Mitch cleared his throat. “So what’s your plan? I know you must have one.”
She shrugged. “Of course I do.”
He clicked on the bedside lamp. Its warm glow cast shadows on the rigid planes of his bare chest. “Aren’t you feeling like you’ve done this before?”
Lara paused in cramming the last of her clothes into the duffel bag. His skin looked ashen and she swore that, despite the wrist-sync, every few minutes his body shifted phase just a little bit more.
“You mean like when I left the Star Union?” There, she said it. Did Mitch think she wouldn’t own up to her actions?
Leaving the Union was one of the best decisions Lara had ever made. She gave up a lot, left her whole life behind. But the new life she built was better, wasn’t it? Ninety percent of the time she’d say yes.
Mitch nodded. “In the middle of the night no less. We had dinner and the next day you were gone.”
Lara zippered the bag. “We had a huge argument at dinner. I don’t have to explain myself to you or anybody.”
“No, you don’t have to, but I’m asking you to.”
She sighed and sank down on the couch. “What do you want me to tell you? That every day without you has seemed hollow?”
He laughed, dry and ironic. “I know you better than that, even after all this time.”
Lara checked the charge on her plasma gun and holstered the weapon in her belt. Using it would not just injure someone, but could irreparably damage Creed relations. Plus, if she used the wrist-sync, she’d have to re-sync for the weapon to have any impact.
They needed to set her plan in motion. Lara could end this conversation right now, say something nasty to change the direction of Mitch’s thoughts. Over the years she’d found she could bulldoze most people and get them to do what she wanted. It was how she’d built two thriving colonies from nothing. Sometimes the way people listened to her scared her.
Except Mitch was the one person who never succumbed. The one person who never allowed himself to be bulldozed.
Lara raised her chin. “I asked you to come with me.”
Mitch leaned forward, elbows on his knees and hands clasped together. “I didn’t realize you were leaving that night. I underestimated you. Believe me, it won’t happen again. I thought I still had time to convince you to stay—you did believe in the Union then, didn’t you?”
Lara nodded. “I wanted to serve it, Mitch, and be valued for my contributions too. Not just exploited for my talents. There’s a difference.”
“We could have made that difference together. I would have come around to the problem, maybe even gone with you.”
“How was I supposed to know that? At the time you seemed pretty intractable in your opinions. We both did. And I didn’t want to live the kind of life my parents had.”
Mitch nodded and stood, his body supple in black workout pants and bare feet. “True.” His color warmed as she watched.
Lara’s commlink pinged and she glanced down at the interface. “It’s Rossa.”
Mitch’s face closed up. Apparently, he’d had enough for now of sorting through their past. He checked the wrist-sync. “You sure this plan of yours will work?”
“It has to work. You should know, though, that my plan isn’t very ‘by the book.’”
Mitch stepped closer. An inch more and his bare chest would brush against her breasts. She pressed her palm over the strong beat of his heart and the outside world slid away from them. They stood in the quiet before the storm.
He pitched his voice low. “I’m not so ‘by the book’ anymore, Lara. I want to continue this conversation. We need to hash this out once and for all.”
“Let’s concentrate on getting the Gryphon and Interlace crews back to Terran space first, all right?”
Mitch nodded.
“How are you feeling?”
He smiled, a real one that crinkled around his eyes. “I feel great, actually. Better than I have since we arrived.” He flipped his other wrist over. The patch had darkened considerably. Nearly no green remained.
Lara’s commlink beeped again. “Rossa is waiting, but first—”
“First…” Mitch wrapped an arm around her waist. “First, tell me about this plan, Captain.”
Mitch clenched a fist. His strength had been returning in the hours since switching the wrist-sync’s phase frequency. However, his vision clouded up every so often, as if he’d just woken up from a long sleep. His muscles had spasmed hardly at all in the last hour, and the nausea had left him. He felt strong. Grounded.
Except he couldn’t shake the sense that someone watched him, even alone as he was in the hospital room.
Out the portal window, Creed’s sun painted the sky in the soft shades of sunrise. He’d made it through the night. Maybe he could yet make it all the way to Alpha Haven, if Lara’s plan worked.
