PlanetFall

by Cheri Lasota

Reina waved a hand, as if pushing all kidding aside. “You’re my roommate, Evie. And you Reachers built this ship. I suppose that means you should stay, yeah?”

  Evie took a deep breath as Reina pulled Frankie out of her arms and put her in the travel cage.

  “Okay, then. I’ve got to tell you a secret that you can’t tell anyone.”

  As Reina closed the cage door, Frankie lamented her too-brief freedom with a frustrated huff. Evie knelt near the cage and gazed into the schnauzer’s soulful eyes.

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “First things first,” Evie said, sticking a finger through the wire cage and scratching Frankie’s snout. “We are not descending on a New Eden ferry.…”

  The Vanguard

  Evie, Reina, and a caged Frankie were next in line to board behind a couple of Reacher children who were so excited the crewman at the door could barely scan their UiComm wristbands. Evie absently touched her own bare wrist as she surveyed the crowd of Reachers pressing into the Vanguards by the hundreds. Each shuttle could carry some 250 colonists planetside. Soon, they’d all make planetfall together in a mass exodus from the Challenge. It had been a long voyage.

  As she looked around, Evie realized she was searching for Tavian. For all she knew, she could end up on the other side of the planet from him. How would they ever find each other again?

  There he was! Talking to the woman who captained their shuttle. Tavian’s eyes found hers, and Evie’s breath hitched. He said his goodbyes to the captain, then strode in her direction.

  When Reina turned away to chat with one of her Astro Lab colleagues, Tavian pulled Evie behind the massive tail end of the Vanguard shuttle.

  “Tavian‌—‌”

  He peeked under the blanket into the travel cage and shushed Frankie’s happy whining by whispering to her and letting her lick his finger. “Why didn’t you listen to me about Reina, Evie?” he finally asked with a pointed glare.

  “I’m sorry, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. And besides, your considerable charm left her with a favorable impression of the Reachers,” she said with a smirk. “You should be proud of your achievement.” She expected a witty response, but his concerned expression only deepened.

  “Listen, Evie. I’ve told your captain to land on a continent in the far west. That’s where my shuttle is headed. When you land, get your bearings fast. We plan to land somewhere along the eastern coastline of that continent. Sorry, I didn’t get more specific intel on that.”

  “But what if something goes wrong and our shuttles end up off-course? I don’t think I can‌—‌”

  “Everything is going to be all right. I promise. I will find you. You’ll just have to trust me on that.”

  “Trust you?” Evie’s voice betrayed her mixed emotions. She wanted to trust Tavian. She wanted to do so much more than trust him.

  “Yes. You know why? Because Frankie will be pissed if I don’t come get her. And, besides, I’ve been trying to ask you out for two years, and now we’re getting married,” he teased. “I think that earns my devotion, don’t you?”

  Evie shifted Frankie’s cage to one hand and punched Tavian in the arm with the other. But he caught her wrist and pulled her close to kiss her once again. Though the whisky was absent, his mouth tasted as fiery as the first time.

  “Wait, Tavian. We need to … Reina needs to know‌—‌”

  “I know.” He nodded and took a step back. “I’ll talk to her, okay? I can’t thank you enough for taking care of Frankie for me,” he said, looking into her eyes. “She means far more to me than you’ll ever know.”

  “I think I do know, Tavian,” she said, remembering that he’d named the dog after his late girlfriend, Francesca. “I’ll do what I can for her.”

  Evie picked up Frankie’s cage. “Tell her goodbye one more time, Tav.”

  He leaned down to poke his finger through the cage bars, and Frankie’s little bump of a tail wagged happily.

  “I love you, pumpkinhead,” he whispered, “and I’ll see you real soon.”

  “What should we do about Reina?” Evie ventured.

  “I’ll go talk to her now. We may not be together, but she deserves an explanation, and it’s best coming from me.”

