Chapter 1: The First Dragoon: Lunar Jones 1 THE FIRST DRAGOON Lunar Jones There is nothing brighter than a dragon in an empty sky. We all look up as Luna begins her descent. It's like watching history walk right out of the pages of a textbook. For all of humanity, she is the first dragon. The beginning of everything. Our exploration of space. An invitation to other moons and planets. She is the reason my ancestors were able to travel to Mars--and the reason we continue to reach beyond. Luna is also where I got my name. On the day I was born, my mother saw those same wings, like pearl-white slashes in the night sky. She thought the dragon looked so beautiful that she named me after her--Lunar Jones. Thinking about that hits with unexpected sharpness. Like a knife that's been sitting in my gut this whole time, and I only just remembered it was there. It's weird to think she saw this same dragon, but that we can't talk about it. Always connected. Forever apart. Dread whispers in my mind. Maybe she knew you'd get to see this one day. I glance back over one shoulder. Dread is there. Dressed up in his fanciest harness. On his right, the entire crew of Dread Knights are standing in formation. Anna North's crew waits just a few steps behind them--with Deimos on the other end of the group like a gigantic bookend. It's only been a few months, but Dread has outgrown the older dragon. Maybe the sudden spurt had to do with the fact that he claimed his rightful title as a planetary dragon. Or maybe it's just the normal growth spurt that happens around his age? All we know is that he's almost doubled in size since getting back from Jupiter, and he'll literally brag about it to anyone. I heard that. Smirking, I turn back around. The moon dragon's wings sweep out even wider, gliding from side to side to decrease her speed. On her back, I spy one of Earth's famous antigravity harnesses. It's attached to a massive sphere that floats behind her like a parachute. The entire thing is roughly the size of a two-story building. Perfectly round. Inside, there are 250 passengers. They will be the newest Martian residents. It's wild to witness this. Earthers signing up to come to Mars? There hasn't been a person who volunteered to come and live here in my lifetime. Apparently, Earth had so much interest this time around that they ended up creating some kind of lottery. Which means there were thousands of citizens who wanted to come but didn't get chosen for the first group. A year ago, you couldn't pay someone to move to Mars. Our planet was dying, and our people were dying with it. Dread changed everything. When he spared Phobos, the decision lifted a curse that was written into our planet's DNA for generations. All the great storms stopped. All the animals that hunted us along the outskirts of our cities retreated into the wilder areas of Mars. Even the land changed. We've had one of the most productive harvests in Martian history. It turns out life isn't so bad when the planet you live on actually wants you there. Which means Martians aren't just surviving anymore--they're thriving. Some of the other planet dragons sent gifts to welcome their brother back from the dead--or wherever a planet's spirit goes when it dies? Mercury gifted a vial of liquid from one of his famous boiling craters. Europa delivered a painting on behalf of Jupiter. It captured the moment, perfectly frozen in time, when Dread discovered who he really was. The others were a range from inside jokes to items that neither of us could really figure out. Pluto sent a femur bone, for example. Overnight, Mars went from a dying, forgotten planet to a focal point in the solar system. And now Earth's knocking on our door too. I guess we're suddenly useful. We have a ton of land. All kinds of resources. This is the Mars they dreamed of a few generations ago. For once we have a little power. As much as I wanted to fire Anna North after she sided with Phobos last year, Proctor convinced me to keep her on just for her ability to negotiate. Not to mention it would have been hard to separate her from Deimos. Most dragons don't want to leave their dragoons. Proctor, of course, was right. Anna has helped us a lot . The first step in our renewed alliance was that Earth agreed to erase all the debts Mars owed them. I didn't realize how big of a deal that was until Anna North showed me the balance sheets. It turns out that Mars was the worst investment in our solar system's history. But Earth was willing to wipe the slate clean. In exchange, we're letting five hundred Earthers come here to start a new life. The incoming shuttle represents the first half of that group. Luna sets down flawlessly on the landing pad, wings folding inward. There's a loud hiss behind her. Hundreds of miniature rocket thrusters activate along the bottom of the sphere. Perfectly calibrated to keep the entire thing from crashing into the ground. We watch the sphere hover briefly in the air. Stabilizing legs kick out from hidden panels and the massive pod trembles to a perfect halt. Luna's crew is already moving. Unlatching from their positions, leaping down to begin the deboarding process. I can tell they're well-trained. No one even has to sound out orders. They've done this task, or something like it, a thousand times. The First Dragon's attention skips past me. Past every waiting human. Her eyes are only for Dread. After a long moment, she bows. It's not a huge bow. She's not scraping the floor for him or anything like that--but it's still a statement: she's a moon dragon showing respect to one of the planetary dragons. Ares, she says, voice echoing in our heads. You've changed. For the better, I think. There's a churning anger in Dread. He doesn't bare his fangs or growl or anything like that, but I can feel it in the bond that connects us. Fire and rage. There's a history between these two. Luna played a role in the death of the first Ares. It's clear he hasn't forgotten about that, even if it happened in another lifetime. Thankfully, we've been working on his temper. Lots of yoga. Dread keeps his cool. Luna, you look as beautiful as I remember. Just like the moon you were born on. I glance between the two dragons. Dread's words feel like a backhanded compliment. He's saying she's beautiful, but he's also reminding her that she's