by Caryn Lix
Matt, Hallam, and Priya barely glanced at me, keeping their gazes focused on their opponents. “Sure,” said Priya. “Just as soon as they do.”
I took in the three faces opposite and ventured for the most reasonable option. “Alexei, you know we need to work together right now. Remember? Survival and all that. These three helped me. Let’s escape the aliens before we deal with grudges, okay?”
He grunted in reply, his eyes narrowed. Then, abruptly, he dropped his hands, the shimmer of heat fading away.
Matt responded by lowering his rifle. Within seconds, everyone stood down, and Rune flew across the hallway, taking a second to elbow past Matt and glare at him on the way. She hugged me tightly. “We were worried,” she explained in Mandarin. “We didn’t know what those creeps might have been doing to you.”
“Taking me to my father,” I replied in the same language. I glanced over my shoulder at Cage and added, “Who’s missing. Matt thinks there’s someone in engineering.”
Cage frowned. It didn’t take powers to follow his thoughts. We’d been here before, on Sanctuary with my mother. It hadn’t ended well. My hands trembled, and I clenched them into fists at the thought of Sanctuary, its familiar halls and corridors turning into deathtraps as we searched for my mother.
Things with Dad would not end the same way. I would find him, and not dead and shackled to a wall. Whatever happened between us, I couldn’t let him die like Mom.
Imani and Reed drifted to our sides, Reed keeping a careful eye on Matt. Imani squeezed my arm, and I squeezed back. Relief passed between us without words.
Before I could speak to either of them, Priya started barking orders. “We need to get out of this hallway,” she said. “The aliens are just tearing through chunks of the ship. We have three priorities right now: recover Kenzie’s father, find a way off this ship, and destroy it, Obsidian, and the alien vessel before those things set off for Earth.”
Well, hard to argue with any of that. I shouldered my laser rifle and chimed in. “Also, the aliens seem to be adapting. The first time we shot them with laser rifles, they went to pieces. Now they have some sort of shielding against it. Same with Cage attacking them a moment ago.”
“Kind of like us,” said Alexei thoughtfully.
I blinked. He was right. Kind of like us . . . and especially, kind of like me. A shudder ran through me, and Cage’s hand drifted to the small of my back, steady and reassuring. “We have a few other weapons. Rune got us into the armory. We’ll fight as long as we can. The shuttle bay is at the rear of this level, and Rune says the manifest lists at least five shuttles. Once we get your dad, escaping shouldn’t be too difficult. Actually destroying this ship, or anything else, with the weaponry we find on a shuttle, though . . .”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.” Priya marched forward, ignoring how Alexei and Mia refused to part for her, shouldering her way past Jasper and into the lead. “Engineering’s next. Hallam and Matt, take the rear. The rest of you, keep your eyes peeled.”
Mia’s face twisted into a snarl of rage, but Alexei caught her arm and pulled her along, murmuring to her under his breath.
Imani offered me a shaky smile as we followed. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered.
“You too.” I examined her. “You doing all right? With the aliens?”
Some of the blood drained from her face, but she nodded. “I thought once I saw them again, I’d either be furious or too terrified to move. Turns out, I’m neither. I mean, I am scared, and I am angry. But mostly I just want to go home. Tell my family the truth about Aliya. I want to survive, and I’ll do what it takes to make that happen.” She smiled faintly. “Ideally without losing any of you.”
“Speaking of which,” said Reed, “do I dare ask where the other bounty hunter is?”
“Dead,” I replied quietly. “And the aliens took his body. I don’t know why.” I glanced between him and Imani. “My dad . . . he was injured in the attack. If—when we find him . . .”
“You don’t even have to ask,” Reed replied gently, and Imani nodded.
I blinked back tears. I’d never doubted them, but their words reassured me, gave me hope. Could I have healed Dad myself? Maybe. Who knew with the way things were going? But between the three of us, I knew he’d be okay . . . as long as he survived until I found him.
Cage’s hand tightened against my back, lending me unspoken support. “That reminds me, Priya’s hurt,” I managed, turning to Reed. “Can you maybe heal her before we go into engineering?”
