First, have you confirmed if Rache is in the system?
I haven’t sent him a message since we arrived.
Ah. You should.
Kim squinted warily at him. Why?
It occurred to me that you couldn’t be expected to build a bioweapon if you were locked up in a criminal’s brig.
What?
Why don’t you see if he’d be willing to come kidnap you from that mycology lab? The lab where you’ll obediently be starting to work on Jorg’s weapon. But alas, the nefarious Tenebris Rache, having heard of your project, might want the weapon for himself and kidnap you. Again.
You’re a loon.
Why? He’s proven that he likes kidnapping you. Nobody should doubt that he would do it again. And it could save you from having to choose between doing something loathsome that you’ll regret and openly defying Prince Jorg. Oh! Casmir had pulled out his lock-picking device and was about to apply it to the door’s control panel, but he paused to share the gleam in his eyes with Kim. And while you’re his prisoner, and taking a break from discussing literature, maybe you can talk him into helping the Kingdom drive off the invaders instead of helping the invaders put everyone we love in danger.
Your mind must be an interesting place to spend time.
If that’s your way of saying my plan is brilliant, I concur.
“Take your time, Casmir,” Asger muttered, shifting from foot to foot.
“Sorry, I was distracted by an idea.”
“You decoded the entire wormhole gate security system in less time than this.”
“I stand properly chastised.” Casmir pressed the magnetic fob on his lock picker to the control panel as he poked around on the station’s wireless networks.
Before his device thwarted the lock, a different door opened farther down the wall. Whirs and clinks sounded as two Excelsus defender robots on treads rolled out, with an android in a purple and blue uniform with silver piping walking between them.
Casmir cursed, stuffed his picking device back in his satchel, and held his hands wide. Innocently wide.
All three mechanical beings walked toward his group. That android wore the most colorful security uniform Casmir had ever seen, but he had no doubt that was what it was. A stunner and a pistol hung from the android’s belt.
“I’m going to try not to be caught,” Asger said, giving Casmir and Kim quick pats on the back.
Instead of yanking out his pertundo to hack down the locked door, he sprinted off across the bay. The android shifted from walking to running and veered after him. Even without his strength-enhancing armor, Asger was a natural athlete. He half-sprang and half-climbed twenty feet up the side of a shuttle, ran across it, leaped to another ship, and disappeared from sight. Instead of duplicating the maneuvers, the android ran around the parked spacecraft, trying to head him off.
Meanwhile, the two blocky robots continued toward Casmir and Kim, shock cannons and projectile weapons built into their frames.
Casmir raised his hands.
“Should we try not to be caught?” Kim asked.
“Just because I’m puking less these days doesn’t mean I can replicate Asger’s athleticism.” Casmir eyed the approaching defenders and the cannons pointed toward him.
Zee shifted to block Casmir and Kim from the robots. “Shall I destroy them?”
“No,” Casmir said. “We’re peaceful civilians coming to visit the station. It’ll be hard to make friends if we obliterate the security robots. But, uh, do keep them from shooting us, please.”
Kim glanced in the direction Asger had gone, as if she was still contemplating running. She could probably replicate Asger’s route. The door that had denied their exit earlier unlocked itself, and a man and a woman in security uniforms stepped out with stunners.
Zee shifted to watch them while he continued to block Casmir and Kim from the robots.
The woman eyed Casmir coolly. “I’m the new assistant chief of security, Gokhale. Kingdom subjects aren’t welcome at Stardust Palace at this time.”
“Thank goodness,” Casmir said. “We’re fleeing a bunch of Kingdom subjects. Humorless sorts. You know the type. We’re seeking refuge here, and we have some intelligence that may be useful to the sultan. We’ll happily trade it if you make sure that knight doesn’t drag us back to his fleet.” Casmir waved in the direction Asger had gone.
He could feel Kim’s gaze on the back of his head. Maybe he should have run his story by her before spouting it out.
Assistant Chief Gokhale exchanged a long look with her comrade before turning a skeptical expression back on Casmir. “You’re fleeing the knight that we observed you chatting amiably with and offering to help?”
She pointed at the wall above the door. Casmir couldn’t see the security camera, but he trusted it was there.
“I’m an amiable fellow,” Casmir said, “and a teacher. I’m willing to help many people, even my captors. How hard is it to get an appointment with the sultan? Is there a form you can fill out? Do you know if he has any interest in robotics? I’m a professor in the field. Do you want to look me up? I would also be happy to do some consulting while I’m here. Does he have any automated mining equipment that could use a tune-up? I’m very versatile.”
“Very hard,” the man said.
“Pardon?” Casmir asked.
“It’s very hard to get an appointment with the sultan from within one of our jail cells.”
“In that case, perhaps I could comm from a library or coffee shop?”
The man stepped forward, flex-cuffs in hand, but Zee shifted to block him.
“You may not touch Casmir Dabrowski,” Zee announced.
“Professor,” the assistant chief said. “If that’s truly what you are, I suggest you have your bodyguard step aside, and come with us without a fight. If your story checks out, maybe we’ll let you leave. Soon.”
