The Star Thief

by Jamie Grey

  “Fuck you.”

  She drew her arm back and punched him, throwing her entire weight into the swing. His head crashed back into the wall with a thunk. Blood streamed from his nose and splashed down the front of his white jacket. With one last whimper, he slid to the floor.

  The nurse gasped and turned to flee the room.

  “Not so fast.” Renna gestured with the scalpel. “You’re going to help me or this man is dead.”

  The nurse stopped just feet from the door.

  “Pick up the restraints,” Renna ordered.

  The nurse glared at her, but moved to the bed and removed the restraints.

  “Now bind his hands. Hurry up.” Renna brandished her weapon again when the woman looked like she was going to protest. Her muscles were turning to rubber, and the headache Navang had warned her about already throbbed behind her eyes. She needed to get out of here.

  The nurse obeyed, but Navang didn’t put up a struggle. He whimpered as the tears mixed with the blood on his face.

  “Hook the restraints to the metal bar,” Renna said. “Then get the other ones from the foot of the bed.” She leaned against the counter and tried to look bored while she inspected the rest of the machines.

  Where was Viktis? Had they captured him, too?

  When the nurse had tied herself to another bar across the room, Renna crouched in front of Navang. “I need answers, Doc. Or you’re not going to like what happens.”

  He shook his head, blood splattering onto the white front of his lab coat. “You wouldn’t. You don’t have it in you.”

  “You should know enough about me to know I’m telling the truth. You’ve hurt my friends, and you’ve fucked up my life. I don’t have much left to lose.” A quiet life on Paradisio Prime was certainly out of the picture now. Her stomach churned as she thought about Finn.

  Her hand shook, and she let the scalpel slide down his cheek, just deep enough to scratch. “Did you know I grew up in the Izan Tenements on Old-Earth?”

  His eyes widened, and he shook his head.

  “I see you’ve heard of them. Then you’ll realize I have no problem gutting you like a frakking fish. Now tell me where my partner is. The Ileth who was with me?”

  “He—he was being prepped for implantation down the hall. We haven’t tested on aliens before. MYTH wanted to stick with humans until the process was perfected.” The man’s gaze darted toward the door as if help were just beyond.

  Renna’s heart constricted, but she forced herself to stay calm. To not shove the scalpel through his damn eye. “Tell me who’s behind all of this. The people in MYTH that I know would never agree to this kind of thing.”

  The doctor shook his head. “I never saw more than a holovid. The person called himself Pallas, but I know that wasn’t his real name.”

  “How high up does this go? Tell me.” She bent down to get in his face, making sure the scalpel never left his field of vision.

  “I…I don’t know. I got the impression he was fairly important, but he didn’t have unlimited resources for this project and he was adamant we keep it secret from the other MYTH agencies. He didn’t want them to know what was going on.”

  “A splinter cell?”

  The doctor nodded. “That was my guess. I usually worked through one of his men—a Major Larson.”

  Her chest tightened. Larson was part of this? Who else was involved? If what Navang said was true, she couldn’t trust anyone at MYTH with Myka. He was still at risk. Even if Navang was out of the way, Larson and his boss could start up the experiments again if they had the boy.

  There was only one thing left she could think to do. The old part of her twinged with regret. If she sold this information on the black market, she’d be set for the rest of her life—for three lives probably—but she couldn’t unleash something like this on the galaxy. A human-robot hybrid army, completely at some traitor’s beck and call?

  If the wrong people got a hold of this…

  She swallowed. “I’m sorry, Doctor. What you’ve created here must end. It’s nothing personal.” A sharp pain shot through her head, and she gritted her teeth. “Well, maybe it is.”

  “Please,” Navang begged. “We can work something out. I have money. I know…”

  “You know nothing.” Her eyes drifted down his tear-streaked face to the crimson-stained white lab coat. He looked like he was about to piss himself. So much for the brave doctor.