“I will if she’ll let me.” Reed jogged ahead and caught up to Priya. They engaged in a quick conversation, and then she reluctantly lowered her weapon, allowing him to lay his hand on her arm.
“Speaking of powers,” I said to Imani, “how the hell did you get everyone out of their cells?”
“Oh, that.”
“Yes, that. I saw the security feed. It looked like you slipped the cuffs right off.”
“Apparently I can move through pieces of solid material now.” She shrugged, as if this were no big deal. “Only small ones. I tried getting through the bars earlier, and it didn’t work. But I can sort of make things intangible if they’re small and I don’t make it last too long.”
Imani made things intangible. Mia made people invisible. Matt resurrected. And me . . . I did everything, or seemed to. Was this a good thing? Were our powers increasing, or was our DNA shifting? Were we becoming aliens ourselves? That thought almost knocked me off my feet, but I forced myself steady. None of us showed any physical changes, and Liam hadn’t mentioned anything of the sort happening on his own planet. I clung to that hope.
Cage also seemed worried, or maybe only thoughtful. He caught me staring and smiled. Somehow that helped. Whatever changes the aliens might work on our DNA, we were still ourselves. We were in another alien-infested ship, seconds away from a grisly death, and once again trying to rescue one of my parents, but having Cage at my side made all the difference.
Part of me wanted to feel guilty over wasted time, over the tension between us, but I smacked that part of me down. I might have started building walls, but my suspicion of him was in some ways justified. We’d both kept secrets. Both clung to lies. Both let fear and anxiety drive us. Feeling bad didn’t make things better. It was time to let all of that go.
Ahead of us, Priya, now healed, beckoned me forward. Without being asked, Mia took a position on the other side of the door, the big laser cannon at the ready. We stationed ourselves around the corridor. Priya gave me a short nod. I swiped Dad’s omnicard, then jumped aside.
Nothing leaped out of engineering to greet us, so we advanced cautiously. With everyone wearing emergency lights, engineering stood out in sharp angles and shadows, fully illuminated. Priya, Alexei, and Mia blocked my view, though, so I didn’t see Dad until I’d taken a few steps inside.
He stood with his back to us, bent over a console. Blood still oozed from the wound on his head, but he was conscious and working. He must have heard us come in, must have seen the lights, but he didn’t look up from his task. “Dad!” I cried, half in relief, half in terror.
That made him hesitate a second. Then he continued plugging away at the console. “Dad,” I repeated, more fear in my voice. Cage’s arm tightened around my waist.
“Commander Cord,” Priya called, her voice loud and clear. The phrase made me reel. For a moment I looked for my mother, and then I realized: Dad had been promoted. “Please stop what you’re doing and turn around.”
“He can’t do that,” said another voice. We spun to find Liam lounging against the wall, his arms folded over his chest.
“You!” I exploded. I lunged in his direction. Cage’s other arm circled me, dragging me against him, so I targeted Liam with the laser rifle instead, even if I surreptitiously thumbed the safety first. I wasn’t about to shoot anyone, not even him. “What are you doing here? And what the hell did you do to my comm device?”
“What they told me to
.” He passed a hand over his head, his face drawn, frightened and exhausted. “Sabotaged the damn thing so it wouldn’t work if you managed to evade capture a bit longer. Did you call him?” He nodded at Jasper. “If so, his is infected too.”
I glanced at Jasper, but there was only an empty slot in his arm where his device should have gleamed. They must have taken it from him when he was arrested. I returned my attention to Liam. “Why? Why would you do that?” Realization dawned, slow and painful. “You’ve been working with Omnistellar all along,” I said. “That’s why I could open portals on the bounty hunter ship. You were there.”
“I was . . . nearby,” he replied reluctantly. “But I wasn’t working for Omnistellar. Your father contacted me directly, Kenzie.”
Dad didn’t even glance up from the console, but his voice was shaky when he answered. “I didn’t trust the bounty hunters not to kill you when they found you. Liam was . . . a backup. I had to make sure you were safe, and that you got off Obsidian. His job was to protect you, even if he went about it in a strange way.”
