Retribution (10 page)

Lost in his misery, he didn’t hear Se enter the room.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?”

Startled from his gloom, he turned towards her. “I’m fine.
Just thinking.”

“World exploding, people dying kind of thoughts?
I
gotta
tell you, you look stressed.”

“Imprisonment and attack kind of thoughts, I’m afraid.” He sighed.

“Did he tell you?”

He turned around. He couldn’t look at her. “He didn’t have to. He had some kind of flashback when—um, never mind when. It was bad. I wish—”

“Don’t wish. Be there.” She squeezed his shoulder and let go.

Kain
cleared his throat and gave her a slight nod. “We’re ten minutes from
Seid
II.”

“I know. That’s why I came up here. Autopilot might do a lot of things, but docking isn’t one of them.”

He laughed. “Need
me
to help with anything?”

“No, I’ve got it.” She went to the computer and contacted the border patrol.

He settled back in the chair, her voice giving him comfort. An odd noise echoed in his ears, distracting him from Se.

“What’s that sound?” He looked around to see if he could find it, but he came up with nothing.

“Holy shit!”
Her worried tone put him on edge.

“Why are you panicking? Fuck! Is that what I think it is?”

He leapt out of the chair, heading for the control panel.

“It’s exactly what you think it is. Why are you even asking? I know you’ve heard weapons fire before.
Computer, evasive manoeuvres.”

“Stop giving me grief. It sounds different. We’re supposed to be here.
Who the fuck is firing?”

She looked over the equipment. “It looks like an Alliance vessel.”

“I-I don’t understand. Can we get a patch through to Alliance headquarters? I need to contact the General. Something is wrong.”

She waved a hand his way. “You’re by the
coms
panel.”

He started pushing buttons. Nothing happened. He tried again. “Shit,
coms
are down. How did they do that so quickly?”

“Their ship is better equipped than ours. Damn it, hold on tight we’re about to take a direct hit.”

He braced himself and jerked as the hull shuddered, knocking him against the console. The second hit rocked him backward, and he hit his head against the metal edge of the captain’s chair. He tried to get up, but something held him down. The last thing he saw was someone leaning over him, but his vision was blurred and he couldn’t tell who it was.

“Rave…” he slurred, saying the only name that mattered and hoping the man was okay. Then he blacked out.

* * * *

Rave stepped out of the shower, drying his hair as he walked towards his room. He’d laid out his clothes earlier. He wanted to get to the bridge before they docked. The ship shuddered around him, and he fell against the bed.

“What the fuck?”

He threw on his clothes in a rush and ran to the bridge. The bad feeling in his gut intensified. Maybe this was the thing he’d feared. Things had been going too well. It was time for something horrible to happen.

The sight that greeted him at the front of the ship shocked him into immobility. Both Se and
Kain
were on the floor. There was so much blood. He didn’t know who to go to first.
Kain
moved, making Rave’s choice for him. Rave surged to his lover in time to hear his name whispered from the man’s lips.

“Shit,” Rave said as
Kain
passed out.

“Rave?”

Rave turned at the sound of
Se’s
voice. “Thank God, Se. You okay?”

“A little dizzy but I’ll live.”

“We have to abandon ship. Can you walk?”

“If I have to.”

“You have to.
Kain
is out. There’s no way he’s walking out of here under his own steam.”

“I don’t know how far I can make it.”

Rave picked up
Kain
and threw him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

“Lean on me,” he told Se.

The trio struggled to the pod bay. The ship took another hit, and they almost fell, but somehow, they managed to keep moving.

Finally, they made it. Rave put
Kain
on the only bed in the pod. The transport was meant for two people, but they had to make it work. There were no other options.

“Se, you good to go?
Can you fly this thing?”

“I got it. You take care of
Kain
.”

“Okay. Get us to Rock, and we’ll regroup.” He searched under the bed and found a towel and the first aid kit. “What went wrong?” he asked her.

“I don’t know. We were getting ready to dock when an Alliance warship fired on us.
Kain
was confused and wanted to contact the General, but
coms
went down first. I think they had some sort of jammer, but I can’t be sure.”

He ran his hand over
Kain’s
face, not wanting to disturb the man’s wound, but he had to bandage him up. There was so much blood, and
Kain
didn’t stir when Rave started cleansing the area.

“How soon until we get to Rock’s?”

“We can travel a little faster in this pod, but it will still take a couple hours.”

“Did you lose the Alliance ship?”

“I don’t think they even saw us slip out. They were too focused on destroying the
Retribution.
”

He finished with
Kain
and went to Se. His doubts about
Kain’s
involvement slipped away. The Alliance wouldn’t have fired on the
Retribtuion
while their inside guy was aboard. Someone had it in for the both of them, and he didn’t want to dwell on the fact that
Kain
could have died before he’d told
Kain
he still loved him.

“I’m going to miss that damn ship. She was my salvation two years ago.”

“I know, but you have us, your family.” She smiled at him.

Rave took her from the chair and hugged her to him. He hated to put his sister in the line of fire again, but the Alliance had given him no choice. Rock would have the equipment Rave needed to end this once and for all.

“Let me patch you up then you can go rest with
Kain
. I’ll get us to our destination.”

She nodded and let him take care of her. She had some minor abrasions and a lump on the back of her head, maybe a concussion, but she seemed to be okay. Rave finished, kissed her forehead and moved her out of the way.

Se waved her hand in
Kain’s
direction. “Did he wake up when you cleaned the wound on his head?”

“No and that can’t be good. Let me know if he wakes up, okay.”

Se kissed his cheek and patted his chest before crawling into bed with
Kain
.

A week ago, if someone had told him
Kain
would be back in his life, Rave would have laughed at them. If they had told him he’d be worrying about
Kain’s
safety, he would have choked on that laughter.