  The scalpel felt cool and heavy in her hand as she shifted her weight. Usually she only killed when it was necessary for self-protection, but she might enjoy this one more than a little.

  In one fluid motion, she drew her arm back and slammed the scalpel into Navang’s neck, just below the ear. It slid through the skin like it was butter, blood spurting from the wound as it pierced his jugular vein. Her push carried the blade almost halfway to the handle.

  “How about you just take a few deep breaths and try to relax?” she taunted as his body slumped against the wall. Blood gushed down his neck and dripped on the floor, leaving a spreading pool of crimson against the white tiles.

  The nurse whimpered in the corner.

  Renna whirled on her heels and glared at the trembling woman. She marched toward her, stopping at the tray of surgical tools to pick up one of the gauze pads. Renna wiped Navang’s blood from her fingers, then dropped the stained scrap of fabric back on the tray. Her hands still felt sticky, but she needed to get the hell out of there. She’d wash them back on the ship.

  “You’re lucky I don’t have time to deal with you, too,” Renna said as she grabbed the bag of orange pills from the counter.

  “Please, let me go. I won’t bother you. I’ll disappear.”

  Renna stepped into the hall, slamming the door behind her. She ignored the woman’s pleas as she headed toward the hall to where Navang said Viktis was being held.

  A scream exploded from the next room and she raced for the door. Only to stop short just inside.

  Viktis had gotten free and was making sure the orderlies would never touch him again. Even half-drugged, the Ileth grabbed each of the men, snapping their necks in a smooth, practiced move.

  The men crumpled to the floor. Viktis spun toward her, his eyes rolling wildly as he braced for another attack. He stopped when she made no move toward him, then relaxed as if realizing who she was. He let out a shaky breath as he took in her battered form. “Like the new look. Who needs armor when you look like that?”

  Renna glanced down. She’d forgotten she was only wearing a bra and pants. Bruises from the robot’s attack blossomed on her ribs, and scratches ran up and down her arms. Somehow she couldn’t bring herself to care. “Always glad to inspire. You ready to get out of here?”

  “You have no idea.”

  She stumbled as they left the room, and Viktis slid an arm around her. “I think the bigger question is, are you all right?”

  She blinked away the moisture fogging her eyes. “I don’t know. But right now it doesn’t matter. We need to destroy this place.”

  “I am more than happy to oblige,” Viktis growled.

  “Did you find out who killed your crew and destroyed your ship?”

  He nodded. “The doctor said whoever hired me wanted no loose ends. Once they had the boy, we were expendable.”

  “I’m not surprised. Our friend, Major Larson, seems to be involved, too. According to Navang, they were both working for a splinter cell run by someone named Pallas. I’d bet my life MYTH doesn’t know they’ve been betrayed from the inside. Unfortunately, that makes it even harder to figure out who to trust there.”

  “Renna Carrizal? Trust? That’s a first.” He chuckled as they limped along.

  Renna spotted a lab filled with computers and paused. “I don’t want to run into those hybrids again. You up for some hacking before we get out of here?” There was no way she’d be able see straight, let alone hack the network, with her head aching like this.

  “What do you have in mind?”

 
; She led him to one of the machines. “Shut them all down. Navang said they were all connected to the neural network.”

  Viktis started typing. In just a few moments, he’d gotten access to the lab’s systems and was busy creating a virus to destroy the hybrids and put them out of their misery.

  Renna sank down onto one of the stools and rubbed her temples. The pounding was getting worse, and the bite of nausea was a constant at the back of her throat. Her implant didn’t feel any different yet, but Navang had said it was only a matter of time before it fused with her nervous system. Would she even still be herself at that point?

  She swallowed. There wasn’t time to think about that right now. They weren’t out of here yet, and she couldn’t afford to let herself freak out.

  “Almost done here,” Viktis said, glancing over his shoulder. He frowned at her as she leaned unsteadily against the desk. “Hey, you hanging in there?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll survive.”

  “Can we blow this place to hell now?”

