Galaxia

by Kevin McLaughlin

  The Hopper door opened up, and the buzz of voices hit her like a wave. Two guys in blue ship-suits had a stretcher with them, for crying out loud. A man and a woman who looked like some sort of grease monkeys were standing off to the side a little, but they were practically bouncing from one foot to the other waiting to get to do whatever it was they had come to do. Probably had to do with either the Hopper, or the data Patrick had brought back. Hell, maybe both.

  And there was her father in the middle of it all. He was like an island of calm, standing there, arms crossed, staring – past her shoulder?

  Carmen looked back over her shoulder. The Hopper was there. Patrick was still inside shutting the systems down. But her father wasn’t looking at him. She realized that he was looking at the radiation shelter. They’d left it hanging there from the roof of the Hopper. It hadn’t occurred to either of them to take it down. Up close, the thing might look like alien air ducts. But from this distance, it looked more like a sleeping bag hung up to dry.

  She turned back to her father, who flicked his stare from the shelter back to her face.

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. A question.

  She flushed and looked down. An answer, and not the one she’d meant to give.

  When she looked back up, he’d already walked away.

  Carmen sighed. That would be all sorts of fun to deal with, later on. Her father had very old school ideas about relationships. The idea of his daughter stuck in very close confines with some man was enough to upset him. And then she’d blushed, which no doubt had given him all sorts of ideas.

  Ideas which were probably not too far from what had actually happened. Why the hell had she blushed?

  The medics swooped in about then. “Just lie down, Carmen. We’ll get you checked out.”

  “I’m totally OK to walk,” she protested, but they slide the stretcher over and looked up at her with such earnest eyes that it was hard to resist them. She sighed and sat down on the stretcher. They brought the head up, and rolled her away.

  “What about Patrick?” she asked.

  “Him? We try to put him on a stretcher, he’ll tell us to take a walk outside,” one of the medics said.

  “Without a suit,” the other one added, chuckling.

  “Don’t worry. Sounds like you’re fine, but they want to check you out in medical just to make sure. That was a big storm, and if you’d been exposed, even in the Hopper…” His voice trailed off.

  His partner picked up the thread. “Well, let’s just say you’re glad you weren’t.”

  Carmen shivered. They’d been in serious danger. And then they’d…what? Ignored the danger and just gone for it? Were the sexy times just their way of ignoring the dangerous storm hammering down on the moon just outside their fragile bubble? If that was all they were, did it mean anything at all? Or was it just two people who needed someone to touch in a tough moment?

  She didn’t know. And she wanted to know. Carmen surprised herself, realizing that she actually wanted it to be more than that. She’d go talk to Patrick. Feel him out. See if she could figure out how he was feeling about their little interlude together. If he felt the way she did, or not.

  * * *

  It took far longer than she’d expected to get through the medical process. They wanted to make absolutely sure she hadn’t soaked too much radiation out there. Blood tests, mostly. And then the wait for the results.

  “Can’t I go back to work while I wait?” she asked.

  Doc MacInness frowned at her. “Well, you could… But I would prefer you stay here and rest, just in case.”

  She didn’t know him very well. Her free time since arriving here had been pretty limited, and didn’t extend to chatting with balding men her father’s age. But she did know that her dear dad had been having coffee with him some mornings. So that was the end of that. If she reported back to her father without a clean bill of health, he’d turn her right back around and she’d be back in the medical bay bed anyway. No sense fighting the inevitable. She smiled, nodded her assent, opened her tablet and got back to reading for a little bit.

  Her alarm chimed just before the lab tests on potential viral cures were due to be done. It was time and past to get back to work. Which meant she’d been sitting here on her duff reading for over an hour. She hopped out of bed and slipped her shoes back on. Then she left the small room where she’d been parked and went to find the doctor, or a medic, or somebody who could release her back to her job.

  That took another half hour. She was tapping her foot on the floor by the time they were done with her paperwork, but at last it was complete. The blood tests were negative. She’d picked up more radiation on the shuttle trip out to the moon than she had in the last day.

  With a deep sigh, she headed out of the medical bay back out into the hall. She was late. They’d already have the test results, and she’d missed the big reveal. There would be a heap of work to do, and the entire team would be in there hammering away at it without her.

  Lost in thought, she rounded the corner into the hall and slammed face on into someone trying to come in to medical.

  “Sorry!” she said, extracting her nose from the chest in front of her. She’d lost her balance a bit, but the person she collided with had both her arms in a strong grip. A strong and familiar grip.

  “That’s OK,” Patrick said to her. “I was hoping we might bump into each other, anyway.” He smiled down at her and slowly released her arms.

  She felt warmth creep back into her cheeks at the look on his face. His touch on her arms brought back oh-so-recent memories of his touch in other places, and she felt lost for a moment, staring up at him.

  “Me too,” she said, finally taking back control of her voice, with some effort. “But the lab – I’m late already. Got to go.”

  Patrick nodded to her. “Go do, then. I’ll see you.”

  She nodded back and then hurried away. God, that was awkward! She was going to have to sit down and have a chat with the man, that’s all. They couldn’t keep having moments like that. It was a small base. They’d run into each other all the time, and she’d be a blushing, bumbling mess all day.

