Earth Unaware (First Formic War)

reinstalling it on the side of the ship.
    Victor wasn’t sure if their efforts would make much difference. If the alien starship proved to be aggressive, Victor probably couldn’t do much to stop it. The starship moved at near-lightspeed, which required an almost inconceivable amount of energy and huge leaps in technology, far beyond anything human tech had ever achieved. And if the starship’s builders could do that, there was no telling what their weapons could do.
    Victor inserted a bolt into his drill and moved to the next hole, noticing that the hole was slightly off its mark. He looked up and saw that Mono had fallen asleep. The bracing cable drifted lazily away from Mono’s open hands, and his arms floated limply beside him. If not for Mono’s boot magnets, he probably would have drifted away from the ship.
    “Mono,” Victor said sharply.
    Mono jerked awake, suddenly alert, eyes wide. He grabbed the bracing cable and pulled it taut. “Sorry. I’m awake.”
    “No you’re not. You’re exhausted. And I don’t blame you. I’ve pushed you way too hard today.”
    “No, no. I’m fine. Really. I’m good now.” Mono blinked his eyes in an exaggerated manner and shook his head to force himself to stay awake.
    “Three more bolts,” said Victor. “Then we’ll go inside. It’s already an hour into sleep-shift. You should be zipped up in your hammock.”
    “I’m fine,” Mono said, though Victor could tell from the look on his face that if given five more seconds of silence, the boy would be asleep again.
    A message from Mother appeared on Victor’s visor. “It’s late, Vico. Bring Mono inside. His mother’s worried.”
    Victor and Mono finished the install, collected their things, and hurried to the airlock. Mother greeted them inside with containers of chili and two hot arepas wrapped in a cloth. Victor wiggled out of his pressure suit and sucked the first taste of chili up through the straw. It was hot and spicy with finely minced peppers the way he liked it.
    “Perfect as always,” he said.
    Mother scowled. “You’re not winning me over with compliments, Vico. You’re in trouble. Mono should have been in a bed an hour ago.”
    “I’m not tired,” said Mono, though he was barely keeping his eyes open.
    Mother smiled. “No, you’re as perky as a jackrabbit.” She frowned at Victor. “You’re not resting and eating like I told you to, Vico. You need eight hours of sleep a night. As does Mono. He’s nine years old.”
    “Nine and three quarters,” said Mono. “My birthday’s coming up.”
    “You’re right, Patita,” said Victor. “I’m sorry.
    Mother squinted. She always got that suspicious look in her eyes whenever Victor called her by the nickname he had given her as a child, as if he were concealing something. “Did you even go to bed last night, Vico? You weren’t in your hammock this morning.”
    Victor bit into the arepa. It was hot and buttery. “I slept a few hours in the workshop.”
    Mother sighed and looked at Mono. “And what about you, Monito? Are you learning anything from my son besides rebellion and disobedience?”
    Mono’s mouth was full of arepa. He said something, but it was unintelligible.
    “He says he sleeps like a baby,” said Victor. “Eight hours a night.”
    Mono smiled and nodded to show Mother that the translation had been correct.
    “At least one of you minds,” said Mother.
    Victor kept quiet. He knew Mother wasn’t really angry. She knew the work they were doing needed to be done. She just didn’t like it.
    “Father should be the one getting the tongue lashing,” said Victor. “He’s sleeping less than I am.”
    “Oh don’t you worry,” said Mother. “He’s heard plenty from me today already.”
    All of them had been working feverishly since the Council meeting, Father more than anyone.
    “The Italians should be getting the laserline about now,” said Mother.
    Victor nodded. “Still no word from the Juke ship?”
    Mother shook her head. “We should have gotten a response by now, at least an acknowledgment of message received. But so far, nothing. Selmo thinks they pulled out before they got the message. They’re not showing up on our scans anymore.”
    “Or maybe they got the message and shot back to Luna, fleeing for their lives,” said Mono.
    “Then at least we got the message to someone,” Mother said.
    “We should have told everyone,” said Victor. “We should have told the whole world ten days