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  “When’s your test?” asked Seth. “Coming up, isn’t it?”

  “Today, sir,” said Michael. “I’m on my way there now. How’s the job going? Anything for me to look forward to?”

  “A little boring, if I’m being honest. Not much happens on this ship. You picked a pretty easy job for your secondary.”

  Michael chuckled. “With security, isn’t that a good thing? The more active it gets, the worse off we are.”

  “Definitely,” said Seth, smiling. “Well, don’t let me keep you. Be sure to tell me how you do on your test.” He stepped aside to make room.

  “Thank you, sir,” Michael said. He cleared the lift and proceeded down the corridor. Seth punched the elevator button for the bridge, and the lift began to rise. Michael was only twenty-three years old. He’d been a young engineer when the Eden began its mission. Since then, he’d excelled in the role, gaining some notoriety and respect from his peers and superiors. Michael worked hard and stayed out of trouble. He had a knack for solving problems, which made him valuable. If he maintained his work ethic, it wouldn’t be long before he ended up running his own team—maybe even a department.

  Good for him. Seth and his brothers were given ample opportunities to move up in the world, due to their family prestige. This didn’t mean their careers were without their own problems, but they had the benefit of influence on their side. Everyone on Fiore knew Seth’s father. His family was one of the oldest in the empire, and they had money, connections, and power.

  Doesn’t matter, he thought. We’re all just people now.

  With humanity on the edge of extinction, what did a family name mean? All that mattered now was survival. If someone like Michael could get the job done, what difference did it make where they came from? If he could keep them alive, then he mattered.

  The doors opened and Seth stepped out of the lift. A few engineers gathered in the hall, repairing a broken conduit. Tools and power strips littered the floor as they worked quickly to fix the damage. At any given time, one of these teams could be found somewhere on the ship, whether in a server room or a corridor like this. Lately, they’d taken to making significant repairs instead of simple checkups. The ship was hardly new, dating back nearly fifty years. After so much time in service, it was no wonder so many outages and accidents happened when they did. Hell, Seth thought. You’d think there would be more.

  He turned the next corner and entered the bridge, which seemed busier than usual. Despite working in the Security Office, Seth reported to the bridge for the morning brief, along with every other department head. The captain preferred face-to-face interactions, despite having access to digital channels. Some found it annoying, but Seth understood. You respect the leader you see, he thought. Never the one you don’t.

  “You’re late,” said a voice. It was the captain, standing a few feet to his left. He was a large man, tall and strong, but also a little heavy. His arms were firm and thick, broad shoulders holding him together at the sides. But he was an older man, fatter now than he used to be, and it showed in the gut he carried. “Did you hear what I said? You’re late.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” Seth said. “I’m willing to extend our meeting to make up for the time.”

  The old man smiled. “I should hope so. By my count, you owe me about three minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The captain laughed, placing his hand on Seth’s shoulder. “Come on, I’m just kidding, Seth. Lighten up a little.”

  “Yes, sir. Should we get to it?”

  The old man sighed. “Fine, go ahead, if you must. Before you do, though, I want you to come by for dinner tomorrow night. I’m having the whole family. You’d better be there. Think you can do that for me, or do I need to order my own son to spend some time with his family?”

  “No, I’ll be there,” said Seth.

  “Good!” exclaimed the captain, grinning. “Glad to hear it.”

  Before he could say anything more, the door to the bridge slid open. It was Azura, and she was right on time.

  Chapter 2

  Seth left the bridge after the morning brief. As usual, he’d given his report to the captain, and like every other day, it was more or less devoid of content, which was good.

  Nothing criminal ever happened on the Eden. In fact, Security was so understaffed that it only had two officers—Seth and Uriel.

  Not that it mattered. The worst thing to happen in the last six months was a marital squabble.

  Seth spent most of his work day sitting around the office, shooting the breeze with Uriel. They talked about recent books they’d read, complained about other crew members, or discussed whatever hobby they happened to be into at the time.

  Today, Uriel’s topic of conversation involved Takado, a form of martial arts she’d recently taken up. “You should join me sometime,” she said. “It’s pretty exhilarating. The idea is to build your endurance up over time so you can eventually outlast your opponent. You play defensively, trying to wear them out. Once they start slowing down, you strike.”

  “What happens if you come across someone else who knows Takado?” asked Seth.

  “There are attacks you can use. It’s pretty adaptable.”

  “I think I’ll pass,” said Seth. “You have fun, though.”

  She laughed. “Typical Seth.”

  “What? It’s not like we’re back home on the streets of the capitol, beating down thugs for information.”

  “True,” she said. “Could be good exercise, though.”

  Seth tabbed the keyboard on his desk, calling up reports from the night before. One or two might come in during their off hours, but rarely anything serious. As it happened, the system had a single incident summary waiting for review.

  “What’s up?” asked Uriel. “Got something?”

  Seth read it over. “Looks like another blackout.” They’d been seeing more and more of these lately. Always random. This time the report came from Sid Marco, a level-two botanist.

  “How bad?”

  “No damages. Engineering already took care of the outage, so the power’s back on. Should be good.”

  Uriel stretched her arms out. “Well, that was easy.”

