Chapter Thirty: Home Sweet Home

The ship cleared Callisto, coming around its orbit to see Io. Just beyond that Europa came into view with Jupiter Station encircling the icy moon.

Io had been there before, but construction never really stopped on the space station. It had taken generations to build, and would likely take generations more to complete.

The station surrounded the entire moon like the rings around Saturn, forming a complete circle around Europa. Not all sections of the ring were finished, but the skeleton was complete. It was the first thing that was, and they had been filling it in ever since.

For the first time in weeks Io felt a pleasant, warm happiness inside. She wrote several papers about the station in her early schooling, and later helped design some of its structures and operating systems. She was eager to see her work in action. Then she remembered why she made the return trip. The mission was to either greet the Odyssey or calm the situation if it never showed up. And that moment was not long out.

Although the Odyssey would take almost a year to dock at the station, communication would be possible the moment it re-entered the solar system. Which means the station and the ship should be direct contact in less than a week. Even if it was incapable of communication for any reason, they would be able to detect its arrival in the system.

That would really be the moment of truth, when they would know if she was going to return.

“We’re beginning final approach.” Omari’s voice suddenly came over the communicator in Io’s quarters as she watched Jupiter Station grow larger on the monitor in front of her.

“Thank you, Omari,” she said. Io kept her finger on the communication button. She wanted to say more but couldn’t find the words, so she slowly lifted her finger and ended it.

Io had spoken only a few words to Omari since she watched the video of her parents. She was so comfortable in his presence, she was afraid that she would lose her grip if she spent too much time with him. Not once did he try to question it or intrude. It was like he knew just how fragile she was those first couple of weeks.

He even sent her the security plans for their arrival on Jupiter Station in messages she could view at her communicator. It gave her the time she needed to strengthen her resolve, or to build up the wall, before they landed.

Io felt herself welling up with emotion as the station grew larger and larger on the monitor. She was excited to see it again, but in some ways disappointed that the journey was over. She was nervous, anticipating what the fate of the Odyssey could be. But none of that mattered.

As the representative of the Alexander family, many people were anticipating her arrival. Io had to be an example of calm authority and completely in charge. There was no room for an emotional breakdown in this role.

She had to put her game face on for the people who called Jupiter Station home. 

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Any Ally Will Do

After weeks of solitude, Io was glad to be out of the Asteroid Belt. She wanted to contact Kate and let her know what she found. As soon as the captain gave the go-ahead, she was on the communicator in her quarters.

It didn’t take long to see Kate’s face on the screen.

“It’s good to see you, cousin,” she said.

“You, too. I take it you received my message.”

“I did.” There was a slight pause. Neither one wanted to mention the footage about Io’s parents. She still had not watched it and, truthfully, hadn’t thought much of it until now.

Kate decided to focus on the other part of her message, the one about the Nekuia.

“So, was the message from the Nekuia real?”

“It was,” Io told her. “I was able to trace it’s origin from their direction, but from where exactly I’m not sure. I can also confirm it was headed for Earth.”

“Can you tell where?”

“No. I’m not even certain if I’ll be able to. Right now, all I have are general trajectories. I might be able to learn more when we reach Jupiter Station. The equipment there is more advanced than what’s available on the ship.”

“When do you arrive?”

“In just a couple of weeks.”

“Well, let me know if you find anything else out.”

“Will do.” Io hesitated. She wanted to ask about them, but still wasn’t certain she wanted the answer. Then, finally she took a deep breath and said it. “So are you working with them?”

Kate would almost rather talk about Io’s parents than the Machinists. “Tentatively,” she admitted.

“Why?”

This was something Kate was having trouble understanding herself. Part of her wanted to destroy the Machinists immediately; and, part of her wanted to work with them. She was still fighting that battle inside. As a person, she wanted revenge for Io and herself. As a member of the Alexander family, she had to consider what would be best for everyone else. She had to keep all options open.

“They could be a resource in a war against the Nekuia,” she said.

Io understood. Somewhere deep inside she knew what position Kate was in. The Alexanders were still trying to understand the enemy, still mapping out the battlefield. It would be foolish to waste a potential ally at this point, any ally, even a hated one. The family had to consider long term survival, not just Io.

That’s when she remembered the other part of Kate’s message, the video of her parents.

“I’ve got to get going,” she suddenly told Kate.

“Why? What for?” she asked.

“Please, Kate. I’ll contact you again soon.”

Then it hit her. Kate realized what Io was going to do. “As soon as you can,” she said. “I’ll be here waiting.”

