by Caryn Lix
Omnistellar would have to take it from there. I wasn’t a weapons specialist, just a guard. No, not even that. An anomaly. A fugitive. I had information, and I had to convince them it was real. From there I’d let the company do what they did best. And they would. We would survive. Everything would be okay in the end.
The air was cool and carried a vague scent of oil, machinery. Nothing like the warm, humid depths of the alien ship. There were no aliens here. Not yet. Hopefully not ever. I sank my fingers into the slick metal and pulled myself forward.
With each advance, I probed ahead, making sure the vent didn’t suddenly drop into nothingness. I groped along the walls on either side, too, dreading the moment I’d find a branch and have to make another choice. None came, though. A new terror enveloped me: the inevitable dead end. There was no way to turn around in the close quarters, the walls brushing my arms, the roof against my head. I’d have to crawl all the way backward.
Sweat dripped from my forehead. How much time had passed? Long enough for Cage to worry? Long enough for him to follow me? He wouldn’t be that dumb, would he?
Yes. Yes, he would. I stifled a curse and redoubled my efforts, my fingers sweat-slick against metal.
I rounded another corner and blinked against sudden light. Relief surged in my chest as I pulled myself forward, my bruised knees and elbows banging against the walls. A grate loomed in front of me. I threaded my fingers through it and shoved with all my might.
It didn’t budge.
Of course it didn’t. “Hey!” I shouted, throwing caution to the wind. I rattled the grate as hard as I could, metal clanging in echoing reverberations. “Hey!”
A face appeared in front of me—an all-too-familiar face, one I was coming to hate. “You!” I shouted.
“You,” Liam groaned in response, leaning against the wall to glare at me through the grate. He was wearing a white cloak over his pirate garb. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”
“Why won’t I . . . ?” My brain short-circuited for a second. “You stole my comm!”
He grinned, a flash of teeth gone before I’d properly registered it. “Precisely. Fair and square. Now crawl back to your hole, little girl, and—”
I slammed my hand into the grate. Pain reverberated all the way to my elbow, but I got the satisfaction of seeing him jump in surprise. “I’m not going anywhere,” I seethed. “Not without that device.”
He scowled. “Well, then I hope you enjoy your new life in that vent.”
We glared at each other, at an impasse. I craned my neck to see around him, revealing a tiny alcove resembling nothing so much as a maintenance shaft, but he’d clearly converted it to a home, with a crumpled pile of blankets in the corner. A crate with a fluorescent lantern illuminated the space. I couldn’t see more from my position.
I regarded him a moment through the grate. “Nice place you’ve got here,” I said at last, fishing.
He didn’t respond, but his eyes narrowed. Encouraged, I pressed on. “I’m guessing this isn’t exactly an official setup. I’m not sure how rent control works on Obsidian, but this looks pretty off the books.” I raised my eyebrow, as if a thought had occurred to me. “Hey. Maybe I can trade the location of your little hideout for a ride off this station.”
“Damn, you’re an annoying piece of work.”
I grinned in spite of myself. “So I’ve been told.”
Liam hesitated, then swore and reached up, doing something to the grate. He pried it loose, letting it dangle from a corner. Unbidden, he extended a hand.
I took it, letting him help me down from my perch. “Thank you,” I said, stretching my sore back. Something popped in my spine, and I grimaced.
We stood there awkwardly a moment. I glanced around the room, a tiny space no more than five feet square, barely high enough to stand. There were two other grates in the walls, and an open maintenance hatch stretched between them. It looked like a good base from which to squirrel around the station stealing stuff. It was messy but not uncomfortably so. He’d arranged crates and blankets as rugs and furniture. It wasn’t even dim, at least to my eyes. Of course, I’d spent the last month on a spaceship designed for blind aliens, so what did I know?
“This is where you live?” I asked dubiously.
Liam scowled. “If you must know, I have a lovely set of quarters very near Grigori Danshov. This is where I go to do things I don’t want him to know about. And if you tell him about it, he’ll kill you, then me. Now go.”
