Starborne

Chapter 27

We were cleanly caught in the tractor beam of a larger ship, seconds before a near certain crash on the surface of an empty, desert planet. It was the second Terran ship we hijacked in the area, which was suspicious because there was no known base nearby, and no sign of civilization for miles. 

It was suspected that there was some secret Terran stronghold nestled in between the red rock formations and sloping dunes. The unconscious Pilots we unceremoniously handed off to the interrogators would be expected to reveal that information. I quickly disassociated myself from the reality of what would happen to them if they refused.

“Another successful mission, no thanks to you.” And there was Mulch, running his mouth again.

I wasn’t in the mood to be messed with. All the betrayals of the past forty eight months came to a head whenever I had to face a figure from my past. ALYX was an unwanted and unexpected reminder of who I used to be. 

“Oh, sure. Next time, I’ll leave you in the cabinet.”

“It-it was a storage room, so…” He trailed off, too stupid to process my comment and formulate a response at the same time.

I took his confusion as an opportunity to break off from the main hallway and down a side corridor. I would be expected to check in shortly, but I needed to gather my thoughts beforehand.

My room was barren, clinical, with no individual identifiers or sign of occupancy. That was the way I preferred it, I wanted no evidence that I was ever there. I lay down on the stark white sheets of my small, hard bed, and closed my eyes. 

It was all too much sometimes. The reality of my life, the expectations of my situation, the knowledge of what I had to do to survive in such a place. There was a way out, a light at the end of the tunnel, but it all felt so far away sometimes. Ultimately I was a pawn, stuck playing a game with the rules decided by someone else. Powerful men on both sides used me however they saw fit.

Some sought more admirable outcomes, a better world, but their means to the end were always just as despicable.

It was one year and nine months since I showed up on the dry, empty planet, pledging my allegiance to the mercenaries. One year and eight months since I started working in my current station, hijacking Terran ships. 

More notably, it had been six weeks since I heard from my Terran handler, the one person linking me to the outside world, connecting me to my humanity and purpose. Six weeks since they asked for the inside information that I was accumulating as a double agent. 

“Let’s go, slut.”

Two harsh bangs on the outside of my door was the only summoning I required, but the crew always liked to throw in some kind words.

My presence on the ship and my station in the organization were hotly contested. They suspected favoritism, or that I was sleeping myself to the top. While not far from the truth, my success as an agent would have been enough to justify any man having my position. I took the brunt of the verbal abuse without question, knowing that biding my time and waiting would bring more ruin down upon them than a swift kick to the crotch. 

It was hard though, most times, and I scowled darkly at anyone who dared to look at me while I made my way to the head of the ship.

No matter how many times I walked down the dark, mechanical corridors, it still always felt like a march to my death. Mental and emotional torture awaited me beyond the main doors. 

I dragged my heavy boots along the grates in the floor, barely flinching when the overheated mechanisms below us let off intermittent bursts of searing steam. I walked with my right hand on my thigh holster, and my left just centimeters away from the knife concealed on the inside of my forearm. I could never let my guard down here. Of course, I had vowed long ago that I would never let my guard down again.

I couldn’t help but pause at the corroded steel door to the ship’s main hub, and my hesitation earned me a harsh shove to my left shoulder as Mulch came up from behind and muscled his way past. 

“Scared to see your boyfriend?” He sneered at me, taking my careful ambivalence as fear. 

One day, I swore, I would show him what fear really looked like.

“Oh, just figuring out exactly how I’m going to report your fuck ups.”

Leaving Mulch frantically guessing exactly what such a report would entail, I steeled myself mentally and opened the door.

There he sat. My “boyfriend.” In this world, he was my salvation, but I still had trouble seeing him as anything but my biggest regret. 

The room was fashioned for a scavenger king, his makeshift throne built out of parts of Terran ships they destroyed. He lounged languidly, one leg thrown over the side. The pleased assessment he gave me when I walked in nearly made me throw up in my mouth. 

Instead, I smiled openly. It took a while to get that one right, and I still wasn’t convinced it came off as anything but baring my teeth. 

“Holly, good job as always. Quite a bounty you brought in on this one.” The head mercenary gestured off to the side, where I saw the male Terran Pilot was tied up and gagged. He looked bruised and sick; I dug my nails into the palm of my hand, begging myself not to react. The guilt was wrenching and all consuming. I didn’t see the girl, but that was probably for the better. Even though I was undercover working for the Terrans, all the things I did on behalf of the mercenaries would weigh on me for the rest of my life. 

Downplaying my culpability in the name of a bigger picture did nothing to dissuade my guilt. When the bound man was killed, his blood would be on my hands.

“I have my best people on this one, he seems promising enough at the moment.”

“Hey,” he addressed the Pilot, “you’re gonna help us, right?”

The man struggled against his bonds, and was shoved roughly to the floor in retaliation.

I resumed staring at the floor, barely able to hear above the blood rushing in my ears. 

“I wish I could say this was the best catch of the day. It seems you’re being outdone, Holly, because one of our other teams brought in something much, much better.”

I feigned interest, looking up and cocking my head, eyes fixed at a point somewhere above the boss’s left shoulder.

“The Delta team picked up some Cynabarrians sniffing around where they don’t belong. I’m thinking we should parse them for information and then get rid of them.” I never looked at him while he talked, I always stared just off above his head, and I knew it killed him. 

“Cynabarrians, cool.” My sarcasm was apparent, and earned me a dry chuckle.

“Apparently one of them is quite important, high up in the military or something, totally in the pocket of the Terrans.” The man on the throne spit at the ground, scuffing his boot in distaste. “Stupid, lackey of a prince.”

The shock broke through my bored exterior, and I finally made contact with his pale, haughty gaze. 

The smirk on his face proved that this was a test, one that I had clearly failed. They had my background, he knew my past. Cynabbar was a black void on my ledger. I had to break a lot of noses to get them to look past such a moment of weakness.

“You think you can handle having them here? Because if not...” He let his threat trail off, allowing me to imagine exactly what would happen if I was found lacking in any capacity.

“Of course I can. Anything else you need?” Quick, decisive. No more slips, especially about this.

“We’ll see, stand by. They’re taking apart that ship you brought in today, actually, if you can go down and supervise for a bit.” He probably thought he was being kind, giving me managerial work like this was a freaking company and not a group of mercenaries terrorizing the galaxy.

“Sure, Boss,” I shot off, hitting the button to open the door to the corridor and stepping out without looking back. 

“Oh, one more thing, Holly.” Jack didn’t have to raise his voice, he knew I was listening.

“Later tonight, I want you there. On interrogation.”