Trapped (The Condemned Series #1) - Alison Aimes
Chapter One
9015
The shrill blare of a warning alarm snapped Cadet Annabella West to attention. With a hasty shove, she secured the last of the test tubes in the storage bay.
“Nothing to be concerned about.” The pilot’s calm voice crackled through her military-issued helmet.
She gave it a smack to smooth out the sound. Like so much of her other mission gear, the darn thing had been rebuilt so many times it was barely functional.
She refused to consider what that meant for the worn shuttle parts themselves. What was the point? Technological know-how might be better than ever, but resources had been practically non-existent even before she was born. She awarded the helmet another not-so-gentle tap.
“Just some stronger than expected atmospheric change.” The rest of the pilot’s statement came through loud and clear. “Best to find a seat for the duration of the flight. Entry into a planet’s atmosphere is always a bumpy ride.”
“You can sit next to me, Cadet West.” Junior Officer Pogue, lead military soldier for the Winthrop-Humanity research mission, patted the space next to him on the narrow steel bench used for landings. A leer played on his face. “I’ll strap you in good and tight. I love a good-looking woman crisscrossed in leather and metal.”
A rumble of laughter sounded from the line of brawny soldiers settling beside Pogue.
Assholes.
Bella moved past with her spine ramrod straight, her heart beating faster than she would have liked.
She’d always had tremendous respect for the soldiers who kept her and the rest of the scientists safe, but Pogue and his crew were proving harder to like than most. Still what could you do? Four thousand light years from Earth, the Council’s strict rules, and fifteen weeks from the space station she and the others currently called home, there wasn’t much recourse. Especially without risking Command Council’s attention.
“Don’t let them get to you.” Senior Council Officer Dr. Jim Winthrop was head of the scientific team of the expedition and the highest ranking officer aboard. He offered a reassuring smile as she settled beside him, his head jostling up and down as the ship swayed. The movement made the intricate Council designation of linking Cs behind his right ear look like little more than a blurred smudge. Ironic, really, given its import. “You excited?”
“Excited. Terrified.” She rechecked the closures on her grey uniform before tightening her straps—and noticed her hands were shaking. Damn. She laced them together on her lap and pasted on a cool smile. Until now, she’d been able to keep her dislike of closed, tight spaces out of her file. “I hope we find something useful.”
“While I hope we don’t run into any inmates.” Cadet Davies’ mumbled comment came from across the aisle, the flare of warning lights painting her helmet and the visible portions of her face in shades of green and yellow. Still, the colors couldn’t camouflage the worry staining her dark eyes. The same worry Bella was trying her best to hide.
Like Bella, Ava Davies was a junior research trainee who’d only recently graduated from the Council Academy Science Department. But that was pretty much where the similarities between them began and ended. By the end of their first year, Cadet Davies would be well on her way to earning a high level Command Council Officer ranking, a position Bella could never hold.
Her future superior seemed competent enough, but they’d had little interaction. During training, Davies had lived with her kind in Council housing rather than the crowded barracks, only bothering to show up for classes when she felt like it.
Must be nice. But then again, Davies hadn’t come to the Academy on a scholarship. If she got kicked out, she had a wealthy, connected family to fall back on. If Bella screwed up, she and her siblings would starve.
“The penal colony is three hundred metrals from the planet center,” soothed Dr. Winthrop, his voice vibrating along with the ship. For a Council descendant, he was friendlier than most. “Our landing site is six hundred metrals in the opposite direction. We’ll touch down, obtain available vegetation and soil samples, and be back in flight before the planet’s inmates are the wiser.” Breaking protocol, he reached over and squeezed Bella’s gloved hand, his dark-green eyes crinkling. “Standard mission practice. Don’t worry.”
Bella’s gaze found Davies’. Her colleague raised one eyebrow. Bella needed no translation. Davies had noticed Winthrop’s interest was more than mentor-mentee. Luckily, she appeared more amused than condemning. Still, as subtly as possible, Bella shifted her hand closer to her