Eight hours later…
Stowik awoke to the gentle pitter-patter of tiny methane droplets landing on his face. He galvanized his aching body up slowly and decided to stretch. He contorted his body and uncoiled his compressed muscles until the cloud fled over the mountains. Rejuvenated, Stowik bounded down the mountain at a running pace and quickly made his way under the hopper to close the fuel intake valves. He braced his body against one of the valves, and strained. The sharp noise of footsteps filled his ears. They were moving fast. He turned around and a heavy object slammed into his jaw. The blow caused Stowik to bite down on the inside of his cheek, and he tasted blood as his momentum carried him down. He landed face-down on the ground with a thud. The Elders sent people after me? How did they get past the crater rim? Stowik quickly turned up to face his attacker and instead stared into the hole of a long plastic cylinder and a bright light in the assailant’s other hand. Too bright. He wasn’t sure what the cylinder was, and he was too busy making a mechanical assessment of the object to notice that the girl’s scowl made the cylinder’s purpose clear enough. She was standing above him breathing heavily, brandishing the strange device and staring at Stowik with narrowed eyes, as if deciding his fate. Her hardened eyes darted from him to the hopper. Stowik’s large pupils took her in. She wore a grey skin-tight thermal one-piece suit similar to his own and had blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders. Like Stowik, she also wore some type of face mask that covered her nose and mouth. He didn’t recognize her. How is that possible? There’s only fifty-one of us. Who the hell is that? Where did she come from? Did she follow me out of Alpha? No, that’s impossible. I don’t get out of the Concrete much, but I know each of the Alpha Indianites and I don’t recognize her face.
“Who are you?” blurted out Stowik. He lay on the cold ground and waited for an explanation through squinted eyes. It’s so bright.
Finally, the girl spoke up, “You don’t dress like an Arksent,” she stated, “and you don’t sound like Opposition.”
Stowik ignored the statement, because he didn’t understand it. “You’re not from Alpha India. Where did you come from? There are other humans on Titan?” replied Stowik. Needles prodded his eyes. Stowik clenched and unclenched his right fist. I probably have eighty pounds on her. Could I take her down before she hit me with the cylinder? What if it’s not just a club?
“You’re not Arksent or Opposition are you?” asked the girl.
“Why on Earth did you hit me?” inquired Stowik. He looked away. His eyes sought respite from the light of her cylinder.
“We are not on Earth,” stated the girl bluntly.
What a know-it-all “It’s an expression. Do you know what an expression is?” retorted Stowik.
The girl rolled her eyes. “I wish you would tell me, but I’m a bit busy trying to escape from Arksent soldiers. And I’m not convinced you aren’t one of them,” added the girl, though she lowered her weapon slightly, still keeping the searing light in her other hand trained on Stowik.
Stowik stood up and rubbed his knee where it had impacted the unforgiving ground. Stowik could practically feel his pupils straining to contract and avoid the flood of brightness, but too many years in the Concrete had left them weak. That damn light
“Well I guess you’d better get moving then,” he said as he covered his eyes with his arm.
The girl shook her head, “No, you aren’t Arksent.”
The girl twisted and pointed behind her, her blonde hair dancing around her neck, “They are several kilometers south and closing quickly on their rovers. At least a dozen Arksent soldiers. What does this machine do? Is this a vehicle? Where are the wheels?”
Stowik’s screaming eyes darted south involuntarily. Soldiers? This isn’t my fight. Stowik walked to the side of the hopper to climb up. He felt her hand grip his shoulder and whip him around. Once again, he faced the barrel of the mysterious cylinder.
“I’m coming with you,” she stated. She turned off the light. It felt like he was lapping up ice cold water after droes in the desert. The stars receded from Stowik’s vision.
Stowik looked warily at her, “There’s no room. It’s a one man vehicle.”
“Works for me, as there is only one man here.” She immediately leapt up onto the hopper and scrambled up to the cockpit. The girl peered in and yelled down to Stowik, “I see room.”
