by Rachel Aukes
It was a thought that had frequently been cycling through his systems. The hostile ship was keeping its distance, but Rusty could feel it scratching at his firewalls. It was probing for weaknesses, and that both concerned him and annoyed him.
The new router helped Rusty run scenarios of computer-led attacks against him, and he’d been making changes as flaws were identified. If the other ship’s computer kept up its attacks, Rusty had decided he would inform the crew and adjust from a defensive strategy to an offensive strategy.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I believe it’s time for us to bid a fond farewell to Free Station. Yank, take me to the Bendix.”
The hefty man nodded and reached for their space suits. “It’ll be my pleasure, Ms. East.”
He assisted her in dressing and led the way from Free Station’s command center, with the rest of the crew forming a protective barrier around her. As they walked briskly down the hallway and to the airlock, Yank slowed. He glanced back at her. “What about Pete?”
“What about him?” she asked.
“You’re just going to leave him in there?”
“Why shouldn’t I?” she asked.
“I thought you and he were—”
Her brows rose. “Lovers? We were, but that doesn’t excuse failure. If he wants off Free Station, he can find his own ride.”
Yank wisely didn’t say anything else. She was half-tempted to leave him behind with his captain for questioning her. But she knew that the crew of the Bendix had served together for years. Yank and Pete were, no doubt, close friends.
No other words were spoken as Yank rushed her out the airlock. They spacewalked down three levels of the station toward the Bendix, careful to avoid any cameras. It had taken hours, but they’d cut through the restraining cables, and the engines were already powered up. She stepped on board and felt the stress peel off her as the airlock door closed behind her.
While she hadn’t achieved all of her objectives, she’d achieved enough to be satisfied. She was now the most powerful person in the Ross system, and the Peacekeepers could do nothing to change that. Every person in the Ross system, from Hiraethian colonists to miners, would be tenured to her. The entire system was quite literally falling into her hands, and Chief had no idea she was no longer on the station.
Chapter Thirty
With a blaster in one hand, Yank guided Anna East and his crew down the hull of Free Station. He’d walked down plenty of hulls during his career as a pirate, where he’d quickly learned that the most important part of walking on someone else’s ship or station was not to be seen. That feat was proving easier said than done with the abundance of windows across the station. While many of the general quarters had no windows, the end of every hallway had a window, along with all officer quarters and shared rooms. The cafeteria had a series of windows that spanned its entire width, which forced Yank to lead his small team nearly fifteen minutes out of their way to avoid detection.
The walk was long. The muscles in Yank’s legs and feet ached from lifting the grav boots with every step. Anna East was half his size and had to be exhausted, but she never complained, which surprised him. He regularly looked at her to find her focused straight ahead as though concentrating on each step. He’d expected a pampered businesswoman to be even worse outside the command center. Instead, she deferred to Yank when she was outside her element. He was beginning to see how she’d survived as long as she had.
He’d see to it that she survived this job. Then he was looking forward to never having to kiss up to anyone ever again. He would start with a long vacation on a Hiraethian beach. He’d lounge, doing nothing, taking orders from no one, until he got bored. Then he’d return to space, doing what he did best, hunting yachts in the endless black sea and pillaging them for everything of value.
Yank glanced over his shoulder to make sure the others were keeping up. Benny, who was right behind him and carrying a photon rifle, winked. He was Yank’s best friend and a man who took only one thing seriously: guns. Yank and Benny had already talked about starting up their own crew, and Yank felt better knowing that he’d have someone he trusted watching his back.
The only person Yank had worked with longer than Benny was Pete, but Pete was not the type to be friends with anyone who worked for him. The captain was too dictatorial and too emotionally closed off. Plus, the skull fetish really freaked out Yank.
It was their long history that made Yank feel some regret at leaving Pete behind while they escaped. He supposed that same regret was why he hadn’t fully disarmed his captain when he’d locked him in that meeting room. If he knew Pete—and he knew Pete better than anyone—the pirate had likely broken out of his cell by now and was on his way to the docks.
Yank sped up their pace when the thought hit him. It was a very real possibility that Pete could beat them to the Bendix. Maybe Yank should’ve fully disarmed Pete when he’d had the chance.
Anna stumbled. Yank looked down to see sweat running down her face. He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Disengage your grav boots.”
She stiffened. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to carry you, Ms. East,” he replied.
She huffed. “I’m not an invalid. I’m capable of walking.”
“I know you are, but we need to hurry. We’ve been out here too long already.”
She watched him for a long second, her lips pursed, before she spoke. “Fine. Just don’t get any bright ideas.”
He smirked. “I won’t.”
Her boots released from the hull. He held her to him and looked over his shoulder once more. “Keep up.”
With Anna in tow, he doubled their pace. There were fewer windows in the final length of hull, which meant they could take a more direct route without fear of being seen. When they reached the outside of the space docks, he led his group around Free Station’s hull to an airlock. As soon as they were inside with artificial gravity, he released Anna.
She dusted herself off as though to smooth her suit.
