Children of Junk (Rogue Star Book 3) (8 page)

The assassin flinched, just a little, when she heard Cade’s description. Marcus recognized it all too well, Dorn Karrik. After three years he finally decided to get revenge. Why now? What happened to make Dorn go after Solomon?

“Friend of yours?” Iaka asked.

Marcus nodded. “An old enemy, not even ours really. We did a job that cost him some money. In fact, the lady that hired us might have a line on Dorn.”

He jumped to his feet, went to the cockpit, and dropped into the pilot’s chair. The fuel gauge read full, but even so the ship didn’t have enough range to reach Smith. A quick command pulled up the navigation window. He searched for the closest bit of civilization to the pleasure planet Cade’s transport could reach. A small satellite refueling station popped up and Marcus set that as the autopilot’s destination, set a five minute delay, and clicked activate. He typed the satellite’s location into his gauntlet then rejoined Iaka in the hold. “Ready?”

“Hey! What about me?” Cade asked.

Marcus ignored him as well as the assassin’s cold glare. He could probably add her to his ever growing list of enemies. Oh well, what was one more at this point?

Iaka stood up and collected the rifles. Marcus grabbed the stealth suit and miscellaneous weapons. Together they left the transport and Marcus led the way across the landing strip to the empty hanger where Iaka had hid before the fight. Four minutes later the ramp closed, the engines fired up, and the transport lifted off. He watched until the murk swallowed the engines.

Marcus turned toward their hanger, eager to get off this filthy planet. Princess Lande would know where to find Dorn if anyone did. He’d gotten to like the princess during their short time together and despite the desperation of the situation it would be good to see her again.

“We still have no destination,” Iaka said.

“No, but we know who we’re looking for. An acquaintance of mine might have a line on him and if she does she’ll tell us since she hates him more than he hates Solomon and me.”

“An ex-girlfriend?” He thought he heard a hint of jealousy in her question, but it might have been wishful thinking.

Marcus laughed, deactivated the Star’s external defenses, and lowered the ramp. “No, an ex-client. She hired us to get her away from Dorn.”

Marcus led the way up the ramp. When they were both inside he sealed the ship and a few seconds later the filtration system scrubbed the pollution from the air. Marcus pulled of his mask and tossed it back in the odds and ends bin. If he never had to wear that thing again it would suit him fine.

He moved on to the weapons bin and stored Iaka’s rifle along with his new toys from the assassin. He’d have to sell the stealth suit; his shoulders were way to broad to fit.

“So are you going to tell me about the client or do I have to guess?”

While he stored the remaining weapons Marcus told her about the job and Dorn’s attempt to force Lande to marry him so he could get his claws on her credits. When he finished she said, “That’s terrible. No wonder she hates him.”

“Yeah, even better for us she’s a little scared of him.” Marcus headed toward the cockpit. “I hope that means she has someone keeping an eye on Dorn. If she doesn’t know where we can find him we’re screwed.”

S
olomon sat
in his hard little chair at the plain steel table doing his best to look busy all the while trying to think of some way they might escape. Emily sat beside him on the edge of her bunk. After a day in their spacious cell she seemed to shake off the worst of her anxiety, thank the universe. He had enough on his mind without worrying about her bursting into tears at any moment.

Despite his best efforts he saw no way past their first obstacle, the sealed cell door. He had no tools and no access to the system that ran this place, whatever it was. He typed a couple more line of code just to make it look like he was accomplishing something. Solomon had no idea if the room had cameras, but he assumed it did.

“You don’t seem to be making much progress,” Emily said.

Solomon turned her way. “I’m not exactly in a hurry. Once this is done we become unnecessary. Becoming unnecessary isn’t conducive to a long, healthy life.”

Her jaw dropped a little. “You don’t think they’ll let us go once you give them the program?”

Solomon shook his head. She couldn’t be that naïve. “Let’s say I have my doubts.”

The room shook and the computer on his desk rattled. Emily clutched his arm. What the hell was that?

“What was that?” she asked as though reading his mind.

“It almost felt like we hit something.” Solomon’s eyes widened. “Or docked with something. We must be on a ship, a big one. Damn it! How’s Marcus supposed to find us if we’re moving around?”

“If we’ve docked we aren’t moving now. That should help.” She tried so hard to make him feel better he didn’t have the heart to tell her they could be anywhere by now.

He patted her hand. “It certainly won’t hurt.”

Solomon turned his attention back to his program. He structured it to be fully self-contained. That would make it easy to install and, assuming he lived through this, later remove. He’d designed it so the council’s virus checker wouldn’t notice it during routine scans. That was easy enough, he’d help write the virus scan program.

