Star Marque Vendetta [Chapters 19-21]

Hey guys!

More Star Marque! It's almost time for the release! Woo! <3

CHAPTER NINETEEN

UNDER ARREST

Fat-Head stepped forward. “Get on the ground.”

“We’re enforcers,” I growled, holding up my PAD. “Leave us!”

Cai leapt onto the road and dashed after our target. I figured I could cut Horas off if I went out the front gate and headed for the main road. There was only one way out of here, after all. That punk would have to come to me.

The guard probably didn’t believe us—not when Cai had offered him a completely different story for our presence. Fat-Head, in the most foolish move he could’ve made, shoved the tip of his rifle into my shoulder.

Which was going to cost him.

I grabbed the laser rifle and slammed it back into Fat-Head’s face. I broke his nose, and blood exploded out his nostrils and onto his jumpsuit. Then I jerked his weapon out of his grip.

“Step off, asshole,” I said as I threw his weapon to the ground.

Fat-Head stumbled back, his eyes watering and his hands up over his busted face. Crimson soaked his chin and palms. He didn’t say anything—a smart move—and instead, turned and ran off.

I gritted my teeth as I returned my attention to the security station.

Horas was already gone.

And so was Cai.

Cursing under my breath, I stepped onto the road, dashed in front of a moving truck—the bastard honked—and stepped around another vehicle before reaching one of the security station’s doors. I touched the handle but shook my head.

I could stop to question the guards. But would they know anything valuable? They could just be rebellion sympathizers.

“Why are you hesitating?” Sawyer said over the comms of my PAD.

Her voice was like a cold drink in all this desert heat. I smirked to myself as I leapt away from the guard station and headed for the gate.

“I’m not hesitating,” I said as I clicked on communication. “I’m strategizing.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Maybe I’m learning new tricks.”

“That doesn’t sound like you either.”

The snark.

To my surprise, Cai had sent an emergency message to everyone involved on the ground. It detailed Horas’s sighting and explained that Cai and I were in pursuit. I hadn’t thought to inform anyone else of our operations—that wasn’t something I had done on Capital Station—but it made sense here.

I should utilize my team more.

Right as I exited the gate, I noticed a truck pick up speed. The giant hauling vehicle wasn’t fast, but it was so large that even at twenty-five kilometers per hour, it would do significant damage. The damn truck probably weighed sixty tons all by itself.

Horas sat in the driver’s seat. Two others were in the cab, one with a laser pistol.

They sped for the gate, and the idiots in the security station released all barriers so that the truck could roll out. I stepped off to the side, to allow the truck to pass, but the moment it went by, I grabbed onto the passenger side door and lifted myself up.

The trunk continued to pick up speed.

The window slid down, and the man in the passenger seat gave me a hard once-over. He was human—probably in his forties—with a scar over his forehead. I’d seen the straight-line scars before. He had been in an accident where the visor of his helmet smashed inward. The injuries from that were always the same.

Scar-Head held up his laser pistol, his grip firm, and his expertise on display.

But he made his first mistake when he rolled down his window.

I punched inward, much faster and stronger than the man could ever hope to be. I clipped his chin, sending him into slumberland. The second passenger—another gunner in the middle seat—opened fire. Laser guns had no kick, so he fired with his arm outstretched, and as fast as he could pull the trigger.

Unfortunately for him, I saw the world differently.

My mental processing power was so fast, I saw everything that was happening as though it were in slow motion. For every second a normal schmoe got to comprehend something, it felt as though I had four. I saw the gunner reach for his weapon. I knew when he was pointing in my direction.

And I had plenty of time to grab Scar-Head and yank his unconscious body forward, shielding me from the laser blasts. The super-heated rays of light burned Scar-Head enough that the cabin of the truck smelled like a barbeque plate, but I wasn’t complaining.

The truck swerved as Horas tried to shake me.

“Demarco, be careful,” Sawyer said through the PAD, her voice tight.

I appreciated her concern, but I held onto the door with ease.

Then the gunner lunged for the door controls, and the window zipped up with factory-efficiency. The window wouldn’t shut with my hand on the top of the glass, but it did limit my ability to throw a punch.

The truck reached the empty main road. Not a lot of traffic out by the desert warehouses. A satellite tower was positioned not too far from the concrete pathway, and we sped toward it.

Horas—that clever fucker—angled the truck so that the satellite tower would peel me off the vehicle. I wouldn’t die that easily.

The gunner shoved Scar-Head to the side and fired again. This time, I was distracted. The laser shots burned the side of my arm. I gritted my teeth and grimaced as I flung half my body onto the front of the truck. I slid onto the grill just in time—the satellite tower was three meters thick with steel and wires, and if I had been hit by that, I would’ve splattered across the golden sands that lined the road.

