Quantum

by Jess Anastasi

  “The most elite black ops force onboard a flagship,” Rian put in. “It makes sense there’d be a Reidar in their ranks.”

  Varian glared. “Yeah, and apparently my commanding officer, Nolan, was it. I have no idea why that stunner knocks me out, but I am not some damned shape-shifting alien.”

  “Show me.” Rian’s voice was hard, leaving no room for argument.

  Mae stood and started to turn toward him. “Is that really necessary?”

  Forster shot off a round as soon as she shifted clear. Varian went rigid then collapsed against the bulkhead behind him, near unconscious. She swore as she knelt down to check his pulse. It was racing, but other than that, he showed no other signs of reacting to the energy burst.

  “Interesting,” Rian murmured as though they were discussing football plays instead of the fate of a person.

  “How many times have you shot him with that thing?” she demanded as she pushed to her feet.

  Forster shrugged as he holstered the weapon. “A couple…maybe twenty.”

  “Twenty is a couple?” Aggravation and incredulity surged through her. “I’m pretty sure if he was really a Reidar, he wouldn’t have been able to hold out after that many shots.”

  “Really?” Rian stepped forward and kicked Varian’s booted foot, though the half-unconscious man didn’t react. “And what makes you an expert all of a sudden? We don’t know the extent of how this weapon works, only that it does. How do we know that for some reason, this Reidar can resist whatever element it is that forces the others to change back?”

  She glared. “The same could be said for the weapon’s effect on humans. How do we know if, for some reason, this guy just got unlucky and the stunner actually works on him in the way that Chase originally intended?”

  “It’s a risk we can’t take.” Rian nodded at Forster, and the two of them walked over to haul Varian up between them.

  “What are you going to do with him?”

  Rian didn’t bother glancing at her as they dragged Varian past. “Put him in the brig on the Imojenna until we can work out for sure either way.”

  Mae sighed as the three disappeared out of sight. Part of her felt sorry for Varian, especially if he really was just a human who happened to be that unlucky. But the pragmatic side of her won out. It was strange the weapon could knock him out, and part of her did think the guy was actually a Reidar. But right now, that wasn’t her problem.

  She pulled her commpad out of her pocket and checked the time. Just under half an hour until the medics woke Zander—enough time to get up there and settle in beside his bed.

  Anxiousness chomped steadily at her calm. The last time she’d been this nervous about something, she’d been a green recruit, fresh out of the academy and shipping off on her first posting. But who could blame her? Zander might have told her he loved her, but they were the words of a man who’d no doubt thought he was about to die. It didn’t negate everything that had happened between them, the way she’d betrayed and hurt him. She didn’t take those last words to mean everything was forgiven, but there were still a few things she wanted to say in return, starting and ending with sorry.

  She passed the maintenance staff who were cleaning up the storage area after half the Swift Brion’s crew had lived here for two days and made her way up through the ship. Already, the evidence of the battle had almost been completely sanitized; the damage to the corridors around the blast doors were the last repairs being made.

  Colonel Captain Mack McCarty had taken over running the Swift Brion, shutting down all outside communication and sending IPC command some story about Zander being the victim of an onboard accident. So far, neither the crew of the Imojenna nor those on Ebony Winter had mentioned to Mack or the Swift Brion crew the minor fact that once Zander got on his feet, they were planning on stealing the flagship and heading for the Barbary Belt.

  Mae took a deep breath as she walked into Zander’s room on the MED level. Already, a number of doctors were present, double-checking all sorts of things before they started bringing their captain admiral out of the coma. Prescott sent her a respectful nod as she took the far seat next to the bed. She returned the gesture and focused on Zander’s relaxed face, looking as though he was just taking a really long nap. Whiskers had thickened over his jaw in the past few days, and his hair had been mussed into definite scruff territory, but he’d never looked more gorgeous.

