Page 6 of Surrendering the Skies

She vanished from the display, though her shouts echoed through the tablet’s speakers. Geneva rolled her eyes and smirked. “Think she’ll ever come around to calling you Ash, like the rest of the universe?”

“Probably not. I think it’s a mom thing.” He chuckled. “But I don’t mind.”

She kissed the top of his head, the cropped reddish fuzz of his hair tickling her nose. Both her parents soon reappeared, her father nodding to greet her. “Hello, Geneva.”

“Hello, Father. I hope everything is well at home.”

“Everything’s fine,” Frederick said. “But we want to hear about howyouare doing.”

“We’re all right. No major issues so far.” She shrugged. “I was just finishing up the day’s reports. There were some anomalies in some of the test results, so I wanted to go in and review everything manually, which was tedious and not at all exciting.”

Dahlia frowned, knotting her fingers together in front of her. “And you’re still…safethere, right?”

“Of course,” she said. “It’s only the crew from our ship, plus another squad which arrived here a few days before we did to set up the facility.”

Ash flashed one of his most charming smiles. “Everything is being run with the efficiency the Terran military is known for.”

“Hmph.” Frederick slid his glasses back up his nose, though it did little to camouflage his skeptical look. “At least you’re nearing the halfway point of this deployment.”

She tried to match Ash’s cheery expression. “More like a third of the way through. But we’ll be home before you know it.”

Dahlia scoffed at the correction but didn’t argue with her calculations. She changed topics to the various goings-on in their social circles, and Geneva breathed a sigh of relief. Even if her chosen career never brought out feelings of enthusiasm from her parents, she could settle for acceptance.

“Well, darling, we won’t keep you much longer.” A prim smile curved Dahlia’s lips. “It was so good to see you and speak with you. Call us again whenever you get a chance.”

“I will. I promise.”

She waved as Ash said his farewells and tapped the screen to end the call. “Sorry about that. I got back here as soon as I could.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He reached back over his shoulder to squeeze her hand. “You know your mother adores me.”

“Indeed, she does.” She draped her arms around him from behind in a loose embrace. “What about your family? Were you able to reach them?”

“Yes, for a few minutes. They told me to tell you they say hello.”

“I’m sorry I missed them.” She nestled her cheek in his hair. “Maybe one of these days we can use our scheduled leave to fly out there so I can finally meet them in person.”

He laced his fingers through hers. “Sure thing. Though I’m warning you, my home planet isn’t nearly as glamorous or exciting as yours.”

Geneva laughed. “Once we leave Kasarad, I think every other place will seem wonderful in comparison.”

She slipped around the side of him and slithered into his lap. “Shall we make one more call before heading to the cafeteria for dinner?” she asked.

He reached around her to scroll through the list of contacts in the corner of the display. “Absolutely. Food can wait.”

The screen flickered several times before Marcus appeared in the center. Geneva’s heart fluttered at the sight of him. “Hi!” she squealed. “I’m so glad we got ahold of you.”

His mouth moved in response, but no sound came out. “Damn it,” Ash grumbled. “I had similar problems with my first call. It’s probably a connection issue, but let me see if I can—”

A loud crackle of static cut him off, making her wince. “Hello?” Marcus’s voice cut through the unpleasant noise. “Can you hear me?”

“Barely,” she said. “Can you hear us?”

The screen flashed again, but then the picture quality improved. “How about now?”

“Perfect!” Ash raised his hands. “Nobody touch anything.”

Geneva knotted her fingers together in her lap. “How’s everything? What’s new and exciting on Pasurea?”

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