Reluctantly, I resigned myself to another imminent space voyage. Nicole stood with me on the sidelines as Tobias announced the plan to everyone. The uproar was immediate. Yelling, boos, vulgar gestures. Anger. Understandably.

  The skeleton crews for the expedition had been selected. Captain Tameron had volunteered, which had caused several other officers to step forward. Stephan would also be there. I hoped we would be able to ride on Shuttle Two with him.

  No one was eager to undertake the risky salvage mission, but even fewer wanted to stay behind while almost all sources of water, secure shelter, and breathable air left the planet. Seeing people’s anger, I felt a little better about my choice to go.

  “I know, I know,” Tobias yelled, trying to calm people down. “But you all have masks, and there are enough cabins for all of you to take shelter. It is by no means ideal, but it will allow us to bring back as much equipment as possible.”

  “You can’t just leave us here!” Someone seethed, throwing a shoe in Tobias’ direction. It went wide enough that he didn’t flinch.

  “Enough,” he barked. “We have no other choice. If we can bring back our construction system, you will all be sleeping in beds. Livestock and farm machinery would provide a supply of food. Medical equipment to treat the injured. So, unless you all want to burn yourselves eating acidic meat and sleeping exposed to the elements, then this has to happen. This is how we survive. So I ask you all to put aside your discomfort for the time being, for the sake of a better, much longer future.”

  There was a general grumble.

  “Will you be okay for a minute?” Nicole asked me.

  “Uh, yes,” I frowned, curious as to what she was about to do. I didn’t get an explanation before she made her way towards Tobias, eventually saddling up beside him and speaking to him quietly.

  He shook his head. Nicole put her hands behind her back and stood tall, saying something to him. Tobias scrunched up his face. The conversation continued a little longer before…

  “I understand you’re scared,” Tobias yelled. “But most of the officers and I will be staying behind to ensure your safety. The… The expedition will be led by Captain Tameron, who bravely navigated the disaster aboard the Euphorion. Without his expertise, none of us would be standing here now. There is no one I trust more to carry this out,” he concluded, giving the Captain a warm smile.

  Captain Tameron looked utterly stunned.

  “I think I get it,” I said when Nicole returned. “He’s popular, so people will be happy about this. But then also if he screws up… it eliminates the competition?”

  Nicole smiled, sparing me a quick glance. “See, you have a perfectly good eye for politics.”

  I giggled. The low but consistent dose of morphine in my veins made it much easier to ignore all of my problems.

  “I don’t like this, abandoning the two of you,” Tobias huffed, interrupting our conversation. “I especially don’t like you going, Elizabeth. I understand you are ill and my son’s life is at risk, but, excuse my bluntness, your life is irreplaceable while we can have another baby.”

  I grimaced. Unsure of how to respond to that. I mean, I agreed, I really did. But the baby always seemed to be his priority. I supposed it was reassuring that he did seem to care about me in his own way.

  “If all goes to plan, I will induce labour during the return trip,” Nicole piped up when I stayed silent. “He would be born premature, but the hospital does have what we would need for neonatal care. Ideally, we return with a healthy son and a plan to treat whatever is causing Els-lizabeth ill health.”

  I turned to Nicole, panicked. She was planning to do what?!

  Tobias frowned. “I would prefer to be present for the birth of my son.”

  “Will all due respect, Lord Barrick,” Nicole replied. “I am a doctor, let me do my job.”

  Tobias would have smacked me if I had spoken to him that way. Now I was panicked and impressed.

  He nodded to himself with a twitch of his facial muscles. “Then they're under your care, doctor,” he added, though it was more mocking than anything. “But anything happens to them, you’ll be in a similar state to our dear captain when I’m done with him.”

  “Take care, Elizabeth,” he nodded to me, leaning forward to press a kiss to my cheek. “May fortune be in your favour.”

  With that, he marched off, waving to his near-constant entourage of officers to join him.

  “You’re not really going to induce me on a starship, are you?” I blurted out.

  “I will do nothing until I can access my equipment and properly diagnose the issue and the best course of action,” Nicole replied, wiping lubricant from her face.

  “Fuck,” I groaned. That wasn’t a no. “What happens when we don’t return with a living baby?” I added, my heart dropping.

  No, my heart wasn’t dropping. I was.

  The only thing that stopped me from hitting the ground as the world spun was Nicole’s arms around me.

  “M okay, I’m okay,” I reassured immediately, letting myself slide down to a sitting position. “Just… lightheaded.”

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  A crowd had gathered out of thin air.

  “Give them space!” Stephan yelled, taking charge to shove people back.

  Nicole gave him a thankful nod before, in one smooth motion, picking me up. I flailed for a moment before finally clinging to her as she carried me towards the bridge.

  It wasn't some grand feat of strength on Nicole’s part. Merely a routine use of force that she was perfectly capable of exerting. She really could be kinda scary, but in a good way. Nicole could at least be strong for me because I was rather shit at it.

  “You need to remember to brush your hair,” Nicole scolded half-heartedly, nervously, maybe.

  “You can put me down now,” I huffed.

  Nicole hesitated for a moment but then did so. She kept one arm wrapped firmly around me. “That was just vertigo?”

