Free Extensis Vitae by Gregory Mattix Page B

Colony 13, which she said mirrored those of Colony 12. They ate in the dining hall again, and this time Reznik noticed the looks he drew from the colonists were friendlier than before.
    As they were finishing their soup and sandwiches, a man and woman approached them. They looked to be in their mid forties and looked apprehensive, but hopeful.
    Myrna greeted them. “Hello, Joan, Fred. How are you doing?”
    The woman spoke. “Hello, Myrna. We heard about what’s going to happen.” Joan turned to Reznik. “Sir, we wish you the best of luck down there, and we will say our prayers for you. If you would be so kind as to put a mother’s fears to rest, would you please look for our daughter, June? She is a security officer and was with the group that went down there with Dr. Kane.” She glanced at Myrna for a second and then back at Reznik, nervous but optimistic.
    The man spoke up. “My little girl—I told her not to go. It could be dangerous, I told her. But she went anyway—said it was her job to go and help the people at the other Colony. She always had such a strong sense of duty and made us so proud—” The last words were choked off, and he looked on the verge of breaking down.
    Reznik’s heart went out to them. “I’ll do whatever I can to find your daughter and bring her back safely if it is at all possible,” he promised. The couple thanked him gratefully and departed.
    “I didn’t know there was a female officer with them,” Reznik mused. “How many women are on the force?”
    “I think just a couple… June is fairly new, and I think there is one other,” Myrna replied.
    After lunch, Reznik and Myrna walked and talked for a while. A couple more people hesitantly approached them and asked if Reznik would look for their loved ones who had been part of the group of missing security officers. Reznik told them he would.

    ***

    That night Reznik tossed and turned, restless and unable to sleep with everything on his mind. In the morning, he would enter the tunnels and set off for Colony 13.
    The brief meeting with Swanson had ended more pleasantly than the previous time they had met. The administrator had basically reiterated the deal from before and thanked him for agreeing to take on such a “heroic endeavor,” as if Reznik had had much choice in the matter. Beneath the politician-speak, it had been pretty clear that he would be on his own, regardless of whether he was killed, wounded, or taken hostage down there or not. Returning without successfully dealing with the problem would be frowned upon, and Reznik doubted they would even let him back inside the complex. Not interested in extending the meeting any longer than necessary, Reznik had made the necessary replies in order to satisfy Swanson and be on his way.
    As he lay in bed, his mind raced as he reflected on everything he had learned over the past couple of days and thought about what he would encounter in the morning. He pondered what would happen if he returned successful—whether Swanson would honor their deal or not. He also wondered if anyone would care if he died from lead poisoning, on the blade of a machete, or any number of other unpleasant possibilities. Realistically, the colonists would probably be merely disappointed that their best chance at dealing with the problem had failed. That would most likely be the extent of their grief for me, I’d imagine.
    His thoughts then turned to a certain lovely scientist who he had become quite fond of in the last several days. He realized that Myrna was the only one that might shed a tear for him if he didn’t return from his mission.
    Just prior to his meeting with Swanson, he and Myrna had argued when she had told him she wanted to come with him to help. He had told her it was much too dangerous, and that she was more badly needed in Colony 12 to keep looking after the colonists in her father’s absence. She had argued that it was more important to find her father, and that she could be