by Rinelle Grey
Marlee looked at her mother, uncertain, then crossed the room and put her arms around her. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she asked softly. “It would have explained so much.”
There was a long pause, and Tyris thought for a moment that Yasmyn was going to reject her daughter as he suspected she had done subtly over the years. But then she put her arms around Marlee, pulled her close, and began to cry.
Tyris felt a twinge of admiration for the woman. She’d been pregnant when she left Semala, her husband murdered, and yet she had chosen to take a new partner, put up with his crude behaviour, and raise three more children. She was as hard as nails. It was no wonder she didn’t understand Marlee’s sensitivity.
“I... I couldn’t. If I thought about Glesin, about how much it had hurt... it was too hard. So I shut it away,” Yasmyn said, her voice muffled. “I couldn’t bring your father back. I just had to work with what I had.”
Or maybe she did understand it all too well. He could see Marlee, faced with such a tragedy, withdrawing and refusing to feel again as well. Yasmyn had tried to protect herself from the pain, and in the process, had kept her daughter at arm’s length. Would sharing the past with her daughter help her open up, and let them reconnect?
Mother and daughter hugged, rocking back and forth in a long overdue reconnection. Tyris waited patiently, knowing they both needed this moment.
But Weiss couldn’t wait. “You’re not going to let mistakes from that many years ago keep all of us stuck on this hole of a planet are you?”
Both Marlee and Yasmyn turned to glare at him simultaneously. Tyris bit back a laugh.
“Shut up, Weiss,” Yasmyn said succinctly. Then she turned to her daughter. “What do you want to do, Marlee?”
Marlee looked at the other council members then at the closed door behind which most of the villagers were no doubt wondering what was going on. “We can’t stay here,” she said to her mother before she looked around to include the rest of the council. “We’re dying here. Everyone deserves the chance to leave if they want to. I can’t make the decision for anyone but me.”
“And what do you choose?” her mother asked.
Marlee looked at Tyris. She hugged her mother fiercely one last time then crossed the room to take his hand. “I’m going home with Tyris.”
He looked down at her, searching her face. “Are you sure? This is quite a shock. I’ll totally understand if you don’t want anything to do with the Colonies either. I’m going to be with you whatever you choose, so don’t make the decision for me.”
Marlee looked back at him seriously. “I’m not. What is there here for me? Even if we stay together, even if we get terribly lucky and have a baby, what sort of life is there here for a child? Growing up with only a dozen other people they might be able to love? Facing the possibility of never having their own children? What sort of a life is that? The Colonies might have done some terrible things, but even so, there’s more possibility there than there is here.”
Tyris nodded, his expression serious. Then he looked to Nerris and the rest of the council. “Are you going to work with us, or do we take this to the rest of the village and see what their choice is?”
“You wouldn’t,” Kalim’s eyebrows arched down. “You’d risk splitting the village, possibly putting everyone’s lives at risk, just because you don’t like the rules here?”
“No. If this only affected me, I’d happily keep it quiet. But everyone deserves the chance to have their say on this. To decide for themselves if getting off this planet is worth the small risk that this plan won’t work. And this time, the risk is small, isn’t it, Nerris?” He turned to the engineer, one eyebrow raised.
Nerris frowned. He looked at Kalim, then at Yasmyn, and sighed. “The odds of success are high this time. The only risk is if the Tenacity fails to break orbit itself or develops a malfunction, and in that case, it wasn’t going to save us when we needed it anyway.”
The council’s faces were grim. Kalim looked at Yasmyn. “What do you say?”
Yasmyn looked at her daughter. Tyris held her breath. Then she nodded. “It’s time. This decision is too big and far reaching for us to make it without consulting everyone.”
“How much do you plan to tell them?” Tyris asked.
Yasmyn hesitated. Then slowly shook her head. “My husband is not their concern. We’ve let it hold us back for too long. The Colonies betrayed Glesin,” her voice broke, but she took a deep breath and continued. “They betrayed me, but they didn’t betray everyone. Let them base their decision on their own needs. Marlee’s right. There’s no future here for our children. Or our grandchildren, if we ever have any.”
