Morningstar (3 page)

“Seal it,” he ordered.

She nodded, sheathed her sword and slapped the controls. “Aye, sir. Hatch sealed.”

The words were a reflex, and triggered a flood of memories of serving aboard the
Sabre
before her capture. Bryn had been an officer once. If they were truly going to be freed, maybe she could be one again.

The male punched a comm. panel next to the door. “Captain, this is Harrow. Hatch sealed. We’re clear.”

“Copy that,” a woman replied. Bryn quirked a brow—a female captain. Interesting.

She eyed their surroundings as they wound their way through the ship. It had the feel of an older transport—most resistance ships were modified transports that had been stripped down and rebuilt for a military life. Though judging by the state of the exposed wiring and missing panels, the ship had seen better days. The girls were herded into a large dormitory area where another group of Cy’ren waited. Bryn frantically looked over the group for other males, but it seemed comprised of older females, and she sighed in relief.

The male hit the comm. again. “Our new guests are secure.”

“Good. Get your ass to the bridge. I need you at your station.”

“Aye, Captain.”

The male—Harrow—turned to leave, and Bryn turned her attention to Sabine. Her mate was shaking, and the thin sheet wrapped around her was soaked with fresh sweat.

“I don’t feel well,” Sabine said again, and then she collapsed.

Bryn gasped and caught her before she hit the deck. Sabine’s skin burned with fever, and she radiated heat. Bryn held her close and murmured to her. Did the ship have a medic? Not that a medic could cure Sabine’s condition unless he happened to be a male Cy’ren, but her symptoms could be treated.

“Is your companion ill?” Harrow asked.

Bryn growled, clutching Sabine tighter as fear that he would take her stabbed her like a cold blade. “Get back!” she snapped.

He frowned. “I promise, I won’t hurt you. We have a doctor onboard.”

“Sabine’s not sick,” Ama spoke up.

“Shut up,” Bryn ordered. Harrow stepped forward, and she stepped away, dragging Sabine with her. “I said
get back
, or by the gods I will run you through.”

“She’s in phase,” Ama said. The spiteful bitch practically glowed with triumph, and Bryn cursed herself for not leaving Ama behind to rot with their master.

Harrow gazed at Bryn and Sabine with a speculative gleam in his pale blue eyes. She knew that look—the calculating gaze of a warrior sizing up his opponent—for she had worn it often enough herself. Bryn growled again and bared her teeth. He flexed his hands, but then took a slow step back.

“I’ll alert the doctor that you need aid,” he said.

Ama stood nearby, smirking as Harrow turned and left, and Bryn breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t expected him to walk away—the fact that he could was impressive, considering Sabine’s phase pheromones had over a year’s worth of kick to their potency—but it bought her some time.

“You can’t keep her.” Ama always enjoyed twisting the knife.

“Bitch, walk away or I will end you,” Bryn warned.

Ama made the smart choice and retreated.

Sabine couldn’t go on living like this. Perhaps the doctor could find a way to end the phase that didn’t include taking a male mate, but that wasn’t likely. A frustrated sound—half sob, half growl—roughened Bryn’s throat as she cradled Sabine close and stroked her unbound hair.

It wasn’t fair. They’d dreamed of what they would do when they were free, but now thanks to Sabine’s phase Bryn would lose her lover as surely as if their master had sold her. Sabine was all she had, and the only reason Bryn had survived her time at the brothel. Bryn held Sabine close, and cried bitter tears.

Chapter Two

“Where have you been?” Captain Hawke asked. Judging by her scowl, she was annoyed with Jace, as usual. He had endured the captain’s temper through many missions on the
Talon
’s first incarnation.

“Settling our guests in. We have a new problem, but I’ll save that for after our exit,” he said.

