by Leslie Chase
Maybe Michael and I should find a place off Earth to live once he's healed, she thought, shivering. Just to be on the safe side.
"I'll go through my notes and make sure you've still got all the data," she said. "Assuming it is, you haven't lost anything. That's something, right."
Kosar nodded. "And I will see if I can find any other evidence of what happened here. Davenport, you'd better go and speak with the Olympus authorities."
Davenport nodded. "And the Consortium. They need to know that someone has all that data."
Ashley groaned. Now everyone would be looking for the missing data and she was still stuck here. How long before someone noticed how much data had been transferred out of her apartment and made the obvious connection?
The drive in her pocket felt like a lead weight.
Kosar turned to her and she tried to straighten up. At least there wasn't any suspicion in his eyes. Not yet.
"Well, it looks like you were right," he told her. Ashley raised an eyebrow, confused, with no idea what he was talking about.
"We're going to get ahead of whoever has the data," Kosar explained. His smile was, she thought, meant to be encouraging. "So, you're going to get your wish. We'll take the Grace of Herendar to space and fire up the stardrive, just like you wanted."
Oh crap. How the hell do I say no to that?
It was exactly what she'd wanted, argued for. And the idea of it did give her a thrill — to be the first human to use a stardrive, to do something no one from Earth had ever done. It would be marvelous, especially with Kosar at her side.
Except she couldn't do it.
How could she? It would mean weeks more time trapped on Mars, even if they rushed everything. Months seemed more likely. All that time where she could be caught out, where her conscience could prey on her.
I'm still staring. God dammit.
"I need to go," Ashley said, turning on her heel and striding towards the door. She could hear the surprise behind her but didn't turn to look. Let them guess what was wrong, if she stayed she'd only mess everything up. She needed time to think.
Semi-aimless wandering took her to the bathroom, and she looked at herself in the mirror. Skin pale as a sheet, eyes red from crying, hair a mess. Looking great, Ashley, she told herself ironically, splashing herself with water. It helped calm her a little bit.
She checked to make sure that she was alone, and then took out her phone and stared at it. There was only one thing to do, one person who might be able to help her decide what she needed to do now. He already knew her secret. It was a pity that she hated him, but that didn't make a difference now.
Ashley activated the quantum communicator and waited. It took a while before the familiar voice of Mr. Johnson answered.
"Is there a problem, Ashley? I didn't expect to hear from you so soon."
"Damned straight there's a problem," she hissed, keeping as quiet as possible. The last thing she wanted was for someone to walk in on her having this conversation. "They know you have the data."
"That is... unfortunate," Mr. Johnson said carefully. "I take it they don't know it's you that I got it from?"
"Not yet. I wouldn't be in a position to talk with you if they did, would I?" Ashley ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get some control of her emotions.
"And they can't know who I am," Mr. Johnson continued calmly. "Then it's not a problem, is it?"
"Of course it is," she said, exasperation filling her voice. "They aren't planning on letting you get ahead of their research! And they want me to help them get a lead."
A brooding silence filled the line. For a moment Ashley wondered if he'd hung up on her, but then he spoke again, voice controlled and neutral. "What do they plan to have you do?"
"They want me to take the stardrive into space and fire it up," she told him. "That way they can get more data on how it works, information you don't have yet. That's not my problem, though, the problem is that they won't let me go home. If I try to leave Mars now rather than help, they'll be suspicious of me. I can't afford that."
"No... no you can't," Mr. Johnson said. "I can see your dilemma. But I have a solution for you."
Ashley held her breath, hoping against hope that he'd have something good for her. He doesn't want me caught, she told herself. That only gives him more headaches.
After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke again.
"This is what you're going to do. You'll agree with them, take the job, take the Grace of Herendar into space. And then you're going to help me steal it."
"The fuck I am!" Ashley forgot to keep her voice down, shouting into the mirror and then freezing. No one responded. She'd gotten lucky, but there was no need to press her luck.
Quieter, she continued. "I've done what you asked, got you the data you wanted. More than you asked for, in fact. Now I'm going home to Earth to see my brother get the treatment he needs. That's it. This is over."
Mr. Johnson laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh, or a friendly one. "It isn't over until I say it is, Ashley. You know better than that. You've taken my money in exchange for the Center's secrets — I can prove that with one email to the dragons, and you're not getting off Mars then. And you'd do well to remember who's currently paying the bills for your brother's stay at the Masterton Clinic. It would be a terrible shame if anything were to happen to young Michael."
Ashley's fingers tightened, and her vision darkened as a wave of anger washed over her. It was followed by a rush of fear, even stronger. Not for herself, but for her brother. He was helpless in the hands of the clinic, a place he should be safe. But she knew he wasn't.
Dammit.
"You can't be serious," she tried. "I did everything you asked. We had a deal."
"A deal which I'm altering," Mr. Johnson said. "I will, of course, compensate you handsomely. Shall we say double your fee? That should take the sting out of this."
Ashley pulled a face. The money made no difference, but a man like this thought everything was for sale. Keeping Michael safe, though... Ashley would do anything to keep her brother out of harm's way.
