Empress Game: The Empress Game Trilogy Book 1 (12 page)

And then there were the rooks.

An explosion on the other side of the debris wall sent them all to the floor. The concussion subsided into an angry sizzle and another wave of the fumes of burnt organoplastic washed over them.

“We have to get to an undamaged section and find out what the void is going on,” he said.

The corridor dead-ended in a viewport but two maintenance shafts ran in opposite perpendiculars, opening at floor level. “Half and half,” he shouted. Better to split his team in case either escape became a death trap. Hekkar and Vid set to popping the panels off the openings.

Rigger approached. “If we can get to a section with emergency power I can tap into the ship’s systems and get a sense of the damage.”

“We’re gonna need Rigger to bypass the security if any of the crisis lockdown protocols are in place,” Hekkar said.

Shit. Both teams needed Rigger.

“We can do it.” Shadow crouched beneath the acrid smoke layer, pushing Corinth’s head down. “We can hack the systems. Hang on.” She left the boy long enough to sprint back into her room, then returned clutching a slim case. She gripped Corinth’s arm, clearly ready to spur him to motion.

Malkor didn’t want to send his whole team in the same direction in case things went to shit, but without Rigger…

“Trust me,” Shadow shouted.

Her confidence convinced him.

“Trinan, Vid, with me.” The rest scrambled to follow Hekkar’s lead as he dove into the other maintenance shaft. A shower of sparks illuminated Aronse helping the limping Janeen over, then they were all just silver outlines in the pulsing light. Before he could duck into the opposite tunnel, Shadow darted past him, Corinth in tow, and disappeared inside.

“Wait,” Malkor said.

Kayla ignored him and crawled into the tunnel. Corinth scampered in beside her, despite the passage being barely large enough for an imperial male. She didn’t have the damnedest idea where to go. It was doubtful Malkor had a greater understanding of starcruiser schematics than she did, though, and his debating their options wasn’t helping her get Corinth to safety. Who knew how much structural damage their wing had sustained, or when the smoke would kill them.

Away and down. That was her only plan as she crawled blindly. Corinth gripped at her with his mind, holding on like he might have clung to her hand if they weren’t crawling. She pressed on, hearing the others behind her. The textured surface of the passage met her palms as she passed one junction in an effort to gain more distance. When she came to a second, she reached for the rungs of the ladder that led to a lower level. Kayla descended quickly, Corinth all but stepping on her hands as he followed. She dropped two levels and hit the bottom of the shaft. Everything was darkness still and she led them farther down the next tunnel. A slow rumble started as no more than a tremor, then built to a jarring vibration through the floor and walls as they advanced.

Damnit.

::Kayla!::

I know, I know
. Of course he couldn’t hear her. It was too late to turn back and find another junction. All they could do was press on into the worsening situation. They hit a branching finally and she chose left. Relief surged when she slammed into the dead end of the tunnel.

“Release is at the top,” Malkor said.

She heaved the hatch open and spilled into a corridor painted with a gray glow. Around a bend the promise of light beckoned even as another explosion sounded nearby. She took off at a run, hauling Corinth along. His unblocked fear buffeted her.

One hundred paces later they came face to face with a containment door sealing the corridor. The panel indicated it had enough reserve power to keep itself in lockdown, no more. She went for the panel but Malkor stopped her, one hand on the door. She pressed her hand to the metal—hot to the touch.

He glanced back the way they’d come. “No other choice.”

Malkor led the way back to the life or death gamble of the tunnel and they crawled inside. She lost track of time as they scurried down and away, aware only of her stinging knees and Corinth struggling to keep up as he crawled beside her. When the air heated and filled with the tang of smoke she was ready to take on anything rather than stay in what promised to become a tomb.

They dropped down several levels and landed in a tunnel that ended in a pressure-locked, heavy-construction door with a barely active panel beside it. Only the brief interruptions of light told her Malkor’s fingers worked on the panel, attempting exit.

“Damnit!” He slammed a palm against the door. Behind her Trinan and Vid cursed in similar frustration.

