“For fuck’s sake.” She slammed her heel against the metal table.
The doctor raised his blond eyebrows over his glasses. “Kicking my table isn’t going to help the pain any.”
Selene narrowed her eyes at him. “No, but it makes me feel better.”
“Interesting.” The doctor jotted something down on a chart.
Beside the table, Rikkard leaned against the counter on the back wall, his face wiped clean of emotion. He wasn’t a huge fan of Erock, especially since the man had plucked her right out of the cruiser, and carried her all the way to the office. The pirate captain stood beside the door, shaking his head at Selene.
It wasn’t her fault she was in pain, nor was it her fault they were there. If she’d had it her way, they’d be back in their small cruiser at Bakura, and she’d be downing an old bottle of whiskey until she didn’t feel a thing.
Unfortunately, the doctor had advised against that, especially with the blood loss and mild concussion.
“As soon as this is fixed, we’ll get out of your hair,” Selene said. She grimaced as another spike of pain shot through her, and she glared at her leg, her pants torn all the way up to her knee. She wiggled her bare toes.
“Nonsense.” Erock rolled his eyes. “You’ll stay for a few days. You and your crew.” Erock glanced at Rikkard, who continued to remain emotionless.
She suddenly regretted telling Rikkard about where she’d gotten her clone body. If she hadn’t, they wouldn’t be there, and she’d be asleep in a drunken stupor.
“You’ll need a new body soon, won’t you?” Erock asked.
Selene bit her lip. That was true. It had been four days since she’d gotten this one, and if she didn’t get a new one soon, she was going to start feeling a lot worse.
“I suppose,” she mumbled.
“Then it’s settled. Once your crew arrives, I’ll set you up in private quarters.” Erock grinned, all too pleased to have a reason to keep her around a few extra days.
She couldn’t resist glaring at him. This was turning out to be a long ass, disappointing day.
“The nanites should have you fixed up in a few minutes,” the doctor said, oblivious to Erock’s alternative motives. “You should get some rest after, but if you’ll be getting a new clone body, we could always run the procedure tonight.”
Selene shook her head. “Not tonight.” Rikkard narrowed his eyes, but she was sticking to her guns. “I need some sleep,” she said, arguing against his silent protest.
The doctor nodded. “Fine, fine, but it’s been a few days, so we should get you in there first thing tomorrow, or you might start seeing some negative effects, especially with all the strain you’ve put on yourself.”
Selene grimaced and looked down at herself. She was covered in dirt, dust, and blood. Her once mostly black clothes were now greyer than anything, and she had tears all through her legs and arms. She sighed, and shook her head. She still couldn’t believe she’d lost to the Director, of all people. The Dominion had literally built her to be a fighter, and she couldn’t even do that. But if she’d had her own body to fight, who would have won then? She’d never know with her body lying dead on the street somewhere.
As the nanites continued to do their magic, her head slowly cleared, and the wound on her leg sealed. Though she was still sore from head to toe, and had a headache with the strength of a thousand knocks to the skull, she’d be fine. But right now she was ready for sleep. She wanted to forget the whole terrible day, and more than anything she just wanted to be alone.
Sliding off the table, she wobbled slightly, causing Rikkard and Erock to step forward. Selene held up her hands. She didn’t want their help. “I’m fine,” she said.
“I do recommend you stay off your feet until you’ve rested,” the doctor said, barely looking up from his holopad.
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, and made her way to the door.
Erock stepped aside to let her go, a curious look on his face. Thankfully he didn’t pursue it, and let her be.
Heading out into the metal hall, Selene marched back the way they’d come, dodging leering pirates as she went. The cool metal grates chilled her bare foot, and she grimaced as she realized she’d forgotten her boot in the doctor’s office.
“Selene.” Rikkard followed, catching up to her within moments.
“I’m okay,” she said, knowing his look of concern all too well. “I just want to be alone for a bit.” Alone so she could cry or scream, or throw things without being judged. “Get a room from Erock. I’ll just be in the cruiser.” She held up her hands defensively as he narrowed his eyes at her. He didn’t like her being alone, especially after she was hurt, and especially on a pirate ship, which she had a feeling he was considering enemy territory.
“You’ll be careful?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Selene’s hand went to her hip, where her pistol was now holstered. “I’ll be okay.”
