“Tsu, ping command and tell them we need an assignment to the brig.”

  “Copy that, Sergeant,” she replied, remaining near the door while Batten escorted me to the center cell on the left. His eyeball was sufficient to open the cell, and he waved me inside.

  “This should be relatively familiar to you, Murdock. You were on Persephon, after all.”

  “I think you’re enjoying this way too much.”

  “I just like the prospect of a just universe where everyone gets exactly what they deserve.” He moved to close the cell door before pausing. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Reaching out, he yanked the comm badge from my jacket. “Just in case.” He slammed the cell door shut. “And if you were thinking of sending your pet sq…jagger out to cause mischief. ’ He pressed a button on the side of the cell, which activated four shield nodes positioned in each corner of the exterior. “Good luck.”

  “So that’s it?” I asked. “You’re just going to leave me here?”

  “What else do you want me to do? Sing you a lullaby? Enjoy your stay, Murdock.”

  “Will Kritchek speak with me soon?”

  “That’s not for me to say. He’ll talk to you when he’s damn good and ready. Or maybe not at all. I’m kind of hoping they’ll have us ship you back to Atlas. There’s a war going on, and we’re stuck out here twiddling our thumbs.”

  “If you’re looking for action, you could always help me recover one of the enemy’s most valuable assets. It has to be better than throwing yourself at a sigilship and being turned into a debris field.”

  “You would know about that, wouldn’t you?” he growled. “Must have been a sight for you to watch a Royal Sentry fall apart like that.”

  “Sergeant,” Tsu said, interrupting before I could come up with a biting remark. “Command says we’re responsible for the prisoner.”

  He sighed. “Fine. You’ll take the first shift.”

  “Copy that,” Tsu replied, her tone betraying her total lack of interest in the duty.

  “Chin up, Corporal,” Batten said. “Maybe Murdock’s little monkey can entertain you with a few tricks.”

  “Monkey?” Shaq buzzed sharply. He buzzed something else I couldn’t understand. By his body language, it was probably an expletive-laced rebuttal to Batten’s insult.

  “I’m sure he won’t be any trouble for you, Tsu. Ping me in six hours, I’ll have someone relieve you.”

  “Copy, Sarge.”

  “See you around, Murdock,” Batten said, glancing at Shaq. “Squirrel.” He laughed as he left the brig, while Shaq settled back on my shoulder, finally refusing to let the sergeant goad him.

  Tsu circled the guard station and dropped her rifle on the counter. Exhaling a sharp sigh, she dropped into the seat and leaned back, putting her feet up. “Thanks a lot for this, Murdock,” she said, glancing over at me.

  “It wasn’t my idea,” I replied, turning to take in my cell. There wasn’t much. A small partition in the corner, with a toilet behind it. A sink and a narrow bed jutting out from the bulkhead. “I’m trying to help prevent countless innocent people from dying, and this is the thanks I get.”

  “Maybe next time, you’ll do as you’re told.”

  “If the orders make sense, I’ll fo—”

  She slammed her feet back to the deck and shot up from her seat. “You don’t get to decide what orders are and aren’t worth following. How could any military function that way?”

  “I’m not in the military,” I forcefully reminded her.

  “You were part of a Royal Guard maneuver. You were inside the chain of command. Maybe you aren’t officially enlisted, but that’s as close as it gets. People died because—”

  “People lived because of me,” I shouted, finally reaching the limit of shit I was going to let them keep piling on me. “Rickard ordered the fleet to fall back before we’d even started to ascertain the threat. He was caught with his pants down when the ambush arrived, and good people died because of it. I did everything I could to stop those ships, but the one thing I can’t do is be in two places at the same time. If he had shown even an ounce of patience, Privilege would still be intact. Following his orders would have gotten everyone out there killed, including the people who escaped to Jaito’s surface. I’m sorry for the losses that were incurred, but damn it, I’m not taking the blame for it. That’s bullshit.”

  “Yeah!” Shaq buzzed for emphasis.

  She stared at me, her retort playing at her lips. She sat back down, returning to her earlier position with her feet up, and didn’t say another word.