“Get out of the way.” She squeezed past Malkor, Corinth following. She retrieved the slim case she had jammed under the band holding a kris to her thigh and selected one of her tools. Prying the panel’s face off revealed a complex mass of circuits glowing beneath.

So. Slightly more complex than she’d expected. She studied the design, trying to identify the circuits controlling the locking mechanism. The others’ harsh breathing echoed in her ears.

Hmm… It might be that one. Or… it could be that… She reached out slowly.

::No.:: Corinth grabbed her hand. The dim light painted his face, lighting his wide eyes. His pupils darted back and forth, watching the flashing patterns.

::Here. This one.:: He pointed but she couldn’t differentiate his directions. Corinth took her tools before she could pass them. He delicately disrupted the flow of one circuit while he reached for a second tool to twitch the activation of another. She held her breath while he worked, time grinding by.

::Almost—:: Sparks flared. Corinth spasmed hard against the tunnel wall as the security door whooshed open. Kayla crawled out and tugged Corinth’s unconscious body from the shaft. Her fingers found a pulse in his throat as the others climbed out.

Malkor crouched beside her. “Is he—”

“Alive, I don’t know how bad.” She held Corinth to her.

Malkor’s voice was firm. “We have to keep moving. We can rest him someplace safe once we get to the powered sections of the ship and find out what’s going on.”

She nodded, rising to stand on stiff legs and heaving Corinth’s dead weight up. Without a word Malkor took him from her, hoisting her
il’haar
onto a shoulder and taking off down the corridor.

“He’ll be all right,” Vid said.

Her eyes were full of Corinth’s still form as she jogged after Malkor automatically.

* * *

Corinth hadn’t roused by the time they reached a fully powered section. Malkor handed Corinth to Trinan, who cradled him like a baby in his arms. Adrenaline’s burn-off bled the strength from Kayla’s body, and though she knew Corinth was her responsibility, she let the impressively muscled Trinan continue to hold him as if he weighed no more than a leaf.

The ship’s damage hadn’t been fully assessed, but conversations with the bridge crew and security team revealed fairly localized destruction. Several sections on multiple decks were still black though, and no one could account for the situation in those areas.

That was the least of their worries.

They’d dropped stream in the Mine Field and the rooks had already spotted them. The mechanized sentinels prowled in their direction. The ship was on frantic alert, trying to make their way to the edge of the Mine Field without appearing to be fleeing. Desperate movement, it was rumored, drew the rooks’ attention like an electromagnet.

More immediately, though, they were under attack. Two smaller ships that must have been lurking in the Mine Field dogged their retreat, taxing the starcruiser’s superior shields with an array of weaponry, some more effective than others.

“Hekkar’s team made it through all right, we’re rendezvousing at Ardin’s quarters, near the bridge,” Malkor said. He touched her shoulder. She’d been staring at the ruins of the ship’s medical station, useless to the still unconscious Corinth. “I don’t want to leave you here. You’ll be safest with the rest of us.”

The group started into a jog, heading down the corridor to the magchute that would bring them to Ardin’s floor.

“What kind of weaponry does the ship have?” she asked Malkor.

“Very little. It’s a private luxury vessel, not a gunship.”

“Ion cannons?”

He shook his head.

“Frag missiles?”

“A few.”

She huffed out a breath. “We could be in serious trouble.”

They made it to Ardin’s wing without further incident and met up with Ardin, Isonde, the rest of the IDC agents, including Gio, and half of the ship’s security force.

Trinan carried the still unconscious Corinth to one of the couches. Janeen sat nearby, her ankle elevated on a table and a frustrated look on her face. Kayla perched next to Corinth and rested her hand on his shoulder.

An open comm link to the bridge gave them a stream of information on the assault and their progress out of the Mine Field, and a debate arose.

“We have to stop running and fight those ships.”

“We don’t have the firepower for it.”

“If they manage to get microbolts through the shields in the aft we run the risk of losing the engines. We’ll be sitting ducks for the rooks.”

“Jumping a hyperstream is our best chance of escape.”

“If we take much more damage, we won’t be able to open a stream.”

“We could detonate a concussive charge off our bow, which might give us enough running time to make it to the edge of the field.”

“That’ll bring the rooks for sure.”

