CHAPTER 31

Artemis

M arkus kept the conversation vague and impersonal as we made our way down. He chatted about a few rumours he’d heard in an odd attempt to try to connect with me as if I cared about other people’s drama. I was eager to arrive at his suite so he would stop talking about inane nonsense and focus on his pitch.

His suite was on the same deck as the maintenance crew’s, and I wondered if that was the reason he had turned his back on the Intergalactic Union’s military; because he believed himself slighted. I understood that military chefs needed at least some level of training, but I was curious to find out why he chose to cook for people when he so clearly felt himself too far above them to serve them.

The suites here were much smaller than those on the ranking officer’s deck. There were two bedrooms, and from the open doors I could see they were only large enough for a single bed, even though there were markings on the walls that suggested they contained pull-outs as well. The only other items that could fit were a cubby for clothes, a single shelf above the head of the bed for any personal belongings.

Whoever he shared the suite with wasn’t home, and I wondered if Markus had bribed them to leave us alone for our meal.

The rest of the suite was just as tiny with barely enough room for the two of us to manoeuvre around one another as he led me past a small couch and through to the kitchenette on the other side of the room. There, he waved for me to have a seat before he opened the miniscule refrigeration unit and produced plate after plate of already prepared food. I was curious how he managed to fit them into such a confined space but dismissed the thought. It didn’t matter.

I barely looked at the food. I didn’t want to eat any for fear he had spiked it with some sort of substance. His connection to The Program would have afforded him access to certain drugs that were not mainstream such as Veritium. It blocked a chemical in an individual’s brain that lowered their inhibitions, and it was largely used to ensure whoever was affected spoke only the truth.

I didn’t want to think about the repercussions if such as substance – and others – found its way into the wrong hands. Even though I supposed it already had.

When the silence between us continued, I attempted to break the ice. ‘It looks delicious.’

I didn’t know if it did or not, but I needed to stay on his good side.

‘Give it a taste first, then you can praise my cooking skills all you like,’ he joked, but there was an undercurrent that had my spine straightening. It was a challenge, but for what? Had he actually drugged the food?

If he were trying to drug me it wouldn’t do any good. The nanites coursing through my body would eat through it in mere ticks, and I would never feel a thing. It would be like a giant neon sign pointing directly at me, flashing with the words HERE IS THE ESCAPED SUBJECT .

But I didn’t see any way out of it. He was staring at me, waiting for me to take that first bite. So I did.

I chewed slowly, pretending to savour the flavours when in reality I was trying to discern any tastes that should not have been there. It was difficult when I had never eaten this specific food before. I didn’t know what it was beyond meat wrapped in some sort of vegetable casing, and it was delicious. The flavours exploded over my tongue. Sharp and spicy, earthy and herby, with a little sweetness to it to counteract the bitterness from the vegetable which was crispy at first bite and then soft like potatoes underneath. And the meat was cooked to perfection , practically melting in my mouth. I didn’t know what animal it came from, but I didn’t care. I wanted more of it.

I took another bite.

‘This is fantastic ,’ I complimented around a mouthful.

His responding smile, for the first time, was genuine. It reached his eyes and made them crinkle at the corners, and he seemed truly pleased with my reaction. He must have really made him happy to see people enjoying his food.

The meals in the mess hall were worth it as well, but since they were made on a larger scale to provide for an entire ship’s worth of people it didn’t quite reach the same level of as whatever I was currently eating. This was prepared with care.

He was buttering me up.

‘So how long have you and Adara known one another?’ he asked, taking a bite from his own plate.

I didn’t understand his fixation on Adara but saw no need to hide this information from him. ‘We met on my first day on the ship. My team was assigned to her command for the first week.’

‘Ah. And you’re one of her chosen ones,’ he stated, a bitterness to his tone I also failed to understand.

‘Chosen ones?’ I asked.

He gave me a self-deprecating smile, his lips thinning into a straight line. ‘Adara Brin is infamous for her elitist behaviours. She picks very few people to join her inner circle, and most people don’t make the cut.’

That didn’t add up to the Adara I knew, but I gathered he was just put out by her blatant dislike and distrust of him. She wasn’t wrong, either, or the way she saw right through him was probably a hard pill for him to swallow.

‘And she didn’t choose you?’ I phrased it as a question, even though I already knew the answer.

‘No. Apparently I didn’t meet her impossibly high standards,’ he snarked.

I wanted to stand up for Adara, but that was not the right move here. Instead, I took a shot in the dark, throwing her, the captain and myself into the line of fire. ‘I think she just likes to take in strays. People that make her feel important because she gets to help .’

He barked out a single staccato laugh. ‘Yes, that’s exactly it. She just wants to build herself up by helping those she views as less fortunate . So why did she choose you?’

He was trying to insinuate that her interest in me was a mistake, like I was worthy of so much more than being underneath Adara Brin’s thumb. If I hadn’t already made my own conclusions about her then I might have believed him.

I played along, frowning as if the concept had struck a chord. ‘I don’t need anyone’s pity,’ I told him, using the negative emotions this man was triggering within me and aiming them at Addy.

‘You’re right, Arthur. You don’t need anyone’s pity. You’re much more valuable than these people see, and that’s what stood out to me. You’ve been saddled with a pathetic team filled with wannabe heroes, and even a rapist ,’ he spat the word out as if he hated it, but there was an odd gleam in his eyes that verged on amusement. The bad vibes he gave off grew the more I spent time with him. The more he spoke, the clearer it was that he was truly evil, just like the scientists in The Program.

It was no mystery why they picked him for recruitment, but that begged the question of what other roles he claimed within their ranks.

How high up their ladder of authority did this man preside?

‘You think I’m a good fit for this position, but what exactly is it?’ I asked, getting down to business. I didn’t want to talk about Adara anymore. I felt dirty sullying her like that.

