Page 16 of Star Prince

“I’m ready now,” she said, and stood. Light-headedness swept through her. She gulped a few breaths and gripped the edge of the table to steady herself.

Quin balked. “She’ll kill us all!”

Only you, you irritating man. If I get half a chance.Summoning her remaining dignity, she lurched into the corridor, followed by the two men.

Ian caught her elbow. “Is that true, Tee? Are you going to kill us all?” He regarded her with an irritatingly amused smile. “I’m afraid I’ll have to dock your pay for every life lost.”

Perhaps she might have chuckled at his teasing had the stakes not been so high. She yanked her damp cap over her hair. “I intend to fly this ship safely and to your satisfaction.”

“Good. But the cockpit’s this way.” And with that, his grin turned devilish, and he steered her in the opposite direction.

TheSun Devil’scockpit was smaller than the cargo freighter she was used to, but she had managed all right with the starspeeder, a smaller ship. A sweeping forward-viewscreen framed a vista of brown hills below a pallid sky. Below the screen was the pilot’s station, a panel with state-of-the-art instrumentation, as on theProsper.The indicator lights winked invitingly, illuminating the black composite of the control yoke. Her fingers twitched in anticipation of gripping it. Ian sat in his captain’s chair. “All hands to launchstations.” Gredda, Push, Muffin, and Quin took their seats.

At Ian’s firm command, Tee buckled herself into the snugly comfortable pilot’s seat. Her empty stomach and bone-deep tiredness made it difficult to resist the craving to lie down and sleep for an entire standard year. But she willed away her sluggishness and shook her head, blinking.

The voices around her hushed. Slowly she became aware of the crew’s doubtful gazes, particularly Quin’s.

She wrapped her dust-streaked hands around the control yoke. “Strap in.” Her lips drew back in an evil smile. “Tight.”

There was a chorus of clicking harnesses. Then the scuffling ceased as the crew awaited her next order. To her delight, Quin looked decidedly paler.

She used the ship’s computer to guide her through the unfamiliar prelaunch checklist display— prompts scrolling past on the viewscreen.

“Pilot ready, Captain,” she said upon completing the last step in the procedure.

Ian folded his hands over his stomach. “Commence launch.”

That he was calm with her at the controls of his craft infused her with confidence. She tapped the comm icon and told Blunder’s port controller they were ready.

“Cleared to depart,Sun Devil.”

She heard the sound of straps being yanked extratight. Then a deep rumbling gave way to a satisfying surge of power. A force several times that of normal gravity pressed her into her seat. Her queasiness surged. She took deep breaths to control her nausea until the ship was out of the atmosphere and in its assigned space-lane routing, where the forces of acceleration eased. She was grateful theSun Devilhad a gravity generator, making the shipboard environment feel normal. If she had to contend with weightlessness, as she had on the starspeeder, she would have long since lost her last meal.

She used everything she had to concentrate on Ian’s instructions to take the ship through a short jump to hyperspace. There, greater than light-speeds could be achieved through physics she battled to comprehend. Only after they had dropped back into normal space did she have a free moment to grin at the silent crew.

Gredda gave her a respectful nod. The others attempted weak smiles. But the Earth-dweller’s eyes simply gleamed. She had gotten him off Donavan’s Blunder, and that was what he wanted.

Exhaling, she relaxed a fraction and returned her attention to her viewscreens and the planet Grüma ahead. Maybe this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, but by the looks of it, she had found herself a job.

Chapter Five

Gann Truelénne dismissedthe escort assigned to him; he preferred to navigate the maze of corridors in the palace himself. His travel cloak whipped around his legs as his strides carried him into the heart of the largest personal residence in the galaxy. To his left and right, massive columns soared to the ceiling, the space between them open to a vast desert. He breathed deeply. Sienna’s two suns had dropped below the horizon, and the palace heat shields had lowered for the night. It made the B’kah homeworld feel almost habitable, a term not generally used to describe any of the eightVash Nadahhome planets. But it had been so long since Gann had trodden upon anything but the deck of his starship, theQuillie,that he swore he felt the polished-stone floor rolling beneath his boots.

“Welcome back,” a voice boomed from the distant end of the passageway.

Gann squared his shoulders. Ahead, the king awaited him, his tall, muscled frame illuminated by the halo-candlelight flooding the hall. Romlijhian B’kah was the undisputed ruler of all known worlds, a direct descendant of Romjha, a warrior of almost mythical greatness credited with saving civilization from extinction over eleven thousand years before. A hero in his own right, Rom was a statesman, a decorated soldier, and a devoted husband. But to Gann, his most fitting title would always befriend.

Gann halted and snapped his fist over his chest, dipping his head in a bow. “You summoned me, Your Majesty.”

Rom’s eyes sparked with amusement. “Ah, such formality.”

Gann slowly raised his head. “I thought it was better to be safe. It’s been two years since I last saw you in the flesh; your rank may have finally gone to your head.”

“My one-too-many-times-battered head?” Rom asked dryly. When Gann grinned and pretended to search for a tactful answer, his friend laughed heartily. “Ah, my friend, it’s good to see you.”

They came together in a spirited embrace. Then, hands clasping each other’s shoulders, they moved apart, a thousand shared memories in their eyes.

Finally, Gann let his hands fall to his sides. “Youdidn’t bring me here simply because you missed me.”

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