The Thief's Dark (Renegades Book 3)

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The Thief's Dark (Renegades Book 3) Page 30

by L P Peace


  Zoe kissed him in response.

  ‘Are you two done yet?’ a voice called, hammering on the door. ‘We’ve been waiting for bloody ages to see you!’

  ‘Is that—’

  ‘Rhona? Yes.’

  They got dressed and opened the door to a very red-faced, very pregnant Martian woman.

  ‘The two of you have a shower. Makios is dying to see you, but not in this state.’

  ‘Just a simple matter of revenge,’ Daris said. ‘You should hear Makios and Rhona.’ Daris rolled his eyes. ‘What am I saying? That really loud sex the galaxy has been hearing for five solars, that’s Makios and Rhona.’

  Zoe blushed and giggled.

  ‘Cheeky fucker,’ Rhona rolled her eyes. ‘We got the ship soundproofed just to stop that.’

  ‘And yet your crew still complains.’

  ‘They don’t,’ she scoffed.

  Daris nodded. ‘I’m afraid they do, Rhona.’

  ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’ Rhona waddled off, supporting her back.

  ‘When can I have my ship?’ Daris called after her.

  ‘When hell freezes over,’ she said without looking back.

  Danva Desares was almost four years old. He charged around the place like the proverbial bull in a china shop. The six small horns sprouting from his head only increased that impression. Zoe watched him, all energy, limbs, and ‘whys’, and wondered what a child with Daris would look like. They’d have softer purple skin. Would they have his tail? She thought about holding a tiny half-Maruzen child with their tail wrapped around her arm and for a moment deeply regretted the OSAF compulsory birth implant. She’d have to look at getting it removed, she decided, once her career in the Protectorate was secured.

  Alethia had left Vasa three days prior, slipping across the border to Fenion space, which fell under the Tessan Protectorate. There, they used their gate to jump to Amaran space, emerging at Dahnus Ascent, the station named for their present Ilan. The Amaran fleet joined them a day later. They waited there while the Amarans enacted more substantial repairs to Endurance so that the ship could undergo another jump to the IGC’s jump station.

  Rhona acted like she was waiting to be executed. Apparently, she’d been through the jump gates over a hundred times and still hated it. Zoe couldn’t wait. She loved it. It was strange that Rhona was like a force of nature, but this act scared her, whereas Zoe had always been timid, but she loved it.

  She thought about the way she’d taken the pit fighters to The Crucible, and the way she’d stood up to Thelan. She could occasionally feel the timidity inside her trying to rise to the forefront, but she knew she wasn’t that girl anymore. The very thing Daris had predicted came to pass. In giving up control to him, she had found a strength she didn’t know she possessed. She wondered how much of her timidity came down to her need to control everything, including how she was seen, almost to the point of paralysis. Having begun to undo the damage that made her care about these things, she’d somehow become more of the person she was meant to be. She was finally breaking through the wall, her face turning towards the sun just as Daris said. She had a way to go, and the damage was still there, but she was on the right path.

  She wished she could pass this on to her brothers and help them overcome the harm their parents had wrought, but somehow, they had found out about Daris. Her family contacted her, telling her they considered her a traitor and a disgusting whore. They disowned her. It hurt, but they’d never really been her family, just the people who raised her, abused her, and neglected her. Daris was her true family. The thought of giving him up because of what they might think left her nauseated. He was everything.

  Whittaker had been treated and was recovering in the ship’s Medbay, where he would stay for the foreseeable future. He had been starved, beaten, and something inside him had broken under the abuse.

  Abrami was stepping up as lieutenant commander. She was still a bitch, still damaged in her own way, and she had confided in Zoe that she’d already written out her resignation from OSAF. She was being discharged with honourable service. OSAF had given them all the same option, but only Abrami had taken it. Zoe knew enough now to recognise the signs of abuse. Whatever had happened to Abrami, Zoe hoped she’d find a way through it someday.

  The Tessans stayed on board to help them crew the ship. The most significant delay to them setting off were the repairs the Amarans were making to Endurance to make it safe to jump. They still had to get to IGC station under their own steam.

