Cromian Conspiracy (Celestial Empires Book 1)

by Raymond Cooper

  “You'll sleep soon,” Gemma she said. “And when you wake up, this will be all over with, I promise. I have no intention of hurting you – or of letting you be hurt. You are under my protection, Gemma. Just give into sleep and dream of something sweet. Something pleasant. Don't trouble your mind with this business anymore. It will all be over with soon enough.”

  “What will be?” I asked, staring up at her as my vision blurred. “What will be over with soon enough, Mazzy?”

  She got down on her knees in front of me, stroking the hair from my face. The smile she gave me was filled with warmth and compassion. It was the smile of a friend, maybe even a lover. Not the smile of somebody intending to kill me or do me any harm. All the same, I wanted to throttle her – and get the hell out of there.

  But then, the idea of a peaceful sleep was alluring. And the feel of her fingers upon my skin, of her running her hands through my hair was nice. There was part of my brain that tried to convince me to stay there, just like that – with Mazzy – for as long as I wanted. Forever maybe.

  “Such a strong, beautiful creature,” she said. “I hate that things had to turn out this way. I hate that we can't trust you. I really do, Gemma. You have no idea how much I wish things were otherwise.”

  “You can trust me,” I murmured, feeling my eyes closing, despite my best efforts to stave off sleep. “That's why I'm here. That's why I gave you the plans – ”

  An overwhelming feeling of exhaustion swept over me, and then I blinked once more and the darkness that had been creeping in at the edges of my vision rushed in like a wave, powerful, strong, and irresistible. I found that I couldn't resist the tide and was content to simply allow myself to be pulled under, giving in to the darkness of a drug-induced sleep at last.

  ooo000ooo

  When I awoke, my head was fuzzy and everything seemed blurred and out of focus. They were muffled and sounded far away, but I heard voices. Familiar voices.

  I tried to sit up, but found that I couldn't move. Was it an effect of the drugs Mazzy had slipped me? Was there some sort of temporary paralysis to it or something? I turned my head though, and figured out why I couldn't move – and it made the anger inside of me well up once more.

  I'd been tied to the bed. Both my hands and feet were tied down – tight. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room around me, I saw that Mazzy was there. But she wasn't alone. I couldn't make out the faces, but I knew the voices.

  And it wasn't the human I'd seen before. No, it was Blyn. They were speaking in muffled tones, but I recognized his voice the instant I heard it and knew beyond the shadow of a doubt it was him. The entire time he'd been watching and accusing me, he was the one who'd been playing both sides.

  When Mazzy saw that I was awake, she walked over to me.

  “Awake already?” she asked. “You must be strong. That drug tends to knock most people out for a much longer period of time.”

  “Can you give her more?” Blyn asked.

  He walked over and stood next her, sneering down at me as he spoke. I looked back at him with narrowed eyes I hoped conveyed the depth of my disgust and loathing for the little toad.

  “No, I'm afraid not,” Mazzy said. “Not without risking doing permanent harm to her.”

  “Why do we care what happens to her?” he asked. “Not our problem Give her another dose.”

  “No,” Mazzy said firmly. “We care what happens to her because she's important. We need her alive. And undamaged.”

  “Why?” I asked. Both of them gave me a strange look. “Why do you need me alive? What in the hell are you planning on doing with me?”

  They looked down at me, almost like they forgot I was a sentient being who could understand what they were saying. Or perhaps, they were simply ashamed of whatever it was they had planned for me – whatever it was they needed me alive for.

  A million different thoughts raced through my head about what they could possibly need me for – and none of them spelled good news for me.

  So I repeated, “Why do you need me alive?”

  “You're important, Gemma,” Mazzy said. “That's all I'm willing to say right now.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I fell into another fitful sleep punctuated by bad dreams after Mazzy gave me another injection of some sort. But eventually, I woke up again. I felt weak and tired – like I hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks. I wanted to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but there were warning bells sounding inside my brain.

  I strained my ears and listened – and realized that there was something in the dark room with me. Something furtively moving around through the thick pools of shadow that filled the room. My heart raced and adrenaline coursed through my body. My skin tingled with what felt like electricity and my body felt like it was on fire.

  I lay there, pretending to still be asleep, but trying to decide what to do and how to play it. I wasn't sure if I should let them know I was awake – or pretend that I was still asleep.

  I was having a really difficult time making a decision and figuring out what I was going to do, until a familiar voice piped up beside me in a low, somewhat hushed tone.

  “We're going to get you out of here,” the voice said.

  His metallic face swam out of the darkness that surrounded me, becoming clear to me a second later. And as I looked upon his face, I knew that never before had I been so happy to see my bot. I wanted to hug him, but I also knew that Xavix – while able to do a lot – wasn't exactly fit for a rescue mission. Nor was he really all that enthusiastic about displays of emotion – like hugging.

  I had a thousand questions and wanted to know who the “we” Xavix had spoken of were, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. I was afraid that by doing so, I might give my saviors away. Xavix worked at my restraints and one hand became free, quickly followed by the next. Someone else was working on my feet, but I couldn't see who.

