Trevor sat on the couch in the rec room facing Mia. She turned up the TV volume, which prompted Mary Jane to plop down right beside her.

  “No secrets,” she said.

  “Just relax, MJ,” Trevor said.

  Mary Jane smiled as though she liked the nickname, but remained close to Mia.

  “We have a plan, Mary Jane,” Mia said.

  “A plan for what?”

  “A plan to get rid of General Stone.”

  “I vote cyanide poisoning. People usually get away with using cyanide.”

  “We don’t necessarily need to kill him. We need Ms. Lawrence out of his reach so we can come to a consensus about boycotting the launch.”

  "Boycotting the launch? I thought you promised Stone you would go?" Mary Jane said.

  "I did say that, and I probably will. Maybe we all will," Mia said

  “Does Edward want to boycott?” Mary Jane asked.

  “Yes. Edward, Camden, Alex, and Lilly all want to boycott,” Trevor said.

  “But the rest of us get a vote, too,” Mia said, uncertainty in her voice.“Whatever we do, it has to be unanimous.”

  “Well, Sloan won't stay, so getting a unanimous vote on anything but launching is impossible.”

  “Well, don’t count Sloan, then,” Trevor said.

  "Don't count a whole person, Trevor? How's that going to work?" Mary Jane asked.

  "Sloan who?" Trevor replied emotionlessly.

  “I bet Ms. Lawrence will support the boycott,” Mary Jane said.

  “Did you hear her say that?” Mia asked.

  “No, but she left the base because she didn't trust what General Stone was telling us about the digsite. Why wouldn't she want to stay?”

  “What about Maxley?” Mary Jane asked.

  Mia laughed and shoved Mary Jane, “I’m sure Max will go along with whatever Presley wants to do.”

  "Why's that?" Trevor asked.

  "They're together, Trevor. You didn't know that?" Mary Jane teased.

  Mia felt the tension rise and looked away from Trevor, who seemed surprised.

  "Wow," Trevor said, awkwardly. "I don't hate it. Especially if Presley votes for what I want."

  "And what do you want?" Mia asked.

  "It's not important right now. What's important is getting Ms. Lawrence out of that holding room. It'll be dangerous to bring everyone together. We've got to make it count. They’re watching us like hawks.”

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  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Alex is going to get General Stone to agree to let Kai speak with Ms. Lawrence.”

  “Why would General Stone agree to that?”

  “Because Alex is an excellent liar, and Stone won't see past his blind adoration.”

  “And what does Kai plan to say to her?”

  “Nothing. Kai's only job is to fly Ms. Lawrence to the crater.”

  “Kai is going to fly?” repeated Mary Jane incredulously.

  “Well, Alex is planning to hinder Stone with his strength, and while he's busy doing that, Kai will carry Ms. Lawrence to the crater.”

  “Kai is going to fly?”

  “OMG! Yes, Kai is going to fly MJ. Stop being so dramatic,” Trevor said.

  “I’m sorry, but the Kai I know barely talks, and I’ve never actually seen him fly.”

  “It’s Kai 2.0, then,” Trevor said, annoyed. "Lilly's been giving him lessons. He's pretty decent. He flew Alex around for over ten minutes."

  Mary Jane furrowed her brow and said, “Ok, so when Kai and Ms. Lawrence escape General Stone and make it to the crater, then what?”

  “We meet them there. I’m sure General Stone will find a way to spawn, he always does, but hopefully, we’ll have time to come together as a group and form a consensus.”

  “So the rest of us will just break curfew and walk from the pod to the crater?”

  “Lilly and Edward are already gone. They’re on the ship with Camden. Alex plans to join up with them once he’s dealt with Stone. All three of them will meet us at the crater.”

  “Edward went with Lilly?” Mary Jane balked.

  Mia held her breath. Recently, Edward had been spending a lot of time with Lilly. Mary Jane was not handling it well.

  "Why did he go with her?" Mary Jane asked again, her hands balling into fists.

  “For the love of God!” Trevor said through gritted teeth. "Can we please stay focused on the plan!"

  “Not so loud,” Mia said.

  Mary Jane nodded, then asked, “What about Max and Presley?”

  “MJ, you’re responsible for Max and Presley. It’s too risky for me to sit down and explain this whole thing again.”

  “What about Sloan?” Mia asked tentatively. "How will we get her to the crater?"

  “We take her with us,” Trevor said. “I don’t trust her, and she only trusts you.”

  Mia's cheeks turned pink. Being alone with both Trevor and Sloan didn't sound fun. It sounded dangerous. It sounded like a fight waiting to happen.

  “I dunno if she trusts me anymore,” Mia said.

  “Well, make her trust you,” Trevor said.

  “When is all of this going to happen?”

  “In the next few hours,” Trevor said.

  “Hours?” Mary Jane repeated.

  “Yup. Mia, go do what you need to do to get Sloan on board,” Trevor said.

  “I’m at a total loss for how to do that, Trevor.”

  "I know one thing she'd like from you," he said pointedly.

  Mia felt the air suck out of her lungs. Had Trevor just made a joke about her being intimate with Sloan?

  "It's not like that with us," Mia said quickly. "I mean not anymore."

  Trevor didn't indicate that he cared one way or the other about Mia's relationship with Sloan before saying, “Just tell her about Kai. Tell her we’re breaking Ms. Lawrence out to convince her and everyone else that Kai is right. We should launch.”

  Mia sat wordlessly, staring at Trevor. Was he over her? Did he care that she'd had a physical relationship with Sloan? There was very little chance that she could manipulate Sloan into doing anything, no matter what the history between them. Mia was honestly a bit scared of her.

  “And how will we communicate once we’re split up?”

  “These,” Trevor said, holding up a transponder. “They're like Martian walkie-talkies.”

  “What if something goes wrong?” Mary Jane asked.

  “If something goes wrong, we do the next right thing,” Trevor said. “Right now, we’re basically sitting ducks. General Stone thinks he can use whatever means necessary to make us obey him. Do you want that to continue?”

  “No, I hate him,” said Mary Jane.

  “Then don’t worry about things going wrong. Worry about getting to the crater and trusting the M6 crew to get it done.”

  “The M7 crew?” Mary Jane asked, smiling.

  Trevor flashed a brief smile, but Mia knew he didn’t like the term M7. It was divisive, and right now, what they needed was absolute cohesion.

  “What time should I go find Maxley?” Mary Jane asked.

  “It depends on how long it takes Mia to convince Sloan."

  “She’s going to know something's up,” Mia said.

  “She’s not going to know,” Trevor said, slapping Mia on the butt as she rose.

  "What was that?" Mary Jane asked, shocked.

  Mia stood paralyzed, waiting for Trevor's response.

  "I guess old habits die hard. I'm just so damn happy. It's been so long since I felt like things might work out for us. I think we can do this," he said.

  Mary Jane glanced at Mia, who was grinning from ear to ear.

  “I’ll be in my room, Mi," Mary Jane said. "Give me the green light when you're ready.”