Okay?

I’m back on campus.

Eden’s reply came quickly. Rory wasn’t surprised to hear she was back so soon. After the disaster of the welcoming home party, he knew she would be wanting to be back to normal sooner rather than later. Two nights at home was more time than she’d spent in years.

Come by the office, he replied quickly.

She didn’t respond, but a familiar rhythmic knock at the door came sooner than later. Eden didn’t wait for him to answer, but let herself in through the unlocked door of his office. Her gaze roved curiously over his desk, which was finally cleared and organized, all the junk filed away, before her bright eyes found him. Instead of perching on the corner of his desk, she fell into the armchair beside his bookcase, sinking into the plush seat with a comfortable groan.

“Surprised to see me back so soon?” she asked.

“Not particularly,” he answered.

Rory leaned back in his seat at his desk and kicked his feet up on the corner where Eden usually sat. He hoped he looked more casual than he felt, and, for once, he was glad she had taken a seat farther away from him. He wanted to tell her all of his secrets, whisper them and release his burden, and if she were any closer, he might not be able to resist.

She looked better, he thought. Healthier. The nights at home had done her good; some color had returned to her face and her smile was more genuine. She still was not the same. The look she’d had when he’d found her in the alley was still there, haunting her. A part of her was lost There were some small differences that this new Eden had brought home with her: the way she looked nervously around the room before she entered, the way she kept her back to the wall as she moved around the room and chose her seat, the nervous tapping of her foot when she was otherwise still. Despite that, her eyes were bright with the same energy they’d always had, the unwavering ambition and integrity she carried at all times.

“Are you back to work this week?” he asked.

He needed more time to think about how he would tell her everything when the time came. She’d be so ashamed. Someone like Eden, someone who never wavered from what was right, would never have continued working on a project she didn’t agree with. Rory couldn’t think of anything in the world that would convince her to do something she didn’t believe in, decency be damned. What would he tell her when she asked why he was still a member of the team? How would he explain his part when the Tyche was orbiting above, undeniable and overly proud? He was weak, and ashamed of his weakness.

“Not yet,” she said. She ducked her head as if she also had some reason to be ashamed. “I’m taking a little more time off.”

Rory nodded. “Good.”

“Good?”

“You need to take care of yourself, Eden. Although,” Rory laughed suddenly. “They were falling apart without you. Everyone got credits to buy meals on the first day, since they couldn’t get the cafeteria open.”

Eden snorted. “That’s what I heard,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I leave for a few days and everything falls apart, huh?”

The humor was gone as quickly as it’d come. “It really does,” he said.

“Hey,” she said softly. She reached out and placed her hand on his. “It’s okay now. Everything is fine now. I promise.”

Rory couldn’t help but smile. “Not yet. But it will be okay soon.”

Eden looked down at her feet and seemed to notice the nervous tapping finally. She stepped on one foot with the other, a seemingly Herculean effort, and the tapping stopped. “Soon?”

Rory took a deep breath. “As soon as I’m free. You were right, E. I should have stayed with the city. Taking this job was a horrible idea: really, truly, terrible.”

“Rory, please,” she said. “Please trust me. This is eating away at you. You keep saying ‘soon’, ‘soon’, but I’m worried about you. Let me help you.”

“This is in strict confidence, you understand?” Rory pleaded with his eyes. The resolve that he had felt before melted away, slowly but surely. There was no trace or sign of the disappointment or even anger that would come once he told her his secret. But really, what wa the difference between telling her now and telling her in a week? By that point, if she learned about Rory’s great betrayal along with the rest of the city, would she ever be able to look at him again? She could barely meet his eyes now.

“Of course, it is,” Eden said, iron in her voice. “You can tell me anything.”

“You’re going to be so ashamed of me.”

“I could never be ashamed of you,” she promised.

Rory took a deep breath. He couldn’t help but glance up at the door, verifying that it was closed tight, and he lowered his voice. It was too late to stop now.

“The project we’ve been working on isn’t right. In my opinion. Everyone on the team seems to disagree with me. From the project itself to how Abrahams got his hands on the… supplies. It’s all wrong. And I’ve been going along with it, because everyone else says it’s fine and I wanted to believe them. I did believe them, for a minute. I thought, you know, that the ends would justify the means. I wanted to be a part of something groundbreaking, isn’t that why I came here in the first place? But the longer this goes on, the more I realize that I can’t be a part of this anymore.”

“A part of what?”

Rory stood and began pacing around the room. Eden watched him, wide eyed, from the armchair.

“What is the project?” she asked again. “What is so wrong with it? You’re freaking me out, Rory.”

He laughed without humor. “You’ve picked a strange time to be so interested in the specifics of my work.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Eden flushed pink. “I know I haven’t always paid enough attention to what you do. I’m sorry. Really.”

“It doesn’t matter what the project is. I just feel awful about ever being a part of it.”

“It’s just hard to imagine what could possibly have you so worked up, that’s all. I wish I could help you, Rory. Really. But you keep saying how terrible and awful it is, and I have no idea what it could be!”

Rory felt caged by the close walls of his office. He threw himself back down in his chair and crossed his arms and legs. She was right.

