“What if they have gamma plasma on their ship?” Arjuna asked. “If they’re armed with that, they wouldn’t need to give chase. Nor would it would matter how many shield plates we have. They’d slice right through us.”
Victor reached into the holofield and made a few hand gestures, bringing up the most recent images of 2030CT. “Look at the photos the probe took. I can’t see any weapons on that ship. All that’s visible are the thrusters. So even if the ship is armed, the weapons are under the shell and would therefore rip the shell apart if the weapons fired. Besides, it’s a tiny ship. Less than a quarter our size. I think we can rule out gamma plasma. The ship would need massive storage tanks that it obviously doesn’t have. As far as I can tell, it has extremely limited cargo space. And look at the metal on the thrusters. That’s not the hull material of the scout ship. That’s iron. And not even particularly strong iron, either. That’s crudely processed ore. It’s not the pristine and indestructible hull material of the scout ship. It’s vulnerable. We could take it.”
“A moment ago, we were discussing reconnaissance,” said Arjuna. “Now you want to orchestrate an assault?”
“No,” said Victor. “I’m merely saying that based on the information we have, it’s unlikely that the Formics at that asteroid are equipped with any heavy weaponry. Their ship is too small. That’s why it’s out here in the middle of nowhere, far from anyone who can pose a threat to it. That’s why it went dark. It doesn’t want to be found, and it doesn’t want a fight.”
“More assumptions,” said Arjuna.
“Our probe has been orbiting the asteroid for several days now,” said Victor, “and the Formics haven’t fired a single shot. Why not? Can they not detect it? This shell or canopy or whatever it is, is it affecting their sensor tech? Do they not even know the probe is there? Or do they know it’s there and choose to ignore it? Or maybe they know it’s there, but they can’t fire on it because doing so would damage the shell. We don’t know, but the fact that they’re not responding at all is a good sign for us. It makes me feel safer about investigating.”
“I can’t be any clearer,” said Arjuna. “I’m not bringing this ship anywhere close to that rock. I don’t care that the Formics haven’t fired at the probe. I don’t care that the IF isn’t as close as we are. I don’t care that you’ve constructed a logical argument about minimal risk. My only concern is this crew. We’re not soldiers, Vico. We’re miners, and barely miners at that.”
“I’m not suggesting that we fly the ship right up to it,” said Victor. “I value the safety of this family as much as you do. I’m merely suggesting that we get a little closer. We approach it from the side opposite the thrusters. Then we decelerate and hold our position, maybe a few thousand klicks out. Then I drift to it alone in a quickship and investigate.”
“Quickships aren’t designed to hold a pilot,” said Arjuna. “They’re unmanned cargo rockets. They haul mined minerals away from a dig site. Trying to pilot one would be suicide.”
“I’ve done it before,” said Victor. “I know how to build a cockpit for it large enough to carry me.”
Arjuna sighed and considered for a moment. “What do you mean you’ll ‘investigate’?” he asked finally. “What intel are you going to gather that the probe hasn’t already gleaned?”
“We don’t know what that shell is composed of,” said Victor. “At the very least I could take a sample of the surface.”
Arjuna frowned, considering. “If you’re attacked, we can’t rush in there and save you. You’d be on your own.”
“I realize that,” said Victor, “I’m only asking that you let me modify one of the quickships and get me a little closer.”
Arjuna folded his arms. “What does Imala think about this?”
Victor hesitated. “She agrees that action needs to be taken.”
“But she doesn’t think that action should be taken by you,” said Arjuna.
“Basically,” said Victor. “Although she agrees that I’m the person best qualified to do so.”
Arjuna nodded then waved his hand through the holofield, closing the e-mail. “Imala told me she submitted an application to join the IF.”
Victor didn’t know what to say to that. He knew that Imala had gone through with it, but he didn’t know she was telling people. The next time the ship docked at a depot, she would get off and find passage to the nearest recruiting station. How much time did Victor have with her before that happened? Six months? Nine?
“Your relationship with Imala is none of my business,” said Arjuna. “But I heard that you two had an argument and suddenly one of you wants to singlehandedly attack a Formic outpost, and the other has signed up to join the war. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were running from the heat and jumping into the fire.”
“Imala joining up has nothing to do with me, and my wanting to investigate the asteroid has nothing to do with Imala. At least not directly. We both feel motivated to keep the other safe, I suppose, but this isn’t about us. The Formics’ presence here is an act of war, Arjuna. Not a war between them and the IF, but a war between them and all of us. You, me, everyone on this ship. No, we’re not soldiers. But we owe it to every other human being to find out what’s going on at that asteroid.”
“I meant no offense, Vico. I am merely concerned for you and Imala. I would hate to think that a rift has grown between you two.”
“It hasn’t,” said Victor, although a part of him wasn’t sure if that was true. Since his discussion with Imala the other evening there was a formality between them that Victor couldn’t stand. Before they had always been relaxed and playful with one other. Or it was enough simply to be in the same room together, quietly attending to their separate tasks and enjoying being close. Now there was a fog of awkwardness between them that Victor wasn’t sure how to address.
