“Get one of your rankers to give Fifty-Six the basics,” the commander said. “We have a few days until we’re in the real danger areas. Even someone with school-grade science should be able to pick up the bare minimum by then.” Tennal opened his mouth, appeared to think better of it, and shut it again. “Do you have something to say, Fifty-Six?”

“No, sir.”

“No. Too busy making a spectacle of your ignorance in briefings,” the commander said coolly. “I understand. Yeni, make sure he’s caught up with his basic training to third-class ranker standard. I will check.” Surit’s interfaces pinged quietly in his ear as Tennal’s schedule updated itself. From the number and pitch of the pings, Tennal wouldn’t have any free time to come up with an escape plan.

Surit gritted his teeth. There was no way you could pick someone off the street and get them up to ranker-level education and physical condition in a handful of days, especially if Tennal was also expected to get through basic piloting modules. “Understood, sir. If you’ll give us permission to leave, my unit is docking soon. And Agent Fifty-Six—”

“I’d better get started on my remedial training, hadn’t I?” Tennal said, with a quick, insincere smile. “Proud to join the fleet, Commander.”

CHAPTER 9

Tennal felt ten times more alive as they left the flag chamber—the lights were brighter, the Cavalry-red emblems more vivid. He was walking a tightrope over his own destruction, but now Surit had handed him a balance pole. Tennal could have talked the top brass of every division into believing he was synced. He could have fooled the world.

The only nagging question was how long he could keep this up. Adrenaline cracked under his skin as he followed Surit to the shuttle where they were due to meet their new unit, one pace behind as he’d seen other soldiers accompany their COs. They’d have to fool Surit’s new unit as well. Tennal had avoided the rankers—the other rankers—so far, but he needed to maintain the pretense until this mission was over, and that could be weeks away.

Tennal had once managed to pretend to be a nice, amenable person for one of his exes. He’d kept up the act for two whole weeks before he’d cracked under the strain and reverted to his normal personality, and that had been the end of that relationship. The ex was married to two bankers now, and the three of them together still added up to less of an asshole than Tennal. It was hard to turn yourself into somebody else.

Tennal’s whole future and mental freedom hadn’t been on the line then, though. Maybe that would be enough motivation not to screw up everything this time.