Rystani Warrior 04 - The Quest (25 page)

DURING THE NEXT few days, Angel buried her hurt in work. Every waking minute she spent either on the bridge or learning about the
Raven’s
new capabilities. She required the crew to learn, too. Frie spent all her time in engineering, Petroy at navigation, and Leval studied battle capabilities at the com. But as captain, Angel had to know everything from how long it took to jump to hyperspace to the limits of the shapeshifting mechanism to the nutrients required for the food materializers.

Keeping her mind active on the marvelous new technology was the best way to cope. However, while checking the inventory in the cargo hold, she found another terrific device to use to let off steam.

Ranth, a marvel of efficiency who had the capacity to carry on thousands of tasks, including many conversations at once, informed her, “The holosim will allow you to practice warrior skills against a programmed opponent.”

Angel spent at least an hour a day honing her skills with her favorite weapon—her blaster. But she also drilled in hand-to-hand combat, and since she’d given Ranth strict orders to make sure she didn’t run into Kirek, she’d successfully avoided him.

She programmed the holosim to allow her to punch and kick her imaginary opponent, and slowly she warmed up, then began a sweat. She jabbed with her left, punched with her right, and rolled left, appreciating the extra room and the new toy.

The larger
Raven
had so many advantages, she could have doubled as a luxury cruiser. There was an arboretum filled with plants that grew fresh fruits and herbs, a gym, and a kitchen with a materializer that could create any food she desired out of nutrients, as well as a sophisticated medical center that could heal bones or perform surgery.

The
Raven’s
new shapeshifting mode was a spectacular mix of engineering and technology that she didn’t understand and probably never would. When the ship changed shape, nanotechnology expanded or contracted matter, and the special shielding made the hull five times stronger. The weapons … a girl could drool over the laser cannons, never mind the fleet busters and the fire dousers. Her new hyperdrive engines were a marvel—and the systems were in triplicate, so that even if two failed, the third could still carry on alone.

Angel stopped the combat program for a moment, rubbed her overheated brow, and gave her suit a moment to cool her. Her thoughts kept roaming, and if she wasn’t careful, they always circled around to Kirek. Angel required a higher level of difficulty to make herself focus. “Ranth, change the holosim level to six, please.”

“Compliance.”

A new holosim formed, bigger, stronger, and faster than the last. But despite the necessity of increasing her physical efforts along with her psi energy, her mind refused to concentrate.

With different decks and several passages to the bridge, she’d avoided Kirek, so far. But a few days hadn’t been enough time to heal the open wound. She might need weeks or months to stop feeling battered by what had occurred. It didn’t help that she totally understood his point of view.

She kicked, spun, placed a back-hand slice to a throat. In turn she walked right into a jab, which stung, but she knew a real one would have snapped her neck. Damn. She shifted and punched, knowing that in a real situation she couldn’t count on her opponents to pull their punches.

For a few moments she pummeled the holosim, pretending he was Kirek. She’d only wanted a fling. It shouldn’t have been so painful to end, but she seemed to be hurting as badly as when her marriages ended. She told herself she hurt because sex had turned into a relationship, and the end of her relationship meant a failure, a failure in judgment. All along she’d known Kirek would do whatever he must to complete his mission. She just hadn’t ever thought that her own desires would stand in the way of his
…
or that he would trample her wishes with the same determination that he’d dealt with the Kraj.

Ranth interrupted her session with a warning. “Your heart is racing faster than the program recommends. Your blood pressure is—”

“I’m fine.” She jammed an elbow into her opponent’s gut, and he hooked her foot, taking her to the mat. She curled, fell, and rolled.

By now she knew Kirek well enough to understand that beneath his charming, laid-back attitude was another facet. He was much more complicated than the man he showed to the world and also possibly to her.

He’d avoided talking about how he intended to get to the Zin. Oh, when they’d spoken, he’d smoothly led the subject in a different direction, telling her how the ship’s new shielding hid his psi, but she’d still sensed his evasive tactics with an instinct that had yet to let her down.

If she wasn’t in such debt, she could have given up the idea of salvaging the Zin world and parted ways with Kirek. However, now there was so much more at stake than her own wants and needs—like all of Earth, and the entire Federation. If she turned her back on Kirek, it would be like turning her back on everyone and everything she knew. She couldn’t just give up. It was no more in her nature to turn around and run away than it was for her to stay home and make babies.

So she had to pull herself together. When she saw Kirek again, she wanted no feelings attached. She didn’t want anger or hurt or aggression to cloud her judgment, but she didn’t know if denying her emotions was possible.

She’d rolled on the mat, but her opponent came in, using superior strength to pin her. Rotating one hip, she tried to topple him, but he countered with a shift to the side.

Out of breath, lungs burning, she yielded. “Ranth, I’ve had enough.”

The holosim vanished, and she slowly shoved to her feet to find Kirek watching her, his eyes calm and blue, his face full of lively interest. Ah, she’d missed looking at the way light reflected off his cheekbones, missed talking to him, missed making love. With just his appearance, he’d managed to demolish every barrier she’d spent the last three days building, and it annoyed the hell out of her.

