Tundra 37 (9 page)

So many questions about Gemme sat on his tongue, but he had a mission to accomplish and didn’t want to seem overly intrusive.

Pushing thoughts of Gemme away, Brentwood took a deep breath to prepare himself. “What are the conditions in the fusion core?”

Joe’s face hardened as if the last few hours had been the worst of his life. “It’s stabilized for now. Only small leaks, and we’re working on containment as we speak.”

“Excellent.” Brentwood settled back on his heels. One less problem to worry about. He moved to the portal, and Joe grabbed his arm, holding him back.

“There’s more.”

Brentwood had the same plummeting feeling he had when his father told him about the ruin of Old Earth for the first time. He could feel the hair on his head turning prematurely gray.

“The comets damaged several fuel cells. We’re conserving energy by rerouting to the emergency systems, but even under extreme conservation efforts, we only have enough hyperthium to operate for another three months at most. After that, the fusion core will begin to shut down.”

Brentwood nodded, numbness spreading as the reality hit him. The Seers must have predicted this. That’s why they reassigned him to Exploratory Team Alpha Blue. Responsibility fell heavy on his chest. He would have to find the hyperthium deposits on Tundra 37 or the entire ship would degrade.

Although panic ripped through him, he couldn’t spread it to the others on board, especially Gemme’s father. They needed a leader, and Brentwood was ready to take the job. He straightened up. “I have it covered, sir. The Seers assigned me to head an exploratory team for my next mission. We’ll find the hyperthium you need to keep the
Expedition
up and running.”

Joe breathed in. “Good. Glad to see someone’s on the job.”

“I’ll assemble my team as soon as possible.”

He put a hand on his shoulder. “Be careful; it’s a new world out there, and the scout ships only covered twenty percent. Who knows what frozen horrors lurk in those ice mountains.”

“Good advice, Mr. Reiner.” Brentwood paused as the old man slipped on his containment hood. He had to tell him about Gemme, and the words sat heavy in his mouth.

“Mr. Reiner, sir.”

“Yes?”

His stomach hardened as he spoke. “The Seers assigned Gemme to the team as well.”

“Andromeda’s sake! Why in all the galaxy would they choose her?”

“I don’t know, sir. Their actions are mysterious to me.”

Joe scanned the chamber as if he’d lost himself somewhere in the particles of the portal. His gloved hands clenched and the plastic crinkled around his fists.

Brentwood put his hand on the man’s shoulder to steady him. Breaking a promise to himself, he made a promise to Gemme’s father, one that would only bring him closer to her. “I’ll take care of her, sir. I’ll bring her home safe.”

Vira longed for her hoverchair. Without it, people had to carry her everywhere and she became more of a hindrance than anything else. Smoke seeped into the ceiling above her like an evil being convalescing to smother her whole.

“I can’t get the damn thing to work, Natalie.” Her father’s voice echoed from the family room down the hall. She winced, hating when her parents fought.

Her mom yelled back. “You’ve got to do something! The lieutenant said to stay in our personal cells.”

“We’re not staying here if the smoke is going to get worse.”

The anger in her father’s voice soured her stomach. She cringed underneath the blanket and peeked above the seam with both eyes. They’d opened the portal to her room, allowing for fresh air. She couldn’t see her dad, but she knew he fumbled with the ventilator panel. Her mom stood in front of the portal to the main corridor, fanning the air with a towel.

“Half the ship is gone. We have nowhere else to go.” Her mother flung the towel across the family room. Something shattered and Vira hoped it wasn’t the antique globe of Old Earth. She loved spinning it around and letting her fingers rest on a different paradise spot each time.

Her mother disappeared into the family room and Vira slipped off her blanket, slowly bringing herself out of her sleep pod. She dropped to the floor with a plop, bumping both her elbows. Stings jolted up her arms. Rubbing her elbows, she checked to see if her parents had noticed, but they argued in the back of the family room, where they thought she couldn’t hear them.

“We could visit the Foresters. Rizzy’s there now.”

Her mom’s whispers carried to Vira’s ears. “I don’t want to intrude. Besides, I’m not sure what they’d think of us choosing our pairing for our daughter. I don’t care if it’s the end of the world, we’re not going to disobey the Guide. It’s meant to protect us. We shouldn’t have let Rizzy go.”

