Pegasus Colony (People of Akiane: A Colonization Science Fiction Novel Book 1)

by Phyllis Moore

  “Endurance?” I asked.

  “The name for the place in which we live,” Cameron explained.

  “The entire habitat? This building and the gardens?” I asked to be sure I understood him correctly.

  “We live inside Endurance, yes,” Cameron confirmed. “We named it Endurance for we have endured much.”

  The name of the habitat was not in the files I’d read, but I could understand why they named it Endurance. After these people were stranded here, light-years from Earth, they needed a place to survive and thrive. So they built this habitat, which helped them endure the harshness of the outside weather.

  The name reminded me of Sir Ernest Shackleton, captain of the ship Endurance in 1912. He and his crew sailed for the Antarctic, but never made it. Winter came early that year and trapped the ship in the ice surrounding the Antarctic. The ship and her crew became famous for the incredible journey they endured and the fact that they all survived. Just like these people.

  It was beginning to look like the colonists had brought much of Earth’s different cultures with them and incorporated them into their lives here: such as the Inuit tupilak and now Shockleton’s Endurance.

  My father would have loved it here. He’d have fun untangling their cultures and lifestyles. It was the kind of thing he liked to do and was always talking about. I wished I could trade places with him. But I realized if he were still alive, there would be no need to trade places. I wouldn’t be here. I’d still be on Earth with him.

  Cameron stared at me as if he might be reading my mind. It made me nervous.

  Zhoa asked him, “Will you also provide fish?”

  Our guides stepped back in horror. “We . . . You . . . ” Jecidia stammered.

  I was surprised their composure and confidence could be so easily shaken.

  “We did not anticipate your asking for fish,” Cameron said.

  Zhoa was now equally taken aback. “I didn’t mean to offend. Do you not eat fish?”

  “Fish are for chovis,” Jecidia said.

  Chovis? That was a word I had not heard before. I was about to ask what or who a chovis was when Cameron confirmed, “No, we do not eat fish.”

  “Then neither will we,” Gino said, quickly stepping into the conversation.

  A few voices from the scientific fish-eating crowd objected.

  “We will not offend our hosts by eating fish,” he said loudly.

  Reluctantly, the crowd subsided.

  Cameron nodded.

  Now Jecidia studied me, also trying to understand something. I didn’t like the way those men scrutinized me. It made me feel small and insignificant. I ducked my head.

  Lu ran to Gino’s side, out of breath. “La-ary, t-t-the toilets a-a-are dr-rainages. S-s-stalls don’t have d-doors or cur-r-tains.” She sounded on the verge of hysteria.

  “Get a grip, Lu,” he said.

  Rona ran up and grabbed his arm. She practically yanked him off his feet as she pulled at him.

  “Come,” she said. “You have to see this. You all do.” She proceeded to drag him through the room, around the pile of crates and into one of the doors to the left of the room.

  We all followed.

  As soon as Gino saw why Rona and Lu were so distraught, he pulled his arm out of Rona’s grip and grunted, “This is not going to work.”

  Chapter 11

  Larry Gino

  Accommodations

  BEHIND THE door was another room the exact size as the first room. In it were five rows of perfectly aligned bunk beds. Gino didn’t need to count. He knew. There were 103 beds, one for each scientist, the two cooks, and Jessica. These colonists expected them to live, bathe, dress, and sleep, men and women, all in one room.

  This was why the luggage was in one large pile. The military movers thought each person would choose the bed they wanted and place their things next to it. They should have said something. Maybe they thought this was funny.

  “Well, this will be interesting living arrangements,” Mathieu said, with a slightly uneasy laugh.

  “No,” Lu scolded him. “This is no time to be joking.”

  “Lu, don’t be so dramatic,” Gino said, “I doubt anyone likes this arrangement.”

  The military might think it was efficient, but civilian Ppeople didn’t do well with everyone in one room. No one would want this.

