A bead of sweat drips down my back.I can’t let him find me or it’ll ruin my entire plan.
He stops five meters from where I hide. The skirmisher, with its door wide open, beckons me to enter...if I dare.
And Ineverturn down a dare.
“General, sir, when are we taking a meal break?” a female voice calls out from the group of people scraping and scanning the blackened ground.
Rhys’ attention narrows on the rock and he draws thechangranstrapped to his back.
He shouldn’t be able to see me, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.After all, I didn’t come here to start a fight or announce my presence, I just need a little something of his.
I lower my head completely and stop breathing. Five seconds pass.
Far across the sand behind me, a coyote howls. Whispering through the night, a breeze shifts the air, cooling my blood- and sweat-soaked skin.
“Swear I thought I heard something. Gods, I hate this desert.” Another step closer.
“But sir, we have not eaten in at least twelve hours.”
I can hear him tapping a fingernail on his weapon. He lets out a frustrated sigh. “Are you warriors more concerned with filling your stomachs than restoring our honor?” With each word, his voice recedes. “Are you so weak you cannot skip a meal?”
Several people let out soft groans and grumbles.
Pushing above the rock a few centimeters, I verify he’s striding toward the middle of the scorched earth and away from my hiding spot—and the ship.
Without any more hesitation and while his attention is elsewhere, I sprint to the metal ramp, dash inside, then slam the button to seal the opening.
“Alright, Sparky, if you’re truly still with me, I could use some help. I need to access this barbaric hunk of junk quickly.” Since it isn’t a Baltin vessel, I’m not as intimate with the programming language or security protocols, but Sparky penetrated and cracked the Henokan systems when he escaped with Tilly on Rhys’ ship.
I don’t truly know if he’s somewhere deep inside of me. Even though he’d been created as my genetic clone, he’d somehow become a different person without my memories and experiences.
I’ll never forget your sacrifice, buddy.
A couple of seconds tick by without an answer. Maybe I’ve only imagined his voice in my head when it was my conscience instead.
“Guess it’s just me.” Refocusing on my plan, I probe and query the system. Within a few minutes, I should be able to master and command the Henokan warship.I just hope Rhys doesn’t have a secret override protocol before I can get in and take control.
Mentally bombarding the onboard computer with thousands of queries—I’ll either get in or lock everyone out—an entry port locks into place. I swear a ghost of laughter reverberates in my head.
“There we go.” I stream coded commands into the skirmisher’s central system. Holo-screens, positioned at the flight console, flicker to life and begin pre-warm up checks.
‘Hello, Jareth.’
As I take the pilot seat and begin startup, I smile at the voice so like my own. So, Sparkyishere, at least in the ship. Warmth and affection flood my veins.
“Hey man. Good to know I’m not going crazy.”
‘Well—’
Bang-bang-bang.
The heavy pounding on the door stops. Muffled curses stream out in Henokan.
“Uh, Sparky? Think you can help me get this heap off the ground and back to the cave in Texas?”
‘Yes, but why?’There’s a cockiness in his question. Is that how I sound?
“It’s a long story, but one that involves getting Tilly off the planet for her safety—and the baby’s.”
