Off Planet

by Aileen Erin

  Perfect. “So I need out of here before then, so what—”

  “Yes, but we’re in a bit of a—”

  “Shit,” Tyler said.

  Ahiga turned to him. “What?”

  “The ducks are lining up.” His face grew pale as he stared off at nothing for a minute.

  I sat taller on the bed. “What do you mean?”

  “They’ve been transferring a lot of lucole to one of the labs for months. Rumor is that they’re working on some kind of weapon. Not sure what it does, but something that requires that much lucole isn’t good.” He crossed his arms. “And the shipments. They’ve only let minimum rations off the base to supply the colonies and the fleet the three years I’ve been here. We’re talking a few containers here and there leaving the base. They never even made a dent in what’s stored. Now you’re here, and they’ve already shipped out an entire bay and a half. In a few days, it’ll be two full bays gone. They keep going this way, few weeks and the whole base will be empty and—”

  “You can’t be serious,” Ahiga said.

  “Yes. If she’s Amihanna, then the Murtaghs are finally going to make their move. It can’t be a coincidence.”

  “No. It can’t. Did you know about any of this?” I asked Ahiga.

  “No. But…” He looked hard at the ground. “Everyone knows I trained Declan. I was his commanding officer for a while, and that’s enough not to trust me fully.” He stood up. “Damn it. I need to talk to Matthew.”

  I wasn’t sure what good Matthew was going to do. “Do you think he’ll tell you anything?”

  “Maybe. He knows everything that’s going on here, but I’m not sure which side he’s on.”

  Ice it all to hell. If they were trying to draw my father here… “You can’t make that call. If my father comes here with his fleet and they have some sort of new weapon ready for him, then the war could be over before it begins. With SpaceTech winning. I can’t let that happen.”

  “I agree. It’d be better if we didn’t call him,” Ahiga said. “At least not until we know what kind of trap they’re setting for your father and what this weapon is, but I’m not sure anyone will tell me anything about it.”

  This whole situation was the worst. “We should wait for Declan to resurface. It’s the only way to avoid a war and not have my father drawn into some sort of trap. I have to hope that Declan will get here before…”

  “I agree,” Ahiga said. “If Declan’s heading here, then depending on when he went into cryo…” He thought for a second. “Worse case—let’s say he went into cryo two days ago, right before we woke up. That’s the latest it could’ve been because of the automessage. If he’s coming here—and that’s what I truly believe because you’re his number one priority right now—then it’s only twelve more days until he’s awake, and he’ll be here. Can you—”

  “I can last that long.” I had to.

  “The suit won’t fail again,” Tyler said. “We’ll be careful.”

  “And if it does, I’ll be here,” Audrey said. She pressed her right fist to her heart and dipped her head just a tiny bit. An Aunare symbol of respect. “I won’t fail you.”

  “Okay,” Ahiga said. “Okay, but the second it becomes too much, I’m sending the message to the Aunare. Their ships are faster. They’d get here in five days—give or take. And it could be that Declan will be here tomorrow. He could’ve headed here the day after we did. I just don’t know—”

  “It’s okay. I’ll be okay.” I hoped that was true, but there were no guarantees. The stakes were too damned high for Ahiga to call the Aunare, but I really, seriously, didn’t want to die out there. Every scenario I came up with ended in war. It was just a matter of when it happened. But I couldn’t let it start with SpaceTech having the upper hand. Not when so many lives were at stake.

  I’d clicked with Declan. I trusted him, and I knew he had a plan. I also knew that my slow death on the surface of the lava planet was in no way part of his plan, but I’d manage.

  Audrey reached below the table into a drawer, pulling out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. “You’ll want these.”

  I looked down at my sweat-soaked clothes and nodded. “You guys mind?” I waved my pointer finger in a circle, motioning for them to turn around. I might have screamed and cried for the last three hours, but I still had some modesty left.

  They did as instructed and I slid off the table. My legs wobbled, and Audrey grabbed my arm to steady me.

  “How’re the feet?”