  Zoe was running navigation with two Protectorate males helping. One of them was Tessan, with his pale skin, white hair, and light green eyes called Terin. Like the rest of the original and thus three-hundred-plus-years-old Tessans, he was severe. The other was a half-Inadiine male named Dak. He still had the horns of the Tessans, but his large eyes were turquoise and his skin was mottled black and white. He was easy to talk to, made her laugh and had already made several friends from among Endurance’s crew.

  The Amarans had done the repairs quickly. For three days, the ship was filled with the grey-skinned people in lighter and darker shades. Zoe became the liaison as many of the crew were still too traumatised to deal with them.

  Zoe was seeing the last of them off when Daris found her in the shuttle bay.

  ‘We’ve been called to Thanesh’s ship for a meeting.’

  They boarded a shuttle and made the short journey around the station to the Alethia. They were met by Jarit and brought straight to a meeting room. When they entered, Zoe’s eyes fell on the assembly. Rhona sat down, her pale skin red, a furious look on her face. Makios stood over her, massaging her shoulders. On the other side of the table, Thelan was at least as angry as Rhona.

  A light-skinned Amaran sat in a chair directly across from Thanesh, who sat at the head of the table, the message clearly stating they were on equal footing. Behind him, a light-skinned female stood on one side of him, her features similar enough to mark her as family. Her eyes were a cold pink, his light turquoise. The darker grey-skinned adalan had mauve-blue eyes that lightened to aqua around the edges. The colours seemed deeply saturated against this skin compared to the eye colour of the two lighter-skinned Amarans around him. That was because they were, she realised.

  Thanesh gestured to a seat, which Zoe took, Daris standing behind her, mirroring Rhona and Makios who were across the table from them.

  ‘Lieutenant Winters,’ Thanesh said, using her official title for the first time. ‘Daris Harvalen, this is Ilan Dahnus Ascendi. His sister, Illisa Denali Ascendi, and Hadith Efari.’

  Zoe nodded to each person in turn with acknowledgement.

  ‘Pleasure to meet you, little human,’ the Ilan murmured. His lips were lush. It was the only way to describe them. His face was very masculine, which made him stand out from the darker grey-skinned male who, while still masculine, had softer features. She remembered Tara’s words that night—Amarans have three genders. She was seeing them now. In her time since The Crucible had taken Endurance, she’d seen the Hinari, the Amarans, and the Adosians. She’d even seen two Kuyon crewmembers on board this very ship in the last week or so.

  ‘Watch it,’ Rhona growled at the Ilan. Zoe gasped, expecting anger from the Ilan. Instead, he smiled at Rhona and chuckled.

  ‘Maruzen mate for life,’ the Ilan said, looking at Rhona. ‘And they do not share.’

  ‘Unlike us, who are a very sharing, generous race,’ the darker-skinned Amaran murmured, a smile on his face.

  On the other side of her brother, the Illisa rolled her eyes. She stood formally, at ease, her feet shoulder-width apart, her hands cupped behind her back, her chin up even as she looked down at the people sitting around her. Her eyes passed over Zoe, and she got the sense of someone who took her duty seriously. Despite her stance, there was something not at ease with the female.

  Zoe turned her eyes to the darker-skinned male. His lips were even more sinful than the Ilan’s, almost pouty. Zoe failed to repress a smile, thinking about Sophia’
s joy at hearing about the mixer. The same thought struck her in the gut.

  ‘What is it, little human?’

  Zoe smiled. ‘My friend Sophia was looking forward to meeting you all at the mixer,’ she said. She looked at Thanesh, but he shook his head. ‘What about Addison and the women at Caras?’

  ‘The women at the meat market were sold quickly. My men managed to find some information. They have gone to look for them. One of my best men is going back though, to look for Addison.’

  ‘How soon until he gets there?’

  ‘Soon, but he’s waiting for Kadian.’ Thanesh looked at Makios and Rhona.

  Zoe frowned. She knew that name. ‘The Todaal who helped build the engine?’

  ‘Yes,’ Thanesh confirmed.

  ‘He’s going after Olivia,’ Zoe said, knowing she didn’t need to ask. She still remembered the look on his face when he left the cupboard. The way his eyes searched for Olivia in the crowded room. The way they looked at one another.

  ‘Yes, but you keep that to yourself, understood?’

  Several heads nodded at Thanesh.

  ‘We have brought you here to talk about other things.’

  ‘The Himaran? The auctioneer,’ Daris clarified when he saw confused faces. ‘Did you track her down?’

