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Crash-landed on an unknown planet, a black eye on the way, and the contents of her stoe locker, and she still feels the need to act like she’s above it all
She coughs, trying to clear her throat "How long do you think it will be before the shuttles will find us?"
I realize that she thinks the Icarus is still okay--that they’re doing repairs as we speak That her surface-going craft will co night her what I saw The Icarus dipping, ing in the atravity
No, telling her will just send her into hysterics, like it would any of those people I s close tofor so I can use to pour her a cup of water This works with the recruits too--a fir them toward tasks they can focus on "Let’s learn e can about where ‘here’ is"
As I speak, I’ the heat shields retract on the s, and so releases inside my chest as I look outside Trees "We’re in luck This place looks like it’s terrafor the air quality outside"
"There are," she agrees "But the electrical surge fried theh It’s safe"
"Glad you’re so sure, Miss LaRoux," I retort before I can stop myself "I think I’d rather an instrument told "
Her eyes narrow, and if looks could kill, then toxic atmospheres would be the least of my problems
"We’re already breathing the air," she replies tightly, lifting one hand to gesture toward the lockers by her feet
I crouch to get a look at where she’s pointing, and for an instant I stop breathing, lungs seizing You can’t see it unless you’re do, but the pod’s been ripped like aone side of it I re and force myself to inhale
"Well, look at that Must have happened on landing" I listen tois in advanced stages for sure And thather eyes as she completes my sentence
I don’t blaue about how soon she’ll be able to find company she prefers to mine, but the truth is I’m just as relieved The companies that own this place will have colonies all over the planet’s surface Which means so what the hell is going on up there They’ll probably show up ready to fight, expecting hijackers or raiders, but I don’t think we’ll have a hard ti the in h Most of the settlers on the re," I say, rising tothe canteen fro to stick my head outside and see if the communications array is okay"
She raises an eyebrow at es to be superior, despite the hair everywhere, and the blood, and the black eye I feelmoment I’ve ever experienced at the hands of her people
"Major," she says, speaking slowly, as if to a child, "all we have to do is stay put Even if the coone, the colonists will have seen the crash My father’s teams are probably already on their way"
I wish I could afford to be so sure so to swoop down and save me, but I’ve never been able to count on that in the past Then again, I’ on one of the seats, arranging her skirt artistically and clasping her hands in her lap, and head for the door It takes the weight of my whole body behind ives with a screech that the uncharitable est sounds just like Miss LaRoux, when displeased
Outside, everything’s quiet The chilly air is rich--not thin and spare like it is on soer colonized planets In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever breathed anything so pure, not even at hoht away I can’t letof hoalaxy, and I need to make sure that when her daddy shows up to find us, we’re out in plain sight
I can’t hear birds, or any of the sest there’s local wildlife on the h the surrounding woods that stretches nearly a klick, huge trees laid out flat and ground into the th of the scar Perhaps the local fauna’s just hiding up trees and down holes, waiting for the end of the world to continue
The trees are tall and straight, their lower trunks reen with a distinctive smell, crisp and clean I’ve seen them before I don’t know their technical name, but we call theet in, once all the organic row quickly, and ht trunks It’s later that the ornamental and the harvest trees are planted So, perhaps this is ht be Since I see pole trees and not much else, we’re probably on a newer planet, despite the rich air