  “Where are the bathrooms?” Olivia demanded.

  “Against the wall.” Lu groaned.

  Faucets for washing hands and showerheads stuck out all along the far wall. Underneath each was a drain. There were no dividers or curtains.

  “Don’t these people know what year this is?” Olivia asked. “We have modern conveniences. We even have new technology.”

  “Yeah, but they weren’t on Earth for all of it,” Mathieu said.

  “We’re supposed to shower in the open for all to see.” Olivia wrapped her arms around her plump body. “No,” she said weakly.

  “And we are to pee and crap for all to view,” Gino said. “Personally, I have no desire for anyone to watch me, man or woman.”

  “I agree with Gino.”

  “I don’t relish the thought.”

  “Well, I’m not going to.”

  “I don’t care how progressive we’ve become, I’m not sharing a room with sixty-eight men,” Olivia said. “Larry, what are you going to do about this?” Olivia was one of the few people who called Larry Gino by his first name.

  Gino braced himself for a fight. He feared Jessica would tell Olivia and everyone else that this was a military operation. Sometimes, you have to put up with crap while under orders. Instead, she crunched up her face in disgust. She didn’t like it any more than the rest of them. He let out a soft sigh.

  Evidently, feelings were mutual. A couple of the youngest thought it was funny, but they were quickly shut down.

  Sharing a room with several men would be bad enough, but 103 men and women would not do at all. The thought of bathing or dressing in front of so many people was un-nerving.

  “Jessica!” Olivia rounded on her as if this was all her fault. “What are you going to do about this?”

  “Me? Why me?” Jessica jumped with surprise.

  “You’re in charge, aren’t you?” Olivia said. “You’re the lieutenant from WSC. You’re the negotiator.”

  “Enough,” Gino said softly, “I am team leader. I’ll talk to them.”

  “Well, you had better,” Olivia demanded.

  Before he spoke to their hosts, Gino thought it best to first deal with Olivia. He took her by the arm and gently pulled her to one side.

  Speaking under his breath, he asked, “Olivia, what’s the real problem?”

  She leaned in so close, her curls brushed his face, and quietly whispered, “I can’t dress in front of men. I can barely do it in front of women.” Anything else she might have wanted to say seemed caught in her throat.

  She again wrapped her arms around her chubby body as if he might see her naked.

  He wouldn’t have thought Olivia had a vulnerable bone in her body. Still, he couldn’t blame her. He didn’t relish the thought of all those women watching him tramp around in his underwear.

  “I will deal with this, but you have to keep your mouth closed,” he said. Olivia had a problem with expressing herself appropriately, often insulting those around her. He was afraid of what their hosts might do if she insulted them. “You’ll make things worse for our living situation.”

  She nodded. “You take care of it and I’ll stay out of it.” He hoped she’d keep her promise.

  Gino hurried back through the crowd to find their guides, but they were gone. Gino panicked. As he ran thought the room to the exit faster than he thought possible.

  “Wait!” he called to the men just as they were about to disappear around a corner of bushes.

  They stopped. Cameron took a few steps toward him.

  Gino almost insulted them himself by bellowing in his usual manner, What do you think you’re d
oing? Just how far does your dislike for us go? Just . . . Just . . . He realized he sounded like Olivia. This would not do. Before he created an interplanetary rift, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

  His wife’s face loomed in his mind’s eye. She would have objected to his sour attitude. She always did. But it was in him to yell and be gruff. He was rarely angry, truly angry; he just wanted to make people laugh and not take life so seriously.

  Gino knew these men would not understand his brand of humor. He needed to speak calmly. He took another deep breath.

  “Is there a problem?” Cameron politely asked.

  “Ah, yes,” Gino said. “We can’t all live in one room.”

  Everyone had followed Gino and now stood in a semicircle behind him, waiting for the outcome.

  “Explain.” This was good. Cameron seemed genuinely concerned for their needs.

