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Calla stands without reaching for any support. “NewSkies would’ve. You know how much data those companies collect on the planets they own? I’ve seen some of that shit in the military. Hell, even in some of the deals the captain’s brokered. There are reams of that stuff. Satellite imagery, thermal scans, bio scans, computer models … You name it, they do it. So don’t tell me NewSkies didn’t know all about these Selk.”

“They told them—my grandparents and the others—they told them to draw up the water and fill in those caverns … ”

“So you said.”

“But if they knew, and wanted to do the terraforming anyway … ” I twist the end of my braid around my hand. Of course, New Skies never told the terraformers. If the team knew, they might have refused to carry out the orders. NewSkies wouldn’t have cared about some indigenous species. Just like they didn’t care about the colonists they left stranded after the company went bankrupt. “It wouldn’t have killed all the Selk, not in the beginning,” I say, puzzling it out. “They could have moved to another location. But eventually … ” I clench my fingers tighter. “Once they developed the entire planet, or most of it, that would’ve been the end of the Selk.”

“Sounds like it.” Calla studies me dispassionately. “That thought bother you?”

An image of the water creatures, leaping and diving around me, fills my mind. My grandparents could have been instrumental in their destruction, long ago, without even knowing it.

Now there’s another threat to the Selk’s existence. And I know all about it.

“I’m ready to go back now.”

“All right. Let’s ride, kid.”

“No racing,” I say, remembering Dace.

“No promises,” replies the cyber. Her lips ratchet up into that mechanical smile.

Funny. It doesn’t seem to unnerve me anymore.

It’s quiet inside the gates of the compound. Calla and I park our bikes near the rec hall and approach Trent, who’s perched on a crate beside the front doors.

“Where’d everyone go?” I ask.

Trent jerks his thumb toward the doors. “Inside, most of them. ’Cept for the Council—they called an emergency meeting.”

So my mom will be busy with that. I wonder where Dad and my grandparents are. “What’s going on in there?”

“I dunno.” Trent’s staring at Calla.

The cyber meets his fascinated gaze without blinking. “The rest of the colony’s inside?”

“Well, not everyone.” Trent drops his eyes and scratches at the scabs on his elbow. He’s being trained on the wind turbines, just like Kam. Unlike Kam, he doesn’t really have the athletic ability to do the work without incurring some injuries. “Some followed the Council to their meeting and several went back to work. The ones inside are arguing about Dace’s theory and whether we should test everyone in the colony.”

“You don’t have an opinion?” asks Calla.

“Anybody likely to listen if I did?” Trent’s blue eyes hold a glimmer of rage. He turns his focus on me. “So—sure as hell doesn’t seem like I’ll be attending a university on Earth, does it?”

“We don’t know for sure if everyone carries the same mutation … ”

“Yeah.” Trent slumps back against the metal walls of the hall. “That’s what they’re arguing about. To test or not to test.” He crosses his arms over his narrow chest and gazes moodily across the courtyard. “Doesn’t matter. If we stay here, it won’t make any difference. But if we aren’t one-hundred-percenters and try to land on Earth, we’ll be kicked back into space. So—who cares?”

“Better to know, so you don’t have false hope.”
S
ympathy
laces
Calla’s strange voice.

Trent’s disgruntled expression doesn’t change. “I suppose.”

One of the front doors bangs open and Lily dashes out. “You see Emie anywhere?” she asks Trent, before glancing over at Calla and me.

“Not recently,” he replies.

“We just got here.” I slap a spot of dust off my jeans. “Why? She missing or something?”

Lily shrugs. “She and Raid were in the rec hall with us, but they left by the back door. Said they were gonna go look for that spacer kid. Mom thinks they should’ve returned by now.”

“Dace is missing too?” I glance at Calla. “When did they leave, Lily?”

“Dace left a while ago.” Trent sits forward, gripping his knees with both hands. “I saw him head out. Going back to his ship, he said. I don’t blame him—he was catching a lot of crap from everyone.”

“Emie and Raid left soon after,” says Lily. “Maybe they’re all at the ship? I can run and check.”

“No,” says Calla. “I should return to the Ada anyway. You stay here—tell your parents that Ann and I will send the others back if we find them.”

Lily frowns, looking just like her older sister. It occurs to me Emie might not be thrilled to see me. We’ll have to sort that out sooner or later. “Yeah, you two stay here. We’ll check it out.”

Calla and I walk off, ignoring Trent and Lily’s protests.

“Stubbornness seems a common trait on Eco,” observes Calla, as we make our way to the back gate.

“They’re probably pretty confused over this DNA thing.” I glance over my shoulder to make sure the younger kids aren’t following. “It’s a shock, you know.”

“I know about shock.” Calla swings the gate open. “You get over it.”

I eye her speculatively for a second. “Really?”

“No.” Calla fastens the gate behind us and strides toward the Augusta Ada without looking at me again.

As we approach the cargo bay, a noise makes us both stop in our tracks. It’s obviously human, though no words are distinguishable.

“Someone’s in pain.” Calla runs toward the far side of the ship.

I follow closely on her heels. As we round the back fins of the spacecraft, Raid stumbles out of the shadows.

There’s blood caked on his lower lip and a violet bruise stains his left temple. He staggers toward us, slumping into the side of the ship a few feet from Calla.

She rushes to him and offers an arm to prop him up. “What the hell happened to you, kid?”

“Fight.” Raid’s voice cracks on the word.

I dash to his other side and slide an arm around his back, helping Calla keep him on his feet. “You okay? Who hit you?”

