by Megan Derr
"But you don't know for sure!" Lark snapped. "Zero sticks with Zero when it comes down to it, and blood sticks to blood. That never changes."
The bitterness in his tone drew Einn up short the way it always did when it slipped into Lark's tone. He knew some of Lark's history, but not much. He'd been orphaned, grown up in the slums, eventually got work in the docks. The docks were a brutal place for anyone, but apparently much worse for those with no ties to anyone or anything. Lark had never elaborated on what he'd endured, but it wasn't really necessary.
Einn was grateful he didn't really understand the whole family thing people seemed obsessed with; all it seemed to cause was problems. "So you really think that's what we should do? Say nothing, dump him off, and run?"
"Yes," Lark said, and gave up fussing with the med kit. Picking it up, he left the bridge, leaving Einn with only the silence for company again.
With nothing better to do and curiosity still clawing at him—and not so secretly desperate for a reason to tell Cyan everything—Einn went to the comm station and searched the IG network for every scrap of information pertaining to the Alexander family.
"Having fun?"
Einn jumped and tried to turn at the same time, succeeding only in nearly falling flat on his face and giving himself new bruises. "Not really. I want a better idea of just who the hell is on my ship and how much trouble it's going to cause me."
"A lot," Cyan said flatly. "I left home because Jade is crazy. I don't care how smooth he behaves in public, and I can never prove it, but my brother went insane that day."
"That day? The day your parents…"
"The day my parents were shot, leaving very little of their heads intact," Cyan said flatly, eyes dark as he met Einn's. "Whoever contracted that hit wanted it messy, wanted it flashy, and they got their points' worth. Jade was standing with them and had the closest possible view when their heads were all but popped—"
Einn didn't think, just reacted, tugging Cyan close and holding him, hating that hard, jagged edge to his voice, the one that said it took a lot of practice to sound that brutally indifferent. Cyan stiffened in his arms but didn't pull away. "Where were you?"
"Across the room behind a pillar, making out with the son of a Lower Chancellor," Cyan said. "I didn't know what was going on at first, didn't know 'til I heard Jade screaming that whatever was wrong, it was my family suffering. Their bodies—" He broke off and fell silent, then finally shoved Einn away. "Anyway, Jade was never the same after that, and he never forgave me for not wanting revenge."
He abruptly pulled up his shirt, displaying a long line of scratches across his stomach. Being Rehab, the wounds could have been from something gained through work—but Lark had an exact duplicate of those scratches on his chest. They had only met Jade in person once, but once was more than enough. "I'm sorry," Einn said. "Siblings aren't supposed to do that sort of thing, I know."
Cyan looked at him, and then laughed softly, some of his tension bleeding away. "I always forget Fornarians have no real concept of family."
Einn shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "I get it a little bit. Hard not to pick it up when you have to learn IG Common and when you leave home to travel the stars. But no, I don't really get it."
"Must be nice," Cyan said. "Sorry to interrupt your research." He turned away, and Einn reached out to grab his arm, not thinking. "What?"
"I—I don't know," Einn admitted. "There's a saying we have on Fornar; I don't really know your equivalent, but it goes 'it's never an easy climb to the top, but it's always worth it.'"
Cyan smiled faintly and gently pulled his arm free. "I guess that makes sense because you carry nothing when you climb. The journey is a lot different when you have more than your life to lose, but thanks. Dinner will be ready shortly."
Einn frowned at his retreating back and continued to stand there and frown long after Cyan was gone. Stupid. He didn't even know what he wanted to say, so why say anything at all? Sighing and raking a hand through his overlong hair, Einn went to find something to take his frustration out on.
Chapter Eight
Custom class starship X-11944654, the dragonfly
Cyan wanted to punch something. He wanted to punch Jade. Always his problems circled back to goddamn Jade.
He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly—then punched the wall anyway, grimacing briefly at the pain that resulted. He was not jealous of Jade; he'd overcome that a long time ago. Jade was crazy—sadistic—and Cyan hated him.
