Marching toward the briefing room, I dared to glance over at Della, who was keeping pace with me. Her eyes met mine and said a million words without uttering a syllable. She told me we couldn’t talk about this now. She told me I needed to be strong and to keep my composure. She told me we had both been through worse than this and we would get through this one.
I knew all these things, of course. I was Mark Ryder, after all. I wasn’t some grassfed who needed a mother figure to wrap me in her arms and tell me everything was going to be okay. It would not be okay, not unless I made it okay, and that was what irked me.
Throwing myself in front of a firing squad was one thing. I was used to it. I was expendable. Hell, I was born to die when you stop to really think about it. That was what soldiers did.
Della was something else entirely. I might have been impressive when it came to muscle, tact, and tactic, but Della was truly invaluable to the war effort. Since she took up her post, completed mission rates had gone up seven percent. Today’s debacle aside, Marine mortality rates had dropped three percent, and accurate intel on the bug menace was at an all-time high.
Maybe those numbers sound small to you, but in the big picture, those were tens of thousands of good Marines that weren’t dead and dozens of missions that pushed us closer to ending this war once and for all.
I might have been a hero and all, but Della was better than that. She was a revelation. I couldn’t let her die for fixing a mistake, saving a life she had put in peril by accident. She wanted me to let her take the fall, to tell anyone who might ask that I was just taking orders and that I thought the mission I’d gone on was official in capacity.
I had another idea. To keep Della safe and save not only her life but her upward momentum in terms of making the Alliance a better place for Marines, I’d spin a completely different story. I’d tell them that she asked my opinion about what happened to Rayne, that she laid it all out in front of me, and that it was my idea to head out there and keep the mission off the books. I’d tell them I threatened her, that I forced her hand.
Sure, giving away classified information was a no-no too, and when the Alliance heard my story about it, they’d probably put Della on probation or something. Probation was better than death, which coincidentally was what would be facing me at the end of my little plan.
But as I said, I had been born to die. It would be worth it. I had been through so much in my life, came so close to dying for nothing countless times. The idea of dying for something important sounded pretty nice.
The doors of the briefing room swung open, and Della and I stepped in together. The breath caught in my throat as I took a look around. The room was nearly empty, save for three very important people.
Rayne Garmin stood near the left wall. Her blonde hair hung messily across her shoulders, and her glasses sat low on the bridge of her nose. She caught sight of me as soon as I walked in, her lips parting into a warm smile. That expression put me at ease, though it didn’t prove anything. For all I knew, she could have spilled the beans about what we’d done and come to terms with it. There was no reason she would know that admitting things would earn me more than a slap on the wrist. She certainly would never imagine it would cost me my life.
I smiled back at her, taking notice of the way her white lab coat hung open over a skintight blue bodysuit that accentuated her ample chest. For just a moment, the memory of us making out on the Bullet ship before I dropped her off at the biodome sped across my mind, something that made me feel strangely confident in our situation.
To her left, completely out of left field, was an older man with white hair, a trimmed salt and pepper beard, and a look in his eyes that said he had lived long enough to see the world change, something he did not approve of.
This man I was staring at was none other than Commissioner Reynolds, the new leader of the Alliance and the man with a stick far enough up his ass to want to bring back a needless death penalty. If he was here, it meant something big was about to go down. It indicated that, whatever we were talking about, affected the Alliance, maybe even the entire galaxy.
I couldn’t think of anything more serious than the execution of an Alliance hero known to have turned traitor. I resisted the urge to swallow, forcing myself to keep my composure. I’d spit in Death’s face enough times that even the Commissioner’s hard eyes couldn’t make me flinch.
Beside him stood the most surprising figure of all. I recognized her dark hair, her short stature, the beauty mark on her cheek, and the way that even in the presence of these people she filled up the room almost entirely.
Mina John stared at me with familiar, intense eyes, and I couldn’t help but feel a tug at my insides.
The last time I saw her, the only woman who could be described as my near equal in every way, she was on her back. We had just done the impossible, finishing a mission that had gone so haywire and off the rails that the movie rights to it were sold the same night we got back onto the ship. I was feeling like celebrating that kind of win, which matched my usual habits but fortunately, it was a habit that Mina shared with me. That night I found her in the bar, that night we went back to my room that night, this woman proved to me that she was my equal in all the ways that mattered, and I proved to her just how talented I was in all areas of my life.
I might have had memories of kissing Rayne in my mind, but the memories I had of Mina were much more intense, much more vibrant. I felt heat rise into my face as I looked at her, at the sly smile she was trying to hide, at the arch of her hips and the slope of her chest, at the lips I had kissed and the body I had caressed.
And then a sickening thought crossed my mind. Why was she here?
Did Reynolds think she had something to do with this ill-advised mission too? Was she about to be sentenced to death for something she had no part in? Or sadly, did he just bring her here to witness my death, knowing it would hurt me, knowing it would add insult to my final moments?
My hands balled into fists as I considered what was happening, as the doors slammed shut behind us, sealing us into this room. Would I ever escape it? Is this where I, the great warrior Mark Ryder, would meet my end?
