IGO 2: Save for Shardae

by Blue, RaeLynn

  “How the fuck did you let this happen?” Commander Ashe’s harsh browbeating rolled to her. Angry eyes met hers.

  “You know what, Commander,” Shardae said, anger firing inside her. “I was poisoned. So excuse me for being attacked, weakened by Scarlet Burn. My body gave out, ma’am.”

  Commander Ashe flinched. “Poisoned? That wasn’t in the report. Dr. Raja said you had been struck with a blunt instrument… I thought you’d been accidentally struck by one of your friends. I’m -- I’m sorry, Shardae.”

  Shardae choked down the lump of restless nerves in her gut.

  Outside the cell, O’Leery marched impatiently down the corridor. Pausing to glare at them, he leaned close to the force field. “How you doin’, blondie?” he cackled at Commander Ashe. “You could use some lipstick on those lips of yours. Black and blue doesn’t become you.”

  Along the floor behind O’Leery, three of her security team were sprawled, victims of the Scarlet Burn courtesy of their traitorous crewmates. Shardae scowled in fury.

  “You gotta get them to medical,” Shardae said, her voice as hard as ice. “They’ll die. That’s more deaths that will be on your hands. You played futbol with them! You can’t leave them to die.”

  Her entire team had been ambushed and imprisoned in neighboring cells. So far, none of them had died. Although Berg had been dispatched to corral others, he hadn’t returned.

  “Do what she says, O’Leery,” Commander Ashe added.

  “You ain’t giving the orders now, bitch,” O’Leery snarled.

  “No,” Commander Ashe said back frostily. “Not now, but later, I will.”

  “I hate you. I’ve always hated you. You’re weak. Pretending to be so tough. All you had going for you was a pair of decent tits. How those helping you out now?”

  O’Leery laughed. The rest of them joined in an uneasy round of chuckles, but Shardae saw Rojas’ face -- he didn’t like O’Leery. Perhaps she’d be able to turn that her way. She didn’t know. Darryl Snow’s report of the attempted mutiny on The Inquiry portrayed Rojas as a follower -- a man without any thoughts of his own. One who would shoot down a slew of innocent people and later proclaim to just be following orders.

  Ashe sounded so confident. It made Shardae smile. The conspirators hadn’t intended to kill them or all of them would be dead. No, this wasn’t a mutiny per se. The craft hadn’t gone off course. It hadn’t gone anywhere. The bastards were waiting for someone or something.

  Shardae got unsteadily to her feet. Without waiting for Ashe’s approval, she went directly to the force field, careful not to touch it. O’Leery had pushed on. They all stood in a loose group by the control room. Body language told her the others had relaxed, feeling all the potential dangers had been contained. Only Rojas tossed careful glances over his shoulder. Shardae could tell he didn’t believe that all had gone according to plan.

  Zander. He remained at large. She knew deep into her bones. He wouldn’t leave her or abandon her. If he sat with her for three days in medical, listening to Dr. Raja’s prattle, then he wouldn’t leave her to chance or betrayal. So, where was Zander? Was he all right?

  “Where is JC Henderson? JC Stankiewitz?” Shardae asked, her mind racing through the list of personnel. She had to figure out how many of the craft’s personnel had gone to Lee’s side of doing things.

  “Henderson was shot and left on the command platform. Stankiewitz is dead.”

  Dead. Stankiewitz must have been on duty when Lee’s plan hatched. “How many?” Commander Ashe asked softly, a whisper above the hum of the environmental controls. “I see your brain processing it like you do. That brilliance is why you’re chief of security.”

  “Four,” Shardae answered dutifully. “Not counting Lee, Brock or Berg. Add them, at least seven, possibly more.”

  “Small unit. Stealth.”

  She stepped back from the front. Heart thundering in revved up adrenaline and angst, Shardae sat on the floor beside Commander Ashe, with her back to the cell’s opening. No one had taken the time, in all the confusion, to remove Commander Ashe’s weapon. Using some of the commander’s body to shield her, she hastily began to take her stunner apart. The cells had been designed to prevent tampering from inside, but she had a different plan. Besides, shooting the force field wouldn’t do any good.

