Текст книги "Enslaved"
Автор книги: Anderson Evangeline
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Charlie felt her heart overflowing and for a moment she thought she might actually cry she was so overwhelmed. She looked deep into her man’s eyes and opened her mouth to tell him it was forever because she was never leaving…
And then the world grayed out and Stav’s indigo eyes disappeared. Instead, she was seeing something completely different.
After a moment, she realized it was the interior of a little spaceship—much like the Kindred shuttles they used to ferry people back and forth between the Mother Ship and Earth. And in the shuttle, was a tall, black haired man with piercing silver-blue eyes. He was holding a girl with creamy brown skin to his bare chest and rocking her gently.
He was saying something but Charlie couldn’t quite hear the words. What was going on? How was she seeing this?
But just as she thought to ask those questions, the scene changed and she saw Two speaking to what looked like a living pile of mud.
“Alas, they have escaped my liege,” Two was saying, his steel teeth flashing as he spoke. “But never fear, I will bring them back. And when I am done, they will beg for the merciful death of the passion berries. But no, I have a different fate in store for our lovely couple. A fate so much worse than death…”
He threw back his head and laughed—at least Charlie thought it was laughing. A strange, unearthly howling noise issued from his skinny throat, sending chills down her spine.
“They deserve no less,” the mud creature said in a thick, clotted voice. “Your reward will be great if you accomplish this, Two.”
“How great?” Two’s eye gleamed with greed but somehow Charlie didn’t think he was greedy for money.
“I have been dishonored in my own lair,” the mud creature said. “You shall have whatever you wish.”
“Then you will See for me?” It was clear by the way he spoke the word that it had some great significance.
The mud creature frowned, making it look like his face was melting off.
“That is a very great request. As you know, my people can only See three times in their lifetime and then the gift is gone. I have lived a long life and have already Seen twice. I had thought to use my last Seeing to find the manner and time of my own death, so that I could circumvent it as others of my kind do.”
“Ah, so you do not wish me to go after the two of them after all.” Two shrugged his narrow, bony shoulders and sighed deeply. “I understand, my liege.”
“I did not say that.” The mud creature shifted slowly in its chair, making it obvious to Charlie why he couldn’t go after the girl and the dark haired man himself. Clearly he was slow as molasses in January, as her Mama used to say. There was no way he’d be able to get himself going in time to catch anyone if it came to a chase.
Two, on the other hand, with his skinny physique and stringy muscles looked like he could really move. And she knew from awful experience how strong he was—he’d dangled her by the ankle over a bottomless pit and almost dropped her to her death. He was definitely the man for the job if you wanted to catch someone, she decided.
“Well?” Two asked, looking down at the mud creature. “Will you agree to my terms?”
“I must consider.” The mud creature frowned. “They are probably long gone, even as we speak. How can you find them? And even if you do, how will you approach them without them knowing? Your appearance is…singular, even for one of your kind.”
“If you’re referring to my striking good looks, I must thank you for the compliment.” Two performed an elaborate bow. “But as to tracking them, finding people who want to stay hidden and knowing information that is supposed to be secret is something of a specialty of mine.”
“They why do you wish me to See for you?” the mud creature asked.
“Because some things are beyond even my ability to discern,” Two admitted. “Not this, however. I know exactly where the two miscreants you wish to have punished are and I have a way to get right next to them—to even touch them—without them having any idea about it.”
“That sounds…mysterious.”
“Mysterious but very effective. I can punish these two for you in any way you see fit. If you will do the Seeing.”
“I must consider. Leave me for now.”
“As you command, my liege.” Two bowed obsequiously and backed out of the room. But look at his face, Charlie thought. He’s like the cat that got the cream. He knows Mr. Muddy-britches will come around. All he has to do is wait.
“I just wonder what he wants the Lud’om to See for him,” Stav’s mental voice murmured in her ear.
Charlie blinked and suddenly she was back again in Stavros’s arms on the side of the bed.
“What happened?” she asked, looking at him wide-eyed. “So you saw all that too?”
“I did.” Stav looked grim. “And so did you, apparently. The only question is how?”
Chapter Ten
“I’m cold. So c-cold.” Trin shivered helplessly and Thrace held her close, rubbing his hands over her back to try and get her warm.