  She paused. Could she really blow this place up? Dr. Navang’s research might be the only thing that could keep her alive.

  “We don’t have any other options, Renna. You know what will happen if this gets out. Robots masquerading as humans? Never a good idea.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut. He was right, even if she didn’t want to admit it. “Fine. Just hurry up.”

  Viktis turned back to his computer. “I’m going to set the generator systems to overload. That should give us time to get the hell out of here. And when they blow, this whole place will come down.” He tapped a bit more. “I’m also venting the chemical lines. That’ll add some extra spark to the explosion.”

  Renna patted the drugs in her pocket. Once this place was gone, those little orange pills would be the only thing standing between her and a possibly painful death. Maybe she’d been smart to let Wall take a sample. If she got out of this, she might have to set up a manufacturing facility of her own.

  “Okay. Done. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Together, she and Viktis limped toward the exit. As they approached the hub, the hybrids stood frozen in place, eyes vacant. A series of beeps came from several of them, spreading through the crowd as the virus took hold.

  “What will happen to them?” she asked. Her stomach twisted as the former humans shuddered and trembled. “Will they feel pain?”

  “No, they shouldn’t. It will shut down all mechanical components, leaving them immobile.”

  She blinked at him. Then back at the room full of people. “Viktis, they’re not just machines. These were once people. Navang fused cybernetic implants to human bodies.” Her voice cracked, and she studied the nearest hybrid, a matronly looking woman with graying hair and soft skin. Maybe she’d been someone’s mother or wife. Now she was a monster created by MYTH.

  His eyes widened, and he scanned the hundreds of hybrids in the room. “That’s horrific,” he whispered.

  A rumble started somewhere deep within the facility, and he jerked. “It’s too late for them, but at least this will put them out of their misery. Come on, Renna. We need to go. Now.”

  Together they made their way down the corridor and out the main door. They found themselves standing on a quiet street at the edge of town.

  “Hurry, we have to get out of the blast radius.”

  “Make for the Athena. Maybe she’s still there.” Renna forced her legs to move, despite the pounding in her head and the tremors wracking her body.

  Viktis paused, his amber skin still pale and ashy looking from the sedatives they’d given him. “What did they do to you? You’re going to have to tell me, you know.”

  Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. “I’m becoming one of the hybrids. I already had the implant. Navang injected me with the drug to integrate it into my system.”

  His hand tightened convulsively on her arm, and he swallowed. “You could have been infected with the virus I just released.”

  “No. Integration with his neural network hasn’t happened yet. He said it would take a few days or weeks for the process to complete.”

  “Oh my gods.” He shook his head and pulled her toward the shade of the forest. “We’ll figure this out, love. Get you help. Reverse it somehow.”

  She let out a sad chuckle. “I appreciate it, but somehow I don’t think there’s getting out of this one, even for me. We need to focus on Myka right now and making sure he’s safe. Even if Larson is involved, the real mastermind behind all of this is still out there. And we have no idea who he is. Or why he needed an army of hybrids.”

  They stepped out into the steamy forest, and Renna sucked in a deep breath of the thick air. It looked the same as it had earlier, yet everything had changed forever. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, squaring her shoulders. “Let’s move.”

  There wasn’t much of a chance, but a tiny part of her held on to the hope that Finn had waited for her. That somehow they’d find a way to fix this together.

  As they approached, that hope died. The clearing was empty, all signs of the ship long gone. Renna sagged against a tree. The world had gone fuzzy again, her eyes unable to focus on anything. She slid down the trunk to sit on the ground.

  “Shit. What are we going to do now?” Viktis paced the clearing, his long legs eating up the ground. “We need to get you help. We need to get you out of here.”

  She thought about the communicator in her implant. Could she risk trying it? Would it even work anymore? At that thought, a sharp pain zapped through her brain, and then she heard the static as the communicator turned on and contacted the Athena.

