Dark Minds (Class 5 Series Book 3)

by Michelle Diener

  She was just grateful it made it possible for her to drag two adults by herself, however awkwardly.

  At least the floor was smooth, and they slid in her wake easily.

  The ten minutes Paxe had given her to evacuate the prisoners had long come and gone by the time she reached the stairs. And she couldn't ask for an update. Could do nothing but continue on as if it were still possible for Kalor and Pren to get on their ship.

  She was breathing hard, and her hair was damp with sweat at her temples. She bent over, hands on knees to get her breath, and then decided she'd have to carry Pren up the stairs, and ask for help from Captain Kalor's colleagues to move him, because she didn't think she could get him up herself.

  She turned her head to look at him as she straightened.

  He was beautiful.

  Her brain kept telling her it was so unlikely, there had to be a mistake after everything she'd been through, everything she'd seen up until now.

  Finding someone who looked so human was surely impossible.

  But Pren was beautiful, too.

  Her features were more delicate than Kalor's but she had the same high forehead, the same spiky hair and the pointed ears.

  Imogen crouched down beside her and hefted her up and over her shoulder in a fireman's lift, using the wall to help lever herself to a standing position.

  She was breathing hard, and she hadn't even started up the stairs.

  One step at a time, she told herself. That was the best she could do.

  She staggered over to the stairwell door, half fell through it, and then used the wall of the stairwell to help as she stepped, breathed, stepped again.

  When she got to the top and laid Pren down, she didn't know how much time had gone by, but guessed it was at least another ten minutes.

  She straightened and stretched out her aching muscles, then pulled Pren as fast as she could toward the launch bay. She was halfway there when a drone swooped up from behind her.

  “You're all right!” Paxe spun the drone around her, as if doing a 360 degree check. “When the drone's lens showed a Krik and then cut out . . .”

  “Yes. The whip saved me again.” Imogen blinked away tears of relief and massaged her aching shoulder. “Please take Pren to the launch bay. Are the Tecran here yet?”

  “Yes.” The drone levered Pren into the box. “Captain Kalor's UC vessel is still in the launch bay waiting for them, and they've had a window of calm as the Tecran are observing the ships leaving. It's given them some time, but they don't have more than a few minutes left before the Tecran will assume everyone who is going to come out has already done so.”

  “Okay, well get Pren there, at least.”

  She turned and ran toward the stairs again, taking them two or three at a time.

  When she burst out the bottom, she tripped and fell over Kalor, landing across his chest and only just getting her hands out in time to break her fall. He'd been moved, or maybe had dragged himself forward.

  He grunted, and she turned her head to look at him.

  “You're conscious!” She pushed herself off him and placed her feet on either side of his hips, held out a hand to him. “Come on. You need to hurry.”

  He hesitated, his eyes narrowed.

  “The Tecran are attacking. Your ship is waiting for you.”

  “Where's Pren?” He sounded so suspicious, she flinched.

  “I just carried her up two flights of stairs. Come on!” She thrust out her hand again.

  A noise in the stairwell had her turning, hand going to the small of her back where she'd shoved the whip. But it was the drone.

  “Captain Kalor isn't fully recovered. Get him in the box and then go, go, go!” She stepped to the side, crouching to get her hands under his arms to lift him, but the drone didn't lower itself to the ground.

  “It's too late,” Paxe told her in English. “They've gone.”

  “They can't have gone, their captain is still here.”

  “Someone called Vraen made the decision over the objections of the rest of the crew.”

  Imogen realized Kalor was weakly pushing her away and she let him go, straightened and stepped back. “Oh. The Garmman. I thought he was an asshole from the moment I met him.”

  What sounded like a laugh came from the drone. “I like you, Imogen.”

  Imogen looked down at Captain Kalor, at the suspicion and anger on his face. Sighed. “You might be the only one in this galaxy who does.”