The truck continued to accelerate.

Horas swerved again, but that was useless. I kept my grip on the vehicle, even though the flesh on my right forearm was burning.

The truck was too large to tumble over, but I feared we would destroy whatever we hit. Myself included.

Before I could formulate a plan, I spotted Cai on top of the truck. The wind whipped over him, causing his black hair to tangle in front of his face. He held onto the roof with an expert grip, and although he had been sick for months, the man still had it—this was the bounty hunter everyone had feared on Capital Station.

The gunner shot at me again, this time by leaning out the passenger window.

I half-slid down the grill of the massive truck. The engine inside was something electric, it purred, almost silent, but up close, I could feel the vibration of its power. I slid to the side, out of the gunner’s view, angling myself toward the driver’s side.

With one hand, Cai withdrew a plasma knife and lit it up. The “blade” was contained ionized gas that super-heated in an instant. He stabbed it into the roof of the truck, slicing through the metal at a slow, but steady pace. He wasn’t cutting into the cabin—he was ripping a hole into the storage.

I cursed myself for not bringing a plasma blade of some sort. Instead, I just had a duralumin knife. Still strong, but it wouldn’t cut through steel without considerable strength—the kind I didn’t have.

Gunner-Boy opened the passenger door and leaned out in order to get a better angle on me.

I pulled out my knife, and with frightening accuracy, I threw my only weapon. Since I saw everything in slow-motion, I could make out the details on the guy’s face as the blade punctured his neck. The man’s mouth fell open in some sort of shout, but the knife was so far into his esophagus that no words could be formed.

In his panic, Gunner-Boy let go of the truck door. He hit the concrete and then went off the road, rolling like a tumbleweed.

The truck turned, and I used the momentum to help swing my body back to the passenger side door. Another satellite tower was up the road, and so were a few vehicles—all military-grade planetside cruisers. They were the kind with hover capability, but they also had tread tracks that allowed them to scale the most difficult of terrain in any kind of weather.

What were they doing here?

But I pushed that from my thoughts as I swung myself into the cab of the truck.

Horas was no fool.

The moment I got inside, he fired a laser pistol. Fortunately, his eyes were half on the road, and not fully on me. He missed—his final mistake. I lunged forward and grabbed his outstretched arm before he could shift his focus.

Then I punched him straight in the throat, bruising his windpipe in one brutal blow.

The pasty sad sack definitely didn’t see that coming. He dropped his pistol and it rolled to the floor.

Then I grabbed his collar and slammed his head into the glass of his door.

Damn.

I hadn’t realized how reinforced it was. That window didn’t even crack, but Horas’s skull… It wasn’t as lucky.

Banging echoed in the truck’s trailer. I knew the sound of fighting when I heard it, but Cai was on his own. I had to deal with the whole fucking cab by myself—he could handle whatever was waiting in the back.

I had thought Horas was down and out, but he pulled his own steel knife and swung for my face. I saw it coming, but I wasn’t fast enough to fully avoid it. I turned my face, and the blade sliced my cheek from the ear to the chin. I barely felt it—not through the sheer excitement of the moment—but the slick heat of my own blood wept across my face and neck, soaking into the straps of my tank-top.

Horas slammed the wheel to the right, and I lost my balance. I hit the cab seat. Scar-Head tumbled around like a sack of cooked meat.

I kicked Horas before he could slash at me again. My boot connected with his chin, but that didn’t knock him out. I ripped his skin and revealed the metal plating underneath.

A cyborg. No wonder he wasn’t a chump like the rest. He had machines hardwired all throughout his body.

Horas threw his knife—just like I had done—and I had a fraction of a second to react. I tilted my head to the side, and the blade slammed into the cab cushion, ripping through the fabric. Which was unfortunate for him. Not only was I still alive, I now had his knife.

Two military vehicles sped down the road toward us. A blaring alarm sounded from one of them, and I figured they had come to stop the commotion. Horas had likely stolen this truck, and that security guard back at the warehouse had probably contacted the authorities.

“Just give up,” I said, some of my own blood creeping into the corner of my mouth. I smirked—and I probably looked sadistic.

Horas shot me a desperate glare. “I won’t be taken alive.”

“I’m afraid that isn’t your decision.”

He continued to accelerate the truck—this time heading for the military vehicles. A crash would likely damage everything involved, but I suspected the truck would ultimately be okay afterward.

Just not us.

Then Horas scrambled to grab the laser pistol on the floorboards near his feet. That was when I had him.

I couldn’t kill the bastard—not if I wanted the bounty—and he was obviously a lunatic who would kill himself rather than be captured. I’d have to subdue him, but his cyborg parts would prevent most attempts to knock him unconscious.

