Page 14 of Alien Engineer's Mate

Leo's hand brushed her arm. "Mom..." The word held a wealth of uncertainty.

"It's okay," she whispered, though nothing about this felt okay. "Stay close to Kyle."

They followed the Latharian warily to find that the shuttle's interior was hard and utilitarian, all gunmetal gray surfaces and exposed bolts. The seats looked more like crash webbing than anything else, sized for beings much larger than humans. A door presumably led to the cockpit, another to what she really hoped was a bathroom. They all jumped as the ramp crashed shut behind them.

"You may remove breathing apparatus," the Latharian said, securing their trunks with practiced efficiency. "Atmosphere is regulated."

Eira helped Grace with her respirator first, then Kyle's, before removing her own. Leo handled his on his own, his movements still sharp with tension. The air tasted different… cleaner somehow, with an underlying tang she couldn't identify.

"These seats," the Latharian indicated the nearest set of restraints. "Small ones there." He pointed out where the webbing could be adjusted tighter. “Need to wear harness for takeoff, then you can move around. We tell you when.”

“Thank you,” Eira smiled, surprised at his consideration. She’d expected to be left to figure it all out herself.

Grace refused to let go of Eira, so she settled into one of the oversized seats with her daughter in her lap. Kyle and Leo took the seats across from them, Kyle's feet barely reaching the edge of the seat. Even hers and Leo’s feet didn’t reach the floor.

The Latharian looked over their harnesses, then nodded and headed to the cockpit without another word, the door sliding shut behind him with a pneumatic hiss.

Not talkative then. That was fine. She could cope with not talkative.

The shuttle shuddered as it lifted off, and Grace's fingers dug into Eira's arms. Through the small viewport, she could see the colony growing smaller, the dome of the memorial gardenscatching the sunlight one last time before it was lost among the endless orange wastes.

Holy shit, what had she done?

5

The viewport's edge bit into Eira's palms as she made room for the kids. Leo and Kyle pressed against the reinforced plasteel, fogging it with their breath as Earth hung before them like a massive gem. The sight hit her harder than she'd expected.

"Look, Gracie!" Kyle smudged the viewport with eager fingers. "See the clouds? And that's real ocean down there, not the recycled stuff!"

Grace crept closer to the window, her small hand tight in Eira's. "Is it pretty, Mommy?" she whispered.

"It is, sweetheart. It's beautiful." Eira smoothed her daughter's hair, the softness of it a contrast to her work-roughened hands. Earth filled the view below, its swirling clouds relaxing and hypnotic.

The shuttle's engines hummed through the deck plates, cleaner than the grinding equipment she'd gotten used to over the years. She'd positioned them at this viewport early. Her children deserved one clear view of Earth before the station swallowed them up.

Stepping back, she watched them lean closer. Leo's shoulders strained his jacket seams. When had he grown so much? The fabric needed reinforcing, but her repair kit was packed away. If they still had time before...

"Mom?" Kyle turned suddenly, his eyes bright. "Have you been there? Did you see Earth before?"

The question hit like a cave-in, breaking loose memories she'd sealed away. The endless marble halls... the servants watching every move of the grubby colony child suddenly in their mausoleum of a house. And the ringing echo of her grandmother's voice:"Really, dear, you must learn to sit properly. And do something about that accent. You sound like a docker."

Kyle's expression shifted to worry, and she realized she'd been quiet too long.

"Yes," she said, forcing a bright smile. "It was a long time ago... when I was about your age."

"What was it like?" he pressed. "Did you do anything cool?"

"It was... different," she said. "I stayed with my dad's parents. He was Earth-born, came to the colony when he was an adult. But he grew up on Earth. Their house had its own garden, it even had a fountain." The water's music had been so different from the constant hiss of recyclers. "I remember the sunlight and the smell of flowers the most."

"Did you play there, Mommy?" Grace tugged her sleeve.

Eira crouched down, knees protesting. She brushed Grace's hair back while she filtered the truth about endless etiquette lessons and supervised walks where she couldn't touch anything.

"I watched the butterflies in the garden," she said. That much was true; she'd spent hours studying them, imagining wings of her own.

"Butterflies?" Grace perked up. "Can we go and see them?"

"Maybe one day." The lie was bitter on her tongue, but she kept smiling. Her grandparents had never liked her or her mother, and they had to be long dead now.

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