No Such Thing (21 page)

She nodded, relaxing her grip. "You can try. It won’t work, but thank you. For trying and for protecting Declan. I need to know he’s
safe, or I won’t be able to go."

He made a furious sound in his throat and slid forward to kneel in front of her, catching her upper arms and giving her a little shake. "You
won’t be going, damn it."

"You’re a very nice man," she whispered, eyes burning with unshed tears. "I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But you
don’t understand—the Institute has threatened the ones I love. Declan isn’t the only one on this ship that I have to protect."

"Ryelle," he growled with another shake. Then he pulled her into his arms with a rough sigh. "This is why I never had kids. They’re
such a pain in the ass."

He surprised a watery laugh out of her and she rested her cheek on his shoulder with a bittersweet sense of comfort. Strong and gentle, his arms felt so
different from Declan’s. The memory burned and she pulled back to escape it. He let her go and resumed his seat, watching her with a wry smile and
worry in his eyes.

"So, assuming I’m unsuccessful in keeping you on my ship and you continue to want to follow through on your plans, just how were you going to
end the war?"

She looked at him, feeling the seething, wild strength of her talent around her. In a flat voice underlined with bitter conviction, she said, "I will
destroy every last one of them."

His smile slipped away, eyes widening. "Ryelle…even if that was possible, could you? Could you commit genocide?"

She gave him a humorless, brittle smile. "Declan was right. All I needed was motivation. I can, Commander, and I will."

"How?" His eyes remained wide, his face blank and body tense.

She started to tell him, but before she got very far, he was shaking his head.

"No. No, you’re not doing it. Even if you could manage—"

"I understand that you’re the commanding officer of the Fleet, therefore the one in charge of this military action. But if your superiors had a
chance to end the war, the entire war and be done with the GenTec, what would they say?"

His long face hardened, eyes narrowing on her. "Are you seriously threatening to go over my head on this?"

She said nothing, just watched him with a still face and blood under her nails. His lips curled back over his teeth in a silent, feral snarl that she knew
was both for her and the situation. She didn’t even blink.

"Set that aside for now," he said with an edge of danger in his voice. "Let’s talk about the Institute. What do you expect to
accomplish if you return?"

She talked; he listened. Then he talked and she listened. Together they formed the nucleus of a plan that would take them years to implement.

*******

Leaving the
Odyssey
gave Ryelle a physical wrench, like a sharp hook had ripped through her chest. She felt gutted and leaking, her breath
hitching harshly in her throat as she entered the shuttle that would take her to the
Destiny.
She had seen no one and said goodbye to no one but
the commander. If she saw Declan or spoke to him, she wouldn’t be able to leave.

She sat through the trip from one ship to the next with her heart shredding in her chest and tears pouring unheeded down her cheeks. When the shuttle
docked with the
Destiny
, she scrubbed hastily at the wetness and smoothed her hair, working to find calm. She didn’t care if Captain Gibbs
saw her shattered state, but she couldn’t afford for Telenetic Hoti to witness her emotion. For all intents and purposes, he was the Institute, and
she had to walk a very fine line. From here on out, she was on display at all times and could not afford to show weakness.

When she rose and stepped out of the shuttle, she was cloaked in serenity, her talent flowing around her like a robe of dignity. She would no longer
contain it. They had been wrong to force her to.

The Captain and Hoti were waiting for her side by side. The brown telenetic stared at her with thin lips and burning eyes, and Ryelle stared back in cold
challenge while she approached.

"Welcome to the
Destiny
, Telenetic Soliere," Captain Gibbs said in sober tones. Commander Task hadn’t told her everything, but
she knew enough to feel the gravity of the situation.

Ryelle responded without taking her eyes off the other telenetic. "Thank you, Captain. I appreciate you agreeing to this transfer. Well, Hoti?"
she asked with raised eyebrows. "You obviously want to take me on. I don’t think the Institute would approve, but if you push me, I’d be
happy to flatten you."

He recoiled, a flicker of fear in his eyes along with outrage. Hands fisting at his sides, he hissed, "You are a disgrace to the Institute and a
monstrous freak of nature. They should have put you down when they found you."