  ‘Easily,’ Thanesh confirmed. ‘But she managed to destroy some of the records. We know Tolomus had more, but apparently they are on his ship, which is now at Caras, waiting for his return.’

  ‘But he’s not going to return,’ Zoe said. Suddenly, she knew why Rhona and Thelan were angry. They weren’t mad at each other as she’d initially assumed; they were united in their anger because Tolomus was going to be released.

  ‘But your investigation.’ She pointed at Thelan. ‘The Adosian women. I know the IGC doesn’t give a shit about us, but Adosians are members.’

  ‘Yes, they are,’ Thanesh confirmed. ‘Unfortunately, Thelan’s investigation did not have time to prove it.’

  Zoe let out a grunt of frustration and scrubbed her hands over her face. ‘So he just gets to leave?’ She looked at Thanesh.

  ‘I can do more against slavery as a member of the IGC.’ Thanesh’s voice was firm but regretful at the same time. ‘If I keep him—if I imprison a sanctioned slaver for doing his lawful job—then I will lose that place.’

  ‘What about us?’ Zoe stared at him.

  ‘The IGC knew you were coming. It was highly classified, but it means you are protected from slavery until the final decision comes back about your world. Any of the humans taken will have to be freed by their owner. No one is coming for you. Yet.’

  ‘She’s my mate,’ Daris growled. ‘They’ll have to go through me to get to her.’

  ‘They’ll have to go through a few of us,’ Thanesh agreed. ‘If the time comes, as you are already mated to a species where it is possible your mate would die without you, he will be offered first refusal by law.’

  ‘First refusal?’ Rhona crooked an eyebrow at her. ‘I bet you feel special now!’

  Zoe huffed out a laugh. It was equal parts amusement and disgust.

  ‘Of course I would purchase my mate,’ Daris said, his voice utterly serious, making both Zoe and Rhona laugh harder.

  ‘Oh, don’t, you bastard.’ Rhona rubbed her hand over her belly. ‘You have no idea what a little mare this one is being today.’

  ‘Mare?’ Thanesh frowned.

  ‘Err, wilful, spirited,’ Zoe supplied. ‘Erm, physically active. Mares are female horses. Physical animals that jump around a lot and kick.’

  ‘Shame Devorak isn’t here,’ Rhona grinned. ‘He’d love this conversation.’

  ‘Who’s Devorak?’

  Rhona smiled and opened her mouth before her eyes widened and she closed it again. ‘No one,’ she said.

  Confused, Zoe looked back at Thanesh. ‘So, we let Tolomus go, and he’ll be at Caras at the same time as this man of yours—’

  ‘Keral,’ Thanesh supplied.

  ‘Keral and Kadian?’ Zoe finished, ignoring the interruption.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And the alternative is that we keep him and screw up the chances of either of our worlds being accepted into the IGC.’ Zoe leaned back, looking at the table.

  ‘Succinctly put.’ Thanesh leaned forward, watching her.

  ‘We don’t have much choice then, do we?’

  ‘No,’ Thanesh agreed.

  ‘I should never have let you take him,’ Thelan hissed. ‘I should have left with him.’

  ‘Adosians are part of the IGC as well, moron,’ Rhona snapped.

  Thelan looked at her, anger in his eyes. They softened when he looked down at her pregnant belly and whatever retort was on his lips, he kept it to himself.

  ‘Pyri is more subtle than Rhona,’ Zoe took the chance to say. ‘But it’s a similar attitude.’

  Thelan looked at Rhona, and a look of displeasure crossed his face. ‘She will learn,’ the Adosian said.

  ‘No, you will, or you’ll lose her.’ Zoe couldn’t stop herself from making the retort. Every time this conversation was brought up, the Adosian said the same, stupid sentence, like a stuck record.

  ‘I would like a ship to return to my world. I must start looking for my mate, now that my investigation is over.’

  ‘I will want to see her in person,’ Thanesh said. ‘I want to know that she is with you of her own free will. Otherwise, I will come for her myself.’

  ‘You have no rights in Adosian space,’ Thelan snarled. ‘We are not a part of your Protectorate.’

  ‘Yet I will come anyway,’ Thanesh said, sitting straighter. Thanesh’s eyes flicked to Jarit. ‘Take him through the gate to his homeworld.’

  Jarit left with the Adosian.

