Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Justyn stood on the bridge of the Sky Nomad watching Dare’s crew work with practiced precision as the ship pushed back from Galaxy’s Edge.
He loved the beginning of a convoy. The sense of potential and excitement.
Justyn could see it in his brothers, too. Ahead of him, Dare stood in his usual spot in the center of the bridge, his posture sharp and his expression serious, watching both his crew and the viewscreen with focused intensity.
“Evan, once you’ve finished pushback, get us on course.
” As always, Dare’s voice rang with command.
Justyn could easily imagine Dare in charge of a fleet of warships.
He might have done well in the military, except he needed to make the rules, not follow someone else’s.
Justyn was well aware what had left his brother with a driving need to be in control.
None of them had escaped that basement unscathed.
“Yes, sir.” The Nomad’s pilot hurried to obey.
Justyn listened to Tasha, the comms specialist, communicating with the other ships that would be part of the Phoenix Convoy. They were all pushing back from the space station’s docks.
But through all the organized chaos, he was excruciatingly aware of Nissa standing off to the side. She looked cool and calm, but he knew it was a brittle fa?ade.
God, her father was a piece of work. Spit and polish to the bone. Commodore Sander had given his daughter her height and the shape of her jaw, but Justyn had seen little else of her in the hard man. A man who seemed to be living through his daughter’s career.
Justyn moved toward her. Behind her stood a small group of convoy passengers who’d paid for passage on the Sky Nomad.
There were two Cathar monks in their blood-red robes, hands pressed together, quiet eyes watching the proceedings.
Three adventurers—two men and a woman—bouncing on the balls of their feet, watching on with excitement.
And five colonists looking for new worlds to settle. They looked a little awed by it all.
One of the colonists, a curvy woman with a cloud of golden hair, caught his gaze and offered him a smile filled with invitation.
She wore simple fitted trousers and a button-down white top, but she’d left a few buttons open to display all her charms. She whispered something to her red-haired friend, a taller woman wearing a similar outfit.
The redhead also looked his way and they both giggled.
Justyn gave them a polite smile before reaching Nissa. “You okay?”
“Fine. Eager to be underway.”
Her voice held about as much emotion as the ship’s metal walls. “What do you think of all of this?” He waved at the viewscreen. A dozen ships of varying makes, sizes, and shapes were moving into formation behind the Sky Nomad on Dare’s commands.
Something sparked in her eyes. “Dare runs a tight ship. His crew knows what they’re doing.”
Of course she’d be focused on the ship and crew. Justyn grinned. “Dare gives orders and expects complete obedience.”
An almost-smile on that generous mouth. “Yeah, I got that. When he was giving the pilot orders, I almost jumped to do it.” She turned to look at Dare as he issued orders to a ship that was late getting into line. She lowered her voice. “He’s actually a bit scary.”
“This from an experienced GSS Patrol captain? I thought you’d be used to following orders.”
“Ah, but most of mine come across the safety of the comms. And I don’t fear for my life if I don’t follow them.” She watched the pilot for a moment. “He’s not bad. A little heavy on the thrusters, though.”
“Evan’s new. This is only his second convoy.”
A wistful look crossed her face. “Sometimes I miss the feel of a ship’s controls under my fingers. All that power at your fingertips, waiting for the right commands.”
“Downside of being promoted, I guess.”
“Yeah.”
Suddenly Dare’s raised voice cut through the bridge. “Galactic Pride, get into line now or we’ll leave you behind.”
On the bottom of the viewscreen was a small square showing the cockpit of the Galactic Pride. A young man with a long, shaggy hair waved a hand at them. “We just want to swing around and get some shots of the space station.”
“In line. Now.”
Dare’s voice was like a blade. Justyn grimaced. The Pride’s captain was an idiot.
“We just need a couple more minutes. We’ll catch up.”
“No, you won’t. You’re off the convoy. Head back to dock.”
“What?” The young captain’s eyes bugged out. “I paid good e-creds?—”
“They’ll be refunded to your account.” Dare looked away. “Tasha, contact the next ships in line and have them close the gap.”
“Phoenix! You can’t kick us off this fucking convoy before we even get going.”
“We got going twenty minutes ago when the Sky Nomad started her engines. If one ship disobeys convoy orders while out there in uncharted space, it could mean we all die. I told you when we went over the convoy agreement, you follow my orders without question, without hesitation, or you’re off.”
The Galactic Pride’s captain kept spluttering, but Dare chopped a hand through the air and the screen showing the Pride clicked off.
