No kidding. And she was trying to entice him. Which was working, of course. Void, it had been weeks since he’d had a woman. He was half tempted to pull her back into the shuttle for a quickie right now.

  Except, he hadn’t spoken to his family in weeks either. “I need quarters.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” she said. “And I’ve arranged the finest this ship has.”

  Which probably meant she’d displaced some mid-level executive, already miserable for having to be out here in a war zone. Poor bastard. But not really Caleb’s problem.

  Rebekah showed him to the room—a small chamber, by his standards, but one decorated with curtains and a downy sofa that looked damn comfortable. He kicked off his shoes, plopped down on the couch, and stretched.

  His assistant sauntered toward him, but he held up a hand.

  “Sorry, I need a few minutes, Rebekah. Would you excuse me?”

  She jerked to a stop and gnawed on her lip, then stared at him a minute. Her pupils dilated, and he felt his own pulse quicken.

  Ayelet. Ayelet. Aye …

  “Just … five minutes …”

  Rebekah brushed her fiery hair from her face and spun on her heel, swinging her ass as she walked. Caleb watched closely. He blew out a long breath when the door closed.

  Holy shit. He’d opened up a micro nova with that one.

  “Mazzaroth personal access, Caleb Gavet, code Nebula 8000.” The screen flickered on. “Contact Ayelet Gavet.”

  A moment later, his wife’s face filled the screen. “Oh my God, Caleb! Where have you been? I haven’t heard from you in weeks!”

  Before he could even get a word out, Miriam jumped into view. “Daddy!”

  “Hi pumpkin. I missed you both. I was being held prisoner—”

  “Angels above,” Ayelet said. “We heard about the war. What the void were you thinking, Caleb? You don’t belong out there. You need to come home this instant.”

  He couldn’t agree more. He didn’t belong out here. In fact, he wasn’t sure he even still wanted to be a part of Jericho. The price just kept growing higher and higher. “Unfortunately, that’s not an option right now, baby. It’s out of my hands.”

  “You’re the damned chairman, Caleb. You expect me to believe you can’t make decisions?”

  “Well, I … I have responsibilities, baby.”

  Ayelet frowned, and Miriam pouted. “Daddy, you should just quit if you’re unhappy.”

  He chuckled. Maybe he should. Except Ayelet and the kids might find life a little less pleasant if he did. Every few years their style of life had been upgraded. He seriously doubted they would like a downgrade. But there was no benefit to antagonizing them with that truth. They wouldn’t understand until they faced the situation, and then it would be too late.

  He sighed and opened his mouth. Then the door to his room buzzed open.

  Caleb spun. Damn Rebekah. He’d told her to give him …

  Apollo stepped forward, just out of view of the Mazzaroth screen. “We have business to discuss, Mr. Gavet.”

  Caleb stared at the man who had helped him build his own nightmare. “Ayelet,” he said, without looking at the screen, “I’m going to have to call you back.”

  20

  “Sin is the greatest folly of mortals. They cannot comprehend the brief gain they buy at the price of happiness eternal.”

  The Codex, Book of Kokabiel, on the afterlife

  TRIANGULUM GALAXY

  David stood at attention, eyes fixed on Imperator Ailsa Scott through the Mazzaroth. Several other members of the Sanhedrin shifted about behind the imperator.

  “We’ve come to this decision regretfully, Captain,” Scott said. “But we have come too far in the last six hundred years to simply surrender all we’ve built out of Mizraim. To submit entirely to angel authority, to give up all we’ve done in their name, dishonors the efforts of our ancestors.”

  “Aye, Imperator.” David tried to keep his expression blank. The truth was, he didn’t know how to feel about it. For certain, he didn’t truly want to be beholden to the angels. Not now—not after having met Raziel. What would the angel’s brethren think if they knew David held one of their own prisoner? And yet, his whole life he’d believed them divine. He’d thought they would have all the answers.

