Seventy

  “Maybe things will settle down,” Angeliessa protested. “Normal planets have ‘quakes, don’t they?”

  Lawson glanced at Jeff. “I’ve been tracking the tremors on the other continents. They’re increasing in frequency and intensity. The new volcano on the fifth continent is primed to erupt again. We’re already seeing the ash in the air. It’s only going to get worse.”

  “Where do we go?” Shon asked. “What was the plan for this?”

  “We move to the orbital support,” Doctor Berrans said. The grating smile reappeared. “SOP.”

  Jeff glared at the obnoxious man. “We don’t have orbital support. The Congressional Space Fleet is helping with evacuation of Escibul. The orators didn’t think a ship could be spared for orbital support when the planet was stable and habitable.”

  “Idiots,” Lawson hissed.

  “That’s not lawful!” Berrans sputtered. “I must file a complaint. Orator Rens will hear about this.”

  “What do we do?” Shon asked, reaching for Angeliessa’s hand.

  “We evacuate on the shuttles and hope we can hold off until the Terrance Lee arrives in system. Maybe do a slow burn towards the wormhole,” Jeff said. “What else could we do?”

  Doctor Berrans raised his hand.

  Jeff gave him a cold look. “Yes?”

  “On the spiral planet we have a research station. Nineteen burrowing drones to act as housing and room for hydroponics. The atmosphere is oxygen rich. If Miss Sahn will work on hydroponics we can stay there for several weeks.”

  “What happens after several weeks?” Shon asked.

  Doctor Berrans sneered. “We run out of water, obviously. That close to the sun no water would stay in a liquid state for long.”

  “I vote for the shuttles,” Lawson said.

  “We’ll suffocate,” Berrans argued.

  “We can adjust for respiration rates; we can’t cut water rations.”

  “I need a few weeks to fix the shuttle’s hydroponics and add algae tanks to purify the air,” Angeliessa said.

  “We don’t have that kind of time.” Lawson shook her head. “You’ll have to do that in orbit.”

  Jeff stood. “We’ll go to the spiral planet, regroup, outfit the shuttles, and leave for the wormhole. I want the first group evacuating in three days.”

  Day 36 of 70

  The long range scanner, meant to warn the colony if Hurluks came, sat silent in the corner. Jeff tapped his pen on the empty desktop, staring at the blank screen as if will alone could make the Terrance Lee appear. Thirty-four days, just keep them all safe for thirty-four days.

  Shon Orto knocked on the door and let himself in. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Jeff sighed, rocking his chair back. “Another one?”

  “We have nine shuttles, each with an optimal load of thirty people.”

  “Angeliessa’s algae tanks will give us enough oxygen for the rest. We only have four hundred people on planet-“

  “Four hundred ninety-seven.”

  Jeff shook his head. “No, we have-”

  “Doctor Berrans’ team wasn’t part of the count.”

  “We only have nine shuttles.” He swore. “That was one less than I requisitioned. Didn’t Berrans get any?”

  “He signed for five, which would have covered his team and their equipment-“

  “-but someone in Congress decided we didn’t really need those shuttles,” Jeff finished for him. “I want to think our shuttles are helping the evacuation effort, not ferrying some lobbyist around.”

  Shon grimaced. “We could dream. But it still doesn’t give us the room. As it is, we have seven shuttles. One is scrap, the other won’t be space worthy without major repairs. Anyway I set this up, we can’t take everyone. Someone has to stay.”

  “Not on Dauphin. We’ll go to the spiral planet.” Jeff made a mental note to name the place when they got there. “And then we’ll sort it out. Maybe we can find a way to extend our survival time there.”

  Day 37 of 70

  Cold wind whipped ash into drifts along the edge of buildings, covering everything in a fine layer of grit. Another volcano had erupted while they slept, this one closer to the valley. It was only a matter of time before the little home they’d built was devoured by lava.

  He went to the empty office, staring at the blank wall, wishing desperately for a drink to drown reality for a few hours.

