MARA
They entered the Sykorian ship with ease. Luall simply attached them to their original access point, and Ancain led a team off the caravel.
“What do the scans show?” Ancain asked into the microphone strapped to his collar.
“Only one cluster of Ykine on the scanners,” Luall said, her voice tinny on the speaker. “Up front by the cockpit.”
“It should be easy,” Ancain said.
“You should be safe,” Luall said. Once the mercenaries who were willing to fight were off the caravel, they would be leaving, so the freeholders who had refused to get involved could be taken to safety.
“I will,” Ancain replied.
“Fly safe,” Luall said. “It’s been a while since you piloted anything.”
From the tilt of his head in the helmet, Mara guessed he was rolling his eyes. “I have not forgotten my training, woman.”
The mercenaries had suited up as best as they could. They were a mismatched group. Only Ancain wore his proper gear. Mara wore a suit she was certain belonged to Ancain at one point, but no helmet. Bene Laupe had squeezed into Clez’s old suit. Oyoyoi had been forced to remain aboard the caravel, due to her slow nature.
Mara’s fingers gripped a metal bar. She dropped her hand to check on the knife on her hip. At first, Ancain had offered her a gun, but she had turned it down. Her sheltered upbringing meant that they were a familiar sight on her father’s bodyguards; she had never handled one herself. At least with a knife, she knew what to do. However, when it came to bashing Ykine, she trusted heavy metal.
They walked through the ship, which remained eerily silent. Mara’s palms grew slick. Sand coated her tongue, and she forced herself to breathe through her nose. When they reached the corridor that had been painted with Sykorian remains, she blanched, but she kept her head up. The floor and walls had been smeared with a white powder, which had absorbed the gore. Instead of the vile scent of Sykorian blood, she smelled a harsh chemical that made her nose burn.
Has it only been a few weeks since Syrek carried me over this mess?
Syrek.
A lump formed in her throat, but she pushed it aside. Now was not the time to brood. Later, when she had Dannica by her side, a quiet space, and a lifetime supply of Ben & Jerry’s, she would spill her guts to her best friend.
The pang in her chest told her it would take a lot more than girl talk, a sugar rush, and tears to get over Syrek.
You’ll never get over him, her heart whispered as they reached the cockpit door. He’s your Avowed.
“Take the left,” Ancain murmured to Mara. “Enter once I’ve cleared the doorway.
She tried to ignore the fact that Ancain was treating her as his best fighter. They were a pathetic group and if the Ykine put up any sort of resistance, they were all likely to die.
What a cheery thought.
She pressed her back against the wall as Ancain laid out the plan for the rest of the crew. Once he was done, he unstrapped the automatic jack from his back and slid the prongs between the seam in the door. The hydraulics forced it open, and the device fell to the floor with the clang of metal-on-metal.
Ancain hopped over the jack and slipped inside, his weapon drawn. Mara girded her loins and followed. Ancain’s gun emitted a few soft snaps, and the Ykine in the room began to fall to the ground. Sweeping his weapon from side to side, Ancain edged to the side of the room, placing a wall at his back.
A couple of Ykine charged toward the door, and Mara met them with her bat raised. After the hangar, she was more confident in her Ykine killing abilities, but her heart still thundered. Like Ancain, she moved aside, letting Bene Laupe enter. He carried a polearm with a blade on the end, and attacked with a jabbing and hacking motion. The battle was short and bloody, but at the end of it, the freeholders stood in a circle, panting.
The enemy lay at their feet.
Mara approached the carnage, carefully stepping over bodies. She stopped to study the only corpse clad in clothing. Ukali stared lifelessly to the side. The top of his head was missing, excised by Ancain’s weapon. Shuddering, Mara kept moving, giving the body a wide berth. Ukali had been creepy, but she wasn’t about to cheer that he was gone.