Unconsciously, he ran his hand over the scars he'd shown Einn, remembering the night Jade had put them there. It had been just days after the funeral. Cyan had barely stopped crying and Jade had been cold as ice once he'd woken up. His eyes had been different, and while Cyan had never gotten along with his brother, that was the first time he'd been scared of him.
Nothing had happened until he'd tried to tell Jade to let it go, to leave it, to move on. That had been the true beginning of the end. Every slap, every hit, every mark of nails; all the cruel words and taunts had started that day. Jade would never forgive him for not being there, for not wanting revenge.
Cyan swallowed as he remembered the cold air on his skin, the ropes biting into his wrists and ankles, the sun as it slowly set, and the sky filled with stars. When Jade had finally freed him, Cyan had run and never looked back. One year later, he'd arrived on Mars with a new identity.
Jade continued on, because of course Cyan could ever prove anything. He punched the wall again, the throbbing in his hand almost a relief. Anything was better than dredging up memories of his past. He tried to focus on the mess, on putting dinner together. Food was not something anyone typically tasked to him, but after enduring the efforts of his shipmates, Cyan was willing to improve his own skills. He hadn't thought it was possible to make travel food worse, but he hadn't thought his brother would turn into a sadistic bastard, either.
He went through the motions, pulling out packets, containers, trays to put it all on, activating the water heater, and frowning that the water levels were getting low. Well, they should be landing somewhere soon, they could restock—
Oh, what the stars was wrong with him? He was a temporary passenger, and barely one step above full hostage at that. Cyan rubbed his temples and sorely wished there was some way to release all his pent-up nervous energy. His traitorous mind immediately went to Einn, and Cyan wondered what the hell was wrong with him that he was thinking of fucking his jailer.
It almost made him laugh as he belatedly appreciated the irony of being the captive for once. Then he was reminded of the lower level prisoners who tried to seduce some of the guards. When it worked, those Rehabbers were fired immediately and banned from ever again working a Rehab. Cyan had seen it happen once; he had no idea what had happened to the man after he'd been removed from his duties.
He closed his eyes and tried to put his mind on a path that would not drive him insane—well, more insane. For all that he called Jade the crazy one, Cyan wasn't certain he was much better. Shaking his head, he opened his eyes and focused again on the food. When it was ready, he found Lark in the engine room, before slowly making his way to the bridge.
Einn was still at the comm station, though it looked as though he was clicking through entertainment vids. He turned it off when he heard Cyan and swiveled around in his chair. "Thanks," he said, then hesitated before dropping his eyes to his food.
Cyan was tempted to smile, because Einn was all confidence getting picked up in a bar, but when it was clear he was trying to comfort—well, he obviously felt about as confident as a Kreskan in a brothel. Damn it, Einn was his captor; Cyan should not be growing to like him. He licked his lips, not quite certain what to say, just as Einn looked up. Their eyes locked.
"There's something—Lark doesn't want us saying—"
"What are talking about?" Cyan asked, but before either of them could say anything further, the bridge consoles blew up with lights and alarms.
Einn swore and whirled around
, dashing to the navigation console. "Bottom dwellers!" he snarled, and at Cyan's blank look, clarified, "Pirates." His in-lens flashed as he worked, doing what, Cyan didn't know. "Lark, get to the bridge! Pirates!" He looked at Cyan. "You should—"
"Please don't tell me I should take cover or something," Cyan said, amused and annoyed all at once. "Why would pirates attack this bucket?"
"Parts," Lark said, as he appeared. "They only attack ships like this in search of parts."
Einn grunted. "Brace yourself. We can't counter the firepower I'm reading." Cyan didn't ask or comment; simply took a chair and strapped himself in, holding tightly as only a moment later, the ship rocked with the force of impact. He unbuckled himself once all seemed clear.
"They're hacking our teleport system," Einn said, and unlocked a cabinet, throwing them stunners. Cyan whistled when he saw they'd been illegally modified for fatal shots. Deactivating the safety, he tucked it into his waistband and bolted from the bridge.
