“It’s been good to meet you,” she says, pushing to her feet. “Good luck, Aurora O’Malley. I mean that sincerely.”
And with military precision, I’m dismissed. She turns for the door, and I sweep Magellan off my pillow and let myself fall back onto the bed, trying to keep it natural as I curl up on my side, back to the camera.
I make myself lie still as I count to thirty, and then carefully, I check the slip of paper hidden in my hand. There’s a message written on it.
Docking Port 4513-C. Passcode: 77981-002
I glance at Magellan. The menu still glowing across the bottom.
map.
directions?
I curl my hand around the paper again, glancing across at the door. And that’s when I realize the little light on the lock isn’t glowing red anymore.
It’s switched to green.
I’m being lied to, and I don’t know who to trust. But I have one source of information I can try.
“Magellan?”
“Hey, boss, I missed you too! What’s up?”
“I want you to tell me everything you know about this station I’m on. Start with the basics.”
And as he begins talking, I’m already heading out the door.
6
Cat
“Join Aurora Academy, they said. …”
“Cat … ,” Tyler warns.
“See the ’Way, they said. …”
“Cat.”
We’re sitting on the bridge of our brand-new Longbow with our brand-new squad in our brand-new flight gear. Our seats face each other around a broad circular console, studded with glowing controls and monitors. The holographic display floating above the console is currently showing the view from our forward cams; the long run down the launch tube to a small spot of black beyond.
Scarlett and Finian are sitting across from me. Zila and our new Syldrathi combat specialist are to my right. Kaliis Whatchamacallit, first son of Laeleth something-something, has some nice bruises from yesterday’s brawl, and a nice smoldering glare in those purple eyes of his. He hasn’t spoken since we bailed him out of the brig this morning. Zila hasn’t squeaked, either, come to think of it.
Well, at least they’re bloody quiet.
From my seat at main control, I glance to the copilot’s chair on my left. Tyler’s sitting there, studying his displays. His hair is tousled and his eyes are blue as oceans, and the scar I gave him when we were kids cuts through one brow. And even though he looks as tired as I’ve ever seen him, Maker, help me, I can’t stop the butterflies in my—
“Preflight check complete,” he reports. “Take us out, Legionnaire Brannock.”
“Sir, could I just say this is a complete waste of our bloody time, sir?” I ask.
Finian looks up from his displays, blinks at Tyler with blank black eyes.
“I find myself agreeing with the exalted Zero,” he says. “Sir.”
“Nobody’s talking to you, Finian,” I growl.
“Funny, I get that a lot.”
I’m still glaring at Tyler, all my frustration at this jank squad and this jank mission boiling in my chest. After five years of Academy training, all the hours, all the hard work, we were given our first assignment this morning, and it’s turned out to be a bloody supply run. I can’t believe it. I’m the best pilot in the academy, and I’ve been relegated to nothing but a damn courier. An automated drone could do this job for us. Tyler knows it. I know it. Everyone on the damn ship knows it.
But our Alpha just stares back at me, all business.
“Orders are orders,” he says. “This is what we signed up for.”
“Speak for yourself,” I say. “I didn’t slog my guts out for five years so I could lug med supplies to a couple of refugees in the arse end of the bloody galaxy.”
“Color me confounded,” Finian says. “But again, I find myself agree—”
“Shut up, Finian.”
“Look, this is the job,” Tyler says, looking around the bridge. “I know we all hoped for more, but we can’t expect to save the whole Milky Way on our first trip out. It may not be the most high-profile mission, but these people need our help.”
“And I get that, sir,” I say. “But you don’t think there’s a better way for the Aurora Legion to utilize my highly trained, supremely skilled, and totally spankable tail section than as a glorified delivery girl?”
Scarlett grins. “It does seem a shameful misappropriation of Legion resources.”
My eyes are still locked on Tyler’s.
“I could’ve had any squad I wanted, you know that, right?”
“And I love you for sticking with me, you know that, right?” he replies.