by Kate Rauner
Maliah broke the silence. "Maj, how many meal packages do you have in the storage level?"
"Five hundred and four."
"Excellent. We have plenty. This evening, I'll call the Kin to a rally." Passing on orders had been Magnus' job for Tanaka. That was ending now. "And, Magnus. You will stay with the Kin on the playing field throughout the rally."
He shifted position in surprise. Despite his swagger, Magnus had never lasted to the end of a rally. Tonight he'd have to.
"Maj, Shun, Trina. If Magnus fails, put him to bed in a trash bin. I'll take your advice, Magnus. No one gets away with murder again. Back to the mess hall, all of you."
The adjuncts hurried off and Maliah circled her desk. She would join the Kin tonight and demonstrate her own endurance from the balcony. Inspiration was what they needed. Her lips twitched in a smile, and a racing heart filled her with warmth. With exhilaration. Waiting until tomorrow would be hard, but she needed some time to plan her upcoming announcement. She was about to surprise everyone.
Chapter 26
F ynn stood with his crew at the wall panel separating the furnace dome from the Gravitron dome, at the place where they had to insert blowers to inflate the new structure.
Olsen laid a hand on the plastic. "According to the schedule, the decabots had enough time to inflate the outer wall. When do we cut through?"
"I know better than to trust the schedule," Fynn said. "We go outside to scope out the dome and check for problems first. Thurstan, your knee's still swollen, so you babysit the furnace controls. Everyone else, suit up." He snatched up a couple bags of cuttings from the greenhouse, filled with more whiteflies destined to freeze in Titan's cold, to carry outside.
Fynn insisted they pause on the airlock ramp for safety reminders.
"I know," Olsen said. "Don't fly near the fission dome."
Lukas joined in. "Watch your battery levels."
Mika yanked her flier upright and stepped aboard. "And we only get a half hour to play before the work starts. You coming?"
"I need to check the methane pump first," Fynn said.
Rica dropped her flier. "I'll help."
A gentle swirl marked the surface above the pump indicating normal operation. Rica gazed across the lake. With barely a ripple, the liquid methane reflected the sky as a browner shade of orange. A yellow curve glazed the lake and Fynn looked up. The curve of Saturn's face was faintly visible.
Rica sighed. "It's so peaceful out here. I can hear my suit creak and my rebreather running, but if I don't inhale and stand still..." She stopped, arms spread wide with feet flat against the ice sand. Fynn held his breath too, not wanting to send any sound over the suit-to-suit channel.
"Perfectly quiet." Rica dropped her arms "I'm acquiring an appreciation for Titan."
Fynn knelt at the lake's edge, filled a cylinder about the size of a catsup bottle from one of the cafes they'd left behind on Earth, and snapped the cap closed.
"Can you attract some blue ghosts?" Rica asked.
"They don't come close to the domes. Maybe our activity scares them."
Rica turned to look up the row of domes. "What activity? Looks pretty dead to me."
"I don't see the fission dome's exhaust sleeve." Fynn tapped his sleeve, looking for the introductory video. "Excess heat's vented continuously so the sleeve should stick up above the ice wall."
"We're half a kilometer away, and the light's dim. Maybe you just can't see it. The heat's got to be going somewhere."
That was true. Since the control rod was yanked years ago in Earth orbit, there'd been no way to shut the fission reaction down.
They circled the colony and joined the rest of the crew at the Gravitron dome. Fynn cut his flier's power and let it drift down, sliding along the plastic wall.
Mika glided above the dome's curve. This far from the fission dome, she was well below the streams of energy and particles angling up into Titan's thick atmosphere from the reactor.
"It looks inflated to me," Mika said.
"The decabots must agree. They've stopped work." The bots sat motionless nearby, waiting for the next event that would trigger them into action.
"Glide along the slice we repaired," Fynn said. "I've got a bottle of methane. I'll pour it down the weld seam and you look for any bubbles from a leak." That was a trick that worked with soapy water on Earth. He hoped methane on Titan was close enough.
They repeated the examination several times until Fynn was satisfied.
"How are you going to check the inner wall?" Olsen asked. "We can't do it visually."
