Chapter Eleven

Outer Reaches. Geonate New Time, Year 2402
Mission: Day 11
Venture Stranded: 3 days

“Damn,” Anna exclaimed and scrambled from the bed.

Before she could secure her robe, the alarm ended. She lunged toward her lavatory. “Take the damn PCU off for a few minutes, and all hell breaks loose.”

Behind her, the rustle of Piotr dressing brought heat to her cheeks.

Ignoring her reflection in the mirror, she threw off her wrap to grab her uniform. Years in the Nex had trained her to respond to emergency with economy of motion. Clothed in seconds, she hurried back to her bedroom.

Eyeing her with expectation, Piotr was as dressed as the ill-fitting uniform allowed.

“Report,” she commanded into the device in her collar.

“Captain,” answered Len. “A ship has entered our proximity. Ivan has confirmed it’s the Firewalker.”

Unable to stop herself, she waited for Piotr’s confirmation. His eyes unfocused, as if he looked away in the distance, and Anna’s head buzzed with a jumble of faint voices, like when she’d played with funnel comms as a child.

“Yes, the Firewalker is here.” A commander’s blank expression lowered over him, at odds with the two braids on the side of his face swept back into his mussed hair. “My unit on recon has already rendezvoused with our ship and returns with supplies.”

“I’m heading to engineering. I’ve wasted enough time here.” Her tone wavered.

“Wasted?” His brows slanted. A thunderous expression replaced the calm in a flash.

“We don’t have time for this now.”

Maybe not ever. The thought didn’t pass her lips, but his head tilted to the side, and his scowl deepened.

She palmed open her door and sprinted through without a second glance, but the heat of him warmed her back as he followed. Since the solar sails had slowly collected power, she’d begun returning full power to all systems. She couldn’t wait to get back to normal, on the bridge, no sexy alien man in her bed.

He’s leaving.

Had she really thought he’d stay? Foolish to think for a moment that he’d consider it, or that she’d want him here. She wanted her calm, ordered life back. She shivered, already missing the stare that made her tingle from shoulder blades to the back of her knees.

As they reached engineering, Piotr greeted his patrol members, all in new attire, apparently brought back from the Firewalker.

The phoenix dressed alike in form-fitting clothes, all the same style. Only the colors differed. The unattached three, Gregory, Ivan, and Nadia wore all black. The mesh shirts were long sleeved and open, drawn together with clasps in the center, uncovering quite a bit of bare skin to show off their markings. The shirts of the couples displayed more vibrancy. Alex and Tatyana wore red, while Sasha and Catherine wore yellow. The men's shirts had fewer clasps, leaving much of their chests exposed, while the women's tops covered slightly more, highlighting their cleavage with impressive results.

Their pants were made of a form-fitting leather-like material, accenting the powerful thighs of the men to perfection. It was difficult not to notice that the fly of their pants laced up their groins. She quickly dashed the direction of those thoughts, realizing she had been staring at Ivan's crotch, though she hadn’t been imagining unlacing Ivan’s. She moved her inspection down, to the slick black boots that they all wore to mid-calf. She wondered how Piotr's powerful body would look in his own clothes.

Anna realized all of the warriors stared at her.

Ivan stalked over to Anna but stopped short of standing too near. He leaned toward her and sniffed. The action shocked Anna speechless, and she backed away from him.

“You smell like him.” He paused and stared at her changed eyes. Though his lips twitched into a scowl, a reaction that surprised Anna in the light-hearted man, he surprised her again by changing the subject.

“The Firewalker has pinned Koschei’s location. His ships are in battle formation, hiding on the other side of the star beyond the reach of your scanners. They must have followed us to the Firewalker. It’s a trap. A way to lure us further away from Sirin. The Stealth is singular, the only ship near capable of damaging the Firewalker.”

“That doesn't make sense,” Anna replied. “How could he have arranged to have a meeting with the Geonate at a star just as it was to go supernova, and know that our ship would be disabled? Much less that you would try to help and lead the Firewalker here.”

“I don't know,” Ivan said. “But—it’s no matter if he planned everything. Once the situation presented itself to him, he set the trap.”

Anna's chest itched. Like a current of humid air clouded the room, a sluggish heat clouded her senses, and she sensed every movement of Piotr. The brooding phoenix seemed to float toward her through a fog. As if he weren’t leaving at any moment, he stood behind her so closely there could be no misinterpreting the unconscious claim he made on her. Ivan nodded slightly and wiped the anger from his visage.

A chirping erupted on the engineering stations. Hailey, who Anna hadn’t even noticed, leaned over the station nearest Anna to answer the hail.

“We're receiving a request from Koschei's ship to open a channel.” Hailey looked up to await her response, and her eyes widened as she looked into Anna's face. “Your eyes...”

