“Overseers?”
He hummed a confirmation. The scaled tip of his tail clacked against the metal console as it flicked restlessly.
“Elaborate,” she said, commanding.
He sighed, releasing the controls with one hand to rub at the back of his neck.
“We arequetari,” he said. The word didn’t translate.
“Quetari?What does that mean?”
“Ah, we are… made. Not born. Created for a purpose.”
Her eyes widened. “Genetically engineered, you mean? Like, test tube babies?”
“Tayst toob?” His eyes flicked to her in confusion.
She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just trying to say—they made you in a lab, right?”
“Yes, that is what I mean to say. We are hybrids, a bred and trained workforce.”
“Overseers,” she said thoughtfully, looking back up as though she’d be able to see the ship in orbit through the dense cloud cover. “I’m guessing they’re not all up there because you guys decided to unionize.”
He cast her a blank look.
“What did they do?” she asked, sobering.
A muscle ticced in his jaw. He fiddled with some of the controls on the dash before he answered. “Whatever they pleased.”
“So, you rebelled.”
“Yes.” The flicking of his tail grew more agitated, and the steering controls creaked beneath his grip.
“How long have they been up there returning fire?”
“One cycle around the sun and thirty-seven rotations.”
“A year and… a month?” She took a guess. “You guys have held out that long against that beast of a ship?”
Rentir didn’t answer as the hovercraft’s nose dipped toward the trees.
“We are close,” he said instead. His tone was colder, more guarded. Did he think she was judging him? That she might side with the mad scientists who’d cooked up their own workforce?
“I’m with you.” She laid a hand on his arm. “What you did was brave, overthrowing the people who thought they had a right to control you. I understand it more than you would guess. Earth wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, either.”
For some reason, that only seemed to ratchet his discomfort higher. She let her hand fall away, puzzling over his behavior. She didn’t press the matter as Rentir maneuvered the hovercraft down through the old-growth trees, lowering it next to a lifepod. The propellers slowed as the craft set down with a soft bump.
Rentir hit a button and both doors popped up and away, baring the forest. She unlatched her harness and slid down the bench, jumping to the ground. Fresh air filled her lungs as she sucked in a deep breath, savoring it. It was cleaner than any air she’d breathed, crisper than even the ultra-purified air of theCassandrahad been. Scents overwhelmed her, floral and loamy, wet and woody.
Was this what nature smelled like? Real nature? There had been so little of it left on Earth by the time they’d departed. Even the few state parks she’d been to had reeked of food stands and were polluted by the noise of arcade music and pickleball courts.
Something in her DNA unfurled at the sight of the untouched habitat her primordial ancestors must have enjoyed. The towering trees, the unfamiliar animal calls, and the sweet kiss of mist on her skin. Her eyes welled with tears.
This was why they had all taken the mission to Lapillus. This was what they had been searching for. And sure, some of them wouldn’t have been permitted to stay. They would have had a year of this and nothing more, would have spent the rest of their lives yearning to go back, but that year would have beenmore than anyone else on Earth would have. It would have been priceless.
She tipped her head back and let the tears go, rolling down her temples as she tasted real freedom for the first time. A smile tugged on the corners of her mouth even as she wept. She wished the crew of theLetocould see this—Felix especially. He’d joked endlessly about finding a lake and fishing for the rest of his days once they reached Lapillus. He’d called her ‘a creature intolerant of boredom’ when she’d objected.
“You’d rather be anything but bored, wouldn’t you, Commander?”He’d teased.“You’ll probably be on the first return flight back to this burning landfill, chomping at the bit for another mission. I’m surprised you even took this one. Ferrying colonists? It’s not your speed—not enough death-defying feats.”
