by Jessica Gunn
Julie nodded and sipped her wine. “That is pretty neat. All of this is when it’s not terrifying.”
Sorry about earlier, Chelsea’s thoughts wandered into my head.
Julie kept talking about something, so I didn’t move my gaze to Chelsea, but I responded, It’s cool.
Chelsea shook her head in a small motion. I barely caught it while not looking at her. No, it’s not. I was a bitch. I’ve been a bitch, and I’m sorry. And I swear I’ll actually say all this to you once this—her gaze zipped across the room—is over.
I smirked. Chelsea Danning apologizing. How many lemon drops have you had?
She rolled her eyes. Oh, shut up.
Julie huffed and crossed her arms, looking between us. “Are you guys doing that mind-to-mind thing again?”
“Hmm?” I said, blinking.
She inclined her head, eyes narrowed. “You stared at me blankly then grinned when I asked how the upgrades are going. You don’t laugh at upgrade nightmares.”
Chelsea patted Julie’s arm. “Sorry, I started it.”
“She usually does,” I added.
Chelsea shot me an amused glare and I shrugged, redirecting my attention to the beer in front of me. It felt good to be civil—damn, having fun even—with Chelsea again.
“I had some things to say, that’s all,” Chelsea said. Julie nodded knowingly, and I got the impression I missed some important subtext. Whatever. I couldn’t keep up with Chelsea, never mind Chelsea and another woman.
Heard that. Her mind-tone was snappy, but she wore a grin on her painted lips that reached her eyes.
Were things finally going back to normal between us, whatever this new “friend-normal” was? For the moment, I’d take whatever smile Chelsea was willing to give. There was once a time when her smile had the power to shift my entire world.
You look beautiful today, I thought. Wanted you to know.
She smiled, her molten ocean eyes softening. You clean up pretty well, yourself. Now shut up and listen to the table.
I grinned into my beer bottle.
The conversation danced, as it often did, between work and what the crew had missed while gone. Chelsea and I kept the darker details to a minimum to lighten the mood. By the time dinner arrived and a seafood plate was placed in front of me, the air had eased to what it used to be like on SeaSat5 before the outpost, before the hijacking, and before anyone but Valerie and I knew about the war.
Valerie.
I frowned. I hadn’t actually heard from her since we’d rescued SeaSat5, unless you counted the times she dropped off more of Butch’s medicine for me, from what little stockpile was left. He’d died in the attack at the warehouse, the same one that also nearly killed Valerie and me. The explosion that did kill Chelsea’s TruGates friend. I’d found that out by accident one day when our conversation dove down a dark turn, and the revelation became clear. It only made Chelsea feel worse about what had happened because she’d almost been responsible, in her eyes, for me and Valerie’s lives also.
Captain Marks stopped by with his two daughters after dinner. I’d met them once, at the maiden voyage ceremony for SeaSat5 forever ago, but couldn’t remember their names. He looked at them and at us with pride, for his children and for his crew. For what we’d all been through, some of us more than others.
It wasn’t totally clear what had happened to the crew in the two years they’d been gone, but we’d determined at least half had been held in suspended animation for easy storage—which sounded terrible when I said it like that. The others, like the Captain and his senior staff, had been questioned by the Atlanteans about the outpost, what the Lemurians had planned, and what they’d learned while on board the station. But Thompson hadn’t learned anything beyond Chelsea being a super soldier, and it was doubtful he’d known SeaSat5 was a Link Piece or he wouldn’t have risked damaging the station like he did. That was why Valerie had turned on him in the end. She knew, he didn’t, and she didn’t want to bet against any powers willing to take the station.
Smart move on her part.
“Everyone, these are my daughters Tessa and Tara,” Captain Marks said. They were Freddy’s age, one with a belly swollen from pregnancy. Her husband must have been around here somewhere, mingling with the Navy brass. The other was dressed in white Navy formalwear.