  “A little weird.” They felt tender yet numb.

  “That should fade.”

  “I hope so.” I managed to pull off my clothes, replacing them with the looser cut ones Audrey had given me, without falling over. Audrey had helped me keep my balance as I moved, and I was thankful. The last thing I needed was to face-plant on the floor.

  She smiled sadly at me. “Not as good as a shower, but better than nothing.”

  “Okay. I’m decent.” I ran my fingers through my hair, and it felt a little crunchy. Damn it. I was right. That smell had been my hair frying. I didn’t want to cut it, but I wasn’t sure there was enough conditioner in the world to fix it now.

  I sat back down on the table before my legs gave out. One thing kept bothering me. “I trust Declan, but what if he wasn’t heading here? What if he was taking my mother to Sel’Ani?”

  Ahiga’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, and I knew that he was afraid of the same thing. It could be weeks or months before Declan got here. Sel’Ani was a lot farther away than Earth. If he was heading there, then he’d been in cryo for a while.

  “You could be right,” Ahiga said finally. “So what do you want to do?”

  “I don’t know, but I need another plan. Something other than putting on a suit. And I’m assuming stealing a ship and running is a bad idea.”

  Ahiga snorted a laugh. “Epically terrible.”

  “Would’ve been too easy and where’s the fun in that?” Since transferring my work detail to something else wasn’t working, it had to be something that SpaceTech couldn’t turn down. Something that would buy Declan enough time to wake up from cryo.

  What did SpaceTech want?

  Money.

  Power.

  Lucole.

  The miner that was supposed to come on the ship with me and Ahiga chickened out. Which meant they were down one miner on duty right now. Jason Murtagh was messed up enough to find a sick kind of joy in me risking my life to mine lucole—a dangerous job that gave SpaceTech huge profits and could potentially be used in weapons against the Aunare.

  I’d already thought of this once before, but my mind kept coming back to it. It seemed crazy, but going back out to the surface of Abaddon in a suit was even crazier.

  “What are you planning?” Ahiga stared down at me. “I’ve trained enough people to know that look. You’ve thought of something.”

  “Yeah.” But I wasn’t even sure if it was possible. “What if I signed up for the mining runs? Do they give the test here?”

  “You’re nuttier than squirrel shit.” Tyler’s voice was deep and fierce. “You can’t do that. Mining will kill you faster than a faulty suit.”

  “I don’t know about that. Maybe I didn’t die today, but I came close.” I blew out a breath. “Thoughts?” I asked Ahiga.

  Ahiga considered me for a moment. “Can you fly?”

  “Yes. Got my Class Y when I was fourteen. Now have an R, T, and L. I was working on my Q. I’ve spent nearly every dime I’ve earned on training.” I worked hard to be prepared for any eventuality. Any chance I had to get off the third rock from the sun, I wanted to be able to take it. I just never pictured it’d be like this. “I can pass any flight test—practical or simulation or written—but is it an option?”

  “Yes. It’s an option,” Audrey answered me. “They leave it open to workers as this golden carrot to keep us happily working away. Just having the option available boosts morale here, which helps with productivity in the processing plant,
which helps their bottom line and costs them nothing.” Audrey rolled her eyes, and that told me exactly what she thought of this idea. “Every once in a while some asshat on this side takes the test, but no one has ever passed. I hear they’ve made it even harder here than it is on Earth or any of the colonies.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I can pass whatever’s on that test. I know I can.” I’ve been studying my whole life. I’d done homeschooling for most of it, but my mom and Jorge made sure that my education wasn’t lacking anything. If I could take the test, I’d pass it.

  Audrey turned to Tyler. “What’s her schedule?”

  “She’s off every Tuesday,” he said it with a knowing lilt that made it sound impossible.

  “What am I missing?”

  “They give the mining qualification test every third Thursday at oh-ten hundred hours,” Tyler said. “Smack dab in your first two-hour shift out there.”

  Son of a space bat. “Right.” Because that would be too easy.

