Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Colm sipped his coffee—feeling his nanami working to dilute the effect of the stimulant in the drink—and watched Honor and the older scholar circle the metal box. It sat on a brightly-lit table in the library.
He watched the two of them comment and mutter, and toss ideas around for how to open the box. Several other archeologists and Officer Abora stood nearby, watching and offering their ideas, too.
Colm took another mouthful of coffee again, but it wasn’t the taste of the strong drink that piqued his interest—it was the fact that he could still taste Honor on his lips.
Those moments in her cabin…it made him hard to think about it. Having her under his hands, under his mouth. He’d felt like an enraged hargon beast, scenting its mate. Seeing her on the moon, so small and courageous against the giant wolves had snapped something inside him.
Even now, he felt an unsettled, restless fury ebbing and flowing inside him.
He was worried the dark secret he harbored was about to break free.
Honor’s voice snapped through his black thoughts. She was so focused on her work, and he wondered if anyone else could see the guilt stamped all over her face. She’d already called down to the med bay three times to check on Dr. Behati.
“There appears to be some kind of lock here.” Honor motioned toward the top of the box. “Maybe if I—” She reached out and touched the lockbox.
There was a zapping sound. She snatched her hand back, shaking it.
“Ow.”
Colm moved toward her and grabbed her hand. He studied her slender fingers but didn’t see any injury.
“It’s fine,” she said.
Dr. Lev’nan tapped a finger against his chin. “We could scan it. See if we can find any weak points in the metal.”
“The metal looks very tough to me,” Officer Abora said.
Colm barely held back a snort of irritation.
He had no intention of seeing Honor injure herself opening this stupid thing.
He reached over, grabbed the sides of the lid, and pulled.
It was tough, and he felt his muscles strain.
A tingle ran over his skin. He let the strength of his nanami flood him.
The lid popped open.
Honor stared at him. The archeologists were all gaping as well, then Lev’nan shook himself, and bustled past Colm. He looked into the box.
“Amazing.”
Honor followed and peered over the side. She made a small noise and reached inside. She lifted out some sort of weapon.
“It’s a collection of ancient guns,” she breathed with reverence.
Colm smiled. He suspected she would’ve looked less excited if it had been filled with exotic jewels or precious metals.
Honor and Lev’nan started pulling the ancient weapons from the box. They set them out on the table. Its glowing surface flared to life and Colm raised a brow.
“Holo-table,” Honor told him. “It has a built-in computer. It’s scanning the weapons, taking images and measurements.
” She lifted a small gray gun up. “These are fabulous. I know the First Warriors were all former military. They obviously had an extensive collection of ancient weapons on their ships.” She turned the gun over in her hands.
“Imagine…someone from old Earth used this.”
“There appears to be something built into the side of the box,” Lev’nan said. “I’m not sure what this is.”
Honor leaned over and gasped. “It looks like what I’ve seen in failsafe storage boxes.”
Dr. Lev’nan nodded. “You’re right. It does look like an early design of a failsafe.”
“What is that?” Colm asked.
“They were designed to download the last of the ship’s records and store valuables, in the event of an emergency.” Honor poked inside the box. “It looks like an early version of a Sync built into the side of the box. Here, let me try…”
She fiddled inside the box for a moment, and when she pulled back, she was holding a small electronic device.
“Definitely a precursor to the Sync,” Officer Abora said.
Honor lifted her head. “Can we integrate it with the Drake’s computer?”
Abora shrugged. “Perhaps. Let me try.”
The science officer took the device and moved over to the holo-table.
She set the device down on the surface and tapped in some commands.
After a moment, the table made a chime and the woman shook her head.
“It’s not working. There are a few other things I can try, but the tech might just be too old to work with ours. Leave it with me.”
Honor and Dr. Lev’nan returned to pulling the final weapons out of the box.
Colm leaned against the holo-table and watched the two of them work. Well, to be fair, he watched Honor work. It appeared he wasn’t tiring of watching this fascinating woman.
A woman who could never be his.
Finally, Abora shook her head. “I’m sorry, nothing I’ve tried is working.”
“Take a break, Officer Abora,” Dr. Lev’nan said. “I think we all need a break, and I’d like to head to the med bay to check on Dr. Behati.”
Abora nodded. “I’ve set the holo-table to try a few other things, but it will take some time.”
After the others had left, Honor leaned two hands against the table.
Colm saw the tension in her. “Honor.”
