Page 21 of Alien on the Moon

“The squigs should get here by tomorrow. We can introduce them into the soil as soon as we’re sure they’re stable.”

“Yes!” She jumped to her feet and threw her arms around his shoulders. “You’ll see. This will all work out.”

Behind them, Jaku whistled, and Elena let go, embarrassed. Jaku was one of the researchers specializing in air composition and loved getting under people’s skin.

It took Rylan some time to realize it wasn’t personal. Aside from his work, which he took seriously, Jaku treated everything like a joke. He was nobility and seemed aware that an element of nepotism was at play in how he got the job, so he tried his best to put in good work, even if he was playing the role of the class clown during his off hours.

Rylan rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have work to do?”

He stretched back in his chair, resting his arms behind his head and smirking. “Don’t stop on my account. You guys are cute.”

“And you have a talent for ruining the moment,” Rylan retorted, resting his hand on Elena’s shoulder. She wasn’t ashamed of him. He knew that. But sometimes, with the way she grew tense and embarrassed when others pointed out that they were together, it was easy to forget.

After all, she was nobility, and he was a commoner. He’d made good money as a scientist, but all the money in the world couldn’t make up for that shortcoming, even if Elena said that kings and noble blood weren’t taken very seriously on Earth.

Some of the tension left her shoulders as she sighed. “Whatever, Jaku. Is the atmosphere ready to sustain small life forms?”

He scooted aside for Rylan and Elena to see the computer. “Everything is looking good so far. Those squigs are about to discover a literal whole new world of decadence.”

“Excellent.” Elena raised her hand in something the Earthlings called a high-five. After teaching it to some of the researchers, the practice had taken off in popularity, with members of the base at all levels striking the hands of one another to show approval.

Jaku returned the high-five with an enthusiasm that left Elena shaking her hand. Though she was initially nervous when engaging with scientists outside of Rylan, she had truly begun to flourish in the past few weeks, blossoming like a satcha flower as she gained confidence in herself and her wisdom. Rylan had loved to watch her grow.

Pushing up her glasses, she offered Rylan a soft smile. “We have a lot to do before our little buddies arrive. So, back to work?”

The next day, the first shipment of squigs arrived in conjunction with the rest of the base’s supplies. The zegs would come later,once they had plants to pollinate. This would be the smaller test case before they began the moon-wide project.

Rylan hefted the crate of squigs, pretending not to notice the way that Elena admired the muscles rippling in his arms and back. He enjoyed working out as a means of clearing his mind, but lately, he’d been reaping some unexpected fruits of his labors. Namely, Elena ogling him at every opportunity.

“Shall we?” he asked, nodding in the direction of the compost pile.

When they reached it, Elena coughed, wrinkling her nose. “Even with the oxygen mask, it still stinks.”

“Would you like to do the honors?” he set down the crate and stretched out the kinks in his muscles.

“Gladly.” She punched the code to open the box, and he tilted hundreds of squigs out and onto the field of rotting food and body waste. The squigs lay there for a moment, acclimating to the new environment before burrowing into the dirt. “Enjoy your meal,” she said to them. “And make us plenty of fertile soil.”

“You’re talking to them?”

She winked. “Everyone needs encouragement. Even on Earth, talking kindly to plants will help them grow better than yelling at them, though that could be more related to the noise and vibration than the actual words. The sentiment is there, though.”

Feeling a little ridiculous, Rylan cupped his hand around his mouth. “Eat this rotting food and shit out plenty of great dirt!” He turned to her. “How was that?”

She snickered, causing a strange lightness in his chest. He loved the sound of her laughter. More than that, though, he loved the sound when it was him making her laugh.

“Ten out of ten. No notes.” She hooked her arm around his. “Let’s head back to base. If we don’t go now, I don’t think I’ll ever get that smell out of my nose.”

He nodded, trying not to inhale too deeply. “Agreed.”

Elena was right. The squigs made quick work of the compost, transforming it into soil whose composition more closely resembled Thryal.

After about a month, they had planted the bral along with vreben, a bean-like crop that was known for adding nitrogen to the soil and was commonly grown alongside bral. Now, all they could do was wait and focus on revamping the system in other ways.

Taking a holistic view of terraforming made the initial process slower, but they were seeing results. The oxygen composition of the air had gone up, allowing them to breathe outside without their masks for short periods of time, and the increasing atmosphere allowed the temperature to stabilize, helping the plants to grow.

He and Elena had been working through all hours, sometimes even jumping out of bed in the middle of the night when they were hit with a sudden idea. When it came to self-care, it seemed that two workaholics were a recipe for disaster.

One morning, he woke to find Elena shivering in bed beside him. This was new. He knew humans shivered when they were cold, but he’d made sure that his bedroom was the ideal temperature for her.

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