Ship of Ruin Read online

  “Yes, I have a whole list of stuff that ensured I wasn’t going to enlist when I turned eighteen. It’s fortunate I was far more interested in building things to do my fighting for me than flinging myself out on the front lines.”

  Ishii walked into view and frowned down at Casmir.

  Casmir decided that statement had sounded rather cowardly, even if it was true. Oh, well. He’d given up on trying to impress the nurse as soon as he broke out in hives, and Ishii, who seemed fixated on the antics of ten-year-old Casmir, wasn’t responding well to his overtures of friendship.

  “You really didn’t cheat at robotics camp?” Ishii asked.

  Casmir almost laughed. “Has this really been bothering you all these years?”

  “No. I hadn’t thought about it until you showed up on my display, but it may have checkered my belief that you could be involved in something criminal now.”

  Casmir closed his eyes, weariness making his lids heavy. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been knocked out, but he suspected it had been longer than typical for a seizure. He probably had an impressive cocktail of drugs swimming through his bloodstream.

  “I did disable the weapons on Forseti Station,” Casmir said, compelled to honesty. He didn’t know if it was the aftereffects of the drug, or if he just needed to confess. “So we could get away, but only because Captain Lopez promised me that bounty hunters would be after me, and I needed to get off the station. I already knew the crushers were after me. I don’t suppose you people know who sent those?”

  “We people?”

  “The military. I’ve assumed the government isn’t after me, for several reasons, including that the crushers were stolen from the military research lab instead of merely checked out.”

  “I don’t know. Sir Asger might. He arrived only a few days ago, docking his shuttle in a bay here and giving me travel orders from Royal Intelligence signed by the commander and the queen. Neither he nor the orders said what he wants here—I thought he’d been assigned to assist with capturing Rache—but he was awfully interested in collecting you.” Ishii raised his eyebrows. “What are you involved in, Dabrowski?”

  “I really don’t know, but I was on the design team that invented the crushers.” Casmir lifted his head. “Uhm, is Zee still in the corridor?”

  “Looming and collecting dust, yes.”

  Casmir refrained from mentioning that Viggo’s vacuums would have kept that from happening and that Ishii’s fancy warship might have a substandard cleaning system.

  “From what I’ve learned about the crushers from a brief chat with Asger, I’m relieved you ordered him to stay out there.”

  “Yeah.” Casmir shivered as he imagined dying on the deck as Zee hurled the nurses around and kept them from helping him.

  “I’ll send Asger in to talk to you now.” Ishii walked toward the door.

  Casmir was curious about what the knight would say, but he wished he could sleep for twelve hours before anyone else questioned him. When Asger and his purple cloak swept into view, Casmir struggled to get his brain into order.

  “You look like hell.” Asger had walked in with his book. He lifted his cloak and made the tome disappear into some pocket.

  Casmir wouldn’t have guessed cloaks had pockets, but they weren’t a garment he ever shopped for, so who knew?

  “Thanks. You look like the guy on the posters plastered around the capital to perpetuate the legend of knights and convince kids with a smidgen of noble blood to apply for the program.”

  “Actually, I’m on the bodybuilding posters, promising dazzling delight to all who come to my shows.” He posed, flexing his biceps. He wore his gray liquid armor, but that didn’t keep the size of his arms from being apparent.

  “Bodybuilding?” Casmir asked, surprised by this turn toward the whimsical.

  “You haven’t seen any of my shows? What about the calendar? No? That’s disappointing.”

  “I wouldn’t have guessed knights were allowed to engage in, uh, spectator sports.”

  Asger shrugged. “It’s something I got into as a teenager. A little modeling but mostly bodybuilding in competitions. I got an agent and was doing shows all around the continent while I was still a squire, and he talked my commander into letting me continue, as long as we didn’t use my knighthood as a selling point. I’m pretty good at filling the seats based on my own merits.”

  “Merits?” Casmir wasn’t sure if he was confused because his mind was a postictal, drug-addled mess or because this wasn’t even vaguely the conversation he’d expected to have with the knight. Maybe both.

