Polaris Rising

by Jessie Mihalik

  Next, I tracked down Veronica and tried to get her to give me a list of food she wanted. She changed it so many times while I was standing there that we decided it would be best if she just came with me when I went shopping.

  Loch was in the fitness room when I found him. He was throwing punches at a heavy bag. He’d removed his shirt and sweat beaded across his back. I got lost in the mesmerizing movement of his muscles.

  “Did you need something or did you just come down to watch?” he asked without stopping or turning around.

  I shook myself out of my daze. I didn’t want to make things awkward between us. We would be stuck together on the ship for a few days while we checked out the Antlia system. I’d assumed last night was a one-time thing, but now that today hadn’t brought farewell, I was unsure how to proceed.

  “Veronica and I are going shopping,” I said. “Do you need anything while we’re out?”

  “I’ll go with you,” Loch said.

  “There’s no nee—” I started.

  “I will go with you,” he said again. “That way I can pick up a few things, too.”

  I was pretty sure he was using that as a thin excuse just to keep an eye on us, but I let it go. “How long until you’re ready?”

  He shrugged on a shirt that clung to his damp chest and arms. Yum. “I’m ready now,” he said. “Unless you keep looking at me like that.”

  Heat burned through my checks. So much for not making it awkward. “Veronica is waiting in the cargo bay,” I said.

  “Too bad,” he said.

  Too bad, indeed, but I made myself turn and head up to meet her.

  Shopping took most of the afternoon. I bought enough supplies to last a month even if the food synth went down. It wasn’t typical, but I felt better with the backup, especially with all the extra people on board.

  After we returned to the ship, I wrote a lengthy message to Bianca. I laid out all of my suspicions about the FTL drive and the Antlia sector, as well as my exact plan. If something went wrong and I was captured or killed, House von Hasenberg had to know what happened. With Rockhurst threatening war, it was more than just my life on the line.

  The sun had just kissed the horizon when the proximity alarm alerted me that someone approached the cargo door. I pulled up a visual and found Rhys standing with three sleds piled high with various boxes and bags.

  “Polaris, scan the immediate surroundings for life-forms.”

  “One person detected in the cargo ramp quadrant,” the ship responded.

  He wasn’t trying to smuggle someone else on board—I’d had enough of that, thanks—but he was bringing far more stuff than I expected. “Rhys is here,” I announced over the ship’s intercom. “I’m going to go let him in.”

  By the time I made it to the cargo hold, Marcus lounged against the wall next to the door. He looked relaxed on first glance, but something in the way he held himself spoke of hidden tension.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  He straightened. “I’m fine.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes—barely—and opened the cargo door. Rhys ducked inside as soon as the door was high enough. He said, “Rumor has it that you’re on-planet. I don’t know if Richard is spreading it or if someone caught sight of you. Either way, it’s time to go.”

  “Unless he wants to flush us out and catch us in orbit,” Loch said darkly.

  “It’s possible,” Rhys agreed. “We should be ready to jump as soon as we take off. We’re close enough to the gate to request a jump point now and wait here until we make it through the queue.”

  “I’ll request our jump after we secure the supplies. What is all of this?” I asked Rhys as he arranged his three sleds in the cargo bay.

  “Just a few things I pulled together,” he said. “My personal pack is on top,” he waved a hand at a smallish rucksack, “the rest of this is for our journey. I brought the ammo you wanted, then decided if we were heading into hostile territory, we shouldn’t go unprepared.”

  “Is there anything in there that I need to worry about blowing a hole in my ship?” I asked warily.

  “You don’t need to worry,” Rhys said with a grin. “It’s the other guys who need to worry.”

  “Fantastic,” I muttered. “Well, lash it all down in case we need to make extreme evasive maneuvers, then go find yourself a bunk. Crew quarters are on the middle level.” I remembered Lin. “And remember, anything you see on my ship is confidential.” I let a hint of icy warning creep into my tone. “Do not break my trust.”

