by Susan Hayes
The words got harder to read as Echo’s hand started to shake and twitch. Another splatter of blood obliterated some of the words near the top of the page.
“I can give you one name. Nyx. She’s my batch sister. She’s stronger than I am. She’s found a way to fight back against the programming and conditioning. They keep her to run tests on. She suffers more than any of us. Find her. Save her if you can. Please.
I have so many regrets. If you’re seeing this, then I’m dead, which means I likely took another life, or tried to. I hope it wasn’t a friend. I fear it will be because the names of friends are the only ones left on my list.
Don’t mourn for me. They can’t make me hurt anyone else, now. I’m finally free.
“Re’veth. There’s more of them.” Toro muttered.
“And they’re coming after Phaedra.” Tyr pointed to the list of targets. “Open it.”
She knew every name on the list. River, Victor, Ward, Zale, Alyson and Lieksa, along with the names of the dead corporate executives. Echo had been sent to the Drift to spy on them and kill them if she could.
They looked at the other files. Echo had included documents, images, and even fragments of her memories. Voices. Locations. The faces of her victims. Anything she thought might help. There was a file marked “Finn.” Phaedra opened it, then sat back in shock. It was a brief piece of footage from a security feed, clearly showing Nadira Finn submitting to a palm and retina scan before being allowed past a security post. To one side were stencilled letters that Phaedra recognized - “Reamus Research Station.” With the file were several dates and times that appeared to show more visits to the station. No wonder Nadira had been afraid of cyborgs. She’d seen what they were capable of becoming with the right programming and pressure. This conspiracy just kept getting deeper.
“There’s a treasure trove of information in here. Archer needs to see this,” she said.
“Everyone needs to see this.” Cyn gestured around them. “We’re at war with an enemy we didn’t know existed.”
She copied the data and attached it to an encrypted message for Corp-Sec, then sent it. Once it was gone, she pointed to the screen, then looked at Tyr. “This is why I can’t stop doing what I do.”
He nodded. “I know. I don’t like, it, but I won’t stop you.”
Cyn scoffed. “Like you ever had a hope in hell of stopping her.”
“I’ve figured that out. I may be a prince, but as my little warrior has pointed out to me more than once, I am not her prince.”
“You’re right. You’re not my prince, you’re my mate.”
“Yes, I am, mahaya.”
“Speaking of which, where is our other mate? He said he’d be back soon.”
Cynder pointed across the room. He’s coming this way, and judging by the smile on his face, I’d say he has good news. I sure the fraxx hope so, because we could use some.”
Braxon had intended to stay and watch over Phaedra as she worked, but there was nothing to actually see and he quickly grew restless. He wanted to be doing something useful. She had lost friends. Tyr’s dreams of a colony were unraveling. They’d been on the verge of having it all, and now nothing was certain anymore. Well, not nothing. He looked at his mates and smiled to himself. He was certain about one thing – the three of them were destined to spend the rest of their lives together. All his doubts about that were gone.
When Archer had come by and tapped him discretely on the shoulder, Braxon had followed him without a second thought.
“The Torex Mining rep just informed me that he’s making ready to leave the station. He knows what we’re going to ask for, and he’s willing to talk, but it has to be now,” Archer said.
“I’ll get Tyran.”
“Leave the prince here. The time for careful diplomacy has passed. If you want to get this done, it’s going to have to be quick and dirty. I get the sense that’s your strength, not his.”
“It is.”
He followed Archer out of the room, determined to make this happen.
The colonel hadn’t been exaggerating. The meeting was quick and ugly. There were four of them present, himself—Archer, an older human female that turned out to be Phaedra’s friend, Phylomenia, and Gunns. There were no pretty words or false promises. The three of them stated the facts about the existing colony, and the fact that the planetary governments, the military, and the other corporations were all in agreement that it was the ideal location for the Vardarian colony. Gunns hadn’t put up much of a fight once he realized the odds were against him, especially not when Archer revealed what Torex would be granted if they agreed. They’d be allowed access to a new, unexplored area of the galaxy, with full claiming rights and no competition. After that, it had been relatively simple.
He returned to the Nova Club and found his way back to the room where he’d left Phae and Tyr. Everyone was still there, talking in quiet groups. It was how every species seemed to deal with tragedy. They came together and supported each other.
Phaedra hadn’t moved while he’d been gone, but she did get to her feet as he made his way to her. “You look happy,” Phae said by way of greeting
“You don’t. Did something else happen while I was gone?” He had left believing that after the day they’d had, things couldn’t get worse. Had Echo left them more bad news?
“I decrypted Echo’s files.”
He folded her into his arms. “What was on them?”
She started to explain, and he listened intently as she told him about the lists of targets, Echo’s explanation, her apology, and her warning. Others gathered around as she spoke, and he realized that this was the first time many of them had heard the news. She had to go back to the beginning twice, but eventually the story was told.
“Now that I’ve caught you up, you can tell me where you’ve been and why you were smiling when you came back.”
