Dragon's Promise

by Natalie Grey

  It was slow work to make it to the office, but Nyx was patient enough with that. She kept herself moving slowly, making her movements off-tempo and rough. No one, even with their ear pressed to the vents, would hear the regular thuds and scrapes of someone crawling, but instead the clicks and creaks of metal heating and cooling by turns in the moon’s low atmosphere. By the time they arrived, however, all of them were aching and exhausted, and Nyx ordered a few moments’ rest as she peered through the vent at their target below.

  The overseer led a life of relative leisure, she could see that at once. While outpost rations didn’t leave much opportunity for a person to add excess weight, and it would be suicidal to outgrow one’s pressure suit, this man clearly did the bare minimum to stay the right size. He was sitting with his feet up on the desk, the tablet in his lap showing the characters of a book.

  “Disappointing,” Loki murmured. “It’s funnier to catch them with their pants down.”

  There were snickers of agreement from the Dragons.

  “Loki and Esu, come down with me.” Nyx allowed the hint of laughter into her voice. “Team Alpha, you’re on backup. Stabby, you read me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Keep the shuttle warm. I have the sense we’ll be heading straight out once this is done. Right above my location.”

  “Aye aye.”

  They were all beginning to sound like Tersi. Nyx shook her head with a grin and checked in with Esu and Loki before dropping silently to the floor behind the overseer. With one smooth movement, she yanked the man’s chair back, taking him out of range of the alarm button, and watched as Esu placed a hand over his mouth. The overseer’s wide eyes took in the two pistols pointed directly at him and he gave a muffled squeak before putting his hands out, palms up. Panic rolled off him in waves.

  “Good afternoon,” Nyx said. She knew that her voice hissed through the helmet’s speakers in a way that unnerved most people, and she smiled when the man’s adam’s apple bobbed nervously. “Don’t worry, you and I are going to get along just fine—as long as you tell me everything you know about Ghost.”

  The man made a muffled noise. When Esu removed his hand, the overseer shook his head.

  “Ghost?” he asked blankly.

  “Wrong answer.” Nyx let the hammer of the gun click back.

  “Wait! Wait. Please.” He gave a hiccupping sob. “Please, it’s the truth. Who’s Ghost?”

  There was a silence while Nyx and the others waited. The guns did not waver, but every one of the Dragons had narrowed their eyes. There was the frantic ring of truth in the man’s voice.

  “I’ll start again.” Nyx used a pleasant tone that she knew from experience brought most people out in cold chills. “A smuggler named Ghost visited this facility recently. So if you really don’t know who Ghost is, you can just tell me about anyone who’s been here recently.”

  “There, ah….” The man’s eyes darted around the room, and Nyx cursed internally.

  “Calm down.” Her voice was a whiplash. She’d seen that frantic look on people’s faces before, and it almost always meant they were about to do something stupid. “All you have to do is tell me who was here recently.”

  “No one! No one came here!”

  “Really.” She took a lazy seat in one of the nearby chairs, making sure her gun didn’t waver for a moment from his face. “Let’s think critically. Did anyone unusual arrive before the subcommittee came to visit?”

  “You know about that?”

  Nyx gestured at the red patch on her armor and said nothing.

  “Right.” His face paled. His eyes were darting back and forth. “No. The new guards came. All normal. No trouble in the barracks. Then the subcommittee.”

  “Right, then. Anyone shifty come along after them?”

  “No.”

  “So why the guards?” Nyx let her voice go soft, leaning forward.

  “Of course we need guards!”

  “There’s too many of them, which tells me you’re hiding something. What is it?”

  “I’m not hiding anything!” He gave a brief struggle as Esu’s hand clamped down over his mouth. He took the hint and lowered his voice. “The subcommittee ordered these guards. I told them….”

  Nyx resisted the urge to sink her head into her hands. This was just the sort of ridiculous crap she would expect a senator to do. They must have known there was a smuggling operation going on and figured that more guards would make everything better.