  “You have had extensive experience on the Ark,” Scott said. “It’s why we want you to deliver the message. Invite them to a peace summit here on New Rome. We are certain a compromise can be made. After all, Mizraim is the legitimate successor, and we have held true to the Covenant.”

  David swallowed, then saluted. They wanted him to find the Ark and invite the angels home for dinner? He wasn’t sure he shared Scott’s optimism that they would come. Even if they did, David doubted they would agree to compromise. It didn’t seem to be in their nature. The angel he’d met was the all-or-nothing type.

  And maybe Rachel was right about the angels all along. Maybe they had served their purpose, had guided mankind all they could. For them to return now … he doubted the Days of Glory would be all they had once been. For six hundred years, mankind had been free. It would not be so easy to return to servitude.

  Before, humanity had submitted to angels as saviors. Before, mankind had been all but wiped out by the Adversary. Things were different now. There was no terrible threat looming over them, no Adversary to unite the human race under angel rule.

  “Imperator,” David said. “I can find the Ark. They haven’t been hiding exactly.” Considering they continued destroying the Asheran fleet one system at a time. “It shouldn’t take more than a day or two.”

  “Good.” Scott leaned forward, locking eyes on David. “Here’s your opportunity to redeem yourself, MacGregor. Don’t make us regret giving you the second chance.”

  David saluted again, and the Mazzaroth flickered off. As far as he knew, the Shekhinah had been the one to give him a second chance. Imperator Scott was the woman who had sentenced David to the penal colony of Horesh for refusing to betray Rachel.

  And now David had driven Rachel away.

  Except … for God’s sake, what had she been thinking letting Gavet go? The man was in bed with Asherah. He was the chairman of Jericho Corp, a company all but at war with Mizraim at this point. And Rachel was sympathizing with the enemy. She was lucky the Sentinels had bigger worries than her, or David would have been forced to throw her right into that cell of Caleb’s.

  He tapped his comm. “Lt. Dana to the war room.”

  A few minutes later, Phoebe swaggered in, saluted, then plopped down at the table without waiting for permission.

  “Miss me, boss?”

  “We have a mission, Phoebe.”

  “Yup, yup. Save the universe. Kind of a full-time gig too. I mean, I took a day off once. I hear a galaxy imploded.”

  David sighed and sat down across from her. “I need you to be serious, lass. I’ve come to depend on you a lot in the last months.”

  Phoebe sat up straighter and brushed that ridiculous pink hair out of her face. “Sir. I know and thank you. You can. Count on me, I mean.”

  David blew out a long breath. Bugger, the question he had to ask was about the most awkward he could imagine. “You and Knight are getting on well these days.”

  “We fight, we fuck, we spar. Sometimes all at once.”

  David winced. “I’m not asking for details, lass.” Best be out with it. “Do you … plan on requesting maternity leave … anytime soon?”

  Phoebe quirked an eyebrow. Then she snickered, snorted, and covered her mouth with her hand. Silent peals of laughter shook her shoulders.

  Bloody void, what a question to have to ask. Her of all people. At least she seemed to be taking it well.

  “Worried …” She snickered again. “Worried about the Shekhinah’s orders to Knight?”

  Aye. The computer had told him to reproduce as often as possible. Void, it had ordered David to facilitate that, which was not happening.

  “Phoebe …”

  She shook her head. “Yeah, maybe when the war is over. Or it dies down a bit or something. Not now, not like this. I am a Sentinel, sir. I’m needed out here.”

  “Aye. You’ve no idea how much. Commander Firoz was killed in our last engagement.”

  “Yeah.”

  Of course she knew that. David shook his head. “I’m going to need a new X.O., Phoebe.”

  “Yup, yup. You want me to go over personnel files or something?”

  “No, lass. I want you to do the job.” He’d known her a while, and he knew he could trust her. Besides, she was one of the only people on this ship who knew the truth about what happened on the Ark. And despite her never-ending snark, she was a fine officer. If she could learn to keep her mouth in check, she could go far.

