I took the clothes without a word. They were simple, utilitarian. A black shirt and pants, boots, a belt. I pulled them on, feeling like I was putting on a new skin. A new identity.

  Dane Tanner, bodyguard to the baroness—it had a ring to it. Hell, maybe this gig would give me the opportunities I needed on this world. It had to be better than being a peasant.

  The feel wasn’t really me, though. I was play-acting until I could get off this crazy planet.

  We left Riven’s workshop and headed upstairs into the guts of the ship. Callista was fuming. I could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.

  “Now, we must go up to the bridge and kiss ass,” she said.

  Many remarks and questions bubbled in my head, but I said nothing. Often, women would tell you everything you wanted to know and then some if you just listened.

  “Kade has always been a thumb in my eye,” she muttered, “ever since we were children.”

  I didn’t say anything. I just let her vent.

  “He’s always been jealous of my legitimacy,” she continued. “I’m blood-related to two of our ship’s flight captains and the ship’s original physician to boot.” She sounded very proud of this lineage. “But Kade, the whore’s-bastard of our usurping overlord thinks he deserves more prestige than I do. It’s galling.”

  We reached an elevator and stepped inside. Callista punched a button, and we started to rise.

  “But he’s wrong,” she said, low and dangerously. “I’ve earned my place through established lines of inheritance. Kade is nothing. He might as well be a Duster.”

  The elevator stopped, and we stepped out onto Arabella’s bridge, or what was left of it, anyway. The roof had been blown off in the crash and replaced by tent fabric that flapped in the wind.

  Callista strode across the room, her heels clicking on the metal deck plates. I followed close behind, scanning the shadows for any sign of trouble.

  We reached a makeshift throne at the far end of the room. Callista sat down, crossing her legs. I took up my position standing behind her.

  We waited. Minutes ticked by.

  Finally, the sound of footsteps echoed across the bridge. I tensed, but it was just Janson, striding towards us with a scowl on his face.

  Janson strode onto the bridge like he owned the place, and in a way, he did. He was the overlord, the big man in charge. Everyone jumped to attention when he walked in, bowing and scraping like a bunch of trained monkeys.

  I stood my ground, my arms crossed over my chest. I wasn’t about to bow to anyone, not even the ship’s overlord himself. Callista shot me a warning look, but I ignored it. I wasn’t her lapdog, no matter what the collar around my neck said.

  Janson barely spared me a glance as he made his way to the captain’s chair, which now served the Techborn as a throne. He sat down heavily, his robes billowing around him. He looked like a king. He acted like one, too.

  I expected him to start ranting about Kade, about the scene we’d caused on the UnderDeck. But he didn’t even mention it. It was like it had never happened. Maybe he didn’t know—or maybe he just didn’t care.

  Instead, he launched into some grand plan to take out the Duster rebels once and for all. He had a map spread out on the table in front of him, jabbing at it with a meaty finger.

  “We’ll lure them here,” he boomed across the bridge. “To this canyon. When they come like hungry dogs, we’ll be waiting.”

  Callista leaned forward, studying the map. “And how do you propose we lure them in?”

  “We’ll send out a message,” Janson continued. “We’ll tell them we’re willing to negotiate. That we want peace. They’ll jump at the chance to end this war once and for all.”

  Callista nodded slowly. “Should we put them all to the sword? Slaughter their leadership?”

  “Exactly,” Janson said, his eyes gleaming. “We’ll crush them like the insects they are.”

  I felt a sinking feeling in my gut. This was bad. What if it worked? After hanging out with the Dusters for a while, I thought it just might.

  Overlord Janson droned on about his grand plan. Lure the Dusters in with talk of peace. Then crush them when they least expected it. It was a dirty trick. The kind of thing a perverse mind like Janson’s would come up with.

  I stood there like a good little soldier, my face blank. But inside, I was seething. These people really were assholes. The experiments, the arena fights, the way they treated people like animals. It wasn’t right.