“We don’t have time for more problems.” The captain ran a hand through her short-cropped dark hair, and Jace refrained from replying. The
Talon II
shuddered as the ship was struck by enemy fire. Apparently the mercs weren’t satisfied with attacking the jump station and had turned their attention to the fleeing ships. The shaking was to be expected during a fight, and Jace wasn’t worried yet. As long as their shields were up, they would protect the
Talon II
from the worst damage—Jace never worried until something on the bridge was burning.

Jace manned his station and checked the weapons systems. All the indicators were green, and normally that would give him a sense of ease, but his blood still thrummed with the distracting knowledge that there was a female in phase aboard the ship. Jace took a deep breath and flexed his fingers above the console. The mission came first.

“Weapons online and ready to fire, Captain,” he announced.

“What’s the status of the station?” she asked.

Jace frowned down at the sensor display. “Heavy structural damage. The lifeboats were jettisoned by mercs before much of the station’s crew got to them. The enemy ships are firing on other ships fleeing the jump station.”

“Bastards. Why fire on civilians?” the navigator, Rizzoli, muttered from his station.

“It’s possible they haven’t identified which ship is ours,” Jace speculated. The
Talon II
was broadcasting forged identification codes, and on the surface the ship looked like a harmless transport at least ten years past its prime. Due to their upgrades, the
Talon II
was only five years past its prime now, tops.

Captain Hawke smiled grimly. “Then let’s introduce ourselves. Rizzoli, get us into firing range of the Eppes ship. Let’s give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Aye, Captain,” he replied. Like the captain, Rizzoli was a former member of the Alliance navy. Many of the humans in the resistance had either retired, washed out or been discharged from the Alliance.

The
Talon II
advanced on the two merc ships, taking the offensive. The other ships were smaller and leaner, and Jace scowled as a barrage of hits shook the bridge.

“Damage?” Captain Hawke asked.

“Minimal damage to engine four,” Sam answered over the comm. The ship’s chief engineer, Samlen Wirett, was no doubt in the engine room, looking to fix something the moment it broke.

“Target in range,” Jace announced. “Firing cannons now.”

The nearest merc ship was splashed with the light of laser cannon fire, and a short-lived burst of flames illuminated the enemy’s engine before being lost to the vacuum of space. The damaged merc slowed and fell behind, and Jace enjoyed a moment of triumph before the other merc ship attacked.

“Their teeth are sharper than they look. Forward shields at ten percent.” Jace pulled the captain out of the way as the nearby engineering station belched sparks and caught fire.

“Rizzoli, turn us around, give them our aft to shoot at instead,” Captain Hawke said.

Jace fired while their cannons still faced the mercs, and the closer target exploded. The remaining merc hit the
Talon II
again, causing Sam to erupt into curses over the comm. as the blast punched through their weakened shields.

“VFF drive is down, Captain,” Sam said.

“Remaining target is out of range,” Jace warned.

“You can’t hit him again until I get my shields back.” Captain Hawke grabbed a fire suppressor and covered the engineering station with foam.

Scowling down at the sensors, Jace swallowed the urge to argue. “They’re turning. I think they’re making a run for it.”

“Move to intercept.”

“We won’t catch them,” he said. “Not with the damage to the number four engine.”

“Try,” she snapped.

“Accelerating to intercept,” Rizzoli announced.

The enemy ship rabbited before the
Talon II
could bring its weapons to bear, just as Jace had warned that it would. Before the ship vanished, the sensors picked up a communications burst, and the jump station exploded.

“Captain, Jump Station 3 has been destroyed. The mercs must have planted charges before they evacuated,” Jace said.

Captain Hawke scowled. “Survivors?”

“No life signs.”

“Plot a course out of here. Sam, I want the engines at 110 percent.”

“VFF drive is still offline. It’s going to take time to repair,” Sam replied.

“Fine. Rizzoli, point us in the direction of Cyprena and find us a hole in space with no damn mercs in it until we get the VFF back online. Lieutenant Commander Harrow, I believe you have bad news? Let’s talk.”

Jace nodded. “Of course. Chief Wirett should hear this, as well as Commander Soth.”

