DarkRevenge (11 page)

Pulzer’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. There’s one
of the crew who didn’t like her much. She stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet
you.”

For a split second, she thought he wouldn’t take her hand.
But he slipped his hand in hers and she shook it. “It’s an honor to meet a man
who fought Teran Four and still lives.” She meant it. Teran Four fighters were
mean, destructive and deadly. To survive meant you were well trained,
determined and lucky.

The man thawed slightly. “I’ve heard you’ve had your share
of fire fights. Your flying is legendary.”

“Not on Teran Four,” she admitted. “I’ve fought them, but
never on their home turf. That takes guts.”

“Your mate only hires the best.” A reminder that they were
paid mercenaries. She didn’t believe it. To fight on Teran Four required
commitment.

“Bullshit. You would have fought for him for free,” she told
him and his eyes widened. The other people in the group shuffled their feet.
Pulzer’s lips twitched and then, he threw his head back and laughed. “You got
me there, Commander.” He nodded and jerked a thumb at the man next to him.
“This is Bud Masterson. He’s Teran Four, but hates that bastard Divida more
than we do.”

The big, blond man bowed formally. She studied him. He had
the perfect Teran Four good looks. Divida controlled the genetic material on
Teran Four. He bred them like cattle. Some for fighting, some for other things.
What had Masterson been bred for? His hand engulfed hers when she shook it.
Everything about the man was huge. “It is my privilege to meet you, Commander
Zeerah. Your name is well known on our planet.”

“Oh?” She slid her hand away. Well known? No kidding. She
was probably vilified by the government there. Teran Four hated Teran One
fighters, especially female soldiers. On Teran Four, women served one purpose
and one only. Procreation.

“Your exploits are spread by our underground,” he said,
grinning. “We hope to inspire our little girls to rebel against the status
quo.”

“I’m glad I could be of service.” She nodded her head.
Pulzer pointed to another man.

“This is Dink. If there’s a code, he can break it. If
there’s a communication, he can listen in.” Pulzer clapped the man on the back.
“He’s a genius.”

Dink cleared his throat and kept his gaze lowered. His hand
was limp and a little damp. “I’m good with computers,” he muttered.

“We’ve got a file on you on Teran One,” she told him and his
eyes jerked up to meet her gaze. They were a startlingly bright blue. “What I
read is that there isn’t anything you can’t do with computers.” She shook his
hand. The man was legendary and she’d pictured him differently. His sloped
shoulders and lanky, almost awkward, posture surprised her. But she imagined he
was at ease in front of a console. “We have a tremendous amount of respect for
your work.”

He smiled, a shy lift of his lips. “You look exactly like I
thought you would.”

“Quit flirting,” Tory ordered and he took her hand away from
Dink, who blushed a bright red. “And this is Tesia Lyter. She’s our engineer.
There isn’t a bolt or a rivet she doesn’t know on this ship. Or any other, for
that matter.”

Alex hadn’t paid much attention to her when they’d met
before. The woman was gorgeous. Short, curly, red hair and blue eyes with green
flecks combined with her diminutive size to give her a fairy-like appearance.
Right now, Tesia studied her as intently as Alex was staring at her. “You look
different with your clothes on.”

Pulzer sputtered and Tory laughed. She liked the sound of his
laugh. Big and free. She turned her attention back to Tesia. Something there.
Hostility? A little. Her quick glance at Tory was protective. Not like they
were lovers or anything. More like she was afraid Tory would get hurt. After
the vision Alex had seen, Tesia had good reason to worry.

She shot another look at Tory. He seemed…anxious, lines
around his mouth and eyes. It was important to him that she get along with
Tesia. So, she smiled at the woman and put her hand out. “Thank you for the
clothes. I appreciate them.”

“Anything for Tory,” Tesia said. Well, she’d made her
position clear. Now, it was Alex’s turn.

She kept her hand out even though Tesia hadn’t acknowledged
it yet and said, “I agree.”

Tesia’s gaze narrowed. “I know about the
Saria,”
she
said, her voice harsh. “You had no choice. You were forced into this mating.”
Every syllable spoke of the woman’s distrust.

Well, that was direct
. Alex dropped her hand to her
side, but held Tesia’s gaze. Tory started to speak but Alex shook her head. “I
was given a choice and I chose Tory. He is my mate. How that happened no longer
matters.”

“Bullshit,” Tesia snapped.