  Carmen got her breathing back under control as she continued toward her father’s lab. Her strides grew longer and more even. The pink left her cheeks – she could feel the heat draining away. She smiled at the silliness of it all. She was behaving like a school-girl with her first crush. But that wasn’t her. She was so much more than that.

  Sure, Patrick had turned out to be much more than he seemed at first, too. And she’d more than enjoyed their time together in the Hopper. And not just the part after they’d gotten into the storm shelter! He was deep, and thoughtful, and also good in a crisis. All things she admired.

  But this wasn’t her life. This time out here on the moon, it was hopefully an interlude for her. They’d solve the viral crisis and be back on Earth before too long, a vaccine in hand. She’d go on to her next assignment someplace. With luck, this experience would net her enough credibility in the field to get some plum assignments once she was back.

  And Patrick? She shook her head, still smiling. His heart was out here. She could tell that from the conversation on their ride. He loved this place. She could understand that love. The moon was beautiful, for all that it was also stark and dangerous. He’d made his home here. She didn’t know how long he’d continue his work here, but he was clearly happy in it. Their lives were very different, and moving in very different directions. Chance had happened to bring them together for a moment, but she doubted that it would last.

  * * *

  All thoughts of Patrick vanished the moment she entered the lab. The place was a madhouse. People were scurrying about. Lots of people. Judging from the number she saw in the room, her father had called for an all hands on deck work session. That could only mean one thing: they’d had an unexpectedly promising result from the initial test sequences.

  Carmen caught one young lab assistant by an elbow as sh
e hurried by. The woman stopped long enough for a smile. “Can I help you, doctor?” she asked.

  “Just got in, Martha. What’s going on?” Carmen asked, waving her hands at the room in a general way.

  “Oh! Yes, I heard. So glad you’re safe. Were you very scared?” Martha asked.

  “We were pretty well shielded,” Carmen replied, feeling exasperated. Did everyone on the base know? “Now, what’s going on?”

  “Oh! Yes, one of the tests came back with a positive marker. We’re prepping it to test on live virus now,” Martha said.

  That was good news. Carmen sometimes thought that Martha was a little bit slow. Her manner of speaking didn’t demonstrate great intellect, anyway. But she was really reliable, and quite good at getting things done when she was asked. Carmen made a shooing motion with her hands. “Back to whatever you were doing, then,” Carmen said. “I’m sure it’s important!”

  “Oh! Yes, I will, thanks,” Martha said before rushing off.

  Carmen shook her head, smiling in spite of herself. She wondered if she was going to be glad when she didn’t need to hear “Oh! Yes!” every day, or if she would miss it.

  She glanced over at her father, the cool center of the storm that filled the room. He was working on something at a computer station, and directing staff around him as well. It looked like he had things well in hand, but… They only have five medical doctors out here as part of their team. And she was one of them. Time to go beard the lion in his den. Her father would need her help.

  He looked up when she grew near. His eyes scanned her up and down, as if inspecting her for signs of illness or injury. “Clean bill of health?” he asked.

  “All clear,” she replied. “The Hopper and the radiation shelter shielded me completely from the storm.”

  He turned to look at whatever he was doing on his console, nodding a little absently. “Good that you were with someone who knew how to get you both to safety,” he said. “But perhaps you should stay at the base from now on.”

  He looked up from his work and gave her a smile. “I’d hate to lose one of my best doctors out there in the wilds of space.”

  “Dad, I’m one of your only doctors, out here,” she protested half-heartedly. “Faint praise.”

  “All the more reason to keep you safe, then,” he said. “Here, I need your help. We have to run tests. We might have a vaccine already! I have Martin and Martha queuing up some rats to test on. Come, see.”

  And just like that, it seemed like he’d left his earlier moodiness behind. Carmen wasn’t sure she bought it. Her father wasn’t stupid, and he wouldn’t have forgotten her untimely blush earlier. But if he was willing to set it aside and get back to work, she was happy to do the same. She came in closer and leaned over the back of his chair, peeking at his screen.

  They had a lot of work to do, but this was the work of her life. Nothing was more important than what she was doing with her father right now. Everyone – all of humanity – was counting on them. She’d check in with Patrick later – after the results from the tests were in, maybe. That would be a good time, she thought. Either she’d have success to share, or failure to commiserate about. Either way, it would be a good excuse. The plan set, she regretfully pushed thoughts of Patrick aside for a while. She needed her entire focus on her work right now.

  Chapter 8

  PATRICK SAT in front of a computer console in his office, watching data stream by. He tucked his hands behind his head. It would be a little while before the computer finished making sense of all the data they downloaded from the research site. He could relax a little, until then. Damn shame they hadn’t had time to get to the other ones, but this was a good start, at least.

  A knock on his office door got his attention, and he kicked his feet off his desk. A bad habit that he never wanted the other staff here to see.

  “Come in,” he said.

  The door opened, and Amy popped her head in. “Safe to come in?” she asked.

  “Yup, all clear,” he replied, sighing a little. The rest of the base might be oblivious, but Amy at least knew something had gone down with Carmen in the Hopper. She might not know what, but they’d been working together for too long for her to not know.

