring back some bacteria.”
This was one of the reasons Tori had been so eager to take up an internship at Desida Two: the scientists had discovered primitive alien life forms on several moons orbiting Saturn. It wasn’t as sensational and exciting as the probe launch that the media were hyping, hoping for first contact of some kind, but at least this was real. The presence of bacteria meant the moons could sustain life.
“Thanks for letting me come along, Sir,” Tori said with a smile.
As they left the Astrobiology Lab, Shirley turned to face her two friends. “Shall we go and grab dinner at The Spark tonight? I’d love to watch the probe’s launch, but I don’t think we should go to the Wide Eye. That’s where everyone will be.”
The ‘Wide Eye’ was the nickname for the gigantic viewing window on the Boulevard looking out in space. Sometimes it was facing Saturn, but tonight, the station would be rotated so the crowd could watch the probe being gobbled up by the wormhole.
“Good idea,” Anna nodded. “We wouldn’t want to distract those reporters, now would we?” She playfully poked her friend in the side.
“Nope. We wouldn’t,” Tori agreed. “Let’s drop by my quarters so I can get some Marks to pay for food and drinks. I promised you the next round is on me.”
The three girls went down to Deck Eleven, then took a shortcut to get to The Spark, thus avoiding the multitude of people already gathered on Saturn Boulevard to watch the spectacle. Tori snuck a peek at the stage being erected next to the fountain – maintenance guys were setting up a podium and a microphone for Commander Kelso. Tori’s friends had told her the station commander hadn’t been too happy about all the media brouhaha, but since he couldn’t beat them, it looked like he’
d decided to join them and give a speech to all the journalists and scientists attending the event.
“You want to sit here for dinner?” Shirley pointed at the couch they’d sat on before. “We can use the coffee table for our plates. Maybe we can even play some cards. I think I saw some decks lying around behind the bar. I’m on bar duty here every Friday night, you know.”
“You are?” Tori asked. “I didn’t know you had ambitions to become a bartender.”
Shirley smiled. “A couple of months ago, The Spark nearly closed for business. It’s not the most popular hangout on DSD 2, so the owner asked for volunteers to help him out and cut costs. And since I love this place, I volunteered. Jack is very happy with my help.”
“Anything for Jack,” Anna warbled, innocently fluttering her eyelashes.
“Shut up.” Shirley turned red.
Tori chuckled. “What’s his last name? Daniels?”
She ducked when Shirley tried to hit her. At that moment, a friendly-looking guy with black hair in a ponytail walked up to them with a notepad. “Are you ordering food?” he wanted to know. “Or will you just be getting drinks?”
“We’d love some food, Jack,” Anna replied, winking at Tori. “Can you bring us the large mushroom pizza to share?”
“Ah, so that’s Jack,” Tori teased Shirley once he was out of earshot. “Not bad, girl.”
After a quick dinner, Anna walked over to the balcony railing to check what was happening down on the Boulevard. “The probe show hasn’t started yet,” she called over her shoulder. “Shall we play a game of blackjack?”
As Tori shuffled the cards Jack had brought to the table, she sensed someone was watching her. When she looked up, she spotted Alen sitting at the same table as he had been before, having drinks with two other guys who looked Slavic. His blue eyes were locked on her, and there was no point quickly looking away this time – he’d clearly seen her look. She shot him a crabby glare and looked away anyway, continuing to shuffle the cards for their game.
“Red Alert,” Anna hissed. “Croatian spy at three o’clock.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tori mumbled. “Is he still looking?”
“You could say that. I’m surprised your clothes aren’t spontaneously taking themselves off.”
That did it. Tori jerked her head back up and stared straight into Alen’s eyes. She kept her gaze fixed on him, expecting him to feel embarrassed and look away. His eyes – his beautiful, blue eyes – stared back at her unabashedly, though, slowly narrowing when a lazy smile tugged at his lips. Damn, this didn’t go at all the way she’d anticipated. He wasn’t backing down.
She looked away and stared at her hands in confusion, putting the cards back on the table before telling Anna: “I’m going to get us beers, okay? Will you deal?”
Without waiting for an answer, she got up and made her way to the counter. By now, The Spark was swarming with people wanting to get a few drinks before the space show was starting.
Tori got in line on the right, patiently waiting for her drinks when she suddenly became aware of someone queuing up behind her, standing a bit too close. The man put his hands on the edge of the bar on either side of her, effectively fencing her in.
Tori gulped down the lump in her throat when she looked up to meet his gaze in the mirror covering the entire wall behind the bar. Sure enough, it was Alen.
“What do you want?” she snapped at his reflection.
Her breath hitched when Alen leaned into her, his mouth stopping inches away from her ear. His warm body was so close that her mirror image blushed pink.
“You were looking at me so intensely just now, Tori.” He knew her name? How did he know her name? Had he asked around for it?
“So?” she tried to snarl, but it sounded more like a yelp.
“So, I thought that maybe you wanted to talk to me,” he continued in a smooth voice.