  “Why did he do it, Simmons?” Commander Ashe inquired. The anger had evaporated. She seemed to be staring off into the air. No doubt chasing down her missteps in her head.

  “Lee?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He wants off this craft,” Shardae explained, but she didn’t believe it either. “The others, well, I don’t know. I just don’t know.” It bothered her too. How had Lee gotten his hooks into so many people on her security team? How many others on the craft had he managed to convince he was worth their careers, their lives?

  “Tell me about Scarlet Burn.”

  “Ma’am?” Shardae looked up from the stunner. Could she not see her trying to get the pulse reconfigured to disrupt the force field?

  Commander Ashe caught her expression. “Sorry. Just ready to pound on them. Bastards. I talk when I’m, well, agitated.”

  “Why would O’Leery want to help someone like Lee?” Shardae wondered aloud. Zander had suspected him, had instantly disliked him. But Berg’s betrayal punched a hole in Shardae’s guard. He’d gotten around her usually suspicious nature. She still felt the sting of anger.

  “Dunno,” Commander Ashe said with a shrug. “Tell me about the Burn.”

  “According to Dr. Raja, the dose of Scarlet Burn I got came from the Titan Penal Colony,” Shardae said, putting her full attention back on the weapon.

  Commander Ashe nodded. “Makes sense. O’Leery once worked on the Titan Outpost.”

  “And Zigler didn’t find it odd?”

  “Like most transfers, it isn’t up to the chief of security,” Commander Ashe said, matter of fact. “O’Leery came because of his background on Titan. Zigler recommended him for security. At the time, I didn’t see a problem, so he got on the security team.”

  Shardae nodded, noting the twinge of regret in the commander’s tone. “With all due respect, Commander, we can’t spend any more time looking behind us.” Shardae stood up. “If we want to get out of here, we need to focus on what’s happening right now, right here.”

  Commander Ashe twisted her hair -- securing it. She looked at the weapon in Shardae’s hand. She didn’t confirm she’d even heard Shardae’s pep talk, but her face changed, taking on its usual coolness.

  Muffled sounds met her ears. Then the noise of struggles.

  “No time like the present.” Commander Ashe’s blue eyes shifted to the force field.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Shardae said, feeling the cold anger spill over her body, steadying her hand. IGO training took over. She fired the stunner. The reverse polarized beam slammed into the force field and disrupted it just enough to punch a hole. A hole that grew larger with each burst of the stunner.

  “Now!” she shouted. She leapt through the hole, singeing the edges of her uniform jacket and a bit of her hair. Not waiting, she punched the release button outside the cell. Commander Ashe, fists pumped and ready to fight, came out first.

  The cobalt blast cannon’s stream zipped by her face. She returned fire without even blinking. These bastards had it coming. She was just the person to bring it to them. Grunts, growls, and more scuffling abounded from the direction in front of her, but she shielded her face against the stream of stunner spray.

  “Shardae!” shouted a male from the far end of the floor.

  Scuffling, yelps, shouts, and arguing erupted. Shardae ran to protect her commander. She continued to fire. Commander Ashe had dropped down to the floor beside Private Porter. She crawled over to Eves and checked for a pulse too.

  “They’re alive,” Commander Ashe said. “But not for too much longer. They need medical treatment.”

  “Shardae! Don’t fire!” Zander shouted. He stepped out of
the box. In his grasp, he held an incredibly pissed off Barlow. Clutched around his neck by Zander, Barlow’s face threatened to turn puce. The scrawny man kicked and sputtered, spittle flying, but Zander held him firm. “It’s me!”

  Shardae didn’t lower her stunner, though honestly she didn’t know what would happen if she hit someone with the reversed, polarized stunner beam. She crept closer and stepped over the fallen body of Private Kirk. Too bad. Mack would miss him down in engineering. “Where are the others?” she asked. “Tell me, Barlow.”

  “Answer her,” Commander Ashe snarled. She yanked Barlow’s weapon out of his holster. He’d never even cleared it before Zander had gotten a hold of him. “Now or I will burn you like you did Porter.”

