Station Fosaan

by Dee Garretson

  “No!” Mira leaped up. “I can’t stay here. I need to go with you. There’s something else I didn’t tell you.” She moved in so close to me, I found myself wanting to reach out and touch her. I was so distracted, I didn’t focus on what she was saying until I heard the words “marry Tasim.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Ansun thinks he can make me to marry Tasim tonight. I was going to go ahead with it when I didn’t know you were alive, but now I won’t.”

  Mira’s statements stunned me. I didn’t know anything about when Fosaanians got married, but surely Mira was too young. I’d thought she was my age or a little younger. She also said she’d decided not to go through with it because of me. At least that’s what I thought she meant.

  “Wait, Tasim is your cousin. Cousins don’t marry each other,” Lainie said.

  “Why not?” Mira sounded baffled.

  “They just don’t, at least not on Earth,” Lainie replied. “It’s an old cultural taboo, from when genetic disorders couldn’t be repaired.”

  “That’s Earth. It’s not like Fosaanians have many partners to choose from,” Mira said. “But it doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to, at least not today.”

  “You mean you might marry him on a different day?” I asked. I didn’t like the thought of that at all.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not important now. You have to take me with you. I’m good in a fight. You may need me on the station. It will be hard to make this plan work the way you say. I think there will be fighting.”

  To my surprise, Decker said, “She’s right. It’s probably not going to go so easily. She’s quick and knows how to use a knife if we need it. Do you still have the bracelets with those stones in them?” he asked her. “Those are extra weapons we need.”

  Mira nodded and pointed to the pouch attached to her belt.

  I thought for a moment, trying to figure out how we could manage to get Mira aboard the shuttle without anyone knowing. While I was thinking, I picked up another piece of solger and almost took a bite, but the thought of it made me feel sick. It also gave me a new idea. “Mira, what exactly what does the ligitin plant do to people?”

  “It gives people severe pains and makes them feel like they are going to throw up.”

  “And how fast does it act?”

  “Right away, if you get enough on you.”

  It all came together. “Perfect. I need your help to find some. Decker, do you know how to override the auto pilot on the shuttle?”

  “Yes, I sit up with the pilots all the time. It’s just a touch mark.”

  “I don’t suppose you’ve ever actually flown it, have you?”

  “No, but it can’t be that hard.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that, but we didn’t have much choice. I’d have to trust in Decker’s confidence.

  “Okay, here’s what we need from the living quarters.” I went over the list. Teeny, Piper’s bot, was at the top.

  When I finished, Decker said, “You realize you’re the one most likely both to get caught and to make the Fosaanians angry enough to just to go ahead and blast you.”

  “That’s true,” I said, “but I know my way around the station better than you do, and I can’t run the control room as well as Lainie, so I’ll just have to take that chance. We need to get going to get everything together as soon as we can.” I looked up at the sky and the Fosaanian sun to judge the time. “My father’s ship will be arriving soon. We can’t wait.”

  It took us nearly an hour to collect everything. Decker and Lainie went back to the living quarters, which turned out to be empty, making the job much quicker. While I was working on my part, using the leaves Mira and I had collected, the girls disappeared down the beach. Decker fastened the scene setters to the inside back of his shirt, trying to make them unnoticeable. “I’m going to take a look at the station and see who’s there,” he said. “If there are too many Fosaanians, we should wait until later.”

  I didn’t intend to wait, but since I wasn’t ready, I didn’t argue with him. I was so intent on my job that when Lainie reappeared and asked, “What do you think?” I looked up and nearly fell over.

  A strange girl stood next to Lainie, wearing long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a hat. The girl pulled off the hat and the Mira’s curls sprang free. Lainie laughed. “You should see your face. She doesn’t look exactly like an Earther, but we thought a little disguise wouldn’t hurt in case someone spots her on the station. I used some of my mom’s skin finishing lotion.”

  “It fooled me,” I said. “At least at first glance.” I didn’t like the change but I was smart enough not to say so. I wanted Mira to look like Mira, not some stranger.

