Chapter Thirty-Six
Erik drummed his fingers on the control yoke of the MX 60. Jia stared straight ahead, trying to quell the unease in her heart. Flying the flitter without Emma and keeping so low to the ground felt wrong—unnatural even. Even more unnatural was Malcolm sitting in the back in a normal-looking suit and tie. He objected to not wearing his Hawaiian shirts on-planet, but in theory, they were trying to not stand out, and brightly colored Hawaiian shirts screamed Earth.
“We’re closing on the checkpoint,” Erik explained, slowing the flitter as they approached a tunnel.
A line of vehicles, mostly hovercars and trucks with a smattering of flitters, waited. Soldiers, including two men in exos, waited alongside the line, standing in front of a metal grate. An anti-aircraft heavy ma
