His expression didn’t even flicker at my presence. He’d either known I was on board or gotten much better at hiding his thoughts. “Ah, Captain Pearson, I see the rumors are true. You have found and rescued my lovely betrothed. Hello, Lady von Hasenberg.”
I decided that quibbling about semantics would do me no favors. We weren’t technically betrothed, as he hadn’t asked and I hadn’t accepted, but it had been a long-standing assumption that one day we would be. I’d left before anything official was finalized. My escape had not improved the already strained relationship between our Houses.
I inclined my head a fraction. “Captain Rockhurst, I am glad to see you are well. As I am sure you are aware, my father has been notified about my rescue and subsequent travel plans.”
“Indeed, my lady, that’s why I’m here. Once he heard I was in the area, Lord von Hasenberg asked me to personally escort you home aboard the Santa Celestia. Of course, Captain Pearson, you will still receive the bounty for her rescue.”
If my father asked a Rockhurst to so much as take out his garbage, I’d eat my own boot. But neither of the two men sharing the dining room with me sensed anything was amiss. In fact, John was practically rubbing his hands together at the thought of getting paid earlier than expected.
What was Richard planning?
“Shall I begin preparations for a transport shuttle?” Richard Rockhurst asked.
“Of course, my lord. I will prepare our docking bay,” Gerald said.
“Thank you. And please keep Lady von Hasenberg a safe distance away. I know docking accidents are rare these days, but I won’t risk my future wife.”
Gerald was already nodding. “Yes, my lord, quite right. She’ll be perfectly safe here in my quarters until your party arrives.”
“Thank you, Captain. I will contact you once our transport shuttle is prepared.” The video screen went dark.
“How did you send word to my father?” I asked. “Was it encrypted?”
Gerald looked affronted. “Of course it was. I used the high-priority merchant encryption channels.”
The encryption on the merchant channels was as easy to break as wet tissue paper. All three Houses routinely monitored merchant traffic. Why, oh, why hadn’t he used the diplomatic channels? At least those took some effort to crack.
“We need to jump, and we need to do it right now,” I said.
“My lady, calm down. Rockhurst is going to return you to your family even quicker than I could,” Gerald said. “Besides, our FTL drive won’t be ready for another three days.”
“Rockhurst is not on your side. He’s not on my side. He’s a member of a rival House who just happened to show up in a battle cruiser exactly where you said you were taking me on the insecure merchant channels. Because you used the merchant channels, my father will be hustling ships out here, but since they’re not here yet, we’re on our own.”
“You’re overreacting, princess,” John said. “I’ve dealt with the Rockhursts before; you just don’t want to acknowledge when you’re beaten.”
“The Santa Celestia can hold two battalions of highly trained shock troopers with room to spare. It is routinely used to clean up messes that House Rockhurst wants swept under the rug. The only reason they haven’t blown us out of the sky, I’m guessing, is because they want me as a political hostage. The rest of you are collateral damage.”
Now even the captain was looking at me like I was crazy. “Mayport, prepare the docking bay for transport shuttle arrival.”
“Yes, Captain,” the ship’s computer replied. “Opening the docking bay port. Expected completion: ten minutes.” Merchant ships didn’t have landing bays, so they had to rely on older docking technology. And since a dock port was essentially a hole in the side of the ship, it was protected by heavy blast doors that had to be opened before ships could dock.
“John, why don’t you go find a couple men to meet the Rockhurst team. I don’t expect trouble,” the captain said with a glance at me, “but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. I’ll send word when the shuttle is on its way and will meet you in the docking bay.”
John looked like he wanted to protest, but he decided leaving was easier than arguing. The captain refused to listen to my warnings, so we sat in tense silence as the minutes ticked by.
“Docking port available,” the computer chimed.
I clenched my hands together and sat like a statue. This would be the one exception where I would appreciate my father’s interference, but the outside cameras showed the Rockhurst ship and nothing else. I had warned the captain and the mercs, so I no longer felt responsible for them. They had chosen their own path. Now I just needed to get myself off-ship as soon as possible.
It seemed like an age had passed when the computer finally said, “Incoming communication,” but it had probably only been fifteen minutes.
“Accept,” Gerald said.
Richard’s face once again filled the screen. “We’re all set over here, Captain Pearson, if you’re ready for us.”
“We’re ready, my lord.”
“Fantastic. I regret that I have to stay with the Santa Celestia, but I’m sending my second-in-command and my most trusted security agents to escort Lady von Hasenberg back, as well as my purser to settle our account.”
“Thank you, my lord. I will go meet them in the docking bay while Lady von Hasenberg rests here in comfort.”
Richard nodded curtly and the video ended.
“You won’t tell him that we locked you in a cell with Loch, will you?” the captain asked hesitantly.
“No,” I said. I didn’t plan to tell Richard anything because I didn’t plan to allow him to capture me.
Gerald looked relieved. “I’m going to lock you in, for your own safety, you understand. I’ll be back with your security escort.”
I nodded. Already I could see the transport shuttle breaking away from the Santa Celestia on the video monitor. I had precious little time to act, so I needed the captain to leave already. He finally did, locking the door behind him.
I went to the wall and slid open the cover to reveal the control panel. A password prompt greeted me, but I pulled up the hidden diagnostic panel and entered the default Yamado override codes. I didn’t even blink when they worked. No one changed the default codes, because only a couple dozen people in the ’verse even knew they existed. And while Yamado changed the codes every so often to try to keep rival Houses out of their ships, older ships often weren’t updated to the new codes.
I shut down several of the warning systems and unlocked the escape ship hatch. I pulled up a video of the docking bay. John and another merc lounged against the wall. The captain hadn’t arrived yet. No one seemed armed.
A glance confirmed the Rockhurst transport shuttle was nearing our ship. I pulled up voice control and added myself as a captain. “Mayport, this is Ada von Hasenberg, authorize.”
“Welcome, Captain von Hasenberg. You are authorized.”
“Mayport, close the docking bay port.”
“Unable to comply. An inbound ship has already started the docking sequence.”
“Mayport, unlock the captain’s weapon locker.”
A panel to my left slid aside to reveal a neat array of weapons that looked new. I strapped on a blast-pistol holster and loaded my pockets with knives and extra energy cartridges. Finally, I slung a blast rifle over each shoulder.
The vid screen revealed that the captain had made it to the docking bay, as had the shuttle. The docking process was under way.
“Mayport, unlock the captain’s quarters.”
I heard the lock disengage. I closed the weapons locker and moved back to the control panel, weighted down by my weaponry. I wanted to see what would happen in the docking bay. My own exit depended on how Richard planned to play this.
The docking door opened and Gerald moved toward the shuttle with a smile and extended hand. A blast caught him in the chest. The two mercs didn’t even have time to raise their weapons before they were cut down. A squad of eight emerged from the shuttle with military precision. They were in full combat gear, including full-face helmets.
On the control panel, I quickly requested a copy of the surveillance video be sent priority to my House account. It would be a good bargaining piece against Richard.