Haven 6 (11 page)

Jolt gave him a mean glare. “It’s harder than you think. There’s some type of recognition code you have to type in to turn it on. Even the ones they were shooting don’t work for us.”

“Let me guess; you want me to figure it out as well?”

“You’re the descendant of the famous Decoder from Outpost Omega, aren’t you?”

Anger rose in Weaver’s chest. Being compared to his ancestors was worse than being compared to Striver. He always came out lacking. But if he wanted to live, he had to play along. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good.” Jolt smirked like someone with all his game pieces in place, ready to launch an attack. “Crusty and Snipe will stay here to guard. Send one of them if any of these mooncalves wakes up.”

Weaver nodded, only half listening. If he could figure out the code and get those weapons, he wouldn’t need the golden sludge. He’d already spent too long in its presence and the effects were playing with his mind. “Sure, Jolt.”

“And one more thing—don’t be getting any ideas of your own. Crusty and Snipe would slice you up like a roasted boar.”

Snipe raised his hooded lips and Crusty nodded his head.

“Where are you going?” Weaver asked as Jolt turned his back on him.

He twisted around and grinned, teeth glowing in the golden light. His scar seemed to writhe with life. “I’m thinking up a way to shoot that mother boar of a ship out of the sky.”

Eri slid her hand into Striver’s and wondered if she’d made the worst decision of her life. He
was
considering rescuing her team, and meeting the elusive Guardians seemed like the only way. Besides, Commander Grier said she had to get to know the natives, so holding his hand was actually a direct order.

His skin felt like fire against hers and heat blazed in her cheeks. She looked down, trying to hide her reaction. “Where are we going?”

“To the
S.P. Nautilus
, the ship our ancestors piloted to Refuge. Phoenix is on guard duty today.”

Guard duty?
Why did the jungle seem more menacing with every hour? “Guarding it from what?”

Striver parted the ferns and held them up so she could step through without the palms touching her. “The Lawless.”

She ducked, trying not to brush too close to him as she passed. “Oh, so they bother you, too?”

He looked away into the early morning rays of sun, his face falling into a grimace. “You have no idea.”

Eri knew enough just from the edge to Striver’s voice not to broach the particulars on that topic. Instead, she changed the subject. “How long have you lived here?”

He uncoiled a rope ladder and lowered it to the forest floor. “Several generations. The year is three hundred twenty-two.”

She pushed away her fear and lowered herself onto the first rung. The rope ladder swung with her weight, and she tightened her grip, fingers turning white.
Cyberhell, I miss the elevators.

Striver steadied the ladder and held his hands over both of hers. His skin felt warm and rough on hers, making her heat level spike. The rope ladder stilled, and he let go. “Try it now.”

Eri chanced the first step down, making sure her boot fit snugly into the next rung. “You’ve abandoned Old Earth time?”

“We’ve abandoned almost everything from Old Earth. Look around you. No technology of any kind.”

“Why?”

“For all the same reasons that destroyed Old Earth. We don’t want history to repeat itself.”

Wow. What must he think of her with her locator, her laser gun, and their scout ship? Did she represent blasphemy itself just by showing her face?

Eri climbed down another rung, breathless from the height. She tried not to look at the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Striver swung in an elegant arc and followed her down effortlessly.

Sorry that I’ve come to steal your home?
No. She couldn’t say it. “Sorry you have to go back into the Lawless lands.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re just doing your mission, following orders.”

Seven more rungs to go. “Yeah, but I’m sorry all the same.”

She debated jumping the rest of the way down and decided against it, clinging to the rope ladder like she stood above the recycling compactor, sharp teeth grinding away. She could tell Striver waited for her, but he didn’t seem impatient. If anything, he kept reaching down to make sure she was steady.

The ground squished underneath her boots, but at least it felt more solid than the tree hut or the ladder.
And to think—I’ve been in a metal bubble in the vacuum of deep space my whole life.
Which world was safer? At the moment, she wasn’t sure.

“So, you’re the star girl come to conquer us?”

Eri whirled around. A jungle beauty, a whole foot taller than Eri, stood beside her. Glistening black hair flowed to the beauty’s feet and appraising cat eyes stared with a taunting grin.