  Asger did the pose, showing off the biceps again. His blue eyes glinted with mischief or humor, maybe both, and Casmir hoped that meant the man didn’t take himself too seriously.

  “Of course,” Casmir said. “Merits. I see now.”

  “If you were female, you would have noticed them right away.”

  “Undoubtedly true.”

  Casmir decided his new knight acquaintance was younger than he’d realized. Early twenties. It crossed his mind that this might be a suitable knight to introduce to Qin, merits and arrogance aside. Someone that age might be less likely to hold the old biases tight to his chest. Casmir wondered if he could set them up for a coffee date. Or a sparring date. He wasn’t entirely clear about what Qin wanted to do with a knight, beyond meeting one.

  “How much did Sir Friedrich tell you?” Asger asked, thankfully switching topics.

  “Hardly anything. The crushers showed up, and he jumped out the window to fight them, to give me time to get away.”

  “You know he’s dead.” Asger’s eyes narrowed, and Casmir remembered that he’d lied about that when he left his message on Forseti. Did Asger know?

  “I suspected, yes. I saw some of the footage from a parking-garage camera.”

  “Our… employer sent him to help you, to get you to safety. She sent me to try to find out who stole the crushers and wants you dead. I followed two of the crushers to Forseti Station and then got bogged down in the mess you left there.”

  “Sorry. I—did you say she?” Casmir’s breath caught. “Do you mean—Sir Friedrich said my mother sent him to deliver the message to get off the planet.”

  “Mother? That would be a rather surprising turn of events. Friedrich was my senior and actually lived at the castle, so he might have known more, but…” Asger squinted at Casmir, then shook his head. “I don’t see it. Not even vaguely. Unless he didn’t mean in a biological sense.”

  Casmir felt a twinge of disappointment, even though it didn’t sound like Asger knew much for certain. As much as he loved his adoptive family, he’d gotten his hopes up at the idea of potentially meeting the woman who had given birth to him. Or at least commingled her genetic material with someone else’s to have him created and birthed in an artificial womb.

  “Are you talking about…” Casmir bit his lip. “Who are you talking about?”

  Asger hesitated.

  “It’s not the queen, is it?” Casmir couldn’t imagine why the queen would care about him, but Ishii had said she’d signed Asger’s orders personally. Did that make her his employer?

  Asger glanced over his shoulder. The nurses were gone, and so was Ishii.

  “I asked that this not be recorded,” Asger said, “but…” He shrugged and looked at Casmir.

  A text message scrolled down Casmir’s contact: Messaging rights requested from Sir William Asger. Accept or deny?

  Accept, Casmir thought promptly.

  The queen was the one to assign me this task, yes. And to tell Friedrich to help you get off-planet and—she hoped—out of danger. I don’t know if the king knows anything about any of this. They have a close and amicable relationship, as far as I know, but they monitor different parts of the government and often work on different things.

  Was Casmir a thing? And if so, why?

  Aware of Asger watching him, Casmir nodded slightly, trying not to react much to the news, in case they were monitored. Did
this silence mean Asger didn’t know if he could trust Ishii? Or was all this supposed to be kept secret for some reason? Casmir’s mouth went dry at the idea that the queen not only knew who he was, but might know more about who he was than he did.

  I’ve only had modest luck with my part of the assignment, Asger continued, but there’s a terrorist outfit back on Odin—the Royal Intelligencers haven’t yet been able to find their main base of operations—and I’m beginning to suspect they may be involved.

  Terrorists want me dead? Any idea why?

  I don’t know. It’s more that there are clues linking them to the stolen crushers than anything obviously pertinent to you. Asger squinted at him. You’ll have to pardon me, but… you’re not what I expected. I’m a little flummoxed as to why someone would consider you a threat.

  Yeah, you and me both.

  Given that the knight had so far only seen him go into anaphylactic shock and have a seizure, Casmir could understand why he was underwhelmed.

  Asger’s forehead creased. Maybe it wasn’t the response he’d wanted.

