“What time is it?”
“Time to go.” She pointed at her wristband. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“No, I haven’t.” I popped out of bed. “Did you even sleep?” I stepped back to take a good look at her. She was already all geared up in her QEC uniform. In those boots and breast plates, she felt like she was a foot taller than me, lethal.
“I did for a bit.”
“You did that creepy thing again where you watch me sleep, didn’t you?” I grabbed my pants off the floor and pulled them on.
“You snore. No one can sleep with that kind of ruckus.” Grinning, she ambled over to her locker, then swung her helmet under her arm. “Ready?”
“Ready.” I stood as straight as I could to look the part. On my way out, a vase filled with huge roses caught my attention. Those were not there when we came in before. “Just one question. Who sent you flowers?”
“Don’t be nosy.”
“Lieutenant Ryland Johns?” I pressed my hand to my heart in mock surprise. “Do we have a suitor?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Shut up. We’re just friends. You said you were ready? You don’t look it.”
A half-smile pulled at her lips. Then I felt it, love all over me as if she’d dumped warm honey on my head. For her sake, I decided to let it be. For now.
“I am. I promise.” I stood at attention. After a beat, I stepped toward her. “We’re gonna talk about this later, right?”
“Don’t be a brat.” She touched her door and it slid into the wall instantly. “I can still change my mind.”
“Please don’t.”
“Walk, soldier.” She gestured toward the lift bay down the corridor from her quarters.
By the Titan, I’m really doing this.
2
This Riot Isn't Nothing
Catita
I fell in step behind Ry when she met her team halfway to the lift. The looks of disdain they shot my way told me exactly how much they didn’t want me near Ry—as if having a sister tainted her perfect record. I supposed in a way it did. The fact that I happened and that I was still alive was an insult to our way of life.
“I’ll see you later.” She jerked her chin toward the stairwell.
“Right.” I nodded.
With my gaze focused on my boots, I waited until the door shut. Who cared what they thought of me? Tonight, I was going on my first real mission. If everything went well, Ry might change her mind about my abilities and convince Wela to let me have a real shot at pilot detail. Being mortal didn’t make me useless.
When I exited the stairs and spotted the yellow designs on the floor demarcating the workers’ quadrant, I blew out air in relief. Even with Ry by my side, the QEC quarters put me on edge. I headed toward Ry’s assigned pod on the far end of the cargo bay.
I’d never been to this part of the ship. My days consisted of tactical lessons and random drills, which kept me confined to my bunk and the training facility. If it weren’t for Ry, I’d never leave the blue quadrant. I’d studied the ship schematics in class and had a fairly good idea of where I was going. But still, it was hard not to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the place.
Twenty stories high and a couple of miles long, the Epoch1955 was one of the largest motherships ever built by the Martian fleet. Over one hundred spacecrafts in different sizes crowded the flight deck on the lower tier. The cacophony of excited voices and rumbling utility vehicles filled the air and made my heart pump hard. Pursing my lips to hide a smile, I stayed to the lane in the middle of the chaotic room where hundreds of workers and regiment members rushed back and forth.
When I reached the last row of spacecrafts, I glanced up at Ry’s assigned pod. I double-checked my wristband to make sure I had the right one. Ry had mentioned she was needed on the Old Planet for crowd control. Why waste fuel on a huge freight ship? A smaller transport pod would have been more than adequate to carry her unit of twelve.
I slowed my gait and made my way to the metal staircase still latched onto the entrance of the craft.
A woman about my age, wearing orange overalls, came out of nowhere and ran into me. “I’m sorry, sir.”
“That’s fine. I wasn’t looking.” I met her gaze, and she flinched away from me. “Hey, I saw you before. Upstairs?”
Her eyes grew wider, and she stepped backward. “Yes, sir.”
“Um, well, this is me.” I pointed my thumb behind me.
“It’s been unloaded and refueled. It’s ready to go, sir.” The words flew out of her mouth so fast I barely understood what she’d said.
“Sounds like I made it just in time. Thanks,” I said, then winced. Soldiers on important missions never said thanks.
“You’re welcome.” She furrowed her brows for a beat before she lowered her gaze.
I rushed up the steps before anyone with a higher rank than me showed up. My heart pounded so hard there was an odd murmuring in my ears. Like a quiet voice egging me on, telling me this was a risk worth taking.
“Sierra, get us out of here.” Ry’s voice filtered through the corridor on my left as soon as I engaged the lock.
I didn’t stick around to see if the other commandos could sense my presence too. When I reached the hold, I covered my nose and mouth with the lapel of my jacket to stifle a gag. The cargo area had been recently washed out, but the rancid stench of manure remained. We’d been orbiting the Old Planet for weeks now. If workers had hauled livestock to the Epoch, it meant we were ready to head back to Mars. This mission could not have come at a better time.
The engine came
