Bleaker

didn’t and there was no reason to tell them until they landed.
Whatever time they arrived, as long as it was safer than what they faced now, they were getting what they paid for: a chance at a longer life.
Tucker still didn’t know much about the mission. He hadn’t met the families or even knew anything about them, the only crew member he’d met was Sam.
Tucker hadn’t even found out what his role was specifically.
He guessed he would in the days to come. He knew they were leaving soon and wanted to focus on something, because any idle time meant time he spent wrestling with a moral dilemma.
They had the knowledge, near proof that they weren’t going to another planet, but rather another time, and they didn’t share that with anyone.
Genesis was going in lacking vital information.
Part of a commander’s job is to be educated and know everything there is to know so he or she can plan on possible outcomes.
Or maybe they did know and just weren’t sharing it with Marshman.
The only way for Tucker to find out was to reach out to Quinn, the commander of the Genesis.
Unfortunately, there was no way to do that. All that Tucker could do was learn his job, get ready for the mission, and possibly convince Marshman to share the information.
After all, it wasn’t a competition. It was a race to space, it was an attempt to save the human race, even just the tiniest fraction.
They all shared a common goal, they needed to share information as well.

SEVEN
Paradise, Wv
Quinn had just settled in for the evening when he was summonsed to speak to Waites. He welcomed the diversion as he was certain he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all. Quinn, like everyone else on board the Genesis, had been assigned a procreation partner. Something every single one of them had to agree to.
A partner for life, to create life on the new Earth.
Quinn was all for it, until he met his chosen partner; he had no say in the matter. Scientific means of compatibility put them together and Quinn was certain the science was off.
Her name was Dana and she wasn’t very nice. Quinn was never one to care about looks, after all, looks fade, personalities didn’t.
He hoped hers would one day.
She was attractive, but tough. She came across as crass, edgy, and probably could beat any man Quinn knew in an arm-wrestling match. Not that her arms were big, he just happened to see her lift a case with ease.
Dana was a systems analysist on board. She also had a lot of responsibility with the cargo. Quinn wanted to meet her, introduce himself, maybe even get a chuckle with her about the ‘arranged relationship’ but she wasn’t having it.
In fact…
“What do you want, Commandeer Quinn?”
“Well, you’re not busy,” Quinn said. “I thought I would get to know you.”
“You don’t think we’ll have time for that when we land? Trust me, we’ll have time for that.”
“Are you misunderstanding me?” Quinn asked. “Maybe you got the wrong idea.”
“I don’t think so. I’m your procreation partner.”
“No, no.” Quinn nervously waved his hand out. “I wasn’t here to bring that up, well, I was, but not in the way I believe you’re thinking.”
“There’s no other way to think. I am your life partner for bearing children. I don’t need to be your friend.”
“I kind of think that might help,” Quinn said.
Dana shook her head. “It won’t, because I don’t care.”
“If you didn’t want to do this, why are you?” Quinn asked.
“I want to go up there.” She pointed up. “I have since I was a little girl.”
“We all have.”
“I’ll do what I need to do to make it happen. I also feel I spoke for a lot of women when I said, ‘I don’t have to like it to know my responsibility lies with starting the human race up there.’”
“I’m sure a lot of men aren’t happy about it either.”
Dana laughed and walked away.
“Okay…” Quinn stood by himself for a moment, baffled at her attitude. He supposed he’d question all night long if the rest of his personal life on the new planet was going to be a miserable existence.
That was when he was called to meet Waites.
Strangely he wasn’t called to the control room, or Waites’s office. He met him in the cafeteria.
It was closed and empty, the only lights on were those on the vending machine and the small round ones above the serving line.
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked.
Waites sat at a table alone, a folder next to a bowl of cereal. “Sit down, Quinn.”
Quinn slid down across from him.
“You’re right. Or were right,” Waites said.
“What do you mean?”
“About Tucker Freeman. You’re right, it is a mistake that he is not on this mission.”
With an exhale of relief, Quinn sat back. “Does this mean he’s in?”
“I’ve made call after call these last couple days,” Waites said. “I finally got the program to see the light on Freeman. That he is essential to the startup there. He’s needed in more ways than one.”
“That’s what I was saying. They made a grave error rejecting him.”
“They understand that, saw the error of their ways. One of their big arguments was that he wouldn’t have a pairing. He would be the odd man out, so to speak.”
“Oh, hell, he can have mine. I can spend the rest of my life alone. Trust me, I met her.”
Waites let out a chuckle. “Well, unfortunately…we reached out to Freeman. No answer. In fact, his phone went straight to voice mail. But we weren’t giving up.”
“Weren’t?” Quinn asked. “As if you have?’
“We have no choice. We went to the farm. All the workers on the ARC know him. They told us he was leaving. We did a little more digging.” Waites pushed the folder to Quinn.
Quinn apprehensively opened it and read. His eyes shifted back and forth. “Are you kidding me?”
“All there.”
“He’s been picked up for a privately funded colony ship.”
“Yes.”
“You have to stop him,” Quinn said. “You know