I file the name Kaluga away for later. I narrow my eyes at her. "What TXR ship do you know that would be simply surrendered? Particularly to a ship masquerading as Mayaran navy? While we had Mayaran dignitaries on board? You may think me naive,…
My own chin lifts a fraction of an inch. How dare he. It was easy for both love and anger to coexist in my head when it came to Akio. After all, he was more of a parent for me than the Emperor or Fourth Mistress Hikaru, and who easier to love and…
She startles me into speech. "The General offered to take you into his service?"
My blood runs cold. It can only mean that, or that Akio thought that she brought so much shame to the house that he asked her to take her own life.
The tears come immediately and without mercy. But despite them, I still do not speak. This is not what I'm waiting for Rieva to say.
Surely she knows that I love her? But if there was a time when love is not enough, it is at the end of a pistol o…
I put my hand on Jek's shoulder and squeeze it briefly in thanks. I give Kohaku a look. Unsaid, my request for her to stay with Mister Bezier.
My hand floats to the console to open the door. I flit inside and sit opposite Rieva. Fix my eyes on …
I ignore Rieva's laugh for now, just nod to Jek. "Thank you," I say, hoping that he knows I'm sincere.
I force myself to look at the wounds that litter the face of the woman I once thought I loved. "I need to talk to her. But I'd rather that the…
I don't bother to hide the dismay on my face when I see the state that Rieva is in.
"Mister Bezier," I acknowledge, looking skyward to avoid Rieva's wounds, barely stopping myself from hissing in sympathy. I notice Jek's posture, the sheen of inci…
When I arrive, Mister Bezier appears involved with some sort of delicate operation on the console. I file away the calculating look in his eyes when he sees Kohaku with me and wait for him to acknowledge me properly.
I don't let myself look at Rie…
Do I hope for more? I'm not sure I know myself. Rieva was once my everything, and while our reunion has stirred that feeling in me again, her actions have been woefully out of step with the future that I foresaw for myself when I threw myself in w…
The text from the Captain's message flits across my retina. I catch Allevard's eye instinctively but turn away to busy myself at the console, taking note of the error codes so that perhaps Robynne or Jek can figure it out later. After my heart has…
Allevard grunts or swears, I'm not sure what, exactly, but I pull down our visuals and anti-targeting sensors onto my console and everything looks bad. The non-native stealth UI is still up and it looks like Allevard partially queued up the correct…
I look away from Rieva and nod to Kohaku when she arrives. "Assign one of my guard to her cell. And have someone fetch me my sword."
I return myself to the console operating the stealth unit and re-secure my transponder. The confrontation play…
It was Rieva who trained me in hand-to-hand combat. Ostensibly to stop an assassination if she were unable to stop the assailant. She was better than me, of course, but she was distraught, and aiming a gun. And I knew that her left leg was weaker…
Time seems to slow down when you have a gun pointed in your direction, even when you probably aren't the target of it.
It's a twist and release to remove my wrist transponder; I press it into Allevard's hand so that it will keep maintaining the cip…
"Oh dear," I say. "Is it giving you trouble?" I lean over Allevard's shoulder, looking at the string of code while still keeping my wrist near the console input so that I don't interrupt the cypher loop. The end result is that I'm just shy of emb…
I step tentatively in front of the terminal Allevard indicates, pull up a command screen. I type in the initiating language as I'd been instructed, and after the expected error code, I use my wrist unit to key in the cypher.
The UI that fills the …
I wince. His face looks just like Akio when I told him about breaking that 23rd century Rinomuni kaleidoscope.
"A stealth unit? It's in engineering. I have the cypher. If you want to use it?" I speak low, my eyes flitting from Bai to the Duc…
"Captain--" I call out, barreling towards Allevard, "the Winter's Blessing is not ..." I trail off as I take in the scene. It seems the news traveled quicker than I did. I pause, breathe another moment, then lean in towards Allevard's ear with alt…
I look at her, dumb-founded. "And leave behind Kohaku? Auntie Bai? To be murdered by a Rebel warship? Do you even hear yourself?"
I shake Rieva's hand off me. "I am not who you think I am, if you think I would do that."
I start running for th…
My hips creak and pain runs down my leg so sharp I have to suck in a breath to stop from cussing in front of the kids. Ease myself down, dangle my legs over the edge of the stage. Glance over my shoulder and think about the hundreds of times I've …
"Escape...?" I echo, not fully following. "But I already did escape! Are you a Rebel? What's the First Scion's part in this?"
Everything feels like too much. My dreams, the shattered pieces of them picked up from the floor, taped back togethe…
I reflexively return the kiss with an unearthed urgency that I'd thought buried.
It takes a moment before I realize that Nobu and Auntie Bai have stepped away. "I've missed you," I say simply.
"What's going on?" I ask. I make an all-encompassing …
I give Badger an encouraging nod. No Arrow thinks grief's anything but an honest feeling. I sit beside Dog, put a hand on her waist. When Zeus goes, it seems like she's looking right at me.
SeaTac is singing a bit of that song Gates sang right…
Hearing my name on Rieva's lips is a curse and a balm.
A hundred questions swim through my head like tiny fish, too quick for me to catch.
"Why?" is all I can manage.
I flinch a little, when Zeus mentions the name Argyle. She's told me a story or two with someone in it of that name before, but I didn't know that it was Harbormaster. Earlier, before everyone got here, she was asking me to tell her back one of th…
I scowl, mostly to stop from tearing up. What have they done to her beautiful throat?
I strike my hand through the air at Nobu's passive aggression -- I used my status to save a life, his mother's, and he throws it back at me?
"A lie of omission …
I nod to Allevard. I take his hand briefly then release it to give him a quick samwai -- the gracious half-bow that the Imperial family gives to someone of lesser rank who has done them good service. "I will request your services on the bridge soo…