Athena’s Ashes (Star Thief Chronicles #2)(40)
Author: Jamie Grey

“I’ll come find you when we’re done here,” Finn said reassuringly.

Renna didn’t bother to answer as she left the room. If nothing else, at least she could spend some quality time in her bunk. That hot shower was calling her name, and she had her own plans to make. As she cleared the area, she spotted a small, dark-haired woman bent over one of the consoles. Renna paused.

“Sergeant Gheewala?”

The woman looked and smiled. “Renna. Nice to see you.”

“Hey, you used my first name.” Renna grinned at the woman. It had been a joke between them on the Athena that Renna would only be considered part of the team when they remembered to call her by her first name.

“I’ve been practicing.” The woman’s shy smile made Renna’s heart glow.

“So why are you on the Eris? Did Finn reassign you?”

Gheewala’s gaze still darted anxiously around the space before she spoke, but when she finally focused on Renna, she seemed a little less stressed out. “Commander Jayla and Captain Finn agreed that my services would be most useful on the Eris where I could track your EMP signature if anything happened at Wall’s facility.”

“Oh.”

Gheewala nodded. “If we were walking into a trap, Jayla wanted to know the instant something went wrong, and reading your new signature is as good as a comm device. Did you know you transmit on the same frequency as the Athena? As most of the MYTH ships, actually.”

“Um. No. I did not.” Renna wasn’t even sure what that meant.

“I can pick you out of any electrical reading instantly. It’s quite fascinating to see. Your implant has a distinct subfrequency that seems to be in harmony with the Athena’s. I was able to recognize it when your implant took control of the ship yesterday. Luckily Captain Finn believed me.”

“Of course.” Renna chewed her lip before asking the next question. “So if my implant now has a ship’s frequency, can I communicate with other ships?”

Gheewala frowned. “I’m not sure. Obviously you can with the Athena. You will have to try with the other ships. It seems likely, especially if your implant has morphed into a communication-based relay system.”

Renna chuckled. “Care to explain? You forget I don’t talk empath.”

Gheewala giggled. “Right. I forget you don’t see things the same way. Since I’m a tech empath—specifically engines, drive cores, and communication devices—I can read those things. Some ships use dark matter to communicate with each other and with other planets; others use a relay system based on connections set up between ships. So only ships within the same fleet can talk to each other. It makes for a secure comm line. Unless I’m around.”

“So you’re a technical spy,” Renna said, eyebrows rising.

“I suppose so, yes.” Gheewala continued. “Your case is interesting in that you seem to be able to do both—send and receive communications between networked ships, as well as non-networked. It’s strange. You’re like a conduit.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Renna smiled. “But what does it mean?”

“I’m not sure. Nothing for now. Just an interesting skill to be able to copilot a ship from across a star system.”

“Interesting and freaky as hell. I still have no idea how I did it.”

“Well, if you can learn to control it, I’m sure MYTH would never let you go.”

A shiver of dread curled around Renna’s heart. Was that Samil’s plan, too?

“Can we keep that between the two of us for now?” she asked. “I’d like some time to do some of my own research before bringing it to anyone’s attention.”

Gheewala looked troubled, but eventually she nodded. “I won’t say anything unless someone questions me directly.”

Renna squeezed the woman’s arm. “Thank you, I really appreciate it. I’ll let you get back to your monitoring.”

“Renna, it was good to see you. I know this is all difficult for you, but if you need to talk, I’m around. I know how it is to be… different.”

Renna smiled gratefully, surprised at the woman’s kindness. “I know you do. I’m glad you’re aboard, Sergeant. I feel better knowing you’re here.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Renna set down her tablet as Finn stepped into her room. “Everything all right with the commander?” she asked.

His face was strangely pale, but he nodded. “Fine. Just had to go over some MYTH business. Necessary evil.”

“If you say so.” She pointed to a chair. “Sit down before you fall down. You look exhausted.”

Finn sank into the seat. “I’ve felt better. But we’ll be docking at Forever Station in thirty minutes. I’ll be fine once we’re settled. Didn’t think I’d be back here so soon.”

“Oh?”

“Viktis and I were here less than two weeks ago. Took out Kitty Cordoza.”

“That was you?” She shook her head. “How the hell did I not know that?”

Finn smiled tiredly. “We’ve been a little busy with other things. I promise I’ll tell you the whole story soon. You’ll get a kick out of it. Viktis won another ship.”

She chuckled. “Can’t wait to hear that story. Have you talked to Viktis by the way? Did he contact Dr. Aldani?”

“Yes. They’re safe and secure. Viktis assures me no one will ever find them if something happens to all of us.”

Renna got to her feet, relief flooding through her. “Good. I have a bad feeling about this, Finn. Really bad.”

“About what?”

“Everything. It’s all gone wrong from the moment I stepped foot on the Athena to save Myka. Samil has been pulling strings we didn’t know even existed. What else does she have planned?”

“Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.” Finn took her hand and pulled her toward him. “It’s going to be okay.”

Renna straddled his legs and rested her forehead against his. “Is it? I’m not so sure any more. If we’re going to fight this woman, we may have to start using her tactics. She’s ruthless, Finn.”

Finn brushed her hair back from her face, tracing her cheekbone. “So are we. And I’ve got too much to lose if we don’t stop her, so I’m not even entertaining other options. Besides, I owe you a long vacation somewhere.”

“Damn straight you do.” Renna grinned down at him. She shifted on his lap, and his eyes widened as she ground her hips against him. “But in the meantime, I think we could find a little relaxation here to tide us over.” Renna cupped his cheeks in her hands as she lowered her lips to his.