Love Uncharted

by Berinn Rae

  She snickered. “Like you’d ever have a mental breakdown.” She brought her knees to her chest and pushed at him with her feet, trying to shove him out of bed. “Get up. You’re gonna get in trouble.”

  “Torin, I blame you for this. She’s kicking me.”

  She pushed with her feet and slid away from him instead of moving him. “Oh, hush. I can’t move you anyway. You weigh five million pounds.”

  A bark of laughter exploded over the com.

  He glared at the ceiling. “Computer, shut down communications.” There was a click, and then silence.

  He rolled over, grabbed her ankles, and pulled her under him. She squeaked as he pinned her with his hips.

  “I was hoping to have sex again before I had to go anywhere.”

  She smirked. “I don’t think you have time. Torin sounded like he was going to come get you now if you don’t show, and I’d rather not be in the middle of a mind-blowing orgasm when he gets here. Or worse yet, not getting that orgasm before you have to go.”

  He snorted. “Right. He does tend to barge in without signaling. That might be embarrassing for all involved.” He grumbled. “Great. I get to go into this meeting with a very obvious hard on.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Poor thing.”

  He flopped onto his back and took a few breaths before standing and dressing. “I’ll send someone to watch you while I’m gone. They’ll go get you food or something.”

  “Coffee would be appreciated.”

  He grimaced. “Sorry, no coffee. Why do you think I was knocking it back while I was at your house? We have this one drink that is supposed to mimic it. It mimics the caffeine content, but the taste … Saying it leaves much to be desired is an understatement.”

  She glared at him. “You know, kidnapping me is one thing, but not giving me coffee? Are you trying to get me to kill you? Because I’ll do it.”

  “I’m trembling.”

  “You should be. A woman’s coffee should not be taken away.”

  “Duly noted. Hopefully when we get to the station I can find you some. We’re a little better supplied there.”

  They’d better be, or she was going to lose a lot of weight. The food had been horrible. She didn’t know how anyone ate that stuff. She felt cruel for giving it to the orphans for the past year. A sharp page of sadness hit her heart. She would never get a chance to get them anything better.

  “Okay. I’ll be back in like an hour. Torin will be down to sit with you in a few minutes, so don’t freak out when he comes through the door. And uh, put some clothes on, because he’s a horn dog. I have shorts in a drawer that have a drawstring that will probably work for bottoms. I’ll be sure to get your clothes cleaned.”

  She nodded and he stepped out of the apartment. She rolled out of bed and pulled on the shirt he’d divested her of last night. The door hissed open and Galen strode back in.

  “Did you forget something?”

  “Yes.” He tangled his hands in her hair and pressed his lips to hers in a drugging kiss. He pulled away and kissed her forehead before he left. She couldn’t help but grin.

  She shook her head. He might be sweet now, but he hadn’t said he wouldn’t betray her again, which told her something important. His plan involved things that could hurt her or her father. She liked him a lot, but she couldn’t let him get to her. It could be devastating if he did. She’d already slipped and ended up in his bed.

  She glanced around the room. He was right about one thing. She did plan to try and escape when he wasn’t around. She didn’t know how much time she had before Torin showed up, but she had better get to work before he arrived. She didn’t dare ask the computer where the life pods were. She was probably being monitored. However, she could manually access the ship’s systems if they hadn’t shut down control. She wouldn’t put it past them to shut down manual input. Not with the way she’d seen Galen interact with electronics. He seemed to be able to control most things with his mind.

  But she could hope. She grabbed some shorts from the drawer Galen had left open and pulled them on as she scanned the room for an access panel. It wasn’t hard to guess where it would be. There was a visual communications terminal on the desk across from the bed. She slipped into the chair next to it, and found exactly what she was searching for. She ran her finger over the touch screen and nodded in approval when it lit up.

