“Maybe.” Samuel’s lip snarled as he leaned his hands onto the table. “I know enough about Nadine Devonire’s troubles to know she doesn’t want to get sent home to her family. If you want to stop me from doing that, you’ll play ball. Or, do you need reminding about what awaits her when she returns home?”
Kylie turned away. She had heard enough, and from the scowl on Samuel’s face, it was clear he knew it.
“I have an offer to make you.”
“Fine, I’m listening,” Kylie said even though she didn’t want to listen at all.
“We fix your ship and release your crew. You go back to Maverick with the Titan-1 as your salvage. It’ll give you the opportunity to get close to Maverick.” Samuel turned the lights back on. “You rescue my daughter, do whatever you have to do. I’ll make sure the four of you are never bothered again. You’ll get your own letter of marquee and complete immunity for past crimes,” he finished.
Work legally? With no problems and no hassles? If that was true, Kylie would never have to see Maverick again or share his bed. It was almost too good to be true, which meant she couldn’t trust it. Kylie couldn’t let her guard down. “We’ll get a free pass for everything that happened?”
“Everything that happened and everything that will happen on this mission. I’ll see to it the SA grants you immunity for everything that you have to do ’til my daughter is back in my arms, Commander Rhoads. You know I have the power to do it.”
“I’m not a commander anymore, General, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
Old habits were indeed hard to break.
Samuel leaned his hand down onto the table. “This is the best offer you’re going to get. If you say no, you’ll be transferred to an SSF holding facility to await trial. It’ll be swift. And it’ll be the Dauntless that will find itself salvaged.”
Kylie’s tongue ran along her teeth. “Well, when you put it that way…”
Grayson entered the room, and Kylie wondered how long he had been listening. Obviously, he knew going into the mission to capture her what was going to happen—what the endgame was—and he still set her up.
So much for any past feelings they may have shared. Grayson was loyal to a fault, and Kylie never had any misgivings about who he was loyal to. The Silstrand Alliance had his body, mind, and soul. Kylie had just borrowed him for a little while.
“A few more points of to cover. To make sure you follow the plan and do your damnedest to rescue my daughter, Grayson will be onboard your ship.”
A representative from the SSF, on her ship? That much Kylie could’ve guessed, it was smart business, but the idea of spending a prolonged period of time with Grayson was unfathomable. After everything that had happened—not even counting the things that had transpired on the Imperial Dawn.
Kylie did her best to keep her eyes front and center but couldn’t resist a quick glance at her former lover. Grayson wasn’t looking at her either, but he was smirking. That smirk she could never wipe off his face for good. It always found its way back.
“Just one more thing. To succeed in this mission, you will need to be fitted with a military AI. The process is relatively painless and will take about three days for full integration—”
Military AI? In her brain? New anxiety surged. Kylie tried to stand up from the table, and the cuffs around her wrists caught on the locking bar, jerking her back down. The officers behind her stepped forward just in case she tried to do anything. What could she try to do? She was out of moves.
Still, Kylie couldn’t stop her charging heart from trying to break through her ribs at the mere suggestion that her brain would suddenly become home to another being—even if it was artificial. “No way! An AI? Not on your life. I’d rather go to prison. People go wrong when they have an AI. I’ve seen it before and even those that don’t, they’re never the same. Sub-humans.”
Grayson wiped his mouth as his oh-so-intelligent stare cut through Kylie. “I know this is something you’ve strongly believed for a long time and it’s not your fault. Your technophobe parents indoctrinated you long before you ever came to the academy. But there’s another way. I’ve been living with my AI for over ten years and it’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Kylie’s nostrils flared. “You’re not one to tell me what I cannot be afraid of. My parents aren’t technophobes. They’re devout in their beliefs. They just chose another way of life that might seem arcane to you, but it’s calm and pleasant and gave me everything I need to survive.”
Samuels muffled a laugh. “Life in space on a freighter? A pilot? You loved your techno-free existence so much that you joined the Alliance?”
