by H. G Ahedi
Then she decided to salvage what was left of her life. Tired of living on a spaceship, she’d finally taken a major step and decided to give up space exploration. An opportunity to command Titan arrived, and she took it in a heartbeat. It had been a good decision for her family and her relationship. But none of it had lasted.
Over the years, the kids had become more attached to their father because she never had time for them. Last year, Martin had insisted on moving back to Earth, but Anastasia hadn’t wanted to go. She’d found herself asking how much more she should sacrifice. She’d already given up her freedom, her need to explore and discover new things. Should she give up another command? No. She’d decided she couldn’t leave Titan; it meant too much to her. Being in command of the most powerful station in the system gave her a sense of power over her life. It gave her control. It gave her life meaning.
Martin had left Titan with their teenage girls, and Anastasia hadn’t tried to stop them. This had led to a divorce, and she wasn’t surprised. Martin blamed her career, but Anastasia knew better. Yes, her career had been a factor, but there was something else. She realized now how little love had existed in their relationship. There’d been mutual respect and communication but no chemistry; the spark had been long gone. She didn’t want to live with a man who she didn’t love anymore.
Anastasia’s girls were thriving on Earth, though they missed their mother. She wanted them back with her, but their happiness and safety mattered to her more than anything else. A year had passed, and she could see that they were building their lives. They had made friends and attained some stability. They were no longer confined to the boundaries of a spaceship. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at her kids’ picture. Sacrifices, she thought.
Titan, Deck 1, Bridge
Anastasia left her office and soon found herself on the bridge. The lights were dim, and the command center was completely silent except for the intermittent beeps of the consoles. She remembered living on Titan as a child, and her mother was friends with the commander and often brought her here. Never had she thought, one day she would command it.
She could already imagine her routine for tomorrow, and sulk. The three crew members on night shift appeared to be busy on their consoles. Without a word, she turned and left the bridge.
The doors of the elevator slid open on Deck 4. Anastasia strolled silently with her head bowed. She turned left and entered passageway three, which led to the outer section. She paused and turned to look out of the windows, staring at the glowing perimeter. She’d thought she was done with exploration, but for the last year, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of nothingness. Maybe exploration wasn’t done with her.
Titan, Deck 10 Hangar Deck
After docking Astra in the hangar, Delta and Emmeline walked toward their quarters. The deck was silent, and all the craft stood under dim lights.
“Are we going to discuss this?” Delta asked in a low voice.
“Let me think about it.”
“If Nemesis was linked with a plaque that existed centuries ago, people should know about it.”
Emmeline faced Delta. “I know,” she said. “I know. I’m worried too. But we can’t go to the science committee without more answers. We need to investigate how and why these two things are related.”
“Can’t you just speak with Commander Waters?”
Emmeline shook her head. “I thought about that, but without more information, it’s useless to involve her.”
The doors to the elevator opened, and they stepped in.
“How long will it take you to decipher it?” Delta asked.
Emmeline felt annoyed. She’d thought that discovering the plaque would lead her to the mythical device. Instead, it had just made things worse. “I don’t know how to decipher it. I need time. I need time!”
Delta grunted, shaking her head. “Alexander was branded as a traitor because he falsified data and then disappeared without a trace. Now you have the plaque, which is somehow linked with that damn comet. This doesn’t look good. We have to be careful.”
Emmeline wanted to tell Delta that it was all a lie, Alexander would have never done such a thing. But the truth was she didn’t have all the facts and history told a different story. Imperial Command did not take disobedience lightly and when it came to the Nemesis, it spared no one. She remembered her grandpa telling her the months of scrutiny the family had to go through after he disappeared. They had confiscated all his data, his work, locked down his accounts and raided the house. But found nothing. Since he had vanished without a trace, and no one knew what happened to him, he remained on the wanted list of the Imperial Command. The link between Nemesis and the plaque wasn’t going to make it easy. She didn’t know how to deal with this information.
The elevator halted on Deck 4. They stepped out and were greeted by a small group of people. They walked through the corridor, and Emmeline came to a stop at door 04-114. “This is me.”
Delta looked up and down the corridor. “So, we keep this between us?”
“For now. Let’s wait until I find out more.”
“Fine.” Delta was about to walk away, but she stopped. “Emmeline, I’m sorry. I should congratulate you. I’m glad you found evidence that a part of the myth could be true.”
“Thank you.”
“But let’s be careful, very careful.”
Titan, Deck 4, Emmeline’s Quarters
Emmeline punched in the codes, and the door opened. Despite all the excitement of her journey, she was glad to be back home. She put her backpack on the chair near the door, then stretched out on the couch.
Her quarters were a small compact space. Her living room was rectangular with three large curved windows. The walls were light gray and decorated with paintings of stars and galaxies. Two vases holding different types of lilies rested on a rectangular metallic table pushed against the wall in front of the couch. On the table were three photo frames: pictures of her parents, her brother, and her grandparents. To one side of the door were six shelves holding several books. To the other side was an orchid plant she had smuggled from the nursery bay.
