by F. T. Lukens
“You need to step away and go back over there and wait.”
Darby nodded. “I understand, but I have a problem.” She ignored the previous order and closed the distance to the desk. She leaned across the surface, propping herself up on her elbows. “It’s just… you see the little one over there?” She jerked her head toward Ren.
Ren tried not to take offense, but in comparison to Ollie and Asher, he was indeed the smaller one.
“Yeah? What of him?”
“Well,” Darby said, sliding even farther across the desk. She dropped her voice. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but he’s a duster.”
“So?”
“He’s a duster who had to leave his planet due to a sickness.”
The receptionist’s eyebrows knit together, and her purple lips thinned into a line. “So? I’m a duster. I had to leave my planet because it was crowded, and we all had to stay under the ground because of weeds generations ago who destroyed our environment.”
“Ah, you get it then. I picked up that you were smarter than the others. What was your name?”
“Fawn.” She tapped her long, red nails against her lips. Her suspicious expression eased into confusion. “I get what?”
Darby raised an eyebrow. “I would think that a duster from an overcrowded planet would understand the implications of a plague, Fawn. Especially in a confined space.”
“A confined space?” she asked slowly.
“Like a drift for instance. This drift. You get it though, right?” Darby shook her head. “I told those cogs that brought us in not to break the ship’s quarantine. I mean, it’s only been a few days since we left his planet, but they wouldn’t listen. They pulled him right out of his little plastic room.” Darby sighed. “He watched his sister die, and then we took him on the ship. His fever hadn’t even abated yet. I still think he might have one. Doesn’t he look pale to you?”
Ren saw the moment Fawn got the implication. Color drained from her face, and her eyes widened. Ren coughed into his fist and curled even smaller, leaning heavily against Asher’s side.
“It just takes one highly contagious individual with a disease from planet-side that most drifters wouldn’t be immune to. And he would infect the whole drift. Actually,” Darby said, looking sorrowfully over to Ren, “you’re not from Stahl, are you? You’re probably not immune to it either. Few people are.”
Fawn leaned away from the desk and scooted her chair away. “His sister died?”
“Oh yeah, he told us all about it. She turned green and she started vomiting this thick, black disgusting stuff. It was as if she was liquefying. She ran a fever so high that it cooked her internal organs. It sounded gruesome.”
“What?” her voice was a whisper.
“Can you imagine the population of an entire drift slowly turning to liquid?” Darby waved her hand in Ren’s direction. “It happens suddenly too. Like one minute you’re sitting there and the next you’re doubled over.” She shot a significant look at Ren.
Ren took his cue. He clapped a hand over his mouth and bent in half, almost toppling out of the chair. His back bowed and he made a muffled noise—part groan and part gag.
Fawn shot to her feet.
“Get him out of here!”
“Are you sure? We haven’t been processed yet…”
“Yes!” She pointed to the door. Her arm flailed wildly; her intricate knot of hair fell to the side. “Go! Get out of here.”
Asher pulled Ren to his feet.
“Do we need anything to…”
Fawn threw a handful of green tags at them. They fluttered to the floor, and Darby scrambled to pick them up. She stood and waved as Asher and Ren hustled for the exit.
“Thanks so much, Fawn. You don’t know how many lives you saved today. In fact—”
Ollie grabbed Darby by the back of her collar and dragged her toward the door. Darby continued to spout platitudes and grandiose statements about Fawn being a hero and how Darby would tell all her superiors about how smart she was and considerate of her fellow dusters and the arrogant drifters.
“You’re a hero, Fawn!” Darby yelled as they stumbled out of the recruitment area and walked quickly to the lift.
“Laying it on too thick is going to get us caught,” Ollie said, snatching a green tag from Darby’s hand. He snapped it on his pocket.
Ren took one as well and clipped it to the collar of Asher’s drifter jacket. It flapped against his chest with every step.
