Waypoint Kangaroo (44 page)
Authors: Curtis C. Chen
“So what
can
you tell me?”
“We're the good guys,” I say.
“Yeah, I figured that one out on my own.”
She's staring at me. Do I have something on my face? “I'm sorry.”
“You're sorry you're the good guys?”
“No, that's notâI didn't meanâ” Finding the stupidest possible thing to say, that's my other superpower. “I'm sorry I ruined your escape. In the crawlway.”
Ellie shakes her head. “You were trying to retake Main Eng. Same as me.”
“What⦔ My mouth feels dry. “What happened in there?”
“I don't want to talk about it.”
“Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,” she says.
“One more, then I'm done.” I stare down at the floor. “I'm sorry I couldn't save you.”
She laughs out loud, just for a second, then gives me a forbearing look. “I don't need anyone to save me, Evan. I don't want that. I can take care of myself.”
“Look,” I say, “we're probably never going to see each other again after this. I just want to make sure our last conversation isn't awkward and uncomfortable.”
Yeah, great job on that so far, Kangaroo.
“I just want you to know. I was on vacation.”
She gives me a squint. “Like every other
Dejah Thoris
passenger? Not really news there, Evan.”
I can't stand it. “That's not my name.”
“I suspected as much.”
“I wasn't working,” I say. “You understand? I have to protect my identity at all times. I wasn't on a mission or an assignment or anything like that.” I resist the temptation to turn on my left eye so I can get a better read on her emotional state. “I wasn't using you, Ellie.”
“Not even to steal a centrifuge?”
I catch myself before apologizing again. “That's also classified. I, uh, regret I can't tell you any more than that. Don't worry, I'll return the centrifuge. I didn't break it.”
She's smiling.
“What?” I ask.
“I'm going to kiss you now,” she says.
Ellie flies across the room before I can respond. Her lips press into mine. Either she's getting very good at kissing, or I am, or these IV drugs are severely mood-enhancing. I let my eyelids droop shut and put one hand on Ellie's waist to bring her body closer.
Maybe I should go on vacation more often.
All too soon, she pulls back. I open my eyes. I will never get tired of that smile.
“So,” she says, “what's your real name?”
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It's been said that “art is made by the alone for the alone,” but this book wouldn't exist without the efforts of many people besides myself.
Thanks to my literary agent, Sam Morgan, who answered my many noob questions with a straight face, and to all the JABberwocks who helped find a good home for Kangaroo.
Thanks to my editor, Pete Wolverton, the most adorable pitbull in publishing, and to everyone at Thomas Dunne Books who helped turn my manuscript into an actual novel with an amazing cover. Any errors are mine alone.
Thanks to Janet “Query Shark” Reid, the best agent I never had, for believing in Kangaroo from the very beginning.
Thanks to my parents for making my whole life possible, and to my sister for always thinking ahead to the next meal.
Thanks to all the wonderful writers I've met through Viable Paradise, Clarion West, SFWA, Codex, Rainforest Writers Village, and NaNoWriMo who helped me stay on target. Extra shouts out to Charlie Jane Anders, Jennifer Brozek, Tobias Buckell, John Crowley, Hiromi Goto, Camille Griep, Jason Gurley, Randy Henderson, Claire Humphrey, Kij Johnson, James Patrick Kelly, Marko Kloos, Mary Robinette Kowal, Fonda Lee, Ursula K. LeGuin, Ian McDonald, John Scalzi, and Alison Wilgus for showing me the way.
Thanks to my numerous alpha, beta, and gamma readers, especially Chris Carlson, Stephanie Charette, Nadya Duke, Shannon Fay, Michael Hernshaw, Steve Kopka, Julia Reynolds, DeeAnn Sole, and Peter Sursi for their steely-eyed insights.
Thanks to Folly Blaine for making me look good in photos.
Thanks to Corby Anderson and Larry Hosken for helping with the puzzles. (
What puzzles
, you ask? Take a close look at the spacesuit, then visit
www.waypointkangaroo.com
to find the rabbit hole.)
Finally: thanks to you, dear reader, for joining me on this journey. Yes, Kangaroo will return. And no, I won't tell you his real name. Not yet.
Â
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CURTIS CHEN
graduated from Viable Paradise (instructors included
New York Times
bestseller John Scalzi) and attended Clarion West (instructors included World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement winner John Crowley and Hugo/Nebula winner James Patrick Kelly). His short fiction has appeared in
Daily Science Fiction
and
SNAFU
and will be featured in Baen's
Mission: Tomorrow
. On top of all that, he's a former software engineer and once built a cat-feeding robot. He lives in Vancouver, Washington. You can sign up for email updates
here
.
    
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CONTENTS
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin's Press.
WAYPOINT KANGAROO
. Copyright © 2016 by Curtis C. Chen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilio
Cover illustration by David Curtis
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-08178-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-08179-7 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250081797
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at
[email protected]
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First Edition: June 2016