She’d been shivering ever since she woke up, an hour after he’d gotten them aboard the small life pod. Even the thermal blanket he’d found in the emergency stores and wrapped around her seemed to do no good—probably because the damn passion berries demanded physical contact to counteract their effects. So he was holding her, trying to warm her with his own body heat though he wasn’t sure she’d like it. It wasn’t like she had much choice, though—it was be held by him or shake herself apart. Thrace thought she’d prefer the former to the latter—he hoped anyway.
At least she was all right. For awhile there, after he’d gotten the pod a safe distance from the Demon’s Eye, he’d been afraid she wouldn’t wake up at all. She’d been so still—barely breathing—and her cheek had been icy when he’d touched her. That was when Thrace had gathered her into his arms and held her close to his bare chest, trying to warm her and wake her.
But for a long time she wouldn’t wake. As he stared at her still face, he’d wondered what he would do if she slipped away. Not that he should care about her—not after the way she’d chained him up and treated him like a Gods-damned pet. But he did care—there was something about her. Something he didn’t want to lose. What, though?
Nothing, he told himself uneasily. I still owe her a debt which I must repay. It would darken my honor if she died before I could make it right. That’s why I don’t want her to die—only that and nothing more. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to let her go and he’d been filled with relief when she finally opened her eyes.
“Why am I s-so c-cold?” she whispered, looking up at him.
“That’s just the effects of the passion berry wine you drank,” Thrace said grimly, brushing a lock of her long black hair out of her face. “You’re lucky you’re not dead.” Then, as relief gave way to anger he demanded, “What in the Seven Hells were you thinking, going into that place alone?”
Trin frowned and wrapped her arms around herself.
“Don’t talk to me like that! I had a deal with B’Rugh. I knew it was risky but it was a risk I had to take. And it’s not like I went in unarmed or unprepared.” She lifted one hand where a thin gold wire ring was slipped over her slim index finger. There was a tiny green light on the underside of the ring glowing a steady green. “See? A toxin sensor. I just don’t understand why it didn’t detect the poison that man with the steel teeth put in my cup.”
“It didn’t detect it because passion berries aren’t really a poison even though they act like one in the wrong doses—they’re an aphrodisiac. A very deadly aphrodisiac,” Thrace told her.
“An aphrodisiac?” Trin struggled to sit up and get out of his arms.
Obligingly, Thrace helped her, sitting her on the side of the fold out bunk where he’d been holding her. Hopefully some of the drug was leaving her system. At least, she no longer looked like she was going to freeze to death—for now, anyway. Later on might be a different story.
“An aphrodisiac?” she said again. “But I don’t feel…sexual.” Her creamy cheeks flushed a bit. “I just feel cold.”
“Because you only took the first sip,” Thrace said. “The rule of passion berries is the first sip makes you cold, the second makes you hot and the third makes you dead.”
“What?” She frowned.
Briefly, he described the effects of the passion berry laced wine if a second and third drink of it was taken.
“Goddess.” Trin put a hand to her mouth and her face grew so pale it worried him. “So you’re saying B’Rugh—”
“Was taking no chances,” Thrace said grimly. “He wanted you and he meant to have you, whether you agreed to his ‘deal’ or not.”
“Ugh…” Trin shivered again and this time it clearly wasn’t from cold. “I still don’t understand why he would want such a thing from me! We’re clearly not compatible species.”
“I believe he said it was the color of your skin that drew him,” Thrace murmured, eyeing the creamy light brown tones of her cheek with admiration. “In that I can’t say that I blame him. You are unique, Trin. And fucking gorgeous, as I think I mentioned before.”
She drew away from him, eyeing him uneasily.
“Why are you saying this to me? You want the same thing B’Rugh did? I told you—I won’t be penetrated by a male. Ever.”
“It was a compliment. An ill-timed one, apparently.” Thrace sighed and held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Look, I didn’t save you from getting raped just to rape you myself. I’m not like that—I’ve never taken a female against her will and I don’t intent to start now.”
“They why did you say all those things to be back aboard The Alacrity?” Trin demanded. “Why did you tell me all the things you…fantasized about doing to me?”
“I was bored,” Thrace growled. “Bored and horny out of my fucking mind. You had me chained up, treating me like a pet you could wash and feed and play with while you walked around in your panties and nightdress exposing yourself like I wouldn’t care.”
“I told you, I didn’t know you’d care,” Trin protested. She sighed. “Look, I realize you hate me for what I did to you and for not believing you when you said you weren’t a slave. It’s clear now I was wrong about your past—you couldn’t have been a slave if you were off fighting B’Rugh and his kind for control of your planet.”