“You’re twisting my past. It’s not like that.”
It wasn’t. She didn’t run away because she was trying to escape, she didn’t join the SSF Academy because she wanted to run away and hide. She just wanted to travel and explore new places, and with her piloting skills, maybe she could do some good. Boy, had she been wrong.
None of which had anything to do with her parents or the religion that they followed.
Kylie held her ground. “You can’t change my mind on this.”
“Then the deal is off,” Samuel said with a grunt, clearly disappointed in her decision.
“I can do it without an AI. I know Maverick in ways other people don’t. I don’t need an AI to get the job done.” Kylie’s breath stuttered. “With my crew, this mission has a high likelihood of success. I can get your daughter back, I know it, at least give me a shot. If it doesn’t work, you can stick us all back into lockup, and you get one more salvage ship ready for duty.”
Grayson and Samuel stared at one another. Kylie suspected they were communicating over the Link. What she wouldn’t give to have access to that little chat.
She straightened up, her shoulders rigid as she waited for them to speak. It was Samuel who finally did, “Grayson convinced me to go along with your plan. But if you or your team try anything funny, you’re not the only one who will be punished for this mission going wrong.” Samuel nodded to Grayson and the guards before taking his leave.
Grayson unlocked her handcuffs, and Kylie rubbed her hands together to sooth her itching skin. “You put yourself on the line for me?”
Grayson shrugged. “Least I could do. I suckered you into this mess. Besides, I know you can get the job done. The two of us together…once we were unstoppable.”
Kylie remembered the time. It was a long time ago, before she was booted out of the SSF with a dishonorable discharge. “And the Dauntless?”
“It’s being worked on now. I knew you’d say yes.” Grayson smirked and showed off his dimples.
Kylie did her best not to return his smile or notice his stinking dimples. “And how long will it take for the station to make the repairs?”
“Thirty-two hours. Just enough time for you to get your crew on board with this mission. And with me.”
Kylie snorted. Barely enough time just one of those tasks.
GET IN LINE
STELLAR DATE: 08.27.8947 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Silstrand Space Force navy base
REGION: Trio System, Silstrand Alliance
Rogers had been moved from his holding cell into more comfortable quarters along with Winter and Nadine—a small room containing a simple table and chairs with a gray loveseat in the rear and a small window overlooking the station’s docks. On the dock, uniformed and civilian workers went about their business. The room’s only exit was guarded by two silent officers, not exactly giving Rogers a good vibe about the situation.
When Winter began pacing in the middle of the room, Rogers’ vibe went from bad to worse. He sauntered up to Winter, his fists clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white.
“Don’t,” Nadine whispered from her seat at the table. In her hand was a purple glass filled with filtered water, courtesy of the guard that had poured it for her.
Winter held his hand up to stop Rogers’s approach, but he wasn’t going to back down. He didn
’t care if the entire station descended onto them. What Winter did was immature and selfish, two things Rogers wouldn’t put up with.
He grabbed Winter by his shirt. “What the hell was that, huh? You don’t make a move unless we all make a move! You broke the damn code, and for what? Yourself?”
Winter pushed Rogers back with a casual thrust. “Get off me.”
Rogers lost his grip on the big man’s shirt and plopped down into an empty chair. He stood back up and went toe-to-toe with Winter even though there was no way he could beat the hulking man’s raw strength. “You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to act high and mighty. I have a lot to say to you, and you’re damn well going to listen.”
He paused, and when Winter didn’t say anything, continued. “You put us all in jeopardy. Nadine, the cap— you did more than put her in harm’s way. She took a huge risk saving your ass. More than I would have.”
“You took a weapon too,” Winter said
Rogers nodded. “Had no choice and it nearly got me killed. If I didn’t make a move, you’d be dead. You forced my hand with no plan, no backup. You’re a sonofabitch, Winter. Always knew it, but you were our sonofabitch. Good for the team and all that. Now you’re airlock trash for all I care.”
