Galaxy's Way

by E. R. Paskey

“An accident?” Viktor scoffed. “How do you accidentally get married to a stranger?”

  Agreeing murmurs rumbled around the table.

  Anna’s jaw tightened, but this time, Colin beat her to speech.

  “I take it none of you are familiar with the old-fashioned bylaws on Plimus?”

  If possible, Viktor looked even more confused. His black scowl lightened into a bewildered frown; he folded his arms across his chest imposingly and stared down at Colin. “What are you talking about?”

  Well, Anna thought, swallowing a hysterical laugh, I guess that answers the question of whether or not Vik just forgot to tell me. Her brother didn’t know either.

  A low whistle came from the back corner‌—‌obviously from someone who knew about Plimus. “You didn’t,” said a woman’s thick, smoky voice.

  “Oh, aye.” Colin nodded curtly. “Didn’t have much of a choice.”

  Viktor’s eyes‌—‌so like Anna’s own‌—‌found hers again. “What is he talking about?”

  She took pity on her brother‌—‌fear was quickly displacing anger in his eyes. Giving him a look that promised dire retribution at a later date, Anna pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers and sighed heavily. Then she propped her hands on her hips and shifted to shake her head at Colin. “Since you’ve gone and let the cat out of the bag, we might as well start at the beginning.”

  He shrugged, his blue eyes still dark and somber. “As you wish, lass.”

  Viktor stabbed a finger in his erstwhile brother-in-law’s direction. “And why does he keep calling you that?”

  It was Anna’s turn to shrug. “It’s his thing.” Then she caught the bartender’s eye and waved her hand in the air. “I could use a drink over here!”

  ~oOo~

  It took Anna and Colin the better part of an hour to tell the story. Colin let Anna do most of the talking‌—‌he preferred to sit back and watch her and the rest of the table‌—‌but he interjected at times to weave his thoughts into the narrative. They left out visiting the Whirlwind and finding Berenger.

  That particular nugget of information, Anna intended to keep quiet until she could actually get her brother alone.

  Her cheeks were still a little flushed from the embarrassment of having practically the entire table laugh at them when they heard how she and Colin had ended up ‘married’. Viktor hadn’t laughed, but that was mostly because he was still recovering from hearing how close his little sister had come to dying.

  At the end of their tale, he simply sat there and shook his head. “If I ever get my hands on Bear, he’s a dead man.”

  Anna froze in her seat, carefully not looking at Colin. Funny you should say that, considering‌…‌ Aloud, she said, “So, when this is all over, Colin and I have to go back to Plimus to get an annulment.”

  “Galaxies.” Viktor passed a rough hand over his face before pinning Colin with a dark, accusing stare. “You didn’t know about Plimus?”

  Colin raised a hand. “On my honor.”

  Viktor shot Anna a look at this, a look that clearly asked, Who says stuff like this?

  She only shrugged.

  “Well,” Viktor said, after an awkward pause that lasted a little too long. “Thanks for bringing my sister back, Dupree.” He paused again. “And I’m sorry about the murder warrant. That’s rough.”

  “As I said, I’m confident it’ll be sorted.” Colin’s blue eyes glittered in the dim lighting. “I’m curious, however, to hear how you intend to proceed from here.”

  Another man a little farther down the table let out a loud snort. “Proceed? There ain’t no way to proceed. We figured out what Lobai’s building, but we sure as stars don’t know where he is now.”

  Anna looked at Colin in time to see him glance at her. She lifted her eyebrows at him; he nodded. She turned back to Viktor. “See, that’s the thing. We know where he is.”

  “Or at least, where he’s headed,” Colin amended. He did not seem the slightest bit disconcerted by the way every eye turned to him. “Kyra.”

  His nonchalant statement registered‌—‌and Anna just barely managed to keep a straight face. Kyra? she wanted to burst out, but she tamped it all down. There had to be a reason.

  “Isn’t that what we found out, Anna?” Colin looked at her, his expression open and his blue eyes deliberately innocent.

  Understanding surged through her like an electrical current‌—‌understanding mixed with gratitude and no small amount of relief. A little of the tension knotting the muscles of her shoulders relaxed. “That’s right. Kyra.” She swept her gaze around the table and shrugged. “It surprised me too.”

