Atrophy

by Jess Anastasi

  Tannin laid a hand against her cheek, gaining her attention. “Things changed in the last few weeks.”

  Her gaze softened when she looked at him, as something else, something hot and delicious sparked in the depths of her eyes. She moved the slightest bit in his lap, slamming his awareness to where her hip brushed his cock, which had chosen the most inopportune moment to stir. But the lust was easy enough to shove aside as he remembered the soul-destroying moment when he thought she’d died. The way he’d walked around, less than a shell of himself, because he believed she’d left him and taken his heart, his very essence, with her.

  “We thought you were dead, Zahli.”

  Surprise and bewilderment touched her expression. God. How had he survived the last few weeks thinking he’d never again be able to study her beautiful, animated face and never hold her lush, supple body against him?

  His eyes swam and he didn’t care that she’d see how broken he’d been, far more shattered and damaged than even all those years on Erebus had wrought.

  “The Reidar sent us a recorded transmission of you at the Tetsu spaceport, approached by a man. After that, the footage showed a woman who looked like you being tortured and killed.”

  Zahli shook her head, her eyes watering as she slid her hand around the back of his neck. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, the contact of her gentle, sure fingers bittersweet.

  “I thought you were dead,” he repeated, because he couldn’t find any other words.

  “Oh, Tannin.” She wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders and leaned into him, hugging him hard against her. After a moment she sat back. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I tried to call when I got home, but the message wouldn’t go through, so I figured the long-range comm was out or something. It seems so stupid now, but I didn’t try again because I was angry and upset, and didn’t want to talk to anyone—”

  “Forget it,” Rian said, slowing the transporter as they reached the spaceport. “You know, your boyfriend tried to kill me. Not that he did a very good job of it, but he took a shot at beating the frecking crap out of me.”

  The glare returned as she looked at her brother. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? You deserved it. You’ve been acting like an ass.”

  Rian pulled the vehicle into a long-term parking bay in a large garage and climbed out. Zahli shoved the door open and got out. Tannin, uncomfortable in his wet clothes, shivered as the transporter’s door clicked close behind him. All he wanted to do was get back to the Imojenna, strip both Zahli and him out of their sodden garments, and get underneath a steaming, hot shower.

  “I have those rules for a reason, Zahli.” Rian and Zahli were already a good few paces ahead, crossing the deserted parking spaces and still arguing.

  “You need to learn when those rules can be bent or altered.”

  “What? You think I’m going to change them just because you’re my sister? You don’t get special treatment above the rest of the crew for being family.”

  “Oh, like I haven’t worked that out! And if it were any of the rest of the crew, wouldn’t you consider changing the rules if they came to you and said they were honestly in love and were going to make a real commitment to that person?”

  A jolt of warmth sang through him despite the tense anxiety of the situation. He and Zahli had never discussed anything, never made any promises. Did Zahli love him? The idea hit him much the same way Rian’s punch in the face had, leaving him staggered.

  Rian glanced back at him with the old you’re-dead-next-time-we’re-alone look. Now so wasn’t the time for any epiphanies.

  “That’s just it. You didn’t come to me. I caught you screwing him on the couch in the common room. And has the scumrat actually made any promises to you, besides getting you naked?”

  Zahli’s fists clenched and even he had to admit, Rian had pissed him off with that last comment. But they’d reached the spaceport and everything looked weirdly deserted. All right, he’d believe there might not be many people about in the garage, but for the actual terminal to be empty? That started ringing alarms in his head.

  “How dare you—” Zahli started, but Tannin caught up and put himself between them, sliding his hand into Zahli’s.

  “This isn’t the time or the place. Especially since something’s not right here.”

  Rian stopped after they’d passed through the wide, crystal-pane doorway of the terminal. His right hand landed on the butt of his nucleon gun as he looked around the abandoned area. Tannin palmed his own gun as Zahli’s fingers tightened on his, and Rian backed up a couple of steps.