  Rhys lost his veneer of easygoing charm. He looked more like I remembered him from when we first met. He also looked more like Loch. “I owe you a great deal, Lady Ada,” he said softly. “And I respect you in equal measure. I will not betray you or your secrets. But do not threaten me again.”

  I nodded once. “I apologize,” I said. Hopefully when he saw Lin, he would understand my caution. “And you owe me nothing,” I added. “Our debt has long been settled. If anything, I owe you.”

  “We will have to agree to disagree,” Rhys said.

  I’d tried before to tell Rhys he didn’t owe me anything, but the man was nearly as stubborn as me. The first time I’d met him, I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I’d spent months tracking him down on a rumor that he had an inside line on Yamado’s newest weapons. House von Hasenberg very much wanted to examine them but we hadn’t been able to break into the supply chain. Even after I found him it took weeks of careful negotiation to set up an in-person meeting.

  But Rhys, never content to do only one illegal activity, was also an expert forger. And it turns out that he’d forged documents for a person of interest to House von Hasenberg who had folded under questioning and given Rhys up. So while I was there undercover, trying to negotiate for the weapons, my own freaking House had raided his warehouse.

  I wasn’t about to trash months of work for a little forgery, plus by then I’d gotten to know Rhys enough to like and respect him. I broke cover and bailed his ass out of trouble. After that I funneled as much House business his way as I could, and when he talked about expanding his business, I gave him the loan the bank wouldn’t.

  In return, Rhys had never betrayed me, even after I left the House. He set up my new burner identities and forwarded me any info he had on where Father’s security forces were searching. He repaid my loan with interest, which gave me a tidy little off-the-books profit. I trusted him almost as much as I trusted my sisters and that was no small thing.

  Rhys grinned and the moment passed. His mask fell back into place, as seamless as my own. “Loch and I will take care of securing this stuff. You get us a jump point.”

  I mock saluted him then headed to the flight deck to do as he requested. If Richard did know we were here then it made sense to leave as soon as possible. Of course, turning on external communications could let any remaining trackers lead him straight to us. It was a risk, but one we’d have to take.

  I brought the ship to flight readiness then requested a jump point in the Antlia sector near the supposedly empty von Hasenberg planet. Because it was so close to APD Nine, the gate was busy and we were deep in the queue. Even with the constant upgrades busy gates received, it would be at least two hours before we’d get our jump coordinates.

  Two hours as sitting ducks.

  I set the ship’s computer to alert me as soon as we hit tenth in line, then returned to my quarters to change into workout clothes. Watching as we slowly crept through the queue would drive me crazy. I needed to burn off some energy.

  I took my blasters just in case of trouble, then slid down the ladder to the fitness room. The room was empty so I cranked up the music and set a brutal pace on the treadmill. It took longer than usual, but I finally found the zen point where my body worked hard but my mind drifted freely.

  With an entire ship of people counting on me, I needed to execute my plan flawlessly. First, I would check out the von Hasenberg planet. According to our records it didn’t ev
en have an outpost, so risk of discovery should be low. And if there was something there, then I’d know both sides were obfuscating the truth.

  Once I’d ascertained that the records were correct, I’d head to the Rockhurst planets. The size of the mining operation would give me a good idea if I was on the right track about the planets being linked to faster FTL drives—if I was, they’d be stripping the planet bare as fast as possible.

  Then I would have to reassure my sister I was alive and negotiate with Father—Polaris for my freedom.

  I ran until my legs ached and my lungs sawed the air. Sweat dripped down my arms and soaked through my clothes. I increased the incline until I was sprinting uphill. My heart rate skyrocketed, and I felt my pulse pound through my body. I kept it up until I thought I’d collapse if I took another step, then I did another five minutes. When running was your best defense, you learned to run like hell.

