Planet Killer (Star Kingdom Book 6) Read online

  “Were we invited?” Amergin asked.

  “Not specifically. He put out a blanket invitation to all mercenaries in the Twelve Systems. He said he needs a lot of men and ships and that he’ll pay well.”

  “You thinking we might be the ideal force for a pinpoint attack?” Mendoza asked.

  “I know we would be. We’ve fielded assassinations before.”

  The blood in Yas’s veins chilled. Even though he’d known what Rache was when he agreed to join—and even more so when he’d agreed to stay—the idea of abetting murder—he couldn’t call it anything else—disturbed him.

  “Shouldn’t be hard to find someone to pay us to assassinate that king,” Mendoza said. “If Dubashi won’t, someone else will, I bet.”

  “Yes,” Rache said, almost a whisper. He rested his elbow on the table and slowly curled his fingers into a fist.

  Even with the mask hiding his features, it was easy to see that he wouldn’t shy away from the task, that he relished it. Maybe he’d been waiting a long time for it.

  “You look like an evil tyrant plotting despotism, Captain,” Jess said.

  Rache lowered his fist and looked at her.

  “You did ask for honesty.”

  “About the war,” Rache said, “not about my tyrannical attributes.”

  “If you ply your officers with wine, you can’t be surprised if you get general unbridled feedback.”

  “So far, all you’ve consumed is three sprouts and a mushroom.”

  “Veggies make me candid. Ask the doc. It’s a known trait of the food group.”

  Both Rache and Jess looked at Yas. “Uh, you’re thinking of their ability to make you regular. Fiber, you know.”

  “Oh, is that it?” Jess asked. “Huh.”

  “Do you have opinions?” Rache looked around the table. “I’m wary about getting into bed with Dubashi, but with so many other ships attacking the Kingdom, it would be easier than ever to slip in for an assassination.”

  “We can slip in and get back out before trouble catches us,” Mendoza said. “We’ve proven that. I’m not afraid to take the ship to System Lion if the pay is right. A king won’t be an easy target, but it sounds like you’re going to do it yourself, so…” He twitched a broad shoulder.

  “So the danger is largely mine, yes.”

  Yas eyed Jess sidelong, wondering how she felt about working for an assassin. How often before had Rache taken missions like this? Yas wasn’t sure why, but he found the jump from mercenary to assassin a distressing one. Being hired to fight a war was one thing, but sneaking into a man’s bedroom in the dark of the night and slitting his throat was vile.

  “Just let me know if you need me to paint a fresh shuttle for you to sneak down to the planet in,” Jess said to Rache, not noticing Yas’s glance. She didn’t sound disturbed by the open talk of assassination.

  “No concerns from engineering,” Rache said. “Noted. Amergin?”

  “Seems you’ve got more intelligence than I do right now, sir, but I’ll see what I can uncover as far as Dubashi’s allies—or masters?—go. And if the astroshamans truly do control the gate in this system, it would be good to know. Right now, they’re not stopping anyone from coming or going.”

  “We just put a wrench in Moonrazor’s machinery. If nothing else, they might want to stop us from going. I confess, when I took us to System Hydra to get the gate, it was Jager whose plans I wanted to thwart.” He sounded wry.

  Yas wondered if there would be future ramifications for making enemies of the astroshamans.

  “Doctor?” Rache prompted. “Concerns? Objections?”

  “To you assassinating a king?”

  “To any of it.”

  “I have concerns about and objections to assassinations in general, but I’m not your oracle. I do wonder, if we care—” Yas gestured to include everyone at the table and the ship in general, “—who ends up in charge of the Kingdom if you kill the king.”

  “Prince Jorg, but since he’s here in the middle of this system full of mercenaries, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t make it back home.”

  “So, who ends up in charge if we kill the king and his heir?”

  “Princess Oku is the next oldest and would be the next heir by birthright, but it’s unlikely the Senate would accept her, since she hasn’t been trained as a potential ruler or involved herself in politics whatsoever. Prince Finn is another spoiled brat and four years younger than she, but they would probably back him. Unless other strong leaders step up and encourage the Senate to elect a ruler from within their ranks. A lot of nobles have blood ties to the ruling family. It would be civil war at that point.” Rache waved his hand again. “It wouldn’t be our problem.”

