Nearly twenty minutes later, we neared a pair of Royal Guards standing outside one of the doorways, slowing to listen in on their conversation as we passed.

  “...forced overtime this weekend,” one of them said softly to the other.

  “Understandable, with everything going on,” the other replied.

  “How long does she think she can keep this quiet?”

  “Long enough, I guess. Orlan claimed she hired Enigma through a Dark Exchange.”

  I nearly came to a stop on the far side of the guards when I heard that. As it was, I turned my head and stared at the artwork, slowing down and trying to hear the other guard’s reply.

  “Enigma? I heard she was back running jobs. She’s no bounty hunter, though.”

  “That’s just what Orlan said. You know her. She likes to exaggerate.”

  Quasar grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the painting. “Too obvious,” she whispered.

  “They didn’t notice,” I replied as we continued on. “It sounds like the Empress hired a bounty hunter for something.”

  “The Empress doesn’t use the Dark Exchange,” Quasar replied.

  “How do you know?”

  “Why would she when she has Marines?”

  “Do the words plausible deniability mean anything to you? Depending on what she needs, it might not look good for her to send Marines to do it. Like assassinating nobles.”

  Quasar nearly froze in place. “What?” she hissed. “Are you suggesting—”

  “Shh,” I warned. “She can’t legally remove dukes from the pecking order, right? So what if she really, really hates one of them?”

  “Then Sedaya would have been dead a long time ago.”

  “Good point. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t or would never use a DEX. Especially if the rumors about her son are true.”

  “Team Hondo,” Keep said softly through the comms. “No go on the private offices. I chatted up one of her admins. She hasn’t been here in two days.”

  “Before the blueburn,” I said as softly as I could, leaning toward Quasar to make it look like I was sharing a secret or joke with her.

  “Bingo. I’m going to double-back and head down toward Mattie and Emil.”

  “You’re closer to us.”

  “Yup, but you won’t need my talents if you get in a jam.”

  “Copy that.”

  “We’ve reached the fitness center,” Matt added. “Seems deserted down here. No guards, no employees. Nobody. We’re making our way toward the motor pool now.”

  “On second thought, maybe I will rejoin you near the throne room, Bennie,” Keep said.

  “I wonder what Alter’s up to,” Matt said. Her lack of communication wasn’t really a concern. If she was in a sensitive spot, she couldn’t exactly stop to announce her status.

  “She’ll let us know if she spots the Empress,” Keep replied. “She’s the last person we need to worry about.”

  “Agreed,” I said.

  Ten minutes later, Quasar and I passed a pair of intersections between us and the hallway we took that led us to the throne room. A pair of gold-leafed doors flanked by another set of palace guards signified the entrance to the command center. Under their watchful gaze, we cautiously approached the doors from over fifty feet away.

  I wondered absently why Gia was the only one who used robots as protection. Certainly, the Empress could afford machines that didn’t get tired or daydream. A robot also couldn’t be bribed or bought off. It seemed to me that if someone had really kidnapped Prince Hiro, they had to have had help from the inside. A situation maybe a robot could have prevented.

  The answer came to me as we reached the farthest intersection, passing it without slowing. I caught a glimpse of Keep out of the corner of my eye, coming down the adjacent hallway from about twenty feet out, ready to fall in behind us. While a robot was a more perfect guard, the use of machines sent the wrong message to the rest of the Spiral. It showed weakness and distrust, as though the Empress knew people were out to get her and could easily infiltrate her inner circle. She didn’t simply refuse guardbots. She had hand-picked fighters from militaries throughout the Spiral serving here. The best the Hegemony had to offer on loan from every noble. Not only the best organic fighting force available, but also a show of fidelity from her subordinates. Which worked really well on a lot of levels.

  Until it didn’t.

  “Empress Li’an.”

  Alter’s voice, sounding as if she were greeting the ruler of the Hegemony, nearly brought me to a sudden stop.

