{February 2007}

“Okay, Kyle is watching Rayne. Andrew is watching Kyle. I’m sorry I’m late, but…”

Caedes held a finger to his lips, and Tameka held a tiny bundle in her arms, lying on a weird alien hospital bed.

Sagan gawked with her mouth open before she complained, “I missed it? It’s only been three hours. I thought it took longer than that.”

Tameka glowed in her alien scrubs. Pure, radiant, warmth. “Not with a Nacre. Pregnancy was only six months, too. Not that you’d know, Miss Too-Busy-Traveling.” She glared at Sagan until the Seamswalker squirmed. “Wanna hold him?”

She never nodded so fast in her life. “Oh, Elden, yes.” Shooting Caedes an excited smile, she held out her arms braced for baby snuggles. Tameka transferred the little bundle over like a pro-mommy. The room smelled of sterile hospital supplies and of baby. Sagan cooed at the infant and suppressed a sniffle. Tears of joy. “Sorry it’s just... He looks so much like...”

Tameka gave a smile Sagan could only describe as happy-sad. “Same eyes and cheekbones. But he has my complexion and hair.”

Caedes added, “And he kicks like his mother, too.”

Sagan couldn’t stop cooing at the tiny copy of Xelan and Tameka. “What’s his name?”

“His name is Pax.”

Sagan choked and swallowed the emotion to say, “Tameka, that’s so beautiful.”

The redhead nodded as she beamed at her son. “He’s what we’re fighting for.” As if a mention of the good fight brought her up, she asked “How’s Rayne?”

Sagan went to return Pax to his mommy, but Caedes held out his arms. Smiling, she passed the baby to the normally grouchy Icarus. She answered, “Sleeping. I think something’s bothering her. It’s been storming on Cinder and Earth for a month. I’ve never seen black lightning before, but it’s terrifying. Then... Other times she’s smiling. Like the pretty one she gets when she’s had a 20OZ frappuccino and came up with a brilliant idea. Like at the—”

“Zoo. Eighth grade. When she climbed into the tiger paddock. She wanted to make friends, and we all got suspended.”

They both shared a soft laugh at the memory.

Sagan added, “Yea, you know what I like most about that story?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Tameka nodded like she most certainly knew. “She made friends with the tiger before she got caught.”

“What?” Caedes looked up from the baby to glance between them. “Friends with a tiger?”

Tameka shook her head. “That girl could make friends with anything.”

“Case in point: an entire enemy planet,” Sagan pointed out.

Pax gurgled, and they all peered in his direction. After a long moment, Sagan asked about something that bugged her for the last six months, “Does Rayne know?”

Tameka possessed enough grace to look ashamed. “I tried. There wasn’t a good time to tell her. I thought I’d wait until after everything was over. But then she said she’d go back into the Complex.” She glanced away as if she were searching for the right thing to say. “I thought if I told her, it would make it harder to serve her sentence. I didn’t want her to have another thing on her mind. I mean she went to prison, you know?” At Sagan’s wince, she patted her consolingly. “Sorry. Of course you do.”

“I think it would’ve given her—”

Caedes interrupted, “They’re gone now.”

“Fucking finally.” Sagan sat on the edge of the bed, careful with the axes. “I gathered intel from some of the Valkyrie and Nox’s Verse that Razor is definitely a major supplier if not an outright member of Imminent.”

Tameka tried to keep her voice hushed, “Where is his base of operations?”

“He hops planets. Opens up a pain-fetish establishment and then moves on after a while. Gait is apparently a good place for sightings.”

“What’s your plan?” Caedes glanced at Pax to make sure he was still sleeping.

She licked her lips. “I’m putting it off for a reason. I need to talk to someone first.”

Tameka crooked her mouth and folded her arms. She waited for Sagan to give.

“Okay fine. I’m waiting for them to finish processing Korac. I want to talk to him first about engaging someone from Imminent.” She held up her hands. “Karter thought it was a good idea, too. Besides, Pehton is still with him. We need her for this.”

“Fine.” Tameka relaxed. “But what are you planning to do in the meantime?”

She worried her lip in her teeth for a minute. “I can’t stay here. I can’t stay anywhere. I’m sorry, Tameka. But I have to keep moving to distract myself. I had no idea… Do you understand?”

The other woman stared at her newborn son. “I do. I don’t like it, but I do understand it.” She looked back over to Sagan. “You still need to recharge?”

“Yup. If you don’t mind. Hey, where’s John?”

Caedes stood and transferred Pax back to his mother. He answered, “He’s working.” Then he glanced back at the weird nacre shield doorway. They were back.

Sagan nodded. “Well, that’s awesome.” To Tameka she mouthed, “I. Can’t. Handle. This.” The constant surveillance. The tension. Imagining what it must be like for Tameka who couldn’t leave when she wanted, made Sagan shudder.

Tameka looked to Caedes who handed her a well-worn notepad. On it, she scribbled, “How much longer until he processes?”

Sagan shrugged. No idea. She took the pad and wrote, “Until then, I’ll research what I can from local sources. How is your work here?”

Tameka glanced up at Caedes once more before writing, “We found something.”

In silence, they shared their findings on their given assignments. With one of them glancing at Pax every now and again. They fought these secret missions for him, for their two worlds, and for Rayne. Pain dealers, prison wardens, secret Tritan factions, Imminent, and Celindria. None of them knew how badly they fucked up coming for the people the Progeny loved. But they were about to find out.

Caedes gave the all clear again.

Tameka asked, “So, all this information leads us back to one planet.”

The three of them looked at one another. Sagan’s mission was clear.

“Gait.”