If so, I hated to think who they’d cast to play me in the movie.
“Conroy. Ryder,” Reynolds said, forgoing the titles and simply using last names. My skin crawled when I heard him speak my name, wondering how much he knew and what he was going to do about it. “I’m glad you’re here.” He cleared his throat. “As you can imagine, the lot of us have much to talk about.”
5
Commissioner Reynolds stared at me, his eyes bearing down on me like a noose ready to tighten around my neck. As it was though, I couldn’t have cared less about that. I had faced down bigger threats than this, fought off big ass bugs, survived the worst terrain you could imagine, and lived to tell the tale. This son of a bitch wouldn’t be the death of me, and if he was, I was ready for it.
The others though, I couldn’t have that. Having Della, Rayne, or even Mina meet their ends at the hands of this fanatically old-fashioned warmonger wasn’t something I would allow.
I just wasn’t sure how to stop it. The most I could do at this given moment was play it cool. In truth, I had something I hadn’t had before, Annabelle at my beck and call. One flicker of a neuron would send her into action, expanding and wrapping herself around my body, ready for action.
Whether or not that action would come would be something else entirely. Annabelle might have felt like mine. She might even bounce around in my skull whenever I allowed it, but she belonged to the Alliance. She was a machine of their making, and I doubted any command I gave her that included harming a high-ranking member of the Alliance would be heeded. In fact, it would likely backfire. One word from Commissioner Reynolds would probably cause the suit to turn on me, to incapacitate me where I stood.
Though I liked to think that she was more loyal to me than the Alliance, I would only risk it if I had to. Hopefully, I could fix this on my own. I
merely had to stay cool and keep my eyes and ears open for an opportunity to do so.
“I’m listening,” I said, my body tense even as I forced my hands to unclench. Della must have sensed the ‘fight’ portion of my fight-or-flight instinct taking over because she placed a calming hand on my shoulder.
“Forgive my subordinate,” she explained. “He’s used to a less than stringent atmosphere.” She looked over at me. “Laws of propriety state that I should answer first, Lieutenant Ryder.” She looked forward again. “Our new Commissioner is the kind of man who cherishes tradition, after all.”
The older man’s eyes nearly shone at me as he began to walk forward. I swallowed hard, my head spinning. ”You have no idea, Major Conroy.”
The law Della was referring to was ancient and hadn’t been taken seriously for at least fifty years. The fact that this man did said more about him than I would ever need to know. He was a stickler for rules, even stupid proprietary ones. If he knew what Della and I had done, no amount of doubletalk would ever be able to convince him we deserved any less than death.
Della’s hand tightened on my shoulder.
“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. “Forgive me. You know how it is, Commissioner Reynolds. You get on war-torn planets, fight with bugs, save lives; sometimes you forget about the important stuff in life.” I took a beat. “You know, like table manners.”
“Mark!” Della said, her voice shrill.
“No, no.” Commissioner Reynolds waved his hand with a smile. “I appreciate the candor, and I like the spark, to be honest with you. I find it a necessary component in the best of our warriors.”
“Then you’re going to love me.” My eyes flitted over to Mina. “Her too, for that matter.” I pulled away from Della’s grasp, setting my stance again. “Why don’t you tell me why we’re here, Mr. Commissioner?”
He settled in front of me, and my heart picked up. It was strange. This guy wasn’t even close to a physical match for me. I could have snapped him in half without breaking a sweat, but that didn’t matter. In truth, muscles and machismo aside, this was the most insanely powerful man I had ever encountered. His word was law. It was uncontested, and I still didn’t know what those words would be.
His eyes bored into me. “I’ve been watching you. Both of you actually.” He looked past me at Della. “I’ve had eyes on both of you for some time now, and that’s for a very specific reason.”
This was it. If he knew what we did, this was when he was going to lay it out in front of us.
“How long?” I asked, trying to delay what I now thought of as the inevitable. “How long have you had your beady little eyes on us?”
A smirk spread across Reynold’s face. It made him look like a weasel, and his eyes look even beadier.
There was something my father used to say back on the farm, “Some people just set your flashers off, son, and there ain’t a thing in the world wrong in trusting that feeling. Folks’ll tell you that every man is innocent until proven guilty. To those idiots, I’d say that I ain’t a fucking judge and I’ll dislike anyone I damn well please.”
He’d told me his father used to say it to him, and his father before him probably said it to him too. Dad probably thought I’d say it to my son one day too, which showed just how much he knew. I’d have a hole in the head quicker than I’d have a kid, but it was a family saying that held true. Reynolds just set my flashers off.
I had been in enough sticky situations to know to trust those gut feelings when they came, when they sent my stomach into flips and my head to spinning. Right now, my stomach was flipping, and my head was spinning because of this man. I didn’t like him, and I didn’t need a reason why.
“How’s that for spark?” If he was going to order my death, then I was damn well going to earn it. I wouldn’t, as they say, go gently into that good night. The good night was going to have to reach out and grab me.
