Break Out

chapter Twelve

Rico couldn’t drag his eyes from the black hole that filled the screen. It was beautiful, a vision of whirling iridescent gases surrounding a gaping maw.

For so long, he’d battled the pull of his own personal darkness. Now, something in the stygian blackness called to him, and he had to fight the urge to dive headfirst into that well of eternal night. Discover whatever awaited him on the other side.

“Rico!” Tannis spoke sharply from behind him.

“What?” he said, without turning from the screen.

“We’re getting awfully close to that black hole.”

He shrugged. “We haven’t hit the Event Horizon, yet.”

“Isn’t that the point of no return? The point where that thing sucks us in and totally obliterates us? Don’t you think it might be a good idea if we never hit the Event Horizon?” Her voice was even, but he could detect a hint of panic underneath.

Rico sighed and forced his gaze away from the darkness. Not today—he wasn’t ready quite yet.

And they were getting close. He switched the ship to manual. This was going to be tricky, and he was old-fashioned enough to trust himself above a machine. The navigation system of the transport ship was sluggish and heavy after El Cazador, and he could feel the gravitational pull of the black hole, dragging the ship closer.

“There it is,” Tannis said.

He saw it then. Trakis One, dark ochre encircled by spiraling radiation rings of palest yellow to blood crimson. A single moon revolved lazily around the planet. He knew from their research that the orbit and size of Trakis One kept it from the pull of the black hole. But anything approaching had no chance. Except for the brief period when that moon passed between them. Denser than the planet, despite being smaller, it would provide sufficient cover for a ship to reach the planet’s surface—he hoped.

Beside him, Tannis was counting down. “You ready?”

He nodded.

“Right. Three, two, one, go!”

Rico slammed on the forward thrusters. Not a lot happened. They slowed a little, but were still heading into the darkness.

“We’re still getting closer.”

He ground his teeth. “I know.”

“Holy crap. We’re going in. Do something, Rico.”

“I am doing something.” He focused on the screen. It did indeed seem as though they’d be swallowed, but at the last moment, the moon slipped fully between them. Freed of the pull, the ship shot forward, around the orbiting moon, and they were on a direct course for Trakis One.

“Dios mio,” Rico muttered.

They were heading straight for what appeared to be a ball of fiery gases. After only a couple of minutes, he felt the heat burning through the strengthened hull. El Cazador would have been ashes by now. Rico wiped the sweat from his forehead before turning to look at Skylar.

“Have we got those codes from Janey yet?” he asked. “We’re not going anywhere without them.”

Skylar was frantically tapping into her console. After a second, she flashed him a grin. “Got them. Or at least she thinks so.”

“Thinks?”

“We’ll soon find out.”

She came to stand beside him, rested a hand on his shoulder, and showed him the screen. She fizzed with barely suppressed excitement, and he reached up and squeezed her hand. She started in surprise but then smiled.

“Here goes nothing,” Rico said and switched on the comm unit. “This is Transporter 334, requesting permission to dock.”

“Enter your access codes.”

He tapped in the codes and held his breath.

“You are cleared for docking. Switch off your engines, and we’ll bring you in.”

He flipped off the comm, switched off the engine, and swiveled his chair to face Skylar and Tannis.

“Wow, we did it,” Skylar said. “We’re actually in.”

“Did you ever doubt it?” He grinned. “After all, we are the best.”

Skylar still wore that sexy little dress, and the vast amounts of bare skin on show gleamed with sweat in the heat. Rico gave in to the urge and dragged her down into his lap. He breathed in the scent of hot, excited woman, and then he kissed her. Her mouth opened beneath his, and he pushed his tongue inside, losing himself in the taste of her.

Behind them, Tannis coughed loudly.

Rico pulled back. “Soon,” he murmured in Skylar’s ear.

“Could you please leave off the somewhat nauseating celebrations until we’re out of here,” Tannis said. “We have less than an hour. If we’re not away by then, we’re stuck here for another fifteen days, which probably translates to forever. So let’s be quick.”

Rico kissed Skylar one last time and released his hold. She scrambled to her feet, and brushed down the dress, but a small smile still lifted her full lips. They all turned to stare at the screen as the ship was pulled relentlessly toward Trakis One. Up close, the planet didn’t appear any more hospitable; nothing on the surface suggested any life forms could survive here.

