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Skull awoke with a start and tried to get up, but found himself held fast. Trying to move his head, he realized that he was naked, immobilized, and completely encased in some kind of material – presumably the same modified base-stuff that made up the walls and floor. He was upright, with nothing but his face showing outside the cocoon.
He carefully exerted his strength, building until he could feel his own arms bruising and his skin threatening to split, but no matter what he did he could not move more than a half an inch in any direction. Resigned, he cleared his throat. “Raphaela?”
She walked into his range of vision, looking guilty. “I’m sorry, Alan. I gave you every chance I could, but I have bigger concerns right now. You may not agree, but that’s just the way it is.”
“The way what is? What do you plan to do? You can’t keep me here forever.”
“I can keep you there for a long time. The mechanism I’ve set up will tend to all your needs.”
Changing tack, he asked, “What do you mean bigger concerns? What’s bigger than saving the Earth?”
“We’ll have just enough time for that. I’ve re-run the calculations based on the incoming scout ship’s latest signals. They will be here in just over nine months.” She raised her eyebrows at him, as if that period of time should be somehow significant.
He looked around the room, searching for something to give him a clue as to her purpose. “Is that supposed to mean something to me? And do you mean to keep me in here for nine months?”
“Almost. You’ve made it clear you don’t want to be my lover, or my friend, or my...or my anything. But like it or not you’re going to be the father of my child, so like all single mothers down through history I’m just going to have to deal with things as they are and do the best I can. I wanted us to be together somehow, but since you’ve rejected me I have to put my energy into our son.” She tried but failed to keep anger out of her voice.
He gaped at her, his mind in turmoil. “Our son...but...this changes everything!”
“Really? How? How, Skull? How?”
It was the first time she’d called him Skull since they’d been together, and he realized it stung. That maybe he had been trying to deny this thing between them so vehemently because there was truth to it. “Because...we’re having a child!”
“Yes I’m having a child, without you,” she said bitterly. “You’re going into stasis. Just as soon as this conversation is over. It’s as wonderful and endearing as every other talk we’ve had. You’re going to stay there until he’s born, because I can’t trust you. You’re a danger to us both.”
“I’d never hurt my own child!” he cried.
“How do I know that? Do you have one back on Earth that you never told me about? All I know is that you’re unstable, violent, and super-nano-infused. I gave you every chance and you blew me off.” Now that she had allowed herself to give vent to the anger she had been holding back, it spewed forth in a wave. “You’re the stupidest man I know, Alan, which isn’t saying much because I don’t know very many men, but I bet there are ten thousand guys on Earth that would love to have me and would be better fathers and better men than you so you can just suck it up and deal with it, isn’t that what you Marines say? Suck it up and deal with it and if you’re very lucky I’ll be in a better mood when you wake up.” She reached for a control.
“Wait! If you’re determined to do this, what can I do? But I wanted you to leave me here to ambush them. Then you – you and the baby now – could go back to Earth. You’ll be safe there.”
Raphaela laughed. “Safe on Earth? That’s a laugh. And what do you care anyway?”
“I do care about you.”
“You’re just saying that now that you’re helpless.”
He tried to shake his head but failed. “No, I...nevermind. Whatever. You haven’t listened to me since we took off.”
She choked. “Who hasn’t listened?” With that she touched a control.
“Wait! I...” He trailed off as his vision went from gray to black, and his thoughts did likewise.
Raphaela sat for a long time on the floor next to the cocoon, tears running uncontrollably down her face, sobs racking her body. She already felt the loneliness of his absence and her guts cramped with the fear of it. She rolled over onto her side and curled into a ball of pain.
She wept for her failure to make him love her, or even treat her decently, and she wept for herself and her predicament and for her unborn son. Eventually she wept herself to sleep as the warm hum of the dying base accompanied her into Morpheus’ arms.
