“We’ll keep it clear somehow,” Connor insisted. “We’ll make a rota. Patrols around the clock. We won’t let the symbiont take hold.” He sat back, his arms folded. “We’ve cleaned up this hill once before, we can do it again. Simple as that.”
“No,” Evelyn said quietly, and both men turned to stare at her. She looked from Connor to Parry and back again. “You’re both wrong. We cannot survive by simply staying put and trying to protect our homes, but neither can we run.”
Parry held out his hands, pleading. “So, what do we do?”
Evelyn smiled. “We get rescued.”
“But, didn’t you hear what Lyndsey said?” Connor asked. “She tried, and they refused. We can’t make them send a ship, not if they won’t or can’t.”
“That’s partly true, on the face of it,” Evelyn began, “but it’s not the whole story. You see, Doctor Teare failed because she was bound by her institutional thinking. She tried the official channels, and when they refused, she accepted their decision and gave in.” She looked Connor in the eye. “She may have reneged on her promise to you, but we don’t have to accept that.”
Connor blinked, taken aback. “What can we do about it? Do you think you can persuade her to try again?”
“No, Connor. For what I have in mind, I’m certain that she won’t be able to help. We’ll have to take matters into our own hands.”
Parry let out a bark of dry laughter. “What are we going to do, send a homing pigeon? If we could get a signal off this planet, we’d have done it years ago.”
Evelyn raised her eyebrows and turned her piercing gaze on Parry. “Years ago, we didn’t have this comms set.”
Connor sighed. For a second, he’d been on the edge of his seat, convinced Evelyn had something up her sleeve, but now he saw that she was clutching at straws. “That’s no good. It’s a long-range set, but it won’t get a signal off the planet. You heard it just now, we had enough trouble talking to the truck.”
“You’re forgetting that I was a comms officer on the lander, and I do have a certain amount of training in interplanetary systems,” Evelyn insisted. “I believe this set could be modified for our purposes, and with the right skill and know-how, we will be able to get a signal to Earth.”
“But Lyndsey already tried that,” Parry said. “The GRC won’t help.”
“Perhaps, but there are two sides in that conflict, and if one side won’t help us, the other might.”
Parry pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. “With respect, Evelyn, I’ve heard enough. The Terran Alliance want to stop people like us. They want to stop all settlement, and they don’t care how they go about it. Why would they help us?” He hooked his thumb toward the door. “Come on, Connor, let’s go.” He took a step away, but Connor didn’t follow. He was watching Evelyn, his mind racing.
“I think I see where you’re going with this,” Connor said. “If we could give our story to the Terran Alliance, they could use it as ammo against the GRC. They might go to bat for us.”
“I believe the Alliance may be able to shift public opinion,” Evelyn said. “We could be valuable to their cause. They’d be able to claim that the GRC is incompetent and that settlers are abandoned when things get tough. They’ll be able to share our plight with the world, and then they can be the ones to declare a ceasefire and make a bid for the moral high ground. The combined effect might give us the leverage we need.”
Parry’s expression darkened. “The Alliance is the enemy. They’re terrorists. They kill innocent people, and you’d collude with them?”
“We don’t have much choice,” Evelyn said. “We need them. No one else will help us, and I won’t stand by and watch everyone in this settlement die.”
Connor studied Evelyn for a long second. “Do you have a contact in the Alliance? Because if not, they won’t be listening for our signal. It won’t work.”
Evelyn pursed her lips, a muscle twitching in her cheek, but she remained composed, her back ramrod straight. “I have a…a personal connection with someone in the Alliance.”
“What?” Parry blurted. “Are you serious? What are you going to do, call up an old boyfriend?”
Evelyn bowed her head for a moment, and when she looked up, her eyes were moist. “My son. My son was…” She took a breath. “I’m sorry. This is difficult.”
“You have a son back on Earth?” Connor asked. “But that’s against the rules. You wouldn’t have been allowed to serve on the ship if you had kids back home.”