“Still no word on Dr. Behati.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It was my mission, and he’s lying in the med bay, torn up by some giant creature I should have protected him from.” She raised her head. “I should have listened to you. This is your world?—”
“Ansar is a location I’ve never stepped foot on before, Honor. It was a new place for all of us. The only thing at fault here is the wolf that attacked him, not you.”
“I was in charge of security?—”
He spun her to face him. “New worlds, new adventures. As I said before, it is a dangerous job you all do.” He reached out and touched her face. “From what I can see, you do a fine job, Honor. No one can question your dedication.”
Her eyes fluttered closed. He stroked along her cheekbone, marveling at her smooth skin.
Suddenly, the holo-table beeped. They both turned their heads, and Colm saw text flooding the surface of the table.
“God.” Honor leaned over, scanning the text.
“Ship’s logs. Yes.” She scrolled through it.
“There’s a record of the crash. They were hit by a meteor, the cargo bay was breached.
” She looked up. “That’s how the box ended up where it was.
It fell out of the ship when the meteor tore a hole in the side of it. Oh…!”
“What?” he demanded.
She grinned. “The ship’s comp recorded their entry path details.
We can use it to determine the exact location where the ship hit.
” She leaned over and started tapping and swiping her finger on the table.
It was like she’d forgotten Colm was even there.
She muttered to herself, tapping in more commands.
He just watched her. He’d always known he would never claim a woman as his own, and he’d never wanted to. But watching Honor, entranced by her, he wished things were different.
“I’ve got it.” Her eyes were wide with excitement. “Right near the third location we’d detected.”
“So, we head back down?”
She nodded and her mouth firmed into a hard line. “But this time, I’m going prepared for those creatures. I’m taking the electro-deterrent system. We can drop it from the marlins, and once it’s operational, the system will generate an electrical field that should deter the wolves.”
“Should?”
“There are never any guarantees. Besides, I’m planning to take more guns this time.”
Colm stroked a finger down her arm. “Can I fly the marlin?”
“No.”
“Not even if I promise to put my mouth on you again?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Quiet.”
He smiled. He saw the memory in her eyes. He remembered the sounds she’d made under his hands.
“Suit up, barbarian, and let’s go and find this ship.”
“You know you call me barbarian when you’re angry…or flustered.”
“I don’t get flustered, barb—Colm.”
He touched her hair. “You call me warrior when you’re not angry.”
“Get your gear. I’ll meet you at the marlins. I want to find that ship…for Dr. Behati. Something for him to study once he’s back on his feet.”
At that moment, Dr. Lev’nan reappeared, holding a mug of some steaming drink in his hand.
Honor took a quick step back from Colm and cleared her throat. “How’s Dr. Behati?”
“He’s not conscious, but the medical team believes he’ll make a full recovery.”
Honor released a breath. “That’s good news. We cracked the Sync from the lockbox, and got the Valhalla’s records. We’re heading out again. We found the exact location of where the ship crashed. We’ll need another archeologist to join us.”
Lev’nan grimaced. “Doubt I’ll have any volunteers after what happened to Dr. Behati. Guess I’ll be joining you.”
Soon, Colm found himself strapped into the marlin again, zooming out of the Drake.
Honor’s hands cruised over the controls, her face set. “We’ll get to the location, and the first priority will be to drop the deterrent system.”
Colm grunted. He knew Honor needed to do what she could to protect her team.
“Then we’ll land and?—”
An alarm sounded. It was loud and strident. Honor stiffened.
“Drake, talk to me?”
“Honor.” Officer Abora’s harried voice. “A ship has appeared on scanners! It came out of nowhere.”
Honor looked over at her screen and swore. “Where the hell did they come from?”
Colm frowned. “Travelers? Explorers?” They’d never had so many ships in Markarian space before.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “Ning, I need details. What kind of ship?”
“Hang on…it’s an old model Zoorian starfreighter. But Honor, it’s got all kinds of illegal modifications. They’re lighting up my screen. There are a lot of weapons.”
Honor cursed again.
“What?” Colm hated being in the dark in a situation like this.
She looked his way. “That kind of ship. Those kind of mods. It’s likely space pirates.”
Markaria had its share of brigands and raiders. He knew pirates were not a good thing. “They know about the wreck, the treasure.”
She looked furious. “Yes, I suspect they do. Niklas kept the news contained, but my guess is that we have a leak. We have to assume the pirates know.”
“What do we do?”