The Final Six (The Final Six #1) - Alexandra Monir Page 0,86

I can’t help feeling a sprig of hope. This just might work.

Twenty-One

LEO

THE AIR SEEMS TO THICKEN AROUND ME AS CYB FUMBLES AT my question and the rest of the finalists stare. I scan the room for Naomi and Dot, wondering when I can put an end to this—but they are both missing. Suddenly, Cyb presses a round button on his mechanical arm and within moments, General Sokolov comes bursting through the doors.

My stomach drops. This can’t be good—especially not if the general notices that Naomi and Dot are both absent. Hurry up, Naomi, I beg silently.

General Sokolov paces toward us, her eyes flashing with irritation. “Since when do we hijack training sessions with our own inappropriate questions?”

My skin burns under the glare of the general and the stares of my competitors, most of whom appear to be reveling in seeing me get called out. Only Jian, Henri, and Sydney look at me with a hint of concern. But then I see Dot shuffle into view, followed a second later by Naomi filtering back into the crowd, and I breathe a sigh of relief. At least she managed to get through her part of the plan unscathed. Now I just have to find a way to remedy the situation on my end.

“I’m sorry,” I tell the general and Cyb. “I didn’t mean any disrespect whatsoever. I was genuinely just . . . curious.”

“So am I,” an unexpected voice calls out. “I think we all are.”

I turn and find that the voice relieving me from the spotlight belongs to Jian. I give him a grateful smile.

The general freezes, and for a second I think she might explode on all of us. But then she heaves a sigh. “Fine. Let’s put the rumors to rest once and for all.”

I can feel Naomi trying to get my attention from across the room. She meets my eyes and mouths the words thank you, putting her hand to her heart.

“I can tell you, from my insider’s vantage point of working on the International Space Station at the time, that whatever preposterous stories you heard are complete nonsense,” General Sokolov begins. “There was no conspiracy. Russia didn’t sabotage the mission for its own gain.”

I glance up, suddenly interested. I didn’t know about any Russian conspiracy . . . but it must be enough of a story if the general immediately assumed that’s what I was getting at.

“Nor did the crew starve to death,” she adds. “Not only did they have all the provisions they could fit into their habitat on Mars’s surface, but the Athena’s supply ship was permanently waiting in orbit with another two decades’ worth of food—which the Final Six will now benefit from.” She pauses. “The tragedy was simply a failure of science, a failure we all learned from.”

“What was the scientific failure, exactly?” Sydney calls out. I can read the subtext in her eyes: Could it happen again?

“Off the record,” the general says, “we instructed the Mars crew on how to build an enclosed Earth-like ecosystem on the planet shortly after they touched down. Because the astronauts all died at the same time, in the middle of the night, we have reason to believe an unexpected chemical reaction in the artificial space caused the oxygen to leak out while they were asleep.” Her voice drops. “They were gone before we could do anything.”

So they suffocated. I can feel my own throat closing up as I imagine the crew’s nightmarish last moments. How did no one know about this?

As if reading my thoughts, General Sokolov continues, “Again, this is just a theory. Without a living crew to tend to the equipment, our monitor readings couldn’t be deemed accurate, and NASA’s and Roscom’s public relations teams felt it was unfair to the families to float theories that may cause greater distress.” She gives us a pointed look. “I expect your cooperation in this. But I felt it was important for you to know that the likely cause of the Mars tragedy is something unique to that situation—and will not present itself on Europa. We have enough real complications to prepare for. I can’t have my potential Final Six distracted, worrying about impossibilities.”

“How is it impossible on Europa?” Henri calls out. “The inflatable habitat—”

“Is exactly why you’ll be safe.” General Sokolov finishes his sentence. “We began working with Bigelow Aerospace after Mars, and it’s a whole new level of protection. In addition, unlike Mars, we don’t need to create an artificial ecosystem. Europa has the key