“Not without my wrist monitor.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Liar.” I glared at him. “You didn’t have time to get rid of it. Why’d you take it in the first place?”
“Why do you think? So I could turn you in to Omnistellar and claim the bounty.”
Temper surged in my throat, but I swallowed it, forcing myself to be calm and rational. “If you wanted to do that, why not do it on Mars?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I just wanted one. It’s nice tech.”
I glanced at his wrist. “You’re telling me you’re cozy with the people who run this station and they couldn’t get you a black-market comm unit?”
Something beeped from a computer at the back of the room. Liam rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he sighed heavily. He crossed to the computer and deftly withdrew my comm unit, tossing it in my direction.
My heart flip-flopped right along with that shiny bit of silver, but my reflexes held true, and I snatched it out of midair. I closed my fingers over it, willing my breath to return to normal as Liam casually blanked his screen, but not before I got a glimpse of what it contained.
“Those are my comm logs!” I grabbed him, swung him around, and slammed him against the wall before he drew any of his fancy weapons. I’d been suspicious of Liam from the beginning, but now . . . “You’re spying on me, and you’re going to tell me why!”
TWENTY-ONE
LIAM SIGHED, SINKING ONTO THE crate. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“No?” I drew my hands into fists, shifting my weight subtly. He didn’t look ready to attack, but he was strong and lithe, and he carried those weapons. If he reached for them, I had to move first. “Because what it looks like is you using my comm unit to send Omnistellar my location and collect the bounty.”
His brows drew together in irritation. “They don’t need my help. You said it yourself, sweetheart. Omnistellar knows where you are, and they’re on their way. They don’t pay for information they already have.”
Right. Exhaustion catching up with me. I heaved a sigh between clenched teeth. “Then what the hell are you doing?”
He hesitated, then shrugged. “I’ve intercepted some of their comms. They really wanted that alien tech.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean? Omnistellar’s lagging. Mars Mining is up-and-coming with the dome technology. Omnistellar is the unquestioned king of the prison yard, but that’s not enough to keep them on top of the pile forever. They need new technology. New advancements. They want to focus on their interstellar travel arm, keep advancing. The alien ship provided a golden opportunity to do exactly that, reverse engineer the thing until they had a way to travel beyond our solar system. Do you know what it would be worth? Controlling that kind of technology? Being the first corp to travel beyond Jupiter?”
I did know. And I understood that Omnistellar didn’t exactly have humanity’s best interests at heart. I wanted to question Liam, demand more information. As if reading my mind, he held up his hands. “That’s all I’ve got. They didn’t exactly send me a briefing. Everything I learned is from intercepted comms. I’ll tell you this much, though: they were banking on that alien ship. They aren’t happy it got blown up, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it back.”
I shook my head. “They can’t. We destroyed it. Right?”
“Whatever it takes,” he repeated, staring right at me with those strange piercing eyes. He drew the words out slowly, and I got the sens
e he was saying something I wasn’t getting.
We gaped at each other a moment longer before it sank in. We had destroyed the alien ship. There was nothing left of it, or at least not enough to salvage. The only way to get their hands on alien tech was to find a way to summon the rest of the creatures. “Oh my God,” I choked. “They couldn’t be that stupid.”
“That’s not a humble company you work for.”
“I don’t work for them,” I corrected automatically, surprised at my vehemence. Omnistellar was my entire being for so long. Now the very thought of them filled me with blind rage. “They don’t really think they can take on the aliens, do they?”
“They think they have a good chance, yes. But first they need you. They need intelligence. They need information. And from there, they think they can summon the creatures, defeat them, and take their tech.”
I staggered, grabbing the wall for support. Images overwhelmed me: the creatures, three of them, stalking me through the corridor, Cage slumped lifeless against the wall. Just a few of them decimated my entire station in a matter of hours. What would a whole ship do? Omnistellar thought they could stand against the aliens. They probably didn’t care if they lost a handful of people in the process, not if they emerged on top. But I’d seen the aliens in action, and I knew the truth. Omnistellar didn’t stand a chance against them. Not unless they blew them out of the sky, and they’d never do that. It would damage their precious alien tech. “My dad,” I managed. “Does he know about this?”
