Rivers of Orion by Dana Kelly (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

“I do,” said Gretchen.

Eridani scooped up the clothing Eleski had used for the disguise and draped it over the rail. “Why don’t you give these back to him and see if he’s interested in working for me. If he is, his first job will be to sweep the ship for signs of sabotage, espionage, and hidden explosives.”

“Will do,” said Gretchen. “For your information, it’s a fourteen-hour flight to the Black Doubloon’s orbital plane. As soon as we’ve talked to the crew, I’ll get us underway.”

“Sounds good,” said Eridani, and she smiled slightly. “See you soon.”

“Aye-aye, Captain,” said Gretchen, and she finished her coffee.

“I look forward to your return, Captain Webb,” said Eleski.

“Please follow,” said Katsinki. He led Eridani and Torsha from the bridge.

Chapter 31

Crime Ring

Imperium closed on the Black Doubloon, an enormous single-ring space station. Along the outermost edges, gossamer solar panels slowly positioned themselves to face the sun, glowing faintly blue as they gathered its light. Where sunlight touched the ring, it scattered hues of indigo and purple. At the space station’s heart, globular hydroponics pods softly glimmered, connected to the ring by a dozen massive spokes. In the vast expanse surrounding the space station, scores of empty hulks lurked in the darkness, tethered to industrious salvage crews.

“This is as far as we go,” said Gretchen. She adjusted several sliders on the conn, bringing the starship to a full stop. “My friends in the know had a few words of caution. If Cheng Xue is the acting harbormaster, she’ll transmit an inbound notice and send over a shuttle. If we’re lucky, no one will try to kill or kidnap us along the way. If it’s El Draque, he’ll send us a hail. He’ll insist on talking to you. He’ll offer you landing codes.”

Eridani leaned forward in the captain’s chair. Her clothes had been cleaned, and her hair was still damp from the shower. “It sounds like we’re hoping to get El Draque, but I have a feeling it’s the opposite.”

“That’s right,” said Gretchen. “Reject the landing codes, but don’t let on. Keep him talking, because he’ll keep trying to send them over until he gets too frustrated and hangs up on you. A few minutes will pass, and Bombal Lonnais will call back to inform us our ship is cleared for docking procedures. At that point, we can safely take the shuttle over.”

“Why reject the landing codes?” asked Eridani.

“I’ll tell you after, if we get El Draque,” said Gretchen. “Just remember what I told you.”

Eridani nodded. “Keep him talking and reject the landing codes. Got it.”

Brady manned communications. He was a pale mphuno who wore nice pants and a long-sleeve shirt that buttoned across the right side of his chest. “Incoming message, Captain.” His thick, leathery skin wrinkled as he turned in his chair. Peering around his horns, he made eye contact with Eridani. “We’re being hailed.”

“You’re up,” said Gretchen.

“Thanks, Brady,” said Eridani. “Put it through.”

A moment later, the space station vanished from the viewscreen and filled with a ruggedly handsome man. He sat upon a fanciful throne wrought with iron tentacles and toothsome sharks. Crowned by meticulously styled salt-and-pepper hair, anchored by a lantern jaw, he wore a dark sport coat over a white tunic, and his teeth gleamed as he smiled. “Greetings, Imperium. I’m Tomás del Draque, but I hope you will call me… El Draque. Everyone does.” His light blue eyes twinkled. “Lovely lady, I must speak with your captain.”

“This is she,” said Eridani.

“Delightful!”

“Not as delightful as making your acquaintance, El Draque,” said Eridani. Her display brightened with a request to receive his transmission, but she subtly closed it out. “If half the people on your space station are as charming as you are, we’ve definitely come to the right place.”

He watched his transmission request vanish from his screen, chipping away at his good cheer. “No one is as charming as I am, but you might be as beautiful. What brings you all the way to the Black Doubloon?” El Draque made another attempt to transmit landing codes.

“My business is my own,” said Eridani, and she smiled shyly as she discarded his request.

His expression flattened, but he quickly mustered a smile. “I can tell by your accent that you’re from Rhyon. Northwestern Rhyon if I had to guess. How is it that the local owner of a Colima-class battlecruiser managed to escape my notice?” With a flash of his teeth, he jammed the button that sent Eridani a third transmission request.

“I’ve never felt the need to advertise.” Eridani leaned forward, and with a swipe of her finger, banished the incoming landing codes.

“You…! I just… You know what?” El Draque’s eye twitched. He smiled a crooked smile and seemed about to say something more before he unceremoniously ended the call.

Eridani sat back in the captain’s chair. “Tell me why I just wasted so much of that troubled man’s time?”

Gretchen breathed into her hands and smiled. “Those weren’t landing codes. My friends tell me he sends an adrift-style virus to every ship he’s never seen before. If you’d have opened any of his attachments, the virus would’ve infected all of Imperium’ssystems and shut them down.” She moved the viewscreen’s camera to focus on one of the hulks tethered to a salvage crew. “We’d have been left to die out here in the black.”

“Oh,” said Eridani. “I see. Suppose I hadn’t kept him talking. What then?”

“He’d figure you were on to him,” said Gretchen.

“I assume by your tone that that’s bad.”

Gretchen zoomed out to display the faintest of debris rings sharing the station’s orbit. “He’d have torpedoed us. I mean, at least it’s faster than being left to die, but….”

Overhead vents whispered cool air.

Chairs creaked under the weight of their occupants.

“Please thank your friends for the timely intel,” said Eridani.

“I will,” said Gretchen.

Brady quietly cleared his throat. “Uh, Captain? A Bombal Lonnais is hailing us. Want me to put him through?”

“Yes, please. Thank you,” said Eridani.

A round-faced man appeared on screen, wearing