  “Where’s Decker?” Lainie asked.

  I explained and then said, “I’m done. We can go as soon as he gets back.”

  “I hope he hurries up,” Lainie said. “I hate waiting around.” She headed down the beach. “I’m going to go find him.”

  I was getting impatient too, but it was nice to have a few minutes alone with Mira. She sat down beside me. “You didn’t know me for a moment, did you?” she asked.

  “No,” I admitted. “But only for a moment. Even with the lotion covering up the skele on your cheek and your hair under a hat, I’d know your face.”

  Mira touched her cheek. “I wish I could get rid of the skele forever.” She took off her necklace. “My sister made this for me. She’s very good with her hands.”

  “It’s great,” I said, paying more attention to Mira’s face than the necklace. I didn’t know why we were talking about jewelry unless she was going to tell me the necklace was also a weapon.

  “Look at how all the threads around the stone are intertwined.” She smiled and held the necklace up right in front of me so I had to look at it. “This should be our symbol, not the skele. We all are part of the clan and our lives are intertwined. Each thread strengthens the whole, and not every thread needs to be able to stand alone.”

  I could tell this meant a lot to her so I tried to concentrate on her words. “That’s a better philosophy than the whole mind, body, clan idea,” I said.

  Her smile grew wider. “Yes it is,” she said. “You understand.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked. “Ansun will find out you’ve helped us.”

  “I know. But he has to be stopped. It’s time. We have an old saying that to survive, one shouldn’t go beyond the known. That no longer is true. We have to take chances. I have to take a chance. It’s time to go beyond the known.”

  “Are you ready?” Decker’s voice boomed so close to my ear, I started. I hadn’t heard them come back.

  Mira put the necklace back on. I stood up, trying to remember what we were supposed to be doing.

  “I’m ready,” I said as I pulled on the extra shirt Decker had brought back from the living quarters. It covered my tribow, which I’d placed flat against my back. I handed Teeny to Lainie. That motion made my shoulder ache. Between my shoulder, my eye and the way my muscles trembled, I hoped I could manage to carry out the plan.

  “Ready, Mira?” I asked. “Are you sure you know the spot we described? We’ll give you a few minutes head start.” She nodded her head, pulling at the hat like she had never worn one before.

  We watched her disappear into the jungle. If the plan worked and we made it up to the station, I wasn’t sure I’d ever want to see Fosaan again.

  “Quinn, you look like you are asleep standing up,” Lainie said, startling me. “We’ve given her enough time. We should go.”

  “Okay.” I rubbed my face, trying to stay alert. “Play really young and stupid,” I said as we headed down the beach. I didn’t think we needed to worry about the Fosaanians underestimating us. As a group, the three of us weren’t very impressive. Except for my extra shirt, the rest of our clothes were ripped and filthy, and all three of us sported cuts and bruises. I suspected I looked as worn down as Laini
e and Decker. Only Mags seemed happy to be going somewhere. She sat on my shoulder, peering around as if she was interested in the scenery.

  “Do we really have to take the bird?” Decker asked. “She’ll be a distraction.”

  Mags muttered, “Dog person,” and then turned her head away from his direction.

  “Okay, dog bird,” Decker shot back. “I’ve had it. I tried to be nice, but if that’s the way you want it, that’s the way we’ll play it.”

  Lainie giggled, linking her arm with Decker’s. “Do you realize you’re talking to the bird just like Quinn does?”

  Decker looked embarrassed. “She sounds too much like a human.”

  “We’re not leaving her,” I said. We came into view of the depot and I was relieved to see the shuttle was there and not up at the station. Only a few Fosaanians were standing outside, looking bored. No sign of Ansun. I supposed someone planning a planetary takeover had more important things to do than to hang around the depot.

  “I’ll do the talking,” Lainie said. “I don’t think either of you could be very convincing.”

