As We Rise: Rogue (As We Rise Saga Book 1) Read online

  It didn’t take long before Jo’s UAB chimed with the result.

  “Even split,” Jo groaned. It would be up to her to make the deciding vote. Jo scanned the crowd one last time, noting how Chitra and Haedus were nodding as if to say they would support her no matter what. Nerves rolled her stomach. This choice would decide not only her fate, but those of the crew. Jo clambered down the ladder, trying to ignore Sky’s vocal protests.

  Jo barked at the crew to go back to their duty stations and prepare to be boarded by the GC ship. Sky stayed rooted next to the pod, the corners of her mouth curled with disapproval.

  “Go to the bridge. Haedus will need you,” Jo demanded.

  “You will regret this,” Sky hissed through her teeth. She gave Jo one last piercing look before skulking away.

  “The admiral of the GCS Pursuer has requested docking codes,” the AI’s voice announced right before the doors to the cargo bay swished closed.

  Jo snickered at the ship’s name and wondered if its name embodied the ship’s purpose as she hailed Haedus on her UAB. “Give them the codes and meet them in the docking bay. Stall them as much as you can.”

  “Aye, Captain,” he answered.

  With that taken care of, Jo approached the pod with a new determination. The beeps and clicks of her fingers flying across the med screen attached to the pod echoed in the cavernous bay. Jo glanced down, but the woman was not affected by the noise. Sweat pooled on her brow, and a single drip skated down her nose, tickling in its wake. Just as Jo was about to reseal the stasis pod, Sky’s parting words echoed inside her head.

  You will regret this.

  In a snap decision, Jo flipped the emergency release and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently as the machine elevated the girl out of the pod. Jo dragged the unconscious body away from the container and quickly used the graviton lift to place the newly sealed pod back into the container. After locking the crate, Jo slid an anti-gravity disk under the woman’s body and pushed her out of the bay.

  Jo’s stomach churned as she rushed through the corridors. All it would take was one soldier seeing her, and the whole ship would pay for Jo’s carelessness. She swallowed bile as she approached the door to her quarters. Another quick swipe of her wrist and she was secure in her room.

  As the door hissed closed, Jo pressed her back against the wall and sank onto the floor. The cool metal felt amazing against her sweaty skin and Jo allowed herself a moment to gather her thoughts. For once, Jo cursed her reckless, impulsive nature. What was she going to do with a woman who was practically an Elitian royal on her ship?

  “Sky.” Jo growled her name like a curse. Sky wasn’t at fault, but she had put the idea of saving the girl in Jo’s head, and for that Jo would make sure she lived to regret it. But after the GC soldiers were off her ship.

  With a grunt, Jo stood and stretched her sore muscles. She was luxuriating in the blissful feeling when an ear-piercing shriek shocked her into pulling her sidearm and pointing it at the offensive noise. A hiccupping whimper came from the chancellor’s daughter as she stood across from Jo, her eyes zeroed in on Jo’s weapon.

  “Where am I?” she croaked. Her delicate hand rubbed at her neck and she swallowed a few times before attempting to ask again.

  Jo was shocked silent. Her UAB chimed, letting her know an urgent message awaited her. She slowly holstered her weapon and checked it. The ship’s admiral was demanding to speak to the captain. Jo typed a response that she was on her way.

  Jo crossed her arms and addressed the woman. “You’re on my ship, and right now you need to hide.”

  Sky was correct—Jo was beginning to regret this decision.

  Ten

  It took a minute of convincing to get the woman to hide in her wall safe. That and a blazer pressed against her cheek. Jo tried to feel guilty, but she had to get to the bridge to meet with the GC admiral, and dealing with a freshly thawed kidnap victim could wait.

  Jo stopped outside of the bridge. She had no clue what was waiting for her on the other side, but whatever it was, she would have to be at the top of her game. She tilted her head to each side, savoring the way her tight muscles resisted a moment before releasing.

  “Here goes nothing,” she whispered before swiping her wrist over the panel.

