Page 6 of Rebels Rising (The Intergalactic Union #3)

Artemis

T he soldiers were a lot easier to get settled than the babies, but that didn’t come as a shock to anyone. It took less than a turn to assign everyone rooms, but we were over capacity so we also had to come up with a sleep shift schedule. I didn’t feel bad about that since it wasn’t an unusual circumstance within the military. I was pretty sure a few people had transformed some closets into their own personal quarters to avoid the sharing, and I felt guilty for not sharing my own room. That guilt only lasted for a moment though. I had my reasons for needing my privacy.

The problem came in figuring out where to put the children. They needed someplace safe where they could roam freely without getting into anything that could be harmful to themselves or the ship. The only room we could really convert into what was essentially an orphanage was the cafeteria. It was the only area large enough to fit everyone inside, and the tables were easy enough to remove to make space for makeshift beds.

Fortunately, there were ample volunteers for babysitting duty so at least I wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they were safe and looked after. Currently, they were working at building a sort of nest out of all the spare blankets and pillows we could find, but it was sparse and not the best. They would be fine, though. It was a sad reality, but these children were all used to sleeping in less than comfortable places. The few bits of padding they did have were more than they’d be used to.

I was keeping Baldr with me though. My schedule was packed full for the foreseeable future, so it at least eased my mind to have the option of childcare available if I needed it with plenty of friends for Bal to play with and keep him occupied.

And I would need it, that much was obvious.

My newly acquired title of Captain was more of a blow than an honour, but I would perform those duties to the best of my abilities. I had zero interest in taking charge, or being responsible for so many people, but alas, I kept finding myself in must that position.

One thing I was the most concerned about was Captain Hironimus’s reaction to losing that status. I kept using that title for him because at the end of the day he’d earned it, but without a ship of his own it wasn’t exactly true.

I would have gladly handed mine over to him, except I still wasn’t entirely comfortable with him. Trust was earned, and while he hadn’t actually done anything to lose any trust my previous assumptions about him had cast a shadow over our relationship that I couldn’t completely shake.

After recent revelations, I knew he didn’t deserve my distrust so I put on a brave face whenever he was in the room, but I had high hopes that I could move past it enough to pawn off as much of the captain duties on him as I could. Maybe one day I would even trust him enough to hand them over completely, because I really didn’t want the job. His knowledge and experience would definitely come in useful in the coming days if he allowed me to use him.

None of the assuaged the sharp sting I felt whenever I saw him and Addy together, however. The love and trust between them was blatantly apparent and it reminded me of where Bromm and I were heading, and it rubbed salt in the wound that they could be so open with each other while Bromm was stuck in a coma. I missed him.

It was also a bittersweet reminder of what I’d thought I’d once had with T, until he’d proven me wrong. I didn’t necessarily regret my feelings for him, but I certainly learned the hard way that giving my heart to the first person who showed me kindness wasn’t the best choice. And while I had moved on and was building something real with someone else, I still felt that old ache in my chest at the thought of us being under the same roof. He was so close, but nothing would ever be the same between us. There was too much bad blood.

He was something I was actively avoiding. T’s presence, his connection to Foryk, the death of his father and that awful encounter with his mother… I was going to ignore all of that until I was forced to acknowledge it and just hoped it wouldn’t be for a good long while.

I would have gone to the infirmary, but it was packed full of injured soldiers needing medical assistance which was how I found myself hiding in my room. Well, as much as I could with the lack of a door thanks to Dave Junior. I was having a snuggle with Bal with Dave Junior curled up asleep in the corner, all of us taking a break from the overstimulation of a full ship when Addy found me. Captain Hironimus was a step behind her, a constant protector. I understood it, having experienced that type of separation before myself.

‘Hey, can we come in?’ she asked, and I moved over on the bed, patting the space beside me in an invitation for her to sit. I didn’t bother offering the same to the captain, already knowing he would refuse in favour of standing. Or looming. He did seem to love to loom.

She practically bounced over to me, jumping up on the bed. Literally. She was too small to just sit so she had to launch herself up.

Bal’s head was resting against my chest, and he turned to squish the other cheek against me instead to get a better look at the newcomer. I should have expected him to be curious about Addy, her bright pink colouring a vast difference from the typically muted, earthy tones of the people he’d so far been exposed to. Besides the Tornus, of course, but they were larger and scarier than the dinky, bubbly woman currently next to me.

I sent a tired grin her way, pleased to see her more like her old self even after everything she’d been through. My exhaustion was a combination of overwhelm and my body’s need for rest and rejuvenation, but I couldn’t stop just yet. There was still too much to do before I could stop, so I tried not to think too much about it.