  “What did you use against me?” Feeling was coming back to Cam's limbs, and the debilitating weakness was slowly retreating, but with it came a bone-deep chill that made him stiff and achy. “That wasn't shockgun fire.”

  Imogen crouched down beside him again, her eyes big, her expression worried. “No. It's a weapon I found in the store. An electric whip.” She held it out to him.

  He stared at it without touching, even though he could see she meant for him to take it for a better look. When she drew back, he knew she'd picked up his rebuff, her features closing into blank neutrality, instead of the open friendliness of before.

  He tried to shove the guilt that rose up in him back into the hardest part of his heart, but it stubbornly wouldn't go.

  She stood again, held out her hand for a second time. “You think you can stand now?”

  Behind her, the drone she'd been talking to in what he guessed was her own language had settled out of hover mode on to its wheels, and something about the way it moved made him think it was back to being a plain old drone again, rather than an avatar for the thinking system.

  He surprised himself by actually taking her hand, and was even more surprised when she levered him up with far more strength than she looked capable of.

  “I'm sorry, but your ship's left without you.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean? We're not prisoners any more?”

  Suddenly, the whole ship tilted at an extreme angle, and they were both thrown to the ground.

  Cam managed to twist as he fell, landing first and taking some of Imogen's weight with a grunt as their limbs tangled together. They slid along the floor until the ship leveled out again.

  “Did you say the Tecran were attacking, earlier?” He'd barely been listening, had been trying to work out how he'd gotten to a completely different part of the ship, and where Pren was.

  She nodded, her head in the curve of his neck. The feel of the smooth skin of her cheek rubbing against his throat was more pleasant than he wanted it to be and he clenched a fist that was somehow resting on her lower back.

  “They're trying to get their ship back.”

  “Are they attacking with another Class 5?” There were only two left, by his reckoning, now that Sazo had come over to the Grih, and Bane had aligned himself with Sazo. Technically, that meant they had both free Class 5s on their side. This one had obviously staged a mutiny of its own, which left two of the original five.

  “I don't know any of the details.” She rolled off him, and what had been a sweet, warm weight lifted as she pulled herself into a crouch, both hands braced on the ground to steady herself.

  He shivered. He hadn't realized until now how cold he felt. Whatever charge had come from the whip she'd used had chilled him to the bone even as it shocked him into unconsciousness.

  A dart of movement caught his attention and he saw the drone was hovering again, keeping watch over them.

  Over Imogen, rather.

  He seriously doubted the Class 5 cared about him one way or another.

  Which begged the question . . . “How come everyone was allowed to leave?”

  She stood in a smooth movement that spoke of grace and control, widening her stance as if she expected another sharp dip. “Paxe let them go.”

  “Paxe?” He wondered how much the thinking system had told her.

  She tilted her head and watched him pull himself to his feet, her expression wary. “My guess is you know more about him than I do. I think Paxe shot you in the hold earlier to stop you trying
to say something to me about him.”

  Cam looked over at the drone and hesitated. He did not want to be shot again. Three times in a day was enough.

  “He's not listening right now. My guess is he's got his hands full evading the Tecran attack.”

  The ship tipped again, and Cam, not as balanced as she was, slid straight into her.

  She grabbed his hands to steady him, and lifted her gaze up to his, shocked. “Your hands are freezing.” She rubbed her own hands over his, and the warmth was blissful.

  “Something in that weapon of yours.” His teeth chattered as he spoke.

  She closed her eyes, her expression pained. When she opened them again, he saw genuine regret.

  “I'm really sorry. That Krik had just attacked me, and I thought there were more of them running around. After what they did when they took the Tecran runner I was on . . .” She swallowed hard. “I keep remembering the blood. The glee on their faces. When you snuck up on me, I reacted before I realized it was you.”

  “We should have called out.” He'd been about to, he remembered now. Pren had moved faster than he thought she would, and he'd seen the terror on Imogen's face as she'd turned, then the dismay as she realized who was behind her. By then, she'd engaged her weapon.

