Off Planet

by Aileen Erin

  He looked about twenty pounds lighter, and they’d done something to his eyes, made them softer—less pervy—but that was him. “SpaceTech is working hard to build profitable planets throughout the universe.” His voice echoed among the scrapers. “But we need strong citizens if we want to reach our goal.”

  The image switched to young men and women in navy-and-gray SpaceTech uniforms as they patrolled through neighborhoods on one of the colonies. The houses were all the same, with perfectly manicured lawns and spotless streets. The place might seem nice to some people, but to me it seemed totally sterile and utterly void of any personality.

  “Creating a safe place for families free from Aunare is a big part of the mission.”

  The screen flashed to Sergeant Pervo handing a ball to a little girl while her parents watched. “Five years on Tellus protecting families like these can earn you a slice of the good life on VegaFive.”

  Perv’s face filled the screen again. “I’m Jason Murtagh, President of Security for SpaceTech, and I say join up. Make a difference. Earn your place among the stars.”

  The billboard went black for a second before becoming an ad for a burger joint.

  I suddenly felt cold. “Ice-coated shitballs. That was him. I just broke Jason Murtagh’s face. I decimated the guy next in line to own and run SpaceTech.”

  “You didn’t.” Roan shook my shoulders. “Please tell me you didn’t beat up Jason Murtagh right before his brother was going to get you away from this fucking planet!”

  The helmet suddenly felt as if it was two sizes too small. I ripped it off before the damned thing suffocated me. “I did. I smashed his face in and dislocated his shoulder. Maybe more. I don’t know. I ran. I just—I ran.”

  Roan flipped up the visor on his helmet. “God, Maité. What the hell are we going to do?”

  I was going to throw up again, but I had nothing left. “I didn’t do it on purpose.” My hand shook as I wiped off the cold sweat beading on my forehead.

  “Not on purpose? How the fuck do you beat the shit out of someone by accident? This is serious. You could die. I could die! Fuck, Maité. What—”

  “I know!” It was as if he’d parked his Tykson on my chest. My breath was shallow, and I couldn’t get enough air in as the panic slowly strangled me.

  “He’s a Murtagh, Maité. A Murtagh!” Roan was pissed and with good reason.

  I couldn’t believe this was happening. This was a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare.

  “I don’t even know if Declan can help you now. Do you have a way to call him?”

  “No.” Gray dots peppered my vision.

  “He said he was keeping an eye on things. So he’ll fix this. Right?”

  “I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure anyone could fix this. My hands shook so badly, it took me three tries to slide my helmet back on.

  I’d known fear my whole life, but I’d never known fear like I felt in that second. Every part of me screamed to run as far and as fast as I could. But I had to think it through first. I couldn’t mess this up any worse than I already had.

  “I need a plan. I’m going to have to figure out how to hide my trail and run.” Except I couldn’t figure out anything through my panic.

  And then I remembered something. “Damn it. I had a go-bag in the diner. I had money. Laundered, clean money. I had tech. I had clean clothes. And I didn’t even think to take it with me.” Fear was making me dumb. I climbed back on the Tykson, and Roan followed. “We need to go. I have to get out of sight of the cameras. And I’m going to need to go get my backup bag at the abandoned depot. Head there first.”

  “I can’t fucking believe this…” Roan muttered as he sped into traffic again, cutting off another Tykson. Horns blared and tires screeched behind us, but that didn’t slow him down. He knew what was at stake.

  I leaned my helmet-clad head against his back. I’d seriously stepped in it this time. I had a sickening feeling I’d be seeing Jason Murtagh again soon. I just hoped that didn’t mean I was sentencing everyone else to die, too.

  Chapter Nine

  As Roan drove us through the city, I tried to suppress the panic that strangled my chest, but it wasn’t working. The fears running through my mind were too loud to shut down. How I was going to be arrested. Then executed. Or maybe they’d find out who I was, and the real fun would start. But I was worried the most about Mom.