  “What about with—”

  But she got no farther, because the man lunged out of Esu’s grasp and slammed his hand onto an unremarkable square of the wall. Unremarkable it might be, but it was clearly rigged in some fashion. The wail of alarms started at once.

  “Shit.” Nyx was moving without conscious thought, her fist slamming into the side of the man’s jaw. She shoved his unconscious body under the desk and gave a glance at the security readouts on the man’s computer. She flicked one finger over the main comm button. “Warehouse security, this is Commander Alvarez of the Dragons. We are a government force and authorized to be here. Please cease your attack.”

  The spatter of gunfire against one window showed her how likely that was.

  “Damn it all. Alpha and Beta, you go out the airlocks and up to get picked up. Esu and Loki…this is about to get interesting.” She did not dare let the guards now approaching see her disappearing into the vents. Best that most of the team got out safely.

  “What’s the plan?” Loki holstered his pistol and had his rifle out in one smooth motion.

  Nyx twitched one of the curtains aside and peered out.

  “See that platform?” She jerked her pistol at the center of the main room, where a rising platform led to an airlock in the roof of the warehouse. “We’re gonna take that straight up.”

  “I’ll get it in motion, boss.” Tersi’s voice echoed through their headsets. “I’d say you have about twenty-five seconds to get to it.”

  “Right.” Nyx looked around at the others. A shout had gone up, and the clang of footsteps was getting closer over the wail of the sirens. “Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  “Good.” She slammed the door open and went out in a crouch, grimacing as a volley of bullets whizzed over their heads. There might be too many mercenaries in the room, but Kellen trained their soldiers well.

  It was now or never. Nyx took off, pounding down the hanging walkway and feeling it sway beneath the weight of the Dragons. She was halfway along when she hurdled the railing and launched herself into space, landing and rolling on the top of one of the sets of crates. This would lead them all the way to the slow-rising landing…if they managed not to get shot in the process.

  Stay low. She clamped her mouth shut on the words. Dragons knew how to handle themselves in gunfire, and micromanaging in combat could kill people. Her footsteps echoed in her own ears and she sprinted as fast as biotics and muscles alike would take her. At one point, she felt the searing heat of a bullet passing too close, and at another, Esu gave a yell of pain but kept running. They leaped, one after another, catching the edge of the platform and hauling themselves up as it ascended past them. Nyx took an inventory of her body as she rolled to a crouch and, finding nothing beyond the bruise from the too-close bullet, looked over at the other two. A hole in Esu’s thigh plating was dripping, and his face beneath the visor had gone an unhealthy shade of grey.

  The clang of metal let them know they weren’t alone. As the platform approached the airlock, a dozen mercenaries pulled themselves over the edge. Nyx didn’t wait for them to make the first move. She pushed herself up and slammed into the right edge of the group. Precise strikes with the butt of her rifle hit weak points in the shoulder and neck plating, and she heard screams from her opponents. One of them kicked hard at her back, and she hissed in pain.

  Loki was raising hell on the other side of the platform, but Esu wouldn’t be able to help with this—and a fight was no place for him to start shooti
ng; he was pressing a temporary seal desperately over the hole in his armor. As the chamber vented and the cold rushed in, Nyx planted her foot and lashed her heel out to take the largest of the mercenaries down. He fell like a sack of bricks and the rest of them were on her. She fought her way through the haze of kicks and punches to plant her feet. Two went off the edge of the platform as it rose into the thin atmosphere of the moon.

  Orin, bless him, had brought the shuttle around in perfect time. Nyx darted a glance as Esu was hauled inside, and then the shuttle banked away as three of the mercenaries rushed it.

  “Be ready when we come back around, boss.” Tersi’s voice was in their earpieces.

  “Got it. Loki, get as many as you can off the platform.” Impact slammed into her head and stars crashed through her vision. Two more went tumbling away at her next kick, one carrying the other over the edge, and Nyx gave a feral grin as she punched the last one away. “Got them all?”

  “One second…,” Loki’s tackle carried the last one over the edge and he dropped to a crouch, dragging one magnetic boot to slow his momentum. “There we go. Ah, shit, turrets.”