  “Athena, this is Renna. Do you copy?” she asked, voice shaking. The pain sliced through her again, and she let out a whimper. She needed to hold on long enough to reach them.

  Her head hummed with a strange noise, and a moment later, Finn’s voice echoed in her head. “Renna! Where are you? Are you safe?”

  “We got out. We’re in the clearing. The facility is about to explode.”

  “We’re on our way. Hang on.”

  “Is Myka safe?”

  “Yes. He’s fine. Stabilized once we got him on board. It was like there was something in that facility affecting him.”

  “The neural network.”

  “What?”

  She shook her head. “Never mind. Just hurry.”

  Viktis stared at her. “Are they coming?”

  She nodded. Then her body slid sideways as the world went black.

  THIRTY-TWO

  When Renna regained consciousness, it felt like someone had stuck a stick of dynamite in her head and put the lid back on. When several minutes passed without her head exploding from the pain, she opened her eyes.

  She half-expected to see Navang’s lab again. Instead, she was surrounded by the familiar gray-white walls of the Athena. In her own bunk.

  She squeezed her eyes shut against the humming that vibrated through her brain and tried to breathe.

  Inhale calm.

  Exhale pain.

  Slowly her clenched muscles relaxed and the humming faded. No, not faded—it had shifted. Somehow, with every vibration, she could feel the movement of the Athena, the murmur of her drive core and the feeling of the crew moving through the ship. The vibration of the electronics and controls. Everything.

  It was amazing. All the feelings she’d never even guessed lay below the surface of her mind.

  Renna let out a slow breath and tried to reach out with her implant. There was a flash of the CIC, with Keva and Viktis chatting over a star map. Another flash of Lieutenant Kojima sitting at the helm.

  A sharp zap burned through her body, and she seized on the bed. The world spun, crashing and screaming through her body until all she could do was clutch the edge of the bed and ride out the surge of agony. Seconds turned into long, torturous minutes as wave after wave rushed through her.

  She was going to die. Her implant was being rejected.

&
nbsp; Eventually, the pain withdrew, and she wiped away the tears that had trickled down her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath and opened her eyes. Somehow the cabin seemed brighter. Clearer. She shifted in bed so she could see the rest of the room.

  Finn was sprawled out in the tiny chair, head back against the wall. The low rumble of a snore came from his lips. She smiled at him, then winced as her brain twinged again. She curled her fingers into the sheets, clutching them in case the pain came back. A moment later, the twinge was gone, replaced by a shot of fear, white-hot and burning as it all came rushing back.

  Major Larson was a traitor. But that meant someone even higher up was behind everything.

  How would she ever find out the truth?

  Finn yawned and stretched in the chair as he came awake. His gaze fell on her, and his eyes widened. “How are you feeling?”

  No sense in telling him how bad it was. The longer she could keep him safe, the better. “Like I got hit by a magnacraft. But it’s getting better.”

  He crossed the room and sank down on the edge of the bed. His fingers traced the cut on her cheek, then brushed away a strand of her dark hair. “You had me worried.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Just a few hours. We’re on our way back to Aldani’s lab.”

  Renna stared up at Finn’s worried expression. How was she ever going to tell him what had happened? She was dying. For all she knew, she only had hours left. An ache filled her chest. There was so much left she wanted to do. To say.

  “Viktis said they’d…experimented on you?” he said gently. “Can you talk about it?”

  Tears filled her eyes, and she blinked them away. Pull it together, Renna. She stared at the wall and quickly told Finn about Navang’s drug, about the hybrids, about everything that had happened at the lab.

  “He said he worked for someone at MYTH named Pallas,” she said. “Major Larson was his contact.”

  Finn frowned. “That’s not possible. I’ve never heard of anyone called Pallas.”

  “But MYTH is like a hydra. There are so many arms you may never know about all of them. And this is the only thing that makes sense. Who else would have the resources or be able to stay hidden so well? Who would know where all the MYTH installations were? Who else would know how to stay one step ahead of us?”