Survival was everything. That had always been Olive’s motto. She freed herself from the escape pod’s seat and screwed the hatch open. Warm, fresh sea air rushed into the tiny capsule she had traveled in. So did a voice. The voice was educated and laid back, authoritative, warm, almost reassuring.
“Hallo, Green Panthers, welcome back to Earth. You might have lived if you’d stayed with crazy Cale. Now you’re doomed.”
A face appeared in the hatch above her head. A narrow-faced man, with a thick shock of grey hair smiled down at her. Who didn’t need a little reassurance after tumbling five hundred miles through space? But she recognized the man, and he was unlikely to put her at ease.
Olive inhaled deeply. Beyond the man, the morning sky beckoned. A seagull coasted on a breeze, wings static
