“Amy?”
“Yes. Now put the guns down and come inside before the aliens see us out here!”
Dad curses roundly, and he and his men crowd into the communication room. “Do you really need everyone here?” I ask. “Wouldn’t these people be better off guarding the colony?”
Dad turns back to the military with a command, and one woman and one man break off from the rest of the unit while the others return to the colony. “Amy,” Dad says, turning to me. “What the hell are you doing here? And where did the auto-shuttle go?” He eyes Chris, and there is such furious rage in his look that I’m afraid Dad’s going to punch him—or worse. “What did you tell her? What did you do?”
“It was Elder’s idea, Dad, not Chris’s. ” I can feel the fight rising within me. Dad might object, but Elder’s a leader, too, and in this case, he was right. We shouldn’t rely on weapons from the FRX. And although Dad will never admit that Elder might be able to save us, I believe he can.
Dad looks around him. “Where is Elder?”
I point out the window, toward the far-distant stars. And even though I’m proud of Elder in this moment, it’s not until now that I realize just how out of reach he is. It takes a moment for Dad to realize what I mean.
“Did he go to set off the weapon?” he asks. “That’s a damn stupid thing to do! We can operate it remotely, right here from the compound. I was only going to send a few arms specialists there to inspect it. ”
“No,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “He went back to Godspeed. ”
“What? Why?!”
I try my best to explain the clue, and the fact that the people on the ship need to be saved before the engine goes into full meltdown, and that they can bring back supplies for all of us. I can see that Dad thinks we’re being foolish and wasteful and that the only answer that could have brought him any happiness would have been if I’d told him that the weapon was launched and targeted at the aliens right now. He doesn’t care so much about our survival, not compared to revenge.
“That isn’t going to save us, Amy,” he says, glaring at me. “We need to get rid of the alien threat once and for all. That weapon—”
“Is something you don’t even understand,” I say, cutting him off. “All you see is the possibility of destroying the aliens. You’re not even thinking that it might hurt us too! What kind of weapon picks and chooses who it kills?”
Dad opens his mouth to protest.
“At least let Elder try to find more information,” I say. “There’s a chance he can figure out what the weapon is and how it works—then we can detonate it. ”
“The aliens have killed a third of the colony already,” Dad says. He stares at me with hard eyes. “They’ve killed a third of our family. ”
“You think I don’t know that?” I’m barely able to get the words out.
“How are we going to protect ourselves while that boy is up there playing the hero to the ship that should have landed with the shuttle?”
That? That I don’t know.
54: ELDER
The auto-shuttle ascends much faster than I would have thought possible. It climbs higher and higher until I’m competing with the falling suns—as they sink below the horizon, I shoot above it, leaving the whole shuttle in perpetual twilight until I break atmo. My stomach jerks and my hair lifts as I rise slightly from my seat before the grav replicator kicks on.
My heart thuds around inside my chest. I’m going back to Amy, I tell myself over and over. It’s not just a promise to her; it’s the vow I make for myself too.
The auto-shuttle slows as I hit orbit. A flat screen on the control panel lights up. A red bar of light illuminates the curve of the planet on the lower half of the screen and two blinking dots above that. This must be some sort of locator system. Interplanetary Preparation Station—Centauri—FRX flashes under one dot. Unidentified Orbiting Satellite is under the other.
That must be Godspeed. Downgraded from ship to satellite, nameless.
I peer out the window of the bridge. When the shuttle from Godspeed landed, I remember seeing a bright flash against the horizon. As I squint into the star-speckled darkness now, I see neither the space station nor Godspeed. From the looks of the locator, I’m between the two.
The control panel lights up again, flashing a message:
Manual Input Required
Beneath that, I’m given the option to direct the auto-shuttle to Godspeed or the space station. Briefly, I consider going to the station. What is the weapon there? Could it really eliminate the alien threat? It can’t be that far away, despite what Colonel Martin’s said.
But then I remember Bartie and the black patches, and I know even if I could wipe out the aliens and keep the planet for myself, I have to get to Godspeed first. But before that, I have one more task to do.
The ship is silent, and that seems appropriate. I click open the panel of controls. It still looks intimidating and complicated, but I’m looking for one thing specifically.