by Eve Langlais
“It’s a building of some sort,” Zak exclaimed.
“Old.” Ray’s contribution.
“I’ll bring us over top since the trees are dense around it. Any sign of my sister or Wulff?”
“Not yet, but the hot, moist air is skewing readings. If they’re anywhere, though, it will be at this relic.”
An ancient temple possibly full of gears. Sentient ones looking for fleshy hosts.
The idea proved utterly abhorrent, but that wasn’t why she sidled close to a console. She didn’t have a choice. The Lake whispered. Commanded. Told her what she had to do.
The men were gesticulating and talking about what they saw on screen, paying her little mind. She still had no clue how to actually drive the ship. Nor how to use the weapons system. But the Lake, whose presence within her became agitated, told her.
It guided her fingers to press a series of buttons and enter a pair of coordinates.
In moments, it was done. She lifted her hands from the console as the missiles left the ship and blinked in shock at her actions.
Zak yelled, “What have you done?”
“Whatever is in that temple must be destroyed.” She finally said aloud the task she’d been given and tried to not feel guilt at the anger and betrayal on their faces.
Ray growled, “You lied to us. You never planned for us to get the treasure. This was your goal all along.”
“Yes.” No explanation, no apology, which was probably why Ray shot her.
10
Ray felt all kinds of remorse as Nema hit the floor. Yet, what else could he do? The woman had fired on a planet, even after realizing Zak’s sister might still be alive on it.
“Why?” Zak whispered. “Why would she do that?”
“Because that was her plan all along. Destroy the temple and the cogs inside. And she used us to do it.” The words tumbled from him in an angry rush. Angry because he’d trusted her, especially since the kiss they’d shared. A kiss he’d hoped to repeat. Yet, all along she’d been lying.
The missiles she fired started a chain reaction. They could see the difference on screen as the lava poles brightened, heat churned the surface, great big bubbles popped, and the steam spread, overtaking the narrow strip of land.
“I can’t believe she initiated a cataclysmic world event.” Said with disbelief before Zak exclaimed, “We need to move fast if we’re going to find Ursy and Wulff before the planet is covered in lava.”
Some might have said the task was impossible. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try. Ursy wasn’t just Zak’s sister; he considered her a friend—even if she would slug him for admitting it in public.
“Are we sure she’s even still down there? Maybe she found another ship and left already.”
Zak shook his head. “She’s there. I can feel it.”
Ray might have asked how, but he knew Zak shared a bond with his twin. Some would say it was because they shared a womb. Others would claim it had to do with the twin cogs shared upon their first taking of the gear.
“Head for the temple,” he urged.
“Course already set. We’ll be through the atmosphere in another few tics. But we can’t move too fast, or we might miss something. I am scanning the surface for life forms, but I’m having a hard time. The steam is obscuring everything.”
“If Ursy is here, we’ll find her,” Ray reassured.
“Yeah, but will I find her before she boils to death? The planet’s getting hotter by the tiny tic of the gear.” Zak shook his head and muttered, “I still can’t believe she did that.”
“You’ve heard how she talked about gears. She truly believes they’re evil.”
“Maybe she’s right,” Zak mused with a serious mien, eyes fixed on the screen. “I once knew a guy who claimed the same thing. He actually had his removed and was proud of the scars.”
“He’s not the only one.” Ray knew of another male who’d done it as well. He’d stood outside the gate blocking the path to the temple, shouting his blasphemy, his thin frame emaciated and weak. “Stop enslaving the metal. Set its spirit free.”
The priests left him alone because, to them, he provided a perfect example of why they took the gears. Why they upgraded.
“We are through the atmosphere and dropping toward the structure,” Zak announced.
“Don’t you mean temple?” Ray moved closer to the screen, squinting at the swirling mists he could see, the appearing and vanishing edges of stone hinting of moss, dark with streaks of red. He pointed at a spot where the mist opened and then closed. “I saw something.” Only white fog now obscured it. He watched and, when the mist shifted again, saw them. “I see someone climbing.”
“Two someones,” Zak exclaimed. The camera lost sight of the climbers as the mist swirled once more, and he noticed the temperature reading flashing.
“The surface is reaching a boiling point.”
“I’m almost close enough,” Zak murmured. The ship tilted, and he only held on by the soles of his boots.
A siren sounded, along with a computerized verbal warning. “Outside temperatures predicted to exceed safety specifications.”
“I know it’s getting too hot,” Zak replied, even as he kept whipping his fingers around, doing a tug and drag of buttons and levers that required tweaking. Overriding the ship’s tendency to not let them go boldly into danger.
The lava was encroaching upon the land, and the steam was thinning as all the moisture evaporated. The smoke turned dark.
“That’s not good,” Ray muttered as they went blind. They could no longer see, but the ship had other fancy screens scrolling information.
None of them showed life forms, but he could see the solid structure of the temple and the oddly shaped tip of it. Good enough for him. “Launching the life bubble.”
Which was exactly as it sounded. A bubble that formed around a target, providing short-range protection while it was in transit to the cargo bay of the ship.
Only when the screen flashed giving him visual evidence did Ray crow, “We’ve got them!”