“Thanks.”

Io turned off the communicator and accessed the video footage Kate sent her. It was supposed to show what happened to Io’s parents after the Machinists kidnapped them. It was supposed to show her how they died.

Her hand started to shake as she reached out to the button and hit play.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Phone Home

All she could do is wait. Wait and wonder if Io got her message, and if she could verify the items sent along with it.

Kate wanted to know if the Nekuia really were sending messages to Earth because if they were, someone was receiving it. She couldn’t get that thought out of her head.

Months ago, all she could think of was revenge against her brother. Weeks ago, all she could think of was revenge against the Machinists. Now, she found herself living among James and the Machinists with an opportunity to get back at both. But all she could think of was who on Earth was talking to the Nekuia. Everything had changed so quickly.

Whenever she felt she was in control, the rules changed. She was beginning to realize that leading the Alexanders would never be about control. It would be about how quickly she could adapt.

Kate’s first reaction to the Nekuian message was disbelief. She had no reason to trust the Machinists. And, the truth was Kate didn’t have the technological background to understand how the Machinists could have captured the message, let alone how they decoded it.

But Io would.

That’s when Kate realized Io needed to know what was going on. She should have been the first call, and she was. Now it was time to make the second. Kate had to call home.

This was the more difficult call.

Io was traveling through the Asteroid Belt, so Kate couldn’t contact her directly. But, she could get a hold of the family back on Earth. She could talk to Sun face to face. And she would have to tell her that James got the drop on her and Eric, her bodyguard, on the moon. She would also have to tell her about the Machinists, and their current leader Trent.

After all, it was Sun who gave the order to kill Trent’s father. And it was William, Kate’s father, who actually performed the execution.

Then there was that small thing about the Nekuia.

Kate sat down at the communication station and sent word to Sun. In short order, her mother appeared on the screen.

“It’s good to see you, Kate.”

“It’s good to see you, too, mother.”

“Did you find him?”

“He found us,” Kate admitted.

“How?”

“He met us on the moon,” she told Sun. “He knew we were coming.”

“And Lucas?”

“He’s fine. We’re with him now.”

“Did they hurt him?”

“No.”

“How did you find him?” Sun asked. “Did James help?”

“In a way he did.”

“Are they still a threat?”

“No,” Kate responded. “The situation is not what we anticipated.”

“In what way?”

“They’ve been listening.”

“Who’s been listening?”

“The Machinists.”

“To whom?”

“To everyone.”

“To us?”

“Yes. To us,” Kate said, “and to them.”

“Them?”

“The Nekuia.”

For some time, Sun did not respond. She didn't end the communication, but sat stoically in her seat. Kate knew her mother was letting it all sink in. 

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The One Question

It was not easy for Io to let go of her feelings for Omari. She wanted to be with him, to love him.

But relationships in the Alexander family were never easy. And to cross that line with her bodyguard made matters even more complicated. She let herself believe in it while they were moving through the Asteroid Belt where communications were difficult and limited.

Then she heard from Kate.

Everything she had allowed herself to forget came back in one brief moment. It reminded her of all that was at stake. She felt like she couldn’t fool herself anymore; she had to let go.

Io went to Omari’s quarters. She kissed him one last time, and told him “I have to get to work.” He did not say a word in response. He grabbed her, held her tight and, eventually, let her go. Io returned to her quarters. She tried to work at first, but couldn’t focus. So she let herself cry. For a long time, she curled up in her bed and wept.

Then she got to work.

Io and Omari were en route to Jupiter Station for the arrival of the Odyssey, the multi-generational ship. It had been sent out long ago in search of other life in the galaxy. The box revealed that other solar systems nearby had intelligent life. So, the Odyssey was built, complete with everything humans would need to survive there for generations.

A few times a year, the ship would send word of its progress. It became almost boring after a century of hearing the same stories so many people forgot about the ship, which worked in the Alexander’s favor. For the past few years, the ship stopped sending messages altogether. And after careful examination, they found out that for the past decade the ship’s transmissions had actually been reruns from previous years. This meant the fate of the ship was unknown. It could arrive with healthy, happy human passengers. It could not arrive at all. Or, it could arrive with something else on board.

No one knew.

The one thing the Alexanders did know at this point was that they had enemies in the galaxy. Enemies they had never known about. But the beings that gave them the box knew. This was the truth about the box. It was more than a gift; it was the key to survival.

Io spent much of her time working on the Nekuian message. Her main focus was finding out where it came from and where it was going.