  ‘Oh, no, I’m really gonna miss that guy,’ Rhona said, her voice droll, as the door shut.

  ‘Yeah, he’s a real sweetheart,’ Zoe deadpanned.

  ‘Humans say such strange things,’ Makios spoke for the first time. He was looking at Thanesh.

  ‘Thankfully, mine was brought up out here. She is often as puzzled as I am,’ Thanesh replied.

  Rhona flung her hand over his shoulder, catching Makios in the hip. ‘Watch it, goddess,’ he growled at her.

  ‘We are providing Tolomus with a ship which we’ve obviously set a tracker on,’ the Ilan said. He was glancing between Zoe and Rhona, a small smile playing on his lips.

  ‘So obvious he’ll find it?’ Rhona said, frowning and sitting back, leaning into Makios who began stroking her hair. Daris, in response, began stroking Zoe’s hair. The two women exchanged a glance.

  ‘The first two, yes. The last three, we’ve made much less obvious.’

  ‘You’ve set five tracers on him?’

  ‘Yes. It’s possible but unlikely that Tolomus will find them all before Caras. But we must take the chance if we are to find out who these co-conspirators are. If they turn out to be who we believe they are, the repercussions will ripple back to their homeworlds.’

  ‘That’d be no loss,’ Makios growled. He and Thanesh exchanged a significant look that excluded everyone but Rhona, who reached back to her husband and squeezed his hand, seemingly in support.

  ‘Kadian is almost at Caras. He and Keral will meet a few lightsolars from it and move in once they get the signal that Tolomus has arrived. Keral has vowed he will find your friend,’ Thanesh said.

  ‘Thank you,’ Zoe said.

  The meeting wrapped up shortly after. Zoe, Daris, Rhona, and Makios watched Tolomus’s ship jump from the observation deck.

  ‘I’m sure this room still smells of the two of you,’ Rhona sniffed.

  ‘I can still hear you and Makios five solars later,’ Daris said, before surreptitiously sniffing at the end.

  Rhona’s lips twitched. ‘Fucker,’ she said. Tolomus’s ship disappeared through the gate. Rhona turned and took Zoe’s hand in hers.

  ‘Makios and I talked,’ she said, squeezing Zoe’s hand. ‘We’ve spent five years bringing materi
al to Earth to build Endurance. We’ve worked hard in the last couple weeks to find her so that the Tessans can retrieve her. We want to go to the IGC station on her. I want us to go as humans on a human ship.’

  Zoe squeezed the Martian’s hand. ‘I’ll clear it with Abrami.’

  Rhona swallowed and pulled Zoe into a hug. ‘I wanna see this done. I wanna stand in the central sphere with you guys.’

  Zoe flexed her arms around the pregnant woman. ‘You will,’ she promised.

  They stayed at Dahnus Ascent for another day before, as a convoy, they went through the gate one ship at a time.

  Zoe left the navigating to Dak, who was more than qualified for the role and went to the bridge, taking the operations manager conn and helping bring the ship through the gate. Rhona, Makios, and Danva were seated on the bridge at Abrami’s invitation; she’d been almost magnanimous towards them. Daris sat beside them. Every now and then they’d look at each other and exchange a smile.

  Rhona swore through every stage of gate travel. The crew had different reactions as they passed through it. However, Elizabeth, sitting at the security station, reacted almost like a child on a fairground ride.

  When the black fold of space disappeared around them, they followed the rest of the ships out of the jump station.

  ‘Sir, I have the station,’ Nerys Adeyemi said from the other conn.

  ‘On screen,’ Abrami said.

  Zoe caught Nerys’s eyes, her tight afro curls shaved close to her head. She had delicate, elven features.

  The sphere was surrounded by three vast rings. One of them was recently completed, and there was still a little work to be done on it.

  ‘How big is it?’ Abrami said, her voice filled with awe as they took it in.

  ‘The sphere,’ Nerys pressed a couple of buttons, ‘is nineteen thousand, four hundred miles in circumference. The rings,’ Nerys gasped, a look of disbelief on her face. ‘The outer ring has a circumference of almost fifty thousand miles.’

  Abrami hissed in a breath. That act seemed to reflect the feelings of the whole crew. They were awed. Intimidated. This had to be the single biggest structure designed by intelligent minds in the galaxy.

 

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