  CHAPTER 23

  I could picture Alter down on one knee, bowed before the most powerful woman in the universe. We had to keep walking, but Quasar and I both slowed down.

  “Who are you?” A light voice replied. “What are you doing in my private quarters?”

  I cast a sidelong glance toward Quasar. She did the same to me. We’d already passed the corridor where Keep approached, losing sight of him again, but I was sure he was just as surprised as we were by the broadcast over Alter's comm. She'd set it to transparent mode to be sure we would be able to eavesdrop on the conversation. What surprised me most was the lack of fear in the Empress’ voice. She didn’t seem concerned that Alter might be an assassin, especially ironic since she was wearing Enigma’s persona.

  “I’m sorry to intrude, Your Majesty,” Alter answered. “I came a long way to warn you about a threat from—”

  “Warn me about a threat?” the Empress snapped, interrupting her. “You’re too late. A threat already visited my house. A threat already tore the heart from me.”

  “Your Majesty?” Alter said. “Are the rumors true?”

  “What business is it of yours? You don’t belong here. These are my private quarters. My oasis from a universe that’s seen fit to take from me what I value most. Leave me at once, before I call the guards.”

  “Your Majesty, I understand you’re upset, but there is a greater threat against you. Not only you, but the entire Hegemony.”

  In listening to the conversation, my heart was already pumping. All signs pointed to the rumor about Hiro being true. I felt bad for the Empress, and worse for the little boy. According to Gia, he was only eight years old. Too young to become a pawn in these kinds of games.

  “Upset? You don’t know anything. Get out at once.”

  “I can’t leave,” Alter insisted. “I spent too long and fought too hard to be here. I lost people I cared about to bring you this warning. You need to hear it.”

  “If there’s some danger to the Hegemony, you can take it up with General Nattic through the proper channels, not by barging in on me when I’m grieving my loss.”

  “This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Matt cut in, listening to the conversation.

  I missed the next part, distracted when I heard multiple pairs of feet approaching from behind us.

  A loud voice barked at us. “Step aside for General Nattic!”

  Quasar and I split to each side of the corridor, lowering our heads respectfully. It took everything in me not to look at the second or third most powerful person in the Hegemony, the commander of the Royal military. A unit of Royal Marines preceded him, intimidating in their full armor, all of them nearly as large as Quasar. They didn’t pay us any mind as they passed.

  But Nattic did.

  A lump formed in my throat when the General came to a stop between Quasar and me. Even as he turned my direction, I kept my eyes facing his broad chest, his dark green uniform jacket heavily laden with hardware. He was a big man, signs of his formerly muscled physique still visible beneath the age and comfort of commanding battles instead of fighting in them.

  “You,” he said sternly. “What are you doing here?”

  “Sir, my name is Kalkan,” I said, the words coming out too softly.

  “Look at me,” Nattic ordered.

  I raised my eyes to his face. He looked just as tough and mean as he sounded, his large square jaw ready to chew bolts, his massive skull bald and scarred. He stared back at me, seemingly surprised by my age.

  “Sir, my name is Kalkan,” I repeated a little more firmly. “I’m an emissary from Kolten. In the Fertile Quadrant.”

  “I’m aware of Kolten,” Nattic replied. “Why are you here?”

  “I came to discuss the grain situation with—”

  “No. I mean, why are you thirty feet from the throne room when the Empress has canceled all meetings and audiences for the foreseeable future?”

  “I…I was hoping to convince her to speak with me. The situation on Kolten is—”

  “We’re well aware of the situation. In fact, your last delegation was here less than three months ago. The Empress doesn’t appreciate pressure tactics, Kalkan.”

  I lowered my head. “My apologies, sir. I’m simply following the orders I was given.”

  He put his arm on my shoulder, his voice softening. “Then you’re a good, loyal subject,” he replied. “But you won’t receive an audience with the Empress any time soon. Return to your quarters in the guest wing. Inform Duchess Kinata we’re considering options to send aid, and return to Kolten in the morning.”