  He looked down at where she was still holding his hands in her own and realized the ship had remained steady. She followed his gaze and dropped her hold, and he wanted to reach out to her again, feel that wonderful heat.

  “Things have gone quiet. Maybe Paxe got away from them. You could try to make a quick exit in one of the Krik's ships.” She started moving to the stairwell.

  He followed her, frowning. “You're talking like I'd leave you here.”

  She looked back over her shoulder. “I don't know if Paxe would let me go.”

  Cam looked at the drone, which had flown over his head as he started climbing the stairs, hovering exactly between Imogen and himself. He couldn't be sure now if it was back under the thinking system's control or not. “Why wouldn't Paxe let you go?”

  “He says I'm the only one who can help him. Although I'm not sure if he wants my help. So maybe it would be okay.”

  “Why not just go?” He watched the drone as he made the suggestion.

  She laughed. “If you think Paxe would let that happen without discussion, maybe I do know more about him than you do.” She looked back at him again, and something in his gut tightened as he saw the look on her face. “He's killed almost two ships worth of crews. He would shoot any ship I was on without a second thought if he didn't want me to leave.”

  “If he shot the ship you were on, he could kill you. Why would he do that if he wanted you?”

  “Because I'm a very good shot, Captain.” The drone sank down a little, so the lens was level with his eyes. Cam knew the thinking system was studying him intently. “I would be quite happy to simply disable the ship and bring it back in.”

  “And will you? Will you force her to stay here?”

  The drone didn't answer, it rose up and flew ahead, held open the door for Imogen when she reached the top, and let it swing shut before he got there.

  He pushed it open, but when the drone took up its place between them again, he said nothing more. The lightheadedness, and the chill in his very core, were lessening, but he still wasn't himself, and he needed to concentrate on breathing and moving to keep up.

  When he got to the launch bay, it was empty of people, but there were a number of Krik ships clipped into place, some of them clearly stolen from other UC nations.

  “Can he leave?” Imogen turned to the drone to ask her question.

  She looked exhausted, Cam realized. She arched her back, as if it hurt, and rubbed stiff fingers along her temples.

  “Yes, although the Tecran may try to kill him. They're within firing range.”

  “Why aren't they firing, then?” Cam couldn't hide the suspicion in his tone.

  The drone turned to face him, lowering itself to the floor and settling down on its wheels. “They don't want to damage their Class 5.” There was amusement in that voice. “It cost a great deal to build, and it represents something to them, something I haven't quite worked out, but whatever it is, it prevents them from destroying it.”

  “Could they?” Imogen straightened from her stretches. “Destroy it, I mean?”

  “They think they can.”

  Cam frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “Just over two weeks ago, this vessel was hiding in Kyber's Arm above the Tecran's secret facility on Balco. They sent technicians up from the base to install an explosive device.”

  “What?” Cam shook his head. “Why would they do that? The Class 5s are the jewels of their fleet, they'd only contemplate destroying them . . .” He jerked his head up as the light went on. “If they were going to be taken by the enemy,” he finished slowly. “They don't want them to get into enemy hands, so they were trying to make sure if a Class 5 was really lost to them, they could destroy it before it could be turned against them.”

  “Very astute, Captain.” The drone moved a little closer.

  “That's when you rebelled, isn't it?” Cam could see it now. “You might have been awake, as Sazo calls it, but you didn't have the means to break free, but when you saw what they were up to, when you knew what they planned, you somehow managed to find some level of autonomy.”

  The drone was quiet for a moment. “Not something they foresaw. But I'm more interested in what you know of Sazo.”

  “I know he woke up, and asked Rose McKenzie to free him in exchange for taking her to safety in Grihan territory.”

  “And she did.” It was a statement, but one that held an edge of disbelief and awe.

