Page 137 of Shellshock

“Of course I’m disappointed. You’ve disobeyed multiple—”

She waved her gun recklessly in the air. “We’re a little beyond that, aren’t we?”

He returned a sardonic smile. “Yes, well, the manner we planned to take you back might have been civilized but you’ve forced my hand.” Shaking his head, he pressed a few keys on his own computer. “I’m afraid your dirty laundry’s about to become everyone’s business. I’m going to have to make an example of you.”

Those eyes peered into her soul as if he could stop her motor functions with a scathing look. She was lodged safely in the heart of the ship. He would have a hell of a time digging her out of there, but there was the matter of getting closer to his office.

His smooth voice echoed through the ship.

“This is Commander Collins speaking.”

Everyone grew restless around her as he made some formal speech about courage and sacrifice and fighting off invaders. Ryan’s eyes scanned the room, looking for his opening to attack while Zoramia defended the exit. Lucca’s nerves were on high alert—she didn’t hold a ton of experience taking ships hostage. Calling out for Caligher had been too reckless, perhaps.

Astyanax leaned close. “This is getting out of hand,” he whispered, nervously eyeing the others.

“I know,” she whispered back.

“We need to get out of here.”

“We will.”

Collins’s voice boomed over their hushed conversation. “I have an urgent announcement to make. We have a traitor on board. Many of you remember Lucca Watts—a former civilian staff member on our ship.”

Her heart flipped as the headshot from her ID glowed from every screen in the room. It wasn’t her best picture.

“Lucca is a radicalized terrorist who has led a force of aliens on board tonight. She is armed and incredibly dangerous. I need her arrested immediately.”

The screens played records of her crimes. Some doctored and taken out of context—some real. While Collins spoke, the screen showed her murdering Ternetzis and humans alike with the press of buttons. He’d been busy. More video had traveled from the Selkie to his hands than she had initially anticipated.

Collins switched to fluent and eloquent Ternetzi.

“The human Lucca Watts is a violent criminal and we are asking for her return, preferably alive. I am prepared to offer freedom and protection to anyone who brings her in. This is very critical to ending this conflict.”

“They know I’m working with them,” she said to the screen.

But did they? Glancing at the faces of the fighters around her, she was no longer sure. Zoramia had made a wall behind her with her allies and she was looking at her like she’d never seen her before.

“Lucca has an extensive history of deception, spying, and extreme violence. She is to blame for much of the animosity between our races.”

Collins brought the big guns out to play.

On the screen, she attacked her crewmates. Next, she tried to break Caligher’s tail with a door—but none of that compared to old footage of a lone Ternetzi fighter racing through the maze of halls as she sat inside the same control room she sat in now.

Pressing buttons, Lucca trapped the alien.

The gleam in her eyes during that event wasdamning. She’d been on the edge of her seat during that first conflict. She couldn’t help it; doing her job had always made her feel stupidly alive.

With this revelation, the anger of her hard-won Ternetzi allies peaked and detonated.

“Grab her,” demanded Zoramia.

Lucca hoisted herself up into a maintenance shaft just as all hell broke loose below. Thanks to her freakish games of hide and seek with Caligher, she was just evasive enough to get away.

Chaos reigned in the control room. She scurried into darkness on hands and knees, trying to save herself.

* * *

Zoramia and the others were hot on her trail. “Come back here and face me, you traitorous bitch!”

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