“You can convince her to stay. If you ask, Lara will stay here on Creed.”
In the doorway, Sabine’s elegant posture held her chin up, but even such regal bearing couldn’t hide the dark circles under her eyes. Defense Minister Kade leaned on the doorjamb a few steps behind and mirrored her determination with the set of his jaw. Phase one of the plan had just unfurled as expected, and neither of them had any idea about their part in it.
Mitch’s lips pulled up in a small smile. “No one can convince Lara to do something she’s already decided against.”
The prime minister set her shoulders back. “You really are a coward.”
Mitch narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, Madam Osai.” He lifted his shirt from the bed and put it on. “When the Star Union issued its edict about the Chimerans, were you secretly happy? You weren’t prime minister then, but as the mother of the Chimeran leader, I’m sure you were apprised of the situation. Creed had its own edict waiting, didn’t it?”
Kade pushed away from the door. “Now, Commodore, how dare you—”
Mitch held up a hand. “I’ve heard the rumors. You stalled the Creed ultimatum and expected the Star Union edict to push Lara back to you. Creed ruined that plan when it declared the Chimerans special weapons against Terra and your daughter fled.”
“I am trying to protect my family and my people, Commodore. Unlike you, I don’t shirk my responsibilities.”
“I may have stubbornly avoided you all these years, madam, but I’ve only been a coward once. We both let Lara down in the past. I won’t do it again.”
Mitch caught motion behind Kade.
Lara filled the doorway with a wide stance and plasma gun in hand. She pointed it at Kade’s chest. “Both of you are coming with me. Like it or not, Mother, you’re taking a trip to Alpha Haven.”
Chapter Ten
Lara tossed a commlink at her mother and Sabine caught it. “Evacuate the hospital now, Mother.”
“Lara, whatever you’re thinking—”
Lara grabbed Kade’s arm. “Place the order!”
Sabine carried out the command and in seconds the klaxon blared. Doctors, nurses and other staff scurried down the corridor, patients in tow. Organized chaos. Lara’s gaze darted to Mitch. Fear flared in her stare for a split second before she clamped it down. He vowed to never let her face such crossroads alone again.
Lara pocketed the gun but kept a balanced grip on it. “Ready?”
Mitch finished lacing up his boots and grabbed his jacket. “Absolutely.” Just hours ago his legs hadn’t worked, but now his muscles were ready to face a marathon. Energy coursed through his veins. “You got one of those for me?”
Lara handed him a plasma gun handle-first. With eyes only for the commotion in the corridor, she snagged her mother’s arm and hustled her to the doorway. “Hide the gun in your pocket. We have about five minutes until my mother’s personal guard realizes she’s missing.”
Mitch nodded and pulled out his commlink. “Yoshida to Rossa. Status.”
Rossa’s contralto fizzed over the connection. “We’re collecting the Terrans now.”
“Affirmat
ive. Continue as planned,” he replied. Lara flashed five fingers twice at him. “Pilot’s station ETA is ten minutes.”
“Rossa, out.”
Lara dragged her mother into the corridor’s current of people and Mitch followed behind Kade, stride strong. The wrist-sync snug on his arm reassured him, but how long would its effects last? The noise in the passageway grew, and people sped by his peripheral vision. He easily kept pace, but several times he jerked sideways, expecting to see someone right beside him. Kade sent him a sidelong look. Nerves and a lack of sleep must be getting to him.
Sabine twisted her arm to try to get free. “Why are we going to the pilot’s station?’
Lara’s grasp remained firm as she chanced a look at her mother. “When your security detail realizes what’s happened, they’ll lock down the whole pod. I can’t let that happen. I’ll detach the infirmary if I have to.”
Sabine snapped her mouth closed in a hard line and shook her head. They marched along the predetermined path, winding through corridors and fleeing staff. In the confusion a few people jostled them, but no one really paid much attention. After a few minutes the passageways thinned out and their footsteps echoed on the decking. Soon they came to the pilot’s station hatch.
