“Is this a joke?” Alexandra turned to Markus. “You hear the same thing. Right? I mean, I haven’t gone crazy, have I?!”
“Welcome to the fringe, I suppose.” The mechanic shook his head, mimicking the bewilderment she felt.
“I’m not in the mood for levity, Marcus!” She snapped at the man before turning to the captain of the Neuronic, her voice holding the same crack as an electro-whip discharge. “Play it again.”
“As you command, mistress von Eisstahl.” The old man somehow nodded despite the dozen hard-link cables attached to the back of his skull.
“Captain Reyas, this is Security Officer Second Class Helix. This is a priority message for Knight Protector von Eisestahl… Experiencing cascading mainframe malfunctions following an attack on Last Hope’s Command Room. Assailants assumed pirate, pending verification. Threat contained. Commodore Neverok has turned traitor and is assisting Overseer Tharks in escaping. Security Chief Rex is trying to intervene. Status unknown; communication lost due to mainframe failure. I have assumed temporary control of loyal forces protecting Section 01, Security Area. All communication is henceforth to be done through Secured Feed Channel RL1Z-2. End of transmission.”
The speaker’s words were coated in a thick accent, Alexandra couldn’t place, and there was something off in the way he spoke. Yet, it was also very familiar; like a word stuck on the tip of her tongue, it eluded her. She ignored that detail for a later examination and focused on what was important - the report.
It was delivered with confidence and in the tone of a seasoned soldier. More than that, it was done in a matter more or less similar to how her subordinates used to report to her. There was just one problem. According to the files she had Marcus obtain, the only people on that piece of floating scrap with any previous military experience were one Peter Lemental and one Dr Hiroshi Saiko. Where the former was a regular army private with ten years of service, the doctor used to be a member of the 21st Jäggers. Alexandra had made a note of them, considering the reforms she had planned for Last Hope’s security force. But in none of the files she read was there any mention of this Second Officer Helix.
Alexandra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind before addressing Captain Reyas. “Again.”
There was a tired sigh from the old man as the main console dais lowered itself with a loud hiss. A small cloud of antiseptic mist erupted around the captain’s head as the cables detached themselves, and the man met her burning glare with a tired one of his own.
“Mistress von Eisstahl,” Reyas spoke before she could open her mouth, his tone making it clear that this wouldn’t be a discussion. “I can send you the file, and you can listen to it to your heart’s content. In your quarters. Or anywhere else aboard my vessel. Just not here.”
“Izban… This borders on treason!” Alexandra couldn’t contain the vitriol in her words. Of course, a part of her realised that she was being unreasonable. The man was a civilian who, under normal circumstances, would have been evicted from the helm the moment a secured channel was opened.
“You’re free to interpret it that way,” Reyas shrugged. “I’ve been hooked to the Neuronic for well over fifty consecutive hours. Even if I remain connected, the system would eject me in a hundred-and-twenty seconds for violating safety regulations. That goes for every one of my crew! This is a civilian vessel! We’re not equipped for the extended shifts you’re used to! And I’d sooner vent you than endanger my crew or ship!”
By the end of his surprising tirade, Captain Reyas's usually timid voice had turned into a bestial roar, leaving him panting like a wild animal. The old man straightened his faded grey light jacket with a single crisp motion. “That’s with all due respect, Knight Protector. Now get the fuck out of my bridge.”
Alexandra felt Marcus’ vice-like grip tighten around her right forearm, stopping her from lashing out at the ageing captain of the Neuronic. The technician overstepped his bounds, violating half a dozen laws, but by doing so, he saved her from committing a crime. She knew that, but her pride refused to accept defeat. Without hesitation, she shoved the short man aside and stormed out of the frigate’s cramped command centre. As she traversed the claustrophobic corridors, Alexandra vowed to herself that she would apologise later once her temper cooled off.
“Major Khalid,” the Knight Protector activated the direct feed to the leader of the Innari troopers waiting in the main cargo hold, “I’m heading your way. Sending you a voice-only file. Listen to it and analyse the contents. I wish to hear your input once I arrive.”
