“It’s done,” he said.
Dane had always been terrified of losing Marq to a reprogramming session—whether it was in a mind-wipe chamber, a programming pod, or the seeming safety of their own regen beds. But this… This was so much worse.
He couldn’t help but imagine how he’d feel if Brigid had been stripped of her memories of him. They had only just met, and already the bond between them was so strong.
Kira and Brendan had been together for months. They were pair-bonded. Brendan had even been talking about having an Earth-style wedding for them once Kira learned how to use her exosuit.
It was too late for all that.
“I am so sorry,” Dane repeated.
Kira’s lips pressed into a line so tight, he could barely see any color to them. Her face had paled as well. Much more disturbing, her exosuit’s faceplate kept starting to close, then opening back up again. Back and forth, as if she couldn’t make up her mind about it—or it couldn’t decide what to do for her.
“Kira, you have to calm down,” Dane said. “You don’t want to lose control of that exosuit.”
“I’m not controlling it,” she snapped.
Dane’s stomach clenched. “If you’re not controlling it, who is? The Vegans?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean… I think it’s my nanNet.”
“NanNets don’t act independently of their hosts,” Marq said.
“Kira?” Dane prompted.
She kept her silence. He couldn’t blame her.
“What’s a nanNet?” Brigid asked, her voice gentle.
“Kira is augmented,” Dane said. “She had a nanNet installed when she went on active duty. It’s a colony of nanites that integrates with a host and boosts their cognitive function.”
“That is both cool and terrifying,” Brigid said.
Not as terrifying as it would be if the nanNet hadn’t integrated and the nanites were doing their own thing—especially with a Vegan exosuit involved. What would nanites even want with the thing?
“Have you lost control of your nanNet?” Dane asked.
Kira glared at him.
She was the only member of the Department of Homeworld Security who had been given a Vegan exosuit besides Ari, and he was Sarah’s bondmate. It made sense that the Vegans would trust him with their most powerful and personal technology, since Sarah had become the bridge between Earthlings and Vegans.
Dane had always been curious about why Kira was also given an exosuit—and why she alone had so much trouble mastering it. His theory had been that the Sadirian nanNet wasn’t compatible with the Vegan technology. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
“We need to know what’s going on,” Dane said.
“I don’t know what’s going on.” Kira spoke through clenched teeth. “Soldiers from the Reckoning attacked our Florida base. Sarah, Ari, and the Vegans easily defeated them with their exosuits. I was useless.”
“From the look of that door you tore through, I don’t think you’re useless anymore,” Brigid said.
Kira snapped her gaze to Brigid, and the Earthling shrank back.
Dane lifted his hand and gently gestured toward Brigid. “It’s okay. We’re gonna figure this out.” He turned back to Kira. “What happened then?”
“We received a message from Craig,” Kira said.
Dane felt a weight fall from him at the news. He felt like he could breathe a little more deeply knowing that Craig really had made it out okay.
“Are he and the nestling okay?” Brigid asked.
Kira’s gaze softened a bit. “They’re fine. But he… He told us what happened in Montana. That you were all captured.” She looked over at the programming pod. “I knew what would happen. I was desperate to get to Brendan. To stop this. I failed.”
“We saw you approach,” Marq said. “You were flying through the Sol system with just that suit on when you breached the heliosphere. Due to your size, we couldn’t get a lock on you before you punched a hole in an airlock, overrode the commands, and started making your way through the ship, stunning every soldier between you and this section.”
Exosuits could do that? No wonder the Vegans guarded that technology so closely.
“There is no way anyone could have arrived here faster,” Marq said.
Dane’s stomach did a little flip as he realized that Marq was trying to comfort Kira. The work they’d been doing to restore Marq’s emotions was definitely having an effect.
The programming pod beeped, then unsealed and slowly opened, the front panel sliding around the cylinder and out of the way. Brendan was inside.
