Talia's Planet (Recycling Humanity Book 5)

by Heather Lee Dyer

  I get a knot in the pit of my stomach. Obviously, this has to do with us; otherwise they wouldn't have called us here.

  "Commander, Miss Jade, is it true that you promised your crew that the Community Circles would have a say in these three projects?"

  Uh oh. I step forward before Destry has a chance to speak. "That's all on me, Chairman Lee. I told our engineers about them. I thought the Council was on board with the Community Circles?" I hate how my voice betrays my nervousness. Someone is bleeding information all over the place. I grit my teeth.

  "Did you have any idea how much trouble this has caused?"

  "Trouble, sir? Why?" I lean forward.

  "The Circles have been an informational group, not a decision-making group. Now everyone wants to be part of the Circles because they think they have a say in the matters. You have increased the agitation, not lightened it."

  "That's only because news leaked out before we could discuss the best way to organize them." I tilt my head toward Destry. "It wasn't me sending out information this time. We must have someone in our group trying to agitate others."

  "Yes, I'll work on that," Destry says darkly.

  "Chairman, although I had hoped to have more time to organize the Community Circles for these projects, I guess we'll have to take care of it now. I believe there are rules in the Council charter that give direction in this situation?"

  Zayn shifts beside me as the Council confers with one another.

  "She's right," a familiar female voice speaks up. "We do already have rules and we already have several Circles organized in the manner that will serve this particular purpose. We just need to educate our people to calm the chaos."

  "Well-spoken Commander Amira," Destry says to his friend.

  I take a deep breath and let it out as I listen. Amira is one of the most amazing women I've met. There's discussion, but now they have a direction to take.

  Chairman Lee comes back to the vid. "Thanks to Commander Amira, we have a volunteer to organize the Circles. Their representatives, whenever they get organized, will contact you, Miss Jade for direction."

  "Me?"

  "Yes. You are in charge of these projects, are you not?"

  "Yes." My shoulders slump. Just when I already thought I was in over my head, the water rises even more.

  "And was it not your idea to organize these Circles?" I think he's finding humor in my discomfort.

  I shift my weight from one foot to the other. "Sort of, but–”

  "Then you'll be the perfect person to keep them updated and make sure they make informed decisions before they come before the Council." The warning in his voice is clear–don't screw up and don't let the people bother the Council. I swallow the bile rising in my throat.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Good." More discussion goes on for several minutes before my anxious nerves start to overwhelm me. "Commander, do they still need us?" I whisper to Destry.

  "It's the Council, Talia, we just wait."

  I soon hear the Council mention New Earth, which gets me curious. I pull out my cube and check on Midpoint's retrofit progress. "They're almost done with Midpoint," I whisper excitedly to Destry and Zayn. "The Council has logged into our new sensors."

  I hear Destry step to a computer nearby and pull up the commands for Midpoint. Zayn lets go of me to step next to his father. The scans are impressive. I'm relieved the designs worked. Even though our tech has improved since Midpoint was built, sometimes there can be flaws in the execution of the 3D vid.

  Just as we suspected there is a mineral-rich asteroid belt around Planet 1. Although the planet is confirmed to be too small to sustain our entire population, those raw materials might just be worth retrieving. I go over the plans for the Blue Ridge in my head. Long-range scanners won't be as important, we could just place beacons on the way and let Midpoint's scanners gather the data. But the asteroids are rich in materials; the extraction of those will be very important to the Migration.

  This also means we would need the Blue Ridge to come back to the Migration. Although we can't see Planet 2 yet, there are more possibilities for larger, more viable planets in that same system. These new scans confirm that Planet 1 cannot sustain us. My gut instincts were correct.

  I chew on my cheek as I rearrange the project priorities, just as I would a fuel schedule. When I'm satisfied, I step forward.

  "Councilman Lee?"

  Destry makes an unhappy noise, but I ignore him. I'm sure of what I'm about to do.