Ancain hauled the corpse of the pilot out of his chair and took the controls. He paged the caravel. “Mission accomplished, my dear. Rerouting the bounty to New Trades.”
Luall whooped. “Any injuries?”
Bene Laupe had managed to nick one of the other freeholders with his polearm, and he shrugged apologetically when all eyes turned to him.
“None worth mentioning,” Ancain replied. “What’s the status on Haven?”
“Hang on,” Luall replied. “I’ve got… Oh. Ancain, look sharp. We’ve got movement in the cargo pod.”
“What?” Ancain frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Certain. At least one enemy.”
Ancain looked uncertain, but Mara stepped forward. “You fly. I’ll handle it. I know the way to the cargo pod. And if it’s just one, I’ll take it down easy.”
“Go for it.”
Mara hoisted her bar onto her shoulder and broke out into a trot, heading for the cargo pod. All the time she had spent visiting the sleepers had paid off. She found her way easily.
Once she entered the cargo pod, she lifted her bar, and stepped inside slowly. Only the glow from the PETL Cells illuminated the dim room, but harsh shadows filled the corners. She licked her lips, and tried to quiet her footsteps. The hidden panel leading to the secret room holding the cryo-sleepers sat ajar, and Mara felt a surge of panic at the thought of the Ykine sabotaging her friends.
Caution thrown to the wind, she raced to the door and yanked it open. Her eyes scanned the rows of beds, looking for trouble. Her eyes caught on the sleeper she had lain inside, the lid flung aside, but the interior was empty. She kept looking, and she froze when she spied an askance lid on the sleeper beside hers. The panel on the front was black.
No.
Dannica.
She ran forward, slamming into the sleeper. The window on the top of the sleeper remained empty.
Where is she?
A noise from the cargo pod made her spin around, and she ran to the door. Bar raised, she yelled as she stormed the room. “Give her back!”
A slender figure cowered in the center of the room, its hair slicked against its skull. When it saw Mara, it raised a hand and flinched away. Mara skidded to a halt, and slowly lowered her weapon.
“D-Dannica?” Mara stepped closer. “Is it really you?”
Dannica looked up, and wiped a hand across her face. The scab on her chin stood out against her pale skin. When she spoke, her voice grated. “M-Mara?”
Mara dropped the bar, and flung her arms around her friend, ignoring the sticky gel coating her skin. “Oh, Danni! It is you!”
“Mara? What’s going on?”
Mara pulled away and studied Dannica. She brushed a strand of hair out of her friend’s face. “How did you-”
“Where are we?” Dannica’s body shook. Mara rubbed her arms and back, trying to return blood flow to Dannica’s limbs. “What happened to the ugly aliens?”
The thought of explaining the events of the past few weeks made Mara cringe. Well, she would say, we didn’t make it to the party. We got kidnapped by gross aliens, thrown into a freezer, kidnapped by a different set of aliens, and I fell in love with their leader who’s, like, the sexiest man alive, but then he traded you away to another set of evil alien bugs, and…
Dannica would probably be left doubting Mara’s sanity.
“They’re gone,” Mara said. “Nothing will hurt you here.”
A beep behind her made her spin around. She scooped up the metal rod and pushed Dannica behind her. “Stay close.”
They made their way back to the sleepers, and Mara’s jaw dropped. The panels on the front of each cryo-bed flashed from the standard blue to green. One by one, the lids began to pop open. In the closest bed, a woman jolted awake, her mouth a wide circle as she sucked in air.
“They’re waking up,” Mara said. “Almost like…”
Almost like…
Almost like they had been programmed to wake all at once.
Mara race toward the woman, who leaned over the side of the cryo-bed and retched. “Easy, easy,” she said, stroking the woman’s back. “Rest for a while. Just breathe. Once the sedation wears off, you’ll feel better. Just take it easy.”
A speaker crackled in the wall, and a male voice boomed through the room. Dannica whimpered and clapped her hands over her ears. “This is a message from Lady Jenna of the Ennoi Haron, hailing the unknown Sykorian ship.” The cadence and sound of the words reminded her of Syrek.
