Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

Jane

" L ast chance," Paige said, standing inside my door. "You can still change your mind."

I accepted from her the clothes she had hidden under her cloak and shook my head. "No way. If anything, I'm more sure."

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"I read that datascreen you gave me." I pulled off my shirt and put on the one she'd brought. It was several sizes too big, but then, these were crew uniforms made for Mitrans. "I learned what I was running from on Earth—an abusive marriage." I shot her a look. "A marriage that had not ended."

Her eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yes. I was married." I gritted my teeth. "I came here knowing full well that I wasn't even qualified for this program. My name was Eleanor, by the way."

Paige sat on the edge of the bed. "I like Jane better."

I paused in the act of pulling on the pants she had brought. "Me, too. If I actually get through this, I'm sticking with Jane."

She shrugged and met my gaze. "That's the woman I met, and the one I still consider my friend. No matter what."

"Thank you. That means more to me than you know," I said with a smile. "The warlord won't appreciate that one of the women who came here did so under a false identity, while still having a legally binding marriage on Earth. There's no way he could accept me now, even if things were perfect. And they're not."

I looked down at myself. I wore a dark blue shirt and pants. The uniform of a crew member on one of the Mitran transport ships. I tossed my other clothes on the bed. It didn't matter what happened to them now. After I left this room, there would be no coming back to it.

"Let's go over this one more time," she said, crossing her arms. "You have an idea of how to distract the guards." She held up her hands. "I don't want to know what it is. You're going to keep your head down and walk straight to deck five on the upper level. Not the one on the sub-lower level. Those are for small private shuttles."

"Got it," I said.

"Here." She pulled a hat from a pocket, along with a flat, metal rectangle. "The hat will add some cover and you'll need the passcard to get on board the freighter. Scan it at the interface and walk straight on board. After that, find a place to hide, probably in the cargo bay. That's where you'll find the fewest crew members. This ship is going to be loaded—tons of warriors. They're taking some containers or something to the Urrak space station. It seems like an important mission, but it's the first one out and the only one I could get you a clearance card for. It's pure luck, too. My mate, Yarat, was scheduled to be on it but got transferred at the last minute. This is the card that was issued to him for this mission. I snagged it before he tossed it in the recycler." Her eyes were tight with worry. "I was really hoping you'd reconsider, Jane."

"I wish I could." I took her hand in mine and squeezed. "Thank you. I know you're not just doing this for me, but you know the threat these implants hold for everyone here. And now that you know the truth…" I dropped my gaze and shook my head. "There's no way I can stay. My husband will probably catch up with me at some point, and I'll have to just live with the choices I made years ago."

"Why didn't you divorce him?" she asked. "It's not like that's illegal."

"I tried," I said. "He said that his contacts in the court system deleted my filings."

"Wow. Now that is illegal."

"I doubt any lawyer would touch me." I shook my head. "Look, I'll deal with the consequences, but I can't stay here any longer."

She let out a strangled noise and yanked me forward into a tight hug. "Take care of yourself, Jane, and I hope you come back one day. I hope you and the warlord work things out and you get free of whatever mess happened to you on Earth."

"Me too," I said. "Maybe I can find some amnesty or refuge on the space station." I shook my head and shrugged, having not even thought that far ahead. "Maybe I can just lie low for a while."

"Don't give up on him," Paige said. "When Mitran males fall, they fall for life. If the warlord wants you, he's not going to just let you go."

My chest tightened. "Neither did Alexander. See how that ended up."

"Pal-Sirok is not your horrible ex." She crossed her arms. "Just make sure that you're not running because you think he is."

I nodded, took a deep breath and went to the door. There was no more time for chatting or working things out. There was only time for action.

"Okay, you leave first," I said. "Go straight to your quarters and don't look back. I promise I won't do any permanent harm to the guards, but…I need to knock them out."

Paige's eyes widened. "I can't believe you're that strong."

"I'm even stronger when I'm controlled by my implants," I told her. "Now, go. And thank you, again."

She nodded and made her exit. I watched her walk briskly away. The guard to my right reached back to close the door, but I put a foot in the opening for it to stay open.

Next came the part that I was loath to do the most. I let instincts guide and with my newfound strength—and the element of total surprise—I sent a quick uppercut to his thick jaw. He went down like a rock and the other guard, flabbergasted, turned to me. He had both hands on his spear. I kicked up and sent the spear's shaft right into his forehead, keeping the sharp end from cutting anyone.

I had imagined doing this, trying to figure out the easiest, quickest, and least painful way of disabling the guards using my enhanced strength. There was no one in the hallway, and I took the moment to drag them both inside.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I murmured as I pulled the heavy males inside. This was the only part I felt really awful about though. I had been nothing but agreeable and polite all this time and here I was, knocking them out and hiding them in my room while I took off.

When they were both inside, I verified the hallway was empty, closed the door and I was off. I kept the brim of my hat over my eyes. It covered my hair and the silver implants on the side of my head. I walked briskly but made sure I didn't look suspicious. It was not easy and I didn't know how long it would take before the guards woke up.

I figured that was exactly how much time I had to get on the freighter and out of sight. Paige had explained the route I needed to take when we discussed the plan the day before. That was when she had told me she had figured out a way to get me off the planet. I had committed the directions to memory.

I followed them now, moving evenly through passageways and corridors. Some were narrow and dark. Some were wide and brightly lit. They kept me out of the main hall, which was key. The last thing I needed was to run into Siroc, Urix, or Koloth, Siroc's first guard. They would recognize me no matter what I was wearing.

I arrived on the upper level, deck five. Here, a wide chamber stretched deep into the mountain. One entire wall of it was open, revealing the wintry landscape and jagged mountains outside. I tugged my hat lower and walked towards the pad that held the freighter ship. There were three other ships here, but this was the only one clearly preparing to depart. Loads of Mitran warriors stood around it.

I stepped in line with several others who were dressed as I was. One was a human woman, thankfully. There was a Mitran male and another crew member of an alien species I couldn't identify. We walked straight to the lowered ramp. One by one, we scanned our passcards.

I took mine out and swiped it against the pad console. It turned green and I followed the others on board. I'd made it. Now, to get myself hidden.

Everyone on the ship seemed to know what their purpose was. The three other crew members who had boarded with me, split off to their stations. I did the same, heading directly towards the cargo bay. I wondered if every transport had this kind of energy. It was almost as if they were preparing for a battle. I ducked around hurrying crew members, finding my way down a couple of dead ends before eventually landing in the cargo bay.

It was huge, of course, and it took up a great deal more than half of the ship itself. It looked like a warehouse in here. Containers of all shapes and sizes were stacked and secured to the floor in case the engineered gravity failed.

Items were still being loaded in. Various lifts and vehicles entered, bringing on board the last of the shipments. I slipped into a narrow space between two square containers and waited for the loading process to end.

The ship shifted and made a loud sound as the locking mechanisms snapped into place and all air locks sealed. I braced myself as the ship began to move and take off. Once we were in space, the engineered gravity would take effect and I could move around again.

And then I would be free. Free from the entity controlling my implants and forcing me to do things against my will. Free of the lies that brought me to Mitra and free of the warlord who would forever have my heart.