I was waiting for a delivery for my captain, and you were in the passage off the upper-level dock.”įirst time? Riston’s mind snagged on those two words. “The first time was more than a cycle ago. Besides, ze definitely would’ve remembered meeting someone like Cira before.
#Book reviews for kids the wild robot and pax full
“No.” A secretive smirk curved her full bottom lip. “You looked me up? How? You have neural implants?” Ze looked again for implants, but there was still no glint of the tiny shifting mechanisms in her eyes. “Literally, according to what little I was able to find about you.” Although her expression was pleasant, there was a keenness to the expression around her brown eyes that unsettled zem nearly as much as her words. There was no logical reason for it, but something in her posture seemed to relax. Oddly, it made zem want to tell her the truth. “This is usually where you’d give me something to call you.” “I’m Ensign Cira Antares, she.” She-Cira, apparently-waited expectantly. Ze waited for accusations or threats to start, bracing zirself for anything…except what they actually said. The officer’s hand loosened, but they didn’t let go. The prosthetic hand tightened so hard and fast it sent shocks of pain shooting down into zir hand and up to zir shoulder. As soon as ze had zir feet underneath zem, Riston tried to push off and bolt. Zir back slammed into the wall, trapping zem between the cold, sloped metal wall and the PCCS officer crushing zem. Thrown off balance, ze veered hard to the right, one arm wheeling as though that’d be enough to keep zem from crashing. Ze stumbled, zir upper body jerking to a stop and zir legs continuing another two steps. Riston risked a quick glance back as ze turned a sharp corner.Īn impossibly tight grip caught zir arm and held. Ze didn’t look back-couldn’t when ze had to watch zir path to avoid the few people ahead-but it sounded like the officer was catching up. Without a trace.įootsteps followed close behind zem, fast and heavy, boots thudding against the grating. Someone she might even be falling in love with.Īnd petty thefts are only the beginning-whole ships are disappearing now. Especially not Riston, the oldest of the group and someone Cira has grown close to. All signs point to her stowaways, but they wouldn’t do anything to risk exposing themselves-or her.
She has successfully kept her secret…until supplies start to go missing. But hiding them as stowaways on the ship is illegal, and if any of them were found, not even her mother could protect Cira from the consequences. Cira Antares is deeply loyal to two things: Pax Novis-the cargo ship captained by her mother that transports supplies across war-torn star systems-and her personal mission to save war orphans.