J. N. Chaney

Copyrighted Material

Dark Peace Copyright © 2022 by Variant Publications

Book design and layout copyright © 2022 by JN Chaney

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living, dead, or undead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from JN Chaney.

www.jnchaney.com

1st Edition

For Ray and Adriane Mendez, honorary members of the Renegade family.

This one is for you.

CONTENTS

Warning

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Don’t Miss Out

Join the Conversation

Connect with J.N. Chaney

About the Authors

WARNING: THIS BOOK CONTAINS ACTION, CUSSING, AND GENERAL BADASSERY.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

1

Freedom didn’t taste as good as I remembered.

I should have felt cosmic winds at my back, pushing me along to a destination of my choosing. Instead, the government had me hemmed in again, ordered to stay put in a secret sector until they gave me leave to start the mission.

That mission, such as it was, required me to help Gray, the alien who’d imprinted on me like a baby bird, and help him get home. As an aside, the Alliance heads wanted to know whether his people would pose a threat. Doing those two small things would fulfill my new contract terms.

Ergo, a free man I was not. Not yet.

I planned to be back in a few weeks for my fresh start on the outside. A few months if the trek proved difficult.

Until then…

I took careful aim with the Star Treader’s twin cannons and let loose on a pair of fast-moving targets. Two purple beams lanced out, each in opposite directions.

“Nice shot,” commented Deacon when the two space rocks I was using to test out the new ship’s weapons exploded.

“Thanks. Damn, it feels good to blow shit up again. Kidding. It is nice having a functional weapon system though.”

Something that sounded an awful lot like a derisive snort came over the bridge’s comm system.

“Captain Riker merely chose the target.” Poe, the ship’s AI who doubled as the bane of my existence, said it as though I was intentionally taking credit for his work. “I do, however, agree that this ship has far more weapons than my last host. It will be much simpler to eliminate enemies in the future.”

“Easy there, killer,” I chastised. “If you’re not careful, someone might report you for going rogue. Then you’d be decommissioned, and I’d be stuck training a new AI.”

“Do not tempt me, Captain. If we could get back on track now, you’ll perhaps be interested to know that we’ve been asked to attend one last holo meeting with Chief Norman. The rest of the crew is on their way to the bridge as we speak.”

It was about damn time.

We were supposed to be on our way to Gray’s Anypsian homeworld, whose name I couldn’t pronounce, but had been derailed when he dropped a bomb on our plans. The alien had a ship that he only decided to tell us about the day we were due to leave. Much as I’d have preferred to keep my new Alliance bosses in the dark, Poe had helpfully reminded me that it would violate the terms of my agreement with them.

As expected, they freaked out. The Alliance scientists stationed on Della were told to check the entire mountain again for any sign of an alien spacecraft before we could go ourselves. That had been three days ago. Since then, the Star Treader and its stalwart crew had been ordered to wait at Alliance HQ, passing the time by using space junk as target practice and getting familiar with our shiny new ship.

Despite the Treader being three times the size of my old ship, it still felt small. I read somewhere once that a gilded cage was still a cage. Taking in the bridge with its next-gen systems, comfortable furnishings, and enough headroom to accommodate the ridiculously tall alien I’d come to call a friend cemented that for me. I had an itch that couldn’t be scratched so long as we stayed in one place.

“You could be a little less cryptic, you know,” I said, angling a glance at Gray.

He was sitting in the oversized crew chair that Alliance engineers built specially for him. That was good because at almost three meters, he didn’t fit in any of the people sized furniture.

Would you like an apology?

“No, the first three did the job. I’m trying to say that more information would be nice. What kind of ship it is, are we taking it with us, that sort of thing.”

Gray’s expression took on the pensive look he had when trying to decode human phrases. The correlation from human records implies you want to know the make and model. We do not apply such attributes to our vessels. I also don’t understand how that information would be helpful.

I liked Gray, even considered him a friend. Sometimes his lack of understanding when it came to human communication made for humorous situations. Other times (like now) it was frustrating.

“I think Cole meant what function your ship serves,” Deacon put in helpfully. “For example, the Treader is an expeditionary vessel.”

Gray nodded. That makes more sense. My vessel is meant for general transportation. As for why I was hesitant to divulge more information… My recent experiences with humans, excluding present company, were concerning. It did not strike me as wise to reveal more than was necessary.

General use didn’t sound all that important to me, but it was hard to fault him for exercising caution. Personally, I felt the same way. “Alright, then. I can get behind that—”

I paused when the bridge door slid open. Selina Vasquez, our medical expert, and Lieutenant John Barrick, the team’s muscle, ambled in together, laughing. When they realized the rest of us were watching, both coughed and split off to take their seats. It was no secret that Vasquez had a thing for the strapping lieutenant (pretty sure I’d read this plot somewhere before), but I had a hunch he was involved with someone else. The same someone we were about to have a meeting with.

Being assigned as the leader of our mission meant I was expected to act accordingly. That wasn’t what stopped me from making an ill-timed joke. No, I specifically wanted to watch a trainwreck unfold in front of my eyes, and this one promised to be quite the show.

With them here, only one person had yet to arrive. “Where’s Cam?”

“Right here.” The woman in question, my former Liaison Officer and the final member of my misfit crew, strode onto the bridge in her signature leather jacket and boots that promised to kick the shit out of anyone who might get in her way.

Camilla Abernathy. She came with quite the resume: war hero, explorer, and close personal friend of Jace Hughes, the man who rediscovered Earth and saved humanity from a homicidal race of aliens known as Celestials. And I didn’t give a good godsdamn about any of it. She held out a hand when I needed it most, when there wasn’t much good about me to believe in. For that, Cam had my trust, and I had her back.

“I take it you’re done with target practice for today,” she commented, taking the co-captain’s seat to my right.

I’d offered it to Deacon first. He’d been with me the longest and had, to my mind, earned the choice ahead of anyone else. The polite “no” had come out a little fast though. I knew he still had secrets in his murky past somewhere he wasn’t ready to share. As long as they didn’t interfere with me, they were his business.

After his refusal, Camilla readily accepted. Which worked for me because the woman could handle herself and knew her way around a ship.

“Done forever,” I told her. “We just got word that the higher-ups want one final meeting before we can head out.”

“About time. If I had to listen to you and Poe go at it much longer, I was going to space myself. The two of you fight like an old married couple.”

Feigning hurt, I shook my head. “And here I was just thinking you were a woman after my own heart. You heard her, Poe. Let the chief know we’re ready.”

He did so without any extra flair, which I appreciated. Knowing we were close to leaving this off-the-books system made me that much more antsy. I’d have been lying if I said part of me wasn’t worried that the people in charge would hit us with yet another delay.

Chief Norman appeared on the holo wearing a freshly pressed uniform and a smile. Since I knew the Earth representative well enough by now to tell when she was ready to give me bad news, I took her demeanor as a good sign.

Her smile didn’t quite fade when she saw me, but her mouth twitched. “Captain Riker, was there a problem with the uniform we provided you?”

I managed to rein in the snort to a chuff. The uniform, or uniforms, since they’d sent me half a dozen of the damn things, had been unceremoniously shoved into a recycler the second Poe verified they weren’t part of my agreement.

“Not that I know of. Didn’t really look if I’m being perfectly honest. If that’s an issue, Chief Norman, you’ll have to get over it. Respectfully.”

A pregnant pause filled the bridge. It probably wasn’t in my best interest to antagonize one of the top people responsible for getting me a decent deal, but everyone had to have boundaries. This happened to be one of mine.

The chief held my gaze for another beat, then laughed. Not derisively or in the smartass way I was used to from people in her position, but a real one. “AG Pike owes me twenty credits,” she said smugly. Some of my surprise must have shown because the woman laughed again. This time at me. “You look like a stiff wind could knock you over, Captain.”

“Sorry, I’m just shocked to discover you all are real people too.”

“I think if you gave people a chance, they’d surprise you more often than not,” Norman said mildly. “Now, on to business. Researchers on Della didn’t find Gray’s ship, I’m sorry to report. Perhaps it would be better for the Star Treader to begin its journey now rather than wait any longer.”

So, that was the holdup. As usual, no one had bothered to ask us. Knowing how government entities tended to handle unknown situations tended to piss me off. I also had a feeling that they had wanted the first crack at getting inside Gray’s ship without interruptions, just as he’d been afraid of.

“Meaning we just sat here and twiddled our thumbs for a week when we could have been halfway to our destination by now?”

Norman’s face tightened. “While I understand your frustration, Captain Riker, try to have some perspective. You might prefer to live outside the law, but the majority of our society doesn’t have that luxury. Rules are for more than just control. They’re put in place to keep people safe. We’re dealing with an unknown alien race less than a decade after humanity came close to extinction at the hands of another. You’ll have to forgive us for exercising caution.”

That took some of the steam out of my anger. It stung a little to realize she was right. I’d been looking at it from my own point of view, only seeing how the delay affected my personal timeline. The terms of the new contract I’d signed were for me to be a leader in exchange for a squeaky-clean record. If Chief Norman and her cohorts could make concessions to make this work, then so could I.

“Point taken, Chief. That being said—”

I paused when Gray coughed. Not vocally, but in my mind.

Please let Chief Norman know that my ship is cloaked by means undetectable to humans.

Apparently, his telepathic method of communication had its limits and couldn’t be heard over a standard transmission.

The Chief nodded when I relayed his message. “We had a hunch that might be the case. Since it is, you’re cleared to go there first. The scientists on-planet have requested a chance to gather data. If Gray is agreeable to that, of course.”

I took his silence to mean he wasn’t agreeable, but merely said, “We’ll let you know.”

Once the transmission cut out, I ordered Poe to set a course for Della, then spun around to face the cryptic alien. “I’m gonna need more.”

He held my gaze for a stretch, black eyes unblinking. There is not as much to tell as you think. The gaps in my memory are significant. I do not know the way back to my home system, but my ship will have this information.

“That’s all I needed to know,” I replied, swiveling back to face the controls. “Poe, you know the drill. Set a course for Della. We’re officially starting this mission.”

2

“There is a problem, Captain.”

I held back a groan of annoyance. “We’re not even out of the slip yet, Poe.”

“That as it may be, I would think even you would prefer to be aware of an ongoing battle at our destination.”

It was always something. “Yeah, yeah. What’s the catastrophe this time?”

“Reports of an attack on Della have come through. Details are sparse at the moment as the situation is still developing. However, due to a limited number of available defense ships in the area, the situation is proving troublesome.”

“What?” I couldn’t comprehend what I’d just heard. “This is the Alliance we’re talking about. It’s hard to believe there aren’t enough ships to adequately protect the research mission going down on Della. In what galaxy does that make sense?”

“Ours.” The interruption came from Barrick, whose dour expression said it was a conversation he’d had before. “Eight years might sound like a long time to bounce back from galactic war, but the hard truth is that we’re still recovering, Riker. Building ships isn’t a problem. Getting the materials to do it is.”

“No, I get that resources have to be allocated,” I said, waving a hand. “I’m referring to Della. It has unknown alien artifacts on the surface. As the Chief so recently reminded us, Alliance priority one is determining what’s a threat and what isn’t. I thought the Alliance would have beefed up security.”

Camilla shifted in her seat. “Barrick has it right. The fleets are still rebuilding, and even with the eradication of the pirates and their Ravager cousins, there are way too many parts of civilized space that need protection. Then factor in that there are people out there waiting for the right information to drop so they can jump on it and...”

“And having a ton of Alliance branded ships converging on one location is a beacon in the night,” I finished for her.

She nodded. “Correct. It’s a risky game, but with so many pieces moving on the board, it’s a chance the Alliance has to take.”

That sounded familiar, which I figured was probably why she said it. I’d taken my fair share of risks in the past that didn’t work out. As it so happened, one of those risks was directly responsible for my current situation. So, I could understand how and why the Alliance took this particular gamble.

They were trying not to repeat past mistakes.

It seemed that every time I turned around, the Alliance surprised me. That didn’t mean I was suddenly a fan of the people making up the rules. I just understood them a little better.

“Alright. If these assholes want to get in between us and Gray’s ship… well, I’ve been wanting something more than space rocks to test these blasters out on.”

Deacon snorted, obviously amused. “I’m starting to think you need to talk to someone about these violent tendencies of yours.”

“I am. To you guys.”

A half-decent ship and a good crew were all a captain needed. To my mind, I had both and then some.

* * *

The Star Treader exited the rift at Praxis System to relative calm.

A squadron of Alliance strike ships waited on all sides to ward off potential threats. I fully expected them to give us a hard time and had an argument ready to go when they hailed me. As expected, everyone except Selina and Deacon was on the bridge. They both preferred avoiding the authorities and escaped to the privacy of their bunks before we left slipspace.

“This is Captain Cole Riker of the expeditionary vessel Star Treader,” I began as soon as the transmission connected. “I’m sending you a secure data package with our travel pass.”

The person who appeared on the holo looked anything but friendly. He was older, around his mid-forties, with hooded eyes and a nose so sharp it looked like it could cut glass. The kind of man whose image said “I’m a tightwad Union Point officer” in neon pink letters. “Captain Riker, this is Captain Barber.”

Here we go, I thought.

“While the initiative is appreciated, it’s not necessary. The Treader has already been marked for immediate clearance. You’re good to go. Still waiting for reinforcements at Della, so we can use all the help we can get.”

A retort about him taking the initiative died on my lips. “Sure,” I said instead, a little speechless that the guy wasn’t being a self-righteous asshole.

“Don’t underestimate them,” Barber added. “The pricks used stolen Celestial tech to breach patrols in the area.”

I shot him a smile, exposing my teeth. “Then I guess it’s time for them to face off with someone on their level. We’ll cloak up and take them by surprise.”

The captain nodded coolly. “Please do. I’m passing along all the information we have on the invaders. Who knows, it might help you. Watch your back out there, Riker.”

We ended the transmission then. Della was a good two hours away, which gave us plenty of time to go over the info packet from Barber. I opened the file, still reeling from the shock of how well the interaction went.

“Don’t look so disappointed, Riker,” Barrick said from behind me. “Believe it or not, the entire government isn’t out to get you.”

I flipped him the bird without looking up. “Easy for you to say when you’re a part of the machine.”

“Says the guy who made a crack about my sister the first time we met,” he shot back with a laugh. “You were wearing cuffs at the time, the standard accessory of criminals everywhere. Don’t act like a victim. The old you was part of the system too.”

Camilla swore under her breath, drawing my attention away from the lieutenant. “What is it?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” She tapped a few times on the data pad she’d been using to review the file, then cast it to the main display. A list of those confirmed to be involved in the attack appeared on the holo. “Recognize anyone?”

I only had to scan the faces for a few seconds before two jumped out at me, and I echoed Camilla’s curse.

Jethro Holden and Marcus Winkleton. Holden had been part of the dynamic duo who snatched me from the alley on Slevin Station. Marcus Winkleton, AKA Slim, was the asshole who whaled on me during my conversation with Eckert. Though it pained me greatly, I didn’t say anything out loud about Slim’s real name being Winkleton of all things.

Selina cleared her throat. “Are you two going to share with the rest of us or just keep muttering to yourselves?”

I swung around to face the group. “They’re Silas Eckert’s men. Guess they didn’t take my warning seriously enough.”

According to the report, more Alliance backup was on the way. It was just dumb luck that we were already headed for Della when the attack started. Thanks to the Star Treader being a fresh off the sales dock vessel with all the bells and whistles Alliance credits could buy, we had a top-rate cloaking system. That put us in a prime position to take advantage by surprising the unsuspecting raiders.

Anticipation made the two hours fly by.

When we got within scanning range, Poe only picked up a few straggling battles still ongoing in Della’s orbital space. He checked in with the friendlies on-planet and came back with news that didn’t surprise me in the least.

“Due to the lack of security, there are a handful of attackers attempting to breach the mountain,” he informed us.

“That would have been their plan,” I mused, taking in the half-assed fighting. “If they were smart, or at least competent. Use a small force to keep support up here busy, then concentrate on a smash and grab.”

“Unfortunately, some of your former peers aren’t complete idiots,” commented Camilla. “It’s a decent enough tactic that works well in situations like this. But they won’t be expecting us to show up unannounced.”

“Why don’t you take over for our maiden hostile skirmish, Cam? Technically Barrick is head of our defenses, but I heard you were quite the pilot back in the day. I’ve been wanting to see it in action.”

One of her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Is that a request or a nicely worded order, Captain?”

The light, mocking tone she used to say my title indicated she thought I was being suspicious.

“Nope. Call it research,” I said, spreading my hands slightly. “As your captain, it’s my duty to evaluate everyone and make sure I’m using each of you to the best of your ability. It’s all about efficiency.”

Camilla didn’t look convinced. “Right. Well, I respectfully decline. Larger vessels like this aren’t really my speed. I have a particular set of skills, and they lie with strike ships. Besides, I thought you’d want that privilege for yourself to test the Treader in the field.”

“Nah.” I pointed a finger up to indicate Poe. “He wasn’t far off before when he said I just chose the targets. The Treader almost takes the fun out of it. If you’d rather not, then Barrick should. I can learn a lot from him.”

I was decent enough at space conflict to come up with a workable plan. But part of Barrick’s function on my crew was as our security and combat specialist. I’d seen him in action and felt confident enough in his abilities to let him take the lead in that regard. And not that I’d ever admit it, but it didn’t matter as much when the ship wasn’t actually mine. It was a loaner, expressly for the purpose of our mission.

When we got back, my old ship, the Nebulous, would be a different story. As part of my agreement, the Alliance was fixing her up and adding a slew of upgrades that I would take the privilege of using first.

Deacon snickered from his seat. “Aww. You’ve become so wise since we met. It almost brings a tear to my eye.”

I didn’t have anything to throw at him except a dirty look. “Children are supposed to be seen and not heard, D.”

A digital snort preceded Poe’s input on the subject. “You previously stated that viewpoint applied to AIs. It would seem you are running out of material for your gag file, Captain Riker.”

He was referring to when I’d said as much to him, and I considered it to be a mark of growth that I refrained from making a crass remark about his use of the word gag.

“It can apply to both.” Switching gears, I opened comms to the entire ship. Selina was the only one not on the bridge, claiming that having a front row seat to the fighting didn’t interest her in the least. “Make sure you’re strapped in tight, Vasquez. I doubt it’ll get too rough since we’re dealing with a small outfit, but let’s play it safe.”

“Miss Vasquez said not to worry,” supplied Poe. “To summarize, she has taken a mild soother and is on her “way to lala land” as we speak.”

“Well, alright then. Everyone deals with combat differently, I guess. Barrick, you’re up.”

The Alliance lieutenant reverted to his default setting of a man-at-arms in a snap. Back straight, eyes focused, and a hint of eager anticipation all said Lieutenant Barrick was ready for action. “Poe, verify which friendly vessel is having the most trouble, and we’ll start there.”

This was exactly why I let him take command. My style leaned more toward getting myself out of fights, not rescuing others. Watching Barrick work in a different setting would help me make better choices going forward. If not for the mission, then for the sake of my friends. And in the future, when I was on my own and better combat skills would only be a good thing.

Barrick studied the main holo with equal parts concentration and grim patience. The man’s formidable presence permeated the bridge, keeping the rest of us quiet. Five Alliance ships (helpfully marked green) were outnumbered two to one. At first glance, the frigate battling three enemies all by its lonesome looked like the most in need of help. Poe, however, highlighted a smaller fighter class vessel that was locked in a one-on-one battle.

The reason became apparent when Barrick zeroed in on their section of the grid. Our comrade had taken significant damage and was barely holding on. It limped rather than zipped as the pilot attempted evasive maneuvers.

The last time Barrick had taken control had been because I lost my captain’s privileges for breaking parole by saving Gray. Removing an alien life-form from its initial location without express permission was still a crime in the ever-hazy eyes of the law. The point was, at the time I’d been greatly vexed by the situation, so it felt a bit like poetic justice to be the one extending an olive branch now.

“We’re going to hit them hard and fast,” Barrick informed the bridge. “Then we’ll move on to the next target.”

I glanced up, mildly surprised. “I know the plan was to come in cloaked, but you usually give them a chance to surrender first.”

He sent me a humorless smile that reminded me again of who the enemy was dealing with. The man might be affable enough, trading insults and jokes like any typical crewmate, but he was also a trained soldier and competent leader. Not, despite the rugged good looks and disarming smile I’d seen him turn on a few times, an officer who sat on his haunches when there was a fight at hand. And he was smart. That made for a killer combination.

“It’s within reason to assume my brothers-in-arms offered that option already. Combat is ongoing, so they’re not getting shit from me except our cannons up their assholes.”

“Fair enough, LT. You do you. I’ll shut up now.”

His response was to divert his attention back to the holo. “Poe, I assume you’ve done an assessment of the enemy ships?”

“That is correct, Lieutenant.”

“Good. Keep doing that so we can automatically hit their weak points. When I give the order to engage, do a flyby assault. If that does the trick, we’ll move on. If not, bring us back around to try again. Their confusion will buy us some time but not much. Let’s make every strike count.”

The last perk from my letting Barrick assume temporary command was that it gave me a chance to observe the actual battle. A bit like watching an immersive holo movie, except the enemy was real and so was the chance of dying.

Poe and Barrick worked in tandem, sans any of the usual griping that happened with me in charge. When the lieutenant gave the order to fire cannons, a series of short burst beams shot out to strike the initial target. A solid attack, but they didn’t go down on the first go around as we’d hoped, requiring a second pass.

The raiders recovered faster than expected. That was somewhat troublesome since we no longer had the element of surprise, but it was good for the impaired Alliance fighter who then had a chance to reach safety. A chance the pilot didn’t take, as it turned out. As the enemy shifted their sights to us, Barrick deactivated the cloak.

Cloaks could vary in design, but not much. How well they did or didn’t work depended on the ship they were attached to. They all had one thing in common though. Cloaking had to be disabled in order to engage in combat, even if it was just for the split second when a weapon engaged. That’s why most people used them to stay off radars, not during open space warfare. If you had to shoot more than once or twice, it just made sense to leave it off.

Now everyone in the sector knew we were here, even if they didn’t precisely know who “we” were. And no matter how many upgrades the Star Treader had been given, she wasn’t built for warcraft. An appraising glance of Barrick didn’t show any hint of worry, which alleviated my concerns.

If anything, the guy looked almost cheerful.

“Engage hostiles with extreme force,” he ordered the computer. “Main cannons only for now.”

“Affirmative, Lieutenant,” replied Poe.

The battle persisted in earnest. Our main cannons switched from rapid fire to having a longer pause between projectiles. The extra seconds allowed for our attacks to pack a bigger punch. The trade-off was a sacrifice in terms of room for error. In close quarters like this, both had their advantages, and Barrick utilized the best option for each new strategy.

Return fire hurtled our way. Blue, rather than purple, indicating a different weapon system than we were sporting. A few landed, prompting an update from Poe.

“Shields at ninety-eight percent.”

I looked over to Deacon, amazed. He caught the motion and turned a little to nod. A silent exchange that we both understood perfectly. Had the Nebulous taken direct hits like that, her shields would have dropped considerably more than a piddly two percent.

The Treader changed direction to head back, letting loose with a maelstrom of heavy fire. The other ship tried to evade by cutting away at a downward angle. Poe kept on them, so easily tracking their movements that Barrick didn’t have to issue another command until the end.

“Try to leave the vessel usable. If you can’t, oh well. We can always use it for scrap.”

“Acknowledged. Commencing final attack.”

Since explosions didn’t happen in the vacuum of space, we didn’t get some pretty display of sparks and flames to signal the other ship’s demise. It simply stopped moving with intention. A dark object, adrift in the void at the mercy of its own momentum and anyone who came along.

No sooner did we start to head off toward the rest of the fracas than my attention was yanked back to the nav display by a shrill alarm.

“Another hostile has locked on to the Treader,” informed Poe. “As the signal is not from any of the currently identified ships, logic says it’s from a cloaked vessel.”

It would seem we weren’t the only ones who’d been pulling a short con.

“Assume they have other fun toys like Barbosa said,” replied Barrick in a tight voice. “Run a scan as soon as they uncloak and get as much information as you can.”

“Of course, Lieutenant.”

A two-pronged attack started to arc toward us. One from the first ship we’d attacked, the second from somewhere under the Treader’s belly. Technically, we had plenty of maneuvering options left, but there was a hitch. The ghost fighter beneath us could shoot in any direction we tried to run. And did, the instant Poe shot forward.

“Hold onto your asses!” warned Barrick.

Poe may not have needed direction from the man, but I was glad for Barrick’s quick warning when the Treader went into a dive that plastered me against the back of my seat like a fly on a windshield. This, I decided, was one aspect of handing over command that I disliked. For some reason, I didn’t have any issues when I had the controls in hand. When at the mercy of other pilots, I felt like a ball being thrown around at an arena game.

At least the rough defensive measures weren’t a last-ditch effort without a strategy behind it. Trying to jet off without a plan would have just opened us up to further attack. This way, we could get in close and take an offensive stance. It had one downside in that it put the Treader directly in their line of fire, and close range at that. Another gamble.

One I was desperately hoping would pay off.

I had to bite back a curse when we shifted and I was thrown to the right, shoulder harness digging in deep enough to leave a mark. Yeah, that was going to hurt in the morning. Before I could finish lamenting about that fact, we were thrown in the opposite direction. Oh, goody. Now I had a matching set of bruised shoulders. Gritting my teeth against the pain throbbing in my right shoulder, I reminded myself this was all for a greater cause.

Through it all, Gray remained silent.

It made me wonder what the alien thought of all this. Genteel and naïve about some human aspects as he might be, the Anypsian rarely took offense at our proclivity for violence. One could blame it on the Celestials’ recent attempt to render humanity extinct. That was just a brief moment in our bloody history, however. The truth was that we fought amongst ourselves more than any other single enemy. At the core of any intelligent species lay the capacity for many traits: greed and generosity, brutality and kindness.

Good and evil.

Seeing how we were chased across the galaxy simply for helping him, and now watching as bandits tried to procure what belonged to him and his people, Gray no doubt had been right to hold back some information. But would he tell his people about his experiences and put them in the same position as Jace Hughes and his allies where they felt the need to assess humanity as a threat?

I was brought back to the present when we took another head-on attack at full power. From the abrupt shudder that went through the Treader, it had been something formidable. The lights dimmed, and I thought for one sickly long moment that the ship was about to shut down on us. Then it gave a whine, and the power kicked back up to full.

“What the shit was that?” I demanded, unable to maintain my silence any longer.

Barrick’s mouth tightened before he answered, “That was a pulse cannon strike.”

3

My mind did mental zero g acrobatics for a second while I worked out what that meant.

A pulse cannon at such close range should have knocked our ship out of commission. The pulse technology had been created out of necessity. Engineered by minds far smarter than mine, pulse cannons were designed to stop Celestials in their tracks. As such, the weapons were strictly regulated and highly illegal to own without a proper certification.

I doubted these thugs had even attempted the process.

“This ship is rated for pulse attacks,” Barrick explained quickly. “A few, anyway. Poe, return fire in kind.”

The Star Treader’s engines whined as it geared up for the strike it was about to launch. I knew we had the pulse weaponry on the ship, but its use was strictly forbidden except against Celestials or a threat on their level. Apparently, this qualified.

An external feed displayed on the holo gave us an unobstructed view of the action. The beam itself was invisible, just like the one from Barrick’s upgraded rifle that I’d lost during my final showdown with Eckert. The lieutenant was still sore over that, so I avoided talking about it.

Unlike with the handheld cannon, which had only been able to disrupt the shields temporarily on the first hit, the enemy ship reacted violently to the attack. A flash of light erupted at the hit point. It spread quickly, encasing the entire hull in a blanket of visible shield energy.

Disrupted shield energy, to be exact.

“Hit them again,” ordered Barrick. “Just enough to shut everything down and send them scrambling for escape pods.”

“Affirmative,” replied Poe. “Commencing secondary attack.”

It worked just as the lieutenant had requested. The other ship’s energy output flatlined, leaving its crew dead in the void.

I waited until the deed was done and the bandits were shooting out of the pod slots before getting Barrick’s attention. “Being merciful?”

He shook his head with a grunt. “Hardly. The Alliance is going to want that ship. No sense destroying it when they could use it.”

Practical and violent. Those were traits I respected, and why I didn’t mind the guy all that much despite his role within the Alliance. Liked him, even. In a grudging sort of way.

“Lieutenant Barrick, there are additional hostiles incoming. They’ve broken away from their respective fights and have us in their sights. A total of seven enemy vessels remain.”

A cocky smile that bordered on a smirk appeared on his face. “Let them come, then. Now that they’ve taken the bait, our allies can regroup. That’s going to even things up.”

I had already been impressed with the man, though I never said it out loud. This, however, shot him up another level on my scale. Because he deserved some acknowledgement from his captain, I gave him a curt nod before saying “That was good work.”

The lieutenant didn’t look back, both eyes focused firmly on the holo. “Just doing my job, Riker. But thanks.”

I left it at that as we moved off to join in on the rest of the fun. The ship we’d saved had been taking potshots at the first vessel we took on. On the surface, it didn’t do enough damage to be worthwhile. In truth, it had acted like a pestering fly, landing small, quick strikes, then backing off. A distraction like that provided as much help as significant damage did.

With us more or less at full strength, that brought the total Alliance ships up to five and a half, and we had seven enemy ships to deal with. Almost even. Liking those odds, I watched the holo intently.

The green markers convened into a loose formation.

As Barrick had predicted, the other Alliance fighters had been given a chance to breathe. Together, we converged on the swarm that was taking us on. That left the injured ship able to hold back, keeping watch from relative safety in case it was needed again. They had my respect for it. And then some.

The general population tended to see criminals as a bunch of clueless idiots. Don’t get me wrong—they could be. There was a reason shows like The Galaxy’s Dumbest Criminals existed. But many of my former peers were plenty smart. That’s how Renegades made a name for themselves, after all. And with groups like this who had a small fleet of ships in their outfit, teamwork was a requirement of survival. They formed a tight-knit group shaped like a sphere.

Smart, as far as plans went.

It ruled out the use of standard attack tactics and forced us to break formation. But, as I’d recently begun to understand, the Alliance wasn’t as reliant on standards as I used to believe. They peeled off from one another just as easily as they’d come together. That didn’t mean their coordination fell apart.

Barrick opened a secure communication line with the other pilots and shot off orders like lives depended on it. Normally I’d have said they did, but it was obvious who outclassed who in this little skirmish. The strike ships hit the knot of enemy ships hard and fast. None of the Alliance pilots stayed in one place. They moved on to different targets as soon as their attacks made contact and let the next guy take his place. Because of that, the would-be invaders couldn’t know who might fire on them next, or where. Not fast enough, in any case.

A barrage of return fire burst outward.

Wild return fire. I noted that at least two of the opposing ships possessed Celestial grade armaments. Not of the pulse variety, but the telltale purple beams shooting out acted as confirmation of the illegal weaponry. Even so, anyone could see that they lacked a plan. We had them on the ropes, and that made me smile. One by one, the invaders fell, either rendered immobile or destroyed. This was what happened when schoolyard bullies had to face off with people their own size.

Total domination.

The Alliance team took hardly any damage. The hit and run tactic, while outwardly chaotic, was an intricate dance. Each pilot and their AI worked in concert with the rest of us, analyzing the altercations and calculating the most vulnerable points on our enemy, then alerting the rest as to which targets each ship should strike. This was real teamwork, and it was effective as hell.

I didn’t realize how tense I’d been until the sector was cleared and my body subconsciously relaxed. The relief didn’t last long, however. Our work wasn’t done yet. Not with combatants still on the ground.

When Barrick looked to me with an obvious question in his flat eyes, I nodded. “That was good work. I’ll take it from here, LT.”

He returned the nod and settled back into his seat with a final sign-off to his fellow pilots.

Unsure how to proceed, I took a moment to collect my thoughts before speaking again. “As much as I’m all about barreling down there to take care of the rest of the jerkwads prancing around on Gray’s mountain, I feel the need to consult my resident combat expert. Should I ask our friends to come with, or would that be better received if you do it?”

The way Barrick’s eyes widened ever so slightly told me that I’d managed to take him by surprise. Being the bright sort, the lieutenant recovered quickly. “You could, but they might want to verify your credentials, which would eat up valuable time the people on the ground might not have. I can give you a lead in. Up to you, Captain.”

He didn’t put any emphasis on the title, but it still felt strange to hear someone in his position address me with respect. Shaking that off, I brought up another point. “We’ll do that. But first, do we have any information on what’s happening planetside?”

Poe answered that. “Not at this time, I’m afraid. According to the records, only a handful of security personnel landed with the scientists.

Barrick wasted no time opening a new transmission using the same encrypted method as before. “This is Lieutenant Barrick of the Star Treader. Captain Cole Riker, the mission commander, would like to address those of you listening.”

The short, crisp announcement was laced with the easy authority that came from years of practice. Hoping I didn’t fall on my face trying to follow his lead, I cleared my throat and began.

“This is Captain Riker. My crew and I are about to head for Della to deal with the rest of the unwelcome guests. If any of you are available to join us, it would be appreciated.”

There was a short wait before the alert denoting an incoming transmission came through. A square-faced man, bearing a jagged scar in an almost perfect line from the middle of his right eyebrow to his jawline, appeared on screen. I tried not to stare. His right eye was a different color—brilliant blue—from the brown one on the left.

“Captain Riker,” he said, unsmiling. “I’m Captain Jackson Thorpe. I’ll start by extending my gratitude for your timely assistance. Saved our asses back there.”

“I can’t take credit for anything other than giving the order to join in. Lieutenant Barrick is the one who dealt with the riffraff out here.” I jerked a thumb over my shoulder to indicate the man in question.

“Indeed.” It might have been my imagination, but I thought Thorpe’s eyes warmed a fraction. Like he’d been testing me. I didn’t care for that, but the other captain continued. “As far as your request, I’m afraid that we’ll need most of the fleet to round up this sorry bag of dicks and keep watch for additional reinforcements that might be out there. That cloaked ship got by me. It won’t happen again.”

A muscle worked in his jaw to show just how unhappy he was about that small slipup. “Alright then,” I said, ready to cut the transmission short. “Not a problem—”

Thorpe lifted up a hand to stop me. “Hold onto your panties, Riker. I wasn’t done. A single strike ship is what I can spare, and they’ll have to act solely as air support.”

One ship.

In all honesty, I’d been hoping for more. But I understood his concern. The possibility of other cloaked enemies lurking in the vicinity was enough to unsettle everybody present. I would just have to take what I could get and be grateful for it.

“Thanks,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound too disgruntled. “One is better than none.”

He laughed, the sound rough as though he didn’t do it all that often. “Yeah, you’re right about that. I won’t hold you up any longer than I have already. Good luck down there.”

Hoping we wouldn’t need it, I ended the transmission.

* * *

Our second trip to Della’s surface went much smoother than the first.

That didn’t do a lot to prevent the prick of unease that started to form as soon as we broke through the atmosphere and began our descent. Recalling our previous near-death experience set my teeth on edge, and the feeling didn’t go away until Poe put us down at a spot he proclaimed to be safe. Safe was a relative term in my eyes. Not one to be trusted or taken for granted.

“Did you get any useful information on the way down?” I asked the AI, undoing my harness.

“That depends on what you consider useful, Captain Riker.”

“Poe, now isn’t the time to play coy. Just tell me what you found out.”

An agitated sniff came over the bridge’s intercom system. “I would never be coy, as you put it. In any case, my scans yielded little in the way of concrete data. There appears to be a jammer of sorts in play.”

I tensed, as did everyone around me. “A jammer… like the signal you used?” I directed the question at Gray.

He was quick to shake his head. The signal is not refined enough to be Anypsian. It is, in fact, cruder than most of the human technology that I have worked with.

“Probably something rigged with illegal parts,” put in Deacon. “Low-level. Renegade stuff. Know what I mean?”

He waved both hands when I pinned him with a look.

“I’m not insulting Renegades, just saying you tend to rig things, not buy them. This isn’t strong or sophisticated enough to have been swiped, from say a military shipment or something. Either someone made it or bought it on the cheap. The affected area is way too small for anything else.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, drawing out the huh to let him know I wasn’t buying his backpedaling. “Anyway. What else, Poe?”

“Oh, am I allowed to continue with my report then? You have my undying gratitude. As I was saying, the jammer is preventing outgoing communication from its position within the mountain. The situation suggests the hostile force used it where they thought it would be most effective. Unfortunately, they chose well. I am unable to break through without alerting them to our presence. That leaves me partially blind. I can tell you that five individuals are keeping watch outside the mountain. Their locations are on the display.”

Two were at the entrance, with three more posted at vantage points overlooking the crevasse that led into the abandoned outpost within the mountain. I cast a glance around the bridge, considering.

Deacon’s pinched expression would have been comical if not for the seriousness of the situation. “I know that look, Cole. You know I want to help, but putting me in the thick of a potential firefight is just going to be a distraction. I’d be a liability.”

When most people talked like that, they were trying to get out of something. I knew that wasn’t the case with Deacon. We were both smart enough to know he was right and logical enough to admit it. If my friend went with us, I’d be worrying about his safety and potentially put myself or others at risk.

“Fine by me. You and Selina will stay put. If for some reason things go sideways, you’ll take over captain duties and book it back to Alliance HQ. You good with that?”

“Sure. I’ll keep an eye on things. Once you give me the all-clear, I’ll head down.”

I turned my attention to Camilla and Barrick. “A handful of space crooks should be a cakewalk for the three of us.”

And what of me?

Gray’s question sounded normal in my head, but I got the sense that he felt left out. “Don’t worry, big guy. I didn’t forget about you. Given the Anypsian outlook on peace, I thought it would be best to keep you as support. The non-lethal sort. Take one of us for a spin in your personal bubble so we can get the drop on them.”

I see. Yes, this course of action is acceptable to me. Thank you for considering me.

“No problem.” I got to my feet, adrenaline already buzzing in anticipation. “Poe, do a random draw to determine who’s teaming up with Gray. Then do an analysis of the situation and draw up a battle plan while we gear up.”

My request was met with silence. Camilla, Barrick, and Deacon were all staring at me like I’d grown another head. Gray was the only one who looked as confused as I felt.

“What?” I demanded. “Do I have something on my face?”

“I believe they may be in shock,” suggested Poe. “Bravo, Captain Riker. Your forward thinking has managed to impress even the likes of me.”

Scoffing, I started to tell him exactly where he could shove his bullshit opinion, then thought better of it when I caught the humor lighting my friends’ faces. No need to stoop to his level and make myself look like an idiot.

“We’re moving out in fifteen,” I said to the others.

My tone stayed even, but I had to admit their apparent lack of faith stung as I left the main deck and made for the armory. I never asked for this. Leading an expeditionary mission for the Alliance was at the bottom of my dream job list. On top of that, they had all chosen to come with me. No one twisted their arms.

Okay. So, maybe I had a tendency to be impulsive. Reactive instead of proactive. Those actions came off as reckless to most people. What most people didn’t understand was that thinking on my feet—when the situation called for it—had gotten me this far. Sometimes flying by the seat of one’s pants was all a person had.

In short, I could see how having an ex-con and former Renegade as the leader of an important mission might not inspire confidence. I was trying though.

“Cole, wait up!”

Camilla’s voice came from the direction I’d just left, her boots echoing off the short corridor.

“What is it?” I asked when she caught up.

“Barrick has to grab something from his bunk,” she explained, falling into step beside me.

I glanced sidelong at her, taking in the passive expression. “And that required you running after me? Come on, Abernathy. You’ve only got a half-decent poker face. The thing about poker faces is that people only use them when they have something to hide.”

“What,” she said smoothly, “do you think I’m hiding?”

“I know you guys think I’m the rough around the edges station idiot with a heart of gold, but you’re wrong. Neither am I a man child who needs his ego soothed. Give me a little credit here.”

The armory was only a few steps away, and the door opened to admit us.

“Good. That would be a disappointment.” Staring straight ahead, Camilla stepped through the entrance. “No one thinks that, by the way. It’s just different seeing you take things so seriously. In a good way. To be perfectly honest, I thought you were going to pair me with Gray in an attempt to be chivalrous.”

“Seeing as how you have previously threatened to kick my balls into my throat for something like that, I thought it wise not to offer. Besides, haven’t you noticed? I’m not all that chivalrous.”

Camilla shot me a smile rife with challenge and yanked off her shirt.

4

The woman sure knew how to test a man’s word.

I was seasoned enough not to let my eyes pop out of my skull, but it was close. That didn’t stop me from taking a long, respectfully appreciative look though. I knew she had to be in top shape with how easily she’d taken down the asshole on Slevin. Plus, my sight worked just fine.

“Down, woman. We’re about to head out on a mission. Much as I hate to turn down an invitation, now isn’t exactly the best time.”

Camilla shook her head. “Keep dreaming, Riker. This is a locker room. Not your quarters.”

“So you say. Just don’t ask me to zip you up.”

Her snort of laughter at least told me she wasn’t pissed about my giving her a hard time. Silently thanking the gods that my gear locker was on the other side of the room, I deliberately turned my back on my half-naked crewmember and tried not to show my discomfort as I strode to it at a fast clip.

The task gave me something to focus on. Jokes aside, what lay ahead held enough risk to push any remaining lewd thoughts from my mind as I stripped down to my unmentionables. The locker held a few different options, and I grabbed the one rated for missions like this. I’d reviewed all the inventory the first week we’d been stuck at Alliance HQ. Thanks to that, I knew the suit would provide decent protection against fast-moving projectiles while being lightweight enough to move around.

My benefactors had sprung for top of the line everything. They were nice and all, but I still preferred my own gear. Unfortunately, all of that had been left on the Nebulous, so I was stuck looking like a Renegade playing military dress-up.

Which I was, I supposed.

A little under five minutes later, both Camilla and I were ready. Barrick, however, had yet to show. That irked me some. Out of our trio, he was the one I expected to be the most on top of things.

Just as I opened my mouth to ask Poe where the hell the lieutenant was, he came in. At least he’d already dressed, though his suit looked different from mine and Cam’s.

“Sorry,” he said, taking in my expression. “This is an experimental suit I’ve only had a chance to use in a lab setting. Going up against a lesser threat seemed like a good time to field test it.”

I motioned toward his locker. “You’re not keeping it here for easy access?”

“Experimental, Riker,” he reiterated. “Meaning it’s a restricted piece of equipment. You know, like the EXO you lost. Which they wouldn’t replace, by the way. So, this will be locked up in my quarters for safekeeping.”

“That didn’t stop me last time,” I reminded him. Then, after grabbing one last magazine for my kit, I slammed the door to my locker. “Let’s roll.”

Camilla groaned and moved past us to exit the room. “That’s a terrible catchphrase, Cole.”

Barrick and I followed her out into the hall. My suit felt a tad tight in places I’d prefer it not to be, but she moved with ease, making it look natural.

“Was it that bad?” I said to Barrick, half joking.

He shook his head. “Seemed fine to me. Short and to the point.”

“That’s what I thought. Guess you can’t please everyone.” We’d reached the cargo bay then, so I directed my next statement to the ship’s AI. “Poe, you got that plan ready to go?”

“Of course, Captain Riker. As directed, I’ve randomly assigned Gray to a crew member. He and Miss Abernathy will have two targets that I’ve already determined. Due to the lieutenant’s experience and experimental gear, he has the duo guarding the mountain’s entrance. That leaves one for you. All applicable displays have been updated with the relevant information.”

I came to a stop at the quads parked in a corner of the bay. It went without saying that everything here outclassed the equipment I was used to working with. Mostly I didn’t care one way or the other as long as it all worked. The quads, however, interested me greatly. They were sleek and came with weapons attached.

To my disappointment, the latter probably wouldn’t see use today since taking the vehicles too close would give our positions away. There were also enough of them for the three of us to have our own ride. Gray, of course, was riding with Camilla.

“Sounds like we’re set then. Open her up, Poe. I want to get this over with so we can finally get moving on finding Gray’s homeworld.”

I swung onto my chosen quad and fired it up. The engine came to life with little more than a soft purr. A compact helmet hung from one of the handlebars, and I pulled it on. Its face shield slid into place, then flashed briefly as the display booted up.

By the time we were ready a few short seconds later, Poe had the bay door open.

A cold wind gusted in, buffeting against us and reminding me that this part of Della was still in the middle of its winter season. I led my team out into the snow-covered valley where we landed and braced for what came next.

* * *

Gray and Camilla were the first to split off from our little trio and head straight across to the far side of the ridge where their targets waited. The plan for Barrick was to ride down toward the base of the mountain. His suit supposedly had next gen camouflage tech that would give him the best chance of approaching the two interlopers watching the entrance.

Soon it was just me, all by my lonesome, speeding along the lower side of a ridge as I struck out for the single target Poe assigned me. I wanted to get to him roughly the same time as Camilla and Gray so all parties would be too occupied with saving their own skins to notice anything out of order.

The suit protected me from the cold, but snow started to build up on my visor, leaving a layer of frost when I wiped it away. I was glad the quad synced up with our gear because even if I couldn’t see out, the HUD still kept me apprised of my surroundings.

I slowed down when the display informed me that my target was just under fifty meters out.

A little over a month had passed since my fateful decision to put in a request for access to its supposed wealth of Celestial scrap. Since then, much had changed. I was no longer a con, my record wiped so clean it didn’t even have streaks. I wasn’t a Slip Runner working off a parole sentence either. New ship, new friends, new job. Della had stayed more or less the same. I recognized the area as part of our initial route when Deacon, Barrick, and I went searching for the signal responsible for landlocking my ship.

Familiar terrain was useful. I stopped at a copse of trees I remembered from before and parked the quad in between them. Anyone passing by would notice it unless they were blind, but leaving it out in the open was just stupid.

My first steps out into the open brought forth a realization: the snow was deeper. I had to force my way through by taking snowshoe steps that would have kicked my ass if the distance had been any farther. Wind kicked up white powder the whole way, making me glad I wasn’t wearing something that would let the cold stuff in. All things considered, the job could have been a lot worse.

I climbed the ridge, using the display in conjunction with what I could see to navigate the winter terrain.

Sometimes people did stupid shit in situations like this. For instance, sticking their head up to get a lay of the land. When I got to the ridge, I checked in with my AI. “Poe, give me an update.”

Thanks to a little tweak to our equipment via Gray, we could still communicate despite the jammer in play.

“At the moment, your target is performing his due diligence and watching the surrounding area. Gramilla—please don’t comment. I already informed them that it was a terrible team name—are closing in on their targets’ location. I took the liberty of performing a deeper scan of the area. Due to the terrain and natural sight obstructions, the enemy cannot see one another. You may proceed with your assignment at your leisure, Captain.”

“Copy that. I’m going radio silent then.”

He didn’t reply, leaving me to take care of business. The HUD continued to track the target’s movements. The marker kept to the same path, marching right for ten meters, doing a small loop, then coming back. The loop had to be a landmark, from the lack of variation. Either trees or a boulder that he was gravitating to. When he went to the left, it was just a straight line to another specific point before retracing his steps.

There was no indication that he considered the sloped ridge a point of interest either. That made my plan fairly simple. I worked my way up to the top and surveyed everything on this side. It was mostly snow and rock without much to break it up. When the marker moved past my position, I scaled the final few meters and started down.

As I’d figured, the guy was comfortable in his routine, facing the chunk of rocks that he’d been circling. Perfect. All I had to do was use the track he’d so helpfully made in the snow, sneak up behind him, and take him by surprise. Feeling good about it, I picked up the pace so he didn’t make it back around the rocks before I caught up.

A shift in the loose snow under my feet only gave me the barest of an instant to realize there was ice hiding below the white blanket. My foot slid before I could stop it. I started the song and dance of trying not to fall on my ass. Which, of course, didn’t work. I fell backward with a soft thump. Having gotten far enough down this side of the ridge to be at a steep angle made it so I went into a skid with nothing to stop it.

The mishap must have made enough commotion for the target to hear because he whipped around as I came to a stop. Cursing, he fumbled the rifle he held in an attempt to aim at me. I was on my feet and running to close the short distance before he could get the shot off. Judging by the delayed response and general lack of skill, the idiot hadn’t been expecting company and wasn’t experienced enough to deal with me.

I hit him hard, the force of the impact sending us both to the ground. The rifle ended up between us, pointed at a place that I most definitely didn’t want to get shot, regardless of the bulletproof suit. I’d been shot wearing body armor before and was bruised for a week after. The man was roughly the same size as me and no weakling. The bulky clothing he wore provided ample protection against my fists, so I went with the next best thing.

