Chapter 22
Enlighten Me
Ines steered the Silverside away from the fading debris from the explosion. She’d been contracted on enough revenge jobs to know how those who sought retribution thought. All were plagued by deadly obsessions, and Roxas was no different. She would have been too familiar with decoys and illusions to believe her bomb had met its target unless she saw the blast herself. That meant she had to be within visual range of Kydera Minor. Since she and her crew had evacuated while the bomb ship had been moving at lightspeed, her veiled escape vessel had likely been trailing the main vehicle and watching its progress. She’d seen it fail, then. And she was close.
Ines searched the space through the Silverside’s window. Seeing nothing, she glanced at Devin, whose eyes were fixed on the window on the pilot’s side.
“I see it.” He turned to the controls and twisted the steering bars. “I don’t think she’s spotted us yet, but I’m sure she’s looking.”
Ines peered over his shoulder. A narrow ship hovered outside, silhouetted against Kydera’s sun. She glanced at the navigation screen, which displayed several vehicles in the Kyderan system, but not the particular one Devin had pointed out.
Ines narrowed her eyes, trying to make out the other ship’s details. She suspected it wasn’t capable of lightspeed. Most secondary vessels weren’t. “We’ll have to be quick, since she’ll know we’re coming.”
The Silverside lurched forward on his command. As the ship drew closer, the charcoal hull of Roxas’s ship filled the screen. It was much smaller than the main vessel had been, and must not have had any exterior weapons, since none fired. Box-like in shape, its engines didn’t protrude like those of most spacecraft. But the white-blue glow at the back indicated their location.
“See the engine?” She pointed at the window. “Slow the ship, and aim for that.”
“We won’t be able to—” Devin broke off as realization dawned upon his expression. “I see. Use the Silverside itself as a weapon.”
“Exactly.” A piece of metal punching through the machinery would keep the other vessel from escaping.
She returned to her seat and buckled herself in and watched out the window as the Silverside neared the vessel at the maximum invasion speed. The impact sent a tremor through her. She turned to the controls and overrode the Silverside’s automatic attachment protocols.
The safety straps cut into her as Devin withdrew the Silverside from the ship. She inhaled, bracing for a second impact, which sent her crashing forward.
A flame burst from the damaged engine, and its yellow light engulfed both the viewscreen and the window. The ship lurched as Devin engaged the reverse thrusters. The explosion seemed to have caused a chain reaction as more fire erupted from the broken hull.
“Get the other one.” Ines pressed an icon on her screen to bring up a forward view, wondering if the Silverside had damaged the other ship’s veiling systems. According to the computer, only empty space lay ahead.
Devin maneuvered the Silverside around the back of the other ship. Roxas’s crew seemed to realize what was happening, because the vessel increased its speed. But as Ines had suspected, it didn’t have lightspeed capabilities. It would already have engaged them if it had, which meant the Silverside was faster.
Slam. The Silverside buried its nose into the ship for a third time. Ines could almost feel her brain banging around her skull. As Devin reversed the Silverside, fire burst from the breach. The yellow light spread an infernal glow across the back of the vessel, and Ines dared entertain the image of eternal flames coming to claim Roxas.
The other ship continued coasting through space, but it seemed only inertia kept it moving. An impact from the front would take care of that. Plus, that was the spot most likely to house the bridge, where Roxas undoubtedly occupied the commander’s position.
Ines gave the directions to Devin, who nodded. The Silverside streaked past the front of the other vessel. Then, Devin flipped the ship, making Ines’s head spin for a brief moment as the artificial gravity compensated.
The Silverside barreled into the other ship’s flat front. A fourth impact jolted her. She disengaged the commands that had previously prevented the tunnel from extending, allowing the ship to complete its invasion protocol. Her stomach fell into her throat as the computer detected the direction of the other ship’s artificial gravity and adjusted the Silverside’s to match. They were upside down relative to Roxas’s vessel.