  Operation PlanetFall

  The city lights of New Eden’s central continents were far behind them as the Vanguard made its way toward the dark western lands. So were the firefights taking place in the sky as the New Eden military attempted to shoot down the Reachers’ shuttles. The pilot of Evie’s shuttle had expertly maneuvered them safely away from the main action, but not before Reina screamed every time an explosion occurred nearby. Evie, too, shook with adrenaline. Those terrifying moments had now faded into a profound, exhausted silence aboard the shuttle. Frankie had been a trooper through it all, barely making a sound, even during the worst of the anti-aircraft fire.

  As they traveled on, the lack of city lights ahead of them worried Evie. Where were they going? Did the territory even have a name? Who or what lived there? She glanced down at Frankie, asleep now in her travel cage. The schnauzer had started whining when the shuttle began its descent through the planet’s atmosphere, causing all their stomachs to lurch. Reina had seethed the entire trip‌—‌even after Evie had tried to explain about Tavian. Now, her roommate lay asleep with the other colonists while the crew chattered on about the fighting.

  “We are beginning our final descent,” the captain called at last over the intercom. “Secure your belongings and re-check your seatbelts. And if you look directly west, you will see another of our Vanguards landing now.”

  Evie’s heart skipped a beat. She shook Reina awake.

  “Look! Maybe that’s Tavian’s shuttle over there. See the lights? The captain said we’re landing soon too.”

  “Tavian?” Reina peered sleepily out the window into the darkness beyond. “Oh, it’s you. Try to keep his name out of your mouth, would you? And anything else of his while you’re at it.”

  “I’m sorry, Reina. Truly, I am. He asked me out years ago, but I wasn’t ready then. I don’t even know that I am now. It was‌—‌I just.… I’m sorry.”

  “You had your chance. He’s mine.”

  “But you’ve told me before he is just.… What was the term you used? Sex buddy?”

  Waving a dismissive hand at her, Reina shook her head. “You’re my roommate, Evie.”

  “I know. I have no excuse. I’m truly sorry. Did Tavian‌—‌what did he say?”

  “That’s between him and me, and it’s none of your business.” And with that, Reina closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

  Evie sighed and peered out the window, watching the lights of the other shuttle dipping lower in the sky. As their own shuttle banked farther west, she gasped as a double moon came into view, rising over the horizon. A giant blue moon glowing like a sapphire dwarfed a far smaller, grey moon silhouetted in front of it. While her fears grew as they neared their landing site, the idea that she could see this beautiful night sky every night‌—‌maybe even with Tavian at her side someday‌—‌thrilled her beyond words. That is, if they all survived the landing. She checked on Frankie one last time and tightened the strap across her own chest again.

  Here we go.…

  Isle of Ffynnons

  Evie and Reina huddled together on a log before a roaring fire. The last few days had been hard and not just because of the tension between them. Post-landing life had proven difficult and had, at least, served to band the two women together toward the common goal of survival.

  Many of the other Reachers stood warming their hands, while some prepared to bed down for the evening in tents. Still others searched the nearby woods for berries, small game, and kindling to burn. They didn’t often find much to eat on their expeditions, so Evie was grateful for the food the crew had packed in the shuttle. It was dwindling fast, though.

  They had camped here on the shores of a cobalt-colored sea for a couple of days but had yet to see signs of alien life be
yond strange animals and insects. Evie held a sleeping Frankie in her arms as she gazed at the blue moonlight on the black sea.

  A moan stole her gaze to the lit windows of the Vanguard. Its metal skin seemed so out of place among the trees and rock formations. Another sick one, she thought, hearing the suffering inside. They’d quarantined twenty-two of the Reachers inside the Vanguard. There was a theory among the medical personnel that the affected colonists had caught a bug after drinking from the nearby stream. Or maybe from eating a local plant or animal. Symptoms included high fever, rashes, and stomach ailments. Sometimes sufferers got better. Sometimes they didn’t. Bringing the fever down was key. They’d had to bury eight victims already. Like their food supplies, their small stash of medicines was dwindling fast.

  She hadn’t told Reina, but she feared Frankie was coming down with it as well. The little dog had become more and more lethargic in the last day or so. That worried her more than coming down with the sickness herself did. She’d made a promise to Tavian. A promise she intended to keep.

