“She’s not ready.”
“We don’t have any other options,” Taylor growled.
Jack rubbed his temples. “It’s been two days. She’s not fit for combat and you know it.”
“She can handle it.”
“She shouldn’t have to.”
“We need agents.”
Glares exchanged. Jack’s nostrils flared. “Falko doesn’t get it. He just shows up and starts throwing orders around?”
“He’s the commanding officer. He’s tying up loose ends.”
“At what expense? Her life? Mine? The Exodus Project?”
Taylor seethed. Jack shook his head and cursed. His datapad buzzed. Incoming call.
“Did I miss something?” Jessica stood in the doorway at the opposite end of the barracks.
Taylor turned to Jack. “Suit up. Control room in ten.”
“I’m sorry, Jess,” said Jack. He grabbed his datapad and rushed out of the barracks to answer it.
Jessica moved across the room and slid onto the end of a nearby cot. Taylor stared at the ground. She crossed her arms.
“You need me back in the lineup, coach?”
Taylor nodded. “I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. He was a good man. One of the best I’ve worked with.”
“He was. Maybe still is,” She offered a sad smile. “What happened, Colonel? How did we get here? How did we let this happen? Kennedy. Apollo 13, 14. Hector.” Her throat cut off the words. A tear ran down her cheek. “Sam.”
He didn’t answer.
She stared at the wall. “The Exodus Project. It’s important, right? Worth dying for?”
“It’s supposed to save billions of lives. Solve over-population. Give generations to come a shot at colonizing a planet that hasn’t been rung dry. He’ll go down as a hero.”
“Long as we don’t change the history books first, right?”
A long pause.
“We need you.”
She pushed herself off the cot. “Control room in ten?”
The barrack’s door burst open. Jack was pale, breathless.
“Hector just called. We may have something.”
