The Rogue Prince

by Lindsay Buroker

  Jelena reeled back. She’d been bracing herself to hear the name Dr. Horvald. She hadn’t truly expected to hear the name of someone she’d known for years. “Senator Hawk?”

  “Yes.”

  “But he’s . . .” Jelena almost said a friend of the family, but how would that sway Thor? “I know he switched sides during the war, but he didn’t act dishonorably, did he? He is—he’s always seemed like an honorable man. He and Leonidas and Mom worked together to stop Tymoteusz. He’s the reason the fleet was there, fighting Tymoteusz so we could get to you.”

  “I am aware, but he was also one of my father’s most trusted and relied upon military leaders. When he left, he took countless troops and several ships with him—he stole from the empire. And then my father was forced to rely upon Admiral Antonescu, a man who lied to his face, who was only worried about appearing to be obeying orders, but who never actually showed up at the end, to defend the asteroid base where my father’s men were outnumbered and outmatched.”

  “Thor,” Jelena said slowly, horrified at the idea of Hawk being one of his targets, “some of this is just war and how it is. People defect. The empire was a scary authoritarian place for most of its subjects. Of course it would have been fine for you, but there’s a reason people fled to the other side. It wasn’t personal.”

  His expression turned scathing. “How wonderfully knowledgeable about it you are, considering you were eight at the end and barely born when the war started.”

  “You weren’t much older. Are you sure these people you’re killing were all greedy and disloyal and without justification in what they did? How could you possibly know when you were still playing with Zizblocks during your father’s meetings?”

  “I’ve had plenty of time to do research since then.”

  “But Hawk—”

  “Leave me,” he said, almost shouted, raising a hand as if he would slam the hatch shut in her face.

  She stared defiantly back at him, not caring for the imperious order. This was her family’s ship, and he wasn’t a prince of anything anymore. It was time for him to get over that and get on with his life.

  Thor lowered his hand, the anger in his gaze fading to something more anguished. Almost . . . betrayal?

  What, had he expected that she would fully understand his choices to kill people? Maybe she could understand some of it, but she couldn’t condone it. Especially for Senator Hawk. He’d helped Thor once, back after Mom and Leonidas had recovered him from Tymoteusz. Hawk’s people had come over to the Nomad, and Hawk could have ordered a search for Thor, but he hadn’t. He’d known the Alliance would have killed or imprisoned Thor so he would never grow into a threat, and he hadn’t wanted to hand a ten-year-old boy over to that fate.

  “Please, leave,” Thor said, quietly this time, and flicked a finger.

  The hatch shut, not with a slam but with a soft clink.

  Chapter 17

  “How’s the research going?” Erick asked, walking into NavCom. He moved to sit down in the co-pilot’s seat, but Alfie was curled up there, snoozing contentedly. “Hm.”

  “It’s daunting.” Jelena waved at the various displays floating over the console, displaying pictures of people, walls of text, and rolling stock market pundits’ analyses that highlighted Stellacor. The Snapper was only about twelve hours out from Arkadius. She’d wanted to have a solid plan in mind by now, beyond flying in and hoping they wouldn’t be intercepted before they could land in Laikagrad, the city where Leonidas had been taken for his surgery.

  “Can’t find information on the board members?”

  “Oh, I’ve found the owners.” She flicked at one of the holodisplays to enlarge pictures of a man and woman in their sixties. “The founders and majority shareholders are a brother and sister that live on Arkadius—above it, actually—with their extended family. Their names are Luca and Ida Vogel. They’re semi-retired, but from stock reports, it sounds like they’re still aware of the goings on in the business. They visit the facility on Arkadius often and annually address the stockholders and employees.”

  “Do they visit the facility on Alpha 17?”

  “It’s not in the reports, but who knows? Maybe. They can certainly afford interplanetary travel if they wish.” Jelena enlarged another picture, this one of a stone castle that looked like something out of an Old Earth history book, except it was floating on a very modern island flying through the sky above Arkadius. “This is their home. It’s called Sunset Island because it originally flew around the planet at ten thousand feet, following the setting suns. Now it seems that they float it over whatever continent or tropical island is appealing at the time.”