  By the time I was done with cooldown, my legs had picked up a fine tremble that I couldn’t control. I wobbled as I stepped off the treadmill. It was only then that I realized I wasn’t alone. Loch smoothly bench-pressed a bar loaded with weights. A quick calculation proved he was benching over 150 kilograms as easily as if it was the bar alone.

  He could bench-press more than two of me without breaking a sweat. No wonder he had no trouble carting me around.

  He racked the weight and sat up. “You done?” he asked.

  “I should probably do some upper body work but I’m wiped,” I said. “And I need to be able to climb back to the flight deck when the alarm goes off.” Already the stairs were daunting.

  Loch put the weights back and wiped down the bench. “I’ll follow you up.” His expression went flat. “I need to get my bag out of your room, since I’m locked out.”

  Right, I’d locked him out after he was a jerk at our first meeting with Rhys and before we’d slept together. I rubbed a tired hand over my face. We needed to talk anyway. “Okay,” I said.

  The trip upstairs was slow but Loch didn’t rush me or offer to help. I gripped the handrail with white knuckles but I didn’t fall. I pressed a hand to the access panel and the door to my quarters slid open. Loch followed me in.

  The door slid closed. I had already half turned to him when he grabbed me and spun me around. The blaster appeared in my hand without conscious thought. He casually knocked it aside then his tongue slid into my mouth and my thoughts scattered.

  Several minutes later he pulled back. “If you’re not going to shoot me,” he said, “you might want to put the gun away.”

  Oh, this was bad. Bad, bad, bad. I took a large step away from him. He let me go but watched me with predatory stillness. I holstered the blaster, unnerved at how easily he had knocked it aside and distracted me. Even now my body burned for him.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  “That’s never a good start.”

  “No, probably not,” I said. I sighed. “I thought last night was the last time I’d see you,” I said, opting for honesty. “I figured you would be gone this morning. I don’t mean to offend”—I rushed on when I saw thunderclouds gathering in his expression—“it’s what I expected. In fact, if I’d known you were planning to stick around, I might’ve made a different decision.” I shook my head. The world ended in what-ifs and might-have-beens.

  “You wouldn’t have fucked me, is that what you’re saying?” he growled, scowling.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know,” I said. I shook my head in frustration. “I know how to have one-night stands. I don’t know how to have a relationship. Relationships require a level of trust I’ve never felt comfortable with. As daughter of a High House, no matter how far down the hierarchy, I’ve always been seen as a means to an end rather than a real person.”

  His scowl deepened. “You think I fucked you because of your name?”

  I hadn’t, not at the time, but I hadn’t been doing much thinking at all. “Did you not?” I challenged. I was a bastard for asking, but now that the possibility was there, I had to know. Tentative hope bloomed. Maybe he really had just seen Ada and not Lady von Hasenberg.

  He turned away from me in an explosive move, a caged tiger with nowhere to escape. He turned back, furious. “You’ve tied my hands neatly, haven’t you?” He continued without waiting for my answer, “Deny it and you’ll think I’m lying. Agree and I’m an evil bastard.”

  My hope died. I wanted him to deny it, emphatically and unequivocally. He didn’t and it hurt. He’d wormed his way under my skin, past my barriers. I liked him without meaning to—perhaps more than was wise.

  “I should’ve seen this coming from a Consortium bitch,” he continued with a sneer. “You only care about your precious House. I’m good enough to fuck but not good enough for anything else. Did you enjoy slumming it with the most wanted man in the ’verse? Because I didn’t hear any complaints while my cock was inside of you.”

  Shock and hurt slapped me. My emotional shields snapped up and I retreated into my public persona. I lashed out, wanting to hurt him as much as he was hurting me. “I. Have. Had. Better,” I said, enunciating each word with cold relish. It was a lie, of course, but he would never know. “Get your stuff and get the fuck off of my ship.”

  Loch went stone cold, his expression wiped clean. “I said I will go on this trip, and so I will. And I dare you to try to stop me, Lady von Hasenberg,” he said, his voice soft with menace.

