Page 25 of Alien on the Moon

“Shouldn’t we put on oxygen masks?” Carmen asked as they headed out the door.

Elena shook her head. “We don’t have to. The air is thin but breathable now. We should be fine for a little while.”

“It was Elena’s idea to focus on creating an ecosystem rather than a garden.” Rylan pointed to the compost field, which was starting to have some shoots grow from the ground filled with squigs. It stood as a sharp contrast to the nearby field of fertilized dirt that still lay barren.

“I didn’t know you had a green thumb,” Sofia said.

Arccoo frowned, though, when he looked at the shoots. Elena’s heart sank. Bral was supposed to be a dark greenish brown, but these were a golden green. “Are you sure you planted the right crops?” he asked.

She nodded. They still hadn’t quite figured out the change in color. It wasn’t rot or infection, but nobody on the base had any idea what was causing the damage. “We’re looking into it.”

Carmen rested a hand on his shoulder. “Science is trial and error. You can’t just brute force it into the results you want.”

Elena snorted at the hypocrisy. She’d lost count of the number of times she’d said that to Carmen and Sofia over the years.

Rylan shared a knowing look. He’d probably experienced the same problem, too. Such was the struggle of scientists.

“So, not saying that this isn’t impressive, but are we going to stand around staring at rotting food or are there other places you want to show us?” Sofia asked, wrinkling her nose.

Elena nodded sympathetically. “We’ll take you to the lab next.” It really did smell awful out there, even with the squigs breaking down the waste. “We can show you the equipment, explain how it works, and tell you what’s on our wish list.”

“How far from the base is it safe to explore?” Zaraq asked, taking his partner’s hand. “Sofia and I want to see what the rest of the moon looks like.”

“We can go over that in a bit,” Rylan replied, leading the small group back inside. “The short version is that it depends on whether or not you want to use an oxygen mask.”

“Will the mask block out the smell?” Sofia asked.

Elena tipped her hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. “Eh, it’s better than nothing.”

“Unfortunately, we’ll have to do the meet and greet first,” Carmen said. “So, we’ll stick to the base for now.”

Rylan tapped Elena’s arm. “I could show them around the lab while you explore with Sofia and Zaraq if you want.”

“I thought you wanted me to stick with you,” Elena whispered.

He flashed her a quick, small smile. “Do you think I’m too much of a nervous wreck to introduce your family to our coworkers?”

“Stop.” She rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Then go and have fun with your sister. The lab will survive without you for a few hours.”

“You don’t mind, Carmen?” she asked and pointedly ignored the way her older sisters glanced at one another. They’d picked up on something between her and Rylan, but in the interest of preserving her dignity, she wasn’t going to mention it until her sisters brought it up.

“You and Sofia go have fun,” Carmen said. “The meet and greet stuff will be pretty boring. Trust me.” She batted her lashes at her husband. “Not saying that I want to shirk my royal duties, though, of course.”

Arccoo chuckled. “Of course.” His hand curled around Carmen’s waist, pulling her close as they walked. “A future queen has to get to know her subjects.”

Elena and Sofia exchanged glances and then began to playfully retch in unison. Rylan raised his eyebrows at this. The idea ofmaking fun of a royal was unthinkable for the Thryals, even if the royal was also a brother-in-law.

Arccoo, being the youngest and only recently named heir after his brother’s treasonous actions, was used to being teased by family. He would never voice it, but Elena suspected he thought of her and Sofia as his little sisters, too, and enjoyed being included in the playful bickering. His brother’s mockery had always come across as scorn.

“We’ll meet back up at lunch.” Carmen hugged her sisters goodbye. “Just don’t get yourselves killed out there.”

Sofia rolled her eyes. “The most dangerous thing is falling into the compost. Right, Elena?”

“That and the spontaneous quicksand holes,” she lied with a shrug and headed to the envirosuit supply room. “It took out one of our guys about a week ago.”

“Wait, what spontaneous quicksand holes?” Sofia jogged to catch up to her with Zaraq close behind. “There’s spontaneous quicksand holes?”

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