“My uncle likes a lot of things. Doesn’t mean you should dine with us just because he asked.” Ever since the invitations were sent, Jade had been trying to convince me not to attend, but I was curious how she’d grown up. She refused to talk about being related to one of the wealthiest CEOs in the world.
She swore Erik Trevors was like the rest of them: power-hungry and selfish. I wanted a glimpse into their lives, even for a dinner. It was the last night on the Moon before we headed to Mars for meetings, and I was looking forward to relaxing for a brief moment.
We exited the Racer, and Varn leaned against Killer’s hull, grinning like a fool.
“What are you so excited about?” I asked him.
Varn dismissed his crew and walked over. “Nice shooting out there, Hawk. Couldn’t have done it better myself.”
“That’s obvious. Because you didn’t.” I shoved him in the shoulder.
“Cool your jets, pilot,” he said, chuckling. “I nailed the drone. That’s the important thing. The others were digitalized objectives. My kill was the real deal.”
I laughed despite my annoyance at the man. He was a couple years older than me, but it never felt intimidating. Maybe that was because I still thought of him as a cocky young kid when I was around him. He was taller than me by an inch or two, his hair longer and darker. I rarely saw the guy without a smirk on his face.
“Maybe I can convince Octavia to send Kole Brenner with me instead,” I mumbled.
“Brenner? That blowhard couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn!” Varn exclaimed.
“I don’t think there are many barns at Oasis,” I reminded him. “Fine. If we’re going to be stuck with one another for this mission, maybe you should tone it down. Accept that I’m the best, and it’ll be much easier for us both to move on.”
Varn crossed his arms. “I don’t think so, Hawk. Besides, competition is good for you. You’ve been out of the circuit for longer than me.”
“What, by two years? You never made it to the Primaries either,” I said.
His gaze shifted, and he stared at the floor. “So what? I needed to work.”
I saw a hint of emotion I hadn’t witnessed from him before. Humility. “What happened? Why didn’t you keep pursuing it? You were good. Great, even.”
That brought his spirits up. “Never mind. I gotta run, Hawk. Nice flying today but not strong enough to beat the best.” He wandered off, and I watched him go, not bothering to retaliate. With a guy like Varn, you rarely snuck in the last word.
Everyone was gone, and I spotted the rover near the exit. I had a dinner to prepare for.
____________
I’d seen pictures of Erik Trevors’ personal dome before in the feeds, but nothing primed me for the extravagance of it. While the rest of Luna Corp was under the main dome, his palace was planted a dozen kilometers away, a private oasis on the Moon.
“Quite the place,” Luther said as we spied it through the rover’s wide windshield. He drove, slowing to a stop so we could appreciate the view from a distance. The dome had to be twenty klicks in diameter and had four or five executive transports parked outside. I noticed the symbol for Sage on the first, then Lotus, Orion, Oasis, and surprisingly, HyperMines.
What was inside the dome really drew my eye. The solo structure was gigantic: a white exterior with four rounded spires. It was over-the-top, but for the second largest Primary and Luna Corp’s CEO, I assumed money wasn’t a problem.
“No sign of SeaTech,” I whispered.
“Not that I can tell.” Luther threw the rover into drive and continued rolling to our destination. “I was hoping we’d have a chance to talk to him. When did you see him last?”
I thought about it but couldn’t recall. “A month. Maybe longer.”
“What’s he’s doing?” Luther asked.
“Let’s think of it from his perspective. He spent his entire life trying to climb into the Primaries, and he finally does, managing to get a team included into the great Space Race. Then the incredible crew of Pilgrim somehow defies all odds and wins the rights to Proxima, only to discover we’re being invaded, and his wife is alive. Oh, don’t forget that his son vanished unexpectedly. He lost Proxima, his wife, and his son. I’d be crushed too.”
Luther let out a deep sigh. “Man, hearing it laid out like that is depressing. At least he doesn’t have to run to another system using untested galaxy drives, to meet an alien that might be more disturbing than the Velibar.”
“They’re going to help us,” I assured him.
“How do you know? They’ve gone dark. What the hell is Refuge anyway?” Luther and I had discussed this topic a dozen times a week, so I didn’t bother engaging.
The dome grew closer as we neared the entrance, and four guards approached. One of them tapped the side of his helmet, and his voice carried into the rover’s speakers.
“Name,” he said.
“Luther Payne.” Luther glanced at me and pointed. “And Arlo Lewis.”
The guard smiled behind his tinted facemask. “Hawk Lewis. Please, proceed. Have a wonderful evening, sir.”
We drove past them, entering an extension to the dome through a yellow energy field. Luther parked at the end of a short line of rovers and killed the engine. “Sir? I was there too. No one knows about the awe-inspiring things I did for Pilgrim.”
I laughed as we exited the rover and threw him a bone. “I know, Luther. You were integral to our success against the Velibar.”
“Are you mocking me?” he asked.
“Never.” I checked my reflection in the dome’s surface and tried fixing a stubborn hair. “Let’s see what it was like growing up for Jade Serrano.”
“I can’t wait,” Luther said softy.
We sported formal outfits: black pants and white tops, with a Luna Corp patch sewn on the jacket’s breast. We were guests and wanted to make a good impression. It was all