Alex shook her head. “Not bullshit. I have said the words,
committed to my
Sarat.”

“Is this true?” she demanded and glared at Tory.

He nodded. “She has.”

“You didn’t force them from her?” Tesia asked him.

“He didn’t,” Alex interrupted.

The other men seemed uncomfortable with this topic. Should
she reveal the mutual nullification? No. Tory’s pride might be hurt if she did.
Besides, the details of their contract were no one’s business but their own.

“Why?” Tesia bit out the word.

Tory tensed beside her. Maybe he thought she didn’t have an
answer. But she did. “Why not? Could I ask for a better mate? You know he had
to prove my family wronged him. He wasn’t guilty of treason. He is a man of
honor and courage. Why wouldn’t I accept him as a mate?”

Tesia snorted. “Anyone who knew him wouldn’t have believed
that crap in the first place.”

“You’re right.” Alex answered that charge. It needed to be
said, dealt with. She felt Tory’s gaze on her but she focused on the woman who
accused her. “I was afraid.” Tesia’s eyes widened and Tory hissed a quick
intake of breath. “I had discussed a courtship contract for Tory and myself
with my family.”

“You did?” Tory burst out and Alex glanced at him.

“I did. I was insistent.” She bit her lip. “Two weeks later,
my brother presented evidence that Tory was a traitor.” Her chin rose. “Tory
had no alibi, no defense. My brother had witnesses, vid evidence that the
Tribunal said was genuine. I had no reason to doubt them.” Her stomach
clenched. There was much more to it than that, but she wasn’t going to talk
about it. “I was an idiot. I thought my feelings for Tory had blinded me.” She
couldn’t hold Tesia’s gaze anymore. She stared at the floor. “I questioned my
own judgment.”

“Because you loved him,” Tesia stated.

Loved him? She blinked and stared at the woman. “I don’t
know. I cared about him enough to ask for a courtship contract.”

“But five years? You never doubted it for five fucking
years?” Tesia’s hands clenched into fists.

“No, I never did.” To her ever-loving regret. “The Tribunal
found him guilty.”

“Your Tribunal was wrong.” Tesia clenched her fists at her
side. “You let them exile him. You didn’t defend him.”

“That’s not true,” Tory interrupted.

Tesia and Alex both turned to stare at him. He met Alex’s
gaze as he spoke. “I read the transcripts after I heard Darius say you defended
me. I should have gotten them sooner. I was so hurt I—” He stopped. He didn’t
have to say it. She remembered. He’d begged her to run away, to make a life
with him. Instead, she’d chosen to side with her family. He glanced at Tesia.
“She told the Tribunal I was a hero and she’d fought by my side. She didn’t
believe I was capable of the accusations presented.” He met her gaze. “They
showed you the vids. Was that the first time you’d seen them?”

She nodded. “And the bank accounts.”

“Your brother was thorough.” He gazed at Tesia. “What you
don’t know is that the Tribunal recommended a death sentence. It was Alex’s
testimony that changed it to exile.”

“How did you find that out?” Alex stared at him and he
grasped her hand.

“I have sources who obtained the notes from the Tribunal
Judgment.”

“So you saved his life,” Tesia said with a frown.

“And he saved mine. That’s what this is really all about.”
She twined her fingers with Tory’s.

“Only one more ordeal, dear heart,” Tory said. Ordeal?
Another man stepped forward with a bow. He had jet-black hair like Tory’s but
it was cut very short. And his eyes were an eerie green. An Ardasian? Serving
on
The Pinnacle’s
crew? She glanced at Tory. “I am Jezar Rysa,” the man
said, his voice deep and pleasant.

She bowed. “I am honored.” What was he doing here? Ardasians
were known for having a strict code of conduct. Stealing, pillaging and
pirating were not on the list of things for them to do.

Jezar grinned. “Our code is more complicated than it seems.”

“Get out of her head, Jezar.” Tory glared at the man.

“My apologies.” He didn’t look apologetic.

“We have work to do.” Tory stared at his crew. “Let’s get to
it.”

“Are you going planetside?” Pulzer asked Tory.

Her mate glanced at her with one eyebrow raised.
“Alexandra?”

She frowned. “You’re suggesting we take a jaunt down to the
planet’s surface to play tourist with all this going on?”