  Some of the doctors left the room, while Prescott stopped by her chair. She’d gotten to know him in the past couple of days, and in the few hours she hadn’t been by Zander’s bedside, Prescott had taken up the post.

  “He’ll start waking in a few minutes, so I’ll give you some privacy. If you need anything, just buzz. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes to make sure he’s coming around like he should.”

  “Thank you, Doctor.” Mae reached forward to clasp Zander’s hand as the chief medical officer left the room, letting the door slide shut behind him.

  “What do you think he’d say if he knew I was already half awake?” Zander’s gravelly voice sent shivers skipping over her skin, and she looked up to see his eyelids slowly opening. He blinked a couple of times, then focused on her.

  “My guess is he’d tell you that you’re already trying to do too much and should be resting.” Her words came out uneven as her throat tightened. She reached over and grabbed the cup next to his bed, helping him with some water while she tried to stranglehold her emotions into check.

  God, she’d come so close to losing him but hadn’t let herself shed even a tear since the attack. Now, the urge to cry ambushed her with a hard blow, stealing her breath. But the emotion was tinged in happiness, because he was awake, and he was going to be okay.

  Of course, Zander tried to push himself up, but before he’d moved much, she jumped up and put herself on the edge of the bed, setting both hands against his shoulders.

  “No. Don’t try anything. Just lie there and listen to me.”

  He relaxed, sending her a thwarted glare, though the expression didn’t have any heat behind it. “Is this where you tell me not to ever get myself stabbed by an alien again? Because you can save your breath when I tell you I sure as hell don’t plan on repeating that scene.”

  “No, this is where I tell you how pissed off I am.”

  Confusion creased his brow. “If I’d had to make a guess at your emotions after I got knifed by my evil twin, pissed off wouldn’t have been one of them.”

  She shook her head and then slid her hand over his shoulder, up his neck to cup his face. “You think you can just tell me you love me and then check out? Lucky you survived, or I would have been even more pissed off.”

  A small grin tugged at his lips as his hand found her hip and then slipped around her waist, tugging her closer with surprising strength. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was there something you wanted to say in return?”

  “Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got no humility whatsoever?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “I’m a captain admiral. What do I need humility for, when I’ve got others who can take care of it for me?”

  She leaned down to press her lips gently to his in a too-brief kiss. “Zander, do you know how much you frightened me? I don’t scare easy, but I was terrified of losing you.”

  His fingers curled around the back of her neck, sending shivers cascading down her spine. “Apparently I’m one hard son of a bitch to kill, especially when I’ve got a kick-ass admiral’s assistant at my back.”

  “I’m trying to be serious.”

  “I know. Sorry.” His hand tightened on her, emotion darkening his soulful brown eyes. “Can I say it again and enjoy it this time, because I’m not about to die?”

  She wanted to nod, but her body had frozen with anticipation.

  Zander’s hand sifted through her hair, his gaze roaming her face as though he was trying to imprint this moment on his memory.

  “I love you, Mae. I’m sorry I was such a jerk about your promise to Rian and the th
ings you kept from me. I don’t care what you think is keeping us apart, I’ll find a way around it, because my life is not worth living without you in it.”

  “There’s nothing keeping us apart.” Regret raked hard tines though her. “It was just me being an idiot, but it was like I’d gotten stalled on the notion we couldn’t be together.”

  Zander pulled her into his chest, and she went willingly, laying her head on his shoulder and sighing as his strength and warmth seeped into her.

  “It doesn’t matter now, because from here on out, nothing will get between us.”

  Mae kissed the base of his neck.

  “I love you,” she whispered against his skin, kissing her way up to his mouth. “I love you. More than I can ever say,” she murmured against his lips.

  “Then show me,” he whispered in return.

  She deepened the kiss, sliding her hand into his mussed hair. Pure rapture bloomed in her heart and rushed out through her veins, warming every cell in her body like a sun giving life to a new planet. In that moment, nothing could have been more right.