  CHAPTER 5

  Of course, yelling at my guard wasn’t going to get me out of the brig, and I couldn’t afford to be waylaid here for long. Regardless of what I had originally promised Keep, every moment of delay was another moment Blorb’s ships were out there, attacking planets across the Fertile Quadrant. The intelligent life forms in his path needed help. Like it or not, I was their best hope.

  A scary thought, when I lingered on it for too long.

  “Shaq, keep an eye on Corporal Tsu,” I said softly. “I need to use the can.”

  “Mmmhmmm,” he agreed, scrambling down my arm and jumping to the floor. He settled like a cat, all four legs tucked under his body, eyes glued to the guard station and the Marine occupying it. I went around the partition, dropped my pants down over my boots, and sat down leaving me in my tight-fitting armored underlay. Only my pants and boots were visible in the open space between the bottom of the partition and the deck.

  “You better not make it smell in here,” Tsu shouted.

  “I shouldn’t be in here,” I shouted back. “It’s your fault if I stink up the place.”

  I reached gingerly into my jacket pocket, carefully removing Head Case from my pocket and placing it on the open palm of my other hand, the front transparency facing me. “Matt,” I whispered. Without my comm badge, I was unsure if my tiny crew inside the shrunken ship would be able to follow what I was saying. “If you can understand me, flash the lights. Once for yes, two for no.” Of course, if they couldn’t hear me or at least read my lips, Matt probably wouldn’t flash them at all.

  A moment later, Head Case’s three working headlights flashed once. I smiled in relief. “Okay, here’s the deal. We’re on Prestige, but—”

  “Do you always talk to yourself when you shit?” Tsu remarked.

  I lifted my head away from Head Case and raised my voice. “I can give you a play by play. Maybe you’d enjoy that.”

  “No, thank you,” Tsu grumbled.

  I looked back down at Head Case. “We’re on Prestige, but Keep ordered the ship’s commander, Kritchek, to arrest me on sight. He knew I would come for David. They gave me a light frisk, looking for guns, not starships. They didn’t seem to think I might have you in my pocket. Anyway, Shaq and I are in the brig behind bars and a shield web. I know Gia can get root access to the ship’s systems. I need her ready to help me break out.”

  The lights flashed three times.

  “I don’t know what that means,” I said. “Maybe?”

  They flashed once.

  “She has root access, doesn’t she?”

  Three flashes.

  “It’s not that simple?”

  Two.

  I paused. “They have someone monitoring the network for intrusion?” I guessed.

  One flash.

  “So they’ll know if you’re moving to help me even if they can’t stop it.”

  Another flash.

  “Damn. Sorry about this. I didn’t expect Keep to be such a jerk about my plan to help David. I figured once he saw how serious I was about it, he would do what he could to expedite the process, not make it harder.”

  “You need a little more fiber in there?” Tsu shouted. “Maybe some prunes?”

  “Why don’t you come in here and help pull it out?” I grunted back.

  Shaq buzzed with laughter.

  “Very funny, Murdock. You’re a real comedian.”

  “What can I say? I try,” I told her. “Matt, I’m going to leave you on the seat. If you move, be careful.”

  The lights flashed once. I picked Head Case up and leaned forward, placing the ship on the toilet behind the seat before grabbing some paper and fake-wiping. I stood up, pulled up my pants and stepped out from behind the partition, still zipping up. Tsu’s eyes were on me.

  “Hoping for a peek?” I asked.

  “In your dreams, Murdock.” Scowling at me, she stood up. “What are you trying to pull anyway? The bowl sensor didn’t register any excrement.”

  “Are you serious? The toilet has a sensor for that in it?”

  “Standard practice on a Sentry. More for us than for the likes of you. The system monitors every crew member’s health.”

  “How do you know whose poop is whose?”

  “Genetic biomarkers. This isn’t twenty-first century Earth.”

  “Yet you’re still using TP,” I remarked.

  She tapped on the station console. “Sergeant, it’s Tsu. I need some assistance in the brig. Murdock just did something fishy on the toilet.”

