I drove us to a secluded location in case I felt like crying.

Pinpointing my mood was impossible, so just in case. That’s why I’d gone to Laura. If anyone knew about rampant emotions, it was her.

I chose a local park. It was by an abandoned school, which meant the park was honorarily abandoned. The grass was dead enough to reveal the white terrain underneath. Huge trees were the only living things left. The sidewalk was chipped and scratched. Our bench even creaked as we sat on it.

A huge square cone sat unattended beside us. An auto vendor that had gone out of order. If I could get inside that thing, there were parts that—nope! It wasn’t mechanic time. I handed Laura a granola bar in exchange for listening to my tale. I chewed on one myself, which made it the only food item I’d had all morning. Pretty typical, honestly.

Laura swallowed her granola. “How did you even drive yourself after going through all that?”

I crushed my granola and pulled it apart. “Who knows? Can’t do much else though. Everything was riding on this exam. What happens when you fail the thing that’s supposed to elevate your life? That’s a ‘back to square one’ situation.”

“You should just pick yourself up and keep moving. It’s what Instructor Manning would say. It’s pretty good advice.”

I smiled. “I’m glad you said that, because I’m not giving up. I couldn’t do that to Beth.”

“Great! I’ll be here for whatever we’re doing next.” Her hand landed on mine. She had a gentle touch like she was tending to a wounded animal. Laura was fine with the occasional hug, but random affection? What was happening here? “I’m happy that you finally came to me about this stuff. Those days when you’d barely talk to me were some of the worst of my life. I just felt so guilty and helpless. If you had never gone to the movies with me…you would have been there. Maybe, you could have done something.”

Laura chewed her lip, a surefire sign that she was holding back tears. She was the one who’d suggested seeing a brand-new movie on that day. She’d been so excited about it. She was the whole reason why we weren’t there when the AI came.

“Hey, why would that make you feel guilty?” I could have squeezed her hand back, to show that I supported her. My stomach swirled just thinking about it. That might have been too weird, so I didn’t. “What could I have done against a Kilo? It would have torn me apart. You saved my life, Redhead.”

She lifted her head, wearing a smile. “You think so?”

“Of course! And I’m glad you want to be involved. I have this great idea that I’d love your help on. I won’t wait for the required number of months to retake that test. It’d be too long, and Beth could be dead in that time! I’ve thought about it and come up with the perfect idea: Why don’t you take it for me?”

Her smile vanished in an instant. She furrowed her brow as though she were still trying to comprehend my words. She wasn’t. The flames building in her eyes told me that much. Oh boy!

“Excuse me?” she said in a voice so low I nearly missed it.

“I can teach you everything you need to know because I’ve lived it! You just have to pass the exam, buy a ship with your parents’ fortune, and I’ll go with you as your companion! It’ll be exactly like I never failed! Sure, you can’t go to institution this year, but there’s always next year.”

Laura clenched her fists: my cue to scoot away. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you!”

She jumped up and glared me down. I backed up and ended up slipping off the bench. Moon dust puffed up as I hit the ground.

I shielded my face. “Wait! If you hate the plan then let’s just go over it! Work out the kinks—”

“Shut up! All I’ve been trying to do is help and support you, but you don’t want that. You push it away. What you want are people to help you in your little schemes. Accomplices. Not friends!”

“What? No!” I sat up, but Laura’s glare froze me there. “I know how messed up it sounded, and I’m sorry. I just need to find some way into space! But you don’t have to be part of that. It was just a shot in the dark. You should go to institution. I’ll find some way to explore, and then you won’t have to get caught up in any more of my schemes. We’ll be on different ends of the galaxy.”

She sighed, a shaky sign that she was calming down. “That’s not it, dummy. I…don’t want to go to institution anymore. I haven’t for a while.”

“Wait, what? Why not? Didn’t you want to be an instructor?”

“Sure, but I’d be a lonely one if I were stuck teaching on the Moon while my best friend was zooming through space! Even if you find Beth and you’re back within months or even a year, you’ll still be an explorer. You’ll still be in space. The Moon will just be a pit stop to you by then.”

I fidgeted with my hands. “Don’t worry about me. Focus on what you want.”