“Not the forgiving type, is he?” Nissa said.
“No.” Dare didn’t have a forgiving bone in his body. Born out of the bleak, horrible things of their childhood. A bad taste filled Justyn’s mouth, but he wrestled the dark memories away.
“How long to Hydrae?”
Nissa’s smoky voice brought Justyn back with a start. “A week at convoy speed.”
“We won’t be at interstellar speed?”
“For some parts of the route, but not all of it. Some people out there like to set ambushes for ships at interstellar speed. They can attack before you know they’re there. Where Aurina tells us it’s safe, we’ll use interstellar.”
“We could go ahead in your runnership.”
She’d watched him dock the Mercury in one of the Nomad’s bays. “Not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Because—” a voice from behind them said “—you’ll set yourself up as pirate bait.” Aurina’s red-gold hair swung in a high ponytail. She was wearing olive-green cargo trousers and a tight white tank. “For now, it’s safer with the convoy.”
Nissa raised a brow. “But you go ahead.”
Aurina shrugged. “I’m a trained, experienced scout. My scoutship has exceptional cloaking. And I do a hell of a lot of research before I take off into the black.”
“You aren’t heading out yet?”
“Nope.” His sister sank onto a chair and crossed her long legs. “This part of the route is well known. I’ll head out after Hydrae.”
Nissa sighed. “I just want to get to Hydrae as quickly as possible.”
Justyn’s mouth tightened. That call with her father had crushed the shimmer of excitement Justyn had seen in her yesterday.
And dammit, he wanted it back.
“Come on now,” he said. “Treasure hunters don’t want the hunt over too quickly.”
“I’m not a treasure hunter. I’m an officer of the GSS in the pursuit of an artifact of galactic importance.”
He raised his brows. “I thought you were a GSS officer on a leave of absence pursuing a treasure of galactic importance so I don’t steal it.”
She stared resolutely ahead and wandered away.
Okay. Teasing wasn’t working. He followed her. “So, your father isn’t happy you’re doing this.”
She shot him a quick look before once again focusing on the viewscreen. “Understatement, Phoenix.”
“You two close?’
“Yes.”
“Yet he upset you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her tone had “drop it” all over it.
“He seems like a…stern guy.”
“Drop it, Phoenix.”
Hell, no. “Can’t have been an easy kind of father.”
She huffed out a breath and turned. “You can never just let things lie, can you? Fine, no he wasn’t easy. But he loves me, in his own way, and he’s always wanted the best for me. After my mother died…it was just me and him.”
“And he wants you to have a career just like his?”
“No, a career better than his.”
Justyn tilted his head. “What about what you want? Did you want to join GSS and go into Patrol?”
“Of course.” She straightened her spine, her jaw tight. “I’m good at it.”
“That’s not the same as loving it. As living life your way.” Locked in the dark as a child, with only his brothers holding him to sanity, Justyn had vowed to live life the way he wanted.
“Some of us don’t have that luxury. Didn’t your parents have expectations and dreams for you?”
His hand curled into a fist. “Hell, no.”
She eyed him and something told him she could see his hidden secrets. “Well, mine did. And for my brother.”
“Brother?” He hadn’t known she had any siblings.
“Yes.”
Just one word but it was filled with so much pain, Justyn wanted to pull her close. “Tell me.”
She was silent, staring ahead, and disappointment rose in him. What would it take to make her trust him?
Then she spoke in a voice that was low and serrated. “He was in the GSS as well. Had a promising career. Then he joined Golden Nova.”
Shit. The terror group was the worst of the worst. They had no agenda except anarchy. “Shit, Nissa. Maybe he just got messed up, brainwashed?”
Yellow eyes turned his way. The expression in them was heartbreaking. “He’s one of their leaders.”
Damn. It clicked into place. He’d seen holo-footage of the icy, part-reptilian Golden Nova leader. “Your brother is Maxir Sander?”
A nod.
Jesus. Maxir was one bad dude. Nissa’s brother was a criminal of the worst magnitude.
Nissa looked away from the viewscreen. “I’m heading back to the cabin. I’m going to keep working on our notes for more references to the Nero.”
Justyn watched her go. He wished he’d never forced her to talk. But now he had a better understanding of the heavy load of expectation Nissa shouldered every day.
Goddess, she was tired.
Nissa blinked in the low light from the lamp above the desk in her cabin. Her Sync glowed, displaying the records she’d been going through. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. One o’clock in the morning, ship time.