Titan Cruel Moon

by Kate Rauner

  Casper pointed silently to the console camera.

  "Aimed the other way," Rica said. "And I never hooked up its audio. Now we can talk. So, Fynn, what are we gonna do?"

  "You don't have to get involved," Fynn said. "Drew's my friend."

  "Drew's Kin." Rica nodded sharply. "Think of him, cramped in that bin, half buried in garbage. He could suffocate."

  Ben jerked his chin to match Rica. "I'm in, too. We've got to get him out."

  Casper twisted his hands together. "Maybe it's not so bad in the bin. I can't..."

  Casper caused accidents when he wasn't under stress, and Fynn didn't trust him. He was too cowed by his barracks mates and too easily intimidated. "The best thing you can do, Casper, is act normal. Follow your usual routine. That'll give us cover."

  Rica glared at Casper, but he pulled his hands against his chest and let out a shaky breath without noticing her.

  "Once the dome lights go red for the night," Fynn said. "I'll slip out and open the bin."

  "Dome cameras pick up infrared." Casper twisted his hands again. "You'll be recorded."

  Rica waved toward a nearby bin. "I can fix that problem. Those intermittent solenoids I removed. They throw sparks, which should interfere with the cameras. I can wire them up in one of the vacant barracks units to spark continuously. It won't be perfect, but should knock out most of the signal."

  "If you want to be quiet, you'll need help with the bin lid," Ben said. "I'll meet you in your barracks as soon as things get quiet after lights-out."

  "We can switch our coveralls to black," Fynn said. "What about our faces?"

  "We've both got dark skin. Just don't smile." Ben flashed his teeth in a grin.

  Casper whimpered and Fynn squeezed his shoulder. "If anyone asks what we were doing tonight after supper, just say we're working on the furnace consoles. Which is true, isn't it?"

  Fynn turned to Rica. "I'll send you a message when Ben and I are ready. I'll ask some question about the furnace. When you start the solenoid interference, send me an answer. When we have Drew safe, I'll send a thank-you."

  Rica restarted the power converter, the lights came on, and fans hummed to life.

  "Good job everyone. Glad we checked the console," Fynn said loudly. "Well, I'm gonna turn in early and do some reading."

  Chapter 17

  T he adjuncts lounged in Tanaka's room as they waited for Greta to arrive with his evening injection. Magnus tilted his flat pad toward Maliah. "Can't you keep our cameras on-line? The furnace dome went out earlier this evening..."

  She jumped in to defend her system. "Fynn's working on the power plant. He has problems with the control circuits."

  "What's your excuse now?" Magnus waved his pad and the other adjuncts paused their own reading to watch the exchange. Magnus narrowed his sharp gray eyes. "Now there's a problem with the village dome cameras. It seems the Rupar family can't get anything to work properly."

  "Now Magnus." Tanaka sat at his desk across the room and didn't look up as he spoke. It was the first thing he'd said since Max Bauer had left, and Maliah was relieved to hear his voice was calm and steady. "Don't tease our golden girl. She does the best she can."

  "Then, by all means, keep trying," Magnus said. "Golden girl."

  Maliah dived behind her pad to hide the flush warming her face. If she were still on Earth, she'd be planning her thirtieth birthday bash. It didn't bother her much when Tanaka treated her like a child. The weight of leadership made him older than his years, older than any of the Kin. But she didn't appreciate Magnus' condescension.

  Maliah opened eight screens on her pad, one for each village camera. Only the thick disks of vacuum bots moved under the red lights. The dome was set for nighttime, something her mother said followed natural circadian rhythms and so encouraged sleep. A buzz of static interrupted all the camera views, cleared for an instant, and then scrambled the pixels again. Odd. This wasn't a single camera's malfunction but something effecting them all.

  She could feel Magnus' gaze on her, and raised her eyebrows high, a facial stretch that relaxed her expression. She wanted to look mildly interested, as if this was nothing. Nothing like the puzzle it truly presented.

  The cameras cleared for an instant and she caught sight of motion on one feed. The trash bin where Drew lay trapped was close to its center of view, throwing a shadow against the barracks wall. She switched to infrared. There was a shape in the shadow.

