Break Out

Epilogue

Tannis slapped a bottle down on the table.

“What’s that?” Skylar asked.

“Iron supplement,” Tannis said. “I think you’re going to need it.”

“Oh.” She only narrowly resisted lifting her hand to her throat, where she knew the marks of Rico’s fangs still showed. “Thank you.”

It was later that evening, and they’d all gathered at the table in the galley for the final meal of the day. El Cazador was heading away from the Trakis system as fast as she could go. Tomorrow, they had a planning meeting, but tonight, by unspoken agreement, they’d been keeping the conversation light. Rico sat next to her, his hand resting on her thigh.

“Tannis looks after her crew,” he said.

Skylar stared up into Tannis’ cold, yellow eyes. “So, am I crew?”

Tannis nodded curtly, and something tight unraveled in Skylar.

“We just haven’t decided what position yet,” Rico murmured, stroking his hand along her thigh. “We can discuss it later—try a few out.”

“Yes, we have. She’s our security officer,” Tannis said, kicking out a chair and sinking down opposite her. “So does this mean you’ve left the Collective?” she asked.

Skylar shook her head. It always amazed her how little outsiders understood about the Collective. “I can’t leave the Collective,” she said. “I am the Collective. We all are. I could no more leave than you could chop off your arm and expect it to have a life without you.”

Tannis frowned, and Skylar struggled to explain. “The Meridian joins us together until we’re part of a single being. If we open ourselves, we can think as one, expand our minds.”

“A gestalt,” Rico said. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

“So, they’ll be able to find you?” Tannis asked.

“I really don’t know. No one’s ever tried to leave before, but I’m sure we’ll find out.”

She didn’t mention that although she had clamped down her internal links, she could already feel them nudging at her, trying to get in.

They were all silent for a minute, and then Al spoke up from the end of the table. “The Church believes the Collective is evil.”

Skylar frowned. “Why do you say that? It’s certainly not an official stance.”

Al shrugged one skinny shoulder. “They say it takes a hundred men a hundred years to mine enough Meridian for one treatment. But they also believe Meridian ties your soul to your body. That’s why you can’t die, and why you’ll never go to heaven.”

He rose from the table, picked up a plate, and started piling it with food.

“Who’s that for?” Tannis asked.

“Jon.”

“He’s not a prisoner—he can come and join us.”

Al shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Skylar. “He says he won’t sit in the same room as a piece of Collective…” He bit his lip on the last word.

“Hmm,” Tannis said. “Well, we’ll let it go for tonight, but if he stays on this ship, he eats with my crew.”

“I’ll tell him,” Al said.

They watched as he took the plate and left the galley. Soon after, the rest of the crew drifted away, leaving Skylar alone with Rico. As soon as they were gone, he pulled her onto his lap. “Security officer,” he whispered into her ear. “Does that mean you get to tie me up, maybe even handcuff me, if I misbehave?”

She giggled, but pulled back slightly.

“Do you think it’s safe?” she asked.

“What? Tying me up?”

“No. Al with that criminal?”

“Why shouldn’t it be?”

“Well, Al’s …” she trailed off, unsure if she should giveaway Al’s secret.

“A girl?” Rico said.

She stared at him in surprise. “You knew?”

“Only just guessed—the kid got me interested. It was easy to see once you looked.”

“Don’t you want to know why?”

He shrugged. “There’re a whole load of reasons people want to hide—I reckon Al’s reasons are her own.”

“Yes, but—”

He dragged her closer and kissed her. For a moment, she relaxed against him. But something was tugging at her mind. Something to do with the Church. She pictured Al, that shock of dark red hair, the huge grey eyes, and suddenly it came to her.

She sat up straight, eyes wide. “Holy Meridian!”

Rico sighed. “What?”

“I just realized who Al is.”

“Really? Well, Al can wait until tomorrow.” He kissed her throat, his tongue stroking along the length of the vein, and Al vanished from her mind.

Picking up her left hand, he twisted the ring on her finger. “Did you really pick this ship because you heard I was the best?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“And what do you think now?”

She looked down into his hard, handsome face and thought about forever. “Why don’t you ask me again in a few hundred years, and I’ll let you know.”