The resin actually worked much better than the barber’s gel had. Bri left her quarters feeling like she at least looked professional enough to face her crew. Her Lieutenant nodded good morning to her before even glancing at what she wore. His attitude about her had been a lot different since she’d fought off Maslin’s attack.

Happy to know at least one male on the damn airship now respected her, Bri leaned against the navigation panel, her arm resting on the ship’s artifact. Like the ancient water ships of Earth’s history, there was a giant steering wheel affixed to the panel. The wheel had no real function, but Bri didn’t mind the way it looked.

Still getting used to being the one in charge, she made eye contact with her Lieutenant before speaking. “Anything interesting happen last night?” she asked.

“Nothing I’m aware of, Commander. Morning report contained only more of the random tech failures we’ve been experiencing. They began shortly after Dr. MacNamara’s droids started being kept in the shuttle bay.”

Bri frowned and wondered what Sheena was up to now. “Do you think something in the SDDs is disrupting the ship’s technology?”

Her Lieutenant shrugged. “I’m not an engineer, so all I can do is note the issue developed via the same timeline occurrence as the droids arriving.”

Nodding, Bri took the portable com from him. She skimmed it, which took about a minute, and handed it back. “I’ll ask Sheena about the droids—see what she thinks. Have you been informed that my sister will be staying on the ship as well?”

“Yes. Admiral Tiberius sent out a memo regarding her reassignment. She’s to monitor the clones of the Matchmakers.”

Bri moved her head absently up and down in agreement, glad Nate had kept the real information about Angus and Erin from the crew at large. “That’s my understanding as well. My sister originally came to visit me, but when she found out I was staying, she applied for a transfer of duties.”

“It must be strange for you and your sister—seeing the clones every day, I mean,” the Lieutenant commented.

All Bri could do was shrug as casually as possible. “It’s strange at times, but Angus and Erin are family—at least of a sort. Sheena and I both feel that way. We don’t really think of them as clones. It would…” Bri searched for the right words, keeping her feelings as sincere as possible. “It would be counterproductive to their purpose to view them too objectively. My parents would have wanted me and Sheena to support them in their work. I find them quite likable.”

“You have my utmost support in your wish to care for them, Commander. May I speak freely about another issue concerning the ship?”

“Always,” Bri answered, relieved by the topic change. “Just know I intend to speak freely back. Not everyone can handle that in my character.” The man’s grin had her grinning back at him. “You caught me in the right mood this morning, Lieutenant. I need all the distractions I can get today. Ask your question.”

“Thank you,” he said, before clearing his throat. “I wanted to say that I admired—all of us admired—how adeptly you handled the attack yesterday. Some of the men have asked if we could train in advanced hand-to-hand techniques like you used. I never got such training approved by our previous commander. Any chance you might think differently?”

Snorting, Bri looked at the rest of the bridge. Three crewmen piloted the shuttle, taking turns so they stayed alert. This was a boring place to work. Training would break up that boredom and improve their skills. That could only be a plus for any airship.

“Yes, I think very differently. Make your plans for training and run it by me before implementing a schedule. My previous job was mostly independent field work, so I’ve not spent much time with an organized group like the AAS airship crew. While I serve on the airship, I’ll be looking to you to keep me informed about such needs.”

“That I will, Commander. Will you spar with the men?”

Bri chuckled. “Hell, yes… eventually. Not to brag, but it’s going to take you guys a while to catch up. I was trained to fight aliens as well as criminals. I spent a lot of my time developing my strength and abilities to do both. I don’t want to be hurting people. Our duty roster wouldn’t like that either.”

“From what I saw yesterday, your training doesn’t surprise me, Commander. Even Darcone seems to respect your fighting abilities and that’s fairly amazing. He merely tolerates most of us.”

Bri smiled at the Lieutenant’s observation because Darcone had a right to his arrogance. She liked thinking he was impressed by her, but she’d seen no evidence of it herself. “I’m going to take that as the highest of compliments. Have you found my scribes for the operating procedures yet?”

“Yes. Working out the schedule to free them from their current jobs,” he said. “I’ll have the information to you by this afternoon.”

They both looked at her wrist when her com unit went off. It was Nate summoning her.

“That’s the Admiral,” Bri said, pushing off. “I’d best not keep him waiting. I imagine he wants to talk about what to do with our guest in the brig.”

* * *

Bri located Nate in the conference room. He’d pulled up an image of Maslin in her cell. The woman paced restlessly. Remnants of her food service tray were pushed outside the cage through the access. It didn’t look like she’d eaten much.

Nate nodded toward the screen. “Speak freely. The two-way is muted. I thought it would help to have a visual while we talked about what to do with her.”

“Couldn’t we have met in your office to discuss this?” Bri asked.

“No. It’s really not big enough for two humans and an alien who might get pissed when he finds out someone used his DNA to make a clone.”

“Good point,” Bri conceded, dreading the revelation too. “Where is our favorite alien this morning?”