She also wanted to know exactly what was in it. It seemed to be a simple, one-layered message but if it was really sent from outside the system, a more complex technology could be at work. Those challenges would be the next step.

The one thing she was avoiding was looking at the second item attached to Kate’s transmission. It was video footage of her parent’s capture and death.

The Machinists gave the footage to Kate to prove that they never intended to harm anyone. Kate told Io that she could dismiss it and never look at it. It was up to her.

Kate said she considered not even telling Io about it. But after she watched it herself, she thought that her parents were courageous and it might give Io closure. So, she sent it.

Io did not get rid of the footage; she hadn’t looked at it either. Perhaps later, at this point she didn’t want to think about it. Not yet, anyway.

Instead she chose to focus on the other item, the Nekuian message.

Kate told her that it said something about the box and the time table. She wasn’t sure whether or not to believe in it, but she wanted Io to figure it out.

So far, Io was able to prove that the message definitely came from outside the system. She could also prove that the message was headed for Earth. She was working on calculating the trajectory of where it was headed; trying to narrow down the location it could be received by. It was unlikely she would be able to find out. Once the message came close enough to the planet, it could be picked by most anyone looking for it. But she had to try.

For her, this one question kept coming back. It was the one question that continued to bother her. The fact was that if the message was headed for Earth, then someone had to be receiving it.

So, who were the Nekuia talking to?

Chapter Twenty-Six: Interrupted

Io rolled over and snuggled up to Omari. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tight. His warmth was comforting. Maybe it was the isolation of moving through the Asteroid Belt; maybe it was the distance, just being so far from the Alexanders.

Something about her relationship with Omari was safe. She had never felt so safe in all her life.
The first kiss happened just after they crossed into the belt. The two had been discretely flirtatious all along, but no one crossed the boundaries until then. At first, she tried to pull away. She couldn’t even sleep that first night, thinking about the family.

What would they think? How would Kate react? Could they ever really be together? Was he just using her for something?

But by the following wake up call, she had pushed all those questions from her mind. It would take weeks to get through the belt. It was the most dangerous part of the journey to Jupiter Station. And, it was difficult to send and receive messages while traveling through it. Most captains kept the communications to emergencies only.

Io realized it might be her only chance to just enjoy being in love, if only for a few weeks. She decided to worry about the rest of it once they made it out the other side, if they made it out the other side.

So at this moment, she was only thinking of his warmth. She was enjoying the feeling of being in love and being loved.

She smiled and snuggled in closer, closing her eyes but hoping not to fall asleep again. Suddenly, the console across the room beeped. At first, Io thought it was the wake-up call letting them know the day cycle had begun.

“Message alert for Io Alexander,” the voice called out.

Omari quickly sat up and looked around. Io slowly sat up beside him.

“Message alert?” she said, reluctantly crawling out of bed. She sat down at the console, clicked a couple of buttons, and then dropped her chin.

Omari walked over, “What is it?”

“I need to see this alone,” she told him.

“Understood,” he said.

Io hadn’t heard him speak like that in weeks. The way he said it, “Understood,” was like a soldier obeying commands. It gave her the chills.

Omari quickly got dressed, and headed for the door. He tried to turn back to her and smile, “I’ll be in my quarters.”

The message was from Kate and sent from Mars. It was for Io’s eyes only and had two additional messages embedded within it. Io hit a couple more buttons and Kate’s face appeared on the screen.

“Hello, dear cousin,” it began. “I know you’re making your way through the belt, so I’ve sent this message, but I do want you to contact me as soon as you get to the other side. I wish I could tell you all this in a direct connection, but we just can’t wait.” Kate paused and took a deep breath. “Where do I begin?”

“Why are you on Mars?” Io whispered to herself.

“Maybe I should start by telling you why this message comes from Mars,” Kate said.

Io smiled. She and Kate always had a connection, which was another reason she knew that everything was about to change.

Chapter Twenty-Five: They’re Coming

By the time the ship arrived on Mars, James was thinking he had just about won Kate over. Little did he know, she was actually more distrustful of him than ever.

“Working with The Machinists?” she thought, looking out the ship’s window as they broke through the thin atmosphere.

How could that happen? No one in the Alexander family would consider that, if only out of respect for Io. No matter how dangerous they imagined the Nekuia to be. The fact remained that they killed Io’s parents, accident or not.

