Chapter Nine

Outer Reaches
The Venture

After a hurried but necessary detour to the crew lounge for clothes, Piotr stormed toward engineering. Quickly followed by Sasha, Catherine, Alex and Tatyana, Nadia barraged him with questions.

“You should have stayed in the lounge until I got to the bottom of this,” he growled without bothering to look back at his unit.

“Is that an order?” Nadia asked with as much terseness as he’d ever heard from her. What had crawled into her cot this morning?

“No. Don’t get in my way, though, and stay out of this.”

“What is this?” she rebutted.

“Damn mimics showed up with disruptors. They knew we were onboard. They were after us, not these human women.” That these human women included Anna tied him up in knots and made him want to pound them all over again. Slicing his beak through their energy forms wasn’t enough.

He wanted to plant his fist in a face.

“They’re gone now,” he added and took the central stairs down to burn off some of his anger.

Jogging to keep up, Nadia huffed behind him. “They wouldn’t have gone far.”

“No.” He fisted his hands until the strain twinged in his neck.

Engineering. Anna would be in engineering, pretending they hadn’t touched. Pretending there wasn’t a current running between them, connecting them, driving him crazy. He had no inkling how a human could impact him on such a primal level. It shouldn’t be possible.

Despite the urgency of his personal demons, he didn’t intend to confront her or convince her to let him into her bed. She had the disruptor, and he needed to get rid of it.

When the door slid open, he rushed through to a scene of women speaking at once, crowded around Anna. They all looked at the disruptor, held out for inspection.

To see the woman he craved beyond bearing holding that lethal instrument sent chills shuddering through him.

Behind him, Nadia sucked in her breath.

Gregory and Ivan remained apart from the group, backs against the wall, faces white.

Piotr boomed, “Drop it.”

Anna jolted and then recovered her poise. The rest of her crew opened a clear path between them. The talking stopped. The silence, after the buzz of activity, didn’t give him a moment’s pause.

“You will lower your voice,” Anna replied with chilled precision.

“That is a dangerous weapon. I’ll destroy it immediately.” He reached for the disruptor. Twisting to the side, she held the horrible device out of his range.

“I will make that decision.” She signaled to one of her crew.

Len snapped to her friend’s side and Ivan jerked to attention. Len gingerly held the weapon with a puzzled expression. Piotr hadn’t moved, too leery of the weapon accidently discharging if he forcibly took it from either of the women.

“Len,” Ivan said as he gripped her elbow. “Be careful with that thing. If it fires and hits one of us in the right place, we’ll die for good. No coming back.”

Len paled.

“Does the weapon have the same effect on mimics?” Anna asked.

“They are not reborn, but it does kill them just as effectively, yes.” Piotr edged closer, keeping his body relaxed and demeanor unconcerned, though he was far from it. Near enough to grab the weapon, he kept the urge under wraps.

“Put it in the hazardous containment storage in cargo.” Anna hadn’t outwardly responded to Ivan’s warning nor Piotr’s affirmation of the deadliness, but Piotr detected a slight vibe of worry emanating from her.

Though perhaps he imagined it.

Tamping down his anger, he modulated his tone, drawing on the firebird’s song of persuasion.

“It’d be best to space that travesty. It’s a forbidden weapon on our planet. No one has dared break that prohibition. Any mimic caught with one is immediately dispatched. No exceptions. To keep it here breaks a strictly enforced tenet of my people.”

“I am not your people,” she replied with a frown.

Piotr’s stomach dropped at the reminder. He wanted her to be his people more than he wanted his next breath, a breath he had trouble taking.

Anna motioned Len to leave with the disruptor, and none of the phoenix moved to stop her.

“Why keep it?” His harshness caused her head to snap toward him. “It only kills. It tears apart every cell of its victim. The phoenix can’t be reborn because the energy signature is completely wiped out. We don’t even use it on mimics because the pain is excruciating.”