Those machines kept the body functioning properly no matter what. Well, so long as they were good parts, and since I hadn’t been able to tell Horas was a cyborg until just now, it was safe to say he had nothing but the best.

I lunged for him.

Instead of punching or striking, I wrapped one arm around his neck and then used my other to hook everything in place. I squeezed his throat, cutting off his air. Horas clawed at me, and his nails ripped up my skin, causing me to bleed, but that didn’t matter.

I was cutting off the blood to his brain with this hold.

Normal chokes—that cut off air—could take a full minute or longer to produce unconsciousness—but blood chokes worked in a matter of seconds. Horas’s head went bright red, then purple, like a bruise developing at a breakneck pace.

The truck drifted to the side and crashed into the sand.

I had no idea that sand acted like a damn wall, because the truck jerked to a fucking halt faster than I had anticipated. Horas and I were thrown into the windshield. I hit side-first, shielding Horas as best I could. The man went limp in my hold, and I knew I had him.

My ribs felt like they had cracked, though.

I’d have trouble walking after this, that was for sure.

But I hadn’t even broken a sweat. The truck rocked and settled into place as I caught my breath. The military vehicles came to a screeching halt, surrounding us in an instant. I wasn’t familiar with military proceedings—I knew enforcers weren’t part of the official hierarchy, but we were close, like the deformed cousins of the armed forces. Would I have to submit to some sort of search or identification?

This was a moment I wished Lysander were here.

I dragged Horas up and then kicked open the door to the truck. Whatever happened, they couldn’t have my bounty.

Although my body was numb and stiff, I hefted Horas onto my shoulder and stepped out into the desert air. The concrete shimmered with heat. I waited with my eyes squinted as soldiers surrounded the truck.

They wore full enviro-suits, each one black and green. I envied them. The temperature inside their suits was likely cool and comfortable.

The trailer doors opened, and Cai hopped out. Part of his cargo pants was soaked in crimson, but he didn’t walk with a limp. That was someone else’s blood.

He jogged over to me, but the instant the soldiers lifted their rifles, Cai threw his hands into the air.

“It’s fine,” Cai called out. “We’re with the Star Marque. You can check our identification.” He motioned to Horas. “We were in pursuit of a dangerous criminal. He’s subdued now.”

For some reason, that didn’t pacify the soldiers.

“Clevon Demarco,” one soldier said, his voice filtered by his suit. “Get down on the ground. You’re under arrest.”

Cai’s eyebrows shot to his windswept hair. “Wait, what?”

“Cai Qi, you’re to come with us as well. Both of you get down on the ground.”

I tensed, unsure of what to do.

“Listen to them,” Sawyer said over my PAD, her voice quiet. “They have an arrest warrant for you.”

“For what?” I muttered under my breath. “Breaking the guard’s nose? I can get him fixed within a few hours.”

“No. The arrest warrant is for theft.”

That didn’t make any sense. Theft of what? I hadn’t stolen jack shit.

“It’s obviously incorrect,” Sawyer muttered. “Maybe someone is using your identity, or someone made up a charge to get you behind bars.”

Who would do that?

Twenty soldiers pointed their plasma rifles at me. Unlike lasers, which were weaker weapons with light-based shots, plasma bolts could melt even the strongest of metals. One plasma round from these soldiers and I’d have a hole the size of my fist through my body.

I set Horas on the ground. His limp head tilted to the side, and his whitish-pink tongue lolled out of his mouth.

“On the ground,” a soldier commanded.

Cai did as he was told.

My body felt… like it had gone through a human blender. I got myself onto my knees, and then onto the ground, nice and slow so that I didn’t agitate anyone.

Once down, the soldiers rushed over and handcuffed me and Cai. Then they ripped the PAD from my forearm—the wires embedded in my arm came out like tendons in meat. They burned the whole way, causing me to grit my teeth.

I wasn’t sure what they were doing, but my gut twisted in dread.

What if… this was Endellion’s doing?

CHAPTER TWENTY

JAILCELL

Our holding cell smelled of cleaning chemicals.

I knew why. They had machines in the corners of the room that sprayed down the cell after the inmates were removed. The machines worked automatically—it didn’t matter how much the cell reeked of artificial scents—the damn machines would squirt down the entire cell from corner to corner.

The cell was larger than most I had seen. It was three meters by three meters—a perfect little cube. Two walls had benches. One wall had built-in cuffs. That was my wall. They had my hands cuffed above my head, and my feet cuffed near the floor. I would’ve said it excited me to be in that position, but none of our guards seemed up for some erotic disciplinary action.

