Arkadian Skies Read online

  “Do you think so?” She watched his face, wondering if he truly believed that or if he was placating her.

  “Yes.” He lowered his voice. “But we better come up with a different name for you to use when the time comes for more frequent… throes of passion. Leo is abhorrent.”

  “Leo means lion. Lions were important enough and amazing enough that the colonists brought frozen embryos over from Earth to ensure we’d have some here, along with the space slugs and glow snakes.”

  “They also brought chickens.”

  “Well, surely you can’t deny their importance.”

  He snorted and hugged her. “You better take the helm. Jelena is waiting for you.”

  Alisa returned the hug, but she also looked through the hatchway at Stanislav, raising her voice to say, “She better be the one waiting for me.”

  Stanislav’s eyebrows rose, but all he did was take another sip of his coffee.

  Alisa trotted up to NavCom and flopped down in her seat. Mica had shifted to the co-pilot’s seat, where she had her legs up on the console, her ankles crossed.

  “Comfortable?” Alisa took back control from the autopilot and flew the Nomad over the wall of the junkyard. The Alliance vehicles and soldiers that had been there the day before were gone, presumably helping put the city back into order.

  “No, the padding is thin.”

  “Maybe your butt is bony.”

  “You should get your chairs reupholstered.”

  “Sounds like a job for an engineer.” Alisa guided the Nomad toward a back corner of the junkyard. She frowned when she spotted a CargoExpress delivery truck idling in the middle of the main aisle. Beck hadn’t arranged for pickup for his sauces, had he? Had she even told him they would be returning to the junkyard? Maybe Leonidas had. This had been his request.

  “You’re mistaken,” Mica said. “It’s a job for an upholsterer.”

  The ship settled onto the ground, crunching down on a few small pieces of debris. More lawn chairs, perhaps.

  Alisa opened the cargo hatch and hit the ship-wide comm button. “Your taxi has arrived at its destination.”

  Not everyone is leaving, Abelardus informed her. Young-hee and a few others wish to stay aboard.

  This taxi isn’t making any more stops until we get to… a place I want to go.

  Nice evasion. Do you not want me to tell them we’re going to Sepiron Station?

  No, I don’t. And I’d also like you to stay out of my head.

  Of course, my noble captain.

  I’d especially like for you not to mock me while you’re staying out of my head.

  You’re a demanding woman. It’s amazing the cyborg can satisfy you.

  Alisa growled, not wanting to talk about that with him. Tell anyone who stays that they have to pay my standard passenger fare. And then encourage them not to stay. And then get out of my head.

  Extremely demanding.

  A throat cleared in the hatchway. Alisa turned in her seat, expecting Leonidas, or perhaps Alejandro with some update—such as that Durant could now form full sentences. But Admiral Tiang stood in the hatchway, his clothing rumpled, his hair uncombed, and his hands clasped behind his back. Even in a military parade rest, he did not look very military.

  “Can I help you, Admiral?” Alisa almost called him sir, but it seemed strange to sir someone she had kidnapped.

  “Admiral Hawk and his men are preparing to leave. My daughter is going with him, of course.”

  “I hope they can get the wedding back on track.”

  “I believe it will be delayed due to the emergency state in the city. Since I am officially on leave for the rest of the month, I would like to stay aboard your ship to its next destination.”

  Sure, he would. Because flying with a strange and unpredictable woman to an unannounced location was what everyone wanted to do while on vacation. More likely, he had been chatting with Hawk, and they had decided someone should keep an eye on her. Hawk had been filled in on at least some of what happened on Cleon Moon. Had the Alliance figured out that she was looking for her daughter who happened to be rooming next door to Prince Thorian? Or did they think she had a clue about where the staff was being taken?

  “Admirals pay twice the standard rate,” Alisa said.

  “Oh? It’s been my experience that members of the military usually fly free.”

  “Aboard government transports. This is a posh civilian liner. You’re paying for its supreme luxury.”

  Mica snorted so hard she almost fell out of her seat.

  “There are no towels in the lav,” Tiang observed.

  “My security chef keeps stealing them for kitchen use. But wait until you taste his grilled blueberry muffins. You’ll see why the fare is high—and worth it. Of course, you could save money by working for your passage. I understand you do surgeries.”

  “Hm.” Tiang left without saying anything more committal.

  Even though he was definitely there to spy on her, Alisa decided to find that hm promising.

