Swallowing my fear and fighting off the nerves, I stepped into the mechanic's bunker I'd met Masie in before, closing the door softly behind me. A note had been left under the door in my quarters telling me to be there at midnight. Of course, I worried that I was being set up. That somebody was going to take me out. Somebody like the two officers who'd intimidated Masie.

Which was why I'd brought my sidearm with me.

The bunker was dark when I stepped in, but I knew somebody else was in there with me. I could feel it. I tightened my grip on my gun and let out a soft breath, trying to peer through the darkness to see if I could spot my unknown host. All I could see were the vague shapes of the crates and boxes that filled the bunker.

“Lights,” I said.

Nothing happened. The lights did not turn on and I was left in total darkness. Somebody had obviously shut down the illumination systems. My heart fluttered and I was wrapped in an ominous sense of foreboding. From somewhere in the darkness, I heard the sound of a boot softly scuff against the ground.

“Who's there?” I asked and raised my sidearm in the direction I'd heard the bootstep.

I strained my eyes, trying to pierce the veil of darkness in front of me. I was so focused on it, that I never heard or felt him behind me. My heart stopped dead in my chest and I sucked in a sharp breath when I felt the barrel of the gun pressed flush against the base of my head.

“Holster your sidearm,” he said.

Holster it? Not throw it away? Not just take it from me? Putting my one hand up in surrender, I complied and slipped the weapon into the holster on my hip and secured it.

“Now, turn around,” he said.

I did as I was told and when the mystery man lowered his own weapon and turned on his flashlight, I felt my stomach drop into my shoes. I was staring into the face of none other than Colonel Darqa. He looked at me evenly, his face unreadable.

“Sir,” I said. “W – what are you doing here?”

“You've been asking a lot of questions, Captain.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“About Elix,” he said. “You've got some people rather concerned.”

I cleared my throat and summoned my courage. Summoned my anger.

“Are you concerned, Colonel?”

A wry smile touched his lips and he shook his head. “No,” he said. “But, there are plenty of people above me who are, and that creates a problem for me.”

“How can you be a part of this?” I asked, outrage coloring my words. “They're selling our – ”

“Some of us don't have the luxury of being outraged, Captain,” he said, his voice suddenly harder than steel. “Some of us have to exist in the real world knowing that bad shit happens, but there's not a goddamn thing we can do about it.”

“When serious crimes are being committed, there is always something we can do about it,” I said, trying to make my voice equally as hard. “Something we should do about it.”

He scoffed. “And end up like your friend Masie?” he asked. “I've got a family to think about. I have three children who can't grow up without their father.”

I cocked my head and looked at him. I was having a hard time grasping what he'd just said. I felt like I'd missed something entirely.

“What about Masie?” I asked.

His eyes softened as he looked at me. “You haven't heard.”

“Heard what, Colonel?”

Darqa let out a long breath, a haunted look in his eyes. “Christ,” he muttered.

“Colonel?”

“Masie was killed,” he said. “On duty. Officially, the Vujan got to her.”

A yawning pit in my stomach opened up and threatened to swallow me whole. It made no sense. Masie was one of the best out in the field. Always vigilant. Always ready. She had the highest kill rate of anybody in the garrison who was assigned to Vujan duty.

My eyes stung with tears I fought to keep from falling. This was all getting to be too much. First, Elix was taken and now Masie had – had been killed. I had no doubt in my mind her death was directly attributable to the fact that she'd spoken to me. None.

“These people are powerful. They don't play around, Kianna,” he said, as if he could read my thoughts. “And they don't take prisoners.”

Darqa using my first name was startling to me. He never did that. It was always Captain Reeves, no matter the situation. That, combined with the look of earnestness in his eyes told me that he was trying to help me. Was trying to keep me safe. Unfortunately, I thought it was too late for that now.

If they'd already killed Masie...

“Her body was brought in early this morning,” he said.

“What happened to her partner out there?”

“Dead also,” Darqa replied.

“Did you see the bodies?” I asked.

A dark look crossed his face. “Yeah, I saw them,” he said. “Torn to shreds. Not much left of them, really. I also saw their weapons. Apparently, both of their weapons had – malfunctioned.”

“Malfunctioned?”

He nodded solemnly. “I'm guessing they were tampered with,” Darqa said. “But, I'll never get to verify that since the weapons were impounded by her division commanders. Meaning, they've gone down a black hole and we'll never see them again.”

A lone tear raced down my cheek and I scrubbed it away angrily as a realization dawned on me. One that made me put my hand on the butt of my sidearm as fear surged through me. I looked up at the Colonel and felt my body tightening up.

“Did they send you here to kill me?” I asked.

