Page 179 of Star Bringer
I settle into the captain’s chair—not because I want to sit, but because I figure if I’m so untethered that I’m even bugging the shit out of Rain, then I’ve got about two minutes before Beckett tries to shove me out the airlock. And while I might be stronger than her, I don’t like my odds against her.
To keep myself busy, I press the keys that light up the HUD on my captain’s chair. Just one of the really useful gadgets Gage has been working on the last few days. It can give me a readout from all the available data on the ship, and it lets me access any of the systems from right here.
Or at least all the ones we know about. Gage thinks there are a bunch more that we don’t know about yet. But he’s getting an understanding of how theStarlightworks and uncovering all sorts of things I’ve never encountered on a ship before. I thought it was because I’d only ever flown on crap ships, but Gage says no. Some of this stuff,he’snever even heard of.
Suffice it to say, he’s having a blast.
The HUD shows Askkandia another several hours away. Which isn’t bad, I try to tell myself. A few more hours, and I’ll know for sure that Kali’s okay. And I’ll be able to get her out of that nightmare of a palace, once and for all.
Which reminds me… “We’re heading straight for the palace, right?”
“No,” Beckett snarls. “I’m taking us to a little restaurant I know in the city. I thought we could have dinner first.”
I know she’s messing with me. But I still glare at her.
She flips me off in response.
A gentle hand rests on my shoulder, and I whirl around to see Rain. She’s still got her blanket draped around her shoulders, and up close, she somehow looks even worse. “I know she’s fine,” Rain says again. “She’s probably wrapped in some jewel-encrusted cloak, eating fancy cakes or something. She’s probably already forgotten us.”
Nobody bothers to argue, though I’m sure we all see that for the lie it is.
“Have we decided what we’re going to do when we get there?” Merrick asks from his spot at the back of the bridge.
Rain stiffens at his voice, but she doesn’t say anything. She also doesn’t so much as turn around to look at him—something that bothers him, judging by the way his jaw clenches.
“Yeah, what’s the plan, Captain?” Beckett asks. It’s payback for the fact that I’ve been bugging the shit out of her—she knows better than anyone that I don’t have a plan.
“Thank you for asking, Beckett. I wouldloveto make a plan with the huge wealth of information I have,” I reply. “Can you have theStarlightpull up the schematics of the palace, please?”
Yeah, as if the Imperial Palace would just have schematics available to passing vessels. TheStarlightmight have some cool tricks, but the Empire doesn’t leave classified information lying around. I’m just being a dick to stall.
And Beckett knows it, too. “Why don’t you ask her?” she suggests with a shrug.
Oh, yeah, lots of payback coming my way. She knows I hate talking to the fucking ship. And that my suggestion was a fucking deflection.
“Starlight, can you bring up the plans for the palace on Askkandia?” Max comes to my rescue.
Seconds later, the plans pop up on my HUD, and I whistle.
“No way,” Gage exclaims. “She must’ve cut through every level of security Askkandia has to get those plans. Doc V wouldkillto be able to do what this ship just did.”
Beckett is the only one who seems unimpressed as she levels her gaze at me. “Maybe she deserves a little more respect from her captain,” she says.
Point to Beckett, but I’m not going to give her the satisfaction. Instead, I focus in on my HUD. “That’s a big fucking palace.”
“Better for us,” Merrick comments. “More places of entry.”
He’s not wrong. “Okay, then, any guesses as to which of these areas might be Kali’s room?” I haven’t lived in a house since I was eleven years old, and when I did, it looked nothing like this palace. And since none of the rooms are labeled, I haven’t got a fucking clue about which section is which.
Beckett frowns as she leans in to get a better look. “My guess is one of these two suites of rooms,” she says after studying the drawings for a couple of minutes.
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because they’re the biggest.” She points to the smaller of the two. “And they’re obviously bedroom suites.” She points at the different boxes on the drawing. “Sitting room, bathroom, bedroom, dressing room, closet.”
I’m as horrified as I am fascinated. No wonder Kali felt like she was slumming it on theStarlight. “Who needs five fucking rooms? Or a closet that’s bigger than this fucking ship?”
All of a sudden, theStarlightshudders.
