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Her chest tightened and she reached out a hand to touch him, but her arms felt leaden, immovable. When they didn’t obey, she focused her gaze on Lieutenant Keva, the Delfine alien who was Finn’s XO.
“Krooss, Thasa system. Viktis has a safe house there.”
“The third this week.” Finn’s hands curled around the railing of the CIC. “MYTH is getting better and better at tracking us since we left Forever Station. It feels like we’re running in circles, doesn’t it?”
The lieutenant nodded. “I hope Renna can figure out what’s going on sooner rather than later. I’m not sure how we can stay ahead of the trackers much longer.”
“We’ll have to try. Maybe our resident pirate has some ideas. He’s full of them.”
Keva grinned, an unusual sparkle in her violet eyes. “Yes, yes, he is.”
Finn shook his head, but a smile tugged at his lips. “Behave, Lieutenant. I’m going to go let Aldani know we’ve arrived. He needed some more supplies. Make sure he gets everything he asks for.”
Keva saluted. “Yes, sir.”
The scene faded, but a moment later, Renna watched Finn stride into an equipment-filled med-bay.
Dr. David Aldani hunched over a microscope, but he straightened at Finn’s entrance. “Ah, there you are, Captain.”
“We’ll be landing on Krooss within the hour, Doctor. Have you sent Lieutenant Keva your supply list? I’ve told her to do whatever it takes to get what you need.” Finn sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t expect to leave Forever Station in such a hurry. We left too many supplies behind.”
“I think taking down Kitty Cordoza was more than worth it,” Aldani said with a smile. “I saw on the holofeed that they found extensive evidence tying her to a massive slave ring. They said she’ll be locked away for life.”
A slow grin twisted Finn’s lips. “Kitty found out firsthand that karma’s a bitch. I’m just glad I was there to help put her away.” His gaze fell to Aldani’s electron microscope, and the amusement slid from his face. “Any news on Renna’s condition?”
Aldani shook his head. “Not yet. The tissue sample I took before we left is unlike anything I’ve seen before. The cells are changing and mutating faster than should be possible.”
Finn shoved his hands into his pockets, shoulders hunching. “She’s not going to make it, is she?” Renna’s stomach twisted at the flicker of pure anguish that crossed Finn’s face.
“Of course she’s going to make it. She has the best doctors at MYTH working on it. And me. Who knows—maybe MYTH has already found a way to stop the integration completely.” He put a hand on Finn’s arm. “You can’t think like that. Renna’s tough. She’ll get through this.”
Finn nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. “Thanks for the information, Doc. I have to get back to the bridge. Let me know if you uncover anything else.”
Renna followed Finn as he left the med bay and wandered through the ship. He trailed a finger along one of the smooth polythene walls, and Renna’s skin erupted in flames, as if he’d touched her.
But that was impossible. They were millions of miles away.
“Renna, where are you?” he muttered.
She wanted to whisper to him, to tell him she was right there, but the dream had frozen her mouth as well as her body. She used every atom of her willpower to walk toward him, to raise her hand to touch his face, but her body wouldn’t obey. She felt impossibly heavy. Immovable.
Around her, the Athena jerked and trembled, and Finn stumbled, catching himself on the wall. Renna shivered again at the searing heat of his hand. Sucked in a breath to say his name…
…and was awakened by Commander Jayla’s voice filling her room.
“Good morning, Renna. We should be in the Costa system in under an hour.”
Her lungs felt like they’d been squeezed into a teacup, and she took a deep, shuddering breath before responding. “Thanks, Commander. I’ll be right up.”
She forced herself to sit upright, waiting until the cabin stopped spinning before getting to her feet. Her blood pumped sluggishly through her veins, her mind thick with fog. It felt like she’d been attacked by a rabid moisu. The two-headed creatures rarely left their pray intact.
But she’d seen Finn, even if it had only been a dream. That was almost worth feeling like this.
Renna ran some cool water in the sink, splashing her face several times with the icy water. Damn, that was cold. But it wasn’t doing much to wake her up. She was still focused on the longing that ached within her, the touch of Finn’s hand on her arm. It had felt so real, so life-like. Like she’d actually been there with him.
Renna studied her pale reflection in the mirror over the sink. Her caramel skin had lost its usual color, and her lips were pale pink. Exhaustion made her look like she was about to pass out.
And then she peered deeper into her eyes. They were even darker than normal, almost black as the pupils swallowed her irises. But as she stared, something flickered deep inside them. A strange glow that wasn’t entirely human.
Her fingers curled into the metal sink as everything hit her at once. Acid spiked the back of her throat, and she swallowed back the nausea. It was happening. Beyond the weird mental things, she was physically changing. Her implant was turning her into a hybrid.
Renna’s knees gave out, and she slid to the floor, her back resting against the bathroom wall. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth. This wasn’t happening. Couldn’t be happening. She was going to solve this. Everything was going to be all right.
But what if it wasn’t?
An angry wail escaped her. It wasn’t f**king fair. This wasn’t supposed to happen to her, just when she was finally starting her life. She was f**king twenty-three years old. She’d worked her ass off to make it this far, and with one injection, it had all been snatched away from her. Her future, her relationship with Finn, even the money she’d spent the last ten years saving so she could retire and start a new life. What the hell did a robot need with credits?
Bile coated her tongue as another wave of nausea twisted through her. Renna curled into herself further, resting her head on her knees. She’d spent her whole life working so hard to get past her childhood—to become something different, to leave her blasted mother and the tenements behind, to find her own path.
And for what? To die alone and unloved somewhere in a MYTH facility while they experimented on her? Fuck if she was going to let that happen. She’d kill herself first. Maybe she should just do it now and save everyone the trouble.
