been emotional for Tomika, she remembered as she walked toward the main shuttle bay. Somber, yes, but the parties afterwards were always fun, and as a teenager, she often got a kiss or two from a crush. This Flyaway Day, though, was the one-year anniversary of her crushing breakup with what she believed to be the love of her life. A love, she was prepared to swear at the time, that was fully and eternally returned.
But for good or ill, the breakup started the chain of events that brought her home.
She walked with the crowd into the shuttle bay and remembered to pick chemical light sticks out of the baskets by the door. Once inside, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, yet somehow, she ended up next to the raised stage near the large doors that separated the room from space. She hadn’t intended to be this close to the Back’s senior leaders, but she wasn’t crossing any protocol lines as far as she knew.
The Assistant Engineers stood with Senior Assistant Engineer Barrett in the middle. Their eyes met, and he nodded without smiling then turned to a colleague nearby.
If that man ever smiled, it would knock me dead.
The shuttle bay continued to fill, including the balconies above. She picked out familiar faces, including classmates, teachers, and friends. Her old roommate Sonya waved at her from a third-deck balcony and mimicked a phone with her hand. Tomika waved back at her friend, taking in Sonya’s obvious pregnancy, thinking it didn’t hurt to have an Assistant Engineer for a mother if you needed help with the reproduction lottery.
I’m in a bad mood, and now I’m being mean. I wish things would get started. I need to be grumpy by myself.
She smelled the man in the black garb before he stepped to her side.
Not now. Not here.
“Tomika,” he said.
“Father Joseph.”
“Rather formal, don’t you think?”
“You don’t want me to call you what I want to call you.”
Joseph sighed, something Tomika used to find endearing but now grated on her. “I was hoping we could at least be friends, all things considered. Landfall, I mean.”
She ignored that. “Were you a priest a year ago, Father? I mean, for those three months, were you a priest?” His pained look answered her question. “You know what? I will say it. You’re an asshole. Sir.”
“Can I explain?”
“Explain what?” The year of pain she suffered broke free. “How we seemed to match perfectly? How we finished each other’s sentences on the first day? That you were my most perfect dance partner, and how you knew how to make me smile on my bad days? How you always… loved me just right?” She shook her head. “Then how, one day, you said none of that mattered? That I didn’t matter? Three months of my best life, over in five minutes.”
“Tomika, I’m sorry.”
“Fuck you, Father. Fuck you twice.” She turned away and watched the crowd, doing her level best to ignore the priest.
“I was wrong to do what I did, and the way I did it. I was not… prepared for our relationship, Tomika.”
“So what?” A memory brought the fury back with a vengeance. “You said you were a student on sabbatical. Was that a lie too?”
“Yes and no.”
“Which?” she almost yelled, spinning on him.
“I’ve been working nonstop for years. The fathers said I needed a break before my elevation to the Basilica. I was looking for a spiritual retreat not far from where we met.”
The memory came rushing back. She managed to trip on a flat part of a trail in the Ring, klutziness being her secret superpower. She twisted her ankle as she fell, and he wrapped her ankle with a shirt from his bag and kindly offered to help her to the nearest village. They piggybacked their way, and she was fascinated by his muscles and sense of balance. A mile later, she was making all sorts of devious plans.
He seemed to read her mind and didn’t put up much resistance, though it took her a week to break down his barriers.
Now I know why.
Now embarrassed by those plans and their resulting passions, Tomika turned away from the priest to hide her face. “So I was that one last fling?”
“No.”
“Then what, Joseph? What?”
“I almost—”
“Tomika. Father Joseph.” The Captain nodded to them. “Fancy meeting you here.”
Tomika looked up and extended her hand. “Captain Devereaux. What a surprise. Welcome.”
“Thank you. Glad to be here.” He took her hand then quickly let it go.
“Captain,” Father Joseph held out his hand, and they shook. “It would seem we are strangers in a strange land.”
“But welcome, I hope.”
“Of course, Captain.” Tomika took his arm. “Thank you for joining us.”
“I was looking for the Engineer.”
“Stay here. You’ll see why soon.” She saw Barrett approaching to speak to the Captain, and she steeled herself for introductions as the lights in the bay lowered and the crowd noise faded away.
Saved by the bell.
“Captain, did you get a light stick on your way in?” she asked.
“I did not.”
“I have extras. Here.” She fumbled in the dark but managed to find his hand. “Don’t break that until everyone else does.”
“Thank you,” Charles said.
“Tomika, do you have another?” Joseph asked.
