Talia's Planet

by Heather Lee Dyer

  "I think so," he whispers back.

  The Council connects, and the engineers quiet down.

  "Miss Jade, Commander, are you ready?"

  "Yes, I think so Chairman Lee," answers Destry uneasily.

  "Think so?" Chairman Lee's clipped question straightens my spine.

  "I just mean that I haven't had time to review the plans Miss Jade came up with." Destry sounds like he wants to crawl back into a hole.

  "If you want to delay this meeting, I can go over it with the Commander first," I offer.

  "No, go ahead and let's see what you've come up with, Miss Jade. So far you haven't steered us wrong. You've been able to adapt to whatever situation Captain Kae has put us in. And none of us have come up with any kind of plan that will work." His voice is dark. I thought I would feel justified and relieved when the Council finally saw through Kae. But all I feel right now is concern for making sure we succeed, and fear of Zayn’s reaction to my plan.

  The auditorium vids are laid out in grids of four screens across and three down. No matter where you are in the room, you see in 3D what everyone else is seeing. One screen is the Council members, and the others are the receding form of the Aurora, the Resurrection that is now surrounded by dozens of jump ships and the med habitat, and lastly the Blue Ridge. The next row I put up rotating sensor images of the asteroid belt and the area around Planet 1. The bottom row, right above our heads, I put up the pictures of the galaxy that Planet 2 resides in, streaming it live from Midpoint station's new sensors.

  Immediately, discussions loudly fill the room from both the engineers and the Council. I let them get a good look at all the images before I finally quiet them all down.

  "As you can see, I've turned the majority of Midpoint's sensors toward Planet 2's galaxy. We're getting really good data. Captain Kae's rashness has shown us we need to make a decision before anyone else decides to take off to join her."

  "What do you mean, Miss Jade?" Chairman Lee has to raise his voice above the other council members.

  "What I mean is that Kae and her friends might've been planning something like this for quite a while." I throw up an image from the Blue Ridge's sensors aimed back at the Migration. "Do you see a pattern in the Migration, Chairman? Commander?"

  "That some of the habitats are traveling in groups? That's been going on since the beginning." Destry sounds doubtful.

  "After Zayn showed me Biolab Zeg, I started studying the Resurrection's history and found ship's logs, mostly audio files, concerning Biolab Zeg and two habitat commanders that had issues with it. Am I right, Commander?"

  "Yes, we had issues with them, but we resolved everything." I imagine him grinding his jaw as I've seen both him and Zayn do.

  "You might've resolved that issue, but those people didn't change their politics or beliefs, did they Councilman Lee? At least one of the habitat commanders, anyway."

  "Commander Dru. He was the one that stormed out of our last meeting."

  "And do you see where his habitat is?" I ask.

  Exclamations from the engineers make me smile. They understand what the Council is having a hard time grasping.

  "He's now following Captain Kae," Destry states angrily.

  "It seems so, Commander," Chairman Lee states flatly.

  I feel Zayn's hand on my arm. "So what do we do, Talia? What's your plan?"

  "We’ve already discussed that we need to try to get the Aurora back. I also propose the Council make a decision about Planet 2. It's clear to our engineers that Planet 1 and its system is not sufficient for our needs. I think we should officially turn our focus on Planet 2." I pause and listen for any arguments from the auditorium. It's quiet so I continue. "But with Commander Dru heading out of the Migration, we don't have much time. We need to stop any more people from losing their lives because of Captain Kae."

  I switch to an image of a jump ship bio star fuel engine; its compact design the best in the fleet. "To that end, I propose my previous idea of sending jump ships after her, with several security forces on board. We can tweak the jump ship engines to add speed and burn fuel more efficiently. We'll also send gas cats along." I wipe sweaty palms on my pants. "But with the time and resources expended going after the Aurora, we won't be able to install a bio star fuel plant now in the Blue Ridge. Which we won't need if we can make a decision about Planet 2."

  "This all sounds very dangerous, Miss Jade."

