Athena's Ashes

by Jamie Grey

  “Thanks. That’s exactly the look I was going for. You look beautiful, as always.” Even back in the tenement, Kara’s exotic looks had spared her the worst of the beatings and famine. After her mom died, the pimps all wanted to groom her to take over the business side of handling the prostitutes. Kara’s mother had been Japanese, if Renna remembered correctly, and her father had been an Ileth, so her skin had a gorgeous amber tint to it. A stunning combination and one she’d used often to get what she needed from both the politicians and info dealers alike.

  “So tell me what you need, Renna. It must be big if you’re here on the station again.”

  “I need information on someone. A Dr. Thana Samil. She works—or worked—for an organization called MYTH.”

  “I’ve heard of it. The government’s worst-kept secret.” She took a bite and chewed deliberately before responding. “What’s so special about this woman?”

  “She’s a traitor. Even worse, she’s framed me for something and I want her silenced.”

  Kara nodded. “Understandable. A thief’s honor is her life. For old time’s sake, I’ll put my other clients on hold and see what I can find. But it’ll cost you.”

  “Of course it will. How much?”

  Kara grinned at her. “Straight to business. I always liked that about you, Renna.” Her smile was gone as quickly as it had come, her expression turning serious. “When’s the last time you were back on Earth?”

  Renna froze, fingers curling into her tablet. “It’s been a while. Why?”

  “I saw your mother the other month. She wasn’t looking good.”

  Dread curled sharp claws into her gut, and Renna shook off the feeling she was walking into another trap. “What was wrong with her?”

  “Too much clay. Not enough food. Probably an STD. She was never the same after you left. Didn’t take care of herself at all. Took the worst jobs. I’m surprised she’s lasted this long.”

  “Don’t fool yourself, Kara, my mother was ecstatic when I left. No more bastard kid holding her back. I haven’t talked to her since that day, and I don’t plan to, no matter what you say.”

  Kara shrugged, brushing her long braids back from her shoulder. “Just thought you’d want to know. You know us tenement rats always stick together.”

  “Tell me what you want for the info, Kara. I need to get moving.” Renna watched a station guard patrol the edge of the crowded marketplace. She’d already been sitting here too long.

  Kara took another bite of her food before responding. Renna was pretty sure it was to piss her off. Kara had always enjoyed seeing how far she could rattle her clients.

  “I need a favor. Something only you can steal,” she finally said.

  “Kara, I don’t have time for that.”

  “Oh no, I don’t want it now. This is a favor to be redeemed in the future. At a time of my choosing.”

  Renna chewed her lip. In any other situation, she’d turn the woman down flat. Getting involved in Kara’s business was…unhealthy. But she was running out of time and options. “Fine. It’s a deal.”

  “Good. I’ll get you your information. Usual dropbox?”

  “You know the one. I need it tonight.”

  “It’ll be there.” Kara pushed the plate away and got to her feet, her long skirt swirling around her ankles. “Watch yourself, Renna. I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “You’re not the only one.”

  “Maybe you should visit your mom one of these days, too. Before it’s too late,” she suggested softly as she passed Renna’s table.

  “Maybe you should mind your own business,” Renna snarled.

  Kara stopped and put a hand on Renna’s shoulder. “We all know you’re not that same kid. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. But locking away your past doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Visiting your mom might help you come to terms with it.” Her gaze dropped lower, to the scar that slashed across Renna’s neck from ear to chin.

  Renna touched it with a finger. “There’s nothing left for me to come to terms with. But thanks for the concern. I’ll see you later.” She shoved her chair back and jumped to her feet, disappearing into the crowds before Kara could respond.

  No matter what the woman thought, there was nothing left for Renna back on Earth but pain. Her mother was an adult—she was responsible for her own choices, just like Renna. And Renna’s choice was to track Samil down and prove she wasn’t a traitor. Whatever the cost.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Viktis’s safe house on Forever Station was a tiny apartment overlooking the casino district. Even behind the closed curtains, lights flashed and danced from the signs and billboards lining the area. But despite the noise and lights, it was a smart location. In the hive of other apartments, his would be difficult to find. Always a plus when trying to stay under the radar.

