The Star Thief

by Jamie Grey

  “And who the hell do you think you are?” He shifted on his feet, his gaze flicking to the Athena’s crew still behind bars.

  Renna flipped her hair, focused on keeping the man’s attention. “You saw me leave with Viktis. We go way back. I’ve agreed to help him with this haul…and a few other things.”

  Someone whispered “bitch” from the brig, but she ignored it.

  His suspicion was almost palpable. “Yeah? So where’s Viktis then?”

  “On the bridge getting ready to take off. You want him to leave you behind?” Renna turned to go with a shrug. “Whatever. You don’t believe me, that’s your problem. You can stay here and wait for the Marines to find you.”

  The man frowned, then slid his knife back in its sheath. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  Renna let him go first out the door, grabbing one of the crew’s pistols from the officer in charge’s desk. She slipped it into the waistband of her pants before following him back to the cargo ramp. She’d only use it if she had to.

  The merc stepped outside the ship, but she paused, pressing her finger below her ear like she was taking a call on her communicator. “Right.” She paused for a beat. “I’ll make sure.” Another pause. “Yes, he’s on his way now.”

  The man turned. “What was that?”

  “Viktis wants me to search the captain’s quarters, but he wants you back on the ship to help with prep. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever the boss wants.” Without a glance back, he tromped down the gangway and disappeared into the docking bay.

  Renna spun on her heels and slammed a hand against the hatch panel. As soon as it started to close, she dashed back down the deck to the brig.

  “What the hell is going on?” Finn demanded as she fumbled with the lock on the cell.

  “I just saved your asses. We need to get the hell out of here now before Viktis’s crew realizes what’s going on.”

  “Everyone! Stations, now! Prep for takeoff.” The crew streamed from the room, running to various parts of the ship.

  Renna ran behind Finn and Keva to the bridge where the two immediately began shouting commands.

  Seconds later, the whir of the engine filled the ship. “Flight status, Lieutenant?” Finn demanded.

  Keva’s fingers flew across her display. “Take off in forty-five seconds.”

  Around them, the ship rumbled and vibrated as the engines warmed. Renna’s stomach jumped as the ship surged into motion, speeding away from the spaceport before beginning its ascent back into the stars. They were safe.

  Captain Finn finished giving his orders, then leaned back against the railing beside her, his arms crossed. “What did you do?” he asked. “What happened to the merc?”

  “Don’t worry about it, Finn. I took care of him.”

  “You were gone for almost an hour.” He sounded sullen and annoyed.

  She blinked at him. “Is there a problem? I thought you’d be happy I was finally earning my payment.” Renna turned to walk away, but Finn grabbed her arm.

  “Did you sleep with him?”

  Renna gritted her teeth and slung his hand off her. “By the stars, why do you even care? You already think I’m a whore, remember?”

  Finn’s lips thinned. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”

  Renna arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know why you keep making those kinds of assumptions. It’s obvious you don’t know anything about me, Captain. Not anymore.”

  He shifted his weight, eyes sliding away from hers. “Well, whatever you did and however you managed it, you have my thanks. We managed to escape with the boy and with no casualties. Where is Myka by the way?”

  Her lips parted. The last thing she’d expected was for Finn to thank her, even if he was obviously uncomfortable doing it. “He’s down on the officer’s deck, locked away tight. I’ll go get him.”

  “I want to see this,” Keva muttered, getting up from her chair and following them through the ship.

  Renna’s stomach tightened as she picked her way through the clothes and bedding that spilled from the rooms out into the hallway. The mercs had been ruthless. Mattresses had been ripped to shreds, and any furniture not bolted down had been toppled. Even locked doors had been sliced through with lasers, leaving only twisted metal.

  Exactly how much was this kid worth to them?

  She thudded down the stairs to where she’d left Myka and froze in her tracks. Blood roared in her ears as she stared at the metal screen covering his hiding place. The panel was bent and seared, ripped through like a piece of paper. Renna dropped to her knees and touched the navy fabric snagged on one of the jagged pieces of metal. Myka’s new pants.