“What I want is to be where you are!” She shouted so loudly that it echoed around us. She slumped like the will to fight had fled her body. “I want to be your companion. Not the other way around.”

Laura Genki as my butt-kicking partner? Sounded too good to be true. It was. This was a personal mission to find my missing sister. She didn’t have to risk her life being part of it. Even though she’d loved Beth as much as I had—did.

Then I felt the eyes again. "Wha—do you feel that?” I got up and surveyed the area. No one in sight. If I couldn’t feel those burning eyes, I would have brushed it off.

“Feel what? Did a bug land on you or something?” Laura placed a hand on her hip. “Look, this isn’t the time to be changing the subject. We can discuss your attitude later, but I have to know something now. Do you want me to be your companion or not?”

“I—”

“Accompanying a man like this into the darkness of space doesn’t seem like the best idea,” said a distorted voice, clear as day. I looked toward one of the park’s largest trees as a dark figure stepped out from behind it. “He seems to have a few too many enemies.”

The figure was difficult to make out because the suit was black and gray. I’d never seen anything like it. Each curve and edge was clearly designed to be armor, like a knight’s suit. Not even an inch of the figure’s head was visible. Not the ideal appearance for someone who was going on about my “enemies.”

“Who the heck are you?” I backed up toward the Columbus. The parking lot was more than a few steps away. For how long could I stall? “Why are you dressed like you’re hitting up a convention later? They give a discount to cosplayers?”

With each step I took back, the knight stomped forward. “I am no one. A ghost, a shadow, whatever you need to call me. I’m merely an agent of the AI, and I’ve come to do my job.”

The knight’s voice was so distorted that I couldn’t tell if it was masculine or feminine. I had to decide on one though. It was probably a guy, because of his muscular frame. That’s assuming he was human at all.

Laura threw herself between us, arms out…just like Beth. “I’ll pay you double what they are to buzz off! What kind of AI soldier are you supposed to be anyway? Last I checked, they came in blue and tan, not black on gray. They don’t spout edgy nonsense either!”

Twenty more feet to go. The cruiser was within my reach.

The AI agent reached behind themselves and pulled out the scariest rifle I’d ever seen. It matched their color scheme, and attached to the bottom was a single-edged blade. The dude had a gun-sword. The AI knew what swords were? All their weapons were based on energy!

He pointed it at Laura. “Move. This is not negotiable.” I hoped she’d obey for once. Laura closed the distance between them. “Go jump off a moving ship.” Of course.

He swept Laura’s legs, throwing off her balance. Then he aimed his rifle at me and squeezed the trigger. I ducked just in time to avoid a blue plasma bullet. It soared over my head, exploding against a house in the distance. Blue smoke rose from the blast, reminding me too much of the other smoky incident. Did I mention my heart was beating out of my chest?

“I’ve come to capture you, but the AI will forgive some bruising,” he said as he marched toward me. “They wouldn’t have sent me otherwise.” Laura wrapped her arms around his leg, halting his advance.

“Lay a finger on him and your stupid suit won’t save you from me!”

The knight guy chuckled, producing what sounded like distorted garble. “Blind allegiance is a quick path to death, I’ll give you that. A shame you’ll walk it alone.”

Time slowed as he raised his leg. My adrenaline spiked as he brought his foot crashing back against Laura’s face. Blood spewed from her mouth as she covered it.

Forget the cruiser. I pumped my legs as hard as I could. Our assailant froze, almost welcoming me. I punched his helmet…which flooded my knuckles with pain. He chuckled before he jabbed my ribs. I coughed and stumbled but kept my balance. Space suits could absorb force, which was the only reason why that didn’t shatter my ribcage.

“You two are as pathetic as ever.” He folded his arms and studied me. I couldn’t see his eyes, but, as usual, I could feel them. “You can’t even access those abilities, can you, Alpha?”

I froze. “Alpha? I get that you don’t know us, but that’s not my name, pal. Want to try again?”

“I know everything about you two. Part of the job. Laura Genki; your life is so screwed up that you clung to the first person who was nice to you. Wander Locke—well, how’s your family doing?”

I screamed and jabbed at him. He dodged and grabbed my arm then twisted it and stomped my knee out. I yelped in pain as I fell. He planted a foot on my back.