  Pointing in the direction of their living area, Gino said again, “We can’t all live in the same room.”

  “Why not?” Jecidia asked.

  “Because it is unacceptable for us to do so,” Gino said.

  Jecidia looked mystified. They both did.

  Gino’s stomach did a flip-flop. Please, help me make them understand, he silently prayed.

  “What is the problem?” Cameron asked. Did he really not know?

  Gino’s mind raced. He was good at bellowing, but that wouldn’t work here. He needed to convince them without offending them.

  “In the same way you do not eat fish,” he said, “it is not socially acceptable for us to live together in one room.”

  “We live in one room.” It appeared that Jecidia’s mind would not be easily changed.

  “All of you?” Gino asked.

  “All of us,” he confirmed.

  Pausing to consider his next words, Gino said, “It’s socially improper for us to do so.”

  Jecidia had just said it was socially improper for them to eat fish; they should understand the predicament.

  The crowd around them murmured and scuffled about nervously.

  “You require how many rooms?” Cameron asked.

  Good. He understands, Gino thought.

  Lu pulled at Gino’s sleeve. He tried to ignore her. She continued to pull.

  He had told Olivia to remain quiet. He now realized that he should have told all of them to stay out of this conversation.

  “We only need . . .,” he began.

  “Many,” Lu blurted out.

  “Many?” Jecidia asked, surprised and alarmed.

  Gino inwardly moaned. Lu would make things worse if she didn’t keep quiet. They’d be stuck with that one large dormitory. He glanced at Olivia. He would be the one blamed, not Lu.

  There’ll be no controlling Olivia now, he feared.

  Lu whispered. “Each married couple needs their own room.”

  At launch, there had been only two married couples, but thanks to Cupid’s, and the captain’s authority to perform marriage ceremonies, there were now nine, not to mention those who were in relationships, and each couple desired their own private space.

  Gino had been young once. He knew couples had a knack when it came to finding privacy.

  Maybe he could get three rooms, one for women, one for men, and one for the married couples to share as they pleased.

  Rona whispered in his other ear, “We need dust-free work areas.”

  He didn’t look at her. The workroom was large enough for all of them to set up individual workspaces. These young ones demanded too much. They were going to get kicked out of Endurance and sent home in defeat before they even started their research projects. Gino hadn’t come all this way just to be escorted back to the transport ship empty-handed.

  With a pleading gesture, he said, “We require three rooms for our living arrangements, and please, our work area requires special consideration.” He quickly gave Rona and Lu a look of warning that said no more comments.

  Jecidia gasped. Cameron’s shoulders slumped slightly. He bowed his head in disappointment.

  “We hunt for you. You expect us to pollinate your plants. Now we are to rebuild your living area?” Jecidia sighed unhappily. “Perhaps Adumie is right. You think us servants.”

  “No! That is not our intention.” Gino was both surprised and appalled that they would think such a thing. “We need your help to meet some of our needs. That is all.” He motioned toward the scientists around him. “We are willing to compromise.” They groaned in concern for what he was about to suggest.

  He turned back to their guides. “For now, we will settle for one more sleeping room than the one you have given us.”

  He raised his hand before anyone could object. They quieted.

  “As we get to know each other better, and with your help, we would very much like to discuss different accommodations for our needs,” Gino said.

  “We have survived for 321 years without your interference. Now you come expecting us to obey your every command?” Jecidia said.

  “No!” Gino exclaimed. “No we demand nothiing.”

  “No?” Jecidia echoed.

  Cameron pulled Jecidia into a huddle.

  It was a tense moment as everyone watched the two confer. But by their animated gestures, it seemed to be more of an argument. Once finished, Jecidia stiffly shuffled off. He had trouble walking.

  Cameron returned to Gino.

  “In time we may discuss different accommodations,” he said. “But, for now . . .” he waved toward their rooms, and bowed his head apologetically, “. . . you must overcome your differences.” He turned and left.

  As soon as the two men disappeared from sight, questions erupted.