“Well…” For a moment he actually considered telling her about his past—about what had happened when he was sixteen cycles old and he and his Sire had been taken by slavers. But only for a moment. “It’s all right,” he said roughly at last. “You had no reason to believe me.”
“I had no reason to disbelieve you either—other than my fear of your physical strength and my distrust of your sex,” Trin said. “I treated you as inferior because you’re male. I’m sorry for that but I can’t change the past.”
“What’s done is done.” Thrace made a chopping gesture with one hand. “It’s over now.”
“Why did you come for me?” She wrapped the thermal blanket more tightly around her slim shoulders and looked at him uncertainly. “After what I did to you? Chaining you up…treating you like you were one of my pets…”
“Because before you did all those things, you saved my life,” he said roughly. “That fucking slaver at the Flesh Bazaar would have killed me with the pain collar and why not? I was pure profit and no loss to him since he scooped up me and my friend Solar at a dirty little portside bar on Padge. He could have killed me and not lost a moment’s sleep about it but you…you cared. Even though you don’t like males and I was a stranger to you, you cared enough to stop him. To save me.” He looked into her eyes. “That matters, Trin.”
She held his gaze for a moment, her dark eyes wide and uncertain.
“So…a life for a life? We’re even now, is that it?”
“Even?” Thrace got off the bunk and started pacing. “Ha. Not even close.”
Trin shook her head. “I don’t understand. What more do you want me to do? Obviously you can have your freedom—with my apologies of course. And I can take you wherever you want to go—”
“No, you don’t understand.” Thrace turned to her. “We’re not even because I still owe you.”
“Owe me what?” She looked completely confused now.
“Don’t play dumb,” Thrace snapped. “I know how much you paid for me—fifty thousand credits. It nearly bankrupted you, didn’t it? That’s why you decided to go into the Demon’s Eye alone—you were desperate.”
She lifted her chin, fire flashing in her dark eyes.
“I’m never desperate. I told you, I took a calculated risk.”
“One that almost got you raped and killed,” Thrace pointed out harshly.
“I’ve thanked you for saving me and given you back your freedom,” she flared. “What more do you want?”
“I’ll tell you what I don’t fucking want,” Thrace growled. “I don’t want my freedom. Not yet, anyway.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to continue being your slave until I make this right—until I pay the debt between us.”
“What?” She looked at him blankly. “But that could take years. You don’t know what you’re offering.”
“Yes I do. Gods…” Thrace shook his head. “I never thought I’d volunteer for slavery willingly but I don’t see any other way—a Havoc always pays his debts. And besides, it won’t take years. It’ll only take until you can sell these.” Reaching into the pocket of his tight leather trousers, he produced the small black bag filled with Jaxite crystals.
“You got them?” Trin jumped up from the bunk, shedding the thermal blanket in her excitement. “You got the crystals?”
“Of course I did,” Thrace said roughly but he couldn’t help liking the excitement and joy he saw in her eyes and knowing he was responsible for it. “Had to blast some big holes in a few of B’Rugh’s thugs to get both them and you out of there but I got them.”
“That’s wonderful!” Trin actually laughed, a low, musical sound that he liked a hell of a lot. “Amazing.” She frowned. “Now that I think of it, the last thing I remember before I blacked out was that we were surrounded.”
“Not for long. I rigged the blaster’s power switch and turned it into a heatbeam—little trick I learned in the war with the Lud’oms. Cut a few of B’Rugh’s thugs in half and blasted a few more to puddles of twitching ooze…they got out of the way pretty quick after that.”
Her eyes widened. “You overrode the safety setting? You could have blown your hand off!”
Thrace shrugged. “It was a calculated risk—like the one you took. Just so happens it paid off. You complaining?”
“No…” She looked thoughtful. “I guess I don’t have room to complain considering the results. It’s something I never would have done myself but well…”
“But your new slave is crazy,” Thrace growled. “So he does whatever the hell it takes to get the job done.”
* * * * *
“I’m glad you do,” Trin said seriously. She was still stunned that he’d come for her—she really couldn’t complain about his methods. “Listen, about this slave business,” she began. “You really don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do,” Thrace interrupted, frowning. “I told you, a Havoc always pays what he owes. It’s a point of honor and pride among us. If you deny me the right to serve you until I have paid this debt, my honor will be forever darkened.”