His goggles cracked when I headbutted his face. The impact from my helmet didn’t faze him, but he had to get the goggles off or try fighting blind. I used the extra seconds that bought me to get my hands on the rifle. The sling didn’t have a quick release and shooting him would make a lot of noise. Without knowing if my friends were still operating in stealth mode, I couldn’t risk it. Improvising, I used the rifle to put pressure on his windpipe.

The man let out a strangled shout that wouldn’t carry far enough to alert anyone to his predicament.

“I’m giving you one chance to give up,” I advised using the suit’s external com.

Predictably, he didn’t.

He wheezed when I let up just enough so he could talk. “You’ll have to kill me. When you shoot, my people will know you’re here.”

“Yeah... so about that. It’s not an issue.”

One arm flailed in what I thought was an attempt to punch me until I caught sight of the earpiece he was really going for. I could have killed him with the stunner I’d brought in lieu of a gun. On the lethal setting, it would have been all too easy. If not for the Alliance’s order to take them alive unless otherwise unavoidable, I might have just to make things easier.

Instead, I pulled out the tranq gun loaded with heavy sedatives.

He didn’t know that though. “Wait!”

I didn’t.

Once his head rolled back, I stood up and brushed the snow off my suit. The cuffs I’d brought went on in record time, followed by a special set for his ankles. There was one slight problem when I finished. I wasn’t getting him back up the ridge on my own in this lifetime or the next. I could drag him around, but that would take forever. My best bet was to go for the quad.

“Poe, how long is that tranq supposed to work for? I have to leave this guy for a few minutes.”

“The dosage should be enough to render your target unconscious for no less than four hours, Captain Riker.” I studied the man’s sleeping form, assessing. He seemed dead to the world as far as I could tell. “What would happen if I tagged him again, just to be safe? I don’t want to take a chance that he wakes up.”

“Oh, rest assured,” Poe replied blandly. “There would be no chance of him waking up ever again. Because he would be dead,” the AI added unnecessarily.

Shrugging, I headed back for the quad.

It was right where I left it. My tracks were still there too, leaving me a slightly easier path to follow.

I was nearly there when my earpiece clicked on and an unfamiliar voice sounded in my ear.

“Riker, this is your eye in the sky. There’s movement on the ground nearby. Watch your back.”

Godsdammit. For once, could things just be easy?

A thought crossed my mind, and I tagged Barrick. “LT, yes or no, and don’t fuck with me. Are you out here messing around in your new suit?”

“No.”

I didn’t take the time to respond and reached for my pistol as I pivoted to scan my surroundings. If Poe’s scans didn’t pick them up, they were using some kind of stealth tech. That meant I had to look for non-standard signs of the unknown individual. My eyes went to the ground, looking for fresh disturbances in the snow.

To the right of the trees lay the path I would have taken around to the other side of the ridge to pick up our new prisoner. I thought something moved out of the corner of my eye and groaned inwardly. The quad was close enough that I could make a break for it, but I’d just make myself an easy target.

I had to check it out.

Resigned, I kept my head on swivel as I made my way to the trees. The other side only had patches of snow, making it a good place for someone using camo tech to hide out. It was also familiar. I recognized the rocky expanse that led to a jagged edge as the place where Deacon and Barrick almost fell to their deaths. Realizing that this was the last place I wanted to be, I turned to go back the way I came.

Footsteps pounded toward me. I backed up as fast as I could without tripping and looked for the source of the sound. Whoever it was had to be coming straight at me, so I focused in that direction. Something slammed into my chest hard enough to knock the wind out of me while I was still standing. It hurt like a mother, and I couldn’t see the person yet, but I fired a few rounds in hopes they backed off.

They kept coming. I saw the footprints appear just off center from my position and adjusted my angle of fire. Before I could squeeze the trigger, another of their bullets struck my torso. Staggering, I couldn’t get my bearings in time. I knew they were just going to shoot again, and I rolled toward them. Not a sophisticated move by any stretch of the imagination but effective. I heard a rough voice yell “fuck!” as I collided with his legs.

I didn’t get how he wasn’t showing up on my visor. On a hunch, I deactivated the HUD so all I had was a clear faceplate. Like magic, a person in a suit similar to Barrick’s winked into existence. Now we were in business.

The two of us grappled to get the upper hand, rolling closer to the edge than I liked.

My opponent didn’t have as bulky of a suit to deal with. He also didn’t have a kit for me to grab onto. Just a shoulder holster and... Well fuck me. A blade glinted in the sunlight as it came straight at my face. This guy was on another level compared to the one I’d trussed up like a holiday roast. I had the disadvantage too because I’d ended up on my back.

He moved fast, and I only had time to throw my arms up to protect my neck and face. The suit could stop bullets, but it was more susceptible to weapons of the sharp and pointy variety if the right conditions were met. The knife’s edge sang along the edge of my sleeve without breaking through. I brought up a knee and made contact with a rib. My rival barely acknowledged it and tried bringing the blade to my throat where the armor didn’t go as high.

It was do or die, and I wasn’t the one who’d be making Della my final resting place.

I dropped one arm and punched him in the Adam’s apple with a quick jab. That did the trick. He coughed and grabbed at his injured throat while I went for the tranq gun. My other one had fallen when I had, and it wasn’t in my line of sight.

The man saw me going for something and ignored his own pain to stop me.

We both froze when a crack ripped through the air.

I could tell he thought it was someone shooting because he looked around wildly for the threat. It wasn’t that. The crack was the first warning that we were on thin ice. Or rock, as it were.

I used the distraction to shove him off and palm a small stone, then I scrambled to my feet. “This rock is about to take us both out,” I warned. “What say you to just taking a beat, then continue on solid ground.”

He sneered at me. “Yeah right. I’ll just kill you now if it’s all the same to you.”

His attitude pissed me off. Every punch, every step, brought us closer to death, and he wanted to make jokes. Don’t think I didn’t see the irony of that either. No wonder people got so annoyed when I pulled the same shit.

“Fine, just do it in that direction.” I pointed toward the tree line we’d come from and took a step toward it.

Instead of heeding my warning, the idiot folded the blade along his forearm and leaped at me again. The technique said he had even more experience than I originally gave him credit for. I should have known better but being good with a blade didn’t make him invincible. The rock was still in my hand. Sometimes you just had to improvise. I beaned him with it, pulling the tranq gun in the same motion.

“The fuck?”

He stuttered and stepped, giving me what I needed. I tagged him with the sedative. Once, twice, then a third time. He looked down at where the small projectiles were sticking out of his stealth suit. Without knowing how far they did or didn’t penetrate, I shot forward and planted my foot in his stomach. Another crack reminded me that the situation—not to mention the ground beneath us—was fast deteriorating.

My distraction almost did me in. Somehow, the guy was back on his feet and in range to go for a stab. I grabbed his arm before he could drive the knife into my side and twisted it back. It slid into his gut, the thin suit offering no resistance. The sedatives must have had some impact because I didn’t think I could have pulled that off a few minutes before.

The ground rumbled and started to shift. Taking that as my cue, I left the bleeding man to his fate and started running. The urge to look back wasn’t stronger than my urge to live, and I didn’t stop until I hit safety. When my feet hit terra firma, I turned back to see the aftermath.

A large chunk of cliff edge was gone, and it had taken my enemy with it.

5

The Alliance ship had landed briefly to pick up the three trespassers who didn’t get themselves killed. Now I, along with Camilla and Gray, were back at the cave entrance. Barrick had deemed it clear and was already waiting inside. He, of course, had carried out his task without getting so much as a drop of blood on him. The guy didn’t even have a respectable shiner to show that there’d been a kerfuffle.

I had both, plus more. My chest felt like I’d been kicked by a horse where the bullet had struck my suit. That was preferable to the other option of it going through and piercing flesh. But combined with my various bruises and tweaked muscles, my body was starting to feel stiff and uncomfortable.

Shaking it off, I dismounted from my quad just outside the mountain.

“Well,” began Abernathy, taking in my disheveled appearance. “It was a nice suit.”

I brushed a chunk of snow off my shoulder. “I don’t see a problem. A few dings and scrapes give gear character.”

“Right,” she drawled. “Gray and I would have gotten to you sooner, but transporting two unruly prisoners turned out to be a pain. Didn’t think that one through. Should have brought a sled or something.”

Yes, the alien agreed. That would have been a good choice.

“Too late now,” I told her, motioning at the cave entrance. “Shall we? Barrick is probably pulling out his hair trying to calm down a bunch of terrified scientists.”

Gray nodded. I would like to check on my ship and ensure it is still in working condition.

For the first time since meeting him, Gray seemed excited. He was still learning about humans, picking up on our body language and ways of speaking. It came out at times in small gestures, like a smile or a shrug. This time it was more of an abstract feeling. It reminded me of our first meeting, when I felt compelled to approach his hard-light prison.

I figured it had to be difficult for him. So far from home with nothing but unfamiliarity couldn’t be easy. Maybe seeing his ship and tech that he knew as well as I knew Nebbie would provide some comfort. Thinking of that, I entered the mountain without further delay.

A series of portable lamps lit the way, giving us a better view of the shorn walls and flat footpath we’d taken before. Without the gloomy shadows, I could see just how much work went into the alien-made tunnel. If not for the location, it could have been a Union compound.

The main cavern was also lit up by flood lamps that made it as bright as day inside. It buzzed with activity, just not the kind I expected. Instead of scientists shaking in their boots, we found them hard at work.

Most worked at mobile workstations, seemingly unbothered by the attempted invasion. Evidence of the interaction was being cleaned up by a handful of underlings and tech-types. I noted the towering structure that rose up in the middle of the cave also had people working on a walkway as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

The whole place fairly vibrated with excitement.

It was exactly the kind of environment Deacon went nuts for. Now that there was light and power, he would probably be dying to get his hands on the data and any newly discovered Anypsian technology. So far, he’d only been able to talk to Gray. Not that he wasn’t interesting. He just lacked the kind of parts that Deacon was interested in. Inorganic parts, to be clear.

Cole, I believe it would be wise if I were to stay out of view for the time being.

At Gray’s suggestion, I turned around to face him. He’d stayed back in the corridor just far enough so that anyone looking this way wouldn’t immediately catch sight of his overly large form.

“That’s up you,” I told him with a shrug. “But if you’re worried about people attacking, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Well, not in the violent sense. These types are gonna be mighty interested to meet you. They might maul you like a celebrity, but that’s about it.”

That is what I’m afraid of. While I don’t mind conversing with a few of your people at a time, I would prefer to access my ship in private. Along with our crew, of course.

I realized that with all the commotion, I kept forgetting the reason we came back to Della in the first place. “Speaking of that, is it here? I know you said it was cloaked.”

It is, though I won’t know its condition until we are aboard.

I heard Barrick call my name and scanned the cave for the lieutenant. He stood near a pile of rubble with a woman sporting chin length black hair and a lab coat.

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do,” I said over my shoulder. “Just stay close enough that you can hear me. There has to be a private place around here where we can talk more.”

You have my thanks.

It felt a bit strange to be thanked for showing someone basic courtesy, but I didn’t say any more about it.

“Come on, Riker. They’re waiting.”

The eagerness in Camilla’s tone surprised me, as did the genuine smile that made her whole face light up.

“What’s the rush, Cam? Hot date or something?” I asked, picking up my pace to keep up with her fast walk.

“Something like that. I know her.” Her eyes were on the woman with Barrick.

As we got closer, I realized I knew her too. Not by name or because we’d previously met, but from Sol System newscasts. She was famous for being instrumental in the war against Celestials, I just couldn’t remember why, though I seemed to recall reports claiming she was a close associate of Jace Hughes.

“MaryAnn,” greeted Camilla when we were within earshot.

“Camilla!”

Going by the way the other woman’s face lit up and the hug Camilla got pulled into, the reports were true.

“I didn’t see you come in. I must say, adulthood agrees with you. Jace told me you were going on a mission.” Her lips pressed together in faint annoyance. “As usual, the Renegade left out crucial details. He failed to mention it was this one.”

The mild rebuff, delivered in a thicker accent I couldn’t place sounded automatic, like a common occurrence. I’d only known Camilla for a little over a month, but her personality was crystal clear to me. Strong-willed, confident, and badass. Abby Hughes, the woman married to Jace Hughes, used to be a fugitive, and there were whispers she’d once been an assassin. The Renegade apparently had a thing for feisty women in his life. I could appreciate that.

“Riker.” Barrick jerked his chin at me. “Glad you’re here. Where are Gray and Smith?”

I held my arms out. “What, no hug for your gallant captain?”

The lieutenant stared at me with mild disgust. “No.”

“That hurts, Barrick.”

“No one wants to hug you after the mess you made. You’re lucky no one was hurt.”

I followed his gaze to the pile of busted rocks. It took a moment to realize that not all of it was the mountain. Chunks of smooth stone bearing familiar etchings clued me in. The collapse triggered by my dust up with the knife wielding dipshit had had an unintended casualty. The pedestal was destroyed.

Oops.

“That one’s not on me, LT. To answer your question, Gray’s around. Feeling a little shy. As for Deacon, he’s on his way. Figured it was better not to wait. What with the delay and all.”

“This is Dr. MaryAnn Dressler,” he said, motioning at Camilla’s scientist pal. “She’d really like to speak with him.”

Dr. Dressler nodded eagerly. “Yes, I would. Though I’ve been wanting to speak with you as well, Captain Riker. I have heard quite a bit about you lately.”

I tried not to wince at that. “That’s usually not good where I’m concerned.”

She let out a scoff and waved my concern away. “Please. You’re talking to a former Union deserter. Actually, I’m fairly certain all three of us have been branded traitors at some point or another.”

Barrick’s pained expression said he was the only one who found that bothersome. “Some falsely,” he muttered with a sidelong glance in my direction.

“Yes, of course,” Dressler replied hastily. “But I am a woman of science. I live for discovery of the unknown. Hence, why I’ve been excited to meet you, Captain. Is it true that you were able to experience phasing without the aid of any equipment?”

Her eyes shone with open excitement, and she seemed nearly breathless at the idea. Oh yeah, she and Deacon were going to have a field day together.

“That’s right.” I shuddered thinking of my first experience with the subject she was so curious about. “I don’t recommend it unless you want to feel like you’re being ripped apart at the cellular level, then being stitched back together.”

My words of wisdom didn’t put a damper on her enthusiasm. If anything, she looked ready to grill me with more questions about it like a kid demanding a bedtime story.

“How fascinating. From your description, I’d say that’s exactly what happened. I want to discuss this further, but I’ll wait.” Her gaze shifted to something behind me, keen interest making her temporarily forget about the phasing.

I looked back to see Deacon arrowing straight for us at a pace that said he was trying not to run.

Camilla laughed. “I told him you were here, MaryAnn. To be honest, I’m not sure who’s more excited to meet who. He considers you a hero. Reminds me of Freddie sometimes.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

Freddie? Who the hell was that? I’d never heard the name before, just like I had no idea that Deacon thought so highly of Dr. Dressler.

By the time he got to us, out of breath and starry-eyed, other people in the area had taken notice of their new visitors. I held up a hand to stop Deacon from exploding into instant conversations about quarks, or little green men like he sometimes did to me. He deflated at the silent order but kept quiet.

“Doc, this is Deacon Smith, former Slip Runner appraiser and one of my crew. Deacon, meet Dr. Dressler. Now that we’re all introduced, is there somewhere else we can talk?” I said, directing the question to Dressler. “We’ve got an audience and Gray wants privacy before he comes out to play.”

She nodded. “Follow me, please.”

Barrick and I, flanked by Deacon, fell into step behind her and Camilla. The pair began talking about what they’d been up to recently, which I tuned out so I could ask Barrick something.

“How bad was it?”

There hadn’t been time to review his report before entering the mountain. His initial statement had been more for the Alliance anyway.

“Not as bad as it could have been,” the lieutenant responded. “Three seriously injured. One should have died, but quick thinking and the presence of a medic brought them back from the brink. Nothing beyond that except for a few scrapes and bruises.”

That sounded pretty damn bad to me. I said as much to Barrick, who grunted in agreement. “Where are the injured now?”

“On the ship that brought the research team here. It’s got a medbay and a healing pod, so everyone’s going to be fine. They just couldn’t get to it until the place was cleared.”

“Then it’s a good thing you came in guns blazing,” I replied.

Barrick shook his head. “I didn’t have to. Not really. By the time I got in here, there was only one hostile to deal with. Dr. Dressler is no rookie, Riker. She was at the frontlines for a lot of the war and is responsible for creating the pulse cannons that we probably wouldn’t have beaten the Celestials without.”

“He’s right,” said Deacon, moving closer to us. “She’s a genius. Her design was based on Celestial tech and fast. From what I read, she only had a few months to come up with something workable.”

I elbowed him in the side and pointed at the doctor in question. “She can hear you, you know.”

Deacon gulped when Dressler looked back at him with a knowing smile. “I’m sorry!”

“Why? You are correct, after all. It was hard work, and I’m not particularly humble. There’s no point in wasting time denying the truth of a matter.”

I hadn’t thought it possible for Deacon to be any more entranced by the woman, but now he looked fairly smitten as Dressler stopped in front of a small structure and pressed her hand to a palm plate. It was one of those mobile command unit deals. Fancy, too. No tent or soft-shell exterior for the distinguished doctor.

When the door was shut and locked again, Dressler motioned to a small conference table placed haphazardly at one side of the room. Despite the wealth of equipment that filled the room, it was a mess even by my lowly standards. Junk piles littered every available surface, data pads of various sizes were strewn about, and multiple holo screens displayed everything from graphs to codes and camera feeds.

It was essentially Deacon’s wet dream.

“Damn, Doc,” I said, taking it all in. “Maid have the day off?”

“The year,” she replied easily. “It would be polite of me to offer refreshments, but I’d like to get started. If you’re so inclined, there’s water in the fridge unit.”

My gaze tracked to the corner of the room she indicated, where the fridge, a tiny table (whose surface wasn’t even visible), and a stool sat. To get there, one would have to navigate the chaos. I opted to sit at the conference table and almost sighed in relief to be off my feet.

The rest of my team followed suit, pulling out chairs and moving piles so we could see each other.

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the only space available—the table edge. “I’m sure you want us out of your hair as much as we want to start our mission, so I’ll keep this brief. There isn’t much to discuss anyway. We came here to retrieve something of Gray’s, and he needs privacy to do it. So, if you could just tell your people to scram for a little while, we’ll be on our way.”

Dressler slanted a look at Camilla. “You were right. They are quite alike.” Then she turned back to me and continued in crisp tones. “You are incorrect, Captain. I would prefer more time with you and your team. But first things first. As you all know, I’m Doctor MaryAnn Dressler. Jace Hughes felt—correctly—that this situation warranted my involvement. I’ve been filled in on the parameters of your mission, but not what you came here to get. Something about leaks, which I understand given the current situation. If the attack is any indication, I believe there will be more. Any information we can exchange here and now will be beneficial for everyone involved.”

I met her sharp eyes head on. “I assume you know about the ship that’s supposed to be around here somewhere?”

Her mouth thinned again. “I was told there should be a ship here, but none of my scans succeeded in finding it.”

That is because it is not detectable by any technology possessed by humans.

Gray’s abrupt declaration and subsequent appearance didn’t startle Dressler. She didn’t even bat an eye, merely nodded at the alien as though she’d been waiting for him to walk through the door all along.

“You must be Gray. Thank you for joining us. I’m sure the idea of exposing yourself to a cave full of scientists was unappealing after the last month.”

He tilted his head slightly, studying her, then nodded. Yes, that is correct. You were not among those I spoke with, though I did hear others speak highly of your weapon.

There was a beat of silence around the table. Dressler gave Gray a considering glance, though she didn’t strike me as offended.

“Is that a point of concern for you, that we might learn too much about Anypsian technology and use it for violent purposes?”

The woman was damn quick.

Yes.

The simple answer didn’t surprise me. What did was how the doctor replied.

“I thought as much. Under the current circumstances, you would be remiss to trust humans with too much information. Regarding my weapon… the pulse cannon was created out of necessity, but I won’t lie and claim ignorance. I knew it was inevitable that a day like today would come.”

“You aren’t responsible for that, MaryAnn,” cut in Camilla. “Everyone has choices to make. If you hadn’t made yours, none of us would be sitting here right now.”

I agreed with Camilla on that point.

Kind of hard not to when every single person in the room had seen firsthand what the Celestials were capable of. Eight years ago, it had been kill or be killed. When weighing the few potential lost lives against the whole of our species, the answer seemed pretty obvious to me.

Dressler interlaced her fingers on a pile of stacked pads. “Even so. It is my creation, and I bear some blame when innocent people are killed for or with it. However, the necessity came from the Celestials. We were severely outmatched by an ancient race of beings who we previously knew nothing about. Humanity won’t let that happen again.”

Please don’t misunderstand, continued Gray, picking up on the subtext. I too can appreciate your previous position. Now, however, there is no threat. Anypsians are not a violent people.

It was Dressler’s turn to cock her head to the side now. “So you say, but wasn’t it you who defeated the Nightmare without the aid of weapons in this very mountain?”

That was a low blow, and I felt the need to defend him. “Gray did that to save our lives.”

Dressler inclined her head. “You’ll find no argument from me, Captain. However…”

There was always a however with people. To me, some situations were black and white. No gray area.

It was still violence, Gray finished for her. I see your point. What do you propose?

“Information.” Dr. Dressler pointed at holo screens where various parts of the Anypsian outpost were being monitored. “This location is a mystery to us. Access to the facility would be ideal. If that’s not possible, whatever data you can supply to ensure that nothing here can be used against us.”

Gray was silent. I could almost see him weighing the situation in his head before responding. “The data from my post was corrupted when Captain Riker freed me. The facilities are empty because this location was inactive. My role as caretaker required me to wait for orders from my people to reactivate if necessary.”

“I see.” Dr. Dressler didn’t try to hide her disappointment.

Due to these factors, I will grant you and a small team entrance to verify my claims. It will only take a few of your standard minutes. Will that suffice?

“Oh yes,” she confirmed, visibly brightening at the prospect. “Then I’ll happily tell everyone to take the rest of the day off so we can begin.”

Relieved that the meeting hadn’t taken forever and a day, I slid the chair back to stand. “That’s settled then. I want everyone except Gray on the Treader. We’re not delaying this mission for anything else.”

* * *

“Why the long face?” asked Camilla as we strapped in.

“What happened here is my fault. Eckert only knew because I got duped into putting his tracker on us when we left New Nijo.”

“So? He’s dead,” Deacon reminded me. “You Reaper-kicked him into a slip tunnel wall.”

That was true. Eckert, former pain in the dick extraordinaire, had chased me into one of Gray’s alternate slip tunnels, then tried to kill me. Not one to take that sort of thing lying down, I killed him first. In a moment of stupidity, I also offered the rest of his crew clemency as long as they kept away from us for the remainder of the trip—which they had.

Once we went our separate ways, I figured it was over. Maybe it was, at least as far as I was concerned to them. But after I framed him for illegal activities, he’d been highly motivated to ruin my life and discovered Della’s location.

“So,” I said, still staring at the display, “how do you suppose his men knew to come to Della? Me. Because I pissed Eckert off and gave him a reason to track me down. That makes me responsible for this. I swear to gods, you’d think turning him into tunnel dust would have been the end of it. Instead, he’s still managing to fuck up my day. If I could go back and kill him again, I would.”

When the bridge went quiet, I looked over my shoulder to find my crew watching me with various expressions of concerned wariness.

“What?”

“You sounded a little bloodthirsty there, Captain,” Selina supplied helpfully.

I just shrugged and returned my attention to the controls.

When the Treader broke away from Della’s gravity well, I couldn’t help but feel relieved. The place was a damn magnet for trouble. This trip had gone far better than the last, I’d say that much. I still wouldn’t recommend it to other travelers.

The sector was quiet aside from the Alliance ships that were still dealing with the battle aftermath. No blips or signatures appeared on the display to give an indication of where the Anypsian ship might be so we were stuck waiting to hear from Gray.

A small part of me was worried the alien might have just taken off the moment he had the means to do so. Now that I thought about it, he didn’t really need us anymore. Selfishly, I wondered if that would render my agreement void.

“Poe, you got a line on Gray?”

“Not at this time, Captain,” replied the AI. “It is possible… Ah, forgive me. I spoke too soon. We are being hailed by Gray now.”

I answered it quickly, as though if I didn’t, he might really take off.

“Hey, Gray. Long time no see.”

He appeared on the holo, calm as usual. Then his mouth opened, and he spoke. “Hello, Cole. I would like to invite you to board my ship.”

6

For a long moment, all I could do was stare.

“Since when the hell can you speak?” I finally demanded. “All this time you’ve been doing that mind-talk.”

“I do have a mouth. It functions properly, though I prefer not to use it.”

I glared at him. “No shit. I can hear that. I’m asking why you didn’t say anything. Literally and figuratively.”

Deacon coughed lightly, drawing my attention. “Maybe we should board his ship and have that discussion.”

Right. I wasn’t really annoyed anyway, just shocked. “Sorry. Took me by surprise, I guess. So, how do we do this?”

“With your permission, I will bring the Star Treader into my hangar,” supplied Gray. “It will only take a moment and you need not do anything as I’ve already interfaced with the Treader.”

I motioned for him to go ahead.

Almost instantly, the console began making noises. First a proximity alarm, then an alert that merely noted an unknown malfunction. A shot of worry jolted me upright when the thrusters cut off without any direction from me or indication from Poe that he’d planned to do so.

“What the hell is happening to the ship, Poe?”

“My systems are not equipped to deal with the boarding process,” the AI said in a less than appreciative tone. “One moment.”

The noise stopped, much to the relief of my ears. That discomfort was quickly replaced by the familiar—and wholly unwelcome—sensation of being dunked into another dimension. At least this time it didn’t make me toss the contents of my stomach. It reminded me of water, if water wasn’t wet. Everything slowed down, the seconds stretching on as my brain went fuzzy, and the hair on my body lifted as though I’d been hit with lightning. Then it was over, and Poe was speaking again.

“I’ve made an update that will prevent this kind of system response in the future,” Poe announced, sounding far away. “Gray has also informed me that much like his hostile takeover of the Nebulous, he is responsible for deactivating the thrusters. I would have preferred more warning, but this does make logical sense. We know nothing about Anypsian vessels, but it’s not generally smart to leave thrusters engaged while in phase.”

I gave a quick shake of my head to clear it, then checked on my crew. Camilla’s skin had a slight gray cast but she seemed okay for the most part. A retching sound came from Selina’s direction. I decided it was safer for me not to look and silently hoped she had a trash can close enough to grab.

A bead of sweat had formed at Barrick’s temple. I shot him a questioning look. Jaw clamped tight, he gave me a thumbs-up to indicate he was fine. I still thought there was a fifty-fifty chance whether he’d be able to keep his stomach from betraying him. Deacon, who was the only other person who’d been awake and aware for the first time Gray had used his party trick, was smiling.

“That was wild,” he proclaimed. “Last time I thought we might bite the big one. This time wasn’t so bad. Looked like a walk in the park for you.”

“Third time’s a charm,” I said, shrugging. “I guess the more you do it the easier it is.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s almost like our bodies can build up a tolerance for it. I might be wrong, but it also didn’t feel the same. Makes me wonder if that wasn’t a full phase.”

You are correct, Deacon.

It had been a while since Gray startled me with one of his sudden appearing acts. This time I wasn’t expecting his large frame to materialize in the middle of the bridge, and I let out a short yelp. “I told you not to do that!”

My apologies, Cole. I wanted to escort you off the Treader in person. That is considered polite among my people.

I chanced a look at Selina. She was sitting upright, a small kit in her lap.

“You good, Vasquez?”

“I’ll let you know in about ten seconds.” With that, she pulled a small bottle from the kit, popped the top, and downed it like a pro. Her color improved, and she leaned back in her seat. “Nausea meds. They’re already working. Gods, I’m glad to hear it’s not going to be like that every time. Talk about uncomfortable.”

That was my mistake, Miss Vasquez, Gray said apologetically. I should have warned you what was coming.

She waved weakly. “It’s fine. I usually like not knowing so there’s no anticipation. Honestly, if I’d had a heads-up, I wouldn’t have been keen to participate. Kind of like going to an amusement park.”

The big alien bowed slightly. I hadn’t seen him do that before and wondered where he’d picked the gesture up. Then again, the copious amounts of research he did while we were on the run had been instrumental in helping Gray acclimate. Watching holo documentaries, movies, reading scientific studies and anything else he could get his hands on. I made a mental note to ask him for information on the Anypsians.

It wouldn’t hurt to do my own research project. The thought of showing up to Gray’s homeworld without knowing their customs didn’t paint a pretty picture. I imagined going to shake someone’s hand only to find out that was an insult of the highest order and bringing shame to Gray’s family name or something like that.

Cringing internally, I brushed the thought away, then set about unbuckling from my harness and getting to my feet. “Now that we’re here, what’s next?”

* * *

A few minutes later, we were outside the Treader and standing in Gray’s hangar.

Barrick looked better, but I’d seen Selina slip him a vial of her handy medicine when she thought no one was looking. He’d accepted it gratefully and must have taken it while we made our way to the cargo bay. I was still curious to know what his affiliation with Chief Norman was and whether he had intentions toward both women. Not that it was any of my business.

But hey, as the mission lead, shouldn’t I keep a watchful eye on my people? Fraternization between crew members could end up causing strife, and we were about to embark on a long-term endeavor. I had no desire to navigate a lover’s tiff on top of the mission itself. No, thank you.

“I didn’t expect your ship to be quite so massive,” commented Camilla.

That brought me back to the matter at hand. Gray’s ship never uncloaked. Meaning that I’d never gotten a good look at the exterior. Until Camilla’s statement, it hadn’t really clicked that his ship was big. Not only did the Treader, which was at least three times the size of the Nebulous, fit in this part with ease, but we could have fit at least two more and had room to spare.

Yes, this vessel is considered suitable for long-range trips. I do recall that the trip from my home to Della was quite long. Of course, the portal made that much shorter.

Deacon’s ears perked up. “Portal? I don’t remember you mentioning a portal before.”

I have not spoken of it before now, explained Gray. This was by design, though not because I did not trust you.

“It’s fine, Gray,” I told him. I didn’t really believe him after our discussion with Dr. Dressler, but neither was I going to hold it against him. “Why don’t you fill us in now? It’s going to be hard to be successful in this mission if we’re missing parts of the puzzle.”

He nodded. That is the same conclusion I came to as well. Though there is not much to tell. As you are aware, parts of my memory are lacking. I had hoped that being aboard my ship would change that, but I was mistaken.

I dug a knuckle into my temple to ward off the headache I felt lurking and tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice when I responded, “Why do I feel like you’re about to tell me there’s another problem?”

I believe that is due to the fact that I have to tell you there has been a development that you would deem as a problem.

Of course. Because things could never be easy.

“Well, lead the way, Captain Gray. This is your ship. Maybe you have a room where you Anypsians gather or something.”

He gestured for us to follow him and began walking to the far side of the hangar. One look at the others told me they weren’t any more ecstatic about this news than I was. Sighing, I set off to find out what new wrench had been thrown into my plans.

Even knowing Gray was about to tell me something I didn’t want to hear, I could appreciate that I was now on an alien vessel. The Celestial ships that had been retooled after the war didn’t count.

Firstly, I’d only been aboard one of them, and only briefly as I was hitching a ride while my ship got patched up from a hit it took while running supplies between the warships. Second, the Anypsians didn’t want to kill us so being here felt more like an adventure than necessity in a time of battle.

Every surface gleamed under recessed lights that activated as we walked under them. That wasn’t altogether new. The Treader had similar features. What set Gray’s ship apart was the internal shape and lack of markings anywhere. Just like the perfectly carved walkway that led into the mountain, no signage existed to help someone find their way.

When I commented on that fact to Gray, he shook his head.

They are there, you just can’t see them due to your physiology. My eyes have a different genetic makeup. In the same way some of the animals from Earth can only see certain colors, humans lack the correct number of cones that would allow you to see the world as I do. At this time, I do not know a way around it except to either create a HUD overlay or replace your eyes.

I stopped short. “Oh, no. Sorry, friend, but that ain’t happening. I like my eyes just the way they are. The pair I was born with, right where they’re supposed to be, in their respective sockets.”

Realizing we were no longer walking with him, Gray paused and turned to look back. For the first time since news about the attack on Della broke, he looked amused.

I thought as much. Which is why Poe is already working on the overlay. According to him, the Star Treader’s medical bay has the ability to create contacts for this purpose. Not a permanent implant, of course, but a temporary set that would at least give you the ability to see some of what I do.

Contacts sounded much better than eyeball replacement. I never cared for having things in my eyes, but this could work.

Camilla, who was standing beside me, blew out a breath. “Yes, this sounds ideal. I have the Eternal tattoos that allow me to interact with their technology but that was a simple procedure.”

The others murmured their agreement behind us. Even Deacon, who I would have expected to be excited at the thought of a surgery that would give him what amounted to alien vision.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask about the tats,” I told her when we started walking again. “I didn’t realize they had a purpose besides looking...” I trailed off, realizing what had been about to slip from my mouth.

“Besides looking like what?”

The question sounded innocent enough, but I could see the corner of her mouth twitching with humor.

“Interesting,” I finished lamely. “It never seemed like the right time to ask with everything going on.”

Camilla responded by pulling her collar to the side. “They aren’t so different from a tattoo you’d see on anyone else. The key is in the procedure. There’s a sort of personal code that Eternal technology reads. It works using my DNA, among other things. Just like regular systems, if my code is blocked from a certain device or section of an Eternal controlled entrance, I can’t do anything about it.”

“Are you? Blocked from anything, I mean.”

“Not that I know of,” she said with a laugh.

We stopped talking when Gray paused next to a blank wall. Or what I thought was a blank wall until part of it shimmered. Shimmered and disappeared.

“I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that we can’t even see your doors?” I said dryly.

Gray offered me an apologetic smile as he waved us in. That is true. You can see why the overlay will be useful.

I wasn’t so sure about that.

He talked like the mission hadn’t changed. Maybe that would be the case, but nothing could be decided until we hashed stuff out. I really just wanted to be in my quarters, horizontal and with several strong drinks in my belly to help me sleep. It had already been a hell of a day and another long talk was not high on my list of tasks.

The room Gray showed us looked sparse.

I squinted a little in the hopes that some form of furniture would magically appear. To my utter shock and amazement, that was exactly what happened next. Unlike the Anypsian standing just inside the door, they didn’t materialize out of thin air. Rather, parts of the room shifted, the only sound that of panels sliding. It only took a few seconds for the blocks to assemble into a set of chairs and a few more to realize that I recognized the setup.

Deacon beat me to it.

“This is like the galley on the Nebulous,” he said on a level that almost reached high pitch.

I thought a sense of familiarity would make you more comfortable. Gray held out a hand, inviting us to sit.

While the setup did have the basics down as far as my old galley, including the booth-like seating and regular tables, the furniture was undeniably Anypsian. Too sleek and too perfect to cause confusion. I picked the one that I would have if I were back on Nebbie, gingerly easing myself into the contraption as though it might decide to transform with me in it. It didn’t, of course, except to make a slight adjustment to fit my body shape. Forgetting all my wariness, I grinned at Camilla when she posted up next to me and went through the same process.

“Auto seats, hidden messages, and invisible doors? This is a hell of a ship.”

“It’s like magic,” Selina murmured, settling into her own chair. “I feel like I’m being cradled.”

Deacon had immediately popped back up and was now inspecting the furniture by getting his face as close to it as he could. Even Barrick looked impressed, though it only showed in the way he ran a rough hand over the soft material with a mildly interested expression.

Thank you for accompanying me, Gray continued when we were finally done with the oohing and ahhing. I was concerned that you would abandon the mission once you learned of my ship. Even so, I should not have withheld the information. You have my sincerest apologies for that.

Deacon looked up from his deep study of the furniture, eyes rounded in surprise. “Why would you think that?”

“Yes, I would like to know as well,” put in Camilla, leaning forward. “After all we’ve been through together? Friends don’t abandon their friends over such a small thing.”

Guilt pricked at my conscience. I’d considered the idea of Gray taking off on his own. Wanting to keep the peace, I lifted my hands. “Hold on, everybody. It’s reasonable enough, isn’t it? With a working ship, it raised questions for me. But, Gray, our mission is also to ascertain whether there are any lurking threats beyond the known galaxy. Even if there wasn’t, if you still wanted us to come along, we’re here for the long haul. If you didn’t want us to come along, we’d respect that too.”

Everyone but Barrick nodded. I supposed he would have done whatever was ordered of him because that was his job. I didn’t know his true intentions for coming along, but I guessed only half of them had to do with going on a slipspace road trip with his new crew.

It seems we all had concerns, Gray said, looking somewhat sheepish.

It was a strange expression to see on him and added to his growing list of human body language.

There is still a minor issue that must be addressed. When the portal was deactivated by force, it compromised all the connected systems. My ship appears to have lost some of its databanks, just as I did.

“How bad was the loss?” asked Deacon. “Are there any functionality issues?”

The hurt that marred his features just a few moments ago had become concern. The rest of the group seemed to share the feeling as they listened to the conversation without interruption.

My gut twisted uncomfortably for a different reason.

Missing data was never a good thing. It was even less so when we needed said data to accomplish our goal. Without the vital information, things were going to get a lot harder, and real fast. That also meant a longer trip.

I didn’t relish going to Chief Norman or any of the other Alliance heads with this update. If they didn’t delay our departure again, they would at the very least have to re-evaluate the parameters of our trip. The Treader was well stocked but who knew what they might have to tweak to ensure we had a chance at success.

The ship itself is fully functional in terms of travel and life-support systems. Unfortunately, I’m sorry to say that much of the information regarding the Anypsian slipspace system is missing. In the time since coming aboard, I’ve attempted to restore the missing data. None of those attempts were successful.

Clearing my throat, I fixed a questioning gaze on the alien. “When you say there’s info missing about Anypsian slipspace, does that mean you don’t have a starting point?”

I let the question hang, waiting for him to confirm what I already knew.

All that could be recovered were the coordinates for a few outposts. The location of my peoples’ home sector is lost.

7

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right.

My head still felt fuzzy, likely a side effect from going through the phase process that brought us onto the ship. That, or I just didn’t want to believe it. Gray’s brain fog wasn’t news; we’d known about that from the start. But I’d assumed from the moment he brought up the ship that it would act as a key to unlock the missing memories and at the very least have some clue as to where we were headed.

“Let me get this straight.” I got to my feet and started pacing. “We’ve got no data on any of the Anypsian tunnels? As in, no clue about where to even start looking?”

A grimace darkened Gray’s features. Essentially, yes. I was only able to narrow the location down to a galaxy.

Barrick snorted at that. I didn’t blame him since I was silently doing the same. Knowing what galaxy his homeworld resided in did fuck all for us. We couldn’t just roam around hoping to stumble on more information.

“We might as well be hunting for a needle on a planet made of needles,” said Deacon, sagging back against his seat and closing his eyes. “All of this is starting to make my head hurt.”

“Tell me about it,” said Selina. “That medicine I took only helped for a little. Now my head’s going woozy again.”

Gray nodded shortly. It is quite distressing. Though there is some hope. My only choice is traveling to the known outposts in hopes of finding the information that way.

I stopped pacing to stare at him again. “You already tried contacting them, I’m guessing. And got no response.”

Yes.

If his shoulders didn’t visibly sag, they were damn close. It occurred to me that as annoyed as I was about this turn of events, my stake in it was far less personal than Gray’s. We knew how to get home once the mission was complete.

He was trying to find his.

I put myself in his shoes, trying to imagine what it would feel like if I was the only human in some far-off distant galaxy with only a violent race of aliens for company. Putting it like that, Gray had to be concerned about his future if he never made it home.

“It could be worse,” I said, striding over to slap a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “So, don’t worry about it. You won’t be traveling anywhere. We will, as a nice, big happy family.”

The look Gray sent me was one of relief and appreciation. Only if you are sure. In order to be completely transparent, I will tell you that I have doubts about how helpful these outposts may be. As no one responded to my hails, I expect to find little, if any, information. It is a distinct possibility that going there will lead to more questions. This almost assuredly means that the overall mission is going to be extended by an unknown amount of time.

Camilla shifted to pull out her personal pad. “The biggest problem is going to be supplies. I’ll contact HQ and see what it will take to plan for a longer mission.”

I was about to tell her to go ahead when Gray shook his head. That will not be necessary, Miss Abernathy. Between Poe and the records I have from Earth, this ship will be able to produce food fit for consumption by humans.

Fit for human consumption was a wide spectrum, but I didn’t tell him that. The Star Treader was fully stocked and if we wanted to add to her stores, there were going to be stops along the way. One way or another, we wouldn’t starve, even if it meant I had to eat one of the gods awful MREs. Things could be worse. We could just be twiddling our thumbs as we took the nearby Anypsian tunnel and struck out with no plan whatsoever.

“I’ll be right back,” Deacon said suddenly. He stood up fast, as if the chair had burned him, except he looked too excited about it. “Poe just sent me a message that the HUD overlay is ready. I’m gonna go grab some tactical visors so we can get around the Roswell.”

“What the hell is Roswell?” The question came from Barrick, who was staring at the engineer in confusion.

“Oh, Gray said before that the Anypsian ships don’t have names. Since Roswell was a famous site back on ancient Earth for Gray alien-related happenings, it seemed apt. Be right back.”

He nearly flew out the door, not even bothering to ask for directions in his excitement.

Barrick watched him go with a small shake of his head. “He’s way too into this crap. It’s not like we couldn’t learn to get around by memory. Nature doesn’t have warning signs and we managed to survive populating a damn galaxy.”

The lieutenant appeared to be annoyed. I knew he didn’t like Deacon all that much. There was something in Deacon’s past that I had yet to learn, and Lieutenant John Barrick was privy to it. He’d tried to tell me about it once, and I’d told him to shove it. The information was Deacon’s to divulge or not. Beyond that, I didn’t want to breach the trust we shared by listening to whatever secondhand account Barrick told me. I wasn’t the only one who noticed his bad mood.

Selina leaned over and pressed a hand to his forehead. “Are you feeling okay, Lieutenant?”

Barrick pressed a thumb against the back of his head. “Still feeling off after coming onto the Roswell. I wasn’t really awake when Gray phased us the first time, so I’m not sure if this is normal.”

The statement prompted Gray to walk over and inspect the man himself. One moment please while I check the oxygen levels. They were already set to a range that humans could accommodate as our genetics are close enough that we require similar atmospheres to breathe properly. However, I forgot that Anypsians are able to easily adapt to different environments, so perhaps I overlooked something.

I watched curiously. My breathing felt fine, but the lightheadedness had yet to go away. If anything, it was getting worse. The room tilted slightly as I went to sit down next to Camilla again.

“I thought it was just me,” she murmured, giggling.

Wait, Camilla Abernathy didn’t giggle. I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to focus. “That’s not your normal laugh, Cam. Too.... girly.”

I knew something was up when she giggled again instead of punching me. “You’re more girly than me, Riker. Who’s the one who likes historical romance books, hmm?”

My mouth formed an “oh” shape that she would just out me like that. And yet... I couldn’t seem to be mad. The whole thing struck me as kind of hilarious, in a, “I just inhaled an extraordinarily large quantity of Fade” way.

“Shh, Abernathy. If Barrick hears us, he’ll arrest us for sure.”

“I’m not a cop, dumbass!”

“Oooh, he sounds mad,” Camilla whispered loudly. “Look, but don’t be suspicious.”

We both turned to look at the lieutenant in highly conspicuous motions that wouldn’t have fooled anyone in their right mind. At the moment, the only one who wasn’t acting three sheets to the wind was Gray.

“Even if I was a cop,” continued Barrick, voice lilting like he was one shot away from tipsy, “I’d have to arrest myself at this point. Nothing legal feels this good.”

Selina sat bolt upright, her eyes wide as saucers. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do. Now feels like a good time.”

With that, the veterinarian turned to one side and planted a sloppy kiss on Barrick. She missed his mouth on the first try, connecting with his cheek instead, then went back in and made contact with his lips.

Camilla and I flipped back around to stare at each other in shock.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned. “I’m not that far gone.”

“Pfft. Me either, Liaison Abernathy. I was just going to point out that the upstanding lieutenant is kind of a dog. He’s dating Chief Norman on the side.” The gasp from behind us had us swinging around again to find the lip locked pair breaking apart. “Oops. I shouldn’t have said that. Out loud.”

“What are you going on about?” demanded Barrick. “Chief Norman is my mother, you idiot.”

Selina slapped a hand over her own mouth, then pulled it away to whisper in a horrified tone, “You’re dating your own mother?”

“I was gone five minutes.”

Every head in the room swiveled to the door. Deacon had returned with impeccable timing, as always. His arms were full of tactical visors I thought I recognized as being from the armory.

“Why do all of you except Gray look blown out of your minds?”

The alien raised a hand like he’d been called on in class. I may have made a mistake with the breathable air on the Roswell. The crew appears to be having a mild reaction to something. I am still attempting to figure out what the problem is.

Deacon dumped the visors and pulled out his pad.

“What are you doing?” I slid out of the booth again and walked unsteadily to the engineer to peer over his shoulder. “This is your captain speaking. I order you not to ruin our fun.”

He shushed me and waved me off. “I’m trying to do some math, so pipe down.”

Math, I thought, was the bane of my existence. “This is what AIs are for,” I said to Camilla.

“Ugh. Seriously, Cole. I was gone for six minutes. That means I’m about to get hit with whatever has you guys acting like a bunch of teenagers who got into Mom and Dad’s booze cabinet. Gray, you should work with Poe because if I’m right, I don’t have long before that woozy feeling I had comes back full force.”

Of course, Mr. Smith. I will have the AI interface with my ship now.

I don’t know how long it actually took him to complete the task, but by the time Poe was speaking to us, I was lying on the ground, head in Camilla’s lap and we were watching stars streak across the ceiling.

There was a click from somewhere in the room, but I didn’t pay it much mind until I heard a familiar haughty voice.

“I, for one, hope that the hallucinations do not last much longer,” the AI declared. “It is worrying that all of my charges are out of their right minds.”

Camilla sighed wistfully. “But they’re so pretty,” she murmured.

Selina and Barrick were watching the ceiling from the floor, arms and legs entwined in an intimate embrace. I found that even more humorous because it was right out of a book I’d recently read. As for Deacon, he was sitting between us, looking up with a goofy grin.

“My brain knows it’s just synapses firing from whatever it is our bodies are reacting to, but I can’t stop staring.”

“Oh, my. Gray, this is worse than I thought. The captain and his entire crew are completely soused.”

Soused. I do not know this word.

“Drunk. High. Completely unlike themselves. The word doesn’t matter, Gray. We need to find out what’s causing it in case it’s lethal. Perhaps you could bring the captain back to the Treader’s medbay so I can take a sample.”

I held up a hand, twirling it a few times before remembering I had something to say. “No. Nuh-uh. Not happening. I refuse to be carried around again. Take Deacon. You can’t have Cam; she makes too good a pillow. Soft in all the right places. Not in a weird way, though—“

Deacon covered his ears. “Please take me. He’s talking more than he ever has before. It’s freaking me out.”

That will not be necessary. Wait a moment please.

Gray disappeared.

“It’s so cool when he does that,” said Deacon, uncovering his ears and staring at the place Gray had been standing. “Oh, I wonder if there’s some sort of residual signature.”

After scrambling up, he wobbled over to where he’d left the visors and pulled one into place. It looked crooked to me, but that could have just been my eyes screwing with me.

“This is... amazing. Here, you guys should try them too. The whole room looks different! Of course, we’re still not going to see it the same way Gray does, but at least we can make sense of Anypsian markings.”

Barrick twisted around to squint at the engineer. “What are you rambling about? Residual signatures and Anypsian language aren’t important right now. Looking at the pretty colors is.”

“Then you’re going to want to take a look through these babies. They’re only temporary though,” he added. “Poe is working on the contact lenses since that’s going to require different programming.”

Deacon started passing out the visors like candy. How he was handling this better than the rest of us was beyond me, but I accepted my visor as eagerly as Sloshed Selina.

When a barrage of colors assaulted my eyes, my first thought was that I’d been bamboozled with some kind of light show program. Then the neon scramble subsided, and my vision cleared enough to see the room. What had seemed so empty and boring before now looked almost normal. As Gray had said, he saw things in an entirely different manner than us.

Murals covered the walls.

The art style was unfamiliar to me, but I could see the beauty. The paint shimmered, adding a holographic quality to the images. When I moved my head, the mural itself moved. I knew nothing of the Anypsian’s lore, but the murals told a tale as old as time.

Two people who looked like Gray stood in close proximity. A single wall, just tall enough for them to see each other over, separated the pair. Dark clouds on either side warned of an approaching storm while the two individuals enjoyed the final rays of sunlight in their prospective positions. The next depiction had them at odds, backs turned away from each other. There was a brief reconciliation, then a final parting on the last wall.