  "Yes, Miss Jade. We're still looking at the new Midpoint scans."

  "I'm aware of that, sir. I am as well." I hold up my cube. "I've been able to get through most of the new data, and I have an idea."

  Destry groans.

  "It's just an idea, Commander." I look toward Destry. “You can choose not to follow it. But I think you and the Council will agree it's the best course for humanity."

  "Intriguing. Yet another idea. Continue, Miss Jade,” says the Chairman.

  "I think we need to change the Blue Ridge project into a recycling mission instead of a scouting mission."

  "What?" exclaim both Destry and Zayn at the same time. The Council erupts into chaos. Why can't they just let me explain before they get all upset? I wait while the Chairman gets the Council under control.

  "You're sure not a politician, Miss Jade. You have a real knack for causing chaos."

  "I'm sorry, but if you'll allow me to explain before everyone gets upset, it'll make more sense."

  "Please continue, Miss Jade. And make sure you’re not wasting our time here today."

  My chest tightens at the implication. "It won't be a waste of your time, I promise."

  I pull up the images of the asteroid belt on my cube and send it to the Council's vid. The images cycle through scans that show the abundance and relatively easy to obtain locations of the raw materials our habitats so desperately need.

  I then show the images of Planet 1, its size and its few land masses. These scans are absolutely clear that, although it's not toxic like New Earth, it's not the home we need.

  "As you can see, the images from Midpoint are quite detailed now. Measurements and chemical content of the world prove that this is not a good choice for humanity. Not only is there not enough land for everyone, the planet itself doesn't have a lot of natural resources, as we feared."

  The image of the dozen or so rocks that make up the asteroid belt come up on their vids. "But the neighboring asteroid belt is extremely rich in all the raw materials we desperately need."

  "Interesting, but what do you propose? We divert the whole Migration just for materials? And still not have a home planet?"

  "No, I propose that we outfit the Blue Ridge with everything we need for recycling the materials in that asteroid belt. Instead of bringing aboard the pre-colonizing materials, we build a small bio star fuel plant so that the habitat can extract the materials, and then catch up with the Migration."

  "So instead of building one dangerous bio star fuel plant in the prison ship, you're suggesting building two?"

  I dig my nails into my palms. I will not back down. My training and instincts have never steered me wrong. "Yes, sir. The Blue Ridge, just like in our original plan will give the Migration the needed materials to get to Planet 2. But now, thanks to Midpoint station's successful scans, we know Planet 1 is not an option. Blue Ridge won't have to worry about that part of the original plan. It can just go in and extract the materials and return to the Migration. We'll then be able to survive until we find another planet."

  "What about the added danger of building and maintaining two bio star fuel plants? Have you run this idea by your engineers?"

  Pain shoots up my hands as my nails dig farther into my palms. I keep a small smile plastered on my face.

  "No, sir. We just got the information from Midpoint, so I have not had time to ask a second opinion from our engineers."

  "Before you bring us your final plans for the next two phases make sure you run that by
the engineers. Is that understood, Miss Jade?" I really like Chairman Lee, but when he gives a warning, it chills me to the spine.

  "Yes, sir," I say with much more confidence than I feel. My stomach churns painfully.

  "You, of all people should understand the dangers of bio star fuel plants, Miss Jade." It's Chairman Lee's voice in my ears, but in my mind it's Captain Kae saying it to the broken and burned girl on the med ship.

  Everything goes black.

  CHAPTER 12

  Illegal Research

  Zayn's voice sounds nearby, but muffled. “Here she is.”

  I struggle to sit up, but his strong arms hold me to his chest. I decide that's good enough for me, so I sink back into him, breathing in his scent.

  "Nope. You need to stay awake, Talia." Zayn taps on my forehead, forcing me to pull away.

  "Stop that. What happened?" He still won't let go of me. It feels like we're on the edge of some sort of bed, his arms wrapped around me.