“This is fun, isn’t it?” he asked with a snicker in his voice. “Hurting someone who deserves it is the best feeling. Unfortunately, the AI have their own plans for you. This is the only chance I get to have fun. That’s why I’m making it count.”

“Get away!” Laura tackled him. I scampered away as he staggered. Laura threw out punches like I did, but they were more coordinated. He countered with strikes that would have ended me, but she was keeping up. The martial arts she’d taken as a kid were finally coming in clutch.

As well as she handled herself, she couldn’t keep up. Her red and green suit was expensive, but it didn’t offer the power to counter whatever the dude was wearing. Not to mention he fought like he knew every fighting style known to man.

He kicked her away and whipped out the rifle. Laura bared her teeth and ran toward the loaded gun. I called her name to get her to snap out of it. She didn’t even look at me. The knight slashed at Laura, who yelped and fell. It happened in a flash; I didn’t see what happened. Only that Laura was down. I ran to her, but he kicked me away, expelling the air from my lungs.

“That’s enough, Alpha.” He seized my arm. His iron grip paralyzed me. He could squeeze through my suit with ease. “I left your friend alive, so come quietly. It’s a long ride back to Epsilon.”

ZWOOM!

An explosion of plasma blasted the knight away. He skidded across the ground in a satisfyingly brutal fashion. The purr of jets alerted me to an unfamiliar presence. Two gray robots hovered above us, and one possessed the arm cannon that had blasted the jerk. As if it wasn’t bad enough that robots had saved me, it turned out they were President Frost’s robots. The same ones I had shooed away. I’d do it again if they hadn’t just saved my life.

“Step away from Wander Locke immediately,” barked one of the robots in a deep, rumbling voice. Its eyes glowed on and off with each word. At least it had style.

The knight pushed himself up and squeezed the trigger. The blue bullet exploded against the left robot, sending it reeling. Its jets flared up, and it regained balance. I looked back toward the knight but found nothing. I looked all over, but there was no trace of him. He’d literally disappeared into the thin air. Too bad he’d left before I could warn him to never return.

“What the—Laura!” I rushed to her side. She stared at the robots with her eyes imitating her gaping mouth. That was her first encounter with them. “Laura, are you okay? I saw him hit you; are you hurt?” She turned to me. My heart dropped as I got a look at the damage. Blood seeped down from a gash on her cheek. The cut was as wide as my finger. I raised my hand toward her face, but she flinched. I’d done it too quickly; I’d forgotten she hated that.

“Sorry!” I said. “But, we’re going to need some medicine for that.”

She wiped away the blood. “Whatever, it doesn’t hurt that much. A tiny price to pay for protecting my best friend.” She frowned as she gazed into her lap. “Not that I was much help.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for that tackle. You did great.”

She beamed as if I’d just offered all the praise in the world. I’d always thought I was in this alone. Who knew I’d been so wrong?

Two thumps shook the ground. Oh, right. Frost’s pets. “Wander Locke, you have been summoned by President Margaret Frost, effective immediately.” Both bots studied me as if gauging my threat level. I didn’t appreciate it.

Laura put on her thinking face. “The president wants you? After that nutty exam she gave you? Why?”

“I have no idea.” I stared back at the bots to establish dominance. “But I don’t think these tin cans are asking if I want to go.”

I should have been excited. I loved ships, and the First Ship was the largest recorded ship in existence. Human-made ship at least. It housed the president as well as her technicians, scientists, chefs, and whoever else she needed on a daily basis. Destroying it would be the ultimate declaration of war.

I wasn’t excited because what could the president possibly want with me? It was so important that she’d sent her robots to fetch me. They didn’t even refuse when Laura demanded she come as well. Speaking of that redhead, why was she shoving my shoulder?

“Can I help you with something?” I asked in the most annoyed tone I could muster.

“Yeah, you can start by listening to me. I was cool with it until I started rambling. You know I hate doing that. I was talking about how cool it is that you’re finally on a ship. This is what you’ve been talking about for years.”

Lite ships were miniature versions of real ships. Their ancestors were known as “airplanes,” and I’m told they were nearly identical. Three vertical rows of chairs. Little screens embedded in the backs of the chairs to broadcast galactic news. The robots sat up front, piloting the thing. I didn’t trust them to, but whatever.