  I’d left her. I’d left her there at the diner to deal with my mess, and I wasn’t convinced she could handle it. What if she was arrested? What if they found out who she was? What if they killed her?

  The only thing keeping me from running back to the diner was the fact that she wasn’t Aunare. If SpaceTech took her, she’d be held and questioned, but even if they did a scan, nothing would come up. They might not love her files, something might seem off, but she would always be human, and being human meant that she wouldn’t get killed just for breathing.

  Plus, Declan was watching. He’d know what happened, and he’d help her. He had to help her.

  But even knowing all of that, leaving her to deal with STPF didn’t sit right with me. Not even a little bit. That didn’t mean I could go back. Not if I wanted to live.

  The good news was that I didn’t have a tracker. Declan was right to assume that my implanted chip was basic. The shady doctor thought it was weird that I didn’t want all the bells and whistles—we actually paid more than normal for him to implant something lower tech—but that was the only way I could handle having the chip. GPS devices gave off way too many signals.

  Roan was the only person I knew besides Mom and me who didn’t have a tracker. He was even more against implants than I was, but only because he wanted to give SpaceTech as little insight into his life as possible. Roan’s chip was nearly as basic as mine. But even though we were without trackers, that didn’t mean SpaceTech wouldn’t find us.

  I couldn’t stop running. Not for a while. Cameras could be repositioned. Satellites could be moved. And then they’d know exactly where I was.

  I needed a plan. I needed to think. I needed to get my shit together. If I made one wrong move, I’d be screwed.

  For everyone’s sake, I had to get away. One step at a time.

  “How long until we get to the abandoned depot?” I said through the com in our helmets.

  “Ten minutes,” he said after a second.

  “Can you make it any faster?”

  “I’m doing my best.” His voice was still snippy, and I knew he was still mad at me. He slid the bike into fourth and started weaving through side streets.

  If there was one thing I could always count on, it was Roan. I wasn’t sure how I’d ever pay him back for this, but I’d find a way.

  The abandoned train depot was just outside of town. I’d hidden my bag in one of the trains because no one ever went there. During Liberation Week sixteen years ago, the city turned into a murdering mob slaughtering the Aunare, and the humans needed a place to put the bodies. They’d left thousands to rot at the depot. It’d been officially decommissioned nearly seventy-five years before then and was turned into a train museum. But after Liberation Week, the depot was a much different place.

  I was pretty sure that the humans felt at least a little bad about what they’d done because as far as I could tell, no one came within eight kilometers of the depot. The surrounding neighborhoods sat empty and abandoned. Locals liked to say that it was haunted.

  Since no one came close to it, there was no monitoring at the depot. Running electricity to the cameras alone was considered a waste of SpaceTech resources. Which meant it was a dead zone in a lot of ways. It was the perfect place to hide until I figured out my exit strategy.

  The bag I’d stashed there had money, clothes, and essentials to get Mom and me moving. Except I was going to have to run without her. That hit me like a laser burning through my chest, and it took everything in me not to turn around to go find her. I had to believe that Declan would go ahead with his plan. That he’d leave today a
nd take her to Sel’Ani. She didn’t deserve to be punished for my screw-up.

  Buildings flew by, making streaks of color along my vision. I replayed the last hour in my head as we entered the dead zone. There was no way in hell I’d get away with what I’d done. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that running might be pointless. I couldn’t believe that I’d survived homelessness, poverty, and hunger, only to be taken down by one powerful SpaceTech pervert.

  They knew exactly what I looked like now. It wasn’t some aged pic from when I was a baby anymore. They might not know who or what I was exactly, but they’d be able to find me so much easier. STPF could back up the recording from the city surveillance system until they saw me leaving the diner, and then follow me from there. Satellites would support the cams in blackout spots. Probes would track our various possible routes. Eventually, they would see everything. The depot didn’t have surveillance, but they’d see where we fell off the map and be looking to see when we reappeared around the dead zone. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out where I’d gone.

  My only hope was that if SpaceTech could find me, so could Declan. If I managed to stay out of SpaceTech’s grasp long enough for Declan to get to me first, I still might have a chance of getting out of this alive.