He studied me silently, and I knew then that even though he had approached me and set up this meeting and was trying to kiss my feet in the process, that I was still going to have to sell myself.

‘I cannot give you all the details, of course. You must understand that the offer I am presenting to you is highly classified,’ he began.

I widened my eyes as if in shock and leant forward to act eager. ‘A highly classified position? Why could you possibly need me?’ I asked, forcing a breathiness to my voice to imitate awe.

He smiled then, a slow stretch of his lips that came across as more creepy than pleased. He believed he had me on his hook. ‘Why did you join the military, Arthur? I read your file. You’re here on scholarship with some of the highest test scores Nova Academy has seen in years. What made you choose this life?’

Ah, here was the part where I had to start selling myself. One look at the false nonchalance Markus was trying to exude provided all the information I needed to proceed: with caution.

‘I wanted to make something of myself,’ I began, attempting to pull off the same level of false nonchalance, as if I cared but didn’t want to advertise as such. ‘If I’d stayed where I was, I would have fallen down the same traps as everyone else. I would’ve been stuck. I figured I could join the military and work my way up. Be someone.’

It felt like I was overdoing it as I spoke, but my little speech seemed to have achieved its intended goal. He was eating up every word.

‘What if I told you there was a chance to make something of yourself without having to jump through the military’s hoops?’ he asked, that wicked gleam glinting in his eyes once again. ‘And with better pay.’

I leant even further forward, as if I were excited to know more. ‘How much better?’

His smirk was positively snake-like. ‘Triple the military’s starting salary with bonuses and opportunities to further your career.’

For an entry-level position that was quite a fat sum. Even I could admit that .

‘And what would I have to do?’

‘That’s not something I’m at liberty to reveal just yet, Arthur.’

‘I can’t know what job it is you want me to do before I agree to do it?’ I asked, searching for verbal confirmation that I didn’t really need, but it would have been useful.

‘Highly classified, remember? Until you’re officially a part of the team, I do not have the freedom to discuss the details.’

I sat back, my face falling. It wasn’t a total act. I was disappointed he hadn’t taken the bait, but it wasn’t a completely hopeless situation. I had an in with this mysterious job offer. I didn’t need him to outright tell me he worked for The Program, that they had their greedy little fingers in this pie too, because I had surmised as much before I’d even enrolled at Nova Academy. It was the sole reason for my enrolment in the first place, but it would have been nice to have that information concreted and at my disposal.

‘Right, sorry,’ I muttered, behaving as if I were a properly chastised child.

He contemplated me for a beat. ‘You’ll find out soon enough, Arthur.’

I brightened at his comment. ‘Does that mean I got the job?’

He seemed pleased by my enthusiasm. ‘I think so. You’ll need to be brought up to speed, but that will have to wait until we can meet with my colleagues on Nova Station. In the meantime, keep an eye out for a message from me.’

He rose then, opened the door and waited by the empty frame. ‘It was a pleasure, Arthur. I’ll be in touch.’

I took his dismissal without a word beyond thanking him for his time and the opportunity, then I left.

This was it. I was in. I was closer than ever to finding my way back to Libby. I just had to ensure the mission stayed on track. No more derailments.

Which meant that until I heard back from Markus, my full attention would have to be on finding the assailant wandering around The Carina as if he owned the damn ship. And for all I knew, he did.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that when the elevator spat me out on the upper deck, Adara was already waiting for me by the door. ‘Well?’

‘Shh,’ I hissed. ‘Not here.’ I was well aware that Markus was probably watching me, or at the very least recording my every move for others to rifle through. He exuded an air of importance that gave me the sense he was used to people working beneath him. He was no stranger to delegating tasks.

Captain Hironimus was milling about the kitchen when we arrived, placing leftover containers in his refrigeration unit that held a much larger capacity than Markus’s. He paused mid action when he saw us enter. ‘Where have you been, Mercer?’

I didn’t know how to answer that without raising suspicion, so I looked to Adara with a wide-eyed look as if I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing. She merely snorted and faced the captain.

'We need the room, Xan.’

He closed the fridge unit and stood to his full height to scowl down at us both. ‘You’re kicking me out of my own suite?’ he asked incredulously.

‘What’s going on?’ Reece appeared in the second bedroom’s doorway followed by Henrik.

‘Everyone needs to go wait outside,’ Adara demanded, earning a round of protests from all the men in the room.

‘Just for a few minutes,’ she reassured. ‘Just go wait in the corridor until I come get you.’

Captain Hironimus silenced them with the single action of raising his hand, then addressed Adara. ‘Is there anything I need to be aware of?’

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye but squared up against the larger man. ‘Not yet.’

I didn’t like that answer, and neither did the captain, but that was all we were going to get from the stubborn Griknot.

‘All right.’ He gestured for Reece and Henrik to follow him outside and they obeyed. Reece stopped when he passed me, though.

‘Are you in trouble?’ he asked.

His concern for me melted another piece of my frozen exterior. This man would have been a faithful friend under different circumstances. My guilt grew over the rising amount of lies broadening the chasm between us he had yet to notice.

‘I’m fine. I just need to talk to Addy for a second without anyone else listening in. It’s kinda… personal.’

It was all I could give him, and it struck me then how much I wanted to give him more. Give him everything. He deserved so much better than what I could offer him. He deserved a friend that would be honest and truthful. A friend that would stay.

He nodded once, not quite satisfied with my answer but trusting me enough to let it go. Adara rounded on me as soon as the door slid shut behind them.

‘Talk. Now.’

‘I don’t know how much I can tell you without dragging you into it,’ I admitted.

I could see that she wanted to argue, but she held her tongue when she realised how immovable I was going to be on the matter. ‘Then tell me as much as you can.’

I did.