And maybe itching to scare the shit out of Micallef. Normally Moore would have ignored a newbie like Micallef, but he was just itching to tell the story. Micallef was new, a skinny sixteen-year-old with buckteeth and a homesick pallor. “What do you mean he’s not what people remember?” Micallef asked. “That’s why Commander Leonski won’t announce it.” “He’s not what people remember,” Moore said, coming out of the head with a towel wrapped around his waist.

It was all anyone could talk about back in my barracks. I missed physical training, but nobody even noticed because by the time the last bell went the whole station knew that Cameron Rushton was back. Guys like Brady don’t expect happy endings. Cam says everyone will live, but Cam’s probably a traitor and a liar like the military thinks. Now the Faceless are coming and there’s nothing anyone can do.

It doesn’t change the truth: Brady’s alone in the universe. It’s just biochemistry and electrical impulses. Not that Brady’s got time to worry about his growing attraction to another guy, especially the one guy in the universe who can read his mind. Except they’re sharing more than a heartbeat: they’re sharing thoughts, memories, and some very vivid dreams. Now he’s back, and when the doctors make a mess of getting him out of stasis, Brady becomes his temporary human pacemaker. Four years ago Cam was taken by the Faceless - the alien race that almost destroyed Earth. If he doesn’t get home he’ll lose his family, but there’s no way back except in a body bag.Ĭameron Rushton needs a heartbeat. Brady’s a conscripted recruit on Defender Three, one of a network of stations designed to protect the Earth from alien attack.

Dark space by lisa henry