EarthFall

Chap 24. Somewhere in the universe.

Carson sipped on his last protein packet, formulating the beginnings of a plan. He heard Cornelius in the distance, whistling as he collected specimens for proof of earth's habitability on their return.

Carson crumpled up his juice pack and tossed it into a corner.

It was a basic plan, and he needed to meet with the group later and hash out the details when gaia wasn't around. Currently, it went along the lines of:

Teleport to the lower decks of Mars, bring back proof, for the citizens, find Doc, and get answers. That was it.

It might not be a feasible plan, but it was definitely a simple plan. And Carson prayed it stayed that way. Both silently, and then verbally a few times, just to be safe. If there was anyone up there, he wanted to be sure they got the message on this one. He had a lot riding on it, after all...

He glanced to where Brianna fiddled with the peel of a citrus sinensis, from a tree grove she had discovered somewhere outside recently. What were the odds he could convince her...

"You know, the Bots can still talk to one another using radio waves. It's not that long of a delay to Mars. And with what little we currently know about the them, it seems to me like a logical imperative that we keep someone on the inside to--

She jerked her head up sharply.

"No."

"No to what?" He asked innocently.

"Not staying on-planet Chief."

"I never even say anything about that," He replied.

"Good. So there won't be a problem." She looked back down at her fruit ball.

"...But now that you mention it, that might be--"

"Get Tucker to do it. Or Cornelius. I don't care."

Carson mustered up his courage, tried to sound strict, unyielding. Like Talson would have sounded.

"This is a direct order."
"Don't give the slightest fuck." She didn't even look up.

"Sunshine... please just consider for a moment the--"

"No."

Well shit.

"Please?" He was just begging now.

"I already stayed behind once. Remember? Not doing it again Chief."

He guessed that was fair. He looked up once more. Someone better be getting his damn messages...

"What's this citrus called?" She asked after a few moments.

"An Orange."

"Yes Chief, obviously. What's it called though?"

"The Citrus sinensis?"

"Duh."

"An Orange."

"For god's sake Carson I'm not colorblind. What did the Old Worlders call them!"

He held up his hands.

"Baby.... They called them Oranges, I swear to god. I don't know whether it was them just being lazy, and calling it an Orange because it was the color Orange, or what happened. But that's what it's called."

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment.

"Well it's amazing. Like nothing I've ever tasted. Here."

She tore off a piece and tossed it to him. He set down his juice pack, stared at it for a moment, then tried it.

"Unbelievable." He managed.

"I know, right!?" She agreed.

"Have Tuck and Corn tried one yet?" He asked.

Juice dribbled down her chin as she spoke.

"Not yet. Let's go find them though. I wanna see their faces when they do. Oh, afterwards you should tell them to collect some more. The more we take back to mars with us, the more minds we can blow."

Carson chuckled as he thought of the Mess hall manager. "Can you imagine how Drake would react?"

She popped another piece in her mouth and chuckled, her feet swinging off her chair. "We'll have to save a couple for him. I doubt he'll ever cook again though! I mean... how could he... after knowing that something like this... was out there, somewhere in the universe..."

She trailed off, staring into space. He thought he knew how she felt. He had felt that way when he smelled the Lavender... Like there was no turning back to his old life anymore. Like his old life had simply... betrayed him, with the sheer weight of its ignorance.

He took another bite and stood up, offering her his hand.

"Come on. Let's find the others... and get some more Oranges."

She nodded slowly in agreement. Then she did a little shudder, like she was shaking an unwelcome thought off of her shoulders.

She looked up at him, smiled boldly, and took his hand. They walked out into the sun.