  Jo walked into an abnormal quiet. Her bridge crew stood at their duty stations. Some were trying to look busy, but their covert glances at the uniformed men gave them away. Others were blatantly staring, their eyes full of contempt. Sky lurked in the shadows, watching the door Jo had just walked through. Jo could feel Sky’s glare crawl over her skin but kept her gaze locked on the group of men standing near Haedus. Their backs were turned to her, yet an eerie calm wrapped around her like a familiar, warm blanket.

  As Jo approached the group of men, they collectively turned around, and Jo’s shock caused her to stumble. Standing to the right of the admiral was Raiden.

  Memories of their various encounters surfaced, but none stood out as much as the last time she’d seen him. The way he comforted her in her grief better than any other person could have. How his tenderness made her both crave him more and want to run away at the same time. She chose the latter without even sending a goodbye message. Jo studied him for a moment. He didn’t look angry or even shocked to see her, but there was an intensity behind his stare that made Jo uncomfortable. She averted her gaze, keeping her eyes locked on the admiral, dialing up the charm by giving him a large, friendly smile. She hoped it didn’t look as forced as it felt, and all the while a steady stream of curses danced inside her mind.

  “Welcome aboard the Kismet. I’m Captain Jo,” She reached a hand out to the admiral, ignoring Raiden’s penetrating gaze.

  “Admiral Ruavu of the Galactic Consul Ship Pursuer.” The tall, white haired man took Jo’s hand and gave it a firm shake. Jo smiled in earnest this time. She liked a man who didn’t limp their wrist during a handshake with a woman. “I was just discussing the Drachen attack with your XO. Is everything okay?”

  “The cargo is a little bashed up, but otherwise fine,” Jo answered, pushing past pretenses. Everyone knew why they were here.

  Admiral Ruavu’s lips quirked on one side, giving away his amusement on an otherwise expressionless face. “Yes, well, I would rather see the cargo for myself.”

  “No problem. If you will follow me?” Jo turned to leave the bridge.

  “Captain Jo.” At Ruavu’s call, Jo stopped and turned around. The group of men hadn’t moved an inch. Jo’s insides twisted violently as he continued to speak. “I would like to extend help to your ship and allow my men to assist while on board.”

  “That is very generous, major.” Jo walked back to the men. “What qualifications do your men have? Can they assist in repairs on the hull and engineering for an adventurer class freighter?”

  “These men are the best the Pursuer has to offer. They can assist your crew with assessing any damage. Of course, they will need to check the entire ship.” Admiral Ruavu’s expressionless face bore into Jo. His brazenness angered her, but she couldn’t let her temper be in control. She knew that her response would be critical to how they would proceed.

  “Of course, Admiral.”

  Ruavu nodded and started barking orders to his men. Jo listened as he listed off sections of her ship and assigned men to them. He didn’t give Raiden a section or list the crew quarters. His knowledge of her ship’s interior was extensive, and Jo cursed the popularity of its design. She resisted the urge to pinch her lip as she worried if the safe her father installed in the Captain’s chambers was listed on the blueprints. He was a paranoid man, so the likelihood was low, but Jo couldn’t remember if the safe was installed before or after her mother’s death made him distrustful.

  “Admiral,” Jo half-yelled. Ruavu turned and didn’t hide the scowl that twisted his face at being interrupted. Jo risked a quick glance at Raiden, who nodded encouragingly. “Your men must be accompanied by one member of my crew. My ship is not as large as t
he Pursuer, so you will have to make do with my meager crew. Also, there will be no access granted to our systems past the diagnostics screen.”

  Admiral Ruavu tilted his head in agreement. “That is reasonable, but I have a request of my own. You cannot accompany me to the cargo bay for my inspection.”

  Jo raised an eyebrow. “This is my ship. I go wherever I damn well please.”

  “Until the cargo has been ejected into Arietis, it belongs to the military corporation, and therefore I have senior jurisdiction no matter whose ship it is currently on. You may assign one of your other crew members to me, but I will not allow you in the room while I examine the crates.”

