Scheisse.
Gaius and Sponder followed, leaving a vacuum of silence. Then everyone started talking at once.
“Quiet!” Jennix raised her arms, and silence quickly returned.
Jennix swore under her breath, stared at the ground for a bit. No one moved. No one practically blinked while we waited. I was silent because I was stunned. I wasn’t in Germany where I could go back to my apartment, put on some sweats, and eat ice cream until I felt better after dealing with a colleague. I was in space. I hadn’t even been here a week and… scheisse. The only guy I’d wanted, depended on, craved, trusted—hell, even loved—was something I hadn’t expected.
Hacking and pushing boundaries was one thing. That I could respect. But manipulating training programs when other people’s lives were at stake? When the consequences affected more than just him? Hell, the consequences of his cheating gave me to him. For life.
Pair bonded. Permanently together.
But what happened when the bond was created by a lie? When we hadn’t earned the right? When we hadn’t actually completed the missions? The training? Was I still a Starfighter if Kass was not?
What happened now? Did I go back to Earth? I held my breath, waiting for Jennix to say something.
“While that was… unpleasant,” she said, cutting into my thoughts, “the mission will proceed, as planned, in eight hours. All of you are required to rest, then coordinate with your team leaders. Support crews will be making preparations while you do.”
“Wait. Don’t you wonder if I’m good enough?” I asked her but spoke to everyone.
“We don’t have time to test you. You’re the best we’ve got.”
“You’re not sending me back to Earth?”
Jennix’s eyes widened. “No. Why would you assume that?”
“I might not actually belong here.”
I was no longer proud of what I’d accomplished. We might have been the only MCS pair bond, but we were shamed. My abilities were in question. Everyone on the mission would wonder if I might let them down. Let them die.
“MCS Remeas will be investigated. The truth will become apparent. The mission must go on. The IPBM threat must be eliminated.”
“But how—” I began. Jennix cut me off. I’d never flown with anyone but Kass. I’d only had him by my side for every level of the game. I knew nothing else. Could I even do my job with a stranger, no matter his or her skill? Could I do my job at all? They were counting on me to take down the moon base’s force field and frequency generators.
“You will have a new flight partner, a pilot,” she said. “Obviously it won’t be Kass, but a qualified pilot nonetheless, the best we can find. He or she will be assigned prior to the mission.”
I stepped closer, spoke softly so others couldn’t hear. “What about our pair bond? I mean, is it even real? If he cheated, would he even be allowed to stay bonded with me? What’s going to happen between the two of us?”
She offered me a soft smile. Not of a general but of a female.
Jennix pitied me. Just like if I’d been cheated on back on Earth. Kass hadn’t had an affair or anything like that, but the entire basis for our relationship was built on a lie. I’d told him about Earth dating and marriages and how I didn’t trust them. How could I trust our pair bond? Was there a pair-bond divorce?
“Rest, MCS Becker. You have a job to do soon,” she said.
I could only nod. I wasn’t familiar with the dynamics of the Velerion military. I’d never been a soldier, not like the rest of the group members. But I knew to be respectful. I thought I knew my place out here in space. It was in the MCS chair on the Phantom.
Right?