Vira pulled herself arm over arm, puffing and heaving. She’d have to develop more muscle strength. She wondered how long it would take for someone to build her another hovercraft. Finally, she reached the back wall in the corner of her room. She propped her back against the chrome, catching her breath.

Vira tore down Rizzy’s antique poster of some fantasy movie from Old Earth to touch the bare wall. Her ancestors had stored it in thick glass for a hundred years before Rizzy pleaded with her parents to take it out and hang in their room. Rizzy would scream at her, but fixing the smoke was far more important. She’d endure her sister’s wrath to keep them safe. Besides, Vira never liked the staring eyes of the white-haired mage and his scepter of lightning. He reminded her too much of her own secret powers.

She double-checked on her parents. They’d have a fit if they suspected anything strange about her. She already had such a great deformity, any additional abnormalities would be too much for them to handle.

Placing her palm against the wall, she closed her eyes. The chrome stung cold as frost under her skin. Feeling up and down, she calmed herself and allowed her thoughts to wander until they grasped hold of the inner workings of the ship. She focused on the cables and wires connecting to their cell, running beneath the wall. She sensed their presence like a nest of snakes just beyond her reach.

In the blackness underneath her eyelids, she identified strings of connecting impulses, much like the threads in her blanket. Some ran to the air ionizer, some to the refrigerator, and others to lighting. Their channels lay empty. The Seers had cut off the electricity.

Vira paused, wondering if the Seers would notice a small deficit in the rechanneled flow of energy. She’d only need to reroute it for a few minutes in order for the ventilator to filter the smoke. The solution lay within her reach. Her parents’ happiness meant so much to her, so she took the chance.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she redirected a stream of electricity to the ventilator. The concentration made her dizzy, but she held onto the thread of thought until the connection sparked. She heard the rattling of the air shaft as the vacuum kicked in.

“It’s working!” Her dad’s voice squeaked with surprise from the other room.

“What did you do, Al?” The relief in her mom’s voice made Vira smile.

“I don’t know. I pressed the circulation button and voila.”

“Thank goodness the Seers are still up there doing their job.”

Her dad’s voice turned bitter. “Sure, thank the Seers and not your hard-working husband.”

Her mom laughed. “I’m thanking you too.”

She heard them kissing and scrunched up her nose.
Ew!

Her mom spoke next. “Why don’t you go get Rizzy? I’ll start dinner. There must be something we can eat without the food congealizer.”

Vira considered rerouting more electricity. Her stomach grumbled, craving hot food. The Seers’ presence lurked just millimeters from her fingertips and her thoughts froze in place. Too many adjustments would certainly draw their attention.

“Should you go check on Vira? She’s been sleeping all day.” Her dad sounded weary.

“Oh yes, I’ll do that.”

Vira had only seconds to pull her hand away from the wall before her mom slipped in.

“What are doing on the floor, dear?”

Vira shrugged and pouted, looking as sad as she could without producing real tears.

“You poor thing. Your legs must be freezing.” Her mom sprinted over to her and scooped her up in her arms.

She lay her down on her sleep pod and massaged her atrophied calves. Vira couldn’t feel her mother’s touch, but it gave her mom comfort, so she smiled as if rubbing her useless legs made her happy. Really, having all this attention from her mom made her happy. As for her legs, she’d rather just cover them up and forget.

“We should slip on your jumpsuit. Daddy’s got the ventilator running, and soon all the smoke will be gone.”

Vira exhaled in relief. Not only had her plan worked, she’d pulled it off without her parents’ knowledge.

Her mom searched her face. “I know you’re concerned about the ship, dear. People are fixing it as we speak. Don’t worry, they’ll have the systems back online.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Vira tried to give her mom an assuring smile, but a nagging doubt tickled the back of her mind. She’d left the electric current running, so she’d have to find a way to reconnect to the system and turn it off later. Hopefully, the rest of the ship distracted the Seers enough not to notice.

