Page 21 of Her Cyborg Commander (The Drift: Haven Colony #9)

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For the first time he could remember, space travel didn’t bore him. Two weeks after their flight from River’s camp, he was rested, relaxed, and happier than he’d ever imagined possible.

They’d dropped into normal space twice. Each time staying only long enough to send a brief, heavily encrypted message to a relay buoy positioned along one of the busier shipping lanes. While it had been a long shot, they checked each one for messages from someone they knew, but there was nothing. The message they left behind was always the same, and they could only hope the right people would see it and understand. Chance, was the message, a clue to their destination and a request for anyone who read it to let Chance know what they were doing.

They were coming up on their next transition to normal space soon, but they had a few minutes before it happened. He had something he wanted to give River, and this felt like the right time.

She was in the cockpit, which wasn’t a surprise. She spent hours there, practicing flight sims and learning anything she could from Eddi about flying a starship.

“If you spend many more hours in here, you’re going to be a qualified ship pilot before we get home,” he told her.

“That’s what Eddi says, too.” She rose from her seat to greet him with a kiss. “So I guess I have a new job when I get back.” Her brow furrowed. “If we get back. I mean, I know we will eventually, but …”

“But we’ve still got Torex chasing us, and so far no one else has reached out. It might take longer than we want to get this sorted.”

“I know. I thought we’d have heard something by now. Maybe the messages haven’t arrived yet?”

“Maybe.” He stroked her cheek. “But I’m glad we’ve had this time together.”

“Me too.”

“I’ve realized something,” he said, not sure how to put his feelings into words. Neither one of those things were his strong suite. He was better doing something than talking about it.

River waited for him to continue. “I don’t want to do things alone anymore. I want to do them with you.” He opened his hands and lifted them so she could see the gift he had for her. The necklace hung from his fingers, the simple pendant swinging gently.

“This is for you.”

She took it from him, her expression soft with wonder. “It’s a heart. But what’s it made of?”

“Sand. When I took your clothes that first day, I shook out all the sand from them, and from my clothes, too. I had the fabricator turn it into this.” He touched the pendant, making it spin at the end of the chain.

“It’s a reminder of all we went through and where we were when I finally accepted the truth—that I was in love with you.”

Her smile was brighter than a hundred suns. “That is the sweetest thing you’ve ever said. Thank you. Will you… put it on?”

“Yes.” He lifted the chain in both hands and lowered it over her head. “You’re mine now, minx.”

She touched the pendant with one hand, her eyes alight with love. “I always was. I just didn’t know it yet.”

Eddi’s voice shattered the moment. “We will drop into normal space in ten seconds.”

“ Fraxx ! Eddi, what happened to the two-minute warning?” River asked.

“I didn’t want to interrupt. I do not understand much about biological beings’ mating rituals, but Sevda has told me several times not to interrupt when one occurs.”

Edge spluttered. “That wasn’t a mating ritual.”

“It certainly looked like one to me,” Eddi retorted. “And we have now returned to normal space. I am scanning for the relay buoy.”

A small pause was followed by an ear-shattering alarm and Eddi’s voice calling out, “Proximity alert! A ship has decloaked in close proximity. Alert! Alert!”

“Eddi, mute that alarm and tell me what’s happening!” River demanded.

The ship fell silent instantly.

“Eddi?” River asked. “What the hell is happening?”

“We are being hailed.”

“By who?” Edge demanded.

Eddi spoke again. “System override initiated. Incoming message.”

He stood behind River, determined to stare down whatever this new threat might be.

“Is this thing working?” a new voice demanded.

River relaxed and then burst out laughing. “It’s alright, Edge. I think the cavalry has finally arrived. Eddi, put them on screen and open the channel so I can respond.”

The main screen flickered to life. It showed a human female with silver hair and an annoyed expression. “I can’t tell if this is sending or not.”

River raised a hand in greeting. “Hello, Phylomenia. It’s been a long time.”

The older woman smiled, and it was as if ten years melted off her age. “River! Good to see you, girl. You’ve been busy. Haven’t you?”

“You could say that. I hope you’re here to help us out and not to arrest us,” River replied.

Edge still wasn’t sure what was going on, but River seemed to know the female, so he stayed quiet.

A human male appeared on the monitor. He looked familiar, but Edge couldn’t recall his name. “We should arrest both of you, considering what you’ve been up to. I clearly recall a time you promised that none of the cyborgs from Reamus would be running around the galaxy unsupervised, yet here you are.”

River tensed. “Colonel Archer, I can explain.”

That was it. Archer. The man who had helped orchestrate the deal that allowed the Vardarians to claim Liberty as long as they took in Edge and the others. If he tried to arrest them… His hand curled into a fist. Not happening.

