Page 9 of Reformation
Garrett didn’t shrink away from the accusation. “Probably. But that’s not the most important thing right now.”
“What’s more important than Dad?” Cody demanded. “What could ever be more important to you thanhim? You should be more worried about him! Do you even know if he—”
Garrett actually slapped his hand down on the table in front of him, a display of temper so rare that Cody’s mouth slammed shut in shock. “Listento me. The colony is cut off, and Jonah’s personal ship is broadcasting an SOS. He was supposed to take Lacey for a flying lesson right before our call, so it’s likely he wasn’t in the Box when the attack happened. He could have been targeted anyway; he could have run into trouble with a storm; he could be fine and seeking shelter. I don’tknow, Cody. No one knows, and until I can learn more, I have to deal with the rest of this fucking mess. That means making sure you’re out of the line of fire.”
Cody scowled. “What, so I’m just a part of thisfucking messto you?”
“No. No.” Garrett rubbed a hand over his face. “You’re the most important thing to me right now, Cody. Do you understand? I need to ensure your safety. I’m sending a ship to pick you up and take you to a safe place until it blows over.”
“No, I can’t leave!” The idea was anathema. “What about Ten? What about Grennson and Darrel? I can’t leave them alone here.”
“Cody, the fleet is in the process of being mobilized to deal with this ‘pirate’ threat as a training op. Do you know what that means? It means that President Alexander is going topresent this situation as an opportunity for cadets to get some experience in a real, largely secure altercation. He’s going to call people up, and I’m almost positive you and the rest of your quad will be called.
“You’ll be put on a ship, maybe the same ship that Miles is in the process of being reinstated on”?Garrett’s mouth twisted bitterly?“and put at the vanguard of the fleet, and when the firefight begins, your ship will almost certainly be one of the ones that’s lost. You’re going to be sent out todie, Cody, and I’m not going to let that happen. My people are coming to you, and I want you to leave with them. Understand?”
Cody resisted the urge to shake his head. “What about my friends?”
“I’ll talk to Admiral Liang. Together we ought to be able to come up with a plan to shield them from harm once they’re deployed.”
“Why can’t you just do that with me? I’m an Academy cadet, I need to stay with my cohort.” The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him. “I can go with the fleet to Pandora and look for Dad!”
“Out of the question,” his stepfather snapped. “You’re leaving Olympus and coming back here.”
“I won’t be any safer withyou.” Cody didn’t mean for it to come out quite so harshly, but he wasn’t sorry when Garrett winced. “You already said the president is targeting us because of you. That means he’ll be looking for this, and he’ll be watching for me to leave.”
“He can’t watch everything. I can get you to safety.”
“I don’t want to be safe; I want to help!”
“And I want your father here with me, and my father safe in retirement again, but it looks like neither of us is getting our way!” Garrett shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he looked mostly calm. Cold, but calm. “I need you to notfight me on this. Please. I need you safe. Your dad wouldwantyou to be safe.”
Maybe that was true, but Cody didn’t feel like agreeing with Garrett right then. “My dad would want to know we cared enough about him to go after him. He’d do it for us.”
“That’s enough. My ship will be to you in five hours, and I expect you to be on it.”
“Garrett?”
“By tomorrow morning, this incident will be all over the newsfeeds. You need to be out of there before that happens. Do you understand me?”
Fuck you. Cody wasn’t quite furious enough to say that to Garrett’s face, though. “Yes,” he gritted.
“Good. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”
Cody didn’t want to hear it?he didn’t want to hear one of his parents talking about love when the other one might be dead. How could Garrett even be thinking of love? How could he be thinking at all? “Bye,” he said shortly and ended the call. Cody stared at the swirling pattern of the wooden surface for a long moment before coming to a decision.
Fine. He needed to be out of here by tomorrow? He would be. And he’d be gone before Garrett’s ship ever got to him too. There was another way to get to Pandora.
It was time to take his bio dad, Jack, up on his offer to see the ’verse, Drifter style.
Chapter four
Jonah
Jonah woke to the steadysplatof liquid against metal as it fell down from up high. He would have groaned, but his vocal cords felt too thick and raw. His eyes were swollen, and his nose was stuffed up in a way that could only mean it had been bleeding because he almost never got sick. He forced his eyelids open and looked around.
Lookeddownat the ceiling, rather.
Well, shit.Of all the outcomes he’d predicted, flipping his ship upside down wasn’t on the list. He’d have to check and make sure the engine coolant wasn’t leaking into the maintenance compartment when he and—
