Page 25 of The Rebel and the Rogue

I didn’t say anything, only waited.

She sighed. Confusion was clear in her wrinkled brow, but I saw a spark of curiosity as well. She glanced about, then answered. “Yes, humans dream.”

“Do you?”

One blink and the ice was back. “Yes. I do.”

She turned away from me, this discussion over, and darted into another deep shadow, stopping to survey the area in front of us. Our destination was ahead, across the small street. True to its reputation, a large group of Cerberus scum gathered outside.

The front of the building had been torn down and replaced with reflective screens that showed popular vid feeds Rogue 5 had stolen and rerouted to our moon. One large display showed lush, green fields of grasses, trees and flowers, the word Atlan displayed along the edges. I wasn’t sure if it was there to make those in this legion want to go to that planet or to hate them more for such a beautiful home world.

Another was a live feed of the founders’ camp on planet Hyperion below us, where a few of our hybrids still traveled to maintain trade and relations with the brutish half of our ancestry. A well-known Prillon female sang a haunting melody on another screen as a brutal execution was broadcast live from Xerima on the next. It was hard to watch, and I quickly looked elsewhere. Fucking barbarians.

There were ten screens in all, a mix of beauty and brutality I had become accustomed to. It was Rogue 5, this dichotomy. It was life, although here in the thick of the Cerberus Legion, it was especially brutal. It made the sweet faces of Scylla and Nero all the more innocent. A reminder of why we were here now.

“What do you think?” Ivy asked, not the least bit interested in the displays. She glanced up at me over her shoulder but didn’t linger long, her attention drawn back to the crowd.

I scanned our surroundings again. “At least ten inside, six outside. And that’s only what we can see.”

“That’s what I counted as well.” She reached down to her side and patted her weapons. Astra had relented and given her back her blasters since they were her weapon of choice. The Coalition standard, what she was comfortable and skilled at using. Ivy had managed to pick up another knife or two somewhere along the way. She was resourceful, I had to give her that.

“Sixteen is too many. And we don’t know if Gerian Eozara is in there.” I glanced around as if one of them would have a sign that offered up his name as our target. Out of all of Ivy’s intel, she didn’t know the appearance of Gerian Eozara.

“We should backtrack and find an escalation point for the rooftop.” I pointed to the top of a building that would give us an excellent view of the area. A way to scan and assess the situation before moving in. “Watch and wait until we know he is there.”

“Sixteen.” She sighed and turned, pressing her back to the cold, dark side of the building. She didn’t sound fearful, she sounded oddly relieved. “Is Astra going to be mad if we kill some of them?”

Was she serious? Surely not. “I’m here to keep you alive, Ivy. We are not going in there.” I wasn’t afraid but smart. “I can kill them all, but I can’t fight sixteen and protect you at the same time.”

She raised her brows and gave a quick, annoyed shake of her head. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“The answer is no. Astra won’t be mad. Cerberus is our enemy, and we are not wearing legion colors; therefore we are rogue and killing some of them is not a problem.”

“What if we were wearing the green armband?” she wondered, glancing at my upper arm.

I grinned. “Then this would be seen as an attack between legions. It would start a war.”

The difference was slim but on Rogue 5, enough. Armband, no armband. War versus plain killing.

“They’ll know we came from Astra. Only Astra has all you big hybrid Forsian guys, right?”

How the hell did she know that? It wasn’t as if I could blend in with this crowd. I didn’t even look like a hybrid Atlan, I was so big. “That is correct. And yes, they will know.” I looked down at where my armband usually rested. “As I said, if we are not wearing Astra’s colors, we are acting on our own.”

“I don’t mind going rogue. I have for months now.” She arched a pale brow. “It’s ridiculous you guys can go around killing each other as long as you aren’t actually wearing your legion’s armband.”

I nodded. “That’s correct.”

“That’s stupid. It’s still you.” She looked me over, head to toe. “Everyone still knows it’s you. That you’re a hybrid Forsian. That you’re from Astra Legion.”

“And anyone getting a glimpse of you will know you are not from here, that you are human. It doesn’t matter though. This isn’t the Coalition. We’re not even on a Coalition planet. We’re a fucking moon base. We aren’t subordinates waiting for orders. If our leaders had to be involved every time there was a disagreement, we would not get much trading done.”

“You would all be in the brig.” She frowned. “You said trading? Is that what you criminals call it these days?”

“Call what?”

“Oh, you know.” She waved her hand in the air. “Human trafficking, selling drugs, selling weapons, selling slaves.” She crouched down. Moved closer to the corner. “Evil. You’re all evil.”

Uncaring of the risk, I crouched next to her and turned her to face me. “You speak of Cerberus and Siren Legions only. I am not evil, Ivy, and it is insulting after what we have been to each other to say that.”

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