by Carysa Locke
He’d guess she had them cosmetically altered, except she didn’t seem like the type to care. She had a pretty face. Not beautiful, but with features that warranted a second glance. He had no doubt that if she really made an effort with a few cosmetics, she would be absolutely stunning, but she wore none. He couldn’t detect even the barest hint of enhancements, so it would be odd if she’d only changed her eyes.
“Look your fill?” she asked, her voice dry.
“I’m just curious about the woman who holds my fate in her hands.”
“Do I?” she asked, sounding amused.
He spread his hands. “For now.”
That seemed to amuse her even more.
“We’re going to Arcadius V,” Thirteen said abruptly.
Try as he might not to react, Sebastian hesitated briefly as he picked up another apple slice. She wasn’t looking at him, but he had no doubt she’d noticed.
“We know that’s where Mercy is headed.”
“Is she?”
Thirteen gave a faint smile. “Our information is solid. We know she’s going there, and that’s where we’re taking you.”
He chewed more apple to give himself time to think. Thirteen leaned back in her chair and watched him. He took a drink, swallowing slowly. Finally, he said, “Why do you want her?”
She shrugged. “What the Queen wants, the Queen gets.”
“Are you going to kill her?” His hand tightened on his glass as he waited for her answer.
“If we have to. I’d rather take her alive. You can help us do that.”
Sebastian shook his head. “I’m not going to help you capture Mercy.”
“You should think very carefully about that statement. If not for your own life, for hers.” Thirteen folded her hands in front of her, leaning forward. Her eyes shone with intensity. “I’m sure you noticed that there are two Killers on this crew. The older one, Kieran, has been hunting Mercy for a long time.”
Sebastian felt like someone reached inside him, grabbed his guts and squeezed.
Thirteen continued talking. “He’s part Hunter. Technically, he hunted Mercy and her mother, for years.” Thirteen smiled, an almost admiring gleam in her eyes. “Pallas always managed to stay one step ahead of him. But Kieran, he never lost her scent. Not Pallas’s, and not Mercy’s.”
“That’s how you tracked us,” he said.
Thirteen gave a small nod of acknowledgement. Sebastian felt sick with fear. Not for himself. For Mercy. Kieran was an older Killer. Experienced. Trained.
He could kill her. Someone like him could kill a queen.
“So now you understand the stakes.” Thirteen ate another slice of apple. Sebastian watched her, saying nothing. “I’d strongly prefer to take Mercy alive. I have other teams, less specialized, working on that right now. But honestly, I doubt they’ll be able to take Reaper out. And my Queen will not stand for Mercy to go free. You understand? If I can’t bring Mercy back to her alive, I’ll settle for dead. Because my Queen will not be satisfied with anything less. I cannot go back empty handed.”
He stared down at his plate, no longer hungry. “What is it you want from me?” he asked.
“Just your cooperation. Octavia tells me you and Mercy are close.”
Octavia had fled Nemesis before she could ever know that, but Sebastian had no doubt the girl would tell them whatever they wanted to hear. She was terrified. And she had seen him with Mercy before. She was no doubt clinging to that one interaction.
He stared at Thirteen, silent.
“Just do what we tell you, when we tell you to do it,” she said with a sigh. “Don’t try anything stupid, so I have to kill you. I will, if it seems like you’re not going to be useful to us.”
Still he said nothing.
“Cheer up. It’s not so bad, working for the Queen. She’s your Queen, too, you know. You just don’t know it yet.”
He shook his head. “I already have a Queen.” Two, technically, but he wasn’t telling her that. Lilith was his ace, hidden up his sleeve. “Besides, you’re lying.”
For the first time, she looked startled. He’d caught her off guard. “Excuse me?”
“You don’t enjoy working for your Queen at all.”
She snorted. “You don’t know me.”
“Maybe not, but I know people. I spend a lot of time observing them. I’ve gotten good at it. I can tell when they lie, and you’re lying now. You don’t enjoy your job.” He leaned in. “You hate working for her. You’re unhappy. Not eating. Not sleeping. I bet you’ve imagined taking your own life.”