  The terrorist organization—they call themselves the Black Stars—is working against Jager and his desires to expand again into other systems. They’ve struck both at home, near Zamek and the castle, and abroad. If they want you dead, it must be because they believe you have some value to Jager and his plans.

  I’ve never met King Jager. Or the queen. Or anyone in the royal family. They don’t slum at Zamek University that often.

  It must have to do with your work.

  Casmir shrugged helplessly. Any input I had in the crusher project ended a year ago. I don’t even know who the team lead for the robotics division of the military research lab is right now.

  He wondered what Asger would think if Casmir asked him to leave. He truly could use some rest, but now that he had the name of the group that had stolen the crushers and might have sent them against him, he wanted to scour the network for information on them. Black Stars. Maybe he could find something that had eluded Asger.

  Did you travel outside of the system at all when you worked for the military research lab? Asger asked. Do any work that could have caused grudges? Right now, the Kingdom is getting blamed for some things perpetrated by various organizations out there that want change. Numerous prominent habitat and world leaders like President Bakas have been assassinated in the last six months. It’s true that Jager wants to bring more systems back into the Kingdom and is vehement about condemning the freaks of nature out there and what humanity is turning itself into, but I doubt he’s behind those assassinations. The Senate would never approve of anything even hinting of that. Someone may be using us as scapegoats. Asger rubbed his short beard, continuing to consider Casmir as he transmitted his words. If you were out there, maybe someone is using you as a scapegoat.

  Casmir shrugged. This is my first time off Odin. Before last month, I’d never even left my continent.

  Huh. Maybe it’s not what you’ve done then, but something they think you will do. Asger waved toward the corridor, perhaps indicating Zee.

  Uh, unless someone’s scientists have mastered time travel, I don’t see how anyone could know what I’ll do. I certainly have no plans to create any more killer robots. I turned down a big bonus when the military asked me to continue research and development for them. I prefer being poor and being able to sleep at night. Casmir didn’t want to downplay his worth or importance so much that the knight would grow disgusted and abandon him, but he found everything revealed thus far puzzling. All I do now is teach and work on medical robots. Occasionally, robotic flight on the side. None of that should drive fear into the hearts of terrorists or any enemies of the Kingdom.

  Regardless, the latest I got from the queen is that she wants me to protect you. It doesn’t matter if I understand why. Though I am pleased that it doesn’t look like you’ve turned criminal. That would have created complications of loyalty and morality for me.

  Casmir was bemused that his garbled answers to Ishii’s questions had somehow proved his innocence, but he was happy if that meant no more Kingdom Guard officers would try to arrest him. He was less happy about Asger’s promise of protection. The last knight who’d tried to protect him had gotten himself killed, and that made Casmir very uncomfortable. It was like he’d failed a test before he’d even realized he was taking one. He would prefer to rely only on Zee. He didn’t want to lose Zee, either, but that would be less devastating than a human being.

  The sickbay door hissed, and Ishii walked back in.

  “We have two problems,” Ishii told Asger, ignoring Casmir.

  “New ones or old ones?” Asger asked.

  “New. The Kingdom ships that guard the gate are under attack from an unidentified cargo vessel—what appears to be a cargo vessel but has massive shielding, a huge arsenal of weapons, and stealth technology. There’s speculation that it’s something even greater than a slydar hull, but someone may simply be making excuses to explain why they haven’t taken it down.” Ishii clenched his jaw. “It almost slipped past our people, but they’ve got the gate blockaded sufficiently right now and are keeping it in the system. But at great cost. They’ve requested backup. The Goshawk and the Kestrel—the two other warships we were traveling with—have left the refinery investigation and search for Rache’s ship, and are heading over, but we’ve also been commanded to set course for the gate to help.”

  “That seems like overkill for one ship, no matter how high tech,” Asger said.

  “I wasn’t given many details—” Ishii grimaced, sounding frustrated at that, “—but I read between the lines that the cargo ship may have used its stealth to sneak into the system and steal something important. Something we’re going to be in trouble over if it gets out.”

