Death Defying (Dark Desires) (13 page)

It’s more than the stocks they plan to destroy. I just got new intel in from my people inside the Church. They’ve sent a ship to blow up the whole planet.
Shock hit him in the gut.

Why the hell would they want to do that?

To destroy the evil once and for all, I guess. Temperance Hatcher is hardly known for his rational behavior. And they’re getting a big following. There’s a lot of anti-Collective feeling right now. People believe we’re holding onto the Meridian in order to push prices up.

What are the Council doing about this?

Absolutely nothing. I don’t understand it. They could at least try and stop it from happening, but they refused to even consider my plan. It makes no sense.

Actually, it made perfect sense to Callum. Only the Council knew that Meridian was all but finished. Maybe a few others like Venna, who were involved in the running of the planet, might suspect, but they didn’t know for sure.

The Council’s reasoning would be that if they allowed the Church to go ahead and destroy the planet, they could blame the Church for the loss of Meridian. It would give them valuable propaganda to use against the Church.

But Callum knew the Council would love to see the planet destroyed. They were terrified of what Callum might find there, terrified of the truth.

It makes sense to me
, he told the colonel.

And are you going to share? I need to understand what’s going on, Callum. I can’t help you if I don’t know what I’m up against.

The Meridian is finished.

What?

Callum could feel the shock reverberating through the colonel’s mind.
We’ve found no new Meridian for over ten years. It’s finished. There is no more.

Jesus.
He was silent for a moment.
So they really don’t care.

Oh, they care. They’d like to see the planet destroyed and any secrets it holds with it—the Church is doing them a favor. Is there any way you can stop this from your end?

None that I can see right now. We’re still under siege here, and the Council has called in just about every ship in range to try and break the Church’s hold around the planet. I’m free but only nominally in charge. They’ve given me the title of strategic advisor, which doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing anything I advise.

Callum rubbed the point between his eyes, trying to relieve some of the tension.

Okay, I’ll see what we can do from here. Can you do something for me though?

Of course.

Send the intel you have on the Church through to this ship so they can see what we’re up against.

Sure, Callum.

Right, I’ll be in touch.

Once the colonel was gone, Callum lay on the bed and tried to work out what this meant. It was impossible to think of a plan of action until the intel came through and they knew what they were up against, but he supposed he’d better give them a heads-up on the situation.

If Tannis would see him. She might even decide to finish the job, though he didn’t think so. She wanted the Meridian treatment too much, and he was the only one who could give it to her. Though even that was looking doubtful, right now.

He put his feet to the floor and found, with a little effort, they would support him. He staggered into the shower and washed the sweat and grime from his body. His stomach still felt hollow, but that was no doubt because he was empty. He needed food.

But first, he was going to have to apologize.

Again.

It was becoming a habit.

Chapter Ten

“I’m sorry.”

Tannis glanced around at the softly spoken words. Callum stood in the doorway to the bridge. And he looked sorry.

Well, in a sorry state anyway.

Beneath the gold, his skin had a sickly green tinge, and dark circles shadowed his eyes. He leaned one shoulder against the doorway for support.

Good.

But he was upright, which was impressive considering the state he’d been in when she’d left him. And he’d obviously showered, his short hair was still damp and he wore clean clothes, black pants and a black sleeveless T-shirt. He was beautiful, and she hated him.

“You want me to get rid of him?” Rico asked from beside her. “He can be out of the airlock before you can say, ‘piece of shit Collective bastard.’”

Tannis considered the question. Would it help if he died? Would she feel better?

“Or I can do it for you,” Jon said. “It’s easy if you know how.”

Yes, if anyone could do it, Jon could.

“And I wouldn’t mind having a go.” Janey glanced up from her console where she compared data on Trakis Seven, looking for the best way to get safely onto the planet and away again.
El Cazador
couldn’t go in—Tannis couldn’t expose the rest of the crew to the poisons of the planet—so they would have to take one of the shuttles.

“And me,” Alex said. “I’ll do it. I wonder what would happen if a Collective member got eaten by a wild animal.”

“You mean like a wolf?” Jon asked with a grin.

Tannis held up her hands. “Nobody do anything. If anyone’s going to kill him, it’s me.” But she was warmed by their support. They would do it for her. Even if they risked the enmity of the powerful Collective.

They’d all been very careful around her, trying to act normal, but she could see the pity in their eyes. Or maybe not pity. Maybe compassion, which was a whole different thing, but still she wished they would hide it a little better. She didn’t do emotional. Not in public anyway.

She wondered who had told them. Maybe Rico, but she doubted it. More likely, Janey had pieced something together from the information. She was about the brightest person Tannis had ever met, and she’d probably have had no trouble putting together the clues.

The truth was she’d had a crap childhood. But so had a lot of people. Alex for instance, had been a priestess, and grown up in an abbey having to pray every day—that must have been far worse.

And just because she’d had a bad start, did that mean she should go through her whole life hating everything and everyone? She could do that, or she could put it behind her.