  “How can they say no?”

  “Don’t they understand?”

  “How can they all live together?”

  “How can we all live in one room?”

  Someone asked, “Why do they think we want them to be our slaves?”

  “I have no idea,” Gino answered to all of the questions.

  “They are a bit testy, don’t you think?” Olivia asked.

  “What are we going to do?” Rona asked.

  “Jessica, do something. You’re WSC.” Olivia frequently demanded her requests.

  “You work for World Space Coalition just like I do,” Jessica said. “You talk to them.”

  “You were ordered here as liaison,” she said. She kept talking, pressing her point. Jessica turned her back and walked away.

  Olivia kept talking. Only now she’d turned on Gino. “Are you even listening to me? What are you going to do about this?”

  “Olivia, it won’t do any good,” Jorg said. “They don’t want to help us. Gino did the best he could.”

  “He didn’t try hard enough,” Olivia said. “Maybe Jessica should have yelled at them instead of me. Maybe then Gino would have gotten something done. He’s so fond of yelling, maybe he should have yelled at them.” She jabbed a finger toward the dorm room. “I’m not living like that.”

  “It’s no one’s fault, Olivia,” Rona said. Hopefully, she could shut Olivia up before someone slugged her.

  But Olivia was not the type to just let go.

  “Someone should have demanded action,” she insisted in her gravelly, grating voice. “Someone should make them understand. I can’t live in conditions like this.”

  “Enough already.” Gino spoke so harshly Olivia shut up. “Their minds were made up before we got here. Nothing Jessica or I could have said would have made a difference.”

  Olivia asked, “What are we going to do?”

  “Make the best of a bad situation,” Jessica said.

  Olivia’s eyes were wide with disbelief. Her mouth opened and closed. For the first time ever, nothing came out. She looked like one of her fish.

  “You people are supposed to be problem solvers. Are you telling me you can only solve scientific problems? What about solving life’s problems?” Jessica asked.

  “Fine. You want a solution? Have Britannia make us w
alls,” Olivia loudly declared.

  “That’s brilliant,” Gino said.

  She smirked.

  “Lu, are there drains and showers along the entire length of the far wall in the dormitory?” Gino asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “There are thirty-five women. We’ll move thirty-five beds to one side of the room, then move the rest of the beds to the other side,” Jessica said.

  “But we’ll still all be in one room,” Lu whined.

  “Yes, but we’ll call Britannia and ask them to make dividing walls before they leave,” Jessica said.

  “Why not just give us an Object Builder?” Rona asked. “Then we can make work areas, too.”

  “Because the machine is built into the ship, besides Britannia has more need for it than we do,” she said.

  “We’ll ask them to build two walls across the dorm room so there are three rooms. Then divide the third room into three rooms for couples,” Gino said.

  “Only three rooms?” someone asked.

  “Sorry, it’s going to have to do. Britannia doesn’t have the time to make a lot of separate rooms,” Jessica said.

  “But only three? Who gets them?” Sean, a newly married engineer, asked.

  “You’ll have to make up a schedule,” Gino said.

  The couples looked dissatisfied, but one of the women said, “It’s better than not ever being alone.” Slowly, reluctantly, the others agreed.

  Good. At least one thing was settled; only a thousand more to go, Gino thought.

  “We should stack the crates and boxes against the wall and make cabinets out of them. We know what’s in them and who needs to get at what. We’ll organize them accordingly,” Spago said.

  Universally, some moaned their objections. “Why bother?”

  “To get them out of the way so we can move around,” Jessica said.

  “We need clean rooms,” voices objected. “Our work will be contaminated.”

  Jessica ran her fingers through her hair. She was becoming stressed over these unexpected circumstances. But she is handling it well, Gino thought.

  “Here’s how I see it. You can quit now, return to Britannia, and go home. You all know that’s my first choice,” Jessica said. “Or you can learn how to work in primitive conditions.”