Without the key piece of knowledge, Tyris was pretty sure that the majority of the villagers would choose to leave the planet. She must know that. “Thank you,” he said softly.
“There is one other possibility,” Nerris said. All eyes turned in his direction. “We swap this planet, and the anysogen on it, for another one, a habitable one.”
It was a perfect solution for those who wanted to keep their current way of life and stay away from the Colonies. “But don’t you want tools, materials, even some medical supplies as well?” he suggested.
Nerris shrugged. “That would be good, but if all we can get is a planet, we’d be set.”
“I’m not sure if that will be possible,” Tyris warned. “Inhabitable planets are rare, and the few we’ve found are already occupied.”
“We have quite a bargaining chip though,” Nerris pointed out. “If the Colonies want this fuel badly enough, they just might be willing to accommodate us. What do you think?” He turned to the rest of the council.
One by one, they nodded. All except Weiss.
“You’ve got to be joking!” he demanded. “Give up a fortune for another hunk of rock where we can slave away for the rest of our lives? Not a chance.”
Kalim ignored him. “It seems we’re prepared to try your plan Tyris, if everyone agrees. If you make it back to the Colonies, you can present our terms to them.”
Weiss had been outvoted. He scowled, but there was little he could do.
It was not Tyris’s problem. He turned and threw open the doors. It seemed like the entire village was standing outside. All eyes turned towards him expectantly. “I have a plan to get back to the Colonies and bring a rescue,” he said.
There was a stunned silence for a moment. Then a cheer went up. Tyris grinned and held up his hand. Slowly, the cheers died down.
“It’s not guaranteed, and it does involve using the Tenacity to lift the Hylista out of the atmosphere. There are risks involved and no guarantees I’ll make it. But Nerris agrees that the chances are good.”
Nerris stepped up beside him and nodded. “Tyris’s plan is sound. The council has voted to try it if everyone here agrees.”
Another cheer. There were no doubts what this crowd thought. Jaimma and Beren jumped up and down and hugged one another. Rejan punched a fist in the air. Nelor and Brenda looked at each other, tears in their eyes. Everyone was smiling.
A warm glow filled Tyris. He’d come here with nothing more than a plan to find some fuel and save a way of life he no longer saw any value in. Now, if this worked, he would get to save an entire village of people from living with the effects of anysogen poisoning. The idea was far more uplifting.
“Who’s going to fly the Tenacity?” Nelor called out.
Tyris looked at Nerris and raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me. I’m not a pilot.” Nerris held up his hands.
“Didn’t you fly the Tenacity here?”
Nerris shook his head. “Rejan’s father was our pilot. But he died of cancer more than ten years ago.”
“But you know enough about ships to fly it, right?” Surely he was not going to be stuck here for want of something as simple as a pilot. “I can fly the ship up there, but I can’t land it again. We could leave it in orbit, but I have no idea how long it could maintain it. You could lose
the Tenacity.”
“I’ll do it,” Nelor volunteered. Brenda hung onto his arm, her face drawn. But she didn’t protest.
Everyone turned to look at him. Nerris showed no surprise. “Are you sure? You’ve never flown before.”
“No, but I’ve always wanted to. You have no idea how many times I’ve sat in that pilot’s seat and pretended I was flying. I’ve read all the manuals, all the blueprints, all the flight books. I can do this.” He looked down at Brenda, and squeezed her hand. She smiled nervously back at him.
The council exchanged looks, but since no one else was volunteering, Nelor got his wish.
Chapter 28
Marlee stared around the house, tears choking her throat. Saying goodbye was harder than she’d expected. She and Nelor had built this house together with such high hopes, and it had been her home for two years. The happiest home she’d ever had. And now she’d never see it again.
She gave herself a few moments to say goodbye then squared her shoulders and picked up her bag. She was leaving for something better. A world where she wouldn’t have to say goodbye to the people she loved.