He met them as they came out of the transport room, taking two completely by surprise. The third had enough time and wits to attack him, but a space thug was no match for Rehab. Cyan broke his nose with a well-placed fist, then swept his feet out from under him, grabbed his head and slammed it into the metal grating of the floor.
The whirring sound of a stunner drew Cyan's attention, but before he could pin down the exact source and dodge, the stunner fired. He realized the shooter wasn't aiming at him when two more pirates dropped to the ground from shots fired almost directly behind Cyan. He turned and looked at Einn, who shook his head. "Rehabbers. It's true what they say about you guys being crazy."
"Rehabber, you're almost as bloodthirsty as a Telven, I swear," Lark said, holstering his stunner. "Think they'll send another wave? How—fuck." He stopped as four more men spilled into the hallway, spread-stunners at the ready.
"Get up," said the man tucked back behind the other three—clearly their leader. He spoke with a Mars accent, a hint of the Britania colony to it. "Well, well, Hood's protégé. We heard you were dead, Einn. I see you have your little red bird at your side still."
Einn said nothing, but Cyan did not miss his tension, the tight set of his mouth. "Still alive, Smoke. Why the hell are you bothering me?"
"Happy coincidence, eh?" Smoke drawled. "Looking at the state of my men, I should just kill you and have done. I think you deserve something slower, though, don't you?"
"Fall to the bottom and stay there," Einn snarled and raised his stunner—
—but Cyan lifted his own and shot out the fire extinguishing systems on the ceiling, causing a burst of fine white powder to fall over them, turning the hall into mist-shrouded chaos. Closing his eyes, he drew back and waited until someone finally blundered into him. It took only a moment to determine it was not Lark or Einn.
Snapping the man's neck, Cyan cast the body aside and waited—but then head the tell-tale sound of the transporter firing up. A moment later, there was only silence. It was finally broken by the sound of Lark swearing loudly and colorfully, and a banging sound, which was followed by more swearing before the fans finally kicked on.
A few minutes later, the hallway was clear, and Cyan made a face at the bodies lying in the hallway. He looked as Einn strode off, cursing, and vanished into the bridge. Following, Cyan watched while he worked at the comm station, punching in numbers so quickly that Cyan couldn't follow. "What are you doing?"
"Making certain they're gone, for one." He paused, and after a couple of minutes said, "Looks like they are, and we're lucky Smoke didn't decide just to blow us up. Then again, I'm sure he wants to kill me in a much more personal way, the same way I'd prefer to kill him." He slammed one last button. "There, that should buy us time for a bit. Lark, get us out of here."
"Working on it," Lark replied.
Cyan shook his head and fell silent, letting them work. He watched in admiration, realizing after a few minutes that Einn was hacking the starship networks, though he couldn't quite piece out what Einn was doing. He startled when Einn suddenly looked up. "Is it a Rehab thing, the way I can feel you staring?"
"Not that I'm aware," Cyan replied, smirking. "Though, they do teach us to be intimidating and I was one of the best guards on the payroll." He caught Lark rolling his eyes and snickered. Turning back to Einn, he said, "So what exactly are you doing besides breaking laws?"
Einn looked at him in surprise. "No derisive tone?"
"I have no issue with pirates fucking over other pirates," Cyan said.
"I'm changing the flight plans they registered with the IG Star Command. They hacked us to get to our teleport, kind of like what we did with the Huntress. It's risky because it provides a chance to back hack, which is exactly what I did. Now, I'm tweaking their registered flight plans to line up with when we attacked the Huntress, along with a couple of other things. It won't work forever, but it will throw the IG off our trail long enough to hopefully find a cave to hide in."
Cyan smiled. "I can't tell if you mean that literally or figuratively."
"Either works."
Lark snorted, drawing their attention. "If you two are done flirting, we have ship damage to repair. They didn't breach anything, thankfully, but we're not safe to fly for long until we can get real fixes in place."
"Got it covered," Cyan said. "I would kill for an in-lens right now. Just give me a datapad with the specs, and I'll get started on repairs." He started to turn away, but suddenly remembered. "What were you going to tell me, Einn, before all this happened?"
