"I know, but this is the only way to save the ship and everyone on it. I have to sacrifice what I want—for now. When my contract is over, you'll find me. That will work, right?"
"Maybe. The bond will either grow stronger with time and connection, or it will snap. We do not know," Lyrin said.
"What happens if it snaps?" I asked.
"The Tether will react as if you have rejected it. You will never see or hear from us again," Torvyn said.
Vaelix cleared his throat. "Captain, Kira, I think I have an idea that will defeat the frigates, save the ship, and strengthen the bond."
"Let's hear it," Torvyn said.
Vaelix laid out his plan. It was bold, it was dangerous, and it just might work.
"Are we in agreement?" I asked.
The crew nodded.
"Then let's do this." I met each of their eyes in turn. "But if this goes sideways, if Voss doesn't keep his word—"
"He won't," Torvyn said quietly.
"I know." I straightened my shoulders. "So let's make sure he doesn't get the chance."
Kaedren moved first, gesturing toward the corridor. "The shuttle bay is this way, Doctor Vale."
I followed each step, feeling as if I were walking toward the edge of a cliff. Behind me, through the bond, I felt them: steady, certain, ready.
Voss had no idea what was coming.
Chapter 11
The shuttle docked with one of the corporate frigates, metal groaning as the airlock pressurized. Director Voss stood in the antechamber, dressed in an off-the-rack navy-blue suit, that same smug smile plastered across his face like a mask he'd never learned to remove. It took every bit of self-control I had not to punch him right in those perfect veneers.
Focus.
I needed to play my role, or this whole plan would fall apart.
"Hello, Director," I said, voice dripping false cheer. "I guess you really wanted that dinner date with me. What happened? Did all of the other women in the company send your requests straight to their spam folders?"
His eye twitched. "Right. I had forgotten about that." He waved a hand. "No, that isn't why I'm here. Honestly, I don't care about you. I care about your analysis. You re-read your contract, I assume?"
"I did."
"Excellent. Then you know paragraph forty-two, Section C, subparagraph seventeen, subsection YY, states that you are contractually obligated to complete any analysis on artifacts you—or the corporation—discover through your research."
"What did you find?"
"Exactly what we've been searching for," he said, eyes gleaming with the kind of greed that made my stomach turn. "A power source that will change everything. No one will be able to stand against us—not in space or in the boardroom."
"That sounds…terrible."
"What you think is irrelevant. How do you not realize that by now?"
I glared. "So what now? You lock me in a cell until we reach whatever backwater hellhole you're dropping me at next?"
He threw his head back and laughed. "You have a lot of time to make up for, Doctor Vale. And while some might consider where you're going a cell, I certainly do. But no—no brig. You're going straight to the lab. We have so much data for you to work through. Off we go."
I shook my head, radiating anger—at least externally. Internally, everything was unfolding exactly as planned. I needed to keep Voss thinking I would do whatever he wanted.
