Earth Legend (7 page)

Though I became a part of the community, I
went to great lengths to avoid detection. One thing that helped was
the informal dress code everyone had adopted. Most colonists and
crew wore shorts and tee shirts and whatever shoes they liked or
none at all. So when a uniform appeared it stood out. Since it
obviously belonged to someone on official business, I simply
disappeared whenever I saw someone in long, dark blue pants and a
shirt or jacket with precise creases. I scooted around the nearest
corner and then made my way back to my apartment where I remained
until the uniform was gone. It worked and as weeks passed I became
more and more confident of success.

I tried to keep track of the time I'd been on
the Destiny, the amount of time that I'd escaped detection, but it
became difficult because the more time passed the more it became
oddly meaningless. We were there for the duration of the trip and
that would be close to a hundred years. Most of us would die of old
age on the Destiny. I only remembered time passing and the ever
widening distance from earth when I spoke with my family. I was
glad my parents were no longer alive because there was no despair
for leaving them. That had already happened. And I had no siblings,
just cousins.

My extended family didn't want to lose me or
I them because we all knew that what I was doing was important and
they didn't want to diminish that fact or belittle what I was
doing. But our lives were now so different that we found less and
less to talk about during our disjointed, time-delayed
conversations. I now lived at the slow pace of village life while
they, some of the best botanists on earth, were in high demand.
They were busy people.

Our conversations dwindled to occasional duty
calls to make sure I was okay and I always was. Then one day they
missed their usual time and I didn't mind because I didn't know
what I'd say to them any more than they knew what to say to me.
After that, our conversations dried up and stopped.

I was almost glad because I was becoming
involved in my new life in spite of my intention to remain aloof. I
didn't even feel like a felon any longer. I felt like I
belonged.

One day I woke up to discover that to my
surprise I liked living on the Destiny even though the dirt wasn't
real and it never rained because rain doesn't fall correctly where
gravity is weird. And I came to believe, along with my neighbors,
that New Rochelle was the best and most wonderful of all the
villages on the Destiny.

One morning, after finishing a book from the
electronic library, I found myself debating whether to chance lunch
in the café or stay in my apartment. It had been two weeks since
Cullen Vail's last visit and he was a man of routine so he'd likely
return today but I was getting tired of worrying about being
discovered. It hadn't happened yet and I wanted out of my
apartment. It wasn't exactly small but that day I was restless and
it felt tiny.

A solution occurred to me. I didn't have to
eat in the café. I could eat elsewhere. I didn't have to be a
creature of habit. And I like eating outside. So thinking, I packed
a picnic lunch and headed to the empty field that was between my
apartment building and the apple orchard. It was just beyond my
window and a fair number of kids and adults played impromptu
baseball games there.

There was no game at the moment so it was
peaceful and quiet. Almost like a summer's day on earth. The only
thing missing was the sound of insects, but the warmth pouring from
the fake sky was the same, never mind that it was precisely
programmed for maximum benefit to crops and people. It was perfect
and relaxing. I leaned back and closed my eyes and didn't want to
be anywhere else in the universe. I wondered if I'd have the energy
to open my lunch.

"Hello."

My eyes flew open. It was Cullen Vail
himself. My worst nightmare. Two weeks since his last visit. Damn.
I should have stayed indoors. I gulped. "Hello."

"I've been looking for you."

Don't arrest me, not here, not now. Not in
this lovely place.
But all I said was, "Oh?"

He squatted beside me. Folded himself down in
a well-practiced manner, then dropped to the ground and stuck long
legs in front of him and somehow kept his dignity the whole time.
He was both agile and in shape. "I'm here to apologize to you on
behalf of the Destiny."

"Huh?" It was all I could manage and, though
I wanted to be unfazed by his unexpected appearance, I couldn't
stop that single, surprised word from coming out.

"I'm sorry that you didn't have an apartment
when you first boarded. That was inexcusable."

I gulped. How'd he learned about the
apartment? Then I knew. Wilkes Zander, of course. "There's no need
to apologize."