Kate could only imagine one way the Alexanders would work with The Machinists, if Io gave her blessing. It didn’t matter if they kidnapped Lucas, and somehow managed to convince him to trust them. It was really Io that mattered. And she was on her way to Jupiter Station.

They flew over several large cities coming in to the surface of Mars. Most looked run down, even from her vantage point.

It has been a long time since Kate had set foot on Mars, and she had never been to the Prosperity Ghetto. But she could swear that they were flying over it from the images she’d seen on Earth. The ship didn’t land in the Ghetto, but flew past it and crested a small crater ridge just beyond. That’s where the ship landed, in a small port out of sight, but not far away.

The captain came back into the passenger area, told them all about the gravity changes, the effects it would have on them, and, of course, about the dirty air.

“How long will it take us to acclimate?” Kate asked.

“Probably weeks,” he said. “But, you may never feel right.”

When Kate stepped out of the ship and into the small port, she could instantly feel the difference. She coughed several times and had to pause for a minute to recover. He was right, the air was dirty. She could almost taste the grit in her teeth.

This was nothing like the Mars station she visited when she was a child. And she couldn’t quite get the sense of her legs yet either. It was like being at sea, but worse. There was no horizon she could concentrate on.

Kate took her time walking through the small docking bay, and towards another gate. She followed Eric through and into the communication center of the station.

It was small, even smaller than she thought when they landed. But for some reason, she didn’t feel cramped by it.

A long wall of windows to her left was covered with a thin veil of red dust. To her right, several monitoring stations sat on tiered platforms. Screens, buttons, switches and lights covered every surface. Everything in the room had a purpose, not one inch was wasted space.

The group continued to move through the room and exited on the far side. She stepped through the next doorway, and had to squeeze out behind everyone. She wondered if the room was really that small.   

But it wasn’t.

She looked past everyone to see someone on the other side of the room. She did not recognize him. Eric and James turned around to look at her, and they all stepped back to allow her to move forward.

“Hello, Kate.” The man didn’t speak, and she looked around to see where the voice came from. Standing in the corner of the room was Lucas.

She instinctively ran over to him.

“Lucas,” she said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he told her.

That’s when she took a step back and looked around. She started to wonder if anyone in that room was on her side.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

“We’ve come to talk with you,” Lucas told her. “Trent didn’t think we should wait for you to come to us.”

“Whose Trent?”

“I am,” the strange man answered, reaching out his hand.

She ignored him, and looked back at Lucas. “What’s going on?”

“We’re afraid,” Lucas told her.

“Afraid of what?”

“We picked up transmission from deep space,” Trent said, stepping forward.

“What transmission?”

“They’re coming, Kate,” he told her. “And, they know you have the box.”

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Different Kind of Team

James entered the kitchen area of the ship, hoping to convince Eric to listen to him. He figured he would have a captive audience while Eric was preparing Kate’s meal. She hadn’t come out of her room since James last spoke to her.

“I told them,” James said.

“Told them?” Eric asked without looking up.

“Told them The Machinists were listening in.”

“Who did you tell?”

“I sent a message to the Alexander compound.”

Eric still did not look up. “How did you do that?”

“I used Kate’s code,” he said. “Some things never change.”

Eric smiled. “I meant, how did you send a secure message?”

“It wasn’t secure,” James admitted. “It’s likely they were listening in.”

Eric stopped preparing the food, and this time looked James in the eye. “I thought if you could listen to them, you could get around their security,” he said.

“I can’t listen to them,” he told him.

“Then how do you know what they’re up to?”

James paused, unsure if he should tell Eric the truth. But, after a moment he realized he had nothing to lose. “I know someone,” he admitted.

Eric set down his utensils and walked right up to James, stopping inches from his face. “So, you have been working with them,” he said.

“No,” James told him. “I met someone after I got here.”

“And why would one of them tell you what they know?” Eric demanded.

“Because I told them what I know.”

“What?” he screamed.

“I told them how to get Lucas,” James said, trying to look away.

“Once a traitor, always a traitor,” he said, then pushed James against the wall.

“I did not do it to betray my family,” James said. “I did it to save them.”

Eric stormed out of the kitchen, and headed down the corridor toward Kate’s room. James quickly followed. “They want to help us,” he tried to tell Eric. “They want to join the fight.”

Eric paused outside Kate’s door as James came running after him. He caught up, and desperately tried to make his case. “Lucas is the one person who might listen to them,” he told Eric. “He’s in no danger. I’ll prove it the moment we land.”

Kate opened the door and looked at the two standing in the corridor.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Eric looked at James, wondering just how to respond.