Athena’s Ashes (Star Thief Chronicles #2)(4)
Author: Jamie Grey

The agents snapped to attention, saluting as she took a seat at the head of the table.

Renna continued to lounge in her chair, legs outstretched. She wasn’t MYTH yet and didn’t owe anyone a salute.

After the admiral had taken her seat, two more humans with major’s stripes on their chests entered the room—one male, one female. Renna’s muscles went rigid. Larson. What the hell was he doing here? Her skin crawled with his unexpected presence. One of Navang’s last reveals was that Major Larson worked for Pallas. He was a traitor to MYTH and to the Coalition.

He was also apparently part of the admiral’s advisory group.

Something surged in her implant, sending a zap of pain through her. Renna sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed her eyes closed. Her mind spun and sputtered as her implant tried to process a new stream of information. Unlike feeling the facility’s communications arrays when she’d first arrived, this was sharp and painful, like needles stabbing into the soft tissue of her brain. A slow trickle of data started to download to her implant, easing the pressure enough that she could open her eyes.

The admiral quirked an eyebrow. “Is everything all right, Miss Carrizal?”

Renna forced her voice to stay steady. “I’m fine, ma’am.” She’d have to be careful, especially with Dr. Samil. They couldn’t know about the changes happening in her head or they’d never let her go.

“Very well then, let’s get started. I’m Admiral Kamila Usamov. We’ve brought you here today to debrief you on the Myka Aldani rescue mission and the destruction of Draven Navang’s facility on Vall.” The admiral steepled her fingers and watched Renna, letting the silence stretch between them.

As much as she wanted to be stubborn and wait the woman out, Renna needed to make them think they had the upper hand. Engaging the admiral in a battle of wills wasn’t part of the plan. After thirty seconds, long enough to make it look like she was putting up a fight, Renna dropped her gaze to the table.

The admiral smiled, but before she could speak, the door slid open again.

Renna’s jaw dropped as a dead man stepped into the room.

THREE

“Major Dallas?” Renna’s words were barely a whisper. The major had been the one who’d recruited her for the mission to rescue Myka; it was his fault she was sitting here today. But he was supposed to be dead, killed in the attack on Hesperia.

“Hello, my dear.” His blue eyes crinkled as he smiled and took the seat beside her.

Renna’s thoughts did cartwheels through her head. “We thought you were killed in the explosion when we left with Myka.” Finn would be so relieved his mentor was still alive. She couldn’t wait to tell him the good news.

Dallas chuckled, shaking his salt-and-pepper head. “Takes more than a bomb to kill me. Our bunker held, and eventually another MYTH team was able to get most of the staff out. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

Her face tightened into a frozen smile. There were a few other words she would have chosen instead of “well,” but at least she was alive.

Usamov nodded at him. “Thank you for coming, Major. As the original commanding officer for the Aldani mission, your input is invaluable.”

“Of course, Admiral. I’m honored to be included.” Dallas squared his shoulders and fixed the other occupants of the table with a cool gaze. “According to my intel, we have a rogue element within our ranks.”

Renna felt dismay flicker across her face, and she quickly schooled her features to remain blank. How the hell did he know that? Pallas and Major Larson’s betrayal was still secret. Only the crew of the Athena knew the truth about what had happened on Vall.

Dallas continued, oblivious to her sudden tension. “I was shocked and dismayed to hear Captain Finn has stolen the Athena and is on the run with the Aldani boy. The captain has been completely loyal to our cause since the day I recruited him. There has to be something we don’t know about this situation.”

Renna’s muscles unclenched, and she let out a silent breath. Her secret was still safe. She’d have to make sure it stayed that way. As soon as Pallas knew they were on to him, he’d either go to ground and they’d never find him, or he’d launch his attack and they’d all be dead. Neither option really appealed to her.

Admiral Usamov glanced at Renna. “That’s why we’ve asked Miss Carrizal here. We’re hoping she can tell us what happened on the mission. Perhaps there’s an explanation for the captain’s behavior.”

Every eye in the room focused on her, and Renna swallowed thickly. Everything depended on her answer. Finn, Myyka, Viktis. The galaxy.

Nothing like putting a little pressure on a girl.

She let her gaze drift around the table, stopping briefly on each of the majors before speaking. “As I’m sure you all read in my report, after tracking the boy across most of this system, Captain Finn and I broke into the facility on Vall and discovered that Dr. Navang was using Myka’s DNA to create a cybernetic army. We rescued him, and Captain Finn took the boy back to the Athena for medical treatment. Unfortunately, I was captured by Navang’s men. He ran several experiments on me before I was able to escape.”

“Do I understand that you had a pirate on board the Athena as well?” the admiral asked.

Renna nodded. “Correct. Viktis Korrik. Son of former President Korrik.”

“And now a pirate.” Usamov’s lips thinned in distaste.

“A very good pirate,” Renna corrected. “He agreed to help us infiltrate Navang’s lab and rescue Myka after his ship was destroyed and his crew murdered by Navang’s henchmen.”

Dallas raised one of his neatly trimmed eyebrows. “And Finn agreed to this?”

“He didn’t have much of a choice. As Major Larson can confirm, we left Lenue in a rush after the attack on that city. Viktis was already on board.” Renna paused. “Whatever you may think about him, it was lucky we had him with us. Navang was working on some seriously illegal tech.”

Among other things.

The horrors she’d seen there still haunted her at night. Men and women transformed into cyborgs with glowing eyes and metal limbs. The sound of their screams as they died in a shower of sparks and blood. The technology that had taken over their humanity.

Renna noticed her fingers drumming against the tabletop and quickly dropped them to her lap. Tells like that would get her in trouble here.

“Navang was behind the attacks on the various cities in this system,” she continued. “He took the injured citizens and experimented on them, implanting them with his cybernetics. He created a drug that melded the implant technology into human physiology.” Renna paused, swallowed. “He turned them into hybrids.”