  “Haedus will join you, then,” Jo replied through clenched teeth. Jo met Haedus’s gaze. Her stare told him everything: watch this guy and don’t let him know the crate was opened. He gave her a subtle nod in return. “Now that’s settled. Let’s get these repairs over with.”

  Jo announced through the ship’s comm for all crew members to report to the bridge for assignments. She turned to Sky, who hadn’t left the dark corner or stopped her attempts to burn holes into Jo’s skull.

  “You will oversee the crew assignments and will stay logged into our systems to monitor any unauthorized access.”

  Sky didn’t answer. She just stared at Jo from under her lowered cowl. Jo kept her gaze, unwilling to be the first to look away. She didn’t want to give Sky any ammunition to usurp her authority again. “Sky, I’m not asking. This is a command. One you will follow, or so help me, I will leave you at the nearest port.”

  Sky’s lips curled into a disturbing smile that sent a chill racing down Jo’s spine. She fought the urge to shudder.

  “You didn’t do it.”

  Jo glanced over her shoulder to see if any of the GC crew were close by, biting down the angry retort she desperately wanted to fling Sky’s way. She refused to risk her crew for the sake of one stupid girl. When Jo turned around, Sky’s twisted smirk turned impish, making her appear like a mischievous child instead of the ball-buster she was known to be.

  “Your lover is here,” her voice danced giddily.

  “Not now, Sky,” Jo hissed. “Get to work.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Sky chuckled as she kicked off from the wall and met with the growing crowd of Kismet crew members standing just outside of the bridge entrance.

  Jo took a few cleansing breaths, boxing up her worries and fears and pushing them to the back of her mind. Right now, they needed to finalize repairs and get the GC men off her ship without incident. Then she would worry about the other issue hiding in her father’s safe.

  “Captain,” Raiden’s silky baritone caressed her worn nerves and ignited her belly at the same time. Jo allowed herself a small smile before schooling her features to face him.

  “Yes,” Jo answered as she turned. He was too close, and Jo had to take a couple of steps back to keep from pressing her face into his jacket and breathing him in. She scolded herself for acting like a love-struck woman instead of a captain who needs to take control of the situation.

  With newfound determination, Jo squared her shoulders and looked Raiden in the eye. His back was to his admiral, hiding the affection in his gaze. His plump lips were quirked into a knowing grin. He had seen Jo’s moment of weakness and it amused him. Jo scowled.

  “What do you want?” She let all the vehemence she had been pushing down flow in those four words. Raiden jerked away as if she had physically slapped him before blanking his face. His emotionless eyes haunted Jo, but she couldn’t react to them.

  “Admiral Ruavu has assigned me to inspect the crew’s quarters. The rest of your staff have already been assigned, so that leaves you to accompany me.”

  The tiny spark of hope that her quarters would be spared the search was snuffed out. Jo nodded and turned to leave the bridge, not caring if Raiden was following or not. She racked her brain for information about the safe. Was it sound-proof? If so, then it wouldn’t be an issue if the woman was in there screaming. Did they know of its existence? Would sensors pick it up?

  But the question plaguing her the most was one she couldn’t find the answer to unless she gave herself and her crew away. Nerves knotted her stomach and she forced the food rising her throat to stay down. Jo realized that she feared the answer to this question more than any of the others, and that knowledge shook her to her core.

  Could she trust Raiden?

  Eleven

  The two didn’t speak as Jo led him through most of the crew quarters. His inspection wasn’t as thorough as others they’d had to endure when her father was captain. She kept quiet, not wanting to encourage Raiden to violate any more of her crew’s privacy. It wasn’t until she stood outside of Sky’s room that he broke the silence.

  “Why would you accept a contract from Eltanin?” Raiden raked his hands through his hair, pulling hard at the ends.

  Jo ignored his question and overrode the security codes for Sky’s room. She stepped through with Raiden close behind. Once inside, she moved to the side so he could examine the room without her getting in the way, but unlike the previous rooms, Jo was curious to see what she could discover about its occupant. Jo lifted a brow as she scanned the room. Other than a few unusual weapons, Sky’s room was devoid of any personal effects.

