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“Discussing?” Grandmother’s heavy brows are drawn together. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”

“Arguing, then,” replies my mother with a toss of her shining hair. She grabs me by the hands and pulls me over to the table. “Here, sit down. It’ll be good to get a young person’s take on this.” She shoots my father a sharp glance.

“What’s going on?” I meet my grandmother’s stern gaze with as innocent an expression as I can muster.

“Your mother,” says my grandfather, “wants us to engage in some rather large-scale mining. I’ve been trying to explain how impractical that could be.”

“Because we’d have to raid old equipment for parts?” Mom pulls up a chair and sits beside me. “Equipment we haven’t used for years, I might add.”

My father sighs and leans forward, his elbows pressed against the table. “But it may still be needed, someday. If the wells run dry … ”

“If the wells run dry, if the sky goes dark, if the sun goes nova, if, if, if.” Mom examines the perfect ovals of her fingernails. “Honestly, don’t you have a shred of imagination left, Jason? This mineral is something that can benefit the entire universe if only we can figure out how to collect enough to make a difference.”

“To make a profit, you mean, Tara.” My grandmother lays her hand over Dad’s tensed arm.

“Well, of course to make a profit. And why not? It could mean enough credits to get all of us off Eco. The children and young people—they could have options for the future Jason and I could only dream of. What’s so wrong with that scenario?”

My grandfather leans back in his chair. “The problem is that we don’t really have the equipment to do a proper exploration, much less full-scale mining.”

Connor Patel unclasps his hands and grips the back of Mom’s chair. “But if we could build the necessary tools from old equipment that’s just sitting about, we could at least harvest enough of the mineral to convince investors to fund the mining. With every family on Eco guaranteed a cut, of course.”

“And you’d get a cut as well, I suppose?” Grandmother looks Patel up and down.

“Well, yes. I’d be offering my assistance to aid the initial mining efforts, as well as conveying samples of the mineral to Earth. We have to show investors the goods, after all.”

“We?” My father looks up from the point on the table he’s been studying intently. The anger flashing in his dark eyes makes me draw in a sharp breath. “I didn’t know you were somehow connected to anything, or anyone, on Eco, Patel.”

Time to create a diversion. “What the hel … heck are you talking about?” I glance about the table. “What mineral?”

Mom turns to me, her hands fluttering like butterfly wings. “Oh, it’s miraculous, darling. That piece of rock your friend Dacian … ”

“Dace.” I trap Mom’s hands between a cage of my fingers and look her directly in the eyes. Her lovely face glows with an unfamiliar expression—joy.

“Dace, then. Anyway, the rock he found is something quite amazing. I unpacked my parents’ equipment to examine it, and at first I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. So I tested it again and again, but every time the results were the same. Then I knew. We’ve been handed a miracle.”

My grandfather clears his throat, but Mom keeps talking. “Think of it, Ann—a mineral that can clean the air. Clear out impurities, absorb toxins and hold them, keeping humans safe from harm. Can you imagine what that means?”

“It really does that?” My voice squeaks on the last word. I release Mom’s fingers. A miracle. I press my knees together to hide their quivering. This could answer all my prayers. Passage off Eco and enough credits to start a successful new life on Earth.

“Apparently.” My grandmother’s cool voice undercuts my enthusiasm. “Which, as anyone with sense would agree, will prove an extremely valuable resource for deep space exploration and colonization. Not to mention its incalculable benefits to support other terraforming projects. However,” Grandmother’s tone sharpens, “I question the wisdom of tearing apart our colony’s infrastructure in order to exploit this resource.”

“Only for a short period of time, Ms. Solano.” Patel steps around the table to face my grandmother. “As I explained earlier, I can’t just take this one rock to drum up interest. The types of people willing to invest in such a project are going to want at least a few bins full. But I do have room to transport a goodly amount on the Ada, and once we have enough of the mineral to prove the viability of a mining project, entrepreneurs will be fighting each other for the opportunity. You’ll have enough credits flowing into Eco to transform this colony into a showplace of modern technology. Not to mention the ability to leave the planet any time you choose.”

My father shoves back his chair and jumps to his feet. “There’s that ‘we’ again.” He advances until he’s toe-to-toe with Connor Patel. His intensity makes him appear taller than he is even though he has to look up to stare into the captain’s face. “I’d still like to know what you’re getting out of this.”

“Connor has offered to broker the deal with some of his contacts.” Mom moves to stand beside Patel. Her head only reaches his shoulder, but there’s no mistaking who’s in charge. Mom turns her laser-bright gaze on my father and his parents.

Dad blinks and audibly swallows. “And you think … Connor can be trusted with this, Tara? No offense, Captain, but we just met you a day or two ago.”

“Of course he can be trusted.” Mom drapes her slender fingers over Patel’s muscular forearm. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I did a little research on the good captain, Jason.”

“I’ll say.” I don’t realize I’ve spoken aloud until five heads swivel in my direction. I cough into my hand. “Sorry, babbling. Long day escorting Dace about and all.”

“And of course Dacian … Dace will get a cut of the profits,” my mother says, narrowing her eyes as she examines me. “That should more than pay for his university education. No need to worry about a scholarship.”

“It could mean a place at a university for Ann as well,” adds Patel, with a conciliatory smile for my father.

Dad turns his gaze on Mom. “I understand the benefits. But as my mother has explained, stripping our back-up life-support systems—as you suggested earlier, Captain—hardly seems the smartest tactic.”

“We’ve never used them.” Mom steps away from Patel and circles around to stand next to my father. “In all this time, they’ve never been needed. What makes you think we’d require their use over the next few months?” She touches Dad’s arm. “Seriously, my dear, you’re being overly cautious.”

“Someone needs to be,” he replies.