  “Run!” Nyx was running as the shuttle banked back. Gun turrets were rising around them, swiveling to point down at the figures on the platform. These would be computer-controlled, Nyx knew—with no error and no mercy. The barrels of the turrets’ guns were extending, and she pushed her battered body to the limit as she leapt for the open door. Arms caught her, and she and Loki tumbled together onto the floor. She had time to register the pain in her head, her shoulder, her knee, and then the world went blessedly black.

  21

  Mala rocked back and forth, her fingertips digging into her sides. They had been in surgery for an hour now, Nyx and Loki and Esu, and the rest of the crew had gathered around the windows to peer in. What was a meaningful ritual to the Dragons was only making her feel worse, and no amount of reassurance that Nyx was just sleeping made Mala feel any better. She took a deep breath and counted to ten as she watched Tersi finish working on Esu. The other Dragons were watching intently enough that Mala knew they cared; they held vigil because they cared, after all. But the sight of a bullet wound was no longer shocking to them.

  When the door opened, Tersi gestured Mala in.

  “See?” His smile was gentle as they stood over Nyx’s sleeping form. The woman’s chest rose in deep breaths, her face peaceful. “She’s all right. Now, come on. We’ll let her rest, and get you some tea or something.”

  “No, I …I’d like to stay.” Mala’s voice was quiet, but firm. When he opened his mouth to protest, she shook her head adamantly. But it wasn’t her ship, and so she made an effort to keep her voice soft. “Please. I’d like to stay.”

  Tersi hesitated only a moment. “Of course.” He brought her a chair. “Come find me if you need anything.”

  “I will.” Mala spared a moment to meet his eyes, and smiled. The crew was so kind to her, and she could only possibly be an inconvenience to them. “You’ve been wonderful, thank you.”

  “You remind me how strange some of this is.” The sadness was back in his eyes. “We like to think we’re invincible, but we’re nothing of the sort. When Nyx wakes up….”

  “Yes?”

  “Tell her not to be so damned stubborn next time. Tell her to take the easy way out.” There was a touch of genuine fear there. Tersi opened his mouth as if to say something else, and then shook his head. “Maybe she’ll listen if it comes from you.”

  He was gone silently and Mala stared after him with a frown, guilt twisting in her gut. Whatever Nyx had done, she might not have done it if Mala had just talked her out of going down to the warehouse. There would be clues enough on Seneca, and Nyx could talk to the senators on the subcommittee. They would track down Ghost there … and they could have avoided these injuries entirely.

  Mala sank her head into her hands. It was her cowardice that had led them all here. She could hear a tiny voice whispering that Nyx had chosen this path herself, but her heart didn’t believe it. She bit her lip as she looked up, and reached out quietly to take the woman’s hand. The fingers twitched, and then curled around hers.

  Mala stared at their intertwined fingers, hers still with the faint hints of engine grease around the nails from the other day’s shuttle repairs, and Nyx’s fingertips and knuckles showing the calluses of a fighter. This felt comfortable—if Mala could forget that Nyx was on an operating table because of Mala’s screw up, that was. Screw up, and deception. Maybe if she could practice saying the truth while Nyx was asleep, she’d have the courage to say the words again when the Dragon woke up.

  “Melissa?” Her voice was a whisper. “Nyx? I have something I have to say.”

  “Mmm?” Nyx’s voice was dreamy, still half-lost in a haze of drugs.

  Mala jumped and swore. “You’re awake?”

  “Little bit.” Nyx rolled her head with an effort and smiled, her eyes heavy-lidded. “You’re here.”

  “I am.” It was impossible not to smile at that sleepy look of happiness. Mala tilted her head and squeezed Nyx’s fingers gently. “How do you feel?

  “Like my head’s full of clouds.” Nyx opened and closed her mouth a few times, grimacing. She was beginning to wake up in earnest now. “Is there any water?”

  “I’ll get some.” Mala looked around herself, lost, and rummaged around in some of the cupboards to find cups, walking gingerly to avoid jostling Esu and Loki. She returned with a filled cup. “Do you always get beat up this bad?”

