Athena's Ashes

by Jamie Grey

  And only a few people in the entire galaxy had access to one.

  She smiled as the beginnings of plan formed in her mind.

  “You want me to do what?” Commander Jayla asked as she and Renna strode toward the cargo hold.

  Renna kept her gaze forward and her voice steady. “I want you to be my prisoner.”

  Jayla stopped dead in the corridor. “No way. If you’re wrong and this goes… what is that phrase you use? Tits up? I do not want to be out of commission.”

  Renna paused, turning to face the commander. “You won’t be. But bringing you in as a trophy might be our best and only chance to get inside that bunker.”

  “What makes you think they’ll let you inside in the first place, with or without me?”

  Renna gestured at Jayla to keep moving. “Because someone has a grudge against MYTH that’s big enough to destroy an entire headquarters. Getting their hands on one of their top officers will be a chance they can’t resist.”

  The women cleared the cargo hold hatch, and Renna headed for her arms locker. She grabbed some extra clips for her blaster and slipped them into her pockets. “Not to mention, if this is a trap, don’t you want to take down whoever did this yourself?”

  Jayla smoothed the front of her uniform jacket and glared at Renna. “You know I do. This is personal now.”

  “Then we don’t have time for subtle. You heard Dallas. MYTH will be sending strike teams any minute.”

  Jayla cleared the chamber of her pistol to check it before slipping it into its holster. “I wish I knew what’s going on. Who this Pallas is and why he’s doing this.”

  “Don’t we all?” Renna strapped a knife to her thigh and slipped another one into the special slot on her left boot. She was all about stylish and functional.

  The commander narrowed her eyes. “If our resident thief thinks this is the only way, then I’ll have to trust you.” She frowned at Renna. “But don’t try to pull anything.”

  Renna threw up her hands. “I promise. I’m a reformed woman. A MYTH girl, you could even say. I’ve got too much riding on all of this to play games.” She patted her pockets one last time. “Ready to go? My implant says the bunker is a ten-minute walk through town.”

  Lieutenant Blake joined them at the hatch. His full lips were twisted in a pout, and he crossed his arms as he leaned against the opening. “I don’t like this. I should be coming with you. Damn, the whole team should be coming with you. There’s no way you’re going to get out of this alive.”

  “Then I guess you’ll be captain,” Jayla said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about us, Lieutenant. I need you keep the ship ready for immediate take off. If we’re not back in two hours, get the hell out of here before the strike team arrives.”

  “But, Commander, this is insane.” His gaze flitted between them, a frown puckering the skin between his eyebrows. “I can’t agree with this plan.”

  Renna chuckled. “You don’t even know what the plan is. But if you did, you’d like it even less.”

  Blake’s frown grew deeper. “Commander…”

  “You have your orders, Lieutenant.” Jayla smiled at him, then marched from the ship.

  Renna waved to Blake and followed. He sighed nosily as the hatch slid shut behind her.

  In the Eris’s hangar bay, Renna slapped a pair of exovises around Jayla’s wrists, fastening them loosely in front of her, but the commander still didn’t look much like a prisoner. Renna wrinkled her nose at the gray dust coating the ground and any flat surface.

  “I wish this was at least clean dirt,” she said, picking up a handful of the gritty sand. It immediately turned her fingers gray. “Sorry about this.” Renna rubbed a handful across the back of Jayla’s dark uniform, then turned her around and smeared another handful across her front.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.

  Renna arched an eyebrow. “I couldn’t capture you without a struggle, right? We might need to mess up your hair a bit. And maybe add some strategic dirt to your face.”

  Jayla took a step back and raised her shackled hands. “Oh, hell no. You are not putting that in my hair.”

  “Fine. At least let me pull some strands out of your bun. I want you to look disheveled.”

  Jayla’s shoulders slumped, but she didn’t protest as Renna pulled some of the commander’s dark hair from her bun to curl wildly around her face.

  “Hey, you have nice hair. Why do you always wear it back?”

  “This is not the time to go all girly on me, thief. We need to focus.”

