A great gust of wind blew through the central strike area, clearing the smoke for a few seconds. Fire engulfed everything that could burn—trees, cement, twisted and melted girders. Saltani iron, the strongest metal in the galaxy, dripped like melted plastic.
Ariz was right. No one could have survived that.
A sob tore from Renna’s throat, and she felt tears stream down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and tried to reach out to the Athena, to feel that connection again, but there was nothing. No tingle, no hum.
Dead.
Finn was gone. Gheewala was gone. Alistair and Jayla. Everyone who’d helped her, who’d been part of her life.
She sank down into the empty seat and curled her arms around her waist. What did she do now? Everything she’d cared about had been ripped from her. There was nothing left.
Except Pallas. Dr. Samil. Whatever the woman called herself, she was a murderer, and she was going to pay for this.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Renna lay curled into a ball on Viktis’s bed. Ariz had ordered her to try to get some rest while they flew back to Illia and the hospital. Rest was the last thing she’d be able to do, but the pilot’s silent sympathy made her skin crawl. Being alone with her grief was the only way she knew how to deal with this.
She stared out into the blackness of space, unseeing, and angrily wiped away the tear trickling down her cheek. Grief could come later, when she’d stopped Samil once and for all. But how? She needed a better plan than marching in and shooting the bitch in the head. That kind of recklessness would only get Renna killed. And after all this, she couldn’t afford to fail now. She owed it to everyone who’d died in that explosion. Finn, Alistair, Commander Jayla, Keva…
Oh gods, someone had to tell Viktis she was gone. She didn’t know what had been between the two of them, but she had a feeling it was stronger than he’d let on. Viktis was a lot like her when it came to relationships—letting people in was difficult, but when it happened, he was a vulnerable mess.
Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rested her head on her knees and let her brain churn through options.
Going back to Shalim wasn’t really an option. Renna couldn’t take the whole facility on by herself, no matter how good a thief she was. She needed to figure out a way to draw the doctor out, to face her one on one. But Samil was the one with all the power now.
She had been from the very beginning, always a step ahead. But how? How did she always seem to know where Renna was going to be before she did?
The click of the intercom echoed through the room, jerking her out of her spinning head. Ariz’s voice filled the cabin. “Renna, there’s a comm coming through for you.”
“Fine. I’ll take it in here.” The last thing she wanted to do was talk to anyone, but she got to her feet and switched on the holo device on Viktis’s desk. It flickered to life, bringing up the image of Dr. Thana Samil.
Pallas.
Hatred flooded through Renna in a blazing rush. She gritted her teeth to keep from screaming, but she knew her loathing was written all over her face.
Samil shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry it had to come to this But MYTH had to be purged. Now it can rise like a phoenix from the ashes to become something better. To actually protect humanity.”
“Right. Because creating a cyborg army out of the poor and needy is protecting them,” Renna said. “You can lie to yourself all you want, Doctor, but I know you’re the biggest monster of us all.”
“You misunderstand me, dove. I want to use my new organization to heal instead of hurt, to protect instead of attack. We’ll make a difference in this galaxy.”
Samil’s smug face made every atom in Renna’s body twitch with revulsion. “You’re definitely making a difference, what with all the murder and experimentation you’re doing. Just stop this, Doctor. Face me one on one. Let’s end this.”
Samil smiled. “That’s exactly my plan. You are my key, Renna. I want your altered implant as the hub of my neural network. Your unique physiology will allow me to connect with my teams across the galaxy. I can respond instantly to threats or danger. Think of how much you’ll be helping humanity.”
“You’re f**king insane.”
“Insane. Visionary. Whatever you call me, I plan on changing the world. And I’ve already started. You’ll be pleased at the difference I’ve made in the Izan Tenements.”
Ice formed a solid ball in the pit of her stomach. Annet Parra. That’s why she’d been in Samil’s lab.
“What have you done?” Renna demanded.
“Nothing the residents didn’t ask me to do.” Samil paused and pulled a vial out of her pocket. “This is the drug Navang injected you with. I’ve refined it, based on the changes to your DNA. It should allow the transition to occur in a matter of hours once the implants are installed. These new hybrids will be transformed and added to my neural network and completely under my control within twenty-four hours.”
Renna shot to her feet. “Leave them alone! They have nothing to do with this.”
“But they do. They asked for my help. They want better lives, and my implants will give it to them. They’ll be part of my organization—healthy, well-fed, taken care of.” She smiled. “Those who survive the transition at least.”
Renna remembered all the kids she’d grown up with, the prostitutes who’d helped raise her, the shopkeepers and laundresses who’d worked so hard to get ahead. Samil wanted to change them all. Control them. She couldn’t let the woman succeed.
“Come to me, Renna. You have my word. I’ll stop building my army. I’m done experimenting on people. I have what I need to make a difference now.”
“Your word is worth less than a penis on a Russka,” she spat.
Samil ignored her comment. “I know what it is like to be alone. Your lover is dead, and so are most of your friends. There’s no one left to save but yourself. I’ll be waiting in the tenements for you, Renna. I hope you make the right choice.”
The holo flickered off, leaving Renna staring at the blank wall behind it. It was obviously another trap. Samil had given up all pretense of subtlety at this point. She already knew what buttons to push to get Renna to jump through her hoops.
But at this point, what else did Renna have to lose?
If there was a possibility of stopping Samil once and for all, she had to take it. If the woman unleashed this army on the rest of the galaxy… Renna shook her head. It didn’t bear even thinking about.