Her already pale features whitened further. He’d scored a hit. It had been a shot in the dark, but a calculated one.
“My life is no concern of yours,” she said, the words low and intense.
“Why a number?” he asked. He knew he was pushing his luck, but he had to. He needed something more. Every bit of knowledge was an advantage he could leverage.
“What?”
“You don’t have a name. You have a number. Why?”
“It is my name. It’s how I’m known.” Her face was flushed with anger now. He’d unsettled her, gotten under her skin. Good.
“Did she give that to you? Calling you a number, keeping you a thing to be owned? I know what that feels like. Like you have nothing, not even an identity to call your own.”
“I know who I am.”
“Do you? Just one of thirteen?” His tone mocked her.
Suddenly it felt like all of the air was sucked from the room. He couldn’t breath, could barely draw a trickle of air into his lungs. Thirteen was across the table, crouched above him, her hands clenched in his shirt, her face inches from his. Her eyes snapped with fury.
“It’s an honor to be one of the Chosen,” she hissed the words in his face. “I look forward to the day when she calls me forward to my destiny. You don’t get to defile that with your words.”
Sebastian struggled for breath. He couldn’t speak, but he had a feeling if he’d antagonized her further he would cease to breathe at all. She stared deep into his eyes for the longest seconds of his life. He could feel his body fighting. It was like drowning in the middle of an empty room. His lungs burned, his chest ached, pain blossoming and spreading from his center outward. His hands clenched on the table. His water glass had overturned when she lunged across the table at him, apple pieces scattered all over the floor. Water dribbled over the table’s edge, cold where it wet the leg of his pants.
The edges of his vision started to go black, spots dancing in front of his eyes.
Abruptly, she let him go. Air rushed back in, and he gulped great lungfuls of it, coughing and leaning over the table.
“Take him back,” she said, her back to him.
Koal was suddenly beside him. Sebastian didn’t resist when the boy grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. He knew beyond a doubt that he’d nearly died in the previous few moments. Her anger had nearly been his death, and only luck had spared him.
He followed Koal back to his room. Neither of them spoke, but Sebastian had the distinct feeling that the boy thought him stupid.
Right now, he wasn’t so sure Koal was wrong.
Once he was locked back away, he sat down on the edge of his bunk, thinking.
Maybe he could turn this to his advantage. It was always wise to know your opponent’s weakness. He’d definitely found one of hers. Now, he just had to figure out how he could use it.
Chapter Nine
Mercy stared at the holoview in disbelief. “Tell me I'm not seeing what I think I am,” she said.
Cannon made a noise in his throat.
Across the room, Declan shook his head. “You're seeing it, all right,” he said. “That’s two battlecruisers, a destroyer, three corvettes, and whatever the hell you want to call that last ship.” His lip curled in a sneer, and Mercy couldn't even blame him. Beside her, Reaper and Cannon both tilted their heads as though changing the angle of their view might help. It didn't. Mercy had tried th
at as well. The last ship still looked like it was cobbled together from half a dozen different classes and ship types, all pieced together and welded into place like some mad scientist’s experiment.
It was, without a doubt the ugliest, most misshapen ship Mercy had ever seen. And she’d seen some pretty un-space worthy vessels in her time as a smuggler.
"What is that?" Feria asked, having just stepped into the room. She was late for the briefing, but everyone was so caught up in what was on the holoview, no one commented.
“An unholy calamity waiting to happen,” Mercy said.
“You are not wrong. How does it even fly?”
"I'm guessing a little mechanic’s joiner glue, a few prayers, and maybe some magic dust."
"Magic dust?" Feria blinked.
Mercy waved away her question, embarrassed. "It's just an old story my Mom used to tell me," she muttered. "Anyway, the rest of them could be a fleet."