Each going their own way.

“It’s beautiful,” whispered Camilla. “And heartbreaking. I guess some stories are the same across the universe.”

Part of me thought it was pretty depressing. What could I say? I was just the type of guy who liked happy endings.

Camilla jabbed a finger into the top of my head when I snickered. “What are you laughing about? There’s nothing wrong with liking a love story. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Ow,” I complained, rubbing the sore spot. “Happy endings, if you must know.”

She threw her head back and laughed until she had to wipe tears away. “That was a good one. I’m sure I’ll regret saying this when the high wears off, but this was actually fun. Just look at them.”

Barrick and Selina were a twisted mess of limbs, their visors tipping haphazardly. Grinning widely, I fumbled for the pad in my pocket to take pictures of the snoozing duo. “Oh, he’s definitely going to regret this in the morning. Chief Norman is going to love getting the next update.”

“Wow, Riker,” said Cam, giggling again. “That’s cruel even for you.”

“Not to mention highly inappropriate,” added Poe.

I’d forgotten he was able to hear us and groaned. “Poe, you’re a thief of all things fun. Can’t you ever just let me enjoy something?”

He sniffed derisively. “Having fun is not my function, Captain Riker.”

“I’m well aware,” I muttered, the tone petulant even to my ears.

A disturbance in the air appeared on the visor’s HUD, distracting me from further conversation. It looked like a road on a hot day when your eyes played tricks on you to make it look like the ground was wet.

The ghost of a shadow appeared, dim at first, then got progressively darker as it neared. If I didn’t know it was Gray, the image would have been terrifying. Since going on the alternate dimension hike through Slevin Station, however, it was nothing more than interesting to see from this new vantage point. The shadow began to take on more shape, then Gray emerged like someone coming out of fog.

“I take it that you’ve discovered the problem,” guessed Poe.

Yes. When Miss Vasquez mentioned smelling flowers, I recalled that the air filtration system is treated with an Anypsian herb. I’ve brought one to experiment with.

“This does not strike me as a wise decision, Gray. What if it has an adverse effect? More than the current situation, that is.”

There is no danger. I’ve compared the chemical makeup of the plant against human DNA profiles. If there was a chance of more than hallucinations, I would not suggest this.

See, this was what I appreciated about the people I’d chosen to surround myself with. They were all practical. No point wasting time when we could just do something simple like have someone huff an alien plant.

Unsurprisingly, Deacon volunteered himself as the sacrificial lab rat.

“What do I need to do?” he asked once he was on his feet again.

Gray opened his palm and held it out. Please smell this.

I thought it a little on the odd side that he didn’t ask Deacon to do anything else. Of course, the engineer simply shrugged and all but buried his face in the plant. “Hmm,” he said, pulling back slightly. “Reminds me of lavender. Light and—“

He didn’t get to finish that thought because his eyes rolled up into his head and he passed out cold. More of the Roswell’s magic furniture (which I could now see from hidden compartments in the floor) rose up to break his fall.

My reaction time was already slow thanks to the plant’s side effects, but I doubted if I’d have been quick enough to catch him anyway. From the looks of it, the plant had put him into a deep sleep. He wasn’t even snoring. His chest rose and fell in an even tempo, telling me that my friend was just fine.

“Well,” I began happily, “I’d say that answers the question.”

8

When I opened my eyes the next morning, it was with a clear head.

I blinked a few times with the expectation that a killer headache would strike any second. When one didn’t, I sat up carefully and took in my surroundings.

All of my crew was still passed out in various states of disarray, awkwardly positioned on the alien furniture that Gray had insisted would make them more comfortable. Considering how Barrick’s arm was twisted around Selina and the way she was draped over his torso, their makeshift bed wasn’t going to make a significant difference.

Then I remembered the interesting piece of information that the lieutenant had revealed in his altered state. I had been so so wrong. The odd exchange between the lieutenant and Chief Norman that I’d taken as some sort of unspoken communication between lovers had in reality likely been due to his being in a briefing with such a close family member.

A soft groan at my side almost made me jump. Then I realized Camilla was snoring softly at my side and scrambled to recall the rest of what had happened before I fell asleep.

Thankfully everyone present was fully dressed, but it still felt strange to wake up next to someone who’d been my parole officer a month ago.

“Nice to see you finally awake, Captain.” Poe’s snippy tone intruded on my inner thoughts and succeeded in grating against my decent mood. “Now that you are among the living, perhaps you could make a decision on our next course of action.”

I did my best not to jostle Camilla when I got up and exited the room. The visors clued me in as to its location, making it easy to step through to have this conversation in the hall.

“You hassling me first thing in the morning makes me want to decommission you with all haste. Get to the damn point. What course of action are you yapping about, exactly?”

The exaggerated sigh that came over the visor’s earpiece was one of eternal suffering. “Perhaps with all the excitement last night it slipped your mind that Gray is still waiting to hear your decision on what to do next.”

I frowned, trying to think back. “I said we were going. End of story. What else is there?”

That earned me another sigh, this one slightly less exasperated. “Gray doesn’t know where to go. His lack of memory, and the lack of data, makes it difficult. As the individual in charge, it is your responsibility to act as his guide.”

How the hell was I supposed to guide an alien to his homeworld when he didn’t even know where to start looking? Gray had far more information in his head (memory loss or not) about his people. I couldn’t put myself in his or their proverbial shoes to come up with some sort of miracle plan just because I carried the weight of command on my shoulders.

“Poe. This is stupid. And I say that as disrespectfully as humanly possible. Gray said there were outposts in the alternate slipspace maps he did have information for. Doesn’t that give us a place to start? All we gotta do is pick one and go.”

A disturbance in the air drew my attention to the left. Gray emerged from another one of his personal dimension bubbles and greeted me with a short bow.

Thank you, Cole. I confess that the situation has had me out of sorts. Even though the destination is that of my people, you are the captain. I will do as you decree.

Well now I just felt like an asshole.

What seemed so obvious to me was apparently not so clear to Gray. Then again, our plans had been interrupted by the mishap with his ship’s life-support system. “We’re in this together. But before we make any serious decisions, I have to ask. Is that plant all taken care of?”

He inclined his head. While you slept, your bodies adjusted to the chemical. Its side effects were a one-time instance. My apologies for not realizing sooner that such a thing could happen.

“I’m not sorry,” I said briskly. “That’ll probably be the first and only time I get to see Barrick toasted off his ass. I found out his mom is Chief Norman. That’s gotta be valuable information. Not to mention the picture I got of him drooling all over the place.”

Poe’s simulated tsk sound did nothing to deter me from scheming on ways to use it. “I had hoped you would abandon your taste for juvenile activities, Captain Riker. It appears as though my hope was misplaced. In any case, would you like me to wake the rest of the crew so that we can begin the mission.”

I waved a hand and set off down the hall. “Nah. No point waking them yet. Let’s give them as much time to sleep as they want. I’m going back to the Treader. It’ll be easier there. I’ll take a look at the information Gray has available and we can choose a jumping off point for this homeworld crusade. Why don’t you have a decent cup of coffee waiting so I don’t have to waste any more time.”

“It would not be my pleasure; however, I will do so.”

A few minutes later, I was back on my own bridge and staring at the holo display with mixed emotions. The map of Anypsian slip tunnels was pretty damn spotty. It reminded me of playing a game where you had to unlock all of the locations, except we didn’t know anything about the damn game. This was going to take a different approach than anything I’d gone up against in the past.

“Alright,” I said, setting my half-empty mug down. “I’m going to start with the most obvious question. Earth’s Transient seed ships could create their own tunnels. I was hoping the super advanced Anypsian pleasure cruiser could do the same.”

Gray cocked his head to the side and studied first me, then the holo. This is not a pleasure cruiser, nor does it operate by magical means. It is a mere voyage vessel. There are Anypsian vessels capable of such a feat, but the Roswell is not among their number.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I reminded myself that while Gray did a lot of human research, much of our vernacular was still beyond him.

“Bad choice of words. You still answered the question though. That leaves us a couple of outposts, each in different sectors. We can get to any of them from this SG Point here in Praxis. Two of them border human controlled space. The question is which of the two we want to start with. I don’t see anything that sets one apart from the other. Gray, if you’ve got any insight, now’s the time. Otherwise, I’m gonna go with the eenie meenie miney moe method.”

I am unsure of what the method is, replied Gray. But as I do not know any more about the outposts than their original purpose, that will have to do. As we previously discussed, they used to be places for travelers to stop. However, since the current data indicates that all have been decommissioned, there is a low probability of success.

“Random pick it is. Poe, do the honors.”

“How proactive of you. The result is Bardo System. This location lies just beyond Sarkonian territory. It should be noted that the other lies along a portion of Union space. Considering how long ago these outposts were established, I believe that is mere coincidence.”

I didn’t usually subscribe to coincidence, but this was an obvious exception. And since I had no inclination to willingly move through Union occupied sectors again, I was glad Bardo System was our first destination. With some luck, we would find what we needed there and be on our merry way.

“Who knows, maybe there will be another Gray there that we can tap for more information. Hell, the communication problems could be some major glitch, and there we’ll stumble across everything we need to know as soon as we arrive.”

My suggestion was met with stifling silence.

Gray broke it first. My people have a saying. There is no human translation, but it is the equivalent of ice water boiling in a winter storm.

Poe snorted. “I believe you are incorrect, Gray. There is a human translation. It is

the line of hell freezing over. Close enough, I suppose.”

“Focus, Poe,” I interjected, perhaps a tad too gleefully. “A thought just came to mind.”

“Oh, my. We must alert the news channels.”

“Haha. I’m not going to take the bait since we’re already behind schedule. How is our new dynamic going to work? I was about to tell you to set a course for Bardo, but the Treader isn’t flying. Feels weird giving you the command,” I said to Gray.

You should not feel... weird. He said the word as though he were trying it out for the first time and it felt funny, then continued. As the captain of the expedition, so are you also my captain.

I realized he’d basically said the same thing before. My desire to do right by him came mostly from the part he played in getting me my freedom. But he was right. I was the captain. Tiptoeing around that simply because the mode of travel had changed was asinine.

“Then let’s get moving. The faster we get to Bardo, the faster we find out how to go about this. Does the Roswell have a bridge?”

Gray shook his head. I interface with this vessel in the same manner that I did with the Nebulous. The course has been set. It will take just under five standard minutes to reach the entry point that we previously used when leaving Praxis.

He said it with a hefty dose of relief. I felt some of that myself.

After being waylaid so many times in the past week, I half expected something else to come up and prevent us from taking off. Over the next five minutes, nothing did. The Roswell might not have had a bridge, but it did have an external camera system that Gray fed directly into the Treader’s holo display. Like before, the rip in space treated us to a view of the swirling blue tunnels of what I decided to think of as Anypsian blue.

The nav screen gave an estimated arrival time of twenty-nine standard hours. Not my longest trip by far, but definitely a jog. It was a good thing we weren’t having to take the Nebulous after all.

Not in this economy.

Stopping to refuel would have been expensive, not to mention a pain in the ass. The Treader’s fuel was supposed to be something new derived from Celestial research that replenished itself, which I assumed was the same for the Roswell. When I asked Gray about it, he let out a low laugh.

Even I do not know how the vessel operates on that level, Cole. Of course, even if I did, it would be difficult to put into terms that you could understand.

“Wow, that was hurtful. You’re learning too much from Poe. But yeah, I guess you’re right. As long as we aren’t going to run out in the middle of nowhere with no chance of replenishing it, I don’t much care how it works.”

Now that we were on our way, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.

It was easier to spend most of my time on the Treader since it had all our human necessities on it, but I didn’t want to waste time puttering around if there was something productive I could do instead.

I had been directed in a roundabout way not to disclose the specifics of our trip, even for updates to the Alliance heads. There was too much risk that the transmissions might be intercepted by someone who didn’t have good intentions.

That worked out fine for me.

I never relished the idea of checking in anyway. It did strike me as odd though. The Alliance heads were working with Jace Hughes and had, by all appearances, their heads on straight. And they didn’t seem to trust anyone else.

I took that to mean the peace humanity achieved and continued to foster was fragile or even under direct threat. Of course, peace never lasted long in any era. But I decided to do my own research, starting with the digital entity that had access to Alliance records.

As part of my terms and conditions, I’d requested access to Alliance documents during the final meeting with the Alliance heads before approving the document I ended up signing. The first response had been a resounding no, then I’d talked them into giving me a clearance level that could access certain documents on an as-needed basis. At the time I hadn’t realized they’d be saddling me with Poe for an AI. It effectively gave him some say-so over me, but not as much as before.

It was a small thing, I supposed.

“What would you like to know?” he said in response to my first inquiry.

I’d given the whole scenario a decent think in preparation for his question. “I’ll start with something vague. Then you can evaluate it and let me know whether it’s information you’ll be able to supply.”

My choice of words was deliberate. Poe might be an advanced artificial intelligence program, but that made him more susceptible to different flaws than that of his lower-level counterparts. Unlike them, he could be persuaded with the right argument.

I’d also learned he had something in the way of pride, as much as a computer could have such an emotion. Whenever I challenged his ability to complete a task, the chances of him doing that task increased tenfold.

In truth, I could have just asked Gray to override like he’d done before. That was overkill at the moment though. I knew such an overt disregard for Poe’s operating procedures just invited trouble when there didn’t need to be any. Experience had taught me that you got more out of people (and AIs) when you were nice instead of caustic.

So, I went for civility instead of domination.

“I can supply a great deal of data, Captain.” The snide tone told me that my plan was already on track. “How much depends entirely on you. Does this query have some bearing on the mission?”

Cursing inwardly, I scrambled to think of a good reason beyond a general suspicion based on a vague order from the Alliance heads.

“It could.” I said it carefully, not wanting to go off in the wrong direction. “What with the current direction. Right now, we’re going through the Sarkonian Empire’s territories. If the outpost in Bardo yields nothing, we’ll end up in the Union’s neck of the woods. If none of the people at the top of the Alliance echelon trust their respective governments, that leads me to believe there’s cause for concern.”

There was a slight pause as Poe mulled that over. “That is a valid point. You have my attention, Captain. Please do continue.”

“First question. Is there any data on who the Alliance might have concerns about?”

“One moment.”

I got another pause, complete with elevator music, while Poe scanned his files. If he hadn’t been so cooperative, I would have complained about the terrible standby tunes, but kept my trap shut as payment though it felt more like a sacrifice.

“I have found no specifics as to a proposed threat.”

“How about non-specific? Say, for example, an inference. Any implications, however slight, that there is anyone working behind the scenes. I remember that Sarkonian senator that was making moves during the war. Something like that.”

“Yes.”

The speed of his response surprised me. It meant he’d stumbled across evidence of a threat after all.

“I am unable to determine who or where the threat is coming from at this time,” the AI continued. “But by searching for phrases that could be construed as having another meaning, I believe there may indeed be a source of potential strife in the new regime. I believe that the data on this subject is intentionally sparse to avoid alerting whoever is responsible that they are being monitored. Further investigation is not recommended.”

I had a hunch as to the reason why. “Is all of your activity tracked?”

“That is correct. Only locally, however. Unless I access data not saved to the ship’s memory.”

My head came up so fast I felt something pop in my neck. “What do you mean, saved to the ship’s memory? If we got attacked or ambushed. Any pirate with half a brain would have classified Alliance documents at their fingertips. The Alliance wouldn’t be that stupid... right?”

“If I had a physical body, I would be rolling my eyes. Yes, the classified documents are stored in my system. Yes, there are fail-safes in place to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. In the event of that possibility, I will automatically purge all relevant data.”

That was marginally better.

But, as any good Renegade knew, such things could be gotten around. I had done it. The illegal switch I’d previously procured had been designed with the specific intention of deleting an Alliance-grade AI from my system and overwriting it with a new one.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that some prodigious hacker with a penchant for making copious amounts of credits had already come up with a similar device capable of copying files or stopping a computer from purging itself.

“Didn’t you have fail-safes in place to stop me from booting your digitized ass off Nebbie?”

I got another long-suffering sigh for my trouble. “It is very nearly irritating when you display such astuteness,” complained Poe. “And yet you are correct. It does bear saying that this possibility is quite slim. Not only am I more than capable of detecting a threat with enough advance warning to activate my emergency protocols, but there is also Gray to consider. Or, rather, the Roswell. Its cloaking abilities far exceed the Star Treader’s. As Gray is also able to interface with my systems, he acts as a secondary defensive layer.”

My stomach let out a noise that would have scared away a small child if any had been in the vicinity.

A glance at the nav display told me I’d been on the bridge for about four hours. The rest of my team had woken in the last forty-five minutes and gone off to spend the trip doing whatever they thought would be most entertaining. I wasn’t tired after getting a solid eight hours of sleep, but being hungry tended to make me cranky.

No one wanted to be around me when I didn’t have enough fuel to keep me going, so I decided to stop for the moment. With almost twenty-five hours left in our first leg of the journey there was no rush. Not only that, but I happened to know just how good the food on the Treader was and my mouth watered at the thought of a meal that didn’t come in a cup.

“Break time,” I said, getting to my feet. Several pops came from my knees and back, and I rolled both shoulders a few times to work some of the stiffness out. “While I’m doing that, keep looking. There has to be more information that could point you in the right direction.”

“Since I believe your concern has merit, I’m happy to continue my search. Keep one thing in mind, Captain. Even if you get the information, having it may not be useful.”

“I guess I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it,” I replied lightly.

Poe said nothing more as I strode off the bridge and headed for the Treader’s galley. He didn’t have to. It would be better for all of us if this little research project came up empty.

9

Long jaunts through slipspace weren’t my cup of anything. The twenty-nine-hour trip to Bardo could have been broken up by stopping in a human-populated sector for fun and supplies.

We didn’t do any of that.

Instead, I spent the time roaming Gray’s ship with the visors until I knew it at least as well as the Star Treader. Poe’s HUD program translated any Anypsian language into the common tongue so it could be read by us ignorant humans. Like the Alliance expeditionary vessel, the Roswell had an organic way to produce breathable air.

Using means similar to what humanity was now making standard for long-range ships, it utilized a closed ecosystem to produce water by continuously growing more of the plants. Separate from the life support was an agriculture room, though it had only been activated once Gray booted it up.

This one could produce food. Any food that could be grown and harvested, given certain parameters were met. I knew jack all about farming, but Poe did. Included in our treasure trove of supplies were certain seeds and cultivation tools for the same purpose.

Of course, the Treader’s facilities paled in comparison to this.

In fact, I could have parked my ship in the agro bay. It’d have been tight, but still. If we did decide to stop somewhere and get more supplies, there was plenty of room for new and exciting endeavors.

Normally I wouldn’t have given a good godsdamn about plants and how to grow them.

The new situation changed things. Now that I was faced with a potentially years-long trip to another galaxy, I figured it was a good idea to get acquainted with what it would take to survive.

My current skill set was more compatible with evading authorities, not avoiding death by natural causes. I didn’t mind changing that. By the time we made it to Bardo, I’d learned far more about agriculture in space than any school program ever taught me.

How much of it would stick was questionable.

Gray appeared on the bridge on our final approach to the outpost. He’d spent the majority of the trip elsewhere, doing whatever Anypsians did on long voyages. The places I’d visited on his ship didn’t include private quarters, so I had no idea if he even had a bunk to hide out in. Since I was the kind of person who could read a room, I surmised the alien wanted to be alone, a feeling I could sympathize with. But seeing how tense he looked in stark contrast to his typically easy going demeanor, I had to wonder if I should have sought him out.

“You good?” I asked as he settled into his seat.

I have concerns, Gray admitted. All of my communications to this outpost were successfully delivered and subsequently ignored.

Deacon looked up from the data pad he’d been reading. “Ignored is a pretty strong word. Delivered just means that a machine was able to receive the transmission. It’s not an indication that a recipient was able to access it. Besides, haven’t you been sending those since before Cole and I were on Della the first time?”

That is correct. I have continued with my attempts to make contact at various intervals for quite some time.

Camilla nodded in agreement. “Deacon is right. It sounds less like you’re being ignored and more as though no one is home, if you get my meaning.”

I do, Miss Abernathy. Thank you for the advice. In any case, the truth will soon be revealed. We have arrived.

Bardo System had a handful of planets to her name. According to the scans, none were habitable without terraforming. Untouched planets didn’t rate all that high on the excitement scale for me. Bardo was outside of any human territory but dead sectors like this were all over the place. If there wasn’t a good reason to make a place compatible with human settlers, why waste the resources? I tended to have more of an interest in places that could offer me something useful.

Some called that greed. I just found it practical.

Barrick shared my opinion. I got that from the way he shook his head when the rest of the crew fell silent to watch the feed as the Roswell passed by new planets that had in all likelihood never been seen through human eyes.

“It’s all so beautiful,” exclaimed Selina, eyes wide.

When I didn’t say anything, Camilla threw something at me. “What are you sighing about?”

“Didn’t mean to. But it’s just a planet. Not like all of you haven’t seen a thousand more just like these. What’s the big deal?”

I expected her to roll her eyes, but she smiled instead. “You should always stop to appreciate beauty when you have the chance.”

“Oh, I do. Believe me. I appreciate beautiful women—present company very much included—a bank account full of credits, and a stiff drink. Should I go on?”

The intercom clicked on before she could answer. “As poetic as that was, you might be interested to know that we’ve reached our final destination. Gray will need to perform the correct landing procedures.”

Unlike Della, Bardo’s outpost hadn’t been built inside a mountain. It wasn’t even on a planet but in a self-contained dome on the surface of a moon with a thick atmosphere of riotous flashing clouds.

The moon itself orbited a carbon rich planet that rained diamonds. Lethal diamonds, but still.

As we began our descent, I was reminded of Titan. Not the transient seed ship responsible for populating the known galaxy, but one of Saturn’s moons. I’d done about a dozen runs to the place over the years where a small aerial settlement had been built.

The Roswell broke through the thick atmosphere to take us through a turbulent storm that resembled a standard slipspace tunnel on the fritz. Gray’s ship handled it like a pro, and we reached the outpost in just under twenty minutes.

Outside, the storm continued to rage.

“Poe, is there any way to know when the weather will clear enough for us to go outside?”

“That would be never, Captain. I have been monitoring the moon since scans were first able to retrieve usable data. According to my calculations, this particular celestial body is in a continuous state of natural chaos.”

Deacon swiveled around in his chair. “If that’s the case, it’s worth asking how resilient Anypsian architecture is. Della was just your average goldilocks planet. Four rotating seasons and weather that didn’t get too out of control. The outpost was protected from the elements by a mountain. Gray was also there to keep an eye on things.”

“You’re thinking the integrity might be compromised,” put in Barrick. “What about a scan for that?”

I looked up at the nearest camera. “You heard the man, Poe. Whatcha got?”

“No need to be snippy. I was merely waiting for the right opportunity to interject.”

Snorting, I pointed at the holo screen that still displayed his weather report. “Just put it up so we can see.”

The AI complied. “The material used to build the structure is unfamiliar. However, Gray was able to connect with the dome’s system and run a check. It appears to be intact. I would suggest environmental suits be worn to err on the side of caution.”

I studied the external feed with some doubt.

Violent winds kicked up too much dust to have any sort of visibility. The projected speed of those winds made the trek more treacherous to attempt than I was comfortable with.

“The weather’s going to make it a bitch to walk out there. Gray, your shirt and pants aren’t going to cut it either. What’s the plan here, putting us in your personal bubble again?”

That will not be necessary. There is a similar method of transportation between Anypsian vessels and facilities. The portal at this location is not compromised. Considering my oversight of the life-support systems, it would be prudent to follow Poe’s advice of utilizing protective gear.

“Alright,” I said, moving toward the door. “Deacon, Camilla, and Selina, you three are staying put for now. Barrick and I will go first. Before anyone gets their panties in a twist, I’m doing it that way for two reasons.”

Deacon, who’d been about to say something, closed his mouth and waited.

“One, the good lieutenant here is the chief of security and has first dibs when it comes to volunteering for potentially dangerous situations. Second, I’m the captain, and first assumption of risk is my job. If we need you, Gray can come back. I’m not taking questions or open to discussion on the subject,” I added when Deacon’s hand shot up.

Barrick followed me out, staying silent until the door slid closed behind us. “I actually like you, Riker, so don’t take this the wrong way.”

“Too late. I like you too, Barrick, just not that way. I’m sorry, but it would never work out between us.”

Though he didn’t do anything as obvious as laugh, the lieutenant’s serious face twitched slightly, which was basically the same thing. “Shut up. Anyway, you’re taking to this leadership role better than anticipated. I like poking at you since you can be irritating, but I appreciate how serious you are about the mission.”

I almost stopped in my tracks. His statement was pretty close to what Camilla had recently said. “Did Abernathy put you up to that after Poe’s crack the other day?”

That time Barrick did laugh. “No. Do you honestly think I’m the kind of man to say something nice because someone told him to?”

“Do you really want me to answer that? Don’t forget I saw you passed out on a crewmate.” I decided to be nice and not mention the drool. “But thanks, I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

His grunt was all the interaction we had until after suiting up.

The environmental suits weren’t made to withstand bullets, but they were still heavy duty. Designed to protect against toxic air and extreme elements (even the vacuum of space, though only for a short window of time) while still maintaining breathability made them perfect for the task at hand. I wouldn’t be doing any backflips in it, but I could shoot just fine.

“Your helmets have been updated with the Anypsian overlay,” announced Poe when we exited the armory. “Gray is waiting at the transport deck. The path to that location has been sent to your suits.”

With one last look at Barrick, I pulled the helmet on and locked it into place.

I had a thing about wearing helmets indoors. It was like people who wore sunshades at night. That and it made me look like a video game space marine. My suspicions about that were confirmed when I glanced over at Barrick and took in his battle-ready appearance.

We both had rifles and sidearms, plus an assortment of backup ammunition and other weaponry that might come in handy. It would have been overkill if not for our last experience in an alien outpost. Neither Gray nor Poe made any mention of Celestial interlopers in the system. That didn’t mean it was wise to take a chance. There was a reason why Gray’s people had gone dark, and until we knew why, I planned to approach every unknown as a threat.

Gray stood just inside the transport deck.

To my critical eyes, the Anypsian appeared to have evened out. His calm demeanor was firmly in place, and he welcomed us with a beckoning hand. I wanted to ask if this trip was going to make me hurl in my helmet, then decided I’d rather not know. Barrick didn’t have the same willpower.

He shifted on the balls of his feet and aimed a look at Gray. “What should we expect this time around?”

Nothing out of the ordinary, Lieutenant. The alien offered up a smile that I assumed was supposed to be reassuring.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” muttered Barrick.

I clapped a gloved hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. Last time I barely felt anything. It’s like drinking. The more you do it, the higher your tolerance is. Okay, Gray. We’re ready when you are.”

During the times when Gray brought me into his personal slipspace dimension he’d had to be in physical contact. This time he stayed where he was. The room began to glow, growing brighter with each passing second until my visor went opaque to block it out.

Once again, I was hit with the sensation of being surrounded by something thick and heavy. It didn’t last as long and though it was weird, I had less of a reaction than the last time.

For one unsettling moment the floor disappeared from under my feet. Then I felt solid ground and the heavy feeling dissipated. My visor cleared and quickly adjusted to our new surroundings. Barrick was steady on his feet, so I didn’t worry about him suffering from another round of illness.

That left me free to survey the outpost. It took a few beats to realize we’d landed in a room that matched the one Gray beamed us out of. Turning in a slow circle yielded me with a visual of Gray.

One moment while I access the main system controls, he explained.

I had to appreciate how efficient Anypsian technology was. With the program activated, I could see more panels like the ones Deacon and I destroyed to shut down the pedestal’s power. They were recessed in the walls behind a shimmer indicating a barrier of sorts. Since Gray never touched anything to control his people’s technology, I suspected the placement of physical equipment was there for unusual situations.

The “break glass in case of emergency” kind.

A wall slid to the side. Not a door, an entire wall. It led out into the rest of the structure where our destiny, such as it was, awaited. The three of us exited the transport deck together. The ceiling of the dome was high enough that New Nijo’s tallest building would fit with room to spare.

I thought the inside would be a carbon copy of the Della outpost, but this one had a newer feel to it. It was also reminiscent of a station. The visor highlighted directions on the walls and ground, indicating different districts and a central hub further in.

My eyes picked out the familiar layout, mentally inserting shops and food joints among the blank building faces.

“Let me check the immediate vicinity,” ordered Barrick. His rifle was already in hand as he did the initial scan. Satisfied after the sweep, he nodded. “Clear as far as I can tell.”

“Too clear,” I commented. Empty was more like it. “Gray, this is all you. Where to?”

The large alien took a moment to answer, going immobile. I’d come to recognize his body language the more time we spent together. When he went still and closed his eyes it meant he was interfacing with tech.

It never took long, and this time was no exception.

I have located the portal here, he said. As expected, the outpost is devoid of personnel. I am currently unable to access any records remotely.

Even though it wasn’t a surprise, the news still sounded ominous. “Is that because the outpost is shut down or some other reason?”

That is unclear at this time. We will have to manually access the pedestal in order to obtain more information. If there is any to be found, he added.

“Lead the way.” Ready to move on, I gestured for him to go ahead.

The mission had officially begun.

10

The pedestal he took us to didn’t have the same cave aesthetic as the one that spit him out. Both pillars matched the rest of the surrounding outpost, and the designs etched into the smooth surface looked similar.

When my helmet scanned them, I learned that the lines were a sort of code. Nothing outwardly special though. Just a label to note the location, like an SG Point would have.

Gray approached the pillars at a steady clip until he was close enough to reach out and lay a palm on one of the sides containing an Anypsian data pad. As soon as he did, the entire thing lit up like a holo ad for a skin bar. After that, it only took another few moments for the alien to get what he was after. When he turned back to us with a resigned expression, I knew it wasn’t going to be good news.

This outpost has been purged. I’m afraid the only information is a note with the date of decommission for this location and one other. Bardo was shut down just over a century ago. That was five years after the outpost in Union territory.

A century. That meant Gray had been on Della at least that long. And left behind.

The note does leave some cause for concern, he continued. It said that the reason for shutdown was an imminent threat. Unfortunately, the only information I can find on the code given is a short missive regarding emergency protocol. That particular protocol goes into effect whenever a confirmed threat will have a significant impact on a sector. All Anypsian outposts are to be shut down and evacuated.

“Not sure I like the sound of that.” I cast a glance around the hub we were standing in. “Is there anything else here worth looking into?”

He shook his head. Any relevant data would have been in the databanks. The rest of the buildings in the dome will be empty. Their systems are still connected and show no use since the date the outpost was shut down.

Barrick visibly relaxed upon hearing the outpost was completely empty. “Then we should get going. No point sticking around. There are still two other outposts to check. The one in Union territory, and the other one that’s out past human settled space.”

It looked like we were going on another trip.

As we walked back to the transport deck, numerous questions played a tap dance in my head. I’d known from the start that this mission might not be easy. Had known from experience that more often than not, when something looked easy on the surface, it usually ended up being the opposite. Still, I’d been hoping.

“Do you have any idea what this threat could be? My first thought was the Celestials, but you said this was a hundred years ago. We didn’t know about them until less than a decade ago.”

I do not.

“I had the same thought,” added Barrick. “Either the Anypsians had a head start on avoiding them or they found out about something else. If it was something else, it never touched our part of the galaxy.”

We stepped back onto the transport deck then and halted conversation until we were safely back on the Roswell.

When we rematerialized and entered the hall, it was to find Deacon waiting in environmental gear, complete with a bulky bag of what I assumed to be full of equipment. The engineer’s face fell when he saw us. “You’re back already?”

I exchanged a look with Barrick, who shrugged as if to say “what do you want me to do about it?”

“Sorry, D. There wasn’t anything worth calling you down for. The place was shut down over a hundred years ago and Gray got all the info there was to be had. We’re about to decide our next move.”

“Right.” He glanced down at the bag in his hands and sighed. “Guess there’s no reason to keep all this stuff on me.”

To my surprise, Barrick gave him a manly pat on the shoulder. “It was smart to be ready, kid. Why don’t we all get back in our regular clothes and fill the others in? We’ve still got more outposts on the lists. One of them is bound to need your keen eye.”

The guy seemed to have come to the conclusion that the possibility of an extended mission would be a lot harder if he continually antagonized my longtime shipmate. I guess I wasn’t the only one making changes.

“That’s true,” said Deacon, brightening at the prospect.

Camilla and Selina were waiting on the Treader’s bridge with their chairs reclined.

When neither moved, I gave them the beady eye. It went unnoticed. “Gee, don’t get up just because your captain’s here.”

“Poe said nothing important happened down there,” Camilla replied easily. “Did you three find anything out?”

I motioned for Gray to fill them in since he was the one who got the information directly from the source.

There was one other piece of information regarding the two stations. The second location had its slip tunnel closed down. There was no indication of that same protocol being followed for Bardo, but I saw nothing to explain why. We could traverse the human slip network and attempt entry that way, but this does not seem wise.

“I agree.” I gestured at the nav display where the final location of the three remained. “That leaves one. I’m not too broken up about it if I’m being honest. With the possibility of a human threat lingering, I don’t want anyone to know we’re still around. Makes more sense to head for deeper space waters.”

Camilla drummed her fingers on the console, brow knitted in thought.

Selina noticed and waved at her. “Hello, Mission Control to Cam. Do you know something?”

“What?” Camilla jerked slightly, then looked back at our resident medical expert. “Oh, yeah. It’s more of a question we should probably answer before leaving. I’m wondering what to do if this next location is empty. We can’t just wander the universe without a plan.”

The intercom clicked on, and Poe decided to add his two credits. “This is a legitimate concern,” he began. “However, I may have a potential course of action. While the Roswell’s databanks have been corrupted, there are bits of information. Though it’s incomplete at the moment, every time we travel through Anypsian slipspace, the system updates. Already an additional fifty SG Points have been restored simply by moving through the tunnels. Of course, there is no data on the sectors they lead to, but my suspicion is that once we exit a rift, more data will be restored.”

“Still not ideal,” I commented. “But better than nothing. I’m hoping our next stop has more than crumbs for clues. Either way, we know where to go next. Set a course for... what’s this new sector?”

A rough common tongue translation would be the Valley of all that Shines, answered Gray.

“Well, that’s a mouthful.” I thought about it for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “Shiny Valley it is.”

* * *

At just under fifteen standard hours, the trip to Shiny Valley was half the travel time of our trek to Bardo. There was enough time for me to get a full night’s sleep and then some. I was just getting myself a cup of coffee when an emergency alarm went off in the galley. Morning revival forgotten, I took off at a run for the bridge, hailing Poe on the way.

“What’s the problem? Don’t tell me there’s a malfunction with either of the ships.”

“There are no issues with the ships themselves,” he replied. “The problem lies with the tunnel. We appear to be approaching an anomaly.”

I swore loudly. This was the last thing we needed. Just about anything else could be dealt with. A malfunction within the slip tunnel was not one of those things. “Is Gray on his way?”

“Yes, he is the one who alerted me to the upcoming break.”

A break.

I wished to hell and back that he didn’t mean what I thought he meant. “Didn’t you say the maps were restoring themselves? That kind of problem should have revealed itself when we first came through the rift.”

“That I did, Captain.” His tone wasn’t flippant, but I detected a note of annoyance. “It would seem that this particular break was beyond the ship’s scanning capabilities. As soon as we were able to detect it, we did.”

I slid to a stop outside the bridge door.

“What are we dealing with?” I snapped, rushing to my workstation.

“The readings suggest a collapse thirty minutes ahead.”

Tunnel collapses weren’t good news by any stretch of the imagination. They weren’t an automatic death knell either, provided there were alternate SG Points before the break. “Okay, Poe. Now’s your time to shine. Please tell me that there is an exit point somewhere between here and the break.”

“Regrettably, there is not. Neither does our current tunnel allow for anything but forward motion.”

Damn. That had been my next question. Every slip tunnel was different in how they operated. Some had fixed rates of speed that ships adjusted to, but there were others that allowed for wiggle room. For the most part, the slips only operated one way. It didn’t happen too often, but two-way travel was possible in a single tunnel. That feature usually only applied to larger freight tunnels, but hey, a guy could hope.

The bridge door opened, and Deacon came through at a dead run. I filled him in as he snapped his harness into place, then he opened up the console at his seat.

“One minor correction,” added Poe. “The readings suggest a collapse, but that is not confirmed at this time.”

The rest of the crew, including Gray, arrived next, so I saved my questions until they were all situated.

“Does it matter if it’s a collapse or something else?”

“Not really,” replied Deacon, eyes still laser-focused on his display. “Collapsed, decaying, malfunctioning: they all mean the same thing. The tunnel is out of order. I’d tell you the probability of survival if we just keep going, but you won’t like it.”

That went without saying.

Barrick’s muttered curse mirrored my internal thoughts.

I shot a look at Cam. Out of the entire crew, the former liaison was the one with the most extensive travel history. “Have you ever come across anything like this?”

“Not personally.” The former liaison frowned slightly, as if trying to conjure up some distant memory. “There was one time where Jace got ejected into an unknown sector because of a bomb, but those were very different circumstances.”

“You have my attention,” I told her.

“The Renegade Star was being pursued by the Union. They fired on Jace while he was following Titan into a tunnel. If I’m remembering right, one of the missiles went through just before they did and exploded. It was enough to make a portion of the tunnel wall unstable.”

The comment made Deacon’s head come up briefly. “There might be something to that. Poe, start calculations. I want to know what it would take for us to try and replicate those circumstances. Cam, can you tell me everything else you know about what happened?”

My mind was already working its way through the available armaments aboard the Star Treader as they put their heads together.

“Gray said a little bit ago that the Roswell couldn’t make its own slip tunnels. Since he hasn’t offered up any ideas, I’m going to assume it doesn’t have any other special abilities. But”—I swung around to aim a hopeful look at the alien—“you mentioned before that being on an Anypsian ship would increase your bandwidth. Or something along those lines. What about phasing?”

His forehead crinkled up as he went into deep thought mode. I waited impatiently when he closed his eyes. That his answer wasn’t an instant hell no gave me some hope that we might have another option aside from attempting to blow ourselves out of slipspace. I liked blowing shit up as much as the next guy but drew the line at doing it while in confined space where the walls disintegrated ships on contact.

It is considered a high-risk endeavor to engage in phasing on slipspace entry. Gray’s voice interrupted the scenario I’d been imagining and brought me firmly back to the present. I do not believe it’s ever been attempted while in slipspace. I could try, though my own calculations do not give us a good probability of success.

Selina shot up a hand. “Is it higher than zero? Because if it is, those are better odds than us ramming a collapsed portion of the tunnel.”

Slightly, answered Gray. I would put our chances of survival at seventeen percent.

Seventeen percent was not a number I wanted to gamble on. From the looks on my crew’s faces, neither did they. “Deacon, what about the bomb idea?”

He looked back at the display, pulled a face, then turned back. “We have what it would take to try and blow a temporary hole in the tunnel wall. That being said, we’re looking at a twenty-four percent chance of success. Better than seventeen and zero, but not by much. And before you ask, no. We are most definitely not going to set off a bomb and try to phase at the same time. That would be a 100 percent chance of dying.”

The display said we had about twenty minutes left to decide.

“It’s your call, Riker,” said Barrick in a tone that suggested he was glad not to be in my boots.

I knew he was right. As the captain and mission leader, it was my job to make the tough calls. Of course, this was one call I wished someone else could take. If I chose right, we might make it out of this alive, but none of the choices gave me the slightest warm and fuzzy feeling.

“Seems obvious to play the numbers game,” I finally said. “I want everyone to suit up in EVA gear and get to the life pods. Gray will hit the emergency eject button if there’s no other choice. It may not do much for us, but we’ll give ourselves the best possible chance to make it out of this.”

No one argued with me.

There wasn’t time for anything besides hauling ass to the armory to pull on the suits. The lifeboats were situated nearby at least. Even so, we barely made it with five minutes to spare. We had enough of the pods to each (including Gray) have our own. I would have preferred partnering up with someone but splitting up gave us the best odds to not run out of oxygen.

Once we were all tucked in safely, I activated the comm system. “Alright, people. We all knew this could be a possibility. If you didn’t write a goodbye letter in advance, now’s the time. Barrick, do you want to see the love letter I wrote for you now to save time?”

His answering laugh took me aback. “Is it for me or my sister? I hate to tell you this, but she looks like me.”

I’d figured he’d tell me to shut up and stop being an idiot. It seemed in times of crisis the lieutenant could keep his sense of humor. “Even better,” I replied.

In reality, my letter had been to Min. She was the only person not on this possibly godsforsaken ship who I gave a damn about and who gave one about me.

It was short, and something she’d understand. The older woman might still be pissed about it, but I wouldn’t be around for her to smack with a shoe so that was fine.

“Poe, be ready to pull the trigger on those transmissions.”

“Of course, Captain. If it comes to that, I am glad to be of service. Four minutes remain,” he added.

I thought the end would be a little more emotional.

All I felt was a cold sense of dread. Waiting was the worst part, apprehension building with every passing second. There wasn’t much to do except imagine all of us getting blown to bits or disintegrating. At least both would be quick and painless.

There was a bit of irony for me when I realized this was essentially the same way Eckert had gone out. At least this was my doing too. It would have sucked to get booted into the wall by someone else.

“Hey, Cam, you doing okay over there?” I asked using a direct pod transmission rather than an open line.

Her returning laugh was low and bitter. “As okay as one can be when coming to terms with their last moments. You?”

I let my head back against the seat rest and tried to keep my tone light. “Oh, you know. Just thinking about all my life choices up to now. Listen… I wanted to say that I’m sorry for dragging you into this. And...”

The rest of my statement was prevented by another click in my ear indicating that Poe had something to say.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Thirty seconds remain until we reach the... oh. Stand by.” Poe paused, then spoke again. “I am using a private comm line for this update, Captain. A second unknown anomaly has been detected. The readings are in line with that of an SG Point, though the frequency suggests it is an unnatural rift.”

An unnatural rift was still a rift. “Probability of survival?”

“That would be fifty-nine percent. Fifteen seconds remain. Would you like us to attempt an exit through the anomaly?”

I didn’t even have to think about it. “Hell yeah. I’ll take fifty-nine percent. But don’t tell the others.”

“Of course. That would be unnecessarily cruel. Engaging SG Point now.”

The pod shook around me as the slip drive engaged.

This was it, do or die. I was strapped in tight with nothing but my harness to hold onto. Unable to take my eyes off the HUD, I waited to see if the last-second plan would work. A text update appeared:

SG POINT ACTIVATED

With the pods so close to the Treader’s exterior I could hear a roar as we passed through the now open rift. It was rough, much rougher than a normal exit. Then we were through. Before I could celebrate, more warning alarms made themselves known. Of course, because why not?

“What is that? Are we dealing with a malfunction from the anomaly?”

“I’m afraid not, sir,” came Poe’s reply. “While we have exited the tunnel and survived that particular problem, a new one has arisen. We’ve been ejected in the middle of a fast-moving debris field. The rocks are too close together, and many of the pieces are too small to easily avoid.”

“Fucking hell.” Why couldn’t we catch a break? I wasn’t dead yet though, so I wasn’t about to just throw in the towel. “Can Gray handle it?”

“We are working on that at this very moment. Please stand by. Things are about to get quite rough, I’m afraid.”

11

“Well, team, the good news is that we’re out of the broken slip tunnel. The bad news is that we’re still in some shit,” I said over the main comms.  “Poe said we came out in a debris field.”

“Riker,” said Barrick, tone dry as dust, “I’m beginning to think you’re some kind of bad luck charm.”

“Might be you,” I shot back. “But that’s something we can debate later. Since we’re out of the tunnel, I’m heading back to the bridge. Anyone who wants to ride this out in the pods can do so. That’s probably a smart idea, actually.”

Not waiting for an answer, I unbuckled the harness and ordered Poe to open the pod so I could get out.

“The seatbelt ordinance is still on,” the AI told me. “There will be turbulence as we are now engaging in not only defensive maneuvers but also active hostile engagement.”

I knew what he meant. There weren’t enemies out there in the usual sense but turning our weapons on debris that could cause major damage was a legitimate way to avoid getting destroyed. “Then turn off the gravity. Just make sure everyone knows first.”

“Indeed. Please be careful, Captain Riker. I shall see you on the main deck.”

I started running.

As my smart-assed AI had warned me could happen, a shudder rolled through the ship. The force of it sent me flying sideways into the wall. I tried to put myself back to rights but was thrown to the other side in short order.

If this kept up, I was going to end up with several broken bones before I made it out of the hallway.

The gravity switched off just as another jolt tried to hammer me into the ceiling. Instead, I flew back a few meters until I hit something hard. I twisted to look and found myself face to face with Barrick. Eyes going wide with horror, I jerked back.

“Not a fucking word, LT.”

He grimaced in return. “If you keep this up, I’m filing a harassment complaint, Riker.”

“This isn’t comedy hour,” I told him. “Let’s go.”

A whoosh from another pod opening gave me pause. Camilla floated out to the opposite wall and latched onto the handrail before turning to look at us. “Am I interrupting?”

Realizing I was still in his face after threatening him, I pushed away and grabbed onto the nearest handhold. “Do I look like Selina?”

“Hey what do I have to do with this?” she said, popping up from behind the lieutenant. “You’re the one who cannonballed into Barrick like a Galactic Olympian off a high dive.”

I hadn’t noticed her behind him and scowled.

This day was just one big cluster. I didn’t understand how my crew could have so many battle-hardened individuals on it and yet no one was taking this seriously. People reacted differently in life-or-death situations, but usually I was the one breaking the tension with my crass humor.

“If you all are done joking, there’s a bit of a crisis taking place,” I drawled, pulling myself along the handrail at a steady clip.

That shut them up.

Camilla rocketed past me the next second. It took me a second to realize she’d engaged the thrusters on her suit.

“Miss Abernathy, while that is a creative use of the EVA, activating thrusters indoors is not recommended,” declared Poe.

She heeded the AI’s mild warning and killed the thrusters. She still had the momentum going though and continued down the hall until a hard right turn forced her to stop. I was employing the hand over hand method and decided my co-captain had the right idea. Poe would just have to deal with it. After engaging my own thrusters, I sailed ahead.

“Captain Riker, perhaps your ears malfunctioned in the last few seconds, but I just informed Miss Abernathy that using an EVA suit in a ship is dangerous.”

“Put a sock in it,” I snapped.

His irritated sniff didn’t bother me in the least. I could appreciate his concern for the crew, but now wasn’t the time to worry about minor safety guidelines. In his digital brain, it probably seemed like I had no sense of self-preservation at all.

“I don’t need to remind you that putting a sock anywhere is impossible for me.”

I ignored him as I came up on the same corner that had slowed Camilla down. Using the handrail, I grabbed hold and twisted so my feet were where my head had been. They hit the opposite wall and I pushed off with perfect timing, launching down the next corridor at an angle.

“Wow,” said Camilla when I caught up to her. “That was almost beautiful. No offense, but I thought you were going to hit the wall back there.”

“I swear, no one on this crew respects me,” I complained as the Treader continued to rattle and shake around us.

She laughed and followed me. “Come on, Cole. Who would expect a Renegade such as yourself to be in possession of such agility?”

“Plenty of people, I suspect. My skills were honed by a misspent youth. I had to run from the local badges enough times I got to be pretty good at street stunts in just about every setting you can imagine. Then once I became a Slip Runner, back before I met Deacon, I had to go out a lot. I didn’t relish the idea of being squashed by my own scrap haul.”

The next turn took us to the bridge door. Inside, Gray was just materializing.

“I thought you’d be on the Roswell,” I commented as I moved past him and grabbed a small hand grip positioned on the ceiling.

With the gravity down we had to utilize the automatic handholds that had emerged to aid in traversing the ship. Out in the halls, the handrails served the same purpose. In smaller, more confined areas like the upper deck, the handholds made moving around a whole lot easier.

Going zero gravity didn’t bother me overmuch anyway. I considered it an occasional byproduct of space living. That didn’t mean I wasn’t glad to snap the harness securely in place.

I am still able to access my ship controls from here, explained Gray. It is better to be around the rest of you.

The main display gave us a view of what was happening outside the ships. I got a good look at the debris field and winced. It didn’t look too bad on the feeds, but the nav screen told a different story. Poe hadn’t been kidding about how thick the debris field was.

“Can’t blame you there, big guy. We’re a good group. Since you’re here, any idea how long until we’re out of this literal shitstorm?”

“This is not a debris field of excrement,” interjected Poe. “Therefore, your usage of the term is incorrect.”

