Saint (Gateway Series Book 2) (28 page)

“Then why is it over here?” asked a frustrated Katalya pointing to a metal bar about a meter from the access.

“Rickover, get that damn door open,” ordered Orion.

Stone’s gut was burning. “Katalya, you cover the right. Orion, you take the left and I’ll cover forward while Rickover gets it open.”

Katalya acknowledged and took cover behind a metallic power distribution box as Orion positioned herself next to row of dumpsters. Stone knelt and turned back toward Rickover. “And hurry. I don’t think we’re alone.”

“What do you—”

A metallic
clang
drew Stone’s attention. Looking to the ground he saw a grenade with yellow and green lining. Two more soon landed nearby.

“Gas!” he shouted. “Everyone move left!”

Stone looked for a target but none had shown themselves. Quickly moving to Orion’s position, he knelt beside her. “We’ve got—got to move—” Stone coughed as the gas started to burn his throat and cloud his thoughts. “—clear.”

Orion nodded in acknowledgment and started to move forward when a single shot impacted her leg and knocked her to the ground.

“Get—get the others,” coughed Orion as she drug herself back toward cover.

Stone turned back to see Rickover stumble clear of the smoke.

“Get down,” he shouted. But the warning was unnecessary as the gas overcame him and he fell unconscious.

“Shit!” He moved toward Rickover, his own senses starting to fail.

Struggling to reach Rickover, Stone grabbed his arm and started to drag the unconscious engineer. He coughed and struggled to remain focused as bullets impacted all around him.

Suddenly the burden of Rickover’s body lessened and he looked to see Katalya across from him, holding Rickover’s other arm.

“Let’s—” She coughed heavily. “Let’s go.”

Stone saw a body emerge from the smoke behind Katalya. It was a Guardsman wearing a gas mask.

“Behind—”

Before Stone could get out his warning, Katalya sensed the movement and turned just in time for the Guardsmen to crash into her body, sending the two tumbling into the smoke.

With Katalya no longer assisting and the gas taking its toll, Stone dropped to his knees. Looking up, he saw another Guardsman above him. The Guardsman swung his leg toward Stone’s head but he raised his arm to block and then grab the attacker’s leg. Once he had control of the leg, Stone reached forward pulled the attacker’s other foot off the ground causing him to fall backward. Stone pulled himself up the man’s body and quickly pulled the mask off his face, followed by a punch to the jaw.

Rolling off the Guardsman, Stone quickly pulled the mask over his face. He was taking a deep breath as he saw a flash of movement to his right. Still suffering from the gas, he turned to see another Guardsman rushing toward him. Quickly—as quickly as his body would let him—he pushed himself off the ground and prepared for the next attacker.

Out of the haze of the smoke and Stone’s cloudy vision, he saw a flash of red hair in a ponytail.

“Emily!” he shouted but his voice was muffled by the mask.

She was on him quickly.

He raised his arm to block a punch from Martin but a bolt of pain radiated in his ribs as she countered with a knee, causing him to stagger slightly to the right. Through his mask Stone saw Martin pivot in preparation to send her left foot against his knee. He raised his leg to block the kick but in his weakened state he couldn’t react to Martin’s right hand as it crashed against the side of his head. Dazed, he felt his head snap to the right against the power of her punch and he fell to one knee. Before he could stand, Martin grabbed his mask and ripped it from his face. The smoke instantly burned his throat and forced him to close his eyes. In the burning darkness, he heard a muffled growl through Martin’s mask and then felt the jolt of a boot to the side of head as darkness enveloped him.

***

Stone’s head ached and his throat and nose radiated pain from the gas as he slowly came to. Through his blurred vision, he saw Orion and Katalya sitting across from him, handcuffed and restrained. As he slowly regained his senses, he realized he was also bound. He scanned the compartment. Two Elite Guard soldiers stood at both ends of the compartment. Looking more closely, he noticed the familiar layout and modifications of the transport. They were on
Hydra
.

