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of mostly adults to stand before them. She was thin with permanent grooves around her mouth that weren’t laughter lines. This was a woman who hadn’t had much to smile about in the past.
    ‘Who’s in charge here?’ she demanded.
    Aidan and I exchanged a glance.
    ‘I am,’ I replied. ‘Nihao.’
    ‘And you are?’ asked the woman, completely ignoring my common language greeting.
    ‘Vee Sindall. That is, Olivia Sindall, but everyone calls . . . called . . . calls me Vee. And that’s my twin brother Aidan. He’s younger. Who are you?’
    God, I sounded like an inarticulate noob.
    ‘I’m Catherine Linedecker. What d’you mean you’re in charge? You’re a child.’
    ‘I’m eighteen,’ I bristled.
    ‘Where’s the rest of the crew?’ asked Catherine.
    ‘My mum Vida Sindall was captain of this ship and my dad Daniel Sindall was the ship’s doctor. They, along with all the other crew, died over three years ago,’ I said.
    ‘Died?’ Catherine’s tone was sharp. ‘Died how? Of what?’
    ‘A virus wiped everyone out, except for me,’ I told her. ‘And my brother.’
    ‘A virus? So now we’ve all been exposed to it?’
    ‘No, the ship is clean. Whatever the virus was, it died along with the crew,’ I said. ‘I’ve carried out extensive biological tests all over the ship since then. There’s no trace left of it.’
    ‘What’s the name of this ship?’ asked Catherine.
    ‘
Earth Vessel Aidan. EV Aidan.
’
    ‘The same name as your brother?’
    Obviously. The statement didn’t warrant an answer.
    ‘You departed from one of the main space docks orbiting Earth?’ asked Catherine.
    I nodded. ‘Yes, we left seven years ago on a ten-year deep space exploration mission.’
    ‘You lived on Earth before that?’
    ‘Yes, that’s right.’ I frowned. ‘Anywhere else?’
    ‘No, just Earth.’
    It wasn’t just that this woman asked far too many questions, it was also the way she asked them. Her tone was sharp and scratchy like shards of glass against my already sensitive skin.
    A girl of about my age with short-cropped, spiky blonde hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen walked over to my brother, a determined look on her face.
    ‘Nihao. I’m Erica.’ The girl held her hand out towards Aidan.
    Aidan looked from it to her and back again. Slowly he shook her hand. ‘Hello, Erica.’
    ‘Ooh! Very formal,’ said Erica, one eyebrow raised. ‘You’re totally edible, aren’t you?’
    Whoa! My mouth dropped open.
    ‘Erica, this is hardly the time or the place,’ snapped Catherine.
    ‘What?’ said Erica. ‘I’m introducing myself. There are rules about when I can and can’t do that now?’
    ‘Erica . . .’ Catherine’s voice held a barely disguised warning.
    ‘I’m just letting him know I’m interested, that’s all,’ Erica argued, exasperated.
    Me? I just stared. Erica was obviously a girl who gave zero damns about what anyone else thought. I liked that! Not only did Erica think my brother was fit but she wasn’t shy about telling him so. I shook my head as I watched. Was she ever barking up the wrong tree though. Erica turned in time to see me shaking my head. Her gaze narrowed as she glared at me. What on Earth did I do?
    Just then, two more men arrived on the bridge, pushing their way forward. The older guy with sandy brown hair and matching brown eyes looked around, then his fierce gaze attached itself to me with eagle’s talons. He scowled like I was his worst enemy. I took a step back, my legs bumping against my chair.
    The younger guy was about my age, I think, or maybe slightly older, with thick raven-black, wavy hair which fell down to his shoulders. His dark eyebrows were straight, shaped lines above emerald green eyes and he had lovely well-defined lips. OK, so I notice those kinds of things. But oh, those eyes! Not only were the lights on behind those eyes but there was a party happening. He and I regarded each other. Wow! He was definitely – what was Erica’s