Lara set her back to the wall next to the entryway. “Open it.”
The prime minister clasped her hands at the waist. “I’m not going to help you get yourself killed.”
Lara ground her teeth and looked her mother in the eye. “Despite you, I’m going to get Rafael back. I’m going to get Mitch and the Terrans to safety. Now open the damn door or I’ll blast it.”
Sabine sighed but complied and punched in the proper access code. The locking mechanism thumped and Mitch swung the hatch open. Lara hauled her mother and Kade inside, then pointed her gun at the helmsman.
“Leave. Now.”
The startled man put up his hands. “What’s going on? Prime Minister?”
“Evacuate, Captain.” Sabine motioned to the door. “I can take care of this situation.”
The officer hesitated for a few seconds but then nodded and left, leering at Lara and Mitch as he went. Lara marched over to the command center and toggled through the interface.
Equipment lined the oval room, and sunlight streamed from the large porthole directly ahead. Numerous monitors showed evacuating staff. One displayed the pod’s docking clamps still intact. Another showed Rossa and the Terrans approaching the end of a hallway. Mitch checked in with Rossa again.
Rossa sounded winded. “Two more hatchways and we’ll have a clear path to the tarmac.”
Sabine dropped into the helmsman’s chair, Kade at her side. “You can put the gun away, Commodore. I’m not going anywhere now.”
Mitch shook his head and looked over Lara’s shoulder. She powered through menus, trying to stay ahead of security locking down the corridors. The klaxon alert changed and the lighting blinked to red. A voice announced “Lockdown complete.”
“Damn it!” Lara pushed away from the station and pulled out her commlink. “Rossa. Please tell me you’re clear.”
“Negative. One more hatchway between us and the tarmac. It’s locked down, Captain. We’re trapped.”
Mitch caught Lara’s gaze. “Can she use a wrist-sync to access the other side of the hatch?”
Lara shook her head and held up a braceleted wrist. “We only have these two. The rest are aboard the Gryphon. There might be a few on the Calypso, but I can’t divert Chandra from the shuttle. Not when he’ll have to take off in a few minutes.”
Mitch leaned over Lara’s console. “There has to be a manual override for the docking clamps.” Again he sensed motion in his peripheral vision, and a cold sweat blanketed him. He darted a glance at Sabine and Kade, but neither had moved. Mitch checked the wrist-sync’s settings.
Lara toggled through blueprints on another monitor. “Here.” She pointed and reset the access to her fingerprint. “I’ll go. It’s two levels down, but I can take the external stairs.”
She flicked his hand over, wrist-sync interface-up. “You okay?”
Her brow furrowed and Mitch resisted the urge to smooth it out with his thumb. “I’m fine. I can go—”
“No way. You look a lot better now than before, but I have no idea how long that will last. Keep an eye on these two for me?”
Mitch leaned in close and nuzzled her ear. “You have ten minutes to meet me at the shuttle. If you’re not back by then, I’m coming after you.”
Lara smiled. “I’ll count on that.” She pushed to her feet with a long look at her mother.
Sabine stared out the window but spoke up when Lara reached the door. “You’ll regret this.”
“Maybe I will, Mother, but it’s better than doing nothing.” Lara caught his eye once more and creaked open the hatch.
As the door snapped closed, Mitch noticed a man in the corridor, facing the pilot’s station.
Rafe.
His old friend glared at him through the hatch’s portal. Mitch’s skin crawled and his breath hitched. Over the sound of the klaxon blaring, thousands of voices whispered. He stumbled against the monitor behind him.
Rafe walked through the closed door. “What the Hellas are you doing?”
Lara sprinted down the corridor until she found the hull access port. The door yanked open on a creak, and salty wind buffeted her, stealing her breath.
“Stop!”
Twenty feet away three burly members of the prime minister’s personal guard lined up, all guns drawn. Lara purposely aimed wide and fired her own weapon. She might be willing to kidnap her own mother if need be, but killing someone was so not at the top of her to-do list if it could be avoided. They returned fire, obviously with no similar reservations. Lara tabbed on her wrist-sync just in time for the hot plasma to sail right through her.