  It took a matter of moments, but finally, I was free. I could move my arms and legs completely unencumbered. I sat up too quickly and then felt extremely dizzy. I wobbled a little bit before falling into Xavix, who held me with his metallic arms.

  “Take it easy,” came a voice from behind him. “You've been drugged. Don't move around too much just yet or you're likely going to throw up everywhere.”

  It was Chris. Mazzy's friend. Or supposedly, Mazzy's friend.

  More questions filled my brain, but now wasn't the time. We needed to escape. We needed a plan – but I was having a hard time focusing enough to do that.

  “Liam, Todd, can you carry her – ”

  “I can walk,” I said.

  There was no way in hell I was going to let some men carry me out. Not when I was still okay enough to walk out of there on my own. But as I stood, I found myself feeling even more lightheaded than before, leaning on Xavix to help keep me upright. Damn. Whatever they gave me was strong. So strong that even hours later, my legs felt weak beneath me.

  A tall, large man reached for my arm, and at first, I held on tightly to Xavix, holding on for dear life and, and glared at the man. Trusting anyone after what I'd been through was going to be tough. Really tough.

  But then I realized, I needed the help so I took his arm and held on to Xavix, who was on my other side. I wanted to ask how they got together, how they knew here to find me – and so many other questions that were firing through my mind. Questions I desperately wanted to ask – but I knew that we had no time for a question and answer session right then and there. We needed to get out of there.

  As we walked through the door of the bedroom where I'd been kept and out into the living room, I saw Mazzy, Blyn and Eryka on the floor together. Tied up, eyes closed, and not moving.

  “Are they – ?”

  “No, they're not dead,” Chris muttered. “That would only hurt our cause more.”

  “So Mazzy isn't your friend?” I asked.

  “Not anymore, she's not,” he said.

  I could hear a hint of sadness coloring hi
s voice, but he didn't let his genuine feelings show on his face. He remained strong and detached as we walked from the warehouse and out into the street. It felt nice to be free and outside in the cool, Acrovian air, but I could tell something still wasn't right.

  As I breathed the air, soaked in the cool, gentle breeze, I could tell that something was just – off.

  “What is it?” I asked as Chris scanned the perimeter of the building, his voice tight.

  “Mr. Boygan,” he said with a sigh. “He got away.”

  Of course he had. But then again, I hadn't even seen him, come to think of it. I had no reason to think he would have been there. But then, it was a shock to me when I saw that Blyn was throwing in with Mazzy. And, of course, I'd had no idea – until now – what side Mazzy was really on. Had no idea that she was actually working for Boygan. And honestly, I never would have suspected it. Never would have believed that she'd cast her lot with Boygan.

  But that all evaporated when I was rescued – and saw who it was doing the rescuing.

  “But our first priority is getting you out of here,” he said. “Liam, stay back with Mikayla. And be very careful in case he tries to come back for his friends.”

  A tall, black man nodded and did as he was told. I guess that meant Todd was the one I was leaning on. Finally feeling back to normal for the most part, I managed to let go of his arm and walk on still somewhat unsteady legs over to Chris.

  “Why am I the priority?” I asked.

  Mazzy said they needed me alive. And Chris had just said I was the priority. What was going on? Why was I suddenly important to everyone?” I shook my head to clear it, no closer to understanding any of what was happening or on what side of the allegiance line everybody was on.

  “Because you're the scapegoat, the poster child of why they should be afraid of humans,” he said quietly. “They were going to frame you and let you take the fall to prove their case.”

  Chris peered around the corner and muttered something that sounded like a curse under his breath. Looking back at me, his face was grim and yet, determined.

  “Think you can fight?” he asked.

  “I can always fight,” I said, feeling a little dizzier than I liked, but I wasn't about to admit that to him – not in that moment, anyway. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because we have got trouble heading our way in a hurry,” he said, tossing me a gun since all mine had been confiscated.

  I stared down at the weapon in my hand, still feeling woozy. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly, trying to steady and collect myself. I was doing everything in my power to banish the wooziness though. Chris looked over at me, clearly concerned, so I straightened up and tried to look tough. Tried to look unconcerned with the coming fight.

  I simply took a breath, locked my personal feelings away, and tried to focus on the task at hand. Tried to focus on what it was that had brought us there together in the first place.

  I can do this.

  I'm a fighter.

  I got this.

  As we turned the corner, Chris and Todd moved to take on the guards in front of us, with me playing more of a safety net behind the action. Even Xavix has a gun, and I never knew he could shoot. Of course, I'd never had to give him a gun since I often left him behind when it came to the truly dangerous missions.

  On wobbly legs, I held the gun out in front of me and we turned the corner of the building, I saw that it wasn't Mr. Boygan waiting for us like I'd more or less expected. But it was men like him – all surprised by us and not ready to fight.

  Chris and Todd immediately engaged the two men nearest to them. They raised their arms and fired their weapons. The two guards dropped to the ground, dead. There were more though, and they reacted faster than the first two.