Boy, word traveled fast. Had the whole village gossiped about her as she lay unconscious?

Striver’s voice was almost a growl. “Leave her alone, Riptide. She’s just woken up from a coma dart.”

Riptide’s gaze traveled from her curly-haired head to her plastic boots. “The visitors are certainly daintier than I thought they’d be. Never mind freckle-faced and pale.”

Striver jumped the remaining feet down. He looked at Eri and sighed. “Eri, meet Riptide. She’s the village gardener and an excellent chef.”

Riptide glowed from his compliment, her tan skin reflecting the early rays of sunlight filtering through the trees. “Thanks, Striver. You have impeccable taste in chefs. I’m still waiting for you to stop by and try my latest creation.” Her face grew serious. “So, I hear the Guardians have a lockdown on the whole fence. What’s going on? Are the Lawless acting up again?”

“Not yet. But it seems they may have stolen valuable equipment from Eri’s team, as well as some of the survivors. We’re consulting Phoenix before deciding on a course of action.”

Riptide stepped toward him and placed her hand on his arm, her fingers climbing over his muscles. Large glittering stones, some dark as space, others light as the moon, decorated her fingers. Eri couldn’t imagine how impractical they were, along with her curtain of hair. No one on the
Heritage
would have had enough water rations to wash that rug.

“You know I get nervous any time you go out. I can’t afford to lose both you and Riley.”

“We’re not going anywhere at the moment.” Striver pulled away. “And it’s Riley’s choice whether to stay or fight.”

“Yes, but he always chooses to fight. You know that. He’s very much like you.” Riptide’s fingers moved as if she itched to touch him again, jewels clicking together. Eri felt like a third wheel, once again the spectator of others’ relationships and love. Were these two lifemates?

“We do what we have to.” Striver sounded gruff and Eri wondered if he was angry with Riptide, but she couldn’t see why. Riptide was only concerned for his safety, and boy was she beautiful—even though she could use some lessons in manners.

Striver glanced at Eri, his eyes changing from hard emerald to soft velvet. “Come on, we should keep moving.” He nodded to Riptide as he started walking. “I’ll keep you and Riley updated.”

Riptide called after him, her voice low and lusty. “Of course. I’ll be anxiously awaiting our next meeting.”

Eri followed Striver, shutting her mouth tightly against all the questions brimming in her mind. It wasn’t her place to intervene, and yet the urge to get to know him better almost overpowered her good reason.

Instead, she settled on an innocent question. “Who’s Riley?”

“Riptide’s brother.”

Oh, that’s why she was worried about him. Maybe she felt the same way about Striver, like a sister watching over a brother or a cousin.

The question slipped out before she could stop herself. “Are you related to her as well?”

He gave her a curious look and returned to the path ahead. “No.”

His answer piqued her curiosity even more. Pushing branches out of her face, Eri wondered why Striver kept Riptide at arm’s length. Did he not want a lifemate of his own?

The forest thinned, revealing more golden sunlight. The trees tapered off to a meadow with long thin grasses white as the dual moons and dust-sized insects that spun on the wind. A torpedo-shaped ivory vessel sat in the middle like an egg. Green vines wove around the outer hull. It looked as though it hadn’t flown in eons.

“The
S.P. Nautilus
.” Striver waved his hand like a magician performing a trick. “I’m not supposed to show it to outsiders, meaning Lawless. But I don’t think you’re interested in stealing its technology.” He gave her an appraising look. “You have your own.”

“True, but I’d love to see inside.” Eri walked toward it, awe spreading through her. “This is really an alien ship?”

“As certain as the twin moons. My ancestor found it on the desert planet of Sahara 354. He rebuilt it and used it to escape with Aries from the
New Dawn
. In exchange, he brought out the eggs preserved in its belly, and the Guardians hatched on this new world. Together, the races coexisted. The Guardians taught us how to live peacefully and logically. They are the main reason why we haven’t fallen into the gang-run chaos of the Lawless lands.”

Their past intrigued Eri. Every good linguist was also a historian. “Are the Guardians happy living with humans?”