  “Even if the timing worked out, they made the test impossible to pass.” Ahiga looked grim. “I took it the last time I was here, on a lark, and I failed. Miserably. It’s got some musical component to it that makes no sense. And if you somehow manage to pass, you have to get the approval of Carl Millander, and there’s no chance he’ll approve you.”

  “That old man hates everyone,” Tyler said. “Spends all his spare time drinking in the bar, gambling away the salary SpaceTech pays him to make sure the miners don’t die out there. Losing nearly every pilot that he’s trained has hardened him.”

  “Of course it has. Do you realize how many of those idiots have died mining?” Audrey glared at me. “I didn’t put you through the torture of nanos just to watch you commit suicide.”

  “Is it more suicidal than the job they assigned me?” Because I honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.

  “A few years ago, I’d have said no,” Tyler said. “Mining was much better odds. Used to have about a hundred or two hundred miners here at a time. A good year maybe half would make it through all five runs. A good chunk would drop from the program. The rest… So far this year, only two people have hit the five-runs mark. And there’ve been how many?” Tyler looked at Audrey and she shrugged. “At least fifty. Maybe even seventy-five. A handful or so dropped out. The rest died.”

  “But people do still make it?” Because SpaceTech got something right. Like the other workers, I needed a goal—something to work toward that wasn’t sweating out my last breath on the surface of Abaddon.

  “Yeah. Two. Two.” Tyler held up two fingers to drive it home. “Two out of at least fifty.”

  “Right.” There didn’t seem to be a good option for me. Maybe today was a fluke, but if my suit had been working properly, then it would’ve given me some kind of warning that I was in danger. Which meant it failed and I couldn’t assume that it was just a broken suit.

  Or I could try to get a mining job. Possibly die there. Or possibly make the five runs, and then what? Would Jason let me go home if I completed the job? Maybe not, but it could buy me enough time for Declan to get out of cryo.

  Or Ahiga could call my dad. War would start. And billions upon billions of people could die.

  There was no answer that I was happy with, so I had to pick the least-bad option. “I want to say that I can sit around and do my job and wait for Declan to come save me, but that’s not my style. I’ll go crazy doing that. Even if he shows up tomorrow, I still need to be focusing on saving myself. Especially if I’m stuck with this job. For me, that’s mining. I’ll work toward that. And if something comes up—if Declan shows or something else happens and we need to get word to my father—then we’ll deal with that then.”

  “I get it,” Ahiga said. “I’d be doing the same thing.”

  “Good.” I had a goal. Something that I could actively be working toward. That was a win. “What day is it today?”

  “Sunday,” Tyler said.

  “So when’s the next test?” Please God, tell me it’s this week.

  Tyler winced, and I knew I wasn’t going to like his answer. “Next week.”

  “Damn it.” I didn’t want to have to deal with this job for another day let alone another week or two.

  But it was fine. I’d make it work. An extra week would mean that I had time to plan, which could be better. And maybe the CO would give me the seven days off that Ahiga was going to ask for. “Where do I take the test? And where do I find Carl Millander?”

  “The test is given down the hall from the main mess, but there’s no way you’re getting into the bar to find Carl,” Tyler said.

  “This is a shit plan,” Ahiga said. “But you get to the test and pass, I’ll get you in touch with Carl.”

  Okay. That was something. This was going to work. “If I skip out on work to take the test, it’s not like anyone would notice? It’s just me out there.”

  “Shit, girl. I’m your supervisor. You can’t ask me about how to skip out on work. If one of the officers finds out, I’ll—” Tyler wiped a hand down his face.

  Ahiga rose from the stool. “If you won’t answer this for her, how am I supposed to believe you’ll keep her secret?”

  “It’s not the same thing.” Tyler held his ground as Ahiga stepped toward him.

  Oh man. This could get ugly. “You don’t want me to die.” I slid down off of the bed and stepped gingerly toward Tyler. My feet were still a little numb and tender, but I could walk a couple of steps. So that was something.