"Except they're not," said Ghost, coming to stand beside Feria. His arms were crossed, but at least he wasn't sniping at her. Yet. "They're all flying different colors. The two cruisers are Bennethan, the destroyer works for Ivaldi shipping, and the corvettes are all different merc companies. I have no idea about that last one." He circled a finger at the monstrosity.
"Probably slavers," Feria said with distaste. Everyone looked at her. She looked back, surprised. “What? They come in all shapes and sizes, and some of them really don't bother with things like ship upkeep. They'd rather squeeze every single hard coin they can out of whatever cargo they're trafficking. It's not just Talented, you know. They sell nulls, too, as manual labor or…other things. And clones are big money in trafficking circles. Not as many laws protect them, so they’re an easier target.”
"Ugh." Mercy looked back at the ugly ship. "Every time I think humanity can't possibly get any worse, it does."
"Yes, well, nothing surprising about that," Feria said.
"But why are they all here?" Mercy wanted to know. "I thought no one came to Arcadius V. It's a quarantined world. You know, classified as lethal?"
She turned from the holoview to look at everyone else.
It was Cannon who answered. "With the monarchy fallen, the old rules no longer apply. Apparently, a few people thought there might be something to profit from here."
"A few?" Mercy waved a hand at the holoview filled with ships. "What the hell are we supposed to do with them?"
Treon, from where he sat in the co-pilot's chair, swiveled toward them all, a bottle of mnemosa in his hand. "I don't know, but I'd appreciate it if you hurried up with whatever it turns out to be. Even I have my limits."
Declan choked out a laugh. "Never thought I'd hear that from the mighty Treon."
Cannon put a hand on the other man's shoulder. It looked like he squeezed it a little more tightly than would be comfortable. "Let's not distract him, hmm? The man is doing a very important job."
Declan jerked his shoulder free and moved away, crossing his arms and looking pissed off. But he didn't say anything more.
Mercy turned to Reaper. "All right, everyone’s here. Shall we get started? How are we going to handle this?”
"We get planetside as soon as possible. Titus can stay with the ship, and jump it away until I send him a signal for pickup."
"You think they already have people down there?" Mercy asked.
"Oh, they do," Treon said. "No question." He took a drink from his bottle. "And they're all looking for the same secrets we are."
"Are you kidding me?" Mercy couldn't believe it. "No one touches this place for a century and suddenly it's the hot vacation spot in the galaxy?"
Treon pointed at the two cruisers. "The Bennethans want the secret to making their own Talented super soldiers. Not really a shock." Bennet was a planet of warriors. They'd been one of the last to sign the treaty that ended the Ascension Wars, and they'd never given up their warrior culture.
He pointed to the Ivaldi ship. "They're looking for data on a power source dating back to the Ascension Wars. It's all very technical and they have a team of scientists I'm sure will be slaughtered first.” He moved on to the merc ships. "And they want to know our secrets so they can take on one of the many bounties placed on us since the assassination of the monarchy. Does anyone stop to ask themselves why we would want to kill their precious government? No, they just make assumptions and put an enormous bounty on the ‘fringe pirates’.” He used his fingers to make air quotes. “Did you know some planets are offering a million hard coin or four million credits to see us dead? For that price, I might turn myself in."
"Treon," Cannon said, exasperated.
"What? It's true. I mean, I wouldn't let them kill me, that would be stupid. But I'd take their hard coin and then wipe their memories." He sounded far too pleased with the idea. And maybe a little drunk.
Mercy glanced at Reaper. Does he normally get this loopy drinking that stuff?
No. He's high on his own Talent. It happens sometimes. Using a lot of Talent all at once can release the same chemicals that give you a buzz when drinking.
Great. Drunk Treon. Should be fun.
Not as much as you'd think, Reaper said.
"And that one—“ Treon was pointing at the slaver ship. “—that one is hoping to capture some monsters. Maybe beasts. Maybe us. They're not picky. Everything sells the same." He spun his chair back around.
Mercy looked at Reaper.
He’s fine.
