Page 4 of Rebel Fates

The following day, I get the call that I’ve been accepted into the program. My salary is triple what I get at my job as a server. It will pay off my school loans, and it puts some actual distance between me and Peter and my family. It’s the perfect solution.

Except, that old astronaut (if that was what he was) has seeded me with doubt. I remind myself that I’m not just leaving the planet to get away from my problems.

I’m also movingtowardsomething. My job was a dead end. With the space colonization program, I’ll have opportunities beyond the Moon, such as visiting Mars one day. And I can help develop innovative systems, using my technical design skills to invent new ways of accomplishing things.

LunaTek’s people send over a small travel case for me to fill with my belongings, but I have nothing except a few clothes to put in it. I’ve already packed up and donated or sold what few possessions I had. When I escaped Peter, I ran off with so little. It didn’t take a lot to clear out my life and reduce it to nothing. I don’t even need a storage unit.

I feel a bit sad that I don’t have anything that I need to hold on to. But I brush it off. It also means I am free.

2

LIFT OFF

GEMMA

Fifty of us are loaded onto a space transport vehicle after I report to the moon-base launch site. It looks a lot like a super-sized cargo van, and if I hadn’t seen videos of them flying, I wouldn’t believe the giant, squatty things were capable of moving along a road, let alone into the stratosphere and beyond.

I glance around at the other passengers and see most are young women. But I heard this would be the case. They’d shipped mostly males to the moon first, to build the structure, and other necessities. Now secondary crews are shipped. Most of this group will be support staff.

The astronaut’s words echo in my head:Has anyone ever returned?

I smile at the young woman next to me. “Nervous?” I ask.

“A bit.” She grimaces, and somehow her beauty isn’t affected. The attractive blonde holds out her hand. “I’m Lynn.”

“Gemma.” I shake her hand and relax. Strange how friendly contact can calm me. I hardly allow casual touches anymore—any touch, really. “What’s your post?” I ask to shake off the rest of my nervousness.

“Human Resources.” She buckles herself into her seat. “And you?”

“Design Engineer.”

“Nice. Did you do that on Earth?” Lynn asks.

I chuckle. “On Earth… sounds weird, doesn’t it?”

Lynn grins wide and laughs. “Yeah, it does!”

“No. I’ve had to do other jobs not related to my field.” I don’t want to tell her I’ve been fired from good jobs because my controlling ex-boyfriend sabotaged my career, hunting me down and making a scene. “How about you?”

“Same.” Lynn adjusts her belt. “I suppose most of us have reasons to leave everything… everyone behind.”

I nod. “I suppose we do.” Maybe I won’t be as alone as I thought. We’re all trying to escape something.

“Did your family try to stop you?” I ask.

“No family. There won’t be anyone who will miss me after a month or so.”

“Hmm.” I frown. She seems lovely, inside and out, and it makes me sad she couldn’t find someone to connect with. I shrug and say, “No one will miss me. And I won’t miss them.”

I glance around at everyone else on the transport. All of us are most likely unattached and unloved.

Unloved. I thought I’d had love for a hot minute. Turns out possession and love are two different things.

The rocket lifts off, and reality hits me. There’s no going back. I’m in this for ten whole freaking years. I’ve barely been an adult that long.

There’s hardly any turbulence as we leave the stratosphere. My grip on my seat loosens and through my tiny window, I marvel as the Earth pulls away.

“Beautiful,” I whisper and Lynn hums in agreement with me.

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