Harbinger (3 page)

It didn’t matter. She had to distract him, incapacitate him, and then get the hells off this ship. Once they were airborne again, her window of opportunity slammed shut. She wasn’t ready to return to Earth. There were still too many unanswered questions right here on Rodymia.

So, step one, distract, engage his mind and his instincts so he wouldn’t realize what she was doing. She’d been bound with the most powerful guild master on the planet, so Javin insisted she be protected at all times. Her medi-bots had some custom functions not available to the general public.

“General Nox is elite. Why is he endangering himself for the battle born? For that matter, why are you?” It was an element of the conflict she’d never understood. Garin Nox wasn’t just pureblood Rodyte. His family line was old and extremely wealthy. And Danvier was a harbinger. Their powers were highly prized all over this star system.

Leaning his hip against the side of the pilot’s seat, Danvier narrowed his gaze. “You find no fault in the treatment of the battle born?”

“I didn’t say that. Their claims are justified. They’re treated horrendously by many. I just believe in working within a system to solve problems.” With the control she’d gained through years of practice, she summoned the medi-bots from all over her body and gathered them in her fingertips. Then she raised her chin and put more conviction in her voice when she made her final point. “War is never the answer.”

He moved toward her with slow, menacing steps. She scooted to the edge of her seat. “And when that system is run by corrupt people who care about nothing but themselves? What alternative is left but war?”

She scrambled up out of the seat, heart thudding wildly. She had to be close enough to touch him before her medi-bots could knock him out. Danvier’s tendency to prowl hadn’t seemed quite so intimidating while Vox was aboard. “I was born on Earth.” She backed away from him, knowing he’d follow. He couldn’t help it. At heart, all Rodyte males were predatory. She felt anxious and out of breath, but she wasn’t really afraid. “I have nothing to do with this conflict.”

The side wall of a storage compartment suddenly pressed against her back and the angry harbinger towered over her. He placed his hands on the wall, trapping her without actually touching her. “We’re all involved. Neutrality is no longer an option.”

Gods, he was even more impressive up close. His phitons shimmered and the grim line of his lips did nothing to distract from their sensual fullness. What would it feel like if he pressed his lips over hers and demanded her surrender with the same intensity driving his annoyance?

What in creation’s name was wrong with her? She was supposed to be escaping, not lusting after her captor. “The Integration Guild never takes sides in political conflicts.” Before he could argue, she raised her hands to his face, pressing her middle fingers against his temples. “I’m sorry. This isn’t personal.” She punctuated the apology with a deep energy pulse and watched his eyes roll back in his head.

Danvier collapsed to the floor with a resounding thud. She paused long enough to make sure he was still breathing then rushed toward the main hatch. There was no manual release as on most shuttles. “Shit,” she muttered as she activated the control panel beside the hatch. There had to be some sort of override. She navigated through the unfamiliar interface as quickly as she could, pausing frequently to make sure her captor was still unconscious.

Finally, she found the override, but when she tried to activate the subroutine, the ship’s computer responded with, “That function is not available at this time.”

“Why not?”

“Security lockdown has been activated.”

Perfect.
“Disengage security lockdown.”

“That command requires authorization.”

A flicker of hope flitted through her being. Javin frequently programed back doors into operational programing. “Javin Aidentar, authorization prime-61947-alpha.”

“Your bio scans do not match that authorization. I have notified prime leader of your attempt to use his identity. The ship is now in level two lockdown.”

Shit!
The only consolidation was the notification was going to a dead man. She turned from the hatch and looked around frantically for some sort of weapon. The pulse was temporary and Danvier was sure to wake up pissed.

Vox teleported back onto the ship before she found anything useful.

He held up a small, alloy device. “Is this the right—” He spotted Danvier and lowered his arm. “What did you do to him?” Not waiting for her explanation, he rushed to Danvier’s side.

“I didn’t hurt him, badly. I just knocked him out.” She suddenly hoped her words were true. She’d never used the emergency pulse before. It could have been stronger than she realized.

Vox touched Danvier’s temple and light erupting around his fingers. Danvier groaned, stirred then opened his eyes. “What hap—” He sat up suddenly, his angry gaze zeroing in on her. “You vicious little bitch.”

“Either of us would have done the same.” Vox helped his friend to his feet before turning to Haven. “No one is going to harm you. You don’t need to be afraid.”

“Speak for yourself.” Danvier muttered the threat under his breath, but Haven heard. Shouldering his way past Vox, the harbinger returned to the front of the ship. Haven wisely stayed out of reach. He slipped into the pilot’s seat and brought the shuttle to life with a few hand motions and a voice command.

Vox motioned her toward a seat half a second before Danvier set the ship in motion. She didn’t have time to fasten her straps before the ship banked sharply and left Stockton far behind.

“Before I take off, we should probably make sure I grabbed the right gizmo.” Vox held up the alloy device so Haven could see it. “Is this the right one?”

She shrugged, still frustrated by her failure. “How should I know?” Wait. Take off? Was Vox going to leave her alone with Danvier? “I didn’t know the thing existed until Bynar told me about it.”

“How does it work?” Danvier asked.

“I. Don’t. Know.” She cleared her throat, determined to sound more composed than she felt. She didn’t want Vox to leave. Danvier was less likely to strangle her with someone watching and the harbinger made his anger clear with every staccato movement of his body.

Vox motioned to the access terminal still active in front of the seat she’d occupied earlier. “Find out.”

With an exaggerated sigh, she moved back to her original seat and pushed her fingers into the control matrix. She was supposed to be figuring out another way to escape, not answering their freaking questions. Danvier returned to her side, glaring down at her, watching every move she made. His suspicion was warranted, of course, but that didn’t make it less annoying.