  “Everything is just a bit spinny, fuzzy,” I sighed, choosing to sit on the steps rather than climb them to go inside. As much as I wanted to be inside where I didn’t need the stupid mask, I much preferred the crisp air.

  Nicole took my hand and inspected it, running her fingers over my palm. “No twitching. Let me see your lips,” she instructed, tilting my face upwards to face her.

  “What?” I blinked.

  She stared at me for a moment. Then she pulled my mask off.

  “Hey!” I gasped, inhaling the air directly as she cupped my face. “What are you doing?”

  “How can you possibly be hypoxic?” She frowned. “Take a deep breath for me.”

  I did as I was told. She pressed a finger to my pulse.

  “You don’t feel that?” She frowned.

  “Feel what?” I asked, sucking in a deep breath. “What’s going on?”

  “Your heart is racing,” she explained. “You’re hypoxic, your body isn’t getting enough oxygen."

  “The mask, is it broken?” I frowned, trying to make sense of this. It felt so strange to be breathing freely. I knew the air would make me sick. “Let’s go inside.”

  “No, Elsy. You’re not getting enough oxygen, not too much,” Nicole explained. “You need to breathe right now. It will help.”

  Tears rolled down my cheeks, though I was too stunned even to realize initially. I was crying. “Why does this keep happening?” I croaked. “We mostly had it handled.”

  “This is very strange,” Nicole sighed. “Lung cancer might do this, but not acutely. Has this happened before?”

  “No, maybe, I… no,” I settled on. “Are my lips blue? That's a thing, right?”

  Nicole nodded. “Do you feel out of breath?”

  “No, just… brain foggy,” I shrugged.

  Nicole rolled her neck. “Still?”

  “Maybe a little better?” I ventured. “I don’t know, Nicole. It’s hard to tell when I just always feel bad now.”

  Nicole nodded.

  I looked up to see Tobias rushing over.

  Great, just great. What an utter disaster. I tried to curl into a ball as much as possible. It wasn’t fair; it was just one new health problem after another.

  I pressed my fingers to my neck, looking to check my heartbeat the way Nicole did. It took me a moment to find it, but she was right, my heart was thundering. And yet… I couldn’t feel that on the inside.

  It took Nicole a whole minute to calm Tobias down. My heart rate was calming, but it still beat concerningly hard. Though what did I know? I wanted to drag Nicole away from the gesturing Tobias. I needed her attention right now.

  “Her oxygen levels must be monitored carefully. Being on the shuttle is still the best course of action,” Nicole was saying, glancing back to me.

  “It’s up to you, Nicole,” Tobias sighed. “If you think you will be more comfortable here, I’ll make sure you have an officer with you at all times.”

  I stared at him. He might have been worried, but he couldn’t even pretend to promise his presence. What… What was wrong with him? Sometimes it was like he lived in an utterly different world.

  Finally, I remembered the question and shook my head. “No, I’ll go. For the baby,” I added determinedly.

  Behind Tobias, Nicole smiled, which made me smile. Which also made Tobias smile because, as far as he was concerned, I was smiling at him.

  “We’ll move the launch up,” Tobias added. “Why don’t I help you get settled? Nicole, grab her things and bring them to shuttle three.”

  Disappointment sank in my stomach. “Can we go on shuttle two?” I asked hopefully. “Then I would have another friend.”

  Tobias frowned, helping me up carefully. “Who do you know?”

  “Shuttle two is going to engineering,” Nicole spoke up, before I could think of a response. “Shuttle three is medical.”

  “Oh, okay,” I nodded, trying not to seem put out. It would have been nice to have Stephan cheer me up occasionally. But Tobias looked so displeased by my having friends that I dropped the topic.

  Tobias walked me across the encampment. People moved out of the way for him, the crowd parted.

  He was too tall, I realized. Looping my arm through his left me off balance.

  Since when had Nicole become an expected rock in my life? It was not until the end of the voyage and the following troubles that we began to spend significant time together. I had found someone good, and I had clung to her.

  “Wait,” I paused before going up the stairs. “I don’t know if it’s safe to breathe that air yet. We should wait for Nicole.”

  “Oh for the love of…” he muttered. “The two of you have grown quite… close as of late.”

  It was a question or an accusation. Yet the statement was nearly enough to make me flinch.

  “She is my um doctor,” I pointed out. “And without the servers or whatever, she can’t do as much otherwise.”

  Tobias nodded. "Just… do not rely on her too much, Elizabeth. She may just be a machine, but she has a scheming personality. You outrank her, you are her superior, don’t let her convince you otherwise.”

  I didn’t like what he was saying, nor did I agree with him. So I just nodded and sat on the steps to wait for Nicole.

  Tobias sighed, clearly not satisfied with my response. I was cramping again, still lightheaded, and generally in pain. I didn’t have the energy to put on the show he wanted.

  “How soon are we taking off?” I asked, looking up from the patch of dirt I had been staring daggers at.

  “I’ll have the captain begin preparations immediately,” Tobias replied, crossing his arms.

  We waited in silence after that. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing. I cramped again and ground my teeth. At least when Nicole returned, she could give me more morphine.