Reckless Rescue by Rinelle Grey Page B

in the morning, before anyone is up?”
    “They won’t see us go then, but they’ll notice we’re gone pretty quickly and work out where we are,” Marlee pointed out. “We’ll be in a lot of trouble when we get back.”
    “Hopefully we can tell them that we’re going back to Urslat for a rescue party, and they’ll forgive us,” Tyris suggested.
    This suggestion obviously found merit with Marlee. She grinned.
    Tyris doubted they’d be welcomed with open arms with the news. They might be better off leaving straight away if the repairs were simple. He decided not to mention that possibility though.
    The picture of being stuck here indefinitely receded, replaced by one of returning home triumphant. “Do you think I could try to get up?” he asked.
    Marlee considered him for a moment. “How’s your head feeling?”
    “Much better. It still hurts, but only a little.”
    “Well, we can give it a try, I guess.” Marlee came over to the bed.
    Tyris wondered if she could actually catch him if he fell.
    He swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting there for a few moments. Slowly, he rose to his feet, secretly glad of her presence. When he wavered slightly, she steadied him with a hand on his elbow.
    After a few minutes, the dizziness passed, and he managed to take a few steps towards the doorway. He peered curiously into the next room while Marlee held his elbow.
    The furnishings were sparse. A bench with a large wooden bowl and some other eating utensils ran along the wall under the window, two stools sat just under the edge of a table in the middle of the room, and in front of the fire were two chairs, each with a colourful patched blanket over the back.
    Carefully, Marlee steered him towards one of the chairs and helped him lower himself into it, before sitting opposite him and drawing her feet up in front of her.
    For a moment, the silence stretched awkwardly. Tyris searched for something to say. “So do you live here alone?” he asked.
    Marlee stared into the fire for a moment, and belatedly, he remembered her earlier comment about a partner.
    “Nelor and I lived here together.” She sighed and hugged her knees, resting her chin on top. “We built this house together nearly two summers ago.”
    “That’s a long time.” She’d said she had been born on the flight here, meaning she must barely be twenty years old. Too young to be committing to a long term relationship.
    She misinterpreted his comment, sighing heavily, and nodding. “Yes, one of us must be unable to have children. Or both of us, I guess.”
    He remembered more about the earlier conversation now. They’d been split up because they couldn’t have a baby. “I don’t really understand what that has to do with you staying together? Why does it matter?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realised how callous they sounded. He tried to clarify. “I mean, if you are happy together, then isn’t that the important thing? Many couples have a happy life without ever having children.”
    She stared at him for a moment and then shook her head. “I hope you can fix your ship and get off this planet, because I’d hate to see your views tainted by the situation here.”
    “What
is
the situation here?”
    “Only about fifty people arrived on our ship,” Marlee explained. “Karla knew the anysogen would affect fertility, though no one knew how long it would take. So everyone worked to have as many children as they were able. That is why Mother moved in with Weiss. Even so, there are only about a hundred people now. If we can’t find a way to boost our population levels, we’ll die out in a few generations.”
    “Isn’t that going to happen anyway? I mean, you must know that anysogen makes people infertile. How can you increase your population when you’re infertile?”
    Marlee sighed heavily. “Anysogen effects fertility, yes, but not so simply. It reduces the chance of conceiving hugely, but doesn’t make it impossible.