An Unexpected Debt

by S. J. Pajonas

  I’ve always wondered what kind of future I would see if I took the berries. I considered stealing some from Vivian once, but I respected her enough not to.

  The only problem here?

  She smirks at me. “I know, I know. You’ll probably be sick after taking them. But I swear it’s not as bad as it used to be. I only grow this epsilon variant now.”

  “They won’t make me sick?”

  “Well,” she says, drawing out the word, “probably, but not as sick as I was. No one has ever been as sick as me. Just be glad we have any at all. Considering how terribly I’m doing with the plants nowadays.”

  “I hate puking,” I say, clearing my throat.

  “You’ve already booted dinner. It’s the best time to take them,” she insists.

  I close my fingers around them, and tears spring to my eyes. “I can’t accept your kindness anymore. I fucked up big time.” When I think about how easily my mom dismissed me, I can’t believe I’m even still in Vivian’s house after what happened.

  “That’s not how things work around here,” she says. “Not in my family.”

  She stands up.

  “Take them now, and Gus will bring you up to your room. He’ll watch over you tonight to make sure you’re okay.” She knocks her foot against mine. “This is not over. You’re going to go win this tournament, and when you return home to me, we will discuss how you’ll move forward.”

  She retreats to the door and stops with her hand on the knob.

  “Oh, and that Saif? You better be keeping him. Or I’ll really disown you.”

  Her wink is the last thing I see as the door closes.

  Puffs of light spark and dance. I flutter my eyes and wave my hand in front of my face to stop them from landing on my cheeks and lashes.

  India Dellis stands next to me. “Time is such a slippery thing,” she says. “The harder you hold on, the faster it flies.” I touch my fingers to my forehead, and her smile vanishes. Her mouth moves, but the words are garbled. Maybe a different language.

  A circle of light stands in the jungle, rain pouring down from the sky. I jump as it explodes and smokes. Someone pulls me to the ground. I stand up later and crawl forward. A tall purple plant reaches out for me. Dancing light swirls out of it as I stroke my hand over the long, thin leaves.

  I’m lying outside, looking at the stars. I’m crying. I turn my head, and Kalvin is next to me, his eyes on the sky too. “Do you ever think about the thing in the desert? The one that saved us? I miss you, Sky.”

  Sparks fly, and I laugh. It’s funny to think of Kalvin missing me when we were so at odds at flight school.

  I yell at my mother. Dominic’s angry face. Saif holds me. I laugh at something his sister says.

  We’re in the final round, and the crowd noise is hushed. A clock on the wall reads 19:05. A woman dressed in black has thirteen cards in her hand, and she’s debating about what to bid. She has enough high cards to crush me. She chooses a bid and hesitates. We can’t beat her unless…

  Sparks again. They fly in my hair, and I shake them out.

  There’s a gun in my face. I can’t breathe.

  I’m drawn to a handsome man at a bar. Have I been here before?

  “You never let them kiss you or hold you.” Takemo smiles, leans down, and brushes his lips over mine. I push him away. He laughs.

  “Oh,” I say, sitting up in bed. “Oh shit.”

  Gus snores in his recliner chair on the other side of the room before his eyes pop open. He shakes off his sleep, grabs a bucket and a datapad, and stands up. I point to the datapad.

  “Really?” he asks.

  I wave frantically. “Hurry. I don’t want to forget anything.”

  He rushes across the room and delivers the datapad to my outstretched hands. When the notes app is open, I stare at it for a moment before memories trickle back in. My fingers fly as I try to put the details down. Takemo, Saif, his sister, India Dellis… Dominic. He was angry. He was with someone? I can’t remember. I press my eyes closed and struggle to recall the Bridge hand I saw. Was it important? She had a few honor cards but then a run of the same suit. Spades, I think. I write them down.

  When I’m finally done, I sigh and flop back in the bed. Sparks light up in my vision, and I see Saif and Kalvin sitting together at a dinner table. I smile.

  Gus appears over the bed, the bucket in hand. “You’re smiling? That’s new. I have yet to see anyone come out of prescient sleep happy and not puking their guts out.”