"Eban!" the captain exclaimed, but neither telenetic acknowledged her.

Ryelle curled her lips in a humorless smile. "I’m sure some wanted to. But after I destroyed the entire Institute, they must have realized it
wasn’t possible." She turned away from him in dismissal, giving the captain a courteous nod. "Captain Gibbs, we need to contact the
commander and let him know of my safe arrival. Has he briefed you about his continuing use of me?"

The captain stared at her with troubled eyes, a crease between her brows. Ryelle couldn’t bring herself to care. "Yes, Telenetic. Commander
Task was quite clear. You are to be available to him at all times. Which seems an unnecessary complication to me—why not stay on the
Odyssey
if he wishes to retain complete command control over you?"

Ryelle rounded her eyes with innocent dismay. "We had a torrid affair and now he can’t stand the sight of me," she simpered, batting her
eyelashes. Then she let her expression smooth into a bland smile while they stared at her with open mouths. "Shall we?" She swept around them,
heading for the exit.

After a moment, the captain caught up with her, matching her stride. In a low voice filled with dry amusement, the blond said, "Well, you’ve
changed. What happened to that self-effacing girl with no sense of humor?"

"I found motivation."
I found a family.

"And God help the rest of us," the captain responded with a faint snort. "Am I going to have to put you and Eban on opposite sides of the
ship?"

"Not necessary, Captain," she said. "Our disagreement has nothing to do with our duty. We’ll behave, won’t we, Hoti?"
she asked without looking over her shoulder. She felt the burn of his hateful stare on the back of her neck.

"We are professionals, Captain. There will be no trouble, unless Telenetic Soliere endangers the mission or the ship."

Ryelle felt the quiet pull of the captain’s regard and glanced over to see the question in the woman’s stern gaze. She let her mouth curl on
one side and rolled her eyes in full teenage disgust. The woman pressed her lips together and snapped her face forward, face pinkening with the effort to
hold in her humor.

Ryelle let a genuine smile of grim satisfaction pull up the corners of her lips. The commander had been right to suggest this approach to the
captain—the woman had complained to him about Hoti’s prim nature, though he was a competent telenetic. With calm confidence and humor, Ryelle
could win the woman to her side and she wouldn’t be so swayed by the influence and accusations of the Institute or Hoti. Ryelle would need her when
she was done with the GenTec.

They checked in with the commander, confirming her arrival and her status on the ship. The commander responded with cool professionalism, stating that he
would be in contact when they reached Mirabella. For her part, Ryelle had to stare through him, focusing her mind on the river of rage in her heart to keep
from breaking down. She knew separating from Declan would be hell, but she hadn’t thought she would feel so lost away from the commander and the
Odyssey.

Some of her despair must have shown, because the captain quietly suggested that she retire to her new quarters until they reached the Mirabella star
cluster in a few hours. With a nod, she left the captain and Hoti and found her way with the help of the ship’s systems to her new quarters. Similar
to her old, they were too large, too empty for her peace of mind. She sat at the work station and stared at the com console.

Her need for Declan was a live, vicious thing in her chest, struggling madly to be free. But if she saw him, she would lose what tenuous control she still
had. He deserved to hear from her, though. He deserved to know why she’d left and why she hadn’t said goodbye. With shaking fingers, she set
the com for record and struggled to find the strength and words to compose a message for him.

"Declan," she began, and then took a shaky breath, tears stinging her eyes at the sound of his name. "I’m so sorry. I had to leave
the
Odyssey,
and I’m sorry I couldn’t see you, couldn’t say goodbye. The Institute demanded a transfer, and they—"
She turned her face away for a moment so he wouldn’t see the fury twisting her features. "They made a threat against you to force me to comply.
This will be over soon, and—" She stopped again, realizing that she couldn’t give him details of their plans. The Institute might
intercept the message, and she couldn’t give out any information that would tip them off. "And I wanted to tell you that I love you. I
wish…"
I wish I’d told you before instead of being afraid of what you’d think of me. I wish I had made more of our time together, that I had spent
all of my waking and sleeping hours in your arms.
Tears flooded her eyes and threatened to spill over her lashes. Hastily she looked down and reached for the controls to end the message. "I love you,
Declan."

