Tiera's Earth (Andromeda 9 Book 1)

by Ethan T. Marston

  As she climbed the steps to his third-floor apartment, she tried to distract herself by looking out at the city, its rounded and flowing buildings huddled together against the night like luminous seafoam on a black shore. This distraction worked so well that when Tiera finally reached Daven’s door she almost knocked. He’d probably think I was a caveman, Tiera thought with a smile, then she opened her fist and pushed her palm against the door. In an instant the door was open. Tiera wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Daven had kept her palm print in the apartment’s security even after she moved out.

  “Hello? Daven?” Tiera called out as she stepped through the doorway, throwing her white coat on the couch to her right. Most of the lights were dimmed on the first floor, but the balcony-like second floor seemed to be well lit.

  “I’m in the kitchen!” Daven shouted from upstairs, and Tiera started climbing the crystalline staircase to the left, running her hand over the familiar patterns carved into the wall. They—Tiera, Daven, Darshy, and Byrani—had had several other dinners here after that disastrous first, but it still felt like forever since Tiera had been here last.

  Prison changes a woman, Tiera thought jokingly—but then she supposed in some ways it had. And that brought her mind back to the task at hand.

  Tiera had asked Daven if he wanted to have dinner with her as soon as she finished talking to Xana that afternoon. She had meant the next day, given the short notice, but Daven insisted she come over tonight. He even suggested they invite Darshy and Byrani, but Tiera wanted to ask for their help one at a time—she was afraid one refusal would turn into three if they were all together.

  So there she was, walking through Daven’s open dining room and toward where he was working in the kitchen, hoping to sign him onto a covert mission designed by a known terrorist—and led by a crazy Earth woman with a criminal record.

  “Hi!” Daven practically shouted as soon as he turned around and saw Tiera. His back had been turned as he took the lids off of the trays of food on the kitchen counter—they were small trays, but it was still a lot of food. “How are you? I mean, you just got out of prison—are you okay? It feels like it’s been forever! Can I hug you?”

  Tiera laughed. “Fine,” she said, feigning annoyance as she lifted her arms. But now that she was with Daven again she realized that she had actually missed him. A lot more than she thought she would, at least.

  Pulling her in for a tight hug, Daven kept talking of course, his mouth just above her ear. “And your hair is so short! Did they make you shave it? And when are you going to have your tattoos removed? And why are you wearing your Earth clothes again? They didn’t take the clothes I bought you, did they?” Daven pulled away, his hands on Tiera’s shoulders, and asked her very seriously, “Do you need new clothes? I can buy you some after dinner.”

  “No, no—that’s okay. I just . . . ” Tiera tried to put into words what she had been feeling since she got back. She first felt it when she was out grocery shopping earlier that day—when hardly anybody looked at her like they used to. Since her hair was almost Faroan now, she must have looked more normal to them. With their hairstyle and their clothes, she looked almost exactly like them now, and she didn’t want to. Tiera wanted them to be sure she was still that Earthling girl—she was still nothing like them. It’s like I’m acceptable now, and I wasn’t before. And so she wore her short-sleeved Earth shirt, her tattoos on full display. All of that was a bit too heavy an explanation for Daven, of course.

  “I just want to carry Earth around with me,” Tiera finally said. “Now that I don’t have my hair, I want to dress like I did there.” Tiera shrugged, and Daven let his hands fall to his sides. “Though I guess I only have one outfit from Earth. But I could just wash it every day.” Tiera frowned. “Or every other day. I can live with that.”

  “Tiera. I’ll just take you to a tailor. You don’t have to smell bad to be true to your culture.” Daven grinned. “Though that wouldn’t be too far off, from what I smelled while I was on Earth.”

  “Hey! That was pollution, not people!” Tiera said, hitting Daven on the arm. “And thank you, I might just take you up on that. I haven’t seen any material here like this though.” She gave her blue jeans a tug.

  “I’m sure they can figure it out. Anyway, let’s eat!” Daven grabbed her a plate and led Tiera over to the open trays, which were filled with some of the exact same dishes that she had eaten at Xana’s parents’ house a few weeks ago.

