Chapter Seven
Cariad was killing time until the next flight going planetside. She’d been forced to spend the rest period in Ethan’s tiny cabin. Unless she fancied sleeping among a bunch of toddlers it had been the only free space aboard the ship. The room hadn’t changed since she’d left it, and the memories it conjured up made her elated, sad, and annoyed.
While waiting for her flight she was organizing the boxes of emergency rations in the hold, stacking them near the door so that others wouldn’t have so far to carry them. Her comm button chirped. Strongquist wanted to speak to her.
“Cariad, could you please join us on the bridge?” he asked when she opened the comm.
“Sure,” she replied. She pushed a box into place, straightened up, and wiped the sleeve of her shirt across her sweaty f
