“I don’t…know.”
“Then what are we doing?” Rikki asked.
“I don’t know,” Antonio whispered. “Hawthorne…he heard my news this morning, and….” The words faded to unintelligibility.
“Hawthorne heard you, and what?” Carlos demanded.
“And…so, we’re here.” Antonio rubbed his chin. “I suspect Hawthorne or…the governor…worried this might…happen. That our preparations would…be cut short.”
“There is a plan,” Dana said. “Thanks to Neil Hawthorne.”
A plan for the six of them? That was nonsense, Rikki thought. Only Blake’s steady gaze kept back her insane cackle.
Dana said, “Everyone, listen. Hawthorne had troops break into a fertility clinic. They stole several freezers of frozen embryos, and the artificial wombs to bring them to term. And with no time to explain himself, or ask anyone’s permission, he brought together the right people, with the right skills, for us to complete the mission.
“Li, to help us raise and nurture a new generation. Carlos and his nanotech gear, to help us fabricate the tools we forgot or lack the space to carry. Antonio, to guide us on our way and plumb the secrets of new worlds. Blake, to keep our ship humming. Rikki, to fill in the gaps between specialties.”
Then we’re screwed, Rikki thought.
Blake leaned toward the camera. “And Captain McElwain to make it work. To make us work. We all follow her orders.”
Dana flashed Blake a glance that was thanks and don’t interrupt all in one. “Humanity still has hope—if we rise to the occasion, if we pull together to complete this trip.”
Carlos said, “You believe this can work? Honestly?”
“Yes, I believe it.” Dana’s eyes blazed. “You will, too. You all will. There is no alternative. There are no do-overs. Failure is not an option.”
“And Hawthorne?” Rikki had to ask. “This is his plan. He chose the people. Why isn’t he aboard?”
For the first time in the years Rikki had known Dana, she was speechless.
At last Dana said, “Government representatives today stole thousands of people’s dreams, their babies. People will demand explanations, to know who is responsible, and to see justice done.”
“The embryos have no more future than anyone else,” Li protested. “Not left on Mars.”
Dana said, “Ignorance of the coming disaster is an act of mercy, and keeping that secret means there is no justification for the theft. Hawthorne stayed behind because he wouldn’t let anyone take the blame for actions he had ordered.”
“Then we…?” Rikki choked, unable to put the implication into words.
Dana nodded. “As far as the public is concerned, we six are among Hawthorne’s fellow cultists. We hijacked the Titan ship, plotting to create a utopian society from the stolen embryos.” The ship swerved and decelerated. Seconds after, it reaccelerated. “That’s why we have every Mars-based Space Guard cutter chasing us, and doubtless Belt-based cutters yet to come into our radar range. That’s why I keep taking evasive maneuvers. For what it’s worth, the Guard ships can’t maintain a pursuit for long. Without a DED, they don’t have the range.”
Li asked softly, “What happens next?”
Dana said, “Neil stayed behind to do his duty as he saw it. He expects us to do ours. We will not fail him.”
8
“This isn’t like you, Dana,” said the familiar voice. “You help people. Don’t ask me to believe otherwise.”
The words pierced like a knife.
Dana’s final four years in the Space Guard, she had served under Fred Torrance. On the comm display, seated amid the familiar hushed bustle of the bridge crew, Fred looked older and wearier than she remembered him.
Dana felt old and weary, too. She reached to toggle the transmitter to on— And pulled back. What did she have to say?
Hours ago, Mars had fallen off her situational display. One by one, the ships in pursuit had turned back. Low on fuel? Recalled on some pretext?
But one ship remained in the chase. The blip, not even three light-seconds behind, showed the transponder code for Reliance. Fred’s ship. Dana’s old ship.
The governor, if she was interceding, had waited too long. At this distance, at these speeds, the odds of tracking a ship, much less of getting a message through to it, were slim to none.
And if Hawthorne’s self-sacrifice had failed to contain the scandal? Then Governor Dennison was embroiled, too. Best not expect relief from that source.
“Talk to me,” Blake said. “What are you thinking?”
“That’s my old ship, and my old captain,” Dana said.
“He doesn’t understand,” Blake answered gently. “He can’t.”
“I’m listening, Dana,” Torrance urged.
She opened a two-way channel. “I won’t permit you to dock, Captain.”
Apart from the light-speed lag, Torrance’s response was immediate. “I’m no longer your superior officer, Dana. We’re two old friends, just talking. Tell me what’s going on.”
“Hawthorne can explain when you get back to Mars.” He’ll have to be the one to explain, she thought. I don’t know enough not to contradict his cover story.
“Stealing a ship? Stealing unborn children? Messianic cults? That’s not you, Dana. I refuse to believe any of it.”
“Believe all of it.” Because this was how she would be remembered—for the few months anyone had left.
Blake laid a hand on hers. “Break the link,” he mouthed.
She shook her head.
Torrance said, “Do you remember rescuing the survivors on Logan?”
He was appealing to her better nature, and she chose to misunderstand. “Did you imagine docking with Logan was hard? This isn’t a derelict, inanimate. If you do catch up, this ship will be bobbing and weaving, spinning and tumbling. I won’t let you dock.”
“Nor do smugglers,” Torrance said. “You know the drill, Dana. Don’t force me.”
“We’ve distributed embryo banks throughout Clermont,” Dana lied. “Do anything to disable this ship, and it’s almost certain you’ll destroy hundreds of embryos.”
Silence stretched. Had she gotten through to him? Disgusted him?
“If I have to stop Clermont, the consequences are on your head,” he said coldly. “We will catch up. We almost have. Reliance began this chase with full tanks.”
Dana froze the link, audio and vid. “They can sustain three gees. If they set out with full tanks, they will overtake us.”
Blake