  “I thought no one was as sick as Vivian was,” I say, closing my eyes against the sparks.

  “She lied. She knows how much you hate puking.” Gus yawns. “Go back to sleep. You may have more dreams before morning.”

  “It’s already wearing off.” I yawn and roll over onto my side.

  Closing my eyes, I put myself back where I was, sitting at a table, eating good food and drinking wine with Saif and Kalvin. There are two other men at the table with us, but I can’t see their faces.

  Their love, though?

  I can feel that.

  24

  I stroll through Vivian’s greenhouse slowly and let the plants shift towards me as I walk by. This is the beginning of Vivian’s masterpiece, but it’s certainly not the end. When we first started growing Rio plants on the Amagi, I thought it was a cute little experiment. A way for Vivian to help balance the CO2 emissions and save us money on air scrubbers. Then I witnessed the powers the Rio plants gave to people. I even ingested a plant myself, and it gave me telekinesis abilities. Those memories are pretty wild. I felt powerful and alive. And now, Vivian is using the Rio plants’ DNA to build new plants for our future.

  Things in the Duo Systems are coming to a head. After years of living in the relationship network system, we are not even close to gender parity. Women are still only about thirty percent of the population, and men are getting restless once again for control. Vivian’s own brother fell prey to the Reformers Movement, the faction of people who want to enslave women again. And now many others are as well, including Dominic.

  All I can say to that is ‘No Fucking Way.’ These men are out of their fucking minds if they think they’re going to put women in chains again. Not going to happen.

  The future of this society we’ve built where women are the head of their families is in crisis. I can feel the change coming every day, in every little interaction. Seeing how my mom’s network fell apart because of the selfishness of men only makes me even more hesitant. If my mother, a powerful business owner and pilot, couldn’t keep her own network together, how can I?

  Vivian’s Rio plants, the ones mixed with Old Earth seeds, are now tuned to all human DNA. They grow and provide nutritious food for us, make the air breathable, and provide shelter from harmful radiation too. The perfect plants for here on Ossun or the other worlds we’ve already terraformed and live on. But these won’t seed new worlds. She still has a lot of work to do there.

  “How do you feel?” Vivian asks as I hold out my hand to the nearest plant. It wraps its leafy stem around my right index finger.

  I shrug. “Fine. I got a great night’s sleep after the initial wave of dreams.”

  Vivian plucks a nearby plant out of her hair. I love that she’s always so gentle about it. “Gus says you weren’t sick at all. You weren’t sick when you ate the telekinesis plant either, were you?”

  I shake my head as I lightly tug my finger away. “I was fine then, too. You all were as sick as dogs.” I shudder, remembering how so many of them puked for days. It was no fun for someone like me who hates being sick or smelling sickness or hearing sickness… Ugh. I’m making myself sick thinking about it!

  I was never cut out to be a doctor or nurse, that’s for sure.

  “Hmmm,” Vivian says, waving me towards her. “Come to my office.”

  I follow her to her office at the back of the greenhouse and sigh at the less humid and cooler temperature behind the closed door. I love being on planets, but I’m not us
ed to heat and humidity. If your ship is hot and humid, something is very wrong with life support.

  Vivian takes out a long glass test tube and a swab. “I’m going to swab the inside of your cheek and analyze your DNA. Maybe you have something that allows you to process the Rio plants easier than other people? I don’t know. But I’d like to find out. I’ll send it off to Athens Industries right away for processing.”

  I blink a few times. “That would be kind of cool if I were some superhuman.”

  Vivian throws her head back in a laugh. “Yes, Skylar Superwoman has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

  “Fuck yes, it does.” I drop my voice to a mumble. “I could use some superpowers to deal with the assholes in my life.”

  “Speaking of…” Vivian says, jerking her head at the window. Jinzo is making his way down the path towards the greenhouses. “He’s coming to apologize for last night. He feels terrible.”

  I wave my hand. “It’s fine. But I’ll be sure to give him a hard time first.”