  “Jeff?” Lawson slipped in, shutting the door behind her. “The first shuttle is ready to go. Why aren’t you on it?”

  “I’m the project lead. I need to make sure everyone gets off safe. ”

  “This shuttle is getting away, I’m not sure that next one will. Your family will want to see you again…”

  She was supposed to be shipping out on that shuttle; she wanted to put him there instead. For the first time since the earthquakes started, he smiled. “My family’s dead, Bella. They were on Delious Seven when it was destroyed. I was on Delious Four, attending a conference. If I’d taken them with me…”

  Lawson hesitated, then a faint blush dusted her cheeks. “I met you there. When my ex-fiancé came to yell at me, you stepped in.”

  Jeff blinked. He vaguely recalled a thin, dark-haired woman, and a drunk. “It’s been a long time. You two never got back together?”

  “No. I wanted something he couldn’t offer.” Her smile turned bitter. “It’s ancient history. And you don’t have time to talk.”

  “Send this instead.” Jeff patted the long range scanner. “Seeing Captain Mac arrive early will do more for morale than I can.”

  Day 41 of 70

  The skulking gray hulk of Dauphin fell away. Beautiful, hope-filled, Dauphin. Dreams turned to dust.

  Bella slipped her hand into his and squeezed. “I’m sorry.”

  “So am I.”

  Day 59 of 70

  Kicks were the only language the power converter understood. He started each day by communicating forcefully with the machine. To stop the cold air from turning his testicles to icicles while he slept, he had to kick the thing again in the evening.

  “Jeff?” Shon Orto walked in wearing a sweat-soaked undershirt and regulation pants cut to the knees.

  “It’s working again.”

  “Good. Berrans is on the radio.”

  He twisted his neck, working out a crick. “About time we got those things up and running.” Jeff took over the radio, the only way to communicate when daylight temperatures made leaving the buried buildings a death sentence. “Koenig here.”

  “I found a way to extend our water supply,” Berrans said.

  “How long?”

  “Months. Dauphin was dry when it was t-formed. The water was brought in from ice rings around the third planet. We could fill a shuttle and bring it in. We could even use the broken shuttle as an ice mule, just tug it along behind. The ice won’t need oxygen or gravity.”

  “Do we have the fuel for that?”

  “As much as we could ever want. The shuttles use charged solar cells.”

  And sunlight was not something cloudless Spiral was lacking. “Contact the pilots. I’m dying for a real bath.”

  Day 70 of 70

  Jeff ran a manual check on the long range radar, pinging the distant probes, waiting for the reply. The probes responded. The endless night of space stayed empty.

  “Shon?” Jeff walked into the living area. Quarters were cramped, for now, but they were surviving.

  The younger man looked up from the table where he was playing a scratch game of checkers with his new wife. “Any news?”

  “Can we get one of the shuttles to check their long-range?”

  “Still no Captain Mac?”

  “I’m seeing nothing.”

  “He might be delayed,” Angeliessa said. “Maybe loading took longer than planned.”

  “Probably.” Jeff forced a smile. He left the common room to hide in his own small apartment, not willing to voice his secret fear. The Hurluk only needed to go in a
straight line from Escibul to Earth.

  Day 82 of 70

  “The only thing we can do is send a shuttle to the Sol System for a ship,” someone argued over the radio. Jeff had lost track of the argument thirty minutes ago. They’d gone from constructive ideas to hysteria in record time.

  Shon leaned over and hit the com button. “The stresses of reentry into real space will rip the hull apart. You’ll be shrapnel on the edge of inhabited space.”

  “Staying here is death!” another man screamed. “We have to leave before this planet hits the sun. How many years do we have before the heat broils us alive in these tombs?”

  “Hundreds of years,” Berrans said.

  Jeff took the radio to stop the shouting match. “This isn't death. It just isn't a good life. This is sustainable, and until a larger vessel arrives to rescue us the only thing we can do is concentrate on sustaining life. Someone will find us before Spiral reaches a critical orbit.”

  He shut the radio off and covered his eyes before anyone could say, “Hurluk.”

