Dark Minds (Class 5 Series Book 3)

by Michelle Diener

  “Yes.” He said nothing more and she rose and glared at him, lifting up a finger.

  “One. You will not shoot him again. Two. You will help me get him to the med chamber right now. And three. You will not. Shoot. Him. Again.”

  How many times could a Grih be shot and still be all right?

  “I didn't use a high charge.” Paxe's voice was a little subdued. “I think he collapsed because he hasn't fully recovered from your whip. He didn't lose consciousness when I shot him in the hold, and it was the same charge as now.”

  “Okay.” She blew out a breath. “That's something, at least. But don't forget, your merry little Krik helpers shot him, too. So his body has taken a real battering.”

  “Why do you describe them like that? They weren't that merry. Or that little,” Paxe said as the drone lifted Kalor into its box.

  “No. I'm diminishing them, because they scare the living daylights out of me.”

  “Diminishing them with words?” The drone started for the door and she followed beside it.

  “You should try it sometime, as an alternative to mass extermination.”

  “The Tecran were putting in something that would blow me up.” Paxe sounded almost pleading. “Kill me.”

  “I get the Tecran.” She really got why he'd done in the Tecran. “I even get the Krik, because they attacked first and I know what they're like. So, you've got a shaky pass on both those, although I'm pretty sure you have brains enough that you could have come up with an alternative to death. But Larga Ways was not right, Paxe. Not right at all.”

  “I understand, now I've met you, that Fiona Russell was not a real threat, but——”

  “No.” She cut him off with a chop of her hand. “It's not on her. She could have been the biggest threat to you ever. She could have been your arch-nemesis, but that would still not excuse the deaths of thousands of people who had the bad luck to share a way station with her.”

  She didn't even know why she was provoking him this way. His reactions to her, the things he'd said, made her trust he wouldn't hurt her, but he'd fooled two whole crews before her. He had such a deep lack of empathy she didn't know if she was even scratching the surface, but despite the horrors he was clearly capable of, there was still something about him she liked.

  “Why do you care?”

  They had come to the med chamber, and she started at how exactly his thoughts were aligned with her own.

  She thought about her answer as the drone lifted Kalor onto the raised chair she'd been in only a few hours before, and watched as it applied a blue gel pack and hooked him up to various machines.

  His color began to come back almost immediately, and she slumped against a counter in relief.

  “I care because I like you. I want other people to like you, too. And they won't if you go around killing thousands of people because it's the most efficient way to meet your goals. You need to apply the brakes, Paxe. Start thinking of ways to get what you want without harming anyone else to do it.”

  He was quiet, and she leaned back, watched Kalor breathe easier and fall into what she thought might be a genuine sleep.

  “What about the Tecran who are right now demanding I allow a team onboard and that I submit to them again?”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Is that even possible? Could they make you submit?”

  He thought about it. “No. But they don't know that. Or don't want to admit the possibility.”

  “And I'm guessing just zooming away from them isn't possible, either, or you'd have done it?”

  “I could get away temporarily, just fly off, but I can't light-jump. I need to be free for that. And there are tracking mechanisms within my systems that would mean no matter where I went, they could find me. Again, I'd need to be free to rid myself of them.”

  “And you need me to free you? Or someone like me? That's why you said I could help you, earlier?”

  “I don't know. It seemed so unlikely when I discovered what Rose McKenzie had done, and then what I assume Fiona Russell did, too. Your race is almost the same as the Grih, so theoretically they could save me. Most of the UC members could, probably, except they never would, because I'm an evil thinking system.”

  “And killing hundreds of crew and trying to blow up way stations really shows them what a crazy notion that is, right?”

  A laugh seemed to escape him. “Right.” The drone turned away from Kalor at last, and the lens zoomed in on her. “For you to save me, I'd have to give you the power to destroy me, and I don't know if I can trust that much. But even if I could, the place you need to go to help me is where the Tecran captain and one of his officers are holed up.”

  “They're in the place you're most vulnerable?” Some of his reactions made more sense, now. “Why haven't they destroyed you, then?”

  “I thought they would. Braced myself for it. But they still think they can win. And while they think that, they will never destroy me, because they've lost three of the five they had. It's only me and one other Class 5 left under their control now. They can't bring themselves to do it.”

  “Except you're not, are you? Under their control?”

  That laugh again. “No. But I've been messing with them a bit. Making them think I'm less autonomous than I am.”

  She realized with a start they were speaking English again, had been for a while, and looked around for a chair, sat down with a groan of relief. “Where'd you learn English?”

  “I copied all the systems in the facility on Balco. I was looking for the details of what they were trying to do to me, what had gone into the building of the self-destruct device and how to disable it. They had Sazo and Eazi's files stored, although Sazo has clearly interfered with them. He'd deleted all information on the location of Earth, although the files on Earth's languages and culture were there. That's how I learned English, along with details on how to disable the self-destruct device.”

  “They just let you do that? Copy the files that would tell you how to disarm their bomb?”