I missed Capital Station. I had gotten to know one guard really well…

The military police hadn’t locked up Cai, though. He paced the cell with his hands behind his back.

“Vectin-10 is fuckin’ crazy,” he muttered, his tone heated. “I’ve never been placed in a high-security holding cell when running down a bounty. Never. Never.”

I tugged at my restraints. The duralumin was too tough to force my way out of. I could harm my hand—ripping the muscles in my thumb to dislocate it—but the one time I had done that, I had been out of commission for an entire week due to the pain. I only got over it once a buddy of mine got me some mother cell fluid and a doctor.

The last wall was open and made entirely of bars and the door. I could see into the wide corridor, but what worried me was the absence of anyone else. We had one guard to watch us. The other holding cells were empty.

The dull gray floor, steel-colored walls, and dark ceiling made for an oppressive atmosphere. The overhead lights were bright—too bright. It added to my anxiety.

Cai wheeled on me, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest. “Well? What’s going on here? Is Vectin-10 so much different that we aren’t given proper due process? Normally—even if I break a law—I’m let out on bail, for fuck’s sake.”

I smirked. “It’s because they want me here. They’re going to kill me.”

Every fiber of my being told me it was true.

Cai scoffed and then offered a forced laugh. “Who is they?”

“The planet governor and her goons.”

Cai mulled over my comment, then he laughed again, this time genuinely. “I didn’t take you for a conspiracy theorist quack. The planet governor isn’t going to kill some lowly starship captain. That’s insane. She’s got bigger problems to worry about.”

As if the world had a sense of humor, the lights flickered once, and then went out.

There weren’t any windows in this room. We were shrouded in a thick darkness that stank of chemicals and burned my nose. The sole guard on duty turned on a flashlight, but then he stormed out grumbling something.

“What the hell is going on?” Cai asked as he stumbled over to a bench and sat down. “These buildings are powered by some amazing reactors. And they all have backup generators in case something happens. The lights shouldn’t be off like this.”

“Unless the planet governor wants them off,” I muttered.

“Pfft. Please. You sound like a drunk. There’s another explanation for this.”

What if they pumped gas through the vents? Cai and I were dead. No way around it.

Fuck me.

Again, I tugged at my restraints. What was I going to do? I couldn’t go down like a chump. I refused. No matter what happened, I’d make sure Endellion remembered it.

But I did regret the fact I couldn’t speak with Sawyer. I would’ve loved to hear her snark one more time. Maybe stroke her hair, and say goodbye to Blub. Anything. My chest hurt just thinking about it—she was the only one who ever made me feel that way.

The main door in the central hallway opened. A bright slice of light cut through the room, illuminating the area just beyond our bars. The footfalls of half a dozen men bounced off the walls as they marched in.

Soldiers—elite men in scaled enviro-suits, the most expensive kinds—stopped in front of our cell. They each held a plasma rifle close, like they might need to use it at a moment’s notice. Lights at the end of their rifles lit up our holding cell.

And then Endellion walked into view. Even with her helmet up, I recognized her. She looked just like she had in the assembly room—tall, commanding, and with her helmet up. She even had a damn cape that went to the floor. It was a ceremonial part of the outfit reserved for military officers.

Planet Governor Endellion Voight.

Cai slowly stood from the bench, his body stiff. “Oh, shit,” he whispered. “The planet governor really is going to kill you.”

I said nothing. I couldn’t. I just kept my gaze on Endellion. Her reflective visor kept her expression hidden, but I imagined she had a smug little smile on her face. She had done it. She caught me.

Now what?

Endellion motioned with her head. Two of her goons stepped forward, opened the door to our cell, and then grabbed Cai, one on each of Cai’s arms.

Cai said nothing. He allowed himself to be led out of the holding cell, but he did shoot me a concerned look over his shoulder. This was for the best. Perhaps Endellion would take him someplace safe, and then she’d have her thugs gun me down like this was an old-timey firing squad.

Fun.

Once Cai had been taken away, Endellion lifted her arm. “Out.”

The four remaining guards turned their attention to her, obviously taken aback by the command. They didn’t argue, though. They simply took a moment to process the order, and then headed for the door.

Except one. A man lingered behind and stood close to Endellion. “Are you sure, Governor?” he asked, his voice familiar, but obscured by the speaker system of his suit.

“Out,” Endellion repeated. “I’ll call you if I need you.”

The man nodded once and then left with the others. When the door shut, the room returned to utter darkness. That wouldn’t matter to Endellion—her enviro-suit could easily see in these conditions. Not only that, but she had an artificial ampullae of Lorenzini, which would allow her to sense my heart beating and always know my location.

Alone with Endellion.

I had fantasized about this moment for longer than I cared to admit to anyone.

Now it was a literal nightmare.

