“What’s going on down here?” Asher sailed down the stairs. Ollie, Ren, and Liam followed like ducklings.
Rowan and Darby offered twin forced smiles. Darby held a smoke bomb. She and Rowan had their backs to the door, holding it closed as soldiers beat against the other side.
“Oh, you know,” Darby said, with gritted teeth, “holding the fort like you said. But they are right here, if you couldn’t tell. I thought you said the only attack would be from above.”
“I was obviously wrong,” Asher replied.
“That’s awesome, Ash. Really awesome.” As she spoke, the door heaved inward, and, in an acrobatic move, Darby jumped and spun and threw the bomb through the crack. Ollie, Rowan, and Asher threw their weight against the door. Smoke billowed in around the edges, but the pounding was replaced by the sounds of coughing and gagging.
Palm flat on the wall, Ren reached in and engaged the lock but, despite tying off the ends of the circuits and burning out the mechanisms, he couldn’t keep it held for long.
“There’s a manual override on the other side of the door.”
“Great.” Rowan pushed a stray hair away from her face with the back of her wrist. “Let’s go then.”
Darby eyed Liam with a squint. “Is this him? He doesn’t look like you. Maybe around the nose, but… no, not really. You look nothing alike.”
“Half-brothers,” Liam said with a goofy smile on his face. “I’m Liam.”
“I’m Darby.”
“And I’m out of here,” Rowan said. “There’s a regiment on the other side of this door and probably one down at the docks too. We have to go.”
“Vos is going to meet us there.”
Rowan stutter-stepped. “What?”
The door creaked and shuddered.
“No time. Let’s go,” Asher grabbed Ren’s bicep, and Ollie had Liam tucked close to his side. Stealth no longer an option, they thundered down the stairs and burst onto the docking bay. It was deserted, except for a lone figure waiting in a swath of light next to the aft airlock of the Star Stream.
“Vos,” Ren said.
He turned on his heel and gave Ren a wan smile. “You.”
“Me,” Ren agreed.
“Rumor was that you died.”
“I did, but I got better.”
Rowan and Asher had their weapons trained on him, but Ren could tell he was unarmed. His complexion was sallow, and his cheeks were sunken. His eyes were circled by dark rings, and his hair and beard were uncharacteristically unkempt.
“Space is treating you well.”
“Better than you did,” Ren said. “But enough, we don’t have time to reminisce.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Third floor,” Ren said. “I can’t open the doors. They’re manual. But on the third floor you’ll find your general, a seer, and a few others.”
Vos’s eyebrows ticked up. “And how am I going to get there?”
“With me.”
Asher protested, but Ren shook his head. “We have Liam. Get him on the ship with the others. You too, Ash.” Ren glowed, eyes darkening to black, his power flowing out of him in waves as he entered the prison and flooded the systems. “Vos and I will rescue them.”
“No,” Asher’s fingers around Ren’s wrist were iron. “This is a dumb idea. They are not worth your capture. And we cannot trust him.”
Vos spread open his hands. “I can’t do anything to your friend. His power eclipses any I’ve seen. I have no weapons. I have no idea how to navigate this place.”
“Ash—”
“Not without me.” Ash leveled Ren with a glare. “If you feel like we must rescue them, then fine. But we promised each other to stay together. We’re staying together.”
Ren softened. They had promised, and Ren wouldn’t break it, not after Crei, not after Bara. “Fine, but we have to hurry,” Ren said, surging through the systems, and camera feeds. “There are guards swarming down from the top level and coming around to flank us.”
“Get on the ship,” Asher told the others. “If you need to leave, then go. We’ll follow.”
“And where will you run?” Vos asked, walking forward. “Where will you and your crew go? Now that you have his brother? There’s nowhere safe for you, except with me.”
“This guy sounds like the other guy,” Liam said, holding onto Ollie. “Shoot him, too.”
Asher raised his gun, but Ren stayed his hand. “What we do after this is of no concern to you. But for right now, we have similar goals.”
Vos smiled, and it was more like an animal’s show of teeth than a gesture meant to endear him to them.
