“Uh-huh…” I said, wondering if I’d exchanged one Tyrant for another.

  She came to a chamber that was sealed, and she used the glove she’d stolen from the Tyrant’s corpse. It allowed her to enter.

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Thirteen minutes to reactor overload.”

  The chamber we entered wasn’t like the others. It was more of an equipment lab. Then I saw it at the far wall—a console unlike the others.

  The console was one I recognized immediately. It was a rift generator control panel. I’d never seen one apart from XCU on Earth.

  It was tiny compared to the one back home, perhaps a modified version of the ship’s emergency communications array. Power conduits ran from it to dedicated energy cells below. A small circular platform in front indicated where objects would materialize—or be sent from.

  Livy approached. “Can you make it work?”

  “To do what?”

  “To send things back to Earth, of course. Emmett used this system to transmit your friend, Dom, back to you.”

  I eyed her unhappily. “He did confess to that.”

  “Exactly. But we need something bigger transmitted. Something that stays alive.”

  My eyebrows raised. “You?”

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Thirteen minutes to reactor overload.”

  We both glanced at the ceiling, then back down at each other again. “Yes. Me—and you, if you want to go home. I wouldn’t blame you.”

  Conflicted, I flipped a few switches and the machine revved up. This unit was small—and we had no idea what we were doing with it.

  Livy studied me with big, hungry eyes. This had been her plan. To escape with her own skin intact. She was, after all, a survivor above all else.

  “I don’t know… I wouldn’t feel right leaving everyone here to die on New Horizon.”

  She made a hissing sound of frustration. “Look, we don’t have much time.”

  “Why don’t we just save the ship, then worry about getting back to Earth later?”

  “I’m not sure if I can save the ship.”

  “Well, I’m not sure I can get us back to Earth.”

  We stared at one another for a hard, breathless moment.

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Twelve minutes to reactor overload.”

  “Listen,” she said, jumping into action again. “I’ll tell you my plan. I’ll give you the secret, but you’ve got to send me back. I hate it here. I’d rather die than stay on Jarl. My parents flew out here, leaving before I was born. It was never my choice. I want to go back to Earth.”

  Baring my teeth, I nodded. There wasn’t time to beat it out of her, or to talk her into anything. I did instead what I’d seen Phil do many times. The controls were the same—but smaller.

  At last, the metal ring lit up. At least it was powered.

  “You’re going to have to crawl through,” I said, dubious. “I always jump.”

  “I’ll do it. Now?”

  “No, no, wait! It’s not fully calibrated yet.”

  We waited, while the ship’s doom counter moved closer to annihilation. During that time, I naturally wheedled and cajoled her to get the codes to end the destruction sequence. She assured me she’d let me know the moment the system worked.

  Finally, the panel lit up and ring glowed bright. I was shocked. “It… it looks like a fully activated field.”

  Livy’s face lit up with the brilliant lights. “Can we go through? Come with me, Tanner. I’m not sure my plan will work.”

  I shook my head. “Just tell me!”

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Nine minutes to reactor overload.”

  She crawled up on the ramp that led to the spinning light. “All right. Take this.”

  She ripped off the Tyrant’s glove and threw it at me. I snatched it from the air before it hit my face and stared at it in confusion.

  “His glove?”

  “He always uses it to control the ship. That’s all I know—sorry.”

  She scrambled through the rift and vanished. I reached for her, but missed snagging her ankle. There was a flash of light, then nothing.

  Livy was gone.

  I looked at the glove in confusion. I tried pulling it on—but it barely fit my blocky hands. When I made a fist, the fabric threatened to tear.

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Eight minutes to reactor overload.”

  Dammit.

  Leaving the chamber, I raced back through the ship to the bridge, where I touched everything I could find. There was no one there to guide me. The bridge crew—wisely—had chosen to find lifeboats and abandon ship.

  That path did occur to me, let me assure you. I could attempt Livy’s insanity of crawling into a rift that might lead back to Earth. Or, I could find a lifeboat and try to get back down to Jarl.

  I found both options unpalatable.

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Four minutes to reactor overload.”

  Finally, I returned to the twisted corpse of the Tyrant. I picked up the body and gave it a shake.

  “You crazy fuck,” I told the dead thing. “You killed us both in the end.”

  Dropping him, I noticed something about the way his hand twisted around an object. I reached down, fishing… and I found a small, plastic remote control.

  He was clinging to it, even in death. There were only two buttons on it—a red one, and a green one.

  I pressed the green one and held it down.

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Three minutes to reactor overload.”

  “Self-destruct sequence activated. Two minutes to reactor overload.”

  “What the fuck!”

  That hadn’t been two minutes—more like two seconds!

  A trick? Right down to the end, was this whole thing a trick…?

  I almost smashed the remote on the deck—but I hesitated. With one big finger, I stabbed down on the red button instead.

  “Self-destruct sequence deactivated.”

  Shaking my head, I opened up the remote, removed the batteries, and shoved it back into my pocket again.

  The glove had been nothing significant. Maybe Livy had known that. If I ever saw that tricky-ass woman again, I was determined to have strong words with her about her habit of lying constantly.