  Situated between two major mining systems, Kyra did a great deal of trade in foodstuffs. Any disruption there would cause a massive shockwave that would reverberate through the galactic economy. I have to hand it to him, that was quick thinking.

  She wasn’t comfortable with her brother’s strange insistence on bringing everyone together to hear the news‌…‌and neither was Colin.

  Anna picked up her glass and took a considering sip. Now to see how many people actually catch on to the fact that he just gave them the wrong planet‌…‌

  Chapter 27

  THE PARTY BROKE UP NOT too long after that, as everyone at the table splintered off into little clumps and began discussing this latest turn of events. Anna heard her name mentioned more than once and felt her face burn. She was grateful for the low lighting in the cantina; she knew she’d have garnered even more jibes if everyone could see her blushing.

  She turned to Colin, intending to convey her thought that they really needed to talk to her brother, but he was glaring at a couple of rowdy spacers on the other side of the table. Her brow crinkled in confusion‌…‌and then she heard what they were saying. Her flush deepened.

  A hand dropped down onto her shoulder. Viktor.

  “Anna, we need to talk.”

  She shot him a look that bore more than a trace of irritation. “I told you that two hours ago.”

  Viktor just shrugged, his mouth tightening, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “This way.”

  Colin was still giving the spacers the evil eye‌—‌they were either too inebriated to notice or smart enough to ignore him while not being smart enough to stop, it was hard to tell. But when Anna dropped her hand over his under the cover of the table and squeezed, he turned to her, his blue eyes wide and startled.

  She tilted her head toward Viktor. “We’re going.”

  “Ah. Yes.”

  Anna let go of his fingers and rose from her seat. She glanced around the table and nodded to several individuals, but otherwise ignored the rest of them. When she turned to follow her brother, however, a guiding hand settled on the small of her back. Her breath hitched; her pulse skittered. Even through her shirt and her jacket, she could feel the warmth of Colin’s hand.

  Anna instinctively glanced over her shoulder at him, but he was scanning the room, on the lookout for any sign of trouble. Biting in the inside of her lip, she faced front again. Probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.

  She remained hyper-aware of his touch the rest of the walk to the Iliana. It could have taken five minutes, it could have taken ten. She was too distracted to tell.

  She thought Viktor didn’t notice, considering how dead set he was on getting back to the ship as quickly as possible, but as soon as they marched through the docking tube into the freighter and the hatch sealed behind them, he rounded on Colin with clenched fists.

  “Take your hands off my sister. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you’re practically glued to her.” He shot Anna an incredulous look, as though he couldn’t believe she hadn’t already told Colin off for violating her personal space, before glaring at the other man.

  Colin dropped his hand‌—‌albeit slowly and deliberately‌—‌but he did not move.

  Anna felt the loss keenly; her back felt cold. She bristled. “Viktor, you’re overreacting. Colin has been nothing but a g
entleman this entire time. It could have been so much worse.” She propped her hands on her hips. “Besides, he saved my life, remember?”

  “Doesn’t mean I have to like him,” her brother said mulishly.

  “Oh, grow up.” Anna rolled her eyes. “Technically, he’s my husband so — ” she broke off; she’d gone too far. Her brother’s face went white at the reminder.

  Feeling guilty for the jab‌—‌and then irritated because it wasn’t like it was either of their faults that they’d ended up married‌—‌Anna stepped forward to hug her brother. “It’s okay, Vik. Really.” She nodded to Colin. “He and his crew are wonderful.”

  Viktor did not look completely convinced, but he only shrugged. “If you say so.”

  Glancing over at Colin’s sober face, Anna mouthed, Sorry.

  His lips quirked in the tiniest of smiles as he inclined his head ever-so-slightly.

  Viktor motioned for them to follow him deeper into the ship. Anna exchanged glances with Colin again. “Where are we going, Vik?”

  “My quarters. We need to talk.”

  “You keep saying that,” she muttered under her breath, but she set off down the corridor after him.