“Stars, you’re disgusting,” Rowan said, making a face. “Come on,” she said to Ollie and Darby, then she wagged her finger at Asher as she pulled Darby along. “Don’t do anything stupid. Be back here as quick as you can.”
Asher allowed a small smile. “Have Pen look at Liam!”
Darby mock-saluted and the four of them raced to the ship. Ren was surprised at their quick acquiescence of him and Asher staying behind with Vos of all people, but they understood what Ren needed to do. They understood that, in good conscience, Ren couldn’t leave other prisoners behind.
“We’ll use a lift,” Asher said. “It’s a quick way up, and Ren can control it. Right?”
“Yes.” With his concentration split, Ren rerouted his power to the lifts and found the nearest. Except, in his rush, he missed the trap laid for him in the code. It snared him, like a rabbit rope around his foot, and he stuck fast amid a tangle of circuits and a rush of encryption. His physical body stiffened, and he fell to his knees, palms on the deck. He tried to pull out, but the virus leeched into him, began to smother him with code, locked him behind rapidly building virtual bars.
“Ren?” Asher was by his side, his hand on Ren’s shoulder, but it was far away, secondary to the trap squeezing tighter and tighter around him. “What’s wrong?”
“Stuck,” he forced out. “Trap.”
“What do you need?”
Ren shuddered. The more he fought, the tighter the snare wrapped around him, squeezing his electric self. He couldn’t hold awareness in both domains, and there was no way for him to pull out of the prison and back into his body. With gritted teeth and fingers curled against the deck, Ren let go, and trusted Asher to protect him. He left his body behind and focused entirely on his technopathic self.
From the video feeds, he saw his body on the deck squirming and thrashing and Asher hovering over him, holding him, but he couldn’t stay long. He had to free himself, had to untangle from the snare wrapping tighter around him, trying to snuff him out.
He fought, but with every piece of code he unfurled or peeled away, two more took its place. He was trapped, as Zag had warned. Trapped in more ways than one in the prison built to hold people like him. They’d have to leave him behind. Asher could drag his physical body to the ship, but his other self would be stuck.
Help!
Ren thrust the plea out into the universe.
Help! Help! Please!
He had seconds left. The cell walls stacked higher and thicker, and Ren was almost completely covered. He had nowhere to run. He lost access to all the systems including the cameras. The chains and strings of code wrapped tighter and tighter around him, crushing him. And Asher ran out of time as well. Those guards would be descending on the dock in minutes. Asher was left alone with Ren incapacitated and Vos right there. He had to get out. He had to get out. He couldn’t get out.
Panicking, Ren struggled to do what the others had told him. He was a supernova. He could explode. He could overwhelm. He had to. He had to. He had to. Focus. Focus! Hold on to the anger. Hold on to the hope. Hold on to the love. He thought about Liam and the joy he felt seeing his brother again. He thought about Asher and his faith and determination. He thought about the crew and how they’d folded him into their family and accepted Darby the way she was. He thought about Jakob and Sorcha and their resilience and how he ached to see them again. He tapped it into it all, the power of his star, the power of his humanity. He gathered it in, collapsed inward, and he expanded and pushed and struggled against the wires holding him captive.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t.
We’re here!
Ren felt them in the system. He had no idea how they’d gotten in, no clue how they had left their debris, unless they had butted against the prison itself. But they were there. The other star hosts. Four of them, pinging against his senses.
Help!
They swarmed him, broke down the trap, ripped away the barriers, and Ren could metaphorically breathe again. When the last piece snapped away, Ren ran; the others followed.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
You’re welcome. Get out of here.
The weapons system. The guards have escaped. They can access it. They’ll blast us out of the sky.
We have it. We’ll disable it. Go quickly!
What about you?
We’re fine. The guards are almost there. You must go, Ren. Run!
Body arching on the deck, Ren gasped and slotted into his body. He grabbed Asher’s wrist; Asher’s hands clenched in the fabric of his shirt. Eyes open, legs twitching, he gulped in a lungful of air.
“Run. Out of time.”
Asher’s gaze flicked away, and Ren followed it to see Vos standing there, face pale. Asher unholstered his pulse gun and slid it across the floor to a far corner of the deck.
“You’re on your own. Good luck.”
