Sirius offered his arm and I slipped my hand through, giddiness overriding my nerves. His new ceremonial uniform hugged the curve of his shoulder blades, tapering to low-rise pants that hung just right on his hips.
I wanted to wrap my arms around his waist and pull him close to me, but we had to be on our best behavior if we were to march in front of the entire congregation. He cocked a dark eyebrow, his gaze eating me up. The intensity in his eyes made me feel as though I was the most beautiful young woman to ever walk on the New Dawn.
He leaned in, his lips brushing my ear. “Ready?”
I shot him a sideways glance. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” I’d only been waiting for this moment my entire life.
He straightened his previous medal of honor off to the left, making just enough space for one more. “This is all because of you, you know.”
As much as he wanted to give me all the credit, I owed him just as much as he owed me. He was the one who’d kept me going in those dark moments inside that alien craft. “No, it’s not. It’s because of us.”
Sirius smirked. “Whatever you say, boss. Our future awaits.”
Applause roared around us as Sirius escorted me to the stage on the main viewing deck. Solar sat with my parents to the left. She waved profusely as we passed. I spotted Ms. Hoodcroft, and all of my old teachers.
Lyra, Alcor, Gavin, and Lieutenant Crophaven stood on the stage with their hands frozen in salute. Behind them, the sun set in a fierce blaze, lighting the sky with a reddish glow.
Red like the orbs.
The white intestinal image of the mother brain flashed in my mind. This is only the beginning.
Could she still see me? Were we forever bound in thoughts since I’d merged my mind with the orbs on the ship? It was too horrible to fathom.
A sharp pain radiated from my gut where the spire had dug into my skin. I clutched Sirius’ arm with both hands as heat traveled up my neck and I grew dizzy with nausea. The outline of a craggy landscape with deep chasms plunging into darkness flashed in my mind. I’d have to go down there and meet the mother brain. As ridiculous as the thought sounded, it was a hard certainty poisoning my gut. Solid as the spire.
Sirius leaned in. “Are you okay?”
Calm down. It was only a dream. I’m as much a psychic as Sirius is a ballerina, or Solar a mathematician. Just picture Sirius in a tutu dress.
The feeling passed and I straightened, wiping my forehead. I had a vague notion this ceremony wasn’t the end all to our problems. Threats loomed that we couldn’t yet see.
Enjoy the moment. You’ve been waiting for this your whole life.
I swallowed hard and pushed on, reaching the stage. My gaze traveled to the far horizon, but the sky beyond the sight panel was clear. Maybe we had challenges yet to face, but today wouldn’t be the day. Today I had my medal to accept.
Lieutenant Crophaven pinned gold medals on Lyra, Gavin, and Alcor. Corvus received a bronze medal for his part. Andromeda clapped from the front seat of the congregation as if he’d won the grandest medal of them all. I didn’t mind. We both had great reason to be proud of our lifemates.
Sirius received a silver medal for his navigational skills. Now he had two, like two silver bird’s wings, one for each mission he piloted successfully. He didn’t spend time looking at either of them. Once the medal was secure, Sirius gazed at me, making me feel I was his truest prize.
Sirius tilted his head to the right and rolled his eyes. I tore myself away from him to pay attention. A platinum medal dangled from the lieutenant’s hand. I remembered the last ceremony and how I’d stared at the platinum medal with my mouth watering only to watch him give it to Andromeda. Now Crophaven walked to me and pinned it to my uniform gently. He murmured under his breath, “Well done.” Beside the bronze one, the medal shone lustrous silver in the sunset.
As applause rumbled around us, Crophaven turned to face the congregation and held up his hand. Everyone quieted. “I have one more announcement.”
I stiffened. This was not what we’d rehearsed.
Crophaven gestured for me to stand out from the line.
I took a step forward, wondering what I’d done to deserve such attention and whether it was favorable or not. Perhaps he planned to scold me for acting against his orders.
“As you are aware, there is one final position left in our lieutenant training program. Since Commander Barliss is no longer with us, the decision of whom to give it to is up to me.”
Crophaven turned to me with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Nova Williams, will you accept?”
It took me a whole twenty seconds to realize what he offered.
My answer was a single word. “Yes.”
I'd like to thank Shilpa Mudiganti at Inkspell Publishing for believing in my work. She is amazing, and I'm glad she's with me every step of the way. Next comes Rie Langdon, my editor, and Naj Quamber, my extremely talented cover artist. Thank you to Dawn Dowdle at Blue Ridge Literary Agency for supporting my writing and representing me. My beta readers, Brianne and my mom, Joanne come next. My awesome critique partner, Cherie Reich, deserves a very special thank you. Kim Bock, my chemistry consultant comes next for answering my questions about solid and liquid metals. Lastly, my husband, Chris, for putting up with my maniacal typing at strange hours of the night and early morning.
Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation—favorite character was Data by far—and Indiana Jones. But, her all-time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.
Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be "a concert flutist" when she grew up. She majored in flute performance at the University of New Hampshire on a full scholarship, then secured two teaching jobs at a University and a local community music school. While playing in orchestras and teaching, stories popped into her head, and she used them to make the music come alive for her flute students. Her students said they were so good, she had to write them down! Maybe they were right, who knows? Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.
She is represented by Dawn Dowdle and writes sweet and adventurous fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary romance.