Emmeline got to her feet and peered out of the window. The giant clouds of Titan danced through the sky, giving the moon a mixed glow of orange and red. The clouds drifted aside, revealing a view of the frozen rocks on Titan’s surface. She wondered about the information she had collected, but her mind was too tired to comprehend, so she decided to get some sleep.
It wasn’t until the buzzer went off that Emmeline realized it was 0700 hours. She rubbed her eyes and stretched on the bed. The buzzer sounded again.
“You have a visitor,” said the computer.
“Yes, I know!” Emmeline thought, getting on her feet.
“Emmeline, it’s your father. Please open the door.”
At first, she froze. Last time she checked, he was on Earth. When did he get here?
“Oh damn,” she muttered, picking up her backpack. She opened her closet, pushed her clothes aside, and placed her right palm on the wall. A rectangular panel moved outward, then smoothly slid sideways. She put the backpack inside and said, “Close.”
The small panel closed. She shut the doors to her closet, quickly checked her appearance in the mirror, and ran back into the living area. She pushed the green button to open the door and found her father, Arthur Augury, standing in front of her.
“Hello, Daddy,” Emmeline said, trying not to show her anxiety. She gave him a warm hug.
Arthur’s face quickly softened. “All right. All right now,” he said as they parted. He entered her quarters, and the door shut automatically behind him.
Arthur was a polite and wise but hot-headed man in his sixties. Emmeline had inherited her father’s facial features but not his hair, which was silver and curly. Arthur towered a few inches above her and had a significantly larger build. Today, he wore a long white coat, which almost touched his feet, over a blue turtleneck shirt and white pants.
“How�
�s Mom?” Emmeline asked.
“She misses you and wants me to bring you home,” her father told her.
Emmeline just smiled, not knowing how to respond. There was so much going on Titan and in her life, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go back home. “So, what brings you to Titan?”
“As if you don’t know.”
Emmeline shrugged her shoulders.
“You went to Earth without telling me. And then just left! Without visiting your parents?”
“Dad, I’m not a little girl anymore. I don’t have to tell you where I go. I wasn’t on vacation, otherwise I would have come to see you.”
“You went to Sector 1001.”
“So now you’re spying on me!” Emmeline exclaimed, outraged.
“You leave me no choice. Elliot has filled your head with junk. I’m trying to fix the problem.”
“Dad, please don’t say that about Grandpa.”
Arthur walked up and down the room. “You’re out of your senses. Why do you want to follow this stupid story? This myth about this mythical device. It doesn’t exist, Emmeline!”
“I’m just following my in—”
“It was the greatest mistake of my life to give you those diaries,” said Arthur. “I should have burned them!”
“Burn generations of family history?” Emmeline demanded.
Arthur faced her. “Generations of fiction!”
“Dad, I know you don’t believe in myths. Nor do I, but I think. . .”
“You’re wrong!”
“Dad, I just want to see where this goes.”
“It’s going nowhere. You are wasting your time and your energy. Focus on completing your credits, finish your work with Dr. Kent, and return to Earth,” Arthur ordered. “We’ve been waiting for you. It seems you have forgotten us!”
Anger stirred inside Emmeline; she didn’t want to leave Titan. She loved her family, but there was nothing for her back home.
“You’re just like your grandfather,” Arthur said. “Reckless and stubborn. He let the family business die and left his old wife and grandchildren behind to go on a ship that was destined for doom.”
“Grandpa was an explorer, and he followed his dream,” Emmeline countered. “The ship was destroyed in an ion storm. It was a tragedy. Accidents happen!”
“He was stupid.”
“He was your father.”
“Yes, and he left us.”
Emmeline drew in a deep breath. “Dad, just accept the truth. You are angry at him because he followed his dreams when you didn’t!”
“I couldn’t dream. I had a family to feed.”
The same argument again, thought Emmeline. “No, you didn’t. When I turned eighteen, like everyone, I got access to our assets and the vault. We would have been fine without you or my big brother, Warren. We have enough assets to feed the next two generations, even if neither of us earns a dime. Yes, you developed the business and took it to the next level by collaborating with the military to make spaceships. But Grandpa and our ancestors built the foundation of the company.”
Arthur was about to argue, but Emmeline stopped him. “Dad. If you want to give up the business and go on an extended vacation, do it! Warren can take care of everything. You have trained him well. Take a ship and go, but don’t speak ill of Grandpa. And speaking of Grandma, you weren’t even around when I was taking care of her. And you know what? She asked Grandpa to leave, to follow his dream. She had become ill, and it was her wish to stay back and die on Earth in her home!”
Silence fell in the quarters.
Emmeline said after a few moments had passed. “I don’t wish to make an enemy of my father. What’s come over you? What’s going on? Just tell me.”
Arthur slowly sat down. “I’m terrified. I feel like I’m losing you too.”
Emmeline’s heart sank.
“I miss you. I miss having you around. The house is too quiet. I am scared. You’re too much like Elliot,” Arthur continued. “I’m worried that you’ll destroy everything you have. I’ve read those diaries too. I’ve thought about all the deaths, mistakes, mishaps, and destruction. I know the misery exploration and curiosity brought to our family.”