  “Talking about hair is always appropriate.” Renna dusted off her hands, careful not to get any of the dirt on her own clothes. “You can get to the key, right?”

  “It’s right here in my pocket.” Jayla patted her hip. “We’ve been through all this all ready. Are you stalling, Carrizal?”

  Renna smirked. “Is it that obvious?”

  “A little. Now come on. We have MYTH soldiers to save.”

  Jayla marched out of the hangar in front of Renna before she could stop her. Renna scurried to catch up, pulling her pistol and shoving it into Jayla’s ribs as they started down the street. The Tholi spaceport was a shithole if she’d ever seen one. Dirty streets, even dirtier humans. The air smelled of dust and garbage and human stench. Renna wrinkled her nose.

  Leading the stately commander through the slums earned them quite a few wide-eyed stares and a couple of cat calls from the men who lounged against the peeling buildings. They spat long strings of black liquid between stained teeth, and Renna shuddered as one landed feet away from them. The Eridu aliens had a special herb that calmed the nerves and supposedly made people happy. The poor of the community chewed it like gum, but it also gave them a vacant expression and black teeth. Not exactly her idea of attractive.

  “Hey, baby, why don’t you tie me up, like that?” one man called, leering at them through watery eyes. “Even better, I’ll tie you both up and have some fun.”

  “Pretty sure your penis isn’t big enough for one of us, let alone two.”

  He spit again. “Got a big mouth on you, huh? How about you come over here and show me what you can do with it?”

  “I’d rather suck off a Russka.” Renna smiled sweetly. “But you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, handsome?”

  He growled and pushed himself off the building.

  “Renna, behave,” Jayla muttered. “I don’t want to have to take down this guy with my hands tied. We don’t have time for a brawl.”

  Renna shrugged, glancing back at the man. “Fine. I was just hoping to blow off some steam. A good fight always settles my nerves.” A good screw was even better, but Finn was safely tucked away in one of Viktis’s safehouses. Hopefully.

  “I’m pretty sure we’ll have a fight on our hands before we know it. Now behave.”

  The man followed them for half a block, but when Renna didn’t respond to his taunts and name-calling, he fell back and left them alone. They cleared the slums, sped through the market, and headed for the alley across from the bunker.

  “Over here.” Renna crouched behind a stack of supply boxes and studied the building. The door was made of thick, worn wood with a heavy electrolock. It was an older model but still serviceable. It would take Renna at least sixty seconds to hack it, time they couldn’t spare if they were trying to escape. She’d have to figure out a way to disable it on the way in if she could.

  Pain sliced across her vision, and she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut against the throbbing. Images flashed through her mind, like the implant was searching for a workaround to the lock problem.

  Finally, it focused on the lock’s base, showing a glowing four-digit lockcode. Renna studied the image. There! A switch to keep the lock from engaging if you entered the right code. Now she had the right code. And a fucking headache. But at least it seemed like the implant was trying to be helpful. Now if she could only get the hang of using it.

  “You all right?” Jayla
asked, studying Renna’s pale face with a frown.

  “I’ve been better. Let’s get this over with.” Renna shoved the commander forward, and they crossed the street. At the door, she quickly input the code before pressing the comm button on the door.

  Her heart felt like it was trying to claw its way through her chest, and she took a deep breath to get it under control. Her acting skills would have to be impeccable for this one.

  “Who is it?” a gruff male voice called. “What do you want?”

  “I have a delivery.”

  “We don’t need no deliveries. Go away.”

  She pitched her voice to sound slightly annoyed. “Look, I don’t have time to stand here all day. Pallas told me I’d get fifty-thousand credits for any MYTH officer.”

  “Pallas did?” He sounded confused, but a moment later, there was a buzz as the door slid open. Two men stood on the other side, guns pointed at Renna and Jayla. Galivant model rifles if she wasn’t mistaken. The high-tech guns were unusual for merc gangs who operated in this part of the galaxy. Someone was paying them very well.

  A heavy man with sandy hair and a jagged scar across his cheek glowered at them from inside. “Who are you?” he demanded.

