The Amelioration Expedition
Chapter 4
Reyse Evans made a concentrated effort to control his temper as Arlo Delaney paced around his chair, lecturing him about parental responsibility. He had always admired the CEO, but at the moment he wanted to stand up and set him straight. He waited – mostly because he had been stunned to silence by the news that Marlin was pregnant. He loved Marlin every bit as much as Arlo did – possibly more – but unlike Arlo, he was certain the baby wasn't his. He could certainly understand why Arlo would think so since they had been going together for so long. Marlin had her faults, but he had reason to know that casual sex wasn't one of them. Until Arlo made his revelation, Reyse would have sworn there was no other possibility.
Arlo finally wound down and glared at him, obviously waiting for an admission or apology. Reyse paused, giving his response thorough consideration. He didn't want to offend his boss, but this was one time he wasn't going to accept responsibility for something someone else had done. He remained seated, but met Arlo's cold stare with as much composure as he could summons.
"I don't know what happened, but I can guarantee you that the baby isn't mine. Our relationship didn't permit that – Marlin wouldn't have permitted that." He sighed. "We had an argument and I said some things I shouldn't have. She hasn't seen me since. That was four weeks before she left – before she discovered she had been accepted on the expedition team."
Arlo studied his face, obviously reconsidering his assumption. He sat on the edge of his desk and frowned at Reyse.
"Did you argue about the expedition?"
Reyse shrugged. "Essentially, I guess, but mostly how she got on the team."
"Because I'm her father?" He shook his head. "That wasn't why I put her on the team. You should know how qualified she is in many ways."
Reyse nodded. "She is…but she thinks you put her on the team because you felt guilty about abandoning her. It doesn't matter how qualified she is. She intentionally manipulated you; she used you for her own gain. That's what we were arguing about."
Arlo stared at him. "How stupid do you think I am? I knew what she was doing. Yes, I do feel guilty for abandoning her and I knew that putting her on the team might bring her closer to me, but do you honestly think I would jeopardize such an important mission for my own gain?"
Warmth raced up Reyse's neck. "No sir. As I said, we were arguing about her motive, not yours."
Arlo slid off the desk and began pacing the room again. "I thought her psychic abilities might be useful, but she has also learned to survive in the wild. She has studied and practiced skills that might come in handy in a primitive environment, and she was in perfect physical health – until this pregnancy thing." He sighed. "I'm sure she didn't tell me because she was afraid I would pull her off the team. She's right. I would have. I still would if they weren't so far from Oriel." He grimaced. "I'm sure she knew that too. Yes, she's immature and manipulative – even a bit narcissistic – but she is still an asset to the expedition."
Reyse had never thought of Marlin as being narcissistic. She was immature and often self-serving, though he wouldn't go as far as to say she was selfish, which was what she had accused him of saying. With regard to her father, she was being manipulative and disrespectful. She thought she had good reason. They didn't agree on that. He'd given a lot of thought to their argument. When a person wanted something badly enough, they often did things that they would normally never think of doing. In fact, their argument had as much to do with his motives as it did hers.
Reyse wanted to go with Marlin on the expedition, but he hadn't been selected. He felt that he was as qualified as Marlin – with the exception that he didn't have a father in high places. Arlo could defend his decision with his last breath, but the truth was; when it came down to the final decision, he had been influenced by the fact that he wanted to please his daughter. It wasn't a case of putting an unqualified person in a position, though.
Then there was the other thing. Reyse loved Marlin. They had been in a relationship for three years, but she said she didn't want the responsibility of marriage or children. Actually, he was certain she was afraid of making that commitment because of the rift between her parents. She blamed the situation with Purlieu, Donte in particular, on the separation of her parents, but it went much deeper than that. Arlo and Denise had basic moral differences that would have surfaced at some point even if the situation with Purlieu had never occurred. In fact, they probability already had. Denise had used Marlin to get money from Arlo. Otherwise, Marlin was generally in the way. Denise loved Marlin, in her own selfish way. Reyse's argument with Marlin had humiliated her by making her feel she was like her mother. He regretted that part. He had apologized and tried to talk to her, but she had avoided him. She didn't even say goodbye. That hurt to the core.
Reyse looked up at Arlo, who had stopped pacing and was watching him with some degree of concern. Reyse shook his head.
"I suppose, to some degree at least, it is my fault. I humiliated her to the point that she must have felt the need to turn to someone else."
Arlo sat in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. "Maybe so, but a mature person wouldn't have felt the need. I was hoping this expedition would force her to grow up. Maybe I was wrong for forcing her on them."
Reyse smiled. "She can be difficult when she thinks she has been treated unjustly, but she will still do her job to the best of her ability. It won't take them long to realize she is an asset."
Arlo nodded. "I can imagine her outrage when she discovered that Donte was going to be on their expedition."
Reyse gave a short humorless laugh. "I suspect you're right, but he's likely to be the one who has the most influence on her. If everything I've read about him is true, she'll discover there is more than one side to that story."
Arlo considered that idea and nodded again. "I wonder if they will be able to combine their unique psychic abilities and work together." He leaned back in his chair. "I was surprised when Dr. Oriana defended Marlin. Given their different perspectives on Donte, I expected major conflict."