  When the meeting was over, I followed Callista back to her quarters, I felt uncertain about my mission on this crappy planet. I’d come here looking for Silas. But now I realized that even if I did find him alive and well, reestablishing his report regimen back to XCU, that wasn’t enough to fix Haven-7.

  This place was rotten to the core. The Techborn, with their twisted science and their lust for power—they were dicks. There was nothing like law and fair play on this world. It was even worse than Old Earth.

  Chapter 17

  Callista took me to her quarters. I kind of figured I’d be put into a dog bed or something—but things didn’t work out that way.

  The door to Callista’s bedroom slid open. Callista stood there, a glass of wine in her hand. She looked me up and down. There was a strange, hungry gleam in her eye.

  “Come inside, Dane,” she purred. “I require another performance.”

  I followed her into the room. It was sumptuous, all plush fabrics and soft lighting. A far cry from the stark corridors of Arabella.

  Callista led me to a couch, and she draped herself over it. She gestured for me to pour wine for her. I did so, and then she handed the glass to me. I poured another one, which she took.

  “Drink,” she commanded. “You’ll need all your strength. No conditions this time.”

  I downed the wine in one gulp. It was strong, heady stuff. Callista refilled my glass, then patted the couch beside her.

  Her hands roamed over my body, exploring. She was pretty good at that part. Soon, I began to touch her. She liked that even better.

  We made love on the couch like we were starving for it. Callista was insatiable, demanding more and more. I was all in, and I obliged her.

  At one point I found myself wondering if One-Tusk had ever been called upon for this duty. I doubted it. The monster would have torn her apart.

  Afterward, we lay there, spent. Callista traced a finger along my jawline, quietly pondering her attraction to me.

  “There’s something different about you, Dane,” she said. “You’re not like others I’ve brought into my chambers. You’re not like the Dusters or the Techborn.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe it’s my winning personality.”

  Callista laughed. “Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s something else…”

  Was she probing to find out where I was really from? I didn’t care to reveal the truth. I didn’t know how she’d react if I admitted I was from Earth, a mercenary type working for XCU. That could have been a death sentence.

  Instead, I played along, letting her believe what she wanted to believe.

  It was during our second round of love-making that I decided the time was right. I’d come up with a plan by then, and when I came up with a good one, I usually employed it immediately.

  In a moment of passion, I pulled her close, our faces mere inches apart. She struggled against my grip, her eyes wide with surprise and anger.

  “Let me go, Dane,” she hissed. “Or I’ll blow your head off.”

  She fumbled for a tiny controller, her finger hovering over the button. I knew she wasn’t bluffing. One press and my brain would be splattered all over the room.

  But I had an ace up my sleeve.

  “Go ahead,” I growled, breathing into her face. “But if you do it now, you’ll be killed too. Or at least, it will blow the jaw off that pretty face of yours.”

  It was true. The blinking bomblet that freak Riven had attached to my torc was dangling down into her face. There was no way it was going to affect only me.

  Callista hesitated, realization dawning on her. We were locked in a deadly embrace, and the torc around my neck was threatening us both.

  “I will punish you for this,” she snarled. “I’ll make you suffer in ways you can’t even imagine.”

  She described the torments she had in store for me—the experiments, the torture, the endless agony. It was enough to make a lesser man whimper.

  But I only grinned. “Release the torc, and I’ll release you. Or maybe we could blow our heads off together in a lover’s embrace if you’re a romantic like me.”

  She didn’t like any of my ideas. We stayed nose to nose for what seemed like an eternity, locked in a battle of wills. Neither of us was willing to back down.

  Finally, Callista relented. She lowered her tiny controller, her eyes still blazing with fury.

  I had her right where I wanted her, and she knew it. She stopped struggling, breathing hard. Her eyes blazed with fury and fear.

  “I can’t just turn off the torc,” she claimed.

  I shrugged. “In that case, we’re both dead.”