  “Not always. This time was … special.” Nyx frowned as she tried to push herself up, and smiled when Mala looped an arm around to hold her. “Thanks.”

  “Uh-huh.” Mala tried not to notice how her breath stirred the other woman’s hair, and how it felt to have her leaning close, sipping sleepily at her water. It was all she could do not to stroke the other woman’s hair or tighten her arms. Having Nyx here, warm and solid against her, felt right.

  “Are you okay?” Nyx asked.

  “What?”

  “Your fingers clenched. Are you okay?”

  “Oh.” Mala hastily helped the other woman sit upright, and then sank back into her chair. “I was just worried about you.”

  “You don’t have to be.” Reason seemed to be returning, and Nyx did not look pleased with the state of her world. “It was my own damned fault. And I got them hurt, too.” She rested her elbows on her knees and sank her head into her hands.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true,” Mala said automatically.

  “It is.” Nyx’s voice was muffled. “God, the whole thing was wrong from the start and I just didn’t … didn’t trust my gut. We should never even have gone in. We got nothing useful.”

  “Nothing? Did you…find anyone who’d seen Ghost?” Mala wanted desperately to reach out and touch Nyx’s arm, try to get her to uncurl from her little ball of misery.

  “No, the overseer swore he hadn’t ever seen a smuggler come through there. It was…it was all wrong there, too. Fucking politicians. They loaded that place with guards and the damned fools didn’t even heed government authorization.” She sat up, clenching one fist down on her knee as she stared into the middle distance. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Then you have learned something,” Mala observed quietly. “The guy from Camelot said Ghost had been there, but no one saw him. Is it a him?”

  Nyx only shrugged moodily.

  “Okay, well. That means they must have been hidden somewhere really clever. You know more about them than you did, and you know the overseer isn’t in on it. And you know the guards are involved somehow.”

  “What?” Nyx looked over at her sharply.

  “You said you had government authorization and they didn’t stop attacking, right? Well, that tells you something.”

  “You’re right.” Nyx frowned. “Ghost must have gotten to the guards, if nothing else. I can’t believe I didn’t see that.”

  “You’ve been drugged out of your mind fo
r most of the time since you learned that,” Mala pointed out.

  “Still, I…” Nyx sighed and shook her head.

  “I’m so sorry,” Mala whispered. The words came out of nowhere, prompted by the misery in the other woman’s face and the guilt that bubbled up unpredictably. Ever since Camelot, she’d been waking up in the middle of the night, wanting to go confess everything.

  So, you know how you mentioned Eve Orion…

  “What do you have to be sorry for?” The woman made her way down from the table a bit shakily.

  “For not…not saying that this might be a trap. Look, I—”

  “That wasn’t on you to know. It was my mistake.” The Dragon leaned back against the table, arms folded.

  The rest of them don’t think so. They get a little worried for you, but they think you’re amazing.”

  “Worried? Let me guess. Tersi wanted you to talk to me.”

  “Uh…” Mala’s face flamed.

  “It’s okay. I…messed up. And he’s going to be cautious right now. He lost someone. Recently. He has a new appreciation for risk.”

  “That’s why he looks so sad.” Mala looked to the door, remembering his expression as he left. “He looks sad a lot. I…you said he lost someone?”

  “Sphinx.” Nyx swallowed hard and looked away. “We lost two going after Soras: her and Meph. We knew it was that kind of mission. We were going against orders, and it was to corner a man who’d taken over a planet. We knew. But it’s still hard to see it happen.”

  Mala sat frozen, fear pounding in her blood. She’d thought, deep down, that the Dragons were invincible. It took Nyx lying on that table, and this story, to show her what she should have known already: Dragons went into terrible danger regularly. Nyx was in the line of fire every day, and what had happened to Sphinx…

  Mala closed her eyes.

  “Hey. Don’t be scared.” Nyx crouched down, wincing a little. She looked up into Mala’s eyes. “You’re safe.”