Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Elaine

I was back aboard the Dashing Rogue when the princess made her appearance. It wasn’t subtle. The Stardust drifted in slowly, regally, and without making the slightest effort at hiding who was arriving. Though, to be fair, I didn’t know how they’d have disguised the yacht without switching the hull.

My vision blurred, and I blinked away my tears to pay attention. It was ridiculous that I was crying, anyway. I’d gotten what I wanted. Karkonar and I would see each other regularly, and I kept my freedom. What more could I ask for?

I kicked the console in frustration. Karkonar, of course! It might have been my idea, but it sucked so much, and we’d been apart for less than an hour. Was it just stubbornness keeping me to the plan? I couldn’t tell.

Princess Arkari left her ship surrounded by bodyguards, and I watched them go, hoping I’d spot my prince. They were easy to track, a colorful space in the crowd that scattered out of the way. But Karkonar didn’t appear, and they left the dock into the sprawling mass of cheap storage labeled Spinward Warren. I frowned — that seemed an unlikely destination for the siblings to meet up.

“Bad Bad,” Onyx said, landing on my shoulder and gripping on tight. I yelped and jumped, coffee going everywhere as his claws bit straight through my t-shirt. “No. Bad.”

“What the fuck, Onyx? Where did that come from?”

“Danger. Red. Danger.” The little monster tightened his grip, and I hissed in pain.

“What do you mean, ‘red danger’?” I asked, before remembering his nickname for Karkonar. “You mean the prince is in danger? Tell me what’s going on.”

Hopping onto the console, Onyx turned to face me and glared. He spoke slowly, spacing out the words to make sure I understood. “Captain Is Bad. Leaves Red. Red Danger.”

“Yes,” I said, trying to rein in my impatience. “That’s why I asked you to keep an eye on him, in case of danger. So, did you see something? Or did you sneak up on me just to spill my damned coffee?”

“Go. Save Red. Kiss Kiss.”

Okay. Apparently, you’re here to make me blush brighter than I ever have. I turned away, trying to get control over my emotions, and that’s when I saw something weird. A second ship had docked beside the Stardust while the yacht’s arrival distracted everyone. Shielded from view by the Stardust’s sweeping wings, it was well hidden — pure luck on my part that it was visible from the Rogue’s bridge.

Or maybe fate?

A quick glance through the sector registry gave me the ship’s name just as its airlock opened. Emerging from the Darana’s Blade was Corbuch Vaher, surrounded by a dozen thugs marching purposefully. I recognized him from dozens of holonovellas about the galaxy’s crime syndicates — he wasn’t the most powerful crime lord around, nor the most influential, but he wasn’t shy of media attention. He was an Arisran, as were half of his crew.

It didn’t surprise me that they left the dock heading the same way the princess went. It also didn’t mean anything. There were enough storage spaces to go around, but since the Vaher cartel were the ones who’d hired me to transport Karkonar in the first place, it was suspicious.

“Wait a minute.” I grabbed the cargo tablet from its nook and scrolled to the package listed as ‘Dehydrated Industrial Fertilizer.’ There, the delivery address: 1047.430.agb Spinward Warren.

Again, it might be coincidence. But was the direction both Arkari and Vaher had gone, and it just felt wrong. But what could I do about it, even if there was a problem? Sneaking in was out of the question — I didn’t even know where, precisely, the coordinates led. But I didn’t have any reason to turn up openly, and walking into what might be a three-way confrontation between two royals and a gang boss sounded suicidal.

I’d need to change, too, if I even wanted a chance of them taking me seriously. My damp, coffee-stained shirt wouldn’t do the job. What the fuck could I wear to fit in at a meeting like that?

Then I grinned and looked at Onyx, who backed off and hissed, trying to make himself look big. “No. Bad Captain. No No No.”

“I haven’t even told you the plan, silly,” I told him. “Your part’ll be easy.”

###

Confidence. That was the key. If I walked with enough confidence, no one would doubt me. I kept telling myself that as I made my way into the storage area, my boots clattering off the loose metal decking with each step. Thank goodness I hadn’t tried to sneak through. Behind me floated the crate of ‘industrial fertilizer,’ suspended on four anti-grav units.

I look ridiculous. This will never work. Onyx bit my ear, just hard enough to make me yelp and lose my train of thought. He’d been a great help in keeping my brain out of a doom spiral, though I thought he took a little too much glee in how he kept my mind off it.

“Stop it, you little sadist,” I hissed at him, and he cleaned his paw with studied innocence.

“Not Sadist. Helpful.”

“You can be two things, you know.”

He went back to ostentatiously washing himself, radiating smugness. With a shake of my head, I dropped the matter. No point in arguing now. Either we’d be able to argue about it after this, or we’d be too dead to care.

Rounding a corner, I came face to face with a couple of Royal Guards flanking a doorway. With my best smile on, I looked up at them — they might not be as tall as Karkonar, but they still towered over me.

“Hello,” I said, as bright and chipper as I could. “I’m here to collect my pay.”

“Get lost, human,” one of them growled. “You have no business here.”

“On the contrary, I have a package due to be paid for on delivery. Under the circumstances, I’m loath to let Princess Arkari out of my sight until I have my money. It’s not like I can invoice her for this, is it?”

He looked me up and down, face hidden by his holovisor. I did my level best to stay still and appear unconcerned. Hopefully, he’d accept the image I presented, rather than seeing through to the real me. It wouldn’t fool Karkonar for a second, but then, he was a special case.

The guard saw a woman in heavy, stompy boots, black leather pants, a fitted suit jacket over a frilly blouse, and a wide hat. On her belt, a sword, perhaps a vibroblade or a thermal blade. Strapped to one thigh, a blaster pistol. And on her shoulder, a winged cat. The very picture of a pirate captain — if all you knew about them came from holonovellas.