  Chapter 31

  Getting off the upper decks of New Horizon and back down to Jarl took a few days. Once word got out that the ship had been taken—and more importantly, that the Tyrant himself was dead—the fighting spirit of the enforcers died.

  They surrendered. Some ran into the wilds of Jarl to hide. A few of the worst were hung in the center of Northaven—but the homesteaders tried to control that urge. There were only so many people left alive on this colony world. More bloodshed… it could even turn the local genetics sour.

  I didn’t leave the ship until I was certain I wasn’t handing it over to a newborn Tyrant, ready to take the last guy’s place.

  Ingrid was a girl scout again. All determined to make things right on the colony of Jarl. I wasn’t fooled—but I pretended to be. She just wanted a glowing report from me when I returned to Earth.

  “You’re sure one of these yahoos isn’t going to try to lock down the ship again?” I demanded for what must be the tenth time.

  Ingrid nodded. “Don’t worry, Tanner. New Horizon is more than secure. The damage was extensive but contained—most of it to the improvised command deck and adjacent sections. Engineering managed to stabilize the reactor. We’re already working out how to bring it down here and part it out—the way it should have been years ago.”

  “Wait a minute. I didn’t shut down the cooling system—”

  She raised a hand. “Whatever. Make your report to XCU.”

  I frowned. Was she already filing F-U reports back to Earth? I wouldn’t doubt it for a second. “What about Livy?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “The girl… the one who went through the rift.”

  She gave me a stern frown. “Ah, yes. In addition to nearly lighting the ship on fire, you were playing around up there with the transmission system. There was some evidence of tampering, but I’d really hoped I wouldn’t have to report you for that.”

  I frowned at her. “I have things that you’d best hope I leave out as well.”

  We both glared at each other for a few moments. Ingrid softened first. “Okay. No mention will be made of any… transgressions. For either of us.”

  “Good.”

  After an uncomfortable silence, I came up with a new question. “What about the rebellion? How’s Jarl doing as a colony?”

  “With the Tyrant gone, their first thought was to capture and torment everyone who dared to serve on this ship. There were something like fifty lynchings. After that, the rage burned out. I managed to entice them into some civility. Everyone has blamed the dead man, and most are willing to let bygones be forgotten.”

  “So… the rebels are forming a new government?”

  “Yes,” she said. “When word reached the surface that the Tyrant was dead and the ship was secured, most of the remaining enforcers surrendered. There were a few that went off into the countryside to play bandits—but nothing organized.”

  “What about Jern?”

  “She’s managed to avoid being hung, so far. She cheered and cried when the news came the Tyrant was dead. She’s full of claims, in fact, that she was instrumental in helping you get to him. Is any of that true…?”

  Thinking it over, I nodded. “She was part of the story. I don’t know if I would have made it up here to the ship without her help.”

  Ingrid seemed satisfied—as she didn’t know exactly what I’d meant by that. Jern hadn’t helped me willingly.

  “What about Kelda?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “The rebel homesteaders.”

  Ingrid eyed me oddly for a moment. “Ah, yes… You do meet a lot of colony women, don’t you, Tanner?”

  “It’s part of the job.”

  “No doubt… anyway, Kelda’s been asking about you. She’s helping to organize supply distribution from the ship to the settlements.”

  Finally, my thoughts came around to going home. “Have you contacted XCU?”

  Ingrid’s expression turned guarded. “Yes. I’ve filed my preliminary report. Left certain details... ambiguous for now.”

  I understood her caution. If what the Tyrant had said was true—if XCU had turned their back on Jarl… If Brandt and Mitchell really had sent Dom to his death on Jarl to cover up their own failures—then our communications might be monitored.

  “When can I get out of here?”

  “You should wait another day, at least. You have injuries…”

  “Make the call. Have them spin up a rift for me—I’m going home.”

  She stared for a few long seconds, then nodded. She activated her skullweb to contact XCU and ask for an extraction. “It should take four to six hours. Depending.”

  Nodding, I left her to her strange work and walked out onto the icy streets of Northaven.

  It took some time and lots of questions, but I managed to get a lead on where to find two women I was looking for. I located Captain Ada Jern first—in the local jail.

  Instead of running the place, she was now a prisoner. She’d been stripped of her enforcer uniform and shoved into simple civilian rags, though she still carried herself with military bearing. A healing cut marked her left cheek, and her right arm was in a sling similar to mine.

  “Tanner?” the toothless guard asked. “Are you here in an official capacity?”

  Thinking that over, I nodded. “Yes. I need to talk to this prisoner—she’s not slated for execution, is she?”

  “No… I don’t think so. Tormund doesn’t know what to do with her, I figure.”

  I nodded and entered the cell. She eyed me like a trapped animal.

  “Captain,” I said. “Or is it ‘Captain’ still?”

  A wry smile crossed her face. “Just Jern now—or Ada. Past titles seem... inappropriate given recent events.”

  “You look rough,” I observed.

  “I’ve been mistreated,” she replied.

  I thought about mentioning she was lucky to still be breathing. She’d presided over a lot of abuse in the name of the Tyrant.