He smiled, a small smile but it was genuine.
A first. "Wilkes Zander told me everything. I understand why you
took things into your own hands when you decided to move out of
your parents' home. He said that you would have moved into an apple
orchard if he hadn't intervened. I'm glad it didn't happen, no
thanks to the Destiny. We are grateful to Wilkes for taking care of
things."

So Wilkes hadn't told him everything. Just
enough to cover my sudden appearance. "It's a nice apartment."

"One of the smaller ones." He shifted. His
leg brushed mine. I had the wild thought that it might just be the
first time the head of Security had touched another human being
since childhood. Then I discarded the thought as unworthy of me as
he continued. "There are larger apartments. You should have
something nice. To make up for our inattention." He shifted to
better see what I thought of his suggestion.

"No new apartment. The one I have is fine. I
like it. In fact I love it."

His eyes narrowed and our looks met. Clashed.
His was smoke and wildfire now that I looked deep into his eyes.
How'd I ever thought of him as distant and cold? He wasn't, what
I'd seen as lack of emotion was control. The fires were banked but
they were there. I didn't know what he saw in my eyes, didn't want
to know. "Are you sure it's sufficient? I've never been in the
smaller units but from what I've been told, they are hardly more
than one-room efficiencies." He shuddered. "No one should have to
live in cramped quarters, not on a life-time trip such as we're
on." His shoulders convulsed a second time. It was clear that
Cullen Vail had lived in a small space at one time. How small?
When? Why?

He recovered his composure quickly and his
voice softened, becoming a musical baritone. It was the first time
I'd heard him speak without consciously playing the part of a
friendly Security guard. "I'll get you a new place
immediately."

"I don't want a new place."

"As far as I'm concerned, the small units
should be eliminated or combined into larger ones. I've talked with
Wilkes Zander about it but he doesn't agree."

"Because he knows they are large enough."

We stared at each other again. Smoke and
fire. Inwardly, I shuddered. I didn't want that fire directed at me
in anger. "You said you've never seen the small units?"

"Not yet but I know what small living
quarters are like."

"Come." I rose and held out my hand to help
haul him up but he ignored me and flowed upward in one smooth,
incredibly well-coordinated movement. "I'll show you."

He didn't know how to refuse. I saw in his
eyes that he wanted to but there was that rule about being friendly
and he wasn't sure how it applied in this situation so he indicated
that I go ahead and he'd follow. The apartment wasn't far, nothing
was far from anything else in New Rochelle, and since my window
overlooked the field we were in, we stepped through my door mere
moments after finishing the little talk that thankfully hadn't led
to my arrest after all.

He moved from one foot to the other as he
gazed about my home. Then he realized what he was doing and
stopped. Stood a bit straighter if that was possible. Realized what
he was seeing and frowned his puzzlement. "Two rooms. Two. I
expected one. Maybe it is adequate after all." He looked around
again, at the plants all over the place. "Why all the flowers?"

"They aren't flowers, they are cuttings from
the apple orchard and a few other places nearby."

"Aren't there enough plants outside?" The
frown deepened and he shuddered slightly. "The whole ship is filled
with green things and you want more?"

"I'm a botanist." I was glad for the time
spent inserting my credentials into the Destiny's database. It was
all there, the schools, the degrees, and the experience. Of course
the experience was in family-owned businesses but that fact was
glossed over so anyone looking would only know that I'd done
numerous internships for prestigious companies. No one had to know
that I'd been involved in the business of growing things ever since
I was old enough to walk. "I like plants. I like to grow them. I
like experimenting with them." Cullen Vail clearly did not have a
green thumb, which was good because most of the plants in the
apartment were experimental in nature. Just in case I'd need them
later when things went bad.

"Why don't you do your experiments in the
greenhouses with the other botanists?"