With a quick touch, she sent the message to the
Odyssey,
and then sat with her hands in her lap, waiting for the pain to subside. It never did.

*******

The news of Ryelle’s defection to the
Destiny
spread like wildfire throughout the
Odyssey.
Declan heard it from the Chief in the
privacy of his superior’s office. He was muzzy headed with exhaustion, the evening’s exciting battle giving way to the night’s long,
boring wait for more action. They would reach Mirabella soon and the Chief wanted all hands at stations. He had stimulants available for crew that needed
to stave off weariness. When the Chief told Declan about Ryelle’s departure, he thought he should probably take the drug, since he was obviously so
tired he wasn’t hearing right.

"Sorry, sir? Did you say—"

"She’s gone, Dec. Ryelle is now aboard the
Destiny.
From what the commander has said, she won’t be returning." For once,
the Chief didn’t look serene and content, his narrow face lined with distress.

Declan’s weariness fled on a spear of panic, and he jumped to his feet.
"What?
Why?"

"All I know is that the Institute requested a transfer. Sam says that he fought for her to stay, but the Institute threw the law book at him. Their
official reason for this decision was that they believed the environment on the
Odyssey
was not conducive to proper cultivation of their youngest
active telenetic. Those were Sam’s exact words," the Chief said in a strained voice, running a hand through his thinning hair.

"This isn’t happening," Declan whispered, clutching at his chest where a fiery ball of pain had taken up residence.

"She sent you a message, Dec. I’ll leave you alone to see it." The Chief clasped his arm in a firm, sympathetic grip, his hazel eyes dark
with sorrow, before he slipped past and left the office.

Declan almost fell into the seat before the com unit, his legs numb with shock and despair. Won’t be returning? It didn’t seem possible; the
horror of it was too large to be real. His hand shook as he activated the message.

Ryelle appeared, her lovely face stiff and her dark eyes cutting through him like black arrows. "Declan," she said, and paused, her face still
as stone. "I’m sorry. I cannot see you any more. The Institute does not approve of our relationship, and I will abide by their wishes. I hope
you can forgive me and move on. I wish you the best, Declan."

Her beautiful, treacherous face disappeared, leaving him to stare at the dark viewer with blind eyes while vast rooms of emptiness opened in his soul.

Chapter 11

Mirabella was beautiful. The cluster of stars shown like the rainbow light of God, shedding glorious, frenetic energy in all directions. It was hard to see
in all that light, both with human eyes and with the ship’s sensors. The GenTec used that wildly pulsing energy for cover, hiding in the dips and
valleys of light, attacking and retreating in a strategy designed to wear down their opponents and decrease their numbers over time. Fleet Command guessed
that they had either created technology to counteract the effects of the star cluster or their genetically altered bodies provided the means to navigate
better than normal humans.

Either way, it made no difference to Ryelle. She could see them just fine. The commander had urged her to do just that, to scan for them while the Fleet
picked them off one by one. She rejected it as too slow and inefficient. Working through the Fleet might be safer for her, but more dangerous for Fleet
personnel, plus some GenTec were bound to escape. While she relayed some ship locations, the others would be sneaking away and they would be back to
chasing GenTec all over the galaxy.

Instead, she was in a small, personal conveyer, flying into the light alone. Both the commander and the captain had refused to allow her to go by herself,
demanding that she take a pilot to fly the conveyer in case she became too occupied or incapacitated to do it. She’d let them demand and insist. When
it came time, she’d calmly removed the pilot and flown herself. She refused to put anyone else in danger, especially when it wasn’t necessary.

Even with a protective visor and eyes closed, the light still penetrated, making her head ache. She felt stuffed with it, or maybe what she felt was the
burning need to release her helpless fury. The GenTec weren’t the object of her rage, but they were the convenient target. She let the conveyer drift
in waves of light and reached for them, locating them throughout the cluster. She reached further, wanting to find them all, and something caught her
attention. At the center of one of the stars, a device…