  "You passed out. I carried you to the infirmary." He plants a kiss on my head.

  Rigel's mud. I try to fix my hair. "Oh, no! We were talking to the Council! I passed out in front of them?" A chill goes up my spine.

  "Yes. I caught you before you hit your head, but you were still out cold." The concern in his voice puts a lump in my throat.

  I put my head in my hands. "Great. How embarrassing."

  "Embarrassing? No, it was scary. Everyone is worried about you."

  "I'm fine. We need to let the Council know I'm all right. I don't want them to think I'm too weak to do this job." Tears threaten to fall as I think how badly this looks.

  Zayn rubs my back. "You're one of the toughest people I know. We scheduled another vid meeting tomorrow evening to check our progress."

  I raise my head. "Then they still want me to go forward with planning?"

  "Yes. Chairman Lee felt really bad about what he said." Zayn moves off the bed and stands in front of me. "But I don't understand why that caused you to faint?"

  A spot right between my eyes starts throbbing and I rub it, wishing I could just start this day over. "His comment was in reference to the accident that killed my parents and blinded me." My voice cracks as I answer.

  "Yes, you were injured in a fire aboard a gas cat." He takes both of my hands away from my face and holds them tight.

  "Yes, it was a fire, but it started in the bio star fuel plant my dad was designing."

  "Oh. He had a manufacturing plant on your ship?"

  "Yep."

  "Yet you still went to live and work on gas cats after all that?"

  "Yep."

  "And that's why the Chairman questioned your history with bio star fuel plants? Because your parents were research engineers, right?"

  I take a deep breath. "My dad designed the bio star fuel engines that we use in all our ships. When we had our accident, Captain Kae had him working to make the engines more productive."

  "He was working with her on manufacturing research? I thought they just worked together as fuelies and she was jealous because they got the research contract.”

  I cringe.

  "Sorry. But that's a pretty big piece of the puzzle you didn't tell me."

  "Well, I hate that they worked with her on the project. And besides bio star fuel research is illegal now. And did you really want me to pass out when I was trying to save us from certain death on Midpoint?" My tone comes out more biting than I mean it to. "Sorry, I just know that sometimes when I let her get to me, my body freezes up. I’ve done pretty well so far. Until now."

  Zayn gathers me up in his arms, pulling me off the bed. He crushes me to him and buries his face into my hair. I sink into him, letting his warmth melt away the bad memories.

  "I do appreciate you saving our lives." He chuckles into my neck.

  I lean my head back, wishing I could see his sky blue eyes right now. "Thank you."

  "You feeling well enough to get downstairs and start wrangling some engineers?"

  I giggle at his attempt at some sort of accent. "What is that?"

  "Haven't you seen the old western vids? Cowboys and horses and such?"

  "Yes, I have, but that wasn't even close to cowboy twang."

  He tickles me until I plead for him to stop. As I lean against the bed catching my breath, I realize I needed this kind of stress break. Laughing with Zayn seems to be the best stress reliever.

  "Okay, show me out of here." I take his hand and he leads me out of the maze of hospital rooms to a main corridor. We find the lift and head down to the engineering level.

  "Now that you know even more about my parents, and their research, do you still want to do bio star engineering? Navigation is much safer."

  He pauses as we step out of the lift. "I think I like bio star engineering even more now." His tone is serious, his voice deep.

  I tilt my head. "What do you mean?"

  "Even after what you experienced, and all the danger, you still went into the bio star fuel field. I know you've improved on the technology over the years, working on the Gryphon. I want to be part of that."

  I grin. "Kind of sounds like a challenge," I joke.

  "Whatever helps us to figure it out." He squeezes my hand and then lets go.

  It's comfortable between us again, I smile to myself. He didn't exactly say he wanted to be with me, or work on the prison ship yet. But this is a step forward.

  However, I can’t shake the twinge of annoyance that he let go of my hand. But I try to remind myself it's for the best that we maintain a professional relationship in front of the others.

