Page 154 of Trove’s Purpose

But she had probably wanted time with her new sex slave and had demanded not to be bothered. It was the sort of thing Chee could see someone like her doing.

This time, she didn’t hide with the others in the shelter room. She donned her own envirosuit, attached one of Trove’s holsters to her waist, then stood behind the crates and crates of furs as the guys did the initial landing and invasion.

They moved quickly, without any unnecessary words or actions. They moved together with the ease and comfort of a group that had been working side by side for a long time. It was the kind of kinship that couldn’t be forced, it could only be forged through experience.

Only Rok stayed behind, serving as the last line of defense for the girls as usual. Everyone else took on their assigned roles. Sway brought in Alred’s connection cord. Tanin and the twins led the way, cutting down anyone in their path with ruthless efficiency. Vytln followed behind, taking care of anyone they might have missed.

Sway guarded Alred’s connection and with very little effort, their seventh crewmate was taking over the entire facility.

“What do you think, Chee?” Alred asked, speaking through the comms in the helmet. “A little destruction won’t hurt, right?”

She laughed evilly. “Hit her where it hurts the most. Take out the mine.”

Alred laughed along with her, clearly pleased by her viciousness. But Chee didn’t give a damn. As far as she was concerned, nothing she took from Rinnicks could possibly be equal to what she had taken away first.

“The way is clear. You can go ahead. I’ll watch your back,” Alred assured her.

Chee nodded and stepped out from behind the stacks of crates. Sway was the only one she saw, standing at the base of the ramp, artificial claws on his fingers. Unlike Trove, his species didn’t naturally have claws, so he used metal ones to replicate the same effects. And as a bonus, since they were fake and fit over his fingers, connected at his wrist by little chains, he could wear them over his envirosuit no problem.

He nodded to her as she walked past, Trove’s gun already in hand. She didn’t need to be told to keep it poised at all times while in enemy territory.

Not that there was really much for her to fight. Tanin and the twins alone were ruthless. Unconscious, bleeding, and broken bodies littered the ground. They were all breathing, but they were certainly no longer a threat.

To be fair, they were probably all just ordinary workers here. They weren’t involved in Rinnicks’ wickedness. They were just getting their credz and going home.

Okay, so maybe blowing up the mine and cutting through the rest of the rooms one by one was a bit overkill.

But still, it was damn satisfying when she heard the distant boom of Alred blowing up something in that same mine.

She made a face and asked-

“There was no one in there, right?”

“I made sure to sound an evacuation alarm,” he replied evenly, almost like he was offended she suggested he would do otherwise.

In that case, there was nothing to stop her from feeling smug and evil.

“Good. Now, then. Where am I going?”

“Right down that hallway. There’s a lift at the end. I’ll take you up.”

Hand tightening on the pistol, she took off at a jog just as another blast rocked the entire facility.

Chapter 53

Trove

Rinnicks had absolutely lost her composure.

Trove remained reclined – not like he could go anywhere – at his ease. He watched with no small amount of amusement as Rinnicks beat and raged at the door. She was making absolutely no progress, of course. Those were steel bulkhead doors, designed to be completely airtight, able to withstand the force of an explosion. There was no way she was beating her way through that.

But by the ancestors, she was giving it her all.

She attacked with fists and feet, slamming both against the hard metal with enough force to create a loud, dull bang throughout the room. She wasn’t even denting it though. Which Trove saw as proof of her physical weakness. He was pretty sure her species prided itself on physical strength. They would punch wood and steal to prove how deep they could dent it.

The fact that Rinnicks couldn’t just showed what Trove already suspected. She had come this far away from her home planet because she wasn’t considered powerful there. She bought power with her wealth and pretended that it was all she needed.

But as was the way of her kind, stripping someone of their wealth, taking away her perceived power, drove her insane. She couldn’t handle it. She struck out in the most basic, youngling way possible – with brute violence.