The windows were the best part. Just a glance gave me an array of twinkling satellites, exploration ships gliding by, even fellow lite ships. It was what I’d imagined a busy intersection to look like.

“It is cool, but I was on a ship earlier today.” I leaned into my chair as I recounted the memory. “Kind of. The exam, remember?”

She rolled her eyes. “This is different because it’s real! You can actually feel the walls. This was a big moment, but now it’s ruined. Whatever. Are you at least excited to find out what the president wants?”

“Not excited, but nervous. If she sent robots after me then she needs something important. Plus I need my own answers. I barely escaped a dude straight out of an RPG. How are you holding up?”

Her hand flinched. She must have stopped herself from touching her cheek. Guilt tickled my stomach.

“I could be better. Wish I had actually hurt the guy. He wouldn’t have been so lucky without his suit. We might see him again actually. Since he’s after you. I can pay him back then!”

My stomach flipped. As long as I stayed on the Moon, that guy would be after me. He’d keep coming like a bounty hunter. I disliked the Moon, but now I wouldn’t even be safe on it. The anxiety was clawing its way back to my forehead. I needed protection or an escape.

“Destination reached. Landing in progress,” said one of the robots. He wasn’t kidding. An enormous black ship hovered just beyond the dashboard. It held a tiny white square: the ship’s opening, also known as our destination.

The First Ship had its own satellites, the Asteroid Belt Formation. The gray drone ships circled the First Ship at all times. They protected the ship, blocking or destroying anything it deemed a threat. If we were the AI, we’d be blown out of the sky—space. Out of space.

Light invaded the cockpit as we pulled into the opening. It was whiter (or brighter) than I’d thought. I had to blink the stinging sensation from my sensitive eyes. The lite ship’s monitor flashed green. That was usually an indication that we had entered a stable atmosphere. I guessed the First Ship would have to have something to protect its inhabitants seeing as they were exposed to space through the giant opening.

The massive ship had a massive parking bay to match. Most exploration ships stored their inhabitants’ vehicles there. Everything in a parking bay was electronically locked down to keep it from sliding. The First Ship didn’t need that because it was always flying at a slow pace. Exploration, lite, and battle ships littered the place. Lots of people were walking around too, but who cared about people? The ships were the highlight.

The ship rumbled as we ground to a halt. The floor thundered as the bots got up. They pulled open the door, letting in the chatter and footsteps of the parking bay. “Allow us to escort you to President Margaret Frost,” one of them said. It was more of a gentle demand than a request. They loved those.

“Ready to meet the president?” I asked Laura as I stood up.

“I’m ready to get those answers you mentioned,” she said. “Seriously, why did she ask for you? What’s a high school slacker going to—”

“We have different definitions of the word ‘answers!’”

We stepped into the galaxy’s largest garage. Standing before an army of exploration ships made me the galaxy’s most excited ant. Unlike the aerodynamic lite ships, exploration ships were shaped like giant biscuits. They needed to be so they could hold every facility. The exploration ship was the ultimate ship because it was also a house. You could live in it as long as you needed to. Too bad they cost more than I would if I sold myself.

Once the magic of the ships faded away (I didn’t know this was possible), the place got eerie. It also stunk of expensive air freshener. People in space suits twenty times fancier than mine paraded around with purpose. They didn’t glance at me and Laura or slow down when we stepped in front of them. The president had some dedicated workers.

So why were we here?

We left the unnerving white room to enter the unnerving black hallway. The walls were the darkest shade of black in existence. A door showed up beside us every few feet. These doors were labeled with numbers. I looked over my shoulder every few seconds. My paranoia was spiking. This should have been where I felt the safest, so why was I freaking out?

“Thoughts so far?” I asked Laura in an attempt to distract myself.

She craned her head to take in everything. “Pretty…lackluster. I expected something more impressive. This looks like our school hallway with a black coat of paint. I mean, President Frost is basically the whole government. As long as the council approves her ideas, they happen.”

“All she has to do is convince a room of old dudes to do what she wants? Seems a bit unbalanced. Shouldn’t we have a second, smaller president to keep her in line or something? Or maybe divide the government up?”