Gripping the straps of her seat, she disengaged the lock. Her body dropped from its previous position, and she pushed her elbows hard against the back of her seat, turning herself in a half flip. Her feet landed on what used to be the ceiling. She straightened. The red circle blinked on the viewscreen, warning her not to leave the vessel yet.
Devin’s landing was much less graceful than hers. He landed on his side and smiled up at her. “I expected that knowing you would turn my world upside down, but I didn’t realize it’d be literally.”
She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “Amateur.” Her mind ran through the likely scenarios. Roxas had surrounded them the last time. She’d probably try a similar move. “I’ll go first.” Ines climbed onto the underside of one of the pilot’s seat’s armrests, which, at present, was its upper side. “Cover me.”
Devin aimed his gun upward. The circle on the viewscreen turned green. Ines reached back and found the lever on the upside-down controls to open the hatch above her. She waited until it was fully open, grabbed her deactivated laser from her belt, and sprang up into the tunnel.
Devin reached through the opening behind her and fired several shots. The return volley came quickly, and she pressed herself against the floor of the tunnel, crawling on her stomach. Blasts flew over her head, ringing in her ears.
As she neared the end of the tunnel, she whipped out her laser ribbon and activated it, sending a streak of yellow flying through the opening. She whipped it around it to discourage anyone from coming too close, careful to keep from slicing through the tunnel.
Reaching the end, she straightened and continued flicking the ribbon. She wished she had a second as she’d once carried; that would have made things go twice as fast. Part of her also wondered what she’d been thinking when she’d hidden the components for a ribbon in her clothing instead of those for a gun. A ribbon’s pieces were more complicated than a regular weapon’s. But it also made for a more impressive display, and presentation was a powerful thing.
Spotting the barrel of a gun, she sent the glowing lash streaking forward to destroy the weapon in the guard’s grasp. She twisted and kicked the man in the head, sending him flying into the wall. Judging by the lack of movement on the ceiling, the ship had no internal defenses.
From what she could piece together between moves, Ines was in the crew’s barracks. Cots covered the floor, and she stepped around them. Shots rang out behind her. She spotted Devin in her peripheral vision, taking on the guards coming from the other side. A pained cry rang out—he’d hit someone.
She snapped her laser and took the weapons from two more shocked guards. Using her empty hand, she punched one in the gut then, when he doubled over, slammed her elbow down on the back of his head. Judging by her opponents’ stiff movements, they were too surprised by the presence of a laser ribbon to know how to react. Shots came clumsily and missed widely as they dodged in panic, trying to avoid decapitation. Her unconventional weapon was having the desired effect.
Spinning back, she slammed her heel into a guard’s temple then regained her footing and destroyed another’s weapon. The fight would have been easier if she could simply slice them in half, but she’d avoid more bloodshed if she could. Even Hell felt too full at times.
She glimpsed one woman who had somehow slipped past her, aiming a gun at Devin’s head. His back was to the guard; he was busy dealing with others. Ines couldn’t take out the weapon with a person in the way. So she took down the person instead, slicing the laser across the woman’s torso, cutting her in half.
The two bloody pieces of what used to be a human fell to the ground. The shooting stopped, and Devin spun to face her. His eyes widened at the cleaved body before him.
The other guards had apparently been shocked into ceasing fire because the blasting stopped. Glaring at them, Ines shouted, “I tried to be nice. But I could tear each and every one of you apart the way I did her.” She thrust her laser toward the fallen woman, tearing a gash through the floor. “So drop your guns, and get down. Now.”
For a few seconds, silence swirled through barracks.
“Do as she says.” Devin backed toward her, keeping his gun aimed at the still guards. “You’ve already lost.”
One by one, guns clattered to the ground. Stunned and scowling guards lowered themselves. Ines lifted her chin. Sometimes, it paid to have people believe you were a monster.