“Let me have a little fun,” she said, flipping them a smile. “It was one of my finer performances. But Ren, I have to say, you really sold it. Looking all pathetic and then pretending to spew was genius.”
“I try,” Ren said dryly.
Darby skipped through the hallways and spun around. A wide smile split her face. “It’s been a while since I’ve had people,” she said out of the blue. “I’ve forgotten how fun it can be. Think of what we could accomplish together. Think of the scams we could run. I want to stick with you. Can I stick with you?”
“That’s fine with us,” Ollie replied. “But maybe tone it down a little so we don’t draw attention. And we’ll have to discuss the scamming part.”
Darby laughed. “Manipulating attention is what I’m good at.”
“Enough,” Asher said. He took Ren’s hand, and guided the four of them to a corner of the drift, in the shadows. He inspected the ceilings. “This might be a camera blind spot, but I don’t know what good that will do. If Millicent is monitoring the feeds here, then we’re already crunched.”
“She’s not.” Ren leaned against the wall. “I sensed it when we first got here. This drift is running on its own. She’s set it up to conserve power and run efficiently by itself, so she doesn’t have to come back.”
Darby scrunched her nose. “Why would she do that? Wouldn’t she want to check in on her empire?”
“She’s only one person. And even as a star host, she’s not powerful.” Ren flexed his free hand. “The last time we interacted, she still had to be touching an object to control it.”
“Which is why she needs zealots like those so-called soldiers. She showed them something amazing, and they followed blindly.” Asher blushed and looked to Ren, and Ren heard the similarities and truth in Asher’s words. “They believe in her.”
“Well, yeah,” Darby said. “I have seen some shit since I was kidnapped by you losers and I have to say that if Ren asked me to jump out of an airlock, I might actually do it.”
Ren raised an incredulous eyebrow.
“Okay, fine. I wouldn’t do it, but I did get us out of jam with my superior acting skills when I could’ve bolted and left you in the atmosphere.”
“We’re glad you didn’t do that, Darby,” Ollie said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for rescuing us by nonviolent means.”
She beamed.
“Now,” Ollie said, rubbing his hands together. “We need a ship and a way out of here.”
“One with crew we can overpower if needed.” Darby said echoing Penelope.
So much for nonviolence.
“Or one we can steal.” Ollie smacked Ren on the back. “Are you up for it?”
“If I need to be.”
Asher’s smile was rueful. “I think we need you to be.”
“Okay, then. I can do it.”
With a sinking feeling, Ren led the others toward the lift. They didn’t pass anyone, and the lift was empty when they boarded. They went down and exited on the dock level.
“Where is everyone?” Darby’s energy had settled and now she squinted as she surveyed the drift. A few citizens milled about, all wearing green badges, but they eyed the group suspiciously and didn’t engage them. “This place should be bustling. Especially since drift time would be about the middle of their cycle.”
“Hiding.”
&
nbsp; “From those jerks?”
“They still have prods and pulse guns. And someone untrained is more dangerous than someone who is.”
“I don’t know, you’re pretty scary, Ash,” Darby said. “The way you move definitely gives you away. Efficient and precise. Like power barely controlled. To a trained eye, like myself, you’d be the opposite of what we’d look for in a good mark.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“Oh, you should. Only green meat would try to pickpocket or scam you.”
Asher led them toward the entrance to the docking bays. Ren held his breath as they passed a group of soldiers with the same black uniforms and body armor. The soldiers looked up and down at Ren, scanning his body, noting the green badge. They continued on their way without incident, and Ren almost collapsed in relief.
Ren wished he could merge with the drift’s systems. He wished he could burrow into the vid feeds and scout out the dock. He wished he could search the ship registries and find one that would meet their needs and purpose. He wished he could save this drift, dig in and root out all of Millicent’s snares and protocols, and free the people. But he got one inkling of her star signature and nausea rolled over him, and his body went weak in his joints.
“We’ll start in the bay where we came in. I thought I saw a good ship we can borrow.”
Darby grumbled about semantics.
