“It was home.”
“I never found out where you lived,” Rin said.
“In the Republic.” Dana remembered her small apartment and wondered who occupied it now.
“Maybe you can tell me about it sometime.”
“Rin, I’m sorry.”
The girl nodded. “You know that friend thing?”
“I don’t expect you to—”
“Maybe we could work on it,” Rin said.
Dana examined her sling. “I’d like that.”
# # #
Rin dumped two scoops of oats into each of Tram and Trif’s feed buckets, and the zorses dove into their meal with gusto. She leaned her forearms on Trif’s stall, amazed how things had worked out. She’d been thinking a lot about all that happened, and when she stared into the gentle eyes of the animals she’d come to love so much, she realized for sure she wasn’t crazy.
“Thank you,” she whispered to the animals. “Without you Grey and I wouldn’t be here. I promise I’ll listen better next time.”
“We should really stop meeting like this.”
Rin turned at Paul’s voice and managed a laugh. He was the only one on this ship who wasn’t wearing a uniform, and his pants with the multiple pockets somehow didn’t clash with his pinstriped vest and leather arm protectors.
He stood beside her. “Can’t go anywhere without these beasts, huh?”
“Paul, I don’t know how to thank you. What you did back there . . .”
“About time my life counted for something.”
“You didn’t have to do it.”
“Sure I did.” Paul elbowed her. “Only way I could see you and your sister again.”
Rin felt a blush touch her face and busied herself sealing the can of oats and stowing it safely in a crate lashed to the floor. “Mazdaar will be looking for you now.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m going to Jupiter.”
“What about your family?”
He scratched his head and for a moment seemed fascinated with watching the zorses eat.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Let’s just say they won’t miss me.”
Rin dusted off her pants and made sure each stall was locked.
“Don’t take ’em for granted,” Paul said, nodding toward the door leading to the rest of the ship where her parents and Grey were resting. Then he reached over and patted Trif’s neck. “So . . . maybe sometime I can take a ride?”
Chapter 47
Grey knocked softly on the cockpit door. She cracked it open when she heard her mother’s voice.
Sue Alexander set down the slice of bread she was eating and patted the co-pilot’s chair. “Come in, sweetheart.”
Grey raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Want to learn how to fly?”
“Um . . . no.” Grey cautiously sat down without touching anything. “I’ll leave that in your capable hands.”
“There’s nothing like it.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
Mom rested her fingers on a lever and pressed a button. The opaque viewing window immediately cleared and Grey stared out at the view of a million stars and galaxies sparkling around her. Each one represented a jewel in the crown of the King of the Universe, and she felt like a tiny meteorite passing through.
“Wow,” Grey said. It was a beauty she’d never seen before, and Mom pointed out the speck that was Jupiter. Their destination and her new home.
The autopilot functions of the cosmoship would guide them through almost anything, as Grey had seen when Benton March brought them to Earth, but she understood why her mother enjoyed flying manually.
“I really thought we’d lost you again,” Grey said.
Her mother gazed at the stars. “I did too.”
“God must really want us to be a family.”
“He’s the only reason we’re alive.” Mom shook her head. “I’m just so thankful for another chance, and I meant what I said about things changing.”
“What if I don’t want them to change?”
Mom turned toward her.
“We can’t give up,” Grey said. “Not yet.”
“I’m not willing to risk any of you again.”
“Mom, we’re in this together. That’s what counts. We can’t let Mazdaar have Jupiter too.”
“Sweetheart . . .”
She pulled the specialist ranking patch that had been sewn onto her uniform from her pocket and handed it to her mother. She’d carefully cut it off, not because she didn’t believe in what the Yien Dynasty was doing, but she needed the freedom to make her own decisions. She hoped her mother would understand.
“I don’t have to be a soldier to stand up for what’s right,” Grey said.
Mom took the patch with a nod. “Do you know how proud I am of you?”
She leaned back in the co-pilot’s seat and crossed her arms. “Yeah, and I guess my mother kicks butt too.”
A few minutes later Dad and Rin joined them in the cockpit. Dad rested his beefy hands on their shoulders, leaning down to see through the cockpit window. Rin ducked under his arm and knelt down on the floor beside Grey, and together all four of the Alexanders stared out at the wonder of countless stars and endless space.
In the distance, beyond the Crisium tunnel, the planet Jupiter orbited the sun. Its largest moon Ganymede hovered nearby as if waiting. Deep in the rock and ice of its surface, an abandoned secret lay dormant.
“Are we ready for this?” Rin asked.
“No,” Grey said, “But since when has that ever stopped us?”
Rin gave her a mischievous grin, and Grey felt a warm, safe feeling spread through her. No matter what happened next, the Alexanders would face it together.
She couldn’t ask for anything more.
Thanks for reading!
Word of mouth is the very best way for an author to connect with readers. If you enjoyed Jupiter Storm, would you be so kind as to leave a review on your favorite review site letting others know about it? Even if you write only one sentence. Thank you so much!
Also, if you haven’t already, perhaps you’d like to read the first book in the series, Jupiter Winds?
Acknowledgments
None of my books would exist without the help of some special people.
Mom—as always, you make my books stronger and more interesting. I appreciate your editing skills very much! You know me and my stories almost better than I know them myself.
Tracy—I write about sisters a lot, and there’s a reason why. I have a good one! Thanks for your excitement over these Jupiter adventures.
Michael Dayton—for the awesome title!
Uncle Jim Williams and Uncle Ron Mangini—thanks for always offering encouragement and keeping me smiling.
Lindsey Zimpel, Ashley Bogner, Kara Grant, Sierra Faith, Deena Peterson, Abbi Hart, Zoe Scantlin, JC Morrows, Claire Banschbach, Heather Gilbert (and her daughters,) Darcie J. Gudger, and the other amazing readers who’ve taken the time to spread the word with reviews, kind support, and enthusiasm. You’re the reason I wrote a sequel to Jupiter Winds. Think we need a trilogy?
About the Author
C. J. has been in love with reading since she was a kid dragging home bags of books from the library. When she was twelve she started dreaming about becoming a published author. That dream came true when her first novel Thicker than Blood won the 2008 Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest. It became the first book in the Thicker than Blood series, which also includes Bound by Guilt, Ties that Bind, and Running on Empty. She has also written Jupiter Winds, the first book in the Jupiter Winds space adventure series. C. J. lives in Pennsylvania with her family, their menagerie of dogs, and a Paint mare named Sky.
Visit her website at http://www.cjdarlington.com/
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
C
hapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Thanks for reading
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Jupiter Storm Page 20