To the room at large, he continued outlining their plan. "We go in just like we’ve practiced." He hit a button on the console and the view of the ships was replaced with a map of the planet. "We know we’re going to the western continent, roughly here." He pointed, and a dot appeared on the map. "If there are any records that survived, they will be in the archives of the scientific enclave, located somewhere in the capital city, Vosh. Chances are high it will be somewhere in this quadrant.” An area around the dot lit up. “According to surviving maps, this was known as the erudite district. Their libraries, research facilities, and laboratories were largely located here. It’s logical to assume they would have based the enclave here. Finding it will be our first obstacle. We believe it is located in an underground bunker, possibly below the building once used as their main research facility, if anything is still standing. The archive itself was designed to withstand an orbital bombardment, so it has a high chance of being intact.”
"We can all thank Wolfgang for the coordinates," Mercy said. "His military contact couldn’t get us an exact location. That information is classified. But, he did say the Commonwealth government gave up on the archive after the disastrous rescue that resulted in the planet's quarantine. It’s believed no one has gained entrance. It's locked up tight, and if we find it, getting in is going to be a challenge." A challenge that would be much, much more difficult without Sebastian. They'd been counting on his Talent to link with whatever security measures were in place.
Max stood up from his seat, his hand raised. "I can—”
"No."
"But—”
"No," Mercy repeated. You're not going, and that's final."
Max crossed his arms, his jaw clenched and his eyes flashing with a look Mercy didn’t like. She lifted an eyebrow. "Max, I agreed to take you with us on this mission, not to take you out roaming on the nightmare planet full of monsters, and hope you don't get eaten. Your expertise will be necessary after we've retrieved whatever we find, not before."
The youth looked away, his expression still fierce. Mercy and Cannon exchanged a look.
Reaper pointed to three positions on the map around the lit area. "We'll take the search in three teams of two. Mercy and I will start here. Declan and Ghost here. Cannon and Feria here. We’ll use a grid pattern. With any luck, we’ll find the archives quickly. They weren’t designed with secrecy in mind, but who knows what changes have occurred to the planet’s landscape since they were built. It it goes smoothly, this will be the longest and most dangerous part.”
; "We all know there are going to be problems, right?" Feria said. She lifted a hand and ticked off her fingers. "We have monsters, mercs, a probable warlord and his personal army, slavers, and a team of scientists, assuming they're still alive."
"It's a big planet," Mercy said. "Maybe they won't be anywhere near our landing zone."
"If Wolfgang got this information, it's best to assume he's not the only one. We should expect at least some of them to be there."
"Wait a second," Ghost said. "You aren't seriously sending Cannon out with no one but a Veritas agent to watch his back?"
I knew this was going to be trouble, Mercy sent to Cannon and Reaper.
Max started to say something. Mercy pointed at him and he wilted back into his chair.
"I'll be fine," Cannon said. "We'll be fine. I've spent half my life leading a band of blood thirsty pirates. I can handle myself."
Feria wisely stayed silent. She and Mercy had already talked this over with Cannon. The teams had been chosen very carefully. And despite their history, both Mercy and Cannon believed Feria and her motivations for being here. They also agreed that Ghost and Feria needed to be kept separate as much as possible.
If Sebastian had been here, things might have looked a little different. But Reaper wanted Titus and Treon to stay with the ship and keep it hidden and guarded. Max wasn't going, and there was no way Reaper was letting anyone accompany Mercy but him, which left Cannon with Feria and Declan with Ghost.
"We'll be taking the ship down. The shuttle isn’t armed, and given the situation, the ship can’t hang out in orbit while we’re gone for hours. Treon will keep our friends from noticing us as we take Heresy in. We land, we find the archive, break in, get what we need, and we get out. Any questions?"
None of this was new information, other than who would be on the teams. They'd gone over and over the basics of the plan multiple times. But that didn’t stop people from protesting pieces they didn’t like. Who was going with Cannon seemed to be a particular issue. Declan thought he should be accompanying the pirate king. Ghost was still unhappy about Feria going in any capacity, and Max kept trying to get a word in.