  “No, we’re just creating the problem and handing it off to them.”

  “The problem already exists,” Rache said, his tone cooling. Maybe he didn’t want all this honesty, after all. “Jager.”

  “Is he a problem because he’s king or because he’s your personal enemy?” Yas asked.

  Jess kicked him under the table and shook her head slightly.

  “Both reasons,” Rache said.

  Mendoza watched their exchange but said nothing. Amergin gnawed on the bone of his pork chop, also watching.

  “I’ll just say one more thing, then,” Yas said. “What if we stayed out of all this and let others figure it out? I know you’re a mercenary and war is how you pay the men, but you have a personal stake in this. Maybe it would be wiser to find work elsewhere.”

  “My entire career has been personal, Doctor.” Rache rose to his feet. “Nothing has changed. We’re going to Dubashi’s meeting.”

  After he walked out, Amergin pointed at Rache’s plate. The cloche had never been lifted. “Give me his pork chop, will you, Mendoza?”

  Jess shook her head and stuck her fork into her own meal. Yas wished they were alone, especially since he couldn’t help but wonder if Rache, out of his need for revenge, was going to take them into a situation that the Fedallah and its crew might not be able to escape from.

  Kim felt like an escaping felon, skulking down to the shuttle bay with her luggage and two of her cases of medical equipment on a hover sled trailing behind her. She kept her chin up and tried to look like she wasn’t doing anything wrong, but she hoped she wouldn’t pass Captain Ishii, Ambassador Romano, or anyone else who knew she was supposed to transfer to Jorg’s ship in three days. Not flee the Osprey ahead of time.

  The warship was still attached to the mercenary vessel they’d captured, with a boarding party rounding up their enemies, so maybe that would keep the command staff distracted.

  An inkling of relief trickled through her when she spotted the door to the shuttle bay. She hurried inside with her equipment, then halted. Asger and Casmir were talking outside a shuttle to her left, but Captain Ishii was to the right in the large bay, talking to Bjarke and monitoring as troops dragged unconscious or bound mercenaries out of another shuttle.

  Ishii was sure to notice her.

  Can you distract them? she quickly messaged Casmir, but it was too late. Ishii glanced at her, and then turned for a longer look.

  Kim strode toward Casmir with some notion of throwing all her belongings through the open hatch, leaping inside after them, and ordering Casmir to override whatever attempts Ishii made to keep the shuttle from leaving. He could do that, couldn’t he? After all, he’d hacked into a brilliant astroshaman’s private network.

  She felt Ishii’s gaze upon her but didn’t meet his eyes, instead pretending not to notice him. Maybe she could say she’d brought this equipment for Casmir. As if medical tools and vials of refrigerated specimens were exactly what would help him create a crusher army. What if she said it was for some doctor on Stardust Palace?

  Ishii waved to Bjarke and walked toward Asger’s shuttle. Casmir looked at Kim, flicked a finger toward the open hatch, then trotted toward Ishii to head him off.

  “Sora,” he said with more ebullience than usual.
“What did Sir Bjarke learn about the mercenaries? Who hired them? Do you think we’ll be in danger flying all the way to Stardust Palace in this little shuttle?” He pointed at it, putting his back to Kim. “Asger is a fine warrior, but there aren’t many weapons or much shielding on that thing. This system looks to be a lot more dangerous than we thought.”

  Ishii looked at Kim—she’d almost reached the shuttle, but it wasn’t as if she would be safe once she was inside. Even if they escaped the bay by some miracle, if Ishii’s comm officer ordered Asger to turn back, he would. He didn’t play as loose with his career and his future in the Kingdom as Casmir did.

  Ishii allowed himself to be intercepted. “We’re going to question the mercenary captain under eslevoamytal, but he claims to have been hired by Prince Dubashi.”

  “What are you doing?” Asger whispered as Kim approached.

  She brushed past him and navigated the hover sled into the shuttle. “Coming along. You don’t mind, do you? I don’t eat much.”