“So were gonna ride our own ship to our death,” he heard Rickover mumble. “Perfect.”

He turned to see the engineer next to him, then tilted his head backward and pressed against the headrest as he inhaled heavily. Maybe it was going to be crucifixion for him after all.
At least Mori made it
. But as he looked across to the frustration on Orion’s face and the anxiousness on Katalya’s it was little consolation.

“You’re one hard son of bitch to track down,” came a familiar voice.

Stone looked to see Martin enter the compartment.

“Humani bitch!” cursed Orion.

“Easy there, Ter.” Martin smiled. “It would just be a shame if you were to die before you meet ProConsul Varus. She has been looking forward to meeting all of you.”

“Astra is alive!” blurted Stone. “I saw her…” He looked toward Orion. He could see her frustration turn to anxiousness.

“Oh, she’s alive, Traitor. No thanks to your Terillian whore putting a bullet in her brain,” said Martin as she leaned in toward Stone. “Seems like she managed to slither away, but don’t worry, I’ll find her.”

Stone’s mind raced. Astra was alive. And Mori, not Orion, had shot her.

“And your son’s alive too,” added Martin.

“Son?” Stone’s head grew heavy. There was no way….then he remembered the night she had woke him in his sleep. The night before everything changed. “No!” he shouted. If it was true, the thought of his own flesh and blood growing up under the guidance of Astra Varus—he instantly grew sick. His head spun and he wanted to close his eyes. “Why would you say this?”

“I’m not the deceiver!” Martin shouted. “You’re the one that turned on your people. On your son!” she added as Stone felt the burning sting of her open hand across his cheek.

The slap brought him out of the confusion. “Emily, you know me,” he pleaded. “You don’t understand. We—all of us—have been lied to. The First—” His head recoiled from a powerful blow to his jaw.

“You abandoned your people and I’ll personally drive the first stake into your hand when you are crucified.”

“But you—”

He felt another blow from Martin, one so powerful he almost lost consciousness.

“If you try to talk to me again—” Martin paused and pulled a knife from her vest. “I’ll cut your damn traitorous tongue out myself.”

The blood began to pool in his mouth and his heart sank into his stomach.

“Corporal!” shouted Martin. “Did that damn engineer get this bucket’s systems up and running?”

“Yes, Paladin Martin,” replied the corporal.

“Excellent, time for everyone to go.”

“Everyone?” asked the sergeant of the Guardsmen in the compartment. “I thought we—”

“No thanks,” replied Martin. “You guys can head back to Desro and get back to your real mission. I’ll deliver these packages to the ProConsul…” She turned again toward Stone. “…for unwrapping.”

“And the engineer?”

“He can go too,” added Martin. “The reactor is up so I don’t need him.”

“Yes, Paladin,” replied the sergeant as he stepped toward Martin. “Paladin,” he whispered just loud enough for Stone to hear. “It might not be my place, but are they even going to make it Alpha Humana?”

“It isn’t your place,” replied Martin. “And I haven’t decided yet.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a salute before turning to his men and ordering them out.

***

The rumble of
Hydra
as it cleared the atmosphere and gravitational pull of Port Royal resonated through Stone’s body.

His eventual torture and death were far from his thoughts as he feared for a galaxy where Astra Varus was the Humani ProConsul—one where she raised his son. And he struggled to understand why the secrecy about who shot her.

“Why?” he asked, looking across to Orion.

“What?” she asked.

He could tell she knew what he was talking about. He stared into her eyes.

“Why?”

“Stone, you need to understand—”

Orion stopped mid-sentence as Martin stepped into the compartment. Stone watched as she walked toward him. After a long stare, she leaned over and undid his cuffs but left the bindings in place.

“Now that we’re set on course,” she said, “it’s time we, uh, talked.” She pulled her knife and leaned in close to Stone’s face.

