Shades of Earth by Beth Revis Read Free Book Online

understand, Dad, things—”
    He cuts me off with a glance, and I shut up. “This is a mess,” he growls. “Bledsoe, where are the medical personnel?”
    â€œHere, sir,” Bledsoe says, drawing aside five people—three men and two women.
    â€œDr. Gupta,” Dad says, addressing one of the men. “Have your team aid with the injured,” Dad commands.
    The medical professionals step forward, but I can already see this won’t work. If the people from
Godspeed
worried about me with my pale skin and red hair, at least they’ve had three months to see I wasn’t a threat. I can see these people through their eyes, and while I know it’s silly, I understand why they flinch away from the Indian man, why they don’t understand the woman with the Southern accent, why they rush to Kit instead of allowing the black man to wrap their wounds. I want to stay and help—but what good could I do?
    â€œLet’s suit up,” my father tells Bledsoe. In shifts, the people from the cryo chambers go to the trunks on the far wall and begin dressing in the clothes they brought with them from Earth. My father and the rest of the military dress in fatigues.
    Their clothes, so different from the homespun tunics and trousers made by the residents of
Godspeed
, do nothing but separate everyone even more. Synthetic fibers and bright colors pop up like blemishes among the browns and blacks worn by most of the crew from the ship.
    The people from
Godspeed
are more than ten times the number of people from Earth, but they’re cramped together all along one wall. The room is sticky and hot, and the air stinks of sweat and fear. And anger.
    I open my mouth to call my father aside—if he can’t prove that he’s there to help, that he’s not the threat Orion said he was, he’s going to be labeled an enemy. But then he turns to Bledsoe and says, “Let’s inspect the armory.”
    It’s bad enough that suddenly ninety-seven people from Earth have woken up and are taking charge, but adding guns to this mix will
not
end well.
    The door to the armory is shut and locked, and it doesn’t open when Dad punches the code into the keypad.
    â€œWhat’s wrong, sir?” Bledsoe asks.
    Dad shakes his head and punches the code in again. It still doesn’t work. And why should it? Orion reprogrammed it long ago.
    â€œDad, I need to talk to you,” I say, trying to emulate the authority in his voice.
    â€œNot now, Amy.”
    I’ve waited three months that felt like a lifetime for him to say my name, but I did not think he would preface it with those words.
    â€œNow,” I insist.
    â€œAmy,” Dad says, turning away from the control panel to face me, “I don’t think you understand. We’re on a mission. This is work. We need to ascertain the situation, confer with the shipborns’ leader, and take control of the outlying area.”
    â€œBut Dad, I—”
    â€œAmy, I would love to stop everything and talk to you. I would love to be your daddy right now. But this is a crucial situation, and what I really need to do is figure out why this code has been changed and talk to the leader of the shipborns.”
    â€œWell,” Elder says as he pushes open the door of the armory, “then it’s a good thing I’m here.”

8: ELDER
    The first thing I notice is the doubt etched on the man’s face.
    â€œDad,” Amy tells him, “I want you to meet the leader of
Godspeed
. Elder.” She stares at me hard, and it takes me a moment to realize that she’s analyzing my wounds. I tug on the clean tunic, careful not to wince when the skin made raw from the beast’s claws rubs against the rough cloth. “Elder,” Amy continues, “this is my father, Colonel Robert Martin. He’s—after the deaths of the other two frozens, he’s in charge of the military from Sol-Earth.” Her