Rikkard nodded, no hint of a smile on his face. He turned back the way they’d come, and disappeared around the corner.
Selene sighed and continued down the hall, winding through the metal corridors until she reached the cargo bay. The rest of the halls were clear of pirates, and she was glad for it, as fire burned in her belly, and tears blurred her eyes.
She arrived at the black cruiser with tinted windows, and opened the passenger door. She slipped inside, relaxing on the soft fabric of the interior. She closed her eyes.
Images of her own dead body flashed before her eyes, a black hole burned through her skull, only one sightless eye remaining. Her fists closed, and she punched the dashboard. Stupid. She was so fucking stupid. How could she have let this happen?
She slammed her fist against the dash again and again until her knuckles broke and pain snapped through her, cutting away her despair and replacing it with anger.
Staring at her bloody knuckles, she watched red well in the cuts before slipping down her fingers.
Tears burned her eyes and she held her hands up to her mouth before screaming her heart out against her skin, trying to muffle the sound as best as she could.
Everything had gone wrong for what felt like months now. From her own personal hell with the Dominion, to a new, fresh kind of hell living in Pate’s penthouse. She was so angry, so frustrated with it all. It seemed that no matter what she did, something always went wrong. Someone had to get shot. Someone had to die.
The body toll was rising with every plan. Where would it end? Would everyone she encountered be sentenced to death?
She screamed again, and her throat squeezed painfully. Her chest seized, and her breath caught in her throat as violent coughs shook her body.
Her chest throbbed and her mind spun as something wet hit her palms. She leaned back, blinking in confusion at the splash of red across her hands, and the taste of copper in her mouth.
Damn.
She had less time than she thought.
Selene started awake, her whole body shivering as she heaved in a breath. Her heart beat loudly in her ears as she blinked away images of stark labs and blue filled vats, her own face staring up at her, a hole through its head.
She rubbed her arms to get rid of the goosebumps covering her flesh. It was just a dream. A damn nightmare.
Rikkard shifted behind her, his arm loosening around her waist as he turned over. He settled with his back to her, his warmth no longer pressing against her back. A shiver crawled up her spine. She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to rely on the comfort of his presence.
Selene glanced over her shoulder as he snored softly and fell back into sleep. She couldn’t help smiling. With his hair tousled and his face relaxed, he looked younger, closer to a boy than a man, even with the three day-old stubble, and small frown lines forming around his mouth.
She took a deep breath and lay back down, staring at the ceiling. It was grated like the floor with circuits and wire twisting behind it.
What had she been dreaming about again? Th
e Dominion. Labs. Her own dead body. She shivered. Right. Pleasant nighttime thoughts, Selene.
She closed her eyes to go back to sleep, but flashes of her dreams had her pulse spiking and she quickly decided it was time to say screw it and get up.
As quietly as she could, Selene slid off the bed, finding her boots and one of Rikkard’s oversized t-shirts. Though she slept in one, it was coated with her nightmare sweat, and she quickly tossed it for something clean before tying up her hair.
Clipping on her utility belt, she harnessed her laser pistol and slid out into the hall.
For a pirate ship, it was surprisingly quiet in the middle of the night. For some reason, maybe because of their reputation in the criminal community, she’d expected all night ragers, maybe some thumping music, or at least some fighting and drunken howls.
But instead of, well, any of that, the ship might as well be a graveyard. Selene walked the halls, no real destination in mind as she looked around. She hadn’t gotten a great look at the ship before, but it reminded her a lot of the old cargo ship they’d used as a base, before she was nearly killed, and taken by the Dominion again.
She wondered if she’d ever see their old base again. She had a lot of suits leftover and a few of her favorite guns and mementos tucked away in her room. What would the Dominion do with their ship anyway? It had to be useless to them, without all the high tech operating systems or anti-matter power.
She shook her head. Did it really matter anyway? The ship was gone. Though in a sense it felt like her home was taken—even if her home was truly with her friends—home having never truly been a place. But the cargo ship was the only solid place she’d lived for over three years with the smugglers. If they didn’t have their ship, what did they have? They couldn’t keep living in small cruisers forever. Eventually their money would run out, and they’d have to start taking jobs again.
