“Give your old man my best when you get to the far side of the moon,” Admiral Vance said, in a voice that suddenly sounded light-years away. “And tell him we’re even.”
The map on my QComm’s display screen led me back through the undamaged sections of the base, down to level four. When I stepped off of one of the turbo elevators that was still operational, I joined the procession of recruits filing into the New Recruit Induction Center, an enormous carpeted room filled with a maze of high-walled office cubicles. It reminded me of the DMV offices in Portland—although, thank Zod, the line here appeared to be moving much more quickly. When I reached the front of it, a uniformed technician gave my retinas another scan. Then he retrieved a crisp new EDA flight officer’s uniform from the long rack behind him and presented it to me, on a hanger draped in clear plastic, along with a pair of black running shoes with dark gray soles, Velcro laces, and no manufacturer’s logo anywhere on them. The two-piece EDA uniform was dark blue, and its zippered jacket had gold piping along the shoulders and down each sleeve. My name and rank were stitched over the jacket’s left breast pocket, above the Earth Defense Alliance insignia.
I filed into the adjacent changing rooms, then found an empty stall and got undressed. After I finished stuffing my civilian clothes into my backpack, I put my EDA uniform on. Everything was just my size.
I avoided looking in the mirror until I was finished, then turned to face my reflection. I hadn’t worn a uniform since Cub Scouts, and I was concerned that this one might look equally unflattering on me. But when I checked my profile in the mirror, I thought I actually looked pretty sharp, like an intrepid young space hero about to embark on an epic adventure. Then I realized—that was more or less my new job description.
I stared at my face in the mirror, taking in the strange mix of fear and anticipation battling each other for supremacy there.
Then I straightened my uniform one last time, picked up my backpack, and exited the dressing room, feeling several inches taller now than when I’d first stepped inside. The map on my QComm directed me back through the base, again highlighting a circuitous route that took me around the areas damaged during the enemy’s sneak attack.
When I reached the shuttle bay, I was surprised to see that aside from some rocky debris scattering the runway, it seemed to have escaped the attack—and my monumental screwup—unscathed.
Several EDA shuttles were parked on numbered landing pads around the perimeter of the hangar’s oval-shaped runway, and I walked down the line until I spotted the one specified in my orders. Its cabin doors were open, and through them I could see that several people were already sitting on board, waiting for departure.
“Look at you,” I heard a female voice say behind me. “An officer and a gentleman!”
I turned to see Lex, standing at rigid attention in her new EDA uniform, which looked as if it had been tailored to accentuate her frame.
“Well?” she said. “What do you think?”
I think you might be the girl of my dreams and I’ll probably never see you again. That was what I was thinking. But I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, so instead I took a step, straightened my spine, and snapped her a sharp salute.
“Lieutenant Zack Lightman,” I said. “Reporting for duty, ma’am!”
“Lieutenant Alexis Larkin,” she replied, returning the salute. “Ready to save the world!”
I dropped my hand and took a step back. “You look outstanding, Lieutenant.”
“Why thank you, Lieutenant,” she said. “You don’t look too shabby yourself.” She studied the rank on my uniform. “So I take it the admiral decided not to court-martial your insubordinate ass?”
I shook my head. “He let me off with a warning.”
She shook her head. “See what I mean?” she said. “You’re clearly getting special treatment.” She gave me a shove. “Is your old man a senator or a mob boss or something?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that, so I didn’t. “Where are they sending you?” I asked.
“Sapphire Station,” she said. “That’s the code name for another base like this one, located just outside Billings, Montana. How about you?”
I handed her the printout of my orders that Vance had given to me. When she finally located my destination, her eyes went wide and she looked back up at me.
“Moon Base Alpha?” she said. “It’s real?”
“Apparently.”
She shoved the sheet of paper back at me in disgust. “What a bunch of horseshit!” she said. “I get stationed in Montana, and you get to go to the fucking moon. That’s real fair.” She gave me another playful shove. “Maybe I need to start being insubordinate, like you.”
I knew she was joking, so I didn’t respond. An awkward silence descended.
Lex unsnapped her QComm from the strap on her forearm. “Hold your arm out for a second.”