Nate’s drew his attention off his portable com and put it on his commander. “Darcone’s on his way. There was a bit of an uproar in the alien common area—something not the fault of Angus for once.”

Bri laughed. “Should I ask what it was?”

Nate shrugged. “Name calling. Insults. The usual. Seems to happen a lot. The bickering doesn’t last long, and everyone not fighting seems to enjoy it immensely. They wait for the guards to intervene, which usually means Darcone breaks it up. Everyone on this ship’s afraid of him.”

“The aliens are bored,” Bri said, taking the seat across the table from Nate. She looked him straight in the eye. “So are your crew, Admiral. I can fix one of those things. You’re going to have to fix the other.”

Nate snorted. “Suddenly you’re an alien expert? I didn’t realize you cared that much.”

Bri narrowed her gaze. “Actually, I am an alien expert, but I’m a human expert too. It’s not rocket science to understand that every creature that breathes need something useful to do with their energy. Sitting around is dead-ass boring, Nate.”

Huffing, Nate crossed his arms. “I should have known you’d side with Angus.”

Bri laughed. “If he’s advocating that we provide the aliens with a less boring life, then yes—I am siding with him.”

Nate shook his head just as Darcone entered the room.

Darcone’s gaze sought out hers and Bri sat up straighter in her chair. He nodded respectfully. She nodded back. She remembered him kissing her face just before she fell asleep. He showed no signs of their night together having been on his mind as much it had been on hers. Maybe he didn’t feel all that much emotion about sleeping beside her. Maybe his people were stoic about such things.

Darcone growled in alarm and seemed startled when he finally noticed the visual of their prisoner. Bri dropped her chin to hide her smile. Okay. Maybe he was more affected than he showed. Hyper awareness of her was all that could explain Darcone completely missing the enormous elephant in the room that was Maslin Jones on the screen.

His gaze went to Nate, who shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Bri wanted to laugh when Darcone slid into a seat leaving a few empty between him and Nate. These two might have worked together for over a century, but they didn’t know each other—at all.

Nate nodded to him and cleared his throat. “We have something important to tell you, Darcone. DNA testing conclusively proved Maslin Jones is a clone, but she’s not a completely human one. It seems she’s an alien-human hybrid.”

Darcone’s interested gaze went to the screen, then back to Nate. “From me, she was made?” he asked gruffly.

Nate nodded again. “Sheena’s not completely sure, but that’s her educated guess. She said some of Maslin’s DNA markers were a match for your people’s.”

“No permission I gave. Wrong, this is,” Darcone said in disgust.

It was Bri’s turn to nod as she got involved. “Yes. It was wrong to let Maslin develop into a full clone and wrong to turn her into an assassin. Based on Sheena’s data, Maslin will only live for one or two more years.”

Darcone rose and turned his back to both of them. He raised his fist, drew back his arm, and sent it hammering once against the metal door. The material that held the ship together gave easily under the pressure of his fist.

Bri winced as Nate cringed at the violence… and probably at the dent. She started to roll her eyes, then saw Darcone draw back his arm again. She sprang from her seat, vaulted the table in a two-step run, and caught Darcone’s fist in her hand as it moved forward again. It took all her strength to keep it from connecting. She used her free hand to turn his face to hers.

“Believe me… I know her existence is the worst example of how insensitive and selfish Earthlings can be. Novus Prime stole Maslin’s embryo from an experiment—an experiment meant only to find a process through which humans could possibly survive alien biological warfare if or when it comes to New Earth again. We lost nearly two-thirds of our planet’s population once. We’ve been doing all we can to make sure that never happens again. I’m sorry this upsets you and I’m sorry you were the alien culture they chose.”

“Of me, she is. Mine, she is,” Darcone spat viciously.

“Yes,” Bri admitted, swallowing nervously, “which is why I insisted you be told before we decided whether or not to kill her. I think you have the right to be a part of the decision.”

He yanked his hand from hers and his sharp withdrawal made her stomach drop. Had he just lumped her and her evil scientist sister into a group of humans he wanted nothing more to do with? The thought chilled her. She felt his loss and yet he’d not said a word to her personally.

Growling, Darcone turned a fierce glare to a somber Nate who did his best to hold the alien’s gaze. “Honor, I brought you. Service, I brought. This… no honor…” Darcone’s hand swiped at the air around him.

Bri held her breath when Darcone stopped his angry rant, seemingly unable to find enough words to express how he felt. Somehow he got the bent door to open and then he disappeared in long strides.

Nate stood and swallowed hard. “I’ve seen Darcone fight to protect the ship. I’ve seen him be a little mean to people. But I’ve never in a hundred years seen him angry before today, especially not at me.”

Bri ran both hands through her hair, sweeping it back. “I don’t think his anger is personal. I think Darcone hates all humans right now. The real question is what does he feel about Maslin Jones? Guess I’m heading to the brig to keep guard so he doesn’t go kill her or something.”

“Should I go after him and try to talk him down?” Nate asked.