“Ah, but I’m not looking to leave soon. Would you tell the sultan that a refugee from the Kingdom is here and wants to talk to him? I’ve traveled widely of late, and I have quite a lot of intelligence that he may find useful.” Casmir didn’t know if he could truly tell the sultan anything that he didn’t already know, but he would do his best to scrape up useful information if he got the chance. He smiled his most charming smile at Gokhale. “I’d really appreciate you letting him know. And he might appreciate it if he finds my intel useful. Surely, you want to make the sultan appreciative. Maybe he’ll promote you from assistant chief to chief.”
“That job is taken. Come with us.” Gokhale reached for Casmir’s arm, noticed Zee shifting menacingly toward her, and let her fingers stray toward her pistol.
Casmir had no doubt that Zee could disarm both of them before they could fire, and then deal with the Excelsus defenders for dessert, but he also knew that could get him punted out the nearest airlock—if not shot by some backup security system built into the bay.
“We’ll come peacefully.” Casmir patted Zee on the back. “We’re not here to cause you trouble.”
“Somehow I doubt that,” Gokhale muttered.
She waved for her comrade to lead the way and for Casmir, Kim, and Zee to follow, with her and the security robots trailing after them.
What intelligence do you have to share? Kim asked chip-to-chip.
I have so much intelligence, Kim. My memory is amazing, my brain a sponge for all I encounter.
So, you’ve got nothing?
Not… nothing. I know secrets to network games, everything about the robotics industry, and I even know who’s behind the pen name of Sir Remington the Third, the famous creator of the Royal Riders series of comic books.
I should have just stayed and built the bioweapon.
You don’t mean that.
Kim sighed. No.
I’ll get us out of this. Trust me.
Casmir hoped he was telling the truth. After seeing the news from back home, a new urgency filled him, a need to get back to Odin and make sure his family was all right. The last thing he wanted was
to spend the next year moldering in a jail cell.
9
“Casmir and Kim have been arrested,” Viggo said, his voice coming from the speakers in the cargo hold.
Bonita frowned and lowered the tablet she’d been using to search for her next freight job. “Already?”
Qin, who’d been helping the cargo robots load and remove the crates and barrels secured in the hold, paused. “What happened? Did Asger get arrested too?”
“Asger ran away from an android, leaped over two ships, and disappeared from my camera range,” Viggo said. “I do not know if he was ultimately captured.”
Bonita wasn’t surprised when Qin turned to her and said, “I should help him.”
“You should stay right here,” Bonita said. “I may need you soon. If those three were arrested, someone will probably figure out which ship they came in with, and we could get a passel of security officers visiting us.”
Qin’s fingers clenched and she looked toward the open hatch, but she didn’t move toward it.
“At least wait until after the cargo has been fully unloaded and we’ve received the last quarter of our payment,” Bonita added. “I’m sure Asger can handle himself.”
“It is likely Casmir and Kim are already in a cell,” Viggo said. “Lamentable. Perhaps I could use my cadre of robot vacuums to stage a rescue.”
Bonita thought people would pay money to witness such a thing, but she felt compelled to quash the idea. “What would you do if they were all blown up, and dust started collecting everywhere and coated all your wires and sensitive parts?”
Viggo paused in what might have been mute horror. “My human crew would have to clean,” he said finally. “A distressing notion, considering you don’t even make your bed, Bonita.”
“I make it before I go to sleep.”
“Which is odd. You’re supposed to make it when you get up in the morning, so that your cabin is properly tidy throughout the day.”
“You must have been a riot of fun to fly with when you were human.”
Bonita walked to the cargo hatch, navigating around the robot loaders—the conversation hadn’t caused their work to falter—and gazed into the large bay. She hoped to spot their contact coming to sign off and transfer the last of the payment—she wouldn’t let the robots off-load everything until that happened. Unfortunately, she spotted a female android in a security uniform heading their way.
“Is that the one that chased Asger?” she asked quietly.
“No,” Viggo said. “A male android chased him.”
Bonita braced herself to deal with questions. Maybe when Casmir had originally messaged her, she should have pretended that her chip was on the fritz.
“Captain Lopez?” the android asked, walking up the ramp.
Qin came to stand behind Bonita. She wasn’t wearing her combat armor, but she would still be a formidable foe, even for an android. But if a fight broke out, and Bonita had to try to take off without permission… nothing good would come of that.
“That’s me.”
“Three Kingdom subjects arrived with your freighter. At this time, Kingdom subjects are not permitted on Stardust Palace.”
Bonita shrugged. “They were stowaways who didn’t pay for their passage. I didn’t even know about them until a couple of days ago. If you catch up with them, tell them they owe me four hundred Union dollars, would you?”
Qin frowned.
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to paint Casmir, Kim, and Asger as criminals, but it sounded like station security had already decided that everyone from the Kingdom fell into that camp.
“My security chief has deemed that you are a possible threat,” the android said.
“Yes, seventy-year-old women are terrifying. Maybe your chief heard about my knee surgery and that I can walk without limping now. Unhampered locomotion does make me formidable.”
“You will not be permitted to enter the rest of the station. If you need to purchase supplies, you may do so online and have them delivered. As soon as you’ve restocked your ship, you will leave.”