  “Let’s take a less direct route to the Imojenna.” Rian unholstered his pistol, but they only got through the doorway before UAFA soldiers in black and scarlet uniforms swarmed from all directions, shouting for them to relinquish their weapons and get on the floor. They all held rifles and guns twice the size of the ones Rian and he had.

  Ice-cold dread clogged his veins like he’d been sucked into the freezing, voidless non-atmosphere of deep space. It wouldn’t take UAFA long to figure out who he was, that he’d belonged on Erebus all this time. When they got to the prison planet, he and Zahli would get separated. Whatever the authorities would have in store for him after escaping, he’d be lucky to survive. There was every chance he’d simply disappear.

  With numb, jerky movements, Tannin dropped his gun and kicked it toward the nearest soldier. Rian wasn’t so accommodating and held onto his pistol until one of the uniformed men got close enough to grab his shoulder and kick him in the back of the legs, sending him to the ground and wrenching the gun from his grasp in the same movement.

  A couple more men closed in on Zahli and him, forcing him to let go of her hand as they twisted flexicuffs around their wrists.

  “Frecking UAFA.” Rian managed to get back up to his knees and spat at the guy who’d restrained him. That only earned him a backhand across the face and made Tannin remember his first assessment of the guy, which had been deranged sonuvabitch.

  The three of them were lined up by rough hands. One of the UAFA agents came to stand in front of them and another couple patted them down.

  “Captain Rian Sherron, I’m UAFA Agent Cabell. You and the crew of the Nirali class ship registered nine-zero-three-six, Imojenna, are being detained by order of Baden Niels, CEO of Dieter Industries, for possession of stolen goods and accused of intergalactic terrorism. You’ll be taken to Erebus, where Mr. Niels will petition the IPC to have you sentenced for these alleged crimes indicted against you.”

  Erebus? His fears confirmed, acid dread lanced Tannin’s guts until he felt like he could puke on the scuffed boots of the agent holding his cuffed hands. It was bad enough he’d have to return there himself, but for Zahli to suffer that fate as well? They had to do something, anything to escape before they landed on Erebus, because he would not accept that doom for her.

  “Intergalactic terrorism?” Rian laughed, resisting the soldier trying to hold him. “That’s a new one. Don’t you know who I am? I doubt the IPC is going to believe their universally respected war hero is capable of that.”

  Cabell didn’t answer, but nodded to his companions, who began leading them through the empty spaceport terminal.

  “I told you that your reputation wouldn’t keep saving you,” Zahli muttered.

  Tannin caught her eye. She looked pale, but calm and composed. Of course, she didn’t have twelve years of experience living on Erebus haunting her.

  Rian continued baiting the agents as they were marched through the public terminal and then the private docking bays, where they’d left the Imojenna, to the area government sanctioned ships landed and those belonging to UAFA.

  They were led down a long passageway of doors marked with numbers. Old, faint memories surfaced of being taken to a similar place between transports on his way to Erebus.

  In one of the deserted hallways, Cabell paused, ordering most of the agents to leave, except for the one holding Rian, and one close
st to Zahli.

  Tannin shared a nervous glance with Zahli, her own expression mirroring the thought of what now? shooting through his head.

  Cabell pulled out a pulse pistol and held it casually, pointed down in front of himself, waiting until the hatchway had closed them all into the windowless passage. Tannin shifted closer to Zahli, though Cabell had his attention fixed solely on Rian.

  “Major Captain Sherron. The golden-boy war hero.” Cabell’s voice held a deep tone of derisive apathy. “Mr. Niels wanted to make sure you understand the situation intimately.”

  Cabell closed the half step between him and Rian, planting the nose of the gun directly in the middle of Rian’s chest.

  “Sorry, but I’m not into any kind of kinky inter-species shite. Niels will have to find himself a new plaything.”

  Cabell shoved the gun harder, an unpleasant smile yanking his lips upward, though his expression remained cold. “Think you’re funny, boy? You won’t be laughing once you’ve watched him take apart your crew and your sister, one cell at a time, until you’re the only one left. Sound familiar?”