Emmeline lowered her head. It also brought progress, she thought.
“Especially the ones that have no name,” said Arthur. “The anonymous journals.”
“The ones from the twenty-first century?”
“Yes. They made so many mistakes. They stuck their noses where they weren’t supposed to. Did you know that one of them was accused of murder?”
Emmeline smiled slightly. “Accused but not convicted.”
“It gives the family a bad name.”
“Dad, that was centuries ago. No one remembers.”
“People remember, and traits pass down through generations.”
“You’re worried about nothing.”
“Really? What about Alexander?”
Emmeline eyed him.
“Since you’ve become so interested in his life, I did a bit of digging,” said Arthur. “He was appointed as a leading planetary geologist to study Nemesis, and he falsified data. He stole data from another team, altered it, and then disappeared with the original findings. It’s believed that he hid a very important finding during his survey.”
“What was it?” Emmeline asked remembering the dead man under the fallen staircase.
“No one knows. They say he corrupted his team, and they went rogue as well.”
“Did anyone find out why?”
“No. No one. They couldn’t understand him. He was given the opportunity of a lifetime. Just imagine what glory it would have brought us! But look what he did. He went rogue and destroyed his life! And he was a criminal.”
“Dad, shouldn’t you check facts before condemning a man? From the dairies it appears Alexander was kind, hardworking, and loyal to his field and colleagues. He wasn’t a well-renowned scientist, but he was dedicated to his wife and family. Has it occurred to you that such a man wouldn’t become a crook without a very good reason?”
Arthur straightened up.
“I’m just saying we should learn more about what actually happened,” Emmeline told him.
“The way I see it, Alexander discovered something, and it was huge. He wanted all the fame and glory, and that’s what led to his doom.”
Emmeline stayed quiet.
“What are you thinking?” Arthur asked her.
“You will not like it,” she said.
“Tell me anyway.”
“What if he found something crucial, but before he could get to it or gather more facts, he died?”
Arthur raised his eyebrows. “You seem very sure of his death.”
Emmeline eyed him. “Dad, he lived a long time ago, and if he was still alive, don’t you think if he wanted fame and glory, he would have come forward with his discovery?”
Arthur looked uncertain.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I will not do anything stupid.”
Arthur narrowed his eyebrows. “I know you already have.”
Titan, Deck 7, Training Hall
After her father left, Emmeline couldn’t rest. His words bothered her. She looked at her schedule. She had training with Argon and then several tasks in the Crystal Lab.
She got ready, and before she headed to training, she stopped by the Medical Bay 1 and asked the technician there to do a DNA test on the bone she’d found in Sector 1001.
Emmeline rushed inside and found Argon already doing laps around the hall. She was so happy that she could train with him. He was her friend, or something more. She didn’t know; she didn’t want to know. She liked the way things were between them. She thought her life was already full of complications, friendship was a safe ground.
Emmeline found Argon very attractive, and she could see the physical changes in his body since he had finished Imperial Command training. He was smart, intelligent and ambitious, like her. What Emmeline loved most about him was that he never stopped her from bei
ng herself. If she loved doing something, he joined in. They played games, listened to music, and most of the time had breakfast together. She believed one of the reasons she liked Titan was because he was here. He listened to her talk about stars and comets for ages. Other boys expected her to do things for them, but Argon asked nothing of her. On some level, that bothered Emmeline.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Emmeline said as she arrived.
Argon stopped running and approached her. “Emmeline, you need to be on time if you really want to learn how to fight.”
Emmeline threw her bag in a corner. “Honestly, I don’t think I need to.”
He rolled his eyes, “What did you say?”
“I don’t need to learn how to fight. I have you,” she said, smiling. She knew what would happen next.
His face softened. “Very flattering. It will not work with me.”
“Are you sure?” she teased.
“Yes. If you want your credits, you will need to complete the training. Like it or not scientist and military personnel on Titan or on any other ship have to get basic combat training.”
She smiled.
“Now let’s start warm-up.”
After the warm up, Emmeline trained with Argon using a disruptor. It was a standard hand weapon used on all ships and space stations. Anyone preparing for space travel was required to gain basic knowledge of using weapons to defend themselves in case of emergencies. For pilots and cadets of the Imperial Command, the training was hard and long. For scientists, it was short, just enough to get them acquainted with weapons and basic defense strategies.
Holding the weapon, she felt maybe Argon should have started her training with something else.
“Computer, initiate safety protocol,” said Argon.
“Affirmative.”
An invisible shield separated the shooting range from the rest of the training hall. The shooting range was in the far corner of the hall. Emmeline stood in the fourth lane at the end of the long, wide red stripe printed on the floor. She looked at the smooth black wall in front of her. This felt dangerous and wild, and she couldn’t picture a scenario where she would these skills. Violence was something she had never witnessed or experienced. But she knew this was just the beginning. Once she had learned to use this weapon, Argon planned to teach her how to use the flux rifle, a weapon that looked like a gun but was ten times more powerful than the disruptor.
