by Megan Derr
"You got it," Einn said, and after Cyan had left, grabbed Jade and hauled him to the bed. Stripping Jade's clothes off, he put him in the collar, then attached the chains, making them too short for Jade to even get off the bed. Let him piss himself; Einn hoped when they found Jade, he was a filthy, furious mess.
Turning back to Rall, Einn stripped him of the weapons he'd regained and a few other items that could prove useful. He tucked it all away in the pockets of his pants and jackets. Out in the hallway, he locked the bedroom and checked his stunner.
"Einn!"
He holstered his stunner and turned around just as Cyan reached him, grunting when Cyan kissed him, awkward at first, but quickly smoothing out. "Hey," Einn said softly, lightly touching the scratches on Cyan's face, angry at Jade all over again.
"I still can't believe you're alive," Cyan said. "I'd given up. I was going to save Sean and Mendel, but after that…all I could think about was you being dead."
Einn rubbed Cyan's bottom lip with his thumb. "It takes more than a couple of creepy goons to kill me. We should get moving. Karmikel is waiting for us. He must be, if I have my magics back."
"Speaking of Karmikel, that light trick must be his, 'cause that's not Fornarian magics. I thought you'd be slower to adjust to that, stubborn as you are—and reticent as Karmikel was."
"Accident," Einn said, and he told Cyan all that had transpired since he'd been taken as they left the house and headed for the ports.
Cyan laughed when he finished. "You've been busy. I'm sorry you were stuck in that crawl space for so long."
Einn shrugged the words aside. "I'm just happy to have you back. Now we need to go rescue the others, before Sean and Mendel get captured when it all goes south. Nice outfit, by the way."
"Go to hell," Cyan replied, tugging irritably at the ornate silk shirt and loose white silk trousers he wore. "I'm just grateful he at least had slacks; I wasn't wearing one of his damned robes."
Laughing, Einn got them through the various transports and back to the ports, then stopped. "I forgot! Here, this is for you. I even told you Raoul gave me two, and then completely forgot to give it to you." He pulled out the in-lens box and tossed it to Cyan. "From Pyotr, which makes me nervous, but they're damned useful."
Cyan frowned but took out the in-lens and fit it into place over his right eye. "For better or worse, I guess."
Einn grunted in agreement. "So how do we get to where we need to be? This place is confusing, and I didn't think anything could be worse than Bangkok." Cyan laughed—a real laugh, which made Einn more relieved than he'd ever admit—and led the way through the carefully ordered chaos until at last the Brilliant came into view.
The door slid open and the gangway slid down as they approached, and Karmikel's acerbic voice came over the speaker. "In. Now."
Striding obediently up the gangway, Cyan on his heels, Einn led the way to the bridge where Karmikel was already busy getting them out of port. When they were well away, Karmikel rounded on them. "You're an idiot! This is exactly why I didn't want to match, and I'll be damned if I spend the rest of my life chasing after you and your stupid decisions."
"Saving Cyan wasn't stupid," Einn said. "Say that again and I'll knock you flat. That being said, I'm sorry. I don't want to be matched either, but you don't always get to pick your crew. You learn to build a team from the crew you get."
Karmikel scowled at him a moment longer, then gave a terse nod before turning back to his console. "Your light trick came in handy, by the way," Einn added. "So, thanks. You'll have to help me use it properly and tell me what stars else I can do now."
"You can tell me how not to stick to things," Karmikel groused, not bothering to turn around. "It's annoying."
Einn snickered. "Sure. Where's Lark?"
Karmikel made a face. "With Pyotr, though he wouldn't say why he insisted on taking Lark."
"Insurance?" Einn hazarded, not liking it. Karmikel did not reply, which was all the confirmation that Einn needed. So Lark was hostage until they did what Pyotr wanted. What was it Raoul had said? Pyotr wasn't pleased, but didn't condemn? So he'd been made Internal Affairs, but Lark was hostage until…when? "If I have to assault the Commander of Special Forces to get Lark back, I will."
"I doubt that will be necessary, and that stars-cursed pirate could use the lesson in humility, anyway."
Cyan laughed. "I don't think Lark would appreciate being told he lacks humility. We'll get him back, but one thing at a time. Where are we headed?"