  “You hid him there?” Keva asked.

  Renna stared at the hole, ignoring the other woman. Acid burned the back of her throat. How had they found him? Had he been so terrified he’d given himself away?

  “He’s gone,” she whispered, yanking the metal screen away and peering inside to make sure. Metal glinted on the floor, and she reached for her nanospanner with a shaking hand.

  “What do you mean he’s gone?” Finn’s voice was low and dangerous as Renna rose to her feet.

  Her hands trembled, and she clenched them into fists. “Somehow they found him. Took him.” First on Hesperia and now the ship. What was it about Myka that drew these people to him? What did they want with the boy?

  Renna’s mind raced. They had to go back. Had to find him. How the hell had the mercs gotten past her with the kid?

  A muscle jumped in Finn’s jaw as he glanced at the destruction around them. “So your whoring around did nothing to help us. And now they’ve got the kid.” His voice went flat. “Or was that all part of your plan? Act like you’re playing along with the pirate when really you’ve had this worked out all along? How else would the mercs have known where we were refueling? Or where Myka was hiding?”

  Renna’s fingers itched to grab the gun from her belt. So they were back to this again. Gods, this man had more mood swings than a pregnant woman. “You think I betrayed you? That I gave up the boy for a fat paycheck?” She glared at him, her temper slipping farther out of her control. “If that’s the case, why would I have come back to free you? Why not stay on board and escape with Viktis?”

  He dismissed her with an angry shrug. “Because it looks better this way. Because we can’t prove you had anything to do with it. But I know the truth. I know you’re only in this for the money. Like always.”

  “I’m here because I didn’t have a choice,” Renna growled. “But now that I am, the only thing that matters is getting Myka back. With or without your help.”

  TWELVE

  Before anyone could stop her, Renna dashed through the ship, heading to the flight deck and Lieutenant Kojima. Finn and Keva shouted at her as they followed, but she blocked them out. Viktis wouldn’t hurt the boy, not if he was the pirate’s ticket to getting paid, but she wasn’t going to let Myka go through that again.

  “Flight Lieutenant Kojima! Turn the ship around. We’re going back.”

  He spun around in his chair. “What happened?” His gaze flicked to Captain Finn, who pounded up the stairs behind her.

  “Hold your course, Kojima,” Finn ordered.

  “I am not leaving Myka with that man,” Renna said. She sucked in a jagged breath. Get it under control, Carrizal. She wouldn’t do Myka any good by getting herself killed.

  “Then you should have thought about that before you decided to screw Viktis.”

  The breath whooshed out of her lungs at the fury in his words. “It’s none of your business who the hell I sleep with.”

  “It damn well is if you put our mission in danger. And surprise, surprise, you already did. I warned Dallas that bringing you on board was a mistake.” The words dripped from his lips like acid, and Renna growled.

  “Well, if you could do your damn job, I wouldn’t have to take matters into my own hands!” She crossed her arms so no one would see how badly
she was shaking. “Turn the ship around, Kojima. We’re going back for the boy.” Renna was not going to fail him. Not now, when he’d already been through so much.

  She blinked. Where had all this maternal concern come from?

  Finn curled his lips back, baring his teeth. “No. We’re not.” He bit off the words through a clenched jaw. “I’m commanding officer on this mission, Carrizal. You would do well to remember that.”

  Her ears roared with her racing pulse, and she fought to keep her voice under her control. She’d promised the kid he’d be safe, dammit. She didn’t break promises. “Listen to me, Captain. You don’t know what they’re going to do to him. He can’t go through that again.” Despite her efforts, Renna’s voice went shrill, echoing through the flight deck.

  “I can’t risk what’s left of the mission. Viktis’s ship has an advanced class ship-to-ship missile. They’ll destroy us if we go back. We need to focus on getting to Aldani and stopping the attacks. If we don’t, more people than Myka will die.”

