Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1)

by Amie Kaufman

In old Terran mythology, Aurora was the goddess of the dawn. She heralded the coming of daylight, the end of night.

So. Take a sheet of paper. Now imagine it’s the whole Milky Way galaxy. It’s a lot to ask, but you can trust me. I mean, come on, look at these dimples.

Everyone knows about the Hadfield disaster. Back in Earth’s early days of expansion, the whole ship disappeared in the Fold. The tragedy ended the age of corporate space exploration. Nearly ten thousand colonists died. And that’s when my computer flashes a message on my display. ALERT: BIOSIGN DETECTED. SINGLE SURVIVOR. REPEAT: SINGLE SURVIVOR. “Maker’s breath…,” I whisper.

And my last thought before I pass out completely? It’s not that I just saved someone’s life or that I have no idea how we covered the last two hundred meters back to my Phantom’s airlock or that the both of us should most definitely be dead. It’s that I’m gonna miss the Draft.

But wait, wait a minute, ladies and gentlemen and everyone both otherwise or in between. We have a new contender for Fact of the Century. All other facts, please step aside. Fact: Though the frosted glass obscures all the interesting details, there can be no doubt about it. My mystery man is not currently in possession of pants. This day is looking up. He frowns, making the very most of that scarred eyebrow. “This is taking forever,” he says.

Patrice herself has been okay—she’s sent through a few briefing papers she needs me to read, kept it friendly and professional. But of all the people he could’ve picked, my father had to start boning the woman who was going to be my supervisor? Thanks again, Dad.

But with pain, and touch, comes proper mobility. And that means I can push up onto my elbows and look across for the guy once more. His lower half has turned dark gray, and from this I deduce he is now, unfortunately, wearing pants. This day really is turning out to be a bust.

The pants discovery prompts a tickle of a question in my head, and I look down beneath the light, silvery sheet that currently covers me to check what I’m wearing. Turns out that the answer is “nothing at all.” Huh.

My mind flatlines with one long beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep, all coherent thought shutting down. Alien species? Many? Does not compute, please reboot.

I look at Cat sidelong and give her my best shut uuuuuup smile, speaking through gritted teeth. “We should look on the bright side, Cat.” “Come on, Scar,” Cat says, ignoring my smile’s shut uuuuuup–edness.

“Cheers,” she smirks. “But I was talking about you and the others.” “Oh, stop.” I clutch my chest. “My poor heart.” “Aw. Hug?” “Kiss.” “No tongue this time.”

Know the way. Show the way. Go the way.

Ty winks in my direction. “And my diplomat isn’t totally incompetent.” “Respect your elders, brother mine.” “You’re three minutes older than me, Scarlett.” “Three minutes and thirty-seven point four seconds, Bee-bro.”

“Finian de Karran de Seel. Betraskan. Age nineteen. Tech Division.” “He’s smart,” I say. “Top tenth percentile. If you’re into that sort of thing.” “Says here he failed Fold dynamics.” “Otherwise he’d be top two percentile,” I say. “See? Super smart.” “Also says here he wears an exosuit,” Tyler continues. “Yeah,” I nod. “He has nerve damage, muscle weakness, and impaired mobility. He caught the Lysergia plague as a kid. The suit compensates.”

Please note: I love my brother very much and I know he’s having a tough day, but I was up really late last night pulling together his dossier and I haven’t had my caffeine yet and I’m normally not this mean to him. …Wait, who am I kidding.

Cat sits and leans back in her chair. “Call me Zero.” “As in zero chance of success?” Finian asks, all innocence. “As in most cadets miss twelve to fifteen percent of targets on their pilot stream exam,” Tyler says. “Guess how many I missed, Skinnyboy,” Cat smiles. Said Skinnyboy stretches, his suit making a hum and a series of soft clicks.

“I remember you now,” Tyler says to Fin. “You’re the cadet who irradiated the propulsion labs so he could get out of his spatial dynamics exam.” “Technically, everyone got out of their spatial dynamics exam.” “You were that frightened of failing, huh?” “Are we bonding right now?” Fin asks. “I feel like we’re bonding.”

Zila and Finian follow quietly. I’m walking in front, uniglass in hand, shooting a query to our missing squadmate. So I’m kinda surprised when a hundred kilos of bleeding boyflesh crashes into my boobs.

“Oh, this is not good,” I whisper. “I dunno,” Finian smiles, first studying the Syldrathi, then taking a look at me. “Looks pretty good from here.” “Oh, please,” I reply, rolling my eyes.

Hmm. My current situation could be adequately described as… …suboptimal.

“And something happened yesterday, with the cadets? I heard the nurses talking about squads?” And just like that, I’ve killed his beautiful smile stone-dead. Farewell, dimples. I miss you already.

“What’s that supposed to be?” Finian asks. “It’s a dragon,” I reply. “Present from my mum. He’s for luck.” “It’s a stuffed toy, how is it supp—” “Shut up, Finian.” “…Okay, are you hitting on me? It feels like you might be hitting on me.” “I’ll be hitting on your face in a minute, you fu—” “Legionnaire de Seel, can it,” Tyler says smoothly.

“Again, Legionnaire Brannock, preflight check is complete. Pretty please with sugar on top, would you be so kind as to take us out now, thank you.”

“Permission granted, 312. Good hunting, over.” I glance over my console to the members of my squad. “Right, hold on to your undies, kids.”

