Page 46 of Honor Bound

Julia shot Sergi a weak smile when she saw him heading toward her and the freighter from the opposite direction. Now, to see if the supply bot made it. Her heart was hammering in her chest by the time she reached the top of the platform.

She released a strained laugh when she noticed the empty bot inside the storage bay. Their perfect plan had gone off without a hitch.

Well, most of it. Now, to get off the ship before Hutu finds out what I’ve really been doing.

Star Runner– Galley

Nearly twelve hours later, the smell of brewing tea filled the small galley, mixing with the faint scent of engine parts and a residual of a smell that was unique to space. Julia wrapped her hands around the metal cup, letting the warmth seep into her palms as she stared at the swirling liquid. Her thoughts were anything but calm. Exhaustion plagued her, but her mind refused to shut down. Sergi had reassured her that the search for them was moving farther away and they would be able to come out of hiding soon.

She released a tired sigh and slid onto the bench seat, waiting for the tea to cool enough for her to drink it. She hoped it would help calm her mind. Tracing her finger along the rim of the cup, she wondered once again if she had made the right decision. Breaking Roan out of the brig on Hutu’s ship had been reckless—dangerous.

Within a half hour of their departure from theTracer,rebel star fighters had been searching for them. She bowed her head, letting the aroma of the tea calm her nerves as she remembered their frantic departure from Hutu’s battle cruiser. La’Rue and H had overridden the flight protocol, giving them permission to leave while Sergi had manually released the locking devices Hutu had ordered placed on the freighter. Roan had helped La’Rue prepare for departure, giving her a coordinate.

Her lips twitched when she remembered La’Rue’s suspicious expression.

“Why are we staying so close? Why don’t we just jump?”La’Rue had demanded.

“Because the General Gomerant’s battle cruiser and star fighters would catch us before we made it a quarter of the way to wherever you plan to go,”Roan had responded.

“How do you know that?”

Roan had raised an eyebrow. Julia was learning that he did that when he was amused. Granted, she was interested how he knew what Hutu would do, as well.

“Because that is what I would do. I bet you—”he paused and looked around the bridge of the freighter with an expression of uncertainty before he sighed.“I bet you whatever you need to keep this thing flying that Hutu has a tracker hidden onboard.”

La’Rue groaned and muttered a curse, her eyes flying around the interior of the bridge before her eyes darkened with worry. Julia’s stomach clenched at the thought that there might be a tracker onboard. It made sense. Hell, even the Gliese had one until the ship broke apart. Her gaze followed La’Rue’s. Finding the device on the freighter would be like searching for a fine needle in a very large hay stack.

“If you’re right, why the hell are we even helping you get away?”La’Rue growled under her breath.

“Because we have to stop my father and uncle before they unleash unimaginable devastation on the galaxy.

Roan’s quiet response caused both her and La’Rue to stare at him with concern. She could hear the truth in his voice—and so could La’Rue. For now, they needed to trust Roan. Whether they wanted to or not.

Trust doesn’t come easy.

A sudden, sharp pain, like a jagged shard of ice, pierced her as the thought struck her. Her knuckles turned white as her fingers tightened around the steaming cup, the next memory—a painful ghost from a time she’d tried to bury—surfacing unexpectedly, bringing with it the bitter taste of regret. Her exhaustion weakened the barriers she’d built, and the dark memories seeped through, sharp and cold as shards of glass. She closed her eyes, her breath hitching as a sharp pain twisted her gut, the familiar weight of guilt pressing down on her chest.

Nineteen months before:The Gliese 581glab

A sudden shiver ran through Julia as she uploaded new data into the computer. Her lips curved into a melancholic smile, the memory of her father’s old saying bringing a lump to her throat and a chill to the surrounding air. Her father had a knack for transforming ordinary sayings into enchanting, myth-like pronouncements, his voice imbued with a captivating lilt.

“Zeus’s chariot has cast a shadow on the sun.”

The lab on the Gliese’s felt unusually cold that day, despite the hum of equipment surrounding her and the environmental systems being set to their normal settings. Julia paused to check her bio report to make sure she wasn’t running a temperature. A quick look at her vitals showed everything looked normal.

Rubbing her hands up and down the sleeves of the jacket she was wearing, she turned and walked over to the plant containment units built into the wall. Satisfaction filled her when she saw the rows of tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and beans were thriving in the hydroponic systems. The new lighting system and nutrients that she had added appeared to agree with them.

She had just finished closing the clear plexiglass container over a new row of seedlings she had planted when the computer console pinged and Mei’s cheerful voice called out to her.

“Hey, Julia. You have an incoming message from Earth,” Mei said. “It only took six months to reach us. I hope it isn’t saying you won the lottery.”

Julia laughed and touched the screen to answer. “I hope not either. I think they have a time limit on when you can collect. I’ll take it in here if you don’t mind sending it through. I have about another half hour worth of work before I can come up.”

“No problem. Sending it to your console.”

Julia sat down on the stool in front of the computer and punched in her password. She frowned when she saw the message was from an encrypted address. She was surprised when she opened it and noticed the attached encrypted report marked classified with Admiral Greenburg’s personal seal. Curious, she clicked on the file. A request for voice activated password appeared.

“Julia Marie Marksdale, Project Gliese 581g Mission Specialist 050899,” she stated.

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