I struggled with my restraints. With deliberate intention, I jerked my thumb into the cuff, prepared to rip every muscle in my hand to free myself, if it came to that.

“Clevon,” Endellion drawled as she walked into the holding cell. Her movements were slow—cautious. Was she afraid of getting too close? “It’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to speak like this.”

“You’re a sadist bitch.” I smirked, more nerves than confidence, but she didn’t know that. “If you want to kill me, get it over with. Save your world domination speeches for someone who gives a shit.”

She continued forward, closer to me with each step. I held my breath when I heard her steps get close. Endellion was only a meter away.

“You disappoint me, Clevon,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. “I have no desire to kill you with my own hands. If I wanted you dead, I’d send someone to do it for me.”

I almost laughed aloud. Instead, I bit back my mirth and asked, “Oh, then you just wanted to see me, is that it?” I leaned my head against the unforgiving wall. “I was the best you ever had, and you want one more tryst?”

“Ah, there’s the same ol’ Clevon Demarco I know. You’re just the man I need to speak to.”

I twisted my hands around in the cuffs, my blood hot. “If you came to speak to me, you don’t know me at all. There’s nothing I want from you but your beating heart.”

“So dramatic.” Endellion chortled. “So predictable.”

“What was that?” I asked, my tone icy.

“You didn’t wonder why I called you to that assembly room? You didn’t think it suspicious that I waited nearly nine months into my governorship to hire starship captains to patrol the area for rebellion thugs?”

I held my breath, just waiting to hear her explanation for this.

“I waited for you,” Endellion stated. “I knew you’d never control your temper if we were in close proximity.” When she laughed this time, it sounded mechanical and sardonic. “You’re as predictable as death and just as boring as taxes. Your rage—your tantrum—was exactly what I wanted from you.”

“You wanted me to call you out for being a mass murderer?” I asked, more curious than ever before.

“I knew you wouldn’t give away the details.” Endellion swished her cape—the rustle of her heavy clothing the only other sounds in the room besides our voices. “You wouldn’t ever tell anyone what really happened at Capital Station. But I knew you’d try to sully my name, and publicly condemn me. You’re too wild and defiant to stay quiet. It’s not your style.”

Endellion always had known me well. I didn’t keep my personality hidden.

“So?” I barked. Then I glanced around the darkness, unable to see. “You got what you wanted. I publicly told you to go fuck yourself. What a masterful plan. What did that accomplish, huh? Just cut to the chase. I’m sick of hearing your voice.”

For a long moment, Endellion remained quiet.

The deafening silence unnerved me. I shuffled around in my restraints just to hear something other than my own heart.

“General Lone contacted you, didn’t he?” Endellion asked, her voice a mere whisper of what it was before. “Don’t worry. I had the power cut to this facility so that we could speak—if only briefly.”

General Lone?

“What does he have to do with this?” I asked, my anger waning.

“I knew that if I called you to the assembly room, and you made a public outburst about me, that eventually General Lone would contact you for some jobs. You see, General Lone has been staying on Vectin-10 longer than planned in order to watch over me.” Endellion chuckled. “I’m the first human governor since the formation of the Federation, and that’s the justification he gives for his presence.”

Endellion…

She always had plans and schemes.

Endellion continued, “In reality, General Lone wants me out of the picture. He’s here to watch my every move, and to swoop in the moment I make a big enough mistake. He’s already turned several political allies into enemies. He’s been hiring and contacting everyone in the area to expose my mistakes or blow them out of proportion. A hundred people question my every move, and a hundred more report every suspicious activity. It took a great deal of effort to even arrange this meeting without tipping off one of Lone’s lackeys.”

“And?” I asked, honestly curious now.

“And I wanted you to be one of the people General Lone contacted to help.” Endellion took another step closer, limiting the distance between us to a few centimeters. “Something tells me that Lone would love the poetic irony if you were the one to take me down. He wouldn’t pass that opportunity up. Which means he probably brought you into his inner circle—his villa somewhere beneath the sands.”

I wasn’t surprised she knew about that. I was certain Endellion had spies of her own.

“Clevon, listen carefully.” Endellion took a moment inhale and exhale. “General Lone is more of a monster than I ever could be. Ask Sawyer. She’ll confirm all the terrible things Lone has done—especially to her.”

“I know,” I said, curt. “And?”

“And you… care about Sawyer, don’t you?”

The way she asked put me on edge. She wasn’t jealous, was she? No. That wasn’t Endellion. This was something else.

“I care about Sawyer,” I said, knowing Endellion already knew that.

“Then you know that she’ll never really sleep right while her creator and abuser lives.”