The door hissed open and Dorn stepped through. “Progress report.”

“I’ve got the basic structure built,” Solomon said. He didn’t know how much Dorn knew about programming so he didn’t want to lay on the bullshit too thick. “I’m optimizing now. Once I’m finished I need to write insertion and activation programs. Once those are done you’ll be all set.”

Solomon thought he could hear Dorn’s teeth grinding from the other side of the room. He hoped the bastard cracked a tooth. “How long?”

“Two maybe three days. This isn’t a simple process, even for me. The council’s computer system is one of the most complex in the galaxy. Even when I finish it may not work the first time.”

Dorn pulled out the remote and pointed it at Emily like a blaster. “It better or you won’t be the one to suffer.” He spun in a whirl of blue silk and stalked out.

Solomon glanced at Emily, afraid she might freak out again. She seemed okay, to his relief. “He doesn’t know much about programming. This sort of code rarely works the first time. Under different circumstances I’d spend weeks tweaking before I tried it.”

Emily blinked and let go of his arm. “I don’t think we have weeks.”

T
he
Star
emerged
from hyperspace a short distance from Tricella Prime. On the screen puffy white clouds swirled above glittering green oceans. Marcus smiled, remembering when he and Solomon brought Lande back home. It didn’t look like the planet had changed a bit in three years. The computer beeped when the defense satellites contacted them.

Marcus hit the flashing red light. “State your name and purpose of your visit.”

“This is Marcus Drake, captain of the
Rogue Star
. I’m here to visit an old friend. I believe she’s expecting me.”

The automated welcome system switched over to a live person. “Welcome Captain Drake, Princess Lande said to expect you. She’s waiting for you at the royal palace. Transmitting coordinates and flight path now. Welcome back to Tricella.”

Marcus activated the autopilot and let it follow the path provided. He turned to Iaka. “Wait’ll you see the palace. I’m pretty sure they grew it out of some sort of crystal. There are fountains, gardens, and waterfalls all over the grounds. It may be one of if not the most beautiful place I’ve ever visited.”

“It’s got to be better than the last place we visited.”

Marcus laughed. “You won’t need a mask that’s for certain.”

A couple minutes later the gleaming blue and rose crystal towers of the Tricella Royal Palace filled the screen. Marcus took control back from the autopilot and landed on a pad barely big enough to accommodate the ship. He shouldn’t be surprised, even small cargo ships took up a lot more space than a personal transport. When the ship had settled on her landing gear Marcus powered down and he and Iaka headed back to the hold.

He paused beside Gruesome. “Guard mode. Nonlethal force only.”

The war bot’s eyes flashed green and a pair of stun blasters popped out of two of his fingers. He continued on to the control panel and lowered the ramp. Iaka stood beside him while they waited for the ramp to reach the ground. “Even here you don’t trust anyone?”

“I trust lots of people here, but I don’t know everyone in the palace, much less on the planet. Better safe than dead I always say.”

The ramp clunked down on the white stone of the landing pad. They walked down the ramp and started down a wide path toward the palace. The white stone gleamed in the sun and Marcus would have bet good credits that some poor servant had polished the path that morning. It made a nice contrast to the sort of place he usually ended up.

Three figures emerged from the palace, two big ones on either side of a small one. He couldn’t make out much detail, but he had a good idea Lande and two her bodyguards had come to meet them. He smiled when, fifty yards apart she broke away from her guards and ran toward him.

“Marcus!” The princess had grown a few inches since last time he saw her, but she still had the same willowy build, shining black hair, and bright smile. The thin line on her forehead was the only sign of her closed third eye. She held her arms out and he obliged, picking her up and spinning her around once before the guards arrived. “I missed you.”

“It’s good to see you again, Princess.” Marcus gestured toward Iaka. “This is a new friend of mine, Iaka Kazumi. Iaka let me introduce Prince Lande, former client and all around lovely young lady.”

Lande held out a hand and Iaka gave it a light shake. “I know you. I saw you on the news a few months ago. You’re a hero, like Marcus. Welcome to Tricella.”

Iaka glanced at him. She looked a little uncomfortable; whether from the informal greeting or the idea that Lande considered him a hero he couldn’t say. “Thank you, Princess.”

The guards wore blue helmets with blue crystal stars on the forehead, and fine mesh armor that reminded Marcus of ancient mail worn by knights. Of course, he suspected this armor was a good deal stronger and blaster resistant. They reached the princess and took up position on either side of her before offering Marcus a professional glower.

Either indifferent to or unaware of her guards’ irritation, Lande said, “Let’s go in a have a snack. My head of security is looking into that awful man’s whereabouts and will join us when she knows something.”

