by Lisa Lace
"I couldn't agree more," Bellona said, sauntering into the temple. Against the dusty rose stone, her red hair was more aflame than ever, as was the smolder in her amber eyes. Her features were but one of many reasons she'd earned the name the Red Assassin.
"How did you get pass the guard?" Gallia asked.
"He won't be a bother," Bellona purred. "He sleeps in the heather."
I doubted sleep was the accurate term, but it didn't bother me as much as the first soldier she'd killed. The first soldier I knew about, that is. Plenty of soldiers had died during the siege but exactly how many and by whose hand I didn't know.
"Where have you been?" I asked.
"In the shadows." She replied as if it were something I should already know. "I hate how bare the temple is. It feels defenseless."
Before the Surtu invaded, when we disguised the Fortuna as a sanctuary for women of the cloth, we covered the large stone altar in the middle of the temple with a sword and daggers. They were weapons dressed up to look like artifacts. They had been Bellona's toys. We all had weapons cached in secret places.
Now the stone altar lay empty, like the rest of the walls and tables throughout the space station.
"Can you at least tell me what the key is for?" I pressed.
Bellona looked over at Gallia. "You gave her a key?" She wasn't upset. She was curious.
"She's earned the right to know," Gallia answered.
"I agree," Bellona said. "She should have been given one a long time ago, before any of this. The women look to me for my wisdom, but they look to her for support and compassion. They always have."
I appreciated the sentiment, but I still needed answers. "What is the key for?"
"Tunnels," Bellona revealed, the secret burning in her amber eyes. "The Fortuna is full of underground tunnels."
Gallia went to the entrance of the temple to stand guard while Bellona pushed the stone slab of the altar. The slab moved with ease, exposing a wooden door lying flat inside it. The door had a keyhole.
"It's so primitive," I uttered.
To my dismay, Bellona quickly moved the slab back into place. "It has to be. Anything technological risks being picked up by scanners. Very few people know the tunnels exist. There aren't many entrances. Just the temple. And the docking bay. And the kitchen."
"The kitchen?" I asked, surprised. I'd spent a lot of time in the kitchen working as a porter. I couldn't imagine where a door could be hidden.
"The bread oven," Gallia said, reading my mind. "The door is at the back of the bread oven, behind a metal panel."
I sat on the altar trying to process everything. I wasn't disrespectful; the altar was only for show, holding no real ceremonial value. "How does this help us?" I mused.
"As Gallia was saying, we have to get back to Earth. The only way we can do that is if we steal back our ships," Bellona told me. "The tunnels give us access to the docking bay. There are plenty of cargo ships we can use."
"But they're heavily guarded."
The way her face twisted told me she needed no reminding. "I'm working on that."
"Do we want to go back to Earth?" I asked without shame, thinking of the other women. "They tried to kill us."
Gallia scowled. "Not us – the Surtu. We're warriors. We came to the Fortuna–"
"We came to the Fortuna knowing we may have to sacrifice our life for the protection of Earth," I finished for her, having heard it before. "I know. But we didn't die in battle. We didn't go down fighting. We almost died as bait. You said it yourself – we were always just bait."
She couldn't argue with what she had said, but she didn't back down either. "I'm no traitor, and I hope you aren't either."
Bellona held a hand up before I could respond. "No one here is a traitor, Gallia. Let's not go there. We need each other." She turned to me. "I understand where you're coming from, Terra, but think of your family, of your parents and your brothers. They need your protection. All of our families need us. To hell with whatever President Bentford's intentions are. Our families are why we must go back."
"Of course," I sighed, unable to argue, thinking of the humble little house in the desert where I grew up. "We have to find a way to get to the ships."
"That is the plan," Bellona said again, but none of us had a plan. It would be difficult to do. There were almost three hundred women on board the Fortuna. We couldn't exactly sneak away, not even with the tunnels.
The Surtu had us trapped.
