by Kate Rauner
"Well said."
Fynn jumped, startled by Liam's sudden appearance. The Herschel's commander had been listening over Yash's pad.
"I appreciate your support," Yash said as Liam's wide face filled the window.
"Enlightened self-interest." In the corner of Yash's pad their secret ship-to-ground channel opened. Liam wanted a private conversation. He glanced downwards, typing.
Greta leaned casually on one arm, reading the exchange from the corner of her eye, and Fynn mimicked her.
Max made one good point. Hitting his milestone means my medics should awaken thirty-six Kin. Tanaka sent me a message, ordering that. What should we do?
Yash typed. Can you wake them one at a time?
Medics don't recommend it.
Greta spoke softly. "I agree. The pods aren't designed to wake one Kin at a time, and trying to override the controls would add more unknowns to an already uncertain process. But the system is designed to wake one level at a time."
Yash nodded. How about one level - twelve pods?
Medics up here agree. Wake one level - twelve Kin. See how they do.
Yash swiped through the schedule in the center of his screen and spoke over the open channel. "I see, Liam, that you're running another maintenance cycle. The Gravitron should come down as soon as the shuttles are cleared to fly."
"No problem." Liam said.
"Then we have a plan." Yash closed the channel and his dark eyes found Greta's. "What shall we tell Tanaka?"
"Let me relay the awakening plan and simply say, one level at a time is the medical staff's best judgment."
His parents looked grim, or perhaps resigned. Fynn said the furnaces were doing fine and excused himself. His news about tweaking the CO2 supply seemed trivial compared to awakening Kin. They'd be transported immediately, so he wanted to warn Drew that a shuttle was coming soon. They needed to plan a way for Drew to get onboard without arousing suspicions, or at least without triggering attempts to stop him. It would also be nice if Fynn could escaped blame for his escape. He doubted Emily would report Drew missing, but two or three Kin on the maintenance crew huddled with the adjuncts from time to time. Drew's departure wouldn't stay a secret for long.
He'd be alone in his barracks unit after Drew left, but his friend would be happier aboard the Herschel, so Fynn would make sure that happened.
***
When Greta arrived, Tanaka was reclined on the couch in his apartment with the adjuncts perched in seats around him. Maliah was there, too, and drew in a breath as if to say hello, but huffed it out quickly when Tanaka spoke.
"Ah, Doctor Lund with her magical bag." He struggled and Maj helped him sit up. "My injection first. Then have some tea."
Greta stepped around the low table set with cups, pots, and a tin of cookies. "Have you been meditating? Eating properly?"
Tanaka sighed with the injector's short whoosh. "Yes, dear. It helps. It all helps. But my fingers are tingling today. I can only work on my genealogies by dictating to Maj."
Greta frowned. Tingling could indicate nerve damage. Stasis aftereffects should be fading, not presenting new symptoms. "I'll give you a mild analgesic. If the tingling persists, if you notice numbness, or burning, or cold, let me know."
Tanaka's face sagged with fatigue, but he chuckled. "Burning or cold. How could I feel both? What did the mongrels teach you in medical school?"
A spark of irritation flared. Greta had liked her university classmates and respected her professors, even if they were mongrels. But she smiled at him with her professional, sympathetic smile. "Once the Herschel's labs are available, I can do more thorough diagnostics. Now that the Gravitron's been unloaded, assembling the station won't take long."
Tanaka's expression hardened. "I know precisely how long it will take. If the commander follows my schedule."
"I'm sure Liam is doing his best," she said smoothly. "As conditions change, we must modify our approach."
"We? You mean Yash Rupar, don't you?"
"Yash is a problem-solver," Greta said. "May I pour you some tea?"
Tanaka twitched a hand. "Maj will do it. A fresh pot first, I think, dear."
Maliah jumped up. "I'll get it." She hopped to the ladder and slid out of sight. Maj piled used cups to one side and set out clean ones. By the time Maliah returned through the balcony door, Maj was setting out small porcelain plates so thin they were translucent, and laying cookies on each one.