She didn’t need the master file, which was logged in the vessel’s mainframe; her cerebral implants had made a copy of Helix’s message as she listened to it. Sure, it would be slightly distorted, and there would be some additional scrap code because of her emotional state. Nevertheless, Khalid and his people weren’t raw Academy cadets; on the contrary, every single one of the thirty elite shock troopers was a veteran with at least a decade of combat experience. They knew how to handle emote-contaminated files, and they would be more than a match for whatever passed for Last Hope’s law enforcers.
At least, that’s what Alexandra hoped. A few days ago, her answer to that question would be a resounding yes. However, with the current developments, she wasn’t so sure that a single platoon would be enough. "They have to be", she muttered to herself in an attempt to erase the doubt.
Jumping over the last few steps, she wasted no time sending her authorisation code to open the reinforced door. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the identical figures of the Innari standing at attention inside the cargo hold. The trip from the bridge had taken her no more than three minutes, yet in that time, the troopers had cleared the metallic cases and containers, which served as both an improvised training course and bunk separators. Alexandra had secretly hoped that she would have managed to catch them before they were done preparing for her arrival. As much as she enjoyed their professionalism, she yearned for a less impersonal briefing – like the ones she enjoyed on the battlefield. Sure, some of the elements were here, like the hastily assembled table made out of boxes covered with a tarp, the scent of weapon maintenance oils and the bunker-like feel of the hold. Alas, it was the Innari who ruined it all with their perfect behaviour.
The moment she stepped next to the table, one of the soldiers moved forward and turned on a field map projector loaded with the most current holographic outline of the station. Still, the file they had at hand was at least thirty years old. Normally, that shouldn’t be an issue since space station interiors don’t tend to change. However, considering that too little was known of the mining complex, this one was close to useless. One of the reasons the Council sent a cadre of archaeologists and crypto-analysists to Last Hope was precisely to update the UR’s outdated data-banks regarding this important asset.
The more she looked into it, and the closer she examined it, the greater the corruption growing like a cancer amongst the higher echelons of the United Republics’ elites became. Alexandra feared that her actions were too little too late. What was supposed to be the simple outing of an incompetent greedy Overseer was slowly unravelling the very heart of the domain she swore to protect. The Knight Protector focused her attention on the outdated holographic map as it blinked in and out of existence, feeling the muscles at the right side of her nose begin to twitch in irritation. Here was yet another proof the Council itself was beyond salvation for allowing the Union to fall into such a decrepit state.
The equipment the Academy’s elite were forced to use was a step above junk. The ship she was forced to use to get to Last Hope was a rust bucket that hasn’t seen a dry dock in a century. And to top it all, the incompetence of the people in charge has led to an open revolt at the mining station. Actually, the last part was something Alexandra expected, albeit on a smaller scale. She pondered for a moment if this was a result of her little exchange with Commodore Neverok while waiting for the projector to finish loading.
“We await your command, mistress von Eisstahl.” Major Khalid stated flatly a second later.
Or at least the Knight Protector hoped it was him. It was impossible to distinguish between the members of the Innari while they were in full combat gear. Their matte black carapace armour and helmets shaped to resemble the heads of the Innari lizards – from which the fierce unit got its name – obscured any individual features. To the point that it was impossible to tell if the one talking to her was a man or a woman.
Damn it, even their height is absolutely identical, she cursed inwardly. Sadly, it was also because of this that she found it easy to work with the Innari since they didn’t care about their own ranks. At least, not as much as they cared about her rank and position.
“Did you find anything from the file I sent you?” She asked, trying her best not to let her anger enter her voice.
“Hard to say, really.” It was odd for Khalid to be guarded when she asked him for his input. Usually, the man was glad to be able to speak his mind without fear of being sanctioned. “The speaker has a very thick Vergoni accent—”
“Neverok!” Alexandra exclaimed. The Commodore had a similar way of pronouncing certain words as this Helix; that’s why she thought she had heard it somewhere before. She motioned with her hand for the Major to continue.
“It makes it difficult to determine if any discrepancies in his speech are due to a lack of appropriate knowledge or if they are the result of the speaker being a native to Vergonis.”