Gemme wondered how many pairs of polar fleece pants she could fit around her waist and still be able to walk. Looking four kilograms heavier, she flinched in the mirror and tried on a fourth pair. Good thing she had some stashed away just in case the heating systems failed. She was always over prepared.

Better to be warm and plump than sexy and freeze to death. Who are you trying to impress, anyway?

As she stuffed her legs in, she thought of Brentwood and pulled off the fourth pair midway up her thigh. Even she had her limits. She kicked the extra pair off and shoved it into her backpack, along with a beacon light, a first aid kit, and several protein bars. Brentwood would pack enough food for the team for days, but she didn’t know how long they’d be out there.

Plugging her last full energy cell into her miniscreen, she flicked it on and checked the time.

Fifteen-hundred and fifty-two minutes, twenty seconds.

Damn!

Why did she never have time to say good-bye? Did her parents even know about her new assignment?

Probably better for them not to.

The portal beeped and she whirled around. Ferris’s voice came through the intercom. “Just stopped by to wish you good luck.”

She pressed the panel and the particles dematerialized, reminding her of the snowflakes whizzing by the sight panels. He stood in the portal frame, slouching. She wondered if she shouldn’t have told him. He would have seen her name on Alpha Blue on the reassignments charts eventually, and she didn’t want him to be angry at her. At least she had time for one good-bye.

“It’s not like I’m leaving and not coming back.” Gemme rolled her eyes. “Come in. I only have a few minutes.”

Ferris frowned and dragged his feet. “I’ve brought you something.” Reaching into the breast pocket of his wrinkly uniform, he pulled out a glossy piece of paper.

Gemme took the computer printout in her hands, remembering her graduation ceremony. A pimple-faced teenager stared back at her, his stringy arm hanging around a younger version of Gemme with wavy locks shielding one eye. Worry creased the skin around her other eye. The Seers hadn’t chosen her position on the
Expedition
at that point and the endless possibilities had overwhelmed her. Unfortunately, endless possibilities became the story of her life.

She smoothed her finger over the sleek surface. “You’d just passed your algebra test.”

“Yeah, you helped me study.”

“I guess, but you were always good at math.”

“Not as good as you.” He smiled, belying his gloomy eyes. “That’s why the Seers chose you, Gemme. You’re special, and they believe you can do this.”

Gemme sighed. “I’ve never been more scared in my life. I don’t even like walking in the biodome, never mind an entire new world.”

Ferris shook his head. “You’re braver than you think. You saved my life once, remember?”

“I put you in danger by not watching you like I should have.” Gemme looked away at the model on the floor. She still hadn’t moved it since the crash.

He grabbed her arm so tightly, she met his gaze. “You did what it took and saved my life.”

They sat staring at each other until her miniscreen beeped and an androgynous voice buzzed, “Sixteen hundred.”

Gemme slipped the picture in her jumpsuit pocket, feeling as though she never had enough time. “I’ve got to go.”

“Always working, aren’t you?” Ferris gave her an admonishing quirk of his eyebrow.

Gemme’s lips tightened. “It’s what I do best.”

He stood, walked over to her and collapsed around her, hugging her tightly. “Be careful, G. And remember, there’s more to life than busting your butt.”

“I’ll try.”

Gemme pulled away, not wanting to look into his watery eyes. She left him in her cell, cursing him for coming. His presence made leaving the
Expedition
all that much harder.

The ship contained her entire world. She’d never exited the hull. Besides the Seers, no one had. Gemme shivered, the fear creeping across her skin, and forced herself into a jog to make up lost time and improve her circulation to warm her cold fingers.

The corridors leading to the loading docks at the stern lay empty. Although she reached the portal five minutes late, she paused before entering loading dock C, checking her reflection in the glass separating the balcony from stacked containers and cranes below.

Brentwood had to be down there. He led the team. Gemme smoothed over her loose ends, feeling self-conscious. She looked sleep deprived, anxious, and haggard, and nothing she could do now would change her appearance.
Oh, well. It’s not like we’re matched up anyway.

She took a deep breath and entered the loading bay, shuffling down the steps to the equipment below. The air smelled like chemicals and the metallic reek of wet iron. A bear of a man in his fifties stood at the bottom, scratching a grizzly black beard.