  Shots were fired and barely missed us all, laser blasts slamming into the walls around us. But as we pushed forward, the quarters got way too close for guns, so we all drew daggers from the sheaths on our belts and waded in. I lost sight of Chris and Todd as they hacked and slashed their way through the guards.

  I was doing my best to keep up with them, slashing away at anybody who popped into my field of vision.

  “Gemma, stay behind me,” Xavix said. “I will protect you.”

  “I don't need your protection, Xavix,” I said a I parried the thrust of a guard and then slashed him across the throat with his own blade.

  The man fell to the ground, clutching his wounded throat. He looked at me, blood pouring from the wound in his throat, and gasped at me. I stood up and fired at some soldiers heading for Chris and Todd, dropping them at their feet.

  We continued moving forward and I watched as the two men spun and twirled, hacking and slashing with their blades. It was an impressive sight, truth be told, and I was impressed with how smoothly and almost effortlessly they dispatched the guards who were coming at us. As impressive as it was though, I was dropping more bodies than them – and quicker than they were.

  I stayed a few steps behind the two men, supporting them with cover fire as needed. As I moved forward, picking off soldiers two at a time, I glanced at the bodies on the ground around us – Chris and Todd were fairly lethal with a blade in their hands. Though, in all honesty, I was more of a blaster girl. I trusted myself with a gun far more than I trusted myself with a blade.

  It took some time, but we finally managed to cut our way through the crowd of soldiers. All of the guards were either lying dead on the ground or were in full retreat – no doubt, to inform their superiors about us. Which would eventually prove to be problematic. But for the moment, I was content soaking in the air of a free woman.

  “Should we go after them?” I asked. “If they blow our cover – ”

  “Our cover is already blown,” Chris griped.

  “Our primary mission,” Xavix said. “Is to retrieve Gemma and make our way back to our ship. I suggest we do just that – before reinforcements show up.”

  Both men turned and glared at Xavix. But, even they couldn't deny the wisdom of his words. Reinforcements would be coming. They'd be coming soon. And we needed to be long gone before they did get back.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “That was close,” Chris said, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. “Really close.”

  “Not really,” I remarked, smiling at the man. “I've survived worse. That wasn't exactly close – it was more inconvenient than anything.”

  I knew that I probably shouldn't be laughing or making light of the attack, but we survived. Which made everything else gravy. As I looked around though, it became obvious that – Chris and Todd aside – their team weren't exactly fighters, they were political activists. Nothing more.

  Okay, they were maybe a little more. Chris and Todd certainly did seem to know how to handle themselves in a fight. They had survived, after all. And they'd even managed to kill a few of the baddies while they were at it.

  But these people were not hardened, battle-tested fighters. These were people more suited to sitting behind computers, analyzing the latest poll numbers.

  Which was why I still worried about my safety. It was easy to take down a few guards when we had the element of surprise on our hands. But would we be able to slice through enemy fighters when they knew we were coming? Could Chris and Todd lead these people to take on Kysos' troops head on and come away with a win?

  Or were they more likely to get me killed in the process? I didn't know. But in the small glimpse I'd seen, I didn't think it boded very well for their chances – or mine. Chris and Todd had been pretty amazing with their blades.

  But I still had the higher kill count.

  Even Xavix had managed to get a few shots in – which made me proud. I put an arm around his shoulder as we boarded a ship to escape.

  “You did well, my friend,” I said. “I never knew you were programmed to fight.”

  “I'm not,” he said matter-of-factly, “But I had some updates that helped in that regard.”

  I side-e
yed him, then looked over at Chris who was climbing into the captain's chair.

  “Don't worry,” he said. “We didn't make any major changes. He's still the same old droid – he just has a few new added features.”

  “You taught my mechanic how to fight?” I said.

  Chris shrugged. “Might need him in the war to come,” he said. “I didn't think it would hurt anything if he knew how to pull a trigger. Your life may depend on it one day in the not too distant future.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I mean, it's not over yet. They're still planning on killing Kysos and we still need your help,” he said. “Because they've already turned you into a scapegoat. A terrorist of sorts. And if you’re apprehended by local authorities, you're going to be in a whole world of hurt. They don't mess around when it comes to terrorists on Acrov.”

  “What do you – ” But before I could finish my question, Todd passed me a handheld screen. He turned it on and instantly, my face was staring back at me along with the words, “Most Wanted” emblazoned beneath it on the screen.

  “You see,” Chris said. “Jenco, or as you know him, Mr. Boygan, had a backup plan all along. Even if you didn't kill Kysos, you would still be public enemy number one and show everyone how truly awful human beings can be – even those who currently don't hate us. That's been his agenda this whole time.”

  “So Kysos really doesn't want to start a war with Earth?”

  “The exact opposite in fact,” Chris said. “And if you don't believe me, you can ask him what his plans are for yourself. We're headed to his place now.”

  “Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, I'm listed as one of Acrov's Most Wanted,” I said. “Shouldn't I stay away from the man they think I'm going to kill?”

  Chris shrugged and looked back at me. “Probably? But we're not going to get anywhere by playing it safe. There’s too much at stake right now for us to keep sticking our heads in the sand.”