Blink: Phantom (Book 3)

07

When Blink Station Alpha came into view through the asteroid field Darien felt the tension and anger of the last few weeks fade just a little bit. Here everything had its order, its place in the galaxy, not like the wild lawless regions scattered through the fringes of humanity's push to the stars. He was no stranger to the rough-and-tumble of colonial life, but his time at Blink had removed him from the worst of it. The extended tour of the worst colonial dumping grounds reminded him just how grim things could get.

"Approach is good," Uther said from the co-pilot seat. "Navigation tethers are locked."

Darien nodded. "Take us in. Make sure they have a med team standing by."

Then he unbuckled the straps that crossed over his chest and stood up, turning for the rear compartment of the shuttle. As he stepped through from the cockpit his eyes fell on the huddled form lying beneath a blanket on one of the long seats built into the right-hand wall. Bryn Harvard's head poked out from one end, resting against a makeshift pillow of jackets. Her eyes were closed and she breathed steadily; peaceful enough for now.

Idas lounged opposite her, his eyes running over that data pad clutched in his rugged hands. Occasionally he glanced across at their young refugee.

"How's she doing?" Darien asked quietly, moving over to sit down beside him.

"Settled down after a couple of drowsers," his friend replied, turning the data pad off and straightening up. "Haven't had a peep out of her in the last three hours. Mind you, I don't think she's had a good night's sleep for a long time."

Darien's jaw tightened as he looked at Bryn's sleeping form. When they'd found her she'd been ready to kill anyone or anything she perceived as a threat. He could only hope the doctors and psychologists available to Blink would be able to set her mind to rights. If they could bring her back from the brink she had already displayed the capacity to be formidable asset to Blink.

But that was a conversation for another day. Right now his concern was catching the people who'd put her into this state in the first place.

"We'll get them, Darien," Idas said, as though reading his mind. "And that'll be a very bad day for some very bad people."

He smiled grimly at that. Crossing the room, he crouched down beside Bryn's sleeping form and extended a hand, giving her shoulder a gentle shake. Her eyes snapped open and he felt her body jerk back from his touch. Even the drowsers hadn't been enough to deaden her current nervous state. For an instant she glared wildly around her before her gaze found him and she seemed to remember where she was. Far from the world that had abandoned her so thoroughly.

"It's okay," he told her softly. "It's just me."

"Where are we?" she said, her voice hoarse.

"We're at Blink Station Alpha. Home. You'll be safe here."

She pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing sleep from her eyes with one hand. "So what happens to me now?"

"There's a medical team standing by," he said. "They're going to help you."

"But then what?"

"Then..." He shrugged. "That's up to you. We can drop you anywhere you want to go – help you start fresh somewhere new. Either that or you could stay. We're always looking for new recruits. I can't guarantee anything, but if you want to I'll do what I can."

Bryn nodded. "I'll...think about it."

"Darien," Uther called from the cockpit. "We're on final approach."