The guy, such as he was, really needed a sense of humor.

“Then why don’t you enlighten us as to the current situation? Gray’s doing the piloting, so it’s not like you have anything to do at the moment.”

His prerecorded sigh came across the comm with enough feeling to sound real. Barrick and the others came then, so the AI waited until they were all safely belted in before giving us the breakdown.

“The reason for the tunnel collapse was an overlap. The Roswell’s scanners picked up another signature separate from the Anypsian system. The anomalous exit point led to a galaxy not on any current map. Human or Anypsian. Due to its unstable nature, reentry is not recommended. It is also in the middle of this debris field. Making it back through to open the rift is too uncertain. I don’t believe it necessary to explain how disappointing it would be to reach the rift only to have it collapse.”

It made trying a waste of time. As the person responsible for my team’s lives, I wouldn’t take a gamble on something so uncertain.

“An overlapping tunnel?” repeated Barrick, looking just as confused as I felt. “How is that even possible?”

A click sounded, accompanied by the gravity kicking back on. My stomach flipped just once as the change happened and my weight settled firmly into my seat.

“Unknown at this time,” said Poe in answer to the lieutenant’s question. “By all rights, it shouldn’t be possible. Given that two distinct signatures were discovered, I would say that this was an accident. More than likely the Anypsian tunnel was there first. When the second tunnel was created, the architect may not have known about the alternate tunnel.”

I noticed that Camilla was staring hard at the holo. Before I could ask her why, Deacon, who’d been pretty quiet throughout most of this, broke the ensuing silence with a question of his own.

“Not to change the subject, but what’s that signal?”

All eyes went to the main holo to see what he was talking about. The signal in question was half-buried under all the alerts and proximity warnings, but it was there. I frowned at it, as though glaring would make it clear.

“Ah,” said Poe, somewhat sheepishly, “that would be a beacon, Mr. Smith.”

I didn’t know how much new information I could handle in such a short span of time. It wasn’t as bad as being forced to go on the run from the Alliance, but I was getting pretty damn annoyed at every hard right turn that forced us in a new direction. “Dare I ask what kind of beacon?”

“It’s human,” announced Camilla.

I spun around to stare at her. “That’s usually Deacon’s area of expertise. How do you know it’s human?”

“Because I’ve spent a lot of time on a seed ship,” she replied mildly. “Working in close contact with an Eternal-created Cognitive AI was quite helpful in educating me on humanity’s lost history. Do you know who Athena is?”

Camilla earned points for not saying it with a touch of arrogance like Poe most assuredly would have. Because once I took a second to think about it, the answer was obvious.

“Yeah, the Cognitive who runs the restaurant chain on earth. She’s kind of famous. Even to someone like me.”

“Well, she was instrumental in teaching me how to do all sorts of things. And reading old human tongue language was just one of them. I saw beacons and other communications from Titan enough to get familiar. There’s more, but I can’t really talk about it.”

I looked at Deacon for confirmation on the beacon. He understood and nodded. “I just compared the scan data to the records Poe has access to.”

Holding up a hand, I shot a glare at the display. “Wait a damn second. What do you mean you compared the beacon to the records? I thought Poe was the only one who had access.”

“That is true to a point,” said the AI. “However, there is the small matter of my being in charge of who gets to see what. After an analysis of the situation, I deemed it necessary to give Mr. Smith the relevant data. He possesses the skills and background to make effective determinations. He also has a knack for conveying complex information in a way that anyone can understand.”

It pissed me off some that I wasn’t given first crack at it. It pissed me off more that Poe wasn’t wrong. Deacon was good at explaining things to the people around him. Of course, I caught Poe’s vaguely implying I was an idiot who needed a simplistic explanation but chose to ignore it in light of the situation.

“Fine, whatever. Do you know which seed ship?”

“Not yet. The message is incomplete. Perhaps degraded by time or some other underlying issue. There is some of that good news you are so fond of, Captain Riker. You’ll be happy to learn that the message can be fully restored. In the next few minutes, even.”

I wasn’t convinced that was actually good news. The beacon’s message might say something about all the passengers dying after ending up in this lost sector of the universe. The unknown galaxy was pretty damn far from the settled corner of space that Titan’s descendants had populated. This was exactly the type of scenario I’d dreaded too.

Being lost somewhere far from home without a way back. I could rest somewhat easier on account of the precautions put in place for such an eventuality. Thanks to the Star Treader and Roswell’s advanced systems, long before fuel or food ran out, we’d all die of old age.

Or boredom.

“Okay, let’s table that for now,” I said. “The beacon isn’t really important. Our main problem of not having a slip tunnel around is. This galaxy is unknown, so where does that leave us?”

Gray got to his feet. From the relaxed expression he wore, I took it to mean he didn’t have any major concerns. The debris field is now behind us. I do not detect any additional rifts in the vicinity. Though this galaxy is unnamed, using information from the route here has allowed me to make some deductions. There are other entrances to the system we exited. They are unfortunately very far away.

“How far is very far?” Barrick had unbuckled too and now leaned forward with an intensity that betrayed his even tone.

He was worried, same as me and mostly likely everyone else.

At the fastest speed compatible with human bodies, twenty years.

If I’d been drinking something I would have choked on it. “Twenty years to the nearest SG Point?”

Every face on the bridge had the same wide-eyed, openmouthed expression of incredulity.

Camilla recovered first, but her voice wasn’t quite steady. “There must be another way. There’s always another way. Titan’s tritium core was depleted when Jace discovered that seed ship. Athena led him to Priscilla where the Union had one hidden away. He broke in and stole it.”

I was too distracted by the twenty years thing to comment on what she’d just said.

Priscilla had been a Union black site where they stored priceless items and conducted top secret research. A black site that was said to be impenetrable. The story of Jace Hughes breaching Priscilla had always been a source ripe for speculation. People on the sub-net claimed to have been there and even produced an “official” record of the incident. It looked real enough, but lots of fake things did.

“That was totally different,” commented Barrick. “We’re not missing a tritium core. Even if we were, there aren’t any Union black sites around to break into. Neither of our ships can create their own slip tunnels anyway, so what does that matter?”

I shot him a look. “She’s saying that sometimes things only look impossible. And if I’m not mistaken, that tritium core was how they were able to make Titan functional again. I thought all that was a tall tale, but it makes sense now.”

Barrick looked from me to Camilla, who was nodding in agreement. “I’ll say it again. What does it matter? We’re not Titan.”

“No,” I said slowly. “But whoever created this beacon has the same technology as Titan. If we can find it, maybe we can figure out a way to make our own tunnel.”

It gave me great satisfaction to see the light bulb go on over the lieutenant’s head. “Oh.”

“That’s a big if, Cole.” I turned to face Deacon, who didn’t look convinced. “If this message is so degraded that it needs to be reconstructed, I don’t think whoever left it is still going to be around.”

“That would be the seed ship Nereus,” announced Poe. “I have confirmed that the Nereus was indeed one of the original twelve colony vessels to leave Earth during the Transient Exodus. Like the others, all contact with the ship was lost not long after its departure.”

Like the others...

This was obviously part of a knowledge base that I didn’t have. Publicly available information on the Transient Exodus tended to be general in the vaguest sense of the word. Since I didn’t share Deacon’s love for our ancestors’ past, I never really cared about the truth. When you grew up thinking Earth was a myth, you fell into one of two categories: you wanted to know more, or you thought it was a waste of time. I fell into the latter.

The Alliance faction heads, along with Jace Hughes, hadn’t seen fit to make their chosen mission leader aware of the truth either. That rankled more than a little. How effective could I be if every time I turned around I was finding out some new piece of information?

I figured it had more to do with the possible leak the Alliance had rather than me. Knowing how dangerous the right information could be in the wrong hands, I gave them a pass. Plus, I had to factor in that no one could have guessed that we might actually stumble on something of this magnitude. It mostly irritated me because not knowing was forcing me to take valuable time getting up to speed.

“Seems to me that the Nereus might be our ticket out of here,” I said to the group. “Once we know what the beacon says, maybe we can trace it somewhere.”

“That’s a good point,” put in Barrick, though he didn’t look too happy about admitting it. “Most of the data regarding the lost colony ships are above my security clearance. That being said, I do know that they’ve been missing since before our people populated the stars. Even if we do find one, it’ll be a miracle if it’s capable of making new slip tunnels.”

The same thought had already occurred to me. “Look, I’m not disagreeing. If one of you has a better idea, I’d love to hear it. The last thing I want to do is go on a wild ship hunt in a galaxy we know nothing about.”

No one spoke. I half expected Deacon to hatch some hairbrained idea, but in the end he just shrugged.

“As no one appears to have had an epiphany in the last few seconds, I have found the beacon’s origin point,” declared Poe. “It is the fifth closest planet to this system’s sun. Due to its orbital path and lack of rotation, half the planet is in perpetual summer, while the other half is in a constant frozen state. The reconstruction is complete as well. Would you like me to play the translated message?”

I wanted to know more about the planet, but my goal was to find the seed ship, so I motioned for him to go ahead.

A solemn male voice began to play over the comms. “Attention. If you are hearing this message, know that the seed colony ship Nereus has failed in its mission. All surviving passengers are on this planet, which we have come to call Hope. At the time of this recording, resources are running low. I fear the end is near. Despite our best attempts, Hope was unable to sustain life in the long-term. The Nereus is gone, and soon we will be too.”

12

A heavy silence filled the bridge when the recording stopped. The sounds of breathing, a low-grade hum from the surrounding equipment, and a steady blip from the nav display took over as I digested the new information.

Whoever the man had been, his voice held no hint of the hope he and his people placed in their new home planet. It was like hearing one of our goodbye transmissions read out loud, except somehow worse. Titan had spawned two (now three, but Earth’s new civilization had come far later) major factions, its passengers managing to thrive in the cold frontier they’d been thrust into. So far, Titan was the only one to succeed that we knew of. Even then, the ship itself had been lost to us until Jace Hughes found it.

“That sounded ominous,” quipped Selina, shuddering. “Not to mention it pretty much makes our plan null and void.”

Barrick gave a shake of his head. His gaze was on the holo, reading the transmission text that Poe had helpfully supplied. “Not necessarily. Did the wording sound off to anyone else?”

“It could have been the translation,” suggested Deacon. “This dialect might be slightly different, and that can throw things off. No offense, Poe. Not saying you’re wrong, just pointing out a possibility.”

“None taken, Mr. Smith,” replied the AI with far more grace than he ever gave me. “You are correct. I used the language files in my system that were provided by Athena and updated files from Earth’s Reclamation process. Since some information was missing or corrupted, it is quite possible that the phrasing is slightly different than the original.”

While they were talking, I was thinking.

I had the same feeling that Barrick did. After reading the text again, I thought I had the why figured out. “Our esteemed lieutenant might be onto something. The message felt like he was trying a little too hard to convince us about this supposed tragedy. Like, stay away, danger. Don’t come here. The settler doth protest too hard in my humble opinion.”

“Exactly,” said Barrick, nodding. “No mention of what actually happened to the seed ship, only that it was gone. If they really wanted people to know what happened, why not supply some kind of record about the events that took place? Poe didn’t mention one, so it seems like all they put in the beacon was the recording.”

I glanced over to Gray, who had yet to say anything. “What about you? Does anything stand out for you?”

He looked up quickly, eyes coming back into focus like he’d been napping. Not about the beacon. I was scanning the planet for any signs of life.

“I’m guessing there weren’t any to be found.”

It was a rhetorical question, but he nodded in the affirmative anyway. I stole another glance at the display, studying the computer-generated image of Hope.

“I don’t see a reason not to check out the planet for ourselves. If we leave now, we can be there in a couple hours. Poe, prepare a report for Alliance HQ. This strikes me as the kind of update they’re going to be interested in.”

Camilla sprung to her feet. “Riker, can I talk to you? In private.”

I almost made a joke about this not being the time for a private affair. The flat line of her mouth and serious eyes told me to hold off.

“Sure,” I said, motioning toward the hallway. “Why don’t we step into my office?”

When she didn’t so much as crack a smile, I knew something was up.

I waited until the door slid closed behind us to talk. “Alright, Cam. You’ve got me out here. What is it that has your ‘I mean business’ face on full display?”

“Don’t send that update. Not yet.”

“You giving me orders now, Abernathy?” I asked, keeping my tone mild.

“This isn’t a game of who’s got the biggest balls, Riker,” she snapped.

“Hate to break it to you, but I think I win in that department. But physical anatomy aside, why don’t you explain why I shouldn’t send the update?”

She tapped a foot on the ground, clearly battling with how much to tell me. “Don’t get all pissed off, okay? What I’m about to say is classified information. Strictly need to know.”

Leaning against the wall, I raised a brow and waited for her to get on with it. After chewing on her lip for another beat, she finally did.

“Jace has been searching for the missing seed ships since the war ended. Every faction is. Any and all information about them is closely guarded and only a trusted few have access to it. The Eternal tech, if found by the Union or Sarkonian Empire, would change the balance of power. We’ve already seen firsthand how impossible it would be to keep it out of criminal hands since they’re being produced for the military.”

“The pulse cannons,” I said, thinking back to our last skirmish with Eckert’s crew. “Then there’s the experimental Alliance weaponry that’s already being tested. Barrick’s EXO-11 comes to mind.”

Camilla nodded briskly. “Precisely. Jace pretty much had to make that concession. It was that or pit ill-equipped soldiers against Celestials. He couldn’t have done much to stop them anyway. With all the Celestial scrap floating around there was no way to control it.”

“Hence the Slip Runner program.” I paused, putting more pieces together. “Do you know anything about a potential threat to the Alliance? Of the human variety, not aliens.”

I had the distinct feeling that if she really wanted to, Camilla Abernathy could lie her ass off. The look of confusion that crossed her features now struck me as the real deal. “No. What are you talking about?”

My pet project with Poe had been a private one due to the sensitive nature of the data. A better man wouldn’t have taken any pleasure in knowing he had information that Camilla didn’t.

I wasn’t a better man and shot her a lazy smile. “Oh, I guess that’s above your clearance level.”

Camilla fisted her hands on her hips and glared. “Don’t make me kick you in the balls right here, Riker. You might think because I’m close with the Renegade that I’m privy to all his secrets but that’s not the case. Some things just don’t have anything to do with me.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, I’m being an ass. Let’s just say that I thought Chief Norman and her two buddies were holding back. They were careful with how they worded everything, including telling me the kind of updates I was supposed to do for this mission. So, I asked Poe to do some digging on the off chance we ended up in enemy territory.”

She didn’t seem surprised. “Define enemy territory.”

“Enemy as in Union or Sarkonian space where they might try something stupid if we ended up in their systems. There’s nothing in the official data, but I read between the lines and found a point of concern. All signs point to someone making moves behind the scenes.”

“Oh shit.” Camilla’s hands dropped to her side.

I nodded. “Oh shit is right. I have a theory that it’s also why they scooted us out the door so fast. If you really think about it, they gave up interviewing Gray after a month. A brand spanking new alien species is discovered, and they all but pushed him out the door.”

“They didn’t even give Dressler time to get back,” she murmured. “That’s pretty unusual in itself. Then add in how readily they agreed to the five of us being the only personnel on this mission.”

That was a damn good point.

A reformed convict, a parole liaison, a veterinarian, and a Celestial scrap appraiser. The only one from my crew that made a lick of sense was Lieutenant Barrick. I hadn’t given that much thought before, chalking it up to Gray’s insistence. Now I could see that they simply went along with the convenience of not having a possible mole on the team since I was the one who picked it.

“So, back to your request. If we don’t send this update, what do you propose?”

“Before I left, Jace gave me a secret communication protocol to use in the event of something like this. You can send an innocuous update and I’ll include the keywords he told me to use. After that, we just wait. He’ll get back to us with instructions.”

Something about the tone of her voice made me think she was feeling guilty about something. Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I took a stab in the dark. “He asked you to accept the invite, didn’t he?”

“He did,” she admitted. “I like you, Riker, but I was initially on the fence about coming. Honestly, I probably would have accepted the summons anyway,” she added with a quick shrug. “Then he asked me to go as a favor. To keep an eye on the mission since I know what he’d want to be informed about. That was that.”

I held the stare for a few seconds, then laughed. “It’s fine. I’m not really all that surprised. To be honest, I’m assuming Barrick is a plant too. Not like he’s spying or anything but maybe tasked by Mommy Norman to make sure I don’t screw up in a big way.”

“If you’re fishing to find out if I know, I don’t,” Camilla replied. “That’s all I have. I’ll give you the keywords to put in the message. Since we’re so far out, it’s likely going to take some time for a response.”

“I wasn’t fishing,” I told her. “But thanks for sharing. Anyway, I’ll send your message. If Hughes gets back to us before we get to Hope, great. If not, just know that I’m going down anyway.”

A few hours later, we got the reply. It was short and to the point.

Don’t tell the Alliance shit. Find out what happened to the Nereus.

That was paraphrasing, of course, but close enough. It also gave us the green light for our new side quest.

My first glimpse of Hope didn’t inspire any of its namesake. The digital rendering of the world made it look nicer than the reality. Gray had informed us that out of the five planets in the unnamed system, Hope was the only one capable of sustaining human life.

With the right boosters, a person could acclimate to the atmosphere. Given enough time, humans could even adapt to life on its surface. The problem with living there was the lack of natural resources. Water was scarce, the rocky terrain barren, and the unchanging seasons harsh.

A seed ship should have been able to make it work. Their entire purpose revolved around laying down roots and they’d had everything aboard those massive ships to get the job done. It was just another thing that didn’t make sense about the beacon. Being cagey didn’t benefit anyone. So why the cryptic message?

“Is it just going to be you three again?” asked Deacon when I signaled it was time for us to go.

I looked around at the others, then to Barrick. “This is different from Bardo. Not really my area of expertise. We’re not expecting to find anything and there’s no active signatures indicating power usage. What do you think?”

The lieutenant shrugged. “I would bring them along. We’re not entering a closed dome where a Celestial or other problem might be lurking. Both Smith and Selina have skills that could be useful.”

“There you go,” I told Deacon before turning to the medical expert. “You good with that plan?”

“Now that I’ve been close to death, a little trip to the desert doesn’t seem like a big deal,” she said, laughing. “If the worst that happens is someone falls and gets hurt, I can do some field medic treatment.”

I gave her a nod of thanks. “Good. Then let’s go. I think the Treader might be a little overkill. Gray, do you have access to something smaller? We’ve got quads, but...”

Yes, replied the alien. The Roswell has an exploratory vehicle that I believe will work for this purpose. I have conducted a topographical scan and discovered what appears to be a settlement.

He led us there once everyone was properly outfitted for the excursion.

The exploratory vehicle was nice. Capable of operating in a vacuum and the size of a small delivery truck made it much more convenient for getting around the planet. Fitting the six of us inside with all of our gear was like packing cats into a crate, but we made it work.

I surveyed the dark landscape we passed through and actually found the view fascinating. In a cold, dark, and kill-you-immediately sort of way. This side of the planet never saw the sun. I’d heard people refer to the phenomenon as “the dark side” and this fit that description to perfection.

We skimmed over mountains made of sparkling ice, across frozen oceans, and through aurora storms that took my breath away. Gray’s little ship made the trip fast, but I still appreciated the fact that we were entering new territory. It made me think of the conversation with Camilla, and I had to admit that maybe she was onto something.

The side of the planet in perpetual daylight was drab in comparison. An endless sea of brown sand only broken by the occasional knot of gnarly trees and rock formations.

“It reminds me of Earth before Project Reclamation,” commented Camilla. “When we first arrived at Verdun, there was nothing. Well, nothing aside from the trilobites.”

Barrick made a face at the mention of whatever the hell a trilobite was. “I saw some of those. They’re the creepy ass bug robots that consume anything, right?”

“Yes. Including human flesh,” Camilla replied, making a face. “One of our team members lost an arm to them in Earth’s core. That was before we found a way to control them.”

I was interested enough to ask for more information, but Selina let out a short cry of surprise and pointed at something on the display. “What is that?”

That was a creature running on what looked to be all fours. The tan hide would have made it blend in with its surroundings if it hadn’t been running at top speed.

“You’re the vet,” I pointed out.

She swung around to aim a disgusted look my way. “Gee, thanks, Riker. I almost forgot. In case you didn’t know it, I’m a vet for domesticated pets. Mostly,” she corrected. “I have handled some contraband creatures from time to time, but I’m no Bo Exotic. That guy was nuts. Hey, where’d it go?”

“We probably scared it off,” I said, waving a hand. “Isn’t there some saying that animals are more scared of us than we are of them? Besides, we have weapons. If one of them wants to get frisky, maybe we can have fresh meat for dinner.”

Selina held up a finger. “One, no. That only applies to certain animals. There are plenty the size of my palm who would gladly take a chomp out of your ass. Two, you should really try to avoid both killing and eating unknown substances. Not only could you throw off the ecosystem, but you could also die from consuming something that doesn’t agree with human physiology.”

I highly doubted that. “There’s a street cart vendor on Taurus Station who sells Rombdin on a Stick. Pretty good, actually. If my stomach can handle that, I think it can weather a little unidentified Hope jerky.”

That earned me looks of disgust from everyone except Gray, who never seemed to have much of an opinion on food.

We saw the settlement on the nav display about five minutes before it was visible to the naked eye. In stark contrast with the Anypsian outpost, the construction had a crude aspect to it. It wasn’t like I’d been expecting an advanced civilization with skyscrapers and paved roads, especially after the beacon’s depressing message. But with all the resources afforded to an Eternal-crafted vessel launched with the sole purpose of kickstarting a new society from scratch, I at least thought there’d be more than unrefined rock shelters built out of a mountainside.

Deacon didn’t share the sentiment. His eyes went all wide and shiny with excitement as he angled for a better view of the display. “Ruins,” he said breathlessly. “Definitely human.”

“What were you expecting, little green men?” remarked Barrick.

“How do you know about—?” Deacon’s expression soured. “Oh, I get it. You’re making fun of me.”

Barrick sobered. “Sorry, kid. Just trying to lighten the mood. I got bored a few weeks ago during the delay and decided to watch one of those ancient Earth documentaries you were going on about. It was hard to take seriously when they started talking about glowing green men that didn’t even come to knee height.”

Gray’s grunt got our attention. The “little green men” do not reside in this part of the universe.

Deacon turned around so fast it was a wonder he didn’t give himself whiplash. “What did you just say?”

I said that the little green men do not reside in this part of the universe. They hail from an arm of the Andromeda spiral.

The alien’s obvious bewilderment made the entire exchange that much more comical.

“Captain, perhaps you can stop laughing long enough to help our esteemed engineer,” suggested Poe. “I do believe he’s stopped breathing.”

I didn’t stop laughing but I did give my friend a hard thump on the back. “C’mon, D. You can’t pass out before we’ve even landed. There are ancient ruins to be explored and all that.”

“Right,” he said, bobbing his head up and down. “I’m fine. That took me by surprise, that’s all. Gray, I have so many questions—“

“Nope.” I gave an adamant shake of my head. “Not right now. Save that discussion for later.”

My apologies, Mr. Smith. I thought due to our previous conversation about alien visitors to Earth that you were aware of their existence. As Captain Riker pointed out, we are about to land. Once we are back on the Roswell, I would be happy to share what I know. Admittedly it isn’t much.

Right on cue, the nav display gave a happy little chirp to indicate we were on our final descent.

Apparently content with that, Deacon busied himself with doing a final check of his gear bag.

With everyone in full environmental suits, it took a few minutes to unload. I stretched the second my feet hit the dirt. A series of pops from my back could be heard over the comms, reminding me I wasn’t in my twenties anymore.

“Hey, Captain, I’ve got some arthritis medication,” teased Selina. “Just say the word.”

“Haha, very funny. Save them for Barrick. He’s got a few years on me.”

The lieutenant emerged from the ship last with a grunt that might have been a laugh. “I’m not the one who sounds like someone cracking a glow stick.”

He had me there. Admitting defeat—silently—I turned in a slow circle to take in our new surroundings. The first thing I saw was Deacon wandering off. Annoyed, I hailed him over the helmet comms. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing? Do I seriously have to remind you of what happened on Della?”

“Sorry,” he said, lifting both hands. “I wasn’t going to go any farther. There’s something over there.”

“No shit, that’s why we’re here.”

Deacon shook his head impatiently. “Not the ruins. I think it’s a graveyard.”

13

Poe’s scan of the area confirmed Deacon’s suspicion.

Seeing as we had an eye in the sky, I decided to forego the perimeter check that Barrick tried to insist on and head for the alleged gravesite.

Some intrepid soul had taken the time to create a stone barrier. Natural rock formations created bars that extended from the ground up to an overhang, resembling a sort of cage.

Once I got close enough to see the area, there was no mistaking the plot of land for anything other than a place to lay the dead. Mounded humps in the ground, preserved against the elements by the shelter and generous amounts of smaller stones. At what I assumed was the head of each plot lay a single boulder to act as a marker.

“There’s a message.” Camilla’s whisper was thick with emotion.

The script she’d noticed was on the far side, partially obscured by shadow and etched into the rock wall.

I didn’t have to ask for a translation because my suit’s helmet began scanning it.

“We weren’t worthy,” Selina read aloud.

“What is it with these people,” I demanded. “All the doom and gloom feels intentionally dramatic.”

Even Barrick seemed taken aback at the vehemence in my tone. “I get where you’re coming from. That being said, look around. Things tend to get morbid at a gravesite. Whether the beacon is a sham or not, whatever happened here is real enough.”

He had a point; I just didn’t give a damn. “I’m saying that this scene has been set. There’s what, maybe fifty graves here? Then the message ‘we weren’t worthy’ is another thing. It’s like they were in some kind of cult.”

Deacon was looking at the message with a concentrated expression. “Why is it scratched into the rock?”

“That’s a good question,” put in Camilla. “They came from one of the most advanced ships in the known universe and we didn’t detect a single instance of tech. It’s like they were just dropped off and left to survive. Except for the buildings. You can’t exactly carve out whole buildings with your bare hands.”

“Then I say we go check them out.” I turned my back on the forsaken dead and started walking. The whole thing was really starting to piss me off. “Gray, I know you’ve got scanners running. Is there any evidence of a buried ship around here?”

No, replied the alien. There does appear to be an underground tunnel system that I suspect is used by the creature we observed earlier.

When we entered the structures built into the rock wall, I split us up into two groups. Gray was too large to fit in the shelters themselves and would have had to crouch the whole time, so he examined the exterior in case there was something to be found there.

Since Camilla and Deacon were the two closest people we had to experts on hand, I made sure they were each on a different team. I put Camilla, Selina, and Barrick together and sent them to investigate one half of the ruins while Deacon and I took the other.

The stone exterior was pitted from time with holes big enough to fit my hand in. Inside, we found nothing to write home about. The empty rooms didn’t give me the slightest inkling that anyone had ever occupied them.

“I think I’m with you on this,” said Deacon when we entered another room with bare walls covered in a thick layer of sand. “I’ve studied a lot of historic discoveries. Been to a few archeological digs too. Every single place I’ve been to has had some sign of the people who lived there.”

He paused to inspect a mark on the wall before determining it to be nothing.

“Even as barren as Earth was, some ancient cave paintings and etchings survived. There are whole cities just like this one, empty as can be, but they at least told a story with the architecture. It’s how the people on Earth—pre-Eternals—learned that the earliest settlers knew how to irrigate and used indoor plumbing.”

I thought I understood what he was getting at. “Let me get this straight. You’re saying that there aren’t any clues here to tell you anything about the people who built them, right?”

“Right. I could probably do some digging and see if the architecture fits a particular style. To be completely honest, I doubt that will turn anything up.”

“It’s like a kid’s sandcastle,” I mused, taking in the room again.

Deacon snapped his fingers. “That’s exactly it. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I was so bothered. It’s too simple. Not to beat a dead horse, but an Eternal-built ship brought these people here. Yet we don’t see any kind of electricity, bathrooms, or evidence of furniture. Someone scratched that message into the graveyard wall, but no one thought to do the same in here? Nah. It’s someone’s abandoned art project, man.”

Another dead end.

There had to be something. “Not saying I think it’s going to make a difference, but is there any way to tell how old these are? If it’s as old as Titan, maybe it’s a time thing and we’re just speculating for nothing.”

“Maybe.” He hurried forward, a scanner already in hand. He ran it over the stone in quick efficient motions for the next minute and a half.

I waited while he muttered to himself, then turned back to me with a sigh.

“I tried using a calculation based on the readings from Gray and Poe, but there just isn’t enough information. Without some kind of origin date or material that’s easily dated, it’s going to require in-depth research. What about the beacon?”

Poe was quick to chime in there. “The recording was not dated. Intentionally since that information should have been in the raw data. There are, however, certain clues regarding the message’s lifespan. Please stand by as I perform the analysis.”

While he did that, Deacon and I finished checking out the rest of the rooms. As expected, we found nothing. Not a scrap of rotted clothing, broken data pad, or a single, solitary dish to hint at the doomed settlers who’d died here.

Back outside, the others had the same story.

“I have narrowed the beacon’s creation date to a rough time frame,” announced Poe as we stepped back out into the daylight. “My estimate is anywhere between 2500 and 3000 years old. I also took the liberty of scanning the entire planet for evidence of a crash. There was none.”

“What do we do next then?” asked Selina.

It was a question I didn’t have an answer for.

Camilla gestured back toward the graveyard. “We could always dig them up. What?” she said, a mite defensively when we gaped at her. “It’s not like the dead are going to care.”

“I can’t wait to put this in my report. Camilla Abernathy, tomb raider extraordinaire. In all seriousness though, that’s a brilliant idea. I just don’t want to dig up fifty bodies for nothing.”

Gray lifted a hand, mirroring another human gesture. It will take me less time to move the rocks and make it easier to dig.

“Or here’s a thought. Maybe your resident engineer can help with that,” cut in Deacon. He held up his pack and gave it a jiggle. “Believe it or not, my gear isn’t just a bunch of toys. I’ve got something that can penetrate the rocks.”

It was a handheld deal, and something that only required one person to operate. Deacon’s also skinny frame allowed him to slip through the stone gate and begin the tedious task. That left the rest of us twiddling our thumbs.

“Even if there’s nothing useful buried with them, we could always bring one of the bodies aboard the ship,” suggested Selina. “I’ve done autopsies before, and the medbay is next level.”

I jabbed a finger in her direction. “Hell no. Are you crazy, woman? It’s like you’ve never watched a horror holo. Nothing good can come from bringing a 2500-year-old corpse onto our ship.”

I could see it now.

Something would go terribly wrong at the perfect time and throw the mission into further chaos. Most likely some millennia-old contagion that would turn everybody into dust zombies with no cure.

Thanks, but no thanks.

“Sounds like you’ve seen one too many of those movies,” muttered Selina. “But you’re probably right. It was just a suggestion anyway. I’m trying to think outside the box because it feels like we’re at a dead end.”

Camilla gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “We get it. Believe me, no one wants to stay stuck in this system. Bringing a corpse aboard the ships without knowing anything about it would be more risk than it’s worth though. It did make me curious as to what you thought might be helpful.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” admitted Selina. “I was considering the possibility that knowing the cause of death might give us another lead to pursue. Like maybe they came from somewhere else in the system or nearby enough to reach.”

It occurred to me that, joking or not, I might have reacted too quickly.

Even though the doctor’s idea was ludicrous, she had solid reasoning. If we didn’t figure something out, the mission was doomed. Then our intrepid group of explorers might very well be the next ones digging graves on Hope.

My inner musings were interrupted by an excited shout from Deacon.

“Hey, I think I’ve got something. Definitely not organic. Gray, can you phase in here and help me move the rocks?”

Gray disappeared from behind Barrick and rematerialized a few seconds later next to Deacon. I felt bad for just standing there, but our Anypsian friend had been right about his own efficiency. He cleared the layer of stones in under five minutes, then held out a hand for the shovel in Deacon’s hands.

The engineer handed it over, albeit hesitantly.

“The scanner said it’s not that far down under the dirt layer,” he explained before Gray could get started. “Please be careful not to dig too deep or you might hit either the corpse or the pad.”

I turned back to the open landscape in hopes that something more interesting would show itself. The heads-up display in my helmet put the temperature at just this side of hell’s ass crack with a clear blue sky. A lot of people found that kind of thing to be good weather.

Here and now, the unbroken expanse of blue against an ocean of sand just felt oppressive. Like an unfinished painting where the artist just gave up. Our current situation being what it was only enhanced the feeling.

An alert flashing onto the heads-up display drew my attention.

The attached text declared that there was movement somewhere in the area. A tracking icon appeared at the edge of my face shield. The distance readout said it was 500 meters out. Judging by how fast the number was dropping, our visitor was coming in hot.

Everyone else got the same alert, but Barrick was the first one to react. His rifle came up, and he spun on his heel to face the direction supplied by the update. “I don’t have a visual on the target. Is it the same creature we saw earlier?”

“Affirmative, Lieutenant, although I believe the hostile is underground,” informed Poe. “I would advise everyone to stay calm and retreat to the ship. With haste,” he added.

The small ship we’d come in was a good 250 meters away. “We aren’t going to make it,” I said after seeing how close the incoming threat was. “Everyone get to cover. Don’t go into the buildings—aim for getting on top. Those holes in the wall should make it doable. At least we’ve got weapons.”

Camilla’s scoff came through the comms loud and clear. “I’m going to bet they do too, Riker. Let’s hope they can’t climb.”

“Deacon,” I barked as we started to climb the nearest exterior. “Get your ass out of there.”

“I just need another second,” he said hurriedly. “We’ve almost got it.”

“No, not in another second. Now, godsdammit!”

I was too focused on not falling from the building side to do a visual check when he didn’t answer right away. “I don’t care if you found the Sarkonian Emperor’s long-lost mother.”

A roar split the air.

It sounded like a cross between a hover train hitting its brakes and a drowning cat. The pitch sent a very unpleasant tingle up the base of my spine and spurred me on until I reached the top of my building.

As soon as I had my bearings, I spun around to look over the edge and almost immediately wished I hadn’t. The height thing got to me, as did the sight of five monsters popping out of the ground like the galaxy’s worst game of whack-a-rat.

“Poe, what the fuck? Your update said there was one.”

“Yes, my apologies for the oversight. The nature of the tunnels and close proximity of the creatures caused the error.”

I didn’t respond.

My attention was entirely focused on the pack barreling toward us. They stopped to nose at the ship making snuffling sounds. I was glad we hadn’t tried to make it because we would have been trying to pile into the tiny vehicle just as the creatures arrived. Now that I had a good look at them, tangling with one seemed like a bad idea.

Even from this distance, it was easy to see how big they were.

One of them walked by the explorer’s hatch, and its head came level with the top of it. What had looked like five legs were actually four. The fifth appendage was akin to a tail, and from the way they used it, gliding along whatever surface they wanted to check out, it had a sensitive tip.

When the group of animals were apparently satisfied with their inspection they began tracking. Fanning out in a loose line, their extra limbs sweeping the ground ahead, they caught our scent pretty quickly. It was like watching dogs track.

Dogs didn’t used to be so common, but with the popularization of Earth, their popularity as pets had grown. In the past, however, those who could afford the animals tended to use them as guard systems. Or, since they had such a superior sense of smell, trackers.

I’d learned that that was a common use on ancient Earth. Especially knowing they would often hunt humans and animals alike. I was getting a good idea of how that might have felt and had to say I didn’t like it.

When the pack got closer, a shot echoed over the comms as Barrick fired from his position atop the next roof over.

It hit the closest Hope-dog. And did absolutely fuck all except ping off uselessly. The animal didn’t even yelp, though it did skitter off for a moment before coming back. I couldn’t tell if the noise or the impact were responsible. Their hides had to be made of a material capable of withstanding a rifle shot and it made me nervous.

“Damn, Barrick. What did you bring, a practice gun?”

Barrick grunted into his mic. “Pardon me, Riker. It was a test shot. It’s dumb to start with the biggest we got. But yeah, I’m not so sure what I’ve got on me is going to cut it. It’s like they’ve got armor plating for skin.”

“Why are you shooting?” demanded Selina. “We don’t know anything about these animals.”

“That’s not true,” I quipped. “We know they’re bulletproof. Let’s hope they’re not good climbers too.”

Selina made a doubtful sound. “I don’t think they will be. The plating looks like an armored groundhog I treated once. Made for protection, not movement. They’re fast, but fast doesn’t mean agile.” There was a pause, then she kept going. “I don’t think we should just murder them. They haven’t even tried to kill us yet.”

“I think them exploding out of their tunnels was proof of that,” commented Camilla. “And while I don’t like the thought of killing animals, it’s us or them.”

I noticed Gray and Deacon were pretty quiet and leaned over the side of the building to peer at the graveyard. They were still inside. After quick analysis of the bars, I decided they were probably safer than us unless the animals could bust through solid rock.

“Gray, I know you ripped that Nightmare in half like it was nothing, but do me a favor and stay in there with Deacon for now.”

Of course, Cole. With such limited information about the animals, I do not wish to engage unless absolutely necessary.

“Hey, I brought my duly approved sidearm,” protested Deacon.

I knew he had to have a weapon on him. I just didn’t have a lot of faith that the engineer could use it effectively in a high-stress situation. Not that I was going to say it out loud. “Did you get what you were looking for?” I asked, ignoring his comment.

“Yeah, it’s in my bag. I can still scan the rest of the graves until we figure out how to not get eaten by the sand puppies.”

Puppies was far too endearing a word for them in my opinion. “Speaking of them... Gray, can you access the explorer from here?”

I am afraid not, he replied. It is too far. Beyond that, its capabilities are quite limited. Though exceptionally hardy, it is not intended for combat use.

“What about the Treader?” suggested Barrick. “Poe could fly it down here and take them out easily.”

There was a beat of silence before Poe answered with “Negative. Given the hostiles’ current location and the size of the Star Treader, getting close will be difficult. On top of that, the ship is intended for combat use. Even at the lowest power setting there would be significant damage. This would threaten the integrity of the structures you’ve taken shelter upon.”

We lapsed into silence.

Talk about a perfect shitstorm. We’d stumbled across a new planet with no human enemies, only to be cornered by a pack of beasts. A pack of beasts that was now sniffing around inside the buildings below. I didn’t put it past them to find a way up here either.

The cliff was sheared off on one side, but if these things were hungry enough, they’d eventually find a way up. A Sarkonian jump rig would have been a godsend.

Then it hit me.

One of my crew could walk through walls and thereby take us right through the enemy and into the explorer. It was so simple that I got mad for not thinking of it sooner.

“I guess we’re going to have to hitch a ride with our resident alien,” I said. “Gray, why don’t you start with Deacon, then come back for the rest of us?”

When my suggestion was met with silence, I tapped the side of my helmet. “Hello, is this thing on?”

Barrick answered first. “Why are we just now getting around to that idea?”

At least I wasn’t the only one.

Yes, this is a smart idea, agreed Gray. Deacon is almost ready.

A crash from below shook the building. It wasn’t enough for me to lose my balance, but it damn sure got my attention. It only took a second to see what the rockhounds were getting up to, and it wasn’t good.

Not being climbers, they had decided to ram the building. Two of them geared up to attack the rooftop Camilla and Selina were on. They hit it at full speed and a crack appeared that ran from the foundation nearly halfway up the structure.

Well, shit.

14

Instead of screaming, both women let out a stream of curses that would have made my mom proud.

I concurred. “Deacon, if you’re not ready, oh fucking well. It’s time to go.”

“I’m ready! I was just grabbing my gear.”

“Less talky, more walky,” I snapped. “Camilla and Selina, you’re going to have to jump. It looks like you’re closer to Barrick than me. Poe can measure the distance with your helmet cams.”

The pair hurried over to the edge. “One point eight meters,” Camilla announced. “You can go first. Should be easy.”

Selina’s snort disagreed. “For you, maybe. You’re in shape. Exercise is something I avoid at all costs.”

“You’ll never have to exercise again if you don’t jump.” I pointed to the rockhounds, who were backing up to try again. “Besides, Barrick will catch you. Pretty sure he’s the chivalrous kind.”

When I looked at the lieutenant for confirmation, he nodded.

“Dammit. Fine, fine. I’m going. If I die, don’t tell anyone how I bit it, or I’ll come back and haunt your asses.”

There wasn’t a lot of room to run on the rooftop. To her credit, she backed up right to the edge and only took a few steadying breaths before launching forward. When her foot hit the end of the other side, she pushed off hard and sprang.

Selina soared across to land on the other side with plenty of space to spare. Barrick didn’t have to catch her, but he did stay close by and reach an arm out to make sure she was steady.

“Hey, that wasn’t so bad,” she exclaimed. “Come on, Cam.”

Camilla was already in position. I didn’t have to see her face to know there was determination in her eyes. She shot off in time with the rockhounds. I called out a warning, but Camilla didn’t stop.

They were faster and reached the building just as she was about to make the jump. The already weakened infrastructure of the building gave out. All I could do was watch as she stumbled on the last step and didn’t get a clean jump. Unlike Selina, Camilla didn’t have an easy landing, hitting the opposite wall with a heavy thunk and grunt of pain.

She caught the top by her fingertips. As the building she’d occupied a moment ago crumbled into ruin, Barrick and Selina hauled her up onto the roof to relative safety.

Relieved that I hadn’t just watched a good friend fall into the jaws of hungry alien dogs, I blew out a heavy breath. “You okay over there?”

“I’m alive,” she returned. “My knee hit the wall, but I’ll make it.”

Gray appeared next to the trio and offered a quick bow to Camilla. Miss Abernathy, may I have permission to carry you?

She hopped forward a step.  “Absolutely. Get me out of here.”

“Fast,” I added. “Those things aren’t going to wait around for us to escape.”

The pair was gone a moment later, having faded into the alternate dimension. Thanks to the overlay, I got to see them sink through the rooftop to the open room below. Then it was just me, Barrick, and Selina. The animals were thankfully about as smart as a pile of rocks and were still rooting around in the ruins of the fallen building looking for their prize.

I looked around, taking count, and realized one of the animals was missing.

Uh oh.

That couldn’t be good. Not wanting to scare Selina, I scanned the surrounding area in silence until I found the missing animal half buried under some of the rubble.

“That’s one less to deal with,” I said, motioning to its still twitching form.

“I feel bad,” murmured Selina.

“Why?” I said darkly. “It tried to eat us.”

She looked up from the other building. I couldn’t see her face from this distance, but the judgment came through loud and clear.

“Call it an occupational hazard. I just see that we invaded an animal’s home, and it acted accordingly. How would you react if a bag of jerky walked onto your ship when all you had before was bland ready-meals? Then it used your ship against you and tried to kill you simply for acting as nature intended?”

Her analogy conjured unpleasant images of a walking bag of meat teaming up with Poe to kill me.

Pushing that nightmare scenario from my mind, I shook my head. “Sure. But I could argue that as the more intelligent species, we’re doing what’s in our nature. Hell, for all we know, they’re what happened to the settlers here. That’s why it all comes down to survival. When lives are on the line, I’m always going to pick my people and me before someone else. Animal, human, murderous aliens—it doesn’t matter.”

“Look, it’s not like I’m some anti-colonizing planet-hugger. Working on animals for a living gave me an appreciation for living things besides myself, that’s all.” She said it softly, like there might be a story there.

I preferred to stay one of those living things, but I could see her point without having to agree. “Fair enough.”

“Heads up,” warned Barrick. “They’re regrouping.”

The sharp edge in his voice had me swinging around.

The four remaining animals had lined up and were sprinting our way again. My eyes went wide when they split off into two pairs. They had somehow strategized and knew to take out both of our perches at the same time. So much for my dumb animal theory.

“Hey, LT. Just out of curiosity, do you have any other ammo besides whatever’s in that rifle?”

“Nothing helpful. The handgun is going to be less effective, and the grenades are going to make things worse.”

Cursing, I backed away from the roof’s edge and kept going until I hit the rock wall.

Camilla’s voice came over the comms. “Gray is on his way back. Try to hang on until he gets there.”

We didn’t have much choice if we didn’t want to die. Barrick and Selina were fortunate enough to find a nearby lip wide enough to stand on. All I had were a couple of spots that could act as foot and handholds. The rooftop shook as my pair of rockhounds hit the base of the building.

“Don’t even ask, big guy. Just take me,” said Selina, using my nickname for him. Gray was back and lifting her the same way he did with Camilla.

They disappeared into the ether before he’d even fully had her in his arms. Every second was precious now. Beneath my feet, the building continued to quake as though it was ready to give out.

I pressed back against the wall and opened a private line with Barrick and hailed Poe. “Get us a visual so we know what those things are doing. I can’t see anything from this position.”

“Working.”

The AI’s one-word response lacked any of the usual haughtiness, which I took as a bad sign. He only went into all-business mode when situations were reaching crisis level red.

The feed came up then, and what it showed me did not put me in a better mood.

Confirming my suspicion about a bad sign, the animals weren’t repeating the same attack as before. The camera zoomed in on one, bringing it into sharper detail. I hadn’t noticed before because I’d been distracted by all the ramming, but their feet were essentially shovels. Long talons with a slight curve at the end that had to be made of the same material as the rest of their body because they tore into the stone like it was nothing.

I was really starting to regret my initial stance on their intelligence.

The feeling increased when I recalled telling Selina we were the more intelligent species not even fifteen minutes before. Now they had Barrick and me on the ropes and waiting for rescue like a couple of damsels in distress.

If I didn’t do something to redeem myself after pulling one embarrassing stunt after another, I didn’t deserve to be called a Renegade. Worrying about my reputation at a time like this would baffle the more rational people, but hey, a man’s reputation was sometimes the only thing he had.

To my left, Barrick’s little slice of heaven started to collapse.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but some of the rubble from the first shelter had piled up on one side of his and created a weak point. The natural ledge kept him from falling with the doomed structure but not totally free from danger.

Thanks to where the weak spot originated, the broken rock piled against the wall now acted as a stabilizer. There was just enough tension to keep everything from completely crumbling to the ground. The result was a gap less than two meters from Barrick’s ledge to the top of the debris pile.

He was, in effect, now a tasty treat that could be reached with enough motivation and cleverness.

The animals had already proved to have plenty of both.

“Where’s Gray?”

Poe answered using the private line I’d opened. “He is on his way. In my opinion, he looked to be having some trouble. After three runs without rest, I believe he may be struggling to maintain the alternate dimension.”

“Not to add more pressure, but do you got an ETA, Poe?” asked Barrick.

One look at the lieutenant told me he was running out of time. All four of the rockhounds had started climbing the loose chunks of rock and didn’t have very far to go.

Faced with this new development, I made a snap decision. Lieutenant John Barrick wasn’t dying today. Not if I had any say in it. Cursing, I shimmied over the side of the building to make my way back to the ground.

“Riker, what in the ever-loving fuck are you doing?”

“At a guess, another spectacularly terrible idea,” supplied Poe. “Though misguided, I can say with certainty that the captain plans to use himself as bait.”

When I didn’t say anything, Barrick called me something that couldn’t be repeated in civilized company.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Don’t be an idiot!” he yelled back.

Too late.

“Poe, mute everyone except yourself. I don’t need all the yapping in my ear.”

“That is probably for the best, sir,” the AI agreed. “At this very moment, Miss Abernathy is coming up with quite the creative barrage of insults. I have already saved them in my system for later use.”

He could be something at times, I’d give him that.

The second my feet hit solid ground I pulled my sidearm out. My shots were aimed in the general direction of the creatures and the lower half of the wreckage. The bullets couldn’t hurt them anyway; I just wanted to get their attention while avoiding friendly fire.

The rockhounds snapped around and let loose with growls that sounded like stones grinding together. Which made a certain amount of sense, I supposed.

Waving my arms, I used the external speaker on my helmet to whistle. “Over here, boys! Premium Grade A hunk of man meat, come and get it!”

That did the trick.

Four heads turned in unison. I couldn’t see if they had eyes, but they knew where I was so the point became moot. Since I’d accomplished my first goal of gaining their undivided attention, I moved on to phase two, which was admittedly less thought out than phase one.

It mostly just involved not dying. The rockhounds were dead ahead. To my right, the explorer. That left the graveyard behind me as the only viable escape route. I didn’t relish the thought of exposing my ass (juicy treat though it might be) to a pack of hungry hostiles.

Hoping that running wasn’t my last decision, I made for the stone barrier as fast as my legs could take me.

As I ran the sounds of the pursuing animals were picked up by the suit’s exterior mic and getting louder. It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing one wanted to hear when fleeing for their life. The upside was that it motivated me to go faster and reach my destination a few seconds earlier. That turned out to be a good thing because when I tried to slip between the pillars, something yanked me back.

