Before I can formulate an answer, the scream of an alarm pierces the room, booming around the empty space of the cafeteria. The lights turn pale green. I’m on my feet in an instant, with the others close behind.

“Are we under attack?” Ivennie asks, round-eyed, her voice barely audible above the noise. “All the way out here?”

This outpost is isolated and far enough from the front that it would be highly unlikely for the enemy to strike here. Even if they did, I checked the radar not an hour ago, and there was no sign of anyone approaching. And yet, the alarms are sounding… and as we were just discussing, there’s no doubt in my mind that General Altair has us placed at this remote location for a reason. As much as I want to believe this is a false alarm, merely a nearby movement of our own troops or a particularly nasty storm approaching, my gut tells me otherwise.

“I’ll check the radar. Daniil, to the rooftop. The rest of you ensure the entrances are secure. Report immediately if you find anything.”

The casual chatter of breakfast was less than a minute ago, but the mood shifts immediately, and we change with it. I slide into my role of sergeant without a moment’s pause, and at once my friends become soldiers. Their spines straighten, their eyes harden. Together, we move to face whatever trouble has found us.

As I race toward the surveillance room, reports trickle in from the others. The main entrance is secure. The hangar is untouched. No perimeter breach, no sign of an attack. Still, my tension mounts.

When I reach the radar, I breathe a sigh of relief. It shows a shift in the landscape, a nearby cliff that must have crumbled. Nothing more than a landslide. No sign of the enemy or any other movement, so it’s likely that a recent storm knocked something loose, and it gave way to gravity. I shake my head and shut off the still-screeching alarm.

Just when I’m starting to relax, my comm crackles to life once more.

“Corvus,” Daniil says. “I think you need to see this.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Bad Business

Scorpia

I bite back a string of curse words as the Gaians stare us down. Every ship arriving on Gaia is greeted by a party of customs agents, and Momma has contacts who ensure we don’t encounter any trouble with them. But these aren’t customs agents. These people, with their stiff-shouldered white uniforms and long black gloves, are Gaian law-enforcers. Which means Momma’s contacts aren’t among them… and which also means they’re fully armed and ready to spray us full of holes at any given opportunity.