The truth was less impressive. The boots were work boots I’d quickly polished up, the leather pants from an ill-conceived party outfit I was lucky I still squeezed into. I needed the jacket for negotiating loans with the bank. The frilly blouse was a bargain I couldn’t pass up at a thrift shop on Talbrek.

My weapons were real. I just had no idea how to use them beyond ‘point and pull the trigger’ or ‘stabby end goes in the other guy.’

This whole plan banked on them seeing me as more than just an independent operator. As someone to deal with, not just brush off. Elaine Jessop was a nobody they could ignore or, at worst, kill. Pirate Captain Jessop, though, she looked and sounded significant, like she might be a problem.

Hopefully, a problem above their pay grade.

The moment stretched, and I fought the urge to fidget. At last, the Guard spoke into his collar, quick and quiet and in an unfamiliar language. I couldn’t hear the reply, but it turned into a quick back-and-forth before he glowered at me. “Fine. Go in. You’ll leave the package here and your weapons at the security station.”

I gave him my brightest smile and nodded as I stepped past him and into the converted airlock beyond. Jokes on him. I have no idea how to use either of those, I thought as I placed the sword and blaster into a clear box on the metal table with a handwritten sign labeling it as Security. Under the watchful eye of another Arisran Guard, I sealed the box, which he put on a pile of other weapon-filled cubes. Either Vaher and his people were here, or someone else with a huge arsenal had arrived.

Once the weapons were appropriately stored, the Guard cycled the airlock. The outer door swung closed, then the inner door opened. At once, raised voices filled the air.

The two Drall mercenaries stood against the back wall, intimidating from their sheer bulk even if they hadn’t had rifles slung across their backs. Between them, lying on a crate, was Karkonar. My heart soared to see him alive, but he wasn’t moving at all. I itched to run to his side, to see what was wrong, to fix it. But that would have to wait.

I turned my attention to the confrontation dominating the center of the room. There, Vaher glared at the coldly aloof Princess Arkari. A dozen gangsters backed him up. She only had a single Royal Guard at her side, but he looked tough enough to maintain his regiment’s reputation as elite warriors, and backup was close at hand.

I wouldn’t want to bet on which side would come out on top in a fight, but I would wager the Dashing Rogue that no one would leave happy afterward. I let them talk before approaching, thinking it would be smart to know where the two sides stood before I waded in.

“We did our bit of the bargain. He’s here, ain’t he?” Vaher’s voice was surprisingly mellow, like he should read soothing bedtime stories for a living. “So, you’ll pay up now, Princess. I come out to this hole, I better get my money.”

“Vaher, my brother is only here because I lured him in and captured him. I’ll pay you fairly for the work you did, but I’m not paying full price and then doing the work myself.”

“Nah nah nah,” Vaher waved his left hand, signaling no. “You got what you wanted, so pay what we agreed. Or I’ll find out what someone will pay for two Arisran heirs.”

Everyone took that as a signal to reach for their weapons. Of course, the Vaher cartel had only given up their easy to spot weapons at the door. Each of them pulled out a backup, small laser pistols or high-tech knives. One, a Prytheen warrior, produced a blaster carbine that she couldn’t possibly have hidden.

Keen to avoid an exchange of laser and blaster fire hitting Karkonar or me, I chose that moment to stride closer, as though I owned the place.

“No need for violence,” I said in my captain’s voice. I’d used it to cut through the noise of an engine room. It was more than enough to capture everyone’s attention. “Mr. Vaher is correct, the delivery’s been made. Time to pay up for it.”

“See, a neutral voice of reason,” Vaher said calmly, though he gave no sign of lowering his pair of pearl-handled blasters. “Princess, none of us wants a fight. Too much mess, not enough pay, y’know? Me, I’m a patriot, and I’d hate to hurt the heir to the throne.”

Arkari glanced at me, annoyed. Then I saw something spark in her eyes and she gave me a second look, and I cursed. Of everyone here, she was the one most likely to see through my disguise.

Not only had she seen me in more regular clothing, but one glance told her how much my clothes were worth. Or rather, how little. The gangsters wouldn’t notice, but the princess knew fashion.

I’d say that derailed my plan, but there wasn’t much of one beyond this point. Part one: use a disguise to bluff my way into the meeting? Check.

Part three: rescue Karkonar? Ongoing.

It was the missing part two I had trouble filling in.

I had the room’s attention. I needed something to do with it.

“Captain Jessop,” the princess said. “You’ve finished your part of this business, haven’t you? Why are you still here? Surely not just to back Mr. Vaher?”

“Oh, I’m not here to back him up,” I said, playing for time. In the background, my mind worked furiously, but I kept my face calm and voice confident. “No, he happens to be right, and that’s exactly why he ought to pay me. Cargo delivered intact.”

Arkari laughed and clapped. “Well played, Captain. Not that I’m conceding the point, but if you’re going to argue it, Mr. Vaher, you’d better be prepared to pay up yourself.”

Vaher sneered in my direction. Okay, now I’ve pissed off the dangerous crime boss. Any closer to a plan? Nope.

What I had wasn’t a plan, it was a desperate move. I just didn’t have anything better.

“You’ll get exactly what you deserve — once her highness here has paid up.” He gestured toward Arkari, who sneered elegantly.

If the confrontation switched back in that direction before turning violent, Karkonar would be in the gangsters’ line of fire. There was only one way to avoid that: start the fight while their focus was still on me.

“Now,” I said, and Onyx launched himself off my shoulder. As his wings caught the air, I pressed a button on my comm.

Blinding light blazed around me, and everyone looking at me flinched and threw their arms up to shield their eyes. I might not know how to use a blaster in a fight, but I knew how to overload its batteries.