“I appreciate your concern for me and Imala,” said Victor, “but my concern is that asteroid. I would rather have your blessing to approach it in a quickship, but I’m going either way.”
Arjuna nodded, as if he expected that. “The quickships belong to you more than they do to me. You brought them with you when you came. I can’t stop you. But let me talk to the council. If they agree to take you closer to the rock, I won’t veto their decision.”
Victor couldn’t ask for more than that. “Thank you,” he said.
He left Arjuna’s office and made his way out into the corridor, surprised to find Mother there waiting for him. To the crew she was Rena, Arjuna’s second in command, the glue that held everyone together, the calm voice of reason, the matriarch of the ship. Her hair had grayed a lot in the last few months, and she looked more tired than usual. She slipped her arm around his and led him away.
The wall at the end of the corridor had a curved surface where a live feed of space outside was projected—a calm canvas of black, dotted with stars. It was as close to a window as you could find on the ship. Mother paused there and looked outward.
“Imala told me she enlisted,” Mother said. “She seemed surprised that you hadn’t told me already.” She turned to Victor. “Why didn’t you?”
“Because that’s for her to tell you, Mother. I’m not going to talk about her decisions behind her back. If she wants people to know, she’ll tell them.”
“You’re angry.”
“Only at myself. If she leaves it will be because I didn’t give her a strong reason to stay.”
“If she leaves it will be because she considers it her duty, Vico. Can you fault her for that?”
“I don’t fault her for anything,” said Victor. “I’m the one who made the mistake here. I should have married her a year ago.”
“You weren’t ready then,” Mother said. “I’m not sure she was either. It’s different in space. You’re not simply marrying an individual, you’re marrying an entire family. That’s a daunting commitment.”
Victor faced her. “No offense, Mother, but you make it sound like people have had a choice out
here when it comes to marriage. Before we joined Arjuna’s crew our family practiced arranged marriages with the other families and clans. There was never any courtship, never any romance. People were simply thrown together. Marriage was a way to mix up the gene pool and discourage inbreeding.”
Mother frowned. “You make it sound barbaric.”
“How else would you describe it?” Victor asked. “We sent our eighteen-year-old daughters off with total strangers and hoped they would be treated fairly. That’s not exactly the stuff of fairy tales.”
“We knew the families, Vico. They weren’t total strangers. And they wouldn’t risk earning a bad reputation by mistreating a bride. That would have ended their chances for future unions. They would have been ostracized by the other clans. Brides were treated like royalty among the families. When we brought them into the family, we gave them every comfort.”
“Yes, and some of them bawled their eyes out for days,” Victor said.
“They always had a choice, Vico. No bride or groom was ever coerced into a marriage. They may have experienced some homesickness once their families were gone, or they may have quickly learned that marriage was not what they had expected, but everyone went into the union willingly.”
“Two families come together in the middle of space for the sole purpose of marrying off their children, and you don’t think the bride and groom felt coerced?”
Mother raised an eyebrow. “How did this become a conversation about free-miner marriage arrangements?”
Victor shook his head. “I wanted it to be different for me and Imala. I didn’t want us to marry simply because it was socially convenient. I wanted Imala to choose me because of who I am, not because I’m the only guy available.”
“She did choose you, Vico. She came with you from Luna.”
“That wasn’t a commitment to marry, Mother. That was a willingness to explore an idea.”
“And she explored it, and she fell in love.”
“I don’t doubt that, Mother. I just worry it will fade. Once Imala leaves, once she gets back in the real world and we’re apart, she’ll realize that there are better options out there, better futures than the one I can offer her.”
“You two are still engaged, Vico. She told me the wedding was still on.”
“Of course she’s going to say that. You’re my mother. It would be painfully awkward for her to suggest otherwise. She’s surrounded by my family.”
“You think her insincere?”
“I think she’s convinced herself for the sake of social convenience that she and I are still engaged. When she’s away, when she feels a little more freedom, she might think otherwise.”
“Freedom?” Mother said, chuckling. “You make it sound like she’s a hostage here.”
“This isn’t her life, Mother. She isn’t an asteroid miner.”
“As of when?” said Mother. “She’s been with us for over two years, Vico, and as far as I can tell, she fits right in, far more than I thought she ever would. She’s one of the most productive members of the crew. Even Sabad likes her, and Sabad doesn’t like anyone.”
It was true. Sabad was Arjuna’s youngest wife; barely twenty years old and rather difficult to tolerate for more than a few moments at a time. Victor avoided her whenever he could. She treated everyone condescendingly and with contempt, including her own husband. The one exception was Imala, who Sabad sought out and treated almost like a friend, much to everyone’s astonishment.
“Imala has been happy here, Vico,” Mother said. “So have you.”
Victor turned to the window. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever is driving her to leave is greater than whatever is compelling her to stay.”
Mother put a comforting hand on his arm. When he finally turned to look at her, she smiled up at him. “You’re like me,” she said, “a worrier. Your father was the optimistic one, always confident that things would work out eventually, while I was pulling my hair out considering all the horrific possible outcomes.”
