Trish Trash: Rollergirl of Mars (#2)

by Jessica Abel

Seven-and-a-half-year-old (that's fifteen in Earth years) Mars girl, Trish Nupindju is such a hot hoverderby player that even though her intern contract forbids her to skate with the team, her coach has her playing scrimmages. Why's she so damn good? She's got a secret weapon: the indigenous Martian she's hiding in her garage, named Qiqi. Qiqi brought Trish something she'd never seen: roller skates. Not just an roller skates, either, but skates that can be used outside, overland, in the harsh Martian landscape, and the cross-training is paying off, big time.

But when her hoverderby team's corporate overlords get wind that she's jamming with the team, she loses her contract, taking on a year of extra debt, and things start to go downhill for her family, fast.

Qiqi's got one more gift, one that will change everything, but will it come too late?