“May I interrupt your little chat?” Rebecca asked. “There’s something interesting going on over here.”
Everyone turned toward Rebecca, who was pointing at Andy. Andy, who had slept through the past few weeks, had suddenly begun to move his mouth. It really looked like he wanted to say something.
“Andy, don’t!” Ewa cried, launching herself at him.
Her hands covered his mouth in an attempt to keep him from talking. However, Theo succeeded in pulling the thrashing Ewa off the other man.
Andy opened his mouth again. His tongue was bleeding. He had probably bitten it while Ewa tried to hold his mouth shut. Gabriella started to staunch the blood, but Rebecca intervened. “Let him be,” she said. “He wants to tell us something.”
Gabriella stopped in her tracks. Ewa took a deep breath and seemed to accept the situation. All four of them stood there as Andy finally formed the three words he wanted to say.
“Ewa is lying.”
The hearing took place in the base’s large conference room. They didn’t have a formal court system in place yet. They hadn’t thought they would need to discuss legal structures for another year or two. The initiative had assumed that capital crimes wouldn’t be a factor so early on. After all, everyone had volunteered and sworn allegiance to the mission.
Andy was still having a hard time speaking. He could only construct the most basic of sentences and had to take extended breaks between them. This was why Theo was the one recapping the conclusions from Andy’s analyses. If he spoke slowly, Andy could understand what was being said, so he was able to confirm Theo’s explanation. Nonetheless, the evidence wasn’t clear cut, as even Theo and Andy had to admit. Ellen corroborated that Guillermo really had been asked to repair the absorber on the Rover. On the other hand, Andy declared quite clearly that Ewa was the only one he had confided in. She was the only person who’d had a motive for wanting to see him harmed.
But there was one incident that had been witnessed by four crew members. Everyone who had been in the Rover had observed Ewa’s attempt to prevent Andy from speaking. Gabriella’s statement finished tipping the scales among the other crew members. Most of them had been aware that Theo and Rebecca were at odds with Ewa, but the doctor had been considered one of her allies.
By the vote at the end of the hearing, eleven of the fifteen crew members were convinced that Ewa was guilty of sabotage. Only the accused and Ellen voted not guilty. Even if Guillermo and Shashwat had, contrary to expectation, voted for Ewa, she still wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Ketut spoke up. “Two months ago, I accompanied Shankar and Asha on their final journey. I saw you weep for our dead comrades back then, Ewa. It touched me deeply. Now I’ve learned that you were responsible for their deaths. That means you were crying for yourself. Either that or you are an actress without any scruples. Either way, there’s no longer a place for you on this crew. I think we should vote on what should happen to you next.”
“Do you have a suggestion?” Rebecca asked.
“I don’t believe in the death penalty,” Ketut replied. “Ewa targeted the community with her lethal acts of sabotage. For that, she should experience what it actually means to be alone.”
“And exactly what does that mean?”
“We will provide her with a generous amount of supplies and breathable air, and banish her.”
“But isn’t that a death penalty of sorts, Ketut?”
“No, Rebecca. She isn’t worth us putting a hand on her. She is no longer one of us, plain and simple. We will just be carrying her own plans out to their logical conclusion.”
“I don’t know. That seems inhumane to me,” Rebecca said.
“I would like us to vote,” Ketut continued.
“Yes, let’s vote,” Nance agreed. The others nodded.
“Then go ahead and vote,” Ewa interrupted, getting to her feet. Her eyes were gazing into the distance. Theo was sure that at this moment she really wasn’t herself. She turned around completely where she stood, then swayed. He was about to jump up to steady her, but she regained her balance.
“I... I didn’t do it,” she said quietly. “Or maybe I did, I’m not sure. I don’t know anything. You’re right. The evidence is clear. I’m a murderer.”
The conference room fell silent. Was that a confession? Theo was confused. The others seemed to share his feelings.
“Ewa, are you sorry?” Ketut asked.
“Does that matter? I should say ‘yes,’” she continued, “but I can’t. I don’t feel guilty. I watched myself as I tampered with the absorber, but it felt like I was observing someone else. I wanted to stop. I could tell that I was on the verge of making a huge mistake, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t make that other person stop.”
“That sounds to me like some kind of dissociative disorder, like schizophrenia,” Gabriella chimed in.
“Or an excuse that we could never verify,” Ketut countered. “Or is there some ironclad way to diagnose this disorder?”
“Of course not,” Gabriella admitted. “It would take months to establish a precise diagnosis.”
“And in the meantime, she’ll keep killing more of our friends?” Ketut asked. “That’s unacceptable. We have to protect ourselves from her.”
“We could lock her up somewhere,” Theo suggested.
“Do you really think that would work? We don’t have any secure holding cells. We have to give the Endeavour and the Rover back. All we’ll be left with are a few rooms underground. We can’t afford to keep Ewa here with us. If she hadn’t sabotaged our mission, it would look different, but as it is...”
“Ketut, you can’t just banish her.”
