1 AL: IRENE

“Are you all right?” Jenna asked her. Irene rolled over and swallowed a groan. She landed on her face. She wasn’t certain how that happened. She gingerly touched her nose checking it for any damage. Everything seemed to be intact and she didn’t feel any blood.

“I’m ok,” she admitted. “I think I’ve had enough for the night.”

“You may not believe it but you are getting better,” Jenna told her. Jenna was right, Irene didn’t believe it. The group got together every night and ran through a set of individual practice movements. They followed that up with paired exercises where both fighter's movements were choreographed. For ‘fun’ at the end of the night they switched to padded sticks and spared against each other. Everyone was much more skilled than Irene was. At the end of the night, even with the padding, she ended up bruised and exhausted.

It didn’t help that she only came two nights a week. Her progress was much slower than the rest of them, so she fell farther and farther behind. Unlike everyone else she was not willing to give up on her studies. Irene picked up her padded stick, which was an impressive distance away from where she fell and returned it to the storage rack at the side of the room. The group was more than just the young members of the engineering department. There were brothers, sisters and friends mixed in. There were a few people here from the youngest set but most of them were older.

Irene joined the small group resting on the side of the room. This group was mostly people taking a breather between rounds. Some of the older more experienced fighters were calling out advice to current combatants. Irene sat down near Darien. He nodded at her acknowledging her arrival while continuing his current conversation with Michael.

“What about Serena and Ed?” Darien asked.

“They left two nights ago with a group from cultivation. Sue brought their cart back. No one has noticed they are gone yet,” Michael responded

“Has anyone heard from them since?” Darien questioned.

“No,” Michael responded. “They took a handheld with them and tied it into the repeater at the entrance. They were trying to put as much space as possible between them and the entrance the first day. We should hear from them when they reach the greenspace. Everyone says the signal is spotty before that.” Michael shifted in his seat before continuing. “What is really interesting is that Sue says there are six vehicles at the entrance. By my count there should only be four.”

“So someone else has gone in. Either one big group or two small ones,” Darien commented.

“That’s what I think,” Michael agreed. “Sue thinks we should bring the extra carts back. If it is noticed they are missing and they are traced it will give it away where our people went. It won’t even matter that our people didn’t actually go in them.”

“Yeah,” Darien said thoughtfully, “she is probably right.”

“I’ll get two volunteers to go with Sue and pick them up,” Michael commented.

“Get four volunteers and bring back two of the official vehicles. Make sure they leave the one with the repeater. Since those vehicles are supposed to be there, we can be a lot more free with their use,” Darien offered.

“Yeah, I see what you mean. I will get right on it,” Michael responded. “Want to try a match?” he asked.

“Sure,” Darien said. The two of them rose to their feet and went out on the floor. Somehow Darien got pulled to the side and Michael ended up facing off with someone else. Irene was still puzzling out what their conversation meant when Jenna sat down next to her.

“Are you sure you're ok?” she asked.

“Yes,” Irene responded. “I am more embarrassed than anything.” A young man sat down next to Jenna and put his arm around her.

“How is my best girl doing?” he asked her. Jenna laughed at him and told him in a cheeky way that she wasn’t his girl.

“Why aren’t you out there showing them how it is done?” he asked Jenna.

“I am just checking on Irene. She took a hard fall,” Jenna said to him. She turned to Irene and said, “Irene, this is Charles. Watch out for him, he thinks everyone is his girl.”

“Charles,” Irene said in greeting.

“Everyone doesn’t need to be a warrior. You can specialize in magic,” Charles told her. He made a motion like he was throwing something at the sparring partners. “Fireball for the win!” he said triumphantly.

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Irene laughed and smiled. It was nice of him to try and cheer her up.

“Forget the fireballs,” Jenna said. “My brother says ice-bolts rule.” The two of them began to argue over the versatility of ice versus fire. Irene grew more and more confused as it became apparent that they were serious.

“Your brother?” she said questioningly to Jenna during a lull in the conversation.

“My eldest brother is on one of the official teams. A bunch of his backlogged text messages came through when they reached the green. He told me all about how ice-bolts saved them when they were cornered by a boar,” Jenna explained. Irene was a bit flustered. She remembered the conversation she overheard in the restroom weeks ago when the officers said her mother must be senile for talking about magic.

