Rebel (Rebel Stars Book 0) (21 page)
~
After that, she didn't see him for a while. Against the counsel of his advisors, he had insisted on making the story public. It sent ripples across the system. Many politicians and CEOs denounced it as fraudulent, a forged apologia from a known bug-lover. Toman sent the message to a dozen different institutes to verify it for themselves, then spent a week touring Earth speaking to citizens and leaders.
Rada continued to train. As soon as she had the fundamentals down, Val started to throw new challenges at her. Docking attempts with the thrusters disabled. Drone attacks. And then pirate assaults, with the enemy ships controlled by some of the Hive's other pilots. Most of the time, Rada got her ass kicked, but she always went back for more.
Because she loved it. Even the defeats. She'd finally found what she'd been born to do.
A few weeks after her arrival on the Hive, she exited the simulation room and found Simm waiting outside.
"Toman's back." He smiled, Sphinx-like. "And he brought you a present."
They hopped on a cart. Rada pumped him with questions, but Simm refused to answer a single one. As they took the lift to the habitation ring, he got out a blindfold, refusing to go on until she agreed to put it on.
A few minutes later, the cart rocked to a stop.
"Okay," Simm said. "You can take it off."
She ripped the blindfold from her eyes. Toman stood in front of her, grinning foxily. They were in a private wing of the Hive's main port. Outside the plate windows, the
Tine
waited on the pad, restored and repainted.
She eyed Toman. "Where's my present?"
He nodded out the window. "You're staring right at it."
Rada drifted forward. "You're kidding. You're not giving me the
Tine
."
"Not exactly. It's my favorite ship in the galaxy. But it is in need of a new pilot. After what you've done for me, I think you deserve first dibs."
"Me? I barely know what I'm doing!"
"That's not what Val says." Toman socked her on the shoulder. "Come on. Take us out for a spin."
Mind reeling, she suited up. The three of them walked out the airlock. It was only then that she saw what they'd painted on the nose: leering shark jaws.
"What the hell is that?" she said.
Toman shrugged. "Simm's suggestion."
"It's like they said on Jindo," Simm said. "A ship should match what's inside it."
"I'm not sure if I'm flattered," Rada said. "But I am sure this is awesome."
They crossed the
Tine's
airlock and made way to the cockpit. Rada had been there before, but tingles rushed up and down her arms and legs. At Lonnie's seat, she paused and looked at Simm.
He swept out his hand. "All yours."
She buckled in. Checked the systems. Counted down. And launched. She took off from the Hive as slowly as an old man putting himself to bed, but it was and always would be the most exciting flight of her life.
~
For a long time after that, life on the Hive was quiet. Quiet was good, but sometimes, when Rada was between missions, sitting around in the grass of Toman's micro-world, she looked back on those frantic days with something close to nostalgia.
Not that she had any desire to relive the violence and heartache surrounding the discovery of the
Rebel
, as Toman had christened the now-famous ship. And flying the
Tine
remained an unquenchable thrill. She and Simm had become a thing, too, and though he was sedate to the point of being boring, she appreciated the stability he brought to her life. She had no doubt that she was happy.
Sometimes, though, she missed the excitement of the old days.
Three years later, she got her wish. It started with a message from a woman named Jain Kayle. The message was a request to meet, nothing more.
Within days, it would change Rada's life. Within months, it would change the balance of the Solar System.
And not long after that, it would change everything.
FROM THE AUTHOR
REBEL is done, but the REBEL STARS series is far from over. If you haven't already read OUTLAW,
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The REBEL STARS series is set in the future of a great apocalypse. If you'd like to read about the apocalypse itself,
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