Now that she knew what the device was called, locating detailed information was much easier. “Okay, here’s an overview.” She expanded the document with a sweeping gesture. “They need to install it in their sensor array, between the power supply and the first relay. It will allow them to track the ‘random modulation in the transponder signal’.”

“But that has nothing to do with covert shields.” Danvier rested his knee on the seat next to hers so he could lean in and see the display more clearly.

Awareness tingled down her spine, but she stubbornly kept her gaze fixed on the display in front of her. She would not be intimidated by this arrogant jerk. Just a few minutes ago, he’d been helpless at her feet. She’d find a way to put him there again.

She pointed out the paragraph she was quoting. “To achieve true stealth mode, the transponder signal needs to be concealed. Eliminating a transponder entirely makes it impossible for the ship to dock or interact when they’re not in stealth mode. The covert shields are completely undetectable, but modulating the transponder’s signal creates a specific resonance. It’s this resonance that will allow you to find the shielded ship.”

Danvier reached past her and scrolled through the entire overview. She fidgeted, undeniably aware of his unique scent and the heat of his big body. Was he doing this intentionally, using his proximity to unnerve her?

A graphic of the device was attached to the bottom of the report. “Let me see it.” Vox held up the device and Danvier nodded. “That’s the one.”

“Does this ship modulate its transponder signal?” Vox asked.

“Not just this ship.” Danvier’s tone grew rough and hostile. “All six of the
Phantoms
and the
Crusader.”
He swung around so he faced Haven again.
“
So any technomage with this device can track our ships. How many of these devices are out there and where have they been installed?”

She didn’t knew the answer and saw no reason to uncover anything more. “Land and let me out or take me to IG Headquarters. My debt is paid in full.”

Vox and Danvier spoke again in the language she couldn’t understand. Gods that was irritating. Danvier stilled and his expression went blank. Was he sending or receiving a telepathic message? Probably updating someone on Earth regarding their progress. It would have solved so many problems if Tandori Tribe had someone with this sort of telepathic range. Danvier came out of the trance and said something more to Vox. The Bilarrian nodded then teleported off the ship, leaving her alone with Danvier.

Silent tension pulsed around them, making her nervous and restless. Would he exact some sort of revenge before he let her go? Just how angry was he?

When the harbinger looked at her again, his gaze was filled with secrets rather than anger. Still she didn’t believe his apparent calm. “You can have a seat up front if you like. It’s easier to enjoy the view.”

She tensed as trepidation sped her pulse. “Are you going to release me?”

“I said I would and I will.” He sounded just insulted enough to back off Haven’s doubt, at least to some degree. She’d served her purpose, and caused no real damage. He had no reason to bother with her now.

The access terminal blinked off, leaving her with a delightful view of the other center-facing seats. She gained nothing by being disagreeable, so reluctantly, she moved to the seat beside him and sat down.

“Buckle up.” He motioned toward her safety restraints.

“Are you always so bossy?” She tugged the straps around and quickly fastened the buckles.

“I prefer my passengers to arrive alive and feisty.”

“What if they weren’t feisty to begin with?”

He laughed, the sound surprisingly warm. “That’s hardly a problem with you.”

“Well, luckily you’ll only have to put up with me for a few more minutes. This ship really is remarkable.”

“Yes, she is.” His hands flew through the controls, creating intricate and mesmerizing patterns. Suddenly the ship banked sharply then catapulted straight up into the sky.

“Wait!” She gasped, holding on to the armrests for dear life. “What are you doing?” They gained altitude so fast the sprawling farms turned into tiny squares of varying shades of green. Cities became blurs of silver and gray and then her view was blocked completely by clouds. Her ears popped and anxiety sped her pulse. “Why are we climbing?” He said nothing and her stomach tightened as dread tingled through her system. “Where are you taking me?” It was a demand this time and still he ignored her.

Darkness engulfed them for just a moment then Danvier engaged the hyperdrive and reality became a stream of colorful lights. Haven closed her eyes, fighting back the nauseating vertigo. The absence of light only heightened the spinning, so she opened her eyes and took several deep breaths. Finally, her body adjusted to the altered reality.

“You’re a deceitful bastard,” she muttered as she struggled to regain her equilibrium.

“Look who’s talking.” He shot her a sidelong glance filled with anger and awareness. “You’ve been trying to sabotage this mission since Vox brought you aboard. When that didn’t work, you attacked me without provocation. We were nothing but polite with you.”

What he said was true, but she didn’t know them, had no reason to trust them. Of course she was going to try to escape. “You lied to me.”

“No I didn’t. I said you’d be released. I never said where.”

She snapped her head toward him and glared, but her stomach heaved in protest of her sudden movement. “You tricked me and you know it.” Little by little the unnatural pull on her body eased and the streaks all around the ship became a mix of glowing colors. “I demand that you take me to IG Headquarters. This was not our deal.”

“I’m under orders to take you somewhere else.”

“I don’t care!” She hit the chair release with the heel of her ankle boot and swiveled toward him. “I kept up my end of the bargain. Now I expect you to keep up yours.”

He finished whatever he was doing and eased his hands out of the control matrix before he responded to her demand. “You’ll be safer where we’re going.”

“That was Pyre’s excuse.” She unbuckled her safety straps and scooted to the edge of her seat, far too angry to remain still. “I didn’t believe her and I don’t believe you. Now take me home.” She stressed each word, accenting her resolve, and her desperation. She’d already been away too long. Every second that ticked by increased the chances that someone would discover Javin had passed beyond.

Danvier slowly released his restraints, turned toward her, and leaned forward. “You don’t even realize how much danger you’re in. Pyre isn’t the only one determined to control you.”