  I frown. "It is, sir. Kae is a dangerous woman who doesn't care about anyone else's life except her own. You tried dealing with her your way, now it's time for something different." I show images of Destry's jump ship. "We have several jump ships in our fleet that have been tweaked over the years and can go after her."

  "You want to send my dad after that crazy woman?" Zayn's barely controlled anger seeps through his words.

  "Just his ship. It’s the most shielded one we have. He doesn't have to go."

  "It's too dangerous. Let's just leave her out there." Zayn removes his hand from my arm.

  I sigh as my stomach clenches painfully. I knew he wouldn't like this part. "We've already been over this. We can't leave her crew out there to die, and we really need the Aurora to help get us get to Planet 2."

  "You have plans to build another bio fuel plant on the Resurrection. We'll just use that one. Leave her out here," Zayn reiterates.

  "You know that would be my first choice, Zayn. But we can't. And she blew the Resurrection's engine to bits. It's going to take time to fix." I bite my lip as I’m stuck between frustration with his arguments and fear that I’m going to lose him.

  "I'll go." Destry's voice is tired, but certain. "It's my jump ship, and it was my complacency with Commander Dru that made me blind to their continued alliance. I need to make this right. Besides, I'm the only one who can take Talia's engine upgrades and add them to my ship. I've modified it too much over the years for anyone else to be able to work on it."

  The Council remains quiet. Are they just watching our drama unfold, or did they mute us?

  "So what are the rest of us supposed to do? Stand around and watch while my dad puts himself into the face of danger."

  "Zayn," I whisper. My heart sinks as I hear the hurt and anger in his voice. Then I feel him back away from me.

  CHAPTER 16

  Divide and Conquer

  I wonder if Zayn will ever be able to forgive me.

  To the Council I say, "Until we get Kae under control, we need to keep working on upgrading the Blue Ridge's engines, and fixing the Resurrection. I also don't think it's safe to send anyone else into that asteroid belt for materials now."

  As expected the engineers are vocal on this point. Chairman Lee speaks over the din; "You said before that we would need those materials in order to reach the new galaxy."

  I pause, knowing what I'm about to tell the Council could get me in a lot of trouble. I wish I could see my engineer's faces right now. They would understand. "Yes, but that was before I made modifications to my dad's bio star fuel upgrade plans." Angry voices from the Council make me smile despite knowing the can of worms I just opened up.

  "Impossible!" A voice I don't recognize speaks up behind Chairman Lee. "We destroyed those years ago, they were too dangerous."

  My whole body tenses and anger blooms within me. "You don't think I know how dangerous tweaking bio star fuel engines are? I watched as my parents burned in that accident!" I bite the side of my cheek until it bleeds.

  Calmer, I continue. "My parents kept copies of all their research in my personal education vid account. When I was old enough to hack their password, I realized what they'd done. I've been studying their research ever since. How do you think I've been able to make our current engines more efficient over the years?"

  "Why didn't you tell us sooner, Miss Jade?" Chairman Lee's demeanor covers the room with a blanket of calm.

  I force my muscles to relax. "I couldn't trust you to protect me as a child. I didn't think I could trust you as an adult. And you did declare
this type of research illegal."

  "Ah, yes I can see how our actions have caused that. I am sorry for our indifference to your situation in the past, Miss Jade. We obviously didn't have all the facts back then."

  I tilt my head toward the vid screen. "Thank you, Chairman Lee. That means a lot."

  "And now I hope we can get on with our business?"

  "Yes, sir." I straighten.

  "So, what's next? We send Commander Mise and our security forces after Captain Kae, and we fix the Resurrection. Then what do you propose?"

  I hear Zayn step off the stage, putting even more distance between us. I groan inwardly, a small part of me breaking, but I force my attention back to the Council.

  "We head for Planet 2. I've shown my dad's plans to several other engineers here on the Blue Ridge." I wait until the Council's indignant murmurs settle down again. "And they've independently run them through computer diagnostics and have found them workable."

