Free Earth Legend by Florence Witkop Page A

right, it backfires." Then he
realized he'd spoken out loud and stiffened. Turned into a statue.
Became overly competent.
    When had he tried to do something right and
failed? What had the consequences been? I pretended not to notice.
"I like being a farmer. I'm happy where I am." I touched his face.
I shouldn't have done so but he was so unhappy that I couldn't help
myself.
    He bent closer and studied me for a moment,
taking my hand that was touching his face into his own for a second
before letting it drop. Then he shook his head as if clearing out
cobwebs. "I'll take you home to New Rochelle." His demeanor
changed. The trip was finished except for the return. The stormy
eyes changed again, not banked fire this time but something
different. I couldn't imagine what it was. "But I don't like the
way they treated you. No one acts like that on my watch. On the way
out let's give them something to think about."
    His arm wrapped itself tightly around my
waist as we retraced our steps. We were so close that anyone
watching would think we were lovers. The greenhouse workers would
think that and they'd know they'd come close to hexing the head of
Security's girl friend.
    We said a pleasant goodbye to their glowering
faces and exited the greenhouse, still with our arms wrapped around
each other. That lasted until we turned a corner. We separated
hastily. Cullen might have shivered in relief but the motion was so
slight I couldn't be sure.
    As we climbed onto his bike, he asked, "What
was all that stuff you professionals were talking about back there?
Everything looked fine to me. Was Wilkes right? Is there a
problem?"
    "The plants aren't as healthy as they should
be."
    "Is it serious?" He was ready to start the
bike but didn't. Instead he straddled it and gave me all of his
attention. "Tell the truth, Elle. It's important. Crucial. The
plants keep us alive. They provide not only food but oxygen. If
there's something seriously wrong, I need to know."
    "I promise nothing will go wrong." I should
have let it go at that. Got on the bike and waited for him to start
it. But I didn't. "Why? What could you do if there is a
problem?"
    "What I do with all problems beyond the scope
of my job. Tell the Captain. After that what happens would be his
call."
    "Would he turn the Destiny around and return
to earth?"
    "We've passed the point of no return."
    His words hit me with the force of a freight
train. The point of no return. If I was caught, I'd not be sent
home. So what would happen? How bad would it be? I shivered. Seeing
my trembling, Cullen reached towards me. Stopped. Didn't know the
proper procedure for this situation. Decided to wing it and wrapped
me in his arms and pulled me close, though his body was still as
stiff and proper as ever.
    I collapsed into his strength, thinking as I
did so how ironic it was that the man who could order me out an
airlock was trying to comfort me. If I was discovered would he do
the same before the airlock opened? Would he remember this moment
and the way our bodies melded together so nicely? Would he regret
that his job included such an awful thing as throwing me away like
yesterday's garbage? Or would he do it without a second thought?
"I'm sure the professionals will deal with the problem before it
becomes serious enough to alert the Captain."
    "I certainly hope so."
    He unwound himself from me and started the
bike and neither of us said anything during the trip home. I was so
glad to be back in New Rochelle that I was tempted to fall down and
kiss the ground. I would have if Cullen wasn't watching. I did
after he left and I didn't feel foolish about it at all, even
though it was fake dirt covering phony ground. It was my fake dirt
and my phony ground. It belonged to me and everyone else on the
Destiny. It was the foundation of our world, my world now, and I'd
protect it with everything in me, no matter that it was phony. I
promised that fake dirt that I'd figure out what was wrong with the
plants in the