"If the chem trackers are to be trusted, we are headed for Kolstar. We should arrive in five hours, set to rendezvous in four with an Auth ship, the Scythe."
"Good," Cyan replied. "I'm going to find better clothes." He strode out of the room and Einn followed him into one of the sleep cabins, watching as Cyan stripped, angry all over again at the bruises and scratches that covered him from head to toe.
"You need to rest," Einn said.
Cyan shrugged. "There's not really time."
"There's four hours," Einn said, and pushed away from the doorframe he'd been leaning against. He strode over to Cyan and grabbed him up, then carried him to the nearest bunk and set him down on it. "Sleep."
Cyan didn't reply and cut off whatever he was about to ask. Einn didn't push, just sat down beside him, and bent to give Cyan a kiss. "Go to sleep, Rehab." Cyan nodded and turned away to lay on his side. Einn lay down next to him, pulling Cyan close, and didn't move until Cyan's slight trembling ceased and he finally fell asleep.
Chapter Twenty
Custom Class StarShip Z-28922942, the Brilliant
Cyan kept wanting to reach out and touch, reassure himself for the thousandth time that Einn was alive—that he was real and not some figment of Cyan's imagination while he lay, still trapped in his old room, waiting for the next round of misery.
He should have been convinced after waking up to see Einn had stayed with him while he slept. But the weight of the memory of the collar around his throat pressed more heavily upon him than even Einn's warm presence. He could not yet shake the awful feeling that had fallen over him when he'd thought Einn was dead.
Einn looked up from the comm he was monitoring and smiled. Cyan smiled back, though from the look Einn then gave him, the smile didn't quite succeed. "I'm fine," he said, before Einn could ask. "Shaken, not broken." Not now that he realized nobody had died. He still didn't like that they'd come close because of him, but damn it, they were alive. Rall was dead. Jade was going to Rehab. He'd learned his lesson there; he wouldn't fuck up a second time. "Are we almost there?"
"Yes," Karmikel replied, looking away from the main screen where he was monitoring space, the planet they were approaching, and the ship travelling with them. He had switched earlier from his in-lens to full on in-specs, communicating with the Scythe and contacts down planet. "Approaching Kolstar, cleared to travel planet-wide at will. Should reach base in minus twenty-five. Stand by to teleport in, be prepared for immediate action. Don't get yourselves killed." He shot Einn a glare for good measure, though some of the thunder was lost as half his face was covered by the flashing in-specs.
"Copy that," Einn drawled, unfolding from his seat and stretching as he stood up. Cyan watched him, unable to tear his eyes away at first. Finally, he shook himself and stood, then checked both of the stunners he carried, along with three knives and half a dozen bombsticks he'd found in a neglected arms trunk in a closet off the engine room.
He followed Einn from the bridge and down to the transport room, flexing his hands in anticipation of a good fight. This kind of violence he could handle—all too well. It was only Jade who made him weak. Shoving the thought aside, he reached out and touched Einn, resting a hand against his chest and smiling at the way he could just barely feel the bones of Einn's chest. "Any other race, I'd call you starved nearly to death, rock spider."
Einn snagged his arm and pulled him in close, then bent to kiss him. "I'm fine. Alive. You're not getting rid of me that easily."
> Cyan smiled and started to say he was surprised he got Einn at all, but the lights flashed, warning them of imminent transport. They stepped onto the platform and, seconds later, vanished.
Planet 1529208 (Kolstar), Research Facility
They reappeared at the edge of a large group of Auths in their sharp gray uniforms. Cyan recognized the man in charge, but there was no chance to speak as everything abruptly turned into chaos. Guards streamed out of the facility they'd transported to, clearly not interested in surrendering peacefully—or surrendering at all. Cyan left the Auths to it and put his focus on getting through the melee and into the facility to find Sean and Mendel.
A guard came at him, blood streaming down his face, and Cyan put him out with a single stunner blast. Another rushed him from the right, and Cyan swung around, punched him, then stunned him. He pushed on, Einn close behind.
Inside the facility, the chaos only got worse. By the time they'd fought their way through, Cyan was sweaty, bloody, and ready for a nap. Why were there so many stars-damned guards? The entire operation had more of a cut-and-run feel that didn't mesh with the reckless attack by the excess of guards.