  Two figures emerged, one on each side of the bin. The loose-limbed movements were unmistakable. One of them was Fynn.

  Maliah smoothed her braid with one hand, and shifted the pad until she could glimpse Magnus over the top. He was swiping through something on his own pad, busy for the moment.

  It was crazy to release Drew. But Fynn wasn't alone. She spotted at least one accomplice, and the camera interference couldn't be a coincidence. Magnus was certain to suspect him, and suspicion was enough to cause more trouble. Though, to keep her expression neutral, she had to suppress a smile. This seemed more like something she would do than her cautious brother.

  Poor Drew. She touched her screen. Magnus had dropped him in a small bin where he couldn't stretch, so he must ache by now. His punishment was excessive. Not that it was Doctor Tanaka's fault. He didn't know about Drew's brace and, quite naturally, interpreted his flopping to the floor as insubordination. But Maliah felt sorry for Drew. And, she had to admit, proud of Fynn.

  Static overwhelmed the camera again. When it faded for an instant, a shape tumbled out of the bin like a rag doll before static blotted out the image. It would be easy to erase the bits of clear video from the camera records.

  If Maliah had any doubts that Fynn arranged the interference, they disappeared when the static vanished and the figures were gone. An empty dome lay beneath the cameras, blanketed by white noise from the utility systems.

  Maliah caught Magnus staring over his pad at her, and he didn't drop his gaze when she locked her eyes on his.

  "Bit transfer rate's not fast enough for some reason," she said mildly. That sounded plausible. "I'll reduce the resolution, which should fix the problem until I get down to my cybernet racks. See. All better." She turned her pad toward him.

  Magnus harrumphed and, dismissing her, returned to his reading. His arrogance was welcome for a change. She didn't want to look into those piercing eyes any longer than necessary. She could erase the video evidence, but whenever the adjuncts went to the bin, they'd find Drew missing. It wouldn't be hard to guess who let him loose, but the whole Advance Team was likely to be punished.

  The door rattled with the hollow sound of a knock on plastic. Maj opened it and Greta stepped in carrying her medical bag.

  Tanaka waved her to his side. "Ah, Doctor Lund. Time for my sleeping meds."

  Greta turned to offer a perfunctory nod to the adjuncts and, as her eyes met Maliah's, concern flickered across her face. Her mother might detect some sign of guilt that Magnus missed, so Maliah hid behind her pad again.

  When she peeked out, Greta stood at Tanaka's side with an injector. "I'm already giving you the maximum recommended dose."

  "But I can't sleep through a night." Tanaka squeezed the bridge of his nose between a thumb and forefinger. "I wake often, sometimes cold and sometimes in a sweat."

  Magnus uncurled from his chair, rising like a cat, and glided to the desk. He said something to Greta that Maliah couldn't hear, and her mother rotated the injector's setting wheel before pushing it against Doctor Tanaka's arm.

  Greta closed her bag and nodded again to the adjuncts. Maliah produced her most innocent expression, and Greta narrowed her eyes slightly. "Goodnight," was all she said before leaving.

  Her mother was suspicious, which reminded Maliah that her brother wasn't safe yet. She considered several options as they all settled back in their chairs, including doing nothing more. This was Fynn's caper, and she could leave him to get out of trouble on his own.

  After a few minutes, Tanaka rose from his desk.
"Ah, the screen blurs before my eyes. Sweet drowsiness. Such a relief. It's time for all of you to descend to your own rooms so I can sleep."

  He looked content. Peaceful and rational. Maliah had an inspiration. "May I ask a favor before leaving?" she said.

  "Anything for my golden girl."

  "That boy. Drew Beck. Perhaps he's had enough time in the bin. I could release him when I go downstairs."

  Tanaka frowned. "You need to be stronger. As difficult as it may be to witness the suffering of others, it's necessary. That boy endangered the Kin's unity and such attitudes must be purged. However, I did promise my golden girl anything she asked for. I grant your request, but I am disappointed in you, Maliah. Now, away, all of you. I must get into bed while the drug's effects are strong."

  Maj and Trina hopped to the vertical ladder and slid down to their apartment, but Magnus paused to frown at Maliah. She didn't want to get trapped in a conversation with him and left through the door.