Great God. There was so much sexual tension between them that she could feel her knees turning to jelly. It wasn’t fair. Why did this incredibly gorgeous man have to show up in her life and then be a disrespectful jerk to her?
“I have nothing to say to you,” she replied sharply. “I just noticed you keep staring at me, so I figured you’d stop if I confronted you and stared back.”
He gave her a probing look in the mirror. “Ah. So you want me to stay away?”
If she was completely honest with herself, she actually didn’t. “Yes,” she mumbled regardlessly.
His eyes hardened – with anger or frustration, she couldn’t really tell. “What did your friends tell you about me, huh? He’s a jailbird? You’d better avoid him? He’s dangerous?” He spoke the last few words so softly that they were barely audible.
She blinked her eyes in surprise. “No! That’s not what … look, I generally don’t care that much about what other people think I should do,” she replied truthfully.
“You don’t?” he asked.
“No, I don’t.”
He moved even closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You’re scared,” he established when he felt her tremble.
Tori closed her eyes. Yes, she was scared, but it wasn’t because of him personally. Alen and his prison past had nothing to do with the fact that she clammed up with nerves whenever she felt like this – whenever people were getting too close, too physically intimate. “And so what if I am?” she bristled, sudden tears pooling in her eyes. “Just leave me the fuck alone.”
She hastily picked up the tray of beers that Jack put down for her and pushed herself past Alen and the rest of the people in line without looking back. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. She’d shown him her vulnerable side, lashing out at him like that and then running off with her tail between her legs.
Feeling completely flustered, Tori put the drinks on the table and flopped back down on the couch next to her friends.
“What the hell was he doing?” Anna asked wide-eyed, taking in Tori’s troubled face.
“Oh, I don’t know. Trying to intimidate me or something.” She tried to sound indifferent, when she was anything but.
They played a few rounds of blackjack, but Tori couldn’t concentrate. She was acutely aware of Alen being only a few tables away, still keeping an eye on her. What was he thinking?
When she closed her eyes, she could still feel his proximity. How nervous he had made her feel by standing that close, sending a thrill through her that was only part terror. It reminded her of a different situation – an encounter turning out the wrong way. He should have stopped. She should have stopped him, but she hadn’t.
“Weiss Woman?” Anna interrupted her thoughts, using the nickname she’d always used when they were still living on Mars. “What are you thinking of? You seem light years away.”
Tori shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she deflected. “Come on, let’s pack up. I want to see the launch from the balcony.”
As they left the bar and went to stand at the railing to listen to Commander Kelso’s speech, she looked back one more time, but Alen had turned away from her. Apparently, she’d managed to scare him off, and somehow, it left her feeling dejected.
4.
The next morning, Tori got up early to attend the very first official thing she’d be doing in her capacity of Assistant Astrobiologist – a staff meeting. Anna would be attending as well, being an official representative for the Cartography department. This would also be the first time she’d meet Commander Kelso in person. Last night, she’d heard him speak at the occasion of the space probe launch, and he’d struck her as a friendly and jovial man. He was a South Carolinian in his fifties, his brown hair graying at the temples and his beard neatly trimmed. His laid-back manner had reminded her of her uncle in Great Germany. Uncle Gustav, her dad’s brother, who had never felt the urge to ‘be someone’, as her dad called it. He had settled in the former region of Hungary to help the local farmers by teaching them how to till the soil most effectively after bombs had ruined most of the landscape.
Command
er Kelso was like her uncle: very easy-going, but with an inherent authority that no-one in his right mind would question. Anna had told Tori that staff meetings were conducted in an informal setting; people weren’t supposed to show up in official uniforms. They could wear anything they usually wore to work.
Still, Tori had a hard time picking out clothes. Dressing up properly for meetings with important people had been drilled into her so much that she felt like a criminal when she finally decided on brown corduroy pants and a David Bowie shirt.
“Good morning,” Mr. LaFleur greeted her when she entered the meeting room next to the Observatory. “Grab some coffee and have a seat.”
Tori walked over to the refreshment table to get a drink and cast a quick look around the room. There was a big, oval table in the middle with ten seats around it. Standing at the head of the table was Commander Kelso in casual clothes – black jeans and a blue sweater. He spotted her and started toward her.
“Miss Weiss,” he said, extending his hand. “A pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard great things about you from my friends at North Mars Uni.”
Tori gave him a shy smile back. “Thanks, Sir. I’ve heard great things about this station, too.” She liked this guy straight away – he emphasized her scholarly accomplishments, not the fact that she was from the wealthiest Elite family on Mars. “Looking forward to working here.”
“Your first mission will be tomorrow,” Commander Kelso said. “We’re going to discuss the how, where and when in this meeting. If you have any questions by the time we’re done, please don’t hesitate to ask. Anything you want to know about the station, don’t hesitate to come to me at a later time.”
More people trickled into the room. Anna joined her at the coffee counter when Commander Kelso walked back to his seat. “Hey there,” she said. “Cool shirt!”