  “Dene Hally. I’m a merc from Anat. Caught me a MYTH commander when I was escaping the planet last week.” Renna jerked her head at Jayla. “Found out she’s some sort of leader there. Pretty sure Pallas will pay extra for this one.”

  The man frowned, his thick mustache covering his upper lip like a fuzzy caterpillar. “Pallas didn’t say nothin’ about more deliveries.”

  “You think I’m lying? Look at the woman’s uniform. Can’t you put her with the others and pay me? I’ll be on my way, and you’ll get the credit.”

  He exchanged a glance with one of the other men, who lowered his weapon. “Can’t hurt, I suppose. Take her away.”

  Renna stepped in front of her bounty. “I don’t think so. Money first. You know how this works, handsome.” She gave him a sweet smile and let her gaze sweep the bunker’s entryway. There was a small room off the entrance she guessed was the security room, and another a bit farther in that probably led into the main body of the bunker. That had to be where they were holding Dr. Samil and the MYTH med team.

  Now if she only knew where Pallas was.

  She waited for the buzz of her implant to scan the building for heat signatures or alternate entrances, but nothing happened. Of course it wasn’t working now. She was going to have to do this the hard way.

  “Quite the setup you guys have here.” She studied the room more overtly before letting her gaze travel up and down the man’s beefy body. Renna leaned forward suggestively. “Pallas must really trust you to put you in charge.”

  Despite his obvious suspicion, the man puffed out his chest. “And I won’t do anything to jeopardize that trust.”

  “Good man.” She stepped through the doorway and pulled Jayla with her. Another step and she was close enough to touch the man’s arm. “I didn’t catch your name, handsome.”

  His face flushed, and he jerked away. “It’s Rico. But keep your distance. I need authorization from the boss before I pay you anything.”

  “Pallas keeps tight tabs on the purse strings, eh?” Renna leaned against the cool steel wall and crossed her arms, ignoring the two men with their guns still trained on her.

  “Nah, Pallas is too busy to worry about mercs begging for credits. One of the other men is in charge here.” Rico jerked his head toward the back. “Chrandy, go get him.”

  The man closest to the door disappeared through it, but not before Renna caught a glimpse of the wide open space of the bunker behind him. Completely empty.

  What the hell? Usually these things were used as warehouses, stuffed full of supplies and people. She snapped her attention back to Rico. “So tell me, how’d you get involved in all this? Pallas doesn’t exactly recruit on the open merc channels.”

  “I ran with Arker’s gang in the Apollo system. A few years back, Pallas contacted us to see if we wanted some extra work. I ended up staying after the job was done.”

  “Smart man.” This time when she inched closer, the man didn’t even flinch. “And what happened to Arker? I’m assuming he didn’t like you defecting.”

  The man grinned wolfishly. “Pallas let me take over his territory after we killed him. It was time for new management in that sector anyway.”

  “Brutal. I like it.” She was close enough now to run a hand down his arm. “I wish I would have met you before I joined up with Viktis Korrik. What an ass.”

  Rico growled. “That Ileth stole my fucking ship. I’d do anything to get back at him.”

  “How come I’m not surprised?” Renna laughed lightly. “Viktis isn’t exactly good at making friends.”

  She sucked on her lower lip, a move that usually didn’t disappoint. Rico’s gaze drifted lower, and she smiled slowly. “I have an idea.” Then she shook her head as if it was too stupid. “Never mind.”

  “No, tell me,” Rico said.

  “I’m looking for a change of scenery. You handsome men hiring? I’m pretty good at what I do. Even better, I can help you get back at that damned Ileth. Teach him to fuck around on me.”

  “Now that’s an interesting suggestion.” Rico leered at her, studying her tight pants and even tighter sweater. Renna arched her back slightly to show off her…assets

  “A very interesting suggestion.” Rico chewed his lip, making his mustache move on his upper lip like it was alive. “I bet the boss would be happy to have someone with your…skills on our team.”

