Chapter 42
Chapter forty-two
The Four thought him corrupted, tainted, and they might be right.
So many thoughts bombarded Iax’s mind, not just from those in the biodome, but other Calypsons he had known from the time he arrived in Sector Ten at such a young age, all of them questioning.
Because he had changed.
They accused him of switching allegiance.
He had countered that he had no allegiance, only life. No oaths had been sworn, though he had followed commands. He had met expectations, and now he… could not.
Because Wynn’s safety, happiness, and wellbeing meant more to him than anything—above everything.
And that disturbed The Four greatly.
He presented a problem. They worried that each of the Calypsons they had sent out into the world would return as changed as him.
It was a valid worry. Once exposed to the world of humans, it was impossible not to view Sector Ten through new eyes.
He did not voice his thoughts as he guided Wynn toward where more of the anomalies existed, through the corridors where Calypson construction merged with the old CORE science vessel. Another Calypson trailed them, and Wynn kept looking over her shoulder at him, then back at Iax.
“This is Atlas,” he said, realizing he should have explained earlier, but the occurrences in the botanical biodome had occupied his mind. “He is escorting us to the anomalies.”
The Calypson was one of the main individuals who taught Iax how to defend himself, along with Heath Wiseman. The pair referenced their training from the days they worked for the CORE military and improved upon it in the way of Calypsons.
Wynn sent Iax a look from the corner of her eye. “Like a babysitter or something?” The stormy expression she had been wearing since the biodome had not relaxed, and echoed the volatile emotions that crashed over him in waves.
He tipped his head, decoding what she meant, then nodded. “Yes. Like that.”
Her eyes narrowed, but after shooting Atlas another glance, she faced forward and said nothing more.
Atlas sent him a thought, a question, with the same taste of confusion others had sent him, but Iax ignored it, refusing to communicate nonverbally in Wynn’s presence.
“This way,” Iax said, tipping his head to the right and lifting his hand to the small of her back to guide her. Wynn glanced at him and leaned into the touch. A shot of pleasure rushed through his body.
After spending so much time together, their physical separation was not something he enjoyed. To touch her settled a restlessness inside him. He tugged her closer, wanting to shield her from what she was about to see and experience.
Through the open plane of communication that existed in Sector Ten, Atlas perceived the action and sent an account to The Four in the next moment.
Iax would not have expected anything less, but a sense of betrayal swept through him.
The Four had given Atlas orders: to watch them, guide them, and report.
If Iax had been given the same task before being sent to Earth, he would have followed it without question as well.
But he also knew Atlas on a more personal level, and could not stop the swell of bitter emotion.
Their eyes met, and Atlas tipped his head in confusion.
Iax would not explain himself when the infraction seemed so obvious.
“Why do I get the feeling he’s telling on us?” Wynn asked, her eyebrows lifted in question as he guided her onto a lift.
“Because he is.”
Her emotions swirled around them as she cast Atlas another narrowed-eye glance. “Another one to put on my shit list, then.”
The door to the lift closed behind Atlas, and it descended.
Iax made a mental note to ask her what “shit list” meant later.
When the door reopened, Atlas stepped out first, leading the way to the cargo hold. They followed, Iax’s hand on Wynn’s spine. This section of the ship was quieter, very few Calypsons venturing deep anymore. It also had the fewest Calypson upgrades, the bulkheads mostly unblemished.
It used to have more, the dark scars remaining where the organic technology had existed, but none twisted and turned like the above decks.
A set of double doors lay ahead, and Iax reached with his mind. They opened with a soft whoosh to reveal a dimly lit interior.
Wynn’s footsteps hesitated as she neared, and she stretched her neck forward to peer inside the voluminous space before setting foot inside.
He brightened the luminosity of the overhead lights, and she straightened, shooting him a questioning glance. He nodded once, claiming responsibility for the change in ambiance, and her eyes crinkled in thanks.
We do not need to touch minds to speak without words.
Another section of his chest shifted at the thought. Despite their limitations, they were connected.
Wynn stepped inside and swept her gaze back and forth.
Storage crates towered in rows, creating temporary corridors.
Iax knew from others that at the onset of the Calypso’s mission, terraforming machines had filled this hold.
Space had claimed those machines for two hundred years, some probably still orbiting Mesola and Eridu, the rest scattered to the stars.
Wynn frowned at him, opened her mouth to speak, when a soft noise echoed from within. Alarmed eyes met his, then she was off, following the sound. He trailed in her wake, matching her speed through the crates, until she stopped at where they opened up into a makeshift room.
“Oh, my stars,” she breathed. Her hand flew upward and pressed against her chest while distress swirled around him.
Iax stepped close behind her to see what she saw.
Six children occupied the space. When they noticed them, they all clustered on one of the two sofas that sat perpendicular to each other in the center of the room.
Double-stacked cots, bunks, were pushed to the edges where blankets lay in heaps.
An array of personal items spread throughout the room, some tidy while others were more haphazard.
In the corner, two angled crates made a counter of sorts.
On top, a clear container held water, with six cups stacked neatly.
A smaller crate lay open next to it, rations and other food set inside.
The children huddling together pulled Iax’s gaze.
Emotions swelled and took over the space in his chest where only Wynn had existed moments ago.
Wearing clothing made of the same webbed organic material as most Calypson apparel, the two oldest, one boy and one girl, held their arms around the younger four protectively, their eyes wary.
The boy’s brown hair hung past his shoulders in untended clumps, and the girl’s hair was just as unruly, though a darker shade.
A few years younger, the two other boys looked almost identical in appearance.