I thought of Lucina, a captive in her quarters after being claimed by the brute Kalij, unable to break free because of a mechanism Kalij had installed into the lock of her door. The Surtu were far more technologically advanced than we were. Who know what other tricks they had up their callous sleeves?
"In the meantime, we have to free Lucina," I decided. "Kalij can't touch her integrity, so he pushes her around. She can't survive his abuses much longer. I don't think she has the will to."
Bellona clenched her fists. "The bastard is on my hit list, but I can't get to him, not without revealing myself."
"I can. He patrols the docking bay. I have permission to be there. I can kill him." I spoke without thinking, but I stood by my decision.
"You?" Gallia asked with disbelief. "Miss 'I think weapons should be the final ultimatum, not the first.' Can you do it?"
"Lucina needs help. I have the skills. I've always had the skills. I just never wanted to use them. We have to think through all the options, but if we want to save Lucina, there is no better way."
"You are one of the best," she agreed. Gallia looked satisfied. "But you'll have to be fast, like Bellona. Move in the shadows. Can you do it?"
Once again, I glanced up at Fortuna on the ceiling. "With a little luck."
"Luck won't cut it," Bellona sniped. "Meet me in the tunnels after dinner. You're a fine warrior, Terra, but I'll teach you to be an assassin."
I nodded, remembering how broken Lucina had sounded when I last talked to her. Before Kalij claimed her, she shined brighter than the sun. "I'll be there."
Gallia clapped her hands together. "This is progress. Terra, access to the docking bay is invaluable. Don't lose it. First, you'll free Lucina from the swine who holds her, and then you'll free us all."
JIDDEN
I claimed her. Terra was mine. No other man could touch her.
I felt like a fool – weak, like a human. Or worse, like Kalij.
When I'd gone to the lower deck to check on the dead soldier, I'd seen the wildflowers she'd left for him. They had to be from her. Flowers were not of our custom, and no other human would have been allowed past my men.
Her reverence for the dead man was honorable. I couldn't control myself. I wanted her. I had to taste her again. Our time in the woods had not been enough to satisfy my appetite for her.
But I was never meant to claim her. It was a promise that would go unfilled. I cared for Terra, I preferred her company over any other, but I could not light bond with her. Light bonds led to children. I couldn't be a father. I didn't have the will or the time, not with a war to fight and a promotion to earn.
I could not shake the disquiet I felt when she looked at me like I was her enemy. We did not consider human women our enemies. They were a prize and necessary for survival.
I was no prize to Terra.
I was her destruction.
"Sir," Kalij called, finding me near the dead soldier where I was checking on him once again. I'd come here for privacy so that I could think. Dead men did not interrupt my thoughts the way the living did.
"What?" I barked. Of all the soldiers, Kalij was the least tolerable.
For once, he didn't seem to mind my authority. He was smug like he had won a victory. Against who was anybody's guess. "I received a communication from Captain Fore's office. My light bonding ceremony has been approved."
Right. I'd received the same communication. With the exception of Terra, I cared little for the women on the Fortuna. They were a means to an end. I pitied the litt
le blonde claimed by Kalij.
There was nothing respectable about him.
"It'll be historic," he added. "The first light bonding ceremony on Earth."
"We're not on Earth," I corrected, offering him no glory.
He ignored the comment. "After that Commander bitch lied to me about being light bonded, I thought the Captain had denied me my rights, but as it turns out, she tricked me. There was no light bonding ceremony."
He had my attention. "What about the Commander?"
"She told me she had light bonded with a Surtu man and she was now one of us."
That didn't make sense. "When did she tell you that?" I demanded.
"When she brought those disgusting things," he said, pointing at the wildflowers. "They make my nose itch."
That explained how she'd gotten onto the ship. Kalij was a useless soldier. He didn't care about order or authority. He only thought of himself. He would throw one of his fellow soldiers into an incinerator if he benefited from it.
"So you believed her lie?" I asked. I emphasized that there was no truth to it, for both our sakes. "Because that's all it was – a lie to fool the idiot guarding the docking bay."