I can’t lose him again. My heart can’t take it. Not this time.

Chapter Twelve

“Cease fire!” Seth yelled.

Silence enveloped the ship as the missiles stopped. He didn’t want Rave and
Kain
dead, at least, not yet. He had to confront them first. He’d jumped the gun, but excitement had rushed through him when the
Retribution
had come into port.

“I want a boarding party on that ship ASAP. Bring those men over here, alive.”

Seth paced until the team returned. When the sound of men’s boots drew closer, he stopped and faced the entrance. He’d waited a long time for this.

“Sir?”

“What is it, Ensign?” Seth glanced over his shoulder for a brief moment to look at the
coms
officer.

“We’re getting an incoming transmission from General Fritz.”

“Hold him off. I want to take care of the prisoners first.”

“Sir?”

“What!” Seth fully turned towards the Ensign and forced himself to calm down. It wouldn’t look good if he annihilated his crew.

“Sorry, sir, but General Fritz is asking to board.”

There was no way he could be here. What the fuck was going on? Seth was supposed to handle the capture of
Kain
and Rave. It was what they’d agreed upon the day they’d set up the couple.
Kain’s
father, Borden, had been sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. Fritz figured having
Kain
under their control would be his ace in the hole if Borden turned up anything substantial in his investigation.
Kain
didn’t even know he was only supposed to be a pawn. Stupid man, but Seth knew the best way to get to
Kain
was through Rave. The plan was perfect—or it had been until
Kain
had jumped the gun. Now, things were unravelling too quickly.

“Let him board, put him in a stateroom and I’ll met him there in a moment.” He dismissed the man.

When he turned, the boarding crew stood in the doorway, but something was off.

“Why don’t I see the crew of the
Retribution
standing in front of me?”

“Sir, the ship was empty.
One of the pods, missing.”

Seth didn’t speak. He left the bridge and headed to the stateroom. On the way, he took a couple of minutes to calm down and figure out what he would tell Fritz.

Seth placed his palm on the door’s recognition plate and waited. He was granted entrance.

“Well, Davidson, you’ve fucked up this time.”

He stopped moving and waited for the General to continue. It didn’t take long.

“First you let
Kain
slip out of your grasp then you jumped the gun on the warrant. What’s next? I saw the
Retribution
listing out there. Are they onboard?”

Seth had to be diplomatic. He ignored all but the last statement.

“They are not onboard. They had access to an escape pod.
Once, I get back to the main deck, I’ll start the trace.
We haven’t lost them. They’ll be back because they still have to get the laser.”

“This isn’t what I expected. It should have been an easy in and out operation. Do I have to replace you? Is the laser even ready for pick up or did you
screw
that up as well?”

He wasn’t about to tell the General that he’d placed it on Earth. His mission had been to put it on
Seid
II for the pickup. Seth kept that one close to his vest. He didn’t know how he would spin it yet. He would decide who to blame when the planet exploded, depending how things turned out.

“It should be in storage on
Seid
II. That’s where we agreed it should go. There’s no need for threats. Why don’t you go back to Earth and let me handle things.”

“You don’t call the shots and the sooner you realise that the better. I’ll be staying here until Sims and Anders are in custody. Go put out the tracers and haul the
Retribution
on board.”

Fuck, this wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He might have to kill the general, too. He really wanted to keep his hands as clean as possible, but if the man was going to become a thorn in his side, he
would
take care of him.

“Yes, sir.
Please let the crew know if you need anything.”

“I’ll be watching you. Don’t fuck up again.”

He nodded and left the general. He knew a dismissal when he heard one. Seth walked back to the main deck. He had a crew to admonish and a couple of rebels to find.

Just a little longer, and you’ll be done with all of this.

* * * *

Rave radioed ahead before he landed on Cooper Prime, Rock’s planet. They’d arrived in record time, but
Kain
still slumbered on the bunk with Se curled alongside him. He should have woken up by now. Something was wrong. Rave couldn’t lose him again. It wasn’t an option.

He was relieved when Rock met him at the docks.

“What happened?”

“Hey, man. I’m sorry about this. I didn’t want to bring trouble to your front door.”

“No worries. Tell me what went wrong.”

“That’s just it. I have no idea. An Alliance vessel opened fire. It shouldn’t have happened. They were supposed to take us and the ship into custody after we had the weapon on board. It’s the second time someone has changed the plan on us. I think we’re being set up, again.”

“Can you really trust the man?”

“I shouldn’t, but I do. Se and
Kain
were injured. Se seems to be fine, but
Kain
hasn’t woken since the incident. I want to get to the bottom of this so I can move forward with my life.”

Rock snorted. “And what life would that be? All you do is run cargo.”

Rock was right. His life consisted of work. Now that
Kain
seemed to be back in his life, maybe for good, he would have to make some changes. Life didn’t have to be work alone.

“Are you done with the questions? We need to get some medical attention for my crew before I take off.”

“You’re not going to do something stupid, are you?”

He might be crazy, but he wasn’t stupid. Until the Alliance was taken care of, he couldn’t move on and neither could
Kain
. He had to go after the ship that fired on them.

Rave gave him a wide-eyed look and raise
his eyebrow.
“Who?
Me?”

“You can cut that innocent shit with me. I know you better.”

Rave changed the topic. “Where’s my sister?”

“My place.
We can take Se and
Kain
there.”

They both turned to the ship. When they reached the bed, they stopped. Rave really wanted to hold
Kain
, but there was no way he could carry the man all the way to Rock’s. The adrenaline rush from the escape had long since been lost. Rock was waiting to see what the plan was, letting Rave take the lead in what to do about the injured parties.