Mom drops her hand, as if burned. “I’d think you’d be willing to consider the opportunity, if only for Ann’s sake.”

“I am thinking about Ann.” My father’s eyes focus on Mom’s implacable face. “I’m thinking about Ann starving to death because we cannibalized our back-up systems to create your mining machinery. I’m thinking about Ann dying of thirst because our well pumps failed and we had no spare parts to repair them. I’m thinking about all the children and young people on Eco who could suffer if we make bad choices. Expedient, self-serving choices. That’s what I’m thinking about, Tara, while you count credits in your head.”

“Ann,” my mother’s voice is silky as the petals of a rose, “why don’t you take a nap. You do look exhausted.”

Dad smacks his hand against his thigh. “She doesn’t have to go anywhere.”

My grandparents share a quick glance before Grandfather rises to his feet. “Perhaps it’s best if we continue this discussion at another time.”

“I’m sorry, Zolin, but this is the only time we have,” replies my mother. “I’m taking the information and our proposal to the Governing Council this afternoon so we can call a full colony assembly as soon as possible. You can speak now or wait until the larger meeting.”

“You know our opinion.” Grandmother stands and moves to Grandfather’s side. “We aren’t opposed to exploring the possibility of mining sometime in the future. But we don’t agree with jumping into something that might jeopardize the colony.”

“Well, I told you first as a courtesy. Family, and all that.” Mom lifts her chin. “But quite frankly, I don’t need your permission to take this to the Council.”

Dad shakes his head. “Tara, you need to listen … ”

“Damn you—I’m done listening. I’ve listened to the three of you for far too long. Now I’m going to do the talking, and make some changes around here at last.” Mom stalks to the door and yanks it open. “Now’s the time for action, not caution.” She steps out into the hall without a backward glance.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a fight,” says Patel.

“You didn’t,” replies my father. “It started long before you landed on Eco.” He crosses to the table and slumps into a chair.

Patel runs his hands through his hair as his gaze darts about, landing on everything except the faces of the three people standing before him. “Excuse me, please. Matters on the Ada demand my attention.” He strides out of our quarters, allowing the door to slam behind him.

My grandfather takes a seat next to my dad. “We’d better pull up some equipment plans, son. Best to be prepared for whatever the Council and the colony decide.”

“Anna-Maria,” Grandmother levels one of her piercing stares at me, “come along. We’ve work to do in the greenhouse, if you’re done escorting Dace for the day.”

I’m more than happy to leave this room. “No problem,” I reply.

I spare one glance, and a smile, for my father before I follow her into the hall.

I wait until we’re in the cavern to inform Dace of my mother’s plans.

“She can’t do that!” Dace rakes his fingers through his hair, causing it to stand up in spikes.

Sitting on one of the larger boulders, I pull off my boots. “Unfortunately, she can.”

“You have to stop her.” Dace has already stripped down to a pair of shorts. A waterproof pack is strapped about his waist.

I yank off my socks and study my bare toes. “Can’t. She’s on the governing council and has every right to bring this to their attention. In fact, she already has. Informed them yesterday, from what I heard.”

“And you’re just telling me now?” Dace sits at the edge of lake, dangling his legs in the water.

“Wouldn’t have made any difference.” I pile my clothes, boots and other gear behind the boulder. I’m wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, the darkest I could find. They might cling to my skin, but at least they shouldn’t turn transparent.

“If they decide to mine this cavern, even on a small scale, it could be disastrous for the Selk.” Dace’s lower lip rolls into its accustomed pout as he stares over the still lake.

I sit next to him. “Maybe the colony will vote it down.”

“You don’t believe that.” Dace shakes off the hand I’ve laid over his wrist. “And you’re probably all for the mining, anyway. Then your family can leave Eco any time they choose, and with a pile of credits.”

“My mom said she’d make sure you got your cut.”

“Yeah, great.” Dace turns to me, his dark eyes brimming with suspicion. “You didn’t happen to mention the Selk, I suppose? No, judging by that guilty look, I guess not. So the council and colony have no idea they’ll be damaging a native life form. Way to go, Ann. Letting them vote without knowing all the facts. Classy.”

“Now, look here, Dacian Keeling.” I slide away from him. “You promised you wouldn’t mention these creatures, or any genetic connections to them, until we’re both safely off Eco. Are you going to keep that promise?”

Dace returns my stare with a glare of his own. “Maybe. If you promise to somehow convince your mother and the others to drop their plan to mine the caverns until we devise a way to move the Selk. Maybe you can at least communicate the danger to them before you get the hell off Eco.”

“What good’s that going to do? If the mining starts, do you really think they won’t strip the planet bare? Face it, Dace—the Selk are pretty much doomed.” I dip my toes in the water. It’s strange how this thought makes my chest tighten. I don’t know why. Whatever happens, I won’t be around to witness it.

“No, they’re not. Not if I have anything to do with it. There’s an entire maze of caverns, I expect. If we could get the Selk to travel to another area of the planet, far from the compound, they might be safe for a while.” He drops his head and breaks our staring match. “Until I can get help.”

“What kind of help?”

Dace plucks at the strap of his pack. “I know people.”

“Greeners, you mean?” I give the rubber band holding my braid a final twist. “Just what we need—a bunch of crazy eco-terrorists crawling all over the planet.”

“They aren’t terrorists.” Dace avoids my eyes as he slips into the water. “That’s just ’sphere propaganda.” Hanging onto the rocky edge, he finally glances up at me. “You are going to talk to your mom, right? Even if she’s already told everyone about the mineral, she might still be able to convince them to hold off on the mining.”

“I’ll talk to her.” This will do no good, of course, but promises are easy to make.

Not so easy to keep. I shake my head and kneel into a crouch, gripping the stones that line the edge of the lake. Without another thought, I lower myself into the water.