“Well, do the rest of us have to hear it? Sir?” I fold my arms and glare. “Are you, like, a professional arsehole or…?” “More a hobbyist,” Finian replies. “Hoping to go pro next season.”

Oblivious in their righteousness. Firmly convinced that any problem can be solved with enough faith or good hard work or, when all else fails, bullets.

“I would like to ask a question, sir.” Scarlett Jones pipes in. “Is it the one about where babies come from?” “No.” “Someone’s going to have to explain it to you sooner or later, Spunky….” I suppose she is trying to be funny.

“Um, sir?” Finian de Seel says. “We might have a problem.” “You mean aside from you interrupting my speech? Because I’d been practicing it in my head for an hour and it was gonna be great.”

“We make no threats, little Terran. Only promises. Ready your souls for the Void’s embrace. In Caersan’s name, you will be purged.”

“Thanks,” I say. “But I learned to use a flare gun in my colony training. I can shoot just fine, Legolas.” He blinks. “My name is Kal, human. Who is this Legolas you speak of?” I roll my eyes and mutter under my breath, “Read a book sometime, you conceited sonofa…”

Is it weird that this girl’s don’t-mess-with-me tone makes me want to tell her she can mess with me any day she wants?

“I can’t go,” Auri insists, eyes getting wilder, doing herself no favors at all. “You don’t understand. You don’t understand. They wiped away every trace of my colony. It’s like Octavia never existed. They want to wipe me away, too.”

And I’m repeating Kal’s words to myself, whispered in my ear as he eased the gun out of my hand. Go with dignity. You are more than this.

“Oh, do go on,” Scarlett says, leaning forward on our bench and batting her eyelashes. “Honestly, I could just listen to you bitch and moan all day, Finian.”

Cold water hits us, crashing over the back of my head. I sputter and gasp, pulling Kal’s hands away from my neck. Looking up, I see Scarlett standing over us, emptying the upturned water cooler tank onto our heads. She shakes the last few drops onto us for emphasis before tossing the tank aside. “Grow up,” she says. “Sir.”

CAT B: THIS IS TOTALLY BLOODY SIDEWAYS SCARLETT J: I’M AFRAID I MUST CONCUR WITH MY PUNCHY BUT LEARNED COLLEAGUE. CAT B: THANKS, ROOMIE. SCARLETT J: ALL GOOD, GIRL. YOU’VE STILL GOT MY EYELINER, BTW.

They’re all out cold. Battered and bloodied, bones broken. Scar, Cat, and Finian are looking at our Tank, half-awed, half-terrified, all silent. “I don’t want you to think this means I like you, Kal,” Cat finally says. “But okay. I’m officially impressed.” “Did it just get hot in here, or is it me?” Scarlett asks. “It’s not just you,” Finian mutters, fanning himself. The Syldrathi offers his hand to me.

My boots are too big, and I’m not bragging or anything, but the crotch in this tac armor just isn’t sitting right.

“I just gave you an order, legionnaire,” I growl. Kal tilts his head. “Please feel free to put me on report, sir.” “For the love of…,” Scar sighs. “Will you two just kiss and get it over with?” “I mean, I could think of worse things to watch?” Finian says.

Aurora is slumped in a single metal chair, restraints at her wrists. Her eyes are closed, blood dripping from her nose, spilling over her chin. The floor, ceilings, and walls are buckled outward, almost in a spherical shape. I see two faceless helmets on the floor, two charcoal-gray suits crumpled beside them, their contents smeared up the wall in a strange mixture of gray and black, textures unrecognizable. They go all the way up to the ceiling, like the people inside them were tubes of toothpaste and someone just…squeezed.

Kal glances over his shoulder, lips quirking in what might be a smile. And son of a biscuit, I find myself smirking back.

Our squadmates clearly found somewhere to hole up and change, and the results are impressive. Both the Jones twins look completely edible, him in a stretchy show-my-muscles kind of shirt, her in an equally stretchy bodysuit made of…some kind of black…something. Hey, it’s hard to focus on fabric finishings with this level of hello there coming at me in stereo, okay?

Don’t get me wrong—given the chance, I’d cheerfully jump aboard either of the Jones twins, but moments like this, it’s hard to take my eyes off her.

“Zero’s right,” I say quietly, looking around. “This is spooky shit, Goldenboy.”

“Um,” Auri whispers. “Sorry, but is someone touching my butt?” “…Would you like someone to be touching your butt?” Fin asks. Kal clears his throat. “If you wish it, I—” “Shut up!” I hiss.

Fin leans down to inspect Cat’s trophy. “If you’d told me he was this hot, I would have gone on the date for sure.”

Scar says. And without ceremony, she clamps her lips onto the sleeping blond’s neck and starts to suck. “Holy cake,” Auri whispers, watching with wide eyes. “Please don’t tell me that on top of everything else, vampires are real?” “Evidence.” Scarlett comes up for air with a smirk, and I can see the angry red love bite she’s left on the goon’s neck.

And so I permit myself to feel the hurt. The places I allowed my enemies to touch me. Vowing they will never touch me again.

“I thought you said you were a miracle worker.” The lock beeps. The server doors click open. “Well, hey now, would you look at that.”

Finian’s voice crackles in our ears. “Wow, that was amazing, Finian. You really are a miracle worker. I think I’m going to name my firstborn dirtchild after you beca—” “Knock it off,” Tyler snaps. “Where do we plant this leech?” “Tertiary uplink oughta do it. Now listen close. I’ll use small words.”