  “Is this from The Turkey—um, place? They’re really good!”

  “What!” Daven groaned. “You’ve already been to The Turkey Taster? When? How?”

  “Xana’s parents ordered it for us when I had dinner at their place—before prison and all that.” Tiera started piling food onto her plate, and Daven grumpily followed suit. “Definitely try the sweet potatoes.”

  “Right,” Daven muttered, and Tiera couldn’t help but enjoy how much this was bothering him.

  “So,” she began, taking a seat at Daven’s dining room table, “I bet you were wondering why I told you not to invite Darshy and Byrani. It’s because I have something . . . sensitive to talk about.”

  Daven sat down opposite her, and Tiera had a clear view of the city behind him through the giant apartment window. “Yeah? What would that be?”

  “You can start eating, you know,” Tiera told him before taking a bite of some unknown vegetable. “It’s just—I mean, we’ve been friends for a while, right? And you trust me?”

  “Yeah! Yeah, of course!” Daven still hadn’t touched his food.

  “Well,” she took another bite, then saw that Daven had his fork in a death grip. I just need to get on with it. Tiera took a deep breath, hoping to slow her heart rate. “I have a plan. To save the Earth, I mean.”

  “Oh! Okay.” Daven visibly relaxed, then took such a heaping bite of food that he had to cover his overflowing mouth while he chewed.

  What did he think I was going to say? Tiera took another deep breath. Whatever. She continued, “If I even tell you my plan you could get in trouble. Maybe with the government, but definitely with your university. So if you’re not willing to risk your degree for me—and for the seven billion people on my home planet—say so now, and I’ll leave you out of it. But . . . just know that I need you. I need your help to make this work.”

  Daven stared at his plate for several seconds, considering. “Tiera,” he finally said, keeping his eyes on his plate, “you just got out of prison. Do you really think this is a good idea?”

  Tiera felt like the wind had just been knocked out of her—she had decided to approach Daven first because she thought he was the most likely to help. “Daven, they’re going to destroy my galaxy in a month! Do you expect me to just stand by and watch?”

  “Even if whatever you’re planning works—and I’m sorry, but I doubt it will—it sounds like you’ll just get thrown into prison again! Do you think I want that for you?” Daven looked up from his plate, and Tiera was surprised to see that he was angry. “Besides, just look at your last attempt! Tiera, you’re not going to convince Parliament. You’ll only make it worse—just like last time.”

  “‘Make it worse’? ‘Like last time’?!” Tiera was having a hard time not shouting. “Daven, you were one of the ones that told me Parliament had all but decided to pass the Galactic Defense Bill. And that was before my ‘last attempt’! At least I’m trying to do something instead of sitting in my cozy apartment and letting an entire planet be murdered!”

  “But there’s nothing you can do.”

  “You don’t even know my plan yet!”

  “I don’t need to know your plan!” Daven was shouting now too. “To know that it won’t work! You’ll just get us both thrown in prison! Do you think I testified for you in court just for you to go back?” He put his hand to his head. “Do you want to go to prison?”

  “I AM IN PRISON!” Tiera hated herself for it, but she started crying. “I’m being held here against my will
, Daven. I’m being kept away from my home—away from my family!” She was forced to bring her voice down as she tried to fight the flow of tears. “It doesn’t matter if it’s here or on some rock on Hyran.” A moment of silence passed between them, and Tiera stared fixedly down at her plate.

  “Tiera,” Daven’s voice was much gentler now, but Tiera still couldn’t stand to look at him.

  “You were supposed to say yes,” she said to her plate. “You were supposed to help me.”

  Without warning, Tiera jolted up from her chair and tried to get away as quickly as she could, walking briskly for the staircase and then down toward the front door.

  “Tiera, wait.”

  Tiera heard Daven’s dining room chair scoot back, but she didn’t turn around. She just grabbed her coat from the couch and put her palm on the door, which for once couldn’t open fast enough.