  We walk into engineering and my hunch proves correct. As the engineers realize that I'm there, they greet me warmly and everyone starts heading toward the auditorium. After I make a round of the engineering bay, Zayn and I head toward the auditorium as well.

  Walking side by side, I'm feeling more comfortable with getting around.

  At the auditorium doors I let Zayn know I'm heading to the podium. I walk the uneven levels down and find the Commander waiting for me.

  "You're getting around well, Talia." Destry sounds tired.

  "Your ship is laid out well, Commander." If there’s going to be a future for Zayn and, I need to make peace with his parents. Which reminds me… "I have yet to meet your wife, will I get to before I have to head back to the Resurrection?"

  "Yes, you'll need to take a dinner break sometime. We'll all meet up then." I actually believe he's smiling.

  I move closer to the podium. "Did you want to let everyone know what we've found out?"

  Destry takes a deep breath and lets it out. "How about I just sit this one out and let you explain. It's your plan anyway."

  His carefully masked exhaustion is starting to break.

  "Will do." I smile inwardly as a shiver goes up my spine. I'll need to honor his trust and not mess this up.

  No pressure. I hear him step off the stage and sit in the front row.

  I take my cube out of my pack and set it on the podium. I use the cable to plug into the 3D system that'll display above me.

  I pull up some of the pictures that Midpoint station sent. The whole auditorium goes silent. "What you're seeing is new pictures from Midpoint station's brand new long-range sensors. I'm pleased to report they're exceeding our expectations."

  I flip to Planet 1's details, showing the lack of appropriate landforms. Murmurs and sounds of disappointment carry across the large room. That confirms that we have some terraform engineers in here who understand exactly what story these pictures tell.

  "As you can see, Planet 1, as we're calling it…" A few laughs from around the room. "…is not going to be an option for us. These confirm that there aren't enough landmasses, and the natural resources are very scarce. It won’t even sustain our current population."

  I flip to the pictures of the asteroid belt. "However, the nearby asteroid belt seems to have gained all the resources in this system. Just about every single material we're getting low on is found on just
a few of these asteroids."

  "It would only take a few days to mine enough materials to keep the Migration running adequately until we find another planet." I show a few calculations I'd made while the Council was talking to me.

  Shouts of dismay and questions erupt all over the large room. I hold up my hand. "Just wait until I explain, and then I'll answer all of your questions." It seems I'm saying that a lot lately.

  I pull up several pictures of planet 2 that although a bit fuzzy, still tell a more positive story than Planet 1. "We do have our second option, which so far looks very promising. Of course our phase-three project, the retrofit of the Resurrection, will make sure of that. But what we're proposing to do is to change the Blue Ridge retrofit from a scout and colonizing mission to a purely recycling mission. We send a handful of recycle ships with the Blue Ridge and they can mine enough materials to help the Migration be able to reach our new Planet 2."

  I let that sink in for a second as I cycle through the pictures again.

  "Now there are two main differences for those of you who stay to work on the Blue Ridge. The first is that it will now be returning to travel with the Migration. And second, we’ll be building a bio star fuel plant aboard her."

  The questions and shouts are deafening.

  I wait until they settle down before I take one of my personal files and place it up on the screen above me. Only one section of the crowd is verbal this time.

  I grin and point toward the verbal group. "So, you all please stand up." There's commotion while I estimate about ten engineers standing. "I'm assuming you are the bio star fuel engineers?"

  Nervous laughter and clapping is heard across the room.

  "Before I explain my diagram, someone please tell me why there are so many bio star fuel engineers aboard a ship with no bio star fuel plant?" It only takes a few engineers to keep each bio star engine running and maintained.

  I hear Destry stand up in the front row, and I motion for him to wait. I want to hear it from the engineers themselves. I have a memory of something my dad said when I was younger, and the little hairs on the back of my neck are prickling.