Freddy and Christa, SeaSat5’s Lieutenant Commander, both stood to attention. Tessa Marks also bore the Lieutenant Commander rank, a good two slots above Freddy’s Ensign status. Though rumor had it a promotion was in his future. Tessa had the Captain’s same dark hair, but hers was pulled back into a severe bun, and she had the most stunning brown eyes I’d ever seen.
Tessa shook Christa’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Lieutenant Commander. I’ve heard nothing but praise and good things from my father.”
Christa nodded. “Likewise. Hard to believe our academy days are so long gone, now.”
Tessa shrugged, a small smile edging her lips. “Maybe we can work on reigniting some of that fun.” She turned to Freddy and shook his hand, too. “At ease, Ensign. We’re here to celebrate.”
But as she and Freddy exchanged pleasantries, her words caught in my ear.
“Reignite?” I asked her.
Her brown irises settled on me. “Trevor, it’s nice to meet you. And Chelsea, it’s been too long. It’s nice to see you again.”
Chelsea had visited them a lot while Captain Marks was gone. Telling them had been the hardest out of everyone’s families, but Chelsea had demanded to do it alone.
“Are you joining the crew?” I asked the Lieutenant Commander.
She smiled and shook her head. “Goodness, no. You have entirely too many officers to begin with. I’ll be working with you on a side project.”
I reined in my first thoughts. Anything connected to SeaSatellite5 should be something I was privy to, and that I wasn’t, that I had no idea what she meant, didn’t sit well with me.
Captain Marks must have read my face because he said, “In time, Trevor.”
I swallowed down the rest of my responses.
“Well, we should be going,” Captain Marks said, easing his daughters away from the table. “My least favorite thing about these ceremonies is the mingling.”
Freddy laughed. “Yes, sir. Come by for a round of drinks when you’re done.” His casualness piqued a laugh from everyone at the table. “With all due respect, sir.”
Captain Marks chuckled and patted Freddy on the shoulder. “Will do, Ensign.”
They left the rest of us to return to our antics. I couldn’t. What was the Pearl Harbor division working on?
Probably a new ship or something, Chelsea said. I wouldn’t worry about it.
I nodded. You’re right. But still, a new ship wasn’t some small deal.
Shit!
The thought was Chelsea’s.
My gaze cut to hers, then followed her line of sight to the far wall. A figure darted past the open window. No one else paid it any mind. And really, I couldn’t make out any details because of the way sunlight shielded the area. But Chelsea shot out of her chair, hands clenched at her sides.
“Chelsea?” Freddy asked, watching her abrupt rise with a cocked eyebrow.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she ground out, her jaw tightened. Her thoughts raced, panic lacing each one. There was no chance anyone at the table believed her. I sure as hell didn’t.
Don’t follow, she said. I think General Allen is here.
My stomach dropped. Why would he be here?
I plan on finding out. She put her napkin beside her plate and took off toward the front entrance.
I glanced around the table. No one had moved to follow, but Freddy’s gaze found mine, questioning me. “Stay, I got this,” I said and also made my way to the front entrance of the reception building. Chelsea had made quick work of the mezzanine area outside, her heels clacking against the pavement with every hastened step. I followed her and whatever she was chasing almost ba
ck to the stage where the ceremony had taken place. There, behind the podium like Admiral Dennett had been, stood General Allen.
I slipped back behind a nearby wall, the stone cool against my face, and readied myself to intervene. She needed to confront him on her own, that I knew. She’d only get pissed I’d followed her.
As if you wouldn’t, she thought.
Good. She knew I was there, that she wasn’t totally alone.
“Gorgeous day for a celebration, don’t you think?” the General asked her.
My heart raced as I took deep pulls on the humid air. He wouldn’t attack her in Pearl, would he? With everyone so close by?
“What the hell do you want?” Chelsea demanded. She’d kept herself a good twenty feet away from the General. Unless he had powers, he wouldn’t be able to touch her from that distance, not with Chelsea’s reaction time.
General Allen shrugged nonchalantly, as if this was the most normal conversation in the world. “To check-in on you.”