  “Tiera!”

  She turned and glared at Daven, who was leaning over the second-floor balcony with a worried look on his face. “Why did you testify for me in court?” she spat, then she turned on her heel and left.

  ***

  This is it. Darshy is my best chance right now. Tiera climbed down the white stairs that led to Darshy and Byrani’s basement apartment, stepping on a few crunchy leaves as she did so. It was already past 15 in the afternoon, so Darshy should have already gotten home from his part-time welding job—he said he worked the morning shift, but he didn’t give Tiera a specific time to come over. He just said “in the afternoon.”

  Pausing in front of their door, Tiera tried to psych herself up—she really needed a boost after last night. That didn’t go at all the way I hoped it would. She didn’t know how many of Daven’s messages she had ignored since then, but she wasn’t about to count. Think of something else, she thought desperately. Thinking of Daven was only making her more nervous.

  Tiera closed her eyes and reached forward, pressing her palm onto the door before letting her hand drop. She tried to think of her first conversation with Darshy—the one where he told her about how he had friends that became insurrectionists and that he understood their reasoning, even if he disagreed with it. He’ll understand my reasoning too. He has to.

  “Um. Tiera? What are you doing?”

  Opening her eyes, Tiera saw that Darshy was standing right in front of her, dressed in a loose red jumpsuit that popped against his cocoa skin. She didn’t hear the door open. “Sorry. I—I’m just tired I guess. I thought I would hear your door.”

  “You have a right to be tired after what you’ve been through. And I keep this thing pretty well lubricated, so you definitely shouldn’t hear it.” Darshy flashed Tiera a smile, then scooted out of the way. “Come on in!”

  “Thanks.” Tiera walked inside, following the stocky man into his poorly lit apartment. Its layout was similar to her own apartment, except the doorway between the living room and the kitchen was much narrower, hiding most of the kitchen from view. Actual posters covered most of the space on their walls, and jackets, socks, bags, dishes, and trash were just a few of the things that she noticed lying around. She understood now why Daven would always host their dinner nights.

  “It gets brighter at night,” Darshy said, peering over his shoulder as he led Tiera into the living room. “The floors glow.”

  “Really? That’s cool,” Tiera said, looking down at the polished white floor—or the patches of it that weren’t covered in Darshy and Byrani’s mess. “Even in the bedrooms? I would have a hard time sleeping if it wasn’t dark in my room.”

  “We have rugs,” Darshy said, shrugging. “Please, have a seat.” He sat down on what looked like a black bean bag, and motioned to the green one next to him. Tiera quickly discovered that they must have been filled with some sort of thick liquid as she slowly sank into it.

  “Is Byrani home right now?” Tiera tried to ask casually.

  “She’s in her room. Do you want me to get her?”

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll talk to her eventually, but I wanted to talk to you first.” Tiera awkwardly pulled off her long, Faroan coat to reveal her Earth clothes underneath—and her green tattoos.

  “Awesome clothes! Those are from Earth, right?” Darshy smiled, leaning forward to pinch the loose fabric near the calf of Tiera’s jeans. If he noticed her tattoos, he definitely didn’t let it show.

  “Yeah. Xana and I just saw a tailor this morning to make some copies, actually. Anyway—”

  “Are you and Xana a couple?” Darshy asked nonchalantly, leaning back into his chair.

  “What? No, we’re friends!” First Natalie and now Darshy? Do I look like a lesbian? Tiera frowned. Do lesbians even have a look?

  Darshy shrugged. “No need to get uptight about it—Byrani wanted to know is all.”

  “Does Byrani think I’m a lesbian then?” Tiera asked, but as soon as she said the word “lesbian” she realized it had no translation in Original.

  “Lesbi-what?” Darshy wrinkled his nose and laughed at the English word. “That almost sounds like the North Rencinite word for slug! What does it mean?”

  “Never mind,” Tiera said quickly, then she lowered her voice. “Can Byrani hear us from her bedroom though? I want our conversation to be private.”