  Lowering my voice, I let her know what I was really thinking. “Honestly… I thought they’d kill you for sure.”

  She bit her lip. “They would have, except I explained how I helped you.”

  “What? When I tied you to that chair and left you?”

  She nodded, her wide eyes staring. I noticed the dark circles under those eyes.

  I realized then that the jailor—the guy with some missing teeth—was listening to us talk. Was he going to tell someone in a vengeful mood whatever he heard?

  It was a strange moment, holding this woman’s life in my hands. I was surprised by the situation, and it would have been easy to laugh at her, to scoff at her lies…

  Fortunately for her, I was more on the ball than that today. I nodded thoughtfully.

  “Yes,” I said, speaking loudly. “Of course. You helped me get to the ship. You knew what I was going to do once I got up there.”

  The toothless guard had been scraping at something—maybe cleaning the frost and mud off a boot—but now the noises stopped. He’d been listening for sure.

  “I’m so glad to see you were successful,” Jern said, and she sounded honestly pleased and even grateful.

  “What now?” I asked her quietly.

  She frowned in confusion, then looked startled. She glanced at her rumpled bunk. “I… I suppose we could get reacquainted… if that’s what you’re talking about.”

  I laughed. “No, no… although… no, never mind. I’m talking about the colony at large. What happens now?”

  “We’ll rebuild, of course,” she replied simply. “This time, we’ll use the ship’s resources properly. The provisional council is voting tomorrow on dismantling it, section by section, as originally planned. Use the materials to expand the settlements, improve infrastructure.”

  “That sounds like what should have happened years ago.”

  “Yes… what about you, Tanner?”

  “Me?”

  “The people here want to offer you citizenship—you have a home here if you want it.” Her eyes held mine steadily. “You’ve earned it. You’ve made a lot of … connections.”

  Whatever she had in mind caused her to look down at the stained floor. Her offer was tempting—even though I’d rather seek out Kelda’s companionship than hers.

  Sometimes, I considered staying on a colony world. A fresh start on a new planet might suit me better than Earth someday. A new world like Jarl was still finding its own way forward. No XCU, no Earth bureaucracy, no more questionable missions to compromised colonies.

  But the Tyrant’s final words haunted me. The dirt back home he’d hinted at. Dom’s death, the cover-up. If any of it was true, I’ll be damned if I was just going to look the other way.

  “I can’t stay,” I said finally. “There are things I need to address on Earth.”

  Jern studied the floor between us a moment, then nodded as if confirming something to herself. “I thought you’d say that.”

  Touching her cheek with rough knuckles, I was surprised when she kissed them. She really was glad I’d backed up her story of helping me.

  So be it. There’d been enough bloodshed on Jarl over recent years. It was time for these people to heal and get on with building their icy home into something good.

  Leaving, I found Kelda in the streets outside. The suns were falling, and the cold of night was coming. You could feel it—but Kelda lit up the place like a third star in the skies above.

  “There you are!” she said, rushing to my arms.

  I swept her up and kissed her. It was a nice kiss.

  “I heard you were back down on the surface. I heard you were Jarl’s hero.”

  “The greatest of all time.”

  Her violet eyes held mine for a long moment before she spoke again.

  “They said you’re planning to leave,” she said. “Go back to Earth.”

  “That’s the plan,” I confirmed. “There are more worlds than Jarl in need of help.”

  Kelda nodded, her expression carefully neutral. “The council appointed my father as agricultural coordinator. We’re implementing new growing methods using technology from the ship. Should increase yields by thirty percent next season.”

  “That’s impressive. Your family will be good at it.”

  An awkward silence stretched between us, full of unspoken words and complications.

  “You could stay,” she said finally, the words coming out in a rush. “There’s a place for you here. A chance to build something new, Dane.”

  She bit her lip as I met her gaze, seeing the sincerity there—and something more. Whatever had sparked between us during the rebellion hadn’t been extinguished by the battles that followed.

  “I can’t retire,” I said gently. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Aren’t there other agents? Other people to send to other colony worlds?”

  I nodded, admitting there were. “But,” I said, “there are also things I need to fix on Earth.”

  Disappointment flashed across her face but was quickly masked. “Will you come back? Someday?” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “Unlikely.”

  She grabbed my hand and began walking. I let her pull me across the snowy streets.

  “Um…” I said. “Where are we going?”

  “There’s a house, here. A nice one. I think I might take it—as our own home is gone, and people who lived here—they’re all gone now.”

  I looked around as she led me into a cozy place. There was already a fire glowing on the hearth. She’d already made herself at home.

  “So… you’re staying here? In Northaven?”

  “Yes. Now, shut up. I know you don’t have long. I want to give you something to remember us by.”

  Before I could respond, she leaned forward and kissed me—not desperate or passionate like before, but gentle. A goodbye, or perhaps a promise.

  We made love in the cottage, and when I left her, we didn’t drag it out. We both knew this was forever.

  Later, when I was heading back to Ingrid’s place, I still felt the lingering warmth of Kelda’s touch. She was going to be my best memory of this world, I’d known that all along.