Einn froze, and then tried to hide it, but not before Lark caught it—and only then did Cyan remember that Einn had said something about Lark not wanting him to know whatever it was. Stars, what he wouldn't give to be back in the uncomplicated world of Rehab. "Einn," Lark hissed.
"I just think—" They both stopped as the comm station began to light up with an incoming call. Cyan's brows shot up at the stricken look on their faces. He moved before they could, slamming the receive button right before Einn grabbed him and yanked him away.
The main screen flickered to life—and Cyan felt his heart drop into his stomach as he looked into his twin brother's face. Jade smiled his cold, sadistic smile; the very one everyone else called beautiful. Cyan trembled with fear against Einn, barely noticing that the hands holding his arms tightened. "What—"
"Brother," Jade purred, flicking the nails of one hand, the deep red paint on them glistening. "All the stars are aflutter with news of your disappearance. I've had idiots stopping by all day long to comfort me. I think they're all afraid I'll fall into hysterics."
Cyan snarled, vibrating with tension, wanting badly to lunge at Jade and break his stupid, fucking, oh so perfect face. "They're stupid for thinking you ever stopped having hysterics. Why in the stars—" His eyes widened as the obvious belatedly struck him. "You're working for Jade! You sons of bitches!" He threw all of his weight back, sending Einn off balance, then twisted free, whipped around, and punched him square in the face.
When Lark came at him, Cyan nailed him in the gut, then the jaw, and Lark tumbled unconscious to the floor.
"Prisoners," Einn gasped out around his bloody nose.
Cyan barely heard the word, chose to ignore it, and turned back around to face his smirking brother. "What in the stars is going on?"
Jade laughed and settled back in his seat, gold hair braided as always and vibrant against his dark crimson robe. "They're mine, and they do my bidding because otherwise they will end up dead. How fortuitous that you have joined their crew, because their next assignment is going to be difficult."
"I don't do your bidding," Cyan snapped. "If you think I'm just going to stand by—"
"All those muscles and skills you acquired in that hovel cannot change the fact that you are a worthless coward, darling brother. If you attempt to circumvent me, I am more than willing to let your friends die. If you do anything other than my bidding, I will be more than willing to see to it the scientists and their experiments begin to
die. I can always have my men fetch more, after all."
Cyan felt sick. "I don't understand—"
"No, you never do," Jade said with cold condescension. "I will put it to you plainly, sweet brother. On my orders, those two men you just beat up kidnap various persons across the IG. You will join them and continue to take who I tell you, when I tell you, until I see fit to tell you to stop."
"Fuck you."
Jade sighed and tsked softly, shaking his head. "You continue to disregard what I am telling you—that you have no choice, because if you do not obey me, the poison that infects my little pirates will kill them when I withhold the serum that keeps them alive. Should that not work, I will begin to kill off those they have already stolen, and you can fetch the replacements yourself. There are plenty of people to kill, brother dear, and their lives are in your hand."
"I hate you," Cyan replied.
"A pity," Jade said with a laugh. "You know how much I love you, brother."
Cyan said nothing, merely killed the connection, bringing a merciful silence to the bridge. "What is going on?" he asked. Einn grunted, making him turn around, and he almost smiled to see that Einn had already healed most of the damage Cyan had done to his nose. He spoke before could catch himself. "You guys really do have harder bones and stuff, don't you?"
"Fall off enough cliffs, and the Cave Carver takes pity and makes you harder to break," Einn said. "Did you have to knock Lark out? We're not as evil as you clearly think—and I'm not saying I blame you, but you could listen before you turn violent."
Sighing, Cyan knelt and hefted Lark over his shoulder. "Sorry. Let me put him in his bunk." He left the bridge, and with some effort, managed to get Lark into the lower bunk and comfortably settled. Sighing again, he headed back to the bridge.
Einn handed him a bottle. "Zero brandy."
"Thanks," Cyan replied, and took a generous swallow, relishing the way it burned and made his eyes water. He collapsed in the nearest chair, and then asked again, "What is going on?"