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“So, do you accept our offer?” Lieutenant Washington said.

“I do.” Rexx would fill in any number of reports and take all the tests, so long as he got to stay on the Apocalypse with Daisy. “Is there any word about the Gente ship we were on? There was other aliens being held captive. I heard them.”

“Yes. We’re dealing with the situation. The Gente bounty has been removed,” Lieutenant Washington said.

Rexx nodded. Good. High Command may be sticklers for the rules, but they had influence. The Gente would get punished. Not the way he’d punish them, but it would make them think twice about screwing with the Apocalypse.

“You’re dismissed. Ask Cleo to send in Daisy,” Commander Lewton said.

He nodded, turned and marched out of the room. He’d gotten off lightly. He knew that. It was thanks to his new friends, Atticus and Estelle. He owed them big time, and he’d be sure to make it up to them. They’d saved their careers and kept them out of prison.

As he walked along the corridor, greeting people and breathing in the familiar smells of the ship, he smiled. It was good to be home. And it was damn amazing to know he had his woman waiting for him.

Chapter 18

Daisy longed to dab away the sweat on her top lip. High Command had been grilling her for half an hour about her experience with the Gente and the Inkral. They’d only spoken to Rexx for five minutes. She had work to do if she was ever going to regain their trust.

“And these urges to assist the Inkral have completely gone?” Commander Lewton arched a dark eyebrow. “Are you certain of that?”

Daisy adjusted her footing and nodded. “I guarantee I have no desire to work with them. Atticus removed everything from me.”

“Yes, we’ve made a useful ally with Atticus Damiran. That’s one unexpected benefit of your escapades,” Jimar said.

She dug her nails into her palms. She had to keep her cool, but she was running out of patience. They could trust her. She’d made an idiot move, but she’d panicked.

Daisy tilted her chin and met their gazes. “I worked for a long time to secure my position on this ship. You’ve read my reports. You know my retrieval record. I’m good at my job. I get the results you need. I won’t let you down again.”

Lieutenant Washington lifted a hand. “We’ve heard enough. Your place with us is assured. We’re satisfied with your account of events.”

The door behind Daisy slid open. Angel walked in, a tablet in her hand. She nodded at Daisy, a guilty look on her face. “I’ve brought you the information you requested, Commander Lewton.”

“Thank you, Angel. What did the scan show?”

Daisy glanced at Angel. What were they talking about?

“Daisy is one hundred percent in the clear. In fact, she’s healthier than I’ve seen her in a long time,” Angel said.

Her eyes narrowed, and she sucked in a breath to ask a question. When had Angel scanned her?

Angel gave a discreet shake of her head but kept focused on the screen.

Daisy kept her lips together. So much for them trusting her. Oh well, she deserved it, running out on everyone. But it still stung.

“Very good. Since you’ve agreed to our conditions, Daisy, and your scan has come back clear, there’s no further reason to hold you from your duties,” Commander Lewton said. “But this was a one-off. There’s a time to bend the rules, but you pushed things too far.”

“Commander, if I may, Daisy and Rexx’s actions were reckless, but we have mountains of data on the Inkral. This will keep us busy for months. I’m already planning to work with Atticus to discover the origins of the technology,” Angel said.

“That’s excellent work, Angel. It’ll be valuable evidence for us to use at the ethics committee to make sure the Inkral pay for this. We don’t want the population of Earth becoming slaves. Daisy, your unfortunate use as a test subject has benefited many hundreds of thousands of people. We owe you thanks for that,” Commander Lewton said.

“I’m always happy to serve,” Daisy said.

The members of High Command looked at each other and nodded.

“Daisy, you’re dismissed. You may return to your duties. Thank you for your time, Angel. Our scientific committee will be in touch to discuss how we may progress efforts on the Inkral discoveries,” Commander Lewton said.

Angel grinned. “I look forward to it, sir.”

The screen went blank.