The ground beneath Ren was hard and cold. The colors leached away, leaving the world grey as he stared at the cracked sky.
“Ren,” Asher was at his side, cradling his face in shaking hands. “Cogs, Ren. What did they do?” Asher pushed down on Ren’s wound and it sparked another fire, but it was weak, sputtered out, and left Ren cold. “What the hell did he shoot you with?”
“Ash,” Ren said, voice thick. “What?”
“Don’t talk. Don’t talk.” Asher was frantic, barking at people, yelling—but his hands didn’t leave Ren’s body. Ren couldn’t feel Asher’s touch anymore. He missed it with an ache almost as sharp as the wound.
He was freezing. And then he laughed. Nadie. Asher had crossed him. But Ren would cross while in Asher’s arms.
“What’s so funny?” Asher asked. His voice was steady in the encroaching dark, but there was underlying fear—always fear.
“Nadie,” Ren choked. “Crossing.”
Realization, panic, and guilt flickered over Asher’s expression, until it landed on determination.
“To the ship,” he whispered. “To the ship. Hey! I need a transport. I need…”
Ren’s eyes fluttered shut, and he drifted. The sharp taps on his cheeks and the urgent voice weren’t important, and they were far away… so far away.
Noises. Voices. Movement.
Ren groaned when he was lifted; his body shuddered of its own accord. The pain was enough to rouse him. He stared up at the underside of Asher’s jaw, where blond stubble caught the low light of wherever they were. They moved too fast, and the scenery blurred. Ren closed his eyes again; the jumble of sensation was too much.
“You stay with me. Okay? You can’t get out of fighting with me by dying.”
Ren smiled, then went limp again.
What happened? Ash, what happened!
Help me get him to the ship.
Stars! Ollie! Ollie, open the bay doors! And get Pen!
Ren stirred when they crossed the threshold into the ship; the Star Stream welcomed him, enveloped him in the warmth of its embrace. He tried to move, to alert Asher, but his body wouldn’t respond. His power swelled in his chest, reminding him he was more than human, more than flesh.
Can you save him?
I don’t know what… is that a bullet?
What the stars happened? Where were you two?
Put him there. Out of the way. I’ll do what I can, but he’s lost so much blood.
Are you okay, Ash? Are you hurt?
No. No, I’m… fine. Save him, please.
Hand me that! Where did they get a bullet for stars’ sake?
This was their only option to stop him.
Why did they need to stop him? Ash?
Ren’s hand fell off Penelope’s table when she jostled him. His fingers grazed the hull. He didn’t hesitate. He fled the pain and the turmoil. He fled his unresponsive body. He fled the phantom sensations of needles and hands.
He’s still bleeding.
I’m doing the best I can. I don’t know…
He fled toward safety. He fled into the ship. Ren dissipated into the ether, into the circuits, into the wires. There, he was happy. There, he was safe.
He’s gone.
* * * * *
Ren watched from the vid feeds. He stared down at the figure on the cot, hooked up to machines, pale and small under blankets.
Someone sat next to the bed… someone… someone Ren knew. Asher. Asher sat next to the bed and held Ren’s limp hand clasped in his own, mumbling words that didn’t make sense. His blond head was bowed; his lips were pressed to his knuckles.
“I’m so sorry. What have I done? What have I done?”
Ren switched feeds, crossed the room, found another angle. He sat watching. Time ticked by, calculable down to the millisecond, not measured in moments or feelings, which were inconsequential to him now. All that mattered was the ship and the systems, operations and electricity and data.
“I have to leave. Pen is going to watch over you. And Rowan. And Lucas. Ollie, too, if he can stand to. He’s upset.”
The lights flickered. A short in the mechanism, but Ren didn’t rush to fix it. Why did Asher need to leave? He shouldn’t leave. Ren didn’t want him to leave.
A woman—Rowan, her name was Rowan—walked into the room. She lightly touched Asher’s shoulder. “They’re here for you.”
Asher gently placed Ren’s hand back on the table and tucked the blanket tighter over the body.
“Watch him.”
“You know he’s going to come looking for you when he wakes up. It’ll be the first thing he’ll want to do.”
“I don’t know about that. I betrayed him.”
“You were protecting him. He’ll understand.”
Power surged in the bay door mechanism; the lock stuck. People waited outside, dressed in uniforms, ornate birds on their shoulders—Phoenix Corps. Ren hesitated for half a second before fixing the glitch and allowing them entrance.
Rowan grabbed Asher in a hug, and they embraced tightly.
“We could run,” she whispered. “They think he’s dead. They wouldn’t follow. And if they did they’d never find us.”
“They would. And they’d figure out he’s still alive and they would take him. And they’d hurt you and the crew.”
She nodded, her chin digging into his shoulder. “Take care, little brother.”
“You, too.”
They parted.
Asher left.
Following him, Ren jumped to another feed and watched the bent figure walk down the corridor and into the bay. The group of soldiers waited for him. They surrounded him and escorted him out of the ship.
We’re departing for Mykonos.
Aye, captain.
Stars and space.
We’ve got work.
Minutes. Seconds. Hours.
New coordinates.
Another drift.
A dock.
Space and stars.
Credits.
Coordinates. Route set.
A malfunction. Fixed.
A message.
Seconds. Hours. Minutes.
Wake up, brother! Wake up.
Ren gasped when he woke. His back arched off the metal; his mouth and eyes were open. His muscles pulled taut for a long moment before he flopped back to the table, exhausted. He breathed, lungs aching, body shivering from the influx of adrenaline and from the frigid air. He weakly raised his head.
The ship was dark. And Ren was alone.