Supernova

Chapter Three

Jason

"Jason."

I mumble something and roll over, pulling my blankets tighter around me.

"Jason."

"Hm?" I say sleepily, still not opening my eyes.

"Jason!"

My blankets are whipped off my bed in a rush of cold air, and I immediately scowl and open my eyes, squinting. Nathan is standing over me, frowning, my blankets in his hand. The room is still semi-dark; as far as I can tell, all my other bunkmates are still asleep.

"What the heck, man!" I mumble, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. "What do you want?"

"Jason, the lieutenant just came by," Nathan tells me, tossing me a clean shirt. "Captain Rew wants you up in his office immediately."

I rub my eyes and unfold the shirt, slowly becoming more alert. "Up to his office? Why?"

My brow furrows, and I unfold the shirt, confused. "Up in his office? Why?"

"Why should I know? You're the one who got called up there yesterday! I figured you'd know what it was." Nathan tosses over a pair of socks. "You'd better get going. And do something to your hair, you look terrible."

I quickly dress and brush my teeth, and before long I'm exiting the elevator onto the seventh level. I quickly stride down the hall to the end office, a feeling of dread beginning to take over me. He knows, is all I can think. He knows what I've done and I'm in trouble.

I have no idea how, but I'm absolutely certain he knows I saved that survivor yesterday. Did they put a tracker on me? Or maybe there was a hidden camera on the ATV. I shudder. The punishment for treason is a life sentence in prison—or death. I'm not sure which is better.

The door to Rew's office is closed. I suck in a deep breath and rap lightly on the door. There's a slight pause. Then I hear Captain Rew call from inside, "Come in."

I push the door open and step inside. It's almost completely dark, except for a lamp glowing with soft orange light on the edge of Captain Rew's desk. He's leaning back in his chair, collar loosened, going through a stack of papers in a thick manila file.

"Ah, Soldier," Captain Rew says lightly, glancing up as I approach his desk. "Have a seat. I suspect you know why you're here."

What should I say? That yes, I know I'm here because I committed treason? But what if that's not why I'm here? I don't know what else to do, so I just say, with all the confidence I can muster, "Yes, sir."

He flips a page in the manila file absentmindedly. "Excellent. Go right ahead."

"Sure..." I hesitate, trying to figure out what he means. "With...what, sir?"

He glances back up at me, sharply this time. "With your report?"

My report! Of course—I never delivered it last night, so that's what he wants. I'm so relieved that I feel myself grinning. "Right—sorry, sir," I quickly apologize. "Early in the morning..."

"Right." He doesn't seem to care. "Well, continue."

Through my still-drowsy haze, I'm able to drag up a mental picture of the crash. "There's barely anything left of the carrier, sir," I tell Rew. "It was still smoking when I got there. It left a pretty decent-sized crater. At the bottom it's all the shrapnel and bits and pieces of the ship. I think part of the engine may have still been intact, but even then, it's useless."