“Well…” Trin looked at him uncertainly. Males were such strange creatures—so big and strong and stubborn. There seemed to be no reasoning with him about this. Though she honestly felt he had more than paid his debt by rescuing her from B’Rugh’s horrible plot, he seemed determined to help her sell the crystals as well.
But can I trust him? What’s to stop him from taking over the ship the minute I let him back on board? Of course if he’d wanted to do that, he probably already could’ve done it when he got out of his chains in the first place. How had he gotten free, anyway? A sick feeling formed in the pit of her stomach.
“How did you get loose in the first place?” she asked softly. “My crew…”
“Are fine,” he assured her. “Your good friend, Sidna let me go. Then she held me at blaster point and forced me into one of the pods—this one, in fact. I’m afraid we had to leave yours behind back at the Demon’s Eye since I couldn’t pilot them both.”
“Sidna let you go?” Trin asked without surprise. It was exactly what the medic had been advocating before she left—the exact course of action Trin herself had decided on, in fact. She supposed she ought to be mad at her friend for going behind her back and making the final decision without her but considering the circumstances, she really couldn’t be upset. If Sidna hadn’t set the huge Havoc free, Trin would be helpless, at the mercy of the slimy B’Rugh right now. Ugh!
“She let me go and she’s fine—they’re all fine. Trin…” Thrace looked at her steadily with those pale, piercing eyes. “Let me do this. You need me to make the sale on Yonnie Six—I know you do. Sidna said so.”
Trin frowned, trying to think of an objection. One popped immediately to mind.
“My crew won’t like it,” she said. “They think you’re a monster and they saw Sidna escort you out of the ship at blaster point. They’ll never believe you asked to serve me.”
“I’ll make them believe,” Thrace promised steadily. “I can be very convincing when I want to be.”
“They won’t like to have a male—especially such a, uh, big one running around the ship free,” she pointed out.
“That’s probably true.” He sighed. “All right, I can’t believe I’m saying this but…put the pain collar back on me. Then keep the remote on you at all times if you want.”
“Ugh!” Trin made a face. “I threw it away as soon as I got you aboard The Alacrity! I can’t bear those things!”
“I fucking hate them too,” Thrace said steadily. “I have good reason ton. But your crew needs assurances and I can tell you still have some doubts as well. So dig it out of your trash bin, dust it off, and put it on me.”
Trin looked at him uncertainly.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Positive. Once we get to the ship I’ll wait in the pod with the doors locked until you get the collar and bring it to me. Bring the crew too—let them watch you put it on. That should put their minds at ease.”
“And all this just so you can pay your debt?” Trin still couldn’t believe it.
His pale eyes flashed.
“You’re damned right, Trin. I won’t go through life owing anyone so much as one fucking credit—let alone fifty thousand of them. I pay my own way.”
Trin suppressed a small smile.
“You know, if you’re going to remain my slave and it’s going to look convincing, you’re going to have to start calling me Mistress.”
Thrace cleared his throat and looked at her.
“I can do that…Mistress.”
The word sounded strange in his deep, gravelly voice and yet right somehow in a way Trin couldn’t define. She looked at him for a moment more and made her decision.
“All right,” she said at last. “We’ll do it. You’ll remain my slave until I can sell the Jaxite crystals on Yonnie Six. After that, we’re even and you’re free to go. Or I’ll drop you off wherever you need to be. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” He nodded his head. “Mistress.”
Chapter Eleven
Thrace didn’t know why he’d asked to stay on as Trin’s slave. Oh, he knew the outer reason—the one he’d given her—that a Havoc always pays his debts. But there was more to it than that, though he hardly wanted to admit it, even to himself. The plain fact was, he was reluctant to leave her.
Maybe it was the way she’d felt in his arms, the scent of her hair and skin, the helpless way she trembled against him as he tried to warm her. Maybe it was her soft voice, her sweet laugh or that warm, feminine scent that followed her everywhere and seemed to get into his brain somehow. Thrace didn’t know—he only knew he wasn’t ready to leave yet. And even if it meant putting back on that fucking pain collar and calling her his mistress, he was going to stay until he was damn well ready to go.
His only reservation was that he felt bad about not going to look for Solar right away. But his First Mate and best friend was a resourceful son of a bitch. He would land on his feet wherever he was. Thrace promised himself as soon as he had seen this thing through and paid off his debt, he would go looking for the other Havoc. In the meantime, he had unfinished business that he had to see through before he could consider himself free to hunt down his friend.
