Planet Athion: The Complete Series by Angel Lawson

33

Alex

Kai has the ship ready.It’s nothing major, just a high-speed craft that we can survive in for a few weeks and get there quickly.

I wasn’t convinced Damon would come through. I love the guy but he’s erratic, moody, and arrogant as fuck. We’d gone through basic Custo training together, me, him, and Dimka, and that kind of situation bonds people. Kai was a commander already, our commander, and the first time he and Kai met I thought it would end up with one of them dead. Instead they landed in a bar, drinking ‘til dawn, sharing stories about their lives and families.

You never know what will tie people together. For Kai, he understands Damon’s temperament even if it is unstable. He gets that he needs to be out “there” doing things on his own. He has shit to work through. We all do, but Damon came to space to find just that—space. Maybe one day he can come back and the chip on his shoulder will be smaller. More manageable. Until then, he’s a ghost in our unit. One of us that’s no longer with us on a day-to-day basis.

It’s not that I thought he’d refuse to help. I just figured he wouldn’t even answer the call. But he proved me wrong, and he not only answered but he agreed to see what he could do.

Twenty-four hours later we’re on the ship, strapped in and ready to go. Where? Not exactly sure. We have coordinates but it’s not to the auction ship. No way Damon would give us those. Taking out the ship and the Master are not on our agenda. Saving Mercy is.

“Once he has some news, he’ll let us know where to go next,” Kai says, flipping a dozen switches. I have no idea how this thing runs.

“You think he has her?”

“I think he’s going to do his best.”

With Damon that means he may blow up the whole fucking ship or he may get pissed off and walk away or he may charm his way in and out and no one will be the wiser until it’s too late.

I guess we’ll find out.