Victor frowned. “So I’m the bad guy here?”
Mother patted his arm. “There is no villain, son. Personally I think it’s best that you and Imala part for a while. It might help you determine if marriage is what both of you truly want and if you’re willing to do what’s necessary to make it work.”
Victor smiled sadly. “You’re supposed to take my side.”
She laughed. “I am. I’m taking Imala’s side as well. I’m also hoping that one day those two sides will be the same.”
She kissed him on the cheek and returned to the helm.
He should have told her about his plans to investigate the asteroid, he realized. She would find out sooner or later, and it was best for her to hear it from him. But no, Mother wouldn’t like the idea and he wasn’t in the mood to defend himself again. He didn’t need another objector. Not now.
He left the corridor and went straight to his workshop in the lower deck to begin building a digital model of a cockpit for a quickship. He had a rudimentary design by the time Magoosa arrived. Victor’s apprentice took one look at the model and understood at once.
“If you’re going to the asteroid, I want to go with you,” Magoosa said. “I can help.”
“I appreciate the offer,” said Victor, “but I assure you that’s not going to happen, Goos. Your father would never allow it. And neither would I.”
Magoosa looked crestfallen. “I’m not a child, Vico. I can help.”
“I know you can, Goos. Which is why I’m putting you in charge of modifying the quickship. We need to equip one with shields and batteries and some crude life support, mostly extra oxygen tanks and water. There’s a quickship in the cargo bay. We’ll use that one.”
Magoosa seemed surprised. “You’re putting me in charge of that?”
“Unless you don’t think you can handle it?”
“Oh, I can handle it, Vico. Don’t worry about that.”
“Good,” Victor said. “Because when it comes time for you to enlist with the IF, they’re going to ask you if you’ve ever had any experience with combat, if you’ve ever had to think quickly in a moment of crisis, if you’ve ever been truly innovative with few resources at your disposal. Help me with this quickship and you’ll be able to tell them yes.”
Magoosa nodded, energized. “I am all over this, Vico. You’ll find me in the cargo bay.” He launched away.
Victor smiled. Then he hovered in the workshop for a moment, unsure what to do next. He needed to strategize. How was he going to approach the canopy around the asteroid? And once he reached it, how would he anchor the quickship so it didn’t float away and leave him stranded. He needed Imala’s brain. She was the strategist—not to mention a good sounding board for his own ideas. She could see flaws instantly and provide possible solutions in the same breath. Without her, he’d spend hours chasing a dead end.
So why didn’t he go find her? Why did he hesitate?
“You’re avoiding me,” a voice said behind him.
Victor turned and found Imala hovering in the doorway.
“Actually I was thinking about coming to find you,” he said.
“Thinking about it,” she said. “That’s different from doing it.”
“I spoke with Arjuna,” Victor said.
She launched into the room and caught a handhold near him. “And what did he say?”
“He was as resistant as you suspected, but he agreed to hold a council.”
“That’s good,” said Imala. “I think the council will side with us.”
“Us?” said Victor. “I thought you were against me going.”
“I am. But I agree that someone needs to go. You’ve infiltrated a Formic ship before. You know how to elude them. You know how they think, or at least you understand them better than anyone else on this ship.”
He nodded, grateful. And yet it pained him a little that she wasn’t still arguing against the idea. Had her love for him diminished so quickly that she was willing to let him go into harm’
s way?
“But know this,” said Imala. “You’re not going without me.”
He started to object, but she silenced him with a wave of her hand. “Don’t argue with me because nothing you say is going to change my mind. This is a two-person job in a quickship. You can’t go alone. If you were to need help, someone has to be there to offer it. We’re a team, Vico. We’ve done this before, and if not for me, you would have died a long time ago.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
“Plus I’m a far better pilot than you are,” said Imala.
“You’ve never flown a quickship before,” said Victor.
“I’m a fast learner. It’s not rocket science.”
“Technically it is rocket science.”
“You need someone helping you,” said Imala. “If you go alone, a thousand things could go wrong, and you might not be in a position to do anything about it. You know I’m right.”
“I don’t want to put you in unnecessary danger, Imala.”
“This is necessary danger, Vico. I know you’re angry with me about enlisting, I know you’re disappointed, but we need to put that aside right now and focus on that asteroid. I’m not letting you go alone. That’s not going to happen. If you go, I’m going with you. It’s not up for discussion.”
Victor was going to say more, but his computer terminal chimed.
“Vico, it’s Arjuna, I need you at the helm. Imala, too, if you know where she is.”
Victor and Imala glanced at each other and then hurried to the helm. When they arrived, the room was quiet, and the entire crew was staring at them. Arjuna was at the holotable. Victor couldn’t read his expression. Anger? Annoyance? Disappointment?
“What’s wrong?” Victor asked.
“It appears your message got through to the IF after all,” Arjuna said. His mouth was a tight line. His jaw was set. “We just received a transmission.”