Consider yourself free—right, whispered a sarcastic little voice in his head. Why are you really doing this, Thrace? What is it about this female that makes it worth giving up the chance to go free and putting that fucking pain collar on again? She doesn’t even like males and she’s damn sure never going to let you have her. Even if she would, it’s not like you’d want to bond to her—you’re Havoc remember? ‘We do not bond’—it’s your fucking code. So what the hell is wrong with you and why are you doing this?
Thrace didn’t have the answer for the little voice. It’s the debt, he told himself stubbornly. I have to pay my debt. Only then can I truly be free. Only then can I leave. Not before.
At last they docked with The Alacrity and Trin went out to get the collar. Thrace stayed in the pod waiting for her, trying to steel himself for what he had to do.
It had been his idea, of course and it was a good one—the only way she and the rest of her crew could trust him. But still, when she returned, holding the hated black leather strap studded with silver spikes, Thrace was surprised at the rush of emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. He had to swallow hard and clench his jaw to keep himself in control.
Let’s fit you with a collar, my boy, whispered the voice of his old Master. I think it might teach you some respect…
He closed his eyes, breathing hard. Stop it…fucking stop it! That’s over and done. This isn’t the same at all. The collar is for show this time—just for show!
“Thrace, are you all right?” Trin’s soft, concerned voice made him open his eyes and look up at her. Speaking of this all being for show, he saw that the crew was crowded behind her in the entrance of the pod. There was Sidna, the ship’s medic staring at him with hard, uncompromising eyes and the navigator, a female in her forties with short blonde hair and a curious gaze. There were others too, whose roles he didn’t know, but all of them were female and all had skeptical looks on their faces. Clearly they would take some convincing.
And you sure as hell can’t convince them that you’re doing this willingly if you go fucking berserk while they’re watching. Get hold of yourself, Thrace! he lectured himself sternly. Just get through this thing. Once the collar’s on it won’t be so bad. Remember who’s going to be holding the remote—it’s Trin, not the Master.
“Thrace?” Trin asked again and he nodded shortly.
“I am well.” His voice came out stiff and halting and he tried again. “I am well and ready to be collared.”
“I don’t believe this,” Sidna said flatly. “You’re saying he’s staying on as your slave willingly? And he’s also willing to wear the collar—the one that almost killed him?”
“He is,” Trin said steadily, looking at Thrace though she was answering the medic. “Thrace volunteered to wear the pain collar so that you and the rest of the crew would know he is not a threat. I have the remote and I will use it if it looks like he is trying to harm any one of us.”
“I would expect nothing less,” Thrace said stolidly. He took a deep breath. There was nothing to do but get it over with. Taking a step towards her, he fell to his knees on the cold metal floor at her feet. “Mistress,” he said, his voice coming out hoarse and gravely. “I submit to you and offer my neck for your collar. I will serve you until I die or until you set me free.”
Trin cleared her throat. “And you submit to my collar and my will of your own volition?”
“I do,” Thrace said hoarsely. “I will belong to you body and soul. I will protect you with my life, shield you from harm in times of danger, and pleasure you in times of peace. To the last drop of my blood, I…am…yours.”
Those words…the words he had always refused to say. He said them to Trin now. They brought back more memories—an evil tide of poison from the past that threatened to drown him. Say it! the Master screamed. Say that you’re mine! Fucking say it, boy!
Thrace bowed his head, trying to drive the tide back, to banish the past. Gods…
“Thrace…” Trin reached out tentatively and stroked his hair. It was a gentle touch—the same way she might soothe an animal on the verge of panic. Thrace found himself soothed by it now.
He couldn’t help himself—the memories had undone him and for a long moment he couldn’t push them back. He leaned into her touch, looking for reassurance, needing her scent and the warmth of her hand to know it was safe to do this…safe to submit to the collar he had so hated in the past.
Not the Master, he told himself over and over. She’s not the Master.
Why the fuck are you putting yourself through this? demanded the sarcastic little voice in his brain. Why endure the pain and the rush of bad memories? Is it really just to pay a debt?
Again, he had no answers. He simply held still under her touch, breathing her warm, feminine scent and trying to calm his screaming nerves. Even surrounded by B’Rugh’s goons he hadn’t felt this fucked up—this threatened. In a moment he would be able to bury the past again. But for now, it was all he could do to hold still and let this happen, all he could do to submit to the collar for her sake though he still didn’t know why exactly he was doing it.
