Athena's Ashes (8 page)

After she’d pulled herself together, Renna made her way to the bridge. Sitting around feeling sorry for herself wasn’t really her style anyway. She took up a spot just inside the door, out of the way of the rest of the crew.

Commander Jayla sat in the chair overlooking the command center, while Lieutenant Blake was at his station to her right.

“Entering atmosphere,” Flight Lieutenant Tevsi said, adjusting the ship’s speed and trajectory. The Delfine pilot glanced back at Renna, raising one of her pale violet eyebrows. “Where to?”

“Hunda,” she said. Crius Beta was a modern, well-populated planet. As the ochre-colored ground rushed toward them, Renna could make out the huge manufacturing compounds, shining white and chrome in the late afternoon sunlight. Luckily, she didn’t need to worry about finding her way around one of those; they were headed for the main city.

“Dock at Station Twelve, if they have space.”

“I’ll contact the spaceport now,” Tevsi said.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Jayla said, getting to her feet. “Make sure to keep us under the radar. No need to announce we’re with MYTH. Use the fake codes Dallas gave us.” Jayla motioned to Renna. “Can I speak with you?” Without waiting for an answer, Jayla marched away from the bridge.

“Are you going to tell me what we’re really doing on this planet?” Jayla demanded, stopping in the middle of the corridor. “I did my own research. There’s nothing here but a few manufacturing companies and financial businesses. Why would Finn come here? It doesn’t make sense.” Jayla narrowed her eyes. “Is this some sort of trap?”

Renna sighed noisily. “I’m not sure what else I can do to convince you people. I haven’t left yet. Haven’t betrayed anyone. In fact, I’m actively trying to help you. Cut me some fucking slack.”

A zap of power shot through her brain as her implant kicked on, calculating the odds of her escape from MYTH. She shuddered and threw a hand against the wall to steady herself as the heads-up display appeared in her vision. Eighty-seven percent chance of success if she ran now—they’d never find her on this planet—but there was a ninety-two percent chance she’d never see Finn again if she did.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the implant to turn off. That kind of information was not helpful right now.

“Everything all right, Commander?” Lieutenant Blake asked. He walked gingerly toward them, like he knew he was approaching two fighting beasts.

“I don’t know. Renna?” Jayla tilted her head, waiting for an answer.

“It’s fine.” She rubbed the back of her neck. It really wasn’t, but the commander didn’t care about the implant taking over Renna’s brain. “I have a job to do, and I plan on doing it with or without you, so if you’re not here to help me, get out of my way.”

The commander’s lips thinned. “Exactly what do you have planned?”

“Nothing illegal,” she said, ignoring the woman’s worried frown. “But I’ll be impersonating someone else to get inside Titan Industries. If you can’t play along, I’ll be going by myself.”

“Titan Industries?” Blake tilted his head and rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Never heard of them. What do they have to do with Finn and the
Athena
?”

“That’s what I’m hoping to find out,” she lied.

“Well, count me in.” Lieutenant Blake tugged at the lapels of his uniform jacket. “Cloak-and-dagger is my game.”

Renna shook her head. “Not if you stomp around like an elephant like the rest of the MYTH soldiers I’ve met.”

Blake shot her a wounded look. “I can safely assure you I’ve never stomped in my life.”

“Really?” Jayla asked, her lips twisting as she tried not to grin. “And that’s not you making the whole ship shudder on the way to the mess every morning?”

Blake held up his hands. “I can’t be held responsible for anything I do before coffee.”

Renna interrupted before the two of them went any further. “Whatever the case is, I need you both to stay out of my way if you come. Understood?”

Jayla’s dark eyebrows furrowed like she wanted to protest, but she finally nodded.

“Good.” Renna turned toward the hatch. “Let’s go find us some intel.”

Renna stepped out into the dusty hangar bay at the smaller of Hunda’s spaceports and pulled on her knee-length leather coat. Commander Jayla and Lieutenant Blake both followed, dressed in civvies instead of their MYTH uniforms.