“You're lucky your brother thinks of you,” Irene said, trying to hide her astonishment. “I never hear from mine.”

“Is he on an exploration team?” Charles asked.

“Yes, well sort of,” Irene explained. “He went in with the medical team.” Just then someone called out to Charles accusing him of trying to get out of their rematch. He rose to his feet to show off his skills, while Jenna turned her full attention to watching the display. Irene used the opportunity to slip out of the room.

She took the lift to her family housing and let herself in. She sat down at the dining table and looked around at the empty seats. A chill ran down her spine. She realized she had not seen any of them since her father died. She received the occasional random text or picture from her older siblings after the landing but nothing from any of them in the last month, or maybe even the last two.

Irene was one of eight, just like everyone else this generation. Her youngest brother was with her mother in the ruins but the other six were here in the ship or just outside in the development areas. She knew the work crews were busy, clearing fields, putting in drainage and irrigation systems and planting crops. Well maybe not planting crops since it was late summer now and they were heading into the harvest. Some of them were roughing it in the structures that were built to house the equipment. They swore the fresh air was worth any inconvenience. Command allowed it because they believed it improved morale.

Irene sat down at the family station built into the wall. She sent a text off to all her siblings asking if they had heard from their mother. She got back a picture of her second oldest sister hanging off an impressively muscled arm of a man in construction overalls along with three heart emoticons. Her second youngest brother sent back a text that read: Didn’t she go out on some medical emergency? We are kicking it out here on the east lawn. You should come join us.

Three of the messages went unread. This included the one to Phillip, her youngest brother. Her oldest brother replied: Are you pregnant? That threw Irene for a loop. Fertility was closely monitored on the Speedwell. It shouldn’t even be possible for anyone to be pregnant.

No. I heard some strange rumors about mom and I am worried, Irene sent back.

She is fine. She is just under a lot of stress, he replied, which did not reassure Irene at all.

Irene’s oldest sister, Mary, was part of the medical team. Even if she did spend time treating injuries sustained by the construction and cultivation crews, she should be spending her nights in single housing aboard the ship.

Are you still working in engineering? Mary queried.

Yes, Irene responded. I haven’t heard from mom or Phillip in some time and I am getting worried.

The medical team went out without handhelds, Mary explained. We only get updates from them through official channels. If you get sent out of the ship come in to medical first, she instructed. She signed off with: G2G, (got to go).

Mary’s information about the team not having handhelds made Irene feel a little better about not hearing from Phillip. Growing up she was close to Phillip, since he was the same age as her. She felt guilty about not trying harder to get in contact with him before this. Her father’s sudden death hit her hard.

Irene found herself reading the documentation on crew fertility. Every member of the flight crew was born sterile. A developing fetus was especially susceptible to radiation damage. No one wanted the accidental birth of a monster. The latest generation, Irene’s generation, were different. Within the shelter of the planet’s magnetic field natural birth was once more viable and a valuable alternative to the artificial wombs.

Fertility for the settler generation was controlled by additives in the food and water. Irene flashed back to Darien’s story about the explorers eating apples they found in the ruin’s green. The explorers should still be drinking water from the portable purifiers. Irene looked up their specifications. Down in the small print she found a warning that they did not control fertility along with a recommendation that anyone drinking water from them should get a fertility control implant. Suddenly she wondered where the workers who were staying in the temporary buildings were getting their food and water.

This was a disaster waiting to happen. The last thing the newly established colony needed was an influx of infants. Irene texted her second oldest sister that she should go see the medical department about an implant. Her sister replied that Irene sounded like Mary and that both of them worried too much.

As frustrating as that response was, at least it reassured Irene that people were aware of the problem. She decided right then that she would go into medical herself first thing in the morning. Maybe Mary would be there and they could talk. If Irene understood Darien and Michael’s conversation people were going off in the ruins on their own. Irene found it hard to believe. Weeks ago Agatha confirmed what Irene suspected that the official teams hadn’t found anything in the ruins. The ruins were interesting and beautiful in places but they contained nothing of value.

There was no way these unsanctioned parties were carrying food and water. They must be planning to ‘live off the land’ so to speak. It made sense now why Darien was always so interested in how rats tasted. Command needed to know but Irene didn’t know how to get that information to them. She hoped Mary would know how to reach them.