Chapter One: Criminal

A/N: Welcome! You may have seen this before on a different account with my cowriter, but I'm embarking on this story on my own now. I am still writing Ghost as well, starting this story does not mean I've given up on that. Any reviews or feedback would be much appreciated!

Zeke Shaw remembered the first time he saw her, a flash of bright teal hair out of the corner of his eye. It had struck him as odd on this dull, colourless rock that anything could be that vibrant. He glanced over and realised that the vivid hair belonged to a woman in a prisoner's jumpsuit. No, not a woman – a girl, only a few years younger than him, maybe in her late teens or just scraping twenty. She was a tiny thing too, making Zeke curious what she could have done to get to a place like this.

She must have sensed him looking at her, because she threw a mischievous look over her shoulder. The momentary distraction caused her to almost trip, and the guard escorting her shook her like a doll. The teal-haired girl winced, visibly tensing.

"Watch it, Rollins!"

"Hey." Zeke crossed over to his comrade. "It's okay. I've got her from here."

The guard, whose name Zeke couldn't recall, looked suspiciously between the two of them, before jerking his head in a nod. Zeke took the girl's arm, more gently than his fellow guard. He headed down the corridor, eyes peeled for the cell that belonged to the girl.

"You alright?"

"What's it matters to you?" The teal-haired girl glared defiantly up at him. "Shaw, right?"

"You can call me Zeke."

She laughed mockingly. "Well, you can call me Demi, but most of you seem to prefer Rollins."

Demi. It was a pretty name, almost as pretty as her. The more he got to know her, the more protective of her he became. She seemed different to the others – not only younger, but there was a degree of innocence that none of the others possessed, a certain vulnerability. The more he got to know Demi, the more Zeke found himself curious about how she had ended up there.

Unfortunately, her record didn't provide much insight as he checked up on it later on – since Demi was under 21, her crimes were confidential until she hit that age. Back home on Earth, she'd had a family – past tense. Both parents and middle sister dead, youngest sister a paraplegic.

According to the record, Demi was the only criminal under 21 from Eligius IV. The idea that someone her size and age could be down in the mines getting hythylodium was disturbing to him. She was just a kid. What was a girl like that doing in a place like this?

Demi Rollins woke from nightmares darker than the furthest reaches of space. The faces of her family, swimming in her mind. The crimes she'd committed that had gotten her sent to Proxima Six, what seemed like eons ago. She had been the youngest prisoner by a good few years, but considering her circumstances, it had hardly been astonishing to her.

Collecting her thoughts and blinking away the tears that stung at her eyes, it took her a few moments to remember why she'd been in cryo in the first place. She remembered the mutiny, their shock collars being disabled, the explosion in the starboard engine bay that had delayed their venture to Earth…

Zeke. It had been because of him. She remembered the fact that he hadn't been willing to leave her behind because some of them were getting sick. He'd turned against the Eligius Corporation for her.

"Welcome back, Demi." The voice startled her, as did the hand that was offered to her. She took it without flinching, letting Charmaine Diyoza pull her to her feet. It was Charmaine who'd taken control after the mutiny, becoming the unquestioned leader of the group of prisoners. Demi had been frightened of the idea of cryo, but Charmaine had talked her into it.

"We're closing in on Earth?" The words were hoarse, from a throat unused to emitting sound for many years in the ice.

"Two weeks now." Charmaine's smile was tight. Clearly she was apprehensive of what waited for them back home as well. "I don't know what we'll find there."

Seized by a sense of apprehension, Demi lurched for the nearest computer screen. Her knees wobbled beneath her, unaccustomed to sudden movement. Yet all she could remember was knowing that it could take decades for them to return to Earth. Staring at the screen, numb with horror, she realised that it hadn't been decades – it had been over a century.

2156. Her little sister would be long dead and buried by now, in the ground with the rest of Demi's family. The thought caused a lump to form in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it. She was in a dangerous predicament, and she'd be a fool to forget that. She wasn't safe, not on a ship crawling with criminals. She might be lethal, but many of them were a lot more twisted than she'd ever be.

