The ship rose off the moon in a flurry of the tiny, sparkling diamonds. Charles leaned towards the ship’s window to watch the station disappear from view. She could still see Ellan’s fried body just outside the station’s door. Little wisps of black smoke rose from it like phantom tendrils stretching towards the sky.

Charles still had no idea what sort of creature had taken over her friends. It was clearly aggressive, intelligent, and extremely adept at mimicking its host. She hated to think about it, but it seemed increasingly likely that the problem wasn’t isolated to Station 332. All of Central’s more experienced teams had been dispatched on their own emergency response missions by the time she’d been drafted to visit Station 332. What were the odds they’d encountered their own aliens?

“I hope they fared better than we did,” Charles muttered as she turned the ship towards the wormholes that would take her back to Central.

“Yes,” Robin murmured in her ear, and Charles grabbed for the gun strapped to her suit even as she realised bullets would do nothing but slow the monsters down. “Let’s hope.”

Part Three

STATION 333

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Your shift finished an hour ago.”

Kala jumped as the cool voice spoke in her ear. She turned to see Vivian standing just behind her. The tall woman’s heavy-lidded eyes were fixed on the window in front of them.

“Uh, yeah, I figured I’d hang around for a while—”

“It’s because his ship is late, isn’t it?” Vivian’s lip curled up as she spoke. Her long black hair was plaited so tightly that Kala couldn’t see a single strand out of place, and her silver-and-steel-blue suit was immaculately ironed. Kala had heard that Vivian started her career in the military sector of Mendes Twelve, the communications hub near the centre of the prestigious Mendes cluster of stations, where the standards were higher and the dress code was stricter. Vivian was so cool and precise in everything she said and did that it was sometimes hard to remember there was a live, feeling person inside.

“That’s not your business.” Kala crossed her arms and turned back the window overlooking the large metal hangar. “But yes, his ship should have been back this morning.”

“He outranks you,” Vivian observed.

Kala felt a flush of anger build inside of her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Vivian finally moved her eyes, flicking them away from the window to glance at Kala’s face. She let the silence stretch until Kala was squirming. “I was only saying he doesn’t need a subordinate fretting about him. You’re not being paid to wait at the door like a love-sick puppy.”

The hot anger bloomed in her chest, rising across her cheeks and sticking in her throat. Vivian’s implications were clear: she believed Kala had feelings for Stanos. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

In the eight months she’d been staying at Station 333, Kala had spent a lot of time working with Stanos. Yes, he was handsome, and yes, he’d been kind and patient, even when she’d made mistakes. But Stanos was nothing but a good boss and an even better friend.