No point in taunting myself with something I couldn’t have just yet.

‘How are you doing?’ she asked, and I huffed a quick laugh.

‘Isn’t that what I’m supposed to ask you?’

Her smile dimmed a little, but a darting glance towards her tense boyfriend had her forcing it back to its original brightness. I wanted to frown, not liking the way she was pretending in front of the captain, but I held it at bay. It wasn’t my place to dictate her behaviour or her decisions, and she must have had her reasons.

Perhaps she’d open up about it when we were alone. If we could manage to get each other alone at all. Both of us were constantly being followed by someone or another.

Bal reached a sleepy hand out to Addy, and she took that as an opportunity to hold onto him and rest her head on my shoulder in the process. Ignoring the captain and his suddenly rigid stance, I wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her closer to me so she didn’t have to crane her neck to rest it against me.

I dropped a kiss on top of Bal’s head, enjoying having him in my arms again after so much time spent apart and worrying. I’d given him a thorough check-up when I first entered the bedroom, and it was both a relief and a concern to find the cuts caused by the scientists already healed, not a scar in sight. I didn’t want to draw anymore blood from him to confirm what I already knew, but he was riddled with nanites just like me and his mother. The metallic sheen that had glittered amid the dry blood on his skin was confirmation enough.

The implications of a new generation born with the nanites already in their systems was something I wasn’t ready to consider just yet. It was looking more and more likely that The Program had succeeded in creating a brand-new race, but my mind couldn’t handle the added stress of what that could mean. For us, for the Intergalactic Union…

It was all too much.

‘I just need to get everything sorted so I can get some rest. I’m running on low after all of that,’ I confessed, answering her question from before.

‘Me too,’ she said wearily. ‘That’s actually why we’re here. We should have a meeting with everyone to form a plan of action and then we can rest for a bit.’

My eyebrows finally broke free from my control and dipped down low over my eyes. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? I know how hard it is to acclimate to the nanites…’

‘Nanites?’ the captain asked, panic in his tone. ‘Babe, what is she talking about? What nanites?’

Addy sent me an accusing look, and a realised she hadn’t had that conversation with him yet. He was still unaware of everything she had gone through as one of The Program’s subjects.

I widened my eyes innocently as I met her gaze with my own. ‘Oops?’

She deflated, turning to address her lover. ‘I don’t want to have to go over it more than once, so I was going to explain during the meeting.’

The captain’s breathing became choppy and shallow as he attempted to regulate his emotions and control his reaction, but he forced it back down. ‘Okay,’ he agreed through clenched teeth. ‘But don’t leave anything out for my sake. I need to know what they did. I can’t help you if you keep it from me.’

‘I promise, baby cakes,’ she gave him an exaggerated wink. ‘I’m not keeping it from you, I just didn’t want to repeat myself.’

I snorted a laugh in surprise. ‘Baby cakes?’

The captain shook his head while a smile attempted to pull at the corners of his lips that he actively fought. ‘Don’t ask.’

‘All right,’ I said with a groan, repositioning Bal so he could rest more comfortably on my shoulder as we moved. ‘I have a few calls to make as well, so we should get this meeting started and over with as soon as possible.’

I nudged Dave Junior with my foot to wake him, and a single red eye peeped open to glare at me, but I couldn’t leave him here alone. He’d tear the whole ship apart to find me when he woke and realised I was missing. Again.

‘Come on, bud. We’ve got places to be. You can nap during the meeting.’ I exited the room, knowing he would follow without any added prompting.

‘Uh… Do we have to bring him?’ the captain asked, eyeing Dave Junior uncertainly.

I shrugged. ‘Yup. You already saw what happens when I leave him alone.’

That was all that was needed to shut him up, and the five of us made our way towards the cockpit. I couldn’t think of anywhere else with enough room and privacy for the meeting.

‘Why don’t the two of you grab the others?’ I told them, then hesitated. ‘But maybe not Foryk. We can fill him in later, but we should let them grieve uninterrupted.’

I purposefully didn’t include T or their mother, and the look Addy and the captain shared proved they caught the slight. Neither of them commented, however, and I was thankful for that. I didn’t know how much either of them knew about what went down between me and T, but I didn’t want to get into it now. Or ever, to be honest. The past should stay in the past, but the bastard just kept coming back.

Like a persistent rash. Itchy and uncomfortable every time he popped back up.

Or a wart.

Not that I ever got either of those, but they made my point.