“We don’t know if she’s sick or not. She admitted that the evidence is impressive, and she confessed to everything and tried to act like she was mentally ill. That is very cunning, just like Ewa. She said she knew fully well what she was doing was wrong. But why didn’t she let any of us know?”
“That usually isn’t possible for patients during such episodes,” Gabriella explained.
“I’m not changing my mind,” Ketut declared. “At this point, we aren’t in a position to care for someone who poses a threat to our community. She has access to resources we don’t. And I personally don’t believe her in the slightest. There’s more behind this than schizophrenia.”
“But what?” Theo asked. “I would like to understand what she did.”
“We should vote now,” Nancy said.
Nobody objected. Theo and Rebecca raised their hands against banishment. All the others, included Ewa, voted for it.
As Ewa left the base the following day, Theo pressed a radio into her hands. She stuck it into the outer pocket of her heavy backpack.
“In case you need help,” he said.
She didn’t look at him. “I won’t need help, but the rest of you might,” she replied as she walked out.
Those words hadn’t come from Ewa, Theo was sure of that. He wanted to hold her back, but what good would that do? Was he supposed to die with her out in the Martian desert? He had to let her go, even if the thought of that was painful.
Sol 62, NASA base
“Mike, you won’t believe this, but the MfE people just radioed in.”
“Let me guess. We’re supposed to rescue the Rover they used three sols ago to attack Lance and Sarah?”
“No, the opposite. They want to apologize.”
“Whaaat? What kind of trick is that? I don’t believe anything they say anymore.”
“At least come over here and listen in.”
Sharon was whipping her foot up and down. She hoped this wasn’t another empty promise. All her previous attempts to get Mike to talk to the initiative had failed.
A young woman, almost a girl, was smiling from the screen. She had introduced herself as Ellen Blake.
Mike finally appeared. “I’m Mike Benedetti, Commander of the NASA mission.”
“I’m Ellen Blake from MfE.”
“
Are you a spokesperson? Where’s Ewa?”
“Ewa.... isn’t with us anymore. That’s why I’m the one reaching out.”
“Is she dead?”
“She just left the base, permanently. As it turned out, she was responsible for numerous acts of sabotage.”
Sharon was shocked. Ewa of all people? She had never found her particularly warm, but a multiple murderer?
“Oh, that’s interesting news,” Mike remarked.
“That’s not why I radioed in. I would like to apologize in the name of the entire MfE initiative.”
“Ah, to apologize.”
“We made a really terrible mistake. You rescued us, and we betrayed you in return. I wish I could claim that this was Ewa’s fault alone, but that wouldn’t be true. Most of us stood behind her. We are very sorry.”
“You’re sorry?”
“We would like to return what we stole. Unfortunately, the Endeavour doesn’t have enough fuel for the return trip, but we will send the enclosed Rover and the robotic drill back as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible?”
“We need to wait until our open Rover gets back. The range for the enclosed one isn’t far enough, so we’ll need to send the other one along to carry additional fuel.”
“Understood.”
“The crew of our open Rover—”
“—attacked two of our astronauts three sols ago.”
“What? We haven’t heard about that!”
“Don’t worry, nothing happened to them. We guaranteed safe passage in exchange for their radio. Your people tried to rob us.”
“That won’t happen again. We should be perfectly clear about that. Anyone who threatens other people will be punished.”
“Those are nice words.”
“We will back them up with actions. If it’s alright with you, I would like to accompany the Rover back to your base. We would also like to sign a formal contract with you. On this planet, nineteen people out of almost nine billion humans continue to survive. We should make our lives easier for each other, not harder.”
“That is true. I look forward to your visit.”
Sol 70, NASA base
“They’re coming!”
For the past hour, Mike had been standing on the roof of the base, keeping watch for the Rover. He had obviously caught sight of something.
“How far away?” Sharon asked.
“Ten minutes?”
“I’ll hurry.” She slipped into her spacesuit. She had already finished her pre-breathing training. After climbing through the airlock, she joined Mike. A dot on the horizon was speeding toward them with a tail of dust behind it.
“Are you the one at the wheel, Lance?” Sharon asked.
The helmet radio should be in range of the two travelers. They were within sight, and the air was amazingly clear today.
“Lance is sitting behind me, dozing as usual,” Sarah replied.
“I wish I was, but that’s impossible when you’re the one driving,” Lance quipped. He sounded like he was standing right next to Sharon—and as if he had never been gone.
“If we had driven the whole way at your speed, Sharon and Mike would still be waiting for us at this time tomorrow,” Sarah shot back.
“I saved us at least seven blowouts,” Lance replied.
“Why seven?”
“Because it sounds good.”
“The two of you sound like an old married couple,” Sarah said.
“If you only knew!”
“If I knew what, Sarah?”
“Later. We first need to shower.”
Mike was right. The Rover took about ten minutes to reach the base. They waited on the ground for the adventurers. Lance jumped down first and Sarah followed. They walked with a rolling gait like cowboys, their suits covered with a thick layer of dust.
“Nice to have you back,” Mike said. He had planned to shake Lance’s hand, but the latter hugged him instead. “Oof,” Mike gasped.