As the man continued to explain and point out specific words, Alexandra sent a message to Marcus. Vergonis was a sparsely populated world whose inhabitants weren’t known for enlisting in the Academy. And even when they did, it was mostly to become law enforcers before returning to their quiet little planet.
< CHANNEL_ID KP1-P_MT_M: CONNECTION ESTABLISHED >
< CHANNEL_ID KP1-P_MT_M: PRIORITY FEED CREATED >
< MARCUS_MT: HOW CAN I ASSIST, MISTRESS>
< KP_EISSTAHL: CHECK STATION RECORDS FOR HELIX >
< MARCUS_MT: STATION MAINFRAME IS DOWN AGAIN >
< KP_EISSTAHL: CHECK VERGONIS PLANETARY RECORDS >
< MARCUS_MT: AS YOU COMMAND MISTRESS >
< MARCUS_MT: INQUIRY WILL TAKE A FEW HOURS >
Satisfied, Alexandra returned her attention to the Major’s report. Thankfully, he was done with the examination of Helix’s speech.
“Putting that aside, there are a couple of other things that bother me.”
The Knight Protector listened carefully, hoping that the Innari commander might have spotted something that she missed. Anything, no matter how unassuming, could be of importance.
“The way this Helix delivered the report resembles the Academy’s standards. However, it is slightly off. Especially this part.”
“Assailants assumed pirate, pending verification. Threat contained.” Khalid played the part in question on a portable comms device one of his men handed to him. “The delivery is similar to that of Imperial officers.”
“You suspect he might be an imperial infiltrator?” Alexandra arched one of her eyebrows in disbelief. She never suspected that the Major was as paranoid as the agents of the Hight Commodore.
“Unlikely,” Khalid shook his head in a rare show of emotion. “If there is one thing that can be said about the people of Vergonis, it’s that they hate the Third Empire with a passion we cannot begin to comprehend. And that accent cannot be faked. There’s no doubt that this Helix hails from that world.”
“You sound very sure of this, Major.” She couldn’t hide the scepticism she felt at that statement. Imperial infiltrators, or rather the elusive Kataskopoi operatives, were feared precisely because they could blend within any society.
“About that,” the Innari commander hesitated for a second before motioning for one of his men to step forward. “Please understand that I reveal this because we trust you, Knight Protector. Andrej here is a native of Vergonis. He is the only outsider permitted to join the ranks of the Innari.”
Alexandra had to admit that this was indeed an unexpected surprise. It was common knowledge that only Thufan natives were allowed to enter the ranks of the elite shock-troopers. For Khalid to reveal this it was an indication of how devoted this platoon was to her. Also, it meant that they were certain that she would take this secret to her grave. Though an honour, it was also quite the burden, considering Alexandra's aversion to keeping secrets. Still, she made a vow to herself that she wouldn’t betray the Innari’s trust. Out of habit, she scratched the mark of the Snake and Sword – engraved on the left breast of her midnight blue chest plate – with the tips of her fingers.
“Tell her.”
Andrej gave her a crisp salute and spoke in a rather deep baritone voice in an accent not that dissimilar to that of Helix. “Knigh’ Pr’tector von Esestahl, Academy High Commant hus determint that Imperal spies canst mimic prop’r Verdónis speechcraft. Fur this reas’n, the curset Thirt Impire, ‘arriet numerous pogroms and reducation campains on my homeworld, whilst dems fester’in swines were incharge.”
After hearing what sounded like someone being strangulated while trying to chew as they spoke, Alexandra was inclined to believe the statement. She was even more amazed that the trooper switched to proper UR speech, without a hint of his native accent, a second later as he continued.
“Mistress, I beg your pardon for that dreadful display unbefitting an Innari.” The man saluted again before returning to the ranks.
“This was educational and acceptable. Thank you.” Although there was no real reason for her saying this, Alexandra knew that it was expected of her. Otherwise, the troopers would be worried that they had truly offended her, as unfathomable as such a thought was.