"Heat leaks. After it's inflated, infrared will show me hot spots." Fynn pulled his flier back a ways. "We're done. Back inside."
Fynn's satisfaction with the day's work vanished as he led his crew into the dome. Thurstan stood on the edge of the furnace platform facing a dozen Kin. The crowd looked angry and Vanja was in front.
Thurstan shouted. "Fynn, guys. Tell these Kin what you've been doing."
Vanja pointed, straight-armed, at Fynn. "Plotting. Outside using suit comms so no one can hear you."
Fynn stopped several paces from her, not wanting to stand close enough to be grabbed. Vanja was a trustee to the adjuncts and he didn't trust her. "Then come with us. I've invited you before. Any of you. Come outside with us."
A couple Kin dropped their gaze to the floor or rubbed their faces, but most of Vanja's group mirrored her glare. These people were ready to spend their days spying and gossiping even if the colony collapsed around them. They were the ones whispering to the adjuncts in exchange for extra food or merely for the attention. How did they justify that if secret communications were forbidden? Some people didn't understand irony.
"The new dome's ready to be inflated." Fynn spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "More space for the Kin. And gravity treatments can start soon, making Kin stronger and healthier. This crew's helping all of you survive."
Vanja set her hands on her hips, not bothering to glance around for support, confident that her group would follow her. "Kin don't need you to survive. Doctor Tanaka gave us everything we need." Agreement rumbled behind her.
"Vanja, this conflict is nuts. The furnaces, the Gravitron, they're all in the schedule. Part of Tanaka's plan. We need them to survive."
She raised a fist. "Loyalty. Unity. Kin, Kin, Kin." The others chanted with her.
Rica pushed forward, her eyes on fire, her own fist raised. "Kin, Kin, Kin. We're Kin too."
Thurstan raised his fist. Olsen and Mika hopped close to Rica, so Fynn joined the chant. "Kin, Kin, Kin. We are Kin."
Vanja's face flushed red. "You can't claim kinship until you confess. Confess your treachery before you rejoin the Kin." She spun around and rocketed through the crowd that hurried to follow her out of the furnace dome. Vanja could launch a verbal attack but didn't know what to do after that. Fynn twisted a hand through his hair. No doubt, Magnus would teach her, and future confrontations might not end as abruptly. Or as easily.
Thurstan jumped off the platform. "Glad you got back. I was worried they'd damage something."
"Damage the furnaces?" Rica was as red as Vanja had been. "That would hurt the colony. It doesn't make sense. What's wrong with those people?" She turned her flashing eyes on Fynn as if expecting an answer.
Lukas, usually so quiet, nodded grimly. "I know all those Kin with Vanja. I worked with them at the spaceport, building the Herschel. We were part of the secret, part of Tanaka's chosen team, and we expected a new Golden Age. But things have gone wrong. People have died. Colonizing Titan is hard. They want someone to blame."
"Blame Tanaka," Rica said.
Mika's eyes widened and Thurstan raised a hand against his lips.
Rica glared at them. "I'm not going to be quiet. Besides, we're safe here, conspiring in our dome. No one'll come close unless they have a horde with them."
"I won't let them scare me into hiding," Fynn said. "I am Kin and I belong. I'm going to the mess hall."
"M
e too," Rica said. The others followed.
Maybe they'd get hostile stares, and maybe no one would talk to them. But Fynn would hold his head up high. Besides, he was hungry.
***
Fynn nestled in his bed, tucked into the bin he'd outfitted as a sleeping cubby. His stomach growled. Supper had been half-rations and even the trustees looked miserable.
He heard voices and scrambled out to find his crew walking toward him, rolls of bedding under their arms and yellow gear bags dangling from their shoulders. Ben, Rica, and all the recruits.
Rica's eyes flashed anger. "We've been thrown out of the barracks. All of us. Olsen refused to go quietly."
Olsen's grin was lopsided and a bruise spread under the freckles on one cheek.
Fynn hadn't expected things to turn this ugly so soon. The Kin, or at least those aligned with the adjuncts, were getting scary. But right now, he felt light enough to bounce to the ceiling. Fynn hadn't acknowledged it before, but sleeping in a bin in the furnace dome was lonely. Years of barracks life were hard to forget. "I'll activate a stevedore and drag over an empty bin for each of you." He stopped himself. He was making this sound like a kids' sleepover, and being evicted by your barracks mates was serious. "Or, put your beds wherever you'd be comfortable."
