Free Guardians of Eden by Matt Roberts Page B

followed up by kicking his feet out from under him and then pinned him to the ground with her knee.
    “Is your mind at ease now?” she asked in a fittingly sarcastic tone. “A preference isn’t a weakness if you know how to manage it.” She released the pressure from Owyn’s back.
    “You never learn do you Carter?” Shaw mocked from across the room.
    Owyn quietly dragged himself up from the floor. O’Brien moved gingerly back across to her corner, wincing slightly every time her weight fell on her left leg. It wasn’t ever worth digging into peoples’ pasts, Owyn knew that. Nobody ever liked what they found out. She was too stubborn to admit she was carrying an injury, never mind give full details on what caused it so he wasn’t getting anything out of her either way. Whatever it was, she’d had the same problem since he’d met her. It hadn’t caused her any serious problems so far so maybe it was just as inconsequential as she claimed it to be.
    As the session came to a close Owyn packed up and prepared to return to his quarters. Footsteps were approaching from down the hallway. He didn’t think anything of it at first. Sully often paid them a visit after sessions so it was nothing out of the ordinary.
    “Captain Miller?” Shaw exclaimed. It was as animated as he had sounded in years. That was enough to send a shiver down Owyn’s spine.
    “Lieutenant now, I’m afraid,” came the answer. “The ranks haven’t been so kind here on Altaris.”
    Owyn froze. He had hoped never to hear that voice again.
    “What the fuck are you doing here?” Shaw followed up.
    Owyn reluctantly lifted his head, though doing best to hide away in plain sight. Sure enough he saw the pale figure of Anders Miller towering in the doorway. His cleanly shaven head, tarnished by the visibly angular dent just above his right temple, struck a stark contrast against his thick, precisely shaped black beard.
    “I’ve been assigned to take command of ISO and lead Alpha Squad in Lieutenant Ambrose’s stead.” Miller said.
    Owyn didn’t move a muscle. Suddenly he wished his injuries were worse than they had seemed; that he was still lying unconscious in medical and this was all just an invention of his imagination.
    “Something stuck in your throat, Carter?” Miller said.
    “No,” Owyn muttered.
    “I’m sorry to hear it,” he snarled.
    Miller had been the Captain of Owyn and Shaw’s XION squad on Earth. His years of service almost matched up to Ambrose, but his willingness to follow protocol was often brought into question. He was erratic, unpredictable and brutal. He wasn’t ISO material.
    “I hope Ambrose has done a damn good job of putting you into line. I won’t stand for any shit this time, Carter. Remember that.” Satisfied that he had made an impact, he headed out. “Back here in thirty,” he reminded the team.
    With his back turned, Owyn finally found the courage to step up. “Is that why you came here?”
    Miller stopped. He took a long breath. This, he was going to enjoy.
    “For payback?” Owyn continued.
    Miller spun back around and walked slowly towards him. “No, as much as you’d love to hear it, I didn’t come here for you. It wasn’t my decision to make. I’m here by request.” He waited until he was no more than an inch from Owyn’s face then lowered his voice. “But that doesn’t mean fate didn’t have a say.” He smiled softly. “It seems running off to join Ambrose’s little dream team wasn’t your escape after all.”
    Owyn locked into Miller’s stare. Miller was tempting him, drawing him into retaliation. He was happy to oblige. “Running off? I was given an opportunity and I took it. Shaw did exactly the same. Are you telling me that in my situation you’d have stayed? Or did you just love killing too much to let it go?”
    “Shaw left with my permission. You saw the opportunity and you ran. You abandoned us. You abandoned your country and you abandoned your friends. I couldn’t