3 – BabysittingThe ship was already throwing a long shadow over the training grounds when Hector stepped outside the gym. It wasn’t the biggest lander he’d ever seen—not even close—but it was still impressive, especially after going so long seeing nothing but drones in the air. The thing looked like a building-sized metallic egg, turrets and hangar bays disrupting its gray smoothness in regular placements.At the center of its clustered drive cones, the grav-drive pulsed with a dull red glow, distorting the air and making the whole ship look wavy, like a desert mirage, as it descended toward the far edge of the field, where impact craters from live-fire drills already marred the turf.“Angels,” Mathews whispered, watching the lander settle onto the charred synthetic grass.“I can feel it,” another voice said, and Hector turned to see the rest of the team crowding the doorway. It was the geologist, Paige, pressing a hand to her stomach as her pale flesh took on an unmistakable shade of green.Perry, the big muscle-head, groaned. “I think I’m gonna puke.”“Keep your breakfast in your stomach, Perry,” Mathews growled. “It’s just the grav-drive. They’ll spool it down in a second.”As if on cue, the deep, almost inaudible rhythmic thrum subsided. The distortion in the air around the massive ship faded, and the ground shuddered a final time as the vessel settled onto its enormous landing struts.“Who’s in there, Commander?” Kristina asked, pushing between Perry and the other security officer, Red—Evie helpfully put floating nametags for the team members on Hector’s AUI.“That’s the million-bit question, kid.” Mathews frowned, glancing at Hector, as if he’d implicated himself by recognizing the feel of the grav-drive. She subtly shook her head, though, turning back to the big ship. “Some rich Royal, probably. Maybe a tag-along for the next Imperial rift raid, but that’s not for five damn weeks. (...)