"This is crazy," she said, turning away from the mirror. It wasn't going to be easy to look herself in the eyes after this. "How would you even do it?"
"As long as the ship's on Mars, I couldn't. But if you're taking it into space, well, that I can work with. And I'll even give you a lift home into the bargain."
Sounding ever more gleeful, he started to lay out his plan.
14
Kosar
Getting the Grace of Herendar spaceworthy again wasn't easy or fast, and weeks passed while the work was done. There were a lot of things about it that Kosar wasn't happy about, but at least it gave him something to focus on.
Emperor Verikan had taken some convincing — risking a unique artifact of the Dragon Empire wasn't an easy thing to do. But there really wasn't any choice, Ashley was right about that. If it worked, they'd have a huge advantage over the competition. If it didn't... best case the drive broke and that was that.
Worst case, the Grace of Herendar would be torn into subatomic pieces and scattered around the solar system in an explosion that would be bright enough to see from Earth. And, of course, his mate would be aboard. That was the worst thing about this plan from Kosar's point of view.
The ship wasn't in good condition after a thousand years buried beneath the ice, and there was no way that they could repair it enough to make its own flight to space. Fortunately, there wasn't any need. The Imperial Research Center was a joint exercise, after all, sharing the resources of the Dragon Empire and the conglomerate of human corporations with interests on Mars. All of them would profit from this success, and no one of them wanted one of the others to get their own stardrives first.
So now the Grace of Herendar was strung between three unmanned human spaceships. The engineers assured him that between them the tugs could haul the ancient ship safely into orbit and beyond, out to a safe distance for testing the stardrive. It had meant
letting human workers run around the ship fastening cables, but that didn't matter now. There wasn't much left to steal now that the stardrive data was out there.
"Cheer up," Davenport said beside him as they watched the last cable tighten and the spacesuited human supervisor test it. "At least you're going to be up there with her."
"It's not like I can keep her safe if the stardrive explodes," Kosar grumbled, but she was right. It did make him feel better to know he'd be on hand to protect Ashley. Even if there was nothing that he could do, it was better than being stuck on Mars and watching the feeds like Davenport would have to.
Clapping him on the shoulder, Davenport grinned at him. "You like to complain, don't you? Come on, it's just going to be you, her, and an instrument package up there. Don't tell me you're not looking forward to being alone with your mate."
"I'd like the idea more if she wasn't avoiding me," Kosar said. Ashley had barely spoken to him outside of what was needed to set up the trip, and she spent all her free time locked away in her apartment. That wasn't a good sign but pushing her only made her withdraw further.
"So? Up there she won't be able to avoid you, will she?" Davenport's relentless attempts to cheer him up were halfway between charming and annoying. "Just the two of you, alone among the stars for days, drifting..."
"Waiting to see if we explode," Kosar added. "You're right. It's the most romantic date I could take her on."
"Hey, don't knock it," Davenport said. "Danger can bring people together."
Kosar groaned. "You don't give up, do you? Why don't you put as much effort into finding your own mate as you do bugging me about mine?"
"This is much more fun than being disappointed by a man myself," Davenport said with a laugh. "Come on, cheer up."
Unwillingly, Kosar smiled. It was true that he was looking forward to the time he'd spend with Ashley aboard the ship, at least. Perhaps they could finally talk again and resolve everything they'd left untouched since their conversation in her apartment.
I hope so. Otherwise this is going to be the most frustrating week of my life.
"Wish me luck, then," he said, picking up his bag. It was light — a dragon didn't need much.
"Good luck, and come back safe," Davenport said. "Or, you know, don't. I could use the promotion."
Kosar snorted with surprised laughter, then mock-glared at his deputy. "Fine. Now I have to survive, just to make you suffer a while longer."
Davenport waved cheerfully as he strode off through the airlock and out into the cold of Mars' thin atmosphere. The chill bit into his bones briefly, but even without shifting he could manage a few minutes without protection. The flimsy humans might need spacesuits to go anywhere on the surface of Mars. Dragons were made of tougher stuff.
Ashley was approaching from another direction, almost unrecognizable in her suit. Someone else might have missed her, but not Kosar. He'd recognize his mate anywhere.
They made their way to the Grace of Herendar, meeting at the open doorway. Despite its age and damage, the ship was a product of the Dragon Empire and its airmaker still functioned. No need for primitive human airlocks here, the forcefield over the entrance kept the air in but didn't stop them from entering.
Ashley pulled off her helmet, a look of surprised joy on her face as she looked back at the faint glimmer that was all that separated them from the near-vacuum of Mars' atmosphere. "I don't think I'll get used to that in a hurry."
"It still seems strange to me that you humans would venture into space without that technology," Kosar said, smiling. It was good to see Ashley happy, even if it was only because she was encountering an engineering mystery. "All you have to breathe on your ships is the air you bring with you, and the only thing keeping it in is the thin hull."
He gave an exaggerated shudder at that idea, and to his surprise, Ashley laughed. It was a nervous sound, true, not exactly happy... but better than anything he'd heard from her since he'd left her in her apartment.