Striver pursed his lips. “Happy isn’t quite the right word. I’d say content. Guardians don’t feel emotions as strongly as humans; I think that’s part of the reason they lived on their planet in peace until its end. Whereas we destroyed Old Earth before its time.”

She touched the ship’s hull, the ivory smooth against her fingertips. Although the ship sat decommissioned, it still emanated life.

“The hull captures solar power, which is why it’s outlasted all the other ships people used to colonize.”

“There are other ships?”

“Oh yes, or what’s left of them, anyway. Others from Outpost Omega followed my ancestors to Refuge. Unlike his mutinous crew, who wanted to keep it for themselves, he provided the coordinates to everyone. It’s a legend here on Refuge. We tell it every year on the eve of the
S.P. Nautilus
’s arrival date.”

Pieces of a puzzle fit together, giving Eri a glimpse into this mysterious world. Commander Grier had instructed her to find out as much as she could, and by talking to Striver, she learned things they couldn’t discern with the scout droids. Aquaria’s voice resonated in her thoughts.
You’ll have to decide whether or not to warn them.
Eri pushed the thought away. There was so much she still didn’t know.

Striver traced a hieroglyph in the hull, and a hatch opened on top. Eri stared, thinking this probably was way off from the technology Commander Grier had expected. But should Eri tell her?

Curling his lips, Striver offered his hand. “Inside tour?”

“You betcha.” She grabbed his hand and he pulled her up to the hatch. Walking on the ship’s hull was like walking on solid rock—it reminded Eri of the chrome floors back on the
Heritage
. Strange how she felt more at ease on an alien ship than on solid ground.
Because I’ve lived on a ship all my life.

They stood on a platform with geometric shapes carved into the hull around it. Striver traced another set of symbols on the hull and the platform lowered like an elevator. Eri shrieked as it moved and grabbed ahold of Striver’s arm.

He laughed. “It moves slowly. Don’t worry.”

She let go, feeling as foolish as a schoolgirl, and sobered.
Keep your mind on what’s important. Remember, you need answers.
“How do the Lawless fit in with all this?”

The platform lowered and doors parted to reveal white walls and sapphire-blue light. Chirps, trills, and whistles echoed on the intercom and Eri remembered this was the Guardians’ ship. Striver took her hand and led her to a control room where the entire meadow stretched out before them in a V-shaped sight panel. “Most of the space pirates from Outpost Omega chose to take their own ships and follow Aries and Striker to Refuge, but some of them didn’t want to live in harmony with the Guardians. They didn’t want to follow rules.”

Eri ran her hands over the blinking screens, which showed a hieroglyphic language she’d never seen before. “And your ancestors didn’t force them to?”

“No. Free will and choice are most important to us. Aries didn’t have either aboard the
New Dawn
, so she made sure Refuge was founded on different standards.”

“So no lifemate pairings?”

“Definitely not.”

Interesting.
Eri had wanted Haven 6 to evolve into such a world once they’d abandoned the strict conditions of the ship.

Striver’s lips thinned. “You don’t agree with our system. I can see it in your eyes.”

“No, it’s not that. Believe me, I have my own complaints about our system. But your world is so different. To tell you the truth, it’s scary.”

He approached her, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. He felt solid and certain, the one thing that made sense on this entire world. “Anything new is scary, but as my father used to say, you don’t gain without taking risks.”

Eri felt the urge to lean into his hand. She wanted to believe him, but after what happened with the scout team, she didn’t know if she could. “Seems a big risk to me. I mean, people running around without laws? Doing whatever they feel like?”

Striver leaned in, his face a breath away. “Tell me the truth. Are you happy with your job aboard the
Heritage
? Your lifemate pairing?”

Eri backed up against the control board as the truth smacked her in the face.
I’m not happy with either.

A shadow moved across the meadow on the sight panel behind Striver, drawing her attention away. He followed her gaze as the shadow traveled over his face. “It’s Phoenix.”

“I thought none of the ships could fly.”

Striver gave her an impish smile, green eyes sparkling. “They can’t. Too bad he’s here. I wanted to show you the chamber that held the eggs.”