“It’s complicated,” Evelyn began. “I’m not his biological mother. In fact, on paper, we’re not related at all. His name is Dev, and he’s the only son of a man I used to live with, Pranjeet. Pranjeet and I never married. When we met, I was very young, but I brought up his son as if he was my own. We were so close, the three of us, so happy. We planned to get married, but Pranjeet was taken from us. An illness. Very sudden. And Dev was taken in by his uncle. I wasn’t a blood relative, you see. I tried to keep in touch, but Dev grew to resent me. He blamed me, I think, for leaving him when he needed me the most. But there was nothing I could do.”
Parry narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know about this. Connor’s right, the GRC would’ve found out, and with ties like that, there’s no way they would’ve let you come on a resettlement mission.”
“Like I said, it all happened when I was very young,” Evelyn began. “I’d lost everything, and I was alone. When Dev’s family turned me away, things became very difficult. It was impossible to stay. I couldn’t bear it. I had to move away.” She offered Connor a sad smile. “It’s amazing what you can give up when you really try. You can walk away from one life and into another—like shedding a skin.”
Connor stared at Evelyn, imagining what she’d been through, but Parry broke the silence, bringing him back to earth. “So, how do you know this kid is with the Alliance?”
“I’m not without resources, Parry. I couldn’t talk with Dev, but while on Earth, I followed him from afar. There were always traces, snippets here and there, a news report, a blurred image showing his face in the crowd.”
“All right,” Connor said slowly, “but we’d still need some contact details to reach him. It’s not like picking up a phone.”
Evelyn nodded firmly. “I can provide the necessary information. I’ve never had the courage to use it, but I can tell you everything you need to know. That will be no problem at all.”
“Okay, we’ll do it.” Connor stood, a faint trace of hope stirring in his heart. “We’ll need help though. We’ll need someone who knows how to modify this comms set because I’m damned if I do.”
“I’ve thought of that,” Evelyn said, “and we have a man in the settlement with the skills and experience we’ll need.”
Connor frowned, then he realized who Evelyn was talking about, and his face fell. “Mac.”
“Yes,” Evelyn confirmed. “He’s the best person for the job, so like it or not, we’re going to have to work with him. We’re going to have to get him on our side.”
“I’ll talk to him.” Connor clenched his jaw, hardly believing the words coming from his own mouth. “I’ll go and see him right away. I’ll make sure he understands.”
“Perhaps I should go with you,” Evelyn offered.
“No. I have to do this myself.” Connor straightened his back. “I know Mac. If we go mob-handed, he’ll make the whole thing into a charade. But if I go alone, he’ll respect that. He’ll know what it cost me.”
“Very well,” Evelyn said. “Go and see what you can do. You have my full support, Connor, but remember, we need Mac. We can’t afford for this to go wrong. Time is against us.”
“I know,” Connor said. “I’ll get it done. One way or another, I’ll make sure Mac understands.”
CHAPTER 5
The Hill
Siobhan woke slowly, her mind swimming upward from dark dreams where she was being followed by a nameless, shadowy figure that dogged her every move. She rolled clumsily from her
bed and headed downstairs, her footsteps heavy on the creaking treads. Her mom was in the kitchen, brewing a mug of herbal tea, and she looked up as Siobhan came into the room.
“Here, I made you some tea,” Helen said, putting the mug on the kitchen table.
Siobhan sat at the table, but she didn’t touch the mug. The woody scent of the drink was stale and sickly, and she wrinkled her nose.
“I put some dried berries in it,” Helen went on. “You need to keep your strength up.”
Siobhan nodded. “Later, maybe. When I’ve woken up.”
“All right, and when you’re ready, I’ll fix you something to eat. I made some bread.” She smiled. “Remember the bread we had back home? It’s the one thing I still miss. I’ve gotten used to not having coffee, and I’d rather not drink anything than have that awful groundweed beer, but bread, proper bread with wheat flour, always seemed so comforting and homey. There was nothing like it. And the smell when it was still warm—wonderful.”
“I remember,” Siobhan said. She looked down at the table, drawing imaginary circles across the surface with her fingertip. Why was her mom going on about bread at a time like this? Was she trying to tell her something; something about memories and missing what she once had?
