The Star Thief (Star Thief Chronicles 1)

He traced a finger across her jaw. “I promise.”

Renna and Finn raced to the bridge where the crew was already working feverishly, talking into their comms and tapping at their consoles. An air of barely contained panic filled the space and set Renna’s teeth on edge.

“Lieutenant Keva, status report.” Finn stood in military stance behind his chair, legs apart, hands behind his back

Everyone else on the bridge snapped into military formality as well, straightening their backs, watching their posture. Except Renna. She leaned against the railing and crossed her arms, watching Finn with a smirk. He’d thrown on his uniform jacket as they’d run, but it hung open, displaying the muscled planes of his chest through his cotton shirt.

There were some perks to being a thief.

Keva bent over one of the comm screens. “I think we almost have the distress call located, Captain. Estimated landing in ten minutes.”

“Any sign of attack? Have we been able to hail their airbase?”

Keva shook her head. “No answer yet.”

Finn frowned and stared out the window at the approaching planet.

Gheewala stepped forward, her hands twisting the hem of her uniform jacket. “Sir, I’m not sure if this helps, but the strange electronic signatures are getting stronger the closer we get to Vall. From what I can tell, they’re clustered around the facility. We should be careful.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Sergeant. Renna, you think we can sneak in and see what we’re up against?”

“Maybe. Can we cloak our landing? If these are the same ships that attacked us on Lenue, we don’t want them finishing the job here.”

“Already done.” Kojima’s voice came over the intercom. “There looks to be a small clearing off to the west of the facility. We should be able to land there and send a small team in.”

“Then we go in quiet. Renna and I will head in first, then call for backup.”

“But sir, after last time…” Keva shook her head. “We should assemble a team. You’re going to need more support than just…Renna.” She tilted up her chin defiantly.

Interesting. The lieutenant was finally growing a backbone.

Finn stared at Keva appraisingly. “Very well. Pull one together, Lieutenant. We’ll split into two groups. Do we have the emergency transmission cleaned up yet?”

Viktis nodded from his chair in the corner and pressed one of the buttons on the comm device. “Here it is.”

Static filled the bridge, and Viktis moved one of the controls. The noise sharpened into the sound of a woman’s voice. “…out of control. Please help. Trapped in section two. Chemical leak in manufacturing has affected staff and production…. Send help.”

The words cut in and out, covered by static and a strange beeping sound.

“What is that?” Finn asked.

“I can’t tell. The signal is too degraded.” Viktis tried to sharpen the loop, but the recording was still choppy.

Renna straightened from her lounging pose as her skin erupted into goose bumps. The one thing she could make out was the sheer terror in the woman’s voice.

Finn crossed his arms. “I don’t like this. Everyone gear up and meet in the shuttle bay in five.”

The crew scattered, and Renna made her way back to her own cabin. She didn’t need armor, but she did have a few tricks in her bag that might come in handy. She stuffed her pack with her lock-picking tools, some small thermal detonators, and an extra blaster pistol.

“Download map of Vall,” she told her implant. A terrain map of the planet appeared. “Now the city map, please.” She found Navang’s lab at the edge of the spaceport, a large, sprawling building with spokes running off a central hub. From the satellite image, it seemed like a normal complex of buildings, but when she drilled deeper with the infrared scan, it looked like there was a whole other maze below ground level.

Where in all this was Myka?

She let out a sigh and let the image fade. She needed to focus, to get this job done no matter what. The kid was counting on her. The universe was counting on her.

No pressure.

TWENTY-EIGHT

The rest of the crew was already down in the shuttle bay when Renna joined them. Bokal and Gheewala were staying behind, but they stood off to the side inspecting the gear. Lieutenant Keva and two of the other MYTH agents wore their black ninja suits, only Keva’s silver eyes betraying who she was behind the mask.

Captain Finn appeared from the locker bay, wearing a similar version, but it shone metallic in the helo lights when he moved and seemed thicker, more like armor. It clung to his thigh muscles, and as he turned to talk to Keva, Renna’s gaze drifted lower to linger appreciatively on the view.

Viktis stood nearby, checking his blaster. “I think there’s a little drool on your chin, Renna,” he said, looking up with a smirk.

She shrugged. “Yeah? I saw you watching Lieutenant Keva as she bent to tuck her uniform into her boots.”

“Damn, you caught me.” He slid the chamber closed and holstered his gun.

Renna frowned. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m coming with you. These people killed my crew, remember?”

“Finn agreed to that?” Maybe there was hope for this mission yet.

“He didn’t have a choice.” Viktis’s glance at the man was full of cold indifference. “So am I to assume he’s the new fling of the week?”

“Viktis…”

“Don’t worry. I promise I won’t try to kill you this time. I’m more than over you.”

Renna shook her head. “You never loved me, Viktis.”

He smiled sadly, his violet eyes almost going soft. “You never let me.”

Renna sucked in a breath like he’d punched her. What they’d had had been a convenient, friends-with-benefits kind of relationship. He couldn’t have loved her. Or had she been too afraid to see it?

Before she could figure out how to answer, Kojima’s voice came over the intercom. “Captain, we’ll be landing in two minutes.”

Finn stood with his arms behind his back to give orders. “Team, we’re going in hot. Keva, take your crew to the east entrance of the facility and make your way to the center. Viktis, Renna, and I will head west. Keep in contact if possible. If this facility is anything like the last, they may have disabled comms. If that’s the case, find the boy and get back here ASAP. Whoever finds him waits two hours and then leaves. His safety comes first.”