Tyris was already over at the launch site. He’d spent the last week clearing away the undergrowth and checking over the Tenacity with Nerris’s help. Any moment now, he’d attempt to maneuver the Hylista into the body of the older ship. Once that was done, they’d be ready to attempt a take-off.
Her stomach turned over. Would it be successful? Would they make it safely into space? Safely back to the Colonies?
She walked across the field to where the whole village gathered. Tyris was talking to Nerris when she arrived, but as soon as he saw her, he walked over. “We’re ready to load the Hylista, but I wanted to wait till you were here. How are you feeling?”
“Nervous,” Marlee admitted.
Tyris hugged her. “I know it’s scary, going into space for the first time, but I’ve done this many times before. It’ll be fine.”
“But the Tenacity is so old. It hasn’t flown since I was a baby. And it’s all rusty.”
“Nerris and I have checked it thoroughly. The rust is only on the surface, the panels are still sound. But I can’t pretend there aren’t risks. We’ve done our best to make sure this launch is as safe as possible, but it’s not guaranteed. There’s still time for you to change your mind and stay here until I send a rescue ship.” Tyris looked at her, his expression earnest.
She had no doubts he’d send a rescue ship, but she wasn’t prepared to sit by and wait, wondering what was happening until he returned. “No, I’m coming.” She stood up straight.
Tyris smiled and gave her a kiss. His lips, warm and soft on hers, were all she needed. She would happily fly to the end of the galaxy with him.
“Clear space around the ships,” Nerris ordered. “It’s going to be tight getting the Hylista inside, and I don’t want anyone hurt.”
The crowd moved obediently back, forming a large circle around the two ships. Marlee watched Tyris walk up the stairs of the Hylista, her heart in her mouth. Jaimma slipped her hand into Marlee’s and squeezed it.
Tyris’s ship lifted slowly into the air, pivoted on the spot, and advanced on the large opening in the hull of the Tenacity. The entrance was a narrow fit, not more than an arms width on either side, but he didn’t scrape the edge once. The Hylista disappeared into the shadows inside the larger ship, and Marlee let out her breath.
Now they just had to hope the Tenacity could still fly.
“I’m going to miss you, Marlee,” Jaimma hugged her.
“We’ll see each other again soon. On Urslat,” Marlee said stoutly.
“Of course.” Jaimma’s eyes shone. “What do you think it will be like?”
“I have no idea. But we’ll find out soon enough.”
What would Urslat be like? Would she fit in there?
No point dwelling on that now. There’d be plenty of time on the voyage there.
Tyris walked down the stairs and an excited cheer went up. He grinned as he came across to her and held out his hand. “Ready to go?”
Marlee swallowed. This was it. She nodded, unable to speak, and took his hand. They walked towards the Tenacity together.
Her mother stepped forwards. “Take care, Marlee,” she hugged her tightly. “I love you.”
“I will, Mother.” Marlee choked the words out. “I love you, too.” She returned her mother’s hug just as tightly.
Then her mother pulled back and swiped at the corner of her eyes. “You take care of her,” she told Tyris.
He nodded solemnly. “I will.”
Marlee took another deep breath and walked up the stairs behind Tyris. They made their way to the cockpit where Nelor sat checking all the instrument panels.
“Are we ready to go?” Tyris asked.
Nelor nodded. “As ready as we’ll ever be.”
Tyris took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
Nelor nodded and flicked some switches on the console in front of him. Tyris watched him closely. A loud noise rang in Marlee’s ears, and she clutched at the armrests of her chair. The whole ship began to shake so hard Marlee was afraid it was going to break apart. She was thrown back into her seat so strongly that she couldn’t lift her head or arms. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Tyris’s hand came down over hers, and she risked opening her eyes. If the Tenacity did fall apart, she wanted the last thing she saw to be his face.
He was smiling! He mouthed words at her that she couldn’t hear over the sound of the engines, but she knew what they were. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her.