“Oh, I almost forgot. Cate came by to see you. She brought you something. Now, where is it?” Helen brushed her hands together then bustled over to the counter and plucked a rectangular plastic device from the clutter of pots and pans. “Cate said to tell you it’s from the rover.” She offered the device to Siobhan. “It has the data from something you were working on. She said it would be a shame if it wasn’t used.”
Siobhan looked at the small tablet computer in her mom’s hands, but she didn’t reach out to take it, and she didn’t trust herself to speak. A shame, she thought. A shame for Ben to lose his life. A shame to carry on as if nothing had happened. She shook her head.
Helen frowned. “I think Cate was just…I think she was trying to help.”
“Mom, I can’t do this. Not now.”
“No, of course not.” Helen placed the tablet next to the untouched mug.
Siobhan recognized the device from the rover’s workstation, but it had always been connected to a flexible bracket on the wall. She hadn’t known that it could be removed. She tapped the tablet’s edge with her fingernail, pushing it away. “What would I want this for?”
“Cate said it was something to do with Ben’s work. She thought he’d want you to have it.” She laid her hand on Siobhan’s shoulder. “Listen, I don’t want you to worry about it, Siobhan, but it might help to keep yourself occupied for a while. The truth is, you need time. That’s the only thing that will help. I wish there was something else, but there isn’t. And…and it may feel very strange to try and get on with your normal life, but it makes the time pass faster. It makes it easier to bear.”
Siobhan dabbed at her eyes. She wanted to cry, to roar to the rafters, but she couldn’t.
Helen pushed the mug toward her. “Please, have a sip. You may not want it, but you need it.”
“All right. I’ll try.” Siobhan wrapped her fingers around the mug, letting the heat sting her hand. She needed to feel something, to hold on to something else besides her grief. She threw a sharp look at her mom. “You don’t have to stand over me. I’ll drink it in a second.”
Helen’s face fell, and Siobhan knew she’d spoken too harshly, but she couldn’t deal with that. She couldn’t deal with anything. She picked up the mug, pushing her chair back from the table as she stood. “I’ll take it upstairs.” She glanced at the tablet computer then scooped it up. “I’ll take this too.”
Helen gave her a tight smile. “Okay. In a while, I’ll make you something to eat. I’ll tell you when it’s ready.”
A spark of irritation flashed through Siobhan’s mind, and suddenly, she couldn’t stand her mom trying to be helpful, couldn’t stand her sympathy, her well-intentioned advice. She had to get out of there, had to be alone. “Fine,” she said, “but I’m not hungry.” And she stomped up the stairs without looking back.
In her room, Siobhan sat on the edge of her bed, sipping absently at the herbal tea. It was still too hot, the liquid scalding her lips, but that didn’t matter. The drink burned its way down her throat, and she knew her mom was right: the tea’s sweetness was good. She closed her eyes and took another drink, gulping it down. When she’d had enough, she lowered the mug and put it on her nightstand. “What am I going to do now?” she asked the empty room. “What the hell am I going to deal with this?”
She sighed, staring at the tablet Cate had brought for her. A waste of time, she thought. But time was all she had. And maybe her mom had been right about that too: time would pass faster if she had something to do. Anything’s better than staring into space, isn’t it?
She picked up the tablet, swiping her hand across the screen to wake it, and four rows of icons glowed on the small screen. The tablet was fully charged although she had no idea how long it might last before she’d need to find somewhere to recharge it. She’d used the tablet in the rover a few times, but it had been on Ben’s side of the workstation, so she’d never explored all of its functions, and she wasn’t sure what Ben had been using it for. Now, she browsed through the folders, and when she found one labeled Backup, she smiled sadly. You and your precious backups, she thought, hearing him say the words in her mind: A backup not tested is no backup at all. If only he could see her now and know that his work had survived. Cate had been right; the thought of Ben’s work living on gave her a little comfort. Siobhan opened the folder and checked the timestamps, sorting the files in order. Her finger hovered over the most recent file. Go ahead. Open it.