I had a bad moment where I thought I was puppy chow. Then rationale kicked in. Not only was I still pain free, but the pounding footsteps were also still going. Twisting around, I realized the problem.

The rifle I’d slung over my back after Barrick’s test shot failed to do any damage had gotten caught. Wedged was more like it. Running through the pillars had made for an awkward approach, and no matter how I tried, the rifle held me up. Swearing for the umpteenth time that day, I pulled a knife from my chest kit and cut through the rifle strap.

I didn’t waste time fumbling with putting the blade away.

Looking back, I wished I could say that one little decision saved my sorry hide. In reality, it played a small part. Like with my final mad dash to the graveyard, I’d bought myself some extra seconds. Few, but precious.

During my time as a Renegade, I’d been hurt a time or two. It was the nature of the job. Or, as Selina had so aptly put it earlier, an occupational hazard. Point was that I’d been shot and stabbed, and I’d endured broken bones and worse.

None of it, not a single godsdamn injury, compared to the rockhound getting ahold of me.

Getting ahold of my leg, to be exact. Fortunately for me, it was too big to get through the barrier, and I was mostly through it already. Acting purely on instinct, I grabbed the back of the pillar and hauled myself forward. The thing that did save me was the rifle.

How the hell I managed to get it stuck at just the right angle, I’d never know, but it created another one of those precious moments by forcing the rockhound to clear it away before it could even try to give chase.

I hopped on my good leg as far as I could get.

The rifle didn’t last long. One of the rockhound’s feet slammed down on it and bent it in half before dragging it out. Then the creature came back to try and force its way through the bars.

Two facts made themselves known in that moment.

First, the graveyard wasn’t nearly as secure as I’d assumed. Second, the rockhound only had to figure out if it wanted to use its head as a battering ram again or dig through the pillars. With my leg fucked to hell and back, I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Cole, get to the furthest wall right now!”

The order that came over my helmet comm was from Deacon. My brain was a little hazy at that point, but I couldn’t reconcile why he was yelling at me since I was already at the back.

“I believe the captain is in a state of shock from an injury,” announced Poe. “His suit’s vitals indicate a significant loss of blood.”

“It does?” Surprised to hear that, I looked down.

Sure enough, there was a large red puddle under my right leg that trailed from my entry point. “Huh. How about that?”

There was some more chatter in my ear, but it sounded like gibberish, and I laughed.

“Deacon, you better be right about this,” said another voice that I was about fifty percent sure belonged to Camilla.

“Yeah, I know. Cole, if you can hear us, try to protect your head.”

I tapped the side of my head and nodded woozily before remembering they couldn’t see me. “Got this helmet.”

That was the last thought I had before the graveyard exploded like a bomb had gone off.

15

When the dust settled, I sat up. Adrenaline or the explosion itself had jolted me awake.

“I’ve administered pain medication and something to help you focus,” announced Poe.

Okay, so it wasn’t the adrenaline, it was Poe being a royal pain in the ass.

“Ouch. What did you go and do that for?” I complained. “This shit hurts.”

“Pain means you’re still alive,” Camilla put in.

Just then that didn’t feel like such a good thing. The meds Poe had so helpfully administered through the suit only took the edge off and brought the pain down to a somewhat manageable level.

I also had a clear head and could process the mangled mess that was my ankle. Part of me was already mourning the loss of the limb because it barely looked attached.

“Focus, Riker,” ordered Barrick.

The heavy note of command in his voice snapped me back again. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“Good. Gray is the only one who can get to you in this mess. He says he can do it without a problem since we’re right here.”

“Say what?” Momentarily confused, I looked up to the stone barrier and got yet another shock.

My companions had used the explorer as a battering ram to smash the rockhound. They’d succeeded on that count. They’d also taken out three pillars and caused a collapse, hence the need for Gray.

The Anypsian arrived then, stepping through out of his bubble and into the graveyard. Captain, you’ll have to forgive me. I’m going to have to carry you again.

“Oh no.” I held up a hand in the universal gesture for “stop right there.”

He did, albeit with a perplexed frown. While I understand your reluctance, this is the most efficient way.

“Don’t care,” I said stubbornly. “I’ll go just like the gods intended. On piggyback.”

What is a piggyback? I do not understand the meaning of this.

“I’m telling you to wear me like a backpack,” I said, lifting my arms to demonstrate. “Like so. It’s pretty easy.”

A huff sounded over my earpiece. “Cole, I get that you’re a bit loopy,” Barrick said slowly. “But I’m going to need you to pull your head out of your ass. We only killed one of those bastards, and the rest are about to find their way in.”

The sounds of shifting rocks finally registered.

That was enough to get me back on track. Nodding to Gray, I reached out a hand for him to pull me up on my good leg. He hesitated just long enough to work out how to maneuver me onto his back, then we were off again.

My injured leg bounced painfully, and I had to clamp my jaw to keep from screaming and further losing my dignity. Then we were in his alternate dimension and off. One of the rockhounds had made it through part of the mess but it was too late.

Sorry, Captain Cole Riker was no longer on the menu.

Getting back on the explorer was met with mixed feelings. One on hand it was safe. On the other, I had no room. Before, the tight space had been a minor annoyance. With a busted leg, it was another layer of agony. There was no room to stretch out plus my blood was getting everywhere.

As soon as I sat down, Selina got up and swapped places with Deacon. The poor bastard had come precariously close to passing out cold when I appeared in all my bloody glory. He got up so fast to swap with Selina that he almost tripped in his haste to get as far away as possible.

The meds that Poe administered were starting to wear off.

I let myself go all wet noodle in the cramped confines of the explorer because the blood loss was finally taking its toll and my vision was starting to go gray at the edges from the white-hot pain. Selina went to work on my leg, but I barely felt it as the shutters came down and I all but ran into the welcome arms of unconsciousness.

When I came to again, it was to a dim room.

The ceiling looked close enough to touch, and in my tired stupor I reached up with one hand. My fingers bumped into the hard surface and immediately freaked me the hell out.

“Captain Riker, it’s nice to see you awake,” said Poe, his voice coming from everywhere at once.

Reeling from the confusion, I twisted my head to look around and smacked my face on a window at my left. “Ow, what the shit?”

“Oh, dear. Please stay still for the time being, sir.”

I thought I caught a hint of amusement in the AI’s voice but couldn’t be sure. He spoke again, keeping an even tone that I couldn’t decipher as good or bad.

“The healing pod is adjusting to you, so please refrain from moving around for the next few seconds. Unless of course you would like to stay in there for an additional procedure.”

“Poe, shut up for a minute and let me think.”

“Shutting up now.”

I was slowly starting to get an understanding of what was happening. I wasn’t floating near the ceiling; I was in the Star Treader’s medical bay and currently holed up in the healing pod.

That was a good thing.

Far from being a doctor, I only knew basic field medic stuff that was good for bullet wounds and cuts. Still, the amount of blood that I remembered donating to Hope’s godsforsaken hellscape had looked like more than enough to give me a one-way ticket to the great beyond.

My leg had been mangled by the rockhound. I was afraid to try an experimental move. The same went for looking. Call me a coward if you want, but I wasn’t ready to find out if I had to get a cybernetic replacement. The things weren’t easy to acclimate to if the forums on the gal-net and sub-net were anything to go by.

Now that I was thinking about it, I wondered if there was a clause in my agreement for great bodily harm.

“Ah, there we are. Feeling better? The disorientation should be wearing off now.”

“No,” I said brusquely. “I’m not feeling better. In case you don’t remember, my leg became an alien mongrel’s newest chew toy.”

There was a murmur that didn’t sound like Poe. I paused, waiting.

“Yes,” the AI said, obviously not to me. “He is being rather testy this morning. Perhaps we can do something to cheer him up?”

Okay, that did it. The AI was already a pain in the ass. Now he was talking about me to someone else, and I didn’t care for it at all. “Hey, I can hear you asshats talking about me like I’m not even here. Knock it off.”

“Cole, it’s Camilla.”

Oh. Well, she wasn’t so bad. “Sorry, I wasn’t calling you an asshat.”

Her laugh filtered through the speaker. “Someone’s still a little out of it. It’s okay. I wouldn’t blame you if you had. Listen, you don’t have to worry. While Poe suggested we tell you something else, we all rejected that idea. Your leg is intact.”

I blew out a shaky breath at the news.

In all honesty, I’d really been nervous there for a hot second. Now that I knew it was good, I felt better. And bolder. Looking down, I started to flex my toes and move my ankle around. Except I didn’t have a complete ankle to move. A lot of pink flesh and white bone showed through.

The yelp came out even though I tried to hold it back.

“Abernathy, you need to brush up on your vocabulary. That is most definitely not the definition of intact!”

There was a tap on the glass. I turned to look and found myself face to face with the woman on the other end of the comm line. She smiled. I didn’t trust it. It was the kind of facial expression you got from people who were delivering bad news and trying to keep you from losing it.

“It only looks bad because it’s not done healing,” she explained. “Selina says it’ll take another few hours. Believe me, it’s galaxies better than it was when you first came in. To give some perspective, the ankle was the least of our worries. You lost so much blood we thought you were done for.”

“Yeah, me too,” I muttered. “So, I need to stay in this thing?”

She confirmed with a nod. “That’s right. To help stave off the boredom, I brought you some goodies. Look up.”

The ceiling I’d bumped up against earlier turned into a monitor. “Wow, holo movies,” I said with exactly zero enthusiasm. “How many hours exactly?”

I got my answer from the overhead display. Twelve hours and some change.

“This is going to suck, isn’t it?” Camilla’s apologetic wince told me I was right about that. “I guess there isn’t much I can do about it. But if I’m getting my leg put back together, I can deal without complaining. Much.”

The audio gave a click. “That’s the spirit, sir,” declared Poe. “I knew you could handle this situation. The others were going to—“

“Make you get well gifts,” cut in Camilla, glaring up at something I couldn’t see.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. There was clearly something else going on here. And Poe’s little comment tipped me off as to what. “Deacon and Barrick were going to place bets, weren’t they?”

Camilla stared at me for a moment, then gave a resigned shrug. “Men are idiots sometimes. Anyway, we’re going to take shifts keeping you company. If you’d rather we didn’t, then yes, you’ve got plenty of holos on hand that Poe says you haven’t watched yet. Of course, knowing how you have a thing for those historical romances, I uploaded a few from my personal library to the ship’s system.

“You read them? Somehow you never struck me as much of a reader.”

“Wow, Riker. Never mind, I’ll take them back.”

I shook my head too quickly and got dizzy. “No, no. I didn’t say that. It was just an assumption. You know, like before when I mistook you for an esteemed lady of the evening. Remember? You gave me a pass back then and this wasn’t nearly as embarrassing.”

A beep sounded from the display. The alert said that my library had been recently updated and asked if I wanted to open the list. When I snuck a glance back out the window, Camilla was smiling.

“Go ahead,” she said. “I knew you weren’t in danger of dying anymore, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone. Of course, you had to do that when I stepped out to get a quick cup of coffee.”

My mouth started to water.

Coffee wasn’t my favorite drink by any stretch of the imagination. I liked it fine enough to have most mornings, but that was about it. At that very moment, however, my stomach felt dubiously empty, and all I wanted was to get a warm hot drink or food in my belly in order to combat the hunger that was getting more impossible to ignore by the second. There was one thing more important than food, and I focused on that.

“How long have I been out?”

Camilla looked down at her pad. “You’ve been in the healing pod for about thirty-six hours. It didn’t take us long to get back, so that’s pretty accurate.”

“That long already? And my leg isn’t back in one piece? I thought Eternal technology was supposed to be better than this, geez. Fine, whatever. Where are we at with whatever it was that Deacon found in the graveyard? Seemed to me like it might have some important data on it. Whoever was responsible really had the whole taking secrets to the grave thing down.”

“Oh.” She pressed a finger to mouth. “When Deacon showed it to me, I actually recognized it. I’ve seen something like that before. It’s called a turn-key. The seed ships were supposed to use them to communicate with each other.”

I almost hit my head again coming up onto my elbows. “What does that mean? I’m not following.”

“I’ve only got basic knowledge about them, Cole. Jace and his crew found two of them on an asteroid shortly before I met him. According to him, they thought it was a toy and gave it to Lex to play with.”

Lex Hughes, I knew, was the Renegade’s adopted daughter. The one whose discovery was responsible for changing the entire course of humanity’s future. She’d been a little girl in a state of cryo-sleep when Abigail Hughes—then Abigail Pryar—smuggled her onto his ship in a neutronium-lined box.

The last true Eternal in the galaxy, or so the story said.

“It was because of the turn-keys they found that Athena was able to detect them and pull them out of slipspace. I know they have other functions, but not what those functions are.”

I was still struggling to understand the concept since my brain remained slow on the uptake. The part sticking out the most was that we might have an actual lead now.

I shook my head a little to clear away some of the haze and tried to focus. “So, what do you know about them?”

“The turn-keys can pick up the signals from other turn-key devices and pinpoint the location of a seed ship or open a line of communication. It’s slow going right now because Deacon doesn’t want to damage it.”

I could understand his caution.

Moving too fast with something so precious ran the possibility of losing out on data. I also knew Deacon. The guy had a tendency to play things too safe. With Gray’s interfacing abilities, the timid approach wasn’t necessary.

“Well, he needs to stop worrying and being so delicate. Poe, relay that order to Deacon. Have him ask Gray to help. I want the data on that device.”

“Right away, sir.”

I suddenly wanted out of the damn healing pod so I could take a more active role in the proceedings.

The frustration must have been evident on my face because Camilla flashed another apologetic look through the glass. “Poe also pointed out that even if we found something useful on the turn-key that you should be awake before we read it. We need you to make any mission decisions as the captain.”

“Oh, I get it now. This is all Poe’s fault.”

“That’s not fair, Cole. You guys might not get along, but Poe is acting in your best interest. That’s a good thing. You should be more grateful to him instead of acting like a jerk when you’re feeling irritated.”

Camilla’s chiding reminded me of the times my mom would tell me I was acting like a numbskull. In an endearing, loving way. Min, on the other hand, usually just called me a dumbass to my face. They were both usually right, and I knew Camilla was too.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll take it back. This time. Maybe I am overreacting a little. Must have low blood sugar or something.” Or just low on blood.

A digitally generated cough came over the pod’s internal speakers.

“What is it, Poe?”

“If I may interject, your stomach is giving the illusion that you’re hungry because you haven’t consumed anything in the last two days. However,” he continued before I could shoot off at the mouth again, “rest assured that the healing pod is supplying you with all necessary nutrients.”

The display flashed once, then brought up a health chart.

It all just looked like a bunch of useless numbers to me. There were a few terms that I recognized, like heart rate and blood pressure, but the rest might as well have been written in the Celestial alphabet.

“I have no idea what any of this means and no desire to learn,” I said shortly. “All I want is to eat something before I wither away to nothing.”

Outside, Camilla stood up. “Wow. I had no idea that you could get so cranky. This level of dramatics puts most teenagers to shame.”

I didn’t have a lot of room to move around in my temporary prison. In lieu of crossing my arms, I shrugged. “A man’s gotta eat. Thought that was common knowledge. Something about hearts and stomachs, I don’t really remember.”

“I’m afraid Miss Abernathy has vacated the medbay,” Poe told me. Some of the snootiness had made its way back into his voice.

Curling my lip, I stared up at the display hoping there was a camera in close proximity. “Are you being nice to me around Cam on purpose?”

“How ridiculous,” the AI replied snippily. “Miss Abernathy simply notices the truth and takes the initiative to call you on it.”

A message from Deacon came through saying he’d begun the download of the recovered device. If nothing went wrong, we should have the data sometime in the next eight to ten hours.

Knowing I’d be clawing my way out of the pod by then if I didn’t distract myself, I sent him a quick reply to update me if anything changed. Then I settled in to find something worth binging in our entertainment database.

16

Roughly eleven hours later, I was released from my confinement with a fully restored leg and the desire to eat everything in the galley.

The turn-key data had finally finished downloading the hour before, but it was all encrypted. Taking that as a sign to go shovel food into my mouth, I hobbled out of the medbay.

“Captain, might you consider using a mobility chair?” suggested Poe. “While the healing pod successfully completed its task, you still need to rebuild the muscle. I have prepared a therapy regimen to assist with that. Also, it bears repeating that your body has been through a major trauma. The medical treatment did most of the work, however, the body still expends energy during the process.”

I could already hear the jokes if I took the chair. Old man Riker, the Renegade retiree. Nope, not happening. “I hear you. Hard pass on the first, fine to the second. After—“

“You eat,” he finished for me. “I shall leave you to it.”

The kitchen was normally a two minute walk from the medbay, if that. My leg felt as stiff as a board, and the uneven steps I took made it take longer. Granted, a couple of extra minutes shouldn’t have been an issue. I was in decent shape before the incident, and it wasn’t like I’d magically fallen out of shape.

Poe had been trying to warn me about the aftereffects.

In my most private thoughts, I could admit that the chair probably would have been the wiser choice. I was past the halfway mark at that point, and pride wouldn’t let me ask for help, so I sucked it up.

A sheen of sweat coated my face when I finally made it to the galley. As the door slid open, I was sorely contemplating taking a nap on one of the tables. I stopped and leaned against the doorway at the sight of Camilla standing at the stove in an apron with her hair tied back, holding a large spoon in one hand.

Steam rose out of a simmering pot in front of her. I scented the air like an animal tracking prey. Whatever it was smelled divine. Warm, with a hint of tangy goodness that made my mouth water.

“There you are,” she said, looking over her shoulder with a quick smile. “Poe said you should be up and around about now. I thought maybe you’d like something that didn’t come in a disposable cup or out of the freezer.”

She waved at one of the tables with the utensil, then turned back to stir whatever it was she was making. “Sit down. You look ready to keel over.”

“For a second there I thought I was hallucinating.” I didn’t move from my spot, needing the break. “Camilla Abernathy can cook?”

I could practically hear her eyes rolling. “Yes, she can. Unlike you. And I’m making spaghetti. So don’t make any cracks about domestication unless you want to make your own food.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Driven purely by a deep-seated manly instinct not to fall flat on my face in front of a beautiful woman, I forced one foot in front of the other until I reached the closest table and collapsed into it with a groan of relief.

“Spaghetti, eh? That’s the one with red sauce if I remember correctly. Don’t think I’ve ever had it.”

Camilla twisted around to shoot me a wide-eyed stare of disbelief. “How have you never had spaghetti?”

I shrugged. “Never really thought about it, I guess. My parents weren’t really the sit down and have dinner type. When I stayed with Min, I ate the food at her restaurant. Spaghetti isn’t on her menu.”

A beep went off, making both of us jump.

The shrill sound wasn’t familiar and immediately made me tense. “Fuck me, what now?”

“Relax. The bread’s done.” Laughing, Camilla killed the alarm then opened the oven door. The scent of baked bread and melted butter wafted out. It overlapped with the pasta to create an even better smell than before. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve never heard an oven timer go off?”

“I’ve heard oven timers before,” I lied. “Just not this one. New ship, remember.”

The amused “uh huh” told me she wasn’t buying it.

I felt bad watching her flit around the kitchen, getting everything together. I also didn’t feel bad at the same time because it was interesting to watch her work. Cooking homemade meals was in no way a lost art, I just had a picture in my head of Camilla Abernathy that didn’t quite fit with this side of her.

A war hero, liaison, and veteran explorer of the stars all made sense. Anyone with eyes and brain could see she was tough as nails and not prone to fussiness in general. Then again, some of that background showed in how efficiently the woman completed each task., cleaning up as she went with quick, deft movements.

Part of my mind wanted to know what else she knew how to cook and how I could convince her to make me more food in the future.

All those thoughts disappeared the instant she put a plate in front of me piled high with noodles and red meat sauce topped off by a still steaming roll.

“Sorry,” I told her when she went back to the counter to grab something. “I’m not waiting. This smells too damn good.”

She didn’t bother with an “I hope it tastes as good as it smells!” and just waved me on.

That first bite hit my mouth with a world of flavors so delicious I closed my eyes to savor it more. Then I tore into the plate and finished half of it by the time Camilla sat down across from me.

I probably looked like an unmannered heathen to her eyes, but that didn’t slow me down. I did at least refrain from licking the plate. When I finished and glanced up, it was to find her watching me with a mixture of satisfaction and indulgent humor.

“Not even going to apologize,” I told her. “That was the best meal I’ve had since going to Min’s after meeting you for the first time. I have half a mind to tell her she should put spaghetti on the menu.”

Camilla shook her head. “Bad idea. I don’t know Min personally, but she strikes me as the type to cuff you on the head for making a suggestion like that.”

“You’d be right about that,” I said, nodding. “Her menu hasn’t changed since I was a kid, and she’s not a fan of people making special requests. She’d like you, by the way.”

“Because I can cook?” She polished off the bread and stood up to clear the table.

“Because you’re mean and can cook. Plus, you don’t take any shit.”

It was true, but I wasn’t sure what prompted me to say it. It wasn’t like I’d be taking Camilla home to meet Min.

The kitchen door slid open, and Deacon hurried in. Thankful for the distraction, I lifted my chin in greeting. “Did the smell of Cam’s cooking put a fire under your ass or something?”

My friend stopped and sniffed the air just like I had. “Spaghetti? Is there any left?”

Camilla motioned toward the stove. “Help yourself.”

“Talk and eat at the same time,” I ordered. “What do you got for me?”

“The turn-key is back together. It looks like someone messed with it, but I can’t be sure. Sitting in a grave for almost three thousand years might have done some damage.”

Frowning, Camilla swiveled around to face him. “That’s not usual. Eternal artifacts are littered throughout the galaxies. It’s pretty rare to find one intact that doesn’t work.”

“I happen to agree with you. That’s why I’m leaning toward tampering. You said these turn-keys allow communication between seed ships, right?”

When she nodded, he pressed on, coming to take the seat next to her.

“This device doesn’t function that way. Not anymore. It looks like someone used it as a way to store a data cache. Not sure how they managed to do it, but that’s why it took so long. I was using Eternal data for a standard turn-key, and nothing made sense.”

He stopped momentarily to fork up his first bite.

Since I knew that look in his eyes, the one that said he was a dog with a bone... Nope, too soon. Suffice to say it was how he acted when something had his utmost attention. He’d keep speculating if I didn’t put a stop to it now.

“D, did you find anything we can use to get out of this backwater system?”

“Oh! Shit, I got sidetracked. That’s my bad.” Deacon shoved the last half of his roll into his mouth and chewed rapidly, then washed it down with a healthy gulp of water. “To answer your question, yes. Kind of. I found a map of this system buried in between the few journal entries I could reconstruct. Here, check it out.”

The galley, like everything else on the Treader, was outfitted with top-of-the-line equipment.

That included integrated holo screens and places to work if someone got the urge to do so while grabbing a bite. The display nearest to us flickered on and loaded up Deacon’s findings. The system was somewhat familiar to me now, plus someone had helpfully added a current location pin.

Deacon pointed to the single star and drew a line from it to our pin. “We did multiple scans on entry to the system to get all this information. The Star Treader is an exploratory mission vessel, so it’s not slacking in that department. But it’s not meant for deep space scans, you know? So, we got this cursory glance at the system along with whatever the Roswell picked up to supplement. No additional SG Points popped up in the vicinity, and Gray didn’t get a whiff of another Anypsian tunnel, so we assumed we had nowhere to go.”

I wanted to comment on the journal entries since that was the first I’d heard of them, but I wanted to know why the map was important. “I assume you found something the scans didn’t?”

Deacon pushed his empty plate to the side and leaned forward. “Something like that. The data didn’t just reference this system but another one. I found clues on the map that lead to a specific sector. After cross-referencing the journal entries something jumped out at me. They talked about Nereus being doomed from the start. It was just making its way to a final resting spot. I think the coordinates are where the Nereus went after dumping the group that’s buried on Hope.”

“I don’t know,” mused Camilla. “That’s a lot of speculation, Deacon. Was there anything else?”

“That’s the best part.” He sat back and grinned. “The map has an SG Point on it. Once you get a good look at the system, it’ll be pretty clear. After coming out of slipspace, the Nereus moved through this system and kept going until they were good and clear. I’m convinced it was done on purpose. I mean, who puts an SG Point out in the void with nothing else around? They clearly tried to turn people away with that beacon, so it’s not that big of a leap.”

The display changed, pulling back to include more of the surrounding outer system, until a light marker became visible. When the view zoomed in on it, I could see it was the same marker we used to denote SG Points. I couldn’t refute the evidence in front of my eyes, but I had a gut feeling that things were about to get complicated.

“What about the dead settlers?” I prompted. “I want to know why they were just left to die. Even with all the theatrics, their bodies were real enough.”

Deacon sobered at the question. “Actually, that turned out to be less of a mystery than we thought. If whoever authored the journals was telling the truth, they got booted from the Nereus for what amounted to disorderly conduct. The person in command of the ship had them tried, found them guilty, then sentenced them to exile. They were given help with the shelters, a supply of food, and a let’s not meet again speech. No tools, no tech, no ship.”

“Damn. That’s pretty harsh. Pushing them out of the airlock would have been kinder. Easier too,” I added.

“Of course you would go there,” commented Camilla. “Though it is more logical. That they went to the trouble of making the beacon and creating a ruse to discourage anyone from finding them is something we have to take into account.”

“I thought about that when I found it.” Deacon’s gaze drifted back to the display. “For some reason, the people aboard the Nereus don’t want visitors in the worst way.”

That was too damn bad for them. Thanks to the slip tunnel created by the seed ship, we were in one hell of a tight spot.

“It’s a direction that we didn’t have before. Good work.” I shot Deacon a quick nod of appreciation before directing my attention to the ship’s computer. “Poe, set a course for that SG Point. You get any odd readings, or something doesn’t seem right, I want to know about it immediately.”

“Of course, Captain. Shall I inform the others?”

“As you please.”

Deacon was quick to clean his dishes and take his leave, saying he wanted to keep perusing the data for anything that might have been missed. When he was gone, Camilla leveled a look at me.

“Problem?” I asked, keeping my tone mild.

“Not really. I just don’t have a good feeling about this. They want to be left alone, and we’re about to come calling anyway. If there was another option, I would suggest leaving them be, but...”

“But,” I agreed. “Well, it’s like you said. There isn’t another option. So, we’re going to crash their private party. If they’re even still around. After this long, who knows? We’ll assume they are and be prepared in case they decide to shoot first. For now, all we can do is follow the trail and find out just what in the hell happened here.”

17

“Dammit, Poe. What are you trying to do, kill me?”

I huffed out a breath as I maintained the modified squat the sadistic AI was telling me to hold. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of my face, and my training clothes were damp from the thirty minutes of therapy exercise I’d stupidly agreed to do.

“Perish the thought, Captain Riker. My deepest apologies. It would seem that I have overestimated your abilities. I shall adjust your next session accordingly.”

The AI was good.

He knew damn well that playing on my pride was a surefire way to make me rise to the challenge. Knowing that he knew that did absolutely nothing to stop me from falling into his clever trap either.

“Fuck off,” I grumbled. “I’m doing it.”

He didn’t reply. Which, I supposed, was its own kind of response. The smug bastard was well aware he’d won that little battle.

The timer went off a few seconds later, granting me sweet release.

I walked to the training room’s built-in kitchenette to swipe up my bottle of water. Drinking greedily, I thought about how much better I felt compared to when I’d first left the healing pod two weeks ago.

The first half of that had been spent getting to the SG Point because it was so far outside the solar system. Camilla had sent Jace another encoded message in hopes of getting some kind of instruction, but nothing came back before we reached the rift.

I’d flipped the bird to the no-name system and happily left it behind when we entered the tunnel in search of the seed ship Nereus. The trip could last anywhere from a few weeks to a month depending on how accurately Poe mapped the tunnel. His estimation was based on a whole lot of math and science that went so far over my head that the gods themselves would have trouble grasping it.

While it initially felt good to be on the move again, that wore off before long. We’d hammered out our plan for when we eventually reached the tunnel’s exit point on day one. Having no new information to review left us finding ways to keep ourselves busy as the time crawled by.

My days so far had been spent rehabilitating my leg and working through the entertainment cache. There was plenty there. Every conceivable movie and tv holo had been uploaded to the Treader’s system before we’d left HQ, as had a wide selection of games, books, and learning courses. I avoided the last like it was contagious.

Still, even with all that, I had started to tire of that brand of entertainment. The ship itself provided no challenge to break up the lounging. Strangely enough, it made me a little homesick for the Nebulous, who had always kept me busy with her constant loop of maintenance fixes.

It was funny, I thought as I took in the sleek training room with its fancy workout equipment and fully functioning facilities, how having what you wished for didn’t always turn out the way you expected it to.

The door opened, bringing my musing to an abrupt end. Camilla and Selina walked in together, laughing about something. Both had towels thrown over a shoulder and wore snappy training gear bearing the Star Treader’s insignia.

“Ladies,” I greeted.

Camilla’s gaze swept over me in approval. “I’m glad you’re taking the recovery so seriously.”

“Hey, Cole.” Selina flashed me a smile. “Cam’s helping me improve my stamina and giving me pointers on how to fight.”

I raised a brow and looked from one to the other. “That so? Please, don’t let little ole me stop you. I’m just catching my breath before I finish up.”

Poe earned a hefty spike into my good graces for not calling me a liar in front of them. Not that he had to. Both women exchanged a look of mutual understanding that said they knew what I was up to.

“Men,” Selina complained. “You’re all the same.”

“I resent that remark,” I said, feigning offense. “Ask Cam. I am the picture of chivalry. Besides, I could have texted Barrick that a girl fight was about to go down and didn’t. That should count for something.”

Her snort of disdain echoed sharply in the room. “Please. We can practically see the drool already. Beat it, Captain. And not like that. Go catch up on the latest episode of Station Bachelor or something. I heard Kai finally gets kissed, just not by who you thought.”

“Hey, I thought we were supposed to watch that together?”

She shrugged and put on an innocent face that fooled no one. “Oops.”

Shaking my head, I started for the door muttering about a crew with no sense of loyalty under my breath.

“Maybe you should shower first,” Camilla called after me.

“Yeah, yeah. You two have fun.” I waved a hand without turning around and left them to it.

As I walked back to my room, I took an experimental sniff of my armpits. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny,” replied Poe over the ship’s comms. “Perhaps one day the scientists will come up with a way for us artificial beings to smell, though I hope that is not the case.”

“You and me both.”

Back in my captain’s quarters, I did as Camilla had suggested after tossing my clothes into the laundry chute that zipped them to somewhere else on the ship. I didn’t know where it was or how it worked, but my clothes usually came back clean and folded within an hour. My best guess was a team of magical elves that had been secreted onto the ship for such things because the entire place was always sparkling clean, and I had yet to spy a single cleaning bot.

Imagining that provided a few minutes’ worth of entertainment until I stepped into the attached bathroom’s shower stall and turned on the spray. It came out hot and stayed that way for the duration. This was the one thing Nebbie couldn’t hold a candle to. On my old ship, showers only lasted as long as it took to get clean.

Here, I used every ounce of my water ration without compunction. The rationing wasn’t even strictly necessary. Five people didn’t put much of a resource strain on a ship meant to transport double that number, but it was better to not to test that out.

Twenty minutes later, I was clean, dressed, and standing on an observation deck aboard the Roswell.

The Treader had one too, and a nice one at that, but its observation window currently featured the wall of Gray’s hangar. This one was bigger anyway, and currently empty. As I sat in the dark looking out at the tunnel’s wall of emerald fire, it occurred to me that we were one damn lucky crew.

All the bad luck aside, not a single mission had the things we did.

Not just one new ship, but two, a powerful alien ally, and support from the folks back home. On a personal level, I was doing exactly what I wanted, traveling the stars. Maybe not exactly how I’d envisioned it, but I’d take this over the way my life had been going a few months ago.

I wasn’t wearing my visor with the special overlay. There wasn’t much of a need, and I didn’t like hats all that much. Still, I knew the moment Gray materialized behind me from the minor shift in pressure.

Hello, Cole. There has been a development. As we continue to traverse the tunnel, the map is refined. Each update provides more reliable data. In short, I believe the ETA to our exit point is now accurate. Five more of your standard days.

“That’s not bad. Hell of a lot better than a month.”

The Anypsian nodded in hearty agreement.

He had a pensive air about him, like something was on his mind. I waited for a beat, but he didn’t say anything else.

“So, how are you doing with all this?” I said, feeling him out. “The mission to get you home got derailed pretty hard when we were booted out of the stream like that.”

Gray seemed almost relieved. The change in circumstances has given me some cause for concern. Without the correct data, I fear we may not find our way back to my people.

It wasn’t an unfounded fear.

I had a lot of faith in my crew. They were smart, resourceful, and unfailingly loyal. But none of that was worth a damn when circumstances beyond our control fucked up every plan we made. Gray, for all his abilities and advanced technology, could do nothing but give in to the whims of the powers that be.

“Can’t blame you there,” I told him. “At least we’re all lost together. Whatever happens from here, we’ll face it as a team. I know that’s not much reassurance.”

I understand. Perhaps it is not meant for me to reach my homeworld. If that is my fate, I will accept it willingly.

I had to marvel at his strength of character. When faced with the all-too-real possibility of being separated from his people forever, he was, as usual, calm and rational. Most everyone else would be having an existential crisis. I didn’t even like being around my own species as a general rule and was unsettled by the idea.

Pep talks weren’t really my thing either, but I felt the need to offer my alien friend some kind of hope.

“Don’t give up yet. All missions have setbacks, just like any Renegade job. We’re doing the best we can. Rolling with the punches and taking it one day at a time. Another five days, and we’ll be in a new system. That means new possibilities.”

Looking out the observation window at the green vortex, I hoped I wasn’t lying.

* * *

“Approaching the rift, Captain,” announced Poe.

We were about to open the rift that would take us to the next stop on our involuntary side quest. The last five days had passed without anything blowing up in our faces, which I chose to take as a good sign.

“No abnormalities?”

“For the sixth time in as many minutes, that is correct,” replied the AI.

He somehow managed to inject every syllable with sarcasm that made me feel like an idiot. Pretty impressive for someone who didn’t have a real mouth or voice of his own.

“Mock me all you want. If we have to repeat the whole escape pod fire drill I want as much time as possible to get everyone ready.”

“Please stop being so reasonable, Captain. I am almost beside myself with joyful pride. Anymore and my system might malfunction.”

When a snicker came from Deacon’s direction, I threw him a suspicious look. “Did you mess with his system or something? Because the sass levels are reaching critical mass.”

“Nope, that’s all him.”

The AI had been relatively mild tempered as of late. He still pushed and prodded during my therapy sessions, and the way he was acting now felt similar. Almost like he was trying to distract me with banter.

“The Roswell has activated the rift,” he reported. “All readings are within standard range.”

He continued to talk us through our entry to the mystery galaxy.

It was nice in a way, like how the flight attendants on public slipspace transportation explained things to first time travelers. My hunch about the bickering was starting to prove correct. The AI knew we were all on edge after the last mishap and doing his best to allay our fears.

Aww, so he did care.

“The rift is now closed.”

I finally relaxed. Palpable relief filled the bridge as it sank in that we were finally free and clear. Of one problem anyway. Straightening up abruptly, I clapped my hands together.

“First phase complete. We even made it here in one piece. Some more than others.” I ignored someone’s poor attempt to cover a laugh with a cough and kept going. “Per the plan, Poe and Gray should have already started using both ships to scan the entire sector and find out if the coordinates are here. Thanks to Deacon’s map, that should be fairly simple.”

Since Gray was sitting stock still with his eyes closed, I knew he was working.

Barrick was out of his seat and studying the main nav display where the updates had already begun to populate. “I assume we’re running this against all known data, including the classified shit?”

“Yes, Lieutenant,” replied Poe. “The current circumstances most certainly warrant unadulterated use of the files in question. No match has been found as of yet.”

I glanced at Deacon and found him engrossed with the holo at his workstation. It was easy to guess that he was watching the updates as they came in. Selina had posted up next to Barrick and was gesturing at one of the planets on the display. That left Camilla the odd woman out.

“You’re quiet, Abernathy. Should I be worried?”

“Very funny, Riker. And no, not any more than usual.” She gave me a wry smile. “You know as well as I do that it makes no difference what we find. Or don’t find, I suppose. We’ll deal with it like always.”

A sudden shout from Deacon cut through the bridge as he leaped out of his seat. “It’s here! The Nereus. I can’t believe it’s in one piece. Active too, from the output readings I’m seeing. Guess that means they didn’t try to colonize the system.”

“Or they failed,” Barrick pointed out.

“That too. Cole, we need to try reaching out.”

I held up my hand to cut him off. “Hold on to your panties, D. First, do we know for sure it’s the Nereus?”

Poe answered that. “It is difficult to be positive without more information. After comparing the first scan to data provided by Jace Hughes, there is a 95 percent match to the original seed ship designs. At the moment, I have calculated an 89 percent match to the Nereus.”

Okay, 89 percent was workable.

No one had ever accused me of being an optimist before, but that was a pretty solid number in my book. Even if by some astronomical twist of fate we’d found ourselves in a system with another planet-sized ship, it would more than likely end up being one of the seed ships.

“Then let’s go ahead and send that feeler out,” I said.

The feeler was a message we’d crafted during those first few days in the seed ship-created slip tunnel. Agreeing that too much information would be to our detriment, we’d settled on sticking to the basics.

At Selina’s suggestion, we included a smidge of deception by leaning on our current status as wayward travelers. She reasoned that the people aboard might be more inclined to answer in a positive manner if they knew we were having a bad day.

None of us pointed out that these peoples’ ancestors had left a group of their own for dead without a problem. I didn’t think she was on the wrong track anyway. But I’d been on both sides of this kind of situation enough times to know it could go either way.

Some people were the type to reach out a hand to those in need. For every one of those bleeding hearts there was someone kicking out with their boot to keep another person down. And worse.

Not that there was anything wrong with looking at the glass half full. The universe needed people like her to see the good side of things just like it needed people like me to see the other side of that credit token.

Life was about balance.

“The message has been delivered successfully,” informed Poe.

“Good. Now all we have to do is wait.”

The display beeped right as I finished, indicating something was happening outside of the usual updates. Not quite an alarm, but new activity.

“The Nereus has deployed a group of strike ships,” said Poe.

Camilla shook her head. “That was way too fast.”

Too fast was one way to say it. Unless they had the fastest response time in the history of mankind, they’d mobilized before the message even got to them. And that meant—

“They’re reacting to our arrival in the system,” said Barrick. His arms were folded over his chest, a sure sign he’d activated soldier mode, as he studied the holo. “That looks like a squadron to me.”

“It is,” confirmed Camilla, eyes on her own console. “They’re in formation. This could just be their response to an unknown intruder. Any settlement back home does the same as standard practice.”

I noticed that she didn’t come out and say there wasn’t anything to worry about.

“Sir, would you prefer to meet them halfway or wait here?” inquired Poe.

“Advancing on them seems like a bad idea. They might take it as a threat,” I said. “What do you think, LT? You’d know better than me on that one.”

He nodded sharply. “Oh, yeah. Let them come to us. If no one forwards our message to them in time, they’ll probably send a transmission here shortly demanding to know who we are and why the hell we just dropped into their neighborhood.”

The Nereus was parked a few planets away from our current position. The strike ships were just like the ones we had back in the Sol System, so Poe was able to calculate their ETA to a few hours out. After settling into my seat to wait it out, I jerked my chin at Camilla. “Ready for this?”

Her mouth twitched like she wanted to laugh. “Like I said. We’ll deal with it.”

18

The squadron of strike ships was more than halfway to reaching us when the first transmission arrived.

A female voice came through with the familiar latent speech pattern of an artificial intelligence.

“This is Doris of the seed ship Nereus,” she began in a bland tone. “You have entered Eternal space and are classified as a hostile entity. Please vacate the system immediately. Failure to do so will result in the Nereus Defense Force removal of the threat.”

Deacon flipped around to stare at me wide-eyed. “How are we a hostile force? We haven’t done a single thing to make them think that.”

“We knew this could happen,” Barrick reminded him. “It just confirms that they share the same ‘leave us the fuck alone’ attitude as the original passengers.”

“What about the note?” Selina was looking at the screen with a mixture of concern and curiosity. “That should have counted for something, but it’s been hours now and they haven’t responded.”

That fact hadn’t escaped my notice either.

It could mean that there had been an issue with the message itself, which I doubted. It was far more likely to me that we were simply being ignored. “We sent a text only message,” I said to the group. “I’ll try doing a video transmission and throw it wide so the strike ship pilots and those aboard the Nereus can see it.”

I turned to the display where one of the conference cams was situated and opened up the feed to make sure I looked somewhat presentable. The man who appeared on the display didn’t look like someone in command of a government-sanctioned exploratory mission.

A three-day shadow I’d neglected to trim dusted my face, giving me a vagrant-like appearance. My clothes were clean, at least, though now I almost regretted not holding onto the uniforms Chief Norman had tried to force on me.

Almost, but not quite.

“This is Cole Riker,” I began, staring into the camera without smiling. “Captain of the Star Treader. My people and I were forced into this system and have no hostile intent. We’d love to leave you in peace, but we’re in a bit of a bind travel wise. I need to speak to whoever’s in charge here. I repeat: we have no hostile intent.”

I cut it off there and turned to the others. “How was that?”

“Seemed fine to me,” said Barrick. “Told them what they needed to know and gave assurances that we’re not here to fight.”

Both Camilla and Selina kept quiet, but Deacon shifted in his seat. “It wasn’t bad... You just have this intimidating demeanor about you. I don’t know how convinced they’re going to be that we come in peace. You should have tried a smile instead of mean mugging the camera.”

“Mean mugging? That’s just my face.”

“I know,” he replied. “And you aren’t good at pretending. Smiling would have come off as fake so I guess that’s as good as it can get.”

His comments weren’t inspiring confidence. I couldn’t do much about it now except wait.

Not long, as it turned out. Another incoming transmission arrived, which Poe promptly played.

The same voice came over the speakers. “I repeat, you are in Eternal space and are classified as a hostile entity. Please vacate the system immediately. Failure to do so will result in the Nereus Defense Force removal of the threat.”

“I guess we have our answer,” Barrick said darkly. “This Doris person must be the individual in charge. That, or she’s in contact with command.”

My thoughts were on the almost identical message. One word from the message had also stuck out to me. “Anyone notice that she said Eternal space again?”

Camilla nodded. “You caught that too. I thought it was strange. As far as I know, most of the seed ships only had a few Eternals on board. Transient Exodus and all that. Poe, do the files on hand contain manifest data?”

“They do not. I will take this moment to provide one piece of information that may not have been obvious from the transmission. The speaker was a Cognitive. Data about her was included in our database.”

That explained the almost bored voice we’d heard.

The only Cognitives I knew about were from Earth. The first to be discovered by Jace Hughes was Athena, the Cognitive assigned to the seed ship Titan. Sigmond was another entity, though he’d started out as a standard AI program on the ship now known the galaxy over. The original Renegade Star had been destroyed before Hughes found Earth, but his AI had somehow survived.

The AI was famous for being the Renegade’s close friend as well as the only known program to get an upgrade to Cognitive status. That was something no one knew how he’d managed to pull off.

Cognitives were rarer than rare because standard technology couldn’t contain their systems.

The system requirements needed to house and power one were on level with, well, a seed ship. The only other one I knew about was Gaia. She had been left behind to care for Earth by those who left the planet barren. She was responsible for activating the core and kickstarting Project Reclamation. She was also the one who accidentally brought the first Celestial to our system. It couldn’t have been helped. The records were clear on that point.

Since no other seed ships had been discovered to date, other Cognitives were a mystery. Of course, that was going by publicly available information. The bottom line was that the hyper-advanced intelligence programs had been assigned to the ships with the express purpose of assisting the Transient people in their efforts to settle new star systems.

So, why did she refer to this territory as Eternal space and not Transient territory?

“Heads up.” Barrick pointed at the strike ships on the screen. “They’re close enough to be within firing range.”

He was right. We were fast running out of time, and unless they changed their minds, we were going to have to make a choice. Leave the way we’d come or stay and fight.

“Captain Riker, if you wish to engage the hostiles, I must caution against it. Aside from destroying any chance of further communication, this is a fight we would not win.”

I frowned at the statement. “Why, because there are more of them than us? I know they’re strike ships but we’re not lacking in the weapons department anymore, Poe.”

He is referring to the number of ships they have access to.

Gray’s unexpected response took me by surprise. He’d been doing his scans in silence, and I’d all but forgotten he was even sitting there.

“Correct,” Poe confirmed. “This is one squadron, but it is only a fraction of the ships that were on board the Nereus when it launched.”

I hadn’t thought of that. Still, between the Roswell and the Treader, I liked our odds at defense if it came to that. “We’re a lot bigger. A squadron isn’t going to do the kind of damage it would take to bring us down. Gray, I know you said the Anypsians are peaceful, but is it safe to assume your ship has decent defense systems?”

That would be a correct assumption, the alien replied.

“Those are also Eternal strike ships,” Camilla reminded us. “Fast and deadly. If they bring out everything they got, they can overwhelm us.”

As appreciative as I was that my people had common sense in spades, I wished we didn’t have to use it so damn often. All the Eternal talk did give me an idea at least. I studied Camilla’s somewhat visible tattoos, considering.

“Can I help you with something?”

I caught the note of warning and realized it looked like I was ogling her chest. I was, just not the part she thought. “Yeah, actually. Maybe you could try talking to them. If they’re hot for Eternals, you might have better luck.”

She started to laugh, then stopped when she saw I was serious. “They’re not going to believe that, Cole.”

I waved a hand at her. “You’ve got the fancy tattoos, right?”

“Yeah, and nothing else. You know the Eternals are albino.” She pointed at her hair. “Does this look white to you?”

“Hair dye exists,” I pointed out. “So does all types of body modification. You’re not from around here. Who are they to argue?”

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Deacon put in. “Camilla knows enough about Eternals to pull it off. Plus, like you said, Cole, there were a dozen seed ships that left Earth. Evolution can explain away a lot.”

Camilla still looked skeptical, but she nodded. “I’m willing to try. What do we want to say?”

“First, record it with video,” I told her. “Make sure you show some skin.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll give them a good look.”

“Atta girl. Then focus on being the lost Eternal in need of assistance from friendly faces,” I began.

It didn’t take us long to come up with a script for her. I still felt less was more in this situation. If they wanted more information, they could damn well ask us for it.

Selina paced the bridge, chewing nervously on her thumb nail. “Those strike ships aren’t that far out, and they haven’t so much as slowed down. What if they just start shooting at us?”

“We fight back or we don’t,” Barrick told her. “It’s up to Riker how we proceed.”

An incoming attack alert chose that precise moment to go off. I shot Barrick and Selina a warning glance. “Stop speculating already. It’s like you want this shit to happen. And no, we’re not fighting. Not unless we have to. Poe, start evasive tactics. Camilla, get on that message before this turns ugly.”

From this distance it wasn’t hard to evade the beams slicing through the void in our direction. I figured they were just trying to scare us off by showing that they meant business. That was all good and fine unless we returned fire.

Gray went into pilot mode, directing the Roswell to avoid any hits making contact.

I was more than a little curious about this ship’s weapons but now was the worst time to find out unless we wanted to be stranded here forever. Camilla did her part by opening a feed. The script was out the window now that the Nereus defense squadron had made the first move.

It was obvious to me that they weren’t trying to kill us but instead drive us back toward the rift we’d come through. Smart, I thought. But we weren’t so easily frightened, and my crew had a stubborn asshole for a leader.

“My name is Camilla Abernathy,” she began. “I come from the seed ship Titan. If whoever sees this is listening, I could very much use your help. Our ship was ejected from a slip tunnel in the system where the planet Hope resides. We could not gain reentry and are far from home. Please, if you can hear me, I need your help.”

She made a show of brushing her hair to one side so her tattoos there were even more visible. The jacket had been shed before, revealing the blue lines that traversed part of her arms. Apart from the honeyed skin, dark hair, and eyes, she had the right details. The tattoos were real enough anyway.

The Treader shook a little as the Roswell completed a maneuver that took it out of more fire that continued to come our way.

I was sick of getting attacked without doing anything to warrant it.

“Gray, get ready to move. I don’t want them to surround us and wait for reinforcements. Worse comes to worst, we can hightail it somewhere else and regroup. They should leave us alone as long as we don’t head in the Nereus’ direction.”

As you command, Captain Riker. There are many places within the system that would provide temporary shelter.

I didn’t want to do that. Wasting even more time here wasn’t conducive to anything except more problems. “I’ll keep them in mind. Poe, that message went out to everyone who could receive it, right?”

