The Sons of Jupiter Page 7

  His eyes scanned the horizon but he caught no glimpse of the shuttle he was supposed to find. His mission, along with that of the other recruits, was to survive a journey across the lunar surface to an escape shuttle, and leave Io. If he managed to get off alive, he was in.

  That reminded him. He punched in a few commands on his arm device, and a vid popped up inside his helmet. It was a man sitting behind a dark wooden desk, the banner of the Arms over one shoulder and that of the Sons over the other.

  “Greetings, recruit.” His voice was dry and old, like himself. “And welcome to the Trials. Should you survive, we will soon meet. Should you not, know that your sacrifice for the Sons is not taken lightly.” He paused for effect. Darren kept an eye on the surface. His spatial comp readout said he was gliding a mere fifteen meters above ground.

  “You already know that you and nine other potentials have been dropped on the surface with the goal of finding the shuttle and leaving. I now give you a new, crucial piece of information.” The man leaned forward. “The shuttle will only hold two.”

  Darren waited for him to complete the sentence. Two what? Kuiperian masseurs? If only. His stomach tightened and he cursed under his breath.

  “I’m afraid it’s first-come, first-serve. I can only hope you’ve had the foresight to arm yourself. There are no combat rules. Your mission objective remains unchanged: get out alive. Whichever two of you manage to claim the shuttle and leave the surface will be embraced by the Arms of the Sons. The rest of you…” He smiled tightly. “Your sacrifice is not taken lightly.” The vid flashed off, replaced with an uninterrupted view of the rough terrain.

  Darren cursed. No, he had not had the foresight to arm himself. Neither had he ever killed anyone. This day had just got a lot more interesting.

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