Greta took her cup and saucer to the chair directly across from Tanaka. "Just as your tingling fingers may require a different injection, the situation on the Herschel requires some changes to the schedule." She took a sip, giving Tanaka time to react, but he gazed steadily at her, so she continued.
"The medics will awaken one level of Kin next. Wait on the other two levels that are scheduled to see if we learn anything new."
"Is this the commander's idea, or your husband's?"
"It's a recommendation from the medics, and I concur. It's prudent."
"I didn't bring the Kin to Titan by being prudent."
"It balances risks and benefits, if you prefer. Analyzing each awakening means getting the most information from every attempt."
Tanaka's expression softened. The drugs were taking effect. Greta bit a point off her star-shaped cookie and pondered what to say next. She wanted to leave him feeling positive about herself, Liam, and especially about Yash. Assurances that she respected the schedule seemed the best approach. "Twenty-four hours is all the time I'll need to examine twelve newly-awakened Kin, so it's only an additional day invested at each level of pods."
Tanaka's eyes lost focus. "You are a perfect Viking." His voice was soft and contemplative. "Strong, beautiful. And what a daughter you've given me." He turned his smile on Maliah, whose golden face flushed bronze. "Warrior queens, both of you."
He pushed both hands against the couch to rise. "Please, do not hurry away on my account. Relax and finish your tea."
Greta did just that. She chatted about pinto beans with the adjuncts and asked when they planned to go exploring. It was a stiff conversation, but she nibbled at her cookie, and her own polite demeanor demanded courteous responses from them. She hid a smile behind a sip of tea.
At last she stood. "Thank you for the tea. If Doctor Tanaka needs me, please don't hesitate to call at any time."
Magnus' lip curled. "We won't hesitate."
Maliah jumped up. "Let me walk you down, Mom." She hurried down the stairs and grabbed her mother's arm when they reached the floor. "I can't believe you're waking only twelve Kin when three levels are scheduled."
"You heard my reasoning," Greta said. "Tanaka accepted the proposal."
"But he's not like that all the time. Not always smiling and offering cookies. Tomorrow, he may not remember what he said tonight because he'll veer back." Maliah glanced up toward the balcony. The dome lights were dimming to red as night programming took effect and the first couple vacuum bots undocked from their charging station to whir across the floor. "Obedience is more important on Titan than it was on Earth. More important than gathering data on pods. To argue with Doctor Tanaka is self-serving or even treacherous. To ask what's right or wrong isn't important, don't you see that?"
"Right and wrong are always important. Your father..."
"Dad! He needs to show Tanaka more allegiance. More faithfulness."
"None of us would be here if your father hadn't dedicated his life to this colony. He's making the best decisions for the Kin. For survival."
"Tanaka ensures our survival." Maliah glanced up the stairs again. "I've got to go. The adjuncts will wonder what I'm doing." She bounded up the stairs, three at a leap.
Greta listened to Maliah's feet pound across the balcony, felt her own lips flatten into the same straight line of worry she'd seen on her daughter's face. Tanaka called them both warrior queens. But war wasn't what the Kin needed. Consultation among everyone involved in a problem and rational problem solving - that's what was needed.
She
clamped her jaws tight and gripped the stair rail, determined not to stomp across the dome, not to display her anger. That girl owed her father more respect, but beyond that, she should realize he was right. The Kin needed Yash to survive. She hoped her words in the tower made Tanaka appreciate that, and if he wasn't listening, maybe his adjuncts were.
***
Fynn lay in his bed, half-awake, waiting for his pad's alarm to sound. He felt secure with the sheets tucked in on three sides to hold him snug against the mattress. Any minute now, the alarm would sound to start a new day. He woke earlier every day to lay in bed and worry. A specific problem wasn't what woke him, but the strain of acting calm kept building.
Drew leaned across from his bed and shook Fynn's shoulder. "Your mom and her medics are aboard the Hershel. Look."
Fynn pulled his arms loose and took the pad Drew pushed at him. A text from Tyra filled the corner. A shuttle had picked up his mother and the others in the middle of the night. Tyra had signed off, saying the pilots were going to help with the awakening too. They'd be rubbing the emerging Kin with towels, stimulating nerve endings in the skin so the medics could concentrate on anyone in trouble.
Drew rolled his feet to the floor and sat, shoulders hunched, staring down. "No one called me. I missed my chance."
Fynn untangled himself from his sheet and thumped Drew's shoulder. "Liam will send the Hera down with the awakened Kin, right? That's the shuttle with passenger berths? Evan's ship. Send him a message. Send all the pilots a message, just to be sure. You're going to board the next shuttle."
He thumped Drew harder, and his friend looked straight into his eyes, gave a sharp nod, and snatched back his pad. "Okay, messages sent. I've got to pack."
"Hang on," Fynn said. "Awakenings haven't started yet, and a shuttle descent takes three hours. We need to act normal this morning."
"I can pack my bag, so it's ready to carry to the dock."
"That's all we need. Carry a bright yellow bag to the dock and everyone will know something's up."
"What about my stuff?"
"When we wash up after midday calisthenics, wear all your clothes under your coveralls and shove everything else into pockets."
Drew twisted his smile. "Sure. That won't look suspicious."
"I'll text Mom. Tell her to be sure to announce the landing over our open colony channel. Everyone wants to greet newly awakened Kin, and you'll be pretty safe in the crowd."
"Pretty safe?"
"I'll make sure you get on the shuttle."
They made their beds, square and tight like always, and each joined their crew for exercise and breakfast. Fynn laid out a busy morning, saying he wanted to increase CO2 levels in the greenhouse to a thousand parts per million.
"That's awful high, isn't it?" Casper said.
Rica frowned. "We've got six hundred seventy established. That's Earth's current level. Why mess with success?"
"At higher levels, food production can go up by thirty percent," Fynn said. "I looked it up."
"Then why not go to even higher?" Ben asked.
"There're diminishing returns," Fynn said. "And the crew might develop headaches. Today will be a test. I want to be sure we can disperse the extra CO2 all the way to the ceiling before I offer it to Max permanently."
Rica nodded. "Smart. We don't want to get him excited about something we can't control."
So Rica babysat the furnaces while Casper and Ben carried gas monitors around the greenhouse. Fynn climbed to the top of the dome to record levels. Somehow, it felt like everyone was watching him, as if they could read the plan for Drew's escape in his mind, so he wanted to be out of reach.
No flies greeted him when he rustled the leaves, which made hiding in foliage more pleasant, but time dragged slowly through the morning. It seemed forever before the call to lunchtime calisthenics.
Fynn and Drew left their coveralls in their barracks unit and watched on the village dome cameras until they could slip into the middle of the crowd as Kin assembled.
Fynn felt conspicuous, a dark body in a sea of pale skin. He whispered to Drew as they crossed the playing field. "You might be noticed less if you stayed away from me."
Drew, wide-eyed, shook his head and stayed close.
Kin lined up, waiting for an adjunct to lead the exercises. Instead, Tanaka emerged from his room, followed by Magnus and Shun carrying fliers. The group fell into a tense silence.
Tanaka gripped the railing and leaned forward. His voice came through Fynn's ear gel. "Kin share everything, but reports have reached me of two of you who persist in lingering outside the group, in whispering together behind bins or between barracks rows."
Fynn's back tightened painfully, but he forced his fists to relax. He looked straight at the man in front of him, his eyes losing focus.
It can't be us. He willed Drew to hear his silent words. Relax and we'll be okay.
Next to him, Drew trembled, but that didn't single him out. People stood unnaturally rigid and a few whimpered.
The adjuncts launched from the balcony and hovered low over the Kin's heads. Wash from the fliers blew down cold on Fynn's sweaty chest and he shivered.
"Oskar Richter! Sonia Brandt!"
Who? Fynn must know them, and his mind grasped for details. They were a few years younger than Fynn, so he'd never shared their classes.
The adjuncts dived into the crowd. Oskar and Sonia were standing together and both dropped to the floor, clinging to each other. Kin scattered, breaking formation and stumbling in a wild attempt to get out of the way. The adjuncts rose, towing their captives to the bins.
Drew half collapsed and Fynn grabbed his arm. His friend heaved his breath in and out. He couldn't speak, but nodded.