He was still in his Earth clothes, resting against the white cushioning designed to prevent damage to the soldiers or citizens unlucky enough to have to go through this procedure. Brendan stirred, blinking his eyes against the bright light of the chamber.
Shit.
With no memory of what had happened, he was basically waking up on an alien spacecraft after being abducted. Dane was close enough to Brendan to know that this had always been a dream of his, but the circumstances were still bound to be unsettling.
“Um… Hello,” Brendan said. “This is awkward.” He looked around, his gaze fixing on Marq. “Nice cosplay. Very retro.”
Marq cocked his head to the side. “Is he speaking Earth English?”
Brendan just laughed. “Someone want to bring me up to speed on the storyline?”
Dane knew about this. Brendan had explained his favorite hobby of creating shared storylines with others, immersing themselves in the tale by dressing up and agreeing on scripts and events beforehand. Sci-fi cosplays were his favorite.
If only this was really a game.
Brendan’s gaze lingered for a moment on Brigid, but froze in place when he saw Kira. His eyes widened and his pale skin flushed.
“Hi,” he said.
Kira made a few stuttering sounds deep in her throat. She coughed, then said, “Greetings.”
Brendan’s smile grew. “So, I guess I’m one of the Earthlings, along with you two.” He nodded at Dane and Brigid.
“Brendan…” Brigid stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her. “Do you recognize any of us?”
“No.” He glanced around, giving each of their faces a more focused look. He pointed to Marq, then Dane. “Are you guys supposed to be strangers or is your backstory that you’re twins separated at birth, with one raised on Earth and the other in space?”
Marq lurched forward, raising his bracer. He’d barely moved before the tail attached to Kira’s exosuit lashed out, wrapping itself around Marq’s arm. The bracer fizzed and popped, dark smoke coming off of it before the exosuit ripped it away. Marq stumbled backward.
“Kira, stop,” Dane yelled. He ran to his brother and gripped his shoulders to help steady him. “Are you all right?”
Marq nodded.
“Whoa, that was cool,” Brendan said. “That tail thing…”
“How did you know about us?” Marq demanded.
“What, the twin thing?” Brendan shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious… And it’s kind of a trope.”
Kira’s faceplate half formed over her head as she really looked at them for the first time since she’d arrived. Dane could guess what data her exosuit was feeding her.
“You’re genetically identical,” she said. “But not clones. The DNA markers put in place by our geneticists are missing. That’s not possible… Unless—”
Brigid stepped between them, holding her hands in the air. “Hey, let’s just go with the backstory Brendan picked out, okay?”
“Are you guys new to this?” Brendan said. “Because you’re kind of all over the place.”
“You’ve…stepped into the middle of something,” Brigid said.
“I’d like to step out of something.” He glanced around the interior of the pod. “This set dressing is cool, but it’s strange talking to everyone from in here. Plus, I’d really like to get a closer look at that incredible costume you’ve ma
de.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off Kira. He leaned out of the pod, but then tilted to the side as if he’d lost his balance. Kira was there in an instant, holding him up.
“Thanks,” Brendan said. His cheeks had turned pink again.
Eventually, he would fall in love with Kira again. Dane was sure of it.
He wasn’t sure that Kira would ever get over what they’d lost, though. Dane couldn’t blame her.
Kira’s exosuit folded back on itself until it was just the thick bands of silver on her neck, arms, and legs that Dane was more accustomed to seeing. She was wearing a dark green tank top, shorts, and boat shoes. The Florida base had definitely been taken by surprise.
Of course, Brendan had never seen an exosuit, and from that close, there was no explaining away the incredibly advanced technology. He and Kira were practically embracing—Brendan’s arms over her shoulders and hers wrapped around his chest.
“How did you do that?” Brendan asked.
“I…” Kira stuttered, then bowed her head, resting it against his chest.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Brendan wrapped his arms around her more tightly. “Trade secrets and all. You don’t have to tell me.”