  “Someone’s going to try and take a shuttle,” Shon said.

  “There’s no way to stop them,” Jeff answered.

  Sitting beside Shon, Angeliessa rubbed her growing belly. “If we reorganized the housing, that might make people less antsy. Everyone was tossed together at random. If we had more couples…”

  Day 84 of 70

  Shuttle Four cruised across the radar screen, an insignificant green speck representing twenty-seven desperate lives.

  Bella pushed the curtain to Jeff’s living area aside. “Aren’t you coming out? Dauphin is rising against the moons. It’s almost pretty, from here.”

  “What does the surface look like?”

  “Red and boiling.” She tugged at his hand, a playful smile on her lips. “Come on. We all need fresh air. We only have an hour before the temperatures get too low. Watching the screen won’t change anything.”

  He bit his lip. Bella leaned closer. Jeff gave in. “I’m coming.”

  Day 648 on Spiral

  Prying the back panel off the long range scanner, Jeff scrounged for wires to fix the cooling unit. He tore three short wires out and put the panel back before pushing the scanner into the corner. Space was at a premium, especially with a baby on the way.

  He rapped his knuckles one more time on the scanner, trying to remember the old terror of abandonment, the nightmares that gave him sleepless nights when they’d first arrived.

  But it was gone now, joining Dauphin and Earth in the world of distant dreams. Myths. Bedtime stories for tired children.

  He gave the converter a warning kick as he walked back to the kitchen. Dinner was almost ready.

  THE END

  Liana Brooks was born in San Diego, California. Years later she was disappointed to learn that The Shire was not some place she could move to, nor was Rider of Rohan an acceptable career choice. Studying marine biology so she could play with sharks seemed to be the only alternative. After college Liana settled down to work as a full-time author and mother because logical career progression is something that happens to other people. When she grows up, Liana wants to be an Evil Overlord and take over the world.

  In the meantime, she writes sci-fi and SFR in between trips to the beach. She can be found wearing colorful socks on the Emerald Coast, or online at https://www.lianabrooks.com.

  Contact Liana:

  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/LianaBrooks

  Blog: https://www.lianabrooks.com

  EVEN VILLAINS FALL IN LOVE

  A super villain at the top of his game must choose between the world he wants and the woman he loves. 

  Chapter One

  I knew from the first time I saw my wife that I wanted her naked. Of course, seven minutes later I wanted revenge. It wasn’t that she had handed me my first defeat or ruined my chances for world domination that year, it was the way she kissed me good-bye. She sent my head spinning, then walked away as if I were the least important person in the world. Once my arm healed, I stole some new equipment, cloned some new minions, and I felt a little different. I wanted revenge, with a side order of naked.

  ***

  Across the dinner table, Tabitha devoured him with dark, ocean-blue eyes. She put a bite of lettuce in her mouth, full lips pursing around it. Eating salad never looked so good. Her tongue darted out to lick away a stray drop of dressing. She winked at him, promising with every move to do the same to him. “It’s almost bedtime,” she said, her voice husky and luscious.

  “I don’t wanna go to bed!” one of the quads screamed.

  “What about cake? Don’t we get birthday cake?” another asked.

  Evan winked back at his wife from the far side of the table, separated by a few feet and four, precocious just-turned-five-year olds, all as stunning as their mother with big, round eyes and honey-colored hair that fell in loose curls meant to trap hairbrushes and sticky substances.

  He had to peek at the eyes to see who was talking. Maria had green eyes, Angela’s eyes were blue like Tabitha’s, Delila’s eyes were brown like his, and Blessing—their stillborn who miraculously survived—had purple eyes. The waif in question had blue eyes.

  “Angela,” Evan said, “after dinner it’s pajama time, and then story time.”

  “Mommy doesn’t have a bedtime!” Angela wailed.

  Tabitha winked at him again. “Tell you what, tonight Mommy will go to bed the same time you do. Right after we eat cake.”

  She leaned over to give Angela a hug.

