Luther raised a finger, and a robot walked over, painted in the Luna Corp colors. He took our orders, and we settled at the table while waiting for our host to arrive.
“What do you think you’re going to find out there?” William asked.
“At Refuge?” I asked, receiving a nod. “We aren’t positive, but we’re hoping for some allies. I know how hard everyone is working at our defenses for Earth, but I’m guessing the Velibar have done this kind of thing before.”
Ginger sipped on her martini and was requesting a second when the door opened. In walked Erik, and I rose, Luther following suit. Us casually discussing an invasion was out of place. While the rest of the world was living in fear, these people didn’t even seem affected by the recent events.
“No need to stand. This is informal,” Erik said with a courteous smile. He was wearing a shiny white suit, and each finger was adorned with a gemstone the size of a data Coin. If this was informal, I didn’t want to know what formal looked like.
He sat at the end of the table, with Luther and me beside Jade, and her parents across from us.
“Pardon my lateness. I had some business to attend to,” Erik said. “What did I miss?”
“Hawk was just telling us about their mission to Refuge,” William said.
“Is that so?” Erik lifted his hand, and the serving robot brought him a beverage.
“We’re leaving in two weeks. Pilgrim’s modifications are completed, and we’re flying to Mars for the meeting before we venture off.”
“Are you certain Varn Wallish and his team should be the ones to accompany you?” Erik casually sipped his drink. It was green and smelled like spinach.
I glanced at Jade, who gave me nothing to work with. “Varn’s a very capable pilot, and no one likes shooting things any more than him. He’s competitive, and that can be helpful.”
“Or it can get you slain. The man called his Racer Killer. Not the brightest mind I’ve ever encountered,” Erik muttered. “He’s bullheaded and arrogant. Almost a chip off his CEO’s block, isn’t he?” Erik smirked at me. Everyone knew about the time I’d decked Frank Under. Everyone always seemed surprised I’d survived the altercation.
“Who would you suggest joins with Pilgrim to Refuge?” Luther asked him, and the answer wasn’t shocking.
“Captain Lina Nebu is a natural leader. She’s a talented pilot, a renowned problem solver, and finished first in her class at Luna University in the field of astrophysics,” Erik told us.
“You’re selling her to the wrong person. I’m just a pilot,” I reminded him.
The Luna Corp CEO watched me, swirling his glass. “You seem to forget what you did at Saturn, Hawk. You were the reason we survived. Without your fast thinking and ingenuity, we would have failed.”
“I can’t take the credit. My team—Jade and Luther, along with Holland—had a lot to do with it.” I smiled at the pair of them beside me.
“And humble. I wish I’d known of your existence before. I would have made you an offer you couldn’t refuse with Luna Corp.” Erik tapped his rings on the table. “Maybe when this is all over, you’d consider leaving SeaTech. You’ll be able to do anything you want with the rest of your life.”
I cleared my throat. Ginger and William were watching me the way a cat watches a canary. “No offense, but I’d like to wait to see if we survive an alien invasion before I contemplate job offers.”
The room went silent, and Jade pursed her lips. Erik frowned, and startled me when he boomed out a laugh. “I like you, Hawk. Even if you’re related to that piece of garbage, Preston Lewis.”
And there it was. People had been so thrilled after the incursion, happy that we’d bested the single Squid in combat and defeated the gateway, preventing the invasion, but they always walked on eggshells near me. I could see it in their eyes, the whispers about my grandfather when I exited a room. My mom had called me to say she’d been receiving death threats, even at her sanctuary on the Hawaiian Islands. Bryson had promised to protect them, but I realized this wasn’t going to go away. Not until the war was ended, and maybe not even then.
“I’m not my grandfather,” I whispered. Except I was a lot like him. My mother had told me that since I was a child. We were peas in a pod. And then he’d left us.
“We know that. If that was the case, I wouldn’t be speaking with you. You’d be shot out of an airlock.” Erik said it with a straight face.
“Uncle…” Jade started to warn him, but I just shrugged.
“You and me both, Mr. Trevors. He’s betrayed our people, and there’s no bigger breach of trust than that. If you’re trying to get a rise out of me, you won’t,” I assured him.
“Good.” Erik turned to William. “What do you think? Will we permit Jade to join their adventure?”
Jade stood, spilling her drink on the white tablecloth. “Permit? This isn’t your say! I work for Bryson Kelley and SeaTech, and the Board has ordered us to Refuge.”
Erik’s hand snaked out, grabbing her by the wrist. “You’d do well to remember where you came from.”
“Let go of her.” My voice was quiet, and Erik glanced over. He clutched her for a moment longer, then released her.
“Jade, sit down. We’re having a nice dinner,” Ginger said.
Her daughter refused and walked away.
“It was a real pleasure,” Luther said sarcastically as we dashed after Jade.
I caught up with her in the foyer, and she looked ready to punch someone. “I can’t believe I thought it would be any different. I’m such an idiot.”
“No. They are. Come on, let’s get the hell out of here,” I told her, and she ordered a robot to gather her things from upstairs. It arrived at the rover a few minutes later, and Luther drove from the palace dome, heading toward the docking pads.
Luther pulled inside, and