  Zander groaned and broke the kiss. “Enough of that, or when the doctor comes back in here, it’s going to be too damned obvious exactly how I’m feeling right now.”

  She grinned. “Do you think they’ll notice if I lock the door?”

  A flash of longing crossing his face, Zander glanced at the hatchway in question then returned his attention to her. “Usually, I would think that’s a brilliant suggestion, but I’m assuming the chief of surgery, Joe Prescott, is in charge of my care?”

  Clasping her hands in her lap to stop herself from reaching for him, she nodded.

  “Then I’m sorry, but I can’t risk it. Prescott can be one cranky son of a bitch. If I get in his bad books, I won’t hear the end of it for the next ten years.”

  She tsked at him but moved to sit in the chair she’d vacated a few moments ago.

  “It’s your loss, but I suppose there’s always later.”

  Zander dragged a hand across the lower half of his face, a pained expression crossing his features. “Now you’re just trying to torture me.”

  The door slid open and Prescott walked in, followed by half a dozen other medics.

  “Ah, Captain Admiral, you’re awake and obviously quite alert. That’s a good sign. How are you feeling?”

  Zander cut her a heated look then focused on Prescott. “I’m sure you don’t need specifics, but I’m feeling much better.”

  A blush crept up her neck at the innuendo, but it seemed Prescott had missed it as he checked some data on the screen inset above Zander’s bed.

  As she let her head drop back against the seat, fatigue ambushed her. What she wouldn’t give for a cozy bed right now. But their situation was far from resolved. After all, they still had a flagship to steal.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Zander scowled at the walking stick in his hand as he crossed the deck toward where the Imojenna and Ebony Winter were docked beside each other. Prescott hadn’t wanted him to leave the MED yet and threatened to get a couple of AF soldiers up to handcuff him to the bed if he didn’t at least take the cane. Although that was the lesser evil, because the surgeon had tried to make him sit in a goddamn wheelchair.

  He couldn’t afford to lounge around in bed after spending almost three days laid up. The pulling in his back and chest warned him that maybe walking all this way hadn’t been such a great idea. But Mack, the ship’s captain, wouldn’t be able to stall the IPC forever, and if they were really going to steal the damn ship, then they needed to get the Swift Brion to the relative safety of the Barbary Belt ASAP.

  The entire crew had gathered in the level-one launch bay and stood in rough formation waiting to be addressed. He nodded at a few people here and there, returned greetings, and accepted well wishes as he made his way to the front of the crowd, where Mae, Rian, Forster, and their combined crews waited.

  Rian hadn’t come to see him in the MED, not that he’d really expected his old friend to show up. The man seemed to be an expert at avoiding anything that might be construed as emotional. However, as Zander got closer, he was gratified that a shadow of regret seemed to flash over Rian’s impassive mask.

  “Zander, you’re looking better than the last time I saw you.” He stepped forward and held out his hand. “About what happened—”

  Zander transferred his walking stick to his left hand and then took a swing, catching Rian in the jaw. The movement had been halfhearted at best. With his back so recently sliced and diced, he couldn’t put much power behind his fist. He still managed to catch Rian off guard, though.

  “Apology accepted,” he replied as Rian straightened, rubbing a hand over his jaw and glaring at him with begrudging respect.

  “Now that you’ve all kissed and made up,” Forster interjected, moving closer. “What’s the plan here?”

  Mae walked over to stand at his side, imbuing him with the confidence to do what needed to be done.

  “It’s simple. We can’t run an entire battleship with just fifteen of us, and the Swift Brion’s people already know her inside and out.”

  Forster’s eyebrows hiked up. “You’re not suggesting—?”

  “We give them a chance to join us. It’s the starting of a real force, and we’re going to need it if we want to survive this insane underground war we’ve taken on.”

