Mitzi frowned. “Mir?”

“I want to get out,” the girl whined.

Mitzi groaned. “Bit late for that, sweetheart.”

“One minute,” Nic said.

Mitzi swore. “Okay, everyone to the doors. Yes, Mir, everyone. Come on, quickly.”

As they staggered forward, their suits overcompensated and sent them reeling into the closed boarding doors in the side of the ship.

“Line up,” Mitzi said, trying to mask the stress in her voice. Someone, she wasn’t sure who, was muttering a prayer. Ragged breathing filled her ears. She could feel her own muscles tense, preparing for whatever waited for them on the other side of the doors.

“I can’t touch down,” Nic said, talking quickly. “There’s no clear area large enough for the ship. I’ll take you as low as I can, but you’ll have to jump.”

Mitzi licked her dry lips. “The suits should handle that. We’ll only have seconds to get off the ship, so everyone needs to go on Nic’s signal. Okay?”

A muffled beep echoed around them as the doors drew apart, and Mitzi leaned forward, eager for her first glimpse of the planet. There wasn’t much to see; the ship was kicking up plumes of dust and obscuring their view, but broken bricks and twisted metal jutted up from the ground in all directions.

“Go now,” Nic said. “This is as close as I can get.”

They were hovering nearly ten meters off the ground, and for the first time, Mitzi felt truly frightened. If the suits failed to protect her as well as they advertised, the leap would be suicidal.

She inhaled sharply then turned to her crew. Six helmets were looking in her direction, waiting for her signal. “You heard him,” she said. “Jump!”

Two suits leapt, plummeting into the swirling dust—Skye and Adam. After a second of hesitation, Franc jumped, followed by Eoin.

“Quickly,” Nic urged, his voice quiet but insistent.

Mir was backing away from the opening, shaking her head. “Oh no you don’t,” Mitzi snarled, stepping behind her. She placed both hands on the girl’s shoulder and shoved. The suit’s energy easily pushed Mir through the opening. Her shriek was only slightly gratifying.

Ellen was frozen on the edge. Even through the suit, Mitzi could see her trembling.

“Want me to…?”

Ellen gave a very small nod, and Mitzi pushed her, too. Whether from a bravery she hadn’t shown before, or because she was simply too terrified to make a noise, Ellen fell silently.

With clenched fists and squinted eyes, Mitzi followed her team, leaping from the safety of the ship and into the hostile world.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Her stomach lurched as she fell. Instincts made her flail her limbs, grasping for something to stop her fall, but she managed to hit the ground feet first then rolled to disperse the worst of the impact.

The suit worked perfectly. Mitzi felt shudders run through her bones as the metal-plated exoskeleton absorbed the shock and protected her limbs from being snapped by the impact. She staggered to her feet and quickly counted the shapes around her. She had six companions: four standing, two still sitting on the ground.