Them, as in two people: Wulff and Ursy. They appeared wary until they heard Zak welcome them aboard.
Which led to Ray eying Nema on the floor. “What are we going to do with her?” he asked.
Zak’s gaze shifted and widened. “Frukxing rusty cog. We can’t let Ursy see her. She’ll kill Nema.”
“Can you blame her after what she did?” Ray wasn’t too happy with Nema either.
“We’re not letting my sister kill her.”
“And where are you going to keep her? We have only one guest room, which you know Ursy is going to claim. Which one of us gets to bunk with Nema?” Ray queried with an arched brow.
“We have to hide her.”
“Then use my room. Ursy is less likely to barge into it.” Not to mention he could probably find reasons to stay in it, guarding her.
Zak had a different idea. “Put her in the cryogenic pod in cargo hold three. Given she tried to kill my sister, she can sit on ice at least until we get Wulff and Ursy settled.”
“Shall we flip to see who gets the grumpy one?”
“Wulff can bunk with me,” Zak said with a scowl.
Which, as it turned out, wasn’t necessary. Apparently Wulff and Ursy were now a couple. A thing they discovered as they reunited and exclaimed over the coincidence and lucky timing of the rescue.
“Had a tip about a cog and happened to see your ship crashed. Glad we found you in time,” Zak lied.
They also withheld the truth about the missiles being the cause of the catastrophic event. Why blame Nema when Wulff appeared determined to take credit for the destruction? He seemed to think his stopping the giant mechanism under the temple had caused the calamity.
It seemed best if neither he nor Zak said anything about the woman in their hold.
They kept her asleep, yet they visited her every day, taking turns checking on her vitals. The cryogenic pod they’d placed her in was usually for transpo
rting biological goods but perfectly able to handle sentient beings as well.
Ray felt some guilt each time he popped down for a visit. “How much longer?” he asked when he joined Zak on the bridge.
“Not long now. We’re almost to our home world, which means Ursy and Wulff will soon be departing.”
“Thank frukx,” Ray exclaimed.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Zak hotly agreed. “Ursy in love is worse than angry-all-the-time Ursy. As her brother, it is wrong to subject me to her climbing Wulff in order to chew on his face. Just. Wrong.”
Ray couldn’t help but agree. “I’d rather take her giving me a black eye.” Back in the day, they used to threaten any males who even got near Ursy. Out of sight of course. She’d have broken them into pieces if she knew they interfered.
But now, their friend was the one making moves. Ray couldn’t wait for the nightmare to stop.
Because then that meant they could confront Nema. He’d had time to think about what he’d say.
Do.
He’d chastise her for betraying his trust.
Force her to reveal her true motivation.
Ray just couldn’t have said how he’d do those things. Hurting her didn’t feel right. A lecture seemed like he didn’t truly appreciate the gravity of her actions.
I want to spank her and kiss her.
Problem being Zak did, too.
“We should start the thawing process.” It took time to revive someone.
“What are we going to say and do?” Zak asked softly. “She tried to kill Ursy.”
“But didn’t. And let’s be honest, lots of beings have tried to take out your sister.”
“Honor says we’re not supposed to tolerate it.”
“I told you we should have dumped her somewhere.” An idea he immediately rejected.
“She found a temple.”
Indeed, she had. Not that they’d gotten to see it. According to Ursy and Wulff, it contained some first-rate mecha parts. All lost in lava.
“She’s not going to lead us to another one,” Ray declared.
“Why not?”
“For one, I doubt she’ll be too happy with us.”
“Even she’ll have to admit we were justified this time.”
“And what about the fact we turned her into a meatsicle?”
“For her own safety. Ursy would have killed her.”
“Good luck convincing her of that,” Ray grumbled.
To which Zak blinked. “Why is it we’re talking about apologizing when we should be pissed enough that nothing less than her groveling would be acceptable?”
“I hate groveling.” All the begging. The tears.
“Aren’t we still pissed at her?”
Ray jerked his head at the screen, which showed a hallway and Ursy at it again with Wulff.
Zak shut it off. “Maybe we should thank her for trying to spare us from seeing that.”
“So, seriously, what are we going to do with her? Should we dump her somewhere?”
“She’d never survive. The only place I’d feel all right about leaving her is her home.”
“But I doubt she’ll tell us where it is.” Ray pointed out the obvious.
Zak rolled his shoulders. “Which leaves us where then?”
“What are you thinking we should do?”
“She led us to one temple. Why not see if she can lead us to a second?”
“Who’s to say she won’t blow it up, too?”
“Now that we know the potential, we’ll be paying attention. That’s even assuming she can do it again.”
“It’s worth a try.” A gambling male, Ray would take the odds.
He took care of the pod, ensuring it would revive her, slowly. Then he helped Zak prepare to drop the happy couple. Got delayed by a dinner at Zak’s parents’ place. A boisterous affair that even included Jwls and his human. Although, now that she’d taken a gear, technically she was Siyborgh. And pregnant.
Jwls couldn’t have looked happier. But Ray found himself aghast at his choice to drop out of the hunt for gears.