  I nodded. Caught before we made it to the throne room, but it was okay. We didn’t need to go in there anymore anyway. This was working out for the better. “Yes, sir,” I replied. “I’ll pass your message along. Thank you, sir.”

  He smiled kindly before facing forward again. “Let’s go.”

  The Marines in front of him moved in perfect sync, leading him to the throne room. I exhaled silently, the relief of his weight lifting off me as my concentration returned to Alter.

  “As you can see, Your Majesty. Duke Sedaya is plotting against you, and he intends to use banned and incredibly dangerous technology to overthrow you and claim control of the Hegemony,” she said.

  I had missed it, but apparently she’d convinced Empress Li’an to at least let her play the message we were all carrying.

  “How do I know this is authentic?” the Empress asked. “And not a plot by one noble to take down another? There seems to be more of that going on these days than I can stomach.”

  The Marines finished filing past Quasar and me. We glanced at one another before turning away from the throne room, starting down the hallway.

  “I have the metadata that prove the recording was made when and where I claim and hasn’t been altered in any way,” Alter replied. We had expected Li’an to doubt the authenticity of the message, but the extended data Gia had captured from the space dock made the evidence irrefutable. A lot of time and effort had gone into creating the system to prevent fakes of all kinds. “Please, Your Majesty. This threat is real and growing. You need to send a Royal Sentry to arrest Duke Sedaya at once.”

  Keep stepped out from the intersection as we reached it, wordlessly falling in directly behind us.

  “Do not presume to tell me what I need to do,” Li’an snapped at Alter. “Duke Sedaya is not the most…savory…of my subordinates. But his family has never shown an inclination to go outside the boundaries of our laws in his hunger for power. If this is as you say, I need more evidence than a single mention of building a fleet against us, or another, more trustworthy entity to corroborate your claims.”

  “What?” Alter spit. I nearly said the same thing out loud, and I heard Keep and Matt both react the same way over the comms.

  “I don’t have faith in your so-called evidence or your motives,” the Empress continued. “It is a coincidence that my son was taken right out from under my nose less than forty-eight hours ago, and here you are warning me of a nefarious plot by one of my nobility? Perhaps you’re part of the scheme, sent to direct my attention away from the real danger.”

  “Shit,” Matt snapped. “This isn’t going the way I thought it would.”

  “You! Stop!” The shout came from behind us. I maintained my pace away from General Nattic.

  “I said stop!”

  I winced and came to a halt with Quasar. Keep bypassed us as if we weren’t together.

  “Turn around.”

  “What is this?” I whispered to Quasar.

  “I don’t know,” she replied. “But I have a bad feeling about it.”

  We turned slowly, keeping our heads down.

  “Pick up your heads,” General Nattic said.

  We did as he said, watching him approach with two of his Marines. The one on the left removed her helmet as they neared.

  “Oh hell,” Quasar cursed under her breath. “We’re screwed.”

  Shaq shifted beneath my coat in response to her comment, ready to make a move on my say-so.

  “Your Majesty,” Alter said, more of her exchange with the Empress coming over the comms. “You have to believe me. We’re trying to help. We’re trying to save the Hegemony.”

  “If you want to help me, if you want to prove yourself, then you’ll find my son,” Li’an replied. “Bring my sweet boy back to me alive, along with the head of the person or people who took him, and you’ll gain my trust.”

  “Hey Quasar,” said the Marine who had removed her helmet. “It’s been a long time. I didn’t recognize you right away without your armor.”

  “Helen,” Quasar replied. “Not long enough.”

  I bit my inner lip. They knew who she was. Screwed was probably an understatement.

  “You must be Benjamin Murdock,” General Nattic said, glaring at me. “A wanted fugitive sneaks into the Imperial Palace less than two days after another criminal sneaks out. With a disgraced former Marine and fellow fugitive along for the ride. Coincidence?”

