When the lights flickered on, he found he was lying on the floor, with the vampire on top of him. Thankfully, not for long— his ribs were killing him. Rico rolled to his feet and strode across to where the redhead was sitting. How had she managed to stay in her seat looking totally unruffled?
“I thought you were checking if anyone was after us?” Rico said.
“I was. Whoever it is, they didn’t show up on the monitors.”
“Well, are they showing up now?”
Janey flicked a few switched. “Nope.”
Callum knew instantly who was out there. “It’s the Corps.”
“So why can’t we see them?”
“New stealth technology.” He strode across and leaned over her shoulder. “Here let me try something.” He pressed a few buttons, changed the frequency and the monitor filled with a huge ship. He recognized her immediately—his ship, The Endeavor.
They must have pulled her from her trials, the fucking idiots.
She was flanked by three smaller ships that hugged close to take advantage of the stealth technology of the newer more advanced star cruiser.
Skylar came to stand beside him and peered at the monitor. “That’s the new Corps flagship. I’d heard she’d been commissioned—wow.”
“She’s a beauty,” Rico said, a faint tinge of jealousy in his voice.
“What’s going on?” Callum turned from the screen as Tannis spoke from the doorway. She sounded pissed. “You’ve been on this ship one hour and already we’re under attack. How come they caught up so soon?” Her eyes narrowed on him. “Have you been in contact with anyone? Perhaps you’ve decided you don’t want this trip after all.”
“No.”
“So how have they honed in on us so quickly? There’s a lot of space out here—this can’t be just good luck on their part.”
“Do you think we’ve got a bug on board?” Janey swiveled in her seat and eyed him curiously. “Like Jon had?”
“You bugged?” Tannis asked him.
“Not that I know of. They wouldn’t dare without my knowledge.”
“Yeah, right, of course they wouldn’t, because you’re so big, bad, and important. Get the scanner, Janey.”
Callum stood still as Janey ran the machine down over his body. Nothing happened, and he slowly relaxed. Then she moved around behind him.
Beep, beep, beep.
“They always put it in the ass,” Janey murmured. “Lend me your knife,” she said to Skylar.
Skylar drew a wicked looking blade from the weapons belt at her waist and handed it to the redhead.
Callum’s mind was reeling. They’d bugged him without his knowledge. When the hell had they done that? And why hadn’t they told him? The Council had suggested it years ago as a security precaution. He’d refused. It looked like they’d gone ahead anyway, must have been during one of the medicals. Bastards. And what the hell was that woman brandishing a knife at him for? No way was she cutting into him with that blade.
“Spread the wings and drop your pants.”
“What?” He peered over his shoulder as she crouched behind him, the scanner in one hand, the knife in the other. She grinned with relish as though she could sense his discomfort.
“I need to get the bug out, or we’ll never get away from…”
She waved a scarlet tipped hand at the monitor where the Corps ships still hovered. He couldn’t see how they were going to get away anyway. The Endeavor was a mark five cruiser. He’d commissioned her himself. She was the fastest ship in space, with more than fifty times the fire power of El Cazador.
“Well…” Janey prompted.
He shrugged. Everyone backed away as he spread his wings.
His hand went to the fastener at his waist, and he hesitated. Five sets of eyes watched him avidly. He glanced at Tannis, and she raised an eyebrow as though daring him. He couldn’t remember feeling this uncomfortable. Ever. This was no big deal. He turned around so he was facing the console, and Janey shuffled around so she was behind him.
He flicked open the fastener and pushed his pants down.
Someone whistled, and he cringed inwardly but didn’t react.
“Do you all realize we’re looking at the most powerful butt in the known universe?” Janey said.
“Wow—I feel honored,” Tannis replied. “Now get on with it.”
Callum ignored them. Leaning one arm against the curved silver wall, he willed this whole humiliating experience over. Her fingers ran lightly over the curve of his buttocks. “Got it,” she murmured. “This might sting a little.”
Was that anticipation he could hear in her voice?
Bitch.
He peered over his shoulders and caught Tannis with her gaze glued on his ass. She looked up and straight into his eyes as the knife probed his flesh. Shit that hurt. It must have shown on his face, because she grinned. “Don’t be a baby.”
He gritted his teeth as the blade dug deeper. Was she deliberately taking her time? Finally, something popped free from his skin and fell to the floor.
“Okay, done,” Janey said. “You can put your pants back on.”
A slow trickle of blood ran down his left buttock, but he couldn’t think what to do about that, and he wanted his pants back on sooner rather than later. He pulled them up, folded his wings, and turned around just as Tannis brought her booted foot down on the small silver bug. She ground down, so he heard the splinter of metal.
Now his ass hurt as well. He tried the “at least I’m not bored”
argument again, but it was losing its potency. He wanted to go home, to his palace, where people at least pretended to like him.
A smile tugged at his lips at the pathetic thought.
“Okay, so that’s one problem solved, all we need to do now is get away from that ship and stay away, and we’re all good. Any ideas?” Tannis looked around the room. No one answered.