With a strength that surprised him, Asher hauled Ren to his feet and threw him over his shoulder. Vos ran for the gun, and Asher, yelling into his comm as he went, ran for the ship. The aft airlock swung open. Ollie waited on the other side. Asher’s strides ate up the expansive distance. Ren’s body jostled with each step.
With a few meters left, the door to the docking bay flew inward with the force of an explosion, sparks and metal skittered across the deck surface, and Ren’s senses pinged with a barrage of weapons. Ren raised his hand, and, despite the weakness he felt in his own power, he locked on to the weapon signatures. He twisted and yanked and cut the power supplies to all the tech.
And then Ren was tossed into the Star Stream.
“Go! Go!” Darby yelled into the comm to Lucas. “We got them!”
Ollie closed the airlock and ensured the seal, just as ship left the ground.
“Ren! Can you get that forcefield?” Lucas called over the comm, his panic evident in the crackle and the static.
We have it. Go!
“The others have it,” Ren rasped, from his prone position on the deck.
Ren felt the tingle in his body when the field powered down. The ship rocketed out of the docking bay, leaving the prison behind. Ren pushed to his feet and ignored the calls of Asher, Ollie, and Darby. Stumbling along the way, he pulled himself to the bridge with Asher on his heels. He lurched onto the bridge, knocked his head since he forgot to duck at the top of the stairs, and hurried to the vid screen.
“We’re not being followed,” Rowan said, from her captain’s chair. “Other than by a few pieces of debris.”
Ren flicked his wrist, and the sensors showed four large pieces of debris right next to the hull. He reached out and found the weapons system dark.
Are you okay?
We’re fine. Are you?
Ren smiled ruefully. Maybe.
Did you save him?
Now that they were back in the belt of wreckage, Ren allowed his body to relax. He breathed and rolled his shoulders. Liam was in the common room with Penelope looking him over. Lucas piloted them away.
We did.
Congratulations.
What will you do now? Ren asked.
We’ll protect you until you move on.
What about beyond that? Will you always be here?
We will exist, until we dissipate and float away in the blackness of space with hopes to reform into a new star or planet or new being.
Thank you. Thank you. We wouldn’t have been able to free him without you.
You’re welcome, little one. And what will you do, Ren? You’ve found your brother. You have escaped.
Ren sucked in a breath. I’m going to stop her.
We do not wish harm on another of us, but we understand your conviction. Be careful, Ren. You are stardust. You are part of the universe, and the universe exists within you. And while your constituent atoms are immortal, you are not.
I wish you well.
“Are they talking to you?”
“Yes,” Ren said. “They saved me.”
“What happened?” Asher tentatively lay a hand on Ren’s shoulder. “Was it a trap?”
Ren patted Asher’s hand. “Yes. I tripped something, and I couldn’t… couldn’t leave the prison systems. It was like… it was like a chain wrapped around me and squeezed while a cell was built to close me in.”
Asher moved closer to Ren’s back and dipped his head; his breath was hot on Ren’s neck. “Are you all right?”
“I think so. I feel… shaky.”
“Well, I don’t think we need you right now,” Lucas said, navigating the debris. “We’re going to hide in here and, with your friends around, we should be okay until you’re ready to transport us where we are going next.”
“Once we figure that out,” Rowan said, ruefully. “Vos was not wrong. With Millicent knocking off drifts one by one and the planets crawling with Corps, we don’t have many options.”
“We’ll think of something,” Asher said. “Keep an eye out for anything coming out of that prison. Vos didn’t have great odds but he’s slippery.”
“Lucas and I have it. Go say hi to your brother, Ren.” Rowan smiled. “You have him back. Enjoy it.”
The truth of that slammed into Ren, and he smiled in return; his eyes crinkled. “I do.”
Asher’s hand tightened on Ren’s shoulder, and Ren couldn’t help but kiss Asher’s echoed grin.
_
Ren walked into the common area and found Liam sitting on the couch with Penelope looking him over. She took his temperature while he drank a glass of water.
Liam.
Liam was here.