  Erick leaned in to read a description. “The castle is real, not a reproduction, one of the early fortifications the colonists made to protect them from the fearsome wildlife that occupied the Mindarian continent at the time. They bought it and stuck it on their hover island.”

  “So it seems. Kind of interesting, but I don’t see how their eccentric domicile tastes help us. What are we going to do? Fly down, land in their courtyard, knock at the door, and ask them to stop pestering us? I sincerely doubt that the owners are even aware of us—or the fact that their company wants to kill us to keep us from sharing secrets about Masika.”

  “Probably not, but if we made them aware . . . isn’t it possible that could change things?”

  “I don’t know. It would depend on if they were good people—and considered us good people. People worth helping.” Jelena thought of the way Masika had called her a thief and assumed that about her for a long time. “That’s debatable. There are articles showing charitable contributions they’ve made to various organizations, but the events were all highly publicized, as if they did it more for the press than because they cared.” She hitched a shoulder. “I know Thor said to confront them, to convince them to leave us alone, but I’m not sure how.”

  “I assumed he meant to kill them. That seems to be his answer for dealing with those who oppose him.” Erick prodded Alfie. “Do you want to share that chair?”

  The dog’s tail flapped, but she didn’t get up or otherwise move.

  “If you had more furnishings available,” Erick said, “you could invite Thorian in to help with the planning.”

  Jelena hadn’t seen much of Thor since he’d closed the sickbay hatch on her. He’d found his cabin and had been staying in it. The few chance meetings they’d had in the corridor had been uncomfortable, as they’d both stepped to the side to let the other pass, and stared awkwardly at each other when neither went first.

  “She’s mellow.” Jelena waved to Alfie. “She’d let you pick her up if you set her in your lap afterward. Just like with the cats back home.”

  Home. The Nomad. Jelena was beyond ready to see her family again. She even missed the clunky old freighter. With its two levels, it seemed more spacious than the Snapper, and the mess hall was larger with a huge table for everyone to sit around.

  “What’s she weigh? Forty pounds? That’s heavy for a lap dog.”

  “It’s not any more weight than when you have all four cats in your lap on the Nomad.”

  “Yes, but that’s difficult. My lap isn’t very big. I have slim hips.”

  “Keep bringing pizzas aboard, and that won’t be a problem for long.”

  “Ha ha. I—” Erick looked toward the hatchway.

  Thor stood there. Alfie flapped her tail against the seat, but again made no move to get up. She looked comfortable. The greeting, however lazy, surprised Jelena, since she didn’t think Thor had interacted much with the dog. Of course, Alfie was easy. Always wanting to be petted, she wagged her tail for anyone.

  “We’re trying to figure out how to storm the castle,” Jelena said, waving at the holodisplay. She figured Thor would be more comfortable jumping right into their problem rather than mentioning things from their previous conversation.

  “Storming isn’t the problem,” Erick said. “We can fly over the wall.”

  “A
ssuming there isn’t a forcefield,” Thor said. “Which I wouldn’t assume.” He didn’t seem surprised by the castle fortress, and he didn’t step in to read the text about it. Maybe he had independently researched the corporation and its founders.

  “Given some time, I imagine I can get a forcefield down.”

  “While being fired at?” Thor reached past Jelena’s shoulder to touch the holodisplay and zoom in to the castle walls. “MH-7500s. Those artillery guns are very modern and effective. Interesting that these people feel the need for such armament on a residence within Alliance borders. They could blow a small hole in the planet. Even heavily shielded warships would hesitate to approach.”

  “What about heavily shielded freighters full of fearsome Starseer warriors?” Erick asked.

  “Fearsome?” Jelena lifted her brows at him.

  “I’m tall and magnificent in my black robe and staff.”

  “So long as you don’t get a blood blister?”

  “That thing was weird. It’s still discolored. Look.” Erick pulled up his shirt, again bending his spine impressively to inspect the grievous injury. It had flattened out and faded and looked to be healing fine, but he prodded it uncertainly.