“I’ll be honest, Knight Protector,” Khalid crossed his arms over his chest. “This discrepancy vexes me. If this Helix was from a different region, or if his accent was inconsistent, I would be able to offer a better situation analysis. As it is, all I have are unreasonable, contradicting speculations.”
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“What of the second thing that bothers you, Major?” She asked, happy to change the subject and get the conversation away from the topic of the various dialects circulating within the United Republics.
Despite the lack of any clear indicators for it, Alexandra could tell that Khalid was agitated and reluctant to speak openly. It was almost as if the man was spooked by his own thoughts. Trying to keep her own frustration in check, she allowed him a moment to choose his words.
“It’s the part where Helix calls himself Security Officer Second Class.” The Knight Protector could imagine the Major’s strained expression as he finally answered her question. “This classification of rank no longer exists. Not in the UR. Not in the Khanate, not in the Consortium and not in the remaining Third Empire-occupied systems. It was dropped quite some time before the Liberation War.”
“Meaning?” Alexandra couldn’t see what the issue was. As pathetic as it sounded, it was most likely a lapsus caused by stress. Quite excusable, considering that the Security force and the Commodore’s agents on Last Hope were currently involved in a small-scale civil war.
“At first, I assumed it to be a result of combat fatigue or stress. A reasonable explanation for sure. But the more I think about it, the less sense it makes.”
Khalid played the recording again from the start, talking over it.
“There is no tonal shift. The delivery is flat and calm from start to finish. This is a man in complete control of his emotions. Here, during that pause, you can faintly hear the panicked voices of what I assume are techs doing their best to keep the mainframe running. The words are unintelligible, and without a proper analytical suite, there is no point in trying to enhance the conversations. But the tone – the emotions are unmistakable. That’s what inexperienced or stressed soldiers sound like in a situation like this.”
She closed her eyes and focused on the sounds from the recording. No, that wasn’t good enough. With a thought, Alexandra ordered her cerebral implant to replay the recording inside her head. The anger smouldering in her exploded into a storm. How had she missed it? This was inexcusable. Barely in control, she placed her hands on the improvised table, her fingers making deep grooves into the smooth aluminium surface of the boxes underneath the cloth as they curled into fists.
“We have a possible Kataskopoi operative that’s not an imperial and might or might not be an infiltrator. Who so happens to inform us of a situation that we cannot confirm. What a joke!” She hissed out the words, her eyes transfixed on the comms device. “Thank you, Major. Your analysis has been invaluable.”
Taking a few laboured breaths, the Knight Protector managed to regain enough control to give the Innari their orders.
“The Neuronic will dock in Last Hope’s main docking bay, which has a direct link to section 01 via subsection 20. Squads two and five will run a complete sweep of section 01 as soon as we dock. Squad three will support them and detain any Security staff under lock in the docking bay. Squad four will serve as guards of both the detainees and the Neuronic. Major Khalid, you and squad one will accompany me to the Command Centre. Anyone who resists is to be considered hostile and dismissed with prejudice.” her green eyes stopped on each soldier, testing their resolve.
After all, this was far from a normal deployment and a far cry from their original orders. The Innari were never used against rebels or warzones contested by former loyal forces. No, that was a job for the Jäggers. However, Alexandra had to use the tools at her disposal and hope that the Innari wouldn’t crack.
“At the moment, we do not know how many of Last Hope’s security are loyal to the UR and how many to Overseer Tharks or Commodore Neverok. If any team comes across Security Chief Rex or Commodore Neverok, they are to detain them by any means and bring them to me, regardless of your assignment. The use of stop ammunition is no longer a viable option. All squads are to switch to battle rounds,” Alexandra pulled the ceremonial blade attached to her waist.
It was a clunky thing, a relic from a forgotten age and one which she hated having around. The bloody thing was just getting in her way, but uniform regulations were clear. Alexandra had to look the part, and so she did.
“The United Republics are strong!”
“The United Republics are Freedom!” The Innari answered the cry.
