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“Why?” Raid shudders, as if emerging from a trance. His eyes narrow and focus on me. “Why shouldn’t I say anything, Ann?”

Why shouldn’t he? I glance over at Dace, who simply shrugs his shoulders. “It might affect Dace’s research. Too many people tromping down here to see the Selk—could taint the results.”

Dace coughs again. “Yeah, that could happen,” he says, as Raid shoots him a suspicious look.

“I’d hate to think we’d kill off all these creatures.” There’s a wistful note in Raid’s voice.

I study his profile. I’ve known him all my life, yet question what other layers of his personality have remained hidden from me. Because he’s buried them? Or because I never bothered to look beyond the surface of his handsome face? “Sorry,” I say under my breath. Raid glances down at me with a question in his dark eyes. “Sorry we ever discovered them, if that’s the case.”

“That would be a pity.” Raid shakes out his arms. “Weird, the way it made me feel. Like I just wanted to press my hands into its fur and never let go.”

Dace’s speculative stare is leveled on Raid. “They are lovely creatures. Well, maybe not beautiful in the traditional sense, but they seem to radiate warmth and intelligence. Such … oh, I don’t know.”

“Joy,” says Raid. “Such joy.”

I fight the desire to wrap my arms around him. “Well, if we’re gonna convince Mom and the others to hold off their mining plans, we’d better get to it.”

I shove the rest of my clothes into my pack as Dace double-checks his equipment pouch. Raid continues to stare moodily across the lake. When I head for the path out of the cavern, the others follow without a word. Only when we step outside, blinking in the sunlight, does anyone speak again.

“Us,” says Raid, as he straddles his bike. “Just wish I knew what that ‘us’ really meant.”

I slam down my visor and rev up my bike to avoid a reply.

We approach the compound. Dace rolls up beside me and shouts that he’s heading for the back gate, near the ship. I nod and motion for Raid to follow.

We park the bikes in the shadow of the spacecraft’s tailfin. As I yank off my helmet, loud voices waft from the cargo hold.

“What the hell?” Dace tosses his helmet over his handlebars and jogs toward the source of the noise.

Raid and I stride after him. When we reach the open doors of the hold, I spy a dark head and a golden one poking out above a wall of crates. Facing them is another figure, with hair the color of flame.

“You shouldn’t mess with these creatures,” says Kam. “You’re getting all screwed up, Emie.”

Dace charges up the loading ramp. “What’s going on here?”

I follow Raid as he steps around the barrier of boxes. Emie and Calla are standing side-by-side, confronting Kam, whose fingers are clenching and unclenching at his sides.

“Just trying to convince my girlfriend she’s got better things to do than waste hours yapping with cybers.” Kam’s eyes glitter like the scales of a snake.

“Convince? Sounds like orders to me.” Dace steps between Kam and the two women. “Shouting doesn’t do much to convince anyone of anything.”

If Kam’s eyes were lasers, Dace would be dead. “Not your biz, spacer. Just walk away.”

“Hey now.” Raid slides behind Kam and lays a hand on his shoulder. “Chill out, dude. Looks like Emie was just chatting. Where’s the harm?”

“The harm?” Kam shrugs off Raid’s hand. “The harm is she’s spending all her free time with this trash when we’ve made prior plans. And even when we’re together, all she talks about is the injustice of the genetic laws and how badly cybers are treated and blah, blah, blah.” He curls his lip as his gaze turns to me. “It’s you, isn’t it, Solano? Putting ideas in her head.”

I move to stand beside Emie. “No, it isn’t. For your information, Kameron Frye, Emie has plenty of her own ideas in her head. Her brain isn’t empty, you know. She doesn’t need me to place anything there.”

Emie’s fingers creep into my palm. “Damn straight, Kam. I do actually have a mind of my own.” She glances up at me with a faint smile and gives my hand a squeeze.

I smile in return before turning my attention back to Kam. “Emie’s probably smarter than me, if it comes down to it. So stop treating her like she’s your robot.”

