Chapter 11
The shuttle docked with one of the corporate frigates, metal groaning as the airlock pressurized.
Director Voss stood in the antechamber, dressed in an off-the-rack navy-blue suit, that same smug smile plastered across his face like a mask he'd never learned to remove.
It took every bit of self-control I had not to punch him right in those perfect veneers.
Focus.
I needed to play my role, or this whole plan would fall apart.
"Hello, Director," I said, voice dripping false cheer. "I guess you really wanted that dinner date with me. What happened? Did all of the other women in the company send your requests straight to their spam folders?"
His eye twitched. "Right. I had forgotten about that." He waved a hand. "No, that isn't why I'm here. Honestly, I don't care about you. I care about your analysis. You re-read your contract, I assume?"
"I did."
"Excellent. Then you know paragraph forty-two, Section C, subparagraph seventeen, subsection YY, states that you are contractually obligated to complete any analysis on artifacts you—or the corporation—discover through your research."
"What did you find?"
"Exactly what we've been searching for," he said, eyes gleaming with the kind of greed that made my stomach turn. "A power source that will change everything. No one will be able to stand against us—not in space or in the boardroom."
"That sounds…terrible."
"What you think is irrelevant. How do you not realize that by now?"
I glared. "So what now? You lock me in a cell until we reach whatever backwater hellhole you're dropping me at next?"
He threw his head back and laughed. "You have a lot of time to make up for, Doctor Vale. And while some might consider where you're going a cell, I certainly do. But no—no brig. You're going straight to the lab. We have so much data for you to work through. Off we go."
I shook my head, radiating anger—at least externally. Internally, everything was unfolding exactly as planned. I needed to keep Voss thinking I would do whatever he wanted.
A guard shoved me lightly between the shoulder blades, and we started down the corridor.
"You must feel lucky we saved you from those pirates," Voss said without looking at me. "You've seen the broadcasts. They terrorize corporate space. Plenty of people would prefer we eliminate them once and for all."
"Cut the crap, Voss. We both know the real reason the corporations want them gone.
They provide hope. They provide belonging.
They help people. They show them there's something else out there—something that won't eat them alive from the inside.
Something you don't have to buy with a monthly subscription. "
"Call them whatever you like." He stopped beside a door. "The corporations control the media. The media control the people." He turned, eyes cold. "And I control you. In you go."
The door slid open.
The lab was filled with familiar equipment—everything from my old habitat, the scent of recycled air and sterilized metal hitting me like a punch of nostalgia, plus a few additional devices I hadn't seen before.
"Well," I said softly, eyes misting, "I guess I'll get started."
"Don't cry. Or do. I don't care," Voss said as he turned away. "I expect your first report by this evening."
The door sealed behind him.
I let out a long breath. Finally, the blowhard was gone.
I logged into the ship's computer and entered the commands exactly as Vaelix had instructed, my fingers flying across the keys with the muscle memory of a thousand similar logins.
The hack was a Corporate backdoor the Knights had purchased months earlier—untraceable, elegant, and devastatingly simple.
The only limitation was that it had to be executed from a terminal aboard the target ship.
God, I hope this works.
I slipped on a headset and pulled up the communications network, the sensor array, and several preselected security feeds. Live images of key areas across the frigate filled my display. Finally, I accessed the lockdown system.
Now I controlled who went where.
Director Voss's voice crackled through my headset. "Zorathi pirate vessel, you have breached Corporate space. Per Unified Galactic Ordinance Five-Zeta-Eight-Six, you are classified as enemy combatants. All corporate frigates, engage immediately!"
I grinned. Predictable.
I closed my eyes and thought of my four knights. A soft smile curved my lips.
Now.
I pushed the thought outward, layering it with urgency. A faint tug brushed the edge of my consciousness.
Message received.
Warmth bloomed in my chest—brief but unmistakable.
I pulled up the frigate's sensor array and recalibrated it to the false harmonics Lyrin had suggested—Reach signatures layered over empty space.
"Director Voss!" a voice shouted. "Sensors are detecting multiple contacts—fighters to—no, that can't be right. Zorathi mothership! Correction—two motherships!"
"That's impossible," Voss snapped, and I could hear the first hairline crack in his confidence. "They never leave Reach space. Verify your readings."
A pause. "Sir, readings confirmed across all frigates. Thousands of Reach ships are converging on our position."
"The Reach doesn't move like this," Voss said, his voice brittle. "They've never come this close to Corporate space."
"They have once," another officer said quietly.
"The Starfall Conflict," Voss whispered.
A warm closeness rippled through me. The Knights were coming. I had minutes—maybe less.
I closed my eyes again and focused on my location.
This time, Torvyn answered.
I felt him in me—sudden and intimate, like a hand sliding up the inside of my thigh. A shiver of pleasure dragged goosepimples across my skin. My breath hitched, heat flooding my face.