  Roan finally turned the Tykson down the deserted road to the depot. Dirt and rocks had scattered over the pavement. The airstream from the bike kicked up a layer of dust and sand, coating my legs in it. I tightened my arms as we jolted over rocks and headed toward the gates. They used to be electrified, but since no one came out here, SpaceTech didn’t bother. Tall lights rose above the tracks, but they were turned off. Even if the sun wasn’t high in the sky, the lights here never turned on.

  As we got closer, I noticed a break in the fence big enough for the Tykson, and I pointed to it. “That way.”

  Roan went off the road and entered the depot. Bones and half-decayed clothes littered the ground. I winced at the crunch of Aunare bones breaking under the Tykson. Roan weaved through a few trains before jerking to a stop. I swung off and shoved my helmet at him.

  No sounds. No people. No surveillance. Just us.

  “Fuck!” I screamed until my lungs were empty. I picked up a rock and chucked it as hard as I could. It thunked against one of the train cars, but it wasn’t enough to curb my panic.

  It wasn’t nearly enough.

  I kicked the nearest train. Pain ricocheted up my leg. I was still wearing my work shoes—soft-toed pieces of crap. I limped away from the train, cleared a spot free of stray bones, and sat down in the middle of it to rub my toes through my shoe.

  “You done?” Roan asked.

  I grunted. “I don’t know.” I flopped onto my back. “I really messed up this time.” Tears threatened to fall, but I blinked them away. I couldn’t crumble. Not yet.

  He rubbed a hand down his face. “I know we’ve been over this, but I still say I could sign up for mining runs on Abaddon. With the bonus I get from finishing all five runs, I could buy your—”

  “Not happening.” My outrage at the idiocy of what he was saying burned through my panic. “Mining lucole is a death sentence and I—”

  “It’s the best shot we have! You hide while I clear the five mining runs to Apollyon, get the money, and go to Tellus 5. I’d have more than enough cash to get some legit files made for you then. You get off this rock. Meet me there. Once we’re away from here, we can find a way to reach Declan without his brother knowing, and you can finally be safe.”

  He was nuts if he really believed that was an actual possibility. “You make it sound easy when none of it is. Let’s just put aside the idea that I’d be able to successfully hide long enough for you to sign up for duty and actually clear all five runs because, with all the surveillance that SpaceTech has, that’s going to be impossible. It would take you at least a couple months to get to Abaddon, train, and finish all five runs. I can’t hide from them for months. Days, maybe. Weeks, probably not. And months? You’re delusional.”

  “It won’t—”

  “Yes. It will take you that long. Say you sign up tomorrow and leave the same day, which isn’t happening, but for the sake of argument, let’s just think of the best case scenario. Once you take off, you’ll be in cryo for at least a couple weeks to get to Abaddon. I’m sure once you get there you’ll have to do some sort of training. Add a week for that. And then you’ll complete all five runs to Apollyon.”

  I got up and started pacing. White bits on the ground cracked under my feet. With every noise, my chest grew tighter. This place was a reminder of how many had failed to outrun SpaceTech. I wasn’t sure how I could possibly fare any better than them.

  “Are you okay?”

  I spun to Roan. Was he crazy? Of course, I wasn’t okay.

  He held up his hands. “Don’t get pissed at me. You’ve been quiet for like the last couple minutes, pacing around here.”

  “I’m just thinking. This place. This situation. SpaceTech. And now you’re thinking about signing up for mining runs? It’s all so iced. All of it. But you can’t do this. Not for me. Not ever. It’s way too dangerous. You’ll die trying to mine fuel for SpaceTech—the most evil company in the known universe. Is that really how you want to end your life?”

  “No. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I can’t abandon you. So don’t even ask.”

  “I won’t, but…” I let out a breath. But I couldn’t abandon him either. I kept pacing, trying to sort out my thoughts.