Both men glared at each other and their chests puffed out. Winter began to circle Rogers like they were standing in the middle of a wrestling ring, and Rogers moved to face his would-be friend and shipmate. If he wanted a fight, Rogers was damn well going to give him one. Even though he couldn’t come out on top, he’d damn well try.
“Don’t. Not on my account,” Nadine said with a quiet strength.
They both glanced at her like they had forgotten she was there, and Rogers, for his part, had. Her sad eyes peered up from beneath her feathered blue bangs, and their gaze defused his anger.
“Sorry, Nadine.” Rogers took a deep breath. “But it had to be said.”
“I know, but please stop now.”
“Just when things were getting good,” one of the SSF guards said with a chuckle from her post at the room’s entrance, and Rogers threw her a dirty look.
Winter bent down to make eye contact with Nadine. “I didn’t mean….”
Her sorrowful eyes didn’t leave his face, and the heartbreak of it all made Rogers look away. “You were going to let them kill me.”
Winter shook his head. “It was never going to happen.”
“Bull. Shit.” Rogers squinted. “You panicked, you snapped. Just admit it. Everyone knows your history, getting sent back to prison for you might be the last time. To get away from that, you threw us all to the wolves.”
Rogers turned and took a breath as though he was done, but then decided he wasn’t. He came back and pointed his finger straight beneath Winter’s nose. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re no longer part of this team. And if we ever see Kylie again, I’ll tell her how I feel.”
Winter huffed. “You think she’ll take your side over mine?”
Rogers nodded. “After what you did? She’ll take my side. You’ll be lucky if she ever lets you step aboard the Dauntless again. If my girl hasn’t been scrapped yet.” Rogers walked to the other side of the room and stared out the window to study the ships as they were loaded and unloaded. His anger slowly defused and blew out, nice and slow. Trying to forget everything he had just said.
But behind him, it wasn’t done. Winter sat down at the table. “Nadine,” he whispered, “I never meant for you…. It just didn’t go how I thought it would play out.”
Nadine shook her head. “You didn’t think. That’s the problem, and that’s what Rogers is getting at, albeit less eloquently. You reacted in fear, Winter, and that’s something that puts us all at risk.”
Winter stared off at the wall. “I guess an apology won’t work.”
Nadine smiled slightly. “But it’s a start.”
Rogers turned and leaned against the window frame, while Nadine and Winter got buddy-buddy. He wasn’t so easily swayed. At that very moment, the door slid open, and Kylie stepped in.
She looked no worse for wear—in fact, Rogers thought she looked more refreshed than when they last saw her after the confrontation in the Imperial Dawn’s docking bay. She was back in her gleaming black leggings and form-fitting blue jacket, not the prison jumpsuit he had been half expecting.
Rogers stepped forward to greet her as Nadine and Winter quickly rose from their seats. Rogers was the first to speak. “You okay? What happened?”
* * * * *
Kylie reached for Nadine’s hand and squeezed her fingers, and a small smile passed between them. “I’m fine.”
Winter licked his lips and immediately try to speak, but Kylie cut him off with a stern glare. “You sit down.”
Winter’s eyes flashed open wide, and his cheeks puffed out, but he didn’t argue. He flopped into the seat and crossed his arms like a man-child who was just scolded by his governess—which wasn’t that far from the truth.
Rogers suppressed a chuckle and Kylie was glad for that. She wasn’t looking to have a pissing contest.
“There’s a lot to say.” Kylie’s weight shifted from one leg to the next, nervous with all their eyes on her.
“The Dauntless?” Rogers asked, and Kylie saw the worry in his eyes even though he did a fine job of keeping it out of his voice.
“She’s being fixed. In little more than a day, shall be in ship shape and we’ll be onboard.”
Winter’s scowled. “Why? We should be in prison cells for what we did.”
“You mean what you did?” Kylie leaned over and studied his face. “I made a deal to get us out of a royal mess we stepped into, and then you made it worse. You tied my hands, Winter. I don’t like it when my hands are tied.”