Finally, he reached the spot indicated by the chem tracers in Sean and Mendel's blood. He used his stunner to break the lock, and when the door still refused to budge, he pulled out a bombstick and affixed it to the door. "Clear!" he bellowed and pounded on the door to warn anyone on the other side. Pressing the activation button, he shoved Einn down the hall, diving down a side hall just seconds before the door blew.
He didn't wait for the debris to settle; just burst from the side hall and back down the main hallway, barreling through the shattered door, stunner in his left hand, right hand free to—
To find Sean, Mendel, and two more figures lying unconscious on the floor of what appeared to be a lavish—overly lavish—office. He also saw an open door at the very back, behind the massive, ornate desk that took up a large portion of the room.
"I'll take care of things here," Einn said from behind him.
Cyan grunted an acknowledgment and took off, vaulting over the desk and sprinting down the narrow hallway beyond at full tilt. At the end, he nearly crashed into a small scout ship, the sort meant to regroup with a larger ship elsewhere, probably a combat or merchant class, the only two classes that employed such scout ships.
The ship's engines began to pulse and whir, and Cyan didn't hesitated—simply lit another bombstick and flung it, throwing himself out of the way as it blew out most of the bottom part of the tiny ship. He swore loudly as shrapnel sliced his right calf, but only paused long enough to make certain it wasn't a dangerous wound. Clambering to his feet, he limped as quickly as he could manage to the ship and aimed his stunner at the still-closed door. "Exit the ship. You are under arrest. If you resist arrest, you will be treated as armed and dangerous. Exit the ship!"
When nothing happened, he moved in closer, wishing there was some way to deactivate—then his in-lens flashed, syncing with the door control panel, and the door slid open. Cyan adjusted his grip on his stunner and limped inside.
He sneered when he found High Chancellor Cohen in the cockpit. "Do you want to go with dignity, Cohen, or should I just knock you out and drag you?"
Cohen glared at him. "You have no authority to—"
"I'm a First Class Rehabilitation Guard; I have all the authority I need," Cyan said curtly. "I've also been temporarily instated as a liaison to Internal Affairs, which gives me more authority. Stand up, get off the fucking ship, and don't try anything."
Cohen went from defensive to gentle and smooth. "Cyan, my boy, we're old friends. Surely—"
"You had my parents murdered," Cyan hissed, and shot him. Cohen slumped over in his seat, and Cyan holstered his stunner before he gave in to the urge to kill Cohen and be done with the bastard. He hefted Cohen up over his shoulder, awkward in the tight space, and he was not remotely sorry that Cohen was the one most jarred and knocked around by the endeavor. Panting, Cyan slowly limped out of the ship, then even more slowly made his way back down the hallway to the office where he'd left Einn.
When he finally reached it, he dropped Cohen to the floor, then collapsed himself. He groaned—and startled when someone grabbed him, then immediately relaxed when he realized it was Einn. "Thanks," Cyan said, as Einn carefully hauled him to his feet, and then continued to support him.
"Do you require medical attention?" asked a level, precise voice.
Cyan looked up and smiled at the man he'd recognized earlier but had not been able to speak with: he had dark dusky skin and pale hair, and the sort of sharp eyes that seemed as though they missed nothing. He was dressed in the steel gray uniform of the Authorities and wore the marks of a Lieutenant. "Sigma," he greeted. "I'm not surprised in the least to see you here."
"Or I you," Sigma replied. "Do you need medical assistance?"
"No, I'm good."
Sigma nodded and glanced at the desk, surprise flooding his features. "That is the High Chancellor. Commander Kavalerov said this assignment would require discretion, but…"
"High Chancellor Cohen is behind this entire operation. We have the evidence."
"Here!" Sean said suddenly, from where he was sitting against a wall, looking tired and pained. He tossed Cyan a mini datapad.
Cyan caught it neatly, then flipped it to Sigma, and added, "I also have it on good authority that he is guilty of the murders of Lord and Lady Alexander."
Sigma's brows rose, but he said only, "I will see the investigation is given renewed attention. I am under orders to get the four of you out of here quickly and quietly."
"We're going," Cyan said.
"You might work harder on the quickly part," Sigma said. "I will finish up here and contact Kavalerov should I need anything further from you. He will forward me your reports."
