Off to the right, another locked door. The paneling was removed and messed with, the very same way Karr had done when they’d snuck aboard the ship.
Sonara could hear pounding fists behind it, muffled shouts as guards tried to break through.
Jameson had gotten here first, it seemed. And jammed the door from the outside.
Her skin was tan, muscles rippling down her bare arms as she reached up to tap the visor on her helmet. It slid open, revealing her face beyond.
“Kingston,” she said. “What the hell are you doing?”
Fearfiltered from her aura, but as she looked at Karr, there was something else there. Desperation, a need to save him. Familial love, the kind Sonara held for Jaxon, for Soahm…
Her accent was similar to Karr’s, lifting upwards at the end of her words. But there wasknowingin her eyes, as if she were staring at an old friend. Her pistol wavered as she saw him, then steadied again as she looked at Sonara, Markam and Azariah.
“Don’t. Please.” Karr held out his hands. “Jameson, this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Then explain it to me. Because it looks to me like you’re walking free, navigating a group of Dohrsarans through your own ship.”
“I’m not a prisoner,” Karr explained. “Step aside, Jameson.Please.”
The woman’s gaze landed on Sonara, eyes narrowing and hands sliding the safety of her pistol back. A series of beeps sounded, and then the gun was glowing blue, Jameson lifting it to fire.
“Dammit. Put your weapon down,” Karr commanded. “That’s an order.”
But Jameson did not relent. “What did they do to you, Karr?”
“Nothing but help me see the truth. My entire life, we’ve been comrades. But I’d be more inclined to call us family, Jameson. You and me, we can out-drink all the rest of them.”
The woman gave a nervous smile from inside her helmet.
And though Sonara sensed fear… Jameson’s aura also revealed hesitation. A decision to trust Karr, already made.A flower not quite ready to blossom, but swaying towards the kiss of sunlight, leaning closer to the call of the wind.
Her hands shook. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill them, Karr. They kidnapped you. That one,” she glared at Sonara, “tried tokillyou just days ago.”
Karr walked past Sonara, his hands outstretched. “It’s true. But it was supposed to happen. I can’t explain how I know. But it’s the way things were always meant to go. I’ve seen other parts of this planet. I’ve spent time exploring it, and… it’s changed me. Cade’s mission is a death wish. Not only for this planet, but for so many more of them. What Geisinger plans to do with the Antheon could bring about theend.”
“The end of what?” Jameson asked.
“Order,” Karr said. “It’s going to change people. It’s going to cause chaos across the stars.”
Her eyes narrowed. She lifted her gun again, swinging it towards Sonara. “You’ve never stood against Cade before. Not once. How am I to know they’re not forcing you to do this against your will? That whatever they’ve done to you since taking you isn’t what’s driving this?”
“Drop your sword,” Karr said. “Sonara. Do it.”
“Like hell I will,” Sonara hissed. It was a fool’s request. But as she said the words, Jameson’s aura changed, leaning towards the darker decision. The one that would end with Sonara and Markam and Azariah bleeding out with Wanderer bullets in their chests. With a deep sigh, Sonara lowered Lazaris.
Karr took a step towards his crew member. Who he claimed to be his friend. “She’s not my enemy. She’s not yours. You’ve always helped me see the lighter side of things. You’ve always been there with me, helping me understand that life is what you make of it.”
The woman’s hands were shaking now. The pistol was wavering in her grip, its blue glow beginning to fade as it powered down.
Karr took another step.
He was only an arm’s length away.
“You’ve known since the beginning that what Cade is doing here iswrong.You did nothing to stop it.”
“He made me swear,” she whispered.
Then she was trembling full-out as Karr reached her and took the barrel of the pistol in his outstretched hands. But still, she did not let go.