Yank transmitted through his suit’s communication system. “Jazz, we’re nearly to you. Fire up the Bendix.”
“All right. She’ll be ready by the time you get here, but be careful. There are more and more Peacekeepers showing up,” Jazz’s response came through his speakers.
Yank glanced at the others. “You hear that? We might find ourselves some company.”
Benny bore a wide grin and clutched his rifle. “Yeah. I’m ready.”
The inner airlock opened, and the group of five stepped out, with Anna East cocooned by them. Yank, with his pistol, and Benny, with his rifle, led the group through the long, wide hallway.
Yank’s stomach knotted. He never liked space docks. Made for loading and unloading cargo, they were too open for his comfort. After spending his lifetime aboard ships with confined quarters, he supposed he’d developed the opposite of claustrophobia along the way. Yank preferred working in narrow hallways, where he could overpower just about any opponent he faced. But open spaces meant that dozens, even hundreds of people could face him at once, taking away the chance for a fair fight.
He made furtive glances to the left and right, searching for snipers hiding behind the computer terminals located near the airlock at each bay. The snipers would have to be petite to conceal themselves behind the streamlined terminals, but it was still possible.
His breathing quickened and his heart raced, and he wanted to sprint through the docks to the Bendix. Funny thing was that the void of space didn’t bother him. A person could see for a thousand miles. No one could sneak up on a person out there. But space docks? Yeah, they were scary.
Benny fired. Yank ducked and swung his pistol around as he searched for the hostiles. Yank came to a stop when he found Benny’s target.
A freaking box.
He glared at his friend. Benny smiled and shrugged. “It needed shooting.”
Yank shook his head. “Idiot.”
Flashes of lightning cut throu
gh the air the split second before the sound of the blaster shot. Benny grabbed his chest, gave Yank a surprised look, and then fell to his knees and toppled forward. More shots rang out.
“No!” Yank grabbed Anna’s arm and pulled her with him.
She wrenched free. “Hold on.”
“Your funeral,” he muttered as he flattened against the wall while he simultaneously fired and searched for the shooter.
Shooters. Plural.
Two Peacekeepers knelt in the open door of the elevator at the end of the hallway, aiming rifles. They weren’t marshals, which was likely the only reason Yank was still alive. Marshals wouldn’t need so long to aim. He continued to fire, but with the distance and only using a pistol, his shots went wide.
Anna East grabbed Benny’s rifle and went down on a knee. She fired once, then twice, taking out both Peacekeepers with well-placed shots. She stood.
Yank, wide-eyed, looked from the dead Peacekeepers to Anna.
She gave him a droll stare while she handed him the rifle. “Take this. I hate getting my hands dirty.”
He took the rifle and looked down at Benny. His eyes threatened to water, so he turned away. He noticed Nussbaum was also down, with a shot to the head.
Anna had already begun walking, and Yank and his only remaining crew member in that group, Listol, fell in alongside her. She led the rest of the way to the Bendix.
They reached the airlock with no further problems. Three Peacekeepers lay just outside the door, and Yank suspected Jazz had dealt with some problems while waiting for the rest of the crew. Yank closed the airlock door, and he suddenly felt safe. Though the weight that had been on his chest didn’t evaporate. What had been panic was smothered by sorrow as he looked out at his friend’s body through the window.
“We don’t have all day, Yank,” Anna said.
He turned around to see the inner airlock open and both Anna and Listol waiting impatiently in the hallway for him. He strode forward and led Anna to the bridge of the Bendix, where Jazz had all systems running.
“List, you take the guns,” Yank ordered the ever-silent Listol. “Take a seat anywhere you’d like, Ms. East,” he then said as he took the captain’s seat and began running the prelaunch checks.
“I’ll stand until we’re clear of this godforsaken station,” she said.
“Have it your way,” he mumbled as he managed the controls.
He was beginning to understand why people were entranced by Anna East, and he realized it had nothing to do with her beauty. It was because she was a dichotomy. She’d acted submissive while being led down to the Bendix, yet she’d taken out those two Peacekeepers like a sharpshooter.
She’d talked the entire Jader pirate fleet into taking the life-threatening job of invading Free Station, at the same time treating each of her employees like shit. She knew how to keep people guessing with her polarized behaviors.
And she was definitely a little insane.
Chapter Thirty-One
Skully Pete Antonov had finally sawed through the wall to expose the wiring. Yank knew Pete kept a switchblade in his boot, but he hadn’t taken it when he relieved his captain of his weapons. For that reason, Pete wouldn’t kill his best friend. He understood why Yank was going along with Anna East. She had a charisma that could suck a man in and make him feel like he was important to her…right up to the moment she stabbed him in the back.
He should’ve grabbed his crew and abandoned the station as soon as his gut started warning him that Anna’s obsession would bring trouble. Trusting his gut over anything else was one reason Pete had survived longer than many pirates—the willingness to do what needed to be done was the other reason.