Phylomenia waved her hand. “Don’t listen to him. Scotty isn’t a colonel anymore. He retired, so he couldn’t arrest you even if he wanted to.” She turned to glare at the former colonel. “And we don’t want to do that.”

Edge relaxed a little. Whatever was going on, Archer wasn’t the one he needed to worry about.

Phylomenia turned to the screen again and smiled. “We’re here because Chance sent us to find you. She said we were your best shot at getting clear of whatever mess you’re in. So, where’s the asshole hunting you?”

“Dead,” River said without a hint of remorse.

“Good. So, if he’s dealt with, why are you here instead of on you way back to Haven?” Phylomenia asked.

“Because he was working with the Shadows. The ship Jens was on is still chasing us. It’s a Viper class warship registered to a corporation that has to be a shell company. When we first saw it, it showed as a commercial freighter named the Maggie-May-Dance . It only dropped the fake transponder once we made it off the planet and it gave chase.”

“I told you they wouldn’t give up easily!” a third voice called from somewhere off screen.

Phylomenia shook her head. “Yes. Yes. You’re brilliant. You’ll get a cookie later.”

“That’s not what I want, and you know it, Mena.”

The woman smirked. “Fine. Orgasms later instead of cookies.”

“Who was that?” River asked.

“Garrett Michaels.” Phylomenia held up her left hand. “I got married. That’s husband number two.”

Archer buried his face in his hands. “This is why I wanted to have this conversation without the two of you on the bridge.”

Edge burst out laughing. “I wasn’t sure at first, but I think I’m going to like you all.”

Eddi interrupted again, though this time it kept the alarms at a reasonable noise level.

On the other ship’s bridge, red lights flashed, indicating they were getting the same warning.

“Warning. Jump point detected. Another ship is about to transit into normal space.”

Scott Archer scowled. “Friends of yours?”

“The only friends we have out here is you,” River said.

Archer nodded. “Then I think it’s time we said hello. Get that little ship of yours tucked in behind the Bat . I’ll extend the shields to protect you. We’ll talk soon.”

As the message ended, Phylomenia called out “Enjoy the show!”

Once he was sure the connection was severed, Edge moved deeper into the cockpit, already looking for the newly arrived ship. “Well, that was interesting.”

River nodded, her eyes on the same screen as his. “Phylomenia is something else. She’s the reason we knew about Liberty at all. She’s friends with a lot of people, including the princess, Sevda, and Zura. You remember her?”

“Zura? Yeah, I do. She came to visit the colony after Astek Station was decommissioned. She’s married to a pair of cyborgs. Good males. Solid fighters.”

“That’s her.”

“You know a lot more humans than I do,” he commented.

“We can change that.”

While they talked, Eddi positioned them exactly where Archer had instructed.

“Do you think they’re talking to the other ship?” Edge asked.

Pulse cannon fire slammed into the shield protecting them. “I think they’re done talking,” River said.

When Archer’s ship fired, the blast didn’t bounce off the shield. It tore right through it and took out a good portion of the other ship’s lower deck.

“Do I want to know why a retired colonel is flying around the galaxy with that kind of firepower?” he asked.

“Probably not. Right now, I’m just glad he’s on our side.”

They watched in horror as airlocks all over the ship opened suddenly. Bodies were blown out into the void, along with the ship’s atmosphere.

“ Re’veth . They killed the crew?” River asked.

The channel between their ship and Archer’s reactivated. “Are you seeing this?” Phylomenia asked, her face pale.

“We are. Did they say anything? Why did they fire?” River asked.

“We hailed them but never got a reply.”

Archer chimed in. “Oh, they replied all right. But with weapons instead of words.”

“But why kill everyone?” River asked.

Phylomenia answered this time. “Because dead men tell no tales.”

“The dead don’t share secrets, but sometimes databases do. We need to get Nova Force out here to retrieve the wreckage and see what they can get off the systems. Even if they wiped them, I’m sure Magi can get something we can use. They didn’t have time to do a complete job.”

River sighed and leaned into him. “So, it’s over now?” she asked.

“For now,” Phylomenia said.

“The IAF are going to have some questions you need to answer,” Archer stated. “But you’ll be alright. After all, you were the victim of a corporate conspiracy.”

“I was?” River cocked her head in confusion, but Edge saw where this was going. It really was going to be alright.

“You were,” Garrett called from off screen.

“Definitely,” Archer stated firmly.

“Oh yes,” Phylomenia agreed.

River nodded. “Ah, yes. I was.”

Edge asked the next question. “So, where to now?”

Phylomenia smiled. “To the same place you were already heading. We’re going back to The Drift.”

Edge considered that for a moment and then bent down to kiss River’s cheek. It didn’t matter where they went, so long as they did it together.

“Sounds good,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to see that place. I’ve heard a lot about it.”