  Renna finished her plate of hastily radiated ramen, then leaned back in the rickety wooden chair. “You going to tell me what the hell is really going on?” she asked, pinning Viktis with a pointed stare.

  He paused, fork halfway to his mouth. “What do you mean?”

  “Why are you helping me?”

  “Why wouldn’t I? I don’t owe anything to Finn or MYTH. There’s no reason for me to help them.”

  “There’s no reason to help me either. You tried to kill me once, remember? You wouldn’t help me now unless there’s something in it for you.”

  Viktis pressed a hand to his heart. “Do you really not know me at all, love?”

  “I know you far too well,” she said with a smirk. “That’s the problem.”

  He chuckled and leaned back in his chair to mirror her pose. “I’ll be honest. I’m just happy to get off the Athena. If Finn flashed me one more of those smug looks, I was going to shoot him.”

  “So I’m a convenient excuse?”

  “You’ve never been convenient, love.” He grinned around his bite of noodles, and Renna shook her head.

  After he swallowed, he pushed the plate away. “MYTH deserves what’s coming to them if they actually think you’ve betrayed them. However, you do not deserve to spend the rest of your life on a prison ship for something you didn’t do. So if I can help, I will.”

  “Very altruistic of you.” Renna frowned. “I still don’t believe you, but I appreciate the intent.”

  “Just go with it.” He shrugged. “I’ve got a shiny new ship, a pilot, and a woman who wants vengeance. Life doesn’t get much better.”

  Renna tapped her finger against the worn plastic tabletop. “I don’t get it. Why would Finn and Jayla believe I’d betray them? I’ve done everything that stupid organization has asked and then some. I could have left at any minute, but I’m still here. Why believe Samil over me?”

  “Once a thief, always a thief, I guess. Some people can’t see past the noses on their faces. Especially those great, honking human noses.” Viktis patted her hand. “Finn’s not worth another thought, love. Especially since you’re here with me.”

  Finn’s betrayal sat like a heavy weight on her chest, making her lungs ache. Even worse, she hadn’t stopped caring about the stupid man just because he’d sold her out. Being hurt like this was unacceptable, especially since she’d spent so long guarding her heart against this very thing. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

  “What about you and Lieutenant Keva?” she asked, changing the subject. “What’s up between the two of you? I saw the looks you were giving each other.”

  His voice softened and his eyes got a faraway look. “The lieutenant and I became…close while we were here last week. She’s an amazing woman.”

  Renna’s eyes widened. “By the gods. Are you in love with her?”

  Viktis’s face flushed dark amber and sat upright. “No! Of course not,” he spluttered. But the way his gaze slid away told Renna he wasn’t exactly telling the truth.

  She chuckled and shook her head. “Look at that. Viktis the pirate’s gone and fallen in love finally. The women of the galaxy will w
eep.”

  His grin was wicked as he got to his feet. “Have you ever known me to settle down with one woman?”

  “Why yes, as a matter of fact.” She followed him through the apartment. “I seem to remember a time when it was just me and you. You’re not so tough, Viktis. I know you’ve been in love before.”

  He opened the door and reset the security system. “And then I tried to kill you. That’s usually how all my relationships end.”

  “Good point,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s hope Keva’s a better shot than you are.” She grabbed her bag off the threadbare couch. “Can we stop by my dropbox on the way to the ship? Kara’s supposed to get me some intel on Samil.”

  “Of course. Fortune’s Risk is waiting on the other side of the station. Luckily, I haven’t heard a peep about MYTH searching for you, but we’d still better be careful.” He paused and rubbed his chin. “Though I wouldn’t mind knocking Captain Finn on his ass just once.”

  Renna followed him from the apartment. “Wait in line, pirate. I get first shot at him.”

  Viktis quickly locked the door, setting the security cameras before they headed toward the apartment complex exit.