Satisfied, the Knight Protector left the cargo hold in search of a place to vent her anger before she completely submitted to it. The last thing she wanted was for the elite troopers to see her lose control of her own emotions right before a dangerous deployment filled with unknowns. She was about to scale the first step of the staircase, which would take her back to Scolia and her quarters when a priority message appeared at the corner of her right eye.
< MARCUS_MT: NO-VOID COMMS RELAY DOWN. >
< MARCUS_MT: WE ARE OFFICIALLY MUTE AND DEAF. >
Alexandra dismissed the text with a controlled blink and forcefully severed the feed with Marcus. Stepping down from the metal step, she stumbled towards the small elevator. Usually, she would avoid using it, welcoming the exercise, but right now, she couldn’t trust her legs to carry her towards her destination.
Once inside the two-person cage, she examined her appearance on the mirror-polished polymer surface of the wall opposite the elevator door. The Knight Protector knew that she was impressive in her armour. Her dark red jumpsuit with its bright blue markings was a technological masterpiece, which allowed her to fully integrate with Scolia’s systems. The midnight blue of her chest plate with the Snake and Sword only emphasised her status as a Knight Protector and a true hero of the United Republics. There was no greater honour that anyone could possess; it even gave her the right to take a seat at Council once she reached retirement. Although Alexandra was willing to bet her life on it, the old geezers would never allow it. It was all because of the Snake and Sword. To earn it meant that she actually cared. Something the Council did not do. No, their dedication was limited to the bottom line of their holdings.
Yes, she looked the very part of a hero, loved and respected by the people.
“Idiot!” With a savage scream, Alexandra slammed her right fist into the polymer mirror. Her reinforced bones reverberated from the force, her enhanced muscles and synthetic ligaments fuelled by refined adrenaline generated in order to fulfil her desire to erase the image she was seeing. She felt the titanium-aluminium alloy gauntlet protecting her fist distort on impact, just as the mirror cracked, becoming a dizzying kaleidoscopic fresco.
“Only the dead are called heroes!” The Knight Protector cried out in pain and crumbled to her knees, clutching her aching wrist close to her chest. “Until then, you’re just an idiot who screwed her chance to help the people!”
When did she become so irrational? Allowing her anger – her emotions to dictate her behaviour. To the point, she would risk a serious injury right before an engagement. She could blame the frustration and impotence she felt regarding her current predicament. Alexandra could even blame her own failure for overlooking the obvious fact that the Council would punish her. But those were all excuses unbefitting a Knight Protector. Acting like a green Academy cadet didn’t earn the Snake and Sword. No, there was something else she had; there had to be. Some sort of an implant defect or something like that. Something the medics had missed during her last check-up. That wasn’t it either. She hated to admit it, but her condition had begun quite a while back, well before the defence of Sentinel Hill. For some years now, Alexandra has been prone to the occasional fits of anger and irrational outbursts. Not unusual, considering the stress she was under. But it was only recently that she was beginning to take notice that her control over her emotions was slipping. However, nothing like this. Nothing this intense and overwhelming.
Alexandra bit back the pain and stood back up, the anger clouding her mind gone. Carefully, she adjusted the lock of her ginger hair that had come undone and stepped out of the elevator. There will be plenty of time to punish herself later. First, she had to speak with Marcus and have her wrist fixed. After that, she had to come up with a plan for how to fix the mess awaiting her on Last Hope. Only then, once this was all over, could she hope to have the spare time to address whatever issue was going on inside her head that was making her unstable.
----------------------------------------
< ERROR: SERVER_ID OUT OF REACH >
< ERROR: CONNECTION NOT POSSIBLE>
Donovan stared at the blinking lines of red text dancing in the centre of his left eye as they repeated one after the other. This wasn’t happening. Now of all times, for that heap of rusted scrap to crash. Without it, all feeds, security and civilians alike would shut down, sparking chaos amongst the miners.
If the issue isn’t fixed within the hour, Rust Town will be in an uproar, and all the idiots will be screaming for my blood, he cursed inwardly. However, there was little he could do as Chief of Security. Even if he didn’t face a mountain of shit, there was little Security could do if full-blown riots erupted. And at present, Donovan was being buried by that mountain of shit Helix had created. Yes, this was all his fault. It had to be; there was no other explanation. It was that bastard’s way of teaching him who was in charge. As if it wasn’t enough that fights had started between those loyal to Neverok and those loyal to himself. So far, the violence was limited to trading blows and rude words, but pretty soon, it would erupt into a proper killing fest.