“I did what you asked,” Liam cut in, annoyance tingeing his voice. “Keep an eye on the hunt. Sabotage her comm device so you could make sure you were the only one to contact her if she escaped. All of that. I upheld my end of the bargain, so make sure you keep yours.”
“And what is that, exactly?” I demanded.
“Sanctuary from those things. Omnistellar is too powerful, Kenzie. The zemdyut were coming no matter what, and I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.” He met my gaze, his face so pale he resembled a ghost in the shadows. “It’s not personal. I just . . . I couldn’t face them again.”
“Yeah well, Omnistellar isn’t so great at providing sanctuary,” I replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “Their last one blew up. And now here you are, in the same spot.”
“Not quite.” Dad straightened up, turning from the console, his face heavy. “Liam’s coming with me. And so are you, Kenz. We’re getting off this ship.”
FORTY-TWO
I STARED AT DAD. IT didn’t take long to absorb what he hadn’t said. “We’re getting off this ship,” I repeated dully. “You, and me, and Liam. What about everyone else?”
“We won’t be able to take them.” He hesitated. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know how that must seem. And I meant to save them, I really did. Criminals or not, they helped you off Sanctuary. But it’s too late now. We have to escape, and this is the only way left.”
“And us?” asked Hallam dryly.
Dad winced. “Criminals who let the corporations tamper with their bodies in exchange for amnesty,” he said at last, but he sounded tired, not accusatory. “Omnistellar handed you a lot of power. You’ve been abusing it.”
Hallam snorted and jerked the gun more solidly against his shoulder, targeting Dad. “Really.”
“Legion got too powerful, Hallam. You had to know Omnistellar wouldn’t let you keep going forever.” He gave Priya a pointed look. “The real mistake was enhancing your own cybernetic implants.”
Priya laughed shortly. “You knew about that?”
“It’s Omnistellar. They know everything. You were slated for elimination a few months ago, but they wanted the opportunity to use your powers one last time. You were meant to die on Obsidian.” He turned to Hallam. “I wouldn’t pull that trigger. Not unless you want to kill everyone on this ship.”
I reeled. “Wait. You led Legion here to die?” I asked in disbelief. “Fully intending to lure the aliens to our solar system, to kill my friends?”
“If things went according to plan, I would have saved your . . . friends. That’s no longer an option. There’s an Omnistellar warship nearby. It only has room for two passengers, but they’ve agreed to take on a third.” He glanced nervously at Hallam, although like me, his training masked the worst of his fear. Hallam, apparently as familiar with Omnistellar tactics as me, ground his teeth, held his target, but didn’t fire. Dad must have had something up his sleeve.
Priya snorted. “Well, that explains why Omnistellar was willing to rush Matt’s implantation. They didn’t care if everything took properly.” She gave Matt a rueful smile. “Sorry, kid. You were supposed to die with us.”
Dad nodded reluctantly. “For what it’s worth, I made sure they kept their promises,” he said. “Your family is safe.”
Relief passed over Matt’s face, and he shrugged. “For what it’s worth,” he replied, “I appreciate it.”
Rune moved as if to take his hand, then withdrew. Her natural compassion shining through? Or did some of her feelings for Matt linger?
Everyone else hovered in a loose clump, staring at my father and Liam, who refused to meet anyone’s eyes. He was doing the same thing he’d done on his own planet. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” I said coldly. “My mom was willing to let me die. Liam let his family die. And now my father turns out to be a corporate drone. The aliens just bring out the best in people, don’t they?”
Dad ground his teeth, his gaze taking in each of us in turn until it rested on me. His expression softened, the shadows of the man I knew peering through. “I refused to cooperate unless they let me bring you home,” he said. He took a half step toward me, then stopped as Hallam jerked his gun more firmly against his shoulder. “Kenzie, Matt told me everything. I know what happened on Sanctuary, what your mother did. I can’t imagine how much that must have hurt you. I hope you know I would never have pressed that button. No matter what company regulations I was breaking, I would have brought you home safe.”