Ren’s throat closed up. The last time he’d seen his brother had been at the lake, after a stupid playfight where they had rolled around on the sand, and Ren had talked about leaving their home for a place among the stars. They were there now, but at what cost? What had Ren lost to achieve his dream? And what kind of dream was it? It certainly wasn’t the one he’d hoped for all those years living in the dirt and wishing for stardust.
Liam didn’t look well, but he’d been imprisoned for almost a year. Was it a year? Over a year? Ren had lost track of time. Between planets, and drifts, and space, and death, Ren didn’t even know what season it was on Erden now. Had he had a birthday? Had Liam? Ren rubbed a hand over his face.
Liam wore medical scrubs, and the dark circles beneath his eyes stood stark in his pale face. His red hair had turned more blond, and his skin, which used to be covered in dark freckles from the sun, had evened out to a waxy complexion. But he was there. In the flesh. Not in a dream. And Ren’s mission was complete. He had Asher. He had Liam. He had Penelope and Ollie and Lucas and Rowan and now Darby as well. But there was one last missing piece—a safe place to land. Vos was right—where could they go?
Liam caught him staring, and a smile broke out over his wan features. “Hey there, big brother? Are you going to keep staring or come over here and save me from beautiful women poking me with instruments?”
Penelope laughed and swatted Liam’s arm. “Asher’s orders to make sure you’re okay. Other than a little malnutrition and sleep deprivation, you appear to be in good health. The drug should be working its way out of your system, but you might feel a little… off for a few hours.” Penelope smirked at Ren. “Sound familiar?”
Liam’s eyebrows raised.
Ren shoved his hands in his pockets. “I went through a few months where I kind of… well… I wasn’t well. I didn’t sleep much and kind of… lost myself in my power.” Ren shrugged. “I’m better now.”
“Really? You didn’t just have a seizure on the deck of a prison drift?”
“That was an anomaly. A trap. I’m okay.”
“Liar,” Liam said, smiling easily. “But keep your secrets. I’m just glad to be out of there.”
“Me too. I’m glad you’re safe.”
Penelope packed up her equipment and touched Liam’s shoulder. “I’ll make you a sandwich or soup, if you want to eat?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Penelope smiled gently and excused herself to the kitchen area.
Liam crossed the small space between them, staggering every few steps, then threw his arms around Ren’s shoulders. Ren grabbed him tight and held on. Liam had had a growth spurt since the last time he’d seen him, and he was the same height as Ren, maybe a tiny bit taller, not that Ren would ever admit it.
“I can’t believe you’ve become such a badass,” Liam said, laughing. “And you have scary-competent friends. And your boyfriend shot a guy for taunting you.”
Ren laughed. “The company I keep, right?”
Liam pulled away, and his green eyes twinkled. “You got what you wanted. You found your place in space. You’re stardust. It’s everything you used to talk about. How are you not bouncing around like a bunny?”
Ren’s smiled faded. “It’s not that simple, Liam. There’s so much going on, and so much has happened and…” he trailed off. “But that doesn’t matter. You’re free. We’re together. That’s what I’ve been striving for since that day at the lake when we were separated.”
Liam took a deep breath. “I know we can’t go home right away, but I really want to be back on solid ground.”
Ren rubbed the back of his head. His hair stuck up. “We can’t go right now. Maybe when it’s all said and done.”
“I look forward to it. Until then, can I eat and maybe meet the rest of the people on this ship? I feel like they’re all standing right on the other side of that door.”
There was a cough, and Darby stumbled in. Asher was right behind her.
Seeing their caught-out expressions, Ren laughed. He wrapped his arms around his middle and threw his head back and laughed.
Asher chuckled. “We’ve met,” he said.
Liam waved him off. “I know you. You make my brother happy.”
“I try.”
Asher crossed the room and caught Ren in a hug. He spun him around, and they landed on the couch. Ren’s laughter echoed in the common room. He didn’t know if it was relief from escaping the prison or finally finding his brother, but Ren was giddy. He cupped Asher’s face and kissed him, hard, lips smacking. Asher tightened his arms around Ren’s waist.
“Get a room,” Darby called. Ren felt a cushion hit his back.
He broke away and made a face.
“We have a room,” Ren said. Asher tipped him to the side, and he fell from where he had perched precariously on Asher’s lap. Asher caught him before he slipped all the way to the floor and hauled him back to the cushions.