Laura shrugged, her eyes still wandering the hall. “Maybe something like that existed once. Since it doesn’t anymore, it must not have worked out.”

At the infinite hallway’s end was an elevator. I wasn’t getting in with robots. The space was too small. I looked around for our real form of transportation when I heard a ding. Oh no! The metal doors slid apart a second later.

If this meeting wasn’t about handing me a million bucks, Frost was going to pay. We shuffled into the metal cage (reluctantly). A heap of metal in front of me, a metal wall behind me, and zero room to breathe. I couldn’t help but gulp as the doors shut. My stomach churned as the elevator rumbled. Our long, long journey had begun.

“So…are you guys pre-programmed or can you think for yourselves?” Laura asked the bots for whatever ridiculous reason.

“We do not think,” beeped the one squishing me. “Our ‘free will’ is limited and is ultimately controlled by President Margaret Frost. She can disable us any time she wishes. I will answer any more questions.”

“Makes sense that you can’t think for yourselves,” I said. “We wouldn’t want to create our own version of the AI. You machines don’t deserve to think for yourselves anyway.”

Laura elbowed me. “Wander!”

“You rang? Look, it’s not like they can feel. Them or the AI. I tinker with technology for a hobby, and the second it talks back to me, I’m dismantling it. My phone excluded.”

“I apologize,” said the right bot, “that you are not satisfied with our service, or our presence.”

“Just shut up.”

“Affirmative.”

The ride dragged on, but the elevator did eventually screech to a halt. I shivered as a wave of cold washed over us. Felt like we’d been transported to the far side of the Moon. The fact that I could feel it through my suit was alarming. Did President Frost have a slice of Neptune up here?

The trend of mysterious black hallways continued on this floor. This one curved to the left, which made it seem like we were literally walking in circles.

My shivering was a poor distraction from my dread. Each step we took reminded me of how close this meeting was to happening. Somehow it had a whole different atmosphere from the EEC meeting. Before, I’d approached her as a confident dreamer, but now, I was a failure. A failure that she was asking to see.

A blue door stood out in the dark. Instead of having a number, it was labeled PRESIDENTIAL QUARTERS. A red scanner begged for a hand worthy of unlocking it. Except, there was no such hand nearby. Laura and I weren’t authorized, and the robots didn’t have handprints.

“Please, allow me.” A bot stepped up and raised its arm. A yellow flash illuminated the whole room. I rubbed my eyes again. When I stopped, the scanner was no longer red but green. “You have been granted entry. Please, feel free to enter at any time.”

My jaw hit the floor and remained there. What had just happened, and why was I so offended?

“Did you just…unlock the door?” Laura eyed the scanner like it was about to explode. “Without fingerprints or skin?!”

“Yes.” The robot paused as if it were thinking. Something it claimed to be incapable of. “As technology, interacting with other technology is effortless. Machinery can understand other machinery more than any human could.”

I stepped back. “You can hack into anything? Seriously? You could command this ship to destroy the Moon? You could disable the artificial oxygen? You could make me hit myself?”

“I could not. That would be against my strict programming and Margaret Frost’s will.” It glanced at its hand, yet another human motion.

Was this thing malfunctioning?

“We must take our leave. It was an honor to be in your service.” Metal clunked against metal as they marched away. Talk about overstaying your welcome. Although they did leave me with questions I couldn’t help pondering. Even before I had developed a grudge against robots, I had felt weary of them. Their similarities to the AI were hard to ignore. Why did we have them around? Now I knew it was because of how well they meshed with technology. Was that really the only reason?

Laura gestured to the hand scanner. “This is your appointment; you do the honors. Besides, ladies first.”

I snickered. “That’s not fair, a dead rat is more ladylike than you.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere!”

I tapped the scanner, opening the door. Arctic wind rushed at us. The room was dark except for the light from the purple ring in the floor. It surrounded a single, white desk. A screen stuck out of the desk itself. Standing beside it, I saw not one but two people: President Frost and the last person I expected to be on the First Ship.

“Manning?!” I jabbed my finger at my tall former instructor. “What the Earth?!”

He smiled as though I had just walked into class. “Mr. Locke, you’ve finally arrived. And you’ve brought Ms. Genki as well. Perfect. Now we can begin.”