“The comms didn’t say one way or another. You could ask him.” He gestured at the device on my wrist. “Of course, activating your comms would give him your exact position. Speaking of which, I did intercept one thing you might find interesting. Have you ever heard of Legion?”
I searched my memory but came up empty. “No. I’m not familiar with every aspect of Omnistellar’s operations, though. It’s a big corporation.”
“Well, whatever Legion is, it’s after you. And I suspect it’ll be here long before Omnistellar. You have a few hours at most.”
Of course. If we meant that much to Omnistellar, they would stop at nothing to find us. “Bounty hunters. Has to be.” I eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“You have to ask?” A tremor raced through him. He pivoted to stare at the wall, his shoulders shaking with each breath, the tendons on his arms jutting out at odd angles. After a moment he spun back to me, but none of the tension had left his face; his eyes reflected my own horror. “You think I want those things here? They destroyed my planet. I escaped by luck and cowardice. Somehow I don’t think I’ll get away a second time.”
I frowned. The explanation made sense. God knew I’d go to some pretty heavy extremes to avoid seeing those creatures ever again. But I still sensed there was something he wasn’t telling me. “And what else?”
“That’s not enough?” He bit off every word, and a wave of uncertain guilt washed over me. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he was just a man, a slightly alien man, sure, but a man nonetheless, one living with the things he’d done to escape with his life—just like me, just like Cage.
And assuming he was at least being honest about this Legion . . . “I have to warn the others.” I stared at my comm, mulling over what Liam had said. Could Omnistellar really trace me if I used it?
Liam heaved a sigh, apparently recovered from his fear. I saw through his mask now, though. It was the same one I wore, the same one we all kept on so that the raw terror lingering from the monsters stalking our steps wouldn’t shine through. We all put a different tarnish on it. For me it was strength. For Mia, aggression. For Cage, authority. And for Liam, well . . . the pirate. “Oh, all right, already,” he grumbled, reaching for his computer. “If it’ll get you out of my house faster.” His fingers flew over the screen.
Seconds later, Jasper’s face materialized. “Good to hear from you,” he said, making no effort to hide his relief. “Please tell me you and Cage had some luck up there, because we’re getting nowhere.”
“I’ll have to get back to you on that. In the meantime, we have another problem.”
Jasper groaned. “What now?”
“Omnistellar may have sent a bounty hunter team called Legion after us. If they’re not already here, they will be soon. Get everyone hidden.”
Jasper’s cheerful face grew serious. “I’m guessing Omnistellar bounty hunters won’t be anything to joke about.”
“You guess right. Hide, Jasper. Alexei might know some good locations. I’m going to get Cage, and then I’ll find you somehow.”
“I’ll keep my comm active.”
“Only as a last resort,” I said, frowning. “Liam thinks they might be able to trace me if I use mine. It’s possible they can track yours, too.”
“Liam? What’s he got to do with it?”
“Don’t ask. Just get somewhere safe. Please?”
“Got it.” Jasper narrowed his eyes. “Be careful, Kenzie. You’re on your own if someone comes after you.”
“Believe me, I know.” Jasper cut the comm, and I turned to Liam. “Thanks,” I said awkwardly.
He smiled. “Take your friend’s advice. Be careful.”
“I will.”
Liam offered me his hand and boosted me into the grate. I glanced at him over my shoulder. “You be careful too. They know you helped us.”
“Why do you think I’m hiding in this hole?” He smirked, lifting the grate into place. “But I’ll take my chances with Omnistellar over the zemdyut. Hell, I’ll take my chances with the Danshovs over the zemdyut, and that’s saying something. There’s a tight left about fifty feet down the second corridor, easy to miss. I suggest you head that way and not return to the market.”