  When they saw us, the two men straightened up, taking out their weapons. I recognized both of them. One, who had his hair cropped very short, had been holding one of the torches in the ruin. I remembered how the man’s face had been slick with sweat and how his eyes had fixed on Ansun the whole time. The other was Sato. The memory of the whole scene in the ruin made my heart pound faster. I hoped my ability to remember so well would disappear soon. There were too many things I didn’t want to remember in great detail.

  “We’re really hungry,” Lainie called out, adding in a limp as we came up to the men. “And we miss our parents. We’ve decided we want to be sent up to the space station to be with them. Can you tell someone in charge?”

  It took a few moments for the Fosaanians’ astonishment to wear off. The cropped-haired one seemed particularly startled by Mags. He couldn’t stop looking at her.

  Sato said, “Don’t move. I’ll tell someone you are here.” He went into the depot and we waited in an awkward silence.

  “How did you survive the Passage?” the remaining one blurted out to me.

  I took a step closer to him and said in a low voice, “I’ll tell you how to survive if you pass the word along,” I said. I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through that, and I was sure Ansun was going to force everyone to be tested. It would serve Ansun right if everyone knew the trick before they had to go in. As I told the story, I could see the amazement growing on the man’s face. Before I could get to the part about the lava tunnel, Sato came out of the depot, looking angry.

  “They are to be sent up,” he barked, not even meeting our eyes.

  The sentry said, “Do we let them take that creature?”

  Sato examined Mags and I held my breath, hoping the bird wouldn’t speak. I didn’t want a Fosaanian to decide they needed their own talking bird.

  “What is this creature?” Sato asked.

  “It’s a parrot,” I said. “From Earth. I wasn’t supposed to bring her here. It’s against your old rules, but I did it anyway. I think Fosaan needs birds. We were going to let her go when we left.”

  “No,” Sato said. “Take it with you. We don’t need Earth creatures contaminating the planet.” He motioned to Teeny. “What is that thing?”

  “It’s just his sister’s toy,” Lainie said. “I know she is crying herself to sleep without it.”

  The Fosaanian took it and examined it. Teeny was looking more ridiculous than usual. I had added as many ribbons as I could find, and had attached the furry cutout ears Piper used when she was pretending it was a pet. I hoped Sato wouldn’t accidentally trigger the ball release.

  When Sato handed it back to me, he said to the other Fosaanian, “Ansun is right. The Earthers are nothing like us. Get on board,” he ordered us.

  I walked as quickly as I could up the ramp, tense now, hoping the plan would work. It appeared we would be sent up alone. I turned to say something to Lainie and then saw not one, but both Fosaanians following her. I nearly groaned out loud. The plan would work with one, but we hadn’t even considered the Fosaanians would send two guards for just the three of us.

  I didn’t know what to do, and I could see from the expressions on Decker and Lainie’s faces that they were thinking the same thing. I sat down, desperately trying to come up with another plan. Sato went to the control panel and spoke into it. “We’re ready. Lift off.” He sat down across from me. My eyes met Lainie’s. I nodded my head to encourage her to go ahead.

  She repositioned Teeny in her lap and ran her hand over some of the sensors.

  “What are you doing?” Sato asked sharply.

  “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t broken. His sister will be really upset if it is.” Lainie leaned toward the man and held out the bot as if intending to show him something. “See, this part here sticks all the time.” She pushed the markon that controlled the manual ball release and a ball shot out.

  Sato put up his hands up as if to ward it off. The ball hit the palm of the right one, bouncing off and rolling under the seat. He rose, his face furious.

  Lainie sat back, pretending to cower in her seat. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was going to do that.” I hoped I had put enough ligitin on the ball. There was more ligitin on the quarrels of my tribow, but I didn’t think I’d be able to load one and shoot before the Fosaanians would take me down.

  The other man rose as well, just as Sato sat back down with an odd expression on his face. Sato clutched at his stomach and doubled over.

  “What’s wrong?” the second man asked.