  “Will you be able to pay me something with all those people giving you fares?” Mica asked.

  “Likely so. Assuming you’re staying on? I imagine Laikagrad will need engineers to help them build.” Alisa lifted her eyebrows. “They might even take grumpy ones without proper letters of recommendation.”

  Mica hesitated, looking back toward the corridor.

  “You’d be lost without me,” she said.

  “That’s a foregone conclusion, but that hasn’t kept you from threatening to leave before.”

  “I don’t care for the climate here. It’s humid. It frizzes my hair.”

  Alisa eyed her tousled tufts. “Are you sure that’s not a result of the soot and purple powder decorating it?”

  “It could be. I fell asleep instead of visiting the sani. I do hope you’ll consider shorter work shifts in the future.”

  “Perhaps we can return to a semblance of normalcy once we find the children.”

  And recover the staff, Abelardus put in.

  He was doing a poor job of staying out of her head.

  My mother told me I was a remedial student.

  Is that why you ended up as the Starseer beer brewer?

  We have to get that staff, Alisa.

  If Terrible Tym is after the prince, he and his staff could end up in the same place as we do.

  Abelardus paused in consideration. I’m not sure whether to find that notion encouraging or alarming.

  Oh, I find it alarming. Alisa closed her eyes, thinking of Stanislav back in sickbay, possibly spying, and Admiral Tiang wandering her ship, definitely spying. She worried that by flying the ship to find her daughter, she would lead the entire system to Prince Thorian. She didn’t want the kid to come to any harm, but… she wasn’t going lose her daughter for his sake.

  “Sorry, Thorian,” she murmured, gazing out into the junkyard around the ship.

  “What?” Mica asked.

  “I said I’m lucky my talented engineer is sticking around.”

  “I doubt that, but you are lucky.”

  “I hope so,” Alisa whispered.

  Mica pointed at the camera display for the cargo hold. “Did you know there’s a man in a brown uniform standing on your ramp?”

  “Uh.” Alisa frowned at the man in the CargoExpress uniform. He was alternating between guiding a crate into the cargo hold with a hand tractor and gaping at the people in Starseer robes filing past on their way out. He jumped when chickens started squawking from the corner that held their coop. “You didn’t order a delivery, did you?” Alisa asked.

  “With what money would I order deliveries?”

  Alisa reached for the comm, intending to check with Beck, but Leonidas strode into view on the cargo hold camera. He walked up to the delivery man, pointed to where the crate should be set down, and signed something illegible on a holoform. As Leonidas walked to the crate, the man went back out and returned with two long, bulky objects insulated with silver foamwrap.<
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  Mica grunted. “I’ll bet the money I don’t have that those are e-cannons for the ship.”

  “Ah, no wonder he wanted to land back here. I guess he found a way to spend his dinosaur hunting money.” Alisa shook her head, wondering when Leonidas had found time to shop. Maybe he had ordered the items en route to Arkadius and had been looking for a delivery window.

  “I’ll bet even more money that he expects me to install them,” Mica grumbled.

  “You’re a big spender when it comes to money you don’t have.”

  “You should see me in a casino.”

  Using his bare hands, Leonidas opened the first crate, the wooden sides falling away. Alisa’s breath caught at the bright blue metal case inside.

  She gripped Mica’s arm. “Is that combat armor?”

  “Looks like it.”

  “For me?” It looked like a match to the set she had tried on in the shop on Cleon Moon. Alisa bit her lip, feeling almost giddy at the idea of finally owning armor.

  “Given how often you willingly fling yourself—and those around you—into danger, it’s about time.”

  “Excuse me.” Alisa jumped to her feet to go check. “I have a new outfit to try on and a cyborg to hug.”

  THE END

  Afterword

  I hope you enjoyed Arkadian Skies. I plan to have the seventh book in the Fallen Empire series out in October 2016.

  If you’re looking for something else to read in the meantime, you could try my Emperor’s Edge or Dragon Blood fantasy novels. The first book in each series is free. If you want more space adventures, and don’t mind stories with naughty bits along with the jokes and adventures, I also write science fiction romance under the pen name Ruby Lionsdrake. Mercenary Instinct is the first book in the Mandrake Company series.

  Lastly, if you haven’t already, please sign up for the Fallen Empire newsletter to get the free short story, “Saranth Three” and the Leonidas prequel novella, Last Command.

  You can also follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for reading!