  "Is that so? Can we hear from those engineers? Are they there right now?"

  I turn toward the crowd. I hear seats creak as several people get up and come forward.

  "Chairman Lee. Hey, Talia," says David in greeting as he steps close to me. That’s going to help Destry’s attitude. Four other bio star fuel engineers also join me on stage, each greeting the Council and me. David speaks up in his quiet but forceful way. "Miss Jade's plans will not only increase the speed that our habitats can travel, but will also use less fuel. Our tech advances in the last decade have made her dad's plans viable."

  "What about safety? Forgive me for asking, but your parents, Miss Jade, were brilliant, so if their plans were flawed, how can we be sure we won't have another accident?" Chairman Lee asks.

  I open my mouth to answer, but David interjects. "Chairman Lee, our modeling of the improvements to our current bio star engines using Miss Jade's plans have proven to be successful. We also were able to trace her parents' accident back to a small, but important engine part that caused the explosion. It was a recycled part that Captain Kae supplied to them. If they'd been given access to quality materials, the accident might not have happened."

  The dead quiet in the room makes my ears ring. I cover my mouth with my hand and blink back tears. These engineers not only tested my parents' plans, but they also traced them backwards to diagnose what went wrong years ago. The threatening tears prick hot at the corners of my eyes. I knew Kae had something to do with my parents' deaths, but I could never prove how.

  I finally find my voice. "You've already been able to test the models?" I turn toward David.

  "Yes, and our team has been able to improve on your plans with current tech we'd already been working on." By admitting to doing bio star fuel research outside of the Council's permission, my team is putting themselves in the hot seat along with me.

  "Umm... what engine did you try this on?" I can feel Destry's unhappy presence next to me like a hot sun.

  Please don't say the Blue Ridge's engines, David.

  "We used one of the smaller scout ships that has been down in the maintenance bay for a while."

  I let out a long breath. "And did it work?" I knew it would work from my modeling, but to have someone actually try the modifications on a real engine is amazing.

  "It sure did. It has incredible fuel efficiency with twenty-five times the energy output."

  "And how was the structural integrity of the ship with the extra speed?" I bite my lip. If this worked, it would speed up our Migration plans immensely and make my new idea work.

  A different voice speaks up, one that I'm not familiar with. "The test ship didn't have any issues with the extra speed. I'm the head structural engineer on the Miyajima habitat, and I've already started my crews implementing these plans into our habitat's engines. With our Commander's approval, of course."

  I cringe. Triton's geysers, what have I started?

  "It seems that all of your engineers are ignoring Council laws," Chairman Lee spits out. I close my eyes and wait. I hear Destry's quick intake of breath, and the creaking of seats all over the auditorium.

  "Despite the obvious issue of so many laws being ignored in this process, it sounds like we've had some major breakthroughs here. But Miss Jade, how exactly does this help us right now?"

  I open my eyes, relief flooding over me. The Council didn't just shut us down. "The efficiency calculations these engineers came up with are higher than my own projections. With this increase our ships will be able to reach Planet 2 much sooner than ever imagined. And without using excess bio star fuel we won't need the extra resources from the asteroid belt."

  "So we'll make it to Planet 2’s galaxy without running out of supplies or raw materials? Our people were looking forward to having fresh materials from the asteroid belt." I don't recognize this Councilman's quiet voice. Desperation has made all of us bolder.

  I run my fingers over my data cube. I make a few adjustments to my data from what David just old us. I grin as the numbers scroll under my fingertips. "Yes, with my modifications to all of the habitat's engines, the first ones should be able to make planet fall within six months. Our resources should easily last that long."

  Exclamations sound loudly in both rooms. After all we've been through, this comes as a huge shock. We were expecting the trip to take maybe another two years to New Earth. With Planet 2 more than twice the distance, I'm sure everyone expected a delay of several more years on top of that. But I have confidence that my parents were way ahead of their time with their research. This will work.