The captain’s brow rose—Samlen Wirett and Durgen Soth were the only other male Cy’ren crew members. Until recently, the captain’s mate, Mordackai Loren, had served aboard the
Talon
, but he had exchanged duties with Commander Soth to avoid a conflict of interest. Now Loren served as the head of the Sunsinger shadow swords on Cyprena, and Soth served aboard the
Talon II
. Jace preferred Soth to Loren, though the captain clearly missed her mate’s company.

She paged Soth and Sam to join them, and then led Jace off the bridge. Soth arrived in the ready room and loomed over them. Commander Soth was tall and broad-shouldered, their own walking battering ram. As usual, Sam smelled of singed engines, and his coverall was smudged with grease and coolant.

“Do we have to do this now?” Sam asked. “I have a lot of work to do.”

“We’ll make this quick. Was your mission successful?” Captain Hawke asked Soth.

“Yes, Captain. The indexer is secure, and he’s in his quarters now. Though he’s pissed about the whole thing and distraught over losing his lover.”

“The other man was his lover?” Jace asked, surprised. Among Cy’ren it was accepted, even occasionally encouraged, for females to become lovers, but not males.

“Apparently so.” Soth shrugged. “He’d been shot. He was dead when we found him, Captain. De la Cruz’s babbling on about being interrupted and needing more time for the search. You may want to speak with him to find out what he’s on about.”

“Understood,” Hawke replied. “And you were successful, Lieutenant Commander Harrow?”

“Yes and no. The slaves had already fled the brothel by the time I arrived, but I encountered them near the docking ring and led them onto the ship.”

“I see. So what did you do that merited this meeting?” she asked Jace.

Jace snorted. “I believe I am blameless in this. One of the females is in phase.”

Captain Hawke rubbed her face with her hands. She had been a handsome woman once, but a munitions accident left her with burn scars covering the left side of her face. Jace had never known her without the scars, but he had known her before she bore the Cy’ren mating marks inked on her throat. He suspected that being separated from her mates added to her irritability.

“Jace, no,” she said. “I don’t want to hear another speech on the rights of males after they’ve scented a female in phase. You made enough of an ass of yourself when Tali was in phase.”

“I merely stated a fact,” he replied. “I haven’t prepared a speech yet, but if you wish—”

“No.”

“Can I have her?” Commander Soth asked.

Jace’s pulse leapt at the challenge, anticipating fighting the other male for mating rights. With a clenched jaw he fought the reaction. There was no sense in starting a brawl in the captain’s ready room over a female he had only glimpsed for a few moments.

“
No
,” the captain snapped.

“I still have two mates too many,” Sam reminded them. “They’d kill me if I brought another one home. I’m not interested. I’ll keep my distance.”

“So noted, Chief. You’re dismissed. Keep me informed about the VFF drive.” The captain glared at Jace and Soth. “No one is claiming the female until I meet her and hear what she wants first.”

“I believe Dr. Morgan will transfer her to the medical bay.” Jace turned to Soth. “You may not want her. She is being guarded by another female who seems very protective of her, who I believe is a shadow sword.”

“I didn’t think females were allowed to become shadow swords,” Captain Hawke said.

“It depends upon the rules of the house. A few lesser houses allow it. House Morningstar does not.”

“Neither does House Sunsinger. We’re of the opinion that females are good for one thing. Present company excluded, Captain,” Commander Soth added hastily.

“That’s why I let my female handle the childbearing,” the captain said dryly. Her mate, Talena, was pregnant at the moment, so there was truth in her sarcasm. The reminder cooled Jace’s desire a few degrees. It would be dangerous if he took a mate, and more so if she became pregnant. His older brother, Wylarric, saw Jace as a threat to his inheritance, and had already demonstrated that he was willing to kill to protect it.

“May we accompany you to the medical bay to speak with these females?” Jace asked before Soth could further choke himself on the foot in his mouth.