His heart started to race. If this was it, at least it would be Martin. The warmth of Martin’s breath on his face and the pressure of her knife against his throat caused him to close his eyes.

“I’m going to ask this once and if your people—if I—mean anything to you, it better be the truth.”

Stone nodded his head. “I’ve never lied to you.”

“Did you know?” she growled through her teeth as Stone saw a tear quickly roll down her cheek. “Did you know about the Xen and their deal with the First Families?”

She knew! Stone’s eyes opened wide and a flash of relief exploded through his body. The words exploded from him. “I didn’t find out until after Juliet 3. Mori, the Ranger, told me when we were stranded in the November system and then Cataline and Astra confirmed it. After that I couldn’t…I just didn’t know—”

“And that’s why you left…with her?”

“Yes. I needed to find a way to help but didn’t know how.”

“So you turned to Ters instead of your own people?” she asked angrily.

“I thought you were dead. And Jackson…I didn’t have anyone else to trust.”

“Well,” she said as she stood erect and took a step backward. “I’m alive. After Jacks—” She paused and exhaled heavily. “After lying in the mud and dirt and blood in Juliet 3, I crawled my way out and came back to my people…our people.”

“I—”

“Our people!” she shouted. “Not these Ters.” She waved her knife in the direction of Orion and Katalya.

“We’re right here, ya know,” said Orion, tired of Martin’s derogatory comments.

“You shut your damn mouth,” ordered Martin, pointing the tip of her blade toward Orion. “I don’t know you and if you hadn’t figured it out, killing Ters is kinda my thing.”

“You have to believe me,” interrupted Stone. “I want what’s best for our people. The Terillians have only been defending themselves against the Xen—against us—for generations. The best way to help our people is to work with them and find a way to bring an end to this war.”

“Us? Our people?” asked Orion in Akota so Martin would not understand. “Do not forget the truth…
You
are Akota.”

Stone could see the anger in Orion’s face. He knew the truth and felt his vision had helped ease his transition, but Martin’s presence brought a rush of old feelings back.

“That’ll be enough,” said Martin as she turned toward Orion, “or we’ll see how well you spit your gibberish with a few teeth missing. As for you,” she continued, turning back toward Stone, “it’s interesting your first thought was to abandon your people.”

Looking into her eyes, Stone knew that what she really meant was
your first thought was to abandon me
. “I just want to do the honorable thing,” he confessed. He didn’t know what else to say. And it was the truth.

“Of course you do,” replied Martin as she cut Stone’s bindings. “But did you ever think instead of running away to the Ters, we could, just maybe, bring this war home to our people so they can see the truth themselves?”

Stone struggled for the words. The collision of his new Akota life with the best of his old Humani one had his emotions in turmoil. Trying to reconcile the two and understand the deception regarding Astra and the news he had a son drained him. He could only stare blankly toward Martin.

“But for now,” continued Martin. “I’m with you.” She turned toward Orion and Katalya. “And I guess that means them too.” She released Rickover from his restraints. “What do you do?”

“I’m the one that keeps this bucket flying,” he responded. “And unless you’re planning on shooting me, I’m gonna go see what those apes did to my engine room.”

Martin nodded her head and Rickover turned and rushed toward
Hydra
’s engineering spaces.

“That guy’s odd,” stated Martin with a glance toward Stone.

“But brilliant,” replied Stone, still unsure of what to do or say after the sudden turn of events.

“Hmm.” She turned toward Orion. “You must be Orion, the pilot.”

“I must be,” replied Orion coldly. “And you must be a Hanmani murderer.”

Stone’s heart skipped. “Orion, wait,” he interjected.

“Let her talk,” replied Martin as she presented her palm to Stone. “Let’s hear it, pumpkin,” she said to Orion. “But remember I’m the one that got you off Port Royal. Oh, and if you call me Hanmani one more time, I’m gonna knock your Ter teeth out. I am Humani.”