  The entire crew had heard the news that Anna was back‌—‌and, judging from the combination of strange looks they were getting, they’d heard about her accidental marriage too. They all had the sense to stay out of Viktor’s way, however.

  When they reached his quarters, Viktor waved them inside and proceeded to lock the door. Noticing this, Colin shifted uneasily on his feet, sending Anna a concerned glanced, but she only shook her head.

  As captain, Viktor’s quarters were slightly larger than everyone else’s‌…‌which mostly meant that he had enough room for a table and a couple of chairs. Sinking into one of the chairs, he motioned for them to take a seat as well.

  Once they were settled, Viktor leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table. “Want to tell me where Lobai’s really headed?”

  Colin’s eyes flicked sideways to Anna before he directed an easy grin at Viktor. “Picked up on that, did you?”

  “Yeah.” Viktor’s expression did not change. “I was watching Anna. You hid it pretty well, sis,” he nodded to her, “but I could still tell you weren’t expecting him to pop out with Kyra.”

  “The course laid out before us requires intelligence,” Colin said bluntly, leaning back in his seat with deliberate nonchalance. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I suspect a few of your companions back there are more of the ‘shoot first and ask questions’ later variety.”

  Viktor inhaled through his nose before exhaling heavily. “You’re not wrong. I — ” His comlink chimed; he frowned and dug it out of his pocket. “What? We’re in the middle of something here.”

  Neither Anna nor Colin heard the response, but most of the irritation bled from Viktor’s expression.

  “That a fact?” Viktor considered a few seconds, before shrugging. “The more, the merrier. Send ‘em in.” He did not wait for a response, but dropped his comlink to the table. “Couple of captains cottoned on to your trick there, Dupree.”

  “Good.”

  Anna glanced between them. “How many?”

  “Tytus said three.” Rising from his seat, Viktor went over to the door and opened it. “Gonna get a little crowded in here.” He squinted at his accommodations. “May not have enough chairs.”

  “It’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Colin winked at Anna, before adding calmly, “Anna can always sit on my lap.”

  She had to laugh‌—‌the look on her brother’s face was priceless‌—‌but the idea made her cheeks flush bright red. Not with embarrassment, but because she was actually considering it. She pressed her hands to her cheeks in a vain effort to cool them before she heard footsteps echoing down the corridor and dropped them back into her lap.

  She darted a glance at Colin to find him looking at her, his blue eyes full of laughter‌…‌and something else. She broke eye contact just as a familiar figure crossed the threshold to shake Victor’s hand.

  “Captain Thabati.” Anna rose to shake his hand as well. “I shouldn’t be surprised you figured it out.”

  “Of course I did.” Zimwe Thabati‌—‌a tall, slender man with rich brown skin, shoulder-length dreads, and a blinding grin‌—‌cuffed her lightly on the shoulder. “Glad you’re all right, girl.” His grin took on a wicked edge. “You sure you didn’t know about Plimus?”

  Anna flapped her hands at him. “Oh, sit down and be quiet.”

  Laughing, Thabati dropped into the chair next to Colin and nodded to him. “Congratulations. Most accidental marriages involved copious quantities of alcohol.”

  “That sounds like the voice of personal experience,” Colin replied dryly.

  Thabati just laughed again.

  Anna turned her attention back to her brother and the two other individuals who had followed Thabati inside, a short man with olive-toned skin and an even shorter, pixie-like woman with slanted black eyes and wavy black hair tied up in an elaborate topknot. Anna did not recognize the man, but she realized with a start that she’d seen the woman before. She stormed out of Scarlet’s office just before Lacy let us in.

  Viktor hit the door release and turned around to introduce the remainder of his unexpected visitors. “Captain Melvin Indinara and Captain Gou Eun Jou.” He waved to Thabati. “You know him, but these are my sister and her‌—‌friend‌—‌Captain Colin Dupree.”

  Jou fixed Colin with a flat look. “You lied to that entire table.”

  Colin only twitched one shoulder in a shrug. “Can’t have a mob of disgruntled spacers descending on Lobai‌—‌it’d screw everything up.”

  “Everything?” Indinara turned to Viktor. “We thought you were cooking something up.”