Reyse didn't respond. They hadn't picked up Donte yet, so the conflict might very well develop later. He knew Marlin well enough to imagine the conflict between her and Donte. He wouldn't be surprised if everyone on the expedition eventually decided that it would have been better to leave both of them behind. He hoped that didn't happen, because the expedition meant a lot to Marlin. Maybe that would be the thing that ultimately forced her to compromise.
Reyse left Arlo's office without discussing the most troubling thing with him. Marlin could have had the pregnancy quietly terminated. She had always said she didn't want the responsibility of a child. What had made her change her mind? Would she also change her mind about marriage? Who was this person she had met, and why could they make her see something he never could? Of course he was jealous; how could he not be? He had always believed that eventually she would come around. Until now, he thought they loved each other enough to make that change. Apparently, it was only he who loved her - to the point of blindness.
***
Dr. Oriana had heard a lot about Marlin before she met her, and little of it was good. She had tried to remain objective about her until she met the girl, but when she did, she found that most of what she had heard was true. Marlin was a spoiled little girl who happened to be chronologically twenty-six years old. Marlin didn't improve Dr. Oriana's impression when she asked her to terminate a pregnancy that was already into its twentieth week. When Marlin said she had been raped, Dr. Oriana hadn't believed her at first. Then she got the call from Arlo Delaney. Marlin had informed him that she was pregnant, but hadn't told him who the father was. Arlo said that as far as he knew, Marlin had one steady boyfriend and he swore it couldn't possibly be his. The fact that Marlin had not told him she had been raped, coupled with the steady boyfriend who knew it couldn't be his, gave Dr. Oriana a completely different picture of Marlin. There was only one way her boyfriend could be that sure it wasn't his. Remembering the look on Marlin's face when she told her the baby was a girl, she suspected that she had come to the wrong conclusion about Marlin. Marlin had withdrawn from everyone. What if she really had been raped and felt that she had no one to turn to for comfort? She was being forced to have a baby she not only didn't want, but felt guilty about bringing into the world as well. Marlin had said it was irresponsible to bring an unwanted child into the world. Did she feel that her parents didn't want her?
When Dr. Oriana went through Marlin's records, she found something that she had originally missed. Marlin was a psychic. What would Donte think of that? Could they work together? The prospect was exciting.
Donte was the most honorable and ethical person Dr. Oriana had ever met. He was the kind of person you wanted at your side because you knew he was at least as concerned about your welfare as he was his own – usually much more. Fontalo said that was because he was programmed to be that way. While she conceded that the genetic alterations might be responsible for his unusual strength, balance and even his intelligence, she couldn't attribute his gentle temperament and integrity to being a Mascot. In that way Donte was remarkable even when compared to other Mascots.
Dr. Oriana felt compassion for the fact that Marlin had been raped, but terminating a pregnancy when the fetus was so well developed and healthy wasn't a solution. In Dr. Oriana's mind, it would be murder – not by the victim of rape, but by the doctor. Whatever her reason, Marlin had not revealed her condition until it was too late. No doubt she had waited until the Spero was far enough away that their mission would be delayed if they returned. It was a selfish and immature thing to do. People made decisions and it was inevitable that some of them were going to be bad. Marlin's decision had backfired and she was now suffering the consequences.
Dr. Oriana might not be able to do anything to resolve the situation, but she was determined not to make it worse. Marlin needed support, and she was going to get it.
***
Marlin didn't expect to keep her pregnancy a secret the entire trip. Before they reached Purlieu, it became common knowledge, though no one mentioned the obvious. Marlin assumed that Dr. Oriana had explained the situation to the others. Once there was nothing to hide, she began to eat with them during lunch and supper, but breakfast was out of the question. Morning sickness wasn't supposed to last so long, but of course it did for her. It was as if she was being punished for being raped. It was getting a little better. Before she was sick all the time, now it was only in the morning – and when she smelled certain foods.
Dr. Oriana assured her that the pregnancy was normal. Marlin didn't tell her about the morning sickness. She probably wouldn't understand why Marlin wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but didn't want to use drugs that might have an adverse effect on the baby. Marlin wasn't so sure she understood that logic either and she certainly didn't want to waste time trying to explain it to Dr. Oriana.
As they drew closer to Purlieu, Marlin's anxiety increased. Everyone was talking about it as if it were some great event. In a way she understood their excitement at meeting such a famous person. She might have felt the same way if it had been anyone else. Traci acted as if she expected to meet the handsome young man in the history books. Everyone agreed that he was extremely good looking. They were probably better looking twenty years ago too. Marlin didn't say anything about it. It was going to be disappointing enough for them when a sixty-year-old man boarded that ship instead of a forty-year-old man who looked twenty-five.
Marlin had done a lot of thinking about what she wanted to say to him – and if she should say anything to him. They would all be working together, so she would have to talk to him at some point. Maybe it was best to reveal how she felt about him as soon as she met him and get that part out of the way. She imagined his surprised expression when he learned she was Captain Pacilio's granddaughter. She imagined saying all sorts of things to him – most of which she would get expelled from the team for saying. Donte was the only person in her life that she actually hated, and now she would have to work with him. Fate could be cruel.
She finally decided to simply tell him who she was and not let him ruin the expedition for her. She didn't have to like him, but she did have to get along with him – for the good of the expedition.
Soft Science Fiction