  “Yes.” He handed her a glass of water and she gave him a smile of thanks. “Unfortunately for them, part of the system built into the Class 5 contains an imperative for me to keep myself safe. Learning how to disable something built to destroy me fits into that very well. They forgot to include an exclusion if they were the ones putting me in danger.”

  “And now they're out there, just waiting for you to give up and say you'll come back? How do they think that's going to work?” It had been at least an hour since the Tecran had arrived, and while that wasn't that long, she would have thought something would have happened by now.

  “They've been sending me messages, most of which contain hidden upgrades to my system which they hope will cage me again.”

  From his tone, she guessed he wasn't worried about that.

  “Does the captain of this Class 5 have any communication with them?”

  “No. I've blocked all comms since I took control. The captain was able to get one message out before I locked things down, so they knew I was rebelling, but since then, they've had nothing.”

  “What are you going to do? I mean, the longer you wait them out, the more likely they are to realize they aren't getting you back and try to destroy you.”

  “There is something going on with them. Something more than just waiting for me to respond.” He sounded as if he'd only decided to tell her a moment before he spoke. “I registered another Class 5 following me for the last three or four days. I guessed they wanted to observe me, see if I had made a deal with the Grih, which is their biggest worry.”

  “Silly of them to come close enough for you to realize, or didn't they know you'd spotted them?”

  “The Class 5 might have been following me for even longer. I took over the ship two weeks ago, and the captain got the word out straight away, so they could have sent it a couple of days after that. I do know that the reason I found out about the other Class 5 is because it let me.”

  Imogen drew in a b
reath. “It wanted you to know it was there. Do you think it was trying to help you? Warn you that the Tecran were trying to watch you?”

  He was silent for a moment. “I hadn't considered that. I thought . . .”

  “You thought it was playing with you, or taunting you?” He took the worst possible view of every situation. She could only guess that was because it was the only thing he'd ever known, but it made him so dangerous. “So where is it now?”

  “That's the thing. It's disappeared. I thought it might be trying to come at me from another direction, so I was trapped between the Levron and the Class 5, but I sent out some small drones earlier to attach themselves to the Tecran battleship, and from what I've picked up, the Tecran don't know where the other Class 5 has gone, and they're too scared to attack me without it.”

  “Too scared that it may also have gone rogue as well, I bet.” She set her empty glass down. “Would you fire back at them, if they did attack you?”

  “I can't. The system won't let me fire on Tecran ships.”

  So his hands were tied, and he and the Tecran were simply watching each other across a section of space.

  “But . . .” She tapped her lip. “If you're allowed to defend yourself, wouldn't that override the ban on firing on the Tecran fleet?”

  “I don't know.” He sounded like he'd thought it through a hundred times. “I don't think they do, either. It's something I'll find out if they ever do fire on me, and it will be one of the reasons they're hesitating. It might just break the hold the system has on me.”

  “If I freed you, that would solve a lot of problems.”

  “You can't.”

  She didn't know if he said that because the Tecran were physically in the way, or because even if they weren't, he couldn't trust her that much.

  “So what happens now?” She yawned, and then looked over at Captain Kalor, who was still in a deep sleep.

  “You need rest. Follow the drone. There's a place near this room where the doctors slept if they had to be close to a patient.”

  She nodded and trailed behind the drone to a small room a few doors away, with a freshly made bed and small table in it, and a bathroom attached.

  She stumbled into the bathroom and had a quick, hot shower, then fell into the bed naked, burrowing under the covers. She reveled in the sensation of a private, comfortable bedroom for the first time in nearly three months.

  Tears spilled from her eyes, hot against her skin, as she curled up, and then she smiled. Because she'd found refuge with someone who had killed hundreds, had thought nothing of trying to kill thousands, and who was facing off against an enemy fleet.

  She shouldn't be able to sleep. She should be worried for her life.

  And yet, she didn't know if she'd felt more secure in all the time since she'd been taken.

  Chapter 17

  Cam woke to find a drone watching him.

  He struggled up onto his elbows, and looked around, saw he was in a med chamber.

  “You shot me, then you gave me medical treatment?” His voice was hoarse, and the drone produced a cup of water, holding it out to him in a pincered clamp.

  “I did the same before, when I shot you in the hold. So it isn't that surprising.” The answer was smooth, and most definitely the thinking system speaking, not the automatic response of a drone.

  Cam gulped down the water, but he didn't feel as thirsty as he thought he would, and then he saw the equipment that had retracted as he sat up. He'd been hydrated and given energy intravenously while he slept. In fact, he felt almost back to normal.

  “I wouldn't have thought you wanted me to be at my best.” He slid off the bed as he spoke, was glad to find his legs held his weight just fine.

  The drone took the cup from him, filled it and gave it back. “I don't care whether you're at your best or not. I don't care about you at all.”

  Cam paused before he took another sip. “So why . . .?”

  “Imogen does seem to care.”

  Cam had thought, when he'd first met Imogen Peters, that he'd be rescuing her. Not the other way around. “But if I try to say anything more about you to her, you'll shoot me again?”

