Tundra 37 (30 page)

“Hey sleepy eyes, breakfast is ready.”

Rizzy placed Vira in her seat and she slumped down, holding her shoulders with her arms. “It’s freezing in here.”

“The Seers are working on getting us extra power, don’t worry, peach.” Her dad gave her a wink and handed her a bowl of squishy grapes and a soybean wafer.

She wanted so badly to turn the electricity on again, to have hot cooked food like scrambled eggs, but the presence behind the computer systems scared her too much to go back.

“You’re not eating, dear.”

“I’m not hungry.” Most of the grapes were shriveled up, beginning to look like raisins. Vira wondered how long ago the bioteam picked them and if any new food was still growing. She stuffed a grape in her sleeve and dropped it on the floor for the cleaning droid. Then, she remembered she’d stolen it and disemboweled its central processor.

Her mom pleaded with her. “At least take a bite.”

Vira crunched off a piece of her soybean wafer and stuck it in her mouth. She wanted to talk about something to get her mind off of the fact she was so cold her fingernails turned purple, and all they had to eat was old food. “I had my ballerina dream again.”

Her mom frowned as if she didn’t like hearing about it, but her dad gave her mom a stern look and then smiled at her. “That’s great, dear. Tell us about it.”

Vira chewed the piece of soybean wafer and swallowed before going on. Talking about her dream brought back her appetite. “I was on stage and all the people were clapping. They threw roses at my feet.”

“There’s no stage on the ship, or any roses,” Rizzy said, obviously jealous she hadn’t had a special dream.

“I was back on Old Earth, spacehead.” Vira stuck out her tongue before she took another bite.

Her mother interrupted. “No one’s calling anyone spacehead, today. You hear me?”

Rizzy ignored her and glared at Vira. “You’re the spacehead. How do you even know it was Old Earth? You’ve never been there.”

Vira took a breath to answer, but realized she had no clever reply. She sighed. “I just know. All the lights looked real big like antiques.”

“Oh that makes perfect sense. Big lights.”

“Enough girls.” Their dad put down his fork with a clang. “We’re all stressed-out over this crash, and we shouldn’t take it out on each other.” He sighed as if he didn’t want to say it, but had to. “We’re all having strange dreams of Old Earth.”

“What?” Her mom leaned against the table. “You too?”

He nodded. “World War II, I believe, from the looks of my uniform. From the looks of all the medals and badges I wore, I must have been a great war hero.”

Rizzy crossed her arms. “My dreams are of working in some silly food store. Why can’t I have cool dreams like everyone else?”

Before her dad could answer, his locator beeped. He looked down and read the message. “There’s a problem in the energy core again.” He shot up from his seat and gave their mom a peck on the cheek. Although he took the time to kiss her good-bye, his eyes had that strange, faraway look when things went wrong and he tried to hide it. “Gotta go, girls. Don’t fight. Be good for your mom.”

As he left, mom and Rizzy argued, but Vira paid more attention to the vibrations of energy coursing through the ship from the tabletop connected to the floor. As much as she wanted to shut her powers off, she could never totally get away. Everything she touched linked to the inner workings of the ship, even her sleep pod.

The ship’s systems had changed while they bickered at the table. The impulses had weakened, like the vessel was dying slowly, an ill-tended plant with no gardener.

Nausea came up in a wave, the soybean wafer fermenting in her stomach. Could her powers help? She gripped the table edge with shaky fingers. The evil presence scared her too much to try.

Gemme awoke to the sound of grating metal. She opened the flap to her tent, the illumination of Solaris Prime casting a triangle of light at her feet. Even though the star’s rays felt weak and distant, the brilliance reflecting off the ice-crusted snow lent her hope. Squinting against the glare, she saw the drill hanging over the exposed mineral surface, spinning so fast the twist of silver blurred.

Tech hollered in triumph from the controls. Not wanting to miss the moment the drill struck, she shoved her boots on and stepped out into the frosty morning. She walked up to the console to get Tech’s attention. She shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. “Got it running, huh?”

“Yessirree.”