Whatever threat their attackers presented, it was agreed that any action that would further provoke the rooks was too risky.

Corinth stirred. He raised a shaky hand to his head in a semiconscious gesture to ward off pain. His eyelids peeled back slowly.

“I’m here,” she said, before he could panic.

::I know. You’d never leave me.:: His mind voice was groggy.

Conscious of Janeen watching them, Kayla kept her words short. “How do you feel?”

He flexed his hands, then shifted his legs and feet. ::I’m fine, just…:: He shook his head. ::Knocked me out, that’s all.::

She brushed a hand over his brow. “You did well.”

He smiled at that, looking up at her. ::So did you.:: She felt his pride.

Vid approached. “How is he?”

“Okay, I think.”

He looked over at Janeen. “How ’bout you? Aronse said she thought the ankle was broken.”

“Damn medstick’s useless on this. I’d be up and about in a stabilizer splint if we were planet-side.”

“Gonna have to heal the hard way.” He gave Janeen an apologetic smile. “Probably best Malk refused to give you the assignment after all.”

The look she shot Kayla said exactly which assignment Janeen had wanted.

Activity from the comm caught everyone’s attention when the ship rocked with another impact. Only the tangle of debris that made a maze of this quadrant saved them from an all-out assault by the other two ships. The captain directed a duck-and-weave course through the dangerous cover.

“The rooks have mobilized!” The transmitted shout brought silence to the room. She wrapped one arm around Corinth and pulled him closer.

The attacks on the ship ceased, the other two ships apparently trying to mimic the starcruiser’s flight path to screen themselves from the rooks, balancing stealth with speed as they shot for the edge of the field. One of the two ships dropped off radar, melting into the background sensor noise of the field. The other fled alongside as the rooks hopped space to reach them.

How the rooks made their attack, what happened and where the rest of the rooks were Kayla didn’t know. One minute Ardin’s whole starcruiser held its breath, the next everyone broke into shouting.

“The rooks got the other ship!”

“Oh shit, they tore it apart!”

“Hit the engines. Now! Everything!”

The starcruiser burst toward the edge, tore open a hyperstream and launched into it. Silence reigned for a heartbeat, then, cheering erupted.

T
he next morning their ship limped along under half power while the crew worked to fix damage to the hyperdrive.

Power remained down in the damaged sections, and with their wing off limits, crew quarters were tight among the octet. Kayla stayed with Isonde, a situation that pleased neither of them, but made the most sense considering they’d be sharing the small apartment allocated to them at the Empress Game soon enough.

Not only was Kayla now subjected to Isonde’s haughty disdain on an hourly basis, but she had nowhere to hide when the etiquette lessons began. Kayla came back from that morning’s training session to find Isonde seated in the cabin’s lounge area, apparently waiting for her.

Fantastic.

“We need to discuss the role you’ll be playing at the Game beyond the tournament itself,” Isonde said, her gaze sweeping over Kayla’s sweaty form as if cataloguing her faults.

“Can I shower first, at least?” Kayla asked. She walked off without waiting for a reply.

Isonde was sitting in the same spot when Kayla returned. The princess looked perfectly composed, sitting at ease without looking too stiff or too casual. Must be a royal talent of hers, that poise.

“As Lady Evelyn, you’ll be moving in some exalted circles, representing Piran while under a microscope. I need to know you can get on in such company without embarrassing yourself.” Isonde’s tone made it sound unlikely.

“If you’re going to tell me which fork goes on which side of the plate, I’m out of here.”

“I wasn’t aware pit whores used forks,” Isonde countered, in a perfectly civil tone.

So, the princess had claws. Kayla smirked. “I usually prefer to shovel food into my mouth bare-handed, but I suppose I could make an exception for the Game.”

Isonde was too well-mannered to roll her eyes, but Kayla sensed the impulse wasn’t far off. “Sit.”

Kayla hadn’t needed one gram of her royal court manners while on Altair Tri, but she was an Ordochian princess, and etiquette was bred in the bone. She sank into a seat opposite Isonde with perfect posture and schooled her features into an expression of bland politeness.

Isonde raised a brow. “Not bad.”