  “That’s a disgusting way to put it,” I said. “I think your sensor’s just broken. When’s the last time this cell was used?”

  She paused to consider the possibility. “It has been a while since we had anyone down here. Most Royal Marines know how to keep their noses clean. Unlike the dishonorably discharged Blue you have on your crew. If the sensor’s broken, I’ll get a tech down to fix it. But it’s against regulations to open that cell without backup.”

  “Corporal, I’m on my way,” Batten replied. “Damn pain in the ass. The tram just dropped me back off at the mess, too.”

  I noticed Head Case in my peripheral vision as it lifted off from the seat and drifted slowly toward the edge of the partition. I stepped forward toward the bars, legs straddling Shaq, the two of us blocking the corporal’s line of sight so the ship could move in behind us without being seen.

  “Keep insulting my crew,” I said, “and I might not be very kind to you when I get out of here.”

  She laughed. “Breaking news, Murdock. You’re not getting out of there.”

  “We’ll see. Other places a lot more secure than this have tried and failed to hold me.”

  “From what I understand, without your guitar you can’t teleport your way out of this one. And your friends aren’t here to help you.”

  It took a lot of effort not to smirk or otherwise give away that she was totally wrong about that. “It’s not teleporting. It’s called transiting. I open a rift in spacetime and move forward through the void between one part of the universe and another.”

  “If it looks like a teleport and has the same effect as a teleport, it’s a teleport.”

  Shaq laughed at that.

  “Not helping, bud.”

  “It was funny.”

  I fell silent as the heat of Head Case’s retro thrusters tickled the back of my neck. My hands clenched, the urge to scratch or smack at what almost felt like a bug biting me hard to resist.

  “Need to go for real now?” Tsu teased, noticing my reaction as Head Case settled into the gap between my neck and collar. I needed to be careful not to throw my head back and squash it.

  “I noticed a lot of ships in the hangar when I transited in,” I said, emphasizing the word as I changed the subject. “They didn’t come from Royal Navy stock.”

  “And? What’s your point?”

  “I was just wondering why you’re collecting all the junkers.”

  “You mean like that ship of yours? I’ve heard it’s a real rat trap.”

  “And your snark’s a bit overcooked.”

  She shrugged, dropping some of the attitude. “Commander Kritchek’s orders. We’ve been raiding Outworld spaceports and confiscating anything that might last more than two seconds in a fight. The fight that you’re trying to abandon.”

  “First of all, none of those ships looked like they would last even two seconds against a sigilship. And secondly, I’m not trying to abandon the fight. I’m trying to rescue my crew member, who also happens to be the only person in the galaxy who knows how to make new sigils. Instead of the enemy forcing him to come up with deadly surprises to use against us, I’d prefer having him working for us. Capiche?” I paused, annoyed with myself for falling again into Keep-speak. He didn’t deserve that much influence over me.

  “I’ll admit that sounds like it has merit on the surface,” Tsu said, “but I’m sure there’s a reason the Regent believes otherwise.”

  “He’s acting like a spoiled brat who didn’t get his way,” I replied.

  The door to the brig opened. Batten and two new Marines filed through. The sergeant’s gaze immediately turned to me, an icy glare that I enjoyed more than feared.

  “Back so soon?” I asked, smirking at him. “Must’ve missed me.”

  “What are you doing in there, Murdock?” Batten asked.

  “I had to cut a log,” I replied. “Is that a crime now, too?”

  “The sensors didn’t pick up any signs of voiding, Sergeant,” Tsu said.

  Folding my arms across my chest, I shrugged. “It’s probably just broken.”

  He approached the cell, glancing down at Shaq. “Tell him to back off.”

  “Why? You think he’s still mad at you for calling him a squirrel?”

  “Just tell him.”

  “He understands English, you know. He’s an ILF, not an animal.”

  Batten looked down at Shaq but didn’t speak. I got the impression he wasn’t comfortable talking to an alien that looked like a rodent. He wasn’t just an asscrab. He was a xenophobic asscrab.

  Shaq stared back at him for a few seconds before retreating behind me.