He sorted through the wiring to find the right wire—it was always the red wire—to open the door. With no window in the door, he couldn’t know if a guard was posted, or if anyone was in the hallway. He’d have to risk it.
He used his switchblade to cut through the wire. The door opened, and he gingerly peeked through the doorway, holding his only weapon ready. Relief filled him when he saw no one. He kept the switchblade in his hand as he ran down the hallway, back toward the command center. His crew was serving as Anna’s protective detail, and he knew they would hesitate to kill their captain, even under her orders. He’d use that hesitation to take down whoever was nearest the door—likely Romeo and Nix—grab a blaster and finish off Anna East like he should’ve done when she’d first shared her insane plan.
He reached the command center to find the door open, which caused him to pause. Anna always kept her doors closed. A sinking feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, and he moved silently to peer into the room. There, he saw only one Jader remaining with the software specialists. The pirate hadn’t heard him, too busy eating a carb bar, so Pete stepped away before being discovered.
Anna and his crew had abandoned Free Station, which meant it could blow at any moment. He rushed down the hallway and slid down the vertical bar next to the stairs to the dock level. From there, he sprinted down the hallway, avoiding areas where he could hear shooting. He ran across a couple of other crews along the way. They were still at their posts, and he realized they’d no clue that they’d been left to die. He considered warning them, but he thought against it—they’d only slow him down.
He reached the docks to find a battle underway. He walked up behind a lone pirate laying down cover fire, clutched his greasy hair, and slashed his neck wide open. He grabbed the rifle before the man dropped it, and pocketed his switchblade. It looked like about a half-dozen Peacekeepers had retaken the docks, but they were pinned down by gunfire coming from Pete’s right.
He analyzed the situation, firing shots every few seconds to keep anyone from getting a bead on him, and he decided he didn’t have time. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began running toward the Peacekeepers.
They were firing haphazardly at the Jaders and didn’t notice his suicidal run until it was too late. Pete jumped onto the overturned skiff and fired at the Peacekeepers who’d been hiding behind it. They barely had time to form surprised expressions, let alone aim their rifles. He gunned them down within seconds.
When all that remained were bloody corpses under a haze of smoke, Pete turned to face three Jaders, who cautiously stepped out.
He heard his name, Skully Pete, whispered among the pirates.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” one of the men said in shock.
“Set up a blockade in the hallway over there.” Pete pointed. “There are more Peacekeepers headed this way.”
Still in awe, they agreed without hesitation and took off.
Pete headed toward the docking bay where the Bendix was parked. As he’d expected, it stood empty. Fury seethed. Not only had his crew mutinied, but they’d also stolen his ship. He didn’t waste time giving in to his anger. Instead, he strode toward the small Rabbit that he’d used during his infiltration of the Peacekeepers. As expected, the restraining cable was still attached. Coldly, calmly, he stepped up to the computer panel and went to work, trying to remove the cable. As he went through the command menus, he swore vengeance on Anna East and his crew. He’d get off Free Station. Then they’d all end up as new additions to his collection of skulls.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Throttle manually piloted the Javelin below Free Station, maintaining a gap of only five feet between the station’s hull and the ship. Chief Roux sat in Sylvian’s seat. Behind him stood Finn and the other four marshals who would be going after Anna East on level eight, while the seven marshals going for the command center on level nine waited in the Javelin’s cargo bay, ready to spacewalk up one level the moment the ship stopped.
Finn had already put on his chime suit and had placed Throttle’s suit next to her station. As she piloted, she tapped the ship’s intercom. “Eddy, report.”
“Eddy’s not aboard the Javelin,” Rusty said.
Throttle frowned. She knew Eddy didn’t like being away from the ship and would’ve hust
led through his assignment. She hadn’t thought to check that he was on board when they arrived. As the Javelin reached the edge of Free Station, she pulled the ship into a vertical climb, keeping it as close to the station’s hull as before.
“How’d you set up your ship computer to speak without asking it a question?” Marshal Williams, the only other female on their team, asked.
“Sylvian and Eddy spend a lot of time tweaking Rusty’s processes,” Throttle answered before tapping her comm-chip. “Eddy, report.” Her voice echoed through Finn’s comm-chip. When Eddy didn’t respond, Finn tried to reach him. Still nothing.
“He might have his chip turned off,” Finn offered.
“I can confirm that Eddy is alive and has disarmed the explosives,” Rusty said.
“He told you that?” Throttle asked.
“No. Bonkers did,” Rusty answered.
She frowned. “Who?”
“That’s the name he gave to the bot he took along for company.”
Finn chuckled drily. “Of course he did.”
“I like your ship computer. Think your crew could take a look at mine?” Williams asked.
“Maybe some time, Marshal Williams,” Throttle answered.
“Call me Hank,” the marshal replied. “Everyone else does.”
Throttle mostly ignored the other marshal. “Rusty, where is Eddy now?”
“He is at the emergency airlock on level one. He arrived right after we disconnected.”
Throttle grimaced. “He’s not going to be happy with me.”