  Rian went still, cold, murderous fury sparking in his glinting gaze. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with, Cabell. Eventually I’ll get loose, and when I do, I will destroy everything.”

  The words came out with such chilling finality, it was almost like Rian knew the outcome, could see into the future where there was nothing but death and destruction. All of it caused by him.

  Cabell’s grin was almost amused. “You brought this on yourself. You should have handed over the Arynian priestess when you had the chance. Niels already knew there was an execute-on-sight decree out on you, only he didn’t know why. It wasn’t hard to get your lab file. Made for an entertaining read. And then Niels didn’t just want to kill you anymore, he wanted to flip that berserker inside you first. When he orchestrated this little reunion, he wanted to make sure you didn’t know which way was up. First your sister’s dead. Now she’s alive again. Whoops, dead after all. Her and the rest of your crew.”

  Rian’s fists clenched where they were secured at the small of his back, but he otherwise didn’t move. “This is going to end messy, Cabell. You have my word on that.”

  “You’re right. And damn, am I going to enjoy the splatter.” Cabell shot off a round, point blank into Rian’s chest. He went rigid, like getting electrocuted, then went down hard. Zahli cried out and started forward, but Tannin blocked her from getting any closer, even as the other agent nearby grabbed her, keeping her back.

  One of the agents moved to open the hatchway. Cabell leaned down to grip Rian’s shirt at the shoulder and dragged him one-handed into the room. Zahli and he were shoved inside after the captain. The rest of the Imojenna’s crew sat or stood around the room, including Miriella and Nyah, all wearing similar expressions of apprehension.

  Kira hurried over and knelt down next to Rian, her hands also secured behind her back. She leaned in to listen to Rian’s chest, but even as she did, the captain shifted. Tannin released a long pent-up breath. The pulse pistol had only been set to stun. Obviously killing Rian at this point would be premature to all those fun-filled plans of torture and death Niels had for them.

  “Frecking bastards,” Rian muttered in a hoarse voice, rolling into an upright position and swaying a little until he got his balance. “And frecking goddamn Baden Niels! I’m going to slice his balls off…if the scum bastard even has any.”

  “Because that’s really helping right now.” The last thing Tannin wanted was to turn Rian’s wrath on himself, but they had to do something. Work out a plan. He was not going back to Erebus. “We need to do something before they put us on a ship for Erebus.”

  “They’re not going to take us to Erebus. Where we’re going, it’ll be a million times worse.” Rian took an audible breath, pushed to his feet with some difficulty, and turned to face them. “Callan, knife.”

  Callan walked over and turned his back on Rian, who used both his cuffed hands to pull Callan’s shirt free. In between the thick leather weapon’s belt and his pants was a concealed sheath, from which Rian pulled a small but deadly looking blade. Rian cut Callan’s flexicuffs with a flick of his wrist then turned the knife on his own cuffs with nimble fingers. In a matter of moments, everyone had their hands free.

  “Now what?” Callan asked as he took the blade and slipped it away. “As much as it’d be awesomely legendary, I don’t think it’s a good idea to take on an entire platoon of UAFA agents with a single small knife between us all.”

  Rian didn’t get a chance to reply because the hatchway slid open. They closed ranks, with Rian standing in front of them.

  A UAFA agent walked in, except she wasn’t like any of the other soldiers they’d encountered. Sable brown hair was pulled back in tight long, ponytail, while slate gray eyes took in the room in one second flat. She had the calm assurance of a leader as she clasped her hands behind her, with shoulders back and spine straight

  “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that a man of your reputation found a way to free everyone from their cuffs in the few minutes we left you alone, Captain Sherron. I don’t suppose you’d willingly hand over the knife?” Her voice was a little on the deep side for a woman.

  “If you can find it, you’re welcome to it, babe.” Rian cocked his head, insolence in every line of his body, making Tannin want to roll his eyes. The guy was so full of it. He didn’t know how someone hadn’t shot him already for being a cocky sonuvabitch.