“Look, dude, whatcha say we fire off some rounds of laser-blast,” says Raid. His tone is light, but his expression, glimpsed over Kam’s shoulder, is grave. “Need another chance to whoop your ass, power jockey.”

“Not until this cyber promises to leave Emie alone.”

Calla’s artificial face displays no emotion, but something dangerous flickers in her eyes. “I don’t seek her out. She comes to talk with me.” She takes a step toward Kam. “It seems Emie’s interested in more than your little world can offer.”

Dace puts out a hand to halt Calla’s forward momentum. “Not the place for an argument. My uncle won’t be happy if we destroy his property.”

Calla stares at Dace for a moment before her lips ratchet into a semblance of a smile. She pats Dace’s arm. “Good point, little man. The captain will have my hide if we damage any of this.” She jerks her head to indicate the crates piled about the cargo hold.

“Well, I don’t give spacer’s shit about that.” Kam shoves Dace aside to confront Calla. “I don’t much care for your captain either when it comes down to it.”

Calla’s gaze sweeps over Kam. “You really don’t want to piss me off, dirt-treader.” Her hand slides down to the laser gun holstered at her side.

Dace leaps in between them. “No violence. That never solves anything.”

The boy has guts. Glancing at Raid, I note my admiration mirrored in his eyes. “This is ridiculous.” I grip Emie’s hand with so much force she squeaks.

Raid leans in and grabs Kam by the upper arm. “Time to go. Last thing we need is to be forced to pay for damaged property.”

“You’re all assholes!” Kam struggles against Raid’s hold, but he’s not strong enough to dislodge Raid’s fingers. “Bleeding-heart idiots—you don’t see the danger right in front of your snotty noses.”

“And what danger is that?” asks Emie, pulling her hand from mine. She steps up beside Calla. “What’re you so afraid of, Kam?”

“Not afraid—disgusted.” Kam spits at Calla’s feet.

The cyber’s fingers twitch over her gun. “Nah, dirt-treader, ‘afraid’ is the right word. You’re scared shitless ’cause you know one wrong move, one false step on your turbine platform, and you could be me.” She stares directly into Kam’s eyes. “Any one of you could be me. That’s why you hate cybers so much.”

“Abomination!” Kam lurches forward, but Raid throws his arms around the redhead to hold him in place.

“Enough.” Raid tightens his hold and backs away, dragging Kam with him. “You’ve lost your tiny mind. I’m carting you out of here until you cool off.”

“Joining up with the mutant brigade, are you, Raid?” Kam twists his neck to send Raid a furious sidelong glance. “Guess it’s ’cause you love crazy-bitch Solano over there.” He spits again, hitting Raid’s boot.

“I do love her,” says Raid, with perfect conviction.

I meet his calm gaze. Out of the corner of my eye I notice Dace’s focus shift from Kam to Raid.

“But that’s got nothing to do with me stopping you from doing something majorly stupid.” Raid releases Kam for a second before yanking his arms behind his back. “Now, we’re going to march out of here, and you’re going to show me where to scrounge up some booze from your uncle’s not-so-secret still. ’Cause you need a drink, Kam, and then—if you still feel like making trouble—you and I can engage in some holo game anarchy.”

“Emie, stay with that creature now and we’re done! Don’t come running after me later!” shouts Kam, as Raid force-marches him down the ramp.

“Not a problem,” says Emie under her breath. Catching Calla’s eye, she lifts her chin. She strides to the edge of the ramp, her back straight as a pine sapling. “Not a problem!” she yells after Kam.

I hurry forward to stand at Emie’s side. “Good riddance.”

Raid shoves Kam through the back gates—to the amusement of several colonists working in the machine yard.

“He’s all right, that Raid,” observes Dace as he steps up beside me. “I can see why you like him.”

I glance over at Dace’s pensive face. “Good friend.”

Beside me, Emie snorts. “I’d like a friend like that,” she says, elbowing me in the side.

You can have him soon. I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from speaking aloud. Partially because, despite everything, I can’t tell Emie my plans. Partially.

“That Kam kid is trouble.” Calla circles around to face us. “You’d best be careful. He seems to be a few pulses short of a blast.”