She leaped onto the catwalk and held on tight as she pushed through the sea spray and tangy bluster. Up ahead, the Calypso’s rudder peeked over the smooth curve of the hospital pod. Another plasma shot sailed overhead and Lara ducked instinctively. One guard popped out onto the catwalk behind her and strode down the decking as fast as he could squeeze by the railing.
Smaller and faster, Lara ran toward another staircase and leapfrogged down it. Under cover from the platform above, the wind and sea spray lessened, but the rhythmic din of waves smacking the hull echoed in the small space. Six feet away she spotted her destination, the locking clamps and, right next to them, the manual wheel override.
“Halt!”
Another shot catapulted overhead and sparks flared where it hit the hatch. Lara jumped back. With an over-shoulder glance she saw Mr. Burly Guard fire again. This time he hit her wrist-sync. Her muscles spasmed with the abrupt phase change, and her wrist burned. She shucked off the useless white-hot bracelet and tossed it overboard.
“You’re not going anywhere, Captain Soto.”
Lara raised her hands in surrender and propped herself against the hull. Her body ached, her lungs burned and her mission all but failed.
“Rafe?” Mitch lowered the plasma gun he’d raised on instinct and forced his hand to steady despite the adrenaline pumping in his veins.
His old friend looked around the station and clenched his jaw when he found Sabine staring out the viewport. “You shouldn’t be here. Neither of you.”
Sabine looked over. “Are you all right, Commodore? Did you say my son’s name?”
Rafe stepped forward and grabbed Mitch’s wrist. “That’s one of Lara’s syncs on your wrist. Don’t you realize what you’ve done?”
Mitch’s vision spun and he leaned against a chair. “I didn’t want to die, Rafe. This was the only way.”
“You’ve opened yourself to my fate.” Rafe dropped Mitch’s wrist. “You could be trapped between dimensions like we are, but without the protection of the wormhole.”
“So you are alive in the wormhole. The experiment partially worked?”
Sabine circled around the pilot’s chair. She r
eached to grab Mitch’s arm, but her hand ghosted through him. “Commodore, who are you talking to?”
“Yes.” Rafe’s image weakened and then resurged. “And now you’ve dragged my mother into this.”
Mitch glanced back and forth between Sabine and Rafe. “She can’t hear or see you. She’s not affected by this.”
White fog rolled in from the corners of the room. A chill embraced Mitch and skittered down his spine. The smoky mist swirled around Rafe and coalesced into delicate tendrils. One of those tendrils materialized into a dainty hand. A slight woman stood beside his friend, her arms draped over Rafe like a fragile cage.
Mitch pushed Sabine behind him. “Who is she?”
“We must go, Rafael.”
The woman’s voice vibrated through his body, something he felt rather than heard. Mitch tamped down a shudder and raised his weapon.
His friend clasped the woman’s hand and pulled her closer. “Tell my sister the truth, Mitch. All of it.”
Both Rafe and the woman faded as the mist receded back to the room’s corners. Rafe’s voice filled the room. “If anyone can figure it out, it’s the two of you, but what you’ve done… I’m not sure there’s any going back.”
“Rafe!” Mitch jerked forward directly through the space Rafe and the woman had just occupied.
Not just his hands, but Mitch’s whole body shook as much from the physical shift as from fear. No amount of resolve could stop the tremor. Either Mitch had just stepped into another dimension or he was losing his mind.
With a shout, a pale Sabine stepped away and stared at one of the monitors. “Give me that commlink, Yoshida. Now.”
“There is no way—”
She pointed at the monitor. “Give it to me before that guard shoots Lara.”
Chapter Eleven
“Move away from the control panel, Captain.”
As the guard barreled toward her, Lara swung her legs around. The waves swept the ship to and fro, enough to sway her stomach. With feet planted forward, she caught the man in the chest and heaved him away. She timed her thrust to the ship’s hitch and knocked the officer into the hull. His head hit the metal behind and for a few seconds stared at her with eyes glazed over.
The Spiral Path Page 8