Brigid was chewing on her lips so hard, Dane was afraid she’d draw blood. Her eyes glittered and she sniffed loudly.
“This is getting a little weird,” Brendan said.
He looked around at the chamber with that focused look Dane had seen when Brendan was analyzing things, his gaze lighting on the control console and then fixing on the room outside. The room filled with unconscious soldiers.
“Where am I?” he asked.
“We don’t have time for this.” Marq stepped away, which gave Dane the chance to go to Brigid.
The moment he touched her, she wrapped her arms around his chest, tucking herself into his side as if she belonged there.
If he lost this—if that had been him standing where Kira was—he wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep himself from tearing the whole damned ship apart. And she had the means to do it.
“Brendan, this is going to sound crazy,” Dane said. “But you’re on a spaceship. A real spaceship.”
Brendan laughed. “Very funny.”
“Take a good look at the collar around Kira’s neck,” Dane said. “You just saw what it can do. That’s the most advanced technology in the galaxy at work.”
Brendan blushed deeper as he brushed Kira’s dark ponytail aside. Her hands fisted in the back of his shirt, and Dane felt it like a punch to the gut.
“This can’t be…” Brendan shook his head.
Kira finally stepped back from him, but her eyes were locked on the floor. “It can. It is. And you’re in danger.”
“So, what,” he said. “You all abducted me for some reason?”
“Not us, them.” Brigid pointed at Marq. “I mean, not him, but his coworkers. Co-soldiers. What’s the word for that?”
“Brigid, sweetie, you’re rambling,” Dane said.
She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just—”
Alarms began to blare, drowning out her words. The chamber blacked out for a moment before the dim emergency lighting came on.
“What the hell is going on?” Dane said.
Marq’s eyes had widened, his jaw lax. Of all the emotions Dane had wanted to see from his brother, fear was not one he’d been looking forward to.
“Commander Teisha realizes she miscalculated the threat Earth presents,” Marq said. “She’s taking us back to Sadr-4.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Sadr-4?” Brigid’s voice was a high squeak, and she didn’t care. “How are the Vegans going to be able to rescue us if we’re all the way at Sadr-4?”
“It’ll be okay,” Dane said. “The nearest dropgate generator is weeks away. The Vegans will have plenty of time to catch up with us.”
Dane squeezed her tighter, pressing her against his chest. She held on, willing herself to believe him.
“The Reckoning doesn’t need generators anymore,” Marq said. “I tried to contact you—to warn you. The ship can create its own dropgates into blue space now. That’s how we arrived so far ahead of schedule.”
“That’s not possible,” Kira said.
“The Tau Ceti and the Centurans have formed an alliance and worked together to develop new technology,” Marq said. “They call themselves the Tau Centauran Assembly.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Dane said. “Even if they had the resources to come up with this, there’s no way the High Council would let any Coalition planets form an alliance. Pitting us against each other is part of how they hold onto their power.”
“They would allow such an alliance if it meant getting access to technology that surpasses their own,” Marq said.
Brigid felt Dane still. He wasn’t even breathing. She rested one of her hands on his chest and looked up at him.
“You still think everything’s going to be okay?” she asked.
He bent down and kissed the top of her head. “I don’t know.”
“The Vegans were mobilizing when I left,” Kira said. Her voice sounded stronger. “And they don’t need dropgate generators, either.”
“So, we’re back at the original plan,” Brigid said. “Find somewhere to hide and wait to be rescued.”
“Oh, come on,” Brendan said. “There are a million things we could do instead. Sabotage the engines. Disguise ourselves as space soldiers.”
“I thought you understood that this isn’t a game,” Dane said.
Brendan shook his head. “The special effects and theatrics are great, but I’m not buying it.”
