“Unusual.” The counselor’s brow furrowed. “Louise, it’s very important to initiate a physical understanding with your partner as soon as possible. The uniqueness of these relationships means they have their own set of guidelines, established to give your marriage the best chance of success. These kinds of expectations were all made clear to you before you left Earth, weren’t they?”
“Yes.” The DA and judicial police had lectured her for hours unending. Mining company policy regarding contract marriages had been covered in depth. Them and their many, many expectations. If this hadn’t been the one sure method for her to disappear into the ether, she would never have boarded the big ship. But then, Gideon had given her hope. Her heart ached at the thought of him.
“All right, Louise…”
“Who does that report go to?” She tipped her chin at Christiana’s com unit.
The woman gave her a small smile but didn’t answer the question. “We have six weeks until the next passenger ship arrives, Louise. In that time there will be mandatory weekly couple’s counseling sessions. I’ll be sending a communiqué to your husband to alert him to that fact.”
Christiana stood and brushed her hands over her skirt. “There is no reason to believe you’ll be returning on the ship to Earth, Louise. Not if you work with me.”
The counselor might have meant the words to be fortifying but Louise could only hear the underlying threat. A death threat, though Christiana couldn’t know that. Louise’s throat closed and she had to force out the words, “I will”.
*
Adam stood stiffly in the front line of the assembly with his wife at his side in a staid black dress. It did nothing for her. The heels weren’t bad though. The heels were…something.
This would make the fifth memorial since the accident. Just in case anyone doubted the depth of the company’s grief at the loss of two men. The assembled stood on the observation deck. Apart from some storage outlets, it was the only part of the base constructed aboveground. The glass ceiling gave a spectacular view of the galaxy going about its business overhead. Space made for a fine distraction once gazing at his wife’s sexy shoes got old.
Nathan Hillier, the chief operations officer, read prose sent from Earth to the couple of hundred gathered. With each useless occasion the number dwindled further. One day soon they would cut out this shit entirely and Adam would breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Eventually the chief wound things up and one of the loftier executives on-site stepped up. The suit-and-tie cleared his throat and braced his hands on the podium. His eagle eyes bored down on the crowd.
And then the bastard began recounting the nightmare, no detail missed. Gideon engulfed in flames. Farris trying to get close enough to drop him and roll him in the dirt. Adam running for the Halon aboard the transport. Everything.
Adam blocked it out. Filled his head with song lyrics and chess moves and stories his mother had read to him as a child, back before things had gone to shit. His heart hammered inside his chest. Over the executive’s shoulder, the planet’s edge came into view. The shades of gold and yellow and gray were spectacular. Fucking amazing. And still the asshole’s lips kept moving. Sweat tickled his spine but his throat turned arid and his stomach churned. He couldn’t survive this. Not again. Damn it. He’d lived through worse than the fire during the war but, for some reason, Gideon’s and Farris’ deaths had trumped it all. They had bested each hellish moment of his time spent serving in the special troops.
Everything faded into the background until thunderous applause roused him from his stupor. Someone pounded him on the back and called him a hero. People gathered around. Rose’s eyes shone with tears.
Shit.
He wasn’t a hero. He hadn’t saved anyone. Gideon and Farris were dead. He had nearly become toast himself. Everyone was talking but he couldn’t hear a word over the blood surging through his ears. The voices were a senseless clatter. An endless, meaningless buzzing noise set to drive him insane. Then someone took his hand and cool fingers touched his face. It felt like being jerked awake and slapped hard. He recoiled, his vision hazy, and the grip on his clammy fingers tightened.
“Adam,” she said. His wife’s dark eyes held him, the pad of her thumb rubbing at the back of his hand as if she were removing a stain. She shouldn’t have bothered. The burn marks were there to stay.
“We have to go,” she announced, her voice clear among the chaos. She tugged firmly on his hand and led him away from the crowd of people. He followed her blindly, so gods damn grateful he could have kissed her feet.
Rose stepped forward, her eyes glossy. “Adam…”
“Later,” was all his wife said. Nothing and no one slowed their progress through the crowd.
She led him straight to the bank of lifts. Doors opened and they stepped in, alone. The doors closed and his wife stepped up to the com screen on the wall. Their arms stretched out between them like a life-line, their hands linked. He wasn’t sure who was holding on to whom anymore, but he couldn’t let go. Wouldn’t. Not yet. The connection seemed the only thing holding him together.
Louise pinched her lips with her fingers and stared at the map blinking up onscreen. “I think I know where we are.”