“They’re trying to comm us,” Janey said. “You want to hear what they have to say?”
“Not particularly, but I suppose we should.”
“This is Captain Harris of The Endeavor. Please lock your weapons and get ready to be boarded.”
Callum knew Captain Harris—he was Tyler’s man. Fuck. He stepped closer to the comm Unit and spoke.
“Captain, this is Callum Meridian, I’m ordering you to stand down and return to Trakis Five.”
“Sir, we have orders to ignore your orders. We’re here to take you back. ”
Tannis reached past him and slammed her palm down on the comm unit closing off the sound.
“I didn’t like the sound of his voice,” she said to the room in general. “Rico can we outrun them.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Shoot it out?”
“I reckon we’d last about thirty seconds.”
The ship lurched sideways as another blast hit them. This time Callum managed to keep his feet until Tannis slammed into him, and they both went down. He landed on his back—an uncomfortable position when you had wings and a hole in your butt—with Tannis on top of him. His arms went around her automatically, and for a second he held her close. Her body was slender and firm, though he could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest. As he pulled her tighter, she stiffened, pushed her hands between them, and shoved hard. Callum loosened his grip, and she got to her feet, wiped her hands down the side of her pants, and glared at him.
Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet. “Don’t look so pissed at me,” he said. “You must have known this was a possibility—I was hardly going to pay you that exorbitant sum just to go on a joy ride. The reason I chose this fucking crappy ship and its fucking misfit crew was because you’d successfully managed to evade our forces. So whatever it is you did last time, do it again.”
“Rico?”
“Won’t work. That was one ship. We try and do the same the smaller ships would spot us.”
“What did you do?” Callum asked. He’d read the account.
The cap
tain had reported that El Cazador had simply vanished from the monitors.
“We landed on the ship. It took us out of range of the scanners.”
“Clever.” It was, but he could see it wouldn’t work in this situation.
Rico crossed the room and sank into the pilot’s chair, running his hand through his hair, which had come loose from its ponytail.
Skylar moved to stand beside him, resting a hand possessively on his shoulder. It was obvious the two were a couple, which made sense of why Skylar had parted ways from the Collective. No one had ever left before, he wasn’t even sure it was possible to leave.
Maybe physically, but not mentally. Whatever else Meridian did, it tied them together until at times it felt as if they were one consciousness.
They were a gestalt, and they gained power from being united, though they’d never really understood how it worked and how they could make the most of that power. It was another of the things he wanted to investigate. Another of the things the Council didn’t want to look at too closely. They shied away from scrutinizing anything that might suggest they were somehow no longer human. As though by ignoring it, they would take away its potency.
Fools.
But it was another reason he’d chosen El Cazador. The colonel had reported Skylar’s defection, and hadn’t understood the reason, though he said Skylar’s recent psych reports had stated she was bored and restless. That sounded familiar, and Callum had been interested to meet her. She didn’t look bored and restless now, she appeared vibrant, unconcerned about the possible attack.
As he watched, the vampire dragged her down onto his lap.
“For inspiration,” he murmured, and she laughed.
“Get used to it,” Tannis said from beside him. “Bloody ship’s like a love-nest these days. Rico, we’re under attack, here.”
“Oh yeah, but I reckon they’re not going to completely obliterate us, not with his Leadership on board.”
“Another incoming,” Janey said. This time everyone was prepared and managed to stay on their feet or in their seats.
“What we actually need now,” Rico said, “is a miracle. Like divine intervention.”
“Like God coming in to save us you mean?” Janey asked.
“Just like that. Where the hell is Alex when we need a few prayers?”
“Well, I don’t know about God, but how about the next best thing?” Janey tapped a few keys to reset the viewer. The Endeavor vanished to be replaced by a whole fleet of smaller ships. Janey focused on the leader, getting a close up. The ship was a mark three cruiser, white with a huge black cross on the side.
“The Church of Everlasting Life,” Rico murmured. “How nice of them to join the party. Have I mentioned how much I hate the Church?”
“Frequently,” Tannis said dryly. “Are they after us, do you think? Could they still want Alex back?”
“I have no clue. Maybe they’re not happy that we killed their High Priest.”
“You killed Hezrai Fischer?” Callum asked.
“Rico did.”
“Yeah, he was an asshole. But all the same, they might not see it that way.”
“Or maybe they’re not after us at all,” Janey said.
“Why do you say that?” Tannis asked.
“I just plotted their course. They’re heading for the Corp’s ship. I don’t think they’ve even noticed us. And they’re battle ready—looks like they’re about to attack.”
“Why would they do that? The Church has always been allies with the Collective.”
“Not anymore,” Callum said.
“Why? What’s changed?”
“We got intel just before I left—they’ve finally got around to appointing a new High Priest. A guy called Temperance Hatcher.”
Tannis shook her head. “Never heard of him.”
“Unsurprising as he’s kept a low profile, which the Church were more than happy to allow him to do—he’s hardly the caring face of God. The man’s a fanatic—makes Fischer look a real sweetheart in comparison. And he hates the Collective.”