  The door opens, and Jinzo enters. I cross my arms, glare at him, lift my chin, and turn my back. Vivian has to twist around to hide her smile.

  “Aw, Skylar. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize what you were going through before I opened my mouth and stuck my foot in it.” He comes forward and peeks around my shoulder. “Will you forgive me? I can’t have you mad at me.”

  “Maybe you should have thought of that before you came down on me.” I turn and give him more of my back, but Vivian giggles and gives us away.

  I sigh and turn around. Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I smile at him. “Of course, I forgive you. You were only protecting Vivian. I totally understand.”

  His face hardens. “It was unacceptable. You’re family, and I should be protecting you as well.”

  I raise my hand. “No, no. Vivian is your priority. That’s the way it should be.”

  “I don’t care,” he says. “I learned a good lesson. You’re just as important to the Kawabata family as Vivian is. And hearing how you’ve been treated your whole life has put a fire under us to change things.”

  “What things?” I ask, my heartbeat thrumming in my chest.

  “We’re closing up ranks,” Vivian says, dropping my swab and test tube into a plastic envelope. “I’m cutting your mom and her network off from the family funds.”

  My upper lip begins to sweat. “Dominic? My dad, too?”

  She nods. “Everyone.”

  I lunge forward and grab Vivian’s arm. “Not Ana. Please.”

  “No,” she says, softening. She places her hand over mine. “Not Ana. Jukia is fine on her own, and the younger boys will both go off to school like they should have.” She tilts her head and smiles at me. “They both qualified for scholarships. You should be proud. You’re the one who taught them, after all.”

  “Really?” I inhale a quick breath and bring my fist to my lips. “That’s great. Really great. Thank you.”

  She laughs. “I had nothing to do with it. Juan started looking for schools while you were in flight school. Marcelo ended up picking a suitable mate there. He was smart enough to see the writing on the wall.”

  If only he could have helped me, too. But I suppose I was too far into Dominic’s hold by the time Juan became a part of the family.

  “So, that’s it,” Vivian says, folding her arms over her chest. “We’re letting them go, and they can atone for their mistakes on their own,” she stresses. “You don’t have to buy back the business. Period. You can fly on your own and for me and for Flyght, or you can do whatever the hell you want to do.”

  I chew on my lip for a moment as I think this over.

  “But that’s not what I had planned, remember? I said as much in flight school, only a couple of weeks ago.”

  Vivian shrugs. “Plans change.” She laughs. “Just look at my life.” She sweeps her hand out over everything. “It’s what I wanted, but not what I had planned, you know? You’ll get to the same spot in your life eventually, too. I believe it.” She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Because I believe in you, Sky. You’ll figure it out.”

  Vivian believes in me more than I believe in myself.

  “It’s time to let that dream go,” she says, releasing my arm. “Other dreams will take its place.”

  Jinzo puts his arm around my shoulder and squeezes me to his side. “See? Everything is going to work out. How about I accompany you to the spaceport? We can get caught up on the way.”

  “Okay. Yeah. I’d like that,” I say, looking at both of them. “I guess times are changing, huh?”

  Vivian nods. “For the better.”

  Jinzo leaves me at the spaceport, and I head to the Amagi by myself.

  “Nanci,” I ask, tipping over my wristlet, “can I have a report on where everyone is?”

  “Happy to help, Captain,” she says in my ear. I weave through a gaggle of people and hike my bag higher onto my back. “Carlos, Lia, and Nisrine are all on board. Marcelo’s shuttle is docked, and he is inside. We’re now just waiting for your arrival.”

  My face falls into a frown. “And what happened to our Flyght guests? They’re gone, right?”

  “Takemo Diaz left the Amagi yesterday and has not returned. Saif Bhaat has not returned either.” She pauses. “A quick scan of public records shows that Takemo Diaz and Saif Bhaat are both on their way to Rio on separate ships.”