  “He said he wouldn’t help you until he had his nephew back. Why the hell do you think he’ll help you now?” Renna put her hands on her hips, carefully sliding the gun from her waistband.

  “We found Myka once; we can rescue him again. But what we can’t do is let another planet be destroyed. Millions of people are dead because of these attacks.” Finn raked a hand through his hair, his voice lowering to a frustrated growl. “The doctor has to understand that stopping these people is the only way to accomplish his goals. My mission is to break into the facility and find the truth. Once we have that information, we can focus on Myka. I’m sorry to say it, but the boy isn’t our priority right now. Getting the particle destabilizer to Aldani is.”

  A muscle twitched in Finn’s jaw as he placed a heavy hand on the back of Kojima’s chair. “Flight Lieutenant, get us to Iniros. The sooner Aldani knows what’s going on, the sooner we can end this thing.”

  They were going to end this thing right now if she had her way. Renna aimed her blaster at the captain. “Don’t make me do this, Finn.” She turned to Kojima. “Take us back to Krooss.”

  Beside her, Keva pulled her own gun, and two other MYTH agents swarmed the bridge, their blasters pointed at Renna. “Put the gun down now!” Keva ordered.

  “Not until we have Myka back.”

  “I will not have mutiny aboard my ship.” Captain Finn crossed his arms, his blue eyes snapping between the two women. “Renna, put your gun down. Now. Before you do something you regret.”

  She kept it pointed at his heart. “No.”

  Finn’s voice softened. “I understand how you feel. I want to go after Myka, too. But we need to stop these people. They’ve gone to great lengths to find this boy; they’re not going to kill him now.”

  No, but there were things worse than death. “Such a mercenary way to look at the world, Captain.”

  Finn nodded once.

  Strong arms grabbed her from behind, wrenching the gun from her hand. She struggled against her captor, tried to smash her head against whoever it was, but the grip around her chest tightened.

  “Now, now,” a man’s voice said in her ear. “Didn’t you ever learn to play nice with others?”

  She froze for a moment, pressed against his bulk. Corporal Bokal, the tech chief? Where had he come from? For such a massive man, she’d never even heard him coming up the other set of stairs.

  Renna thrashed again, heart pounding frantically at the feeling of being trapped. She was not going to let Finn win like this. “Let go of me!”

  “Put her in the brig. We’ll deal with her when we get to Iniros,” Keva ordered, holstering her gun. The Delfine’s beautiful face twisted with scorn. “Nothing like a little poetic justice, eh, Carrizal?”

  She’d shove that poetic justice up the alien’s ass if Keva kept looking at Renna like that. But Bokal was too big and held her too tightly, so she said nothing, just glared at Finn and his XO.

  How the hell had this happened? Everything had gone wrong from the moment she’d taken this damn job. And now Finn had taken away everything from her. Acid rose to her throat, and she swallowed it back. She just needed to bide her time. Revenge was a bitch, and the captain and his crew would be in plenty of trouble when they showed up at Aldani’s labs without Myka.

  She just hoped she was around to see the man’s reaction. The captain deserved everything that was coming to him.

  Bokal’s hands were firm but gentle as he pushed her into the brig. He locked the door and frowned at her. “Didn’t think we’d be back here so soon. I’m sorry about this. Can’t blame you for wanting to go back for the boy.” His voice was low and rumbly as he rubbed a hand against his wide jaw.

  “Then why didn’t you stand up to Finn?”

  “Because he’s the boss. I’m just a corporal.” He shook his head. “You’ve never been in the military, have you? You don’t disagree with a superior offer. That’s grounds for court martial.”

  Renna sighed. Since when had she gotten so soft? She’d never cared this much about a job before, but something in the boy’s dark eyes haunted her. And she’d promised to keep him safe. That damn moral code was going to get her killed one of these days.

  “They’re going to hurt Myka if we don’t go back.”