Kalij's face began to show a sneer, but he showed an uncharacteristic self-restraint. "I'm glad it was a lie. It means I'm the first."
"Very well," I said, wanting him gone. He was no longer of interest to me. "We will send our dead off properly, and then you can have your light bonding ceremony."
He was indignant. "I have to wait for a corpse?"
"Just be thankful it's not you on the table." If Kalij had died, there would be no table for him. I'd leave him on the floor.
"Yes, sir," he said, standing down. "But I will be the first?"
"Stay out of my face, and you can have your ceremony the day after next."
He smiled. It was grotesque. At home, the women thought him handsome, but his looks could not compensate for his foul nature. "Thank you, sir," he said, and he left the room.
I pitied the girl whose life I had just signed away.
TERRA
The encyclopedia was heavy in my hand as I pulled it out of my bookshelf. Inside was the key Gallia had given to me. The handle of the key was a crescent moon, similar to the moon shining in the sky. The sun was gone by now. Our hours of sunlight were rare on the Fortuna.
I tucked the key in the cleavage of my jumpsuit just as there was a knock on the door. It wasn't like Jidden to knock. Worried he would see the key, I pushed it down further.
"Hello," I said, opening the door to my quarters.
It wasn't Jidden.
"Terra," a woman with curly chestnut hair greeted in return. It was Minerva, from the winter plains on Earth. "Is this a good time?"
It wasn't, to be honest. I was supposed to meet Bellona in the tunnels, but I could see how upset she was. "Come in," I allowed.
Minerva sat on my bed, about to crumble. "There's a rumor going around the station that the explosion we heard earlier was a nuke sent from Earth to destroy us. Is it true?" She was disgusted.
"We're not sure what it was," I lied. I'd done a lot of that lately – lying. But I didn't mind. Minerva needed consolation. "But if it was a missile, it was only sent to protect those we love."
Minerva shook her head. "I never trusted President Bentford. She would sell her soul to the Surtu if it meant keeping her seat." Then her face fell into her hands, crying. It was a rare sight to see on the Fortuna, rarer than the sun. Warriors did not cry, but we were human, and we were all reaching our breaking point.
"I can't take this anymore," she sobbed. "All this uncertainty. Are we going to be slaves? Are we going to be set free? I feel like I have no purpose. I'm just equipment."
I sat down on the bed next to her and put my arm around her. "You're a valuable person here. We all are." I dropped my voice. "I don't know what Earth's intentions are, but I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to make sure we escape here, one way or another."
Her tears dried, but she didn't look convinced. "So none of the neighboring military stations will help us? Everyone will leave us to fend for ourselves?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "If they don't, we'll figure it out. No one is going to be a slave. We have Fortuna on our side. She watches over us."
I finally reached her. She smiled. "We're an army of goddesses."
"Yes, we are," I agreed.
"Then I'll wait for your orders, Commander," she said, rising. "I'll follow you."
"We'll follow each other," I said, seeing her to the door.
She left, and I fell against the wall, my hand on my chest where the key was, wondering if I was capable of living up to Minerva's expectations.
The door opened again.
"Did you forget something?" I asked.
THIS time, it was Jidden.
"I see you had company," he remarked. "Is she a friend of yours?"
"I'm her Commander," I replied. "And we're all friends here."
"Apparently, that includes the Surtu, since you're one of them now, due to your light bond." He studied me, but he wasn't angry.
"You talked to Kalij," I guessed.
"I did. You're lucky no one pays attention to him. Otherwise, there might have been trouble."
I shrugged. "I did what I had to do."
"No, you did what you wanted to do."
I didn't say anything.
"Come here," Jidden urged, smiling as he held his hand out to me. "I have nowhere to be right now. Let me show you just how much trouble you cause."
I wanted to go to him more than anything. In his arms, I forgot the war rising around us, but I couldn't let him find the key, so I held back. "I'm not feeling well. I think I better lie down for a while."