  Casmir frowned down at his blanket and mulled over whether that could have to do with the missing archaeologists and the piece of gate they’d discovered.

  “What’s the other news you mentioned?” Asger asked.

  Ishii finally turned his attention to Casmir, and a twinge of dread drove out his other thoughts. Before Ishii spoke, Casmir knew it would be bad news.

  “The other news is that Kim Sato was kidnapped.”

  “What?” Casmir lurched into a sitting position, not caring that his headache intensified, as if someone was hammering his skull with a mallet. “How?”

  He almost asked who, but somehow, he already knew. His dread curdled in his stomach.

  “A combat shuttle sneaked up to the Machu Picchu from the moon, and a raid team shot the marines I sent over and snatched her away before anyone commed us. My medical officers are injured and the marines are dead.” Ishii’s eyes turned molten with anger.

  “I’m sorry you lost men.” And Casmir was, but he couldn’t keep from blurting, “Where was she taken? Do we know?”

  “The shuttle was heading back toward the moon before it disappeared from our scanners.” Ishii frowned at Asger. “I’m irritated at all the mysterious tech that’s shown up this week. Why are we behind? Don’t we have intelligence officers—and knights—stationed all over the Twelve Systems so we won’t be surprised like this?”

  Asger sighed. “Just because you’re surprised doesn’t mean Royal Intelligence doesn’t know about new developments.”

  “We have to get her.” Casmir barely heard their conversation. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, wondering why and when someone had put him in a loathsome hospital gown, and teetered as soon as his feet touched down. Unfortunately, he didn’t think he could blame the gravity. “It’s Rache. It’s got to be.”

  Asger gripped his arm to keep him from tipping over. “What do you mean it’s Rache? You think he’s on the moon?”

  “I think he’s kidnapped my best friend.”

  “Why would he want a bacteriologist?”

  “Why did he want me? I don’t know.” Casmir looked around. Clothing. Where was his clothing? And his borrowed galaxy suit? He needed to be dressed to rescue Kim.

/>   Ishii scratched his cheek. “We didn’t get to that part of the interrogation, did we? Why did he kidnap you? And what happened to the bioweapon?” He glanced at Asger.

  Asger only shrugged. “We’ve been trying to get a spy onto Rache’s ship for years, but he’s talented at ferreting them out. It’s unfortunate that the female assassin didn’t succeed. We’d thought…” He waved a dismissive hand. “That was years ago, and we’re certain she’s dead now.”

  Ishii seemed to find the answer more frustrating than enlightening, and he turned back to Casmir.

  Casmir spotted his suit draped over a chair and clawed on the lower half, again with Asger keeping him from falling over. His weary limbs were even more lacking in coordination than usual.

  “He didn’t kidnap me,” Casmir said, sensing he’d have to explain what he could in order to get Ishii’s help. “He put a bounty out for me, and I don’t know why.” He was glad he had the excuse of focusing on dressing to avoid looking Ishii in the eyes. He didn’t know if curiosity about their blood was the only reason Rache had wanted him, but it was the only one he knew, and he didn’t want to admit that link to anyone. “Maybe the same reason the people who stole the crushers sent them after me. Whatever that is.”

  Casmir didn’t buy Asger’s reasoning that he might one day invent something important that would help the Kingdom. Who could possibly know that?

  “As for the bioweapon,” he continued, guessing that concerned the men more than his bounty, “I’m crossing my fingers that it blew up along with the refinery. The case holding it was open and in the middle of a firefight when Kim and I escaped. There were explosives everywhere. Captain Lopez and her co-pilot helped set them off and get us out, apparently feeling guilty about handing me over to such a notorious pirate. If the bioweapon didn’t blow up, then Rache has it.” Casmir tugged his suit over his shoulders and fastened the seam. “I was hoping Rache blew up, but then a shuttle appeared behind us. We thought it was chasing us, but it headed to the moon instead of to the research vessel. Rache must want what’s down there. Maybe he got himself infected with whatever has people quarantined on the research vessel.” Casmir looked at them. “Damn, that must be it. Why else would he need Kim?”