  On the balcony, Maliah rubbed damp palms against her coveralls. The floor was black in the red nightlight, and the only things moving were fat vacuum disks whirring along the barracks' edge.

  She clenched her jaws together to contain a surge of anger. Fynn was an inept delinquent. Anyone could guess he was the one who helped Drew, even without video, and covering for him got her in trouble with Doctor Tanaka.

  If Tanaka knew what she'd done, he'd be more than disappointed. It was time to cover her own shame. Maliah walked to the bin and slid the lid off, leaving it on the floor, so Magnus would believe she'd released Drew. Then hurried to her room to delete the videos.

  ***

  Drew curled on his bed, unable to find any angle to relieve the pain. Cramped from hours jammed into the trash-filled bin, unable to move, he wanted desperately to stretch. But every movement hurt. He pressed his eyes tightly shut and forbid tears to start.

  Standing over him, Ben rubbed a hand over his face. "Should we carry him to the clinic?"

  "I've got no way to tell Rica to create more interference," Fynn said. "Besides, this can't be serious, can it?"

  Drew moaned.

  Fynn slid an arm under Drew's knees. "Help me get him into a shower."

  They propped him, fully clothed, under a warm spray and Drew gradually unwound. "Guys, you're gonna drown me."

  "He's better," Fynn said. "Ben, you should get back to your barracks. Thanks."

  "No problem. It's what Kin do." Ben rubbed his wet hands on his wet coveralls and left.

  Once Drew could stand in the shower on his own, Fynn fetched towels, rubbed him dry, and helped him back to bed.

  Drew dropped to his bed, eyes open wide. "I've gotta get away. Go to the Herschel. Where's my pad?"

  Fynn dug through the torn coveralls and held it out to him.

  Drew hunched over the screen as if to hide his message more thoroughly. Tyra, I want to come aboard the Herschel. Can you pick me up?

  Her response took a long time. Now? What time is it?

  The Herschel kept colony time. It was the middle of Tyra's night too.

  We're running a maintenance cycle before bringing the Gravitron down. Is it an emergency?

  Drew sucked in a deep breath. He didn't want Tyra to know what happened, that he'd been dumped into a bin like trash. He didn't want anyone to know, but the Advance Team saw what happened. Maybe the Herschel crew had watched the camera feeds too, but Tyra didn't sound surprised to hear from him. There was a chance she didn't know, and he couldn't tell her.

  His hands tingled with the familiar sense of rising panic and Drew blinked rapidly at her words on the screen. With another deep breath, he tapped out, No emergency. Did you say the Gravitron?

  Her reply came right away. Yeah. We cut it loose. Used a welding tip on a manipulator and slit the dome lengthwise. Folded it tighter and pulled it straight out. Got most of the equipment bins floating in space now ready to bring down. Can't wait to see you.

  Drew touched the text with one finger, imagining her smile. Tell me when you're coming and I'll be ready. 'night.

  He passed the pad to Fynn.

  Fynn stared at the words, slack-jawed. "They cut the dome! How's it gonna hold air? What're we gonna do?"

  As his need to impress Tyra vanished, Drew's current dilemma struck him hard. Tingles shot through his hands and feet, and he gasped. "What am I gonna do? I've gotta hide."

  Fynn's thick lips disappeared into a tight frown. "There's nowhere to hide. I could slip you back into the bin before daylight comes up."

  Drew curled on his bed, gripping the towels to his chest. Every hair on his body prickled. Deep breaths. Slow, deep. He denied the urge to run, pushed it down inside. "No. Absolutely not."

  "Well, then. We'll go out with the others for breakfast calisthenics. Make sure we land in the middle of the group. Act like nothing happened."

  "You think that'll work?"

  Fynn bit his lip. "Sure."

  That wasn't comforting, but Drew couldn't think anymore. He was so tired. Everything would be all right if he could just sleep, just close his eyes and forget everything for a few hours. He'd think in the morning.

  ***

  With a flutter in his belly, Fynn led Drew out the next morning, and no one paid any attention to them. They stayed in the middle of the queue for breakfast and sat with Drew's maintenance crew, chatting about the coming day's work. Fynn glanced around for his furnace crew and saw they were each sitting with barracks mates. Casper even gave him a weak smile.