The youngest girl appeared barely able to walk.
She stuck her thumb in her mouth and turned her eyes away from them.
The last child looked only a couple of years older than her.
None of them had the distinctive eyes of Calypsons, but all were born here.
They were like Wynn.
An unsettling emotion coursed through his body, one he could not name yet. There was affection there, but also a different sort of protectiveness than what he felt with Wynn. He wanted to help these children. They lived, but was this living when they were so isolated?
A shot of anger followed the thought. He knew the anomalies existed here, as everyone did, but he had not been a part of their care and had not understood their living arrangements. But seeing them now? Emotion settled in the back of his throat, burning.
He realized it was calculated. The Four kept this from most of the population to protect them, but also to hide their failure at taking care of the anomalies. He and the others were sent to retrieve the original twelve for that reason.
His hands fisted and clenched.
“I didn’t think it was possible for me to get angrier at those people.”
The little ones jumped at Wynn’s harsh words.
“I’m sorry,” she said in the next instant, her voice gentled. She squatted down, making herself eye level. “I’m not mad at you.”
The youngest curled tightly into the older girl, but the others stared at her with curiosity.
“Can you tell me your names?” Her voiced trembled.
The oldest boy stared at her with his brow furrowed, then he looked to the older girl and gestured with one hand, grunting twice.
Wynn gasped, then turned to Iax with horrified eyes. Hotter emotions swelled and slapped against him.
Her expression cracked his chest wide open.
“They can’t speak?” Wynn’s breathing matched her emotions, panicked and chaotic.
A sound came from the girl.
“No, it’s even worse,” Wynn murmured, standing to face Atlas, who had followed them in, but kept his distance. “You didn’t bother to teach them language.”
Atlas only stared at her, his eyes glinting, but Iax heard one wayward thought. It was not necessary.
But Atlas and The Four were wrong. If Iax found solace in communicating with Wynn verbally, then these children would have benefited from it as well.
Wynn looked to Iax when Atlas did not answer. “What are they doing here?”
“This is their home.” It did not seem an adequate accommodation, but it was what others had deemed appropriate.
“But why here? Like this? Away from everything?”
His stomach swam with distaste. “They were corralled to minimize their impact.”
“Corralled?” The word expelled between her lips in a gasp. “Fucking stars, Iax, they aren’t animals.”
“I know this.” He took her hand in his to let her know he stood with her.
“Who made this decision?”
There was only one answer. “The Four.” They had the final say in all things.
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “If I ever see any of them again, I’ll probably punch all of their beautiful faces.
” She let go of his hand and strode toward Atlas, eyes spitting her ire.
“You got that? You tell them they’re weak and useless leaders.
And fucking twats. When I see them again, there will be violence. ”
The declaration, and the way Atlas backed up from the threat, should have horrified Iax, but warm pride filled his chest.
She turned toward him, her lips pressed together tightly. “Why were they left with so little?”
“They cannot access Calypson technology the way we do.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sakes.” She threw up her hands. “A ship full of brilliant scientists and you couldn’t figure out a way to make the interfaces tactile?” Her voice rose at the end, disbelief coating every word. “To teach them how to speak commands?”
She shook her head, and her shoulders slumped with what he could only call sadness.
It paired with the darker emotions swirling around her body.
“It shouldn’t shock me. If they sent me and others away just so they didn’t have to deal with us, why am I surprised they would treat these children this way? ”
His chest tightened. He did not like that this situation caused her distress.
A deep breath lifted her shoulders, then an exhale relaxed them.
With a determined look in her eyes, Wynn turned back to the children.
She re-entered their modest space, and he followed, though he left some distance between them.
Wynn drew a little closer, then sat on the empty couch.
The twins stared at her with open curiosity while the older two regarded her with cautious expressions.
“My name is Wynn,” she said with a hand placed against her chest. “Are you all okay? What do you need?”
The oldest boy’s forehead scrunched; the older girl tipped her head.
Wynn took another deep breath and patted her chest. “Wynn.”
Understanding entered their eyes at the same time. They looked at each other once, then the boys said, “Mack.”
A smile erupted on Wynn’s face, then she looked at the girl. “Bex,” she said, touching her chest.
Wynn’s smile widened, and so did the warm sensation enveloping Iax’s chest.
“Mack,” she said to the boy, and he nodded.
“Bex.” The girl nodded too, tentative smiles curling their lips.
Wynn focused on the younger children.
“Dexxa,” said Bex when she touched the littlest’s head.
“Ari.” The boy gestured to the girl in his lap, who was a little older.
Then Wynn looked at the twins between them.
“Mass,” Bex said, with a tilt of her head to the boy closest to her. Then she jerked her head to the other. “Sam.”
Wynn’s shoulders relaxed, and she nodded to each of them. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”
They gave her a confused look before focusing on him.
“Iax,” he said after a moment.
They all nodded, but didn’t ask the same question of Atlas. Perhaps because they knew him.
Iax sent a questioning thought toward him, and a small bit of information returned. Atlas sometimes brought them food and refilled their water.
Wynn turned toward him, the smile gone from her face. “We need to get them out of here.” She gestured to their haphazard living arrangements. “They shouldn’t be confined to this area when there is so much that could benefit them above.”
“I agree.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and she sent him a nod. “They need proper quarters, and terminals, and dispensaries, and anything else kids have access to.”
He nodded at that as well. “Atlas will help. He was sent to assist in this as well as to report back to The Four.”
Wynn cast the other Calypson a glance. “Well, it would be nice if he were good for something.”