The spaceport was at the edge of the city, mostly used by mercenaries and people trying to stay under police radar. Totally her kind of place. She inhaled, letting the smell of the planet wash over her. There was the typical spaceport odor of starfuel and exhaust in the background, along with the scent of food from the nearby bazar and the steel-and-glass tang of the towering buildings at the center of the city. And beyond it all, something she’d never felt before—the faint hum of the communications systems on the planet.

She didn’t know whether to be terrified or excited by that addition.

“Where to?” Blake asked, squinting into the distance.

Renna focused on blocking out the noise as she nodded to her right. “The Baji building. It’s the blue one over there.”

Blake tapped an order into his wrist tablet. “Speeder should be here in a minute or so. You going to tell us what we’re up against?”

Renna watched the busy street as speeders whizzed by. A crowd of laughing businessmen in orange suits hurried back to work at the stock exchange after some corporate lunch. A trio of stylish Delfine women in tight, black dresses walked past on their way to the shopping district. It all looked perfectly ordinary. But that didn’t mean it was safe. Blake and Jayla would be better off not knowing the truth, but if she knew anything about MYTH officers, it was that they were as tenacious as a two-headed moisu when it came to information.

She shrugged. “I wish I knew. My research led me to believe there might be a lead on where the
Athena
went and what they’re planning. From what I learned, Titan Industries may be a front for a secret MYTH corporation.”

“Why would MYTH need a secret corporation?” Jayla asked.

“That’s what I hope to find out. I’m going to talk to the man in charge and convince him to give us some answers. Even better, I’m going to walk in through the front door.”

Blake let out a noisy sigh. “So no super-spy action on this mission? I have to say I’m disappointed, Renna. I thought I was going to get to play James Bond.”

“You realize if you were playing James Bond I’d be one of the villains, right? Spies are not the same as thieves.” Though sometimes their jobs overlapped a bit. There was that handsome spy she’d met several years ago. They’d had a fling after he’d fulfilled his mission: catching her.

Renna shook her head. “Besides, why are you still reading that old-Earth stuff? Haven’t you heard of Chorwig Deni? He’s way better.”

“Eh, Bond’s smoother. And has a few less tentacles.”

Renna rolled her eyes as a speeder pulled up in front of them. “I’m just going to ignore your bad taste for now. Come on, the sooner we get this over, the sooner we can get back to the
Eris
.” And hopefully one step closer to Pallas.

The speeder deposited them in front of the tall, blue building at the center of the city. She stared up at the metal girders curving skyward, twisting as they spiraled the building, and let out a low whistle. The whole thing was made of azure ore from Mali V. Someone had deep pockets.

“So what’s the plan?” Blake asked, tucking his hands into the pockets of his dark brown trousers. He wore a cream, open-collar shirt that highlighted his muscled shoulders, and his blond hair was carelessly spiky. He looked like he belonged on a holozine cover somewhere, not in the middle of a military operation. If she wasn’t already halfway in love with Finn, she’d have been very tempted.

She cleared her throat and dragged her focus back to the job at hand and not the sparkling caramel eyes waiting for her to answer. She preferred blue eyes anyway. “How about you two wait outside and guard the entrance. I can handle the inside work.”

Jayla shook her head. “Not a chance.”

“Come on, Commander. You know I’m not going anywhere. I just need a little space to do my thing.” She gave the woman her most convincing smile, but Jayla didn’t budge.

“We’re going with you. Dallas asked us to keep an eye on you, and unlike Finn, I don’t disobey orders.”

Unexpected hurt stabbed through Renna, and she looked away. Why did it suddenly matter to her either way?

Jayla shook her head. “That’s not it. Dallas knew you’d try to do this alone. He wanted to make sure you had backup.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s not stupid, Renna, and neither am I. We both know there’s something else going on. Why do you think he didn’t press you for details?” Jayla smiled. “So despite you trying to push us away, we’re going to do this together. Blake and I have your back.”