  “Very fearsome,” Thor murmured, then nodded toward the holodisplay. “Despite their weaponry and defenses, a direct approach, forcing your way in if necessary, seems most likely to net results. Visit them and convince them to call off their attack dogs.”

  “By killing them?” Erick lowered his shirt and grimaced. “Wouldn’t others step up and fill their roles in the company? And then maybe want revenge on us even more?”

  “I did not say you had to kill them. Convince them. Use guile, deceit, diplomacy, whatever your strengths are. I will point out that very few people in the system have a clue when it comes to what Starseers can and can’t do, and most are uneasy around us. Maybe you can use that. Or perhaps they would like to meet one of their company’s creations.” Thor flicked a hand toward the corridor that held Masika’s cabin. “Perhaps she would like to meet them.”

  “I think that might end with killing,” Jelena said, though Masika was wielding a paintbrush now instead of a blazer. During their trip, she had started a mural out in the corridor while lamenting several times an hour the lack of color options.

  “Scientists being killed by their own creations is not without historical precedent.” Thor’s eyes gleamed at the prospect, and Jelena wondered if he truly believed they could convince the Vogels to stop hunting them without bloodshed. A lot of bloodshed.

  The comm beeped.

  Erick groaned. “Are Stellacor ships already coming out to see us?”

  “Not exactly.” Jelena eyed the caller identification. “It’s Mom. And it looks like we’re close enough for real-time communication.”

  After all they’d been through and what they were contemplating, a message from her mother shouldn’t make her nerves jangle, but Jelena licked her lips, dreading Mom’s response to the vid she’d sent from Upsilon Seven. She was surprised there hadn’t been one already. Had Mom been busy with Leonidas? Or had she just been waiting until they could talk in real time and she could pepper Jelena with questions and get the answers she must want?

  “What are we going to tell her?” she murmured.

  “We?” Erick scooted toward the hatchway, shooing Thor aside. “She’s your mom.”

  “You’re not fearsome by any definition of the word, Erick Ostberg,” Jelena shot over her shoulder.

  “Wait until you see me in my robe with my sheet tied around my neck,” he called back, already out of sight.

  “Thor?” Jelena asked. “I bet Mom would like to see you.” And maybe the sight of him would distract her from her daughter’s exploits and antics over the last couple of weeks.

  “When we arrive, perhaps,” he murmured, and walked out.

  “This freighter is absolutely not full of fearsome Starseer warriors.” Reluctantly, Jelena answered the comm, which had been beeping quite insistently.

  She braced herself for Mom’s face to fill the display. Instead, she got an image dominated by pigtails. Four of them to be precise. Two belonged to Nika and two to Maya, Jelena’s little sisters. Half-sisters, technically, but they’d all lived together on the Nomad for the last ten years, so they were close. As close as one could be to overly exuberant girls nine years younger than oneself. Jelena felt bad, but she’d been secretly delighted to escape her babysitting duties when she’d left, though admittedly, those duties hadn’t been that onerous lately. The girls were getting to the point where she could have logical conversations with them. Jelena hadn’t thought they were to the point where they were using the comm on their own though, and she peered past their heads, expecting Mom in the background.

  “Jelena,” Nika said in a stern voice. “Where are you?”

  Maya nodded solemnly. She’d never been as chatty as her twin sister, but Jelena had never been certain if that was because she was a natural introvert or if Nika spoke over her so often that she’d given up.

  “On my way to Arkadius,” Jelena said.

  “Still? It’s been forever.”

  “We’ve had a few delays.” Jelena did not know how much Mom had told the girls and didn’t want to worry them.

  “Mom said you were liberating animals,” Maya blurted as Nika opened her mouth. Nika frowned at this interruption.

  Liberating. At least someone had gotten it right.

  “I was. And, uhm, we liberated a person too. And then we found someone else too.” Jelena couldn’t claim that they had liberated Thor. Should she warn them that he was coming to visit? She didn’t know if they remembered him. They’d only been three or four the last time the family met up with Thor in person.