M
arcus
, Iaka and Lande sat around a crystal table that appeared grown out of the floor. Delicate cups and plates made of crystal so thin Marcus feared to touch them bearing a variety of small sandwiches and tea sat on the table top. The three of them sat in a small, private room deep in the palace. Lande chattered happily about her life since he brought her home. Marcus only half listened, his mind on Solomon and what might be happening to him.

“So you rule the entire planet?” Iaka asked.

Lande’s laugh held the innocent joy of a child. “Heavens no. I don’t have much real power, I’m a, what’s the word? Yes, a figurehead. The Council of Lords rules our system. My job is to entertain foreign dignitaries, attend ribbon cuttings, and ride at the front of parades. It’s quite tedious at times, but given where I may have ended up if dear Marcus hadn’t come to my rescue, I don’t complain.”

Iaka looked at him again, but he couldn’t read her expression. A knock sounded and the door opened halfway. An older woman with streaks of white in her dark hair and wrinkles around her third eye, poked her head in. “I have the information you requested, majesty.”

“Come in, Nina. You remember Marcus?”

Nina inclined her head a fraction in Marcus’s direction. “Captain Drake.”

Marcus nodded back. “Commander. You located Dorn?”

She glanced at Lande who nodded.

“We know where he is. Since his attempt to force himself on the princess we’ve kept him under near constant surveillance. He recently returned to his home base, a space station constructed from several separate satellites. He travels in a heavily modified ore hauler.”

“His location?” Marcus leaned forward, eager now that he was so close to finding Solomon.

“The arrogant bas… ah, fellow, has made his home in the next system. I have no proof, but I suspect he does it to insult us.” She handed a printout with the exact coordinates. “What are your intensions, Captain?”

“I’ll ask him nicely to let Solomon and his girlfriend go. If he refuses I’ll ask less nicely.”

Nina nodded. “I recommend you skip step one and go right to step two.”

Marcus got up. “I’ll take that under consideration. Thanks for your help.”

She waved off his gratitude. “I’m just doing my job. Thank her majesty.”

Nina left and Iaka and Lande rose as well. “Do you have to leave all ready, Marcus.” Lande stuck her bottom lip out in an adorable pout.

“Sorry, princess, but my friend is in trouble and I don’t dare delay. It was great seeing you and thanks for the food. It was much better than anything I could fix on the
Star
.”

“I’ll extend your complements to the chef and please don’t wait so long to visit me next time.” She hugged Marcus who patted her back.

Lande escorted them to the palace gate then left them to make the walk back to the ship on their own. Marcus sighed. She was a sweet kid, but he was pretty sure everyone else at the palace hated him.

“She’s got a crush on you.” A faint smile played around Iaka’s lips.

“I got her out of a rough spot and she’s kind of turned me into some sort of knight in shining armor. If she knew the real me I doubt I’d get another invitation to tea.”

Iaka shook her head. “The real you is a hero, perhaps not a knight in shining armor, but a hero just the same. How many people’s lives have you saved over the years? Mine, several times, Solomon’s several times, Lande’s.”

Marcus looked away. “How does that stack up against the lives I taken? Most of them deserved it, but I still killed them. And if I have to I’ll kill more of them to get Solomon back.”

They walked up the ramp and Marcus shut it behind him. No unconscious bodies littered the hold so he assumed no one had tried to sneak on board. He patted Gruesome on the leg and headed for the cockpit.

“How old is she anyway?”

“Nineteen. Her parents died in a shuttle accident when she was thirteen and she fell into the custody of her aunt and uncle, the ones that tried to sell her into Dorn’s bed. I almost killed them both when I found out.”

“I’m surprised they haven’t found someone else to marry her off to by now.”

“Lande has a mind of her own and she’s an adult now, so no one can force her to do anything she doesn’t have a mind to do. Which is good as I have no desire to sneak her off yet another planet.”

Iaka laughed as he power up the ship. “Don’t kid me. If she was in trouble and called, you’d drop everything and try to help her, risks be damned.”

Marcus smiled. “As long as she calls after I find Solomon, yeah, you’re probably right.” He took off and flew through a bank of fluffy clouds. When he cleared the atmosphere Marcus punched in the coordinates and fired up the hyperdrive.

“You handle the ship pretty well considering you lost your navigator,” Iaka said.

“Remember, I flew by myself for years before Solomon snuck on board. I setup the controls so that I can do everything from the pilot’s station. Solomon makes things faster and easier, but I can manage on my own if I have to.” Marcus flipped a lever and they shot into hyperspace.