The woman who had met them at the door snorted. “Damn. Magi found another one!”
There were several chuckles and overly dramatic groans from the others.
“Another what?” she asked.
The woman leaned over so she could see her face. “Hey there, welcome aboard. I’m Lieutenant Jessop. And there’s something you should know about the ensign here.”
“Which is?” Nyx asked.
The man she assumed was the XO laughed. “He’s got a talent for finding dangerous women.”
She saw the way the others were looking at her, waiting, assessing her response. She reached up to pat Eric’s arm where it curved around her waist. “Then you’re right. He’s found another one. In fact, I’m probably the most dangerous woman in the galaxy.” She lowered her hand and looked around the crowded corridor. “You came to the station to find the Fury Project, right?”
There were several nods and another woman spoke. Her voice was firm and rang with authority, but Nyx couldn’t see her from where she was. “Too bad we didn’t get much before we had to abandon ship. There’s still so much we don’t know.”
“I saved anything I thought looked interesting. It won’t give us all the answers, but it might give us some idea who we’re dealing with, and where they’re headed next,” Eric said, then gave her waist a gentle squeeze. “And we’ve got Nyx. She’s going to help us.”
“That depends on how much she knows,” the unseen woman said.
Nyx straightened. “I’m happy to tell you everything I know, so long as you promise me that when you go after these bastards, I get to go with you.”
The questions started flying and didn’t stop until the pilot called out another warning. “The station just blew, shockwave incoming. Hold tight, this is going to get bumpy.”
She could have found a handhold of her own, but she didn’t. Instead, she crossed her arm over Eric’s where he still held her, planted her feet on the deck, and leaned into him. Part of her knew damned well it wasn’t a smart decision, but she craved human contact more than she cared to admit.
As the shockwave hit, the ship yawed and shuddered. There were grunts as they were thrown against the bulkhead, but Eric never let go of her, keeping his body between hers and the hard walls of the ship as chunks of the station slammed into their shields. It didn’t last long, but she spent those seconds looking at Eric, comparing the man holding her to the handful of memories she’d gleaned from her clone.
He had black hair long enough to show some curl, though it was shorter than her recollections of him. His face was leaner, too, but his eyes were the same. The brown of his irises were so dark they looked almost black in the dim light. She’d already gotten a look at his body, but feeling it pressed against hers gave her a greater appreciation. He was all lean, hard muscle beneath his uniform, but despite his strength, he held her carefully, as if she were someone worth protecting.
Once the ship leveled off again, he loosened his hold, and she turned to face him.
“You good?” he asked.
“Yes.” Then a phrase she hadn’t spoken in ages came to mind and she belatedly added, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Their gazes met, and for a second, she thought he might lean in and kiss her. The idea unleashed a disorienting flood of emotions, and she stepped away.
He let her go, and she caught a flash of guilt in his dark eyes as he did so. “Sorry. You look so much like her.”
“I understand. You seem familiar to me, too.”
“Which is something I don’t understand. How can I be familiar to you? We’ve never met.”
“We’ve got a lot of questions for you, Nyx. I’d like to get started hearing the answers.”
“Of course.” She looked over to the man speaking. He had dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and an air of command. “And once you agree to my terms, I’ll be happy to answer all your questions. Believe me, no one wants to destroy these people more than I do.”
“You want to be part of any team that moves against them,” Rossi stated. It wasn’t a question.
“I do.” She met his gaze and waited. If he turned her down, then she’d have to guard what she knew until she could find someone who would give her what she wanted.
After a few seconds, he rapped his knuckles against the bulkhead and nodded. “I can’t make any promises, but if that’s the price for taking these people down, then you’ll have my support.”
“Thank you, Commander Rossi.”
He gave her a ghost of a smile. “Listening in on our communications, were you?”
“Of course.” She glanced around at the rest of the team, then started pointing to each of them in turn. “Meyer, your XO. Lieutenants Caldwell, Jessop, and West-Rossi. And your pilot is named Strak, though I did not catch his rank.”
“Buttercup’s a Master Sergeant,” Eric informed her.
“And you’ve already met Ensign Erben,” the commander said. “Magi, show our guest to the main briefing room. We’ll join you shortly. I need to report to command and let them know we’re on our way back.” His expression darkened. “And that someone tipped off the target to our arrival. How long ago did they leave, Nyx?”
“The evac alarm went off less than an hour before you arrived.”
“Small blessings. If they’d had longer, we wouldn’t have found as much as we did, and I’m betting we wouldn’t have found you, either.”
She shook her head. “I killed the ones who came for me. They were in a rush and made mistakes. It cost them.”
Everyone stared at her for a second and then Lt. Jessop laughed. “I like her already.”
The blond man rolled his eyes. “Of course you do. She’s even scarier than you, Blink.”
“And on that note, everyone to their stations. We’ll debrief in thirty minutes,” Rossi said and everyone moved at once.
Everyone but Eric. He stayed where he was, and so did she. Once they were alone, he pointed down the corridor. “Briefing room is this way. We can grab you some food and something to drink on the way.”
Her stomach growled at the mere mention of food. “That would be appreciated.”
He tossed his next question over his shoulder as he walked in the direction he’d indicated. “Alright then. Burgers, pizza, or are you a dessert first kind of woman?”
“Since I’ve never eaten any of those, I honestly have no idea.”
Eric stumbled as he tried to stop, turn, and stare at her simultaneously. “What do you mean, you’ve never had any of them?”
“Prisoner and research subject, remember?”
“But you weren’t always a prisoner, were you?”
She’d never had to say the words before. Everyone in her world had known what she was. “I’ve never been anything else.”
Eric’s mouth fell open, and she tried not to flinch away from the horror and pity she saw in his eyes. “What? Never?” he asked.
“I’ll explain when everyone else joins us. No sense going through it all twice.” Her stomach growled again.
He shook his head and seemed to regain his train of thought. “Right. Food now, talk later. Come on, the galley’s just a few doors down.”