Shit. Rising dust caught Stowik’s eyes. The soldiers were near. What if they take my hopper? What if they think I’m with her?
“There is no way you’re getting in my hopper, especially after you attacked me,” said Stowik as he mulled his tongue around his cheek, tasting the fresh blood oozing out of his wound. “Get out of the way,” stated Stowik firmly as he clambered up the ladder.
Imbria responded by pointing her weapon at Stowik, “I’ll get out of your way, but that will involve pumping you full of lead. That wouldn’t do either of us any good would it?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” yelled Stowik. What’s lead? He craned his neck back to watch for the soldiers. They were getting closer every second. She’s wasting time. A loud boom interrupted his thoughts as dirt was thrown up next to his feet.
“What was that?” yelled Stowik as he covered his ears. His vision moved from the small hole at his feet to the plastic cylinder in the girl’s hand. Did that just do that?
“That is your survival instinct telling you to start your machine and get us out of here now,” the girl said. The sounds of engines filled Stowik’s ears. He turned around and saw several vehicles in the distance. Time for a leap of faith.
Stowik ran under the hopper, closed the valve with a grunt, and clambered up the side of the hopper. He closed the hatch, sealing them in.
“Hold on to something,” Stowik commanded as he strapped himself into his seat. Damn rookie.
The girl crouched behind the seat and held on tightly. Stowik flipped several switches to release methane and oxygen into the combustion chamber of the hopper. He pushed the throttle forward and could feel the raw power of the engine thrusting against the ground. The hopper twitched and then was in the air. It was rising too slowly. This girl is dead weight. He looked out below him and saw six rovers filled with uniformed men and women. They were racing towards him, their treads violently throwing up hydrocarbon dust into the air. The soldiers were less than a kilometer away and closing fast. Time to move. Stowik gave the hopper all the juice he could. The soldiers were almost directly under him now, but they made no attempt to fire on the vehicle. Won’t argue with that. The hopper pitched forward and gained speed quickly. The soldiers tried to follow on land, but they couldn’t compete with the hopper’s speed over the bumpy terrain.
Soon enough, the hopper was over the horizon and into unfamiliar land. A towering cliff reared up, and Stowik increased the hopper’s elevation to pass over it. He traveled along the plateau for some time as he passed hydrocarbon dune fields and a modest ethane pool. The wind was howling against the hopper and Stowik fought against the controls to keep the craft stable. He gazed at the fuel gauge and saw that he had already depleted half of his reserves. Satisfied that the danger was behind him, Stowik slowly decreased his speed and set the hopper down gently on the icy plateau. Stowik and the girl both removed their facemasks.
“Okay, they’re gone. Get out,” said Stowik as he rubbed his jaw.
“You don’t care that there are other humans on Titan? I heard you ask,” said the girl.
Me and my big mouth. “I was hoping my first interaction with Others would not have started with getting hit in the face, having a light shined in my eyes, getting attacked by whatever that is,” Stowik continued after gesturing to the girl’s weapon, “and then getting run out of town by whoever the hell those guys were. And I’m no expert, but I think the next part is where you thank me for the ride and get out of my hopper?”
Stowik reached into a box behind his seat to grab some vegetables. Stowik sat in his chair and munched on the fresh greens, his legs propped against
a dashboard-like ledge above the fuel gauge as he stared at the girl and waited for her to either leave or reply.
“I admit, we may have gotten off to a bad start. I thought you were with them,” she tilted her head in the direction they came. She gazed hungrily at the food. And now she’s all smiles. Great. Stowik sighed loudly and offered some of his food to the girl, who hastily grabbed them from him and hastily began devouring the vegetables.
“I take it your side doesn’t feed well, then,” commented Stowik.
The girl’s mild expression immediately turned into a frown, but she said nothing as she chewed.
“I’m Stowik,” he offered to the girl.
When the girl didn’t reply, he coughed, “Let me rephrase that. I’m Stowik. I just saved your ass after you assaulted me, and now I’ve given you some of my food. Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
“Where I’m from, we finish chewing before we speak. My name is Imbria. Anyway, what kind of name is Stowik?” the girl asked.