Anna interrupted, “Put him on speaker.”

Anna needed to focus on the safety of her ship and crew, not the completely foreign and frightening changes she’d gone through in the past hours.

After days of suspense and confusion, Anna finally heard the voice of the infamous Sirin dissident, Koschei.

“Greetings, Captain Voron. I hope you enjoy your view of this star. We deplete it even now. The supernova will be a stunning show, and you’ll have an unobstructed view.” He sounded unaffected and bored.

“We are here for a peaceful meeting with you. Why bring us here?” Indignation couldn’t be held back, so she snapped her mouth closed to await his answer before she gave in and started throwing accusations. That wouldn’t go well.

“Straight to business. Thank you for your assistance leading me to the Firewalker. Though I’m sure you had no idea you’d do so. Now, if you don’t wish to watch the wonderful outlay of power from a supernova, you will depart the area forthwith. You have thirty minutes.” He ended the signal, not allowing for a response.

“Thirty minutes?” Len muttered from close behind her. “Nothing makes sense. Since we came out of that wormhole, it’s like we’ve been caught in a dream.”

“Or a nightmare,” Anna responded unable to process the demands from the arrogant Koschei.

Piotr pressed her hand with his. “You should leave this quadrant,” he began. “Try the solar sails. Move your ship behind the Firewalker.”

When Anna tensed to respond, he put his finger over her mouth. A day ago, she might have batted him away, but now, even in these circumstances, she hoarded away the contact that would be gone forever too soon.

“I can feel your outrage, but listen to me. You are not equipped to deal with the weapons at his disposal.”

Anna didn’t answer, but ordered, “Hailey, start a countdown for thirty minutes.”

“You have no defense to the power vacuum he controls at whim. He can suck your ship dry and use the extra energy in his attacks against the Firewalker.”

“Contact the Firewalker and copy them my interchange with Koschei,” she ordered Hailey.

“We’ve been fighting mimics for centuries. The Firewalker has adequate shielding, but you don’t,” Piotr argued.

“Hailey, do you have a trace on Koschei’s ship?”

Piotr threw his head back and looked at the ceiling before he blew out a breath and looked at her, the brown eyes of his startling her for a moment with their newness and with the pleading in their depths. “Trust me, let the Firewalker confront him.”

“Switch the solar sails back from propulsion to see if they can open a wormhole without the Casimir,” Anna ordered. Len moved toward her control panel.

Piotr stepped in front of Len, and Ivan jerked toward them, but halted mid-stride, hands fisted at his sides. Shoulders squared and chin high, Len circled both men and went to her station.

“You’re too close to the Stealth,” Piotr said. “If you open a wormhole, Koschei will latch on to pull the energy while you’re in it. The wormhole will collapse and take you with it, and he’ll be that much harder for us to take down.”

“One moment, Len.” Anna ordered and turned to Hailey. “Give me an estimate. Using the power we’ve already collected with the sails, how far can we push out given thirty minutes?”

From her station, Len corrected, “Make that twenty-eight minutes.”

“Not far enough,” Hailey responded.

“Len, get us out of here. Push it as far as you can.”

Piotr urged once again, “Stay in range of the Firewalker shields.”

“The further away from here, the better,” Anna answered. “We don’t belong in the middle of this. This is your fight. We’re not phoenix.”

Piotr’s head snapped back, and he scowled at her.

“No, you’re not.” He slung the words at her like an accusation.

The pain fisting her heart outweighed the nervous twitch of her fingers, eager to go to a station and get this ship as far away as possible.

The groan of the sails moving into position confirmed Anna’s orders. They were underway. But all too slowly.

*

Piotr fumed. He wanted to hug Anna to him and fly away with her. He wanted to throttle her.

Talk some sense into her, Ivan urged through the privacy of phoenix speak.

Gregory added, I’m not leaving them to die. Let me start evac to the Firewalker. Nadia returned with the shuttle.

Let me handle this, Piotr said.

At least let me take the woman with babe away from this. Gregory went to Joylnn, who stood next to Treena against a bank of instruments. He took Joylnn’s hand and tugged her to follow.

Anna didn’t move as she said, “I’ll take care of my own.”

At that moment, Piotr realized something that Anna apparently hadn’t. She’d followed the mindspeak conversation, though it had clearly strained her. She rubbed her temples and winced.

Piotr’s possessive urges nearly brought him to a panic, and he couldn’t stop his telepathic blast. Let me protect you.

Needing her to bow to his will for the good of both her and her ship, he tried a mental push, only possible between mates. He flooded her with his feelings of concern, urgency, and earnestness. And possession. He didn’t put his hands on her, but he didn’t stop his mind from reaching out to claim hers.

Anna yelped and gripped her head. Her wince turned to an expression of pain.

Stop! She pushed back telepathically.