“Thrace,” Trin whispered again and her hand moved lower, caressing his cheek, cupping his jaw.
A warm current seemed to flow through him at the skin-to-skin touch and at last his labored breathing became easier.
Not the Master…The past began to recede.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Trin asked in a low voice, for his ears alone.
Thrace looked up at her. “I have to,” he murmured. “It’s the only way you can trust me.”
She looked troubled but at last she nodded.
“True. All right—here goes.”
Thrace held his breath and closed his eyes as she fastened the hated black collar around his throat, making sure it wasn’t too tight as she fit it in place. Not the Master…not the Master, not the Master…
“There.” She said at last, cupping his cheek again. “It’s done.”
“Thank you, Mistress.”
Thrace could barely get the words out. Turning his face, he pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand. It was the final gesture of submission—kissing the hand that collared him.
He knew it was the correct gesture because it was what the old Master had demanded of him. But he had never given the old Master that satisfaction or said the words he had spoken to Trin, no matter how much the Master shouted and raved and hit. No matter what…other things he did.
Now he gave the gesture of submission to Trin without hesitation, just as he had given the words.
Why?
He still didn’t know.
The debt. I just have to pay off the debt.
The debt. Right.
“Rise, slave,” he heard her say in a strange, slightly strangled voice. “I claim you as my own and demand your utmost respect and loyalty at all times. You will serve in whatever capacity I deem necessary and you will not be free until I say you are. Until I remove this collar and give you your freedom you are mine.”
So she knew the words too. Was that from being around the mistresses of Yonnie Six? Thrace wondered as he looked up at her and got slowly to his feet.
He heard an uneasy murmur from The Alacrity’s crew as he stood to his full height and towered over all of them. But Trin held up a hand to quiet them.
“You all saw the ceremony,” she said in a clear, ringing voice. “You see that Thrace is wearing the collar and I have the remote.” She lifted it high, letting them all get a good look. “You can go about your business now with confidence that you’re safe.”
“I don’t feel so very confident,” the navigator said, frowning. “Why would he let you put the collar on him in the first place? Why come back when Sidna had set him free to go his own way?”
“To pay a debt,” Thrace answered before Trin could speak. “You may not think much of males but my people are honorable. Captain Trin…my Mistress, paid a great deal of credit to buy my life. When I have paid that back, we have agreed she will set me free and let me go my own way. Until then, I am her humble, obedient, and willing slave.”
“Well…” The navigator looked somewhat mollified. “I guess we’ll see about that. But I hope she shocks the hell out of you if you try anything.”
“I will,” Trin said steadily. “You don’t have to worry about your safety—none of you do. The remote is now keyed to my heat signature and palm print alone. No one else can use it and no one can take it from me. Here, Sidna—try.” She held out the remote to the medic and waited until the older female unfolded her arms and reached for the small black rectangle.
“Ouch!” She jumped back as a bright spark flashed between her fingertips and the remote.
“See?” Trin said, smiling grimly. “Perfectly safe.”
“How do we know he can’t take it?” one of the other crew members demanded.
“If Thrace so much as touches the remote it will cause his collar to deliver a very painful shock,” Trin announced.
“Let’s see it,” Sidna said.
“No, I won’t be needlessly cruel. He—” Before she could finish, Thrace reached for the remote.
The moment his fingertips brushed it the pain collar delivered a current of electrical pain so strong it made his entire body feel like he’d been dipped in boiling oil.
“Gods!” He gave a hoarse gasp and fell back to his knees, his hand clenched into fists and his heart pounding. Son of a bitch that hurt! But he well knew how necessary it had been.
“Thrace!” Trin knelt by him at once, putting the remote carefully to one side where everyone avoided it like the plague. “Are you all right?” she asked, looking at him anxiously.
“Fine.” He looked up at her, panting. “Just…had to do it.”
“No, you didn’t.” She looked back at the crew who was still standing there, staring. “Go on, all of you. Back to posts. And Nanda,” pointing at the navigator. “Set a course for Yonnie Six.”
There were several subdued murmurs of, “Yes, Captain,” and the crew immediately disbursed. All except Sidna who stood there staring at him for a long moment, a stony, disbelieving look on her face.
“Sidna, you too.” Trin frowned at the medic who shrugged.
“As you wish, Captain.” But she gave Thrace another hard look before she walked stiffly off, her soft soled shoes whispering along the metal floors.