  I took another step and looked up into his blue eyes. “We both know that my job is a death sentence. I don’t want to die, and I know you don’t want me to die. Please, just tell me. Once I’ve checked in, and I’m out there, does anyone look for me? Will you have to monitor me?”

  Tyler stared at the ground for a long minute, and I gave him a second to think about what I was asking. If something went wrong and he covered for me, it was his ass on the line, too.

  “No one will look for you,” he said finally. “But your tracker will give you away.”

  “I can help with that,” Ahiga said.

  “But I need to know you won’t turn me in or get into trouble if I walk off the job,” I said to Tyler.

  Tyler stood there, staring me down in silence. I wanted to fidget as I waited for his response, but I forced myself to be patient. I hadn’t known him for long, but every time he decided something, he liked to think about it for a second. So I gave him the space he seemed to need.

  “Okay,” Tyler said, breaking the silence. “I’ll help you get to the test, but if you get your five runs, then I’m going to need a favor.”

  “Tyler, you help me, and I’ll make sure it’s worth your while. I swear. Even if I don’t pass the test.” I meant it. I needed his help for this, and if I got away from here alive, I would owe him big.

  I could do this. I’d make it happen or die trying. No one was getting the best of me. Not Abaddon. And definitely not Jason Murtagh.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I woke up with a scream, sweating. Still smelling the scent of sulfur in the air. I gagged and leaned over the bed in case I threw up, but slowly my nausea eased, and I could breathe again.

  It was just in my mind. I was safe. In bed. Where I’d been for the last thirty-six hours.

  I laid my head back on the pillow and wiped the sweat from my forehead. My body was shaking, but this time it’d been a dream. A nightmare. I wasn’t burning on the surface. I didn’t even have to put on a suit today.

  It took a minute for that to sink in, but once it did, I took one last shuddering breath and felt much better.

  Ahiga was right. I didn’t get the full seven days he asked for, but I did get two days off. I slept for most of the first day and through the morning of the second. It didn’t matter that nanos had healed my feet. The whole experience had left my body so weak, Audrey had to half-carry me to my bunk. It was worse than anything I’d ever experienced before, and I was really hoping this would be the only t
ime I was forced to use nanos here.

  With a sigh, I heaved my legs over the edge of my bunk. I’d heard movement and women talking earlier but hadn’t found the energy to force open my eyes. My bunkmates were gone now—off to do whatever they did on the base—and I couldn’t sit here forever. The couple of times I’d gotten up yesterday, I’d walked very carefully. My feet had been a little tender still. Today, I had to believe that my feet were okay. I held my breath as my feet touched the polished concrete and then took a few steps.

  Audrey had been right. They were fine. Tender and sensitive—the cool floor tickled my soles—but my feet were healed. She’d checked on me yesterday, bringing me some food and electrolyte packets. She’d even done my laundry, which was above and beyond, but I couldn’t let her keep taking care of me. It was time to face the world again.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding and headed for the showers. Tomorrow I was going to have to go back out there. The thought of it made my stomach twist, and my nausea returned worse than before.

  I pressed a fist into my stomach and swallowed hard a few times. Starting my day by heaving into a toilet didn’t sound awesome. Nervous energy buzzed along my skin—more than any breathing exercises could help—and I knew that if I didn’t distract myself, my skin would start to glow.

  I quickly dressed in shorts and a tank and braided my now-frizzy hair in two large sections, knotting them up on my head to keep them off my neck. The heat in the women’s quarters didn’t bother me as much, not after what I’d felt in the suit, but sweat was starting to coat my body. Having my hair up helped cool me down just a little bit.

  From what I could tell there was no set weekend. Everyone’s schedules overlapped so that there was always someone working, but that meant that it was always someone’s day off, too. I wasn’t sure what people did on their days off while on Abaddon, but there had to be something to do. With how fit everyone here appeared to be, there had to at least be a gym somewhere.

  The map on my wrist unit showed which areas I had access to. A lot of rooms and areas were off limits, so it was a lot to weed through, but after a few minutes, I found the gym.