  Rian’s expression was considering. “It’s a risk, but I think it’s one we need to take. We’ve weeded out the Reidar onboard, and from bits and pieces I’ve overheard in the past few days, your people are really unimpressed about the possibility of aliens infiltrating the IPC.”

  “I think they’ll want to take up this fight, despite the implications of abandoning the IPC and going AWOL.”

  “Then by all means”—Rian held out a hand, gesturing him forward—“address your people, Captain Admiral.”

  Zander shot Rian a quick frown over the sarcasm behind the words. They both knew he wouldn’t be a captain admiral for much longer.

  He strode to the temporary lectern complete with microphones that somebody had set up. As he took his place, a hush fell over the crowd.

  “Thank you all for gathering here. I know the past couple of days have created an upheaval in our close-knit crew.” The mood in the large open area seemed to grow more somber, people no doubt considering their friends who’d turned out to be aliens in disguise collecting who knew what sort of intel on them. “You all saw with your own eyes the proof of what lurks in the far reaches of the universe, saw that these creatures were residing among us, hiding in plain sight on our ship. So when I tell you that we have reason to believe that every IPC flagship, every facet of military and government on every planet has been similarly compromised, you can understand the gravity of our situation, the peril that mankind itself is facing.”

  He paused, the weight of his words pushing down on his shoulders. He glanced over at Mae, who’d moved near his left, while Rian and Forster were off to his right. The universe might be balancing on a precipice, but he had people with him he could trust. As long as they stood together, then just maybe they had a small chance of making a difference.

  He set his shoulders and returned his attention to the crowd. “And now you all have a choice to make. Personally, I can’t remain in the IPC military, knowing those above us giving the orders, or the people I fight shoulder to shoulder with, may not be human. I will be joining Captain Sherron in his quest to expose and destroy the alien invaders, and I plan on taking this ship with me.”

  A shocked murmur rippled through the room.

  “We’ve outed all of the Reidar onboard, and I’ve worked with most of you for many years, which has built a solid trust between us. I’m giving you all a choice. Join me, even though it means leaving behind everything you know to become outcasts, wanted, probably hunted by the IPC and a race of aliens plotting our destruction. Or, for those of you who wish to remain loyal to the military, we’ll be giving you the chance to disembar
k at Beta Seven waystation. After that, we’ll be taking this ship and going off the grid. For security reasons, the destination will remain undisclosed until those who wish to leave have vacated. We’re two rotations out from Beta Seven, so take your time to think this decision through and make the right choice for yourselves.”

  After Zander saluted the room, the crowd dissolved into loud chatter.

  Rian moved up next to him, and Zander released a long breath.

  “Well, there was no immediate mutiny—that’s a good sign.” He held his hand out to Rian, who sent him a wary look before shaking it. “Congratulations, Rian, you’ve got yourself a flagship and hopefully at least half a crew.”

  “At least now we’ve got some decent firepower to blast the frecking bastards with next time they come at us.”

  “I’d like to feel better about that, but the Reidar have probably still got half the IPC in their pocket.”

  Rian shrugged. “One battle at a time, Graydon. Isn’t that what we used to say?”

  “Yeah, that’s what we used to say.” The grin he aimed at his old friend held a note of dark amusement. “I should go check in with Mack.”

  As he turned, Mae took his arm. “Nice speech, Captain Admiral.”

  He offered her a forced smile. “The last one I’ll make as a captain admiral. Once we leave Beta Seven and disconnect from the IPC grid, I’ll become a wanted pirate like Forster.”

  “Not a pirate,” Forster called out.

  Rian clapped him on the shoulder. “You just keep telling yourself that, cuz.”

  Forster glowered, and Zander coughed over a laugh but then groaned when pain sliced from his back into his chest. Mae’s grip on his arm tightened.

  “Let me guess…you shouldn’t be up and walking around?” She sent him a stern look and started steering him across the launch bay.

  “Prescott may have mentioned something about a wheelchair. But I need to go up to the bridge and make sure Mack—”