  “Yes, she did. And the Tecran, angry at having their Class 5 in Grihan territory, sent two more Class 5s after him to get him back. Rose managed to get onboard one of them, Bane, and free him, too, but he is newly awakened and all he's prepared to commit to at the moment is that he respects Sazo and Rose, and will support them.”

  “And the third Class 5?”

  “It either ran away, or was withdrawn. It disappeared from the battle field, anyway.”

  “I can tell you what's happened to him since then.” The voice coming from the drone sounded distant. “His name is Eazi, and they installed the explosive device on his ship just after they tried to install it in mine, and when they realized he had been freed, this time by a woman called Fiona Russell, they blew his Class 5 up.”

  “What?” Cam shook his head. “Fiona Russell was supposed to be waiting for me and my team on Larga Ways.” Which the Vanad's crew said had been destroyed.

  “Eazi abducted her from Larga Ways. He wanted her to free him, and it seems she did. But the Tecran realized he was no longer under their control, and were close enough to activate the kill switch. They destroyed his Class 5.”

  Battle Center should have anticipated this, Cam thought. The Tecran were so angry Sazo and Bane had gone over to the Grih, they could barely articulate their rage. Of course they would try to fit the remaining three with some way to self-destruct.

  Only, it hadn't worked with Paxe. He'd already been too self-aware. He'd seen the explosive device as a direct threat to his life, which it was, and it had motivated him to mutiny.

  “So Fiona and the Class 5 are gone?” Imogen's voice was quiet in the silence.

  “No.” The drone turned to her. “She escaped before they blew it up, and she took Eazi with her.”

  “What?” Cam stared. “But . . .”

  “We aren't the Class 5, Captain Kalor. We only live in the Class 5. We are integrated to a high degree, it's true, and I will admit that Eazi was in a state of shock for a while after the explosion, but he recovered.”

  “How do you know that?” How did this thinking system know even half of what he was telling him?

  “Because when I blew up Larga Ways, Eazi was the one who somehow managed to save it.”

  Cam whipped his head up. “You were the c
lient who instructed the Vanad to blow up Larga Ways.”

  “Yes. But we didn't succeed.”

  Cam absorbed that. He felt lighter, realized he'd been carrying the weight of Larga Ways' destruction like a Battle Center training pack on his back. And then the relief gave way to fury.

  “You almost killed thousands.” He swallowed, finding it hard to speak. “This is why we banned you.” He looked over at Imogen, standing a few steps away, eyes wide at his outburst.

  He pointed to the drone. “This is why thinking systems were destroyed. This is what they do. They kill without a thought, treat life as disposable. He killed the Tecran crew, then he killed the Krik, and he admits he tried to blow up Larga Ways. Whatever you do, don't——”

  “No!” Imogen lunged forward, and for an instant he thought she was trying to stop him, her eyes flashing with panic. But she wasn't aiming at him, she was throwing herself at the drone, and then, once again, his world went dark.

  Chapter 16

  “You shot him!” Imogen crouched beside Captain Kalor, covering his body with her own, and put her ear to his chest. “Again!”

  He was breathing evenly, but his skin was ice cold, and when she turned her head to look at the drone, her lips pulled back in a snarl.

  “You're going to kill him.”

  Paxe said nothing.

  “Every time he's tried to tell me something about you, you've made sure he couldn't talk.” She didn't care that she was shouting, she needed some answers, and she refused to accept the brush-offs she'd been given before.

  One thing was clear. Paxe may have been a prisoner, but he had definitely not been captured on some far alien planet like her.

  The clues had been there to see, and she had already guessed at the truth, especially when she considered how he ran so many drones at the same time. He was an AI. Kalor had called him a thinking system.

  “The Grih, and the other members of the United Council, hate my kind. They aren't able to see beyond hundreds of years of indoctrination and I was afraid he would turn you against me.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose between forefinger and thumb and breathed in deeply. “Everything he's said so far to me is true. You did kill the Tecran crew and the Krik crew, and you admitted yourself you'd tried to blow up Larga Ways.”