“How can a human fight a mimic?” she asked with a dead evenness. “They fight to kill. Those beaks and talons are vicious, and we have no defense. My sidearm wouldn’t stop one, would it?”

“No, your weapons would only give it more energy.” He was conscious of his entire crew watching the exchange. He was their leader, responsible for destroying the disruptor. Not realizing he’d moved closer, he now reached out to Anna and gripped her arms. Her flinch almost made him back off, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. “No good can come from keeping the weapon. Would you use it on anyone? To cause them a horrible death, or accidently rob a phoenix of his rebirth? Would you give it to the Geonate to use against us?”

The last came out in a vicious snarl, and Anna shrugged her arms out of his hold with a forceful shove.

“I am the captain. This is my ship. Mine. Under my control. You will abide by my decision, or you can leave. Now.”

Nodding sharply to Len, she continued to skewer Piotr with her stare. Len headed toward the central transport in the middle of engineering.

Follow her, Piotr ordered Ivan through phoenix mindspeak.

Nothing I’d like better, the younger man replied.

When Len left, Ivan and Gregory close behind, Piotr rolled his shoulders to relieve the ache.

Later he’d get Ivan to give him the location, and they’d get rid of the disruptor.

Force wasn’t an option. He’d resort to subterfuge.

For now, he dealt with the other burning issue. Not the issue he wanted to resolve, that of taking her tension and kneading it out beneath his hands.

Rolling his shoulders once again, he shook his head and took a deep breath. It didn’t help.

The crew of the Venture dispersed after Len left, but his unit remained at his back.

You may return to what you were doing, he commanded.

Should we track the mimics? Nadia returned.

Oh, we will. We’ll leave in five, he replied.

Anna’s brow furrowed, and she glanced back at Nadia with a puzzled expression. She couldn’t know they’d spoken, but perhaps she suspected he planned something.

He did.

“Mimics are short-range fliers.” The reminder, said aloud, brought his anger crashing back to the fore. He muttered darkly, “Their ship has to be near.”

Anna’s eyes widened a fraction.

“Perhaps they were envoys from Koschei?”

“It would appear so.”

“Our short-range communications should reach them. I’ll hail him and demand answers to this attack.” She reached for the comm at her collar, but Piotr shot out a hand to stop her. At the contact between them, his hand to her wrist, a frisson of static ran down his arm to his chest.

He yanked his hand back. Whatever showed on his face stopped Anna from using her comm device.

“Do you need to sit down?”

She reached for him of her own accord. No flinching. No pulling away. The softest of touches on his cheek made him dizzy.

“I think I do.” His shaky response displeased him.

“Can you make it to sickbay? You never should have left.”

“Take me to your office. I need to send my team on reconnaissance to find that ship. I don’t have time for sickbay.”

“That sounds like an order to me.”

“Take it as a friendly suggestion.” Dizziness subsided, he moved toward the transport tunnel.

She followed. “You really need to learn who is captain here, and it’s not you.”

Even with her protestations, she joined him in the lift. When the tube shot up one level, he gripped the hold bar to keep on his feet. He’d never experienced this before. Whatever in thunder was wrong with him, he wouldn’t burden Anna with it.

Despite his reeling senses, he strode to Anna’s office when they reached the second level. Until this little annoyance resolved itself, he couldn’t go out on a mission.

Nadia, take the unit out on a sweep. Find that mimic ship.

Right away, Piotr.

Sitting heavily, he took a chair in the small office. She sat across from him. Making him greedy for more, her scent imbued the tiny space.

Anna reached for her comm, and he didn’t stop her this time.

“Hailey, do a scan for another ship. There has to be one in the quadrant. Find it. Send out a repeating hail for Koschei. Our meeting with him is overdue, and he should have contacted us by now. Let me know as soon as you have anything.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lethargy nearly overwhelmed him, and Piotr closed his eyes to gather strength.

“Don’t you dare pass out on me again,” Anna demanded, but he caught the worry in her scent. Something about that should trouble him, but he couldn’t seem to care.