  “Did you hear that?” Reina asked, peering west into a grove of trees obscured by the gathering dusk. “Something over there.” She pointed farther south, below where Evie had seen crew members enter the woods earlier, looking for supplies.

  “They’re probably just coming back from gathering kindling.”

  “No, I don’t think‌—‌oh, my God, who is that?” Reina leapt up and took a few steps back.

  Crashing and shouting came from the trees. Rising to see what the commotion was, Evie jostled Frankie awake, though the suffering animal barely lifted her head. Then Evie saw them. Scores of armed, angry men charging toward the camp.

  Screams erupted around her as Evie lifted Frankie into her arms and backed away.

  “Stay where you are!” the leader of the group demanded. They all looked just as human as the Reachers. Not only that, but the man spoke English. Evie thought they might be a group of Reachers or Founders that had come from the Challenge, but their black uniforms were unlike any worn aboard ship.

  Chaos erupted. Shots were fired. Reina screamed. Before Evie could decide whether to run or fight, the armed men had already surrounded their camp.

  Before she knew what was happening, the captors ushered Evie and the others into a tight circle, brandishing their advanced weapons and shouting for compliance. The leader stood near the fire so everyone could see him.

  “You are trespassers in Alba. The Thorndike military is taking you into custody. You will temporarily be transported to the Isle of Ffynnons before we process you out of here. This is not a negotiation.” The leader stared down each of the colonists in turn, daring them to protest. “You were not authorized to enter New Eden air space or land in this restricted territory. Cooperate or we will be forced to take action against you.”

  Shouts and refusals rose up among the Reachers, but Evie held tighter to Frankie‌—‌whether for her own security or to keep the dog safe, she wasn’t sure. She felt the little dog tense, and the rumble of a growl began in Frankie’s belly, but she was obviously still suffering from the mysterious illness. Evie stroked Frankie’s fur to calm her as the armed men quieted the crowd. She was determined to keep them both safe, and the best way to do that was to comply, she decided, at least for the moment.

  “Frankie,” she whispered, “we’re going to survive this. I swear it.”

  And yet, despite the cool night air, Evie felt warm. She raised a hand to her forehead and felt the heat there. The hairs on the back of her neck rose.

  Frankie looked up at her and whined.

  Oh, no.

  * * *

  Weeks had passed since they’d been taken by the Thorndike military to the Isle of Ffynnons. While Evie had purposefully kept out of the various squabbles between Founders and Reachers, she did know the Thorndikes were one of the ten Founding Families who had journeyed ahead of the SS Challenge and taken control of the new planet, colonizing most of the continents and causing a great deal of strife for New Eden’s alien inhabitants. As far as she could gather, their Thorndike captors had been encamped in central Alba at an installation called Danarii Station. They had also commandeered an abandoned village on the nearby Isle of Ffynnons surrounding the strangest lake Evie had ever seen. A giant crater lay in the center, and waterfalls poured into the hole to some unknown destination beneath the lake.

  Evie and Frankie had grown ever sicker, and now Reina suffered with the illness as well. The Thorndike medical team allowed only food and water and the most basic of treatment for the affected Reacher crew. Most just rode out the symptoms, though others, untreated, had died of the high fever since their internment. Evie worried about Frankie night and day, and she tried to care for Reina as best she could.

  Maybe it was the fever they all shared. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome. But Evie had begun to sense the dog’s moods‌—‌not through Frankie’s body language but through her mind. Like, one minute Evie was thinking of one thing and then she’d find herself looking at Frankie, almost like the dog had spoken to her. And the schnauzer would look back. It was like they’d become more aware of one another than ever before. More present together.

  One day, as they lay on their pallets, one of the guards approached. Frankie’s growl alerted Evie, who’d been lost in a fever dream. She awoke to find the guard scooping up the dog’s leash.

  “Let her go!” Evie shouted. Frankie barked at the man too, a seeming reflection of Evie’s own anger.

  “Can’t you see my dog is sick?” Evie pled. “She needs rest.”