That had crossed my thoughts a few times, but I didn’t know how I would go about solving it. General Lone was the most powerful superhuman in the quadrant. He could clone girls and abuse them to his heart’s content. Who was going to stop him?

Endellion unfastened her helmet. Although it was too dark to see, my mind’s eye pictured everything. The rustle of the helmet becoming a hood and falling on her back was clear in my imagination.

“Clevon,” Endellion whispered, her unfiltered voice sending a shiver down my spine. “What if I told you that I could get you alone with Lone? Isolated. Away from everything. So alone that you could kill him, and no one would ever be the wiser?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

I opened my mouth to speak, but Endellion beat me to the punch.

“Lone won’t truly trust you until you’ve been tested,” Endellion stated. “But if you work with me, I can make that process effortless.”

“Work with you?” I hissed.

Endellion didn’t even acknowledge my rage. She continued, “All the enforcers in the sector will be feeding me information on the rebellion. I can give youthe accumulation of their knowledge. You can use it to catch the most wanted criminals or bust the most heinous of rebellion operations.”

“There’s no way—”

“You’ll have all the credits you’ll need from these jobs,” Endellion said, speaking over me, her voice heated. “You’ll have fame. Power. And then Lone will trust you. He’ll come to you with plans. He’ll outline my death.”

I held my breath.

Endellion waited, the dramatic timing of her argument eating at my resolve. I wanted to know. What did she think would happen?

“When Lone comes to you with all the details, that’ll be the moment,” Endellion said, calm and cold—her normal demeanor. “That will be the time that I get him into a dead zone, and you’ll be with him. His most trusted dog. You could kill him then. When no one is around.”

I clenched my jaw, the visuals of her plan bright in my mind.

“And just like with Emissary Barten, you’ll get away with it,” Endellion concluded.

I scoffed. “Have you heard? Barten’s daughter is chasing me.”

“And whose fault is that? I told you to make sure there were no witnesses. I told you to kill everyone there. If you had listened, then you wouldn’t be in any danger now. Just like if you follow my plans, you can kill General Lone without any repercussions.”

I hated her insistence that she knew what was happening. But at the same time—this felt like the old Endellion. Sounded like her. Smelled like her. Plans, schemes, contingencies. I should’ve known she had sent for me specifically when she called for the crew of the Star Marque to attend the assembly.

“Clevon,” she said, hard and distinct. “This is a symbiotic relationship. General Lone will destroy me if I don’t deal with him. He’ll also destroy several of his Sawyer-clone toys.”

“You know about that?” I asked.

“Of course. I rescued Sawyer from that sadist, didn’t I?”

“Why did you?” I asked. “Because she’s useful?”

Endellion sardonically laughed. “Yes, Clevon. I needed someone who could circumvent the Federation coding. And then I heard Lone bragging about his genetically engineered little girls. He kept them to himself, using their technical skills during the day, and using them in other ways at night. I figured a person like that would want to be rescued, and the price for my kindness would be their skills.”

She recited everything with a distant chill. “You didn’t care about Sawyer at all?”

Endellion took in a breath, but no words followed. Then she finally said, “Clevon—when I went to destroy Capital Station, I planned to save the only two people I care about. I brought them with me. I kept them close.”

Her words brought back every detail of that encounter. Endellion had brought Sawyer and me to the main computer system of Capital Station. We were supposed to destroy the station and escape together. Just the three of us.

“I saved Sawyer for selfish reasons, but she eventually grew on me.” Endellion exhaled. “Same with you. But now we have to look past that. Lone’s death is my current desire. I want him dead more than anything else. And consider this—I can’t betray you until Lone’s gone, so you know I won’t come for you in the meantime. If we work together, you can focus on rebuilding the crew of the Star Marque. And with all the money and fame you’ll have at the end, you’ll be in a better position to return your focus to me. Do you understand now, Clevon? Everyone wins.”

I hated it when she made sense. Absolutely hated it.

Every fiber of my being wanted to refuse her offer. I wanted to break my restraints and then break her face. But she was right. I knew. If I went with her—if I helped in her schemes—she would deliver. Somehow, someway, she’d get Lone in a dead zone, and I’d be there with him, plasma knife in hand.

Endellion pulled her helmet back over her heard. I heard the hood secure itself into place, snapping into a solid form around her head. “I have Horas in custody,” she said, her voice robotic. “I’m going to release him to the Star Marque. Think of it as a show of good faith. You take him, question him if you want, and then collect the bounty. Report to Lone, and make sure you’re excited to speak with him. Lone is used to suck-ups trying to get his attention. Pretend to be one of them, and you’ll blend right in.”

“What if I refuse to help you?” I asked.

“Then you’ll be making a mistake,” Endellion said matter-of-factly. “But don’t worry. If you refuse, I’ll find another way. And then you’ll have nothing. So it’ll still work out for me.”