  Renna paused at the door, peering up and down the bustling street. There were way too many places someone could hide.

  “Hold on, let me run a scan.” She ordered her implant to search for MYTH soldiers, but it returned negative contacts.

  They made it to the other end of the district without anyone stopping them, and Renna’s pulse finally slowed as they waited for their elevator to arrive. “Are you finally going to tell me about the story behind getting this ship?” she asked, slanting a glance at Viktis.

  He smirked. “You heard Finn and I took down mob queen Kitty Cordoza last week? As part of that sting, I just happened to…acquire the Fortune’s Risk from Kitty, along with a few hundred-thousand credits. She won’t need either of them where she’s going, and I needed a new ship. Seemed like the perfect solution.”

  “So you’re saying the Fortune’s Risk is your reward for doing a good deed?” Since when had Viktis turned altruistic?

  “You could say that.” Viktis sighed lovingly. “She’s the prettiest little thing you’ve ever seen. I’ve got her stored over with the Ortan port authority.”

  Renna quirked an eyebrow at him. That was one of the better districts on the station. A lot of diplomats stored their vehicles there, preferring quick access to the station rather than the red tape of the government landing hub. That exclusivity didn’t come cheap.

  The elevator’s arrival interrupted Viktis, and they both stepped into it. Renna entered the code for Kara’s district where the dropbox was located, then turned back to the pirate. “Have you ever gotten a ship through normal channels?”

  “Have you?”

  Renna held up her hands. “Fair enough. No more questions.”

  The elevator came to a stop, and the pair stepped into a quiet, residential district. She started another scan for MYTH soldiers, but agony sliced through her brain instead.

  Air whooshed from her lungs at the red-hot fire shooting through her nerves. Gods, the pain. Renna’s knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor. The whole station rocked and spun around her as her implant went crazy.

  Images burst and faded in her mind—pictures of star charts, images of the tenements where she’d grown up, her first ship. They swirled like abstract art, combining and recombining into different shapes and images. Her tenuous grip on the connection with the hub slipped. She could feel it start to unravel, and she grasped at it, trying to slip back into her hiding place. To cut off communications.

  But the harder she struggled, the faster her connection with the station disintegrated. A second later, she felt the communication line she’d turned off earlier reconnect with the Athena.

  Finn’s voice filled her ears. “Renna! Where the hell are you?” he demanded. “Get back to the Athena right now!”

  “Screw you.” Renna shook her head, frantically trying to switch off the line. “Don’t come after me, Finn. I don’t want to hurt you, but I won’t let you take me in.”

  “I don’t have a choice, Renna. It’s an order. Come back before we both do something we’ll regret.” His voice sounded cold, like a stranger’s, and an ache started at the back of her throat. How quickly he’d given up on her. Again.

  “I’ve already done plenty of things I regret. I’m talking to one of them right now. But you know what? I have only one more thing to say to you. Fuck you for choosing them over me, and fuck you for believing I’d betray you.” She pressed frantically at the comm button below her ear, hoping to turn it off manually, but the line only crackled.

  Viktis crouched beside her on the floor. “What’s going on?”

  Renna shook her head as Finn’s voice filled her ears again.

  “I don’t know why you keep denying it. We all watched you do it. I can’t believe I fell for your lies again.” Disgust filled his voice, sending a dagger through her heart. That hurt worse than her implant’s malfunction, but she forced herself to brush it off.

  “Screw you, asshole,” she said, slamming her head back on the floor. Her comm let out a burst of static as pain exploded through her.

  And then everything was blessedly silent.

  “What the hell happened?” Viktis asked, studying her worriedly. “Are you all right?”

  Renna blinked up at him, trying not to moan as stars sparked in her vision. “Something went haywire. My implant let Finn’s comm through. We need to get the hell off this station.”

  “Shit.” He took Renna’s hand and helped her to her feet. “Can they use the implant to track you?”