Nadine cleared her throat, and Kylie glanced at her comm officer. Well, maybe sometimes she liked to be tied, but that was beside the point.
“We’re going to take the Dauntless and go on a rescue mission to save the general’s daughter. Once that’s done and she’s back in his loving arms, we’ll have our freedom. And a letter of marquee.” Kylie couldn’t help but feel a little pride as she said it.
Rogers’s eyebrows rose. “Damn, we’re going legit?”
The excitement in the room rose as the uncertainty on Winter’s face increased.
Nadine clapped with a happy, but demur, squeal. “This is so amazing. I always knew you could go legit, Kylie.”
Her words of belief and encouragement made Kylie’s heart soar. It wasn’t often anymore that she was proud of herself, but right then she felt it.
“And we’re going to have immunity. We get the general’s daughter back by any means necessary.”
Nadine expelled a long-held breath. “This is the best news I’ve heard since, well…since I was nearly killed—but then wasn’t.”
Kylie smiled and touched her chin “There’s just one thing, an SSF representative will be onboard the Dauntless to make sure we do everything we’re supposed to. And it’s not negotiable.”
“Did you even try saying ‘no’?” Winter asked.
“Don’t,” Rogers ordered him. “You’ve lost your say in anything we decide. Anything Kylie decides, keep your trap shut.”
Winter stood from his chair and kicked it back. “I’m tired of your sanctimonious bullshit, Rogers. You were there, same as I was.”
Kylie put a hand on his chest and stopped him, ready to put all her might into it if he pushed. “Knock it, off. The both of you. This is where we are. There’s no going back and, of course, I tried. You think I want back in with the SSF?”
Winter glowered at Rogers but answered Kylie. “Maybe you do.”
“Then maybe you don’t know her at all,” Nadine said. “Maybe if you came out of the cargo hold once in a while and socialized with the crew, you’d see that’s not who she is.”
Winter stepped back to pick up his chair, and Kylie lowered her hand. They had a conversation in their future, a long one, but here, in front of everyo
ne, wasn’t the time or place. Winter could be reasoned with when it was one-on-one. What he did was inexcusable, if he didn’t see that…well, Kylie hoped he’d come around.
“We’re still a team. We’re still together on this. If this is going to work, we need to get past everything that happened. The rescue won’t be easy; if it was, they wouldn’t need us.”
Rogers nodded, and the crew fell in line. “Who has her?”
Kylie licked her lips. What she was about to say wouldn’t be easy for any of them to hear. “Maverick.”
Winter gripped the back of his chair while Rogers and Nadine groaned in disappointment. “You expect us to grab someone out from under Maverick? You have any idea the bounty that’ll put on our heads? He won’t let that go, and none of the other syndicates will, either. We might as well spend our life in prison. Because if we go against him, getting spaced will be the best thing we can hope for.”
“That’s the situation, and if we work together, I think we can pull this off. Maverick, he’ll be angry for a while, but we can talk him down. He’s always looking for new legitimate connections to make his little organization look more on the up and up.” Kylie threw a glance at Nadine to see how she was absorbing the news.
Her complexion was sheet white as she swayed in her seat. Well, it could’ve gone worse.
“We’ve always talked about getting out from under him. This could be our chance, and if an innocent young woman is under his control—”
“None of our business,” Winter said. “We keep to ourselves. We—”
“It’s our business now.” Nadine took a deep breath and rose from her chair. “I guess you have a plan?” She stood closer, and Kylie welcomed it.
Kylie felt warm just having her nearby. Her fingertips touched Nadine’s as she nodded. Simple touch was all that was necessary for her to feel alive, feel vibrant. There was so much in touch, human contact—what about that was so hard for the Alliance military and their AIs to comprehend?
“There’s a plan and here’s how it’s going to go.”
* * * * *
Close Proximity - An Aeon14 Space Opera Adventure (Perilous Alliance) Page 5