She guessed he’d stayed up all night working on the drill. She’d stayed up late as well, analyzing the mineral deposit using Tech’s miniscreen and sending the initial calculations to the Seers. Strangely, enough, they didn’t acknowledge the receipt of the information. She thought they’d at least send her a “well done.”

By her calculations, they’d have enough hyperthium for generations to come. The mineral deposit spread underneath them like a glacier in an ocean, small at the top with a wide girth the farther she measured below. She still had mountains of data to analyze concerning the concentration of the minerals, and how long it would take them to process it, but she figured she’d have the entire journey back to work on her calculations. A greater purpose lay before her. They’d only completed one of the two missions, leaving the mystery of Beta Prime.

A shot of remorse stung her in the gut. Beta Prime had been Luna’s mission, and now she’d take it up instead. As much as Luna had bothered her, the team felt small and incomplete without the blonde beauty. She wondered how the other members took her death. Especially Brentwood. She scanned the campsite. A small fire sizzled out, the remnants of breakfast sat in a container, and the platform rested detached from the vehicle.

“Where’s Brentwood?”

Tech gazed up from the controls. “Went back to his tent. I believe he’s plotting your course.”

“Good.” She gave Tech a thumbs-up and grabbed a bite of powdered eggs, now cold. Although she was anxious to see Brentwood, she figured she’d wait until he came out. The drill dipped in the air, the tip hovering over the mineral.

Tech shouted, “Heads up.” He ran his fingers over the panel on the console, and the drill pricked the surface, rock cracking and crumbling as the point dug in. A keening wail resounded through the valley and Gemme covered her ears. A rush of relief and pride came over her as she watched the drill descend. They’d succeeded. The
Expedition
would have an alternative energy source. Ferris and her parents would be so proud.

Of course this mission didn’t come without sacrifice. Every time she thought of Luna, a fresh pang shot through her chest, and the unfinished business of Beta Prime lurked in the back of her mind, casting shadows on the bright day.

Movement caught the corner of her eye. She turned just as Brentwood emerged from his tent with his travel gear packed. She wanted to run up and throw her arms around him, but after Luna’s death any physical contact didn’t seem right. Besides, they were on a mission to save the colony, not a romantic excursion.

Gemme refrained from running into his arms and smiled when she saw him. He gave her a serious look. “Are you sure about this?”

“More sure than anything.”

How could she let him go alone? When he ran into the mammoth horde she thought she’d die watching. She wasn’t about to lose him again especially after learning his true feelings. Besides, she wanted answers as well, and it seemed as though the beacon held the key to this whole mission.

“All right.” His took a deep breath. “Follow me.”

They walked around the console and he shouted up to Tech, “Have fun. Dig up something good.”

Tech waved at them, looking like a little kid at recess time. “You too.”

Brentwood leaned down to speak to her over the din of the drill. “I don’t think this is going to be a picnic in the biodome.”

Gemme smiled, trying to raise his spirits. “Oh really, I brought the checkered blanket just in case.”

They piled into the landrover, Gemme in the passenger seat, and Brentwood as the driver. A blinking dot appeared on the radar, sixty meters from the mining site over the valley’s Western ridge. Brentwood’s face turned rigid, the muscles in his jaw clenching.

Gemme put a hand on his arm. “You don’t have to do this. We could tell the Seers the beacon was inaccessible, or destroy the whole site with lasers from meters away. Tech and I won’t say a word.”

He shook his head, fingers gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. “No. We need answers. What if these aliens come back? What if it’s some sort of weapon they’ll use against us? What if there are more of them?”

Settling back in her seat in silence, Gemme knew he was right. The potential knowledge gleaned was worth the risk. She watched his profile as he drove head first into the unknown. “You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known, and I’m proud to be by your side.”

Her words softened his features and he turned to her, green gaze sparkling. “I’m proud to be by yours.”

The landrover careened through the snow, unhindered by the mining platform. A week ago, Gemme would have shaken in her boots, but this mission had taught her to embrace chaos, that life wasn’t all preplanned, and some amount of chance was okay, necessary even to grow. Most of all, she’d learned to let go.

Brentwood turned to her. “How do you feel about the pairing system being gone?”