“As I’m sure you’re well aware, as a Marine and an employee of the Alliance, you are always subject to surveillance. I certainly wouldn’t need a reason to keep my ‘beady little eyes’ in your direction, but as I said, I have one.” He turned from me and headed back to the place where he stood on the podium. “And it’s quite a game changer.”
It didn’t go unnoticed as I followed him into the center of the room, that he hadn’t answered my question. I still had no idea how long Reynolds had been watching us, and because of that, I had no idea what he did or did not know.
“This is Doctor Rayne Garmin,” he said, pointing to the woman I’d saved a little while back, and that slowed my heart considerably.
I looked over at Rayne, smiling at me as she peered from over her glasses, my body slumping in relief. He didn’t know. Whatever information he might have on us, Reynolds obviously didn’t know we’d gone behind the Alliance’s back to save the blonde doctor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have introduced me.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Rayne said, still grinning at me.
“Yeah. You too,” I said, looking at Della and then back to Reynolds.
“The information that’s about to be revealed to the two of you is of the highest classification level,” Reynolds explained. “Even thinking of breathing it to anyone outside of this room is a treasonous action, and will be treated as such.” He blinked and paused for effect before continuing. “Even superior officers are not to have this information. If you are asked to give a debriefing of your day or our activities, this meeting, this subject, and any subsequent meetings or actions built around this subject are to be redacted. Is that understood?”
“Understood,” Della and I said in unison.
Reynolds nodded. “Good. Dr. Garmin is of the greatest importance to the cause. Her mind, brilliant as it is, has created a bio-virus that we believe may be capable of infecting the Acburian army and, if successful, might help us do away with their threat once and for all.”
I narrowed my eyes, pretending this was the first time I had heard this information. Of course, it wasn’t. Rayne had told me about her achievement when I had saved her, cutting through a horde of Acburian bugs to ferry her off to safety. It had been a crazy day.
“All right,” I said, looking across the group, trying to gauge the reactions. “That is a gamechanger.”
“Indeed, it is,” Reynolds grunted, “and that’s why I’ve brought you, the good doctor, and Mina John together.”
“And me,” Della said, stepping up beside me.
“Of course,” Reynolds finished. “Though you’ll be playing a less active role in this mission.”
“Mission?” I asked, this time narrowing my eyes for real. “A virus needs a mission?”
“This one does,” Rayne explained. “It’s incomplete, which is what makes it adaptive, which is what makes it deadly.” She shook her head. “This virus needs to come in contact with bugs, and not just the bugs we have here in captivity. We need the virus to interact with the various subspecies of bugs in their natural habitat. This is the only way it’ll work.”
“So, you want to strap some virus on me and drop me on a big planet?” I shrugged. “Seems simple.”
“Not exactly,” Rayne said. “You see until it sets, the virus is unstable. It has to be tinkered with, and that means-”
“That I have to bring you with me,” I finished, understanding what was going on.
“Not just you,” Reynolds shook his head. “We’ve scoured the galaxies for just the right atmosphere to use and just the right strategic military spot to strike. As it stands, the place we found is one you’re very familiar with.” He looked over at Mina. “Both of you.”
“Are you serious?” I looked at Mina and then back at Reynolds. “You can’t be serious!”
“Oh, but I am, Lieutenant Ryder,” Reynolds grinned at me again, a grin that made me wish I could break protocol and ranking just long enough to knock a couple of his teeth out without risking being hung for treason for my trouble. “It’s why Mina is here. It’s why her team will soon be
joining you.” He shook his head. “You’re all going back to Turan.”
6
”Mina,” I said, catching up with her in the Alliance Halls after finishing up our ridiculous mission briefing with Reynolds, “we need to talk.”
“Good to see you too,” she answered, looking me up and down as she pulled to a stop in the hall.
I wasn’t sure what time it was. Ship lag was a bitch, and I was coming off a pretty long mission. Besides, when you’re out in space, with no rising or setting sun to help tip you off, days and nights can become a subjective thing. Whatever time it was, the Halls were very near empty.
A briefing as sensitive as the one I’d just been privy to would have likely been scheduled for a time when most people were sleeping. It would minimize the threat of a leak, and that was insanely important to Commissioner Reynolds.
“It’s always good to see you.” I smiled and looked her over. Mina John looked as good as she ever had. Fit and rested, her dark eyes shone at me and her lips, as inviting as ever, parted into an even bigger smile when she heard my words.
When last I had seen her, neither of us promised to keep in touch with each other after it was over. A promise was a childish thing to do, an adolescent way of looking at things like sex and connection. Neither one of us were children, and we both understood how things were. We didn’t need to profess love for each other to enjoy the company we provided or to respect each other. Still, I meant what I’d said. It was always good to see her.
“How are the girls?” I asked, alluding to Claire and Jill; the junior officers that rounded out Mina’s Artemis Squad. I had slept with them too; one in a rare calm moment on that horrible bug moon, and one when we both thought death was coming for us.
They were both younger than me, excited and full of their own kinds of fire. Still, if I was being honest, neither of them was the kind of match for me that Mina was, even if I did have good memories of them all.
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