Stowik fidgeted nervously, uncomfortable with the question, “A good kind,” he said as he looked out the cockpit at the cratered landscape, dotted by dune fields, “I’ve never seen the dune fields so close,” Stowik commented, changing the subject.
“Is there another way to see them?” asked Imbria sarcastically.
“In one of the Authochton’s drawings,” murmured Stowik.
“Authochthons?” interrupted Imbria.
“The first colonizers,” said Stowik. “One was quite an artist; he made a book of drawings of the Titan landscape.”
“Drawings? Like blueprints or a map?”
Stowik laughed, “Drawings, like art.”
“What is art?” asked Imbria.
“What? You don’t have art?” asked Stowik in disbelief.
“We might; I am simply unfamiliar with your terminology,” said Imbria defensively.
“Art is something that people admire for its own sake. It can be a form of expression, or lack thereof. It can be beautiful or ugly, depending on who looks at it. I don’t know how to describe it…I guess you could consider the landscape art. The Autochton did, of course.” Rockhead always did. “Even if you don’t have the word for art, surely you must have the feeling,” Stowik explained.
“We create only to survive. We make oxygen masks to filter the atmosphere. We make thermal suits to stay warm. We make tunnels and outposts in the cliffs to hide from the Arksent. We make guns to fight back. The Autochthon drew the landscape with no strategic purpose? Seems pointless. Your Autochton would be better off with a map,” said Imbria.
“We have those too,” defended Stowik, “but the drawings are useful. Some of them are of Earth.”
“Like you can tell those are real” scoffed Imbria.
Stowik’s eyes widened with shock, “Of course they are real. An Autochthon drew them.”
“But the Autochtons could have drawn anything and you wouldn’t know the difference,” Imbria pointed out.
“They are real,” Stowik said firmly.
“I’d like to see that book,” said Imbria indifferently.
“You can’t. It was lost in the fire. I never even got to see it,” said Stowik. He looked out the window as if the particles that made up the book were in the air surrounding them.
“Then how did you see the drawings?” accused Imbria.
Stowik was rummaging around beneath the console and didn’t hear the question, or pretended not to. Imbria sat in the cockpit of the hopper in silence while Stowik rearranged things that were already in their correct places.
“Can you leave now?” asked Stowik.
“Do you feel okay? Your pupils are abnormally large; I can barely see your irises.”
“Now that you turned that damned light off. They’re always like that. You might want to put your facemask on. I’m opening the hatch,” replied Stowik as he donned his mask.
“The hatch? Why?” asked Imbria.
“It’s the second fastest way for you to get the hell out of my hopper. The fastest way is to push you through the window, but I spent three weeks collecting enough silica to make each panel, so when you do the math, it’s actually faster for you to leave the traditional way,” said Stowik.
Imbria apparently ignored his statement. “Do everyone’s eyes in Alpha India look like that?” she asked, clearly fascinated by Stowik’s appearance.
“You’re not going to put your mask on? I’m really going to open the hatch, and then you’ll probably pass out from inhaling the hydrocarbons,” said Stowik.
Imbria waved him off, “That’s stuff to scare children; you don’t pass out by inhaling the atmosphere, the negative health effects are much more long-term.”
Stowik let out a sigh, frustrated with Imbria’s smart-ass attitude, “Yes, everyone in Alpha India looks like this. Your pupils are quite small. Is that why you need a light to see?” Stowik asked.
She shrugged, “I suppose. What is this vehicle? Where did you get it?”
“I’d love to chat, but I know you are on your way out,” said Stowik as he lifted the hatch. Imbria scrambled to put her mask on and glared at Stowik.
“You can’t just leave me here!” yelled Imbria.
Stowik descended the ladder and tested the ground with his foot for show, “Looks sturdy enough to me.”
“We’re on a plateau. I’d be trapped!” said Imbria as she started to raise her weapon at Stowik.