  “I just found out Casmir is coming along,” Asger said.

  “Then you can’t be surprised to see me. We do everything together.” Kim could still hear Ishii and Casmir talking, but the shuttle now blocked them from view.

  “Even making armies of crushers?”

  “Yes, I’ll be holding the glue gun for him.” As Kim pushed her luggage inside and climbed in after it, she spotted Zee already aboard.

  He took her equipment and started securing it without question. Maybe he was a touch buggy, but she was starting to appreciate him.

  “Kim…” Asger stood in the hatchway, watching her. “I was told you’re going to be transferred to Jorg’s ship.”

  “An error. Stardust Palace Station has far superior facilities for creating the bioweapon that Jorg wants.” A statement she did not know to be true. She’d been too busy rushing to pack to do any research. For all she knew, the station had a closet of a sickbay with nothing but bandages and Skinfill. “I’ll be working there while the prince gathers his allies.”

  Her entire body seemed to flush star hot with the lie. She was bad at deceit to start with, and lying to a friend was even worse.

  Kim rushed to the two front seats, both to avoid Asger’s dubious frown and to see if Ishii was coming or if Casmir was keeping him delayed.

  The forward display was powered up, showing Ishii and Casmir standing in front of the shuttle. She flicked on the comm pickup so she could hear what they were saying, even as she sent Casmir a message.

  I’m in.

  Good, came his prompt reply even though he was gesturing and speaking to Ishii at the same time. “Prince Dubashi is the guy who’s been trying to have me killed.”

  “I’m aware of that.” Ishii was looking at Casmir instead of the shuttle. Good. “That ought to be incentive for you to work on Jorg’s request for an army. The idea of someone like that invading System Lion should make you furious.”

  “Oh, I’m definitely upset over that. Will the crushers be used for boarding parties when we break through the blockade and return to our system? Or to attack Dubashi here? I heard he’s still in this system instead of leading his army. That’s odd, don’t you think?”

  “I doubt he has any military experience, so no, I don’t find that odd. And I’m not privy to Prince Jorg’s plans for your crushers. But listen, Casmir.” Ishii gripped his shoulder. “Don’t do anything to irk him. Make him the crushers he asked for. Maybe he’ll be pleased with you then and speak on your behalf to the king.”

  Casmir raised his eyebrows. “Do you think he would? I’ve never met him, but I’ve never gotten the impression that he’s the type to stand up for the common man.”

  “You’re not a common man. In any sense of the word.”

  “Well, this is true.”

  Ishii dropped his hand. “Find a way to get what he wants done, Casmir. Don’t screw this up.” He didn’t add again, but it seemed to hang in the air unspoken.

  Casmir must have heard it, too, for he grimaced, but only briefly. Then he nodded firmly. “I’ll do my best to come up with something that will help end the threat to our people.”

  “Come up with something is not what he asked. He gave you a specific thing to do. Do it, Casmir.”

  Casmir saluted vaguely without reassuring Ishii of anything. Ugh, did he already have some ridiculous alternative scheme in mind?

  Ishii scowled as Casmir trotted away. He must have been asking himself the same question.

  As Casmir rounded the shuttle and entered through the hatchway, Ishii looked right at the camera that fed the forward display. Kim braced herself, expecting him to come in and drag her out. She wanted to shout at Asger, who’d come up behind her and was standing by the pilot’s pod, to hurry up and shut the hatch and take them out, but it wasn’t as if they could leave while people were walking around out in the bay. It had to be emptied of personnel and depressurized first.

  What would Ishii do after he pulled her off the shuttle? Throw her in the brig? Tell Jorg she’d tried to escape?

  “If he stays there, we’re going to run him over when we take off,” Asger said.

  Ishii looked toward the other shuttle, or maybe toward Bjarke. Kim wasn’t sure if their newest knight had noticed her walk across the bay—or thought anything of it, if he did. He hadn’t been in the briefing room when Jorg had told them about the bioweapon. Now, Bjarke was busy forcing a mercenary who was putting up a fight toward the door.

  Ishii looked back toward Asger’s shuttle for a long moment, then turned and walked out of the shuttle bay.

