Page 40 of Dark Space
I closed my eyes for a moment. ‘Remind me to pay you more.’
He snorted. ‘What would I do with it?’ I heard the soft sound of his scales emerging beneath his uniform, the whisper of the sudden hardness against the fabric.
‘We have Bryn.’
‘A good start.’ He paused. ‘Let’s find you a new ministry, Majesty.’
‘As long as you’re part of it,’ I said, and cut the channel.
I let my scales push through my skin, then swiftly changed my uniform. My black jumpsuit went on the floor; the pants and boots and high-necked jacket of my rank went on instead. A wooden box in my storage space held my circlet; I adjusted it to sit around my horns, nestled into my hair, then positioned my sword in its scabbard at my hip.
The last thing was my signet ring. I pushed it over my smallest finger, then took a deep breath, adjusting my collar in the middle.
I was their prince, and I would look the part. Even dead.
Callan emerged from the cell as I finished. He gave me a swift look. ‘Perfect, Prince.’
A shock ran through the ship as our shields began to absorb my father’s attack. I kept my balance, but heard an angry snarl from the corridor outside.
I opened the door with a calm I didn’t feel; Callan was tense at my side.
A mechanical engineer ran at us, fully scaled and roaring. He shot wildly, using his nerve ray gun rather than the far more dangerous antimatter weapon, which would have caused the ship irreparable damage within seconds. The nerve rays were absorbed by my scales, my skin crawling underneath; it wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but it was a thousand times better than a shot hitting bare skin.
‘I suppose you’ve chosen my father,’ I said evenly.
‘Traitor,’ the engineer spat at me, and raised his gun again.
I spun and struck his head from his shoulders.
‘The thing about a sword,’ I said to his body, taking his gun for myself and attaching it to my belt, ‘is that if you have one made of fused Roth scales and keep its blade honed, it will do what few other things can, andcut through itself–that is, cut through our scales. Interesting fact, isn’t it? And my father said that studying history was a waste of time.’ I wiped my blade on his jumpsuit, then turned to see Callan staring at me, his black eyes hot.
‘That was, ah –’ He cleared his throat. ‘That is to say … You look good covered in blood, Prince.’
I flushed.
Another two soldiers ran at us before we made it to the bridge; unfortunately for them, they hadn’t been trained by the best Roth fighters alive. I took them both down, one with slightly more mess than the other.
I might not have been the best at hand-to-hand grappling, but I’d had alotof time to practise with a sword.
‘I’m not strictly necessary right now, am I?’ Callan said, his jumpsuit still pristine, his gun still unshot.
‘My father is the worst kind of male,’ I answered, ‘but I suppose I should be grateful for some of the things he taught me.’ I flicked him a glance. ‘And you arealwaysnecessary, Callan.’
Darius – a mechanic – was defending Bryn when we got to the bridge, covering him as Bryn worked furiously to return fire on my father’s ship. He’d brought it up on screen, so I could see the orb against the black of space, an asteroid belt visible behind it. The Tirian doctor’s ship was nowhere to be seen, though I imagined it wouldn’t be far; they’d be able to pick up the light exchange from the battle on their far-range sensors and they’d be obliged to investigate.
I ran my sword through one of Darius’ adversaries, then beheaded the orb’s Pilot Prime while Callan took care of twoother officers in a far more brutal, traditionally Roth way – by ripping their throats out with his deadly second set of teeth.
‘Urgh,’ Bryn muttered. ‘Blood on the control panel.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Callan said.
‘Is thereanyoneon our side?’ I asked.
‘Jedys has locked himself in the secondary control room to make sure our systems stay open to us, and us only. And Darius is on our side.’ Bryn turned, and gave me a hard look. ‘Well,myside. He’s with me.’
I blinked. ‘Of course.’
He turned back, apparently satisfied with that. ‘You also have Octus and Taran. They’ve barricaded themselves in the storerooms to make sure the food isn’t spoiled. You have Aristos in the dock; he disabled the airlock so no one can leave. He picked off a few that way, I think. And Ellar is outside your quarters, making sure no one can get to the cell.’ He shot me a knowing look. ‘If our future queen consort is in there, then the starling isn’t enough. Not while they’re chained by dark matter.’