  Viktor just snorted. “We haven’t got that far yet.” He motioned for them all to take seats, before addressing Anna. “Where is Lobai really headed?”

  She looked askance at him. “Are you sure you want to do this now?” She glanced at Jou and Indinara. “No offense, but I don’t know you.”

  “They’re trustworthy,” Thabati piped up. “Friends of mine.” He gave her a dangerous grin. “And, more importantly, they lost a good deal of money when Lobai double-crossed them.”

  “It’s okay, Anna.” Viktor leaned forward. “Where is he going?”

  She eyed him a moment longer, before relenting. “Ydris.”

  As expected, this drew low whistles from the two men.

  Jou’s face remained blank and expressionless, but she turned one fingerless-gloved hand palm up. “How do you know this?”

  “A relatively trustworthy source,” Colin broke in.

  Thabati’s eyebrows shot up. “Relatively trustworthy?” He shook his head, sending the little blue beads woven into his hair dancing. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

  Viktor looked from Anna to Colin and back. “Who is it?”

  This was it. Anna glanced at Colin out of the corner of her eye, but his expression was set into one of pleasant neutrality. It’s up to me, then. She wet her lips. “Bear.”

  “Bear?” Viktor growled, his hands clenching into fists. “When? Before or after he screwed you over and left you to die?”

  “After.”

  “WHAT?” Viktor and Thabati demanded together. Indinara and Jou just looked confused.

  Anna couldn’t look at Colin. She almost couldn’t even look at her brother, but she forced herself to meet his furious‌—‌and panicked‌—‌gaze. “We‌…‌ran into him. Later.”

  Viktor looked gobsmacked, but his thunderstruck expression sharpened quickly into something keen‌—‌and deadly. “Anna — ”

  “He knows how to get to the Whirlwind,” she burst out. “I‌—‌we — ” she motioned to Colin, “ — went there looking for you, and found him instead.”

  “Lobai’s men had worked him over pretty well,” Colin interjected. “He wasn’t in great shape.”

  “The
Whirlwind?” Indinara asked.

  “Last-ditch hideout of ours,” Viktor replied. “For emergencies only.”

  Jou abruptly leaned forward, smacking the flat of her hand against the table. “Why would he go there? Why would Lobai’s men beat him?”

  Anna looked helplessly at Colin, her eyes full of questions. Do we tell them?

  Breaking eye contact with her, Colin glanced around the compartment. “They found out he’s former Federation DOJ and thought he was spying on them.”

  For the third time that evening, Anna watched the color drain from her brother’s face. “Bear is Federation?”

  “Was,” Colin corrected him. He waved a hand. “At least until he found out that he has a son and the DOJ decided to leverage that child against him in return for his help taking down Lobai.”

  Viktor blinked, once, twice, and then rocked back in his chair. “That’s why he screwed us over? Of all the — ” He glared up at the overhead. “He should have told me.”

  “Oh, aye.” Colin nodded. “There’s no doubt about that.”

  “Where is Berenger now?” Jou broke in, looking at Anna.

  “Tied up aboard the Galaxy’s Way.” Anna gave a semi-apologetic shrug. “Didn’t think it would go over well.”

  Thabati snorted a laugh. “You’re right about that, girl.”

  Viktor, however, had frozen. “He’s aboard your ship, Dupree? Right now?”

  “Aye.” Colin eyed him. “Settle down there, man. You’ll not be charging over there just yet.”

  Catching her brother’s suddenly wild-eyed look, Anna hastened to add, “He’s right. You’ll get a chance to talk to Bear later. Right now, we’ve got to figure out how to stop Lobai and whoever he’s working for from doing something terrible.”

  “And help Bear bring Lobai to justice,” Colin put in.

  “Justice?”

  They all turned to stare at Indinara, whose face had darkened. “You really think the Federation will give a damn about him?”

  “They’ve got Bear’s son,” Anna reminded him. “And — ” she swallowed, “ — he said that if we help him, the DOJ will clear our records.” She leaned toward her brother. “Viktor, think about it. We’ll be able to travel anywhere in the galaxy, dock wherever we like without worrying about running into trouble.”