a moon, which points to the fact that he is a planet by comparison. Luna doesn't flinch at that. Instead, she seems to take his words in stride. I would love to fly with you. We have much to discuss. Dread nods in agreement. Luna's crew is still working to unload everything in the background. My eyes land on their dragoon next. Adrian Lee is pretty much Earther royalty. His family tree is a who's who of former dragon riders. On his mom's side, he's related to the Passarotti family. No big deal. Just the original dragon riders. And then on his dad's side? That would be the Lee family--who just happen to be the original dragoons for Jie Lin--the third of the four moon dragons. The guy was pretty much destined to ride dragons in space. He's outfitted in white armor that matches Luna's bright wings. As we watch, the armor unfolds from his body. Like a hatch gasping open. He steps out and the armor closes behind him, somehow folding perfectly back into Luna's harness. Behind me, I can hear Little Will whispering excitedly. "Whoa! Look at that tech! Doc, step your game up. Lunar needs cooler armor stat!" I can't help smiling. Doc makes an annoyed reply that I can't quite hear. Without the armor, Adrian's outfit looks more casual and comfortable than expected. His shirt and pants are the same dusty charcoal that my mind associates with old pictures of Earth's moon. Before we ever knew there was a dragon up there. According to the file Proctor gave me, Adrian turns fifty later this year. He's short, compact, and in the kind of shape you'd expect of someone who's spent his entire life training for aerial combat. He walks forward and extends a hand to me. "Lunar Jones. The newest dragoon in the system. It's an honor to finally meet you." Proctor helped me practice the whole handshake thing. How firm to grip, how long to hold a person's hand, all of that. Handshakes are definitely more of an Earth thing. "Dragoon Lee," I reply. "We're honored to host you. All of Mars welcomes you." His face breaks into a grin. There's a warmth about him that I like immediately. Kind of the same vibe that Poppy had. Just an easy guy to get along with. He eyes the rest of my crew. "I forgot how young you all are," he says. "Amazing. The Dread Knights will be a force across the cosmos for decades to come." He spies Anna North in the background. "Anna! Great to see you. As always. But if the two of you don't mind, I'd like to say hello to Dread before he flies off with Luna. Can I?" I'm not sure how to respond. It's not like Dread is a show pony or something. It's his call if he wants to introduce himself. I can hear some amusement threading through Dread's voice. You may approach. Adrian steps past me. His movements are crisp. No energy wasted. Before he can reach Dread, he drops to one knee. With his head bowed, he begins to... pray? I'm not really sure, but I can feel delight radiate across my bond with Dread. It makes sense, I guess. Who wouldn't want to be bowed to like that? Eventually, Adrian reaches out. Dread meets him halfway, settling his great snout in the dragoon's waiting palm. There's a flicker of light. There and gone so fast that I feel like I imagined it. Adrian glances back. "Stunning power. I can feel it. An entire world beats in that heart." Dread rumbles with approval. I'm not sure what to say. It sounds really cool, but it also sounds like the kind of mysterious thing that adults are always saying just to sound mysterious. "Yeah. Good, solid heartbeat," I say. "I've thought that since I first met him." Adrian snorts. "Come. I have someone I'd like you to meet." I start following him across the launchpad. Adrian lets out a sharp whistle. One of his crew members glances in our direction. We both watch as they jog over. The rider offers a wave and I wave back, but they've still got their helmet on and their visor down, so I have no idea who I'm actually waving at right now. Adrian clears his throat. "Percy. Your helmet." The helmet retracts with a hiss, and I find myself staring at the prettiest girl I've seen in my entire life. Like stop-in-your-tracks, forget-your-name-for-a-full-second pretty. Things only get worse when she smiles at me. I squint back at her like someone who's trying to stare directly into the sun. Adrian wraps a friendly arm around the girl--and that's when it clicks. He's not just offering a friendly hug to a crew member. He's a father hugging his daughter. She has the same light brown skin as him. Her eyes are slightly narrowed in a round face. All the clues are there. "I wanted you to meet my daughter. Percy joined our crew a few months back." She extends her hand, and I somehow forget all the rules Proctor taught me about handshakes. I reach too far and accidentally grab her wrist. Percy jumps a little in surprise, but when I try to correct it, I pull back too far and we end up basically shaking each other's fingertips. She looks like she's on the verge of laughing. I kind of wish she would, because maybe that would make all of this feel a little less awkward. "It's really nice to meet you, Lunar." "You're welcome." Alarms ring in my brain. I realize that's the weirdest thing I could possibly say, and it takes all my mental effort to recover. "Here. Like... welcome to Mars! Not like 'you're welcome to meet me.' That would be... totally weird to say." Somehow the explanation makes it even more awkward. She snorts the same way her dad did just a few seconds ago. Adrian gives her a playful shove back toward the rest of their crew. "Go finish unloading. I don't want to look like I'm playing favorites out here." A quick nod and she's jogging back. She throws me one final glance over her shoulder, and it literally is like getting blasted by Io's light-ray attack. Thankfully, the two dragons choose that exact moment to take flight. Their words rumble through my mind like thunder. Keep up if you can, little sister. I might be old, but I'm still fast. The wind howls as they beat their wings. Dread launches southward. A black-and-red streak. Luna is right behind him, though. We all watch for a moment and then Adrian Lee nudges my shoulder. "Hey. Looks like the hatch is opening," he says. "Let's go meet your newest Martians." Excerpted from The Rise of Neptune by Scott Reintgen All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