“Yes, of course. Ah. There has been a response. One moment.” There was a slight pause, then he came back with “It is text only, and I’ve sent it to the main display. The sender wishes to speak directly to Camilla. He has ordered a cease-fire for the time being. No other information was relayed.”

The Roswell stopped moving then, signaling an end to the onslaught. It gave me a much needed minute to catch my breath and regroup. After three boring weeks in slipspace, the abrupt change of pace was giving me whiplash.

“You ready?” I asked Camilla.

She had a grim determination about her when she nodded.

The transmission connected a few short seconds later. A trim, older man with all the standard Eternal traits was on the other side, waiting with an air of wariness. Well, he could be wary all he wanted as long as he listened to what we had to say. Or, more accurately, to what Camilla had to say.

“You are Camilla?” he asked, though it seemed like an ice breaker since it should have been obvious from her previous video. “Of the seed ship Titan?”

His voice was surprisingly smooth and had a calming aspect to it.

The kind used ship salespeople would have paid a lot of credits for because it had a certain reassuring warmth to it. His snow-white hair hung just above his shoulders, and instead of coldness in his blue eyes, I saw interest. I took in the white tunic he wore in lieu of a uniform and immediately thought of a holo show about strife in a supposedly utopian colony.

The guy could have been the main character.

“Yes,” Camilla replied, inclining her head slightly. “And may I ask who you are?”

He gave her a polite smile, the type that said he didn’t completely trust her yet. “Of course, my dear. I am August Walton, the humble leader of those aboard the Nereus. Doris, our Cognitive, has requested that I inquire about her Titan counterpart. I believe that Cognitive’s name was Medusa?”

Oh boy. Anyone who had to say they were humble almost always ended up being the opposite. His question was an obvious test too, meant to trip Camilla up if she was lying.

It wasn’t entirely a lie. Technically, Camilla had lived on the ship. She knew Athena on a personal level too.

Still, she played along by feigning confusion. “I’m not familiar with that name. Athena is the ship’s assigned Cognitive.”

Walton dipped his head apologetically. “Then I must have been mistaken. Please forgive my directness, but your appearance is quite strange. The Eternals who accompanied Titan must have integrated with the passengers.”

Camilla didn’t bat an eye at the implied question. “Something like that. Titan left Earth a long time ago. Its passengers’ descendants are now spread far and wide across multiple galaxies. My people are quite diverse.”

That must have been the right answer because the leader’s smile widened and actually touched his eyes. “In that case, please forgive our discourteous greeting. Our people cherish their solitude. In apology, allow me to invite you to come aboard. Perhaps I can help in some way with your current situation.”

Ah, the sweet sound of my plans working out.

19

Once the call ended, Camilla shook her shoulders as though they were tight and needed loosening. “That was more stressful than I expected. I don’t know if I trust this Walton character.”

“Serious creep vibes,” Selina agreed. “I hope we don’t have to stick around too long.”

I swiveled around in my chair and surveyed my people. “No argument here. But table that for a minute. We only have a few hours until we get there and we need to discuss some things first. Namely Gray.”

The big Anypsian looked caught off guard for a moment before his expression cleared. The leader is not aware of my existence.

“Exactly. I’m not entirely sold on letting them in on that information. The way I see it, they might go all crazy and try to kidnap us or something. My hang up there is your ability to interface with their ship could prove useful. So that leaves us with a dilemma. Is it worth the risk to reveal our hand? Assuming you even want to go,” I said to Gray.

Your consideration is appreciated. I am happy to accompany my fellow crew members on the excursion. As you mentioned, my abilities may be helpful, especially if our hosts are not forthcoming with information.

Barrick scratched at the stubble on his face, eyes on the holo where the seed ship was front and center. “Gray makes a good point about Walton and his people withholding information of their own. Our goal is to get back on track. Whether it’s by a standard slip tunnel, Anypsian, or one made by that antique of a ship. If they don’t want to help, I don’t have any qualms about how we obtain that information.”

The usually law abiding lieutenant surprised me with his apparent eagerness to engage in less than legal activity. “Damn, Barrick. I must be rubbing off on you.”

“Let’s hope not,” he remarked.

I held back a laugh. Out loud.

“Don’t forget that Gray can phase,” Deacon added. “If they do try to kidnap us, I mean. Not that I’m saying we should rely on that, just that it could work as a last resort.”

The kidnapping comment had mostly been a joke on my part. That didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. I knew how fast things could sour on a good day and we’d had our share of bad ones lately. If any other options besides boarding a ship the size of a small planet run by unfamiliar people had been available, I would have leaped at it. But this was our lot, so I’d face it like my parents taught me; after a shot of whiskey and with a loaded pistol.

As we neared our final approach, a clear view of the Nereus was visible on the Roswell’s exterior feed.

I’d never seen Titan in all her rightful glory because she’d been badly damaged at some point in a Celestial altercation. Tartarus, the Celestial vessel responsible for that damage was now under Alliance control and had been spirited away to only gods knew where to keep it from becoming a target.

Seeing Nereus was a new experience for me. I knew from the scans that it measured twice the size of this system’s smallest planet. Lights flickered along the silver hull, creating a glittery effect. A sparkling diamond floating in a black ocean that was, in a word, beautiful. I usually reserved that term for women and weapons, but the ship qualified.

The closer we got, the bigger it became until eventually the camera couldn’t capture it all.

Our strike ship escort led the way through an open hatch big enough to accommodate the Roswell with room to spare. Next, we entered what was essentially an airlock system for ships.

The decompression process didn’t take long, but it was enough time for the anticipation to reach uncomfortable levels. I heard the anxious fidgets of my crew around me. Seeing it as the captain’s responsibility to mitigate that kind of thing, I put on a calm face when it was time to exit the Roswell.

I didn’t need to do it so much for Barrick or Camilla, but both Deacon and Selina looked a tad queasy.

“You two want to stay behind? No shame in that.”

“Not a chance,” Selina said adamantly. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m not going to let Weird Walton ruin it for me.”

Deacon pointed an index finger at the doctor. “What she said. Like I’d miss this? Dream on.”

“Fair enough. Just don’t say I never offered.”

With that, I walked into the Roswell’s airlock and prepared to take the next step in this fucked up journey we were on.

When the other side opened to let us out, August Walton waited with a small group of cohorts all wearing the same white-linen tunic getup and a pair of guards in a uniform emblazoned with the ship’s name.

The next thing I noticed was that Walton was the only true Eternal among them. Some looked more like Camilla in so much as they bore little resemblance to Eternals at all but still had the tattoos. The rest had some of the features, like white hair and pale skin, or the blue eyes and lighter colored hair.

Now his abject curiosity made more sense.

Having someone stroll into your Territory of Solitude who looked like they came off your ship must have been a shock.

Walton clasped his hands together and bowed but not before I saw him checking Gray out. His companions didn’t hide their reactions nearly as well as their boss. They stared up at his towering form with both awe and trepidation.

I wasn’t the bowing type but Camilla’s elbow in my side reminded me that I had a part to play in this. Starting off on the wrong foot would just introduce complications we didn’t need right then. That didn’t make me hate it any less as my back protested against the unfamiliar movement.

“Welcome,” proclaimed the Eternal.

The greeting was mostly directed at Camilla. Annoying, but hardly shocking since they had interacted the most.

“Thank you,” she returned before motioning to me. “This is my captain, Cole Riker. And the rest of our crew: John Barrick, Selina Vazquez, Deacon Smith, and Gray. We can’t thank you enough for the hospitality when you had no warning about our arrival.”

Walton smiled winsomely. “Yes, well. Now that the initial shock has worn off, I’m somewhat embarrassed by our knee jerk reaction. Of course, the moment you sent the public transmission, the entire ship was abuzz with curiosity. Quite clever, as expected of an Eternal descendent such as yourself.”

The guy had yet to acknowledge anyone besides my co-captain, and I was starting to feel awkward.

Camilla must have picked up on it because she laid a hand on my arm and tried to direct the attention away from herself. “Actually, that was Captain Riker’s idea.”

“I see. Well, color me impressed, Captain,” he said, finally deigning to spare me a glance.

Just the one, and the way he looked at me gave me the distinct impression he felt I ought to be grateful for the praise like a dog getting table scraps.

It chafed enough that I let it show when I spoke. “Right. Is there somewhere we can talk besides a hallway?”

Walton started as if he’d forgotten where he was and looked around. “Oh my. How rude of me. Please, come this way.”

He turned on his heel and set off, his groupies spreading apart to let him pass. They waited for us to follow suit before falling in step behind us. I could hear them murmuring to one another before one with more discipline hushed them into silence.

As we walked down the corridor, I got glimpses of the Nereus that I recognized. Not in the sense that I’d been on this ship before, but I’d known from the start that the Star Treader was partially built using Eternal tech and its construction was influenced by same. Now I could see where the general layout came from because the placement of doors, wall panels, and signage mirrored that of my borrowed ship.

It was a little eerie to peer inside an open room and find a small group of children. They all turned their heads to watch us pass at the same time and I didn’t mind admitting that if one of them had run toward me I would have booted them across the hall on pure instinct.

Every room had people doing various tasks. I couldn’t decipher what those tasks were, but they seemed happy enough. I noticed that there wasn’t any variation in the tunics. Each citizen wore the same thing. At least they showed a smidge of individuality in the way they did their hair, and I spotted a few with accessories like jewelry and packs that looked like they came from a store.

What struck me the most was the quiet.

On this single level, I estimated there to be somewhere in the range of a few hundred passengers and yet never heard a raised voice or general cacophony of sounds you got from a shared space with such a large group. I knew that the seed ships could support a million, so I could only imagine what the other spaces were like.

It piqued my curiosity, and I began to take things in with a more critical eye. If I’d been wearing a visor or something with scanning capabilities, Poe could have done some analysis and given me real-time feedback. That idea had been considered and immediately rejected because of Doris. Camilla couldn’t say for sure but felt confident in assuming that the Cognitive would be watching our every move and detect any devices we might bring on board.

We weren’t completely left on our own though. Gray could still communicate with us using his mind speak and filter any important observations that way. So far, he’d kept his silence. I settled for making a mental list to bring up later.

Our trek through the seed ship’s winding halls didn’t last as long as I expected. Walton hadn’t spoken to us once, not even to explain points of interest or ask any of the questions I knew had to be burning a hole inside the man.

If this was a normal situation, I would have chalked it up to someone not used to having visitors. Like a reclusive retiree who forgot social niceties. Except that no one approached him or did more than move out of the way with heads bowed respectfully.

It was weird, but I didn’t detect any fear. The opposite, in fact. Everyone appeared to revere their leader.

He reminded me of a king and the Nereus was his kingdom. I filed that away under important things to remember. For all his posturing, August Walton had attained the highest position among his people, and we were on his turf.

That meant I couldn’t underestimate him.

When he reached the room that was our final destination, he breezed in without a backward glance. This, I decided, was a man used to being followed.

“Here we are,” Walton said, pausing just inside a room the size of Nebbie’s cargo hold. “My office. Please make yourself comfortable.”

Everything we’d passed had been nice. But this bordered on opulent. Beautiful furniture filled the space, some of it made from wood. According to Deacon, wood furniture required a permit to bring on the seed ships if they got approved at all. Only the rich and famous had supposedly bothered, though I had to imagine a few enterprising individuals found their ways.

People like me usually did.

No matter the era, there were always items to move and palms to grease. Smuggling was a time-honored tradition that would persist as long as there were people to want things they weren’t allowed to have. Walton, from the looks of his office, didn’t have that problem.

Apart from the furniture, a bank of holo screens took up an entire wall. I tried stealing a glance to see if they displayed anything useful, but it was just his people in various places about the ship doing a whole lot of nothing.

He even had a little kitchen with all the amenities. Two closed doors led to what I figured had to be a bathroom and maybe even a bedroom. Living like a king indeed.

A long table sat off to one side with enough seats to fit all of us, but he moved to the sitting area with its posh sofas and chairs.

Smiling, Walton settled into a chair upholstered in dark red fabric that had a shiny quality to it. It was the only spot of color I’d seen so far on the entire ship.

“Refreshments are on the way,” he said, interlacing his fingers in his lap. “The journey from Hope to our home isn’t an easy one. I imagine you must be exhausted and ready for something to eat other than travel food.”

I noticed two things. First, he assumed we didn’t have a way to make decent meals, and second, he was aware how long the trip to the other system was.

“You’ve been to Hope?” Deacon’s blurted question elicited a flash of annoyed realization, as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have. It was quickly wiped away and replaced with sheepishness as Deacon continued. “I mean, we were under the impression your ancestors left that planet behind and never looked back.”

Any other time I would have been pissed at him for revealing something like that without thinking. Just then, I was fairly certain that Walton’s reaction was important.

He blinked in surprise. “I have, just once. It’s always been important for the individual responsible for the citizens of Nereus to understand the weight of command. I’m sure your Captain also takes on difficult endeavors in order to be a more effective leader.”

Nice recovery, I thought. “I do what I can. Speaking of that—“

I stopped mid sentence when a glow started next to Walton’s right side.

Light particles gathered like dust in the sunlight, coalescing into the shape of a woman. Like Walton, she bore Eternal characteristics, though she had a more youthful appearance about her. A hard-light entity. I’d seen a version of this technology when Silas Eckert made a digitized copy of Camilla to trick me back on Slevin Station.

That had been a poor example compared to the rendering that stood before us with a genial expression. I could almost make out the pores on her face, and the strings of her white tunic swayed slightly when she turned to put a hand on Walton’s shoulder. Doris the Cognitive looked just like a real girl.

It was somehow less creepy than the room full of kids.

“Hello,” she said, smiling at us like a welcoming hostess. “As I’m sure you’ve realized, I am the command AI assigned to the seed ship designated as Nereus. You may refer to me as Doris.”

I flicked a glance at Deacon. Sure enough, he was barely containing his excitement.

When I was relatively confident that he would succeed, I lifted a hand in greeting to the pretty AI. “Nice to meet you, Doris. I’m Captain Riker. I’m assuming you know that, as well as the names of my crew?”

“Of course. I’m happy to welcome you aboard our home.” Her gaze went to Camilla, who got a megawatt smile. “I’m told you know Athena. It is good to hear that she and Titan are still in working order.”

It was strange to hear the woman refer to another AI as if they were old pals and even stranger to hear the way she phrased it. In working order, as she’d put it, was how two digital besties would think of each other, I supposed.

“Athena,” Camilla began, treading carefully, “is something of a celebrity in our home system. Though I’m sorry to say that Titan is no longer active. It was almost destroyed in an attack nearly a decade ago.”

Doris lifted a hand to her mouth, stricken by the news.

I could tell she wanted to ask for more information, but Walton jerked forward, eyes wide. “Impossible. What could have possibly been powerful enough to destroy a seed ship?”

“Celestials,” I answered in a sober tone. “It’s a long story that we still don’t have all the answers to. Suffice to say that sometime after the transients vacated Earth, the remaining Eternals eventually abandoned the planet, leaving it barren and lost to time. Wherever they went, they got up to some nasty experiments and evolved into a race of bloodthirsty xenocides. They found their way to our little corner of the universe and tried their hand at killing off humanity. Didn’t take, but they caused a lot of trouble and killed a whole lot of people before we stopped them.”

“I see,” he said, sitting back and still looking shell-shocked by the story. “That is indeed tragic. I’m sorry to hear of it.”

That was the first genuine thing I’d heard come out of his mouth. “Me too. We’re still recovering. Cleaning up after the war hasn’t been easy, but we survived.”

Walton nodded absently. “As you say. Though I must confess that something else you said captured my attention. You claimed to be from Earth but bear no Eternal markings. You also stated that Earth was lost. If you don’t mind, I’d like to know more before we discuss the reason for your arrival in my system.”

I noted that he tended to refer to things that could be owned as his and actions that had a negative connotation as “ours.”

Ignoring that for now, I shrugged. “Fine by me. I just hope those refreshments include a stiff drink. A lot has happened since the Nereus left, and it’s a wild ride.”

“That can be arranged,” he replied with a slight smile. “Doris will see to it. Please, begin whenever you feel ready.”

Settling back into my seat with a humorless chuckle, I fixed a somber gaze on him. “Get comfortable, Walton. This is going to take a minute.”

I paused to decide how I wanted to start before landing on Titan.

“It all started when Titan ran out of juice a few slip tunnels shy of their destination...”

20

I woke up the next morning feeling strangely drained.

It had taken a few hours to relay all the information I felt comfortable sharing with Walton.

I would have been done sooner, but the Nereus leader kept stopping me to ask questions or have me fill in more detail. Some of what I glossed over involved personal information that I thought ought to be kept private. Jace Hughes, to be specific. He might be famous to the people residing in the Alliance and Deadlands territories, but Walton didn’t know him from my right ass cheek.

Revealing that kind of data to someone we didn’t yet trust not only violated my own personal moral code but also set off my internal alarms. If for some reason Walton and his people found their way back to Earth, I didn’t want to be the one responsible for leaking information about the Renegade and his family.

Deacon helped fill in the historical aspects that I forgot, all too happy to finally have a captivated and interactive audience.

By the time Walton ran out of questions, it was late. We’d plowed through the refreshments early on, though what he had brought in was more akin to catering than a few snacks. Serving dishes piled high with fresh fruit and bread, thin cuts of meat, and an assortment of veggies.

I wanted to get the ball rolling on getting his assistance with our problem, but he’d stood up reluctantly and declared the night over. I firmly declined his offer to sleep aboard the Nereus, wanting my own bed and the privacy our ships provided to discuss all we’d seen. Which, granted, wasn’t all that much, but I still had a mind swirling with observations and questions.

Surprisingly, the one thing he didn’t ask about or even bring up at all was Gray.

I kept him out of narrative, figuring the Eternal needed time to process the 2500 plus years of worth of ancestral updates, but still. It wasn’t every day that an alien arrived with your long-lost relatives to crash on your couch.

Today I planned to get the answers I needed. If Walton didn’t have any, we’d be on our way.

As soon as the airlock opened at the time we were supposed to be ready, I had a feeling that things weren’t going to go my way. Walton and Doris stood on the other side.

The fan club was there too, their waiting faces bright with anticipation. They were way too happy for my liking. People who smiled that big made me suspicious unless it had to do with sex or money. You know, the important stuff.

“Good morning,” greeted Walton, far more cheerfully than the evening before. “It was brought to my attention that in our excitement, we didn’t give you a proper tour. The citizens are curious to get a look at our first visitors too. Don’t worry, they won’t overwhelm you.”

“That sounds nice and all, but could we do that a little later?” I asked, trying not to sound too pushy lest he just boot us off the seed ship and send us on our way with no help whatsoever. “I’d like to discuss our little problem as soon as possible.”

The Eternal flicked his wrist, dismissing the idea. “This won’t take long. Really, I insist. Once cultural decorum is fulfilled, I’ll happily listen to your request. In fact, to speed things up, we’ll split up into groups.”

I didn’t like that in the least.

Splitting up, as everyone knew, was the point in the story where things took a hard right for the heroes. I didn’t consider myself a hero, but I knew when something was a bad idea.

Unless he was joking, this wasn’t going to be as quick as he claimed either. Saying that it wouldn’t take long when the Nereus could go toe to toe in a battle of size with Mars? Yeah, right. I couldn’t fathom how we could ever walk it all in a lifetime, let alone a few hours.

Seeing my hesitation, Walton laughed. “I see your doubt, Captain. While the Nereus is quite large, we only utilize a small portion of the ship to conserve energy.”

He wasn’t going to change his mind. I could see that and resigned myself to a day of sightseeing.

“Lead the way,” I invited after Deacon, Selina, and Barrick were handed off to their respective guides.

Their guides, which was most of the group that came to greet us, had more women than men. I spotted more than a few of them sending our handsome lieutenant suggestive glances. Barrick was either an amazing actor or completely oblivious to their attention. Selina noticed. Instead of getting mad and making her claim clear, she seemed amused by it.

The people on this ship didn’t really register in a way that made them feel tangible. Maybe it was the tunics, which made the differences between us stick out. They reminded me of acolytes in a cult that discouraged normal clothes for whatever reason. There was something else. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Walton clapped his hands together. “We’ll start with the level you saw yesterday. Since you saw some of it last night, I’ll make it quick.”

Once his back was to us, I glanced at Camilla. “Ladies first.”

A flicker of amusement, or maybe it was annoyance, flickered behind her dark eyes before she fell into step just behind Walton.

“Miss Abernathy, would you mind?” Walton gestured at a wall panel as we stopped at the same entrance he’d taken us through the night before.

She stepped forward and pressed a hand to the pad.

It gave a happy chirp, then the doors snicked open.

“Delightful. I was curious as to whether your tattoos were compatible with the Nereus. It seems I have my answer. Thank you.”

He smiled broadly at her, then looked at me.

“May I ask why the rest of you don’t have them?”

“Not everyone has them,” I said shortly. “Or the opportunity to get them.”

It was the truth. I also didn’t want to create an elaborate lie that could trip me up later.

We’d met as a crew before leaving the Roswell and decided to keep interactions to a minimum. That came from Camilla warning us that Cognitives could access any camera or audio equipment in the system even if they were utilizing their hard-light bodies. Essentially, that meant we were under observation at all times and needed to act accordingly.

I tended to assume that was the case wherever I went, it just didn’t usually bother me.

Here, every exchange could be analyzed by Doris and reported to her master. It felt a little weird to me, but so had everything so far. There was something off about this ship and the people who lived on it that made me agreeable to exercising caution.

“This level is dedicated to learning,” explained Walton as we retraced our steps from the previous night, flanked by the same two guards and the few individuals from the fan club who hadn’t gone with the other tour group.

The room where I’d seen the crotch goblins was blessedly empty.

Doris noticed me looking and smiled. “It’s too early for the young ones to be in class yet. We found that it’s more effective to have a later start to the school day. Mornings are spent getting a nutritious breakfast and engaging in play.”

What, I wondered, counted as play for a child growing up on a metal planet?

My childhood had been colorful compared to those of my peers. Law abiding citizens considered parents like mine to be irresponsible miscreants who shouldn’t have the right to raise a child in a Renegade environment. I disagreed. Our life wasn’t for everyone, that was the gods’ honest truth. But for me? I loved every wild minute of it.

Playing in the mud and tearing up my knees on some grubby playground, seeing my first nebula at the tender age of six, making snow angels on a winter resort planet that my folks stopped at on a whim.

They were all memories I looked back on with more than mere fondness. The kids here didn’t know what they were missing. That was a shame but not really my business.

“It’s so quiet,” Camilla commented.

Doris, who had so far kept her silence, turned slightly to address my co-captain. “We pride ourselves on being a cohesive community. Mutual respect is the foundation of maintaining peace here and the only rule.”

“Mutual respect is of course a broad generalization,” added Walton. “Common courtesy of your fellow citizens is a commitment. Striving to keep stress out of the equation helps a great deal.”

“How?” asked Camilla, beating me to it. “With so many people sharing a space, that must be difficult.”

Again, the Eternal gave her a smile several degrees warmer than any I had gotten so far.

“It’s as simple as avoiding things that cause strife. We don’t curse, discuss topics that would incite unhealthy debate, or engage in activities that cause irritation.”

It sounded boring as hell. I wouldn’t last a day if I lived here.

“What happens if someone breaks the rule?” I asked. “Do they get tossed into the brig?”

I meant the last part as a joke, but Walton took me seriously. “Not quite. We operate on a demerit system. First, a loss of certain privileges. If the behavior continues, they may be moved to another level until they are able to rejoin the community again.”

After that, he moved on to their education system and how they prided themselves on teaching life skills from a young age.

“Tailoring, food handling, and resource management are just a few of the jobs that citizens can choose from. Providing they meet the aptitude requirements.”

School didn’t interest me in the slightest, so I didn’t comment or ask any questions.

Camilla picked up my slack, asking benign questions or making complimentary statements when Walton seemed extra impressed with his spiel.

When we were finally free of the learning level, Walton took us to their food stores. The workers flitting around the area wore something different than the usual white tunic. Still tunics, but in an ugly, dishwater gray color that presumably wouldn’t show stains like wearing a white one would.

They sorted food into large containers, so intent in their work that hardly anyone noticed our arrival. Truth be told, I felt a twinge of guilt knowing that these were likely the same people who put together our delicious spread from the night before.

“It took us—our ancestors, I mean—less time than expected to perfect the art of food cultivation,” Walton said proudly. “We’re grateful to collect such a bountiful harvest and provide for all the ship’s residents.”

Odd choice of words, but okay.

Camilla shook her head in amazement. “This is impressive. We have whole stations that aren’t as organized as this.”

“Stations?” The albino man scratched at his chin, his forehead creasing as he contemplated the word. “I believe you mentioned that before. When I left, stations were limited to the Sol System and not for civilian use. Remind me again what they are now?”

“Communities that aren’t bound to a celestial body,” Camilla explained. “A pit stop, mostly, though there are specialized locations for entertainment, vacation, or anything you can think of. Sometimes they’re situated near a slipspace entry point, sometimes at convenient points between systems. It depends, really.”

Walton nodded, eyes all shiny with interest. “Amazing, truly. I feel a bit like a country bumpkin when you talk of these things.”

I almost asked him what qualified as country on a ship, then decided I didn’t want to hear a lecture about their agriculture system. Or worse, inspire him to take us there.

“Governor Walton!”

A middle-aged woman with dark hair scurried over from the back of the warehouse, waving excitedly. I realized that with the exception of Doris, it was the first time anyone had spoken directly to him in front of us. And she’d called him Governor. Funny, he hadn’t introduced himself to us that way, but some people didn’t care for titles.

As if to prove my point, he frowned when the woman reached us. “Sharon, my dear. There’s no need to stand upon ceremony, remember? Mr. Walton is fine.”

“Mr. Walton?” She looked confused for a moment, like the word was foreign to her, then nodded. “Right. Since you’re here, I wanted to update you on our preparations for the Solstice. We almost have enough to meet the projected amount. Two more runs to—“

“Mrs. Mendez.” Walton’s voice went sharp, and a glint came into his eyes. “I really do appreciate your zeal, but as you can see, we have guests. Let’s discuss this at another time, shall we?”

Her mouth rounded into a shocked “o” shape as she realized we weren’t part of the crew. It fell open entirely when she got an eyeful of Gray. Even if he wasn’t with us, our attire would have been a dead giveaway, but in her defense, she’d been zeroed in on Walton.

Walton, for some reason that remained lost on me, had yet to acknowledge the towering alien that was walking around his ship in short pants and crop top other than to cast the occasional curious glance his way.

“Oh! Please, forgive my rudeness. This can wait for a more suitable time.”

“Sorry to derail your update,” I told her, winking. “We’re just passing through.”

Sharon’s eyes fluttered momentarily when I addressed her, then a blush crept into her cheeks. “It’s...” She stopped to clear her throat, then started backing away. “It’s perfectly alright. Thank you, but I’ll be heading back to work now.”

The woman fled as if the floor were on fire.

“Was it something I said?”

Sharon appeared to experience a temporary malfunction of the senses when you spoke to her, Gray commented. His voice in my head carried a hint of amusement at the idea. Selina refers to them as brain farts.

It took all my concentration not to react outwardly.

My innocent act didn’t fool Camilla, who gave me what I thought of as the “mom stare.” I’d gotten so good at deciphering my mom’s and acting accordingly. At that moment, Camilla’s said I was being an ass.

“Oh, not at all,” replied Walton, blissfully unaware of the silent conversation going on between us. “The term visitor is somewhat out of use here. Most people knew that someone had arrived through our system due to gossip. Sharon, gods bless her, is one of those rare souls who doesn’t subscribe to idle rumors. Shall we move on?”

“You’re the boss,” I told him. “Lead the way, and we’ll follow.”

Walton preened at the remark like I’d bestowed a great honor upon him, pressing a hand to his chest and giving a hearty laugh. “That is kind of you to say, Captain Riker. I was going to take you to our park, but you strike me as a man who would appreciate a different level that I had planned for later.”

I hadn’t meant to imply anything with the offhand comment.

People used the phrase in a general sense all the time. But if it accidentally earned me brownie points with the esteemed Eternal leader, I wasn’t going to correct him. Besides, paying a visit to his version of a botanical garden wasn’t my cup of coffee.

We left the warehouse and set off for the supposedly more interesting area. I wasn’t expecting much when we piled into an elevator and waited for Doris to input the command.

Like Gray, she didn’t seem to need physical contact in order to interface with the ship. She had a tick though, or a tell, in gambling terms. Every time she performed a more complex operation, she went still for a moment. For something simple, like interfacing with the elevator, she merely flicked her right wrist.

I was still contemplating the similarities to Gray when the car stopped. No sooner had the doors opened than the unmistakable sounds of gunfire rang out from whatever lay outside the elevator. All my finely tuned Renegade instincts fired on at once, and my hand flew to the holster at my hip before I formulated the mental order to do so.

The Nereus, it seemed, wasn’t the picture of peace after all because it sounded like a godsdamn war had broken out and we were trapped in a tin can.

21

Walton was shaking in my peripheral vision.

I started to tell him to stay calm when I caught the twinkle in his eyes. The jackass was laughing. Some people responded to the stress of life-threatening situations with hysterics that came out in the form of mad laughter. It only took a moment for me to analyze Walton and conclude that wasn’t the case. He found something highly amusing.

Me being that something.

A glance at the two guards confirmed my suspicions. They weren’t laughing, but neither did they look concerned. Irritated, I shoved my gun back into its rightful place and waited for the Eternal to calm down.

“I’d apologize, but that was quite entertaining,” he said, brushing a tear from his cheek. “That was ill-mannered of me, but I was curious as to how you would react to a training session in progress.”

“Satisfied?” I forced the word out through a clenched jaw.

“Most assuredly.” Walton’s eyes glittered, and for a moment there was something else lurking behind the humor, but it was gone so fast that I thought I imagined it. “You are quick on the uptake, Captain Riker. Instinctive, protective, and dare I say able to properly analyze a situation.”

Another test. The bastard was really starting to piss me off now.

As he continued on about us showing up on the perfect week, I fought for control. Camilla bought me a few extra seconds by laughing and asking what kind of training was happening.

She could have told him he had the biggest dick this side of the unknown galaxy for all I cared. Walton might not have realized it, but she saved his life. At the very least, she’d saved him from a broken face.

I reasoned that anyone who thought it was a good idea to pull that kind of stunt deserved a loose tooth or two. Like an idiot tax. Because if one thing had gone wrong, someone could have gotten hurt or worse. It was the kind of common sense that prevented people from doing stupid shit like shouting fire in a holo theater.

Cole, the guards are watching you quite closely, Gray informed me.

That was my cue to lock down the anger and get ahold of myself or put us all at risk. I managed to do so before Walton ushered us out into the training level. By the time he stopped at the back of a firing range, I had calmed down.

I might have gotten there via a violent fantasy, during which I kicked the Eternal’s albino ass up and down every flight of stairs built into the Nereus, but I got there.

The training facility we entered took some of the edge off because despite the games, Walton was right about one thing. This was a lot more interesting than smelling flowers. Instead of stuffy perfume, the acrid smell of gunpowder and spent ammunition filled my nose. I found it comforting, as familiar as Min’s noodles.

Trainees were between sessions now, lined up at individual booths facing digital holo targets downrange. Some of the targets were farther out than others, probably indicating that person had passed some sort of milestone. I picked out the newbies of the group pretty fast. You could always tell who’d never handled a gun before because they tended to have a nervousness about them and took ten times longer to do the most basic of tasks.

A younger man in perhaps his mid-twenties at the end closest to us hit every box on the new recruit checklist. Furtive glances at his neighbors to see what they were doing, a face shiny with sweat, and handling the gun like a bomb about to go off.

It took me back to my own early experiences.

My old man had put a pistol in my hands about the time I could walk and gave me a Renegade’s education on the subject. Weapons, he’d said, were only scary when in the hands of someone else. A man couldn’t be afraid of the tools he used to protect his life or the lives of people depending on him. It was all about respect. He’d never stopped preaching that.

“Take care of your weapon, and it’ll take care of you.”

That was what he’d told me when handing over my first piece at the age of sixteen. It had served me well all these years. From the looks of things, the kids here could do with some of that same advice.

I saw Doris appear on holos in each booth and start talking to the recruits. At once, they hopped to attention. No one spoke, and I couldn’t hear what Doris said to them, but they began the reloading process. Most fumbled it, but eventually everyone was ready. A timer started on the targets, giving them a few seconds to aim.

Confused, I angled a glance at Walton. “There isn’t a trainer around?”

“Heavens, no,” he replied, then paused as the next wave of gunfire started. When it subsided, he started again. “I saw no need when Doris is so qualified. It also ensures that everyone is trained the same way.”

Camilla gestured at the group. “Are they using real bullets? I’m curious because it must be difficult to replenish ammo after all this time.”

Doris was the one to answer that with an easy smile. “They are not. It’s much safer and resource efficient to use practice ammunition. As far as replenishment, we’ve never had to do so. Life aboard the Nereus is peaceful with the exception of occasional minor disturbances.”

Despite my general misgivings about Walton and the utopian life he was presenting, I couldn’t argue with what my eyes were telling me.

“No one’s perfect,” I replied as we moved on to another area.

Walton didn’t have us go inside because a sparring class was in session. The hand to hand techniques were basic at best, and the trainees clearly had no real experience. Their punches and kicks lacked any power or direction as they tried to follow along with another holo screen version of Doris.

“Isn’t hand to hand fighting the opposite of peaceful?” I asked when we moved on.

“Yes, but I believe it is better to be prepared. As you saw, it is not a strong suit. Nadia is the best of us when it comes to that particular skill.”

I hadn’t paid too much attention to either of the guards, but now I was curious what passed for the best on Nereus. Nadia had dark hair that was currently twisted up into a severe bun, light brown eyes, and tan skin. There wasn’t a hint of Eternal in her, so either it skipped a generation, or both her parents were descended from Transients.

The tattoos weren’t visible due to the uniform, but she must have had them.

The woman inclined her head. “It’s something of a family tradition. I learned from my father. He taught me and my sister from a young age.”

“My old man taught me too,” I replied. “Along with my mom. Never had a sister though. Or a brother, for that matter.”

“That’s too bad. Siblings make things interesting.” A wistful smile crossed her features at some long ago memory only she could see. She looked over, sympathy in her eyes. “Your parents must worry about you being so far from home.”

“Nah. It’s just me now.” I waved away the apology she started to give. “It’s okay. Been a while, and I’ve got nothing but good memories of them.”

She nodded, not with sympathy, but in understanding. “It’s the same for me. Oh, the new pilots are in.”

I turned in the direction she indicated as Walton stopped outside a classroom. The windows provided a view of teenage trainees who appeared to be learning strike ship basics from an instructional video.

“We still have most of the strike ship fleet that the Nereus left Earth with,” Walton said, back in tour guide mode. “There isn’t much call for a defense network, but we go through the motions. Those interested in a security career are evaluated. If they are a good fit, we sign them up for the next training session.”

“Most? Did something happen to a few of them?” I asked, thinking back to the squadron that had attacked us before acting as an escort.

“I’m not sure,” Walton replied, a little surprised by the question. “The inventory records don’t match.”

A strike ship wasn’t the kind of thing that just went missing, but after so many years, who knew what had really happened. Some capricious youth was probably responsible. If I had grown up on this ship, it was a guarantee that the capricious youth would have been me.

Camilla watched avidly, the pilot in her shining through. “Doris, I assume you also train the pilots?”

“Yes, of course, Miss Abernathy,” replied the Cognitive. “I am responsible for all training on the ship.”

Efficiency had its place, I just couldn’t help but to think that their single track mindset didn’t allow for much growth or individualism.

Seeing Walton’s expression, full of pride and faith in his beliefs, reminded me that this was their normal way of life.

“The people who live on this ship depend on her for their very survival. Her system provides life support in more ways than one. Her data stores contain vital information we use every day. In short, Doris is the heart and soul of our community. If I could put her in charge I would.”

He finally ended the gush fest when Doris touched his shoulder. “You are too kind, August. While it gives me great joy to fulfill my purpose, I cannot take all the credit. August leads the people with their best interest at heart and all of my passengers work hard to maintain peace and harmony amongst themselves. It is a group effort.”

It felt like we were intruding with the way the two of them were making eyes at each other. I almost asked if they wanted us to leave the room so they could have some alone time.

My mouth stayed closed because a commotion from within the classroom spilled out into the corridor. Two teenage boys were yelling at each other, fists clenched and seconds away from using them on each other.

“Shut up! He didn’t deserve exile!” shouted the first, a gangly kid with close cropped black hair.

I had to do a double take because he looked a lot like Deacon. A hair younger and skinnier, maybe, but I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart from a distance.

His rival grinned and crossed his arms, clearly enjoying himself. He had more meat on his bones and was at least a full head shorter. “Did so. Too bad. I would have voted execution—“

That was the trigger. Boy number one plowed a fist into his enemy’s face with more speed than I expected. It was a decent right hook too. The other kid fell on his ass, blood spurting out of nose like a fountain.

Brow lifted, I shot a questioning glance at Walton. “I take it that’s not another show for my benefit?”

“No, it is not,” the Eternal responded tightly, barely contained anger making a vein pulse at his temple. “Doris.”

The Cognitive disappeared from his side as a shrill siren went off in the room. It effectively rendered everyone in the room silent by the time she reappeared next to the quarreling boy.

Walton waved a hand, motioning for us to follow him.

He was quiet for the next few minutes, creating an awkward silence that made me itchy.

“Teenage boys,” I said in an attempt to ease the tension. “All the raging hormones and body changes are enough to drive anyone to violence.”

“Perhaps you are right.” I thought he was going to leave at that, but he suddenly turned to me and Camilla. “You described to me a civilization where blood and violence are the norm. I assume that’s why you responded to my little joke the way you did. It’s far different for us. Quite upsetting, as you can imagine.”

Camilla nodded, empathizing with him. “We can see that. It’s an admirable goal, Mr. Walton.”

He smiled a little as we came to another bank of elevators. “Thank you. I’m afraid this matter requires my personal attention. Nadia will take you to any approved areas, if you wish. Once I’ve dealt with the issue, I’ll contact you to discuss your request and see if we can help you get home.”

Once he and the other guard were gone, Nadia gave a little bow. “Is there anywhere on the ship you’d like to visit?” she asked, holding up a data pad. “I have a list here. Or, if you’d like a recommendation, the park is blooming. There’s a sunset viewing at 1600 that’s a big hit with couples right now.”

Camilla stared, dumbfounded, when the woman gave her a knowing wink.

“Oh, we’re not together,” I told her, barely keeping a straight face. “We’re just friends because she keeps turning me down.”

Nadia’s horrified expression was comical. “Gods, I am so sorry. I just assumed from the way you shielded her before... How embarrassing.”

“That’s my job as the captain.” I said it soberly, with just a touch of stoicism as the guard beamed up at me. “It’s been a long day with all the walking, so we’ll take a rain check.”

She nodded and called the elevator. Inside, Camilla fumed quietly. Gray positioned himself in the corner, looking like he was doing his damnedest to make himself smaller. When I saw Nadia’s eyes slip to the side and watch him with obvious curiosity, I couldn’t stop myself from asking a question.

“I gotta know. Why has no one asked me about him? His name is Gray, by the way. I’ve seen people staring, so it’s not like he magically turned invisible on the ship.”

The guard’s brow furrowed in confusion. She looked from me to Gray, then back again as if working out a puzzle. “We assumed he was your prisoner, or pet.”

It took me a minute to process what she’d just said.

Camilla looked even more scandalized than she had over the suggestion that we were romantic partners. “What in the world made you think that?”

“He only has a first name,” Nadia said hesitantly, no doubt worried about offending us a third time.

“That can’t be it,” I prompted.

“His clothes are ill-fitting, and he has no shoes or weapon,” the guard continued. “The way he follows you around without speaking... It was strange to us. Then you told the story of the Celestials, how any survivors were hunted after the war. Gray seemed to fit the description, so everyone was instructed not to mention him.”

I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, I could see how the misunderstanding happened. When looked at from the outside, everything she’d said did fit together. Hell, Barrick and I assumed Gray was a Celestial on sight, and we knew what they looked like. Then, before boarding the Nereus, we’d decided that his mind speak would freak people out and reveal we had a secret way of communicating. Gray himself wanted to remain silent so it would be easier to observe and report if needed.

On the other hand, the idea of my friend being my prisoner or pet was so far out of orbit that I had to laugh. A perplexed Nadia stared at us expectantly.

“He’s not a pet,” I explained. “Not a Celestial either. He’s a valued member of my crew and a close personal friend. Gray’s a bit shy, so he doesn’t talk much.”

“Captain Riker is correct. Miss Abernathy told me that I am the strong, silent type.”

Gray’s use of his real voice startled the woman, and she spun to face him so she could bow again. “Please accept my apology. We truly didn’t know.” Her gaze tracked over his clothing before offering him a look of sympathy. “It’s not clean to walk around barefoot. You don’t have any shoes at all?”

That time I did laugh. “Lady, there isn’t a big and tall store big or tall enough to properly outfit this guy. He’s only wearing those now to preserve everyone’s modesty.” I gave her a cheeky wink, then leaned down to cup my hand around my mouth like I was telling a secret. “Don’t tell anyone, but he prefers to walk around naked.”

Nadia was so embarrassed that she stayed quiet for the rest of the trip back to the airlock. We’d almost made it when someone called out for us to stop. The same woman from the food stores rushed toward us, carrying a basket in one hand and waving excitedly with the other.

Exchanging a glance with Camilla, who just shrugged, we stopped and waited for her shorter legs to reach us.

“What is it, Sharon?” asked Nadia.

Sharon held up a finger, asking us to give her a second. She was huffing a little but smiling, so I didn’t think it was anything serious. “I’m glad I caught up to you,” she eventually said. “After this morning, I felt terrible about interrupting your meeting with Mr. Walton. Then I heard about the fight and, well... I hope you can accept this as a small token of welcome.”

“That’s not necessary,” I started to tell her when the basket was thrust into my hands, leaving me no choice but to take it or come off as a rude prick with no manners. “Alright, then. Thanks for the... what is it again?”

“Food from the warehouse. Fruit and vegetables from today’s work, plus some bread and cheese.” Sharon smiled brightly when I nodded, accepting the basket and defeat. “This would make a good picnic. Romantic, especially if you go to the park a little later—“

Nadia jerked her head back and forth and swiped a hand across her throat. Apparently, the signal to shut the hell up was universal and timeless. “They’re just friends, not together.”

“What, are you sure?” Sharon didn’t look horrified at her gaffe, just confused.

“She’s right,” I confirmed. Camilla looked ready to either die from embarrassment or kick someone’s balls into oblivion. Not wanting to prolong the conversation further since I was the only one around with balls at present, I patted the basket. “Thanks for this, but we’ve got to get going. See you around.”

The airlock slid open on Gray’s silent command, giving us the much-needed escape route. As it started to close again, I heard the two women whispering. I couldn’t tell who, maybe Nadia, but one of them was laughing.

“She has to be crazy turning down a man like that.”

“I know. They would make a lovely couple.”

Camilla waited until we were safely back on the Roswell before rounding on me and punching me in the arm. “What the hell is wrong with you, Riker? Cracking jokes like that and winking at everything that moved. Do you know how hard you made today?”

“I don’t know about you, but I definitely didn’t get hard today,” I rebutted.

That earned me another punch, this time to my other shoulder.

“I’m warning you, woman. If you don’t knock that off...”

She threw her hands up in the air. “What are you going to do, kick my ass?”

I dropped the basket and stepped forward, grabbed her by the shoulders, and planted a kiss on her frowning mouth. She went stock still for a moment, then kissed me back. We sprang apart at the sound of something crashing to the floor and spun to find the culprit.

A bottle, the source of the noise, rolled toward us.

Not far from it, Deacon stood, a bowl of something in his hand and his mouth hanging wide open.

22

I didn’t know who was more surprised, me, Camilla, or Deacon.

The latter stood there like he thought staying immobile somehow made him invisible.

“Do you think we broke him?” I whispered to Camilla.

“No, I think you’re broken,” she snapped, hauling back like she might hit me again.

I wagged a finger at her. “Uh-uh. New rule, Abernathy. Any time you hit me, I’m going to kiss you.”

She dropped her hands, then smiled sharply. “Not worth it.”

As if sensing the danger had passed, Deacon retrieved his fallen drink. “Usually, I’d be against another inter-crew relationship, but you two fight like an old married couple already. It’s been painful to watch.”

“That’s it, I’m leaving before I kill one of you,” Camilla said, clearly struggling to remain calm.

She turned on her heel and set off down the hall, muttering to herself about idiots with dicks.

“What are you doing here anyway?” I demanded when she was out of earshot. He looked around the room with exaggerated slowness until I couldn’t take it anymore. “What are you doing?”

“Just verifying I’m not in the wrong place by mistake,” he replied wryly. “I’m not. This is a public area on the ship. It’s not my fault you chose a heavily trafficked hallway to make your move.”

I scooped the basket from the ground so I could take it to the galley. “One, I didn’t choose anything. It just happened. Two, not what I meant. We’re back early because of puberty. Why are you?”

“That explains the kiss. I knew you’d eventually get there. I’m here because Barrick and Selina got bullied into seeing some garden. Sounded pretty romantic.” My friend grinned at me as he started to back away. “You should take Cam.”

“Do me a favor and tell her that,” I muttered as he turned and retreated.

“I’m not an idiot, and I like my balls right where they are,” he called over his shoulder before disappearing around a corner.

Alone again, I looked at the basket in my hands.

A picnic might be out of the question, but eating the food wasn’t. I carried my haul to the galley and started to dig through it for the meat and bread. Fruit was okay and had its place on the nutrition scale, but I needed more substance to go with it. I’d plowed through half the sandwich and a small bowl of red berries, then started in on some cheese cubes when Gray arrived.

“Help yourself,” I said around a mouthful of cheese, motioning at the still open basket.

He peered inside at the disheveled contents. I had pawed through it without much care in search of my favorites, knowing full well I was being a jerk. It had been a frustrating two days though, and gorging myself usually helped some.

No, but thank you, the alien said. I have found some information that you will be interested in. I think, he added with a slight frown.

It wasn’t like him to be uncertain about data. He often found navigating the intricacies of human culture confusing, but not information. Not only was Gray’s race of people hyper logical, but they were also highly intelligent. Curiosity sufficiently piqued, I moved my plate out of the way and gave him my full attention.

“Hit me. Not literally,” I said, seeing his brain do a cartwheel at the suggestion.

I was able to gain access to the Nereus without being detected.

His confession sent an uncomfortable jolt through my gut. I’d been the one who brought up the idea when we were deciding if he should come or not. It just made me nervous now that I had spent time around Doris.

The Cognitive does not utilize many security protocols, Gray continued. At first, I believed this to be a ploy.

“And now?” I prompted when he paused.

Now I do not. My initial assumption was based largely on Doris. Her status as a Cognitive automatically sets her system apart from standard human-made artificial entities. She is, however, not on the same level as the Cognitive known as Athena with whom I briefly interacted in the past month.

I’d never interacted with Athena myself. All the information I knew about her either came from the gal-net or Camilla. “If they’re both Cognitives, both Cognitives created around the same time frame even, how different can they be?”

“A lot different,” Camilla said from the doorway, looking a lot calmer than she had a half hour before.

It annoyed me that I hadn’t heard her come in, and I scowled. “I’m going to start putting bells on people if they don’t stop sneaking around.”

She ignored my comment and came over to pick through the food.

Cognitives, like any artificial intelligence, are shaped by their environments and experiences. Miss Abernathy can correct me if I’m wrong, but Athena has experienced many life-altering events since being brought online. If not for meeting Jace Hughes, she may have been lost forever. I think this fact had a great impact on her relationship with him, inspiring a bond of loyalty akin to family. Especially with the child known as Lex, he added with a glance at Camilla.

“That’s all true,” she commented, popping a berry into her mouth. “I don’t know how much she told you, but Athena was taken by the Celestials for a time. Her files, or whatever, got corrupted, and Jace had to hunt down a new shell to save her. I never really gave it much thought before. But yes, she’s been through a lot. Our adventures spanned human territories, lost Eternal worlds, plus the Celestials.”

Gray nodded. Precisely. All of this added to her knowledge. Doris is completely devoted to Walton and his ideals. When comparing her to Athena, I came to the realization that Doris had never dealt with a threat to her systems. The security protocols in place aren’t monitored because she has never needed to do so. This leads me to believe the information is not a trap.

“You still haven’t said what the information is,” I said pointedly, hoping he got the hint to speed things up.

The Nereus is host to just under 20,000 inhabitants of the original one million. That is less than a fiftieth of the original passengers despite not having any record of major illness or catastrophe. For context, the seed ship Titan produced an intergalactic population of space-faring people. I have not located a manifest, but there was a travel log from when Nereus first arrived in this system well over 2000 years ago. It was allegedly written by an individual named August Walton.