Renna glanced at Blake, who nodded. “What the commander said.”

Warmth blossomed in her chest, but she kept her face expressionless. Depending on other people had never been one of her strengths; she’d prided herself on being able to handle everything alone. But in the last few weeks, she’d started to feel…different. Like maybe being part of a team wouldn’t be so bad after all. Unfortunately, a weakness like that was a dangerous thing in her line of business. If she was smart, she’d put an end to it before she got hurt.

“Fine.” She shrugged. “Follow my lead and keep quiet. You’ll know soon enough if we get into trouble.”

She tugged her dark hair from its usual ponytail and shook it loose around her shoulders, then unbuttoned the top of her blouse to show some cleavage.

“Let’s do this.” Renna pulled her tablet from the bag slung over her shoulder, then shoved through the doors into a marble-lined lobby and marched directly toward the pretty Ileth secretary sitting at the front desk. Behind her on the wall hung a large logo in gold metal—a human eye crossed by two spears.

Renna squared her shoulders and spoke as fast as she could. “Excuse me, miss, Monet Green here to see the CEO. I’m with the
Costa Star News.
I need to speak with him immediately on a galactic matter. He’ll want to see me at once.” Before the girl could protest, Renna pushed past her to the sealed door and tapped her foot impatiently. “Please hurry, young lady. There’s no time to waste.”

The girl’s orange lips parted in shock, and she jumped to her feet to open the security door for the elevators. “I’ll…I’ll let him know you’re on your way up.”

Renna smiled at her. “Good girl. What floor is he on?”

“Six.” She backed away, and Renna, Blake, and Jayla stepped into the elevator.

“Thank you.” Renna nodded at the girl as the doors slid shut.

Blake chuckled softly. “Impressive. Remind me to never try conning you.”

“Probably a good idea. I eat nice guys like you for breakfast.” Renna grinned at him. “Let’s just hope our CEO is as easily fooled. If not, I’m going to need you two to keep everyone out of his office as long as possible.”

Renna tugged her shirt lower and flipped her hair again as the elevator stopped, depositing them on the sixth floor.

Another secretary, this one a young blonde human woman with a nice rack, sat behind a large, glass desk. She half-rose to her feet.

“Who are you?” she demanded, her gaze raking over the trio suspiciously. “Mr. Sherle is in a meeting. He’s not to be disturbed.”

Renna leaned over the desk and stared the woman down, her voice as pointed as the knives hidden in her knee-high boots. “I’m with the
Costa Star News
. I need to speak with him
immediately
. This is a matter of life or death.” She glanced at the office door, and her implant surged on, returning two heat signatures in the next room. One had the slight purple tint of a Trezian alien. Great, just what she needed.

The secretary shook her head. “He’s busy. You’ll have to make an appointment.” She tapped at her console, then said, “Looks like he’s free next week.”

Renna frowned apologetically. “I’m afraid that’s not going to work, miss. Titan Industries is in danger. If I don’t see him immediately, you may not have a job next week.” Renna tapped on her tablet and pulled up an official looking graph. “See. There’s not much time.”

The girl blinked and craned her neck to get a better view before Renna yanked the screen away.

“Monet is one of our best reporters,” Blake said. “You’d better listen to her.”

The girl turned to frown at him, eyes widening as she finally noticed who she was talking to. Her hand drifted up to smooth back her hair, and a soft blush tinged her cheeks. “Are you with her?” she asked.

While Blake distracted the girl, Renna headed toward the office door fighting back a smile. Not bad for a soldier. Blake had a lot of things going for him, not to mention he was exceptionally easy on the eyes.

Without pausing, she thrust open the wooden door and barged into the room.

The tall man behind the desk shot to his feet, his shock of gray hair quivering with outrage. “What is the meaning of this? Lissa! Who are these people?”

The girl appeared in the doorway, breathless and flushed—and not with exertion. She wrung her hands and cast a reproachful look back at Blake. “I’m so sorry, sir, I…”