  “Another win for us,” said Seth.

  “Another clear day,” she said, clasping her hands. “Want me to get the cards?”

  “Sure, if you feel like losing another game.”

  “Or twenty,” she said with a chuckle. “God knows we’re not going anywhere.”

  * * *

  After a pretty boring twelve-hour shift in Security, Seth was more than ready to call it a day. He walked through the corridor and entered the elevator, anticipating sleep. This is what I get for staying up so late with Azura, he thought. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into the cushions of his couch, kick his boots off, and relax.

  Unfortunately, today had other plans.

  His wrist dinged, emitting a small light. A call from his brother Abel. He sighed, answering it.

  “Hi Seth,” said Abel. “Cain isn’t answering the com. Go check on him, please.”

  “I’d rather not,” said Seth. “Besides, you didn’t even ask. You just gave an order.”

  “Come on, Seth. You’re close to his quarters. It won’t take you long.”

  “I’m still not hearing a question.”

  “Fine. Can you please go see what Cain is doing?”

  “He’s probably asleep.”

  “It’s the middle of the afternoon,” said Abel. “Why would he be sleeping?”

  “He’s been working odd hours for the past month.”

  “Really? I didn’t know that.”

  Of course you don’t, thought Seth. Abel never was a very good listener. He always had a hundred things going through his head. “He told us both a few weeks before the switch. You’d remember if you paid more attention.”

  “Well, whatever. I guess I forgot. Dad wants him to come by tomorrow for dinner. We need you to swing by and tell him.”
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  “Fine,” said Seth.

  “Great,” said Abel, and then the com went dead.

  Seth sighed again and pressed the elevator button. Cain’s quarters were near one of the population bays—a housing location for nearly ten thousand future colonists. They slept in cryogenic pods, waiting for the Eden to arrive at its eventual destination. Given the limited resources available and the potential length of the mission, cryogenics remained one of the few viable solutions for deep space colonization. The ship carried farmers, botanists, chemists, medical doctors, immunologists, allergists, carpenters, construction workers, welders, electrical engineers, project managers, and a slew of other experts across a wide array of fields, each resting comfortably inside their little pods. The Eden had filled its bays with as many survivors as possible, all in an effort to give humanity a second chance.

  Seth couldn’t wait for it to be over. He missed the open fields of Fiore. The soft heat of the afternoon sun. He recalled the long walks through the nearby woods and the small brook down the hill from his home. He and Cain had often played there as children.

  The war had ravaged that world, decimating the Empire and all her colonies. He would never set foot there again, never see the countryside of his youth or play in the field with his brother. If he had children, they’d never know the home of their ancestors.

  But at least they’ll be alive, he thought. That has to count for something.

  The elevator doors opened, pulling him from his thoughts. Cain’s room was a few doors down. Seth found it quickly, touching the button on the wall to announce himself. He waited, then pressed it a second time.

  “Alright, alright,” said a muffled voice from the other side.

  Seth heard what sounded like a box falling. Before he could ask about it, the door opened. Cain had a spoon in his mouth and half his shirt on, like he’d tried and then gave up. His frizzy, red hair stuck to one side, and his bloodshot, green eyes seemed to suggest he was sleeping.

  “Hey. Something wrong?” asked Cain. He licked his lips. Behind him, a darkened room, with only the soft glow of a computer screen to serve as a light source. Cain enjoyed watching old world entertainment, often losing track of time while binging for hours. Even days.

  “Abel asked me to check on you. Father wants us to come by tomorrow for dinner.”

  Cain scrunched his nose, almost disgusted by the notion. “Do I have to?”

  “I’d rather not go either, but you know how it is.”

  “Tell them I’m busy,” he said quickly. “Say I’ve got a project to work on.”

  Seth peaked over his brother’s shoulder at the computer screen on the far side of the room. “Does it have something to do with Star Quest?”

  “I finished that game. I’m on Razor’s Rocket now. It’s a spinoff from SQ about Razor Maddox, one of the side characters.”

  “I stand corrected,” said Seth.

  “Ugh, fine. I’ll go,” said Cain. “Not promising I’ll stay very long, though.”

  “Thanks. You know I can’t do these things on my own.”

  “Yeah, yeah. No need to guilt me. I said I’d go.”

  They laughed together, and Seth was glad to see his brother smile.

  * * *

  Seth woke from his nap to the sound of the door opening. He’d fallen asleep on the sofa, apparently. Azura stood at the entryway, taking off her jacket and setting it on the wall rack. As he sat up, she beamed a smile his way, and he returned it. “Welcome back.”

  She fell into the cushions of the couch, swinging her feet over his knees, and threw her face into his chest. “I had such a stupid day,” she moaned.

  He chuckled, putting his arm around her neck. “What happened?”

  She sighed. “Lots of problems on the ship. There were a few power outages near engineering. I spent the whole day trying to find out why, but no one knows. Lilith is still working on it.”

  “Any ideas what it could be?” asked Seth.

  “I honestly have no idea. Engineering checked everything. The power core is stable. The diagnosis they ran came up empty. Even Lilith hasn’t found anything. It’s infuriating.” She gently punched his thigh. “I hate my job.”

