Chapter Ten
December 19, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, En Route to the Apartment of Erik Blackwell
Erik shot a sidelong glance at Jia from the driver’s seat of the MX 60. “Sometimes I hate you.”
“Huh?” Jia blinked. “Where did that come from?”
They had just finished another exoskeleton piloting lesson. Erik hadn’t offered any exotic scenarios or bikini babes. It’d been a straightforward small squad vs. squad encounter. Despite some tricky terrain, Jia performed well, just like she always did.
Erik laughed. “I don’t really hate you. It’s just, damn, you keep improving so quickly. It’s not like learning to pilot an exo takes as long as learning to fly a ship but mastering a lot of those fancy maneuvers does. I’m half-convinced I could drop you into assault infantry right now,