Chelsea charged forward a few paces, her angry steps echoing across the empty space. Her fists bunched at her sides, curling and uncurling. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have kicked me out of the damn club.”
The General might as well have rolled his eyes for the tone his next words contained. “I think we both know by now it was necessary.”
“Screw you,” Chelsea spat. “Get out of here. How stupid do you have to be to show up in Pearl after everything you’ve done?”
A flash of turquoise light sped across the area, searing my vision into overload. I slammed my eyes shut against the blinding ferocity. In that split second of zero vision all I heard was Chelsea’s strangled yelp.
I surged forward through the blackness and around the corner. My vision returned in time to see Chelsea in General Allen’s clutches. The asshole had powers.
Of course he did. This guy could do everything.
He yanked hard on Chelsea’s wrist. She was on her knees at his side, panting for breath as her face paled and her body limped. “Stop looking for us. You can’t save them any more than you could Truman.”
“Hey, douchebag!” I shouted, racing toward them.
The General took one look at me and grinned. “Mr. Boncore. So good of us to finally meet. Do you know how far she went to save you?”
Run, Chelsea’s thoughts yelled, though they were strained. Her face paled in the hot sunlight. Get out of here!
Like hell I’d leave now.
General Allen laughed and dropped Chelsea’s hand. “Stop looking, soldier. For them or your family. If you don’t, I’ll kill them all.” Then he was gone, lost in a sea of turquoise flames like the ones that had swallowed Dave months ago.
Gone, just like that. What had he wanted? To threatened Chelsea? Message received.
No. That couldn’t have been the only reason.
I rushed to Chelsea’s side. Her small body shook and her skin chilled my fingertips as I held her arm. “Are you okay?”
She pushed me away and stood on her own, shaky legs and all. “I’m fine,” she snapped.
“What’d he do to you?”
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her middle. “It was like a winter storm rolled through me. I was cold and weak and couldn’t stop him.” She shivered once more before shaking her head and adding, “But I’m fine.”
Experience with Chelsea and her robotic responses told me she wasn’t, but I nodded anyway. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Her eyes narrowed and she slipped on a calm, unaffected expression like nothing had happened at all. The change from hurt and scared to confident froze me solid. “No. Being in public might be the best place for me right now.” She rubbed her arms. “Let’s go. They’ll be wondering where we are.”
She took off toward the reception, which we enjoyed without saying another word.
3
Chelsea
A cart of beakers and other lab supplies barreled toward me. I sidestepped out of the way and pressed myself against the wall. Ethan, one of Julie’s new lab assistants, paused, stopping the cart so fast I thought it would all tip over. One of the beakers slipped, toppling. I reached out, snatched it up, and held it for him to take.
He smiled sheepishly, dimples developing in his tan cheeks. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” I said through gritted teeth.
The crew was going mad with all the supplies loading and the shuffling of quarters before we shoved off on this tour. It made walking most of the halls on the Science Decks a perilous task. Luckily, I’d thus far avoided most stubbed toes and run-over heels.
Today at least.
“Be careful, okay?” I said. “Not everyone’s as quick to move out of the way.”
He nodded, adjusted the front of his pale-yellow scientist uniform, and took off again. I sighed as he paddled away amidst waves of people, supplies, and rushes of cold air from the venting systems.
The last three months had been filled with systems updates, department reorganizing, and slowly debriefing the entire crew—all alongside popping back to Phoenix and Lobster to play shows with the band. Today I’d be receiving two additional archaeologists to help me out, and although I was technically their boss, both of them had PhDs and more field work between them than me, time-travel notwithstanding.
I glanced down at my watch. I had about two hours before they’d board for the first time, five hours before our first meeting, and a to-do list of epic proportions.
Scurrying around more carts and frantic people, I made my way to Level Two of SeaSat5 using the inner staircase. The Lift would be inundated with people new and old, and it was the last place I wanted to get stuck in. My pulse pounded behind my ears, my palms slicking with sweat, at the very thought. Besides, this would be ten times quicker and I needed to stretch my legs.
