“I don’t want to leave the colony.”
Still muzzy from her exhausted sleep, Trina struggled to understand Katie the next morning. She dropped into the seat across from her sister. “You don’t mean that. We’ve never been ones to stand by when a chance came. If we were, we wouldn’t even be here. But we aren’t the type who found colonies, either. If shafters made good colony material, polits would drag the tunnels whenever they wanted a ship to go out. It’s cheaper than paying laborers.”
Katie didn’t seem convinced, but Trina wasn’t done. “You’ll be happier in the Guild. I saw how much you enjoyed working with Lenat. Just imagine. You could do that your whole life.”
A slight smile pulled at Katie’s lips. “I guess you’re right. After all, I couldn’t even handle the surface of Ceric for long. Why did I ever think I could manage being part of a new settlement?” She squared her shoulders and stood. “Only let me tell Aaron. Give me some time.”
Trina should have recognized Aaron as the problem before this. “Just don’t take too long. The test is tomorrow.”
As Katie stepped into the cleanser, Trina prepared their breakfast with her mind focused on the future stretching in front of them. Finally, instead of peering through a chain-link fence, she’d be one of those flying from world to world, making new trade agreements and whatever else spacers did. Her sister would grow to love their new life as well. She had to.