“Are you unwell?” I left my seat to kneel next to her, running the ReGen wand over her from head to toe.
“Stop that. I’m fine.”
“Then why are you changing color?”
She grabbed my wrist to stop the scan, her small fingers unable to completely wrap around me. “It’s called a blush. It happens when I’m embarrassed. It’s no big deal. I’m fine.”
“Then show me this box.”
“You won’t be able to fit in there. It’s a tight squeeze.”
“That is why you will carry this.” I returned the ReGen wand to its compartment and removed an advanced comm device with video broadcast capabilities. The comm was small, meant to be hidden during missions where Styx wanted evidence or proof of someone’s deeds. Abby would not have difficulty taking it along. “You will carry this, and I will monitor you from here. I will see what you see.”
“Okay.” She unbuckled and reached for the comm. I lifted it out of reach and looked down into her eyes. “You are not to touch the box, do you understand? I do not know what it is, and it may be dangerous.”
“Okay. Point this thing at it. Don’t touch it. Got it.”
Fifteen minutes later, I watched on the monitors as Abby approached the box from the propulsion station’s side. She’d already crawled down the vent to where she’d first seen the box. I could not ascertain its nature from that angle, nor was it responding well to standard scans.
I’d taken her to the next duct panel in the line and asked her to crawl back through it so I could see the opposite side of the object.
What I’d seen had made my heart stick in my chest, my blood suddenly so thick it felt like glue trying to slog its way through my system.
Siren’s symbol. My legion’s enemy. My brother’s enemy. My enemy.
“Abby, get out of there now.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Get out of there. Do not touch it. I am coming.” I ran to the open panel just as Abby’s feet appeared. She kept moving backward, her feet lowering into the room, followed by her legs, her thighs, that luscious, round ass.
Not wanting to wait, I reached up and lifted her the rest of the way down. Once she was safely back in my arms, I crushed her to me for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong?”
“That symbol on the side is from the Siren legion. They are dangerous enemies.”
“Well, that’s not good.”
“No. The swirling red lights are a timer, and it is counting down. I have been unable to scan the contents, but we must assume it is an explosive device.”
“Oh, shit.” She pulled back and looked up into my face, alarm clear in her wide eyes and her dilated pupils. “How long? Will it destroy the whole ship? Can you turn it off? Or shoot it out into space?”
“If my calculations are correct, it is set to detonate about two hours after our arrival on Rogue 5.”
“What? I don’t understand. Rogue 5 is still hours away.”
“They are trying to use me to destroy my brother, the leader of our legion. This is his personal ship. After our arrival, it will not go into the public docking bay but deep inside Styx territory. Many of our people would have died had we not played your game, had the Siren device remained hidden.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“You are going to come with me and buckle into your seat. I am going to stop this ship and contact Styx for instructions. Most likely he will send a team to evacuate us.”
“Why not keep going? If we meet them halfway, it will be faster.”
We covered the short distance to the control room and buckled into our seats. “Some of these devices have proximity sensors. I can’t assume the target is my brother. I have many enemies. Should someone wish to kill me, the explosive could be triggered by the protections and scanners we have in place on the edge of our space. Or it could be programmed to detonate in a specific area of space.”
“What about a remote control?”