The cruiser settled as we dropped in altitude. There was nothing in sight besides endless rolling tundra. I punched up the power to get us to our coordinates faster. Soon, a sprawling community of low, boxlike structures set out in a grid pattern appeared on the horizon. Mooncamp 1 was a refugee city, through and through. Gray. Metallic. Flat. A few scraggly trees. I had no clue where their water supply was coming from. Underground, maybe. Nothing looked permanent. No edifice appeared higher than four or five stories, and a strong wind or the thumping gust from a low-flying cargo cruiser’s engine could probably blow the roofs off half these buildings.
A chill crept down my arms and back, raising gooseflesh. This place looked miserable and downtrodden, but for some reason, I got a wholly different impression.Resistwas practically written in blood-red letters down every single dust-blown alley and mixed into the rust staining the corrugated rooftops.
“No one’s planning on staying here, are they?” The DT refugees weren’t turning the moon into a home. They hadn’t accepted their new reality. They weren’t working with it as best they could. They were waiting.
“The air on Demeter Terre will eventually clean itself out. Then they’ll go back and start over.”
Which could happen a lot faster if Reena Ahern found the right combination of chemicals to counteract the poisons.
“The Outer Zones will have their breadbasket back,” Tess said. “It’s just a question of when now.”
And wouldn’t that be galvanizing? The two Sectors most known for resisting imperial rule repopulating? Maybe even thriving again? Posing a threat to the Overseer? We weren’t in the middle of a long and bloody war anymore. In fact, Simon Novalight loved to brag about the “peace” he’d created for us, the prosperity we shared thanks to him. Would the galaxy really stand for another massacre? I wasn’t so sure—and maybe the Overseer wouldn’t be sure, either. Maybe it would finally be his turn to tread carefully. A man couldn’t both brag of peace and kill indiscriminately.
I looked over at Tess. “Let’s get her.”
Her blue eyes ignited with the kind of fire that led whole worlds to victory. She knew I meant Reena Ahern.
As we closed in on the hangars and slowed, I reached over and gripped her hand. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked, a startled lilt in her voice.
“For giving me a second chance.” I squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. It was more than just a second chance for us, though. I could live with myself again, and that was the greatest gift anyone had ever given me.
Chapter 9
TESS
I jumped out of the cruiser the second Shade finished powering down. The big starboard door of theEndeavorwas open, airing out the ship. The crew must have heard us coming, and Jax, Fiona, and Merrick all vaulted out to meet us.
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. Seeing everyone safe and sound was like a punch to the gut, too visceral for anything other than pain, even if my brain was sending me all happy signals. The sight of Jax—intact, smiling, there like he should be—kind of crossed my wires. All I felt waszap,zap,zapinside me, a heart that faltered, and lungs that wouldn’t fill with oxygen. I ran to him.
Jax sprinted and met me halfway across the private hangar. I launched myself at him, and he caught me in a hug that crushed me in more ways than one. I crushed him back just as fiercely.
“Thank the Powers,” he choked out. “You’re safe.”
I squeezed him with all my might, shaking from the effort. No, just shaking. I buried my face in his shoulder.Iknew they’d made it off Korabon and away from the Dark Watch, but Jax hadn’t been sure of the same thing of me, had he?
“I’m fine, partner,” I whispered, although I didn’t really sound it. I had a terrible time letting go of him. We didn’t hug often, but we weren’t usually separated, either. My shuddering breath told me I wasn’t okay yet. Jax stepped back to get a better look at me. He touched my cheek, and I nearly lost it.
Jax abruptly turned from me, sucking down a huge breath. My eyes smarted, and I swallowed. Fiona moved in and linked arms with me. Our hips bumped, which was the closest we’d ever come to hugging. That was fine with me. I knew she loved me.
Smiling broadly, Merrick joined us halfway to Shade’s cruiser. “Welcome back, Captain.”
“Thanks, Big Guy.” I grinned, immensely glad to have the rebel super soldier as our newest crewmember. He came with experience, strength that wasn’t just physical, and a good head on his shoulders, not to mention an even temperament that had kept me steady more than once already. “You fix my kitchen door yet?”
He chuckled, the sound as rich and deep as unexplored corners of the galaxy. “I’m working on it.”
Feet hit the gritty floor of the hangar behind me. I turned, and Merrick’s gaze lifted, lighting on Shade and Sanaa Mwende as they exited the cruiser. I nodded in their direction.
“Do you recognize her?” I asked.
Merrick shook his head. He wasn’t totally bald anymore after having shaved off the shaggy hair and neglected beard he’d gained during his months in captivity. His clean-shaven jaw cut a hard, precise line now, but a short layer of thick black hair covered his scalp again. “Never seen her before,” he said.
Neither had Shade, despite his various dealings with Bridgebane, which meant that Sanaa either wasn’t always with the Dark Watch general, or she knew how to keep a watchful distance.
Fiona hung back with me while Jax and Merrick went to help Shade with the fresh food I’d taken from the resort refrigerator. Sanaa offered a hand as well, surprising me.
“I brought you strawberries,” I said.