  She accessed the ship’s schematics and easily located the life pods. The closest ones were four decks below her. How could one unattended human make it there? That was the question. The ship had been teaming with cyborgs when she’d come aboard. She’d seem out of place, to be sure.

  But she had to give it a shot. If she could launch, she could head for the nearest inhabited world, far away from the Edge. Far away from Galen and his scheming.

  She walked to the door but it didn’t slide open automatically like it did for Galen. This ship was state of the art. All the doors would open when someone approached unless they were programmed not to, or locked. Maybe he’d had it changed for privacy. She could hope, anyway.

  “Computer, open the door.”

  She got no response from it and the doors stayed closed. “Computer, respond.”

  Silence. She glared at the door and searched for the access panel. He must have reprogrammed the computer to not accept her voice.

  “Dammit. What now?” She paced in front of the door and tried to come up with a plan.

  “Computer, emergency release. There’s a fire.”

  The door slid open, revealing the hulking, grinning blond who had grabbed her at her house before she could escape. She jumped, and took a step back.

  “Watcha doin’?”

  She backed into the room. “Nothing.”

  Torin rolled his eyes. “I believe you.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure you do. Don’t I have a trustworthy face?”

  His laughter told her no. He stepped in and the door closed behind him, cutting off her escape.

  “You know, running off isn’t the best idea. Life outside a core planet isn’t easy. Even people who are normally decent will take advantage of the possession of a senator’s daughter. A life pod wouldn’t be in range of anything but dangerous backwater rocks that the core planets export their criminals to.”

  Nice try. Even a “backwater rock” with criminals on it would have military personnel. “I wasn’t planning to — ”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Jamila. Five seconds with you and I already know you’re a bad liar.”

  She paced away from him. “So I should stay here and let Galen use me to get what he wants? And he’ll kill me if he doesn’t get his way? I can’t say that sounds like a good plan.”

  “Trust me. It’s better than going out there. I don’t think you understand the dangers. Pirates. Slavers — both human and alien. And sometime the aliens will blow your ship out of the sky. It really depends on the captain. You don’t want to run into Corabin slavers. I mean, humans are bad, but the Corabin? You’d never see home again. At least Galen will take you back some day.”

  “Did you miss the killing me part?”

  He smirked. “I find that incredibly unlikely. Especially since the room smells like sex. He can be cold blooded, but I think he likes you a little more than that.”

  “And this Council you spoke of?”

  Torin grimaced and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he debated what exactly he should tell her. “The Council isn’t a big fan of humans. They like your father even less.”

  She frowned. “Why? What has he done to them?”

  He bit his lip, tilting his head. His eyes narrowed. “That’s a long story, and something I probably shouldn’t tell you.”

  “How am I supposed to understand if no one ever tells me what’s going on?”

  He smiled. “There’s a reason. They’re not my tales to tell. And you’re so young, Galen probably feels like he can’t tell you anything. You’re a child.”r />
  She rolled her eyes. “He’s not that much older than me.”

  “He’s forty. And even if he weren’t his life experience would make him older.”

  She gaped at him. “Forty? He doesn’t look it.”

  His smile disappeared. “Yeah, well, we don’t seem to be aging. He appears and feels the age they accelerated him to in the labs. Which I guess is nice, since they took about ten years off his life if he’d kept aging.”

  “Wait, back up. Accelerated aging? Explain.”

  “You didn’t know that about us? They watch the lower class settlements, and choose children or teenagers they think are exemplary. They pick them young because they’re easier to mold and brainwash. But they can’t do anything with children. They don’t have enough strength and they look too conspicuous if they’re spotted on missions so they’re growth is accelerated. Galen was seventeen if I remember right.”

  “And how old were you?”

  He shook his head. “I was six.”

  “Wow, I’m surprised they could reform you. I’d think you’d be completely devoted to the government, if they brainwashed you.”