If only that spineless cur King hadn’t betrayed him, Donovan could have pressured the tech to get the bloody thing back online. Hell, at this point, he was willing to beg for either Dr Werner or Dr Kruger to have their people have a go at it. Alas, that was no longer an option. They were Helix’s hostages, or worse; the eggheads had turned sides throwing their lot with that dickles son of a whore.
A hard punch to the side of the head reminded Chief Rex that he had been ignoring the screaming woman who had him on his knees, arms locked in restraints behind his back.
“What the bloody hell, Don?” Monic roared. “Do you have any idea of the mess you got me in?” She screamed in frustration as she adjusted her white long-coat, marking her as one of Neverok’s agents.
Usually, the sight of her in a uniform, her curly, long black hair in a sweaty mess, while dominating him, would have him excited and ready to fuck her brains out. But this time, it was different. This wasn’t one of their games. She was actually furious, and an unhinged sociopath like Monic was very dangerous in such a state. Donovan should count himself lucky that he was still breathing. Though, that could change at any moment.
“Monic…” He had to say something. “I’m sorry. It’s all out of my control! If Gad had done her job—”
“No, Don! That excuse doesn’t work anymore! She’s fucking dead! Just like the rest of the Mo-Saa, ’cause you screwed up! I warned you the last time to stop fooling yourself by blaming others for your mistakes.” She began pacing around him in the empty, gloomy corridor.
Monic was the last person he wished to run into while he rushed to reach the Commodore. Sadly, he had underestimated the woman. Damn it, she knew him all too well and had predicted which path he would choose. That, or she had placed a tracker on him while he was sleeping. Both were equally possible and disturbing options.
The crazed woman stopped her pacing and took off her coat, revealing she had come after him without getting into her uniform. The stained, worn-out grey tank top and torn synthetic leather pants were nothing like the military-issue white shirt and formal fatigues she wore while on duty. However, her current attire allowed him to appreciate the body he had fallen in love with. Donovan couldn’t say for sure if this was how all of the Commodore’s agents looked, but Monic’s cybernetics were quite obvious. Clear connection lines were visible at the joints at her shoulders and at the base of her neck. As for the ones at her elbows, those were concealed exhausts for venting excess heat. A transparent alloy cover revealed the artificial organs inside her abdomen, where the tank top failed to reach. She had gotten this one, especially for him, knowing how much it excited him to see inside her during sex. Usually, that part of her body would be covered by synthetic skin indistinguishable from the real thing, which meant that Monic had been waiting for him before shit hit the fan.
“Why did you do it?” She spat as she took the pair of impact gloves tucked under her belt. “Why did you try to stab me in the back?”
“What do you want me to say?” He snapped at the muscled woman standing in front of him, impact gloves charged and ready to turn his skull into paste.
“The truth, Don. The bloody truth!” Monic hissed back. “You’ve made a deal with someone else and thought it smart to cut me off, didn’t you? With that new girl – Zoë. I’m right, aren’t I?” She narrowed her eyes. “You got the hots for her? Saw some young tits and lost your bloody mind. She ain’t gonna fuck you like I do, Don!”
“You are insane, do you know that?” Donovan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She had lost it completely.
“Don’t play games with me, Don.” He could see the warning in her eyes as Monic tied her black hair in a knot.
“Damn it, woman! I don’t want to fuck that broomstick; I want her dead!” Too late, he realised he had fallen right into her trap. She had dangled some easy bait in front of him, and he went for it like an idiot.
“So, it is the guy that has Neverok spooked.”
That caught Donovan by surprise. As far as he knew, the Commodore and Helix hadn’t met yet. And there was no way that ancient bastard was using the surveillance equipment to spy on what was going on in Section 01. For all his faults, Felix was a genius when it came to tinkering with tech, and the giant of a man had made sure that the only people who could use the cameras were the ones hard-linked to the mainframe in HQ.