A wry grin touched his face. “If that had been the case, you'd be dead already,” he said. “I do seem to recall getting the drop on you.”

I let out a breath and nodded. That was true. He did have a gun to my head not all that long ago. But, that still didn't answer the questions running around in my head. If anything, it only made them seem more pressing.

“Why are you telling me all of this, Colonel?”

He ran a hand through his hair and looked away for a long moment. I could see the anger etched deeply into his face. The frustration. The pure disgust. He was a man who did not like what he saw happening around him, but he was also a man who knew he was powerless to stop it. If he – or I, for that matter – stood in the way of these people, we'd end up like Masie.

That was the message they were sending by killing her – stay in line or end up dead.

“Because they're coming for you next, Kianna,” he said. “You've really stirred the pot.”

“I haven't done – ”

“They know you searched the personnel files,” he said. “They know you're looking for Elix. And they know what Masie told you.”

That chasm in my stomach seemed to open even wider. It felt like all of the air had left my lungs and my heart had turned into a ball of ice in the center of my chest. What was I going to do? I couldn't fight them all. And if Masie's death showed me anything, it was that they would get me, no matter how hard I fought them.

“I don't know what I'm going to do,” I said. “I could report to USF Command. Let them know what's going – ”

Darqa shook his head. “Command is filled with people on the Syndicate's payroll, Kianna,” he said. “I have no idea who's in their pockets and don't know who can be trusted. You call Command, you very well may be talking to somebody who works for the Syndicate.”

“I could also get in touch with somebody who can help.”

“It's a fifty-fifty chance,” he said. “Those aren't great odds if you want to survive – or if you want to find Elix.”

I cocked my head and looked at him, not sure what he was saying. According to him, I was on the Syndicate's hit list and it was only a matter of time. And of course, if they got to me, there was no chance of finding and freeing Elix anyway.

“I don't understand, Colonel,” I said. “I thought you said they were coming for me.”

“They are,” he replied flatly.

“Then, there is no danger in calling Command,” I said. “What are they going to do, kill me twice?”

“There's a transport ship, the Cosmo, leaving for Wyth in about half an hour,” Darqa said.

I shook my head, the switch in topic so radical, it left me reeling and confused. I looked at him, not comprehending what he was talking about. Darqa though, looked down at the ground and slipped his hands into his pockets before returning his gaze to mine.

“In the older sector of the Dors, there is a bar called the Nine Stars,” he said. “And in the Nine Stars is usually a Ryvthian man named Plynt. He kind of sets up shop there. Decent enough guy if you don't trust him too much. Local businessman – of sorts.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Plynt is very well connected,” Darqa said as if I hadn't just asked him a question. “Knows a lot of people – even people within the Syndicate. Sometimes runs special cargo for them.”

As if the pieces of the puzzle all started falling into place, I suddenly understood what Darqa was getting at.

“So, this Plynt – he might know who in the Syndicate might have purchased a certain soldier?” I asked.

“It's possible,” he said. “If he doesn't know off the top of his head, I'm pretty sure he could find out.”

I nodded and looked at him. “Thank you, Colonel.”

“Don't thank me, Captain,” he said. “Let me just warn you that when soldiers go AWOL, the USF doesn't look too favorably on it. AWOL soldiers often spend their lives on the run, always looking over their shoulders.”

I shrugged. “Some things are worth it.”

He let out a long breath and nodded. “I hope you're right. And I hope you find what you're looking for,” he said. “Good luck, Kianna.”

I stood at attention and snapped him a formal salute. “Thank you, sir.”

Darqa gave me a tight smile and then left the bunker. I was still in shock over what just happened. What he'd cleared the way for me to do. I'd long suspected that he knew about Elix and me, but simply looked the other way. That only confirmed it.

Darqa was a good man caught in an impossible circumstance and my heart went out to him. He was an upstanding man who wanted to do the right thing but knew the repercussions would be grave – for him, and for his family.

But, there was nothing I could do to help him. He'd get out of the USF eventually, if he chose to. For now, what I needed to focus on was getting myself aboard the Cosmo and finding this man, Plynt. If I was going to find and save Elix, he was my best chance.

Hustling out of the bunker, I ran to my quarters and changed out of my uniform and into the civvies I wore when I wasn't on duty. After that, I packed a small bag. I knew I couldn't carry too much or I'd risk drawing unwanted attention. I just took some essentials.

With all of that done, I checked my watch and saw I had just over ten minutes to get to the Cosmo. And after that, I'd be on to Wyth. Life on the run wasn't exactly an appealing proposition. I knew the USF could be harsh, even draconian, to deserters.

But, I needed to find Elix. I needed to save the love of my life, and nothing was going to stop me from completing that mission.