That was new. And dangerous.
I shoved the sensation aside and opened another terminal. The Corporation had found the artifact they'd been searching for—and had stored it right here for my analysis.
That man's arrogance had finally caught up with him.
I sprinted to the indicated storage bin and yanked it open.
A glowing, egg-shaped object rested in a cradle, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.
I pulled the small backpack from beneath my jacket and slipped the device inside.
It was about the size of a wine bottle—and heavier than it looked, the weight settling against my spine, warm and faintly vibrating, like it was alive.
We are here.
Torvyn's voice filled my head. Pleasure surged again, threatening to root me in place.
Not now.
I ran back to the console and triggered the frigate's lockdown protocol. On the security feeds, bulkhead doors slammed shut, sealing marines inside their ready rooms.
Coast is clear.
I sent the thought outward and switched to the airlock feed just as it opened.
Kaedren burst through, blast rifles raised in each of his upper hands, all teeth and violence and joy. He sprinted down the corridor, Lyrin close behind, then Vaelix, and finally Torvyn—commanding even at a run, his presence filling the space like gravity.
On another feed, a lone marine turned too late. Kaedren's fists slammed into the man's face, sending him flying into the wall before he crumpled to the floor.
Kaedren grinned.
A knock echoed at my door.
"I'm ready," I called.
"Stand back," Kaedren said.
I ducked behind a table just as the door exploded inward. When I popped up, Kaedren was framed in the smoke.
I ran to him and threw my arms around his torso so hard he actually took a step back. Warmth surged between us as he wrapped his arms around me. I melted into his chest, my control slipping, a soft moan escaping before I could stop it. He smelled like cedar and leather and home.
"We must go now, my tiny human," he said.
"Just one more second," I murmured into muscle.
Reluctantly, I pulled back and turned toward Vaelix.
"Your plan worked like a charm. They never expected their own research to be turned against them.
" He took my hand, his touch precise and warm.
" I had very little to do with it. Without you fixing the algorithm in the astrolabe, none of this works.
Every fake signature, every phantom ship—that was your brilliance turned into a weapon. "
A hand settled on my back. "The bond is unstable," Torvyn said gently. "We need to return to the Starbreaker before it fractures."
I pulled away reluctantly. "Fine. Let's go so we can settle this bond—and then really get to know each other."
Desire crashed into me from Lyrin and Vaelix like a wave of molten heat that made my knees weak and my breath catch.
The want wasn't just mine anymore—it was ours, layered and hungry and overwhelming.
My skin flushed hot, and I had to brace myself against Kaedren's arm to stay upright.
I blushed furiously, torn between embarrassment and the urge to drag them all back to the ship right now and lock the door.
"We can absolutely do that, boys," I managed, voice rougher than I intended.
Lyrin's relief washed over me like cool water. Vaelix's focus sharpened my senses, making every sound, every movement crystal clear.
Torvyn took my hand and led us forward. I didn't resist. I wanted him to lead me. I wanted him to make me feel safe—and he did.
We raced through empty corridors toward the airlock.
Kaedren reached the door first—then stopped.
Pain detonated in my chest. White-hot. I staggered, barely catching myself against the wall.
Kaedren grunted and collapsed.
Smoke curled through the airlock.
Director Voss stood there, blaster rifle in hand, staring down at Kaedren with open fascination.
I screamed.
Enough.
I charged.
Voss grinned and dropped the rifle. "I'm going to enjoy this."
I took three steps, dropped low, and slid between his legs like I was stealing second base. I drove my fist upward with everything I had.
Voss slammed into the back wall, frozen, hands clamped to his groin, gasping.
I walked up calmly, placed a hand on his shoulder, lifted his chin.
"Director Voss. Per paragraph thirty-eight, section one-eighty-four, subparagraph six-zero-eight, subsection ZZZ, the Corporation's failure to deploy a rescue vessel within three hours of an emergency beacon voids my contract and awards damages up to five times my annual salary."
His mouth worked soundlessly.
"You have my banking information. If the funds are not transferred within thirty days, you will deal with the Pirates of the Starbreaker. Understood?"
He nodded frantically.
"Oh. One last thing," I said. "Per my contract, I'm required to provide feedback on my supervisor's performance."
He nodded again.
"Your performance was unsatisfactory."
For every ignored email. Every dismissive comment. Every time he'd treated me like property instead of a person.
I drove my knee up with surgical precision.
He made a small, pathetic meep and collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
I rushed back to Kaedren. "Are you okay?"
"I am," he said, pushing himself up. "Stun setting. Shoulder hit. The fear was real, though."
Relief nearly took my legs out from under me.
I grinned at all four of them, backpack heavy on my shoulders, bond warm in my chest. "Good. Then let's go home." I squeezed Torvyn's hand. "Our home."