“Then why come to me?”

“Because.” Endellion waited for a moment before adding, “You were the other person I took with me to Capital Station, Clevon. Perhaps I can’t shake my sentimentalities.”

When I said nothing, Endellion turned and strode out of the holding cell, the click of her fancy enviro-suit boots echoing in the large, empty space. My heart thumped loud enough to drown out the sound.

Her words rattled in my thoughts, making it difficult to focus. Was she manipulating me?

Yes.

She would say anything—do anything—to get me to fall in line. She wanted me to stop chasing her. She wanted me to stop smearing her name. This was all a ruse. A distraction. Another con.

But…

General Lone was a monster. I knew. Sawyer knew. Everyone knew. And he was far above the law. Far above authority. Untouchable and secure. I’d never be able to handle him on my own. But with Endellion…

I shook my head as the lights flickered back to life.

No matter what happened, I’d let Sawyer decide this one. Whatever she thought was best, we’d do.

That way, there would be no chance I’d fuck this up.

***

True to her word, Endellion released me and then gave the Star Marque custody of Horas Hines. All charges against me and Cai were dropped. The mysterious “theft” was meant for someone else, and it was a “glitch in the system” that had gotten me locked away for ten hours.

I didn’t care.

Once all that was behind me, I had Cai and Sanders handle turning Horas into the authorities. I headed for the mess hall. Normally, we’d get food and drink inside aluminum pouches. It prevented the food from getting everywhere in case of gravity failure.

Today, I had some supplies sent to the mess hall from the planet’s surface. Raw ingredients—something I had never dealt with before. Fresh cuts of meat? Vegetables that weren’t blended and frozen? Fancy shit. The Star Marquehad a hot plate, and I knew that could cook raw ingredients, so that was what I was going to do.

Well, my body would do that. My mind dwelled on the conversation with Endellion. It was all I had thought about during the ride on the space elevator, even while Cai shouted about the injustice of our confinement. Lysander, Noah, and Mara had all contacted me through the ship’s comm systems, asking about the arrest.

Even Melba had contacted me—we had run in one starfighter battle together, and she had to know what had happened.

I barely heard them. All I could think about was Endellion’s plans. She was right, Lone wanted her dead—for the crime of being human. If Lone’s reasoning had been different—if he had known about her past atrocities—this whole situation would’ve been different. But instead, my choice was between two monsters. Help the sadist superhuman rid the universe of Endellion, or help the sociopathic human rid the universe of General Lone.

The people speaking to me through the comms wanted to know the details of my trip. I didn’t mind telling them about the holding cell incident.

But I didn’t tell anyone about Endellion. I even had Cai swear to me that he wouldn’t mention that part.

I shook my head, forcing myself to return to the present. What was I doing? Right. Cutting up vegetables. One was an onion. I think. Another was… a differently shaped onion. And the last… was a root that looked like an onion.

They weren’t all onions, but I didn’t know the names for them. I didn’t care either.

They all bled when I cut into them. Watery. Smelly. The onions took their revenge on my eyes. Fuckers.

Then I cut up the meat. I didn’t trust the meat that looked pink, so I only purchased red and blackish-red meats. They were from different animals, but I didn’t care. Meats were meant to be mixed, right? I cut everything into cubes and threw the mix onto the hot plate. The sizzle was satisfying, and the smell dragged me out of my own head for a moment while I admired my “cooking.”

I was damn good. The vegetables turned colors. The meat oozed tasty juices. Who said this was hard? They had no idea what they were talking about.

Although…

My onions became flabby. Were they supposed to do that? What did I care? I took everything off and placed it all on two plates. Then I shut down the hot plate and exited the mess hall. Some of my ground enforcers gave me odd looks while they sucked down their alcohol pouches. I gave them a jut of my chin—a reverse nod—and kept going.

Then I entered the hall and went straight for Sawyer’s workshop. She’d be there, or my room. It was 50-50 these days. After a short elevator ride, and a quick stroll down the main hall, I stopped in front of her room and gently touched the door’s computer. After a soft swoosh, the door slid open, and I stepped inside.

Large engine blocks were around on the ground, some machines plugged into the wall and sparking. Sawyer handled all minor repairs for the ship. She was a mechanical engineer, as well as a coder, apparently.

I wasn’t well versed in any of this.

Sawyer was near the opposite wall, sitting next to her computer and typing away at a furious rate. She had three monitors, all glowing a soft orange, that lit her workroom with a sinister hue. Two monitors were for the cameras positioned around the Star Marque. She watched everything, even while she worked.

The last monitor was covered in a wall of text so thick and confusing that it might as well have been a snowstorm.

