Evolution (33 page)

“What happened on the battle stations?” Dean asks. “I heard the Strykers went off.”

I nod, my lips thinning. “They did. The four stations with prisoners in their holds were seriously damaged. But we were somewhat lucky. Only about a fourth of the Strykers went off.” We don't know if it was because the long-range detonation signal didn't reach them, or if they'd been disarmed when the vul dropped their electric pulse weapon, like the Developers claimed before. Either way, it was a small victory.

“How many prisoners survived?” Dean asks.

“About four thousand.”

There were seven thousand to begin with; we lost three thousand people. It's a staggering number to picture. How many of them were only three or four years old, little boys and girls who barely understood what was happening to them? It's even worse because they were so close to freedom, a few days away from being able to leave Kiel forever.

I haven't been up to the battle stations to check for all the people I knew among the survivors. The only person I know for sure survived is Sandy, along with her unborn baby, Grace. I started crying from relief when Jehara told me she was alive and her baby was well. But I can't imagine how Sandy feels, knowing her husband is gone.

I don't know yet if Nellie, Grady, Hector, or any of the other child workers I knew are alive or among the dead.

“I should go,” I tell Dean. “But I'll come visit you again later.”

“Hopefully I'll see you before then,” he says. “They should be releasing me in the next hour or so.”

On my way out of the room, one of the curtains around the beds moves aside. Sam steps into view. He came to the ward to receive treatment for the wound Lieutenant Brand gave him in the battle, but by the look of it, he's just been released.

Sam stops walking when he sees me. There's stiffness in his body, though the coldness in his eyes doesn't seem as heavy as usual. Awkward, wary silence stretches between us. We haven't spoken since what happened on the Core bridge.

“Thank you for helping me kill Commander Charlie,” I say stiffly.

Sam scoffs, answering in his usual cruel tone, “As if I was doing it for you.”

“Whatever. I just wanted to say thank you.” I stride past him, heading for the door.

“Wait,” he says.

I stop walking and turn back around, crossing my arms. “What?”

I can sense Sam struggling to force the words he wants to say out of his mouth. Finally, he gets them out. “Thank you for not shooting me, twice now. I owe you.”

“You're welcome,” I say.

He hesitates, then offers his hand. I grasp it and Sam gives it a quick shake, grimacing like the gesture's causing him pain.

“You know, there's a place for you on the vul fleet, if you want it,” I say. “You could come with us when we go with them to Marden.”

A formal announcement of the vul's proposition hasn't been made yet, but the word has been getting around, so I know Sam has heard some of us are leaving.

“I'll think about it,” Sam says, and walks out of the room ahead of me.

*   *   *

The next day, Logan and I walk hand in hand down a hallway in the Core, on our way to the Pavilion for the official announcement of peace with the vul. Logan decided it was time to abandon his crutches, so we're moving slowly to make sure he can handle walking on his leg.

The Stryker explosions didn't harm the Pavilion, so it looks almost exactly as it did the first night I came to the Core, after I was picked for Extraction. People crowd the stands in the viewing pods. Lieutenant Mal and Jehara, who will speak as the representative of the Qassan, stand on the balcony, with an array of vul and human officials behind them. Skylar is up there with them. She's already told me she wants to remain on Kiel to help rebuild the society.

Peace between the nations of Kiel and Marden is declared. Jehara and Mal shake hands to confirm it.

“As many of you have already heard,” Mal says, “the Mardenites have requested our help in renewing their homeland, which faces crop shortages due to harsh weather conditions. We are sending them back to Marden with samples of our own vegetation from the Surface to help them rebuild. But what they really need is people to help them farm the land. Anyone who wishes to leave Kiel and make a new home on Marden with them will have passage aboard their fleet. Those who go will be allowed their own government and leaders, so long as they honor the peace treaty. You may go with them, or you may stay behind. Neither decision will affect your freedom. The fleet will depart for Marden in fourteen days' time.”