She couldn’t forgive him, this went too deep, but she also couldn’t put revenge before getting what she really wanted. So they would go to Trakis Seven, and she would get the Meridian treatment.

And then maybe she would kill him.

“So, are you going to kill me?” he asked quietly, breaking into her thoughts.

“I haven’t decided.”

“I think you have. If you wanted me dead—I’d be dead already. Now, if you’re not going to kill me, I have some information you need to hear.” He gave a brief flicker of a smile. “Afterward, you may want to change your mind.”

That didn’t sound good. She wondered whom the information had come from. Venna? Or had he been in contact with someone else?

“No, I’m not going to kill you. Yet. But I need a drink. Rico, go get some of your whiskey and let’s meet in the conference room in five. Janey, are you finished?”

“Yes, I’ve got a couple of options for the best approach.”

“Okay, bring the data. And somebody tell the Trog to get up there, I want everyone in on this.”

Callum stepped aside to let the others walk past him. He seemed oblivious to the dark looks and muttered comments he received, though he winced at something Janey said as she exited the room.

She should leave, but she hesitated. Callum leaned against the wall, hands shoved in his pockets as he regarded her.

“I know it’s not an excuse, but I didn’t know.”

“Well, maybe you should have known.” She hadn’t meant to talk about it, but the words were out before she could stop them.

“Maybe you’re right. But do you know how many things I have to deal with every day?”

“No.”

“A lot. I don’t have time to do everything. So I delegate.”

“Big deal. But I really don’t care.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I freaking don’t.”

“I’m not making excuses. The truth is I should have known. But I didn’t.”

Tannis sighed. Suddenly, she felt weary. She waved a hand in his general direction. “Forget it. And you can tell your girlfriend it’s safe to come out. No one will harm her while she’s on
El Cazador
. Or you either.”

“She’s not my girlfriend. And later?”

“Who knows? Let’s go find out what other good news you have for me.” Without waiting for him to say anything further, she walked away.

…

Rico was already in the conference room when Tannis arrived, sitting at one of the small tables, a bottle and a bunch of glasses in front of him. She took the seat next to him.

Callum came in behind her and collapsed into a chair opposite, leaning back his head, and closing his eyes.

Rico grinned. “You look like shit.”

He peered through one half-open eye. “I feel like shit.”

“Good.”

Rico sounded amazingly cheerful, considering he’d suffered in that place as well. He’d once told her it was the closest he’d ever come to dying. But then one of the first lessons he’d tried to teach her was not to bear a grudge. He poured the golden liquid into the glasses and pushed a couple toward her. “Here, and maybe you’d better give your boyfriend one of these?”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Really? Looks like someone gave him a love bite.”

Callum’s lower lip was swollen where she’d bitten him. It looked nasty. She told herself she hoped it hurt, but couldn’t get up any conviction. Instead, she picked up one of the glasses and held it out to him.

His brows drew together as though surprised, but he took the glass and swallowed the whiskey in one gulp, wincing as it stung his cut lip. He held out the glass, and Rico reached across and refilled it.

The others entered the room, grabbed a glass, and took up seats around them. The Trog came in last. He didn’t bother with a drink. While he was happy to make the stuff down in his engine rooms, Tannis had never seen him actually consume it.

She presumed he didn’t want the loss of control. The Trog was hiding something, she’d known that when they took him on, but he was also the best engineer she’d ever come across, and if he wanted to keep his secrets, that was fine by her.

“Okay,” she said when everyone was seated. “How are we going to do this? Janey?”

“Actually, maybe I’d better go first,” Callum said. “As what I have to say effects what we do next. If we do anything.”

Tannis didn’t like the sound of that. As far as she was concerned there was only one course of action right now. They go to Trakis Seven, she took the treatment, they get the hell out of there, and she would live forever. She really didn’t want to hear about anything that would interfere with that plan.

“What do you mean, if anything? You’d better not try and weasel out of our deal, or I might kill you after all.”

“I just heard that the Church don’t plan on just destroying the meridian stocks. They’re sending a force to destroy Trakis Seven.”

Stunned, Tannis sat back in her chair. “Is that even possible? To destroy a whole planet?”

“With enough firepower, you can blow up anything.”

“Why?”

“Presumably, to cut off our power base. People support us in the hope of one day getting the Meridian treatment. If the source was destroyed, why follow us?”

“Why exactly?” Tannis muttered. “Great…just great.” She swallowed her drink and slammed the glass onto the table, jumped to her feet, and paced the room, unable to sit still any longer. “So do you actually know anything useful?”

“The colonel promised to forward the intel here. It should be in your systems by now.”

“I’ll check,” Janey said. She opened a palm screen and her fingers fluttered over the keys. “It’s here,” she murmured, “and it doesn’t look good. Wait, I’ll put it up on the main screen.”

She rose to her feet and crossed the room to the console, pressed a few keys, and a screen emerged on the far wall.