  A dark thought crossed my mind, then. I might have to choke her out with my bare hands. If I did that while we were in a tight clinch, she couldn’t press the button without killing both of us. She’d have to let me knock her out—and hope she’d start breathing again.

  My hands crept up to her fine throat. I didn’t want to hurt her—not really, but I couldn’t let her continue to decide whether I lived or died every hour of every day. One bad mood, or perhaps a moment of boredom, and I would be finished.

  She figured out what I was doing as I began to squeeze. She had another wriggling fit, pressing her lithe body against mine. I couldn’t help but enjoy her form, even in this intense moment.

  Callista raged and dug her nails into my skin, cursing me with every gasping breath. But I wouldn’t let go. I had the upper hand and I intended to keep it.

  “Remove the collar first,” I demanded. “Then we’ll talk.”

  A few seconds ticked by, feeling like an eternity. Callista’s breath was hot against my skin, her breasts crushed into my chest and her whole body was tense. There was no way either of us could deny that we were both still aroused in spite of the awkward particulars.

  “Tick tock, girl,” I growled. “What’s it gonna be?”

  She stopped hissing and spitting and relented all of a sudden. “Make love to me one more time,” she whispered, grinding her whole body into mine.

  Hmm… She’d gone from threatening to kill me to offering herself up like a buffet? I wasn’t born yesterday. I knew what she was playing at. But hey, I’m only human. And she was one hell of a girl.

  We went at it again, right there on the couch. This time was different, however. We were even more passionate. She was wilder than ever this time, almost desperate. I thought it was kind of weird, but I couldn’t say it wasn’t a turn-on.

  Her body moved against mine in ways that would make a soldier blush. I let myself get lost in the moment, but I kept one hand on her neck at all times. Wasn’t that what you did with snakes?

  Sure enough, she tried to slip away. I pulled her back, keeping our faces close together. That little cat-bell of a bomb thumped lightly against her throat.

  Callista glared at me again. Her eyes full of venom. She rattled off a list of threats that would make a grown man cry. But I just laughed in her face.

  Finally, she caved. With a snarl of frustration, she reached up and released the torc from around my neck.

  Shit, was that all it took? The blue button on her remote, and the application of some fingernails to a clip…?

  I didn’t waste any time. I threw that thing as far away as I could. It hit the wall with a nasty pop that made my ears ring.

  If that had been around my neck when it blew, I’d be a headless corpse right now. The thought was hard to fathom, but I was alive, and I was free—for now, at least.

  I knew Callista wouldn’t let me slide after this. She’d come after me with everything she had. But I was ready for her.

  I gave her one last kiss, my hands roaming over her curves. She responded, pressing herself against me. I could feel the heat of her body, the racing of her pulse. She was getting off on this whole thing, I figured. She liked the idea that she was completely at my mercy. Maybe she’d had many slaves, and none of them had ever been in control before.

  I squeezed her tight, enjoying the way she squirmed. But I couldn’t let myself get too distracted. It was time to get out of here.

  Grabbing up some of her silky scarves, I tied her up. I made sure the knots were good and tight. The last one went over her pretty mouth. She struggled a bit, but I could tell she was into it. I stuffed a gag in her mouth to keep her quiet.

  With Callista trussed up like a turkey, I made my escape. I snatched up the busted torc on my way out. It was in rough shape, but I managed to jerry-rig it with an extra scarf—damn, this girl had a collection.

  The wrecked torc wasn’t going to fool anyone up close, but it might just do the trick from a distance.

  Slipping out into the night, I left Callista’s fancy apartment behind. The passages were dark and quiet, but I didn’t let my guard down. In this town—if you could even call a crashed ship a town—danger lurked around every corner.

  I had to find my way out of this radioactive hot zone and then off this rock of a planet. But first, I needed to blend in. Keeping to the shadows, I did my best impression of a lowly slave running an errand. The torc around my neck helped sell the illusion. I just hoped no one looked too closely.

  As I walked, I tried to come up with a plan to get through the main hatchway and outside into the open. After a hundred steps, I thought I had it.

