Brightly Burning(97)

Lori and Rori argued for weeks on how to establish video communication links with the fleet, but eventually Xiao and I coaxed them to work together, the two AIs seeming to make each other smarter with every interaction. Three weeks after landing, we could finally not only talk to, but see the Lady Liberty, let her know that we were okay and show them Earth was habitable and had been for many decades. Soon enough, the Stalwart wasn’t the only ship planning reentry. But she was the first, and two months later, she landed in a field two miles from the Fairfax settlement, hundreds joining our community.

I found myself in a classroom again, no longer teaching theories about the Earth as it might be, but facts about how things were. The children adapted more quickly than anyone, Arden and the other Stalwart kids taking on farming and building tasks, in addition to their studies, and generally keeping the older teens and adults in our place. If we ever complained, all it took was an incredulous look from a nine-year-old having the time of her life in the fresh air to knock you to your senses. They also picked up our new language with incredible speed. Xiao taught not only the children Mandarin, but everyone else, too. On weekends, some of the New Delhians would visit us to learn English from Xiao as well. It became a full-time job, and she frequently took breaks on the Ingram bridge, talking to Orion up on the Lady Liberty and begging him to recruit some more Mandarin speakers to come down.

She got more than just Mandarin speakers: the Mumbai deorbited next, then the Saint Petersburg. Each ship established its own town, and soon we had our own little Earth-bound economy going. Over the coming years, more would join us. Eventually, we hoped, all.

We received word that Mason had finally been exposed and brought to justice, though not the fleet’s old standard of death by airlock. Orion had him confined to the brig on the Lady Liberty so he could keep an eye on him. We owed it all to George, who had taken it upon himself to track down Karmina Ocampo at the Tribune and made her print the truth. In time, Hugo could forgive himself for the role he played, though it was long after everyone else had done so, including me.

Partnering with the New Delhians and using the Rochester’s considerable stores of medicine and medical equipment, we established a hospital halfway between our settlements and theirs. Hanada devoted herself to its running, making herself useful but never outright apologizing. But she devoted herself to the good of us all, conducting research and keeping everyone healthy. I was thankful for her presence most days.

Hugo also made the massive digital library on board available to all, though with limited electricity and tech, the population had to get their fill in turns. Health and information became Hugo’s gift to our new world, a fresh Fairfax legacy to outlive the old one. We destroyed all the viruses. Biological warfare would not be a weapon used again in our lifetime.

We started over, got to know the latest versions of each other. Hugo remained smart, flirtatious, and generous with me, but he’d become more closed off. Harder on himself. He remained stubbornly overprotective of those he cared about, including and especially me. I found I frequently had to put him in his place, remind him I didn’t need taking care of. I had changed too.

Even so, Hugo took me on dates: a walk along the river, a starlit picnic among the poppies, a night in New Delhi watching a play neither of us could understand. It was nice, spending time with him outside of a study, doing something other than reading books, though that remained our staple activity. Rori kept the power running to the old study on board the Rochester just for us.

Eventually, when it became clear that Hugo’s lingering guilt would not ebb away despite pretty words from me, I proposed. We already acted like we were married, and had been ready to take the plunge before, having known each other far less, so why not? Marriage didn’t mean a whole lot down on Earth, given we had no lawyers to draw up a marriage contract, nor any central government to enforce its validity, as Xiao and Sergei argued more than once. They had no intention of getting married. But it was a tradition, a holdover from the old ways, and frankly, I wanted to have a party. Still Hugo hesitated. I knew why. Jessa was missing.

I encouraged Hugo to do something his pride and guilt had not allowed him to do over the past year: talk to her. It took me dragging him onto the bridge of the Ingram, physically plopping him in the comms station chair, and establishing the call link myself to get him to do it. And once they started talking—?after Jessa yelled at Hugo for taking the fall for Mason and not telling her the truth, and Hugo apologized—?they both started crying, and all it took was the invitation to get Jessa to agree to join us. She came down on the next ship to deorbit, leaving the Lady Liberty—?and thus the Fairfax empire—?in Orion’s hands. And I got Orion to make a promise: that he’d bring the Lady Liberty’s passengers, and himself, down to Earth within the next decade.

And so another Tuesday arrived, bringing another sunset, one of thousands to come. The house Hugo, Jessa, and I shared stood at my back, grass and trees and mountains before me, with the skies beyond, and I knew I was home. At last.


Acknowledgments


First, to the whole team at HMH: it cannot be overstated how in every way you have made all my publishing dreams come true. I have been guided by not one, but two incredible editors. Sarah Landis, thank you for your endless belief in this book, and the way that you just got everything I was trying to do. You were a dream to work with, and I am thankful for our continuing friendship. Cat Onder, thank you for “adopting” me, and shepherding me through the rest of the publishing process, answering my endless questions, and being my tireless advocate at every level.