“This is top secret. Alright?”

She rolled her eyes. “You mentioned. Who do you think I’m going to go running to tell?”

Right again.

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I’m being ridiculous.” Nevertheless, he lowered his voice and leaned forward. There was no way to phrase it nicely, to wrap the words and cushion the blow. “The special projects team reports straight to Dr. Abrahams. The project we’re working on right now is a satellite. They’re calling it the Tyche, and it’s scheduled for launch later this week.”

Eden’s eyes widened. “A satellite? They’re really launching a satellite? But I thought--”

“That it’s illegal? Against the treaty? Goes against everything our founders tried to create here? Right again.” Rory hung his head, the massive shame that had been bottled up inside him came flowing out and flooded every extremity of his body. Eden was watching him, sympathetically, but he wished she would look anywhere but at him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I just. I made a mistake ever being a part of it. I’m so stupid--”

“Hey!” Eden was stern now, frowning at him. “Don’t talk like that. It’s not your fault, Rory. You’re leaving the team over it. Besides, once the city finds out—“

“You know as well as I do that Abrahams has the council in his pocket. They can’t stop him. What I’m worried about is what will happen when the other cities find out.”

“Listen to me,” Eden said. “It is not your fault, okay?”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Never.”

Rory laughed, suddenly feeling much lighter. “I can’t thank you enough. I have been dying to talk to you about this. I feel so awful about it, but really, I didn’t even know about the Tyche until construction had already been started. Abrahams is so secretive. All I ever see are my own parts of the project. I think to protect against nervous new team members spilling everything they know to their friends.”

Eden laughed, and he was happy to hear the sound. “Well, you haven’t spilled everything.”

“Oh?”

“You said there was something wrong with the way Abrahams was getting the supplies?”

“Oh,” Rory sighed. He hated to think of it. “The substance we’re using to power the Tyche can only be found in Paradise. They aren’t ready to share it yet, but Abrahams has been smuggling a supply out somehow.”

“Special batteries?”

He couldn’t help but snort. “Something like that. It’s a mineral, called Paradisium. Paradise finally caught on to the operation, and Abrahams has been cut off. Between that and the launch of the Tyche? I can’t imagine it will go over well with the other cities. This is going to be such a mess, Eden.”

Eden’s face was ashen, as if the reality of what he’d told her had finally sunk in. One look in her eyes, which were inexplicably brimming with tears, confirmed that they were both thinking the same thing. What happened to no war on Mars?

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put all this on you,” he said.

Eden tried to force a smile, but it wilted on her ashen face. The news of the Tyche must have shaken her to her core. First a kidnapping, and now news of possibly impending war?

“I’m sorry, Eden,” he said.

“Don’t be,” she said without hesitation. “I asked about it. You have nothing to be sorry for. Really. Nothing at all.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “I’ve made this all about me. I’m so glad to see you, Eden.”

“I feel fine,” she said. She looked down at her feet again and didn’t elaborate. Typical Eden.

“Fine?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

She chuckled, a little hollowly. Rory tried to regret telling her about the Tyche but it was hard. Impossible even. He took a deep breath, perhaps his first full breath in weeks, and relaxed back in his chair. She had taken the news well, better than he’d expected, but he imagined that the consequences would sink in over the next few days. At least, when everything eventually came to a head, she wouldn’t be caught by surprise like the rest of Haven. Or, he considered without much confidence, maybe the others on the special forces were right. Maybe, if Dr. Abrahams was powerful enough to control Cardinal Enterprises, control the city itself, perhaps he really was powerful enough to pull this off. If anyone was, it was him.

“A little shaken still, I guess,” Eden said. “But I’m taking it slow, day by day. And I have you, and my parents. I’ll be fine.”

“Can I ask…”

“What?”

“I shouldn’t.”

“What is it?”

“Can I ask you what happened to you? Do you remember anything?”

“No,” she answered sharply. The humor was gone from her face.

“I know you said you don’t remember much,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. I just wondered if maybe you had remembered anything.”

“I don’t, Rory.”

“Okay!” Rory said, throwing his hands up in surrender. “I just want to be there for you, Eden. The way you’ve been here for me today. I really appreciate you listening to everything.”

She softened visibly, although her eyes were still guarded. “I know. I’m sorry. I feel strange, talking about it. I panic. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

Rory reached out and squeezed her hand softly before dropping it. “I know, Eden.”

“Actually, there is one thing you could do for me.”

“Anything! What do you need?”

She hesitated, looking down at her hands in her lap, and when she spoke, it was mumbled through the messy loose curtain of her hair. “Can I stay here tonight? I went back to my suite earlier and I don’t think I’m ready to be alone and--”

“Of course you can!” Rory cut her off. “You don’t need to explain yourself. You take the bed. I’ll be fine on the couch.”

He gave her an old shirt and a pair of shorts to change into, and he waited in his office as she showered in the bathroom attached to his bedroom suite and climbed into bed. By the time he’d finished brushing his teeth and making up a comfortable bed on the couch beneath the window, she was snoring gently away. Rory settled onto the couch, his lanky legs sticking out over the arm, and fell asleep to the gentle rhythm.