“You’re going to stop upgrading?” Zak repeated, shaking his head in astonishment. “And they call me rash.”
Jwls leaned back, not at all bothered. “I finally got all the parts I need.” He slid his hand onto Aggie’s thigh. She squeezed it and offered him a soft smile.
Ray had never had anyone smile at him like that.
He thought of Nema. A female so interesting she consumed his every thought.
After too much conversation, he and Zak returned finally to their ship. A peek at Nema showed her still slumbering, the process half done.
Plenty of time for rest.
And the next day, as they set a course out of the Siyborgh galaxy, she remained asleep, twenty-five percent left.
Then it was fifteen. Ten. Five…
The hesitation proved palpable. Who would be the first to go down and confront her?
The first to handle her sharp tongue.
Ray could handle her wrath better than Zak. “I’ll go talk to her.”
Zak shook his head. “You fly the ship. I’ll talk to Nema.”
He and Zak might have spent a long moment arguing about it had a dulcet voice, hinting of amusement, not said, “I’m here. Why not both speak to me?”
“How—" Zak never did finish the sentence because Nema had a gun.
And she used it on them both.
11
And now returning to Zak trussed up on his own ship.
As Zak realized just how wrong he’d been about Nema, he cursed. “Frukx. Dammit. So stupid.”
Closing his eyes, he could hear a litany of words describing himself. He possessed a lengthy list comprised of terms his sister had used at one point or another. And all true as it turned out.
He was dumb for a pretty face. The good news? He remained alive, if a little tied up at the moment. But what of Ray?
“Computer. Status report for the ship.”
Nothing.
“Computer, what is our current course?”
Silence.
“Computer, please find Ray.”
Still nothing.
Frustration seethed. Especially since he could almost hear Ursy’s taunted, “I told you to never trust an AI.”
“Ray.” He used his inner comm and only got silence.
“Ray!” Zak bellowed his friend’s name.
“I’m afraid your companion is tied up at the moment.”
Turning his head, he saw Nema enter his room, but not the Nema he’d gotten used to. Rather than wearing her habitual one-piece jumpsuit, she now sported white leather that molded her frame, showing off long, lean legs and a corset blouse, tight in the chest, with her breasts spilling over. She didn’t wear a holster for a gun, but he noticed the knives sheathed against her rib cage with crisscrossing straps. And from her back, the wrapped hilt of what he’d wager was a sword. Given when they’d acquired her, she had only the clothes on her back, he could only assume she’d gotten into their weapons storage locker and then put his clothing replicator to good use.
To think they’d thought her benign. Looking upon her now, he could curse his own cog darned stupidity as the meekness she’d fooled them with was replaced with stern arrogance.
“You escaped,” he declared.
“How observant.” Her lips curved.
“How?” They’d had her in a sealed room.
The smile widened. “I’m good with locks.”
Her long hair, pulled into a tail at her nape, showcased the fine features of her face, with her pointed chin, high cheekbones, and eyes of brown, hinting of silver when the light hit them a certain way.
“Good at a lot of things apparently.”
“Are you moping?” she teased.
“I have reason. What did you do to my ship?” he accused.
“I took it. It’s mine now.” No apology in the words. “You owed me.”
“In that case, I’d say we’re more
than even.”
Her brow arched. “Even? Hardly.”
Normally good-natured, Zak found himself getting irritated. “We never hurt you.” He wiggled on the bed. “Nor did we ever restrain you.”
“What do you call putting me to sleep?” Her eyes reflected her annoyance.
“Can you blame us? You blew up a planet.”
“It was uninhabited.”
“My sister was on it.”
“You saved her.”
“No thanks to you,” he snapped. “A few more tics of a cog and she’d have died.”
“I didn’t have a choice. The temple had to be destroyed.”
“You’re going to justify your actions?” Zak gaped. “In that case, I guess our shooting you and putting you to sleep was fair, too.”
“Afraid your sister would have objected to your imprisonment of me?” she taunted.
“Yup.” No point in denying it. “And then, when she found out why, she would have tossed you off the ship. She’s not the forgiving type.”
“Then it’s a good thing she’s gone.” Before Zak could lie, she smiled. “I checked the ship. She and her mate are gone. Which means we’re all alone.”
Ominous and promising all at once. Curse his male genes for finding some thrill in her words.
“What are you planning to do with me? And what have you done to Ray?”
“Your friend is fine, just all tied up. For the moment. Although, I noticed the cryo pod is big enough for two. Perhaps you and your friend would like a turn.”
“Not particularly.”
“Then it would be in your best interest to cooperate, Siyborgh.” Said with a curl of her lip.
“You really hate my kind.” Said almost with surprise. What happened to the flirting Nema he’d gotten to know? The one making subtle promises.
Not the real Nema at all. Ray had a point when he said she’d played them so that they’d trust her.
“I wouldn’t say hate; otherwise, I would have killed you and Ray. But I chose not to.” She just kept reinforcing how badly he’d misjudged her.
“We’re not your enemy.”
“You aren’t, but what you have inside…” She neared the bed and eyed him. “I ran scans of your body. You have quite a bit of metal within your flesh. All of it is latmevilium, correct?”