She used the excuse of shoving a lock of hair from her eyes to break her eager stare. “Ranth, I should fry your circuits.”

“Don’t blame him,” Kirek said.

“I’ll blame whoever I want,” she practically growled, and forced herself to take a deep breath.

“I overrode his program that allowed you to avoid me,” he admitted without even a hint of regret.

“Why?” She placed one hand on her hip, straightened her spine, raised her chin, and held her anger in check that he could so easily outmaneuver her. No doubt he had a good reason and that aggravated her all over again. But she refused to throw a temper tantrum only to feel stupid after he told her some galaxy-shattering reason.

“We’re about to jump out of hyperspace to meet the Numan ship.” He paused, and she said nothing. “I’m planning to visit the other ship to retrieve the reader.”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Why?”

“I’ve already told you, I don’t trust you. For all I know, you plan to leave in the other ship and I’ll never recover the salvage you promised me.”

“You won’t get rid of me that easily.” His tone was mild, but his eyes stirred with shadows. “Besides, why would I overhaul the
Raven
if I intended to leave it behind?”

“Maybe you need two ships. Perhaps the
Raven
is a decoy so you can slip past the Zin by yourself in another ship.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Not even if it meant saving the entire Federation?” When she threw the accusation at him, he flinched, and she shook her head. “Someone’s got to look out for the
Raven
and my crew, so if you go to the other ship to pick up the reader, I’m going with you.”

Kirek turned to leave but spoke as he did so. “Fine. Let’s go.”

KIREK DIDN’T LIKE thinking he may have lost all hope with this woman and hoped he could repair the damage he’d done. But he had no idea how to fix things. Words wouldn’t work when she didn’t believe them. After she’d asked Ranth to ensure they avoided one another, he’d tried to accept she needed some time to think. But the days apart didn’t appear to have done him any good—she was clearly still furious.

He was so far gone, he wanted her anyway. Even if she didn’t trust him—he loved her still. Even if she didn’t want to be around him—he loved her.

To make things worse, he’d carefully unpacked the neural net computer chip—the one he’d had manufactured to his specifications to hold his psi. Once he entered the Andromeda Galaxy and left the
Raven’s
heavy-duty protective shielding, the Zin would recognize his psi. In order to stay alive, Kirek planned to place his psi into the chip—a chip that would mask his true essence.

But it didn’t work. Although he’d spent the last few days trying to fix it with Ranth’s help, the device wouldn’t shield his psi. They couldn’t find a way to increase the shielding without increasing power—and then the device became way too large to be portable.

Stymied, he spent almost as much time thinking about her—like a lovesick teenager—as he did the chip. Even as they left in the shuttle and she piloted the tiny vessel for the Numan ship, his focus was on her. How good she smelled. How he wanted to thread his fingers through her long hair, massage the anxiety from her tense shoulders, and kiss away her distrust.

During his time on Endeki as a sexual hostage, Kirek had been with many beautiful women, but none of them had had Angel’s independent spirit or her generous heart that she tried to hide in practicality or her enthusiasm to try new things. He understood that even though she hadn’t wanted to enjoy the
Raven’s
upgrades, she couldn’t stop herself from appreciating them.

“Space to Kirek.” Angel snapped her fingers in his face as she turned off the shuttle’s engines after docking inside the Numan ship’s bay. He’d been so deep in thought, he’d barely noticed how easily she flew the new shuttle or set it down softly with the ease of an experienced pilot. “Open the hatch.”

The Numan crew waited in their shuttle bay with a reader that Kirek hoped would reveal the coordinates to the portal. The bay was about the same size as the
Raven’s
,
but the low ceiling made the space feel cramped, especially with a party of three there to greet them.

He popped the hatch and followed Angel out, noting she was fully armed.
Kirek rarely went unarmed either, but he’d hidden his weapons in the loose flow of his suit’s fabric. The group waiting for them appeared harmless and eager to meet, their stances relaxed, their faces set in amiable expressions.

“Welcome to the
Teardrop of Numan.
”
A petite woman stepped forward from between two of her accompanying crew. She had no hair on her head and wore a multi-colored bandanna. Huge gold loops hung from her ears and smaller ones pierced her nose and brow. “I would offer refreshments but my orders are to deliver the reader immediately.” She held out the reader, which fit in her palm.

“Something’s wrong.” Angel spoke in an urgent voice but had used privacy mode, so only he could hear. Her hand dropped to her blaster.

“What is it?” Kirek asked.

Since Kirek had hired this ship, he’d been concerned about Angel and the chip to transfer his psi. Although he’d automatically done background checks of the entire crew before sending them on such an important mission, he knew that even the best background checks could fail. He’d been so busy thinking about the chip and Angel he hadn’t given security much thought.

“Trouble’s coming.” Angel’s tone was clipped.

Kirek accepted the reader. “Thank you. Time is short. We must leave immediately for—” The moment he took possession of the reader, a dozen Kraj dropped from the ceiling.