  “Her bedroom door is shut, and we made the rooms practically soundproof, so you’re good to go,” Darshy said. Then he gave Tiera a sly look. “So what are we talking about?”

  “I need your help.” Tiera decided not to dawdle about it, especially if Byrani could walk in at any moment, and maybe if she was fast about it her nerves wouldn’t have time to react—her anxiety was slower now that she was on meds, after all. “I have a plan to save the Earth, but I don’t have the skills to do it alone.”

  “You have a plan? Is it anything like what you did to Parliament’s guards?” Darshy sat forward, his tone animated.

  “There won’t be any violence, if that’s what you’re asking,” Tiera said wryly. “But if I tell you the plan you could get in trouble for knowing and not doing anything to stop me. I need you to understand that. Some parts of the plan will be illegal, and others may get you thrown out of the Technological University. And there won’t really be a way to hide what we did once we’ve done it, so some form of trouble is practically guaranteed.”

  “Hmmm.” Darshy leaned back again, sinking farther into his chair as he stared at the faint white glow of the ceiling. He kept his expression blank for the next minute or so, but eventually it turned into a tight-lipped frown. He looked over at Tiera at that point. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but if you won’t tell me the details first, I definitely can’t agree to help. And I’m not sure if I could with the details either.”

  “But why?” Tiera tried not to feel personally attacked, but each rejection made it harder. “So many people—my family, my friends—they could all die if we don’t do something to save them. Goodness knows Origin won’t!” Tiera thought that Darshy of all people would understand.

  “I’m so sorry, Tiera.” Darshy took one of Tiera’s hands in both of his. “I know what it’s like for the government to let you down. But if I don’t play according to Origin’s rules, I’ll never be able to change anything for my friends and family.” He looked down at their hands. “It was a fluke that I was even allowed to come here—they set the test score requirements so high that we were practically set up to fail. But somehow I did it. And I’m sure they’d love any reason to take it all back from me.” Darshy looked back up, and Tiera was surprised to see that his eyes were glossy with unshed tears. “And I can’t afford to lose this chance, Tiera. I can actually change things when I go back to Rencin. Please understand.”

  He’s almost as stuck as I am, Tiera realized. She squeezed her eyes shut. Almost.

  “But this is the only chance my planet will ever get,” she said softly, and when she opened her eyes Darshy was looking at the floor. “I can’t save Earth alone; I need someone from Kert’s old research lab or it’ll never work.” Tiera struggled to sound conv
incing—she just felt so numb. “You won’t help me. Daven won’t help me. If Byrani won’t help me—”

  “I’ll help you.” Byrani’s voice echoed from the kitchen, and she stepped into the doorway that separated it from the living room.

  Tiera’s head snapped up. “What?” she asked, feeling both shocked and hopeful. “How much of that did you hear?”

  “Enough to know that I could go to jail,” she said, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms. “So what’s this plan of yours?”

  Chapter 22

  “Look to your right, like you’re talking to her,” Xana said through the smart glass in Tiera’s coat pocket. Her voice was slightly muffled, but still understandable.

  “Like this?” Tiera asked, looking toward Byrani as they walked down one of the many white halls of the Technological University’s lab building.

  “Yes. Now keep doing that until you pass that big plant ahead.”

  Side by side, Tiera and Byrani made their way to Kert’s old lab as inconspicuously as they could. Tiera's white coat blended in well with the students' sleeveles lab coats, and she was even wearing Faroan-style clothing underneath it, just in case the coat wasn't enough—and on top of all that Xana was making sure the building’s surveillance cameras didn’t get a full shot of Tiera’s face.

  “Okay, now just look ahead until you get to the elevator at the end of the hall.”

  “Then what?” Byrani asked. “What direction is the camera facing inside of the elevator?”

  A door to their right opened suddenly, and a small group of students began to file out. Xana didn’t respond until Tiera and Byrani were well past them, but by then they were almost at the elevator. “The camera is on the opposite side, facing the door. But I think if Tiera walks in backwards that would arouse even more suspicion than her mere presence here,” she said thoughtfully.