  The title was a knife to the chest, and I only kept my expression placid through long practice. I very nearly picked up the gauntlet he’d thrown down. But if he didn’t leave soon, I was going to break down in front of him, and I couldn’t allow that to happen. “Very well. Retrieve your stuff and choose a new bunk on deck two.”

  Loch stalked into the bedroom and came out a few minutes later carrying his bag. He let himself out without a word or glance.

  The world went watery, but I refused to let the tears fall.

  Chapter 18

  We made the jump to Nu Antliae Dwarf Seven with no signs of Richard. Either he hadn’t caught up to us on APD Zero or he was biding his time, waiting for me to appear in a less populated sector. If it was the latter, then I’d just handed him his golden opportunity.

  To ease our transition back to Universal Time, Veronica cooked breakfast for dinner and announced it was ready over the intercom. I would’ve preferred to grab something from the synthesizer and retreat to my room, but I refused to hide.

  I was the last to arrive and sat at the end of the table facing the door. The table was piled high with a platter of pancakes, a large frittata, and a bowl of fresh fruit. I’d told Veronica she didn’t need to cook for everyone, but she said she enjoyed it—and I wasn’t going to turn down real food if she felt like making it.

  Loch was pleasant to everyone around him but ignored me as thoroughly as if my chair was empty. Veronica shot me a questioning look but I just shook my head slightly. I ate without tasting the food and retreated as soon as I could without looking like I was running away.

  I allowed myself an hour’s power nap, though I hardly slept, then I got to work. I would go to bed early tonight and by tomorrow my internal clock would once again match Universal Time.

  Today would be long, though.

  Because the Antlia sector was so sparsely populated, we had jumped in close to NAD Seven and by the time I made it to the flight deck, we were five minutes out from orbit. Scanners picked up no transmissions or signs of life.

  The planet visible through the windows was larger than I expected, covered in white with sheer black cliffs breaking up the landscape. The ship confirmed the planet had atmosphere, but not one breathable by humans. It was close enough it could be terraformed, but no one had decided it was worth the trouble.

  I settled us in a polar orbit and watched the planet slide beneath the window. The scanners kept searching but found nothing. Whatever it was that House Rockhurst wanted with this planet—if, indeed, this was the planet they wanted—our House hadn’t found it.
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br />   Perhaps I was on a snipe hunt, chasing after a reason that wasn’t a reason at all. Maybe House Rockhurst really was just upset that I’d thrown over their golden son, even if nothing had been made official. If they were willing to go to war over the marriage, I’d have to marry him, my own desires be damned.

  I set the scanners and defense systems to alert me at the first sign of anything unusual. The FTL drive was ready to send us to our next destination, just as soon as we were finished with this one. The Rockhurst planets might orbit the next nearest star, but it was still several light-years away. That might make them next-door neighbors in space terms, but only because the scale of space was so mind-numbingly gigantic.

  I dozed lightly, trying to snatch rest where I could. The swish of the flight deck door woke me some time later. A time check confirmed I’d been asleep for less than half an hour.

  Rhys flopped into the navigator’s chair slightly in front of me on the right. He watched the planet through the window, then spun around to face me. For all of his studied casualness, something in his posture alerted me that he wasn’t as chill as he seemed.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Did you know that Loch and I were in the RCDF together?” he asked.

  The Royal Consortium Defense Force was the combined military arm of the Consortium. While each House maintained its own fully operational military, those forces masqueraded as solely defensive units. The RCDF deployed when Consortium interests were threatened, even if it was just against a single House, because they were the only military units authorized for offensive maneuvers. But the RCDF would not intervene in wars between Houses.

  “I didn’t know,” I said. “Loch refused to say how he knew you. He said I’d have to ask you.” Burning curiosity warred with guilt—I desperately wanted to know more about Loch but I felt slightly dirty getting the information from Rhys instead.