  “Oh, handsome, you don’t even know how skilled I am,” she purred, moving close enough that the rancid sweat staining his clothes made her nostrils burn.

  He wrapped a meaty arm around her waist and pulled her toward the door. “Let’s go find out.”

  The other man interrupted, holding up a hand to stop him. “Quit thinking with your dick, Rico. What do I do with this one?” He jerked the gun at Jayla.

  “Bring her with us and throw her in the cell. The boss can sort it all out later.”

  “I’m not sorting out anything. Kill them both.”

  Renna froze.

  Major Larson stood in the doorway, a smirk twisting his angular features.

  THIRTEEN

  Fear clawed its way up Renna’s spine as she stared into Larson’s icy eyes. Now that she was standing here, facing him, the reality slammed into her like a Trezian’s fist.

  Larson really was a traitor to MYTH.

  “Nice to see you again, thief,” he said. “I’d hoped you’d be joining us. I didn’t count on the added bonus of Commander Jayla, however.”

  Jayla glared at the man. “You’ll pay for this, Larson.”

  Renna stepped forward, hands held in front of her. “Let Jayla go. She has nothing to do with this. I’m the one you want.” Her skin crawled as the two guards’ guns tracked her, ready to fire at any sudden movement.

  “You don’t know what I want,” Larson said. “But luckily, you’re exactly right. Pallas will be pleased.”

  “Why are you doing this? Why betray MYTH?” Renna asked. Across the room, Jayla’s whole body went rigid as she waited for his answer. Right. His betrayal was especially personal to the commander who’d spent years at MYTH.

  Larson shrugged, drawing Renna’s attention back to his tall frame. “MYTH abandoned me when I needed them most, but Pallas offered me an opportunity to become powerful. To make a difference. MYTH has lost its way, but we’re helping it get back to what’s right. And this cybernetic army will make us unstoppable. We’ll be able to protect our people.”

  “You sound like a crazy fanatic,” Renna scoffed. “No matter how idealistic you try to spin it, the truth is you want to take over the galaxy with your hybrid army. You want to destroy rather than protect.” She shook her head. “You’re nothing but a thug, and I’ve met plenty of those in my line of work. They all die badly.”

  “It doesn’t matter what
you think. I believe in Pallas’s vision, and I’ll do what I need to to make sure it comes true. And if I get to have a little fun torturing our enemies in the process…” Larson smirked. “Then so be it.”

  “Then take me to him,” Renna demanded. “I want to face him myself.”

  “Oh, you will. Trust me. But I plan on having some fun with you first.” Larson nodded at one of his guards. “Take her guns.”

  This was not how she’d planned for it to go, but it looked like there was only one way to get to Dr. Samil and the kidnapped scientists now. Through Larson and his men.

  She was going to enjoy this.

  Renna met Jayla’s gaze across the room and nodded slightly.

  One of the guards approached, and Renna held out her blaster. With her other hand, she slowly pulled a knife from beneath her jacket. As he took the gun, she slammed it into his midsection. His eyes widened as the blade slid between his ribs without resistance.

  Renna used the momentum to grab his arm, spinning him to use as a full body shield.

  He screamed in pain, and the other men reacted instantly, opening fire. The impact of the bullets hitting the man’s body made him shake against her.

  Major Larson screamed at his men. “Don’t kill her! Pallas needs her alive.”

  The guards jerked the guns out of aim. The bullets went wide, spraying against the metal bunker walls in a staccato screech.

  Across the room, Jayla slipped out of her cuffs. With a sweep of her leg, she took down the man closest to her, stomping on his neck when he hit the floor. It crunched loudly and he went still.

  But she couldn’t worry about the commander; Renna had her own men to worry about. She snatched her gun back from the dead merc and fired off half a dozen shots. One of the other guards dropped to the ground amidst the ricocheting bullets.

  Two down, two to go.

  A sudden pounding in her head made her vision go blurry. Gods, not now! She blinked away the fog and yanked her knife from the dead man’s chest.

  Larson raised his blaster, set to stun, and she sent the knife flying across the room.