Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode 7: Homecoming #16

Three days later, Sophia found herself leading Mom toward the main elevator, back to the surface and her former life. Three days and they'd reversed the tumor's growth. It would take some for her body to reabsorb it, but Mom would heal, get better on her own now. The healers wanted to see her again in a few weeks, just to make sure things were going okay.

"I'll make sure she comes back," Shaelynn said. She would too. Sophia could see how much Shaelynn had grown in the two years since Sophia had run away. She was strong, independent.

Damn, she was gonna need that now more than ever. .

Dad had refused to even talk about what happened, according to Brevik. Mom would return home as if nothing happened, spend the next couple of years there with Brevik. Dad would likely pay even less attention to that household. What would happen after Brevik became an adult was anyone's guess.

It was Shaelynn who was to bear the brunt of it all. The elders had already given their blessing to a marriage proposal from an older man two towns over. Micah had quit, both the church and the work crew. He'd been saving money, figuring this was coming. He had enough for a trailer on the edge of town. And true to his boasts, he had offers from other secular construction crews nearby.

Shaelynn would move in with him, marrying him in a civil service at the courthouse. They'd be cast out of the church.

"They've already excommunicated you," Shaelynn told Sophia when Micah gave them the news. "There's a letter and everything."

"Get it for me," Sophia said with a savage pride. "I'll hang it on the wall." She caught Mom's conflicted look. "They would have let you die," Sophia muttered. If angering the church elders was all it took to save her Mom, Sophia would wear that badge with honor.

Sophia was trying to talk Shaelynn and Micah into moving to Denver. As the rest of the country slid into recession, Denver was starting to boom again. There were a half dozen new infrastructure projects related to the station and its energy output. The city was updating its rail system with Consortium technology, and there was talk of a high-speed rail extending eastward, all the way to the coast. Upgrading the electric grid required hundreds of electricians and engineers which in turn created a boom for the other industries that supported them, including food and lodging.

It was a big leap, however, and for now, Shaelynn and Micah preferred to stay close to home. So, they would stay in a trailer on the edge of town and be pariahs. Maybe in time it would wear on them and they'd change their minds.

Until then, at least Sophia sort of had a family. Brevik had visited the station once. He was suitably impressed and talked of coming up some day. "Get out of the hole." Sophia wasn't sure if he meant the church or the planet as a whole. He even managed to apologize for the things he'd called Sophia, though he was still visibly uncomfortable with her being a woman now. In time, he'd come around, she hoped. It might be nice having a brother again.

They reached the elevator just in time and climbed on board. Sophia sat next to her mother, and they clasped hands. "If there are any problems, any at all . . ." Sophia started.

"You'll come save me?" Mom smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." She leaned in and kissed Sophia's forehead. "But thank you, for coming and saving me this time."

They had a short glimpse of the rising sun from their seats before the light grew too bright and the window's shielding cut in, fading the image to gray. As they reached the ground, they fell into the shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

It was cool on the ground, but not cold. Spring was coming, for the earth and for Sophia's family.

The thought was poetic, and Sophia resolved to remember it for a writing assignment she had to do for basic ed. She gave her mom and sister big hugs and stood to one side as she watched them climb into Micah's truck and start their journey home.

Her essay, and her education in the Consortium on her mind, she turned back into the station. She would have plenty of time to find a café and work on the essay before the next elevator came.

Thank you to everyone for reading and voting on my story!

This is the end of Episode Seven: Homecoming. 

Coming next week: Episode Eight. The Sting. 

The ugly issue of prostitution, which is legal but highly regulated in the consortium, has reared its head on Shoshone Station. Truthfully its been there all along, a small number of well paid and discreet courtesans. But now someone wants to open a brothel. Whose rules apply? America's? Or the Consortium's?

For Fox the controversy is the perfect cover to do some real police work for a change. Security uses the confusion over the issue to start a sting operation aimed at human trafficking on the surface. It feels good to put bad men away, but quickly becomes exhausting work. 

For Jack it threatens to expose his relationship with one of the courtesans. What if his boss finds out? Worse still, Zeta? 

See you next week!