WHEN THE NEWS OF THE disaster at the Gens’ new settlement filtered through to the Nova Fortuna, Cariad’s first impulse was to go planetside and help. It turned out that the Gens had set up home at a cave system next to the ocean and that the entire place had flooded. The rest of the Woken also wanted to help with the rescue effort, but Anahi was reluctant. She cautioned against using the shuttles.
Everyone, including the shipboard Gens, had assembled at the shuttle bay.
“What if they’re booby trapped?” Anahi said.
“The Guardians went over them all with a fine-toothed comb,” said Cariad’s soil biologist friend, Rene. “And no one except that party that Aubriot took down has been near them since. No one’s been allowed. They must be safe.”
“We have to go and help,” Cariad said. “What will
