Tina said that she thought so, but it frustrated her that the Alethia wasn’t out here waiting for them. This wasn’t working out the way she had hoped.
But Evelle touched her on the shoulder.
“Hey, we’re family,” she said. “They’ll find us.”
“I thought you didn’t care about family,” Tina said.
Evelle shrugged. “I used to play tough and say I didn’t miss being part of a family. Most of the time, I don’t.”
“But?”
“About a year ago, I was pretty sick for a few weeks. I couldn’t work and I was bored in the hospital ship. I was reading a lot of things, and I came across something about Dad. It didn’t say anything I didn’t already know, but it said that no one knew what had happened to him, and then I thought about when I wanted you to wish me a happy birthday when I turned twenty, and I sent you a message but it was returned because Project Charon didn’t exist anymore, and no one knew where you had gone.” Her voice was soft. “At that moment I believed I was all alone and no one would care if I died.” Her voice sounded insecure.
“But I care,” Tina said. “Rex cares.”
Evelle nodded. She was in ship uniform, a set of grey overalls with the name of the ship on the breast pocket. She looked tough, but Tina didn’t miss the glint in her eye.
She said in a low voice. “I’m afraid Dad may have been set up. I’d give up my position to know what happened to him.”
The story continues in book 3, Survival Mode, in which Tina, Evelle and the crew battle to keep the ship and its crew safe.
Be awesome and buy Survival Mode direct from the author, with delivery by Bookfunnel.
About the Author
Patty Jansen lives in Sydney, Australia, where she spends most of her time writing Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Her story This Peaceful State of War placed first in the second quarter of the Writers of the Future contest and was published in their 27th anthology. She has also sold fiction to genre magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Redstone SF and Aurealis.
Patty has written over thirty novels in both Science Fiction and Fantasy, including the Icefire Trilogy and the Ambassador series.
pattyjansen.com
More By This Author
Quick link to all Patty Jansen’s books
In the Earth-Gamra space-opera universe
RETURN OF THE AGHYRIANS
Watcher’s Web
Trader’s Honour
Soldier’s Duty
Heir’s Revenge
The Return of the Aghyrians Omnibus
The Far Horizon (For younger readers)
AMBASSADOR
Seeing Red
The Sahara Conspiracy
Raising Hell
Changing Fate
Coming Home
Blue Diamond Sky
The Enemy Within
The Last Frontier
The Alabaster Army
Red Crystal Desert
Lost Forest Secrets
The Forgotten War
Hard Science Fiction
In the ISF-Allion universe
Shifting Reality
Shifting Infinity
Charlotte’s Army
Juno Rising
SPACE AGENT JONATHAN BARTELL
Contamination
Observation
Extermination
Permutation
Elevation
PROJECT CHARON
Re-entry
Originator
Survival Mode
Swarm
Epic Fantasy
GHOSTSPEAKER CHRONICLES
(formerly For Queen And Country)
Innocence Lost
Willow Witch
The Idiot King
Fire Wizard
The Dragon Prince
The Necromancer’s Daughter
Ghostspeaker Chronicles Books 1-3
DRAGONSPEAKER CHRONICLES
The Bastard Prince
The Wizard Priest
The Dragon King
Epic, Post-apocalyptic Fantasy
ICEFIRE TRILOGY
Fire & Ice
Dust & Rain
Blood & Tears
The Icefire Trilogy Omnibus
MOONFIRE TRILOGY
Sand & Storm
Sea & Sky
Moon & Earth
Short story collections
Out Of Here
New Horizons
Self-publishing (Non-fiction)
Self-publishing Unboxed
Mailing Lists Unboxed
Going Wide Unboxed
Indie Writer Unboxed
Visit the author’s website at http://pattyjansen.com and register for a newsletter to keep up-to-date with new releases.