He gazes at me, his pupils slightly dilated. “Ann. Happy to see you. Thought maybe they’d grabbed you too.”

There’s a ball of acid rolling up the back of my throat. I want to slap whoever did this to him. Hard. “Your mom needs to take a look at this bump.” I smooth the hair back from his temple with my free hand. “Wait a minute—grabbed me too? Who else did they grab?”

Raid straightens, pulling away from Calla’s arm, though his body still rests against mine. “Dace and Emie. You need to do something.” He stares into Calla’s strange eyes. “Tell your captain, get some help … ”

“Who took them?” Calla’s gloved fingers slide across the butt of her laser pistol.

“Kam. His dad and uncle. A few others. Wanted Dace to show them the way to the caverns, where he found that mineral.” Raid licks his lips and wipes the dried blood away with the back of his hand. “Knocked me out when I got in the way. Guess I was lucky they didn’t shoot me.”

Calla’s fingers tighten on her pistol. “They have guns?”

“Yeah. Only way they got Dace to go. Threatened to hurt Emie.” Raid looks down at me. “He’s brave, the little scientist. I’ll give him that.”

I can’t believe this. Emie and Dace, taken away at gunpoint? I lock my knees to prevent my legs from buckling. I clutch at Raid’s shirt. “Kam wouldn’t hurt Emie. He couldn’t. He’s in love with her … ”

Black eyebrows disappear under the hair spilling over Raid’s forehead. “She dumped him, remember? Anyway, it’s Kam. He liked screwing around with her. But love? Not sure the guy knows what that is.”

“Anything else? I mean, have any idea of their plan?” asks Calla.

“Well, they also had a sonic cannon. I saw it, and some explosives stuffed in the back of one of the rovers.” Raid frowns. “I expect they plan to blast something at the cavern—try to open up the entrance maybe. Not sure.”

Calla appears lost in thought. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” She heads for the cargo bay.

Raid leans against the smooth metal hull of the ship. “Thought you’d be pissed at me.”

“I was, for a while. But then I had time to think, and … I don’t know. I guess I actually agree with what you and Dace did. Protecting the Selk, I mean.” I keep my eyes down and focus on brushing some dirt from the sleeve of his shirt. “Even if it means exposing my secret.”

“Our secret.” Raid lays his hand over my moving fingers. “I’ve obviously got the same mutation, Ann. It’s not like you’re alone in this, you know.”

Meeting his intense gaze, I curl my fingers around his hand. “I know.”

“You should have seen Emie. She fought them off until Kam pulled the gun. But she got him good.”

“Kneed him?”

“Right in the nuts.” Raid’s lips curl into a smile that quickly disappears when his cut opens and bleeds again. “Damn.”

I reach up and wipe away the blood with my free hand. “Looks like you fought back too.”

“For all the good it did.”

“It did good.” I stand on tiptoes and kiss him softly on the lips. “You did good.”

Calla reappears, clutching something in her fist. “Okay, here’s what I think. You two have a connection with those water creatures, right? Maybe you can warn them somehow?” She examines Raid. “That is, if you feel up to it.”

“I can manage,” Raid replies.

“So you do that while I round up some reinforcements. Your dad, Ann, and your grandparents … ”

“My mother, Mia Lin.” Raid straightens and steps away from the support of the ship. “She’s a medic—could be useful.”

“All right. And the captain, of course, and Jacobi. Anyone else?”

“Emie’s parents—the Winstons. Ask my dad to grab a few others.” I release my hold on Raid’s hand and meet his determined gaze. “Sure you feel like traveling anywhere?”

“I can do it. Emie’s out there, and Dace. I’d rather do something, anything, than stand around here.”

Calla holds out her hand. In her palm is a small bottle. “Take it. There are two pills inside. You each swallow one.”

“What is it?” I take the bottle from her hand and hold it up to the light. Two tiny metallic balls roll around inside.

“Trackers.” Calla shrugs. “Don’t look surprised. Told you I was former military. This way, I can find either one of you, wherever you end up.”

“Is it permanent?” Raid extends his hand.

I drop one of the pills into his palm. I tip the bottle and swallow the other.

“No.” The faint hint of a smile twitches Calla’s mouth. “It passes.”

Raid grimaces, but pops the pill. “Nice,” he says, wiping his mouth. He smoothes back his unruly hair before turning to me. “You know how to handle a rover? Not sure I should be driving.”

“Sure. How hard can it be?” I plaster a smile on my face.

“Comforting.” Raid taps my nose with one finger. “Oh well, I can talk you through it.”

Calla reaches out and lays a hand on my arm. Her gloved fingers are surprisingly warm. “You two be careful. I wouldn’t send you, but it’ll take some time to gather a solid backup team, and I think somebody better warn those creatures as soon as possible.”

“Not a problem,” I say. Although, given Raid’s battered condition and my less than stellar fighting skills, I suspect we have a very big problem indeed.

But Kam and his crew might be planning something that could harm a lot of Selk. And they have Dace and Emie.

“Let’s go.” I take Raid’s hand and pull him toward the small fleet of solar-powered vehicles. I’ve never driven a rover on my own, but it can’t be much harder than riding a bike. I think.

“Meet you there,” calls Calla. “With back-up. Stay safe!”

I tighten my lips and pick up speed to keep pace with Raid’s longer strides. I really hope we can fulfill that last request.

I manage to maneuver one of the four-wheeled rovers over Eco’s terrain with only a few pointers from Raid. It involves some shouting, but really, not too much instruction.

Raid spots the tracks of two other rovers. They lead directly toward the first cavern entrance. I veer away from the tracks, earning another barrage of shouts from Raid.