Rica's lips twitched into a small smile. "I bet you found the perfect spot. I'll set up next to your bin. It's much easier to keep an eye on the furnaces from there."
Their coveralls all flipped to Tanaka blue with the orange armband and Fynn jumped. He was never going to get used to that. He held his breath, waiting for the announcement that was sure to follow.
Instead of an adjunct's voice, Maliah spoke. "Kin report to the mess hall."
Thurstan groaned. "She can't possibly be calling an endurance rally, can she?"
"We better go," Fynn said. "I'll set my pad to ping me every hour, so I can come back and check the furnaces."
Rica crossed her arms. "If our barracks mates don't want us, we should boycott the rally."
"I know how you feel," Fynn said. "But let's not aggravate them. We should go."
They walked slowly, avoiding confrontations by giving the greenhouse crew a chance to clear out ahead of them. The mess hall was filling up with puzzled Kin, all in Tanaka blue and wondering why they were summoned to the kitchen instead of the playing field.
Maliah appeared on the top balcony above them. "Kin are achieving Doctor Tanaka's dream. We are fulfilling his vision. Thanks to every one of you, Titan is ours, and our brothers and sisters will soon leave stasis to join us. Go now and release those imprisoned in the discipline bins so they can join us. It's time to celebrate!"
The adjuncts emerged from the base of the tower, each pair carrying a bin between them. They dumped the bins onto the counters, and meal boxes tumbled out. The meals that once seemed mushy and disappointing brought cheers from those in the front who first saw the food. While a few ducked through the crowd toward the discipline bins, intent on releasing their friends, most scrambled for the packages. The adjuncts added tubs of condiments, beverage powders, and sugar to the countertops. Microwaves were soon humming, and those who had to wait tore open their peanut butter, crackers, and snack foods.
Fynn's crew dove into the crowd while he sidled along the counter and found a meal of chili that had fallen to the floor. Chili with beans. He smiled remembering his first meal on Titan with Drew and Maliah. He'd been worried then, too, for different reasons than today.
He snatched up some tea bags and hot sauce packets that slid off the backside of the counters and stuffed them into pockets. Everything the adjuncts brought was disappearing quickly. A few people with arms full of brown boxes circled to the rear of the crowd to distribute the meals. It was good to see Kin caring for each other again.
Fynn slipped his chili into a cargo pocket on his leg and scooped up a pile of sugar packets. He held these out to each person he passed and managed to keep two for himself.
Across the dome, Rica and Mika hugged with others in front of the women's barracks. Tossing them out must not have been a unanimous decision. When Fynn sat in an empty chair near some of Emily's maintenance crew, they smiled at him.
He'd plucked his cheese-filled snack food from the meal box, planning to heat his chili after crowds by the microwaves cleared, when Greta leaned over his shoulder.
Before they could talk, Maj's voice sounded in his ear gel. Conversations faded and people at the microwaves hit a pause to quiet their whir. "... attention. Maliah Rupar is about to address the Kin."
Fynn twisted in his seat and Greta crouched beside him. From the second floor balcony, Maliah waved. She was close enough to the crowd for her voice to carry without transmission through ear gels.
"Thank you all for joining me, for celebrating our freedom from the mongrels and our new home on Titan." She paused for murmurs to die down. "Imbedded in every end is a new beginning. With every loss, somewhere, something is gained. We lost Doctor Tanaka, but will soon rejoice in new life." She paused again, and this time the hall grew quiet.
Fynn barely whispered. "Mom, do you know what she means?"
Greta shook her head, keeping her eyes on her daughter.
"I am carrying the first baby conceived on Titan."
Cheers exploded. People jumped from their chairs, fists overhead. "Kin, Kin, Kin."
Fynn froze in his seat, his eyes locked on his mother's. She shook her head. She hadn't known.
