Supernova by Kass Morgan

Author:Kass Morgan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2019-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Orelia had been up for twenty-six hours and had reached a state beyond exhaustion. She was leaving for the Quatra System in six days, and there seemed to be no end to the final round of preparations, tests, and briefings.

This time, however, they’d purposefully kept her up all night to see how she performed under stress, to ensure that she’d be able to maintain her cover no matter the conditions. Now, sitting in one of the small, dark windowless rooms in the center of the military base that had been her home for the past twelve years, she felt more delirious than tired, which she supposed was the point.

“Good afternoon, Orelia,” Colonel Nion said as he entered the room and sat down in the chair across from her. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she said. Over the years, she’d learned that there was no point in attempting small talk or—gods forbid—trying to joke with the humorless Colonel Nion. He wasn’t unkind, and he was arguably one of the most gifted intelligence officers on Sylvan, but he took his job very seriously. When she was younger, she’d found his demeanor rather wearing, but that was when her mission had felt abstract. Now that it was actually happening, Orelia understood Colonel Nion’s seriousness. While she’d never say it herself, she knew it was true: The future of Sylvan was resting on her shoulders. Failure was not an option. She had to transmit the Academy coordinates back to General Greet. And in order to do that, she had to pose as a Quatra Fleet cadet without arousing suspicion.

“All right, then, let’s begin,” Colonel Nion said in a tone that made it clear he would’ve gone straight into the exercise no matter how Orelia had answered his perfunctory question. “What’s your name?

“Orelia Kerr,” she said, using her fake Quatran surname for the first time.

“Where are you from?”

“Loos.”

“What part?”

“A small island called Ariad off the coast of Merilene.”

Colonel Nion frowned. “Merileen,” he said, correcting her pronunciation. “These details are important, Orelia.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll get it right.”

“What part of Loos are you from?”

“A small island called Ariad off the coast of Merilene,” she said, forcing her mouth to produce the unfamiliar sound.

“Who did you live with?”

“My parents and my sister.”

“What do your parents do?”

“My mother works as a receptionist at a beach resort.” No. The word rose up so quickly, it nearly escaped her lips. My mother was a teacher. She loved to sing with the children. I could hear her in the classroom when Dad and I went to pick her up from work. We couldn’t go for a walk without one of her former students coming up to her, wanting to share a memory of their time in her class.

“What about your father?”

“My father is a boat mechanic in the harbor.” My father was a rescue worker. He saved people who were swept away by summer floods. Sometimes he’d be gone for weeks at a time, but I didn’t mind because I knew he was a hero.

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