Tchaikovsky by Tasha Black

Author:Tasha Black [Black, Tasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 13th Story Press
Published: 2019-02-14T05:00:00+00:00

16

Angel

Angel looked around the Stargazer’s mess hall.

It was unbelievable that this place could ever feel so much like home. She had choked down so many horrible meals over the lump in her throat right here in this room, the bitterness at the loss of her brother threatening to consume her faster than she could consume the flavorless mush in her mug.

Now every worn table, every bench, every bolt in the aluminum walls felt familiar and comforting. Even the disgusting gruel in her cup fortified her spirit.

She was with friends.

She and Peter and Tchai were safe from the monster on that abandoned ship. The speed of Peter and his brothers had caught the creature off guard, allowing them to make it back to the shuttle and take off for the Stargazer before it could catch them.

They had gotten lucky. She wasn’t so sure they would be as fortunate if they ever ran into the creature again. Good thing she had no plans to ever set foot on any of the abandoned luxury cruisers again.

And though they still had the problem of Tchai’s citizenship to worry about, they now had a million possible ways to try and solve it.

She leaned back against her mate’s strong chest as Tchai managed to get his chubby fist into her mug.

She watched as he moved his hand to his mouth.

“Bah,” he shouted, his little face wrinkling up tearfully.

“I know, buddy, that’s gross,” she told him, kissing him on the forehead. “But it’s all we’ve got for now.”

“Did no one think to raid the galley before we left?” Leo roared.

“Sorry, baby, we were trying to escape certain death,” Anna said, trying to hide her smile.

“You are lucky you are so attractive,” Leo told her earnestly. “Or I might get desperate enough to eat you."

“As long as you don’t eat Tolstoy, I can look out for myself,” Anna said, her eyes twinkling.

Leo scowled at her and took a long drink of his meal, wincing as he swallowed.

“So what’s the plan?” Peter asked, sounding tense.

“Where’s Mama?” Angel asked the group.

“She’s navigating,” Raina replied. “The others are still on their missions.”

“And the drones?” Angel asked.

“Recharging and uploading,” Raina said.

“Okay, then we can speak openly,” Angel said. “Peter and I know what’s going on with the babies.”

“We already know,” Anna said. “They’re clones. That’s how they got their names.”

“Yes, but maybe not for the reason you think,” Angel said carefully.

Tchai grabbed her empty mug and banged it on the table.

She thought about trying to take it from him and decided it was best for him to be distracted.

“These babies are most likely cloned,” she went on. “They were pod-raised.”

Raina nodded like this was old news to her.

God, this was hard. Angel didn’t like breaking bad news. But there was no point holding back. They needed a plan and they needed it yesterday.

“Their purpose was to meld with New Russia’s ships,” she said. “They were given mind-enhancements in the pod.”

“What are you talking about?” Raina asked.

“That’s not it at all,” Anna said. “They’re the clones of famous Russian cultural icons.

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