Addy gave me a two-fingered salute and jogged off with a ‘You got it, boss,’ the captain trailing behind her.

Any stragglers in the hallway gave us a wide berth, eyeing both me and Dave Junior with a mixture of wariness, fear, and awe. It was an odd experience, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I didn’t want people to fear me, but I also wasn’t used to having so many in my care. My twosome with Libby had become a trio when Bal was born, and even undercover as a cadet there were only four members of my team. Now there were hundreds of lives looking to me for guidance and protection and I had no clue what to do with that.

Freak out about it later , I steeled myself.

GC Stanson and the marksman – both of which had the same pale and delicate features denoting them as purebred Yu’Roms – were the only ones in the cockpit when we arrived, and they both turned to eye is with the same level of wariness as the others. The Group Captain at least hid it better, rearranging her expression into something not exactly welcoming but certainly less warding. The marksman, however, pushed himself as far into the console as possible to get away from us.

I tried not to take it personally, but his eyes darted between me and Dave Junior with equal caution. The only thing that seemed to keep him in his chair was Bal’s adorable little face taking in the new surroundings with big, green, innocent eyes.

‘Captain,’ GC Stanson greeted, her voice gravelly with held back emotions I didn’t even try to decipher.

‘Just call me Artemis,’ I told her with a smile I hoped was as soft as I was trying to make it.

She hesitated, the break in protocol not something she would have been accustomed to, but she met my smile with one of her own. Her body relaxed slightly at the friendliness I was attempting to exude. I’d been trained in many ways to interact with a person to get something from them, but genuine friendliness was not one of them so I was pleased it seemed to be working.

‘Artemis,’ she tested my name on her tongue. ‘If we’re ditching the titles then call me Eloria.’

I beamed at her, my smile wide and lively even when I felt my exhaustion attempting to pull my muscles back down. ‘Eloria. Sorry for the, uh… secrets,’ I finished lamely.

She let out a tinkling laugh that reminded me of tiny bells. It was a beautiful sound, and I found myself gaping at her before slamming my jaw shut. Embarrassment heated my cheeks, but it merely softened the interaction between us even more.

‘Under the circumstances, I can’t really blame you. Though, I don’t understand why you went undercover in the first place,’ she prompted.

‘Stay for the meeting and I’ll explain everything,’ I offered. ‘There are quite a few still left in the dark, and it’s easier if I don’t have to keep repeating myself.’

‘What meeting?’

‘The captain and Adara are gathering… well, the original rebellion, I suppose. We’re going to debrief and plan. You should probably be a part of that, too, since you’re piloting.’ I turned to the marksman, noting the way he was listening intently while attempting to appear like he wasn’t eavesdropping.

‘Who are you?’ I asked him.

He didn’t respond, instead staring with wide eyes and a flapping mouth where no sound came out. Eloria let out another tinkling laugh.

‘That’s Julius. Don’t mind him, he’s just a bit shy,’ she teased him.

It snapped him out of his stupor and he sent a playful glare her way, though he didn’t move any closer, still wary of me and Dave Junior. When the latter moved to the corner to settle in for another nap, it seemed to prove helpful in putting them both at ease.

‘Well, Julius, since you’re the one in charge of our weapons you’re also welcome to stay, but you don’t have to. It’s about to get pretty crowded in here and tensions are still high, and they’ll likely climb even higher before this meeting is over.’

He cleared his throat, unable to make direct eye contact, but he managed to speak which I took as a small victory. ‘I think I’ll make myself scarce,’ he decided. He rose from his seat and edged his way around the room, giving Dave Junior more of a wide berth than me which I considered a definite improvement, and then he disappeared out the door.

I pressed a button on the floor with my toe and a holo-table emerged. I took Julius’s vacated chair and placed Bal forward-facing on my lap.

‘I hope you don’t mind, but I need to contact his mother,’ I said, already leaning towards the controls to do so.

‘The woman from before?’ she asked.

I nodded. ‘Libby.’

She gestured to where I was already pressing the necessary buttons, a single white eyebrow raised and amusement shining from behind her eyes. ‘Go for it.’

Within a tick, Libby’s face was a hologram above the holo-table and Bal was clapping his hands excitedly.

‘Mama! Mama!’

Libby’s choked sob had my own eyes stinging with unshed tears, and I had to clear the lump that suddenly clogged my throat. ‘Hi, my sweet boy, I missed you!’

I sat back and watched as I let the reunion play out. It wasn’t the reunion we were looking forward to since Libby still wasn’t able to hold her son in her arms, but at least she could see he was safe. He had me, and I wasn’t about to let him go again.