I nodded. I needed to find Cage, but I didn’t want to risk running into the thugs I’d dodged earlier.
Liam touched his fingers to his forehead and vanished into his hole. I stared after him a moment, struggling to come to terms with the information he’d given me. For all of Liam’s annoying qualities, he’d come in very handy so far. He’d shown up in the nick of time on Mars, and he’d just given me a heads-up about the bounty hunters.
So why did a nagging voice in the back of my mind scream not to trust him?
I sighed. Trust him or not, I had to get moving. Sitting in the ductwork didn’t help anyone and wouldn’t give me any clues as to Liam’s motivations.
I could safely use my comm to access offline messages and functions without alerting anyone as to my location. With a thought, I triggered my wrist monitor, giving myself a beam of light to work with. Other bits of information flashed through my head: nineteen unread messages, all from my dad. I glanced at the most recent one. It was about what I expected: Kenzie, we have to talk. If you turn yourself in, there’s still a chance we can salvage this. If Omnistellar has to hunt you down, I can’t imagine how I can save you. I love you, sweetheart. Please. Contact me.
I froze, a riot of emotion tangling my thoughts and limbs. Images of my father flashed before my eyes, images of my family. Was Dad in on this plan? He couldn’t be. He couldn’t know Omnistellar planned to lure the aliens right to us.
Just like he couldn’t know about my abilities. Or my chip.
But no. That was different. I forced myself to move again, considering everything I knew about my father. The way he and my mom had chipped me was wrong. Or at least, not telling me about it was wrong. It cut deep, violated the security and trust I’d had in them—and in Omnistellar. But at the same time, I could sort of understand their logic. The file I’d read back on Sanctuary said as much. If they hadn’t chipped me, the company would have taken me away. I still didn’t like what they’d done, but they’d done it to protect me.
But Mom hadn’t tried to protect me when she’d left me to die on Sanctuary. What about Dad? He couldn’t know about this plan with the aliens. I had to believe that. When I found him and told him the truth, he’d be as horrified as I was. I would make him understand. If he sti
ll loved me, and his constant stream of messages told me he did, he would listen.
I rounded a corner and scrubbed my hands over my eyes, and in the same instant another realization occurred to me: Liam had neatly distracted me with this new information. He’d never explained why he’d stolen my comm device in the first place.
“You slippery son of a bitch,” I said aloud, half in admiration, as all of my earlier guilt slid away. I knew he was leaving something out. I was tempted to go back and beat the answer out of him. But he’d locked the grate and probably wouldn’t open it to a raging teenager, even if I felt like crawling backward through the tunnel. Besides, I had to get to Cage. Liam could wait.
I found the turn Liam mentioned and wasn’t surprised I’d missed it the first time. I had to bend almost double, but if Liam could squeeze through here, so could I. I scraped a good chunk of skin off my arms, then crawled along until I reached another grate. Peering through the tangled metal, I distinguished a few people moving in the shadows. I watched them a moment, heart racing, until the shadows settled into human forms. For just a moment, they’d looked shapeless, reptilian, cold. But no. Humans all.
I seemed to be in another section of living quarters, possibly a level down, as I’d thought the vent had sloped as I’d crawled. I threaded my fingers through the metal and pushed experimentally. Three corners popped loose. Across the room, a woman gave me a cursory glance, then returned her gaze to her tablet, clearly uninterested in why I was climbing out of a wall.
In spite of my drumming heartbeat and a frantic need to hurry, I eased the grate down carefully and with a minimum of noise. I made the short drop to the floor and pressed the grate into place. It seemed to attach magnetically at three of the corners, only the fourth fastened by an actual screw. I gave Liam credit for the arrangement. What was his relationship with the Danshovs? Why had he taken my comm? He claimed fear of the aliens motivated him. But maybe he only said that because he knew it drove me. For the first time, I recognized my lingering terror as a perceptible weakness, one others could exploit. I swallowed hard. This just reinforced the need to find the others. We were stronger together.