“Can they take on that space cruiser?” Tannis asked.
“Probably not,” Rico answered. “But they might keep them distracted while we slip away.”
Callum sank down into a chair where he could still view the monitor. He got up almost straight away, as his butt hurt like hell and caught a grin on Tannis’s face. He leaned one shoulder against the wall instead and studied them.
They were all so calm. They must have known that The Endeavor could utterly destroy them, but no one had panicked.
Long ago, he’d been a fighter pilot in the British Royal air force, before the Earth had become unstable, and he’d left on board the Trakis Seven. He remembered the sensation of going into battle, the calmness that had taken over, the sense that you were immortal and nothing could harm you. Now he really was immortal, and he’d all but forgotten the feeling.
When they had finally accepted that the Earth was dying, they’d put a plan in motion to try and save humanity. It had taken twenty years to bring to fruition, every resource directed toward developing the technology they would need to survive. Wars had broken out as it became clear that not everyone would be saved, and he’d seen a lot of action toward the last days. He’d loved the adrenalin rush, facing death every day made you appreciate life.
In the end, twenty-four ships had left the Earth, named the Trakis One to Twenty-four, each carrying ten thousand people.
Most were to be kept in cryo, with just a small crew awake to monitor the ship’s systems. There had been other crews, ten in all for each ship, when the crew became too old to function, the next was awoken—enough they reckoned to last five hundred years.
Callum had been the tenth and last captain on the Trakis Seven, and he’d been ten years into his captaincy when they’d finally come upon what was to be known as the Trakis system.
In the previous five hundred years, they’d encountered nowhere that would maintain human life. They’d lost contact with twelve of the ships early on, when they’d separated. Three others had been destroyed by unexplained explosions. And the Trakis One had been lost in the black hole that guarded the system. The others had all landed safely—well except for his—on whatever planets were deemed habitable, the planets taking the name of the ship that landed. He’d been allocated to what was now known as Trakis Seven. Coming in, he’d realized that something wasn’t right; he’d tried to abort the landing, but the planet had sucked them in and they’d crashed.
And the rest was history.
“They’re within range,” Janey said. “I think they’re communicating, but I can’t pick up the frequency.”
“Looks like that Corps ship is still focused on us—we try and leave now and they’re going to shoot us down. Come on,” Rico urged. “Shoot each other.”
As if they were listening to him, shots blasted out from the Church’s ship. They hit The Endeavor on the back end, with no visible effect. For a moment, it looked like they would ignore them, but the shots came again, a continuous blast and finally, The Endeavor swung around and returned fire. The smaller ship seemed to dodge out of the way, then come back straight away, firing a continuous volley of shots most of which hit their target but bounced harmlessly off the surface of the cruiser. Still it must have pissed off Captain Harris, because he returned the fire, his attention diverted from The Cazador at least for the moment.
“Hey, that Church guy’s good,” Rico said. “Beautiful, let’s get out of here—nice and slowly and hope no one notices us.”
Skylar stood up to give him room, and he punched in a new course. They peeled away and headed slowly in the opposite direction. Callum narrowly resisted the urge to tell them to hurry up.
Finally, as the ships grew smaller in the monitors, Rico punched the El Cazador’s main thrusters and she shot forward.
After a few minutes, he glanced up. “So we still heading to Trakis Two?”
Tannis shrugged. “I have no clue.”
She turned to Callum.
“Well?”
Callum nodded. “I have a rendezvous there in a couple of days.”
“We’re eight hours out from the planet,” Rico said. “We can hole up at Bastian’s old place if Jon and Alex give us the all clear.
It will keep us out of sight until your meeting.”
Callum liked the idea. He didn’t know who Bastian was, but he could visit with the colonel’s old love and do a little sightseeing.
In five hundred years, he’d never been to Trakis Two—the planet that never sleeps. He’d heard it was a wild place. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
…
Tannis studied their faces. Callum appeared eager. She almost grinned when she looked at him. His nose was clearly broken, his shirt stained with blood, and he was obviously having trouble sitting down. She was betting it was a long time since he’d felt like this.
She didn’t have happy memories of Trakis Two, but since most of the unhappy ones were because of Bastian, she reckoned she could overcome her misgivings. Bastian was dead, staked by Rico after nearly raping and draining Alex.
And Bastian did have a huge hideaway where El Cazador could lay up undetected. Alex and Jon were there now making sure nothing else moved in. There were rumored to be strange things living on the dark side of Trakis Two. Still, it was better than wandering aimlessly in space, and at least no one would be tempted to toss their client out of the airlock while they were docked.
“Okay, Trakis Two it is.”
“Excellent, we can go clubbing,” Daisy said.
“You cannot go clubbing. We’re laying low.”
Daisy’s green eyes took on a mutinous expression. “We never got to go clubbing last time, either.”
Tannis pursed her lips. The truth was, maybe they all needed a bit of downtime. “I’ll check things out—if it looks safe, you can go. But only if it looks safe.”
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