Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
At Nissa’s exclamation, Justyn’s head shot up.
And his mouth dropped open.
A…creature was flying out of the gas giant. Headed toward the space fight.
It looked like a dragon, or a giant snake, except it was huge—as big as the starships nearby.
Its body—covered in metallic scales—undulated, its long legs flowing back behind it, almost like tentacles.
When Justyn saw the double sets of red eyes, he realized the creature on the Nero had been a baby.
This was obviously mama.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he murmured.
“The rumors were real,” Nissa said. “It’s the same creature from the wreck.”
Yep, and when this one opened its mouth, they were going to see some massive teeth. Teeth capable of tearing a ship apart and stranding it on a small, rocky moon.
The creature kept coming with its fluid movements.
Straight at them.
“Shit. Nissa, watch out?—”
“Can’t control where I’m going here, Justyn.” Her tone was irritated. She was still spinning, her arms outstretched, like she hoped she could grab onto something.
The creature loomed over them, absolutely huge. Bigger than the starships.
It brushed past Nissa, and the impact sent her shooting in the opposite direction—straight back toward Justyn.
She slammed into him and he grabbed her with one arm. He yanked her into his chest and held on tight.
Her arms wrapped around him like steel bands. “Don’t let go.”
“Jesus, I won’t.” He’d never, ever admit to her how afraid he’d been, seeing her drifting away from him.
Suddenly, one of the creature’s legs whipped around and smacked into his skimmer.
Shit. “Hold on!”
The blow sent them shooting forward. Justyn kept one hand on the controls and the other arm clamped around Nissa.
They were moving fast. Much faster than the top speed of the skimmer.
Ahead, he watched the creature reach the enemy cuttership. It opened its mouth—yep, it had huge, spiky teeth—and then spat something green at the ship’s hull.
The hull began to disintegrate. Eaten away by the green goo.
“Holy hell,” Nissa breathed.
The remaining ships rallied around the listing cuttership, but it was too late. The ship turned upside down and began a slow descent to the planet.
Justyn dragged his gaze away…just in time to see the hull of the Sky Nomad appear in front of them.
“Brace!” Fuck, this was going to hurt. He moved Nissa between him and the skimmer. The hull raced up to meet them.
Just before they hit, they were jerked to a rapid halt.
“Nice to see you guys arrive with two minutes to spare.” Rynan’s voice came through their helmets.
Justyn looked over and saw his brother manning a large powered exosuit with massive mechanical arms. It was used to recover wreckage in deep space or for heavy lifting on asteroid mines. Rynan had their skimmer clamped in the suit’s large claws.
“Thought you might need a little help,” Rynan said.
“I am damn happy to see you, bro.”
Rynan gave one of his rare smiles. “Likewise. Shall we get inside before that space monster decides to snack on the Nomad?”
“I vote yes,” Nissa said.
Rynan fired the thrusters on the exosuit and maneuvered them through the huma-field into the nearby bay.
As soon as they touched the metal flooring, Justyn tossed the cylinder off his shoulder and ripped the helmet off his head. Nissa had hers half off. He grabbed it and tore it away.
Then he hauled her up and kissed her.
She was as desperate as he was. She leaped up, wrapping her long legs around his waist. They devoured each other.
A not-so-discreet cough forced Justyn to tear his mouth from hers. He glared at Dare and Rynan. “Busy.”
“Yeah, I see.” Dare barely contained his smile. “But we need to strap in and get out of here.”
Damn, he was right. Justyn settled for snatching up the Constitution, tugging Nissa to his side, and keeping her there as they hustled to the bridge.
The Nomad’s pilot had already moved away from the gas giant and the scene of destruction above it.
“Fuck.” Justyn watched the creature devouring one of the starships with a strange, horrified awe. It was pure carnage.
“Strap in,” Dare said.
They did, and seconds later, the Nomad hit interstellar speed.
“Rynan, drop a warning beacon. I want to make sure any travelers coming this way avoid Sargasso,” Dare said.
“On it.”
“So, you found it.” Dare eyed the cylinder, then looked at Justyn.
Justyn flopped back in his seat. “Yep. And I’ll show it to you…later. Right now, I want a rare steak, a shot of kila—” he waggled his eyebrows at Nissa “—and a beautiful, naked woman. Oh, and no interruptions for several hours.”
Nissa stood. “Well, Phoenix, you are out of luck.” She shot him a simmering look. “I don’t cook.”
Her words took a second to register. He leaped to his feet. “I have a food printer in my cabin. It does a pretty good steak.”
“Sorry to interrupt your plans,” Rynan said dryly. “There’s a ship on an intercept course and an incoming transmission…for Nissa.”