  Lainie rose too. “He looks like he’s going to be sick. Do something!” She took hold of the man’s arm and continued to talk. I motioned for Decker to get up, then pointed to the storage hatch on the floor and raised my hand slightly to indicate Decker should open it. Luckily, Decker understood. He got up and then knelt down, raising the panel of the hatch. Sato was moaning now, trying to speak, trying to point at Decker, but not able to get words out.

  I jumped up and took hold of him. “You should sit down before you fall down. You look terrible.” I glanced back at Decker. Decker had the hatch open. He nodded and I said to Lainie, “It’s a little crowded in here. We need more room.”

  Lainie pretended to stumble, pulling the man backwards, taking him off balance. I whipped out a quarrel and jabbed the man in the thigh. Before the man could react, Decker was on the other side of him. Decker kicked him in the back of the knee and the man crumpled. Between Lainie and Decker, it didn’t take them long to get him into the storage bin and shut the lid. We could hear him yelling what sounded like curses. He pounded on the hatch a few times, then began groaning.

  Sato collapsed on the floor. He looked like he was unconscious, but I kept my eyes on the man’s face as I knelt down to take the walthaser off Sato’s belt. As soon as I had it in my hand, I jumped back just in case Sato came to.

  “We’ve got to move fast before the shuttle accelerates to get us out of the atmosphere,” Decker said. “Lainie, get on the comm unit. You do the talking.” Decker pushed past me and sat down at the controls, switching off the auto setting and adjusting the course.

  Immediately a voice came over the unit. “Shuttle, why is the auto control off? You are not on course.”

  “Something’s wrong!” Lainie said, sounding all panicky. “We’re going to crash!”

  “Who is speaking? Put one of the escorts on,” the man commanded.

  “There’s only one and he’s sick! He can’t talk! Do something!”

  Decker already had the shuttle descending over the small open area in front of the boulder field where we had been the day before. I could see Mira standing next to the uprooted tree waving at us. “Turn off the audio on the comm unit,” I said to Lainie.

  Lainie spoke into it first, stuttering, “I … can’t … hear … something … wrong … oh no!” She shut
it off and smiled. “Good imitation of a failing comm unit, right?”

  “That area is smaller than I remembered and the tree is taking up too much room. I don’t think I can land there,” Decker admitted. “I can hover, but you will have to help her aboard.”

  Lainie and I went to the ramp as Decker lowered it. We each took a side, holding on to the edge of the shuttle as it came down. “I can’t get any lower,” Decker called back.

  Motioning to the boulder closest to us, I yelled, “Mira, you’re going to have to jump. Up there!”

  Mira scrambled up it. I was concentrating so hard on her and the shuttle was making so much noise, we didn’t have a warning. A tachesum crashed out the jungle. I yelled but it was drowned out in the creature’s roar. Mira moved fast, but the tachesum was faster. It grabbed her leg, making her fall flat on the boulder. It began to drag her toward it.

  “Hold on!” Decker yelled and swung the shuttle around, bringing the nose of it down practically on the tachesum’s head. The creature sprung backwards, snarling and batting at the shuttle, letting go of Mira. Mira was already up on her hands and knees trying to get to the ramp.

  “Quinn, hold onto my legs!” Lainie shouted as she laid down on the ramp and reached her hands out for Mira. I knelt down and grabbed hold, hoping Decker wouldn’t tip the shuttle too far in the other direction. I didn’t know if I could hold on to Lainie if she started to slide out. The tachesum was still batting at the shuttle. It hit the side and the vehicle rocked, shifting us to one side. Mira stood up and leaped toward us, catching hold of Lainie’s hands. The sudden extra weight caused both Lainie and I to slide toward the opening. I hooked my leg around one of the seats. I knew I’d never be able to pull both girls in.

  “Decker, get higher and then put it back on auto so you can help!” I shouted. My hands were so sweaty, I lost my grip on one of Lainie’s ankles.

  “Quinn!” she yelled. “Don’t you dare let us fall!”

  I used my free hand to tighten my grip on the one ankle I still held, but I knew I couldn’t hold on much longer. My arm began to shake and I lost strength in it.