  Barlow’s eyes widened. Zander’s hold tightened. Barlow gasped.

  “Where are the others?” Shardae asked again, impatience straining the words.

  Barlow sputtered and croaked, “Command.”

  “How many of you are there?” Shardae asked, lowering the stunner to his heart.

  “Fuck you.”

  Shardae didn’t blink. She punched him.

  “Augh!” Barlow screamed and flailed against Zander.

  “Barlow,” she said, bringing the stunner close to his face again. “Get this straight. Fucking me isn’t ever going to happen in your lifetime, what little’s left of it.”

  Zander smiled encouragingly. “You tell him, baby.” His eyes twinkled with what Shardae could only read as pride. To Barlow, Zander said, “If I were you, I’d do what she said. Start singing.”

  Chapter 16

  “Rojas and O’Leery went to the cargo bay,” Barlow wheezed. “That’s all I know! I swear it!”

  Commander Ashe nodded though she didn’t look satisfied. “Sure it is, and I’m the queen of Newport Empire!”

  “Tell her all of it.” Zander poked Barlow in the side with his weapon.

  “Who else is involved?” Shardae asked.

  “Just who you already know,” Barlow answered bitterly. “Kirk, Berg, O’Leery and McAffrey. You didn’t have to kill Kirk like that. Shooting him like a dog!”

  Zander’s eyes met Commander Ashe’s. She smiled. “Good work, Reyes.”

  Taking his cue, Zander slammed the butt of his stunner into the back of Barlow’s neck. He made a brief, whimpered sound before dropping to the floor like the useless sack of human skin he was. Zander pushed the crumpled man out of his way and joined Shardae.

  “Let’s put them in one of the cells,” she said, not even looking at him.

  She seemed annoyed. Really, he wasn’t expecting a huge kiss in light of what was happening, but at least he wanted some eye contact. He pushed his irritated thoughts aside.

  “Good idea,” Commander Ashe said. She grabbed Barlow’s feet. “Help me get him into this cell.”

  Shardae lifted Barlow under his arms. Together they carried the man into a cell. Commander Ashe rushed to the control room. She entered without a look back. He assumed she went to verify Barlow’s words or to send the IGO a message or something. He didn’t know.

  “Get Kirk in here too,” Shardae said gently, moving out of his way. She went to Kirk’s feet and crouched down to hoist them up.

  “I got it.” He dragged Kirk into the cell with Barlow. Barlow would have a nice surprise when he woke up. A reminder of why he shouldn’t have chosen to betray the IGO.

  Once the force field winked into place, Shardae ran down the corridor to the last cell on the left. He followed. Inside, Aoki, Yazzie, Coppola, and Miller all sat cross legged on the floor. On the foam bed, Gonzales lay, his head wrapped in what looked like his own tank top, but even the fabric’s ebony color couldn’t hide the deep scarlet blood saturating its fibers.

  “Sergeant!” shouted Aoki, leaping to his feet when he saw Shardae. “I thought they’d killed you.”

  “Nope.” She pressed the force field’s release. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

  All eyes rushed to her. Zander walked up behind her and put his back to hers. He wanted to make sure no one snuck up on them or the commander.

  The other security guards filed out around her.

  “Who’s got a weapon?” she asked.

  None of them did except for her and Zander. He didn’t like those odds, but he knew how he could even them up. “The weapons are in the control box. O’Leery must’ve just dropped them there to keep them out of your reach. Lazy bastard.”

  Shardae nodded. The others all began to talk at once.

  “Silence!” she said firmly. “I know you’re angry. I am too. But going in as a mad mob won’t get us the craft back. That’s our priority -- securing the vessel.”

  They stared silently at her. Zander’s heart swelled with pride.

  “Just tell us what to do, Sergeant,” he said. He resisted the urge to kiss her cheek. But his tone -- it told everyone right there where his heart resided.

  She nodded. “Right.”

  He saw Yazzie’s eyebrows go up in surprise as knowledge clicked home for him. Yes, Shardae was his woman, his girl, make no mistake about it; Zander would rip the arm off of anyone thinking about trying to test that theory.