“Listen to me, Earthling,” Marq said. “You have been taken aboard the warship Reckoning and are en route to the seat of power for the Coalition of Planets—governed by the High Council—which controls most of the known galaxy. You have been found guilty of founding an unauthorized first contact committee and possession and distribution of forbidden knowledge.”
Brendan actually laughed. “Wow, I’ve been naughty. So, what? Now I go to space jail?”
“The penalty has already been meted,” Marq said. “Your memory has been reset to when you knew nothing related to the Coalition, Sadr-4, or the existence of aliens.”
“Is this the part where you show me a newspaper with a date on it so I can see how much time I’ve lost?” There was an edge to Brendan’s voice.
“Like we could get newspapers on a spaceship,” Brigid said. “It’s hard enough to find them on Earth.”
She was close to starting to ramble again, and bit her lip to keep quiet. She didn’t know what to do or how to help.
Dane stepped forward. “I know you don’t remember me, but we’re friends. You have a sister named Paige. She’s an environmental scientist who worked for Senator Conroy before he was killed by the Tau Ceti.”
Brendan’s brow furrowed as he glared at Dane. “Jim Conroy is a good man,” Brendan said. “You want to go dark with the storyline, fine, but leave him out of this. And Paige.”
“It’s already happened,” Marq said. “I studied General Serath’s reports about the events going on with Earth. But this was after you met Kira, so you don’t remember it.”
“We don’t have time for you to not believe us,” Kira said. “Your favorite color is the lime-green of leaves in early spring. Robbie the Robot gave you nightmares as a child.”
“I wouldn’t call them nightmares, but—” Brendan didn’t get a chance to finish.
Kira plowed on. “You tried to turn your mother’s vanity into an interocitor in first grade. You prefer apple cider to hot chocolate, Godzilla over King Kong.”
He snorted. “Boxers or briefs?”
“Boxer-briefs,” she said.
Brendan stared at her briefly, then looked away. “Lucky guess.”
“It had nothing to do with luck,” Marq said. “Though it’s been nullified now, your pair-bond was entered into Coalition record.”
Brigid’s heart felt like
it was being crushed in her chest. She could barely breathe. She touched Dane’s elbow, grateful when he wrapped his arm around her.
“Pair-bond?” Brendan said. He looked at each face surrounding him. When no one responded, his gaze returned to Kira and he repeated, “Pair-bond?”
“You and Kira were married,” Dane said. “But they made you forget her. Forget everything.”
Brendan shook his head and laughed, but there was an uneasiness to it. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other.
“I was married to her.” He pointed at Kira. “That’s the least believable thing you’ve said so far.”
“Hey,” Brigid snapped, bristling on Kira’s behalf.
“Because she’s…” Brendan took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. There’s no way I’d forget if I was married to her.”
“This strategy is failing.” Marq strode over to the dashboard-looking thing in the main chamber. He started tapping across its surface, then pulled a cord from his belt and hooked it onto something she couldn’t see.
“Marq, wait,” Dane yelled.
Brigid’s stomach lurched. Suddenly up was down and down was up. She kicked her legs as she floated up from the floor, scrambling for purchase. Dane held her closer against his chest.
“Calm down,” he said. “I’ve got you.”
“What the heck is this?” Brigid yelled. Her organs felt like they were all jumbled. She looked back at Marq, safely tethered to what must be the controls for the room.
“Zero-G.” Brendan’s eyes were wide.
Kira held onto his shoulder with one hand. She arced her body around as the silver bands around her legs expanded into boots. Her feet made a snapping sound as they attached to the ceiling.
“You are on an alien vessel,” Marq said. “There is an immediate threat to your life and the lives of everyone else here. There is also a threat to your homeworld if you can’t convince the High Council of the legitimacy of the first contact committee you founded.”
Marq tapped in more commands. The floor rushed at her, her innards smooshing back together with nauseating speed. Dane landed gracefully on his feet and kept her from hitting the floor. She clung to him as she regained her sense of equilibrium.
Coalition Reckoning Page 12