  “Are there any bunnies?” Maya asked. “Will you bring them back to the Nomad? Can I pet them?”

  “Sorry, there weren’t bunnies. There were dogs, cats, pigs, and monkeys.”

  “Monkeys!” Maya squealed. “Monkeys are smart. Are you bringing back a monkey?”

  “I’m afraid we left the monkeys on a tropical island where they would be happy. And a shelter on Upsilon Seven is finding homes for the rest of the animals now. All except one.” Jelena wanted to talk to Mom, but she took the time to adjust the display to take in Alfie. All of this chatter had caused the dog to sit up, and she tilted her head and perked her ears at the faces hovering over the comm panel.

  “A dog!” Maya clapped.

  Nika frowned sternly, and Jelena could imagine her fists propped on her hips, even though only her head and shoulders were visible. “Mom and Dad said you can’t have a dog on the Nomad. Dogs are too big for spaceships.”

  “We’re on the Snapper, not the Nomad. I don’t believe there are rules about dogs on this ship yet.”

  Concern replaced the sternness. “Aren’t you coming home? Back to the Nomad?”

  A good question. Jelena had imagined her cargo delivery to Alpha 17 being the first of many missions, not the first and only one, but after all this, would Mom and Leonidas trust her to fly on her own again? Would it be safe for her to do so with the enemies she had made? Even the Alliance might be after her now.

  “I’m not sure yet. Is Mom there?” Jelena tried to peer past the twins again. She recognized Mom and Leonidas’s cabin in the background, but she didn’t see either of them.

  “She went to the hospital,” Nika said.

  The nerves that had been tangling in Jelena’s stomach tightened for a reason that had nothing to do with worrying about reprimands. “Because of Dad?”

  She usually thought of Leonidas by name, but she called him Dad when speaking to the rest of the family. He’d been pleased when she’d started doing so a couple of years after he and Mom married. She’d ended up liking him a lot, even if she’d originally been afraid of him, so she’d wanted to make him happy.

  “He’s having his surgery tomorrow,” Nika said.

  Maya nodded solemnly again, her eyes glinting with moisture thi
s time.

  “He’s getting a new heart,” Nika added. “Mom said everything’s going to be fine, but . . . you should be here, Jelena. Dad needs all of us. Austin is taking us to the hospital in the morning.”

  “You need to come,” Maya said. “Will you be here tomorrow?”

  “I . . .” Technically, the Snapper should make Arkadius’s atmosphere before then, but would she be able to fly straight down to the planet? Or would they meet opposition? “I’ll try.”

  “Promise,” Nika said. “Promise you’ll be there for Dad. You can’t not come.”

  “I can’t promise, but I’ll try my hardest.”

  “Uncle Tommy is meeting us there,” Maya added. “With cookies and brownies and bread pudding, and all of Dad’s favorites.”

  “I’m sure that’ll be good for his new heart,” Jelena murmured, though she knew those happened to be all of Maya’s favorite goodies too. “I hope to see Uncle Tommy.”

  “Yumi and Mica are already there,” Nika said, “And Mister Hawk and Admiral Tomich are coming too.”

  “Mister Hawk said he’d bring Wren and Jay to play!” Maya added.

  Jelena, frozen in silent horror at the mention of Senator Hawk, couldn’t manage a response. Blessings of the Suns Trinity, she couldn’t bring Thor down if Hawk was going to be there. She envisioned him yanking out his sword and trying to kill the senator while standing over Leonidas’s hospital bed.

  A hatch clanged open behind the twins. Someone tall leaned down to peer over their heads and into the camera. Austin. He was similar in looks to Erick, though his face was full of pimples, and he had brown eyes instead of green.

  “Hello, Austin,” Jelena said. “Were you the one to tell the girls to comm me?”

  “No, I believe this is an unsolicited and unauthorized comm call. In fact, ten minutes ago, Maya and Nika were helping me fine-tune the ghostometer down in engineering. I came to look for them to make sure they weren’t burning anything down.”