Mosaic by Jeri Taylor

me into this."
    Swimming at the quarries on Mars Colony was dangerous and
    strictly forbidden by their parents. The water was deep and
    cold, access was difficult, and jagged rock wasn't kind to
    bare skin. The girls knew, though, that everyone did it at
    some time or another; it had become a rite of passage.
    Kathryn had wanted for years to swim the quarries.
    Starfleet had extensive officers'
    facilities on Mars Colony, and her family had visited there
    on a number of summer vacations, but her parents had always
    kept a close eye on her. Now that she was fourteen, they
    had relaxed their guard somewhat. "What are you worried
    about? People have been swimming here for years. Decades."
    "We're still not supposed to be here."
    "No one will ever know."
    "They will if those people down there see us."
    "They won't," said Kathryn confidently.
    "We're not going there." Now Emmy look vaguely concerned.
    "But . . . that's the quarry everybody goes to."
    "Not us. I know where there's a smaller one. There are
    lots of them, actually, a whole network of them that
    stretch for kilometers through these hills."
    "How do you know?"
    Kathryn smiled, remembering the day five years before that
    still was etched indelibly in her memory.
    "Someone I used to know showed me. He took me all around
    the colony. Did you know if you use a breathing gill and
    swim underwater in some of these quarries you can access
    the cave system under Olympus Mons? There's a whole
    honeycomb of caves and underwater lakes. To get through
    them, you have to stay underwater for as much as a
    kilometer at a time until you reach the next cave. Someday
    I'm going to do that." Both girls looked at her as though
    she'd sprouted warts. "That sounds awful, was said Mary,
    and Emma nodded in vigorous agreement. "And dangerous." "I
    think it sounds exciting. I know others have done it."
    "Have they all come out alive?"
    Kathryn hesitated. Data had in fact mentioned a fatality
    that had occurred during the Olympus Mons cave trek, but
    that had only intrigued Kathryn, made her more determined
    to take the challenge someday. She knew, however, that Emma
    and Mary wouldn't share that response. "As long as you're
    an experienced diver it's not dangerous," she said firmly.
    "Are you experienced?"
    "I have my certification now. I need more practice. That's
    why I want to go to the quarries."
    "I thought we were just going to swim and have fun." This
    from Emma, who was looking more dubious all the time.
    Kathryn sighed. It was getting harder and harder to enjoy
    Emma and Mary's company. They'd been her best friends since
    they were little, but it seemed lately they'd become
    fearful and nervous about every activity she suggested. She
    was glad she wouldn't be going to school with them any
    longer.
    At long last, she would be attending the Academy
    Institute. She had battled her parents for years over this
    issue, and they finally relented when she won the
    prestigious state mathematics award. She would spend her
    final four years of preparatory school at the place she
    knew she should have been attending long ago.
    There, at the Institute, she would find new friends,
    friends more like her who were curious about things, and
    liked adventure and new experiences. No more tennis, no
    more piano and ballet. She was finally going to be allowed
    to enter the twenty-fourth century, and she couldn't wait.
    "How far away are these quarries?" Mary sounded uneasy, and
    Kathryn knew she and Mary were both getting nervous about
    being so far from the colony. "Not much farther. Just
    beyond that next rise."
    "We're pretty far away from anyone. What if something
    happens?"
    "Like what?"
    "An accident."
    Kathryn shot her a look of disdain. "There are three of
    us. Someone can always go for help." But she knew from the
    guarded glance the other girls exchanged that they weren't
    comforted. Kathryn stopped abruptly and faced them.
    "Do you want to go back? If so, go ahead.
    I'll swim by myself."