It was a loaded question, and she sighed, thinking about where to start. If she were going to tell him she’d deleted their match, now would be the opportune time. She couldn’t keep it from him forever, especially if she wanted their relationship to develop into something more.

“At first I hated it. I thought I couldn’t go on without my job as the Matchmaker. I valued organization over chaos, predestination over choice. When the ship crashed, my world shattered.”

“You don’t seem so shattered now.”

“No.” Gemme smiled, thinking about why. “I guess I realized that there’s more to life than analyzing data. Sometimes you have to let go before you really find the truth, before you find yourself.”

He scratched his head, suddenly bashful. “What I’m getting at, Gemme, is that I want to know what you think of us together?”

His question hung in the air between them like a tantalizing promise. She took a deep breath. “The day of the comet shower, I was up in my office doing matches. That’s why you had to rescue me from the top floors.”

Brentwood nodded. “I remember.”

Gemme swallowed. “I saw our names together. We were supposed to be paired.”

Brentwood’s face fell in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought you were in love with Luna. Besides, it would have come out as desperate seeing it didn’t matter anymore, and I had no proof.”

Brentwood shook his head. “I can’t believe it. All this time…”

“There’s more.” Gemme played with her glove, tugging on the index finger. “When I saw our pairing, I couldn’t believe it. Luna had just come in asking to be paired with you. She tried to bribe me with a ticket to visit the Seers, and I denied her. When I saw my name next to yours, I thought everyone would think I’d hacked the system and chosen you for myself. I was afraid of being called a hypocrite, of losing my job.”

She closed her eyes, afraid to see his reaction. “I pressed the delete panel. I denied our own pairing.”

Brentwood sat speechless, his face a mask. She couldn’t tell if he felt angry, hurt, or betrayed. She continued on, “I didn’t think I deserved you. After I pressed delete, I regretted it so many times. My actions haunted me during this entire mission.”

“Oh, Gemme.” He reached across the seat and took her hand. “It must have been horrible, knowing we were supposed to be paired and seeing me with Luna. I’m sorry I let it her behave so badly. I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you how I felt.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in the first place.” Her hand shook in his and she squeezed, holding his fingers tightly. “Can you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive. You didn’t even know me then.”

She settled back and took a deep breath. He’d lifted the secret weighing down on her this whole mission. She’d shunned the notion of organic romance for so many years, and now she believed in it wholeheartedly. She’d want him even if the computer had deemed them incompatible.

Brentwood’s voice came out soft and tentative, “Would you press delete now?”

Gemme looked away as her cheeks heated up. Maybe it was wrong to pair people in the first place. “No, I wouldn’t.”

His hand burned so hot in hers, she thought they’d steam up the whole landrover.

“I wouldn’t either.”

“So what are we going to do now that the pairing isn’t valid?” Gemme asked, her voice shaky.

He turned toward her, intensity in his gaze. “We make it happen by ourselves.”

Gemme bit her lip feeling like a teenager all over again and Brentwood smiled, returning his attention to the path ahead. “I wonder why the computer paired us together in the first place?”

“Pairing is determined by genetic history. It’s designed to prevent inbreeding—”

“Yes, I now that. But do you think there’s more to it? Do you believe in destiny?”

She’d gone a long way from believing in analysis and numbers to placing her faith in chaos and chance, but to go as far as to think fate intervened in the computer’s choices…she couldn’t say. “I’m not sure.”

Before he could respond, the radar beeped, signaling their approach to the beacon.

Gemme leaned over to see farther out the sight panel. The landscape was eerily barren, twists of flurries rising up like mini tornados across a sheer sheet of ice. “I don’t see anything.”

“It must be underneath the snow.” Brentwood pressed the main control panel. The hatch lifted and he jumped out. He offered his hand, helping her out of the landrover. “I wish we brought shovels.”

“Next time we drive to the middle of nowhere and dig up another alien beacon, we’ll be prepared.” Even though Gemme joked, tension sizzled in the air around her. Her ears rang like someone struck a high-pitched tuning fork, and the resonance sounded just beyond her hearing capacity. She felt like they’d traveled to the end of the world, or the beginning of all things, depending on which way she looked at it.