Her thoughts blared through him, and he wondered if she realized what she’d done. Her determination to get her crew to safety came across the link with her wishes that he stop her pain.

He closed the wall between them. Remorse flooded him as the blood drained from his face. He’d forced her. He’d done something she’d never forgive, pushing into her mind without permission. He’d brought her pain, something he wanted to protect her from, no matter the consequences.

At the cost of his growing attachment for her, if it came to that, he had to get her and her ship from between the Firewalker and the Stealth.

Seconds ticked by, not only for the star in this sector, but also before a battle erupted between the two enemies squaring off even now.

“Thirty minutes,” he muttered.

Anna spoke, panting with effort, “No, twenty-five.”

“I’ll get you more time,” he said.

Faster than he’d ever done, he threw off his clothes, shifted, and soared through the walls of the Venture.

*

“Where is he going?” Len asked as she moved to Anna’s side. Len’s face remained calm, her hands still, and her breathing regular. Anna marveled at her coolness.

“He didn’t say, but I think he’s going to the other side of the star, to see if he can delay the Stealth,” Anna whispered. How did she know? The splitting headache refused to let her think straight.

Len took her gaze off Ivan pacing angrily, and her mouth fell open. “What happened to your eyes?”

“Well, it looks like if you get close to a phoenix, then you could end up mated.”

Anna nudged her top to expose a bare fraction of skin above her waistband. Her new markings, darker than they had been when she had studied them in the mirror with Piotr, itched like mad. Len reached for Anna but pulled her hand back sharply.

“Those markings are incredible! And your eyes. Did it hurt?”

Anna barely had time to answer negatively before Len jumped in again.

“You did it? You really did, it? And with Piotr?”

“Keep your voice down,” Anna urged.

“Well, good for you. I hope we all live ‘til tomorrow, but you... You deserve more time with a good man, after all you’ve been through.”

Time. Why did she waste time, now? They had so few minutes to get out of here, but there was nothing either of them could do but wait through the excruciating slowness of the solar sails limping through space. Piotr was out there.

“I barely know Piotr. This thing between us, it’s not like we’re married or anything. I don't need a relationship. I just need this ship.”

Len sobered. “Married? Nobody gets married anymore. If people want to stay together, they just do.”

“Well, whatever you want to call it, married, mated, staying together, Piotr can’t have that with me. This,” she pointed down at herself. “It's just physical.”

“That’s physical all right,” Len said incredulously. “Having sex with men doesn’t usually change your body to be like theirs.”

“I mean, he’s not looking to stay with me. It was just the one time.” Then, unlocking her clenched teeth, she added, “He has a fiancé, already.” The burning markings overwhelmed the pitch to her stomach when she realized the truth of her statement.

“I guess all those firebird boys are just like human men. No commitment. Ivan...” Len grew flustered, her hands fluttered in the air before she crossed her arms to still them. “I mean, I'll bet Ivan and Gregory are just the same, but Alex and Sasha treat their mates like the sun rises and sets for them.”

“Yes, but they’ll all be leaving, and soon.”

Of course he will leave. She admonished herself for the foolish hope she had felt flickering inside.

What had gotten into her?

To reassert herself into reality, she reminded herself: I am responsible for twelve women and one soon-to-be-baby. I hold their livelihoods in my hand. And they’re all waiting on my orders right now.

“Hailey, what’s our progress?”

“We’re too slow. We haven’t even reached the Firewalker’s position, yet.” Hailey looked to her captain. Fear clouded her eyes, and her voice shook. “We need their help.”

Anna had never seen Hailey give in to stress before.

“You’re right.” She closed her eyes briefly, shutting out the image of Gregory stroking Joylnn’s hair as if she were a child. Nothing sexual in their connection, but the connection was clear nonetheless. The phoenix cared about her crew.

“Open a channel to the Firewalker.” She should have done this as soon as they’d gotten the threat. They had only minutes, and she’d allowed Piotr to cloud her judgment.

“They’ve responded,” Hailey said.

“Put it on speaker,” Anna commanded.

“This is Leader Torrin from the Firewalker. Let’s dispense with the pleasantries. Speed is of the essence. We can attach a grappling line and tow you a safe distance. Would that be acceptable?”

“Yes, our readings show we have less than,” Anna looked at Hailey’s console. “Fifteen minutes.”

“Tow lines are already deployed.”

“Thank you.”

Anna presented an outward calm, but inside she twisted in frustration. She couldn’t attach those tow cables. She’d never suit up in time to assist.

She had to rely on the Firewalker.

She went to Len’s console and flicked the viewscreen to flash through the Venture’s external camera feed. After a perfunctory look at a team of phoenix attaching the towing lines to their aft, she switched views. She searched for Piotr amid the growing brightness of BSG33, but couldn’t see him.

Where was he?