Cyan nodded and clasped his shoulder briefly in gratitude, then let Einn help him from the room. They paused at the door, waiting while Sean said farewell to the other two figures in the room. Belatedly, Cyan realized one of them was Dr. Bikendi.
"Remember what I said," Bikendi said to Sean.
"I can scarcely forget," Sean replied, smiling faintly. "Thank you."
Bikendi grunted and said nothing more, merely moved to go speak with Sigma. Cyan turned to Mendel and realized the woman he was embracing was a relation—mother, he guessed, by age and the way she was hugging him. Only mothers hugged like that; he felt a pang, recalling his own, then. He'd been too angry, those days he hadn't known were their last, to hug anyone.
Einn's arm tightened around him, and a soft kiss brushed Cyan's brow. "We need to go," Einn said, drawing Mendel's attention.
Mendel nodded, said something quietly to his mother, and with a last embrace, finally joined them, following them out into the main hallway and out of the research facility. A few minutes later, they reached the outer yard and Karmikel transported them back onto the ship, and the Brilliant sped rapidly away.
"Cyan!" Sean burst out once they appeared on the ship. He hugged Cyan tightly, and Cyan held him just as fiercely. "You're safe! We knew Einn would get you. I'm sorry you were dragged—"
"Forget it," Cyan interrupted, smiling. "Good things came out of it. So what do we do now, you think?"
"Now, we rendezvous with the Shangri La," Karmikel said from behind them. "One hour, be ready."
Combat Class Starship A-98147121, the Shangri La
Cyan bowed low to the tall, imperious, older look-a-like of Pyotr who stood before him. "Grand Chancellor. It's been a long time."
"Not so long you need be so formal," Grand Chancellor Arkadii Kavalerov replied, and beckoned Cyan closer. Cyan smiled and obediently hugged him.
"You're the same as ever."
Looking him over critically, Arkadii said, "You've grown into yourself—mostly, anyway." Cyan raised his brows. "We'll fix what's still missing," Arkadii said briskly, with a look that said it was pointless to ask, he would say nothing further. Cyan had gotten that
look a lot, growing up.
Arkadii moved to his desk on the far side of the office he had clearly commandeered from Pyotr. "Sit, all of you. The Commander has just finished briefing me on this entire debacle." He slid a look toward Pyotr, and Cyan winced inwardly in sympathy. Six terms later, he still knew what it felt like to be given that look. "I have quite a mess on my hands," Arkadii said, sitting down and folding his hands on the desk. "My High Chancellor has been arrested for a list of crimes I shudder to look at. There is a warrant out for one of my Lower Chancellors, who has apparently gone missing—"
"Missing!" Einn burst out, rising from his chair. "He was chained to that damned bed! How the stars did he go missing?" he snarled but sat again when Cyan tugged at him. Arkadii regarded him with amusement, and Einn tacked on a belated, "Your Lordship."
Snorting in further amusement, Arkadii answered, "He managed to escape, though the Auths I sent to retrieve him could not tell me how."
"Jade," Cyan said bitterly. "He always finds a way."
Arkadii replied in calm tones, "He cannot hide forever. For the present, I must sort out the lot of you. With the exception of Agent Aurum, every person in this room is either a criminal or dangerously close to being one. However, the circumstances are, to say the least, extenuating." He looked at Karmikel and actually smiled. "Thank you, Agent Aurum, for actually abiding by the laws you are sworn to uphold as closely as you are able, given your duties."
"I am proud to serve, Your Lordship."
"Kiss ass," Lark said, and Cyan wondered when he had entered the room. He nodded at Cyan and Einn, pointedly ignoring the nasty look Karmikel shot him.
Arkadii sighed, drawing their attention back to him. He leaned forward, hands still folded together, elbows on the desk. "In light of recent events, the reports submitted to me by various persons, and the recommendation submitted by Commander Kavalerov, I am officially instating Cyan Alexander, Adalsteinn, and Lark Vallant as Internal Affairs Agents. Given your colorful history, sadly a history that is common in the IA, you are on probation for a full term. At the end of that term, if you have performed admirably, you will be instated as full agents. Agent Aurum will be your handler during your trial term. If you do not work out as agents, other arrangements will be made. This is not a job offer; it is an order."