"Shaw did well." Charmaine's tone was light, but her eyes were piercing as they fixed on the teal-haired girl. "You did well."

Demi shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? He has a hero complex."

"He might have…second thoughts." Charmaine rested her hands lightly on Demi's shoulders. "But I can count on you to make sure he doesn't act on them, can't I?"

Demi realised exactly what Charmaine meant. Zeke was still important to them. He was the only pilot they had. Without him, they were doomed. If he became uncomfortable or regretted what he'd done, it could bode ill for all of them. Charmaine wanted to make sure Demi kept Zeke in line. Threatening violence was blunt. Charming Zeke was far subtler.

"Of course you can."

Demi had a pretty good grip on when power shifted. It had moved from Eligius to Charmaine, despite the fact that many of the prisoners had previously considered Paxton McCreary to be their leader. Demi personally thought that Charmaine was a lot more intelligent than McCreary. She also sided with Charmaine because she had the suspicion that as long as Demi was useful, as long as she kept Zeke wrapped around her little finger, she'd be safe.

Demi had never been a fighter. Her strength didn't lie in physical power. It lay in the pure and simple fact that there were many who underestimated her. No one on Eligius IV knew what crimes Demi had committed. A lot of the men saw her as a non-issue, that she'd never be a threat. But Charmaine clearly knew different. The fact that such a petite young woman, the youngest among them by several years, was among mass murderers and psychopaths…it meant that Demi was hiding something. It meant that she was a lot more than her tiny frame and sweet countenance suggested.

Demi walked through the narrow halls of Eligius IV. It was odd, prowling about the ship without a guard and without a shock collar around her neck. She'd only ever been treated like a prisoner, aside from by Zeke. The scent of food made her stomach grumble, and she felt in desperate need of a meal. She'd only gotten small portions, but now…she knew she had to be careful, since they were still a little away from Earth, yet that didn't prevent her from being thrilled at the prospect of a hot meal.

Heading into the mess hall, her steps slowed when she realised that she was not alone. Zeke sat in one of the seats, a book in his hands – something his eyes had been glued to until she walked into the room. Casting around for some food, Demi's attention drifted to the recently defrosted fruit, and she helped herself to some of them.

"So, you're on our side after all."

He shrugged. "Seems I am."

"You helped because of me, didn't you?" Demi perched herself on the edge of a table, swinging her legs back and forth. It hadn't taken Charmaine to point out Zeke's interest in her. He had a soft spot for her, and it had become painfully obvious during the mutiny. Demi's exaggeration of her fear at being left behind had pushed Zeke into action.

"Does that bother you?" he asked. She was only slightly surprised that he made no attempt to deny it. Instead a wicked grin crossed her lips and she tilted her head to the side, examining her unlikely protector. He was the only one close to her age, and she doubted his interest in her was purely friendly.

"Did you want me to be your reward?"

Zeke raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to be my reward?"

"Was that your intention?" Demi couldn't help her curiosity, and her bluntness. In truth she'd actually never had sex, but she would never admit that to Zeke or anyone else on the ship. "Help us, and you'd get to fuck me?"

He shook his head vehemently. "No. Part of the reason was because of you."

Demi slipped off the table, examining him closely as he placed his book down, marking his page. She was curious about his motives, and his intentions. People never did things for free. Her past as a con artist meant that Demi was pretty good at learning what made people tick. She wanted to know what motivated Zeke, other than his rather odd desire to protect her.

"An interesting read?" She folded her arms over her chest. "You never answered the question. About whether you wanted me to be your reward. Are you embarrassed?"

"No." He shook his head, but offered no further explanation. Demi wasn't stupid. She saw the way that Zeke looked at her. He thought she was attractive, at the very least. It was something that she could utilise. She was a master of weaponizing people's weaknesses against them.

"So, what's the answer?"

There was a playful gleam in his eyes. "Maybe you'll find out one day."

She couldn't help the smirk that spread across her lips. She certainly hoped so.