It was my turn to step from one foot to the
other. My turn to stop doing so before he figured it meant I was
uncomfortable with his question. "I didn't sign on as a botanist,
rather as a farmer." At his expression, I quickly added, "And I
love it. I love being a farmer. But I like to mess around a bit on
my own time." I waved to the pots of green things on every
available surface. "As you can see."

His body language was exquisite. Eyebrows
raised, body hunched for protection from killer plants, nostrils
flared because what he truly wanted was out of there and he planned
on going as soon as he could figure out a way. "Okay." He licked
his lips. "If you're sure the apartment is okay …"

"Do you want to see the bedroom?"

"No, no, that won't be necessary." He backed
a step towards the still-open door. "I can see that I had the wrong
idea about the smaller apartments. They are quite adequate after
all. Much larger than … " But he never said what was smaller than
my apartment. He just kept backing until he was in the hallway,
where he turned smartly, closed the door, and disappeared.

I sagged onto the couch and didn't move for
the better part of an hour. Then I paced back and forth. I couldn't
stop. I knew it was nerves and that there was no place to go to for
comfort, no one to talk to. Unless …

There was someone after all. Wilkes Zander,
the town Mayor and everyone's grandfather. I couldn't tell him why
I was upset but I wouldn't have to. He knew already. We'd talk
around it because we had an unwritten pact never to admit to each
other that I was a stowaway, but he would understand and I needed
someone to understand. So I went in search of a faux grandfather,
thinking that life on the Destiny was one gigantic lie after
another. Fake dirt, fake sky, fake credentials and fake
grandfather. But I was the biggest lie of all.

I found Wilkes seated on a bench in the town
square. Right beside Cullen Vail. The two were deep in conversation
so I turned to leave until Wilkes Zander called out to me. "Hey,
Elle. Come join us. We were just talking about you."

I'd have to get used to my throat closing up
every time someone said something that could remotely be
interpreted as knowing what and who I was. Maybe relaxation
techniques would help. Maybe. In the meantime, though, I must join
them or raise suspicion. "I'm kind of busy. Later?"

Wilkes waved my protests aside and patted the
seat beside him. I didn't dare object and he'd be between Cullen
Vail and myself so I sat. "Cullen says you're a botanist." I nodded
mutely. "You are wasted as a farmer. You should be working in the
greenhouses." I opened my mouth to say something but he shushed me
with a look. "I know you're a great farmer, a wonderful farmer." At
my surprised look, he smiled. "You think I don't know what goes on
around here but I do. I know that you bring in more produce than
anyone else in the area. Possibly more than anyone else on the
Destiny."

"I try." I licked my lips. Had I forgotten
the cardinal rule in my family and outshone someone else? I should
know better. I did know better. I knew to never call attention to
myself. But I'd tried so hard to fit in that I'd done the opposite.
I'd called attention to myself big time. "The apple trees deserve
all of the credit."

"It's more than that, Elle, and you know it.
You're talented. You do something that most of us don't. Something
different, I think. Something that only a botanist would know to
do. I'm thinking it's something that should be noticed by those
idiots in charge." He pulled back and examined me closely. There
was just a hint of puzzlement in that look, as if he knew there was
more to my story than being a stowaway, but he didn't know what it
was and he wouldn't ask. Yet. "Cullen and I have been talking about
moving you to the greenhouses with the other specialists, where
your talents can be put to good use."

"I told you that I don't want … "

He shushed me again. "It's not about what you
want, Elle. It's about what's best for the Destiny. Seems there's
some concern about the plants not producing as well as expected."
He shook his head. "It's not a real concern, of course. Nothing
they can't deal with. Why we have the best minds from Earth right
there in the greenhouses and they are working on the problem. If it
is a problem, if it's more than just a temporary glitch. But
another mind looking at things won't hurt." He stood up and I
realized that part of the reason Cullen Vail had been so graceful
earlier was the low gravity. Even elderly people like Wilkes moved
with ease. "Anyway, now that you're here, you and Cullen can talk
about it. I'm not needed for this particular conversation so I
think I'll just mosey over to the café and see what their special
is today."