Bonita grunted, amused that they were letting her shop instead of punting her out immediately, but this station was run by a successful capitalist. Such a man wouldn’t turn away potential sales.
“I need time to see if I can find another cargo,” Bonita said.
“As an ally of the Kingdom, you are not welcome on this station. You must leave within three days.”
“I’m not an ally of the Kingdom. I told you. Those were stowaways.”
“Captain, I am programmed to detect sarcasm and deceit in humans. You have three days before you will be forced to leave the station.” The android walked away.
“I wonder if she’s programmed to dodge bullets,” Bonita muttered.
“I could get my Brockinger,” Qin offered.
“Bonita,” Viggo said, “you have a comm call.”
“Oh, wonderful. What fresh joy is the universe bringing me?”
“I would answer, but I’m not certain how to interpret your relationship with Sir Bjarke at this time.”
“Yeah, neither am I.”
Bonita climbed up to navigation, leaving Qin to watch the robots and hold back the last chunk of the cargo until the payment came through. She found Bjarke’s face waiting for her on the display and slid into her pod.
“Good morning, Laser,” he said, “I’ve transferred to Prince Jorg’s ship the Chivalrous.”
“Thanks for the update. Are you going to read from your diary and tell me about your breakfast menu too?”
He smirked. “I fear you’d find my diary too scandalous for your wholesome ears.”
“Wholesome, right. That’s me. What do you want today?”
“It seems that Scholar Kim Sato was supposed to transfer over to the prince’s ship with me. Imagine my surprise when Captain Ishii told me she was no longer aboard the Osprey.”
“Weird. But it’s not really your problem, is it?”
“Actually, it’s been made my problem.”
Bonita kept her face neutral, but she had a feeling it was about to become her problem too. She should have known better than to take those three aboard. Friendship was a burden, at times. Why had she let herself start considering them friends?
“Huh,” was all she said aloud.
“A camera caught Scholar Sato in the shuttle bay with Professor Dabrowski, climbing into William’s shuttle.” All trace of humor vanished from Bjarke’s eyes, and he paused to let his jaw clench and a muscle in the side of his cheek twitch.
What was between father and son that they couldn’t get along with each other? Shouldn’t Bjarke be comming Asger about this?
“I understand the shuttle had some convenient malfunctions, and they needed to transfer to your ship,” Bjarke continued.
“So?” Since Ishii had already spoken to Kim, Casmir, and Asger, there was no point in lying.
“Are they on the station now?”
“Being arrested, last I heard.”
Bjarke blinked. Whatever answer he’d expected, that must not have been it.
“Haven’t you people been watching the news?” Bonita asked. “Prince Jorg created a fluff, and Sultan Shayban forbade people from the Kingdom to come to his station. Any people from the Kingdom.”
“I’m sure the prince was only trying to recruit people to help with the fleet he’s raising to take back home.”
“That’s not what it sounded like. Not that I care, but maybe you should read up on him before leaping to follow his orders.”
“It is my duty to follow the orders of the crown.”
“I suppose if you can obey pirates, you can obey anyone.”
A grimace flashed across his face, making her wonder what he’d done in his year undercover, but he masked the expression quickly. “I’ve been instructed to recover Scholar Sato, bring her to the prince, and give her the opportunity to do as she was originally asked. As a Kingdom subject, she, too, is bound to obey the crown.”
Bjarke’s jaw tightened again. Maybe she shouldn’t be goading him. He didn’t seem to mind personal teasing, maybe deeming it as flirting, but digs at his royal employers appeared to be less welcome.
“I commed you to see if they were still aboard and if you’d be willing to recover Sato for me and deliver her to the prince’s ship.”
“They’re not, and I wouldn’t.”
“I’m authorized to pay a reasonable rate. You are a trained bounty hunter, I understand.”
Now, Bonita was the one to clench her jaw. As if she would betray friends or even acquaintances that were trusting her. Yes, she’d turned Casmir and Kim over to Rache shortly after they met, but she’d barely known them then. This was different, and she didn’t bother hiding her glare. Maybe Bjarke didn’t know that she considered Kim a friend, but even so, this was insulting.
“If you want them,” she said coolly, “you’ll have to come here to get them.”
“I see.”
Should she warn Kim that he might come? Or try to delay him? She didn’t know how far away the Chivalrous was—the more she learned of Jorg, the more ridiculous she found that name—but maybe only a couple of days, going by the length of the lags in their conversation.
At the least, Bonita shouldn’t make it obvious that she would impede Bjarke—or make an enemy out of him. She lightened her tone and said, “Maybe I’ll let you squeeze my butt again if you stop by.”
She cut the comm before he could answer and nibbled on her knuckle. Then she hit the internal comm. “Qin? Maybe you should go help Asger, after all. And see if you can get Casmir and Kim out of jail. The Kingdom is coming looking for them.”
Kim considered Casmir’s crazy plan as the security officers led them through the corridors of the station, up a lift, and to a detention center. Unlike the public areas, the walls inside lacked colorful silks and banners. However, a single potted palm tree in a corner continued the theme of copious foliage.
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