After I stepped into her “office,” the door closed automatically behind me.

Blub descended from the ceiling with a toot, toot, toot. He released helium from his body in order to adjust his flight, and I always found the little farting fish to be amusing. The koi fish nibbled at my crew cut hair.

“Hey, Sawyer,” I said as I stepped around a machine in the middle of the room. It appeared to be a heater, but I wasn’t certain. It was large enough to be a person. “I brought you something.”

“Hm.”

That was all she offered me.

Once I reached her desk, I plopped down the food. “Here. I made it just for you.”

She slowly—and dramatically—turned her head. With a lifted eyebrow, she examined the meal and then glanced up at me. “You… cooked food?”

“That’s right.” I motioned to the monitors, pointing at the security feeds. “You didn’t see that?”

“I don’t normally watch the mess hall.”

Damn. I had hoped that she would’ve seen it.

“Well, I know you.” I sat on the edge of her desk and leaned back. “You probably haven’t eaten in the last couple days, right? You’re too pissed at me.”

Sawyer’s expression settled back into a neutral don’t give a fuck. She picked up her plate and held it close. “Where are the eating utensils?”

I laughed once as I stared down at my plate. “I forgot them.”

“Ah. How gentlemanly.”

“Hey, if you want, I can feed you.” I slid closer, plucked up a piece of meat from my plate, and held it out for her. “It’ll be sexy, I swear.”

“You think eating from your hand like an animal is sexy?”

I shrugged. “Me putting anything in your mouth is sexy.”

From any other person, that would’ve gotten at least some reaction. Disgust. Interest. A laugh. But Sawyer was hard to read sometimes. She just stared at me like I was a broom closet without enough brooms.

“I think I’ll feed myself,” Sawyer eventually said as she turned away. With delicate movements, she picked up a cooked onion and a slice of meat. Then she wrapped everything together and nibbled at the edges. “Hm. Do you also have a grudge against seasoning?”

I plopped a piece of meat into my mouth and chewed.

Sawyer was right. This was… good. But not really. The sensation of actual meat elevated it to “interesting.”

I took another bite. And then another. We ate in silence for a short while, until Blub floated down and tried to snack on my meal. I gave him my onions, because for some reason, half of them tasted strange. The damn fish slurped up one and then burped himself away.

Finally, I set my plate down.

“You know I went to a holding cell, right?” I asked.

Sawyer took another small bite of her meat, her eyes on her coding. “I heard everything you said over the comms.”

“Endellion was there.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

I waited for her to say something else, but it never happened. I exhaled and leaned against the wall.

“Hey. If I told you I could kill General Lone, would you want that?”

Sawyer stopped everything—no eating, no typing. She turned to me, her shoulders stiff. When her gray-blue eyes met mine, I was frozen in place. “Yes.”

The word hung between us.

I understood how she felt. I wanted Endellion dead, after all.

“Endellion made me a deal,” I said, my voice low. “If I help her, she’ll help me get Lone.”

“Why? That’s not like her.”

“Because she wants Lone out of the picture.”

“Ah.” Sawyer tore her paralyzing gaze from me and returned her attention to the computer. With angry keystrokes, she resumed her coding. “That sounds more like her.”

“She had me cuffed to a wall,” I said. “She spoke to me with the lights off, so I couldn’t see her.”

Sawyer didn’t reply.

“I wanted to ask your opinion before I decided anything. Do you think I should listen to her? Do you think killing Lone is worth her eventual double-cross?”

Blub floated around my head. Toot, toot, toot. I waved him away, trying to understand Sawyer’s thought process, but failing to grasp her feelings on the matter. She remained quiet as she typed, the reflection of the code covering her glassy eyes.

In a whisper, Sawyer said, “I think if Endellion went out of her way to speak with you, she definitely wants you to help her. But you’re right. She won’t ever fully trust you, and you’ll never drop your grudge against her, so you’ll have to be cautious. Once everything is over—and I mean the second Lone’s heart stops beating—you’ll be fair game. Do you really want to do that?”

“If you want Lone dead, I’ll do it.”

Sawyer snapped her attention to me.

That must’ve surprised her.

“I’m sorry,” I said, never looking away. “You asked me not to take jobs from Lone, and I did. On accident—but still. I want to make everything right with you. And he’s an asshole worthy of a plasma bolt to the back. I know what he’s done. Like Endellion said… Everyone wins here.”

Sawyer ran a shaky hand through her short, red hair. When she turned away, her gaze was on her desk—and then it lingered on her meat-covered plate. “All right. Let’s make this deal. But we should have a few plans of our own, okay? Just in case something goes south.”

I nodded along with her words. “Right. That’s not a bad idea.”