He’d let her go while she told everyone what she’d discovered, but now he pulled her in with one arm and grinned at Tyr. “I got us our planet. Torex agreed, and it’s all arranged.” Braxon turned to River. You’ll be able to keep your promise. You and your people finally have a home.”
The mood in the room lightened in seconds. Questions and congratulations came in from all sides, but the only ones that mattered came from his mates. Phaedra squealed with happiness and launched herself into his arms for a kiss, and when he raised his head again, Tyran was there, gripping his shoulder. For a moment they looked at each other, and then Tyr leaned in and whispered, “thank you, mahoyen,” before sealing his mouth with a kiss.
Phaedra was laughing and smiling as she held them both. “I love you both so much. You’ve helped me find a new cause to fight for and given me the one thing I never thought I’d have again.”
“What’s that?” Tyr asked.
“A home. Wherever the two of you are, that will always be my home.”
Epilogue
Two months later
“Where are we going? The sun’s not even up yet.” Phaedra was still bleary-eyed despite the mug of coffee Braxon had handed her when they’d woken her up at some unholy hour of the morning and insisted she get dressed.
Now they were walking through the dew-soaked grass as the sky overhead slowly lightened. She was still adjusting to the idea of there being an actual sky above her, and grass under her bare feet. They’d only landed on the planet yesterday. She’d been on asteroids and moons before, but none of her experiences prepared her for the vastness and beauty of being on a full-sized planet, with atmosphere and gravity and life. Veth, there was so much life here. Every breath she took was scented with dirt and plants and living things. Instead of the background hum of machines there was the wind, and the bleating of the creatures their hosts called noats.
They’d stayed up much of the night talking with Raze and Sevda, the only two beings on the planet. Raze was a cyborg, but he wasn’t like any other cyborg she’d ever met. He was rougher around the edges, with long hair and a gruff voice.
He’d slowly warmed up over the course of the evening, but it was clear he wasn’t used to company. Sevda was as different from her husband as night was to day. Where he was quiet, she was chatty and upbeat. By the time they’d all gone to bed, she, Braxon, and Tyr all agreed that Raze and Sevda would be valuable assets when it came time to welcome the rest of the colonists to their new home – the planet Liberty.
She took another few steps and then came to a halt. “I’m not taking another step until I know what we’re doing out here. Even the chickens are still asleep, so why aren’t we?”
Tyr looked down at her with amusement. “Because despite their wings, chickens can’t fly. We can.”
“Will you come fly with us?” Braxon asked, his wings unfurling as he spoke.
For a second all her old fears returned, but all she had to do to banish them was take hold of their hands. She trusted them with her life, her heart, and her future. “Show me our new home.”
Raze’s farm was on a plateau partway up the mountains that enclosed the lush, fertile valley below. They walked to the edge, and she gripped their hands tighter as she looked down the steep mountainside to the shadow-filled depths at the bottom.
“We’ve got you.” Braxon said.
“You better,” she muttered, but she didn’t back away.
Tyran picked her up and cradled her next to his chest, and she threw her arms around his neck, gripping as tight as she could without choking him.
“Ready?”
She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
He launched them into the air, and the next few seconds felt like they lasted forever as she waited for something to go wrong. She kept expecting to feel the familiar stomach lurch that came when the gravity was shut off, but instead, the wind rushed by her face, tangling her hair as they soared.
“You should open your eyes, mahaya. You’re missing the view.” Tyr’s voice sounded inside her head.
Before leaving the station, Alyson had found a way to fit all three of them with a modified version of the internal communicators the cyborgs all used. She and Lieksa designed them together, using notes and sketches Denz had found among Zale’s possessions.
She cracked open one eye, gasped, and turned to look out at the vista unfolding below them. “This is paradise.”
“No, love. This is Liberty,” Braxon said. She looked over and spotted him not far away. He and Tyr were both beaming with enjoyment. It had been a long time since either of them had been able to manage more than a brief moment in the air. Circling the loading bays of Astek station was as close as they’d been able to get.
They climbed higher, and with every flap of their wings more of the world was revealed. They left the shadow of the mountains behind and flew into the sun-drenched morning air. It was more open space than she had ever seen, and every meter of it was breathtakingly beautiful. It was green, and wild, and it belonged to them. All of it.
So much had happened in the last two months. When she tried to look back on it all, everything was a confusing muddle of happy memories and painful goodbyes. Zale and Echo’s funerals. Making contact with Raze and Sevda for the first time to start making plans for the colony. Saying goodbye to Alyson and the rest of her friends. One of her favorite moments was the day that Tyran’s sister finally accepted the fact that her brother was never coming home. There were tears in Neha’s eyes as she apologized for her behavior and promised to support the new colony in any way she could. Tyran’s mother was at her daughter’s side, and Phaedra had no doubt that the older woman had a lot to do with Neha’s change of heart. At least Neha had embraced her destiny as leader of the empire and freed Tyran to find his own path. That path had led them here.