  All Evan could see was the deep V plunge of her tight blue shirt. Oh, yeah. Crime didn’t always pay, but altering someone’s moral compass sure put the O’s back in the bedroom.

  The cake was split into fourths, equal parts purple, white, green, and blue so each girl could have her favorite color in the cake. Baking four cakes was unreasonable, there weren’t any grandparents left to celebrate with, and neighbors had an annoying habit of asking uncomfortable questions. Saying little things like, “You look just like Doctor Charm! Do you remember him? Whatever happened to that guy? Do you know how hard it is to put together a good Villains Vs. Heroes fantasy league without him?” made for awkward evenings.

  So they had a quiet family party. Cake, then presents, after which he hurried the girls off to bed so he could read Dilly Duck’s ABCs in record time before rushing to the bedroom, hoping to catch Tabitha still in the shower.

  She was already out and wearing a blue satin robe that caressed her skin in exactly the way he wanted to. Rose-scented candles cast sensuous shadows on the walls.

  Tabitha turned, lips curved in an inviting smile. Long fingers twined with the sash of her robe. She tossed her honey-blonde hair in the way she always did when she was about to argue, posing with feet apart and one hand casually resting on her waist. “Sweetie, we need to talk.”

  Evan wiped grease-stained hands on his jeans as he forced a smile. “Sure, babes, anything you want.”

  “Really?” She slunk forward, all sinewy limbs and doe eyes.

  “Promise?” Tabitha nuzzled his nose. One hand flirted up the back of his neck to play with his hair. The other traveled downward, right to his zipper.

  Oh, yes, the little Morality Machine in the basement was working just fine. Another thirty, maybe forty years of this and he’d consider retiring. Or turning the machine down so his wife wasn’t quite a sex kitten every day of the week. Maybe only days with Y in them.

  “Sweetie?” She nibbled his ear. “I want to go back to work.”

  “What?” Evan actually pushed himself away from her, something he wasn’t sure was possible in any other circumstance.

  Tabitha tucked her chin and pouted.

  “Tabby-cat, I love you, but work? I’ve got my...stuff...in the lab. I’m busy. And we can’t afford daycare for the girls. We’re barely making ends meet as it is. Do you really want to go back to being Zephyr Girl? Crime fighting is a game for the young, baby. You’re not nineteen anymore.” br />
  “I’m twenty-nine. A very—” Her hips pressed against his tight jeans just so”—very healthy twenty-nine.”

  He shivered at her touch. “You’re cheating.”

  “I want to do this, Evan.” She ground against the thick denim.

  “You can do me all you want, baby.”

  She stepped back, frowning. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I.” Evan sighed, reaching for his wife. “Sweetie, I love you, but what’s the point in being a superhero? The government stipend barely covers the dry-cleaning bill. If it’s money you want, write another tell-all superhero book. The Spanish Mask sold his third last month.”

  Tabitha crossed her arms. “I don’t want to write another book so we can live off the royalties while you’re between jobs.”

  He waved a finger at her. “I’m not between jobs. I work freelance in the computer business. I’m self-employed. That’s not the same as being between jobs.”

  “Between paychecks then.”

  “We will have a solid income. This project I’m working on, Tabby-cat, it’s going to set us up for life. We’re never going to worry about money again. I promise. Give me a couple of weeks and everything is going to be perfect.” He caught her hand and pulled her into his arms. The faint scent of her spicy perfume left him dizzy with need.

  She rested her head on his chest. “I want to save the world. Have you seen the news, Evan? An entire town in Kansas held hostage for a week by a bomb scare before a superhero was able to get in to defuse the situation. A week! I could have that done between grocery shopping and paying the bills. Ten minutes, no pulling punches.”

  “I know, baby. No one is better at this stuff than you. But I need you at home, Tabby. Having you out there scares me. I’m terrified I’d lose you. Why don’t you wait until I finish this project? I’ll be done by the time the election rolls around. Two more weeks. Once I get paid we’ll look at this again. I have that armor design for you, I just need some time to put it together.”

  Tabitha sighed. “You’ve been saying that since we got married.”