Colonization Read Free

course of your life. They’ll determine your future job assignment in the colony. Whether you’ll be a housekeeper, a planter, or even a systems operator. It would behoove you to do well.”
    Dad only pushed me because he cared, but I couldn’t bring myself to take the tests seriously. They forced me to accept the reality of Paradise 21, and I wasn’t ready to grow up. The tests had seemed so far away, but all of a sudden they hung over my head. I couldn’t cram in all I’d missed during the years I’d slacked off.
    I told him what he wanted to hear. “Yes, Dad. I’ll try.”
    He opened his mouth, probably to lecture me more, when the ship lurched, slamming us into the wall. I banged my elbow against the chrome, sending a sting up my arm. As Dad helped me stand, the lights flickered off and dim-red emergency ones flashed on. The familiar chug of the generators underneath my feet stopped, and the ship felt oddly motionless. An alarm wailed.
    “It’s the engines.” Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. “I have to get to the lower decks.”
    We reached our family unit and he threw his electrolytic capacitor into a plastic container. “Stay here.” His voice sounded authoritative, but a glimmer of fear crossed his eyes.
    I nodded and watched him sprint down the corridor until the portal re-materialized, static particles solidifying, leaving me alone in my family unit.
    What if the engines failed before we reached Paradise 21? Part of me relished the idea. We’d live on the ship our whole lives, like our ancestors before us. We wouldn’t have to worry about atmospheric conditions, threatening species, or building cities on the foamy stuff they called turf. Then I realized we’d be adrift in space with Great-grandma Tiff. We’d lose power and our resources would dwindle even further. We’d run out of food. What if the heat stopped working and we froze to death?
    That thought scared me more than living on Paradise 21. I had to do something. Hefting my backpack, I pressed the portal panel and jumped up and down until the particles dematerialized. I’d never been as low as the engine decks, but I had an idea where Dad worked. Following in his footsteps, I wiggled my way through people rushing down the corridor, and pressed the elevator panel.
    “Annie, where are you going?”
    Sirius caught me red-handed. With my pack on my back and my hand on the elevator panel, I looked like crazy Aries Ryder heading for the escape pods.
    “I was just…going to…” I stammered and looked down until I remembered he wasn’t where he should be either. “Why are you here?”
    “I came to check on you. After you left, Commander Barliss lost consciousness. One minute he was talking to all the people onboard, and the next his eyes were shut.”
    My heart fluttered at the same pace as the flashing lights. Too many things were going wrong all in one day. My world was disintegrating before my eyes. “Is he going to be all right?”
    “I heard the medics talking as they took him to the hospital deck. The ship is faltering without his mind to steer it forward. The engines are sputtering out.”
    The elevator portal dematerialized and I rushed in. Sirius slid in next to me, and the platform took off down to the lower decks.
    “Where’s the elevator headed?”
    I flicked my eyes up, daring him to stop me. “The engine room. I want to help.”
    He slammed his fist on the portal jam button and the elevator stopped between decks, jerking us both. I fell against him, and he held me in his arms. “You can’t do anything down there. It’s dangerous, and you might get hurt.”
    I squirmed away and stared him straight in the eyes, pleading. “I have to do something .”
    “Let’s go to the hospital deck and see your grandpapa. He’s the key to saving the ship. If he dies, we’re all lost.” Sirius put an encouraging hand on my arm. He apparently had more faith in me than I had in myself, and his unwavering esteem unnerved