  Phoebe clucked her tongue. “Uh, sir … you’ve got several officers in line before me. Shit, Leah is ahead …”

  David shook his head. “Leah is a medical officer.” He’d considered her, anyway. They’d been friends a long time, and there was no one he trusted more. But it would compromise her duties as the chief medical officer to have to be on the bridge all the time. Besides, with what he’d learned from Knight about the rahab’s true feelings for him … “She’s simply not ideal, and, under the circumstances, I don’t have time to get to know any of the others.”

  Nor could he risk bringing them into the loop. Not yet.

  “So … I’d be getting two promotions, huh?”

  “Just the one, lass. Captain’s discretion to assign a Lt. Commander as X.O. during times of war.”

  “Hmm. Well, even one would put me ahead of Knight. Where I belong. I mean, obviously.”

  David scratched his head. He hoped he wasn’t going to regret trusting her with this much responsibility. The truth was, he didn’t see any other choice.

  “Computer,” he said, “I hereby offer a field promotion to Phoebe Dana to the position of Lt. Commander.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  The computer sent out a signal to the nanobots in her suit. David couldn’t see or hear the signal, but her insignia changed, displaying her new rank almost immediately.

  Phoebe glanced down at it. “Yup, yup. I’m the best. Er, after the captain, I mean. Obviously, the captain is the best. First class, sir. In fact, I could probably hug you.”

  “Don’t.” Knight would probably have a fit over it. “I have a better mission for you. Track down the Ark. We’ve got a message for them.”

  Phoebe stood and saluted. She turned to go, then glanced back at him. “Sir. Is ‘message’ a euphemism for us planning to start some shit?”

  “What? No, lass. We literally have a bloody message. Get to your station.”

  She left, and David followed her out. That sorted one of the women in his life. Still, he had two others to worry about, and he cared about both a great deal. He prowled through the ship until he reached the med bay.

  “The rest of you are dismissed,” he told her staff.

  They saluted, then filed out.

  Leah turned to face him, standing with her hands behind her back. “Mac?”

  He licked his lips. He’d been going over this conversation in his mind from the moment Knight had told him how she really felt. Or not told him but told him enough. And the truth was, there was nothing he could say to her on the subject that would salve the pain. But maybe that wasn’t what he needed to say.

  “I’m sorry about the other day, lass.”

  Leah shook her head. “No. I was out of line. You have to maintain your authority in front of the crew.”

  “Aye. But I need my friend too. I miss her.”

  Leah smiled a little, then turned away, but he thought he’d seen a hint of water at the corners of her eyes. “You never lost her, Mac.”

  “Is it … too hard for you if I talk about Rachel?”

  She shook her head without looking at him. She’d placed her palms on the desk in front of her, apparently no longer caring it spread the webs between her fingers in plain sight. Nor should she. “You can tell me anything, David. You’re my best friend.”

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “And you’re mine, lass. That’s never going to change.” And she had to know that meant she’d never be more, either.

  From the way she bobbed her head, slow and sure, she knew. “You’re scared for her?”

  “Aye. I don’t know where she is or if she’s safe. I want to call her, but I …”

  “But what?” Leah rubbed her face, then turned to look at him. “You’re afraid she won’t answer? Or you’re afraid she will and you’ll have to argue again? Either way, David, if you want to be with her, you have to call.”

  “She was the one who was wrong. She could call me.”

  Leah looked at him like he was a foolish lad. Aye, so that wasn’t going to happen. Rachel wasn’t going to be the one to call. Or admit she was wrong.

  Leah embraced him then. “Are you sure she’s what you want, David?”

  “Aye.” He couldn’t afford to leave any false hope to Leah. She meant too much to him to let her suffer like that.

  “Then you know what you have to do.”

  “Aye.”

  21

  “The First Commandment states that man shall not alter the form of man. This means that no attempt to alter man’s genetic structure shall be permitted. No machine may attach itself integrally to the flesh. A human might perform surgery to correct a disease or injury but not to correct a defect. A human might pierce the skin to decorate with baubles, but all such must be removable. No mark of burn or ink shall he put upon his flesh except that it be removed at the first opportunity.”