  Zander scanned the faces. A bunch of them got it. He could see the knowledge blink in their eyes. Not that it took away from Shardae’s authority, but he wanted them to be sure -- he didn’t trust any of them -- that thinking of harming her would meet with a horrible fate at his hands.

  “First, Aoki and Coppola, get to medical. Get as many medics down here as you can. Gonzales has a head injury. Three people have been poisoned. Be careful. We don’t know exactly how many of Lee’s people are onboard.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison and started down the corridor. They stopped at the control box and came out with weapons. So far so good.

  “Miller, you’re to stay here. Try to use the first aid kit and the brig’s A.I. to slow down the Scarlet Burn that’s in their systems. Do what you can for Gonzales.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she said, her voice full of tears.

  Zander watched her leave the cell, regretfully wiping tears from her face. “Miller,” he called to the pale woman. “He’ll be all right.”

  She nodded numbly and headed to the secondary control panel. Underneath it lay a first aid kit. “What’s that?” Shardae inquired, rubbing her hands on her pants.

  “Gonzales is Miller’s boyfriend, ma’am,” Yazzie said softly.

  Shardae stared open-mouthed, and then shut it. “Yazzie and Yow, your task is to locate Mackerel and Stein. Yow, find Mackerel. Yazzie, find Stein.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they said and hurried down the corridor before she could tell them good luck.

  She turned to Zander at last. Those maple brown eyes melted his inner core to pudding. Mars, he loved her. “Zander…” She hesitated. She looked up the platform where Miller furiously navigated the console’s touch screens looking for assistance for her lover.

  “I’m not leaving you,” he said. “Where you go, I’m going too.”

  “I need you to go to the command floor,” she said, swallowing so hard it hurt him. She avoided his eyes and studied the markings on her stunner. “Henderson is hurt. You’re good at stealth. We need to regain control of the vessel.”

  “No,” Zander said.

  “Absolutely not,” came another voice, that of Commander Ashe. She stalked down the corridor, her eyes pinned on Shardae. She shot Zander a withering glare, before moving her icy blue eyes back to the sergeant. “You head down to the cargo bay, Simmons. Your duty is to the security of this craft. Remove the threat.”

  “Yes, but…”

  “If I die here, Shardae,” Commander Ashe said firmly, grabbing Shardae by the shoulders, “there is a junior commander who will take my place. But only you can get your team in place to take back my vessel. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Her voice sounded hollow but determined.

  Commander Ashe straightened.

  “I’m not le
aving her,” he said before the commander could speak.

  “And if I ordered you to leave her?”

  “You’d be disappointed,” he said, not the least bit afraid. Ashe had better look around. The dire situation didn’t call for this level of petty bickering over following orders. That’s how Lee had managed to hoodwink them.

  “You’ve got grit, Reyes. Wouldn’t have ever thought that of you, but then you don’t fall too far from the tree, do you?”

  “Guess not.”

  “Well then, Reyes, stay with Simmons,” Commander Ashe said, lifting her stunner.

  “For the rest of my life, ma’am,” he said dutifully, but kept his eyes on Shardae.

  She gasped. Shardae’s face was hot in embarrassment -- her skin tone became slightly rosier.

  “Well, if we get out of this mess, Reyes, I’ll see if I can’t make that happen,” Commander Ashe said before jogging down the corridor and disappearing through the front doors.

  “So, what’s our plan, Sergeant?” Zander asked.

  “We’re going to stop Lee. We’re headed for the cargo bay.” She started for the doors. “We’ll talk later about that little thing with the commander.”

  “What thing?” he asked.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “You know.”

  “What?” he asked with his arms widespread.

  “Shush! If we get out of this alive, I’ll show you,” she said with a wink.

  “That’s my girl.”

  * * *

  The horror of her betrayal by members of her own security team flashed with speed through her brain. Shardae heard Zander’s labored breathing behind her, but she knew what kind of shape he was in -- maybe it just rasped louder because of the quiet. Her own breathing sounded loud and coarse in her ears as she raced down the corridor to the stairway that snaked throughout the belly of the craft.