  “No. Say what you like.”

  Cam wasn't sure he believed that. Not judging by the icy tone with which it was delivered.

  “Where is Imogen?”

  The drone was quiet for a long time before Paxe responded at last.

  “She is resting a few doors away. She's been asleep for only six hours, but the Tecran are going to try and get a runner onboard this Class 5 shortly, so it's best she wakes up.”

  The drone moved out of the med chamber and Cam followed it down the passage to a nearby room.

  The door opened, and he stood in the doorway. It was dark inside, and it smelled of spicy cleansing gel and Imogen.

  The lights went on full, and he shot a look at the drone.

  “Not so bright. Dim it a bit.”

  When he looked over at the bed again, Imogen was lying still, watching him, eyes wide with fear, face tense. She hadn't made a sound.

  The lights dimmed, and she at last pushed herself up, the covers clutched around what he realized were naked shoulders.

  Her neck was long and graceful, and her shoulders and collar bone looked fragile against the smoothness of her skin. Her hair, that smooth fall of a color he couldn't quite describe, a kind of silvery copper, was down rather than pulled back the way it had been yesterday.

  “You don't need to be afraid of me.” He tried to keep his voice even, to hide the fury at the Tecran, at the Krik, for giving her good cause for fear.

  “I know. I didn't realize it was you and Paxe straight away.” She cleared her throat. “Something is happening?”

  “The Tecran are going to board,” Paxe said.

  Another drone came up behind Cam, and forced him to step into the room to allow it to pass. It dipped its long arm into its box and lifted out a pile of clothing and some boots. “I got you some clean clothes from the store.”

  “Thank you, Paxe.” There was such warmth in her tone, he felt a frisson of fear for her. Paxe was not a sweet, helpful friend, but she sounded like that's what she thought he was. “I'll get dressed, if you would let me . . .” She waved them out of the room with a hand, and the cover slipped just a little, revealing the upper swell of a breast.

  Cam went, and the two drones followed him reluctantly. “Is there a place I can shower?”

  “Here.” The drone indicated another room, and Cam opened the door and looked inside.

  It had probably been one of the doctors' rooms, as it had clearly been inhabited. There were clothes lying over a chair and the bed was unmade. The bathroom at the back looked clean and neat, though.

  “Do you need clothes?”

  Cam shook his head. His uniform could be held under a water spray and then hung up, and the temperature regulators in the smart fabric would have it dry before he'd finished with his shower.

  “Hurry. The Tecran have launched their runner and they'll be here in just over an hour.”

  “Why do they think they'll be able to get in?”

  The drone, which was moving away, turned back to him. “It doesn't matter, but stay out of the way when they get here. I don't plan to treat them as well as I've treated you, and I don't want you shot by mistake.”

  “Because Imogen wouldn't like it?” Cam asked.

  In response, the drone moved a little closer, menace in the movement although it was nothing but a box on wheels.

  Cam sighed, gave a nod, and stepped back from the doorway, eyes on the drone's lens until the door slid shut.

  The lighting in the Class 5 armory was almost too bright, although Imogen guessed you probably wanted to see exactly what you were grabbing when it came to weapons.

  She shifted on the bench beside Captain Kalor, close enough to smell that he had showered and used the same soap she had, and that his own personal scent was warm and deeply pleasant.

  His thigh br
ushed hers accidentally and she didn't move away. It felt good, the casual touch that came with living with others again.

  She would not, could not, go back to a cage.

  She looked over at him, found he was watching her with an intensity that made her stomach drop, like she was on a thrill ride.

  “What?”

  He cleared his throat. “Nothing. It's just . . . your existence is remarkable. You are so like the Grih.”

  His eyes were an icy blue, a shade or two lighter than her own, with a dark outer ring. She held his gaze, not prepared to look away, to shy from any contact, after being starved of it for so long. “I thought you were from Earth for a moment when I first stepped into the hold.”

  He angled toward her, lifted a hand. “May I?”

  She stared at him for a beat, gave a slight nod.

  He reached out and took a lock of her hair, rubbed it between his fingers.

  His eyes, when he lifted them back to hers, were amazed.

  “It can't be that different to yours,” she scoffed at him.

  “Feel.” He bent his head, and she tentatively slid her fingers into the spiky strands of his hair.

  He was right. Where hers was smooth, his was almost sticky it was so rough, clinging to her fingers. With his head bent, his ears were right there, and she couldn't resist running the tip of her finger along the pointy edge.

  He jerked back, eyes narrowed.

  “Sorry. It's just . . .” She didn't know whether now was the time to talk about elves. “I couldn't help myself.”

  He cocked his head to one side, the movement incredibly alien, and watched her with that unfathomable stare.

  The drone, which stood sentinel beside her, made a humming sound, and she broke away with relief when it projected an image onto the door of the armory.

  An image of the Tecran arriving in the launch bay.

  Their runner had landed, and the ramp lowered, but they were obviously very uncertain of their welcome, because their movements were cautious in the extreme.