  A small smile tugged the agent’s lips, but didn’t affect the rest of her cool features.

  “Captain Sherron, considering your good standing within the IPC, I wanted to give you the chance to answer the charges Baden Niels has leveled against you before we leave.”

  Rian glanced at Zahli, a gloating flash in his gaze. “Reputation still working.”

  Zahli crossed her arms and made a point of ignoring him.

  “Which allegation would you like me to address first?” Rian turned his attention back to the UAFA agent, taking a couple of steps closer to her. His gaze wandered over the woman, giving Tannin the unpleasant sense their captain was up to something. He swallowed a sigh.

  Where were they all going to end up this time? Knowing Rian, whatever he had in mind probably consisted of only two elements: extreme risk and excessive violence.

  Trying not to draw attention to himself, Tannin moved closer to Zahli. No matter what happened, his first impulse would be to protect her. Whatever occurred after that, he just had to hope Rian wasn’t as psychotic and suicidal as he seemed.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sometimes he was a damned lucky bastard.

  Rian knew he’d be pushing said luck, but shot an insolent grin at the UAFA agent, one Mae Petros, ex-IPC officer and formerly under his command during the Assimilation Wars. He couldn’t believe she’d been appointed to this assignment, since he’d been thinking about her the other day. When he’d told Tannin he had someone in mind to look into whether or not Zander Graydon had been replaced by a Reidar, he’d been talking about her.

  “So, which allegation do you want me to deny first?” he asked again, aware of the way her steady gaze didn’t waver.

  One night, a long time ago, before the Reidar had taken him, they’d had a few too many drinks and spent a few too many hours making out on a couch in an officer’s lounge at an IPC waystation. If either of them could have gotten a room that night on the overcrowded military installation, they probably would have slept together. His old self had even entertained the notion of a relationship with her, back when he’d still thought things like that were possible.

  Later, a year after he’d escaped from the Reidar, Mae and a team of IPC officers had nabbed him in a raid on an illegal trade depot working for Uzair. She’d kicked his ass and gotten him back into the IPC, gave him part of his life back. She had been the first one he’d ever told about what really lurked in the far reaches of the universe. Or maybe not so far. More like right u
nder their noses. She’d hadn’t believed him at first, but over the years he’d managed to convince her, get her on his side. He hadn’t ever been able to give her proof, but his word held enough weight that she trusted everything he’d told her.

  “How about we deal with the easy one. Stolen goods?” He could see the amusement she tried to hide as she answered his question. Yep, he’d be getting away from here, no problem.

  Rian stopped between Mae and his crew, gesturing to Ella. “The stolen goods are standing right over there. Though I don’t know how Niels thought he’d get away with accusing me of that, with slave trade being illegal and all.”

  “Is that true?” Mae focused her steady gray gaze on the priestess.

  Ella nodded. “I was taken against my will from Aryn, yes. Captain Sherron was good enough to intervene on my behalf.”

  Rian looked at Ella for a moment longer than he should have, too damned surprised that she’d addressed him as captain for once.

  “And the intergalactic terrorism charge?” Mae’s question broke his attention from Ella and he cleared his throat as he faced the agent, finding himself off-balance around priestess at the stupidest times.

  “Only if you calling hacking the data stream of Kasson Three an act of terrorism.”

  Mae’s brow knitted with confusion. “Aside from the fact that unauthorized hacking of a data stream is considered intergalactic terrorism, why the heck would you bother with Kasson Three? I thought that old station would have been swallowed by the Zenith black hole by now.”

  “It hasn’t, and we think it’s where the Reidar have based their offensive.” Rian caught the surprised looks from a few of the crew as Mae crossed her arms. He sighed. “If you idiots haven’t worked it out by now, Agent Mae Petros is a friend of mine. She served under my command during the war. She knows about everything.”

  “Is there anyone in the galaxy who isn’t one of your old war buddies?” Zahli muttered.

  “Offensive?” Mae repeated, saving him from saying anything to his sister. It seemed the spat between them would go on for a while. “You make it sound like they’re invading.”