“No. You’re both keeping your distance for now, and that’s an order. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the importance of this mission. I’d like to keep distractions to a minimum.”

“Of course, Captain.” Jace nodded.

They were in a race against time. House Nightfall was attempting to purge all official evidence of their crimes. They claimed that the accusations against them were nothing but lies and slander, but with enough proof their house could be ousted from the ruling council. For now, Nightfall’s wealth had bought them enough allies to split the council down the middle. Nightfall and their allies believed that the fragile Cy’ren independence was an economic failure, and that their world should rejoin the Syndicate and return to their old ways—selling their less fortunate into slavery so that the wealthy prospered and the poverty-stricken were assets instead of liabilities.

House Morningstar and House Sunsinger did not share that opinion.

Captain Hawke sighed. “I’ll speak to the females. Harrow, speak with the indexer. And stay out of the med bay.”

“Aye, Captain,” Jace replied. “If you can refrain from shooting me, I shouldn’t need medical attention.”

“Don’t tempt me, Harrow,” she muttered. “Dismissed.”

It was for the best. Distance would help him resist the lure of the female’s pheromones, but having caught a taste of them, he wouldn’t be able to resist for long. There was something unique about this female. Jace had felt the intoxicating draw of the phase before, though this was like comparing between a house wine and a rare vintage. Both would serve to get one drunk, with an entirely different experience. Of course, this manner of drunk generally ended with a mate and a child on the way instead of a hangover.

Jace arrived at the indexer’s temporary quarters and pinged the room, but there was no answer. After trying twice more without a response, Jace keyed in the override and opened the door. The indexer’s refusal to answer at the station was fresh in his mind, as well as the worry that if the man had harmed himself then an entire station’s worth of people had died for nothing.

The indexer paced a wobbly triangle between the bunk, the desk and a spot in the middle of the floor. He muttered to himself, shaking his head as he dragged a hand through his wild hair.

“Sir?” Jace prompted. No response. The man’s display of irritation made his own skin itch. “Malcolm!”

He ground to a halt and snapped to attention. “You! Why did you stop me? Do you know what you’ve done?”

“Apparently not. It would help if you informed me.”

De la Cruz’s brow furrowed as he scowled. “I almost had it. I’ve been chasing bits of data for weeks now. It’s scattered. Like trying to find a specific grain of sand on a beach, but I
almost had it
. Do you have any idea how difficult that is?”

“Had what?” Jace choked down an impatient sigh. Most of the indexers he’d met were most certainly sociopaths, but never crazy. Then again he’d never met one who directly jacked himself into the system. Jace assumed most of them had minions to do that sort of thing.

“The Lazarus project. I almost had the location of the test facility.”

“I’m afraid I’m still lost.”

“How can you be lost? Your ships have been going from one end of the Syndicate to the other looking for information on it.”

Jace blinked as realization dawned over him. “The Lazarus project is the bioweapon researched on Nepheros?”

“Of course it is. You didn’t know that? Oh…you didn’t know that. I should charge something for it. Alexi always handled that sort of thing.” The indexer flopped onto the edge of his bunk and held his head in his hands. “Alexi handled all the business details. He was supposed to get to a lifeboat.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Jace repeated. “Could you find the location again?”

“Not from a ship. I need a better network connection. I can’t access enough of the data stream without a stronger signal, and I need more computing power to process it.”

“Would one of the archives on Cyprena work?”

Malcolm peered up at Jace from behind his wire-rimmed glasses. He had dark eyes and a similar complexion to Captain Hawke—human coloring was so boring compared to Cy’ren. A gleam of light passed across the lenses, and Jace realized that they were data screens.

“It might. I’d have to see one. I’ve never been to Cyprena,” the indexer admitted. “I’d suggest another jump station, but those seem to be dwindling in number.”

“Right. I’ll update the captain. It will take a few days to get to Cyprena, after we get the VFF drive functional again. In the meantime the captain can arrange payment for whatever you do know about the Lazarus project.”