Ugh! “Here.” Their hands met, and she felt his skin before she quickly pulled away. I forgot how warm you always are.
A spotlight turned on and aimed toward the center of the stage. Tomika smiled as her mother entered the light. The Engineer wore a red dress earlier but changed into the traditional brown jumpsuit of the Burners. The exceptions in Joro’s uniform were the gold braids on the sleeves and the symbol of office on her chest.
“Can you hear me?” Joro’s voice was amplified, and it echoed off the walls and balconies.
“We hear the Engineer,” Tomika replied along with the thousands in the bay.
“Today, we remember,” Joro said.
“We remember,” the masses mumbled in unison.
“We remember the Original Builders.”
“We remember.” The joined voices grew louder.
“We remember those left behind.”
“We remember.”
“We remember the 7265.”
“We remember.”
Tomika felt tears coming to her eyes, knowing what her mother was about to say.
“We remember Captain Isabel Ramsey.”
“We remember.”
“We remember First Officer Herman Sims.”
“We remember.”
“We remember Engineer Leah Tucker.”
“We remember.”
“We remember we are who we are because of them,” Joro said. “We remember that we live and laugh and love among the stars because of them. We remember that we are going Home because of them!”
“We remember!” Tomika shouted with the crowd.
“Do you hear me?” Joro yelled.
“We hear the Engineer!”
“We meet our future with open arms, open eyes, and a strong heart!”
“We hear the Engineer!”
“We vow on this Flyaway Day to be strong not as individuals but as a people! We vow never to forget those who sacrificed everything so we may live! And we vow to live every day to make the Builders proud! Do you hear me?”
“We hear the Engineer!”
Joro bowed as the applause was overtaken by cheers and roars, and Tomika swore she could feel the deck shake beneath her feet as people popped their light sticks and waved them as one.
After a minute, the main lights came up, and she was surprised to see Barrett and the Captain yelling and clapping as loud as anyone else in the bay, while Father Joseph stood silently. She knew him well enough to see he was affected by what he saw, though to what degree, she couldn’t say.
Joro stepped to the front of the stage. “My friends…”
A voice called from a balcony, “We love you, Engineer!”
Laughter and applause followed, and Joro raised her hands, smiling. “And I love you all too.” The laughter grew.
She’s a natural. It’s scary how good she is.
“Let me finish a few sentences, my friends, and we can all get some sleep.” The Engineer took a deep breath. “Another year has gone by. One with joy and sorrow.”
A baby wailed in the distance and was quickly silenced. Joro smiled. “That is the joy I was talking about. The sorrow was saying goodbye to loved ones and friends who traveled ahead of us to prepare our new Home.” She paused to bow her head.
Tomika knew her mother was thinking of Tank, and she felt her own eyes water at the memory of his gregarious laughter and hugs.
I would give almost anything to have him here.
Looking up, Joro spoke louder. “Speaking of our future, I have news. But before we go there, may I ask our special guests to join me?”
Tomika felt the Captain go rigid as if with surprise, but he let himself be guided by Tomika to the stairs at the side of the stage. She assumed the priest was following them but refused to look back until they arrived at the stairs. She pointed them upward and turned to go back to her place in front of the stage.
Joro’s amplified voice rang out. “First, an emissary from the Pope, who was unavoidably detained by the Ring’s own remembrance ceremonies. Please welcome Father Joseph.”
He waved at the crowd in response to the polite applause.
“And I’m sure you’ve guessed the identity of this fellow. Ladies and gentlemen, our Captain.” The applause was mixed with a few boos, but he graciously bowed at the waist in response.
“My friends,” the Engineer continued, “we three bring good news. Our science decks have confirmed that we are on course, and in three years, we will make Landfall and arrive Home.”
Gasps were followed by clapping and cheers.
Joro let them continue for a moment before she spoke again. “My friends, my friends, listen. Please listen. I must ask you to guide your hopes and dreams with caution. There is much we do not know about what is ahead. The planet may be inhabited. It may not welcome our kind. We may have to struggle twice as hard to survive as we do now.”
She paused. “But I promise you this. The Captain, the Pope, the Assistant Engineers, and I will do everything within our power to get you Home if that is our destiny. All we ask is for your trust and patience and strength. The Builders believed in us, we believe in each other, and most of all, I believe in you. If it is within our power, we are going Home, and nothing is stronger than the power of the Burners!”
Like the thousands around her, Tomika once again yelled and clapped and stomped in place, thinking about the momentous task that her mother handed her. That thought almost took her breath away despite the yelling, but not as much as the second thought.
Damn. I actually believe her.