They stayed in the middle of the group. Fynn was sure some Kin had escaped to the barracks, but Tanaka returned to his room and Maj stood alone on the balcony. She waited until the lines reformed. Synchronized movements were a relief and the workout was intense.
The shuttle's landing announcement came as the Kin finished. Excitement ran through the crowd, and the group broke up to hurry to their barracks to dress.
Drew fell onto his bed and tears spread a glistening sheen over his face. "I thought they were after me."
"You're all right. Just follow the plan." Fynn fidgeted but gave Drew time to pull himself together and dress.
Drew looked a bit stiff wearing everything he owned, but Fynn peeked out to be sure everyone was focused on the dock. No one would pay any attention to them.
Chapter 20
A pplause broke out when the first newly awakened Kin lifted an unsteady foot over the airlock frame. She swung a bucket of dehydrated food out and toppled, towed forward by its momentum. Two of the Advance Team leaped forward to support her and start a pile for food buckets. Then another bleary-eyed person paused in the hatchway. Rather than march across the dome, each arrival stopped as soon as they found a friend, and the crowd grew denser as they packed around the airlock.
Drew worked his way close to the door while Fynn scanned the crowd. As people pressed forward, he caught sight of Magnus, and sidled toward him, coming up behind his shoulder as the adjunct raised a pad to his mouth.
"... I'm counting," Magnus said into the mic. "Eleven. Now two medics with someone on a stretcher. There's Doctor Lund and the last medic. The pilot. No more Kin."
He cocked his head, listening through his ear gel while people chattered excitedly around him. "Okay, I'll grab the pilot." Magnus pushed between two men in front of him, his eyes focused on Evan. The pilot stood at the dock door, chatting with a nearby woman, unaware of the adjunct closing on him.
A shock of adrenaline jolted Fynn. He hopped clear of the throng, leaped up against the dome wall, and kicked off to fly over heads toward the airlock. Startled Kin ducked.
He landed, grabbing Drew's shoulders to check his fall. "Go, go, go!" He shoved Drew into Evan, pushed them both into the airlock, and tackled the door, slamming it closed.
Magnus was on him in an instant. Fynn grappled for as long as he could before being tossed aside.
Magnus yanked at the door. Incredible cold surged over them. The shuttle's docking clamps had released and Titan's atmosphere leaked in. But the shuttle hatch was closed. Drew was safely aboard. Fynn tackled the door again and this time Magnus joined with him to push.
Fynn braced both hands against his knees and gasped for warm, breathable air. His voice came out in a wheeze. "Magnus. You okay?"
Magnus grabbed a handful of coveralls and hoisted Fynn up, smashing him into the airlock door. "What did you do?"
Fynn hung loose as a rag doll. "I closed the door. They were ready to leave." That sounded plausible. His racing heart was real enough, and the shock that must show on his face. He hoped he looked innocent.
Magnus threw him aside, knocking several people down as the crowd scrambled out of the way. With his pad raised, Magnus said something that Fynn couldn't hear.
Worried faces loomed over Fynn as hands dragged him to his feet. "I'm okay," he assured the closest Kin. They quickly turned away. People were more eager to talk to the new arrivals than worry over Fynn.
Magnus shoved through the crowd and, grim-faced, bounded towards the tower. Fynn tented his hands against his face to hide a smile and mumbled to himself. "Magnus failed you, Tanaka. Let him have it."
He slipped into his barracks unit and jerked the pad from his pocket to send a text. Drew, get off the surface. Fast.
Don't worry. We're gone. See you in orbit sometime.
Warmth spread through Fynn's chest, but his throat tightened as soon as he sat down. Drew was safe, but Fynn was alone. He rubbed his face fiercely and reminded himself, he had Mom and Dad. The furnace crew. Maliah. But staring at Drew's neatly made bed left him lonely.
Fynn opened the barracks door. From his unit, it was a short couple hops to the greenhouse tunnel. He'd be visible from the mess hall beyond, but the Kin drifting that way were engrossed in their conversations. Fynn sauntered as casually as he could to the tunnel. He'd hide out in the furnace dome, skip lunch, and maybe supper too. That should keep him out of Magnus' way.