  “Further back,” Batten said, looking at me. “Against the bulkhead.”

  Shaq buzzed a complaint and retreated to the rear of the cell. Only then did the sergeant turn off the shield nodes. The guards flanking him brought their rifles up, Tsu adding hers to the mix.

  “Four Marines to check one unarmed man’s dump,” I said. “I’m honored.”

  “Step aside, Murdock,” Batten grunted, shoving me in the chest with the back of his hand. I stepped aside, careful not to turn my back toward any of them. The sergeant went around the partition and bent over the bowl.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re doing a sniff test right now,” I said.

  “Shut it,” he snapped back. I heard him dislodge something and then snap it back into place before standing upright again. “The sensors are active. They’re working fine. There’s absolutely nothing here but paper.” He moved to the cell entrance and turned to face me. “I have orders not to hurt you too badly but that means. His right hand balled into a fist. “. I can hurt you a little.”

  Shaq growled, drawing one of the guards’ rifles in his direction.

  “What were you doing?” Batten demanded. “I won’t ask again.”

  “I’ll be happy to tell the Regent what I was doing,” I replied. “Or Commander Kritchek, at least.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” He pulled back his fist. I looked down at it but didn’t speak. He held it for a few seconds before uncurling his hand and shrugging. “Whatever, Murdock. I honestly don’t care.” He backed out of the cell. “We’re on our way to Atlas. You’ll be someone else’s problem soon enough.”

  “You’re bringing me back to Atlas?” I said. “That’s over a week away, isn’t it?”

  “Sure is.”

  “Keep didn’t want to give me three days, but he’s delaying for a week? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Don’t bitch at me, I’m just your babysitter.” He pointed to the toilet. “Try that shit again, and I’ll put a diaper on you myself.”

  “Try what shit? Isn’t this whole visit about me not shitting?”

  He growled his frustration and backed out of the cell, closing the door behind him. Head Case tickled my neck as the thrusters fired, the slight weight of the ship vanishing from my skin. I felt it a moment later, swooping down along the back of my leg, Matt obviously angling to sneak through the bars while everyone was distracted.

  The guards lowered their guns as Batten turned to Tsu, their eyes turning away from the cell. “Do me a favor, Corporal.”

  “What’s that, Sarge?”

  “Just ignore this annoying son of a bitch.”

  Head Case shot behind the Marines, disappearing around the side of the guard station just before Batten’s gaze landed on the desk. He stared for a second as if he had noticed the tiny ship before turning away and storming through the doors, his lackeys trailing along behind him.

  “Well, that was productive,” I said once they left. Tsu glared at me in silence before retreating to the guard station, assuming I was being sarcastic.

  They had no idea how productive the whole episode really was.

  CHAPTER 6

  “Now what?” Shaq asked, hopping onto the cot in the corner of the cell.

  “Now we wait,” I replied, sitting down beside him. “I didn’t know about the sensors in the toilet, but I think Batten’s visit is going to work out in our favor.”

  Shaq chirped in laughter. “Where did Head Case go?”

  I subtly pointed toward the guard station. Tsu had decided to follow Batten’s advice by turning her back to me and closing her eyes, dozing. Which also worked out in my favor. The only downside to Head Case escaping our cell was that I couldn’t easily signal Gia when I was ready to escape.

  Perhaps Matt had flown the ship to the guard station for a reason. Maybe I didn’t need to signal her.

  “Keep an eye on things for me,” I said. “And jab me with a claw if anything exciting happens.”

  “Mmmhmm,” Shaq agreed.

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, clasping my hands and closing my eyes. I had learned to channel chaos energy through the active effort of playing guitar and listening through the resonance of the notes. But it wasn’t the music that allowed me to hear the energy through what Succaath had labeled the veil. That part of it was natural, a twist in my genetic design caused by my cancer, of all things. Theoretically, I should be able to capture the energy without needing any outside assistance. The only true requirement was the right state of mind that would let me feel the chaos energy without using music to draw it out. I’d struggled with that before. but I had more experience recognizing the sensation now.