Victorious Star (22 page)

Four craft approaching at advance speed eight,
Victoria sent.
Mercenary class, small fighters armed with lasers and impact missiles.

Seht yawned and stretched. “Ah yes, our welcoming committee. I’ll handle negotiations.”

Victoria shot him a glare.
I hope so, seeing as I don’t have a voice.

He lowered his brows. “Enough, pet. We have work to do.”

The fighters opened communications and Seht handed them his pass-codes and identification. Negotiations were swift, short and without fuss. The four fighters turned and formed an escort just as the
Raptor
caught up to the planet’s terminator line of day and night.

Mordred
station rose on the horizon, an entire contained city wrapped in a glowing ball of clouded blue atmosphere encased in a transparent dome. The lovely blue ball was cross-circled with three dark rings bristling with deadly weapon spires and spaceships. The whole thing buzzed with scores of fighters, exotic spacecraft and massive lumbering freighters.

At the very top of the blue globe, an enormous black shadow, utterly devoid of light, blotted out the stars and dwarfed the entire station.

Victoria stared at the huge darkness. It was the dreadnought
Arcane,
hard-docked to the very top of the station.
Fate and damnation, it’s really there…

“Of course it’s there.” Seht snorted. “That’s why we’re here.”

Victoria frowned.
There’s no sound from it. Not one trace of communications or sensor wave. It’s floating dead. Are you sure the sentience is still intact?

Seht’s fingers flitted over his holographic display. “It’s intact.”

Victoria glanced at him.
But there should be some activity, from crew communications at least…

“There is no crew onboard.” Seht did not look up. “Rumor has it they were found dead.”

Victoria’s mouth fell open.
Where did you hear this?

“Lord Syrhus was kind enough to tell me when he sent my invitation.” He smiled coldly. “Moribund is calling it an accident, but the suspicion is that the ship went insane.”

Victoria scowled.
Ships don’t go insane -- people do.

Seht tapped his holographic display. “We’re cleared for dock here.”

The coordinates translated through her piloting array as a visual image of a small door nestled between two massive
skeldhi
ships, as black and gleaming as Seht’s armor.

She dropped speed to a sedate advance-one, and then cut to strictly pulse as she neared their assigned berth. With delicacy she turned the
barque
nose down, tail up and on its side so the airlock door would match their door. Metal rumbled as the ship connected to the ring and made secure linkage.

We are secured to the station.
She ran a quick diagnostics.
The station has us under coded lock.
She glanced over at Seht.
We’re not getting out of here without clearance.

Seht nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll be able to leave when it’s time.”

Victoria caught activity on the exterior sensors.
We have company waiting outside the door.
She activated the view-screen.

A fully armored
skeldhi
stood with his back to the airlock door. He was in conversation with two other
skeldhi
in ornate black suits. Just past them were four more suited
skeldhi.
All of them were heavily armed with pulse rifles and an array of bladed weapons.

Victoria’s brows rose.
Are we in trouble?

Seht snorted. “No, that’s just
Atehf
Syrhus and his staff.” He rose from his couch. “Disengage but wait here.”

Disengage? Are you sure?
Victoria was highly reluctant to lose the ship’s sensor connections.

Seht stopped at the doorway. “How do you expect to rescue your precious
Arcane
from here?”

Oh…
She disengaged her link. The loss of sensor input felt as though she had gone deaf and blind, as well as lost fully half of her body’s functions. She leaned forward and clenched her trembling hands. In desperation she opened her piloting array to see if she could reach the
Raptor.
A hum eased through her. She sighed in relief. The
Raptor
wasn’t completely gone, just distant.

“Come, pet,” Seht called out. “Time to greet my relative.”

Victoria climbed out of the couch and ducked through the circular door while refastening her suit. Damn it, her nipples were hard. The leather rubbed against them in seditious distraction.

Behind her, the door shrank and closed into a smooth wall. She felt a hum along her spine and watched as the mimetic material reformed around her. Displays, doorways and cabinets disappeared into smooth featureless walls.

She turned and found Seht by the door, bristling with bladed weapons. His sword was sheathed and belted to his left hip and the whip coiled around his right wrist.

He held out his hand. “Come.”

Victoria approached with caution. He looked alarmingly dangerous fully armed.