  “Yeah, leave Frankie alone,” Reina called out from her pallet across the room. Whereas Evie had finally begun to recover, Reina was still wracked with a chronic fever.

  The guard ignored them and carried Frankie across the makeshift hospital. The moon’s light shone off the dog’s coat as she struggled in his arms. “The commander says you can’t keep the dog anymore,” the man called over his shoulder. “By law, Earth animals are not allowed in the wild. He is taking her to our military camp for … testing.”

  “Over my dead body!” Evie shouted, struggling to her feet.

  “Stay back!” He stopped and fumbled for the stun gun in his holster as Frankie struggled.

  “Watch out, Evie,” Reina said.

  “Let her go, asshole,” Evie said evenly, advancing on him. “You’re not taking her anywhere.”

  He managed to draw the stun gun as Frankie barked, echoing Reina’s warning, but Evie grabbed the weapon with both hands. The guard fell backward and out the door, and Frankie found her freedom as they hit the ground. As the schnauzer darted for the trees, Evie fell on top of the guard, and they both struggled for the stun gun. A shot fired straight into the air, but it wasn’t long before the man overpowered Evie in her weakened state.

  “Stop resisting!” the guard yelled. Then Reina was there, tackling the man and pulling him off Evie, who slipped out from under him. She hesitated and locked eyes with Reina.

  “Go, Evie,” Reina shouted. “I’ll hold him off. Go find her!”

  Evie nodded and sprinted in the direction she’d seen Frankie go. The alarm was raised in the camp behind her, so Evie avoided shouting Frankie’s name for fear of pursuit. The angry voices back at the camp grew ever fainter as she crashed through the underbrush. Grateful for the moonlight illuminating debris in her way, Evie stumbled on. Part of her realized that if she went too far, she might never find her way back. But she’d made Tavian a promise.

  Judging she was, at last, far enough away from the hospital, Evie began calling Frankie’s name softly.

  “Here, girl. Come back! It’s safe now.”

  She had almost given up hope, convinced she’d lost Frankie in the woods, when Evie heard strange noises coming from the northern shoreline.

  “Frankie!” she called, careless now that someone might hear. She needed to find Frankie, and soon‌—‌her weariness, compounded by the struggle and her slow recovery from the mysterious illness, demanded i
t. Then she heard a sound: Frankie’s faint whining. She stepped through the flora, which parted to reveal a beach. Glancing this way and that, she finally saw him: a man huddled, kneeling over a small form in the darkness.

  Frankie whined again.

  “Keep your hands off her!” Evie screamed, trudging through the deep sands.

  When he turned, Evie saw he was a young man perhaps a few years her junior. His expression changed from curiosity to confusion. As she approached, Evie realized he’d been petting Frankie’s head.

  She wasn’t certain whether she should yank Frankie away from him or try to communicate. Her weariness decided for her.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  He shook his head and frowned. Could he not understand her? Maybe he wasn’t part of the Thorndike military team. They all understood English easily enough.

  He stood and moved toward her, smiling. Evie backed away.

  The young man stopped, and then opened his palm and held it out to her.

  Like I do with Frankie, thought Evie. Something tickled in her mind. Something, in fact, that felt like Frankie. Something that made her reach back toward the young man.

  He touched her hand and closed his eyes for a moment.

  Evie had no idea what he was doing, and it made her uneasy. And then she heard something else in her mind, something‌—‌or someone‌—‌that wasn’t Frankie. A strange voice that seemed to come from within her. It almost sounded Welsh, or close to it anyway. She’d learned the language from her grandfather, an exceptional linguist in his day. Yet, this version of the language was confusing. She struggled to pick out words.

  I can feel your power, the voice said. You aren’t Ddaeran. How can you hear me?

  “Is that you in my head?” Evie asked him in Welsh. She hadn’t spoken it in years, but it came so naturally to answer him that way. As if he’d teased the language from her own memory. She stared at the young man, his dark features accentuated by the moonlight. He’d said the word “Ddaeran,” which she didn’t understand. But the context seemed to imply … was that the name of his people?