  Chapter 18

  Like a ghost, I trotted quietly through the twisted corridors of Arabella. It was late at night, and the Techborn troops I saw standing guard at various intersections were bored or drunk. The robotic ones at the door to the outside world, however—they were more of a problem. When they stopped me, I showed off my wrecked torc.

  The robots scanned me with their beady little sensors. I held my breath, waiting for the alarms to start blaring. But nothing happened. They just stood there, staring at me like a couple of dumb tin cans.

  Then it hit me. The torc. They thought I was still Callista’s property. I nearly laughed out loud. I guess even robots can be fooled by a bit of string and a busted collar. That freak Riven had done a good job.

  I walked right past them, trying to act like I belonged there. It was easy. I just kept my head high and my shoulders squared. I wasn’t going to let them see me sweat.

  After that, I moved quickly to the edge of the crater and slid away into the night on the far side. There was nothing out here but dark farms and fields.

  I couldn’t believe it. I was out—free!

  Taking one last look back at Arabella, I marveled. There were a few things about that hive of evil… mostly Callista… that I was going to miss.

  The ship itself was a hell of a sight, especially in the dark. They’d decorated it with a few colored lights and beacons, but you could still see the decay. The massive starship lay half-buried in the crater. The wrecked metal landing gear was visible from this vantage, glinting in the moonlight. The skids and struts looked like a giant, twisted skeleton, picked clean by scavengers over time.

  All night long, I walked alone in the Red Desert. In the morning, I kept on walking. Harsh sunlight beat down on my back. The sanctuary zone should be on the far side of this inhospitable stretch. That’s where Silas was supposed to be—and I had to find him.

  The sand stretched out before me, an endless sea of rust. It was a brutal place, unforgiving and cruel. But I was used to that. I’d seen my fair share of brutality in my time.

  Dozing on my feet, half sleepwalking, I didn’t see the signs before things went wrong. Suddenly, a behemoth burst out of the sand in front of me. It was a wild creature, all teeth and claws and fury. It looked like a giant armadillo—but with fangs.

  I didn’t have time to think. I just reacted.

  As I was unarmed, I lunged at the beast, grabbing it by the throat. I had to dig in there, under the scaly plates of leathery armor to get a grip, but I managed it.

  The thing thrashed and snarled, but I held on tight. I wasn’t going to let this thing eat me.

  We rolled in the sand, a tangle of limbs and snarls. I could feel its hot breath on my face, the stench of its body—but I never let go.

  I squeezed with all my might. Most people who play gym rat do it for looks and for exercise—but in my occupation, those hours pumping iron really paid off at moments like this.

  The beast gurgled, its eyes bulging. It was trying to get away, now. It was way past hoping for an easy dinner—but I didn’t let up. I couldn’t. If I did, it would just be back tonight while I was sleeping, maybe with a pack of relatives to help out. It was either him or me.

  Finally, the monster went limp in my grasp. I let go, panting heavily. I was covered in blood and sand, but I was alive.

  I looked down at the dead creature. It was a shame, really. It was just trying to survive, same as me. But out here, not everyone was going to live to see the grandkids.

  I knelt down and drank the beast’s blood, letting it run down my throat. It was warm and coppery—nasty. I needed sustenance though. If I was going to be strong enough to fight off the night’s creatures, I had to feed. I tore into its flesh with my teeth next, filling my belly with the tough, stringy meat. I hadn’t eaten much for days, and I didn’t know when my next meal was coming. It really wasn’t complicated at all.

  As I ate, I thought about the Dusters. They were a tough people, survivors. They had to be, living out here in the bush, but even they couldn’t stand up to the Techborn forever. The inhabitants of Arabella were too organized, too ruthless, too sure they were owed a free lunch by the farmers and the tradesmen of the colony.

  The Techborn were the real problem on Haven-7. With their fancy technology, and their twisted experiments, they thought they could rule over everyone. Overlord Janson had made that clear with his grand plans.