  “Huh.” Casmir had come up behind her to peer at the same display.

  “Either you distracted him,” Kim said, “or he’s pretending he didn’t see me.”

  “My allure distracts men all the time.” Casmir patted his hair. “I just wish it distracted more women.”

  Asger squinted at Kim. “I knew you were lying.”

  “I’m abysmal at it,” she admitted. Her face was still flushed.

  The comm beeped, and she jumped.

  “Shuttle A-3, you have permission to depart.”

  Bjarke and the last of the crew and prisoners had departed. Lights flashed in the bay outside, warning of imminent depressurization.

  Asger slid into the pilot’s seat. “I only packed enough food and water for two people.”

  “I don’t eat much,” Casmir said. “And there are emergency rations, I’m sure.”

  “You two are determined to make sure I stay in trouble with my superiors, aren’t you?”

  “Not me.” Casmir touched his chest. “I’m supposed to be here.”

  Kim sank down into one of the other pods. “I hope there’s so much else going on that Prince Jorg forgets about me and his desire for a bioweapon.”

  “Bioweapon?” Asger asked.

  “That’s what he wants me to make. And why I’m doing my best not to rendezvous with him.”

  “The use of such weapons is against the Intersystem War Treaty,” Asger said.

  “I think invading someone else’s system is against the treaty too,” Casmir said.

  “War is allowed. You just have to do it fairly.” Asger’s fingers danced across the control panel, and he pulled the navigation arm out.

  “What a strange treaty,” Casmir said. “I’d amend it if I got the opportunity.”

  “Let’s get out of here before someone changes their mind about our stowaway.” Asger activated the thrusters, and the bay doors opened.

  Casmir slid into the pod next to Kim. “What are you going to do when we get to the station?”

  Kim had no idea. Hide out and hope Jorg forgot about her?

  “I told Asger I’d hold your glue gun while you make crushers.”

  “Well, no wonder he knew you were lying.”

  5

  The first day of their shuttle trip passed uneventfully, and Casmir stopped worrying about the Osprey or one of the other Kingdom warships chasing them down to fetch Kim. He did not, howe
ver, stop worrying about how they would gain access to Stardust Palace Station when they arrived in two days. If anything, he worried more about that now.

  He’d been going over the previous month’s local news in the system—there had been a great deal about events at Stardust Palace. As he’d learned, Prince Jorg had come to announce a betrothal to Sultan Shayban’s daughter, Princess Nalini, but there had been an attack during the betrothal ball, an assassination attempt on Jorg’s life, and some incident where Jorg offended the princess deeply. The reports were missing some details, but it was clear that Nalini’s father had also been offended. Sultan Shayban had issued a statement right after Jorg left that people from the Kingdom were no longer welcome on his station. Indefinitely.

  “Asger?” Casmir sat tucked into the pod next to his in navigation while Kim practiced combat moves on Zee in the back, answering his questions about robots in literature in between trading punches. The shuttle was flying at a constant speed, so any sense of gravity was negligible, but she didn’t seem to mind—maybe she wanted to practice combat in zero-g. Casmir was just glad that he hadn’t yet been queasy on the trip. “Sora said you were being sent to the station to retrieve an axe. What’s that about?”

  Asger had been frowning over the news feeds as Casmir ran them on one of the displays. “Not an axe, a pertundo. There’s a knight—an ex-knight—on the station, and Baron Farley wants his weapon back. Farley said Jorg wants him dead, but he’s not asking me to assassinate him.” Asger shuddered. “Thankfully. I know Tristan. He’s a good guy. He’s a commoner, but he managed to get a knight to take him on as a squire, and he worked really hard to be made a knight himself. I’m not sure what happened or why he’s in this system. I haven’t talked to him in about a year.”

  “Something to do with people getting shot at that ball and Jorg almost being assassinated, I’ll wager.” Casmir waved at the display.

  “Seems likely.”

  “What’s his last name?”

  “Tremayne.”

  Casmir flipped through more feeds, this time running a search on the ex-knight. “Uh, he’s recently been named a business partner to Princess Nalini, who is a real-estate developer of note in this system.”