  Somewhere deep in my gut, I had hoped Saif would be waiting for me on the Amagi. But I pushed him away. I ruined what little trust in me he had. Despite Vivian’s wish for us to hook up, he is probably gone for good. Ugh. I keep doing this, this cycle of trusting and pushing away. I’ve done it to Saif now twice. I thought maybe I was ready for him, but it turns out I am not.

  “Don’t let anyone know I’m returning, Nanci. I want some quiet time before I get dressed and ready to fly.”

  “Understood, Captain.”

  Her voice disappears, and I have time to contemplate just how fucking stupid I am during the ten-minute walk across the spaceport. My prescient dreams saw us together, Saif and me. Kalvin was there, too. And I even kissed Takemo, but that could have been anything. His face wasn’t visible at the dinner table I sat at with the other men. I’m not sure what to think now. Does this mean we’ll all be together?

  I don’t have time for this. I have so much to do, and I no longer feel adrift with Vivian standing by me. I have a purpose.

  First, I’m going to help Takemo win this tournament he’s so anxious about.

  And then, I’ll try to build my network and find some other kind of business to do. I can’t have my old life back. I have to start over from scratch with the Amagi, my savings, and whatever I can earn from Flyght.

  I hope it’s enough.

  I know it won’t be enough. Not enough to support a network, even if I want one.

  When I get to the Amagi, I close the airlock behind me as quietly as possible, making sure all the readouts turn green. I slip out of my boots and pad through the ship, taking the long way around, so I don’t bump into anyone.

  But as I approach Carlos’s den of technology, I hear murmuring coming from inside. Carlos laughs lightly, and a female voice responds. Wait.

  I sneak forward and carefully peek around the corner of the door.

  The lights are low in the room, and there’s enough ambient noise to filter out just about anything outside of a two-meter radius. Carlos is sitting back in his chair, and Lia is on his lap. Oh my God. They’re smiling at each other, and her eyes glimmer with happiness. His hands are on her hips, and she’s leaned in to whisper to him. They’re fully clothed, but I feel like I should look away. I had no idea! When Lia leans in to kiss him, I draw in a long breath. The way she looks at him, she obviously loves him, and their kiss is sweet and sexy and…

  I pull away from the door and hurry past while they’re occupied. I don’t think they saw me, and I don’t want them to know I saw them. These are their private moments, and they’ll tell me when they�
�re ready, I suppose. But as my room door closes, my eyes fill with tears.

  Look how happy they are. I always thought maybe something would blossom between them, but I didn’t want to pry or nag. They would figure it out on their own. Carlos was born with the Vir gene, which means any kids he fathers will be males and have a strong possibility of having the Vir gene as well. Some families are okay with rolling the dice and seeing what comes of their offspring. Each generation, the Vir gene hangs on less and less. More boys are being born without it now than fifty or a hundred years ago. Still, I know Lia’s family. She’s intelligent and capable, and she wants her own network one day. Will they accept Carlos? What am I thinking? The relationship may not even last that long. They’re just nineteen.

  But if these two can find love, with everything against them, why can’t I?

  I need to be better. I can be better.

  I unzip my bag to put my clothes away and decide it’s not what I need to do.

  I hustle through the ship to Marcelo’s shuttle.

  “Hello again, Ms. Skylar,” he says, stepping to the side and letting me in. “I hope you’re feeling better.”

  “I’m okay, thanks,” I say, heading straight for his table. “Do you have any coffee or tea? I’m a bit out of sorts.”

  His lips quirk in amusements. “I have hot water and can brew up a pot of tea.”

  “Sounds great.” I fold my hands on the table and wait while he busies himself in the galley. “I came straight here from the farm.”

  “I returned here in the evening,” he says, choosing a loose blend of tea. “I figured it would be best for me to not stay since you had fired me from my position.”

  I press my lips together. “Yeah, about that…”

  Marcelo’s laugh is deep, reaching up from his belly. He pours hot water into the teapot. “I figured it was a passing phase. No worries.”

  With two teacups in one hand and the pot in the other, he sets everything on the table, then grabs the sugar and a package of butter biscuits. He’s always ready for visitors.