Chapter 13

When they pulled back into the dome in the Maxi-Rover, robots and colonists came running to help them unpack. The supplies were met with great excitement.

‘Ice cream!’ Alex read the label on one of the boxes. ‘It’s been months since we had any.’ He picked up another box. ‘And strawberry syrup. Yum!’

‘I make the best milkshakes,’ Raj said.

Alex licked his lips. ‘I’d love to try one!’

‘Our rations are usually in strict supply,’ Yuri said, ‘especially since our crops have done so poorly, but we’ll have a feast tonight.’ He glanced over his shoulder and murmured, ‘Who knows, it may be our last one.’

The others didn’t hear Yuri’s last comment, but Nash did. Again, he got the feeling not all was as it seemed with the colony. Noticing that his dad hadn’t come to meet them, he realised that the oxygen converters must still not be fixed.

Are we running out of air? he wondered.

Before Nash could go looking for his dad, Commander Best ordered him and the other kids to help in the kitchen and to ‘stay out of trouble’.

‘Ah, but trouble is our middle name,’ Raj joked.

Commander Best cut him down with a searing look. ‘You said danger was your middle name.’

Raj laughed nervously. ‘He-he, did I? Er, I guess I did.’

Scowling, Commander Best marched off.

‘Don’t mind her,’ Nash told Yuri. ‘Her injuries have put her in a bad mood.’

‘She’s always like that,’ Raj said. ‘But she does need her wrist seen to.’

Yuri frowned. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’ He hurried off after Commander Best.

Tara, the cook, didn’t waste time enlisting the kids’ help to unpack the food into the pantry and cool room and to assist in preparing dinner. ‘It’s going to be a celebration!’ she declared.

Nash didn’t feel there was much to celebrate – especially with the power system and the oxygen converters still not fixed – but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he got stuck in, following the instructions Tara fired at him and the others.

In the end, dinner was delicious. The main meal consisted of chicken schnitzel, roasted sweet potatoes, and tinned green vegetables. It was followed by apple pie and ice cream for dessert and was washed down with Raj’s special strawberry milkshakes. Nash sat beside his dad, but he didn’t get a chance to ask him about the power or the oxygen because of the chatter around them.

‘That was delicious,’ Alex said as he licked the last scoop of ice cream from his spoon.

Yuri put his arm around his son. ‘It’s good to see you smiling again.’

Alex blushed. ‘Thanks, Dad.’

After dinner, Alex insisted everyone go to the balcony viewing platform for some star gazing. ‘We have a special high-range telescope called a Super-Scope,’ he explained. ‘It’s so strong you can see Earth really clearly.’

Commander Best, Yuri, George, and several other Alpha colonists excused themselves to return to work. Everyone else wandered up to the viewing platform where they took turns using the Super-Scope. When Nash viewed Earth through the telescope, he saw the stunning blue-and-green planet in such clear detail he gasped and felt a familiar tugging in his chest. ‘That made me homesick,’ he said as he stepped away from the Super-Scope.

‘Yuri! Mr Steele!’ George came thumping up the viewing platform stairs. ‘Come quickly, you’re needed in the medical centre.’

‘What is it?’ Orson asked.

George shook his head. ‘It’s best you come. You’ll see. Hurry!’