“Our home is beautiful,” she sent the message to them both.
“Yes, it is.” Braxon pointed to the point where the river left the valley. It passed through some low, rolling hills that eventually leveled out into a plain on either side of the river. “That’s the spot Raze was telling us about last night. We’ll build there.”
“There’s so much space,” It was hard for her to absorb how much land they had to work with.
“One day, there will be a city here. If we’re blessed, it will be the first of many. This continent is massive, and the one further north is even larger. There are resources there that will ensure we have all the ore and wealth we need to prosper.” Tyr was almost gleeful as they looked over their new home.
They’d be leaving in a week or so, but they wouldn’t be gone for long. Colonists were already signing up, ships were being prepared, and within a few months the empty land below them would become the first city on Liberty – Zale’s Landing. They’d decided on the name before they left the Drift, and their announcement had been met with approval from everyone.
Denz had already decided to join the new colony. He’d be accompanying River on the IAF ship full of cyborgs still in cryo-sleep. They’d arrive within days of the Vardarians, and while everyone hoped that the newly freed cyborgs would be able to adjust, those that needed more time to accept their freedom would be encouraged to colonize the other side of the river, where they’d have the support they needed and the solitude to heal.
“You’re quiet. Do you want us to take you down?” Tyr asked, speaking normally.
“I’m fine.” And she was. There was so much to see she’d forgotten to be worried.
“You sure?” He asked.
She switched to their internal channel so Braxon could hear her. “I was thinking about Zale, and Echo. They’ll never get to see this place. And then I was thinking how amazing it will be when everyone arrives, the colonists and our friends. I can’t wait to see Zura’s twins running around in all this space.”
Braxon and Tyr had issued an invitation to all their friends to visit or stay on Liberty. The Gray Men were still out there, and the colony was a potential sanctuary for anyone who needed protection from them, or the corporations, or anyone else who threatened innocent lives. Sevda had made the suggestion that once the colony was set up and running, they could start inviting human females who wanted to escape the hive cities of Earth to come to Liberty as mates for the cyborgs and Vardarians. It would take time and more negotiations to make it happen, but they’d find a way, and they’d do it together. She wasn’t alone in her battles anymore, and she never would be again. Her lonely time out in the shadowy fringes of the galaxy was over. From now on, her life would be full of sunshine, free air, and a love that knew no limits.
* * *
THE END
An introduction to Nova Force
If you would like to know more about Eric and the other members of Nova Force that were mentioned in No Limit - Keep reading.
OPERATION PHOENIX
He’s guarding the galaxy. She’s guarding her heart.
Commander Dax Rossi lives by one rule: mission first. But when an old flame puts that code to the test, he needs to make a hard choice--the job, or the woman?
Lieutenant Trinity West wants answers. Someone’s been stealing DNA from her top-secret research base, and she wants to know who, and how. Her investigation into the thefts is cut short by the arrival the only man to ever break her heart--and now he stands in the way of her discovering the truth.
Buy It Now
* * *
CHAPTER ONE
* * *
Trinity read her newly-arrived orders for the third time in a row and resisted the urge to throw her tablet across her office. It wouldn’t change anything, and she didn’t want to risk scratching the window and marring her view of the lake outside. There were days that view was the best thing about her current post.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been expecting the news. She had hoped to have more time to solve the mystery on her own, but her time had run out. The high-ranking brass at the Interstellar Armed Forces wanted answers and scapegoats, not necessarily in that order. They also wanted those answers yesterday, if not sooner. Since she wasn’t having any luck investigating on her own and didn’
t own a time machine, the brass were sending in someone else to take over.
According to her new orders, a Nova Force investigative team was already on its way. She was to hand over all data and files collected, then assist them in any way she could. In other words, she’d been benched.
“V.I.D.A., please inform all IAF base personnel and the civilian staff there will be an important announcement during dinner. They’ll take the news better if they’ve got full stomachs.”
The artificial intelligence program that was the heart and soul of Victor Base responded instantly. “Notification sent. Is there anything else?”
“Yes. We’re expecting visitors tomorrow morning. Please assign accommodations and make all standard preparations for the arrival of Nova Force Team Three. I’m sure their requirements will already be on file.”
“Yes, Lieutenant West. Making all preparations, now.”
“Thank you, V.I.D.A. Oh, and please notify Dr. Clarke that I need to see him in my office immediately, but don’t relay the reason. He’s going to have a conniption fit when he finds out that Nova Force is on their way here, I’d rather he hear it from me.”
“Dr. Clarke is currently in the atrium. I have alerted him to your request. He will arrive at your office within ten minutes time.”
If Tony was in the atrium, he was probably meditating. Trinity hoped he’d gotten in enough Zen time to gracefully accept the bad news she was about to deliver. As the head scientist on the base, he would set the tone for how the others reacted to the arrival of Nova Force and a much more invasive investigation than the one she had been running. If he reacted poorly, then it was going to be a long, stressful time for everyone.