They’re Ennoi.
“We are aware that you have on board your vessel members of the human race. Please be advised that these humans are under the protection of the Ennoi Council. Any harm to them will be considered an act of war. The safe return of your human passengers to Ennoi territories will be greatly rewarded.”
The message ended, and Ancain’s clipped voice filled the room next. “Mara, get back to the cockpit. Now.”
Mara led Dannica to a corner of the room, and sat her down. “Stay here, okay? Anyone stumbles out of that room, tell them to come sit by you.” She stroked her friend’s face. “You’re safe. My friends are here. Nothing can hurt you now.”
“P-promise?”
“I promise.”
Dannica coughed. “You’ll come back for me?”
Mara smiled. “I promise.”
The cockpit buzzed with excitement. Ancain looked up at her when she entered. “There you are!”
“You will not believe what’s happening in the cargo pod,” Mara said.
“Luall says the caravel’s scanners are showing life forms in the cargo pod.” Ancain paused. “Many life forms.”
“The humans. They’re waking up.” Mara sat down. “My friends are alive.”
“And the Ennoi are going to pay well for their return.” Ancain practically glowed at the thought.
“We’re not selling the humans,” Mara said, her voice flat.
“Oh, of course not. The Ennoi don’t deal in slaves.”
“So what will happen to my people?”
“Who knows?” Ancain replied. He grinned. “Right now, we have to mount a rescue. Syrek is out there.”
“What?”
“Luall just picked up an emergency beacon. Two actually. Two emergency lifeboats, launched from Haven a few moments ago.”
“Syrek’s alive?”
“We think so. The caravel is heading out to pick up the first emergency pod. We’re moving to grab the second.”
“You think it’s really him?” Her lungs didn’t seem to want to expand. The air in the cockpit felt thin. His name played on a loop in her heart.
“Who else could it be?” Ancain’s delicate hands danced over the controls. “We’re approaching the lifeboat.”
A speck of light in the distance slowly grew, until she made out the curve of a pill-shaped hull, slashed with bright orange paint. She puffed out the breath she didn’t realize she held. The lifeboat slipped beneath the bulk of the Sykorian ship.
Mara watched its approach. As she leaned forward, the Promise Stone slipped from her overalls, and swung forward. It caught the illumination from the control panel and sent shards of shimmering light refracting. Ancain’s eyes slid to the jewel.
“It’ll be a few minutes yet,” Ancain said. “Perhaps we should discuss…”
Mara stiffened. “I’ll pay my debts, Ancain.”
“Oh, I have no doubts about that, Mara,” he said quickly. “I-”
She raised her hands to the clasp of her necklace and pulled the stone from her throat. Her fingers tightened around the jewel for a moment. It is a promise, and promises are meant to be kept. Then she thrust it out to Ancain.
“Here,” she said, her chin high. “Your payment, as promised.”
“Mara,” Ancain began.
“Just take it, okay? This is hard enough as it is.”
Ancain reached out his delicate fingers and clasped the jewel. He tugged it gently from her fingers. “The Vanguard thank- Mara!”
She was gone. Her feet carried her down the corridors. Hope loaned her speed, and she ran. With every foot fall, her heart beat his name. Syrek, Syrek, Syrek.
Promises were meant to be kept, but she didn’t need a stone to remind her. All she needed was the depth of her love. He might not want to be with her, but if he felt even a fraction of the love she felt, then maybe they would muddle through this thing together.
The airlock cycled, pumping oxygenated air into the chamber containing the lifeboat. Mara pressed her nose to the window, trying to see inside. When the light turned green, she spun the lock and stepped inside. Her knees trembled as she leaned beside the lifeboat.
The smooth surface cracked, and a panel slid aside, revealing Syrek’s weary face. “Hey. Did you miss me?”