She pressed the file’s icon, watching as lines of dense text filled the screen and scrolled upward. This was raw data, unintelligible. She flicked through the folders, but there was no analysis, no map from the final day. Perhaps Ben hadn’t had time to run his mapping program. He’d always complained that the rover’s computer was slow, and it looked as though no processing had been done on the data from their last mission. He probably would’ve completed it on the way home, but he’d never had the chance.
“I’ll do it for you,” she whispered, then she headed for the door. She needed someone to help, someone with access to the rover’s key code. Cate. Yes. Cate would understand. And with that thought, Siobhan hurried downstairs.
***
Siobhan shuffled her feet through the gravel on the cave floor while above her, Cate unlocked the rover’s door. “Thanks for doing this,” Siobhan called up.
“Had to do something,” Cate said, opening the door. “Okay, you can come up.”
Siobhan clambered up the steps as Cate disappeared into the cabin. Inside, Siobhan followed Cate to the workstation, and they took a seat each, Siobhan slipping her backpack from her shoulders and rummaging inside for the tablet computer.
Cate held out her hand. “Here, let me connect it for you.”
“Thanks.” Siobhan handed her the tablet then waited while Cate fitted a pair of coiled cables to the tablet’s side.
“That should do it,” Cate said. She laid the tablet on the workstation, swiping her finger across the screen. “Yes, it’s all connected. You can run your programs now.”
They’d had plenty of time to talk on the climb up to the rover’s cave, and Siobhan was ready. She flicked a switch on the workstation to wake the terminal. “Will we be okay for power?”
Cate nodded. “Should be fine. The fuel cells are holding up well. The runs outside do them good.” She paused. “Sorry, that was insensitive. I didn’t mean it to sound like—”
Siobhan waved Cate’s apology aside. “It’s okay. I know what you meant.”
They waited in silence for a second, Siobhan staring at the workstation’s screens while the system icon whirled. “Is it me, or is this thing taking even longer than usual?”
Cate shrugged. “You’re the expert. I prefer to stay in the driving seat.”
She offered Siobhan a smile. “I hope you didn’t mind me bringing the data over to your house. I knew how much time you and Ben put into it, and once I remembered how we didn’t finish…I don’t know. I felt like it shouldn’t be forgotten.”
“It’s fine.” Siobhan hesitated. “It was a nice thought. I needed something to do. And this is what Ben would’ve wanted. He’d be pleased that his work was carrying on. It meant everything to him. It’s what he lived for.”
Cate locked eyes with her. “No, it wasn’t the only thing, Siobhan.”
Siobhan’s cheeks colored. “I don’t know about that.” On the monitor, the system icon vanished, the home screen flickering into life. “It’s ready,” she said quickly. “I’ll get it running.” She concentrated on her task, tapping at the keypad, her eyes fixed firmly on the glowing display.
“If you need me, I’ll be up front,” Cate said with a sigh. “I may as well check a few things while I’m here. Any problems, just holler.”
“Sure,” Siobhan replied, but she didn’t look up. She settled herself into the familiar routine, immersing herself in the details, remembering the way Ben had explained the mapping system to her, recalling the joy in his eyes when she’d got it, when she’d understood. Her scientific education was almost negligible compared to his, but she’d been hungry for knowledge, eager to learn, and she’d hung on his every word. Once she’d grasped the basics, she was on board, sharing Ben’s vision, and he’d known that she was on his side. Her enthusiasm had made him happy, she could see that now. Together, they’d dreamed of a better future, and in this place, where they’d spent so many hours working side by side, Siobhan felt close to Ben, as if he was nearby, encouraging her.
She worked quickly, running through the procedure in her mind, double-checking each step. In theory, it was simple enough to run the mapping process: all she had to do was make sure the raw data could be read by the routine Ben had created. But the data had to be presented in the right way, with every file in the right order, or the results would be meaningless. She had to list each file, typing the names into the terminal one by one. Ben’s code would do the rest, collating the raw geophysical data and cross-referencing it with the map from the rover’s navigation system. Ben had always joked that he knew just enough code to get himself into trouble, but Siobhan knew that he’d poured his heart and soul into making the system bulletproof; it wouldn’t let her down.
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