  “Actually, sir, it is a coincidence,” I replied, hearing Keep moving back toward us. “We entered Atlas space around the same time the kidnapper was leaving. We tried to stop him.

  Nattic stared at me. “One, I never said anything about anyone being kidnapped. So how do you know about that? Two, we did confiscate a derelict that was hit with one of our torpedoes and matched the description and identifiers of your ship. But you weren’t on it. How did you get here?”

  I stared at Nattic, unsure how to respond or if I should say anything at all.

  “Excuse me, General,” Keep said, slipping around my left side.

  “Who the hell are you?” Nattic growled, turning his glare on Keep.

  “Nobody of any importance,” he replied. “But I’m afraid we’re in a bit of a hurry, so if you’ll please just walk away, it’ll save everyone a lot of unnecessary effort.”

  Nattic’s brow furrowed, eyes furious. “Who the hell do you think you are?” he bellowed in Keep’s face. “You don’t tell me what to do. Marines, grab them and hold them for questioning.” The Royal Marines further down the hallway immediately sprang into action, running back toward them.. “I’m especially going to enjoy questioning you,” the general grunted at Keep.

  “It’s tempting,” Keep replied. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to politely decline.” He raised his hand, glove and sleeve both glowing.

  “What is that?” Nattic asked, just before Keep pushed him and the two Marines with him down the hallway. They flew backward through the air, crashing into the others.

  “Alter, Matt,” I snapped over the comms. “It’s time to go!”

  CHAPTER 24

  Keep, Quasar, and I sprinted away from the throne room as General Nattic and the Marines behind us untangled themselves and returned to their feet. We rounded the corner just before they could get a clean shot, Keep leading the way. Bounced around by the run, Shaq emerged from his hiding place under my jacket, moving to my shoulder and digging his claws into the fabric of my coat.

  “Mattie, how close are you to the motor pool?” Keep asked over the comms.

  “We’re already here.”

  “Ever steal a car before?”

  “No. You?”

  “That’s a story for another time. The keys are in a locked box inside the control room. Can you see it?”

  “Yeah. There’s an attendant sitting inside.”

  “I’ll take care of him,” Druck said.

  “No killing,” I interjected.

  “Fine, I won’t kill him,” Druck replied. “A nice bump on the head will do the trick.”

  “Alter, where are you?” I asked.

  “On my way outside.”

  “Meet us at the motor pool exit,” Keep said.

  “Copy that.”

  A palace guard came around the corner ahead of us, heavy rifle already in hand but pointed to the side. He tried to swing it toward us, only to be yanked violently in our direction, soaring through the air. He surprised me by not losing his cool. He still tried to aim the weapon until Keep pulled him roughly to the floor, his armor cracking against the marble. Quasar kicked him in the side of his helmet on the way past, knocking him out cold.

  “Keep,” Matt said. “Are you sure you want a hovercar?”

  “What do you mean?” Keep replied. “We need to get out of here somehow. On foot isn’t going to get it done.”

  “I mean, the hangar’s right next door,” Matt answered. “There’s this pretty sweet looking star hopper down here.”

  “You don’t have a pilot,” I said.

  “I can fly it,” Druck said. “Not well, but good enough to get it to you. Maybe.”

  Keep cringed at the thought of Druck piloting a spacecraft. My expression probably looked the same. “Is this sweet star hopper blue and gold with a huge Atlas emblem on its side?”

  “Yeah, that’s the one.”

  “That’s the Empress’ personal transport. If you can grab it, grab it. Alter—”

  “Hanger exit,” she interjected. “Got it.”

  “Gia, how do things look out there?” I asked.

  “Comms are going crazy,” she replied. “They’re clearing civilian air traffic from around the palace. And if I’m not wrong, they're scrambling defense forces from the spaceport. I think this is going to be a repeat of what they were doing just before we got here.”

  “Except we don’t have the prince in tow,” I replied. “Maybe they’ll go a little easier on us.”

  “And look incompetent a second time?” Keep said. “I highly doubt that. Get down!”