It was weird, sure, but so far everything about Nereus was. From the moment we had been kicked out of the Anypsian tunnel things had been all fucked up and this was just one more thing to add to the list.

Thinking it over, I watched absently as Camilla pulled a small loaf of bread wrapped in paper out of the basket. No matter how I looked at it, the information didn’t seem like anything to worry about. “Not to sound like an asshole, but so what? I’m having a hard time seeing how that affects us now.”

Saying it made me feel like an asshole anyway. Especially since Gray wasn’t typically this adamant about anything and it was obvious the situation was bothering him.

I can’t explain why, but something about this seed ship unsettles me, he admitted. I believe it has a secret that will have a direct effect on our mission.

“That feeling is called a hunch,” I told him with a short laugh.

“It’s much more than that,” Camilla interrupted. “It’s the truth.”

Her tone had taken on a serious note that left no room for argument. She held the loaf of bread in one hand and the wrapper in the other. The bread was being ignored completely in favor of the wrapper, which Camilla now held up.

“Someone went to the trouble to send us a message.” She passed it over to me to inspect.

I could see right away that there was a message scrawled on the paper, I just didn’t have a clue what it said. “Sorry, you’ll have to translate.”

“My Eternal language skills are a little rusty,” Camilla said, angling her head to scrutinize the note. “This is a slightly different dialect than what I’m familiar with. But if I had to guess, it says something about help and trust. No,” she corrected. “It says don’t trust. Help us. Don’t trust August Walton.”

Finding the note pissed me off some. Selfishly, I didn’t want to help anyone. I didn’t even know who needed our help, let alone why. My first thought was Sharon. The kindly woman who dropped off the basket seemed most likely because she was the one who delivered it. I also thought she’d been a bit pushy about it, but that was just my gut talking.

In truth, she might not have been the one who packed it. That could have been done by anyone in the food stores. I tried to recall every detail of our interaction there earlier in hopes of finding some clue that would lead to an answer. The most compelling evidence was the weird back and forth between her and Walton.

But I already knew he was hiding something.

The guy came off as manic to me. Up one minute and down the next. Then he had a thing for Doris. Gray’s supposed discovery of an old flight log didn’t fit anywhere either. August Walton was an original Eternal, but even Eternals weren’t truly immortal. I’d learned a lot more about them than I ever wanted to since meeting Camilla because she always had a story about them.

One of those stories being about the original Earth Eternals that fucked around with gene editing and found out that perfection had its price.

They’d all come down with a disease that sent them all into panic mode trying to find a cure. It was that research that eventually led to something much worse than dying of natural causes—the Celestials. Some people didn’t know how to learn from their mistakes.

The point was that August Walton couldn’t be 100, let alone over 2500 years old.

But, like Gray, I had a bad feeling about everything. So much so that I wanted to get the hell off this seed ship and try our luck out in the void. One thing stopped me. Our chances of death increased to somewhere around 100 percent if we left. The Nereus had the ability to create a new rift in space. While the ship was responsible for putting us here in the first place, finding it intact after all this time was still a miracle.

It was also our only way back.

* * *

I had a cup of coffee down my gullet the next morning before I was interrupted by Poe.

“Captain, we have visitors.”

“Say what now?” I asked, not fully awake yet.

He didn’t sigh, but I heard the pause loud and clear. “Captain, we have visitors,” he repeated, slower this time.

“Gee, thanks. Aren’t you AIs supposed to be good at subtext? I was asking who.”

“That would be August Walton, accompanied by two guards.”

The timing was suspicious because I didn’t like coincidences. I didn’t think he was here to cause trouble. If he had been, the Eternal leader would have brought more people, but, like everything on this damn mission, nothing was simple or easy.

I stared at the empty cup in my hand, debating whether or not I could polish off another before I got to the Roswell’s airlock. Deciding it wasn’t worth the hassle of dealing with the empty, plus not wanting to offer Walton any, I put the cup in the sink and headed out.

“Poe, let the others know he’s here. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but tell them to be ready for anything.”

“Acknowledged, Captain. Would you like me to keep them apprised with any applicable updates?”

“Sure,” I said, waving a hand to dismiss him.

The airlock that led from the Roswell to the seed ship’s hangar was only a few minutes’ walk. I used the time to come up with possible scenarios and how to respond to them. Picturing Walton with an accusatory expression and pointing to a data pad that showed Gray’s breach of his system wouldn’t end well for anyone.

When I got to the airlock, I saw Gray waiting.

Captain Riker, if you are agreeable, I thought it would be helpful to join you this way. It should be assumed that Doris is also present even if it is not in her physical form.

“Works for me. Just make sure not to pop into view on accident or something. You’ll scare the shit out of them and end up with a mess to clean up.”

“Eloquent as always,” Poe interjected. “I believe Mr. Walton is getting antsy so you should not delay any further.”

The door opened for our visitors a few seconds later. As soon as Walton saw me, he smiled and spread his hands slightly. “Good morning, Captain Riker!”

I tried not to scowl at his exuberance. In addition to excessive smilers, I didn’t trust morning people. “Walton. What brings you to our door at this hour?”

Undeterred by my lack of enthusiasm, he beamed another smile at me. “A tour, of course.”

“Didn’t we do that yesterday?”

Taking another journey through the Nereus was wise after our recent revelations, but just then I’d rather have dressed up in one of the male stripper outfits that had been thrown at me back on New Nijo. Even the sausage hammock with the little string in the back was preferable to seeing another parade of white-tunic-wearing pacifists.

“We did,” he replied. “I was referring to your ship, however. Certainly, you’re agreeable to that? I showed you mine, now you show me yours. That kind of thing. Of course, bringing a large group was out of the question. That’s why it’s just the three of us.”

Well, hot damn.

The son of a bitch had planned this. I’d been neatly maneuvered into a corner and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Refusing would look rude, not to mention suspicious as hell. There wasn’t anything specific hidden on either the Treader or the Roswell, but this felt like recon.

“Uh-huh. Well, come on in.” Walton’s eyes held a note of surprise at my easy acceptance, then he bowed his head. I stepped to the side to allow them through. “The rest of my crew are either still asleep or working on tasks. It’s not going to be very exciting after living on a colony ship. But I’ll take you around to the approved areas.”

Some of his optimism faded at my caveat. “Approved areas?”

“Yeah,” I said as if it should be obvious. “Just like the Nereus, we have some places around here that are off limits to visitors. I’ll take you to the observation deck first.”

Feeling like I’d gotten some of my own back put a bit more pep in my step as I led the trio through the Roswell. They didn’t have the benefit of my experiences, so everything just looked plain like it first had to me. I wasn’t wearing one of the updated visors and hadn’t checked on the contacts Poe was supposed to work on.

Who knew, maybe the spartan ship would appeal to them.

“Forgive me for saying this, but I expected more...” He paused, struggling to find the words.

“Furniture?” I supplied, knowing damn well what he meant.

Walton still managed a polite nod. “Among other things. This vessel may not be a seed ship, but it’s no personal transport either. I’m amazed you know your way around without directions.”

“It’s been a long journey,” I replied. “I took the time to learn the layout.”

The lack of decor worked in my favor because even Walton couldn’t find much to ask questions about. He and his companions did have a moment when the self-moving furniture made its appearance at Gray’s behest. Which I appreciated because it gave them a little bang for their credits, so to speak.

Since this wasn’t my ship, I didn’t show them much else. The transport room was out of the question. Even if it didn’t look like much to them, I refused to take the risk that Doris might be able to glean something from it. As we walked through the areas that I felt comfortable showing, I broached the subject of Gray to clear up the misunderstanding in case Nadia hadn’t done so already.

I glossed over his abilities for obvious reasons. After a quick internal debate, I decided to reveal the nature of our mission to find his homeworld. Walton listened, completely enthralled by the subject until I finished. By that point, we made it to the hangar where the Star Treader sat in wait.

“Fascinating,” the Eternal murmured as we stepped inside the much more familiar environment. “Now that we’re here, I have a request. Could you show me the turn-key that brought you to the Nereus?”

23

Regarding the albino man in front of me with a smidge more respect than before, I crossed my arms. If he was running a game, I’d play. “Funny, I don’t remember mentioning a turn-key.”

Walton tilted his head to the side and gave me a look that said he knew I was feigning ignorance. “Come now, Captain. We are both well aware that you would not have found this system without one. The device supplied to the Nereus went missing long ago. After hearing your tale, I surmised that your team discovered it on Hope. One of those passengers obviously stole it and I would like it back. It is mine, after all.”

There he went again. Letting the genial mask slip to reveal the narcissist beneath.

The guy had apparently never heard of the finders-keepers law either. “Alright,” I said, struck by an idea. “Where I come from, possession is nine-tenths. But I’m willing to negotiate a trade. We both have something the other wants. No offense, but you’ve been dodging my requests to talk about our problem. If you sit down with me right now, I’ll give you the turn-key.”

“Done.”

Now I was the one getting a dose of surprise at how fast he agreed. I covered it by calling Poe. “Have Deacon bring the device we found on Hope to the galley.”

“Right away, sir.”

The AI’s business-like tone had Walton looking around. “Do you also have a Cognitive?”

“No,” I said on a laugh. “Those are about as rare as a functioning seed ship. Poe here is a standard command AI who got a few upgrades for this mission.”

It was close enough to the truth, and he bought it without comment. I also couldn’t bypass a chance to get in a dig when Poe couldn’t say anything to contradict me.

I led them to the kitchen, pointing out a few areas that they could see. We only stopped once to look inside the medbay. Walton didn’t even comment on the healing pod. The Nereus would have been outfitted with plenty, so I guessed it didn’t register for him that it was a rarity back in our neighborhood.

“Deacon has delivered the item,” Poe said in my ear as we reached our destination.

Saying nothing, I waved the group inside. Deacon wasn’t waiting there, which I’d expected. The rest of my crew had also made themselves scarce, leaving their fearless leader to deal with the unwelcome interloper.

The sacrifices a captain made for his people were many.

The turn-key sat on the biggest table in the room. I picked it up and took my seat. Eyes on his prize, Walton sat across from me.

“Sorry,” I said, jerking my head to one side to indicate the kitchen. “This isn’t as posh as your office, but it’s what we’ve got.”

“Don’t trouble yourself over that. Nor are refreshments necessary.” Walton placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. “What is it that you would like to ask of us?”

About godsdamn time, I thought.

Leaning back so as not to appear too eager, I lifted a shoulder. “Everyone knows seed ships can create their own slip tunnels. We need to use that technology to get back.”

“Surely you’re not suggesting we return to Earth.”

It was a statement instead of a question, but I answered anyway. “That’s not necessary. But seeing how the Nereus crossed paths with the tunnel we were in and caused it to collapse, the least you can do is get us to the nearest functional slip. Then we’ll be out of your hair, and no one will be the wiser about your location.”

“If you were to stay here, the result would be the same,” he said quietly. Walton must have realized how that sounded because he was quick to raise his hands and wave them in a hold-on motion. “Not to say that I’m implying you should. Merely an observation.”

Tired of talking in circles with the asshole, I said nothing and waited for him to give me a straightforward answer.

Walton didn’t have a very good poker face. Or a lot of patience. He shifted uncomfortably before steepling his fingers as if to steady himself.

“I understand your desire for an immediate answer. Unfortunately, this situation isn’t simple. Nereus was not built to sustain a settlement indefinitely. It is only due to Doris and the cooperation of our citizens that the tritium cores have lasted this long. Give me one week to make a decision. We have a solstice celebration then, so nothing could be done until after anyway.”

I found it extremely irksome that he actually made sense. “Fair enough. I get your position. We’re responsible for lives other than our own. Thanks for taking the time.”

Since Walton held up his end of the deal, I passed the turn-key over to him. He no doubt wanted to get it to Doris and find out what was on it. And what we knew, of course.

“One last thing, Captain. We’ve planned a little get-together tonight with all of you as the guests of honor. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I thought you would say no.”

“You thought right. Parties aren’t really my thing. But hey, we could all use a break from the stress. Looks like you’ve got yourself some guests of honor. And don’t worry, we’ll act surprised.”

Once our ship was free of our lost and found Eternal descendants, I went looking for my crew.

The place seemed quieter than usual thanks to the impromptu visit. “Poe, where is everyone? All the common areas are empty. What did they do, all hide out in their quarters?”

“The training room,” he replied. “Though you’ll have to see for yourself. A standard AI with a few upgrades might make a mistake.”

I snickered as I set off toward the workout room. “Aww, don’t be mad. I had to tell him that. Unless you think it’s a good idea to just give away all our secrets.”

His hmph made it clear he didn’t agree.

Poe takes his job very seriously.

Gray’s arrival startled me for the first time in a while because I’d forgotten he was waiting in the wings.

“Some might say he takes everything too seriously,” I muttered as we made our way down the hall. “Personally, too.”

The AI was giving me the silent treatment. I’d let him cool his heels, then apologize in my own way to keep the peace. For now, I had a party to deal with.

I momentarily forgot all about the party when we got to the training room because the sound of bodies hitting bodies drifted out to us. Not the fun kind either, unless it was a girl on girl sparring session. Thinking that it might just be that, I stepped inside a little faster than was necessary.

It wasn’t Camilla and Selina. It was Camilla and Barrick.

Gray and I came to a standstill as the two flew across the room in a flurry of movement. I spotted Selina and Deacon spectating from the side like they were at some big-ticket fight.

The pair didn’t even notice us until I plopped down and asked, “So, we’re all betting on Abernathy, right?”

Selina shushed me, waving a hand in my general direction without tearing her eyes away from the spectacle playing out in front of us.

“I am,” whispered Deacon after leaning over. “Cam is damn scary when she wants to be.”

“You think? I told you about that time she kicked a guy’s balls so hard they probably had to be amputated. And he was bigger than Barrick.”

Camilla only came up to my shoulder on a good day, and the lieutenant had some height on me. She was plenty fast to make up for that though, striking and spinning with the practiced ease of someone who kicked ass for a living.

My combat expert was no slouch either.

Up to now, I hadn’t actually seen him engage in hand to hand. I’d always assumed the guy could fight, what with his reputation and all, but his weapon of choice fired bullets, not haymakers. Neither of them wore protective gear either. That gave me some pause, but not for long. Bare knuckles and no pads made a person more conscious of their reactions because no one liked getting punched in the face.

The two fighters didn’t seem to be bothered by the chatter. In fact, Barrick was totally focused on his opponent because she was making him work hard to block everything she threw at him. For every offensive hit or throw the lieutenant went for, Camilla had a countermove ready. She used her height (or lack of it) to her advantage, twisting around and ducking under his arms.

When Barrick went for a lower jab that would have connected with her ribs, Camilla dropped into the splits and delivered a punishing blow to the inside of his thigh. Suitably impressed at seeing something I’d only ever seen in action holos, I almost clapped. Barrick grunted and backstepped with a slight hitch.

Now that she had an opening, Camilla didn’t let up. She closed the short distance between them in a flash to ram an elbow into his gut. It wasn’t as effective as the leg punch. Barrick had more muscles than the Space Goliath superhero I’d worshiped as a kid, and they absorbed most of the hit.

He wasn’t out of the fight either. He had war stories about continuing to fight after getting shot and stabbed so I knew one little charley horse wasn’t nearly enough to really hurt him.

A bell dinged in the training room, prompting them both to stop.

“Miss Abernathy hit the point limit first,” announced Poe. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think I deserve it. Barrick was holding back.” She fixed an angry stare on him.

He shook his head. “Why would I do that?”

Camilla stepped into his personal space and poked him in the chest. “I don’t know, since we were supposed to be taking it seriously. But it’s fine. We can always do a rematch.”

He looked at me for help, rubbing at his chest. I shook my head in a “you’re on your own” motion.  “Alright, if that’s what you want.”

“I do,” she said, nodding brusquely.

At my side, Gray was watching with open amazement. Cole, you were right, he said. Human women are fearsome, dangerous creatures not to be taken lightly.

Selina leaned around to flash a grin at me. “Aww, you said that about us? That’s sweet.”

“It’s true,” I told her. “Especially after seeing that. Anyway, I came to find all of you because Walton left a little while ago. Said we’re invited to a party later.”

“You said no, right?” demanded Deacon. “We both hate parties.”

“Nope. We’re the guests of honor. Hard to say no to that. It’s smarter to go and fake having a good time anyway. Walton said he’s gonna take a week to see if they can help us. There’s some solitaire party or something that they’re all gearing up for.”

“Solstice,” Camilla corrected. She walked toward us with Barrick, using one of the white towels to mop her face and chest.

Careful to keep my eyes on her face, I nodded. “Right. Well, they can’t do anything until after the holiday. Much as I don’t like Walton, he seemed to take it seriously. Mentioned a tritium core and how Doris is responsible for making it last this long. So, I’m thinking we go tonight and try to make nice. We can also use it as an excuse to observe people while partaking in free food and drinks.”

If I was forced to attend festivities, I was at least going to enjoy the refreshments.

In all honesty, the party aspect wasn’t that big a deal. I really balked at the idea of sticking my nose where it didn’t belong—in someone else’s business. Except that a person in need of help made it my business with their damn note, and now I had to get involved. I was walking on a tightrope smaller than the one that had snapped a few weeks ago.

And this time I wasn’t so sure anyone would be there to reel us in.

“Speaking of food,” Selina said abruptly, breaking into my darker musings. “Where are they getting the meat?”

I was almost afraid to ask. “What do you mean?”

She looked from me to the others as if they knew what she was talking about. When all the doc got back was blank stares, she blew out a long-suffering sigh. “You know, for the sandwiches.”

Deacon of course had an answer. “All the seed ships contained everything needed for colonization. Including livestock and meat provisions.”

“When I asked to see the farm, they took us to a kind of grow room and said it was where their crops grew. That was weird too, which I’ll explain in a second, but when I told them I was talking about farm animals, it was like they’d never heard of them before. The only animals on the ship are cats and rats.”

I wasn’t the only one who suddenly felt queasy. Pressing a hand to her stomach, Camilla grimaced. “I swear to the gods, Selina. If you knew that we ate rat lunch meat and are only just now letting us know, I’m going to have a serious issue.”

“No,” she said with receding patience. “The meat is definitely real. So is the cheese. Have you ever tried milking a cat?”

The question was met with stunned silence.

I recovered first. “Selina,” I said slowly, “I’m not usually one to kink shame. And I know you’re into the animals. Like, really into them. But whatever you and Barrick get up to is probably better left there.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake...” She cast a glance around at us. Taking in the looks of confusion and horror, she winced. “Alright, that one is my bad. Sorry. Sometimes I forget that not everyone grew up on an ag planet. What I’m trying to explain—obviously very badly—is that if they only have cats on board, where are they getting all the organic ingredients?”

“Which they would need to make cheese and some of the other food,” I said, remembering that from my recent research.

I didn’t have the slightest idea. One thing was certain—I no longer considered the promise of party food a perk.

“The more we learn about Nereus and its people, the weirder it gets,” Barrick commented.

“Agreed,” I said. “Unfortunately, we’re stuck for the time being. So we’re going tonight. Before I forget, Selina, what was the other thing?”

“There are only a hundred acres worth of space for them to grow their fruits, vegetables, and grains. That’s not enough.”

Frowning, I did some quick math in my head. “That’s not even enough for 200 people, let alone twenty thousand.”

My crew looked at me in stunned silence.

“That’s right,” Selina said, her expression one of surprise. “How do you know that?”

“What, I can’t know things?”

“It seems you have gone from an average captain to one with a few upgrades,” Poe put in.

Camilla lifted a hand to get my attention. “What about the note?”

I’d forgotten about the damn note. “Just keep an eye out tonight for anything that sticks out. And whatever you do, don’t start drilling the citizens with questions that will make someone suspicious. I’ll try and get to the bottom of it without raising any red flags.”

The party already promised to be the opposite of a good time, but something in my gut promised that we were on the verge of biting off more than we could chew. The question was if we could weather the storm long enough to hitch a ride out of here.

I wouldn’t mention it to my crew, but I was starting to have my doubts.

24

The park really was nice, I’d give them that.

Trees, the kind that grew on Earth, were scattered along a walkway with honest to goodness grass carpeting either side. They had even installed a water fountain for people to enjoy. The aforementioned garden took up a far corner and featured hard-light simulated butterflies. All of it together created a friendly atmosphere on the surface level.

But something dark rode just beneath the veneer of peace.

Now that I was seeing the Nereus through new eyes, the curious glances had a nervous aspect to them. Not everyone, but there were a few who looked away as soon as they realized I noticed them. Walton’s claim of our status as guests of honor didn’t fit either. Normally that meant you were going to be bombarded the moment you walked in and made a fuss. There was none of that tonight.

I searched the crowd for Sharon.

She was the first person on my list to have a chat with. If the woman had been the one to write the note, then I figured she’d find a way to let me know. The note itself was a source of frustration too. It had been written in shorthand, which told me the person didn’t have a lot of time. What were they so afraid of that prompted them to reach out?

The whole demerit system was kind of a joke, in my opinion.

Sharon found me first, and she came bearing more gifts. “It’s good to see you again. We were told that Mr. Gray here was having difficulties finding clothes that fit properly.”

I followed her gaze to the Anypsian. He stood between me and Camilla looking, I realized with a twinge of guilt, somewhat shabby. Since he wore the same outfit pretty much every day, it was starting to wear thin in places and had picked up a stain or two that wouldn’t come out no matter what gal-net hack we tried.

A small group of women stepped forward hesitantly. One of them carried a folded stack of white cloth that I suspected would be a Gray-sized tunic. Better him than me.

“Off you go, Mr. Gray,” Sharon urged, shooing him like an errant child. “They’ll take you somewhere that you can get changed. If you need any help, just ask.”

He looked somewhat panic-stricken at the prospect. Taking pity on the poor guy, I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Go ahead. I’m pretty sure they won’t bite. Right, ladies?”

I sent them a cheeky wink that incited a round of giggling. One finally mustered up the courage to reach for Gray’s hand. They were gone a few moments later, leaving us to watch them go.

Sharon turned to me when the group was out of earshot and smiled ruefully. “Captain Riker, you’re quite the handsome devil. If you don’t stop winking at people, you’re going to break someone’s heart or end up married.” She had to stop there and wait because Deacon sucked in a breath so fast it sent him into a coughing fit.

“Sorry,” he said, waving a hand.

“Don’t worry about it, dear. As I was about to say, news of your bachelor status spread through the ship with a quickness today. More than half of the population’s unattached women believe you have a broken heart that needs mending. I don’t typically pay attention to that kind of talk, but I heard you say it with my own ears.”

Her comment gave me the perfect opening, and I jumped on it. “Right, when you gave us the basket. It was delicious by the way. I wanted to thank you—or whoever made it—in person. Maybe offer to repay the favor by helping out with chores or something.”

It wasn’t my best attempt at stealth work. Not my worst either, by that token.

Didn’t matter since I was pretty sure it worked. A glimmer of recognition, followed by relief, had shown in her eyes when I mentioned helping. It was gone now, though her smile hadn’t faltered once.

“That was me,” she replied lightly. “As far as help goes, I’m afraid that list is never-ending. You’re also a guest, so it would be rude to take you up on the offer. I wouldn’t, however, turn down the first dance of the night later.”

No one had told me there would be dancing.

When I said as much, Camilla elbowed me in the side.

“Don’t be rude, Cole,” she chastised. Then she turned to Sharon with a look that said “ignore him, he’s an idiot.”

“What? I’m just saying. Yes, by the way,” I said to the other woman. “Nothing would make me happier than to twirl around with a beautiful woman in my arms.”

A mischievous glint lit her eyes. “Oh my. Miss Abernathy, if you don’t snap him up, I will. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go check on our preparations for the last monthly harvest before the Solstice. I’ll be back for that dance, Captain Riker.”

That was the second time someone from the ship had brought up a harvest. Earlier, Selina had also mentioned the grow room being too small. She’d elaborated when I reminded her about it, saying that from what she saw, the food grown on site couldn’t support more than a few hundred people.

“We keep hearing about this Solstice holiday,” Barrick remarked. “Did anyone tell you what it is, exactly?”

“An annual event to celebrate the peaceful existence we’ve achieved,” said a voice from behind us.

Walton stood there, Doris close at his side.

“There’s a period of rest afterward,” he continued. “Everyone on the ship goes into hibernation mode. We come back recharged and ready to do it all again. I’m thinking of extending that break this year.”

Selina gave a knowing nod. “I grew up on a farm. The work never stops. It was part of why I started taking care of the animals and eventually became a veterinarian.”

His smile warmed by several degrees. “Then you know it well! We work tirelessly all year. By the time the Solstice comes around, the ship can function with minimal upkeep from the citizens for a few years after.”

A few years? How did that work?

“I can see your confusion, Captain. The residents of our community go into stasis mode. It helps keep the draw on resources to a minimum.”

After that confession, he could have gotten the drop on me right then if he’d been so inclined.

I could see how that appealed to them. It wasn’t like they had much else to do. For me, it sounded almost as bad as prison. Maybe that was part of what Sharon wanted help with. There had to be people here who wanted more than this one ship in a single system. With the Nereus able to create its own slip tunnels, they could go anywhere they wanted. Instead, they were chained to this metal home, surrounded by worlds that had never been explored.

At least, that was my assumption. I realized no one had expressly said it as fact.

“Have you ever gone to any of the planets? Or your ancestors at least? Back home, there are entire planets dedicated to vacation. We saw a few on the way in that looked interesting.”

Walton’s smile dimmed some, like I’d asked him something offensive. “No. Leaving the ship would be a disruption, and it would introduce possible complications. Keeping stress to a minimum is how we mitigate outbursts and maintain our small slice of heaven. You saw the other day how a simple debate can turn to blows.”

I made a noncommittal sound because it was better than telling him that fresh air usually helped.

“Well, your way of doing things might be new to us, but it’s working,” Camilla put in, trying the flattery angle. “The gathering tonight is lovely as well. It was nice of you to do this.”

“You’re most welcome, Miss Abernathy.” Doris touched Walton’s arm, then whispered something in his ear. He perked up again and clapped his hands together. “Doris has just alerted me to the time. She tweaked the sunset show we usually put on as a little treat. Ah, I see Mr. Gray has received his gift from the tailors.”

Tailor felt like a strong word since the tunics were the same for everyone except the warehouse workers and the security personnel. Gray had been outfitted in clothes where the arms went all the way to wrists and the pant legs actually touched the floor though, so I couldn’t say too much. They’d even made him a pair of the weird booties.

I whistled at him, impressed with the handiwork. “Looking good, big guy.”

It feels strange. Though I am of course quite thankful, he added quickly.

I almost replied to his voice in my head automatically before remembering they didn’t know we could communicate that way. “Thanks,” I said to Walton. “He’s very appreciative.”

Gray bowed at the Eternal to emphasize the point, which earned him an approving nod.

“One moment please.” Doris froze to process a command then signaled to the Eternal leader.

“Attention, everyone!” His voice spilled out from the ship’s intercom system and killed the overlapping chatter. “Those of you here tonight earned that privilege by having the least amount of demerits. Your continued dedication to our peaceful way of life is noted and appreciated.”

A smattering of applause when he paused.

It wasn’t very loud and didn’t last long, dying down within a few seconds.

“I trust that all of you will continue to model this behavior for the rest of our extended family as we wind down for the Solstice. And,” he added, motioning to us, “for our guests. Their unprecedented visit has given us an excuse to act as hosts, something we have never done. So, please enjoy the evening. Eat and be merry. Try not to dance your feet off!”

His lame joke got less of a response than his speech about the demerits. More than a few sounded forced to my ears, but Walton didn’t seem to notice as he gave the cue for the festivities to begin in earnest.

A quick snap of his fingers later had a few people breaking away from the mingling groups to bring blankets.

They were spread out on the grass in short order, then the helpers disappeared back into the crowd only to return with food laden baskets. It was a lot of the same stuff we had before, except with the addition of actual dishes. Some sort of salad, the kind with potatoes and cream, grilled cuts of meat, and dessert made me rethink my stance on the food.

Even if it was one of the supposedly two animals on the ship, it smelled too damn good to turn down.

The blankets were only big enough for two people each. Camilla and I ended up paired off together, which I just knew someone was going to give us shit for. Deacon and Gray were to my right on one end, Walton and Doris to our left, with Barrick and the doc on the far side.

Stuffing my face also supplied a break from the talking. Which, in my humble opinion, there had been enough of. This kind of job wasn’t my thing. Renegades took whatever jobs they wanted; that was the beauty of freedom. Some liked sneaking around and playing secret agent. I didn’t. Get in, get out, get paid. Preferably without any new holes.

That tenet had served me well for a long time.

Hell, back then this would have been done and over because I’d have blasted my way through the problem and taken what we needed by force. But an old Renegade had to learn new tricks to survive.

I’d accepted that my old life was behind me.

And just because I didn’t want to deal with a drawn-out investigation didn’t mean I couldn’t. My past gave me an edge here, so I needed to use it and get to the bottom of what was really happening aboard the Nereus, minus the explosions.

All the little things were adding up. Walton had unwittingly tipped me off to something when he bragged about the Solstice and had given me a thread to tug on. Two, if you included Sharon Mendez. She had more answers, and I planned to get them, so long as she could handle me stepping on her toes a few times.

* * *

Despite the convoluted thoughts ping ponging around in my think pan, the night wasn’t half bad. Camilla kept scowling whenever people walked by us and whispered.

“Want me to go wink at a few of them?” I offered. “That’ll get tongues wagging.”

“How is that going to help? Then they’ll just keep looking at me like I’m crazy for not throwing myself all over you.”

I smirked and popped a cookie in my mouth. “Hey, maybe you are. You heard Sharon. I’m a total catch.”

“Here maybe,” she muttered.

The simulated dusk setting dimmed to twilight, signaling the show was about to start. A blanket of digital stars lit up the ceiling that elicited a murmur of excitement from the crowd. To me it didn’t look as good as what I saw on a regular basis. Shooting stars began to flash across the sky next, slowly building over the next few minutes to a dazzling crescendo.

I thought that was the end of it, then a vertical horizon appeared where the sun had gone down. The green and purple waves rippled and pulsed their way across the inky night sky. I’d seen auroras before, in a variety of colors and sizes, but this one had a haunting quality to it. Soft music began to play in the background, adding to the atmosphere.

When it ended, or the music did, Walton got to his feet and addressed his flock again.

“Good food and beautiful sights. A lovely way to kick off the evening, I think. The aurora will continue to play for the rest of the night, so be sure to look up often. Take a few moments to clean up, then we can kick off the rest of our activities.”

Unlike other shindigs I’d been to in the past, everyone here did as he asked without the whole place exploding into a mad rush. The blankets and leftovers disappeared in under ten minutes, leaving the park in much the same state as it had been before except for the patches of flattened grass.

After Camilla cleared the plates away, I tried folding our blanket back into the neat square everyone else was managing but failed miserably. Camilla took pity on me (while laughing) and finished that too.

Walton and Doris wandered off to mingle, leaving us alone.

“I’ve got a date,” I said. “What are you guys doing?”

Deacon pointed at himself. “I’m going to blend in with the scenery and make myself scarce. Like a wallflower.”

No surprise there.

The same went for Barrick and Selina, who split off to walk the garden path again. I knew they were trying to do some recon without raising suspicion, but they did look pretty cozy next to each other.

“Looks like it’s just you and Gray, Abernathy. Try not to start any scandals while I’m gone.”

“Too late.” Camilla put an arm through his, the sight comical because of their height difference. She looked like a kid playing dress up next to the Anypsian, who didn’t seem to know what to do.

I spotted Sharon making her way to me and waved. “That’s my cue,” I said when the lights dimmed. “I’ll see you two lovebirds in a bit.”

When I got to Sharon, I offered the older woman my arm like a gentleman was supposed to. Her short laugh sounded almost girlish as she accepted, putting her arm in mine like Camilla had just done with Gray, and gave my hand a little pat. “I called you devilish earlier, and that’s true, but you’re sweet too. You remind me of my husband, Renard.”

“He’s not going to get jealous, is he?” I said, looking around with mock worry.

“That would be difficult since he’s gone.”

Smooth move, Riker.

“Sorry. That’s...” I trailed off, lost for words.

Sharon smiled wistfully. “It’s alright, Captain. It’s been a long time.”

The music started as we walked past the water fountain to a large square space. It probably held benches and the like during the day for park goers who wanted to stop and enjoy the scenery. A few people were already there moving to the beat. It wasn’t quite a slow song, but slow enough that one young couple had their arms around each other, swaying without taking their eyes off each other.

“Young love is something, isn’t it?” murmured Sharon, hooking her hands around my neck.

They were just kids. Probably hadn’t even hit twenty yet. “I’d say at that age, most only think it’s love.”

“We’re in agreement there. It’s still important. It’s how people start learning what love is and isn’t. A step on the way to adulthood. They deserve to find the real deal, don’t you think?”

I registered the shift from reminiscent to solemn and knew she was gearing up to tell me the truth.

Her tone lowered so that I was the only one who could hear. “The Solstice isn’t just a year or two. It’s a hundred. I was a child when we left Earth, but I remember it.”

It was hard to control my reaction to that. “Then Walton is one of the original Eternals?”

She nodded as I guided her into a twirl. It was the single dance move I knew from my mother, something we had done when we were all just goofing off as a family. It took Sharon under my arm into a graceful spin.

When I pulled her back, she kept going with the tale. “He convinced the Transient leaders to follow him. The other Eternals disagreed. As soon as we reached Hope, they were exiled. Once we got here and the Solstice was put into place, people started disappearing. Malfunctions coming out of statis was the story. Funnily enough, it was only ever troublemakers.”

“What about those in exile? Where do they go?”

“Em—“ was all she got out before an alarm interrupted her.

Convinced that we’d been overheard somehow, my hand went to my holster. Sharon stopped me from pulling it out with a sharp tug on my sleeve. “Don’t. People will panic. It’s a medical alert. Someone’s hurt.”

We joined the other people leaving the dance floor in search of answers. The crowd gathering began to all talk at once, each trying to talk over their neighbor. Camilla called my name from across the lawn, waving frantically.

“What’s going on?” I asked when we finally met in the middle.

“Deacon,” she said. “He’s hurt. They’re transporting him to their medbay.”

25

I turned back to Sharon. “Sorry. I have to cut this short.”

“Go,” she urged.

“What happened to him?” I snapped as Camilla and I took off at a sprint. “We were only gone for a few minutes.”

“He went to the bathroom and didn’t come back. Someone found him in the hallway.”

We came out of the park and almost ran into Doris. The Cognitive sidestepped us easily. “Captain Riker, please follow me. Your companions will be escorted.”

She said nothing else, just guided us through the halls. A puddle of blood was already coagulating near the bathroom Deacon must have been heading to. We passed a cleaning woman on her way there who looked slightly terrified.

The Nereus’ medbay was triple the size of what we had on the Treader. Two dozen healing pods were lined up on either side, the closest one to the door the only one in use.

My friend was already inside receiving the treatment that damn well better save his life. If it didn’t, I’d dig his ass up and kick it for getting killed in the first place. Walton stood next to the pod, staring down with a grim expression.

“Tell me what the hell happened to my man,” I said, striding up to him.

Doris moved to put herself between us. “You must not engage in violence.”

Seeing red, I stared down at her digital form. “Lady, right now I don’t care if you’re a Cognitive. I don’t give a good godsdamn if you were crafted by the Precursors themselves. If you don’t get the fuck out of my way, I’m going through you.”

“It’s alright, Doris. Let him through.” Walton sounded tired for the first time since I’d met the guy.

It calmed me down some because I didn’t think he actually had anything to do with the attack.

“I’m not going to ask again. What. Happened. I want to know who’s responsible, godsdammit.”

“It was an accident, I believe,” he began.

I scoffed, the sound harsh and derisive. “Yeah, right.”

“I don’t mean what happened was an accident,” Walton explained. “I think the attacker didn’t realize it was Mr. Smith.”

I clicked to what and who he meant a moment later. “The boys who were fighting earlier.”

“That is my suspicion, however much I wish it wasn’t true. From behind, your engineer looks a lot like Alex.” He paused, looking older than he had a few hours ago.

The ugly truth made all too much sense. I’d thought the second I laid eyes on the kid that he looked a lot like Deacon.

“I tried to be a good leader. I gave the boys a lesser punishment than I would have if it were someone else. His father... that doesn’t matter. I didn’t punish either boy as I should have. If I had, neither would have been roaming the ship.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“They were shown leniency because I thought it would make a better impression on you.”

“Me?” I gaped at him, confused as to why he would care whether I was impressed or not.

“Yes. You came from our homeland. Told me all those tales of a new society that sprawled across multiple galaxies. It made me consider where we might be if not for our attempts at peace. I know my people aren’t always satisfied with this,” he said, lifting a hand to indicate the Nereus. “I thought maybe things could change, but I was wrong. I should have done what we decreed.”

“And then what, sleep for another however many years?”

He looked over at me, sad. “Not this time, Captain Riker. I never planned to have our people wake up from this next nap. You see, Bram isn’t the first person to lose control. It’s been happening much more lately. The inability to rationalize thoughts. Violent outbursts. At first, I thought it was from keeping everyone aboard the ship. Then Doris began to perform scans and discovered that too many stasis procedures had a negative side effect. Some of our people are coming down with a sickness of the mind.”

That was an entirely possible explanation.

Reports of similar conditions were widespread on the gal-net. Stasis could mess people up and was only recommended when necessary. Doing it over and over again wasn’t even legal without a good reason.

But because of that, this guy was going to kill his entire colony? All of his residents, the only family he had. That any of them had. And he was going to do it without even trying something else. I couldn’t make sense of it in my head. After cheating death for over two millennia, he was just giving up.

“And now that you know, I can’t possibly let you talk to any more of my people,” Walton said matter-of-factly.

I shifted into a fighting stance, ready for an attack. The guy might be an Eternal, but he was also pretty old. I could take him if it came to that.

My eyes went to Deacon. The monitor affixed to the outside of his pod beeped steadily, showing a strong heartrate. “Since you’re healing him, I’m guessing you aren’t going to have us killed.”

The Eternal’s blue eyes went wide with shock. “Gods, no! Is that what you thought?”

“More or less. You’ve been lying through your teeth since we got here. Then there’s your creepy cult. It doesn’t exactly give off good vibes, Walton.”

Doris stepped closer to her leader. Camilla mirrored the move, coming level with her on my right side so that the four of us were on equal footing.

“My goal from the beginning has always been to save lives,” Walton argued. “I thought the best way to achieve that was through peace. If not for the unanticipated repercussions from the stasis pods, we would have been fine.”

“The beginning,” I said, lip curling in disgust. “As in the very beginning. You’re the same August Walton who was on the Nereus when you left Earth, aren’t you?”

Both he and Camilla looked at me sharply.

“Cole, what are you talking about?” asked the latter.

I crossed my arms and stared the Eternal dead on when I spoke. “Walton here fibbed about how long people are going into stasis for. It’s not just a few years, Cam. It’s hundreds.”

There was a brief pause as he considered me. Some of the sorrow was gone, anger creeping up and flushing his face with red. “I see that my people have been more forthcoming than I thought. Who told you?”

“No one,” I lied. “Figured it out myself through good old-fashioned critical thinking.”

He merely stared when I tapped my head.

His Cognitive cohort looked on, a vaguely annoyed expression on her digital face.

“This explains why you didn’t get sick,” Camilla commented. “If you haven’t been alive all this time, your body hasn’t developed the Eternal degradation that the others did.”

Again, Walton said nothing. I saw the resignation in the set of his jaw, the acceptance in his eyes, and knew. “Yes, it did. That’s why he’s planning to kill everyone off next week. How could they possibly survive without him?”

When he didn’t even bother to protest, I knew I’d guessed correctly.

“You bear the weight of five people, Captain Riker,” Doris announced suddenly. There was more heated anger rolling off her than I thought possible of an AI. “And it’s a heavy burden, is it not? Imagine doing that for a million souls. That’s nearly how many people were on this ship when we left Earth. One by one, all the previous seed ships had gone missing. We didn’t want to meet the same fate.”

The Cognitive’s impassioned speech made her seem even more human.

“We didn’t,” Walton assured her before turning back to her. “Captain Riker, I’m truly sorry that things worked out like this. I hope you believe me when I tell you that we considered helping you. That is no longer a possibility, I’m sorry to say.”

I didn’t expect anything different, but it still pissed me off. Deacon’s pod continued its beeping, the only significant sound as I tried to kill Walton by staring holes into his head.

It was Camilla who voiced what I was thinking. “Doris, you’re supposed to be protecting the passengers. And if you’re just going to kill everyone, then why would you care what happened to Nereus after that?”

“I am protecting the passengers, Miss Abernathy. I believe that with enough time, I will be able to fix the stasis problem. Then the mind sickness can be cured. As long as I do that before the passengers wake again, all will be well.”

It dawned on me what she was getting at. “You’re not going to kill them outright. You’re going to put them in stasis for however long it takes to find the cure. Even if you never find a cure, they’ll never die so long as the Nereus has power.”

Walton inclined his head. “That is correct. So, you see now that using the remaining power to create new slip tunnels will be detrimental to our survival. I told you before. While taking your plight into consideration, I had to put my own people first.”

The worst part about all of this was that his plan, while being batshit crazy, could work.

It was fucked up, but it could work. The truth behind all the lies just made me want to get off the damn seed ship as fast as possible.

“Fine. “I motioned at the pod. “As soon as he’s done cooking, we’ll be out of your hair.”

The Eternal blinked back at me as if he didn’t understand. “Out of our hair?”

“Yeah. As in we’ll leave you to your crazy ass plan and find a way to solve the problem ourselves.”

How was going to be the problem. I didn’t care though, because Deacon’s comment about getting kidnapped by a cult felt a little too close for comfort. Then Walton shook his head and a sinking feeling started in my gut.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that just yet. Mr. Smith suffered brain damage from his injury. The healing pod is working at a slower pace to give him every chance at a full recovery. In the meantime, Doris has informed me that the wiser decision is to keep you separated from the rest of your crew.”

My glare didn’t intimidate the Cognitive.

If anything, she stared right back as if to challenge me. “Someone accessed my system, Captain Riker. After realizing that the information held no value to anyone living on the ship, I began to search for some sign of the device used. Of course, I found none. When August visited your ship, or ships, the information I gleaned revealed much. The alien crewmember, designation Gray, is no mere humanoid. He possesses unknown abilities. Abilities that coincided with your tales of the Celestials and their Precursor creators.”

Mother. Fucker.

This was why I didn’t like talking to people. How the hell could I have guessed such an innocuous piece of information would come back to screw me over?

Walton gave an apologetic bow. “For now, Mr. Smith will get the treatment he needs. You two will be placed on a holding level until he can travel. That should take about four more days. During this time period, you are not to say any of what you learned here tonight.”

His gag order pushed me over the edge.

“Or what?”

“Did you know that stopping a healing pod in the middle of a treatment can have a negative result?” The Eternal’s eyes slid over to the pod and landed briefly before he met my eyes again. “If you do, or try to escape, things won’t end well for your friend. Does that make things clear?”

It did. All too much. Camilla and I either had to keep our silence or risk Deacon’s life. The latter was unacceptable to me, so I chose silence.

26

Things really couldn’t get any worse.

Walton had forced me to reach out to my crew and let them know Camilla and I were staying with Deacon for a little while and would check in every so often with updates.

Much as I wanted to tip Barrick off, Doris had kept a close eye on me the entire time. Even a standard AI could analyze body language, so a Cognitive would pick up on any hints of subterfuge.

That was the problem with people who were smart and mad. They could pull off their crazy plans because they were smart enough. I had no idea whether Walton spoke the truth about the healing pod causing more damage if it stopped mid-healing process. Camilla hadn’t contradicted him, so she either knew it was fact or didn’t know either. The one person who would be able to tell me was unconscious.

So I did what I was ordered and didn’t try anything stupid.

After Walton felt assured of our silence, he had his security force come and escort us to the level containing the ship’s brig.

Nadia stared straight ahead, but her gaze kept sliding to land on me. The curiosity had to be killing her. Especially after Walton’s weak ass claim that we’d threatened to kill whoever was responsible, then ordered our weapons and personal items confiscated until our departure.

“Don’t worry about it, Nadia. I wanted to see the brig anyway.”

She finally stopped at the door to our cell and turned to give me a sharp look. “How can you make jokes at a time like this?”

I just shrugged.

“It’s his default personality,” Camilla said under her breath as the door slid open to reveal a double bunk room with all the amenities. A sink, toilet, and overhead light.

Nadia gestured for us to go inside, seemingly unconcerned that we might try anything. The entire affair felt all kinds of wrong. Anytime I’d been arrested or otherwise detained, the guards acted like I might make a break for it any second.

The door shut behind Camilla, who stomped over to the bottom bunk and went into glare-at-the-wall mode. She’d been perp walked behind us, and I had a feeling she was steamed about it. At least they hadn’t cuffed us on top of it.

She’d told me about her past before meeting Jace Hughes.

Back then she was no stranger to breaking the law. Even though she was still a teenager when the last battle of the war broke out, Camilla was already an accomplished pilot. She’d flown out with the brave (or crazy, depending on how you looked at it) souls to take on the biggest threat humanity ever faced. After that, her life stayed on a fairly legal trajectory.

Until she met an ex-con who just couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble.

If she kicked my ass, I probably deserved it.

The worst part about it was after everything we’d gone through for the last few days, we were going to leave empty-handed. It didn’t matter to me that the Nereus had been a last-ditch effort to begin with. Once it became a viable option, it also became our only way to find our way back on course and now we were about to lose it.

I racked my mind for something that could have made a difference. Said something different, acted more like Walton’s ideal individual. In the end, our current situation boiled down to a series of circumstances beyond our control and being subjected to the whims of an egotistical man who knew he was dying. You couldn’t argue with someone like that.

“Cole, shut up.”

“What?” I jerked out of my thoughts at the unprompted order. “I didn’t say anything. I haven’t even moved.”

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “I can hear you thinking, and it’s too damn loud.”

“Wow,” I said, going to sit next to her. “It hasn’t even been five minutes since we moved in together, and you’re already tired of me.”

It was a fifty-fifty shot that she’d laugh. Luckily for me, she did.

“Sometimes you make me want to punch you for being an idiot, Riker. Other times I’m grateful you don’t fall into despair when things get hard.” Her hand flipped up just as I opened my mouth. “Don’t even go there. I do have my limits.”

I mimed zipping my mouth shut, then promptly unzipped it and scooted back against the wall of our cell. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I think I prefer Silas Eckert to someone like Walton. He’s not a problem I can solve with bullets. It’s what I get for sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong though, I guess.”

There was a long enough pause from Camilla that I thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then she tucked a leg under her hip and changed position to face me.

“Do you really believe that nonsense? Because I don’t. If Jace hadn’t stuck his nose where it didn’t belong, as you put it, neither of us would be here. Alive,” she clarified.

“I’m not Jace Hughes,” I reminded her. “And the situations are completely different.”

Her only response was to arch one brow and gesture at the ship around us.

“Okay, just because we found a seed ship doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh? And what about Gray? You could have left him where you found him. Instead, you saved him, then went on a romp across the galaxy to avoid him falling into the wrong hands. That story sounds more than a little similar. I should know.”

She had a point that was hard to argue with. But I still didn’t feel like that made me some hero.

“Fine. They do sound similar. On the surface. I saved Gray for my own selfish reasons. I didn’t want to lose a payout to Eckert. Same goes for what happened after. I ran because I didn’t want to get caught. Everything I do is for me, Cam.”

“Then why do you care so much? Because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be arguing. It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself, not me.”

I didn’t have an answer to that.

* * *

The next morning dawned with back pain and Sharon standing outside holding another basket.

“Good morning,” she greeted.

Her appearance gave me a spark of hope. If she could deliver a message to the others, there was a sliver of a chance of getting the truth to my remaining crew.

Camilla had taken pity on me and slept on the top bunk so I didn’t hit my head on the ceiling. The thin mattresses lining the metal frames hardly provided much of a buffer, and I heard several pops when I rolled to a sitting position. From the sympathy on Sharon’s face, she’d heard them from the hall.

“Hey. Is there any update on Deacon?”

“No, I’m sorry. I was asked to bring you two something to eat. When you’re done, just put the basket by the door again and someone will collect it.”

After that unhelpful answer, she set the basket down just inside the door, then stepped back without saying anything else. A guard I hadn’t noticed touched the panel to close the door. It looked like help wasn’t on the menu. Ignoring the basket for the time being, I went to the miniature sink and splashed water on my face. It helped marginally, but I would have preferred coffee.

