I know why they called me in. I had no right to quit a job tied to my mission. No matter how badly my feelings were hurt. The mission comes first. I know that. I’ve been trained. And I’ve also been called a lot worse than what Kace said to me. I’ve just never been in love on a mission—or anywhere else for that matter—so I reacted badly. Now I have to face the firing squad so to speak. Mallory’s the first to enter. She comes over to hug me, but I can see that she’s worried. “I’m sorry, Mal. I didn’t mean to do this to you.” “I know. We’ll get through this.” Reina and Jane enter a moment later. There are no hugs from them. I know they care about me, but the needs of the Society have to come first. And we all know I screwed up. Bad. “I’d like to give you a chance to explain to us why you quit, Stella. I’m sure you’re aware that by doing that you’ve made our job much harder. And just because it’s your mother we’re doing this for, doesn’t mean it’s not still a real mission,”