I should have stayed, his dragon soul grumbled, frustrated, in the depths of his mind. Could have had everything I wanted, and she wanted it too. But now we're alone again...
His body responded to the idea powerfully, and Kosar turned away from his mate, trying to control his reaction. For her part, Ashley lifted her bags and sighed, some of the joy draining from her face.
"I guess now I get to see what the drive really does," she said, a little glumly. "But hey, you don't have to come too. I can take care of it on my own."
Kosar looked at her as though she'd grown another head. "And let you go into danger alone? No, of course I'm coming too."
"You're being ridiculous," Ashley said, glowering up at him. "If something goes wrong with the stardrive, what are you going to do? Shield me with your body as we're torn apart by it? Kosar, please, I don't want you in danger too."
That argument had filled most of the sparse conversations they'd had over the past weeks, and it never went anywhere. Ashley would never convince him to abandon her, but she wouldn't stop trying. With a growl of frustration, Kosar spread his wings wide.
"If there is even the smallest chance that I can protect you, then I will do it. You don't need to be here either: the experiments could be run remotely. It's not like the tugs that are pulling us out into space have crews — no one else is insisting on risking their lives for this."
They walked as they talked, striding into the ship. It felt strange, now that it was on the verge of lifting off. The power cables that had run in from the Center were gone and with them most of the lights. But despite the dark shadows and empty feeling, the Grace of Herendar felt more alive than he'd ever seen it. As though the ship were hungry for this last voyage into space.
Hungry to fulfill its purpose again after a thousand years. Kosar could sympathize.
He didn't speak, not wanting to disturb the delicate haunted feeling of the ship. Ashley felt it too, or at least she was silent until they reached the rooms where they had decided to set up for the trip. Ashley had picked the quarters closest to the engine room, and Kosar had immediately chosen the room across from hers.
"This is me," Ashley said, turning to face him. There was a serious look in her eyes, one Kosar didn't like. It mixed a lot of different feelings, but sadness and guilt were the obvious ones. What can she have to feel guilty about?
"Kosar." She leaned in, dropping her bags inside her room. "I don't want you to be in danger, can't you understand that? This isn't safe, the stardrive's damaged and while I think I can do this without it exploding, I can't take a chance with your life. Please go."
"No." It wasn't easy to flatly refuse a request from his mate, but Kosar had no choice. "I will not let you go out there on your own, Ashley. You mean too much to me, and I would rather die trying to save you than survive through cowardice. What if something else goes wrong? You would be alone out here, you could fall and hurt yourself and be hours, days even, from rescue. I will not allow it."
He didn't mention that he'd sworn not to let the Grace's stardrive out of his sight. He didn't need to — Ashley knew that already.
She turned away, but not before he saw the flash of pain in her eyes. It hurt to see that, hurt like a dagger thrust between his ribs, but Kosar wouldn't let pain or fear keep him from his duty to the Empire or to his mate. If he could be there to protect her, then he would, no matter what it cost.
The launch itself was anticlimactic, and Kosar couldn't help feeling that there should have been more drama to it. The tug-drones provided by the Conglomerate simply lifted off, their cables going taut and lifting the Grace of Herendar off the surface of Mars and into space.
Ashley had joined him for the launch, oddly quiet as they watched out of the huge windows on the bridge. There was nowhere else with a view even nearly as good — the cameras, mounted everywhere to record the experiment, wouldn't have been the same.
The artificial gravity still worked, a small but pleasant surprise. It held them steady as they watched Mars fall awa
y from them. Beside him, Ashley shivered and leaned towards him, and he could feel the fear grip her as the red planet shrank. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he held her tight and felt the tension in her small frame. For a moment he thought that she would pull away, then she relaxed slightly and, with a small sigh, put her own arm around his waist.
"I hate heights," she said, almost to herself. Kosar blinked. That was a fear he hadn't anticipated, and he looked down at her, concerned.
"We will go back, then," he told her, reaching for the communicator. The tugs were drones, remotely controlled, and he had the codes. "It's not too late for someone else to go up instead, or for you to run the experiment remotely."
"No!" Ashley's fierce response took him by surprise, but she didn't pull away. Instead she held him closer, hugging him tight. "No, it has to be me. I can do this. I have to."
"Why does it matter so much to you? If it's so frightening—"
"I could make the trip from Earth to Mars," she said hotly. "Don't you think I can swallow my fear this time too? I'm not some weak little thing you have to protect, Kosar."
"You're not weak," he said, turning to face her. The passion in her voice belied the fear that her eyes showed. "I would never think that you're weak, but you don't have to do this. Someone else can run the tests."
"If you turn us back, I'll never forgive you," Ashley said. "I'm going to see this through, and you won't stop me."
Kosar looked into the burning intensity of her gaze, the mix of fear and determination, and knew that she wasn't just talking about the experiment. Whatever else was on her mind, though, was a mystery.
It didn't matter. He couldn't deny his mate this.
"If you insist, then it will be so." He set down the communicator again, looking out of the viewport. They could see the curve of Mars' horizon clearly now, and space couldn't be far away. "Remember, then — I'm here to protect you. If something goes wrong, I will make sure you get home, even if I have to carry you the whole way."