“Because we’re already teetering on the brink of war. If one of our House ships goes and starts poking around it could be enough to start the fight. And, yes, I know Father could send someone more low-key, but he wouldn’t—that’s not how he rolls. I might be able to persuade Bianca to send someone to check it out on the sly, but by then I could’ve just gone myself.”
I did not mention that it was possible we had a high-level spy in our House. I trusted them, but only so far. Either way, my concerns were valid. If Father thought Rockhurst was hiding something valuable, he’d send in a fleet and that would be that. And with as fast as Polaris jumped, I could be in and out before Rockhurst even knew I was in the area.
But I also wouldn’t go without letting my sister Bianca know exactly what was happening—I wasn’t stupid. If I didn’t return in a few days, she would share the information with Father. And if anything changed while I was away, I trusted her judgment. If Father needed to know sooner, she would update him.
“If you are intent upon this madness, I will go with you,” Rhys said.
I looked at him like he was crazy. “I’m trying to talk people off of my ship, not on it, you dummy.”
Rhys shrugged. “War might be good for business in the short term, but it’s bad for everyone eventually. And while you would get picked up immediately, I happen to be a well-respected businessman-slash-smuggler. People expect me to show up in strange places.”
I rubbed my temples and prayed for patience. The hell of it was, he was right. Having him along would be better for me, but I tried not to use my friends like pawns, especially when it put them in danger.
“Plus, I’m dying to get a look at the ship,” Rhys said with a grin.
“I’m in,” Veronica said.
“Well, if you all are going to get yourselves killed, I’ll go, too. You’re going to need someone to bail you out. And I am quite looking forward to my next meeting with one particular Rockhurst,” Loch said with a feral smile.
Pleasure and panic thrummed through my system. I couldn’t decide if I was happy or terrified at the thought of Loch’s continued presence. My mind was very much against it, but my heart danced in joy. I was in trouble.
I sighed. “You all need to think very carefully about what you’re doing. We will be flying a stolen ship into a potential war zone where we are very much unwanted.” Rhys started to protest and I cut him off. “Just take a few hours to think about it. Anyone who still wants to go can meet me at the ship at sunset. For now, I have to get back, assess what supplies I’ll need to purchase, and update my sister.”
Veronica and Loch returned to the ship with me. Rhys promised he’d meet us at sunset. I half hoped he’d change his mind. I wasn’t used to feeling responsible for anyone but myself and now I had a whole group of people counting on me.
I swept the bottom level of the ship for trackers and cleared the ones I found. Then I dove into the result of yesterday’s diagnostic. The search with the new pattern for input had caught a couple more trackers deep in the ship’s system software, but I assumed that still wasn’t all of them. Richard was thorough, the jerk.
After I’d done as much as I could with the trackers, I started going through the ship’s manifest, looking for anything that needed to be resupplied. Nothing was terribly low, but I would need to stock up on more real food if Veronica wanted to cook. Otherwise, more ammo was always a good thing. I sent an encrypted request to Rhys along with promise of payment.
Next, I tracked down Veronica and tried to get her to give me a list of food she wanted. She changed it so many times while I was standing there that we decided it would be best if she just came with me when I went shopping.
Loch was in the fitness room when I found him. He was throwing punches at a heavy bag. He’d removed his shirt and sweat beaded across his back. I got lost in the mesmerizing movement of his muscles.
“Did you need something or did you just come down to watch?” he asked without stopping or turning around.
I shook myself out of my daze. I didn’t want to make things awkward between us. We would be stuck together on the ship for a few days while we checked out the Antlia system. I’d assumed last night was a one-time thing, but now that today hadn’t brought farewell, I was unsure how to proceed.
“Veronica and I are going shopping,” I said. “Do you need anything while we’re out?”
“I’ll go with you,” Loch said.
“There’s no nee—” I started.
“I will go with you,” he said again. “That way I can pick up a few things, too.”
I was pretty sure he was using that as a thin excuse just to keep an eye on us, but I let it go. “How long until you’re ready?”
He shrugged on a shirt that clung to his damp chest and arms. Yum. “I’m ready now,” he said. “Unless you keep looking at me like that.”
Heat burned through my checks. So much for not making it awkward. “Veronica is waiting in the cargo bay,” I said.
“Too bad,” he said.
Too bad, indeed, but I made myself turn and head up to meet her.
Shopping took most of the afternoon. I bought enough supplies to last a month even if the food synth went down. It wasn’t typical, but I felt better with the backup, especially with all the extra people on board.
After we returned to the ship, I wrote a lengthy message to Bianca. I laid out all of my suspicions about the FTL drive and the Antlia sector, as well as my exact plan. If something went wrong and I was captured or killed, House von Hasenberg had to know what happened. With Rockhurst threatening war, it was more than just my life on the line.
The sun had just kissed the horizon when the proximity alarm alerted me that someone approached the cargo door. I pulled up a visual and found Rhys standing with three sleds piled high with various boxes and bags.
“Polaris, scan the immediate surroundings for life-forms.”
“One person detected in the cargo ramp quadrant,” the ship responded.
He wasn’t trying to smuggle someone else on board—I’d had enough of that, thanks—but he was bringing far more stuff than I expected. “Rhys is here,” I announced over the ship’s intercom. “I’m going to go let him in.”
By the time I made it to the cargo hold, Marcus lounged against the wall next to the door. He looked relaxed on first glance, but something in the way he held himself spoke of hidden tension.
“You okay?” I asked.
He straightened. “I’m fine.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes—barely—and opened the cargo door. Rhys ducked inside as soon as the door was high enough. He said, “Rumor has it that you’re on-planet. I don’t know if Richard is spreading it or if someone caught sight of you. Either way, it’s time to go.”
“Unless he wants to flush us out and catch us in orbit,” Loch said darkly.
“It’s possible,” Rhys agreed. “We should be ready to jump as soon as we take off. We’re close enough to the gate to request a jump point now and wait here until we make it through the queue.”
“I’ll request our jump after we secure the supplies. What is all of this?” I asked Rhys as he arranged his three sleds in the cargo bay.
“Just a few things I pulled together,” he said. “My personal pack is on top,” he waved a hand at a smallish rucksack, “the rest of this is for our journey. I brought the ammo you wanted, then decided if we were heading into hostile territory, we shouldn’t go unprepared.”
“Is there anything in there that I need to worry about blowing a hole in my ship?” I asked warily.
“You don’t need to worry,” Rhys said with a grin. “It’s the other guys who need to worry.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered. “Well, lash it all down in case we need to make extreme evasive maneuvers, then go find yourself a bunk. Crew quarters are on the middle level.” I remembered Lin. “And remember, anything you see on my ship is confidential.” I let a hint of icy warning creep into my tone. “Do not break my trust.”