  Fynn had gotten used to unsweetened tea and was relaxing over the last few swallows when someone passing behind him tapped his shoulder. It was Maliah. She paused at the end of the table to tilt her head toward the tower. Fynn carried his cup after her.

  As he stepped into her cybernet room, she jabbed a finger into his chest. He jerked back and warm tea sloshed over his hand. "What's that for?"

  "I saved you last night. I wasn't going to say anything but I can't stand that cocksure expression on your face. I saved you, and Drew, and whoever helped haul him out of the bin. And you don't even know it."

  Before he could say anything, she spun away. "You didn't fool anyone with that camera trick. And don't think I won't figure out how you did it, because I will."

  He smoothed his expression as best he could. "What are you talking about?"

  "Don't play the innocent little boy with me. You pulled Drew out, you and somebody else. Ben? Never mind. Magnus noticed. He noticed static on the feeds, but I said I'd handle it. Your trick wasn't perfect. I had to erase the clear spots in the video file."

  Fynn frowned crookedly, disappointed that he'd been discovered. "It wasn't fair, what they did to Drew. He could have suffocated."

  "Drew's an idiot. So are you. Do you think Magnus wouldn't have noticed Drew missing? I got Doctor Tanaka to say I could release him, so no one looked for him this morning. I covered for you." She choked on a deep breath. "I covered for you. And Tanaka said he was disappointed in me."

  Fynn placed a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't pull away, he hugged her and she leaned into his arms. "You did the right thing. Drew didn't deserve to be tossed into the trash."

  "The adjuncts didn't invite me to breakfast this morning. And Doctor Tanaka thinks I'm weak."

  "Then he's crazy."

  She pushed away from his chest, far enough to look straight into his eyes. "Don't talk like that. He's a great man. He brought us to Titan to build paradise. A new world for the Kin. I was part of that. Part of the plan."

  "You still are." Fynn wasn't sure the plan would bring paradise, but he couldn't watch Maliah cry. She was his sister, and when he needed her, she'd helped him without being asked.

  She wiped her face and her expression hardened. "Well, don't expect me to do anything like that again."

  Fynn tipped his chin up and smiled his best, knowing grin. "You've got to admit, I never pulled a slicker dodge on Earth. No one could ever catch me but you."

  For a moment, Maliah held on to
her scowl. Then a smile cracked through and she shook her head. "I never thought daddy's good little boy would step so far out of line. But I'm serious. Do you hear me? Doctor Tanaka's a great man and I won't disappoint him again. Not even for you."

  Chapter 18

  G reta had asked Yash to take her with him when he talked to Tanaka, so he stopped at the clinic just as he'd promised and she waved him into her office. "Tell me what you plan to tell Tanaka."

  "Liam sent me a private text. His pilots slit the Gravitron dome to get it out of the ship segment. I need to let Tanaka know and prepare him for some kind of a repair project once they bring it down to the surface. He's not going to be happy."

  Heat flushed her pale face. "Let Liam tell him. Unloading the Herschel is his job. Why should you take the consequences?"

  "Because I'm Chief Engineer, and besides, Liam doesn't like conflict, so I'll do him this favor. I know how to focus on the job and push through. Once our problems are solved, everyone will be happy. Even Tanaka. Hey, even you should be happy. The Gravitron's finally coming down."

  Greta raised her eyebrows. "But how will we use it without the dome?"

  "I'll have to inspect the damage, but we've got patch kits. I'm sure we can repair the slit. Solving problems is what engineers do, and I'm a good engineer."

  She slid a finger along his lips. "You're a good man. Okay, I'll be happy." She pumped both fists. "Hurray. I can start gravity treatments."

  "You worry too much. Kin have only been on Titan a few months. Early astronauts spent longer times in zero-g and they survived."

  "It's been six months on Titan, and if astronauts survived longer in zero-g, it doesn't mean it was good for them."

  "It can't be that bad. Only the Herschel's crew is in zero-g. Titan's gravity is close to the Moon's, and people do fine on lunar bases."

  Greta bopped his nose with a finger. "Don't try to jolly your doctor along. Lunar workers also return to Earth regularly, and take gravity treatments every week."