The next day…
With a whine of the engines, Stowik set his hopper down on the Alpha India surface. There was no time to park it in the Concrete. Stowik scrambled out of the cockpit until his feet found firm ground. One of the Elders was walking towards him. It was Aitken. They won’t be happy with me. Stowik walked towards Aitken, his feet finding a sure path across the icy terrain. They stopped within a meter of each other.
Aitken broke the silence, “We grounded the hoppers, Stowik.”
Stowik nodded, “So you did.”
“You violated the Elders’ command. You disobeyed the law of Alpha India. This is highly unprecedented,” Aitken observed in his cold, raspy voice.
“Call together a Tribunal. I need to speak to all of the Elders,” said Stowik.
“It has already been done, Stowik. Disciplinary action is imminent,” stated Aitken plainly.
Stowik tilted his head, “I’m not so sure.”
Aitken said nothing as he turned and walked toward Block Two. Stowik followed. They descended into the halls of Block Two and found themselves being greeted by all of the Alpha Indianites. Word traveled fast. Stowik kept his eyes in front of him as he passed his family. Tom appeared to be trying his hardest to contain his joy that Stowik was alive. Ellis and Sartis were holding hands. Then Stowik found himself being led into the Tribunal room. Stowik’s head snapped rigidly to attention as the plastic door slammed loudly behind them. Aitken began going through the motions of beginning the Tribunal, stating aloud the time, place, and reasons for the Tribunal. Stowik wasn’t listening, focusing instead on figuring out how to present the wealth of information Imbria had provided him. How do I pitch this?
“We’re not alone on Titan, Elders,” Stowik interrupted the formal procedure of the Tribunal. Aitken had just started listing Stowik’s offenses when he was interrupted. A look of shock plastered his worn face.
“Yes, we must watch out for our fellow colony members, Stowik. Now only fifty colony members since Rockhead’s crash. What is your point?” asked one of the other Elders curtly.
Aitken shook his head, “We are not here for banter. We must discuss Stowik’s offenses, and his punishment.”
“I mean,” grated Stowik, “There are other humans on Titan. Alpha India is not the only colony.” This got the Elders’ attention. Stowik explained how he met Imbria and everything she told him. The Elders listened patiently, looks of wonder and skepticism lining their faces.
Stowik continued. “There are two rival nations on Titan. The Opposition, and the Arksent. Our technology exceeds the Opposition’s for the most part, and it is my understanding that they steal all of their supplies from the Arksent. From what I gathered, however, the Opposition’s numbers appear to exceed ours drastically, and I suspect the same for the Arksent,” Stowik took a breath and allowed the information to soak into the Elders’ minds.
“This is a fanciful story,” scoffed Aitken before another Elder, Val, interrupted him.
“You don’t believe him, Aitken?” asked Val calmly.
“Stowik is dreaming! He’s trying to distract us from the main issue, which is his break from protocol!” cried Aitken.
“He’s given us no reason to not believe him. In fact, you are the only one who doesn’t,” added Val in a firm tone. Aitken looked to the other Elders for support but their expressions showed that they backed Val. Aitken tried again, insisting, “None of this is real. Not a lick.”
Val disagreed, turning his attention back to Stowik. “Keep going, Stowik. These rival factions, what do they fight over? Would they be friendly to us? Would there be any advantage to us in communicating with them?”
“Communicating with them?!” cried Aitken, “We are not in a tactical position to communicate with another human colony!”
“Your paradigm of human nature is a sad one, Aitken. These people can help us,” Val said, his voice so low Stowik had to strain his ears to hear him.
Aitken sat back in his chair, jaw taut. Stowik took that as his cue to continue.
“Aitken isn’t entirely wrong. Like us, the Opposition use ethane as their primary source of fuel. According to them, the Arksent have been targeting ethane aquifers with an ethane-consuming microorganism. This would explain why our ethane aquifer is depleting,” said Stowik.
“If we alerted them to our presence, perhaps they would stop the microorganism,” mused Val.
“Stowik hasn’t met any Arksent, Val. We have no idea how they would respond to our mere presence, let alone our demands. Why would they help us? We have nothing that they need. Not since the Fire,” countered Aitken.
“It was an accident,” said Val darkly.
“Does he know?” asked Aitken. Val glanced to the side nervously.
Stowik interrupted, confused by the Elder’s talk, “I don’t know how I would encounter the Arksent anyway. They are just as likely to shoot me as help me, I imagine.”
Val paused, “If there is a way to contact them without drawing hostilities—”
“Stowik, you need to wake up. What is easier for the Arksent to believe? That we exist, or that it’s an Opposition trick?” shot back Aitken. “We’d be risking our lives just trying to contact them. And Stowik doesn’t even know where the Arksent is. As for the Opposition, I don’t see how they can help us. They steal all of their supplies from the Arksent. They’re likely to strip us bare if they found us! I fail to imagine any scenario where contact with either faction is feasible, let alone desirable.”
“They are on their way,” said Stowik in a small voice. I hadn’t thought of any of this. Rockhead was always the one with the mind for politics.
“Who is on their way?” demanded Val.
“The Opposition,” said Stowik. He shut his eyes tight, trying to escape the piercing looks of the Elders. When he opened them, he found himself alone in the Concrete. He let out a deep sigh and slumped against the wall. The cold bit into his back like a sharpened knife.