  Bokal frowned. “I know, but there’s nothing we can do until the captain gives the word. And who knows? Aldani might have a better idea than rushing in and attacking. I hear he’s a smart guy. Did you know he created a time machine? He’s still testing it, but if it works…” Bokal’s voice trailed off, but Renna didn’t need him to continue. She could only imagine the ramifications of time travel. Hell, she could go back and stop Myka from being kidnapped in the first place.

  “Let’s hope it’s true.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him. I’ve heard all of his intergalactic broadcasts, read his treatise on antimatter and particle destabilization. The man’s brilliant.”

  “He’d better be. The entire galaxy is in his hands right now.” Renna had met plenty of brilliant men on her jobs. They were usually about as stable as a three-legged chair. And right now, a single crazy act could blow the traverse sky high.

  Bokal shifted his weight. “I’m sorry about this, Miss Carrizal, but I need to make sure you don’t have any other weapons on you.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “Are you asking if you can pat me down, Chief?”

  His pale face flushed deep red. “No, ma’am. I’d prefer you’d just hand everything over.”

  She shook her head. “I was teasing, Chief. I wouldn’t do that to you.” She paused. “Unless you want me to?”

  He flushed again and held out his hand. “Weapons, please?”

  Renna pulled the gun she’d grabbed earlier from her waistband and handed it over, then, sank down onto the lumpy mattress.

  Bokal smiled at her. “I’ll have Miss Mary bring you down some food. We’ll be at Aldani’s lab by dawn. I’ll come and get you for the fireworks.” He winked and lumbered from the brig, leaving Renna in silence.

  Or at least as silent as being on a moving ship could be.

  The hum of the engines and the whisper of the air recycler soothed her ragged nerves. She pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. Where had everything gone so wrong?

  How far back did she want to go?

  She shook her head. No sense in going down that road. Just because she was here with Finn didn’t mean she had to relive that part of her life. She’d moved on. Obviously he had, too. Someday maybe she’d get the story out of him, but right now…right now she wanted to give him a good roundhouse kick to the gut. Her muscles tightened until they felt like rocks, and she rubbed the back of her neck.

  The person she was angriest at was herself. That was twice now she’d been careless. And Myka was going to be the one to suffer.

  She sighed and let herself slide down onto the mattress to stare at the ceiling. Better get some rest while she could. When she got out of here, s
he’d have plenty of work to do.

  THIRTEEN

  The sudden silence woke Renna several hours later.

  Blinking against the bright lights of the brig, she rubbed a hand over her face. The engines were off, and the faint echo of voices drifted down to her from above. There was the commanding treble of Finn’s voice. He sounded pissed. Good. Keva’s lighter tones rose in response. Neither appeared to let her out.

  With a yawn, she got to her feet, tugging a hand through her tangled hair before pulling it back into a neat ponytail. She slipped back into her leather coat and tugged at her shirt. Gods she hated sleeping in her clothes. She always felt so dirty afterward.

  Almost ten minutes later, Bokal finally came to let her out. “Sorry it took so long. Had to finish the captain’s orders.”

  Renna followed him through the empty ship. Bokal stopped her at the hatch by putting a hand on her arm. “I know you’re only looking out for the boy, but don’t let Finn fool you. He’s as worried about Myka as you are. His hands are just tied.”

  “Sure. Whatever.” Finn had his orders. She got it. But she wasn’t under any requirement to follow them.

  The ship hatch slid open with a swoosh, and she stepped out onto a metal landing pad in the center of a huge industrial space. Her jaw dropped. The place was at least five stories tall, with a retractable glass roof. Other ship bays dotted the area, dwarfing the one where the Athena sat. Dr. Aldani must do very well for himself.

  Bokal led her down the pad’s ramp to the floor of the hangar. Her boots clicked against the cement as they headed toward a double door she guessed led to other areas of Aldani’s lab. Bokal held the door open for her and she stepped across the threshold. Only to stop short inside the hallway.

  Two men seemed to take up the entire space: Captain Finn, standing at attention in his uniform, and the tall, dark-skinned man shouting at him. They were of similar size and build, but the scientist’s fury made him seem even more dangerous than the military man.