  “Today, you do.”

  “What?”

  “You hate your job today. Last week you loved it.”

  She scoffed and laid her head on his lap. “Fine,” she said. “I only hate it today.”

  “That’s the spirit.”

  “Quiet, you.”

  “Don’t forget we’ve got that dinner tomorrow,” said Seth.

  “That should be nice and awkward. Is Cain going?”

  “He’s not happy about it, but he’ll be there.”

  “Poor guy,” she said, closing her eyes.

  “Yeah,” said Seth, letting out a long sigh. “Poor guy.”

  They sat in silence for a while, holding one another, and soon they fell asleep, together at last. The night faded with ease, until a few hours after midnight when Azura stirred and woke him. She took him by the hand, kissing his neck and laying him on the bed.

  A beam of light from the hall hit her, revealing her eyes—rapture blue with spots of red—and he melted, completely entranced.

  Suddenly, tomorrow morning’s shift no longer mattered, nor did his exhaustion. He was consumed, the same as he had been all those years ago, back on Fiore, when Adam had brought her to their farm in the country, far from the noise of the capitol.

  Azura was thin and tired in those days, with lines on her face from weeks of crying, her father barely in the ground. Seth watched as she stepped out of the car. Her doe eyes glistened with tears as she stood before him, there on the steps of his father’s house. She held a bag with both her hands, her entire world reduced to a single piece of luggage.

  He went to her, there under the Fiore sun. “Hey,” he said, his voice cracking.

  She stared at him with puffy cheeks and bloodshot eyes. “Hello.”

  She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and like any sixteen-year-old boy, he loved her immediately.

  Chapter 3

  Cain stretched and yawned. He was going on three hours of sleep, but he didn’t care. Sleep was a distraction. He was much more interested in repairing this microprocessor.

  He sat in his room with his soldering pen, melting and fusing a piece of metal. The tip of the pen heated itself to dangerous levels, so he had to take special precautions when using it. He wore gloves and a mask, being careful not to burn himself or breathe in the fumes. The ship’s safety policy prohibited this kind of work outside designated work centers, but Cain didn’t care. He preferred the solitude of his quarters.

  He tapped the iron with his pen, sending fumes into the air. A fan whirled nearby, pushing the gray smoke away, dispersing it. He couldn’t spend much time on this today. His shift in engineering started soon.

  No matter. He could always finish up after—

  Oh, right. He had that family dinner today. He’d almost forgotten. Damn, he thought. So much for productivity.

  Cain turned the pen off and set it on the table. He ran through a few different scenarios, trying to think of an excuse not to go. He could say he had work to do. They’d probably complain, but so what? It’s not like they really wanted him there.

  No, that wasn’t true. Seth had asked him to come, and he’d meant it. Maybe I’ll go and stay an hour…then leave. That should be good. Cain put his tools away, glancing at the clock on his computer screen. Crap. He waited too long. He’d be late now. Should’ve planned better, he thought. Oh well.

  He pulled off the gloves and mask, tossing them into the recycling unit under the table. He didn’t have time to take a shower today. Hopefully no one would notice. To compensate, he rinsed his face and hair, dabbing his arms and neck with a cloth.

  On the way to engineering, his communicator beeped. He tapped the screen and accepted the call. It was Ariel, one of his coworkers. “Yeah?” he asked, before she could say anything.r />
  “You’re late again,” she said.

  “I know. I was busy.”

  “You’re always busy. What was it this time? Another project?”

  He entered the elevator. The doors slid closed. “Whatever.”

  “Don’t worry. I covered for you. I told everyone you were checking the outage on deck sixteen.”

  “What outage?” asked Cain.

  “It happened a few minutes before the shift change. The power in one of the compartments went down for a few minutes.”

  “Did Lilith already run a diagnostic check?”

  “Yes, but she didn’t find anything. It’s the third outage in the area this week, which means someone has to go there in person.”

  “Great.”

  “Better hurry. I told them you were already on your way.” The com clicked off and she vanished.

  Cain tapped the button for deck sixteen. He sighed as the lift trembled with movement. The day was already off to such a wonderful start.

  Deck sixteen was largely unmanned. Like half the shift, the bulk of the floor had been repurposed into storage rooms. Some of the crew had quarters on this level, but those were closer to the forward section, far from his destination.

  Which was good, because he preferred his isolation. People, for their part, were largely annoying, stupid, selfish little beings. Only a few had genuine interest in anyone other than themselves. They gossiped, cheated, talked bad about their friends. They spread rumors, betrayed, and calculated. And for what? To feel better about themselves?

  None of them were worth a damn, except perhaps his brother Seth…and maybe Ariel. The rest could go and rot.

  He found the maintenance closet and grabbed one of the toolkits—a medium-sized orange box containing some basic supplies and a scanner. Every deck had several of these for quick repairs. If the problem was serious, he’d return with some proper gear from Engineering.

  He located the hatch closest to where the outage had occurred and, using his omni-tool, unscrewed the metal and set it on the floor. He squeezed into the wall behind several bundles of wiring and hard metal, and then shuffled several feet to the nearest circuit port.