“You’re the one who needs to be careful,” says Dace. “Better keep your guard up, Calla.”

“I always do,” replies the cyber.

***

I leave Dace and Emie with Calla and make my way to the building that houses the colony’s small lab. Although we don’t conduct a lot of exploration or research, we still maintain a certain amount of scientific equipment.

I’m betting my mother’s in the lab. She’s been spending a lot of time there over the last few days conducting studies on the mineral Dace brought back from the cavern.

I push open the door and see I’ve guessed correctly. Mother’s standing behind a tall table peering into a monitor built into its surface. She waves her hand over the screen and a three-dimensional model of Eco’s terrain appears above the table. Whipping her fingers through the image, Mom zeroes in on a rock hill. She flicks the holographic model until the top layer disappears, leaving a dark image honeycombed with tunnels and caverns.

“Come in, Ann,” she says, without taking her eyes off the model.

I close the door behind me and walk to the lab table. “That’s what’s underneath the surface?” I do my best to inject the proper amount of innocence into my tone.

Mom frowns. “We should have checked this out before, since we had the geological surveys from the initial satellite exploration of the planet. I mean, we knew about the underground water, and that caves existed, but apparently no one was interested in discovering much about them.” She tenses her lips, creating two sharp lines that bracket her mouth. For a moment, she looks her age.

“Your parents tried.” I pull a stool up to the table and sit across from her.

My mom slams her hand onto the model, collapsing the image into the monitor. “Yes, they did.” Her hazel eyes examine me with detachment. “So, have you and the Keeling boy discovered anything else of interest?”

An image of the Selk arcing their bodies out of the water and diving back down, smooth as polished pebbles … “No.” I meet her gaze without blinking. “Well, we did find a cavern containing a small lake. Seems to be connected to some underground waterways.”

“Where you found the sample.”

“Yes. But Mom,” I clutch my twitching hands in my lap, hiding them below the tabletop, “I just wonder if maybe we should slow down on this mining thing. Grandmother has a point; we wouldn’t want to leave the colony vulnerable. And it seems there’s plenty of time. No one’s touched the mineral deposits in all these years—why rush now? Not like it’s going to disappear.”

Slender fingers smooth her silken cap of hair. “You’re not going to side with your grandparents on this, I hope.” She drops her hand and taps the tabletop. “I’d have thought you’d be even more anxious than I am. Your ticket off Eco just waiting to be collected.”

“Yes, but … ” Stupid not to have planned what I would say to her. “If we could just compromise, we wouldn’t have to worry about any opposition. Collect enough of the mineral … ”

“Promissium.”

My nose wrinkles despite my best efforts to maintain a neutral expression. “Yeah, that. Anyway, collect enough to fill a few crates and Captain Patel can jet the samples off to his contacts. Let him line up the investors, and they can bring in new equipment for the mining. No one’s placed in danger and we still get our credits and get off Eco.” I manufacture a bright smile.

My mother studies me for a moment. She places her hands flat upon the table and leans forward. “I’m not waiting here until Captain Patel returns. When he leaves, I go with him. Don’t look so shocked; surely you guessed this already. It’s been decided—I’ll assist Connor in locating and securing the proper mining partners. I am, after all, a geologist by trade.” Her lips curve upward. Dace’s art discussion pops into my mind, bringing with it a memory of pictures of beautiful women. If a painter were to capture Mom’s expression, it would include that enigmatic smile so many portraits wear. “I want you to come with me, Ann.”

“What about the others? Are we going to abandon grandmother and grandfather?” I slip off the stool and kick it to the side. “What about Dad?”

Mom lifts a hand and swirls it through the air. Her silver bracelet rings like tiny bells. “Oh, your father.” She strokes the line of her jaw with one finger. “Let me tell you a story that involves your father. Just so you understand a little better why I must leave.”

“You and Dad got married too young. I know that story.” I cross my arms over my chest.

“No, you don’t.” Mom sighs and walks around the table. “You don’t know anything about it, my darling daughter. Nothing at all.” She leans back against the table, her arm brushing my elbow.