A wave of chatter fills the crowds. Some of the people sitting closest to us look interested by the offer, but most seem hesitant. I have a feeling most of the Core citizens won't accept the offer. They aren't used to open land and farming like those of us who lived on the Surface and in the work camps. They're more comfortable here in their underground home, though it also needs rebuilding.

Once we're back out in the hallway, Logan turns to me. “What are you going to do?”

In the frenzy of everything that's been going on, I haven't told him yet that I already promised the vul I'd go with them.

“I'm going to Marden,” I say. “I had to promise the vul I would go in order to get them to agree to the alliance. I can't go back on my word without breaking their trust. But I want to go, anyway. I'm sick of this place; I want to see what's out there.” I take a deep breath. “But if you wanted to stay here, I wouldn't stop you.”

Logan shakes his head and laughs.

“Don't laugh,” I say. “This is a serious decision. There's no guarantee you'd be able to come back to Kiel for a long time. If you left, you'd likely be stuck on Marden for a while.”

“Stuck on an exciting new planet with the girl I'm in love with?” Logan groans with obvious sarcasm. “You're right. I do need to think this through.”

I punch him lightly in the arm, but I can't help smiling. “It won't be all fun and games, you know. We'll have to do hard labor. And there's no guarantee the weather won't turn horrible again and keep all the new crops from growing. And—”

Logan gives me a light peck on the lips to shut me up. “I know. I'm still coming with you.”

He's not the only one who decides to come. Ariadne, Dean, Paley, and Sam will join us aboard the fleet, along with all the child workers already on the ships. A couple hundred civilians from Crust, Mantle, and Lower also decide to come, but only fifty Core civilians do. One of them is Dr. Troy, who has been staying close to the vul since their arrival. I'm not completely convinced he's switched over his allegiance from the Developers to us, but the Tessar trusts him, and he's the one who's seen the most of Dr. Troy out of all of us. So I decide not to argue about it.

As I expected, most of the other Core civilians want to stay where they're comfortable, even if this place holds memories of living under the controlling hand of dictators. But there are those who want something different, and they'll have a place on the battle stations.

Mal will stay here on Kiel, along with Darren and Uma. Mal has already been elected as a peoples' representative, so he'll have plenty of work to keep him busy.

Part of me wishes I could stay on Kiel awhile longer and see how it all turns out. But if I stayed, the bad memories from my life here would be impossible to forget. Now that I know there's at least one other world beyond the reaches of Kiel, I have to see it for myself. I'm ready for a new hope.

*   *   *

We leave for Marden on a morning two weeks after the peace treaty is signed. Logan and I are aboard the
Tuliare
, one of the smaller ships in the fleet. We stand on an observation deck, watching the blue-golden planet of Kiel grow smaller through the window. It's still encased in the shimmering acid shield. The shield won't be taken down until the scientists are sure the Surface is free of acid and there's no more threat to the planet.

The vul have assigned rooms to all of us on board. They gave us real beds instead of mossy ones, to help us be more comfortable. Ariadne is just down the hallway from Logan and me, and so is Nellie. She was the only child worker friend of mine who survived the Stryker explosions aboard the battle stations. Grady, Hector, and the others I knew on the Surface and in Crust are all dead.

Sandy was also transferred here from aboard the
Hessana
. It takes me several days to work up the courage to see her. I feel partially responsible for Beechy's death, since he died saving me. And I'm the person who shot her father, Commander Charlie. I know she hated him, but I'm sure part of her loved him. He was her family, after all.

“Come in,” she says when I knock on her door.

I hesitate, and move inside the room. She's lying on a simple mattress and pillow like the bed in my room. She's still hooked up to the monitors that keep an eye on her vital signs. Her cheeks have more color in them than they did the last time I saw her. But the redness in her eyes tells me she's been crying.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Good,” she says brightly. “You can come closer. I won't bite.”

I've been lingering near the doorway. I bite my lip, but walk closer to the side of her bed.

“How far are we from Kiel?” she asks. “They wouldn't let me watch the departure.”