  The Codex, Book of Barachiel

  PHOENIX DWARF GALAXY

  How the void had Apollo even gotten here? The thought of sharing a ship with the man made Caleb’s stomach roil. His mouth tasted like stale bread, and a cold sweat formed on his back. “What do you want?”

  “We have experienced a setback. Now we must redouble our connections with Asherah if we are to survive.”

  “You’re one of them, aren’t you? An Asheran. That’s why you know so much about cybernetics.”

  Apollo’s face revealed not a hint of emotion. “Contact the aluf, and transmit all data from the Gibbor experiments. They should be able to use your findings to help them in creating a super soldier project.”

  Void. He supposed that answered that. Apollo wanted him to hand the Asherans the key to overcoming Sentinels in personal combat. Caleb didn’t truly object to that—he wouldn’t mind seeing the self-righteous, self-appointed intergalactic police put in their place. But he wasn’t sure he liked the implications. It would leave Asherah in a position to rule the universe. Asherah, not the Conglomerate.

  “What about our interests?” Caleb asked.

  “They are aligned.”

  Caleb seriously doubted his interests were aligned with Apollo’s.

  The man glared at him, as though he’d heard the thought. Shit, he probably did. Psionic amplifier—the chip in Caleb’s brain. And with the scientist on the ship with him … Okay. Clear his mind. Focus. The best way to protect his family from here on was to just cooperate. Jericho didn’t matter compared to them.

  “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  “I know.” Apollo strode out of the room.

  Caleb clutched his chest from the sudden surge of panic and shuddered.

  A few seconds later, Rebekah slipped back in. He was going to have to start locking the damn door.

  The girl stared at him. Waiting on his pleasure?

  “I need you to pull up and compile all the records from the Gibbor project. I want them sent to Aluf Lamport immediately. And covertly.”

  Rebekah nodded, almost smiled. Which was odd. He could have sworn she’d come in here to seduce him. And sadly, long as it had been, he had no mood left for it. Apollo had managed to scare the lust right out of him.

  Bastard.

  His assistant left, and he turned the Mazzaroth back on. “Contact Rachel Jordan.”

  It took several minutes for her to answer. When she did, she stared at him without speaking. By the look of the room, she was no longer on a Sentinel ship. It lacked that oppressive blackness and poor lighting.

  “Hello, Rachel.”

  “What do you want, Caleb?”

  “You’re always trying to save the universe. Why don’t we work together and see what we can accomplish?”

  Rachel laughed. Rather longer than he thought necessary. Just when she seemed done, she wiped her eyes and chuckled a moment more. “Thanks. I needed that.”

  “I always aim to please a woman. In any way she needs. I am quite adept at it, in fact. You should really consider my offer. I’d take good care of you.”

  She shrugged. “Sexual innuendo’s not exactly the best way to win me over, Caleb. Besides, I have another goal in mind. And even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t work with you. You know, because you’re an ass and I don’t like you.”

  Ugh. Well, that was direct. It was worth a try, anyway. If he could convince her to his side, maybe they could actually stand up to the angels. And Apollo. And Asherah. God, he wasn’t even sure who his enemies were. But one thing he’d learned, Rachel Jordan was too much trouble to allow her to be one of them.

  “You don’t want to see the angels reignite the Days of Glory any more than I do, Rachel. When you’re ready to work together to stop that, give me a call.”

  She gave him the finger and cut the line.

  Caleb drummed his fingers on his knee. He was going to need to find an ally. And fast.

  22

  “I like to think I have been a positive influence on the lives of the people around me. Last night I found Knight and Phoebe in the zero-G chamber playing moon ball. And he was laughing—Knight! Not the dark chuckle I once knew from him but a full-bodied laugh of the kind I’d expect in a boy.”

  Dr. Rachel Jordan, personal journal

 

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