  She nodded. “I lost my firewall in the hub. Gheewala will be able to sense my frequency now. We’re out of time.” Renna ignored the vertigo that sent her stumbling down the corridor and headed toward Kara’s dropbox in the middle of the district.

  The small metal mailbox was virtually indistinguishable in the bank of other mailboxes, but Renna found it easily. She input the password for the keypad, and the door slid back.

  A small holodisk and packet of information lay inside, and Renna quickly tucked them into her bag. She hoped there was something there that would lead them to Samil, or this escape plan would be dead before they even left the station.

  “This is it. Now let’s get out of here,” she said. Viktis slipped an arm around her to help her walk.

  They reached the pressure door that led to next district, and she shrugged him off. The warehouse area wasn’t known for its friendliness, and if the residents sensed weakness, they’d be on her in a second, taking her for an easy mark. She ignored the throbbing in her head and shifted her bag on her shoulder to pull it closer.

  Viktis’s gaze never stopped moving while they walked, searching the alleys that led off the main corridor. Unwary people who came to this area often found themselves on the back of a cargo ship, headed for slave territories.

  He nodded toward a group of ragged kids gathered in front of one of the warehouse doors. “Watch yourself,” he said.

  Renna made eye contact with one of the kids, a girl of about fifteen with messy blonde hair and a firebird tattoo on her neck. She was part of the Cordoza gang. A recent member if the redness around the tattoo was any indication.

  The girl met Renna’s steady gaze with a nod and said something to the boy next to her. All four pairs of eyes watched Viktis and Renna as they passed, but none of them moved to harass them.

  Smart kids.

  She glanced back at the girl. Maybe someday she could help girls like that—or, at least, help them get by. Someone sticking up for her when she’d arrived on station would have saved her life more than once.

  “Through here.” Viktis pointed to an access door hidden in one of the wall panels. “This should be a shortcut through the center of the station. Save us some time.”

  Renna followed him down the narrow corridor. Dim helo bulbs gave off barely enough light to
see a few feet ahead, and she walked with one hand on her blaster. The access corridors were usually locked, but there were always ways to get in. And plenty of black market deals went down there.

  Viktis ran down a flight of steps and pushed open the door at the bottom onto a lower level.

  “Where the hell are we?” she asked. The smooth white walls and tile floors made it look like a medical wing—or worse yet, Navang’s facility. She fought back a shudder.

  “A maintenance level between districts. Shouldn’t be anyone around, and I happen to have the keycard to the elevator that will take us directly to the Ortan port authority.”

  “Just so happens, huh? Did you win that in a card game, too?”

  “I’ll never tell,” he said with a sly grin.

  The pair rounded the corner, and Renna froze dead in her tracks.

  Finn and Lieutenant Blake stood at the other end of the hallway. The bright light shone on Finn’s dark hair, and even from where they stood, she could see the anger blazing in his blue eyes.

  Finn aimed his blaster at her. “We’re taking you in, Renna. I have my orders.”

  “Like hell you are.” She clutched her own blaster but didn’t pull it from the holster yet. That was a step she could never undo.

  “Hands up.” He moved toward them, gun pointed directly at Renna’s breaking heart.

  She should have known better. She should have never believed a word he’d said. But part of her couldn’t let it go. “You lied to me, Finn. You said you trusted me, that you’d fight with me against MYTH as long as we needed to. What happened to us trying to figure out what we had? What happened to wanting to be with me?”

  He slowed, but didn’t lower his gun. “I could ask you the same thing. You betrayed me. Again. After promising you wouldn’t. I should have known you could never really be reformed.” His voice shook, and he cleared his throat. “We’re going to bring you in and you’re going to fix this. MYTH doesn’t tolerate traitors, and neither do I.”

  “The only traitor here is Samil,” she said, letting her fingers tighten almost imperceptibly around her blaster. He’d given her no choice. A shot in the leg should stop him long enough for her to get away. “Samil is the one you should be going after, not me,” she argued. “Think about it, Captain. Why would I lie all this time? What’s in it for me? It makes no sense.”