I’d debated about having this meeting with Captain Marks for days now, ever since the incident at the ceremony. That General Allen had felt compelled to pay me a visit after all the hell he’d put me through raised a ton of red flags. It meant that even though I couldn’t find them, TruGates as an organization was still around, and that the General’s soldiers still operated as nothing more than unwilling, unknowing puppets under his alternate agenda. Whatever that was.
While he hadn’t outright spoken it, the threat had been given by his very presence. He still wanted me, an Atlantean super soldier, for something—which meant SeaSatellite5 wasn’t safe. Then again, the station hadn’t been safe from the Atlantean-Lemurian war before all of this, either. Hence my meeting with Captain Marks this morning.
On Level Two, I stepped off the staircase and made my way down the metal-grated, brightly lit corridor to Captain Marks’s office. My boots clanged against the steel with every step. I knocked on the door and looked away while I waited.
I wasn’t sure what Captain Marks thought of me anymore. I knew he was happy—proud, even—to see that Trevor and I had figured out where SeaSat5 had been kept and that we’d rescued them, but what happened afterward wasn’t good. He’d accepted me back onto SeaSat5 following my abandonment by TruGates. The disappointment that had flooded his eyes when I told him about what Josh and TruGates had done to me had nearly split me in two.
No one else had ever made me want to prove myself. But with Captain Marks, I not only felt like I owed it to him to succeed because he’d taken a chance on me two years ago, I also felt like anything less than that success was unacceptable. That was why I hated myself for choosing TruGates over SeaSatellite5 three months ago, only to have it blow up in my face.
“Come in,” Captain Marks called from inside his office.
I slid my keycard through the reader on the wall to my right. A beep sounded and the door slid open. Captain Marks sat behind his desk, which had been littered with manila folders and coffee mugs.
“Rough day?” I asked him.
He shed a small smile thinly veiling mountains of stress. Usually Captain Marks was impossible to read. That his h
ard exterior had cracked wasn’t a good sign. “I keep telling myself that things will quiet down once we’re in open water. Somehow I doubt that’s the case.” He closed the file folder in his hands.
“Believe me, I wish it were.”
He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. “What’s on your mind?”
I hadn’t exactly told him why I wanted to meet, only that I did. I figured that’d be enough to make him clear some space in his busy schedule for me.
“I won’t keep you long, Captain,” I said, sitting. “I think I’m gonna add to that pile of crazy town, though.”
His lips thinned. “What’s wrong?”
“General Allen paid me a visit at the ceremony the other day. He had some interesting things to say.”
Captain Marks stiffened. “Did he?”
I nodded. “He didn’t threaten me outright, but given what we learned from Valerie, I know I’m on his hit list—and I’m willing to bet that I’ve made it to the top now. I’m more than an Atlantean super soldier, I’m the one that slipped through his fingers. But he won’t take me out yet, not while I’m still useful to him in some capacity. And no, I don’t know why he hasn’t killed me yet.” Although I’d be willing to bet it had to do with SeaSat5 being a Link Piece.
“Whatever you need, tell me.” Captain Marks dropped his gaze to the mounds of paperwork in front of him. “This can wait. Knowing how close that bastard was to ending you and Trevor…” His fist curled, standing out stark against the dark finish of his wooden desk.
I lifted my hands. “It’s not us I’m worried about, sir. I can protect myself and keep an eye on Trevor.” As long as we stayed on SeaSat5, no one could touch us. Not with Humming Bird in place. With Trevor’s security system updated with specifications to Lemurian versus Atlantean powers, no one was teleporting on board without permission so long as Humming Bird was intact. But even then… “It’s the station.”
Captain Marks’s eyebrows rose a centimeter, the smallest of tells. Guilt sprung through my chest. If he didn’t let me take the lead, this would be one more thing on his already stacked plate from the Buffet of Trouble. “How so?”