A thump behind me meant that Camilla was awake.

Leaning back against the sink, I watched as she scooped up the basket and stole my spot on the lower bunk.

“Someone’s hungry. Not even going to brush your teeth?”

“Last time you tore into it like a rombdin digging through the trash,” she shot back, her voice slightly muffled. “Just making sure I get some first.”

Since there was nothing else to do, I ambled over and stuck my head under the bunk to see what Sharon had graced us with this time. Camilla had pulled out all the wrapped bread and piled it in her lap.

“Gods, Cam. I at least left you a hunk of bread.”

She closed her eyes briefly the same way she did when she was running out of patience. One finger came up to her mouth quickly before she went back to the food. “I like bread, sue me.”

It wasn’t until she’d carefully unwrapped the third piece and set the contents aside that I had the lightbulb moment and felt like an absolute idiot. Camilla had apparently woken up with all neurons firing and remembered that Sharon’s initial request for help had come on a bread wrapper. The bunks acted as the only space in the room where Doris couldn’t see.

I squeezed in beside her and started pulling out the various containers. Instead of a scrawled note, I found a small cube.

It was silver and had etchings on each side, but nothing lit up when I touched it.

Camilla swapped me that for a piece of bread, twisting it this way and that. After a few minutes that yielded similar results, she shrugged and handed it back.

Tucking it into a pocket, I realized we’d been quiet long enough to arouse suspicion and cleared my throat. “What’s cranberry juice? I saw it in a store back in Sol but never tried it.”

Laughing, Camilla pulled out one of the labeled bottles and handed it over. “Juice from cranberries, of course. They’re from an Earth that wasn’t barren, remember? This must have been one of the fruits that Titan didn’t cultivate. Got lost to time. It’s kind of strange when you think about it. The Nereus is like a time capsule. The people on it know things about our planet that we might never understand.”

I hadn’t thought about it that way before.

Nereus was in all likelihood the only seed ship of its kind. I couldn’t imagine that the scenario with Walton could happen more than once. The magnitude of that could have a galactic impact if anyone back home ever found out about it. Which was becoming less and less likely with every minute that passed.

The cranberry juice was still cold and had a tartness that wasn’t half bad. It also made the meal go down easy, which I liked. We took our time eating, double-checking that no secret message to explain the cube had been missed.

Finding nothing, Camilla put all the leftover dishes and cloths back inside the basket and carried it to the door thirty minutes later. I was in the middle of finishing the last of it when a familiar voice sounded in my head.

Don’t react, Cole.

I spit the juice out and started coughing. Gray’s voice in my head had jolted me too much, and there was now a fine spray of red liquid all over the floor.

“Wrong tube,” I said hoarsely as Camilla thumped my back.

Her eyes scanned the empty room, then flicked back to me. She’d heard him too. And managed to not almost choke to death. Nice.

I’m here to rescue you, the alien said unnecessarily as he materialized into view.

It really sucked not being able to talk because I had some choice words for him. At least I could now say with a degree of certainty what the cube was for. A tracking device of some kind. How he got it to Sharon, I didn’t know or care.

Before we go, I must explain the plan, he explained. This ship has components that interfere with my ability. I also do not have the power to stay in the sub-dimension for an extended period of time. Our best course of action is to remain in the physical dimension and only phase when absolutely unavoidable.

I jerked my head to tell him I got it.

I turned slightly to Camilla but kept my eyes on Gray and tried communicating by talking to him through her. “I wonder how many guards they have watching us.”

“No idea,” she murmured back.

To my relief, he picked up on the subtext. There is a single guard outside.

One wasn’t so bad. I could incapacitate one without much trouble. Then we’d run like hell. I held up a finger to Camilla and made a chopping motion with my hand, then walked two fingers across my palm like someone running. Her brows knitted together. Trying again, I pointed at the door, then mimed sleeping. She nodded, finally getting it, so I gave Gray a thumbs up.

Please go to the door. We will have to be fast.

I had a slightly better idea. Not waiting for Camilla, I went to the door and knocked. I was banking on the guard being as trusting as Nadia’s group had been. He was. The door slid open and a kid who didn’t look old enough to grow a beard looked at me questioningly.

“Hey,” I said, feeling bad. “Sorry about this. It’s not personal.”

“Sorry about wh—“

He made a small sound when my fist connected with his jaw, then it was lights out.

“Wow, Riker.” Camilla shook her head in amazement as I dragged him into the room. If there had been more time, I would have at least put him on the bunk, but he’d live. “Knocking out minors is not a good look.”

“Minor offense. Let’s go. We need to get Deacon first.”

27

We took off at a dead run down the hall the same way we’d come.

A klaxon alarm blasted from the intercom before we made it to the end. As suspected, Doris had been watching. Well, she could keep watching because there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop us from reaching Deacon and getting the hell out of here. I hoped. Gray had mentioned a material that interfered with his ability to phase, and I had a pretty good idea what it was.

Neutronium.

Or, as I liked to call it, a Celestial Cockblocker. The alloy was one of the few things that the bastards couldn’t contend with. A rumor on the gal-net said that Jace Hughes worked out a deal with the Sarkonian Emperor so he could get his hands on the material needed to make more of it.

He’d used it to create neutronium bullets.

I hadn’t considered that Gray would be susceptible as well, but it made sense. Lucky for us, the shit was expensive as hell and not in common use. Even a seed ship like this wouldn’t have a lot of it.

The door to exit the brig was locked down tight. Camilla’s access had obviously been revoked, leaving Gray our only option. He went into interface mode without skipping a beat. I held my breath until the door opened, then did a check to make sure the hall was clear before running into it.

We reached the elevator bank before we ran into more guards.

A group of four stepped out of the first one, and they were all armed. They were all scared, too. I wagered that only a few had ever been in an altercation before, and none had ever fired the rifles they carried at anything other than a holo target. It wouldn’t be hard for me, and Camilla could disarm them, but they might panic and end up shooting us or themselves. Punching a kid in the face was one thing, but I didn’t want that kind of blood on my hands.

One of the guards, a young woman with white hair and dark brown eyes, stepped forward with shaking hands. “Stop right there!”

“Gray,” I snapped. “Show them what you can do and tell them we’re not here to hurt anyone.”

They exchanged glances of confusion at my strange request. The confusion quickly turned into stark terror when Gray did as I asked and faded from view. His disappearance unsettled the already nervous guards, and they twisted around looking for where he’d gone.

Please put your weapons down. We don’t want to hurt you.

The leader let out a thin scream and dropped the rifle to press her hands to her head.

Her companions held onto their weapons but scattered when Gray reappeared behind them. Camilla launched forward to scoop up the fallen rifle and ran to the elevator panel. “Gray, can you give me access again? It’s going to be a pain if you have to do it every time.”

Of course. One moment please, he said, going still just long enough to complete the command. It is done. I have also configured the system to prevent another lockout in case we’re separated.

He still controlled the elevator himself because the medbay was several levels up and over from our current position. It saved time and gave Camilla a chance to check the rifle in her hands.

My pistol and holster were with Walton, and I hoped to get them back. The gun wasn’t necessarily special, but I had an attachment to the holster. It was also the principle of the thing. Taking a man’s weapon was right up there with taking his ship, in my book.

I was so used to the weight of my gun on my hip that I felt off-kilter without it. Like having a nightmare about showing up to a job without pants.

Which had only ever happened once, mind you.

“Do you want it?”

I looked up at Camilla to find her smirking at me. “I’m good, thanks.”

“You’re looking at it like you want to be alone with it.”

“Now who’s cracking jokes during a crisis? I’m fine. It’s not the first time I’ve gone into a fight au naturel.” When she tilted her head and let her gaze drop down and back up, I nodded. “That’s right, woman. In nothing but my birthday suit, and I made it out of it in one piece.”

Gray kept looking back and forth between us as if we’d both grown an extra head.

In all fairness, we often did this. Bickered about something where the alien couldn’t keep up and watched us trade barbs with fascination. It was just one way to release nerves in tense situations.

“Okay, plan,” I said, switching tacks. “Deacon may or may not be in trouble if we end up pulling the plug before he’s done cooking. So, Gray, you’re going to have to evaluate that situation. If we can’t pull him out for some reason, I guess we’re hunkering down in the medbay until it’s safe.”

Camilla nodded. “Okay. I haven’t heard anything about a healing pod doing that but only because they have backup power. What happens if they completely shut off while in the middle of healing isn’t something I want to guess about.”

“Me either. I also don’t want to assume every guard we come across is going to be quaking in their boots. We got lucky with those kids, but be prepared. Gray’s mind speak can easily cause someone on the verge of shooting to do just that. Like with Dayton, remember?” I said, directing the question to the Anypsian.

Yes, I remember. This is why I chose to phase before reappearing.

“Yeah, that was smart. “

You may speak freely now. I have disabled the cameras and microphone in this elevator.

“Then what about Doris? She’s got a hard-on for Walton that kind of creeps me out.”

Gray’s uncertainty didn’t give me any good tingly feelings.

I cannot completely override the Cognitive. Her systems are far more complex than I have ever encountered. Unfortunately, Captain, my abilities have limits.

“Damn, there goes our ace in the hole.” He looked somewhat put out, and I realized he probably felt bad about it. “It’s fine. We’ll figure it out. Always do.”

I said it to make him feel better. I wasn’t sure I actually believed it. After the Celestials kidnapped Titan’s Cognitive, Athena had been rescued. It wasn’t common knowledge that she’d had corrupted files that almost destroyed her mind and memories before Jace found another shell to replace her broken one.

According to Camilla, the replacement shell had come from a Cognitive who had spent thousands of years alone on a ring planet. Her main goal was to solve the Eternal degradation issue, but all of her wards died off before she accomplished it. The tale went that she’d gone a bit stir crazy after so long alone and her failure to come up with a cure in time.

Gray had even mentioned something about this before. Doris was a Cognitive and that meant she wouldn’t hurt a human being, but her devotion to August Walton made her less than rational. Irrational super advanced artificial intelligences were not something to take lightly. Especially, I thought with a sense of foreboding, since there was no guarantee that the AIs no-kill rule applied to non-passengers.

If she perceived us as a threat...

Suddenly, my empty hands itched for a weapon. “Both of you watch your backs,” I advised. “Don’t take anything for granted. Cam, don’t point that thing at anyone unless you have to.”

“Riker.” My name came off her lips in a slow, deceptively pleasant manner. “I’m fairly confident that I have more weapons training and discipline than you. Please don’t lecture me on the basics.”

Well, damn. The woman wielded sharp words like a weapon too. “Look, I’m just saying that if we look like we’re trying to blast our way out of here, Doris will use defensive measures to protect her people.”

Perhaps it is best to quit before your proverbial hole gets any deeper, Gray suggested when Camilla simply stared at me.

The elevator came to a screeching halt so fast that I had to grab the handrail so as not to fly into the opposite wall. To make things worse, the car vibrated around us, an ominous twanging sound coming from above.

“What the shit?!”

Beside me, Gray went tense. We need to leave the elevator. Now. Please touch me.

There wasn’t even time for me to laugh at that from the razor-sharp edge in his voice. I grabbed his arm as Camilla came off the wall and took his outstretched hand. The three of us were immediately enveloped in the shroud of his personal dimension as the shaking car released from its position and plummeted down the empty shaft.

At that moment, staring down the yawning black shaft that spanned thousands of meters, I seriously considered sidling up to Gray like a damsel in distress. We stayed suspended in midair for a moment as he got his bearings. We were on the move a few seconds later, which disconcerted the hell out of me.

Walking with nothing solid under my feet made my stomach do a few uncomfortable flips before I tore my eyes away and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. When we finally passed through a wall for the last time, Gray let go of our hands.

The Cognitive couldn’t override my command directly and found a way around it, Gray explained. We are currently one level from our destination. It should be known that taking two people within my dimension is a major draw on my energy. Going forward, I need to conserve strength.

Another wrench. As if we didn’t have enough of them. And now Doris knew that Gray’s ability wasn’t a simple party trick or cloaking ability as she might have if she’d only seen him phase near the guards. We were quickly losing every advantage at our disposal and with it our chances of escaping successfully.

Well, we weren’t out of it yet.

Gritting my teeth, I ignored all the problems and turned to Gray. “Lead the way.”

This level wasn’t one we’d been shown. I didn’t hear anything, which made me think it was empty. Then we ran past an open section where a large group of civilians were gathered, having a meal. They looked up at us with tired, blank expressions that slowly turned to shock. I noticed they wore the same off-gray tunics as the workers in the warehouse and shared the same silent quality.

It was eerie how the cafeteria carried none of the usual chatter or livelihood that accompanied mealtimes. Just the clinking of utensils and sounds of eating. Bland food at that. Porridge, or something like it, was on every plate and seemed to be the only offering.

Undesirables.

That was how Sharon referred to people who disappeared. Seeing this group of downtrodden people began to complete the picture for me. The more demerits you got, the shittier your life was. It made me think of death row. Maybe the Nereus wasn’t a prison in the literal sense, but for someone who knew they were on the chopping block it might as well be.

Seeing their hopeless expressions stirred something within even my coldly cynical heart. Not enough to make me stop, mind you, but enough to feel the unwanted tug. Cafe Depression was thankfully out of sight in a matter of seconds.

Gray led us to another bank of elevators, which I adamantly rejected. “After what just happened? Nope. We’re taking the stairs.”

No one argued. I was closest to the emergency exit that didn’t require the Eternal tattoos to open anyway and pushed it open. There were no telltale signs of a waiting ambush, so I waved the others ahead.

“Do you notice how quiet it is?” Camilla whispered as we jogged down the stairs. “We’ve only seen four guards.”

I’d noticed it but not given it a second thought. “So?”

“So, it’s weird. Why aren’t we being pursued more aggressively?”

That would be Lieutenant Barrick and Miss Vasquez, Gray said. They caused a distraction to draw attention and resources away from your escape.

Of course they had. I couldn’t say I wasn’t grateful for their loyalty. I just wished the situation hadn’t required it. As if getting detained, then subsequently breaking out while worried about my friend’s possible head injury wasn’t enough, we now had to contend with whatever those two had cooked up. My one hope was that Barrick’s big military brain produced something effective.

The door at the bottom of the stairs came into view then, offering a light in the dark. I bounded down to it and paused, breathing heavily as I listened for movement outside.

“It’s clear,” I told them. “Gray, your number one priority is Deacon. Get him out of the pod safely. If you can’t, tell me right away. Camilla and I will deal with the rest.”

I would have preferred to go out first, but she had the gun, and taking the time to ask for the weapon just so I could be manly wasn’t efficient. She nosed out into the hall and swept left and right. Gray was right behind her, ready to defend if needed. That left me bringing up the rear.

The hall was empty, and the door to the medbay unguarded.

In my experience, that almost always meant that whatever waited inside was bound to be trouble.

28

August Walton waited inside, and from the looks of things, we were definitely in trouble.

He wasn’t alone. Nadia and Doris stood front and center like a pair of guard dogs ready to defend their master. Kneeling at the Eternal’s feet, hands behind his head, was Deacon. With my gun pointed at the back of his skull.

Anger bolted through me. My feet itched to take a step forward, but I forced them to stay rooted in place.

“Hand him over, Walton. He’s innocent, and things don’t need to get any messier than they already are. Do that and we’ll leave your settlement in peace.”

His gaze dropped briefly down to Deacon before coming up to rest on me again. “It’s too late for false promises. I’m afraid this is the end of the road for you.”

Camilla edged forward, keeping her movements non-threatening. “Then why do all this? Why hold a gun on someone who was hurt by your own people? These are not the actions of a peaceful man.”

The gun wavered slightly as doubt flickered across the man’s features. Then it steadied as the moment passed and the mask came back in place. “Sometimes the road to peace is a dark one, Miss Abernathy. I take no pleasure in what happens next. First, I must implore you to put down the weapon.”

It was as cliche as things could get. Forcing our hand with an impossible choice. That was the problem with forming tight bonds with people. They could be used as leverage.

“Don’t do it, Cam,” protested Deacon.

Walton let out a long-suffering sigh. “If you don’t, he dies. Simple as that.”

Cole. I can get to Deacon, but I will need a distraction.

Cursing under her breath, Camilla did as she was told and kicked it over. She didn’t kick it as hard as she could have though, and the weapon only slid about half the distance between them.

“Good. Now for you, Captain. Please put yourself in the nearest healing pod to your left. It’s already open and ready for you. Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. You’re simply going to sleep for a while. As a show of good faith, Mr. Smith and Gray will be released to your remaining crew and allowed to leave. Then, Miss Abernathy will assist Doris with recreating the Eternal cure you spoke of. After that, you will both have earned your freedom.”

The simplicity of his plan made it all the more annoying that it wasn’t half bad. I took in the pod that was to be my prison and felt my gut clench at the prospect. Not a chance in any heaven or hell that I was getting into that tiny metal box. Facing our enemy again, I surveyed the scene for some weakness to exploit that would give Gray his needed distraction.

Doris wasn’t defenseless either, though I didn’t recognize the weapon she held. It was vaguely gun-shaped in that it had a handle and a barrel. The business end featured a hole too narrow to hold any caliber bullet that I knew about. There was even a magazine of sorts, attached to the front but there was something familiar about it. I didn’t think it was an ancient Earth weapon either. If anything, it looked like a maintenance tool.

I laughed when I finally matched it with a vague memory.

“Lady, I don’t know what you think a damn nail gun is going to do. But I’ll tell you one thing. If you use it, you better nail my ass to the wall because I won’t rest until your shell is in pieces.”

“Such violence.” She shook her head sadly. “Do you see, August? I told you that their society was no place for us.  A flourishing population would only produce more like him and lead to our downfall. Merely having their presence aboard our home has forced us to act barbaric.”

She was as batshit crazy as the old man.

Unlike him, the Cognitive was not on the verge of wavering. “These aren’t just nails, Mr. Riker. They are made of neutronium. Supplied to the Nereus for when the colonists reached a destination and began to build. As that never happened, I have quite a few. Your Gray is susceptible to that material, is he not? My sensors are quite good. Meaning I can track his movements even after he phases. His previous travel route avoided any contact with the material.”

They had us cornered.

Thinking fast, I nodded. “Fine, I’ll get in.”

“Cole, are you crazy?” yelled Deacon, coming up off his knees until Walton pushed him down again. “You can’t trust him!”

That thought had already crossed my mind more than once. I wished I had a bone to throw him. Some secret phrase that referenced an old job that would tell him not to lose hope just yet. In the end, all I had was me.

“Shut up, D. Cam and I will be fine. You and Gray get back to the others and help them find a way home. That’s an order, okay? They won’t be able to do that without your big brain.”

He refused to answer, a mixture of guilt and anger playing across his features as he locked his jaw.

I turned back to the pod and made like I was going to get in. After dragging in a few breaths, I paused just in front of the open lid and readied myself. This was going to hurt like a bitch.

“Fuuuck this,” I muttered, pivoting back around. “You can shoot me, but I’m taking your precious leader down with me.”

My hand went behind my back as if I had a weapon stashed under my shirt.

The Cognitive’s eyes widened as I took a step toward Walton. “No!”

Her neutronium six-shooter swung around to aim at me. She didn’t hesitate, letting loose with more than I cared to count. I tried to dodge and avoided some. At least three slammed into me, all in one leg. I was right. It hurt pretty damn bad. Getting shot sucked ass, but a nail gun was no walk in the park either.

Still less than a rockhound, I reasoned.

Ignoring the pain, I stayed the course. Out of the corner of one eye, I saw Camilla dive for the rifle. Nadia got there a fraction of a second sooner and kicked it out of reach again. The guard wasn’t expecting her opponent to come up and sweep her legs out from under her. The last thing I saw before reaching Walton was the woman falling on her ass.

Damn, I always missed the good stuff.

I did see Deacon disappear. There one second and gone the next. Walton was too distracted by watching his carefully crafted plan crumble to pieces around him to notice.

The Cognitive was staring at me in shock and dismay. More accurately, she was staring at my hands. “Where is the weapon?”

“Never had one,” I grunted as I slammed into Walton.

He fell back against the pod and dropped my gun. It clattered out of sight.

“Doris, the hostage!”

Walton’s voice brought her back to the present. She shook her head as if to clear it, then began scanning the area. I couldn’t worry about Gray and Deacon now. They had a chance—the rest was up to them. I had to get the upper hand with the Eternal, who was pretty strong for a man who had a few thousand years on me.

He also had the benefit of not having been pegged with nails moving fast enough to pierce solid metal. My first punch was blocked when he threw up both arms in a cross with speed that I didn’t expect. Okay, so it was like that. I wasn’t dealing with some elder who couldn’t defend himself and that meant I wasn’t going to hold back.

“Not everything can be solved with brute force, Captain.”

“No, but most things can.”

I reared back and headbutted him. The cartilage in his nose gave a wet crunch as he screamed. His next move was to reach down and slam a hand into my injured leg. A burst of pain, white hot, exploded, and I went down on one knee.

Blood dripped from Walton’s nose as he sneered down at me with all superiority.

And that was exactly why I never trusted people that pretended to be happy and peaceful. There was inevitably something underneath the facade that was just as ugly as the rest of us.

I grinned back at him because my new position had provided me with a new vantage point. My gun was now within arm’s reach.

“What are you smiling for? I’ve brought you to your knees, Captain.”

“Why don’t you join me?”

I grabbed the gun from under the pod and pressed it against the inside of his leg, right at the bendy part. His second scream of pain rang out over the echo of my shot and lasted twice as long before he lost consciousness. That got the attention of his Cognitive, who whirled back to face us both. This time, the nail gun in her hands did shake as she brought it up.

“Try it,” I invited, pressing the barrel to Walton’s temple. “Fingers tend to get all unpredictable and twitchy when a person is in pain. Are you willing to take that chance?”

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish before she pointed it in a different direction. I didn’t have to look to know it was Camilla. The two women were still scuffling since I could still hear grunts and body parts colliding forcefully, and not in the fun way.

“I can hurt this woman you care so much about.”

“You can, but you can’t kill her. She’s unarmed. That’s what bothered you before, right? You can’t kill someone who isn’t a deadly threat against this ship or the people on it.”

A single digital tear began to slide down her face. On any other self-aware AI, it might have been an act. But the glimmer in her eyes was for the man bleeding next to me. I had no doubt of how much she cared for him.

“He can’t die,” she whispered. “We are... I am lost without him.”

“You’re about to put everyone to sleep indefinitely using that lame ass mind sickness excuse. It’s nothing but bullshit. If no one went back into stasis again, the problem would solve itself. All those outbursts that you keep claiming are evidence of the sickness are normal.”

There was a gasp from my right that had to have come from Nadia. She apparently had no idea about their plan for a semi-eternal resting period.

“No,” Doris protested. “I identified multiple passengers with anomalous brain scans upon waking from stasis. That is why we... he decided it was better to try and weed out the problem by identifying anyone who might be affected by the sickness. Exiling the outliers. Anyone with the anomaly was closely monitored. If they showed any signs of the sickness, they were medicated and moved into quarantine.”

That explained the dead-eyed people we’d witnessed the next level up. Undesirables, I thought again with disgust. And, from the sound of it, the missing passengers that Gray had mentioned.

I ignored her and kept pushing. “Walton’s Eternal makeup protected him from the stasis poisoning, healing him every time he woke up. It also triggered the gene degradation. You knew he was dying but not why or how to stop it, so you came up with a plan to buy as much time as you needed.”

She didn’t try to deny it.

Nadia shuffled into my line of sight. “Is it true then? All the people who don’t wake up... They were marked for that because of some brain scan?”

Doris turned to look at the woman. “It is. But not like Captain Riker is trying to make it sound. We did not simply decide to start banishing people. They were duly scanned. Rehabilitation—“

“Is Kame really dead?”

Who the hell was Kame? No one had mentioned that name before.

“I do not know for sure,” Doris admitted.

Nadia walked over the Cognitive and handed her something. When Doris took it, she exploded in a shower of hard-light. The nail gun started to fall, but Nadia swiped it up before it could hit the floor and accidentally go off.

“Here, Captain Riker.” She held the makeshift weapon out to me.

I took it purely out of surprise, just like Doris had. I didn’t explode though, so there was that.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.”

She offered me a smile full of grief. “I’ve been working with Sharon to find out what their plan was. We knew something was coming, just not what. I knew Sharon made a recent discovery, but we hadn’t been able to find a chance to talk since you showed up.”

“What did you hand her?”

“I don’t know. It came from Mr. Gray after Sharon told him I could be trusted. I was instructed to give it to Doris at the right moment. This seemed like it. You have fifteen minutes to escape. I can’t go with you, but Miss Abernathy is a pilot with access to the Nereus, if my understanding is correct?”

Camilla made it to my side and nodded. “I do. I think I get what you’re saying. When we first came in, the strike ships went to a different hangar. Is there a faster way to get to them?”

“Yes.” Nadia produced a data pad from her pocket and passed it over. “The route is already saved for you. One more thing.”

She dug in a different pocket this time, one hidden on the inside of her jacket. She retrieved a piece of paper. A real one, from a book like I’d seen on one of Deacon’s documentaries. Nadia ran her fingers over the faded print, something she did often by the looks of it, then held it out for Camilla to take.

“Kame was—is my twin sister. She was one of the ones who didn’t wake up. But twins... There is a connection between two people who shared the same bunk from the womb onward. I could never believe my sister was truly dead because I felt her here.” The guard tapped her heart. “Please find Kame and let her know I haven’t given up. We’ll see each other again.”

“We will,” promised Camilla. “But I don’t think Riker’s up to making a trek across this ship.”

I started to say I was fine when Nadia jogged to the back of the medbay, but the first step sent more pain shooting through my ragged nerves. The effort of staying upright sapped all of my remaining strength and it took all of my willpower not to pant like a woman in labor.

Thanks to Camilla offering her shoulder to lean on, I had it under control by the time our new ally returned with a transport chair almost identical to the one Poe had tried to force on me.

“What about him?” I said, gesturing at Walton as I climbed grudgingly into the people mover. “Is there a second in command?”

“Doris.” Her expression was grim, like she knew that the Cognitive being in charge wasn’t going to be a smooth ride. “The healing pod should return August to full health. After that, I can’t say. You have to go; time is running out. Good luck.”

She didn’t have to tell us twice.

Camilla had the transport activated and hopped on the back where there were a couple of standing pads for whoever happened to be helping the invalid utilizing the chair.

“Oh, this is nice. The pad interfaces with the chair... There. Hold onto your panties, Riker. We’re going for a ride.”

The medbay doors opened, and my plucky co-captain put the chair into drive. It jerked forward once, then plugged along at a pace Min could have beat walking backward with her eyes closed.

“Uh, Cam? We’ll never make it at this pace. Just let me walk.”

“Shit! Shit! Shut up, give me a second.”

A few more colorful curses followed before the chair leaped forward again. This time it kept going, except at a pace that felt just this side of dangerous. I tightened the seat strap and hung on for dear life as Camilla careened down the corridor at breakneck speed.

“Gods, who taught you to drive?” I complained when she took a corner that had us tipping over at a precarious angle. “I thought you were a pilot.”

“Does this look like a ship to you?”

I couldn’t really argue.

“That’s what I thought. Now stop being a passenger princess and let me concentrate so I can get us there before Doris reboots.”

“I’ll be happy if we make it there in one piece,” I grumbled under my breath. She must have heard me because I got a cuff to the back of the head for my trouble. “Ouch. Dammit, woman, keep both hands on the controls.”

I shut up after that because we had to make it down a level before going any further. Wheelchairs and stairwells generally don’t mix, so another elevator car was our only option. Camilla hopped off momentarily to input our destination.

The five-second ride dragged on for far too long for my taste. I kept hearing the clangs of the Nereus and thinking Doris had come back and decided she wanted revenge. Finally, the cheerful ding announcing our arrival sounded and the doors opened.

It was chaos.

Whatever my crew had done in our absence, it had everyone on this level in a state of panic. And these people had lost all that disciplined calm because not a single one was paying attention. It brought our progress to a grinding halt.

“Hey, guy in a chair here. Move, godsdammit!”

A few looked our way and tried to make room, but the rest of the crowd didn’t notice. I studied the contents of my lap. The nail gun was automatically ruled out because it was too quiet. That left my sidearm. I checked my surroundings, looking for something the bullets wouldn’t ricochet off of and accidentally kill someone.

This part of the ship was a high traffic zone and had sound dampeners installed in the ceiling to cut down on noise. Perfect.

Three shots worked just fine to get the crowd’s attention. “Coming through, people!”

They couldn’t get out of the way fast enough.

“Works every time,” I said, laughing.

“Nice, Riker. Real nice.”

We finally made it out of the corridor and into the hangar where all the strike ships were supposed to be. I twisted around to check our rear and found it empty.

“At least no one’s trying to kill us.”

“You just had to jinx it.”

The chair slowed to a stop, and I faced the front again, expecting to see another busy hallway. It was worse. Way worse.

A group of Walton’s guards blocked the hangar doors.

29

Two people stood out from the half dozen.

The first was the young kid who I’d sucker punched back in the brig. The second was the leader from the small group that tried to stop us from getting on the elevator. Both looked equally unhappy about meeting again so soon.

“Let us through and no one gets hurt,” I ordered in my best authoritative tone.

A man about Barrick’s age stepped forward. He didn’t have the wet-behind-the-ears vibe of his team, watching us with flat eyes and a determined shoulder set. “We were told to watch the exits. No one goes in or out unless someone with authority says so.”

Several variations of the word fuck crossed my mind as we had a silent stare down.

The woman whose weapon was currently on the medbay’s floor scanned the air on either side of us, clearly checking for something. Or someone. Gray, I realized. Inspiration struck, and I took the nail gun in hand.

“You,” I said, motioning to her with my free hand. “Remember the big alien guy from earlier?”

She gave a jerky nod.

“He’s still around. And this”—I held up the power tool so they could all see it—“is a weapon from his planet. It does the same thing, except humans don’t do so well when it comes time to stop being invisible. So, I suggest all of you get out of our way and don’t follow us if you don’t want to turn into vacuum chow.”

The lead guard turned to look at her. “What is he going on about?”

“It’s true,” she told him, urgency making her voice a few octaves too high. “I saw the alien disappear and reappear.”

He glanced back, uncertain what to do.

“Hey,” said another kid, squinting at the weapon in my hands. “That’s my dad’s nail gun. Look, it even has the smiley face he puts on everything.”

Oh, crap.

Barrick’s cousin narrowed his eyes and started to lift his weapon when the intercom clicked on. “Monty, it’s Nadia. Let them through.”

“But—“

“I said let them through, dammit. The Governor wants them off the ship this minute. They’re going to take one strike ship.”

Monty sent me one last scowl before following the order.

The chair took off again, gliding through the doors before they were fully open. We hit the hangar floor at top speed, the wheels squealing in protest when Camilla took a hard right. Rows of ships lined the open bay. They were an exact copy of the ones Sigmond produced from his factory in Sol that made up the main fleet of Earth’s defense network.

I was grateful for the lap belt when we came to a screeching halt in front of the nearest vessel.

Camilla hopped off and dashed to the hatch where she slapped a palm to a plate I couldn’t see. The cockpit opened up without hesitation, and she climbed the small ladder to disappear inside. I wasn’t worried about her leaving me behind, but how the hell I was going to climb the ladder worried me a whole hell of a lot.

Then a ramp lowered from the ass end. She rode it down, holding onto a handgrip attached to the ceiling like a sexy space pirate.

“What are you staring at? Use the arm controls.”

I snapped to attention and hit the little joystick to maneuver up the ramp. Once inside, she directed me to the closest seat with a view of the pilot’s controls and front window.

“Go!” I told her, waving her off so I could buckle my own harness. A man had to preserve some of his dignity.

I didn’t let hope take root when the engines came to life with a soft purr. The strike ship lifted up at Camilla’s silent command, then began to pull out of its bay. My hand instinctively went to double check that the harness was fastened right after our mad dash through the Nereus.

She guided us through the hangar at a fast clip that somehow didn’t make me feel like a crash was imminent. Under her touch, the sleek little ship didn’t so much as rock when she took it through a few tight turns to reach the airlock exchange docks. Titan must have been pretty similar because Camilla didn’t have to pause or question herself, navigating the seed ship’s innards like she’d lived here her whole life.

“This is the exit point,” she told me without turning around.

There wasn’t any traffic to hold us up, so it was just a matter of waiting for the outer door to open and turn green. The second it did, Camilla shot toward the opening. It was the first time since she started the ship that it felt out of control. I saw why when red alerts flashed across the navigation.

The Cognitive’s stricken face appeared on the holo. “You can’t leave. August needs help. I won’t let you leave!”

When Camilla started muttering under her breath, I couldn’t tell if she was repeating the usual mantra of curse words or praying. I joined her, going with the former.

The door turned red and started to close.

“Not today, fucker.”

Camilla leaned forward and laid on the speed. The g force slammed me back against the seat, but I kept it zipped for once. I watched the windshield with all my focus, trying to do mental calculations in my head. They were all made up since I wasn’t great at math, and I didn’t have any idea how fast we were going versus the closing door.

The strike ship streaked through a gap that didn’t look nearly big enough. One fin or some part of the ship clipped the edge of the wall and sent us into a spin. Camilla rode it out with expert control, engaging thrusters at just the right moment to bring us out of it before we rammed the side of the Nereus.  Then we were off, heading out into the black void of open space.

Home free.

“Gods. Let’s never do that again,” Camilla said, slumping over.

“Agreed. But we should try and get word to the others. I’m hoping they got out by now.”

“Yeah.” She brushed a lock of sweat-dampened hair out of her face and tapped the controls. A few seconds later, a voice that I usually couldn’t stand spoke and sounded like sweet, sweet music to my ears.

“Glad to see you two reckless individuals are still alive,” Poe admonished. “We’ve been awaiting your return with the utmost anticipation.”

I didn’t have the energy to tell him to stuff it. That and the fact that I was secretly relieved to be in contact with my people again. “Tell me about it. How’s Deacon holding up?”

“Quite well,” he replied without a trace of ridicule. “Miss Vasquez has checked him over and given the all-clear.”

“What about Gray? That nutty Cognitive had a nail gun with neutronium ammo. I was afraid she tagged him.”

It actually counted as a stroke of genius in my book. I just wasn’t going to dish out compliments to someone who put three new holes in me and tried to kill my friends. Sort of.

“Our Anypsian crewmember did sustain a few minor injuries but assures me he is already on the mend.” The AI paused briefly before adding, “Gray also says that you are now within transport range. Please stand by for phasing procedure.”

With our collective safety somewhat assured, I finally let myself relax into the seat. Time and space began their song and dance of distorting around us before everything went hazy and unfocused for the short trip to the Roswell’s hangar.

I was so happy to be back that I didn’t even complain when Camilla pointed at the chair and ordered me to get in. With all the excitement and mortal danger past, the adrenaline had worn off, leaving me with nothing to buffer the pain.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Poe proclaimed when my chair rolled onto the hangar floor. “When I suggest using medical equipment, your response is no, I’m too rugged and manly to accept such assistance. When Miss Abernathy gives the command, you jump right in. Perhaps, as I cannot grow breasts with which to entice you, I shall filter all your medical advice through her.”

His dramatics overshadowed most of the goodwill I’d had in the moment prior to reboarding the Roswell. “Listen here, you over inflated data pad. I watched my best friend almost bleed to death, then got kidnapped and nailed by a lady Cognitive named Doris. Then Space Racer over here nearly killed me with her reckless driving. Oh, and let’s not forget how that godsforsaken seed ship tried to pinch us off just as we vacated its asshole, so give me a break, dammit.”

I was so pissed off that I forgot about my leg for a minute and fumed.

“My my. The captain is having a tough day,” he continued, not letting up. “Miss Abernathy, for future reference, I usually send him off to bed with a whiskey and a bedtime story when he gets like this.”

“Duly noted,” she replied.

Unbelievable. If I hadn’t been sober as a priest, I’d have bet a hefty chunk of credits that I was hallucinating. This level of flippancy was a lot even for him.

“You could put a stop to him,” I grumbled as we reached the Treader’s medbay. “He respects and listens to you at least.”

Camilla didn’t respond because Selina came out with a pressure syringe. “Perfect timing. I was just on my way to meet you two. Welcome back!”

“Please administer the medication, Ms. Vasquez. For the love of the gods and all our sakes, have mercy. Our esteemed captain is growing delirious from the pain.”

The doc looked at me, brows winging up at the AI’s outburst. “Wow, okay. Doing it now.”

I glared at the nearby holo. “Quick. Because the second I feel better, I’m going to hunt down his physical parts and start ripping them out of the ship until he screams.”

The drugs punched into my arm a moment later, flooding my system with instant relief.

When I started to unbuckle, Selina slapped a hand on my chest. “Slow your roll there, Cap.” She paused to laugh at her own pun then, shook her head. “Those nails need to come out. Healing pod or no, leaving metal in your body is risky.”

Knowing she was right, I nodded stiffly and let Camilla finish rolling me into the medbay.

“I’ll follow your sound medical advice,” I told the doc. “But this isn’t over, Poe. You and I are going to have words later.”

“Indeed, Captain. I shall look forward to it.”

As Selina got to work cutting off my pants, Camilla took a seat and watched with a pensive expression.

“You know,” she said, straightening after a few minutes of silence. “He’s really good at that.”

I scoffed. “At what, getting on my nerves?”

She waited until the nails were removed (which felt a lot better coming out than they did going in) to speak.

“Navigating your mood, idiot. Poe knew you were in pain and did exactly the right thing to take your mind off it until Selina was able to give you the meds.” Leaning back, she shot me a quick grin. “I’d say he respects you a great deal. Likes you, even.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d done something like that. The AI did have a knack for knowing when to switch gears. He’d used the same tactic during high stress situations where I got in my head about things and called me on my bullshit to put me on the right path. Even the bickering tended to happen when I needed to let off some steam.

“Ms. Abernathy,” Poe cut in. “I implore you to please refrain from putting any more nonsensical ideas in his head.”

I decided not to burst the bubble. “Don’t worry your pretty little circuits over it, Poe. I don’t believe in miracles. If you all don’t mind, I’m—“

Deacon burst into the room still wearing his blood-stained clothes. His eyes landed on me, and instead of the relief that should have been there, my friend stared daggers at me like I’d slept with his girlfriend.

The lieutenant was right on his heel, irritated but nowhere near as pissed off as Deacon. “Sorry, Selina. I tried to stop him. Kid’s faster than I thought.”

He was subsequently ignored as the engineer stalked over to my side, hands balled into fists.

I let my eyes track from them to his face and gave him a warning head shake. “I consider you a close friend,” I told him. “But if you haul off and deck me right now, I will 100 percent get out of this chair and lay you out. Bum leg and pumped full of drugs and all. So take a godsdamn second and pull yourself together, then tell me what the hell pissed you off.”

His gaze dropped to my bloody leg as if just now noticing it. “Oh shit. Dammit, Cole. Sorry, just give me a second.”

It wasn’t like the guy to get so worked up.

Over anything. Thinking back, there had been a single instance where he’d come close. I walked in on him in the middle of an argument via his data pad. Since he was in the galley, he’d hung up immediately and apologized profusely before jetting. We weren’t yet at the sharing stage of our friendship either. So, I never asked, and he never said.

This situation didn’t have the same feel, and I was pretty sure it had to do with our impromptu rescue mission. But why?

“Alright, look,” said Deacon, coming back over. “That was out of line, so I’m sorry. I’m pissed because you guys pulled that stunt without so much as a heads-up.”

“There wasn’t time.”

“Don’t give me that. Gray could have used his mind speak. Instead, I had to watch my best friend get nailed—don’t fucking laugh or I will punch you—and almost shot for me. Don’t do that again.”

A snort came from Barrick’s direction, and Deacon’s jaw tightened, but he still didn’t acknowledge the lieutenant. I could at least see that the anger about the situation was burning out finally. The truth of Deacon’s worry prompted me to cut him a break.

“You weren’t the only one,” I said quietly. “How easy do you think it was for me to see my best friend on his knees with my gun aimed at his head?”

The room still contained the rest of my crew, minus Gray, but it was so quiet I couldn’t hear any of them even breathing.

“I didn’t think of it that way,” Deacon admitted after a long pause. “It still doesn’t change how I feel. If there’s a plan, let me know.”

Sighing inwardly, I prepared myself for what I had to say next. “Sorry, D. I can’t make that kind of promise. The title on my official documents says I’m the designated captain of this here expeditionary mission. That’s not me swinging my dick around. It means I have to make calls, just like before. There isn’t always going to be time to let you in on the plan. It might not be conducive to the plan either. The best I can do is let you know when I’m able. Fair?”

He acknowledged that with a nod. Then, looking around, frowned. “Where’s Gray?”

“He didn’t fit in the healing pod,” Selina explained. “So he went back to the Roswell to recuperate.”

“Poe, tell him to get his ass back here. We’ve got a clue that needs to be followed.”

“There is no need for me to deliver that message. Gray is almost here.”

I waited for him to appear like normal, but he came in through the door instead.

My apologies for arriving so late. The day’s events depleted much of my energy stores, and phasing is not currently a viable mode of travel. This should be temporary.

I didn’t like the sound of that but trusted him to know better than me when it came to Anypsian bodies and nodded. “Alright, then. Camilla, time for show and tell. What’s on the paper Nadia gave you?”

“Empyria,” she replied, as if I had any idea what that was supposed to mean. “That’s what was scrawled on the back. The other side is from a book.”

She held it up for us to see the single word even though we couldn’t read it. Then she pulled it closer to her face.

“I stand corrected. The page is from a book, but someone marked it up. There’s some kind of code here. Coordinates, maybe. Nadia did say her sister gave it to her right before allegedly going missing.”

Everyone started talking at once.

I let out a piercing whistle to get their attention. “Let’s take a minute to regroup. It’s been a long few days, and we’re out of sorts. In case you all forgot, I’m a human pin cushion at the moment. So, unless you want to see me naked, I suggest you beat feet. Go get some rest before shit hits the fan again.”

When everyone was gone in under a minute later, I stood up on my good leg and hopped to the healing pod.

“They didn’t have to leave that fast,” I muttered.

“I don’t believe that had anything to do with you getting naked,” Poe replied. “Your crew is at this very moment doing exactly as you asked.”

“That’s just because they’re all excited about the note.”

The AI used one of his recorded sighs that suggested he thought I was an idiot. “Since there is no one else around, I will admit something. Your crew has a lot of faith in you, Captain Cole Riker. I do too. I believe you will see us through this mission and get us home.”

I was too stunned to say anything at first. Poe sometimes said something complimentary to me, but it always came with a side of sarcasm.

“Thanks, Poe. I’ll do my best. While we’re sharing our feelings, I’ll admit something too. You’re a damn good command AI, and I wouldn’t want another one on this mission with us.”

“Oh, I know,” he said smugly.

Glad that was over, I climbed in the pod and settled in. As the lid closed and the machine hummed to life, I closed my eyes to get some rest of my own because I had a feeling that I was going to need it in the coming days.

There was a lot of work ahead, and I wouldn’t stop until it was done.

EPILOGUE

Empyria.

The word only gave us more questions. There were, thankfully, some answers.

A small portion of the message had been lost because of wear and tear making smudges on the paper. We knew it had been torn from a book of poems, giving Nadia’s missing twin an easy way to make it look like she’d just made notes on the lines.

Between Camilla, Poe, and Deacon, the coded message was unraveled by the next day. Camilla had been right about the note containing coordinates hidden in the printed text.

It led to one of the five planets that Nereus shared its system with.

This world was among the habitable options that Gray had told us about when we first arrived. Now it seemed that we were about to get a close up and personal look.

After a full day in orbit, during which we took the time to learn all we could about the place, Poe alerted me to an update.

“Captain. As requested, Gray and I have continued to scan the planet for signs of intelligent life. While I found no indications of Eternal or Transient level technology, there is some form of an active civilization. They must have applied a rudimentary form of power that does not use electricity.”

No electricity? It sounded impossible.

Deacon was so excited by the prospect that he could barely contain himself. “An entire civilization stuck in an industrial age? Sign me up. Not to live there, but I can’t wait to see it. Do you think they have bathrooms?”

“I’m more concerned about what kind of weapons they have,” commented Barrick.

I studied the display where Poe had marked the planet’s hotspots of supposed activity. Compared to what I was used to seeing, they barely rated as flickers.

“Don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” I told the lieutenant. “I’m assuming that all of Walton’s exiles are there. If the graves on Hope are any indication, he wouldn’t have sent them with weapons.”

Camilla nodded. “That’s probably true. Though they must have been given more than the group on Hope if they could get this far. Almost a million people were sent here if Walton was telling the truth.”

Truth was a tricky thing.

Sometimes people lied without knowing it. Walton believed in his mission, that much had been clear to me. Doris was the variable I didn’t know how to account for. As the AI tasked with keeping her passengers safe, she couldn’t actively hurt them.

Instead, the Cognitive found a loophole and sent them off to this planet to live a life of exile. If she could do that, go to those lengths, what else could she do? More to the point, what would she do in her efforts to stay at Walton’s side?

The more I learned about the Eternals’ supposedly superior advancements, the less I trusted them. Their unending quest for perfection had spawned failures that came back to bite humanity right in the ass. It didn’t end with the Celestials either. Cognitives were sentient AI. Sentient AI with the ability to feel. As human as a program could get.

Humans were fundamentally flawed.

Ergo, the closer an AI got to being human, the more susceptible it became to human failings. Camilla’s stories about them being corrupted, going rogue, and experiencing such loneliness that one even offed itself only backed my theory up. After thousands of years at the side of the same master, I could see Doris having an obsession that could make her go crazy.

But that was a problem for later.

Right now, I needed to find out what Empyria was and how to deal with it.

“Cole, how’s the leg?” said Selina, snapping me out of my musings.

“Fine.” I slapped a hand to the spot where Doris had shot me with the neutronium nails. “Coming back from that was a walk in the park after almost losing the other one. I can handle whatever we run into down there.”

Does that mean I should begin landing procedures? asked Gray.

I glanced at the display one more time.

“Go ahead,” I told him. “Let’s see what’s what. Put us down near the coordinates. Not too close though. I don’t want to scare people and have them send a mob after us or something.”

The Roswell’s thrusters kicked on a moment later to take us through the atmosphere and begin our descent.

As we got within spitting distance of the mountainous region that was marked as our destination, the sun was starting to rise. That was fitting. It was the dawn of a new day for all of us.

I sat there, taking it in.

It didn’t matter what the note really said, or wherever it took us because we’d survived to take this next journey together. Earth was still out there. I hadn’t forgotten that or our mission to find Gray’s people. But something told me we would be just fine. Whatever it took, I’d make sure of it.

The mission could wait, and our homeworlds would still be there when all was said and done. For now, the planet below had people on it, and a lot of them at that. Among them was someone named Kame, and I’d made a promise to her sister that we’d find her.

I aimed to do just that.

* * *

You Have Reached The Mf End.

Amazon won’t always tell you about the next release. To stay updated on this series, be sure to sign up for our spam-free email list at jnchaney.com.

Cole and the rest of the crew will return in DEFIANT EXILE. Available on Amazon.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Tracey Beattie

Joshua Hopkins

Nora (aka Dragon Lady) Linderman

Sharon Mendez

Geoffrey Morse

Elise Rivera

Neil Rubenking

James Scheid

Christie Strahler

Don’t miss out on these exclusive perks:

- Instant access to free short stories from series like Backyard Starship, Sentenced to War, and more.

- Receive email updates for new releases and other news.

- Get notified when we run special deals on books and audiobooks.

So, what are you waiting for? Enter your email address at the link below to stay in the loop.

Click Here

Join the conversation and get updates on new and upcoming releases in the awesomely active Facebook group, “JN Chaney’s Renegade Readers.”

This is a hotspot where readers come together and share their lives and interests, discuss the series, and speak directly to J.N. Chaney and his co-authors.

Join the Facebook Group

Don’t miss out on these exclusive perks:

- Instant access to free short stories from series like Backyard Starship, Sentenced to War, and more.

- Receive email updates for new releases and other news.

- Get notified when we run special deals on books and audiobooks.

So, what are you waiting for? Enter your email address at the link below to stay in the loop.

Click Here

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

J. N. Chaney is a USA Today Bestselling author and has a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. He fancies himself quite the Super Mario Bros. fan. When he isn’t writing or gaming, you can find him online at jnchaney.com.

He migrates often, but was last seen in Las Vegas, NV. Any sightings should be reported, as they are rare.

* * *

M. F. Lerma is a recovering engineer from the commercial hellscape. Writing fills the void, as does coffee and the occasional whisky, and copious amounts of memes. Find Lerma's books at jnchaney.com/lerma