Seht grabbed the front of her suit and tugged at her buckles with delicacy, considering that his gloves were clawed. “Keep your chin up and shoulders back at all times, but do not look any of the
skeldhis
in the eye; they’ll take it as a direct challenge. Do not show your teeth for exactly the same reason, even in a smile. Keep your hands below your waist, unless ordered to do otherwise. Hands above the waist is a sign of aggression. If you are addressed, bow to acknowledge attention; it’s polite. You are the lowest in rank, so your bow must always be deeper.”

Yes,
‘Syr. Victoria nearly smiled. He was fussing. Be a good girl and play nice with the other children…

“Your place is one step back and only on my left side.”

Victoria nodded. So as not to interfere with his weapons’ draw.

“Exactly.” He nodded. “And one more thing, stay off the furniture.”

Victoria’s mouth popped open.
You’re joking!

Seht turned to the door. “Actually, I’m not. You are a pet. You are to kneel by my feet when I am seated.”

Victoria glared.
Do I eat off the floor too?

He cupped her chin and stared her in the eye. “You will eat out of my hand if I tell you to.” His eyes narrowed. “And for the sake of my sanity, keep your opinions off your face.”

Victoria schooled her expression to mild interest. Something she had practiced through her years in service to the Imperium.
Yes,
‘Syr.

“Good.” He released her chin and faced the door. “I’ll teach you the rest of the commands and
rehkyt
behaviors as soon as we are in our private quarters.”

Victoria stepped to just behind his left shoulder.
There’s more?
She pulled her soft leather gloves from a zippered pocket and tugged them on. The airlock was going to be cold.

Seht glanced over his shoulder with an anticipatory smile. “Oh yes. Much more.” He pressed his palm to the door and it opened.

Frigid air whirled inside and Victoria’s breath steamed out. She followed Seht into the narrow airlock.

Seht stared at the small window in the door ahead of him. “Seal the
Raptor,
pet.”

Victoria didn’t bother to turn. She accessed the
Raptor
through her piloting array and the door closed behind them.
Done.

Seht struck the lighted panel on his right. A rumble vibrated all around as the airlock door rolled closed behind them. There was a hiss of entering atmosphere, then the door in front of them rolled open to the left.

The fully-armored
skeldhi
filled the doorway. He was a head taller than Seht and broader in the shoulders. Frost-white hair draped loose to his hips in a multitude of tiny braids set with glittering black stones. A vicious scar scored the left side of his face from his cheekbone to his jaw and a bitter smile curved his pale lips. A thin band of bright blue metal circled his forehead. “Well met,
Deshryt
Seht.” He spoke in pure
skeldhi.

“Well met,
Atehf
Syrhus,” Seht replied and bowed slightly.

Victoria noted Seht’s bow.
Lord Syrhus must outrank him…

Of course, he’s the
Atehf,
prince-consort married to the queen’s heir. I’m just her younger brother.
Seht cleared his throat. “Do I have leave to exit the airlock,
Atehf?”

“Be my guest,
Deshryt.”
Lord Syrhus backed away to the left with a snort. His brilliant and frigid emerald green gaze shifted to Victoria. “I’m glad to see that you’ve found a new pet. That last one caused you nothing but grief.”

She ducked his direct stare by looking past him, only to meet the aqua stare of another
skeldhi.
His snow-bright hair was pulled back into a severe and tight braid. She dodged his gaze by staring at the frame of the airlock door. Not looking into anyone’s eyes was going to be harder than she thought.

“I’m gratified by your approval,
Atehf,”
Seht said dryly. He stepped from the airlock and into the narrow access hall and Victoria followed at his heels.

Lord Syrhus reached out and grabbed Victoria’s passing shoulder.

Victoria stilled and held her breath.
Seht?
She slid her glance to him.
What do I do?

Remain still, and remain calm. Do anything asked of you.
Seht raised his brow at Lord Syrhus. “Is something wrong?”

Lord Syrhus nodded at one of the other
skeldhis.
“Just checking.”

Seht smiled as though amused. Victoria’s connection betrayed that he was not amused at all. Lord Syrhus was insulting him directly.
skeldhi
did not make physical contact with another’s
rehkyt.

The aqua-eyed
skeldhi
dressed in a body-hugging suit very similar to Victoria’s stepped up with a small, hand-held sensor. His calculating gaze drifted lightly over her. “Remove the gloves.”

Victoria set her jaw and focused on a spot directly in front of her, that thankfully was no one’s face. She slowly slid the gloves off.

The
skeldhi
lifted the sensor. “Present your left hand.”

Seht kept his gaze on Lord Syrhus.
Slowly and calmly raise your left fist to shoulder level, elbow down.