“I need to rest. That’s all.”

“You haven’t done any energy transfers. Don’t tell me you’ve overdone it again. Come with me to sickbay.”

“No, no. I’ll be fine in a minute.” He truly hoped so. Now was not the time to spend another two days in bed. Then again, if Anna were with him…

Heat blasted through the markings on his chest, and his britches tightened. He couldn’t breathe without her freshness invading him down to his very cells. Human or no, she evoked his need to possess her. His eyes popped open, and he knew they glowed bright red.

“You could convince me to lie down a minute in your bed. It’s on the other side of that door isn’t it? Sickbay is a whole level away.”

“Yes.” Spots of color rode high on her cheeks.

Never tiring of that sight, he sucked in a breath. Her awakening sexual responses threaded through her scent, her vibrations, and the tenor of her voice.

He crooned, and her eyes softened, lambent in the subdued light of the office. A primal need to call to her spiraled through him. He gave in to it.

Welcome me to your bed, Anna.

Her head cocked to the side as if listening to a faraway sound, and once again, thoughts nagged at him, but he ignored them.

“Rest for a minute. Then we’ll talk about this. Whatever is wrong with you, you need to take care of yourself.”

She led him into her room. Legs unsteady and head swimming, he still managed to make it to her bed without losing his dignity, but when the lingering scent of her in her quarters greeted him, his knees buckled.

He fell backwards onto the small cot.

With one knee dipping to the side of the bed, she leaned toward him with an anxious expression. Her face paled. “You’re worrying me.”

“I’ll be fine after a small rest.” He tried to ease her mind, even though, through the haze of his body’s reeling, he was worried himself.

She moved to stand, but he grabbed her hand.

“Stay with me,” he whispered. She couldn’t leave him. The ache and yearning gripped him hard enough to make his chest pulse in a blazing heat he’d never experienced before. He’d give her the time she needed. He wouldn’t touch her with lust, though his body had never been more ready to be with a woman. Desperation led him to swear to something he didn’t want. “Lie next to me. I’ll be a good boy. No kissing. I promise.”

Indecision etched on her face, she bit her lip. His eyes focused on her mouth, wet and parted as if she’d answer.

She didn’t.

The cot dipped again as she stretched next to him but stayed as far away as the bed allowed. Which wasn’t far. The light contact at their shoulders, hips, and knees burned him through their clothes. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to rid her of her uniform. He broke into a sweat.

He shouldn’t have made that promise.

*

Len shut the door on the containment unit and coded the lock. Behind her, Ivan whooshed out a breath. That quickly, the danger of the weapon, now locked in storage, fell away.

Steeling herself to turn around, she tried to stop the smile that overtook her at the thought of his nearness. Looking hot. She grinned anyway. When he trailed a hand over her head and down her back, she leaned into the caress.

“I guess I’m out, then,” said Gregory.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him grinning while leaning against the nearest cargo cage. Relief swept through her.

“Jealous?” Ivan joked back with his buddy.

Their camaraderie hadn’t been affected by her growing ... friendship, that’s what it was, friendship. Her growing friendship with Ivan hadn’t created an issue. Did she think she was so hot that they’d fight over her? Maybe.

“No. Not jealous one bit. I’ll find a mate one day, but until then, I’ll bide my time.”

“Mate?” Len laughed, but maybe the sound was a bit forced. She stopped when Ivan glowered at her.

“Many phoenix take the hunt for their mates very seriously. Gregory included,” Ivan replied with a strangely chastising tone. Len dipped her chin before she caught herself. Damn, that man had an effect on her, but she had him tied around her finger.

She smiled at Ivan.

“But not you?” She gave him a sultry wink, a tried and true lure at the space docks. It worked like a charm.

“No, not me.” The rumble from his chest rolled out to her. It made her hot, just as it had last night.

“Gregory, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take Ivan inside that cargo bay behind you and show him, um, the emergency procedures for expulsion on impact.”

Gregory gave her a knowing smile.