“About sixty million miles away now. You can barely pick it out among the stars.”

“They said it'll be months before we reach Marden. That means Grace will be born there, as long as she doesn't pop out ahead of schedule. Can you imagine?”

I hadn't even thought about it. I smile. “No, I can't.” Silence lingers for several moments. I need to tell her what I came here to say. “Listen, I want you to know how sorry I am about what happened to Beechy.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Sandy shakes her head. “I don't blame you at all. I know you did everything you could. And I want to thank you for putting an end to my father. You saved a lot of people's lives that day. I'm very grateful, and Beechy would be too.”

Her eyes are watering, and so are mine.

Sandy gasps suddenly and places a hand over her belly. “That was a big one.”

My brows furrow. “What was?”

“Grace just started kicking. I have a feeling she's gonna be a real fighter. Would you like to feel?”

“Erm…”

She grabs my hand anyway and places it on her belly over her shirt. For a moment, I don't feel anything at all. Then the baby's foot thrusts against Sandy's stomach. I gasp loudly.

“Crazy, isn't it?” Sandy says, smiling.

“It is.”

Quiet falls between Sandy and me. We're both thinking about Beechy and how he missed out on this. He's going to miss out on too many things.

I quickly let go of Sandy and stand up. I need to leave before we both start crying. “I'll visit you again soon, okay?”

“You'd better,” Sandy says.

*   *   *

The days pass slowly aboard the
Tuliare.

A week in, one of the julas learns I'm still suffering minor hearing loss in my left ear and offers to do a procedure to repair my eardrum. I'd gotten used to hearing everything muffled, and I can't believe how much clearer things sound after it's over. I wish I weren't going to be confined to a spaceship for the next six months, so I could experience the sounds of nature I miss—wind and rain—again in all their clarity. But it'll be worth it once we reach Marden.

I spend a lot of time with Jehara, learning as much as I can about the place I'll soon call home. We both watch the vul working with the human scientists who came with us, led by Dr. Troy. They study the samples of species they collected from Kiel and try growing them in the soil rooms aboard the battle stations. On occasion, the Tessar emerges from his chamber, where he is slowly healing and recovering his strength under a jula's watch, to oversee the work, smiling at the way we are cooperating together. By the time we reach Marden, we should know which of the species would be likely to thrive.

“Balance will soon be restored,” the Tessar assures the vul, and they cry tears of relief and joy.

I defeated Commander Charlie, but he still haunts my dreams many nights. He wraps his fingers around my neck and strangles me. He sticks my body full of needles, pumping my veins with serums I won't be able to escape. He gives me the same cruel smile he always has.

Every time I wake thrashing in my sheets, covered in sweat, Logan is there to comfort me. To kiss me. To remind me we are safe.

It will take time to believe. But I will get there.

 

EPILOGUE

FIVE MONTHS LATER

 

 

We first glimpse the planet at 0700 hours.

On the observation deck of the
Tuliare
, Logan and I stand hand in hand before the window with a group of people, including Nellie, Ariadne, and Sam, blinking at the bright yellow Zanda star floating out in the otherwise empty darkness. The tinted windows protect our eyes, so we can stare directly at the light beaming from the star's surface. As our battle station slowly circles the sun, the planet Marden comes into view for the first time.

It's a murky reddish-brown color from far away, but as we move closer I make out the blue-green of the oceans. The world looks even more beautiful than I imagined it. It is a harsh one, and we will face trial and error helping the vegetation to thrive again. But with vul and humans working together, we will save it.

Two moons hang in the sky beyond Marden, both smaller than the moon orbiting Kiel. They are round, one dark gray and the other icy silver. Neither is poisonous, because moons aren't meant to be.

This isn't just a new world, a new place to call home. It's a promise of a life I once believed impossible. A chance to live many more years, and have children of my own that could grow up without fearing kill chambers or an acid sky. If I decide I want children. It's a choice now, not a requirement like in the work camp.