Tory’s smile was soft and gentle. “No. We have an
appointment with someone who needs to see us. But she won’t be ready to see us
for a few hours.” He raised his eyebrows. “We could use that time to ‘play
tourist’. Have you ever been to a planet as anything other than a military
attaché?”

He knew she hadn’t, damn him. It was tempting. Ardasia was a
puzzle, a planet with a rich history, and was well known for its preservation
of alien history.

With a sigh, she gave in. “Okay. You win.”

Tory grinned. “Of course I do.” Alex rolled her eyes.

He clapped Dink on the shoulder and nodded to Pulzer.
“You’re in charge until I get back.”

They strode across the bay, Jezar walking beside them. Tory
kept his voice low and spoke to the Ardasian. “Get the box loaded onto the
shuttle.”

“The box?” Dread suddenly slammed into Alex’s stomach.

“Yes,” Tory said and kept the smile on his face. “We have no
intention of selling the contents to anyone.”

“You’re giving it to the Ardasians?”
Bad idea.
Her
gaze shot to Jezar. Did they all know it was the Old Earth plague? It gave the
Ardasians a weapon against the Terans, didn’t it?

No, Alex, it doesn’t.
The words floated through her
mind. Jezar? She knew they were telepathic, but they could talk to a
non-telepath?

Why not just destroy it?
She knew the answer, but
asked this voice in her head.

Because we want to find an antidote so that whoever has
the other batches can’t use it ever again. Our scientists can do that.

How are you able to talk to me?

I’m gifted.

Bullshit. There was more to it than that. The chuckle in her
head only added to her irritation.

“It’s annoying when he does that, isn’t it?” Tory whispered
in her ear.

“How did you know?” She kept her gaze on Jezar as he moved
away.

“I recognize the frustrated expression.” He shook his head.
“He’s a mystery to me too.”

“He says the Ardasians are going to come up with an
antidote.” She followed Tory toward one of the shuttles.

“That’s what we hope.”

“Do you trust them?” She knew a little about the Ardasians,
but not enough to believe they wouldn’t use the plague against the Teran
planets.

“I do,” he said firmly. “You’re a history buff, right?” Tory
asked.

“Yes. My grandfather encouraged me to keep track of Teran
One bloodlines.”

“Then there’s something on Ardasia I think you’d enjoy,” he
said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

His touch, his attitude, all implied they were a couple.
They were mated, but Alex wasn’t sure of Tory’s true feelings. Wanted her? Yes.
Needed her to help him stop a civil war on Teran One? Probably. Anything else?
Despite what the Judge of Light revealed, there was too much…history between
them. Perhaps Tory had deeper feelings for her, but she still doubted it.

They rounded the corner of the shuttle and she glimpsed two
other vessels in the bay. “Are those Rama Fighters?”

“Yes,” Tory said shortly.

“Who flies them?” She loved Rama Fighters. Quick, fluid and
responsive, the ships were deadly in space. Teran One only had a few. The
fighters were made by Teran Five but she had mastered the controls.

“I do. And Jezar.”

She tore her gaze away from the pretty, shiny fighter ships
and observed that Jezar and Tesia climbed into one of the Rama’s cockpits. “Who
is Jezar anyway?”

Tory shrugged and stepped into the shuttle. “I don’t know.
He’s an Ardasian. His family lives on Teran Five and he’s got a clean record.
He’s never balked at any of the questionable things we’ve done so somehow doing
them must serve some higher purpose.”

“You mean, there’s a bigger reason why he’s here than just
making money.” She took Tory’s hand and he helped her into the shuttle.

“That’s the only way it makes sense. What would you like to
see on Ardasia?” Tory changed the subject and Alex got the idea he didn’t want
to discuss Jezar anymore.

“I’ve heard of the Olani Falls. They’re just outside the
capital, right?” She decided to go along with him. Maybe that trust thing the
Judge of Light had mentioned needed to go two ways. She had to earn his trust
too.

“They are. And they’re everything that’s reported about
them.” Tory sat in the pilot’s seat and bent over the controls of the shuttle.

She sat in the copilot’s chair. “Shall I?” she asked
politely. When they’d fought at Sevu, on Teran Three, she’d been his copilot on
a rusty bucket called
The Clipper.
The two of them had worked together
like a well-oiled machine, anticipating each other, complementing each other.
His aggression and her caution combined on that mission to make it a success.
The man they’d extracted from the enemy camp that time now had five kids on
Teran One.