Nissa frowned. “Who is it?”
Rynan tapped the console screen. “They haven’t responded to hails.”
She stalked over to the comms console. “Put it through.”
She was aware of Justyn stepping up beside her. Adrenaline was still humming through her veins. She wanted nothing more than to rip Justyn’s clothes off, work off her excess energy, then cuddle with the man she loved and fall asleep for a few hours.
A face flashed on the screen.
Nissa stared. “Admiral DeRuyter?”
In her neatly pressed GSS uniform and her hair in its usual starched bob, Admiral DeRuyter was the last person Nissa expected to see this far beyond the galaxy’s edge.
“Captain Sander. Were you successful? Did you recover the Constitution?”
“Yes—”
“Excellent. I’ll have you and the artifact teletransported aboard my ship?—”
“Ma’am, with all due respect, what the hell are you doing out here?”
“I wanted to ensure the artifact was secured. It is imperative?—”
As the admiral droned on, Nissa’s gut tightened. Her neck was prickling. “How did you know where we were?”
“What?” The admiral’s face went blank.
“You can’t have known where we were. I haven’t reported in to you since before Hydrae.”
“Ah…well, I simply followed Gunn and his ships.”
Disappointed sadness swamped Nissa, followed swiftly by anger. “You mean hired Gunn and his ships.”
The admiral’s brow creased. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nissa. Now, prepare for teletransportation and ensure you have the document?—”
Nissa could almost smell the woman’s desperation through the screen. “Was it money? Are you planning to sell it? If so, you wouldn’t be able to leave any witnesses.” Please, let me be wrong.
The admiral’s face hardened, all traces of confusion vanishing. “No, I plan to use it to gain a seat on the Galactic Council.”
The highest authority in the galaxy. “Bribe your way on.”
The admiral shrugged. “I’ve spent years working my way to the top of the GSS.
Dedicated everything I have to it. They turned down my application for the Galactic Council…
again. With the Constitution as a bargaining chip, they’ll have no choice but to see I’m the right woman for the job.
I’m doing this for the greater good of the galaxy, Nissa. ”
It was like Nissa was staring at a stranger, not a woman she’d admired her entire career. “You hired the mole. The monk on the Nomad.”
“Yes. I was certain you’d keep me informed of your movements, but you’ve always had a stubborn, independent streak.”
And DeRuyter was apparently a power-hungry, control freak.
The admiral continued, “I needed contingencies. Including Gunn.”
“You still wouldn’t be able to leave witnesses.”
“No. Unfortunately, you’re right.”
“Her ship’s weapons have come online,” Rynan announced.
“Last chance, Nissa. Come aboard with the Constitution. You have no allegiance to that edge trash behind you.”
Justyn gripped Nissa’s arm. “She’ll kill you.”
Nissa nodded. “I don’t think I’ll take you up on that offer, Admiral.” Nissa stabbed a finger at the screen and cut the transmission. She slipped into the weapons console beside Rynan. “Can you shield my biosignature? She’ll have it and try to teletrans me out.”
“Already done.”
She looked up at Justyn. “We need to get out of here.”
“We might have to destroy her ship.” Justyn watched Nissa’s face steadily. “You okay with that?”
“She just threatened treason and murder. Yeah, I’m okay with that.”
“They’re opening fire,” Rynan said.
The lasers hit the Nomad’s shields, but the ship still shuddered under the impact.
Rynan cursed. “Shit, they’re packing more than the standard weapons.”
“Take them out.” Dare’s command was hard and crisp.
“Returning fire.” Nissa tapped at the controls to prepare weapons. She hesitated for the briefest second, then touched the final button.
The firefight was vicious. The admiral had a damned good pilot at the helm.
But Rynan had equipped the Nomad extremely well.
The Nomad jolted under the impact of an ion missile. Nissa programmed in a complex attack using the ship’s lasers, plasma cannon, and missiles.
Suddenly, the side of the admiral’s ship exploded. Nissa stomach clenched. She’d hoped to maim them and leave them here for someone to find.
A second later a chain reaction of explosions tore the ship apart.
There was silence on the Nomad’s bridge. Nissa stared at the viewscreen and the debris hanging in space.
A hand gripped her shoulder. “Nissa? Are you okay?”
A woman she’d admired, had modelled her career on, had just betrayed them all. And now, Admiral DeRuyter was dead. And her crew. Nissa pressed a hand to her eyes and breathed. “No. But I will be.”
But deep inside, she wondered if she was deficient in some way, because the people she cared for most kept betraying her.
Unsteadily, she got to her feet and pushed Justyn’s hand away. She headed for her cabin. “I need to be alone.”