Chapter 27
G reta headed up the tower stairs as soon as Maliah left the balcony. At the top floor a wave of emotion struck her, and she had to pause and wrap her hands around the railing for support. This was the first time she'd visited Tanaka's rooms since his death, but it wasn't shame or pride that stopped her. Sorrow crushed her throat and tears stung her eyes. Yash was gone and she was alone.
Below her, the dome echoed with raucous voices, shaking Greta from her thoughts. She wasn't alone. There was Fynn and Maliah, and all the Kin awake and in stasis who needed her. She wiped her face, breathed deeply for a few minutes, and pushed open the door.
Maliah faced her as if she'd been waiting and knocked Greta back into the door with a hug.
The adjuncts stood nearby, Maj beaming, Shun and Trina looking stunned, and Magnus with arms folded and a cold smile.
Maliah laughed as she recovered her balance. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you first, Mom, but I wanted to surprise everyone."
It was a surprise. Greta expected her medics to keep patient information confidential, but if there was a pregnancy, she thought she'd be told that much, even without the expecting mother's name.
Greta gripped Maliah's shoulders and, with a doctor's eyes, looked into her golden girl's face. Those cheeks had lost their youthful roundness, and Greta could see motor-wrinkles related to muscle movement, and nasolabial lines around her mouth. But there was no reason Maliah's fertility should have declined yet. Not if they were still on Earth, she reminded herself.
Magnus grunted. "I didn't think women could conceive in Titan's low gravity. Isn't that why it's crucial for the Herschel to become a rotating space station? For aspiring parents to inhabit?"
Greta continued to look into Maliah's face as she answered. "There's nothing about being on Titan to prevent egg and sperm from uniting, though sperm production is a gravity-related problem for natural conception. Decreased numbers, abnormal formation. Proteins connected to a cell's cytoskeleton..."
Maliah shook free of her mother's hands. "All irrelevant, since I am pregnant." Her smile was fierce.
Greta felt cold. She longed to confirm the pregnancy medically, but this was no place to discuss it. "You're right. It's the baby's development we need to consider from here on. On Mars, the percentage of successful births is half what's seen on Earth. On Earth's Moon and in space, no one's tried. At least, no one who published in the reports stored on our cybernet. There are some early animal experiments recorded, but nothing recent because such studies have been considered unethical for
years."
Magnus grunted again. "Mongrel rules."
Her stomach turned to stone and Greta shivered. Years of practice kept her reactions under control, but she was frightened for Maliah. Cells in zero gravity don't divide normally, bones and heart muscle don't develop normally. But no one really knew what to expect on Titan, and none of the tools that might keep a fetus healthy were available. Magnus was right. The plan was for prospective mothers to live on the Herschel with centrifugal-force gravity until their babies were born. Even the Gravitron wasn't operational yet, and that was only intended to treat adults on Titan's surface.
"Such a momentous event should be confirmed." Magnus looked straight into Greta's face for the first time.
Hatred surged inside her. Despite Greta's determination to hide her feelings, it must have shown on her face because Magnus flinched backwards as if momentarily confused. She focused on her years of training, on how she composed herself before delivering bad news to a patient, and smoothed her expression. Yash was avenged and, somehow, she was certain the universe would deal with Magnus in a more satisfying manner than she could. Greta would watch and wait.
The other adjuncts stepped closer. Maj's eyes glowed as she rested her hands under her chin. "This is a sign. Despite everything Doctor Lund says, Maliah Rupar carries the first Kin native to Titan. Doctor Tanaka is vindicated. Here stands our one and true inspiration. Our First Cohort. Our leader."
Maliah tipped her head, graciously accepting the praise. Trina and Shun seemed quietly awestruck. Magnus dropped his arms to his side with a slight bow. That ended the discussion, and left Greta without so much as a pregnancy test strip or an ultrasound until she could access instruments in the Herschel's labs.
Oh Maliah, she thought. What have you done?
***
When Greta entered her office, Fynn jumped off the sofa. "Did you see her? Is it true? Who's the father?"
A wan smile tugged at Greta's lips. With his his dark face and loose-limbed gestures, Fynn was so like his father. Like Yash. A wave of sorrow swept her again. She'd never felt so fragile and tightened her jaws, determined not to cry in front of her son. "I saw her, but the adjuncts were there, so we couldn't talk."