  All humor left him and alarm bells went off in her head. This man wasn’t as stable as he seemed. “Oh, it was hard for them to fix me. And now they have to deal with my depression and suicidal tendencies. The government fucks up every life they touch. Including Galen’s. You’re lucky he doesn’t treat you like shit. If I didn’t find you amusing, or see the change in him, I would try to kill you myself.”

  She gulped and stepped back against the door. “Galen wouldn’t like that.”

  His tight lipped smile wasn’t a happy one. “No, he wouldn’t. That’s why you’re safe, until he starts to hate you. Which I find inevitable. Humans always show their true colors eventually.”

  “May I remind you that you’re human.”

  His eyes narrowed. “No, we’re not. We were born human, but they changed us. They fucked us up. And your father was a big part of that.”

  “My father is a senator. He has very little active access to that part of the government. They regulate it, but even they don’t have all the facts.”

  “He wasn’t always a senator, was he? What was he doing, say thirty years ago? Twenty even?”

  She didn’t have a clue. What was he accusing him of? She bit her lip, not wanting to acknowledge her ignorance of her father to this man.

  “You don’t know, do you? Because I know exactly what he was up to. We all do.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Well, out with it. Tell me why you hate me.”

  “Now, now. Don’t put words in my mouth. I find you … interesting. I hate your father, and believe you’ll turn out to be his daughter through and through. He was an experimental psychiatrist where they were making us. He conducted everything to do with the brainwashing. We can’t help but blame him for our lives. He changed us. Our lives suck because of him. We’re not looking forward to dealing with him when we think he should be assassinated.”

  Jamila glanced away from him, her mind reeling. She had no idea her father had a hand in creating cyborgs. Galen could never love her. Her father had done too many terrible things to him. In ways, she looked a lot like him. Every time he stared into her eyes, did he cringe and think of the pain her father had caused him? Was that why when they’d met, he couldn’t seem to regard her with anything but contempt?

  A good way to hurt her father would be to murder her. Galen must know that. She needed to escape this ship and risk the trip back. There was no doubt in her mind now that she’d end up dead if she stayed. Her father wouldn’t bow to Galen’s commands, and these people were bent on revenge against him. She could see it in Torin’s eyes. She was a pawn to them and she needed to find a way out.

  “Any chance you can get me some food? I’d rather not go to the mess hall. I was threatened last time I went there.”

  Torin laughed. “Yeah, that bitch Ann thinks she owns Galen’s cock now. She gets like that sometimes. I’ll go out and get you food. She hates humans and would definitely make good on any threats.”

  The doors slid open automatically as he approached them and left. When they slipped closed again, she moved to stand in front of them but they didn’t budge. She wasn’t surprised. He’d be stupid to leave them unlocked, but it was worth a shot. She glanced around for a weapon. She didn’t want to kill him, just knock him out. There was nothing in here. It was like a person didn’t even live in this room. Galen was either a neat freak or owned no personal items.

  There had to be weapon in here. There was no way he’d be without. Space was dangerous. It was full of pirates and aliens and he was a fugitive from his own government. A ship could easily be boarded silently, and you might never know it until someone spotted the intruder and sounded the alarm, or they broke into your room and tried to kill you.

  The one strange thing she spotted was a keypad next to the head of the bed on the left side. She rushed to the bed and dived on it, scrambling for the other side. Some ships had safety boxes in the cabins to protect valuables. The only thing different about this one was that the symbols on the keys were like nothing she’d ever seen before. Had cyborgs created their own written language as well as a spoken one? She probably wouldn’t have been able to figure out the code even if she could recognize the signs.

  She wiggled her fingernails under the plastic keypad and tried to work it loose. She gritted her teeth as the dull throb of her nails threatening to pull from her fingers became more insistent. There was a small pop and she flinched, waiting for agony. Instead, the small plastic frame and keypad dropped to the floor.

