This is going to work! She reached out to pat her nav-panel.
For as long as Jess could remember, she’d wanted to try an old-school horizontal landing. MCAB covered the concept in stale texts, all designed to explain how vertical take-off and landing improved efficiency, saved fuel, and cured the common cold. Jessamyn didn’t care. Today, a protracted horizontal landing would keep one more hopper operational. She was honest enough to admit she couldn’t wait to try it.
With her primary nav-panel powered down to cut off communication with MCAB, Jess would be relying on her memory of the location of the Great Sand Pit. It would have been a lot harder in the middle of the night, but dawn brought vivid color to life: the deep red of Bradbury Canyon, the pinky-browns of Mount Cha Su Bao. Jess knew right where she was and how to get to where she needed to go. She experimented with the spoilers, and her heart beat faster as she felt the ship respond, gliding up and then down in relation to the planet’s surface. Once she could see the Haddad Hills, she began her descent.
The ship responded eagerly and Jess murmured to it, “Bet you’ve always wanted to try this too, huh?” The vast lake of silica opened before them. Using the spoilers to full effect, Jess felt herself descending and slowing. It was noisy as anything, but so easy—almost too easy. She grinned broadly, imagining how she would demand this form of landing to be included in the pilot curriculum just as soon as someone came out to get her. As the sand rose up to meet the ship, a memory or instinct told Jess to keep her nose up as long as possible.
Impact, when it came, felt as unlike the gentle descent as possible. Jessamyn hurled forward toward the front viewing window, her harness cutting into her walk-out suit at the shoulders as it prevented her from striking the polycarb. Immediately after, she was flung to the left. She experienced a split second of weightlessness followed by a slamming sensation that made it feel like her skull was parting company from her brain. A final jolt forced her downward into her seat, and then the world tilted to one side as the ship spun clockwise, digging its way into the deep brown sand. Jess held her breath to see if she’d truly landed. Emergency lighting glowed pale blue, directing her to an exit hatch. She scrambled out, noting a sharp pain in her left shoulder where the harness had apparently been overzealous in protecting her. Quickly, she checked her suit’s integrity. It was no use setting foot outside if her walk-out suit had torn. But no, her suit remained fully functional. She blinked in the sun, stepping round and round her craft. It was in one piece. The undercarriage would be scratched to Hades, but she could tell the hopper would fly again.
Jess began laughing and hugging herself. Shouting to the sand and sky, she cried out, “Worst landing ever!” She bounced up and down several times. “And I loved it!”
Unfortunately, the landing was easy compared with the news that awaited Jess when the rescue crew arrived thirty-two minutes later.
“Pilot-in-training Jessamyn Jaarda, you are hereby suspended from all flight until further notice.”
Jess felt her temper flare at the words of the helmeted officer delivering this appalling news. “I just saved a planetary hopcraft from certain destruction. No way are they grounding me. I’ll appeal the decision to the Academy dean.”
She peered to make out the face behind the speaker’s reflective helmet. She’d been certain Lobster would come to find her or her charred remains, but the voice hadn’t sounded like Lobster’s. She felt a twinge of disappointment that her fate meant so little to him. And then, as she caught a clear glimpse of the face inside the pressurized suit, she felt sick. There would be no further appeal—she’d been sentenced by the dean of the Academy himself.
To read more, order here
Also by Cidney Swanson
The Ripple Series
RIPPLER
CHAMELEON
UNFURL
VISIBLE
IMMUTABLE
KNAVERY
PERILOUS
The Saving Mars Series
SAVING MARS
DEFYING MARS
LOSING MARS
MARS BURNING
MARS RISING
Acknowledgements
Bringing a series to a close is … hard. I thought I’d finished this series after three books, but then these other stories kept yammering in my head until I finally got ‘em down. Thanks for sticking with me through the past seven books!
I first met Samantha Ruiz on March 23, 2009. She was hunkered down at the edge of the Merced River where it rushes through the canyon between El Portal and Lake McClure. I watched her, watching the river, and then she turned invisible—something that escaped her notice. I wondered why she’d turned invisible. And I wondered why on Earth she didn’t even notice. The answers to those questions became the backbone of her story, and wow!, were there some surprises along the way. (Deuxième and Chrétien and Helmann’s Angel Corps come to mind!)
I’ve learned quite a bit about Sam and her world since that first day. For the past two years I’ve contemplated where the Ripple series would conclude. I decided it would end, as it had begun, with Samantha. As you can imagine, I’ve grown very fond of her during the past six years. I really wanted to see her strong and happy and completely healed of her childhood trauma.
But stories have a way of telling themselves, and soon I realized Sam was terrified—completely and irrationally terrified—of committing to Will. For those of you have undergone therapy for trauma (and I send hugs to you all!), you’ve most likely run across phrases like “Two steps forward, one step back.” We meet triggers as we journey forward, but we meet them with a bit more strength each time, a bit more understanding, and hopefully, a bit more compassion toward ourselves. I hope that part of Sam’s journey came across clearly.
With deepest gratitude, I acknowledge the contributions of my readers, my reviewers, my writing tribe buddies, and my family. Take away any of you, and I’d be up a creek without a PFD (personal flotation device, a la Book One Rippler.) Thank you so much for all you do to make this crazy dream job of mine a reality. It’s been a privilege sharing these stories with you, and I wish you strength, understanding, and compassion as you travel along your own road. In the words of Kathryn Elisabeth DuClos Ruiz, may you broaden your vision, embrace what keeps you humble, and take risks. That’s where you find the good stuff!
A note from Cidney:
Thanks for reading my books--I appreciate it! Did you know that popping up a quick review is one of the most helpful things a reader can do? Even a few lines are fine. Thank you in advance if you're able to provide feedback. Cheers!
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Table of Contents
PERILOUS
CAMÉLEONS EVERYWHERE
CARPE NOCTEM
THOSE WERE DARK DAYS
A BIT OFF-BALANCE
NO GLUTTONY, NO MURDERING, NO SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE
WE FEW, WE CHOSEN FEW
A GINORMOUS WASTE OF TIME AND PLANE TICKETS
WHAT HE WOULD WITHHOLD
THE SLEEPING GIRL
IN IT TOGETHER
PANIC
A FAIRYTALE CONFECTION
WHERE IT CAUGHT ON BONE
OVER THE EDGE
VIOLETS
VAPORS AND MISTS
BUT IT WOULDN’T CHANGE THINGS
FOOD YOU CAN’T EAT USING UTENSILS
WANTED DIFFERENT THINGS
SUBJECT TO WILD SWINGS
YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?
CONSUMED
ABOUT TO GET REAL
SNAPPED INTO PLACE
BLACK SAND
THE TRAIN LEFT THE STATION
SIESTA
I HAD HIM
SOMETHING BESIDES GRAVITY
TAGANANA
THANKS ALL THE SAME
SKULKING INVISIBLY
T
HE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC OF THAT VOICE
PHILANTHROPIC
WHICH WAY WAS UP
PERILOUS
KNOWN TO BE DANGEROUS
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HORSE
SEVEN SILENT GHOSTS
LAS ABUELITAS VERSION
LEMONADE
WHAT COULD BE WRONG
UNHEALTHY OBSESSION
FATE OF HUMANITY
WE CAN THANK HIM FOR HIS PARANOIA
THE PEOPLE I LOVE
THEY TRUST YOUR MOM
DISRUPTION
THEY’LL KNOW YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE
SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT
MY FAMILY’S FAULT
HE RAN TOWARD DANGER
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM
THE BRIDE AND GROOM WORE LAB COATS
THE THINGS THAT MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING