Fragments (Dragonfire Station Book 2) Read online

  FRAGMENTS

  DRAGONFIRE STATION BOOK 2

  ZEN DIPIETRO

  PARALLEL WORLDS PRESS

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Message from the author

  About the Author

  COPYRIGHT

  FRAGMENTS (DRAGONFIRE #2)

  COPYRIGHT © 2016 BY ZEN DIPIETRO

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without express written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations for the purpose of review.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions. Distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

  ISBN: 978-1-943931-05-7 (ebook)

  978-1-943931-06-4 (paperback)

  Cover Art by Maciej Rebisz

  Published in the United States of America by Parallel Worlds Press

  1

  Four months’ worth of days stretched out across the starlit expanse, yawning away from Fallon in a disheartening oblivion of time and space. She stared out the porthole of her quarters, watching the darkness mock her.

  In the amount of time it would take the Onari to reach Earth, she could have upgraded Dragonfire Station’s entire surveillance grid, or instituted new security protocols. But then, Dragonfire wasn’t her responsibility at the moment.

  She turned away from the non-view that made the Onari seem like the only dot of life in the universe. No sense in looking out at an illusion. Not when a powder keg of reality needed her attention.

  She paced a tight circle around the small two-seater couch, her arms crossed tightly. The trouble was, every time she thought about what had been done to her, it infuriated her. That was no good. Excessive emotion led to mistakes. She needed to crush her anger under the weight of her duty and loyalties, then hone it into a tiny, laser-sharp blade. Once she’d done that, she could use that edge to excise the rotten flesh from Blackout. She had no idea how far the disease went, but she and her team would remove every bit.

  So much to be done, yet for now, she could only wait. She let her arms drop to her sides and blew out a slow breath. At the moment, she needed to check on Hawk. Jerin—as both the ship’s captain and chief medical officer—had released him from the infirmary only because she’d known that keeping him there would have been nearly impossible. That meant that it fell to Fallon, as the leader of their team, to keep an eye on him.

  Fallon strode out into the corridor, running her hands down her torso to smooth her fitted black jumpsuit as she went. Her fingers brushed over her comport and stinger. Although the Onari wasn’t a Planetary Alliance Cooperative ship, it operated primarily within PAC space and complied fully with all the cooperative’s protocols. As such, the crew was accustomed to armed security officers, which worked well for Fallon. She always felt better with a weapon or two on her person. Better yet, five or six, since she liked to keep her throwing knives handy.

  Hawk’s guest quarters were conveniently located two doors down from her own. She rang the chime, but got no answer. She tried again. Sighing, she turned on her heel, following a hunch.

  She found Hawk in the bar, palming a huge green drink of something-or-other and chatting up the server, who looked all too pleased about it.

  She slid onto a stool next to Hawk, glancing at his menuboard. “Zerellian ale. On his board,” she said to the server, effectively dismissing him. The guy moved off, looking disappointed. He probably assumed she and Hawk were together. Hah.

  She sized her partner up. His color was good, his breathing even. Good posture, no apparent balance issues.

  “Here to send me to my room?” He lifted an eyebrow that said he wished her luck with that.

  “Maybe. We’ll see.” She followed his sweeping gaze around the bar, taking time to note the precise position of the single entryway in relation to her seat. Business in the bar was light so far, but the Onari’s day shift hadn’t ended, and more people would soon fill the empty seats. “You were supposed to be resting. Get bored?”

  Hawk shrugged his bulky shoulders and scratched at his beard. “Not really. I just felt twitchy about being on a ship without mapping it out. I like to know where I am.”

  She knew what he meant, as she always felt the same about unfamiliar surroundings. “And the schematics on the voicecom weren’t enough for you?”

  He grinned, reminding her, as always, of a cherubic lumberjack. “You got me. Yeah, I checked out the schematics. But I like to see it all with my own eyes, too.”

  “Especially the bar,” she concluded dryly. Her drink arrived and she accepted it with a nod of thanks, but didn’t invite the server to remain to take part in their conversation. He slid away, sneaking occasional looks back at Hawk.

  Hawk’s blue-gray eyes twinkled at her. “Of course.” He raised his glass to hers and barked, “Blood and bone!”

  Apparently their team motto also worked as a toast. She touched her glass to his. “Blood and bone.”

  He tossed back a hearty drink, half draining the glass. His gaze roved past her again, eyeing up the other patrons of the bar. She noticed Dr. Yomalu, talking and making big waving gestures at a Trallian lab tech.

  “Don’t even think about it,” she warned. “The only person you’re taking back to your room tonight is me.”

  He leered at her, almost convincingly. “If you think you’re up to it.”

  She snorted. “You’re lucky you’re not in the infirmary right now. I’m the one keeping an eye on your sorry ass.”

  He let out a loud half-sigh, half-groan. “Fine. Tonight only.”

  “As many nights as it takes until Jerin gives you a clean bill of health.”

  “Argh.” He shifted in his seat. “You’re killing me.”

  She had to laugh. “You’ll survive. We’ll be here for four months. That’s plenty of time for you to make the rounds of the Onari crew. At least I’m letting you have a few drinks, right?”

  That seemed to mollify him somewhat, though he did mutter, “I bet Peregrine’s already found someone.”

  “It’s not a competition.” Fallon wrapped her fingers around her glass and peered into it. She’d downed more ale than she’d thought. Oh, well. Her purchase of another drink would only further improve the Onari’s financial standing. She felt a twinge of satisfaction, knowing how many cubics Raptor had already transferred to Jerin as payment for their passage. A staggering number, and none of it their own. As Avian Unit’s hacker extraordinaire, Raptor had ensured that their team would have all the currency they needed to get their job done, courtesy of the very people forcing them to do it. Poetic, as far as Fallon was concerned.

  Yes, another drink could only help everyone. She didn’t need to be on high alert right now. She never let herself get stone-cold drunk in any situation, but she could afford a pleasant buzz tonight. She drained her glass, caught the barkeep’s eye, and pointed to it.

  Hawk shoved his glass against hers, causing them to clink, and indicated ano
ther drink for himself as well. “Like old times.”

  “What, Peregrine off with someone and you and me having drinks in the bar?” Fallon had no idea where Raptor was. She needed to have a long conversation with him about things they hadn’t had time to discuss before. But that would wait until tomorrow.

  “Believe it or not, you and I are old drinking buddies.” He grinned at her, and his odd combination of massive size and impish, twinkling eyes made her laugh.

  “I do believe it, actually. This feels…comfortable.” She still hadn’t recovered any memories from before her shuttle accident, but she had certain instincts that felt almost like memory.

  “Always has been. Well, until I ditch you for some hot guy, anyway.” He paused. “Or woman. Whatever.”

  Which made her wonder about her own hookups. “Don’t I ever ditch you for someone?”

  His expression became calculating, as if he was measuring his answer. “Not often. You tend to be more long-term about that sort of thing.”

  That was interesting to know. “Do you think that’s why I got married?”

  His answer was immediate. “I sure as shit don’t know what you were thinking by getting married. I keep hoping it was a tactical move, not a personal one, though that seems unlikely at this point. Truth is, when I think about it too hard, it makes me want to smack you around a little. I mean, what the hell?”

  He did, in fact, look irate, as if her choosing to marry while on an extended assignment had been a personal slight to him. Or perhaps to Avian Unit as a whole. If she’d known why she’d done it, she’d have said so, but thus far she’d been unable to unravel that bit of her recent past.

  “If it makes you feel any better, she dumped me hard when she realized she didn’t even know my real name.” Fallon shrugged. “And it’s not like any vows I took could be an actually legal thing—given that a BlackOp agent doesn’t technically exist, outside of highly classified files within Blackout.”

  She reached for her glass, but he caught her hand, staying it. He stared hard into her eyes. “You made a commitment, though, and that means something. That gives you a responsibility to someone. Which puts the rest of us at risk because you, Raptor, Per, and I are a no-matter-what scenario. Whatever you take on, we take on. So if you marry, essentially, all of us do.” He let go of her hand. “If you don’t remember anything else, remember that.”

  Which was kind of a mean dig at her memory loss, but she didn’t mind. She much preferred the straight, brutal truth over tactful inferences or polite restraint.

  She thought about her partners in Avian Unit, and their rejection of serious relationships. “Well, like I said. We’re done. She packed up and ditched me. I didn’t even say goodbye to her when I left Dragonfire Station.”

  His fingers played over the rim of his glass. “Because you wanted to keep her at a distance, right? Better if she hates you. Keeps her safer.”

  “She doesn’t hate me,” she argued. Then she had to admit, “But yeah. Better for her if she’s not involved with me. Better for all of us.”

  He nodded. She began to understand why Hawk was her drinking buddy. He was deeper and more perceptive than she’d realized.

  “Still love her?” he asked.

  “She’s…special.” She couldn’t quite meet his eyes, instead looking off to his right, where a pair of crew sat, eating their dinner.

  “Must be, if you married her, however legal it was or wasn’t.” He sighed. “I’m sorry. It must suck.”

  “What do you mean? Her leaving me? Like I said, she’s better off.” Fallon picked up her glass and took a long drink. The spicy burn shocked her palate, but settled down to a warm, smooth finish. Mm. Zerellian ale. Her instincts had guided her true on that choice, as they usually did.

  “Right, she’s safer. But the first sign of trouble and she ditches? She’s not like us. Her commitment is something that she can take back. And she did.”

  Putting it that way made her feel like shit. “Thanks,” she muttered, gripping her glass.

  “I’m just saying put it in perspective. Use that perspective to cauterize anything that’s still bleeding.” He fell silent, watching her in a tough-love sort of way that felt oddly comforting.

  “Right. Thanks.” This time, she said it without the sarcasm.

  “Talk to Raptor about it.”

  Her hackles went up. “Why Raptor?” She already had questions about her past with him, and intended to find the answers very soon.

  She couldn’t read anything from Hawk’s expression. He looked cool and unconcerned as he met her gaze. “You two have always been close, ever since the academy. And you’ll be more likely to find him during the long, lonely nights ahead.” He winked at her.

  “Fine. Whatever.” She finished off her glass and waved for another. So far, no buzz. Maybe she needed to dedicate herself more completely to the cause. The more they talked, the more she could use a nice tipsy haze.

  But with the heavy topics out of the way, the tone of their conversation shifted. Hawk began telling somewhat-sanitized-in-case-of-curious-ears versions of some of their previous exploits. She wondered if certain details might be exaggerated, but he had her laughing and holding her stomach with his descriptions of both near misses and bang-on successes.

  She stopped counting their drinks, but when she felt just beyond buzzed, she made a slashing hand gesture toward the barkeep, then closed out their tab on the menuboard. Hawk protested, but without enthusiasm. More for the principle of it, she guessed.

  They finished the drinks they had, and Fallon decided it was time for them to go before they made asses of themselves by getting too loud. The bar had filled up considerably, with plenty of people standing about, waiting for a table or stool.

  “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “I’ll walk you home.” She grabbed the menuboard, verified the expenses, and held it up for Hawk to authenticate. He was paying, after all. She slid off the stool to follow him.

  The doors whooshed open and she failed to completely clear the opening, awkwardly brushing against it with her hip. He pulled her to his side to steady her, and she returned the favor by tightening her arm around his waist when he stumbled over some invisible obstacle on the deck plate. They had it under control by the time they strolled into his quarters, but she was tired. As if the few minutes of walking had sapped all of her energy, bleeding it off into frigid space.

  His quarters were a mirror of her own. No kitchenette, just a bed, a small living area, and an adjoining necessary. He led her right to the bed, where he began unzipping his jumpsuit. Oddly, she felt perfectly at ease with that development.

  “I guess you’re sleeping over?” He pulled his undershirt over his head and dropped it to the floor, exposing a wide expanse of very hairy chest.

  “Why, is that normal for us?” she asked through a yawn. It would certainly be convenient. The short walk back to her quarters seemed longer than it should.

  “Yeah. And don’t worry, I’ve seen your panties before.” He was too tired to even affect one of his bogus leers, which she never believed. The two of them had as much sexual chemistry as a chopstick and a teacup.

  So she peeled off her own black jumpsuit and got into bed beside him wearing her undershirt and panties. “You don’t snore, do you?”

  “No. But you do.” He turned his back to her, adjusted the blankets, and let out a long sigh.

  “Do not.” Wren would have told her so, if she did.

  “Only when you’re really drunk.” His voice was muffled.

  “Shut up and go to sleep.”

  “You first.” He sounded exhausted, but amused.

  They fell silent, and Fallon stretched her leg out, touching the back of his knee with her toe. “Hey, Hawk?”

  He half turned his head to look back at her. “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  He settled back into his pillow. “It’s nothing. You’ve done the same for me.”

  She smiled into the dark and clo
sed her eyes.

  THE DOOR CHIMED, jolting Fallon out of a pleasant sleep. She felt Hawk leaping lightly to his feet and moving away. For such a huge dude, the guy could move like a dancer. With him gone, she was free to sprawl out in the middle of the bed and appropriate his pillow, too. Ahh.

  “On your feet, soldier. We have company.” Hawk’s voice broke into her doze.

  Sighing, she kicked off the blankets and sat up. She ran her fingers through her haphazard hair and hauled herself out of bed.

  “I see you two have picked up right where you left off.” Raptor’s wry smirk failed to bother her. His little eyebrow lift at her undershirt-and-panties combo didn’t, either. Her team didn’t get too precious about inconsequential things like nudity. Just as well, since these small quarters didn’t have separate bedrooms.

  She grabbed her jumpsuit from the floor. “I’m taking a shower. Whatever you want, it’s too early for it.” She shot Raptor a sour look. “We’re not exactly on the clock here.”

  “Aw, well, I guess I just missed you guys.” Raptor made a smoochy face at her and Hawk. Hawk punched him on the shoulder before sitting on the edge of the bed, not bothering to get dressed. Raptor staggered back a step, but didn’t stop grinning.

  “We’ll wait for you.” Hawk made a dismissive gesture toward the necessary.

  Fallon was on her feet before he could change his mind, letting the door swish shut behind her. She shoved her clothes into the processor and stepped into the cramped shower. No water. Only a sonic pulse. She sighed. Four months without a hot, steamy shower would feel like a very long time. But at least she could still get clean. If sonic showers were her only complaint, she’d be doing incredibly well.