  She examined the wires under the buttons. You’re going to electrocute yourself. Rubbing her hands together she considered them. Her inner skeptic had a point. It had been years since she’d had training in electronics. Thankfully, unless Galen had booby trapped this panel, it was unlikely to give her a fatal jolt. She tugged a wire from the center and it came loose with minimal effort. When she combined it with a wire from the bottom of the panel sparks flew from the entire thing. White hot pain hit her fingers sending tingles up her arms and she landed on her ass. She shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the shaky feeling the shock left her with. The good news? A large square of the wall was open ever so slightly. That wasn’t how she preferred to get his vault open, but it would do.

  Jamila pushed herself to her feet, and stumbled to the wall. She swung the door of the safe open and almost cheered when she spotted what was inside. She couldn’t believe her luck. It was a stun gun.

  Sinking into a chair behind the desk, she examined the stunner. She wasn’t sure how to use one. She’d only seen it done. But she’d been told it was only a matter of “point and shoot.” She hoped that was the case. Normal pistols had a safety. If the little stun gun had one she was screwed.

  She slid it between her knees and waited for Torin to come back. Hopefully he wouldn’t take forever. She would love to stand and pace, but that would probably arouse his suspicion. That was the last thing she needed. She had no idea what Torin might do to her if he discovered she was trying to escape. He wouldn’t be happy.

  The door slid open and Torin stepped through carrying a tray. She lifted the stunner and fired. His eyes widened as the beam struck him.

  “Fuck … ” His eyes rolled back in his head and he sank to his knees before collapsing onto his stomach. The tray clattered on the ground and she flinched. If anyone had heard or seen that, she wasn’t going to make it anywhere. She rushed to the door and peered out. There was no one in the hall. Yet. She needed to shove him into the room. She got on her knees and pushed his legs through the door. It would have been so much easier to pull the big bastard, but the doors would likely slide closed once he was inside, and that wouldn’t do. She struggled to get his heavy legs to move.

  “Damned cyborgs must weigh eight hundred pounds. Good lord.” They did have reinforced skeletons, but the metal was supposed to be light. But
after this she knew it couldn’t possibly be as light as everyone said. Or maybe this was how much people weighed. She’d never had to push an unconscious man through a doorway before.

  She finally managed to get his legs through the door and rested for a second against the frame. His eyes flickered open and she jumped.

  “Don’t do this.” His voice was so low she could barely make out his words. “You’ll be in terrible danger. Don’t leave.”

  “I have no choice. I’m convinced I’m going to end up dead. At the very least you’re going to use me for your own personal gain.” She snorted. “Besides, once you’re able to get up, you’re going to be pissed. I can’t stay now.”

  His hand clenched and then his eyes fell closed. Cyborgs were resilient. She’d never seen anyone wake so soon after they’d been shot with a stunner. The majority were out for at least fifteen minutes. Now she had only one problem. The door to Galen’s room hadn’t closed. Torin might have been awake enough to keep it from shutting. She couldn’t know for sure. It didn’t matter. She had to go.

  She stood and rushed down the hall. Thanks to the glance she’d gotten of the layout of the ship, she could easily find her way to an escape pod. It was four levels down. She made it to the lift without being spotted by anyone. She hit the button for the level she needed and waited.

  The lift ground to a halt before she’d reached her destination. A cyborg stepped into the elevator with her. He frowned but quickly pressed the button to get them moving again. He glanced down at her and took a breath like he would say something, but then he abruptly faced forward again, clasping his right wrist with his left hand. Did he suspect where she was going and why? Did he even know who she was? They couldn’t have many humans in this place. He didn’t look at her again and for that she was grateful.

  Chapter Ten

  Jamila stepped out of the elevator when they reached her level. When she glanced behind her, the man was watching her. He wasn’t intense about it, but he was definitely tracking her movements. She walked past the entrance to the life pod and kept going, waiting for the telltale whisper of the lift doors closing. When she heard it, she glanced behind her to check. Yep, he was on his way. She turned around and rushed toward the pod. She needed to hurry.