Marked by Jenny Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

suitable battlefield. Second, launch an offensive. Quickly, before the enemy has the chance to read your position.”
    I blink. “Are you saying I should leave the Strand?”
    â€œI’m saying you have options. Remember: The wisest victors act, rather than react. They know when to strike, rather than defend. So you can wait for Benroyal to make the next move, or you can make one of your own.”
    Larken stares me down, so I turn away.
    â€œDon’t wait too long, Phee.” He stands. His final words fall heavy on my shoulders. “You decide. Don’t let him choose your battleground.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    I NEED A SHOWER AND SIX HOURS STRETCHED OUT ON MY bunk, but instead I walk down to the launch yard to find Bear. As soon as I duck into the flight ops tent, Hank waves from his seat on the command platform, then points me in the right direction. “He’s in sim one,” he says. “If you don’t mind standing by a sec, he’s finishing up.”
    I eye the giant gray sphere while I wait. I’m told it’s the largest, most state-of-the-art flight simulator on base, and Bear’s logged about three billion hours in it since we arrived in the Pearl Strand. He’s bound and determined to become a Tandaemo fighter pilot, and I can’t blame him for aiming high. Tandaemo are worthy aircraft. More agile than regular vacs, they’re capable in a dogfight, and can still handle vertical takeoffs and landings.
    And unlike other fighters, they’re set up with two flexible command seats, which can alternate as gunner and pilot positions. At any given time, either partner can switch tasks or take over completely. Which explains the fighter’s name: Tandaemo is a play on the Cyanese word tan, which means “twin,” and daemo, which means “bird of prey.” Not a bad way to describe such a sleek, dangerous vac.
    Finally, another officer hands Hank an oversized flex screen, and after looking at Bear’s latest sim score, he enters an exit code. I hear the pressured pod door hiss as it opens. Hank and the other officer stand up to leave.
    And then I’m alone with my former best friend. Bear unbuckles and pulls off his helmet, and I catch the rarest glimpse of joy as he sits in the pod’s left command seat. He doesn’t spy me yet. His face is flushed and his ice-blue eyes are all lit up. It’s the happiest I’ve seen him in ages.
    He looks up as he rises from the com, but the sight of me presses him back into his seat.
    â€œHi.” I swallow. “I figured you’d be here.”
    He nods, and I watch the joy slide away. A shadow passes over him, his jaw sets once more. This is the Bear I’ve come to know best in the last three months. He says nothing, and suddenly, I’m not ready to have this conversation.
    â€œPerfect score today?” I ask.
    â€œAlmost. I missed one target. Or technically, myartificially intelligent copilot missed one. It’s a lot harder to run this kind of sim alone.”
    â€œBut you’ll have a partner soon?”
    â€œA copilot? Yes.”
    Too many seconds of silence hang between us. My eyes sweep the pod; I look at everything but him. “Tell me what you love about this.”
    â€œThe fighter vacs, you mean?”
    â€œFlight school. The simulator. All of it. Tell me.”
    â€œYou really want to know?” he asks. He’s surprised. Lately, we’ve only seen each other in the clinic and in the mess hall. I’ve never sought him out here before.
    â€œI really want to know.”
    â€œThen,” he says, beckoning me into the pod, “instead of telling you, how about I show you?”
    I climb in and sit beside him. Bear hands me a helmet, and I buckle into the second command seat. When the pod door closes, we’re pinned down in darkness, the slow sigh of his breathing the only sound. A moment later, the sim comes to life, and I’m dazzled by