Selene sighed. Her line of thinking was getting her nowhere, and she wasn’t even sure if it mattered. Now that her body was gone, what did they have? She had no mission, no goal. When she met Sav, Flik, and Lanny, they’d given her a purpose. Not only to kill Pate and take her revenge, but to expose the corruption of the Dominion. Should that continue to be her cause? It felt strange, doing something like that without all the information and tech the Alliance rebels had, but she had to do something with her life.
Continuing through the ship, Selene stopped as she entered the mess hall, a huge metal room with circular metal tables and stools all bolted into the floor. It reminded her of the cargo ship, and her heart squeezed.
She looked around the room and froze as she realized someone else was still awake.
“Rem?” She raised an eyebrow.
What was he doing up at this hour?
At the far corner of the mess hall, Rem sat with his holoscreen and holokeys on the table. His eyebrows were furrowed, and the cold light of the screen lit his features.
Selene crossed the hall slowly. “Rem?”
Again, he didn’t answer, his eyes riveted on whatever he was reading. His eyes scanned the screen and his fingers flew. Dark circles marred the skin beneath his eyes. When was the last time he’d slept?
As she approached, his eyes grew wider and wider until he might as well be an alien himself. His mouth dropped open, and his fingers froze.
“Rem?” she tried again.
Rem jerked back, so startled he leapt right to his feet, and nearly toppled into the wall.
“Whoa!” Selene held up her hands. “Hey, it’s just me.”
Rem took a deep breath, panting as if he’d run a marathon. “Dammit, Selene! You scared the hell out of me!”
“I can see that,” she said. “What are you doing? It’s the middle of the night.”
Rem looked back at his computer, a strange look overtaking his face.
“You should get some sleep,” she continued. “You haven’t slept much since…” she paused, not wanting to say since Lanny died, even though they both knew what she was going to say. “In a few days…”
Rem shook his head and slowly sat back down. Again his eyes began to widen as he read the page. Selene sighed and came up behind him, leaning over his shoulder.
“What the hell are you looking at?” she asked.
He looked up at her, again with wide eyes, before he motioned at the screen.
Two windows occupied the majority of the screen, one a code breaker box scrolling with infinite type, English words, numbers, and alien symbols. The second page was the text converted directly into English. The symbols flipped one by one, turning the characters to English letters.
At the top of the screen, three words made her freeze.
The Icarus Project.
Dread pooled in her stomach, and cold washed over her skin from head to toe as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her. Her eyes widened as she scanned the page, her dread growing.
Code name: The Icarus Project
Primary objective: To dominate planet Earth in five hundred years, converting it to atmospheric conditions appropriate for the Darri species.
Secondary objective: Enslave human race for the Darri Commission.
Third objective: Create a small elite security force loyal to the Dominion, and insert Dominion moles into the elite team to observe and report on the Darri transition.
Step one: Kill all Zahkx crewmembers aboard Saegon IG-TR2 not loyal to the Aldar Dominion and the success of The Icarus Project.
Step two: Diminish the population of Earth by ninety percent using solar flare radiation.
Step three: Research and observe human interaction during the fallout of known society. Once the population is reduced to less than one billion, initiate first contact.
Step four: Make the Aldar indispensable to humans.
Selene froze, her heart racing as she read. But she knew the rest of the story, because from there it was all history. The Aldar Dominion introduced themselves to humanity as their alien saviors. They gave them shelter, supplies, and clones to survive the radiation, the disease, and the cancer. They’d virtually saved humankind, or so the entire planet thought.
“This can’t be real,” Rem said.
Selene sat down hard in the chair beside him. “Is it?”
Rem exchanged a terrified look with her, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. It was real. Very, very real.
“Well, shit.”
To Be Continued…
Pre-Order Book Three: The Darri Commission
Coming November 19th.
Selene and Rikkard’s journey is just heating up! What will they do with this new information about the Dominion? And how will they stop them from enslaving the human race?
Find out in the book three,
The Darri Commission!
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Katherine Bogle is the bestselling author of the steampunk phenomenon, QUEEN OF THIEVES, as well as the international bestselling DOMINION RISING series.
She first found success with her debut novel, Haven, which came second in the World’s Best Story contest 2015. Since then, she has gone on to release 14 books with one core theme: kick-butt heroines. Though her series may span genres—from fantasy, to steampunk to science fiction—she will always write about strong women overcoming the odds.
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The Zahkx Alliance: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Adventure (Dominion Rising Book 2) Page 23