Tears began to blur my vision. I closed my eyes until they passed and managed to say in a steady voice, “But here you are, Dad. Doing the same thing as Mom.”
“It’s not the same. Kenzie, she tried to kill you.” Sudden fury underlaced his tone, his eyes wide with disbelief. How many nights had Dad lain awake piecing together events on Sanctuary? What had really motivated his coming here? Maybe . . . just maybe . . . he had come for me after all. His actions were twisted and wrong, but unlike my mom, his motivations might be a little bit purer. “I almost couldn’t believe it at first,” he continued, a strain of disgust entering his tone. “But your mother . . . she was always Omnistellar to her core. Even above her own family.”
He wasn’t wrong. And yet a protective impulse shot through me, a deep-seated need to defend my mother . . . and maybe even Omnistellar. I swallowed it down. This was still my father. There was a chance to reach him. “You’re not her. I know that. There’s got to be another way. Dad, work with us here. We can all get off this ship, stop the aliens together.”
“Kenzie, I tried. This is the best I could do. And even this nearly cost me my career. I had to make sacrifices you can’t imagine to save you.”
His voice had gone solid again, the uncertainty fleeing. I’d missed my chance, if it had ever existed. Whatever Dad’s plan, he was going through with it. I grabbed on to Cage for support as Priya raised her rifle. “Just one problem, Commander,” she said coldly. “We’re not going to let you kill us and walk away.”
At the same instant, a pleasant voice announced, “Self-destruct sequence has been activated. Five minutes remain until detonation.”
Dad gestured at the computer. “If you’d prefer, we can all die here together,” he said.
“And Obsidian?” I demanded. “What’s going to happen to all the people over there?”
For a moment, something like guilt washed over my father’s expression, quickly smothered in the company mask. “Kenzie, they were . . . criminals. Murderers. Evil people. They . . .”
I heard my own voice as if from a distance, cold and terribly quiet. “Are you saying that everyone on Obsidian is dead?”
“Dead where they fell,” said Liam softly. “You saw the bodies on this ship. The zemdyut did the same thing on Obsidian. The residents made it easy for them, grouping in bunkers and safe zones.” He passed a hand over his face, looking much older now. “I always knew that was a bad idea. But no one listens to me.�
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Dead. Every one of them dead, just like the people in the command center. I actually staggered, only Cage’s arm keeping me upright. I looked from Dad’s trembling resolve to Liam’s wilting defeat to Priya’s set jaw. “Dad, what are you doing?” I tried desperately. “You can’t mean this. You can’t—”
“Kenzie, do you have any idea what that alien tech means to Omnistellar?”
I saw red. “You are doing this for tech?”
“I’m doing it for Omnistellar! For the corporation that sheltered me, that sheltered you. Sweetheart, we hid how much trouble the company is in. We need this. Without some sort of advance, Omnistellar has maybe two, three years before the other corporations start to catch us. And what happens then? To me, to you, to the millions of people who depend on Omnistellar for their lives and well-being? Is that really what you want?”
“What about the people on Obsidian?”
“Your mother died for Omnistellar!” he snapped, then blinked, as if taken aback by his own reaction. Dad had left us before the alien attack. On some level I’d blamed him for that. Maybe he blamed himself too. Did that explain his renewed vigor for the company? “She died,” he repeated softly. “I thought you did too. It made me realize that without Omnistellar, I would never have had either of you at all. We owe the company everything, Kenz. Never forget that.”
“You can’t be serious,” I whispered. But then, my own mother was willing to kill me herself if it meant holding to Omnistellar regulations. At least my father had tried to save me, however misguided his methods. “Dad, please. Think about what you’re doing. That alien ship . . .”
“I know. It’s just like Matt told us. The other aliens are sleeping. All we have to do is get rid of them and their vessel is ours for the taking.” Like Liam, he avoided my eyes. “That’s what you did, isn’t it? We destroy this ship and its occupants, we destroy Obsidian, we take the alien tech.”
“You can’t fly it without Rune,” I replied stubbornly.