“If you kill me with that thing, you’d really be trapped. Unless you think you’re up to piloting the hopper?” said Stowik from the base of the ladder. He watched her submit and lower her weapon. “I thought so.”
“Back there,” Imbria gestured in the direction they came from, “you asked me if there are other humans on Titan. You might act all tough but I can tell you’re pretending. Don’t act like you don’t have questions. Get me to an Opposition base and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” She didn’t budge from her perch in the cockpit.
“Well, now that I’ve seen what other humans on Titan are like, I’m not interested,” Stowik said quickly.
Imbria’s mouth dropped, clearly interpreting his statement as a personal insult to her physical appearance, “That is extremely rude.” Imbria turned away from Stowik as far as the tight confines of the hopper cockpit would allow, her brow set in anger.
Me and my big mouth again. Stowik grabbed one of the ladder rungs. “I didn’t…I just meant,” Stowik stuttered, “Damn it.” This girl is impossible.
“You can get off your high horse, you’re no prince charming yourself,” said Imbria haughtily. Stowik rolled his eyes.
“Who are the Opposition, what is the Arksent, and why are they chasing you?” demanded Stowik.
Imbria turned to face Stowik below, her eyes examining him in with something bordering on disdain, as if she was contemplating whether or not to respond. After a moment, she spoke, “Well, I’m the Opposition—my team and I. We’re at war with the Arksent.” She stated, staring through the cockpit window into the dark landscape. She spoke loudly so Stowik could hear her on the ground. “My team and I were conducting a raid in Arksent territory, trying to interrupt a supply convoy. The Arksent were transporting parts for a new mining operation in the south. We ambushed the convoy, but we were betrayed—they were waiting for us all along. We never had a chance,” she shook her head sadly and her voice dropped to a whisper. “No one else made it.”
Stowik felt a pang of sympathy for Imbria. Sensing that Stowik was less eager than before to throw her out of the hopper, Imbria pressed her advantage and gave Stowik the information she knew he wanted. Talking quickly, she revealed that The Opposition had split from the Arksent some years ago and had since taken to carving out the Titan landscape with outposts from which to survive. Outposts from which to raid the Arksent for supplies, fueling their efforts and damaging the Arksent economy at the same time. The Opposition were seeking to reconcile with the Arksent eventually, but on their terms: only under O
pposition leadership could both groups survive.
“But why are you at war?” he pressed. He rested his hands on his hips and inhaled the cold air as he looked at the cratered landscape.
Imbria frowned, uncomfortable with the question, and changed the subject, “What brings you to this region?” she asked.
“It’s still your turn to answer questions,” said Stowik.
Imbria raised her weapon and pointed it down at Stowik, “Don’t test me. Now it’s your turn. What are you doing here? You’re practically in a war zone.”
“An aquifer—a store of liquid ethane deep underground—provides all of the fuel for Alpha India. Recently the ethane levels have been depleting rapidly, and we can’t figure out why. I’m searching for some way to divert more fuel into the aquifer,” Stowik replied.
“The Arksent,” Imbria cursed. “Their scientists conduct strange research. We’ve received reports of genetic experiments, but we don’t know the details. What we do know is that the Arksent developed a microorganism that feeds off of ethane. They released it onto Titan to attempt to cut off our fuel supplies. It seems to me that the microorganisms have found their way into your aquifer.”
Stowik crossed his legs and sat down on the icy surface. He was silent for several minutes as he thought to himself.
“How do you stop the microorganisms?” asked Stowik.
Imbria shrugged, “You leave.”
Microorganisms? So there are not only other humans, but other life on Titan? If Imbria’s telling the truth, all of Alpha will have to relocate. Maybe Alpha would better off with Imbria as our ally, even if she is pushy.
“So do you need to be dropped off somewhere?” inquired Stowik, offering the proverbial olive branch in spite of his earlier frustration.
Imbria thought for a moment and then spoke, “We’ll go to an Opposition base—there is one close by. I must inform them of the outcome of the raid, and I think they would like to meet you.”