  She slipped into his office. It was a tight squeeze in here for two adults, with his desk and chair taking up a lot of the room already. Amy didn’t let that slow her down. She parked herself on the edge of his desk, and set two drinks down.

  Patrick glanced at the cups. “Beer? Not even gonna ask how you got a hold of these.”

  “Good. Don’t. Just enjoy ‘em,” she replied with a smile. She popped the top off her own beer and leaned back against the wall, sipping her drink.

  Patrick shrugged, popped the top of his, and sat back in his chair, eyeing Amy. She wanted something from him. That much was clear. The best way to find out what she was after was to sit her out, let her spill it. She’d never been a patient sort. He shouldn’t have to wait long.

  He was right. She drew another gulp from her drink and sighed theatrically. “Damned stupid thing you did out there in the Hopper,” she said.

  “Oh?”

  “Her dad could make all sorts of shit for you,” Amy said. “And you know it. And you messed about anyway. Putting your whole career on the line for a piece of ass, Pat? What the fuck?”

  “Doctor Rosa and I are getting along just fine,” Patrick replied.

  She made a humphing noise in her throat. “You do her?” Amy asked. Blunt as always.

  Usually, Patrick was able to handle her directness. He even liked her for it. But today, it threw him, and he wasn’t sure why. He flushed scarlet at the thoughts invading his imagination. “No, I didn’t,” he said. But oh yes, he had wanted to.

  “Hmmm. I would have thought you’d been in her pants, the way she was acting. Got close though, Pat?” She leaned forward, bringing her face only a few feet from his. “This close?”

  She slid off the desk, then, and sat down on his lap. Amy wasn’t a small woman, but in the lunar gravity she only weighed thirty pounds or so. It wasn’t her weight that took his breath away. Amy’d never put any moves on him before. Where the hell was this coming from?

  Before he could react, she wrapped her arms around his neck and brought her face nose to nose with his.

  “This close, maybe?” she asked in a husky whisper. “Or closer?”

  Patrick could smell the beer on her breath. She’d clearly had more than just a few sips this evening. “Packed a couple away for courage before you came up here?” he asked drily. He kept his voice level, but it wasn’t easy.

  “Maybe I did,” she drawled, running fingers through his hair.

  “Amy, we are so not doing this,” Patrick said. He lifted his arms to untangle her fingers.

  “And why not? Pat, if you wanted a bed buddy, all you had to do was ask me. You didn’t need to go hunting up the skirt of some groundsider.”

  She leaned in close, her lips darting to find his. For a moment Patrick considered giving in. It had been a hell of a day, and he could sure use some way to vent some steam. But that wasn’t the relationship he and Amy had. And it wasn’t the relationship he wanted with her. Besides, the person he really wanted to be kissing was Carmen. Making do with Amy wouldn’t be fair to any of them. Gently, he pushed her away. Her tongue darted against his lips insistently for another second, but then she backed off. She was still sitting on his lap, but her arms were no longer wrapped around him. Her eyes were wide open, staring at him.

  “Shit. You care about that girl, don’t you?” she asked, stunned. Slowly, she uncoiled herself from his lap. “Oh shit, Pat. You are so in it deep. You have no idea.”

  Amy stood up, still babbling things that Patrick simply didn’t understand. In it deep? He was willing to admit to himself that he did care about Carmen – more than was safe, maybe. But how did that make him in it deep? She was shaking her head, her eyes still wide.

  “Oh, Pat. I am so sorry,” she said. She grabb
ed her beer from his desk and downed the rest of it in a single gulp. “I thought I could save you the heartache, but…”

  Amy turned to go, opened the door, stepped halfway out, and turned back.

  “How did you fall in love with her so fast?” she asked.

  And then she was gone before he could say a word, out his door and down the hall, leaving him gaping. In love? Him? He’d had dates. Hell, everyone went out and had a little downtime party time when they were on Earth, it was only natural. But love? That was something for groundsiders, or for those people lucky enough to find someone they could partner off with on the moon base. Which didn’t happen often. And if you married someone while you were out here, the moment either person got a transfer, both halves of the couple were straight back to Earth. The powers that be didn’t want to be responsible for splitting up families. So most people who wanted a long space career stayed single, these days.

  Love wasn’t something he’d ever looked for. Or thought much about. He loved the moon. He loved his work here. He loved flying the shuttle back and forth between his birthplace and his home. But finding a person to love? Crazy talk.

  And yet, when he touched his feelings about Carmen, he could feel the intense emotions around their far-too-short time in the shelter together. That was sex. He could recognize that. But he touched pain, too – pain at the thought of losing her, pain at the thought of not seeing her face again. In his experience, love meant pain. Joy, too. Sure. But you knew it was love when it hurt.

  Which meant Amy was probably right, as usual.

  But what the hell did that mean for him? Carmen wasn’t going to be staying out here. She and her father’s team would solve the mystery of the virus, and then they’d be going home again. And he certainly planned to stay out in space for as long as he was allowed to. He had no real interest in going back to Earth to stay, not anytime soon, anyway. There was still too much to do out here, too much to explore and see.