“I’m so happy you made it back in one piece,” Sharon said as she hugged Sarah.
Sarah turned to Mike, who didn’t even try to shake hands this time around. Sharon moved toward Lance. He looked weary, but also somehow... content. They wrapped their arms around each other, and then the four of them walked to the base, arms linked.
“I can’t tell you how much we missed being here,” Lance sighed. “The two of you most of all, of course.”
“This place is pretty dreary for two. We were about to place an ad for new roommates, but the rental market here seems fairly dead.”
“Come on, Mike. You know what they say. ‘Location, location, location,’” Lance said.
“What do you think are our best-selling points? Great view, neighbors a thousand kilometers away...”
“Speaking of which, how are things going with the neighbors?” Sarah asked.
“I’m not taking their apology seriously until the things they stole from us are sitting outside our door.”
“Mike is always a bubbly mass of pessimism,” Sharon replied. “We never heard anything more from Ewa, but the others seem to have their heads screwed on right. They got their Rover back yesterday. They sent their thanks for your fair treatment of their crew members, and they supposedly set off the same day with both Rovers, as well as the robotic drill.”
“How long until they get here?” Sarah asked.
“They guessed it would take two weeks,” Sharon declared.
“Good,” Lance said. “That will give us enough time to rest up. You have no idea how many blisters are covering my entire body.”
“That smells amazing,” Sarah said. She, Sharon, and Lance were sitting at the table as Mike carried the casserole in.
“Anything would smell great to me as long as it didn’t come from a tube,” Lance said. “Having only prepared food to eat eventually kills any appetite you might have.”
Mike set the dish on the table and used a large spacesuit glove to remove the lid. “Be careful, it’s hot,” he said. “I present to you a potato-leek casserole à la Benedetti. Everything in it is fresh, except for the artificial milk I used for the sauce. That came from a bag. Unfortunately, we don’t have any cows, but maybe we’ll be able to produce soy proteins soon.”
“This is great!” Sarah exclaimed. She really looked excited, her eyes sparkling. “You did an excellent job taking care of my garden!”
“That reminds me of something,” Sharon said. She had forgotten the present! She’d hidden it in the walk-in refrigerator so that Lance and Sarah wouldn’t see it beforehand. It was wrapped in thin paper, and she carried it into the large room. “May I introduce you to our first flower?” Sharon said as she removed the wrapping.
“A pansy! How marvelous!” Sarah crowed.
“I spent a day considering if we could afford this luxury,” Sharon explained. “It cost us a lot of energy, but what is life without flowers? So this is supposed to be a gift for all of us. By the way, they grow amazingly well here.”
“Thank you, Sharon. What would we do without you?” Lance asked. “I’ll need flowers if I ever decide to propose to Sarah!”
“What are you talking about?” Mike asked. “Propose?”
“He’s just joking, Mike,” Sharon said.
“I said if.”
“Are you a couple now?” Sharon asked. “If you don’t mind my asking,” she added with a laugh.
“We... we are,” Lance replied, reaching for Sarah’s hand.
“Yes, we are,” Sarah agreed.
Sol 84, NASA base
“Ah, that feels good.”
Lance was lying face down on his bed. Sarah was sitting on his calves as she rubbed lotion onto his backside and thighs. The wounds from their long drive still hadn’t completely gone away. Sarah spanked him lightly and stood up.
“Thanks a lot, Sarah.”
“Do you hear that? There must be something going on outside,” she said.
Lance turned his head and listened. He heard a hi
ssing sound. “Somebody must be in the airlock,” he said.
“I’m going to take a look,” Sarah said as she left his cabin.
Lance stood up to search for his pants, which had fallen under his bed. He pulled them on. He had slept a lot over the past few days, though he had also helped Mike sort through the souvenirs from their trip. They had decided to keep the solar panels for whenever their fortunes changed—in case the KRUSTY eventually broke down. The panels would enable them to keep their life support system going during the daylight hours. At night, they could plug in a methanol generator.
His door opened again.
“Hurry! It’s the MfE people,” Sarah announced. “I’m going out right now.”
“I’ll just wait in here,” Lance said, although he knew she couldn’t hear him. He put on his shoes and strolled over to the conference room. He heard sounds in the airlock and stood right next to the hatch.
The light beside the door changed to green and the airlock opened from the inside. A figure in one of the bulky MfE suits climbed into the room, followed by Mike. Lance read the name on the MfE suit. ‘Ellen.’ This had to be the new commander, Ellen Blake. He remembered her as a delicate person who hung on every word Ewa said, but maybe he had been wrong about her. He closed the door again to make room for the next newcomers.
As Ellen and Mike climbed out of their suits, the next pair appeared. Lance took a step back. This time it was Guillermo, the bastard who had threatened him with the pistol.
“Everything’s good,” Sharon said as she stepped out of the airlock behind Guillermo and noticed Lance’s expression.
“Lance?” Ellen asked. “Please excuse this surprise. I brought Guillermo along on purpose because he would like to apologize face to face for what he did to you.”
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