A hatch opened beneath the shuttle. Rico’s hands tightened on the arms of his chair as the tractor beam caught them and slowly sucked them inside. They landed, and the hatch closed above them.

“Right,” Rico said, “let’s get the supplies unloaded, Jonny loaded, and we can be on our way home.”

. . .

Skylar sat on the bridge of the transport ship, drumming her fingers on the console in front of her. The end was so close now, but she hated the waiting. Rising to her feet, she paced the floor until she tripped over her shoes. She stared down at herself—she still wore the stupid dress and ridiculous high heels. Why hadn’t she brought a change of clothing? She considered a quick trip to her shuttle, but she didn’t want to leave the bridge in case something happened.

Flinging herself back in the seat, she flipped between the external cameras, trying to locate Rico. Nothing moved in the docking bay. The area was huge, cavernous, and empty except for a small space cruiser that stood, partially hidden, in the far corner.

Her gaze moved past it, then back again.

There was supposed to be no way off Trakis One, apart from the transport ship Skylar now sat in. She clearly remembered Tannis saying no ships were stationed on the planet—another of the security measures.

The ship was a cruiser, clearly modified for the radiation on Trakis One, but otherwise bore no name, no markings. A trickle of unease ran down her spine. Kicking off her shoes, she rose to her feet and searched the bridge. She spotted the laser pistols taken from the dead crew and strapped one over her silver dress. She started to walk away, and then turned and strapped on a second, so a pistol hung at either side.

Outside the ship, the air felt cool against her sweat-damp skin, the floor icy beneath her bare feet. She made her way around the outside of the docking bay, coming up behind the unmarked cruiser. It was locked up tight, and Skylar was pretty sure no one was on board. She stood for a minute, eyeing the ship, deciding what to do next. Should she warn Rico? But warn him of what?

She had to think this through. It made no sense. The ship must have been stationed here since the last lunar cycle. Fifteen days. Five days before she’d ever boarded El Cazador.

It couldn’t be tied to their hijack of the transport ship.

Of course, it might be totally unrelated. But she didn’t believe that. Which meant that someone who knew of her mission had sent the ship to Trakis One. Had the information been leaked? The colonel wouldn’t be happy.

She turned on her internal comm unit. Nothing came through, only a buzz of static. It didn’t mean anything. They would have locked down the internal link if they’d known she was involved.

A door opened opposite where she stood. Skylar took cover behind the cruiser as four men stepped through, the familiar black uniform of the Corps instantly recognizable.

“Shit,” she whispered.

She watched as they crossed the floor. One of them entered the transport ship through the open hatch. He came out a minute later, shaking his head, and they all disappeared behind the ship. Drawing her laser pistol, Skylar took a step forward.

“Stand down, lieutenant.”

She stopped in her tracks as the colonel’s words came through her internal comm link.

“Sir?”

“Stand down. You’ve achieved your mission.”

She frowned. “No, sir. My mission was get the prisoner off Trakis One.”

“No, lieutenant, your mission was to prove the security here is inadequate, and you’ve done that.”

It took a minute for the words to make sense. When they did, disbelief flooded her. “You’re saying this is nothing more than a training exercise?”

“That’s right. And it’s gone far enough. We’re not risking Aiden’s killer going free. Now, stand down.”

Anger coiled in her gut when she thought of what she had been through to set this up. She was aware the colonel hated the officer in charge of security here, but she was finding it hard to believe this whole thing came down to nothing more than political infighting. Her boss trying to prove a point.

And what about the crew of the transport ship? They’d been a*sholes, but they hadn’t deserved to die for a f*cking training exercise. Was that really worth anyone dying for? “You should have told me.”

“We told you as much as you needed to know.” The colonel spoke sharply. “Is there a problem, lieutenant?”

She ground her teeth. “No, sir.”

“Good.”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“What happens to the crew I hired?”

“If they surrender, they’ll be shipped to the Meridian mines with the prisoner. If not...”

Skylar could almost hear his mental shrug. If not, then she had no doubt they would be eliminated. She slid the pistol back in her holster, forced her tight muscles to relax.

“I understand, sir.”

At the far side of the room, the door opened again, and Rico and Tannis came through.