Settling on the couch, Ren sat close to Asher’s side and tangled their legs together. His head rested comfortably on Asher’s shoulder.
“I’m Darby,” she said to Liam, shaking his hand. “I tried to steal the ship from your brother, but he did his…” She wiggled her fingers. “…thing on me and I ran away. Scared the stardust right out of me.”
A knife in her hand, Pen waved from her place by the counter. “I’m Penelope. Some call me Pen, but it sounds like Ren, and that can get confusing. I’ll answer to either. And that big man is my brother, Ollie.”
“Nice to meet you, Liam. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “Well, that is unfair. I guess that means I get to tell stories about Ren while I’m here.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
Liam rubbed his hands together gleefully. Ren buried his face in Asher’s chest.
“Well, there was this one girl named Ezzy who adored Ren and followed him around…”
Ren groaned. “Please, stop.”
“He was so oblivious! He had no idea.” Liam grinned.
Liam gratefully accepted the bowl of vegetable soup and a plate of meat-spread sandwiches and plopped down at the table. He shoved one in his mouth, and Ren was happy for the quiet.
“We met her,” Asher said. “She fawned over Ren with big, moon eyes.”
“Not you too,” Ren said, hiding his face in his hands. “She did not.”
“Oh, come on,” Darby said, settling next to Liam and elbowing him in the side. She stole a half a sandwich. “You have to have better stories than that. Granted the only planet I’ve been on was Bara, and that teemed with weird animals the likes of which I’ve only seen in exhibits. But I guess that your home planet was about the same. Right?”
Liam snorted. “Hardly. There were fish in the lake. Some of them were weird, like the eels. And there was a bear that liked to sleep on our back porch in the spring.”
“Boring,” Darby said, drawing out the vowels. “Tell us something else.”
The conversation droned on, each of them sharing stories, and Ren smiled, content to listen and to rest on Asher’s chest. The rhythm of his heartbeat was a comfort in Ren’s ear.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” Ren said. He touched his forehead, where he had a small purpling bruise from hitting his head on the way to the bridge. “Except this.”
Asher chuckled low, the sound of it tingling in Ren’s ear. “How long have you been on this ship? You know you have to duck.”
“Not long enough apparently,” Ren grinned lazily.
Asher’s arm tightened around Ren’s waist and pulled him closer.
The sound of the crew’s voices ebbed and flowed as Ren reveled in the warmth of Asher’s embrace. He melted into it and didn’t care when Ollie teased them or when Liam cast him knowing glances. And for the hour that they gathered with Ren’s brother and his boyfriend and the rest of his family, he didn’t have a care. He was happy and he was grateful the universe allowed him to have that moment of peace.
_
Trouble.
Ren stirred from his relaxed posture on Asher’s chest. “What?”
“What?” Asher echoed.
They’re coming. You need to run.
Who’s coming?
Phoenix Corps. Leaving the prison.
“Hey, guys! A few ships just rocketed out of the prison dock. And they’re heading right into the debris field,” Lucas’s voice crackled over the comm.
Ren shot up and abandoned his place at Asher’s side. He ran from the common room, leaving a stunned group behind, and strode quickly to the bridge. He remembered to duck at the top of the stairs.
A small ship barreled into the debris field with abandon. And, even though the Star Stream was well hidden with the other hosts gathered around them, it would only take one misplaced weapon’s blast to reveal them or obliterate them. Three ships followed the fugitive ship, only seconds behind it. All the ships bore Phoenix Corps insignias, but clearly the three were after the one. It had to be Vos.
“I hope you had time to figure out where we’re going next,” Lucas said, “Because we need to flee.”
Rowan tugged her braid. “Any ideas?”
“Yeah,” Ren said. “I have an idea.” He placed his hand on the navigational system. He didn’t need Lucas to program coordinates. He didn’t need any guidance to get where he was thinking. He just had to think of a lake surrounded by a small wood.
He sent his goodbyes out into space.
Goodbye, Ren.
Ren gathered his power, and it came to him more easily than it ever had. Light and sound trembled around him, and, between one blink and the next, they were gone, and then they were in orbit around a broken moon.