Excerpt from The Legend of Sirra Bruche
So are you ready???
All her life Andie Donnell has dreamed of being a skiff pilot for the Armada, the sophisticated military fleet charged with keeping order throughout the Planetary Union. But what started out as a childhood passion ultimately turns her life upside down and strands her on a hostile, savage planet. To make it home again, she'll have to survive a revolution . . . and perhaps find love along the way.
And without further ado, the excerpt:
It was Scott, of all people, who suggested the solution Andie needed. She had stayed friends with Scott but it was a pretty distant friendship. They still worked opposite schedules so they only ran into each other occasionally, but when they did, things were fairly cordial. One evening Scott actually came to her room looking for her. In surprise, she invited him in and they chatted for a few minutes. Andie was pretty confused; it wasn’t like Scott just to drop in and chat.
Soon he got to the point of the visit though.
The Armada was creating a brand new skiff squadron on the base they had just finished expanding in Zoria, and he had been assigned to captain the squad. It was an area that had been having a lot of turmoil between the new settlers and less-than-aboveboard groups that were already living there. The skiff pilots assigned to this base would not just be called out for emergencies; they would be providing the bulk of the law enforcement for the area.
“Since it’s such a hairy situation to walk into I get to choose my pilots,” he explained. “And I want you on my squad.”
“What?” Andie exclaimed in horror. “In Zoria?” Zoria was a large, sparsely settled continent with large spreads of rainforest and a southern desert that was a barren, rolling land of sand dunes. All Andie knew about Zoria was negative: it was infested with ravenous carnivores, plagued by horrible diseases and filled with criminals and smugglers and terrorists and other rabble.
“You’re the best,” Scott said simply. “But I won’t force you to move away from your family if you don’t want to. That’s why I’m here. I thought I’d ask before submitting your name.”
Andie sat in silence for a little while. Zoria! The only place more savage was the planet Corizen. Still, he was offering her a chance to fly all the time instead of just occasionally for call-outs. That was something. Plus there was the added advantage of maybe getting her mind off her love life, or lack thereof, and giving her a new challenge.
“OK, I accept,” Andie decided. Scott raised his eyebrows. “You don’t want some time to think it over? I don’t have to submit my list for another week.”
“No, I’ll go,” Andie reiterated.
If being a skiff pilot in Zoria could get her mind off Casey’s wedding, it would be completely worth it.
Her parents did not take well to her decision. It was like her bid to go to the Academy all over again. She broke the news to them the next time she went over for dinner. Judging by the fact that her father had rearranged his schedule to be home, she suspected that he had already seen Scott’s list. In light of that, she simply told them she was transferring to Zoria before they even sat down for dinner. Her father had showed no surprise but her mother had gasped in horror.
“I forbid it,” her father growled. “Zoria is a lawless waste. We lose more Armada soldiers there than the rest of the planet combined!” Andie’s mother moaned. Her father turned and put an arm around his wife comfortingly. “Marian, don’t worry. I won’t let her go.”
“Dad,” Andie said firmly, “You just can’t keep calling on favors to protect me through my whole Armada career. I am an excellent skiff pilot and they are asking for the best to deal with the situation. You know if I were not your daughter you would wholeheartedly approve the transfer.”
Her father merely glowered silently in response. He knew it was true.
“Mom,” she said, a hint of pleading in her voice, “This is my life. I know you worry about me but I can’t sacrifice everything I want out of life just to stay safe. Otherwise, I might as well be a vegetable.”
“I’m not going to tell you how to live your life,” her mother responded with a heavy sigh. She was silent for a minute, obviously trying to get control of her emotions. “But I don’t have to like it.”
It wasn’t a gracious assent by any means, but Andie took what she could get. Later, after her father had gone back to work, her mother broached the subject again.
“Tell me one thing, Andie. Does your decision to go to Zoria have anything to do with your fight with Casey?” she wanted to know, her questioning eyes fixed on Andie.
“Of course not, Mom,” Andie defended testily. How in the world did her mother get that idea? Not that it was entirely wrong, but still . . . . “Besides, Casey and I are not fighting.”
“But you don’t speak to him anymore,” her mother observed flatly.
“No, but we’re on different sides of the continent. We’ve kind of . . . you know, drifted apart.” Her mother just shook her head. “It just happens when people grow up, I assume. Where did you get the idea we were fighting?” Andie asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.
“Oh, I ran into Dr. Morten the other day. She wondered how you were doing since Casey never tells her anything anymore.”
Andie suspected there had been more to that conversation than her mother was saying, but she brushed it off. Of course their mothers would have their own opinions on the subject, but she didn’t really want to know what they thought about it.
“I just want to make sure you are not throwing your life away because of a boy,” her mom insisted.
“I’m not throwing my life away,” Andie protested, trying to keep her temper in check. Why couldn’t they just leave her to do what she wanted? She could tell her mother didn’t want to let it go so she invented an excuse to leave and finally escaped her mother’s suffocating worry. Nothing was going to happen to her. It’s not as if she was going to stay in Zoria forever!
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