Victoria raised her fist as asked, leaving her gloves clenched in her right hand.

Lord Syrhus flashed a brief smile. “This one knows the language at least.”

Seht nodded. “She was a bit easier to educate.”

“No doubt,” Lord Syrhus said dryly.

The sensor made contact with the back of her hand. She caught a glimpse of his ear. There was a notch cut into the lower edge about halfway up.

Seht caught her observation.
He’s a
mahfdhyt
enforcer -- a legal executioner. Make no sudden moves.

Victoria took a soft breath.
Great, just great…
Once she rejoined the Imperium, this would be one of the men hunting her.

“Augmented, piloting array and some bio-mechanics. Imprint established.” The
skeldhi
raised a brow then turned to look at Lord Syrhus. “She’s a prime.”

“Are you quite satisfied,
Atehf?”
Seht tugged absently at his gloves.

Lord Syrhus grinned suddenly. “How in hell did you make a prime?”

Seht shrugged. “Good genetic material.”

“You may put your gloves back on,” the
skeldhi
murmured to Victoria.

Victoria calmly dropped her hand and busied herself with her gloves, taking care to keep her hands lowered and her eyes down.

Lord Syrhus turned to stare at Victoria. “Are you going to send her for
upuaht
guard training?”

“I’m considering it.” Seht raised a brow. “Is there a reason for this delay,
Atehf?”

Lord Syrhus’s smile disappeared. “Moribund is waiting with a full escort in one of the cross hallways. I think he still wants his property returned.”

Seht smiled, showing his long teeth. “What a terrible shame; I don’t have him.”

Lord Syrhus’s brows shot up. “He got away?”

Seht turned slightly away and his cheeks flushed.

Lord Syrhus laughed. “He
did
get away!” He shook his head. “Pity that. He would have made an excellent stud, for all that he was near impossible to control.”

Seht snorted. “What did you expect,
Atehf?
Spawn of Chaos! His mind was nearly shattered from their abuse. You should have seen the condition his body was in when I found him.”

Lord Syrhus nodded. “He was certainly a mess when I saw him.”

Seht scowled. “Given time and training, I would have made a very fine
deyjaht
out of him.”

“Doubtful.” Lord Syrhus shook his head. “He was far too dominant for service. You would have eventually been forced to destroy him.” He shook his head then waved toward the hall. “Shall we go show Moribund what you
don’t
have?”

“By your leave,
Atehf.”
Seht bowed slightly.

Lord Syrhus grinned and started down the hall with Seht on his right. They began a long and dry conversation about politics.

Victoria fell into step behind Seht, grateful to be forgotten, only to find the aqua-eyed enforcer on her immediate left. She stared at Seht’s shoulder and worked to ignore him.

The party moved at a quick, measured clip around corners and through cross hallways. Victoria knew that with herself and Seht, there were only nine, but the semi-darkness and steady thump of booted heels made the hallway seem positively packed with bodies.

There was a soft whistle and the entire group halted. Victoria stopped with them out of sheer military habit. She looked up but couldn’t see a thing past Seht and Lord Syrhus.

“Greetings, Prince Syrhus, Prince Seht,” someone said in impossibly deep Imperial ship-standard.

“Greetings, Moribund. And to what do we owe this honor?” Lord Syrhus’s ship-standard was only slightly accented.

Victoria peeked between Seht and Lord Syrhus to see the biggest damned human she’d ever seen in her life. He wore an ornate black sleeveless coat that swept the deck and a long black leather kilt over heavy boots. His brutally carved face was framed by smooth gold hair pulled back into a severe and simple tail that fell over his left shoulder. His darkly tanned bare chest and folded arms were enormously muscular.

Victoria raised a brow.
Probably augmented to hell and gone…

Oh, he is,
Seht sent to her.
Some call him handsome.

Handsome? Victoria stared at the cold lines of his face and curled her lip.
Not me. That is a nasty, nasty man.

Moribund smiled. “I heard that Prince Seht brought his pet with him.”

Lord Syrhus nodded. “He did indeed.”

Seht turned to look at Victoria. “Come,” he said in soft
skeldhi.

Victoria glanced at him.
Do I have to?

Seht narrowed his eyes.

Great, fine…
Victoria swallowed and stepped between Seht and Lord Syrhus.

Moribund’s ice blue eyes narrowed at Victoria. “This is your pet?”

“Yes.” Seht placed a gloved hand on her shoulder.
Chin up, shoulders back, stay calm, and stare at the nasty man.