  I wasn’t sure what Declan had in store for Roan and his family, but it had to be better than lucole mining. I understood Roan’s reasoning, but it was foolish and pointless.

  But there were too many steps. We needed more money than I had stashed in my go-bag to get us off planet. I’d never be able to get a job since SpaceTech knew my face. The only way Roan could make enough money was…no. I couldn’t really be thinking about letting him sign up. It was so wrong.

  Abaddon was the worst planet in the known galaxy. It was named after the Angel of Death for a reason. Its surface was covered in active volcanoes, spewing ash and sulfur into the air. Without a suit, a human would boil to death in seconds. The fact that SpaceTech had a base there at all was insane, but Abaddon’s moon, Apollyon, was the only place that lucole existed. The moon would’ve been a safer place to put the base but refining lucole required an intense amount of heat, which was why SpaceTech had gone to the trouble of building a base on the lava planet. The crystal was refined on the base, and then shipped all over the galaxy. It powered their rockets, ships, cities, you name it, but mining lucole couldn’t be easy.

  Why else would they give a monstrous sum of money, plus housing and land on Tellus 5, to anyone who could get five full loads of lucole in the five trips to Apollyon and back? We couldn’t be that desperate or foolish yet.

  “Listen to me.” Roan’s voice snapped me from my thoughts. “If you stay here in the dead zone and hide out in one of the cars with the bones, then you have a shot. They won’t search them. No human wants to step foot in here. We can make a dummy from the bones here, put it on my bike, and I’ll draw them away from you. When it’s safe, I’ll ditch the dummy and the bike, sign up for mining runs, and I’ll have Jorge drop off supplies to you here. It won’t be fun, and maybe you’re right. It might take me a few weeks, but I’ve been doing the sim runs and—”

  I knew where he was going with this, and I was ending it. “I don’t care how good your sim runs have gotten, you’ll die on Abaddon.” I didn’t leave any room for negotiation in my tone.

  “I’m good. I can do it. I don’t want to owe any Murtagh, even Declan.”

  I stopped pacing to sit in front of him. I gave him a long look, hopefully conveying how full of bullshit he was.

  “We’ve both been taking extra flight lessons,” he said. “You’re better than me. I swear you could do it in your sleep. And if you can, then that means I have a real shot, too. I’m telling you, it’s not impossible. The only r
eason people keep dying during the runs is because they’re a bunch of morons.”

  “You’re making my point for me. Anyone who signs up for runs to Apollyon is a moron. And if you do it? You’re just as fucking stupid as they are.” I huffed a laugh that had no humor in it. The guy was living in a land of delusion if he really believed that he could pull off all five mining runs. “This is stupid. I can’t believe we’re arguing about this. We need to find a way to get in touch with Declan. He’s the key.”

  “Okay.” He used the same tone I’d use to pacify Mom.

  Arguing with him when he was like this would do no good, so I dropped it. For now. We had bigger problems to deal with first.

  “What’s the plan? How do we find him?” he asked after a second.

  “I don’t know. I can’t figure out a way to contact him. I should’ve asked for a secure number or messenger or something. A guy like that has to have one. He called Lorne for chrissakes.” Why didn’t I think about getting his number? “I guess the plan is to stay away from SpaceTech long enough for him to find us. He said he’d be watching, but what if he somehow missed what happened? How will he find me?” It was hard for me to think past what’d happened. What Murtagh said to me—asking me if I knew any Aunare and that they’d like a girl who looked like me—made me think he knew exactly who I was.

  “What? What are you thinking right now?”

  I looked up at Roan. “Jason Murtagh was asking the strangest questions. And when I wouldn’t answer them, it’s like he wanted me to act out. He was grinning when he grabbed my arm hard enough to hurt and wouldn’t let go.” I looked away from Roan. “He thought it was funny when he stuck his hand in my underwear,” I said quietly.

  “Jesus, Maité.” His words were harsh in the quiet of the depot. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “He stuck his hand in your fucking underwear?”

  The revulsion was back, and I stepped away from Roan. “That’s why I broke his face.”