"I can help with that," he offered.
A few days earlier I had been stabbed in the stomach. The wound was fully healed now, and only a scar remained. Surtu medical treatment was wonderful, but this time, I had nothing to cure. "That's okay. I'll be fine. I just need to lie down."
"Okay," he said, yielding. "I'll leave you be, but first I'd like to invite you to a send-off tomorrow."
"A send-off?"
"For the dead soldier."
I was touched. "You want me at his funeral?"
"Yes. Very much so. You should learn the ways of the Surtu."
I wasn't sure what he meant by that statement. I had no intention of ever stepping foot on his home planet, but I accepted his invite. "I'll go."
My words pleased him. "Rest tonight, and I'll escort you in the morning."
"See you then," I said, stiffening when he came to kiss me on the cheek, afraid he would see the key.
"Goodnight, human," he teased. His mood was light.
"Goodnight, alien," I said back.
* * *
I was late. Very late. Dinner had ended hours ago.
I hoped Bellona still waited for me in the tunnels. I wanted to learn everything she had to teach. Of all of us, she was the only one to evade capture. Every day, she avoided the Surtu and did as she pleased.
The temple seemed empty. I looked out upon the heather before entering, thinking of the guard from earlier and wondering if there would be two send-offs tomorrow.
There was no light within, but I used the darkness to my advantage, allowing it to mask my movements in case a soldier patrolled nearby. I didn't care if Jidden discovered my empty bed. Saving Lucina was more important to me than Jidden's trust, but I didn't want anyone to find me in the temple.
No one could know about the tunnels. They were our only chance of escape.
Retracing Bellona's efforts from earlier, using the moonlight from the entrance to guide me, I pushed the stone slab away from the door beneath it, surprised by how easy it was.
There was nothing special about the door. The maker had created it from plain wood and did not add a handle. The keyhole to the side was barely noticeable. Its purpose was to conceal. If a passerby ever discovered the door, it could easily be mistaken as part
of the low structure that supported the altar.
I opened the door with the key and discovered stone steps that descended into the tunnels. Eager to meet Bellona, I followed the steps down, letting the door fall back into place. Behind me, I heard springs move, like those in an old clock. The stone slab became an altar once more, casting me into impenetrable darkness.
I could see nothing.
I didn't let it stop me. Using the wall for support, I continued down the steps. Eventually, the rough stone beneath my hand smoothed, and I was touching metal. Lights flickered on around me, illuminating the tunnels. My movements had activated the lights.
Now that I could see, there wasn't much to my surroundings. The walls were plain and glossy, like walking through a tin can. It reminded me of the cold and sterile environment of the Surtu ship. The lights above were dim. I would have found it dreary if not for the noise above me. Footsteps from the ground above me echoed through the tunnels, like a heartbeat.
There was only one way to go – straight ahead. "Bellona?" I whispered as I walked. "Are you here?"
There was no answer. Afraid those above could hear, I went silent, following the path until it divided into two.
Now what? I thought, irritated. Bellona should be here.
I chose the path to the right, working out that it led to the docking bay. If I became trapped, the last place I wanted to risk coming out of was the bread oven. Burnt flesh was not a good look.
Partway down the tunnel, someone grabbed me. It was like a ghost appearing out of nowhere.
"And you're dead," Bellona said flatly, throwing me against the tunnel wall. "Another name checked off my list."
I hadn't heard her approach. Her footsteps were lighter than air, and her flames consumed the oxygen around her.
"Nicely done," I praised. I needed to learn. "When did you start to follow me?"
"I approached you when you chose the expected path. I knew you wouldn't risk the bread oven. Always know what path your target will choose. Observe your target before you strike. Don't leave it up to chance."
"Surprising someone with an attack is easy. How to get away is the difficult part," I said.
"Not for me," she boasted. "As long as you aren't seen killing your target, you can walk out of a crowded room. I did."