Graveyard of Empires

“What we waitin’ for?” “The new Captain,” Abdullah replied quietly, waving his hand for his companion to lower his voice. “She’s supposed to arrive today and assume command of the Fist.”

Traq was terrified. When the woman—Vivian Drowel—had shown up at the door, she’d had a short conversation with Rica, and then after a tearful and quick goodbye, she’d taken Traq by the hand and led him away from his home. His mother packed him a bag and told him she loved him.

Wade stood outside the little gray house belonging to Traq and his mother, letting his friend think in silence. It was painful for him. He was talkative by nature, willing to ramble on and on about anything and everything.

Kristi Grove adjusted the rigid fabric against her hip with a growl. Won’t this elevator move any faster? She picked at one of the blue straps digging into her skin, deciding that as soon as this wretched party was over she would burn it.

“Come on!” Eddie Boleman shouted, pumping his palm against the metal bench press. “You got this! Come on!”

“That’s it?” Jayson Coley asked, staring out the train’s circular window into the forest beyond. A squat building had just appeared through the canopy of trees, ahead and above them on their path through the forest.

“What the hell was that?” Jeremiah asked, rushing forward. The shocked and terrified look on his face would have been hilarious to Argus Wade if it wasn’t for what had just happened. “What the hell was that?”

“Stupid head!”  It was the cleverest thing Traq could think of to say, but his harsh words were greatly diminished by the giant grin on his face. He wasn’t mad, he rarely got mad at his friend, but Everett wasn’t playing fair.

Geid was a smaller planet than Wade was expecting. That wasn’t to say it was small, but compared to Axis it was barely a dot. Wade touched his ship—the Hummingbird—down just outside one of the larger cities, Averton.