They entered the docking bay, and Ren was flooded with sensation. He stopped short. Asher bumped into his back.
“Ren?”
Ren ran. He sprinted around a corner. Asher was a half-step behind him.
“Ren! What are you—” Asher skidded to a halt beside him. “Rowan?”
9
Rowan startled at the sound of her name and dropped the prod in her hand. It clattered on the ground. She kicked it away from the prone guard’s outstretched fingers, though he was in no condition to reach for it. “Oh, good,” she said, with a smug grin. “I don’t have to rescue you then.”
“What are you doing here?” Asher sputtered.
“We made it to the trade route and turned around.” She shrugged and looked away, unwilling to meet Asher’s gaze. “Pen’s disapproving silence and Lucas’s forced humor were enough of a punishment.”
“You didn’t have to come back.” Asher crossed his arms. “We had it under control.”
She toed the guard and rolled him to his back as he groaned. “Sure, you did.”
Darby and Ollie jogged up to join them, and Darby huffed. “We were about to steal a ship, but I guess that plan is off.”
Asher clenched his jaw, and color rose in his cheeks. “Borrow a ship.”
Rowan raised a perfect eyebrow. “Completely under control, huh?” Asher didn’t respond. Rowan tugged her braid. “Also, what the hell is this about the divine leader Millicent, Mistress of the Stars?”
Ren wrinkled his nose. “We’ll explain later. Let’s get out of here.”
“What did you do?” Darby asked, peering down at the guard. She studied him, eyes narrowed, fingertip tapping her chin. Once gauging he was not a threat, Darby went for his pockets and rifled through them. No one stopped her.
“He was talking cogging strangely about a divine leader and how I needed to be processed. So, I stole his weapon and sparked him with it.”
“Reasonable course of action,” Darby said. She pulled out a credit chip and pocketed it. “Oh, ID card! Nice! Might need this later.” That also disappeared into the depths of her pockets.
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have let you…” Rowan addressed Ren, Asher, and Ollie, then nodded her head to Darby. “I shouldn’t have let you four leave. It was a bad decision. Though…” She held up a finger. “…I still maintain that this whole scheme of finding Ren’s brother is reckless. I may have found a change of heart, but it’s entirely dependent on if you can come up with a decent plan.” She tossed her braid over her shoulder.
Asher lightly punched Rowan in the arm. “Apology accepted. And yes,” Asher glanced at the groaning guard. “We have new problems.”
“And a new resolve,” Ren added. “But can we leave first?”
Darby straightened. “Yeah. This drift is creepy, and I want off. Besides, I need to hear more about this divine leader that you all seem to know.”
Rowan nodded sharply. “Right. Let’s go. And put the prod down, Darby. That thing is not coming on my ship. Honestly, I don’t understand the appeal. A pulse gun does the job just as well and from a distance. It’s elegant.”
Darby frowned, but dropped the prod. “Did you just call a weapon elegant? Rowan, I feel we may have missed out on some bonding. We need to remedy this.”
“Later. Follow me.”
They crept down the row of bays. The Star Stream called to Ren as he approached. It welcomed him as it always did, and Ren’s power engaged. His vision went blue, and he opened himself to the systems and circuits.
“You’re glowing,” Asher said in a low voice. He knocked his shoulder into Ren’s arm.
“I’m home.”
Asher’s grin widened into a full-blown smile. “Good to know.”
Aboard the ship, the tension Ren carried in his spine and shoulders eased. Penelope and Lucas waited on the other side of the airlock.
“Good to see you,” Lucas said, with his goggles on his head and his brown hair sticking up. “Long time no see.”
“Shut up,” Rowan said, stepping into the ship, heading for the stairs.
Lucas’s grin only widened. He pounced on Ollie when he walked in, and Penelope followed suit. Someone snagged Ren’s arm as he tried to maneuver around them, and he was swallowed in a bone-crushing hug. Asher rolled his eyes and grudgingly joined in.