The shaking continued, but Marlee’s fear retreated a little. So far, the ship seemed to be staying in one piece, and no one else seemed worried. She turned her head to where Nelor sat, frowning in concentration. He adjusted a dial.
Tyris tapped her arm, and when she looked over, he pointed at the window next to them. White streaked past them at an unbelievable speed then it was gone. The blue of the sky deepened, turned purple, and then merged into black. The shaking stopped abruptly, and Marlee could move, though her arms and head still felt heavy. Tiny pinpricks of light twinkled around them.
Stars! They were in space! Tyris reached over her shoulder, pointing to the window just behind them, and Marlee turned her head. She gasped.
Below them, blue and white swirled, curving on the edge of the window.
“We made it,” Nelor said jubilantly.
A grin split Tyris’s face. “We did. You did great. The autopilot will bring us into a stable orbit, and then Marlee and I can go to the Hylista.”
The pressure on her chest had decreased now, and Marlee twisted in her seat to watch Zerris floating below them.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Nelor’s voice was filled with awe.
Marlee nodded. “Unbelievable.”
A loud crash caused the whole ship to shudder. Nelor’s happy smile fell, and his eyes widened. He frantically looked down at the instruments in front of him. “What was that?”
Tyris’s mouth twisted into a grim line. “Asteroids. That’s what caused my ship to crash. My shield will protect the Hylista, but this one doesn’t have one. We need to land. Now.”
A second crash shook the Tenacity.
Marlee’s heart sank. Was it going to end like this? After the exhilaration of breaking orbit, were they really not going to make it?”
Nelor pressed buttons rapidly. “No, I think I can hold our orbit long enough for you to get to your ship, but you’re going to have to hurry!”
Tyris shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. The longer we wait, the less chance you’ll have of landing safely.”
“We won’t get another chance,” Nelor said desperately. “You have to go! The Tenacity won’t take off a second time.” He paused then said quietly, “Karla detected a murmur in the baby’s heart. She said that it won’t survive more than a few hours after birth without an opera
tion, one that can only be performed in the Colonies. You have to make it.”
Marlee stared at him, horror filling her. What horrible news.
Tyris stared at Nelor too, his eyes sad.
Marlee unbuckled her seat belt and stood up, nearly losing her footing as another impact shook the ship. She clutched at the armrest and reached out her hand for Tyris. “We have to hurry,” she said.
Tyris fumbled with his belt then stood beside her. He hesitated, looking at Nelor. “Once you open the cargo bay doors, alter your orbit. Don’t wait. We’ll make it out. You land this ship safely. Brenda’s going to need you.”
Nelor nodded, his expression grim. Marlee wanted to say something, wanted to reassure him, but she didn’t know how. She settled for throwing her arms around him. Nelor squeezed back then Tyris pulled her away.
She turned and ran after him down the long hallways. Their footsteps echoed eerily. Several times, shudders shook the Tenacity, throwing them against the walls. But they made it to the cargo bay, where the Hylista lay.
Within moments, they were buckled into their seats. Tyris settled his headset on. “Open the doors.”
He hit a button on the console, and Nelor’s voice filled the room. “Opening cargo bay doors.”
In front of them, the enormous doors slid open, and they were faced with the blackness of space, lit only by the pinpricks of stars. The Tenacity shuddered under them. The view through the doors shifted as the ship dipped.
The Hylista lifted and maneuvered slowly out of the doorway. Marlee winced as the Tenacity tilted under them, and the side of the door seemed to be coming straight at them. There was a quiet bump and then they were through. “We’re out,” Tyris confirmed.
“Good,” Nelor said quietly. “I’m going down.”
Tyris swung the nose of the Hylista around, and they both watched as the huge old ship picked up speed, hurtling towards the planet. An orange glow enveloped it. Marlee bit her lip. Surely it would hold? The Tenacity blurred as her eyes filled with tears. Nelor had to make it.
The clouds blocked their view now. They couldn’t see if the ship made it safely down or not. Marlee sniffled, thinking of Brenda and her unborn baby.