Tannis stopped her pacing, stood in front of the screen, and read the information with increasing dismay. It was a frigging army. “Where the hell has the Church gotten an army from?”

“Does it matter?”

She turned to Rico. “Can we stop them?”

“Not a chance in hell. There’s too many of them.”

“What are your lot doing?” she asked Callum.

“Nothing.”

“What? They’re just going to sit back and let them do this?”

“Yes. I’d say they’re more than happy about this move. I told you—the Meridian is finished. There’s nothing else on Trakis Seven worth saving. Except maybe answers. And the Council don’t want answers.” He sipped his drink. This time he didn’t wince. He must be healing fast. “No, they’re probably rubbing their cowardly little hands in glee at this turn of events.”

“Damn. Damn. Damn.” Tannis kicked the table. She was so close. Trust the Church to try and blow her dream out of the sky. “There must be something we can do.”

“I can help.”

At first, she didn’t realize who had spoken. Then the Trog raised his shaggy head.

“You can?” She didn’t mean to sound skeptical, but it came out that way. For a second, she thought she saw a glimmer of humor in his blue eyes, but it was gone before she could be sure.

“So, how can you help?”

“I think I can get someone to take the ship for you.”

“The Church’s ship. The really big Church’s ship that’s going to Trakis Seven?”

He nodded.

“The one guarded by a whole load of other ships?”

“Yes.”

Tannis glanced around the room, curious to see what the others would make of this.

“You mean the Rebels?” Rico asked the question, and the Trog nodded again.

Tannis flung herself into the nearest seat, while she tried to make sense of what was going on. She turned to Rico. “What do you know about the Rebels? And what have they got to do with the Trog?”

“That’s up to the Trog to tell you.”

“But you know something, and you didn’t tell me?” She’d thought Rico told her everything. Obviously not.

“Not my place,” he replied.

She sighed; he was right. It had always been her policy that peoples’ secrets were their own. As long as they didn’t endanger the rest of the crew. She presumed Rico must have suspected that the Trog’s secret might do just that and so questioned him.

“Tell me,” she said.

Rico nodded to the Trog, and the engineer stood. He usually slumped and now, standing up straight, Tannis realized how tall he was, appearing even taller with his lanky build. He had dark blond hair, which looked as if it hadn’t been cut in a long time, and which usually fell over his features, hiding his expression. Now, he pushed it back, revealing high cheekbones and blue-green eyes slanted like a cat.

“So,” Tannis said, “why would the Rebels come and help us?”

“Because I’ll ask them to.”

“And why would they do what you ask?”

“Because the leader of the Rebel Coalition is my brother.”

Alex leaped to her feet. “Holy Meridian. I know who you are.”

The Trog turned his wary eyes on her. “Tell them then. They might as well know the worst.”

Alex stared at him with something close to horror stamped on her expressive features. “Ten years ago, there was an attack on the Cathedral on Trakis Four. Some sort of explosive device went off. It was Christmas Eve and the place was packed. Over two hundred people died, mostly children. For once, the Rebels didn’t try and crow about it—instead they claimed it was a mistake—that the explosives had gone off early.”

Tannis turned to the Trog and frowned. “You did that?”

“I built the device. Someone tampered with the timing mechanism. It was supposed to explode later that night, when the priests were taking the Holy Communion.” The Trog’s tone was flat, expressionless. He put his hands in his pockets, hunched his shoulders, and paced the room. “I found out later that there had been a dispute among the leaders—some wanted to cause maximum casualties and didn’t really care who they were as long as they were Church followers.”

“What happened?” Tannis asked.

“I killed the man who’d done it. Then I left. I’d lost my taste for rebelling. But the Church was after me—I was pretty well known, and the explosive device was my specialty. So I changed my identity.”

Tannis turned to Rico. “You knew all this?”

He nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Anyone else?”

“Me,” Janey said.

“Rico suggested I tell Janey. She helped me with my new identity, and she’s been kept track of anyone who might be coming after me.”

Tannis rubbed a hand over her face, then pressed her eyes.

“We would have told you, if you needed to know,” Rico said. “But you didn’t.”

It came back to her now—the news of the explosion had been splashed all over the comms at the time, but she hadn’t taken too much notice. She shook her head; she needed to forget that half her crew had kept a whopping secret from her and get on with the matter in hand. That’s what was important right now.

“So I take it your brother is still with the Coalition.”

The Trog nodded.

She had a thought. “Hey, what is your name?” She couldn’t remember from the news reports.

“Starke, but the Trog is fine.”

Skylar had been leaning on the back of Rico’s chair. Now she straightened. “So that would make your brother, Devlin Starke?”

He nodded, looking wary.

“Wow.” Skylar sounded impressed, and Tannis dug in her mind for anything she could remember about the name but came up blank.

“Wow?” she asked.

“Devlin Starke is about the most wanted man on the Corps’s most-wanted-men list. He’s a legend. Supposed to be a real hard bastard.”

“He’s had to be hard.” The Trog sounded defensive. “Our parents were killed by the Church—”