“You cogs are weird.” Darby followed Rowan up the stairs and dodged Penelope’s attempt at scooping her into the group hug.
“Lucas, get us off this hunk.” Rowan rested her crossed arms on the railing above them. “The rest of you, common room. Now!”
_
Gathered in the common area, Ren sat on the couch with his legs draped over Asher’s lap. Asher absently rubbed Ren’s leg over the fabric of his trousers; the heat of his palm bled through the cloth to Ren’s skin. Even as light and nonchalant as it was, his touch helped soothe the tremble of fatigue in Ren’s muscles. The casual intimacy of their position was not lost on Ren, and his body warmed, and his pulse quickened. Their relationship wasn’t a secret, but they’d not been this openly tactile. If anyone noticed, they didn’t comment, but Ren kept his head ducked to spare himself from knowing looks. He tucked his bare toes under the arm of the couch and waited for Rowan to ask questions.
Lucas and Penelope sprawled in the dining chairs. Ollie sat on the deck plate with his back to the front of the couch, and Darby perched, cross-legged, on the table.
Rowan stood, arms crossed, posture straight.
“Feet off the table,” she said, giving Darby a stern look.
Darby rolled her eyes but kicked out her legs, so her boots hung off the end. “Yes, Captain.”
“Captain?” Asher sputtered. “Just call her Rowan, or she’ll get a bigger head than she already has.”
“I thought it was appropriate. She did come back for us in kind of true, badass lady fashion. I mean, she did take away the opportunity of Ren and I stealing—” Ren coughed. Darby blew out a breath. “Really? Fine, borrowing a ship, but, you know, can’t win them all.”
“We would’ve returned the ship. If we could’ve.”
Darby scoffed. “You stopped me from stealing this ship and you stopped me from stealing another ship. You are a killjoy, Ren. I don’t say that lightly.”
Ren rolled his eyes. “You’re a menace.”
“Whatever, blue eyes. Maybe turn that down a little bit, okay?”
Ren hadn’t realized he was using h
is star, but at her words, he did find himself unconsciously running through a systems diagnostic. Everything was in working order, which was to be expected as he had only left a few hours ago. There was not much Lucas could do to break the ship in that time, and Penelope could’ve fixed anything minor.
Asher put his arm around Ren’s shoulders and lightly tousled the longer strands of Ren’s hair.
“I was checking the systems.”
Rowan shifted her weight and cocked her hip. “Anyway, now that we’ve left the empire of the divine leader Millicent, does anyone want to fill me in on how the hell that happened?”
“We don’t have much more information than you do unfortunately.” Ollie stretched his back, then dropped his hands. “Those soldiers on Echo are zealots under the thrall of Millicent.”
“That’s unsettling,” Lucas said. Penelope elbowed him. “What? She was unsettling. I don’t think anyone is arguing that point. And it’s not like she’s here to hear me say that I found her creepy behavior unsettling. She was the definition of unsettling.”
“Okay, so like, how do you people know this lady?” Darby spread out her hands. “Is she a friend or something?”
“No.”
“Ex-friend.”
“Kind of.”
Darby looked at Asher, Ren, and Penelope, and made a face. “Which is it?”
“I met her when I was trapped on Ren’s planet under the reign of an autocrat named Vos. She left before Ren arrived. We ran into her again on Mykonos, and she was under the control of Abiathar, a star host who can control other stars with his voice. We released her, and she agreed to become part of the crew, until she betrayed us on Crei and was instrumental in my capture by the Phoenix Corps and Ren’s mortal injury.”
Darby’s mouth dropped open. “Wow. Okay. So, she’s the one who,” she waved her hand.
“No, Corporal Zag shot me.”
“And he’s?”
“Phoenix Corps,” Asher said. “Like me.”
“Oh. That’s… complicated. I’m sorry I asked.”
“Millicent is obviously no longer under Vos’s control,” Rowan said. “She’s taken over Phoebus and Echo. Who knows what other drifts she hopes to target. And for what purpose?”