She deactivated the laser. “Don’t get any ideas. I can ignite it again in half a second.” Stepping over one of the guards, she made her way toward the exit.
Devin grabbed the guns off two of the guards and tossed her one. She caught it and stuck her ribbon into her belt. She switched the weapon to stun. No need to take more lives if she didn’t have to.
Reaching the door, she punched the controls. She didn’t wait for it to open fully before blasting into the corridor. The slightest glimpse of a target was all she needed to take it down. Numbers had bested her once, but numbers made little difference when they were bottlenecked.
Less than a minute later, unconscious guards lay scattered across the floor. Devin, who was beside her and had apparently been keeping an eye on the surrendered guards, gave her an impressed look.
A stairwell leading to a second level gaped to her left. The bridge had to be at the top. Roxas was finally within reach. The force of evil who had caused Ines so much grief and tried to kill countless innocents would, at last, be caught.
Ines marched up the steps, trusting Devin to watch her back. When she reached the top, she found a number of guards waiting, but taking them down was a matter of a few flicks of her arm. They were no match for someone like her.
Having rendered the guards unconscious, Ines strode toward the wide door at the end of the hallway. She reached for her laser ribbon, intending to cut through it, but it slid open on its own.
Roxas sat in the commander’s chair with her back to Ines. The crossed lightning bolt tattoo behind her ear was visible beneath the shade of her elaborately twisted hair.
One of the officers rose from his post, and Ines hit him with a stun blast. Though the other three—including the pilot—made no move against her, she shot them all the same. They’d wake up healthy enough in a few hours.
Roxas didn’t turn around. “You think you’ve stayed the hand of justice. You must believe yourself powerful indeed.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Ines moved to face the woman. Hearing footsteps, she glanced at the entryway and spotted Devin approaching.
He approached one of the officer’s stations. “I’ll unveil the vessel and contact ISARK.”
“They can’t stop me.” Despite Roxas’s relaxed demeanor, Ines heard the anger simmering behind her tone.
Ines sneered. “We already have.”
“You can’t keep justice from running its course. The—”
Ines fired straight at Roxas’s face. The monarch slumped forward, unconscious. “I told you to shut up.”
Part of Ines wished she’d switched the weapon back to its lethal setting. Not so long ago, she would have done just that. She’d shown no mercy to others who’d done far less than Roxas had. The Republic of Kydera would execute her anyway.
But Roxas was more useful alive. She had knowledge of the Niran system that the IC forces could use. With both Vang and Roxas out of the picture, maybe there was hope for the region.
Yet there was another reason. Ines wasn’t sure why, but a decision had landed in her mind. She would be a killer no more. The guard she’d struck down would be the last life she’d take. The memory of the woman’s torn body haunted her, even though she knew that if she hadn’t moved, Devin would be the one lying dead. Taking lives had never been easy, but it had always been necessary. It was still necessary. The universe held plenty of sons-of-bitches who needed killing. But not by me.
Meanwhile, Devin finished communicating with Adesina and turned to her. “ISARK’s on their way.”
“Good.” Ines stepped away from Roxas.
“They’ll hold you for a spell to question you about what happened here, but after that, the rest will be up to you.” He approached, a question in his eyes.
“I don’t know what I’ll do next,” she said, knowing what he’d meant to ask. “But I’m done with killing. I’m tired of being a monster.”
“You’re not a monster. I don’t believe you are, and I hope, someday, you’ll believe it too.”
“You’re telling me to forgive myself, to let go of the guilt.” She met his gaze. “Why would you ask me to do something you can’t?”
He smiled dryly. “Fine, then. You’re a monster. I’m a curse. Between you and me, it’s a wonder the universe still stands.”
Ines shook her head. Just a few feet from them lay true evil—someone who had delighted in the suffering of others. Yet the two people who had stopped her were the ones plagued by guilt. Perhaps it was time for them both to release their burdens.
And perhaps it was time to give peace another chance.