  Sitting lightly on the pillow was a perfectly preserved flower—a species Jo had never seen before. The orange tips of the large petals flowed into a deep, almost blood red until it reached the yellow stalks in the center. The longer Jo stared at it, the more she yearned to know what planet it came from.

  “You’re killing me,” Raiden’s gruff voice broke Jo’s thoughts.

  “Mmm,” Jo mumbled, still staring at the flower.

  Warmth pulsed against Jo’s back as Raiden slipped in behind her, his hands resting on her hips. “You keep licking those lips and I’ll have to have a taste for myself.” Jo held in a shiver at the gravelly words uttered against the flesh of her ear.

  Raiden had said pretty things like this to her plenty of times before, but never at such an inappropriate time. It gave Jo pause. Was this his way of distracting her? Was he using their past encounters to seduce her into making a mistake? It was certainly an idea she had been entertaining throughout this ruse of an inspection. Her lower stomach flipped as he pulled her body against his. No, she needed to stay in control.

  With great reluctance, she stepped away. “Are you finished with this room?”

  Hurt flashed through Raiden’s eyes before he narrowed them suspiciously. “Yes.”

  “Good. Next is my XO, then the captain’s chambers.”

  Jo led him to Haedus’s room. Just to be safe, she didn’t follow him the entire way in. Instead she opted to stand by the door, allowing her full view of what Raiden was doing and not giving him the opportunity to sneak up behind her again.

  Raiden seemed more interested in Haedus’s room than any of the others so far, and for that Jo was thankful. She had no clue on what to expect when she unlocked her room. Would there be muffled screams from the safe? If so, how deep did Raiden’s loyalties lie with the Galactic Consulate? He obviously wasn’t Elitian born. She could tell by his caramel skin and glossy black hair, but that was the extent of what she truly knew about her on and off again lover. How old was he? Were the grays at his temple from age or stress or genetics? What planet was he from? Was he forced into service or joined willingly to keep his family fed? Would he turn her in?

  “Does your entire crew have private access to the ship’s network?” Raiden’s voice boomed from across Haedus’s room.

  “Yes. It’s a perk of being one of the few trusted souls I allow aboard my ship.”

  Raiden pinched his chin as he nodded at the access portal on Haedus’s desk before turning back to Jo. “I’m done here.”

  “Okay,” Jo whispered, hoping that the slight shake in her voice wasn’t noticeable, but when his eyebrow quirked up and lips twisted into a sly grin, she knew he heard.

  Jo led him
to the door at the end of the hall. With a deep breath, she swiped her UAB over the panel and led him in. Every nerve in her body was so tight with nervous fear that she felt jittery from the overload. Yet, when nothing but blessed silence reached her ears, she had to fight not to physically show the relief she felt.

  Raiden took his time in her room. He eyed every object Jo owned like he was cataloging it for a later date. His fingers brushed against the tools she used to repair her cybernetic leg and Jo swore she felt the phantom touch against her artificial leg. Nothing was left unobserved. The scrutiny made Jo uncomfortable for a different reason. He was seeing a different part of her, one that not many had the chance to see, and it ripped open a flood of insecurities Jo had never known she harbored. Jo hated the way it made her feel. Raiden browsed the items on her bedside table before picking up her pillow and breathing it in.

  “I didn’t realize inspecting the ship would include my personal belongings,” Jo hissed.

  “It doesn’t.” Raiden smirked as he set her pillow back on her bed. “I finally have a chance to discover more about you, and I’m going to take my time learning.”

  “And what did you learn from the smell of my pillow?”

  “That it makes me yearn for you just like every cold pillow you’ve left me with.” Jo noticed the slight edge of sadness to his voice. It tugged at her heart in a painful way that made her rub absentmindedly at her chest.

  “We always knew what our nights together meant.” Jo shrugged. “It’s not like you never left me in the middle of the night.”

  “That was in the beginning when I thought you were just a distraction,” Raiden growled. “I’ve tried telling you that I wanted more, but you would never hear me out.”

  Jo slapped her hand on the desk, spilling over her tools. “What was there to hear? We could never be together.”

  “There’s always a way.”