  "Sounds like your group of engineers have things handled with the engine remodels. Send the Council your working plans and a schedule of ships you will retrofit and when. Now, what about the Resurrection?"

  I frown. "It'll need repairs as well as the upgrades. I'll go there immediately and oversee that one myself. We can split the engineers around the Migration in groups of eight?" I look toward David.

  "Yes, that'll work," he answers happily. I can feel him almost bouncing next to me.

  "Good, then we'll work on a schedule of eight engineers per ship. We should be able to work on four at a time and get all the habitats fully functional in a few weeks." The numbers swirl in my head and I itch to get back to my computer and figure out all the details. But even more, I want to see the engine they've built. I shift anxiously beside the podium wondering when we can end this meeting.

  "Then we just need to know when the Commander will be able to leave to go after Captain Kae. We should have the security forces, four jump ships in total, and a gas cat to the Blue Ridge within the hour."

  My shoulders sag. In the excitement of learning about the success of my parents' research, I had forgotten about this problem. And the hurt I’ve inflicted upon Zayn.

  "I'll leave as soon as they get here," Destry says. “It won’t take long to retrofit my ship.”

  "Good. Be careful, Commander."

  The vid connection closes and we're enveloped in silence momentarily. I turn toward the engineers. "Everyone except the head engineers may be excused for dinner break. We'll draft up a schedule and push it out to your comms." They head out, their conversations sounding hopeful.

  "We'll wait for you down here." David excuses himself and the others that had come forward.

  I lean against the podium and wait, dread settling into the pit of my stomach.

  "Do you really think these engines will work? Are those diagnostics correct?" Destry comes to stand next to me.

  I nod tiredly. "Yes, I trust my parents' research and my own modifications. I’ve studied them thoroughly over the years. And I've learned to trust these engineers. They've worked hard for us this last week."

  "Have any ideas on dealing with Captain Kae?" He tries to make it sound light and joking.

  I shake my head. "Don't get too close to her?" I chuckle. "But, seriously, don't trust her for a minute. Keep yourself and your crew safe. Don't take any chances, Destry." My heart breaks thinking how much danger they're going to be facing.r />
  I feel Destry lean in close. "And what about Zayn? Any ideas in dealing with him?" he asks quietly.

  I tilt my head and listen. "He left?"

  "Sorry. He left as soon as the Council disconnected."

  "Well then, I guess I'm the last one to ask how to deal with him." I shrug. "He'll come around for you. He loves you and his mother. He's just afraid of losing you." I swallow, knowing how terrible that can feel. "And he's mad because I'm the one putting you into danger." I hang my head.

  "It doesn’t help that I haven't been supportive of his change in career. I took it personally, when it didn't have anything to do with me. I'm actually very proud of him, especially in light of all he's accomplished with you, and here on the Blue Ridge."

  I pull my head up. "Really? Then maybe you should tell him that before you leave."

  He squeezes my shoulder and steps off the stage. "I agree. Seems you two need to talk as well."

  A cold chill goes up my spine at his comment. What if Zayn and I can't work through this? For the first time since Captain Reyes I've found someone to love and to be able to trust with my feelings, my fears, and my past. Now, I could lose all that.

  CHAPTER 17

  Leaving the Blue Ridge

  It only takes a few hours to get the engineers organized within their groups and schedules set for the retrofits. All my experience with scheduling gas cats has really given me an ability to organize chaos. We decide that the upgrades will start with the Blue Ridge, since we're all here right now. Then the habitats that are hurting for supplies will be next. Thanks to the Community Circles led by Queen Amira, we have real time updates on each ship.

  David will stay on the Blue Ridge. The Commander officially appointed David as the actual Senior Engineer. It's a great opportunity for David and he will do well in that position. I also found out that he was the one who instigated the research on my parents' accident, and I’ll forever be grateful to him for it.

  "Thanks for encouraging the Commander to give me a chance." David's voice breaks me out of my foggy thoughts.