Bri shook her head. “Dad always said not to judge someone’s first angry reaction to bad news. We need to give him time to calm down. And space too… I highly advise giving him space. I’ve never seen him that mad either. He’s too dangerous to stay in a bad mood.”

“I was hoping he’d help us tell Maslin. He’s like walking evidence of the truth,” Nate said.

Bri nodded. “Yeah… guess I’ll break it to her. Shitty news is just shitty news, no matter how it’s delivered or who’s doing the talking. Maybe she’ll soften toward him if she hears it from me.”

* * *

Bri’s booted footsteps echoed on the metal floors as she made her way to the cage where Maslin was being held. The woman rose at her entrance, glaring and growling at her.

“What did they promise you for my death?” Bri asked. She walked to a couple of chairs and pulled one forward, staying out of reach of the bars.

Maslin paced. “Why does anything about me matter to you?”

Ignoring Maslin’s negative attitude, Bri crossed her arms. “Bunk comfortable? I made Darcone bring me extra blankets when I spent my time in it.”

Snorting, Maslin dropped on the bunk. “You expect me to believe you were a prisoner on an airship you now command?”

Bri shrugged. “I don’t expect you to believe anything because you’re being an ass, but it’s still the truth. I was being hunted by a group of criminals who were working for your boss. I came here to stay alive. Becoming commander? That’s a fluke, but one I think I’m going to enjoy.”

Maslin turned her head. “You must be terribly evil. Your death is sought by many.”

Putting her chin in her hands, Bri rested her elbows on her knees. “It’s actually the opposite. I’m not evil, but your employer is. I know you can’t accept the concept of that right now, but I didn’t come here to discuss me. I have something more important we need to discuss.”

Rising, Maslin crossed her arms to pace. “You can talk, but it will make no difference to me. All your words are lies. Why should I believe you?”

Bri rose to her full height, towering over the woman. “I see there’s no easing into the story with you, so here goes. You’re a cloned alien-human hybrid, Maslin Jones. Darcone’s DNA was used to make you. That’s why you sound like his growling ass and why he said you smell like home to him. No matter what kind of killing bitch you are, I think you have a right to know your origins and the fact that your life span is limited.”

Maslin laughed. “What do you hope to gain from convincing me of such nonsense?”

“A clear conscience. It’s a luxury I’ve always allowed myself. You’re not the only trained killer on this airship. My targets didn’t often beat the crap out of me either. What’s your body count?”

Huffing, Maslin turned away. Bri wasn’t daunted. She’d interrogated terrorists for a living.

“What was your first pet like when you were a child? What was your best friend’s name when you were six? Who did you give your virginity to and did you like the bastard afterward?”

Pacing faster, Maslin snorted at the questions. “I suffered a head injury when I was five. I remember nothing else until I was an adult of twenty. And I’ve lain with no man. I haven’t wanted to. Assassins don’t have friends or lovers.”

“I did,” Bri said, keeping eye contact. “They usually got killed, but I had them over the years. I’m eighty, by the way. How old are you?”

“My age is irrelevant.”

“You don’t know how old you are because you’re only three years old, Maslin. Three,” Bri repeated, holding up fingers. “You spent a year growing up to twenty and a year being trained during which your body aged to somewhere in your mid-thirties by human standards. Now your DNA has entered a final rapid acceleration stage where you’ll age faster than you have been to date. My scientist sister who helped create you thinks that’s why they sent you after me. You’re going to die within the next year or two. You became expendable to your handlers so they sent you after the target they’d failed to find a way to kill.”

“You say they lied to me, yet you could be lying as well. Why should I believe you?”

Bri held her gaze. “Because I’m telling you the real truth. And because now if you force me to kill you I’ll have no regrets whatsoever.” She got a huff in reply to her threat, but Bri could tell she was wearing the woman down. It was a gift she had—a talent her father had passed on to her. “What did they promise you, Maslin? What did you want enough to risk coming here when you knew it was a suicide mission?”

“They promised to send me home,” she finally admitted.

“Home?” Bri asked in genuine surprise. “Where’s that?”

“I don’t know because I don’t remember and they wouldn’t tell me. My home is likely wherever your handsome alien guard hails from, fool.”

“Hey now bitch, don’t be throwing insults,” Bri said, holding up her hands as if in a gang. She had been in many, but none had left an impression.

Seeing what she hoped was a smile twisting Maslin’s mouth, Bri grinned. The more times she saw her—the most she could see that the girl looked like Darcone.

“The handsome alien is from a planet whose name sounds like growling—pretty much unpronounceable by the human tongue. So you at least believe that much about your connection? That you’re like him, I mean?”

Maslin nodded. “Not because of your words, but because of what I feel, smell, and just… know.”

“Instinct,” Bri said, nodding in agreement. “I get that.”

“I still intend to kill you. Why don’t you just kill me and let us be done with nonsense?” Maslin asked.

Bri stood and shrugged. “Maybe because I was lucky enough in my former career to keep running across people like me—people willing to be merciful—or I wouldn’t be here either. I figured I’d offer you a bit of mercy and see if maybe you might do something better with the last two years of your life.”