“Gültan and Egor captured a still of him outside of Control and sent it over to my boss for verification and background check right before they went dark.” Monic narrowed her red eyes, examining him closely. “Old Alexei went pale as a bloody white dwarf and bolted for the nearest shuttle the moment he looked at the image. Ordered Chani and Faruk to rig his secret room with all the explosives they could get their hands on.”
There were many secrets the two of them shared, but there were plenty of things it was best either of them didn’t know. This little snippet of information was firmly lodged in the category the Chief had to stay away from. He watched as her arms and shoulders tensed. Monic was as strong and as skilled as any man Donovan had under his command, and she had a short enough fuse to make his life miserable.
“Why tell me this?” He sighed, tired of her sadistic game.
She was either going to force him to help her or kill him. There was simply no middle ground with Monic, especially when she shared this kind of information regarding that old bastard Neverok. The Commodore would skin her alive when he learns about this little chat, and that fossil always finds out about when someone’s been sharing his dirty little secrets. It was just a matter of time.
“Because, my sweet Don, that prick Alexei is going to hang me out to dry. Plans to pin all of his crimes on me for the Knight Protector to find when she arrives.” Monic’s smile made his skin crawl.
It wasn’t the first time he had second thoughts about having Monic as a partner, both in his life and in his side business. However, the truth was Donovan hated the woman as much as he loved her. The Chief couldn’t just wait and hope that things would work themselves out. There was something in that crazy woman’s smile that made him regret ever talking with her.
“I was planning to take a ride on Gad’s pretty ship, but…” She gently placed one hand on his shoulder and delivered a blow to Donovan’s gut with the other.
The Chief crumbled to the dirty floor like a plastic cup emptying the contents of his stomach. The combination of the punch’s strength and the impact glove’s electric discharge was enough to trigger several warnings from his implants.
“You got her killed, and her bloody cruiser is gene-locked!” Monic kicked him just as he stopped heaving. “See, Don, when her Khanate masters arrive to get their cut; they’re not going to be too happy to learn that their favourite toy is broken beyond repair.”
She crouched next to him and placed her hand on the top of his head. The Chief didn’t know which was worse, the muscles in his neck spasming from the way she bent it backwards or her fingers digging into his eyes. He didn’t want to scream. Didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. However, the pain was too much.
Once the tortured sob stopped, Monic continued. “Now, I did have a contingency plan in case something like this happened. And you can imagine how happy I was that I could flay you before getting the fuck out of this oversized tomb. But you’re a lucky man, Don. The mainframe crashed just when I was going to have fun.”
She let go of his head and actually helped him into a sitting position. A tired expression on her face, she sat across from him.
“I’ll be honest, sweety. The thing between us, I don’t want it to end like this. I know you don’t want it either. So how about it? Cut me in on the deal you have with the spook in HQ.”
Damn her, she was pulling every trick the Commodore’s Office had taught her at the Academy.
“I can’t,” Donovan sighed if only it were that easy.
“Why? Mind you, the fact that I enjoy your company in my bed doesn’t mean I won’t repaint the floor with your blood.”
“It’s complicated.” That was putting it lightly. “Mainframe going down...” The Chief closed his mouth before saying something that would get him killed.
He had piqued Monic’s interest. Now, all he had to do was play his cards right, and there was a slim chance that either the insane woman sitting across from him would kill Helix or that cold-blooded murderer would end her miserable existence.
“He’s Task Force 36, sent after Neverok. Possibly Tharks, too. Shutting down the mainframe means he has everything he needs and will be going after the Commodore next.” Donovan did his best to look as apologetic as he could when he looked directly into Monic’s cold, artificial red eyes. “It might be too late. But you delete the file Alexei has on me on the Commodore’s private server, and I’ll see to it that there is a seat reserved for you in the escape pod when it’s time to bug out.”
“Now that’s the Donovan Rex I know and love!” Monic smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss before sending a remote command to release his restraints. “Always has a plan to save his skin.”
----------------------------------------