Let him know.

All Len wanted was to get Ivan behind a closed door and have her way with him.

“Sure, yeah, I think that’s an important bit of procedure,” murmured Ivan in her ear as he snaked a hand around her waist and hauled her backside tight against him. She wiggled, and he groaned low and hot in her ear.

“I need to go help Joylnn anyway,” Gregory said from the cargo bay door. When had he gone over there? He continued as he walked away, “In between her training Treena and her other duties, I’ve been showing her relaxation techniques to help her with her pregnancy.”

“Sure.” Len barely managed to stop herself from waving Gregory to hurry.

“I’ll see you later.” Ivan and nudged Len through the door, his hand already reaching under her shirt.

*

Outer Reaches
The Stealth

Aboard the mimic ship, the power that sang along Ritt’s skin abruptly shifted. The systematic depletion of the star now threatened the internal rings of the supergiant. It was only a matter of time before the humans were caught up in the supernova.

Drawing from the static in the air, he let the play of energy lift his lethargy. He stretched his nude body in front of the metallic door of the cleansing unit. His reflection stared back, a reminder that he wasn’t phoenix.

Thank the stars he wasn’t fully mimic, even if he was a mongrel. No majestic runnels twined across his chest. Instead, sporadic lines dotted his upper torso and back. Unable to deal with the random patterns that labeled him a mutt, he and several other hybrids had found ways to permanently mark their bodies to complete the patterns.

Nano-tatts eased the outward aesthetics, but inside, he wasn’t phoenix.

He’d never remove the taint, but he didn’t want to dwell on it. Best to move on.

Ritter had managed to turn aside his disgust and seduce the hatchling. Perhaps seduction wasn’t quite the description he would use for the mechanical couplings. Catering to her cravings, he paid for what he wanted. Information.

After sex, no need to call it anything else since emotions were lost on her, she was talkative, easy to manipulate. She’d bragged about her partner, no qualms about cheating on her appointed bunkmate. She’d lucked out and been assigned to share sexual favors with a Primary stationed in the genetic labs.

Every female was assigned to a male to relieve the mating urges that would otherwise build to a boil. The ships always started with a balanced blend of varying genders, but due to battles, accidents, and general stupidity, the numbers would end up needing shuffling to avoid riots.

This female had landed a Primary who was given shots to control his testosterone levels. The benefit for Koschei was that they were easily controlled and could work in the labs with minimal confusion. The flipside, partners of Primaries weren’t rutted upon with the same ferocity and frequency, apparently to the consternation of this hatchling.

“What’s the name of that chick you holed up with for the past few days? Was she good?” asked a deep voice from behind as Ritter headed toward his locker for clothes.

Another hybrid. This one was as tall as Ritt, with blonde hair and a cruel handsomeness.

“I don’t know her name.” It was the truth. Regret filled him, but he kept his face immobile.

The other man laughed. “I don’t know why I bothered to ask. I never ask them, myself. Just thought if you recommended her, I’d try her out.”

This hybrid didn’t usually ask names because he didn’t bother with one himself. Assigned to Geonate duty once, Hybrid Fifty-Two had never been sent back. The havoc after the sadistic hybrid’s failed mission gave Ritter nightmares. Unfortunately, he’d heard the man’s boasts of his conquests for months in this very locker room. His mother had been a victim of hybrids like Fifty-Two.

Ritter had been with many human women, soft, hard, short, tall. He performed his duty, to bring back genetic samples for the scientists.

The Geonate women had loved his body, his leanness, and his tattoos. He’d loved their bodies, their emotions, and the softness in their eyes when they came apart beneath him. Hundreds. He didn’t remember any of their names.

An exercise in futility. He’d been down that road countless times. He was done with the sneaking, the lying, and the killing. Especially the pain and death. This all had to stop.

Fifty-Two wasn’t the only psychotic hybrid, but at least that program had been canceled. The scientists continued their testing, and had a new program in the works. He knew what they planned next.

Now he needed to act.