Erik nodded. “That was his plan. How are our connections at the jump point?”

“There’s a SwordSworn JumpShip charging right now. They’ll hold off their jump till we arrive.” She looked at the APC, which was already backing down the ramp. “No baggage, Commander?”

He held up the signed accord. “This is all I really need.” He smiled sheepishly. “However, if one of your crewmembers is close to my size, I could stand to borrow a few things.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’ll have someone show you to your quarters later, Commander; right now, we’re ready to take off. Would you care to join me on the bridge?”

“I’d like that. Show the way.”

Captain Yung strode down the length of the ship’s central corridor. The Mercury was an aerodyne DropShip, with her engines in the back. That meant that while “down” pointed at the belly of the ship now, while they were still on a planet, once they were in space and under power, the apparent “down” would be in the direction of the tail. As such, the central corridor had a switchback stairway built sideways along its ceiling. It was a bizarre sight, but once they were under way, this corridor would look like a fairly standard stairwell.

Side corridors branched off the main corridor at regular intervals. No fun-house stairways were necessary in these, as people would simply walk on what was now the sternward wall of the corridor. The only unusual feature of the hall was that all the hatchways to individual compartments—apparently crew quarters in this section—were in the floor and ceiling, currently accessible only by ladders.

The ship was already rolling when they reached the bridge, which was fairly cramped for an otherwise spacious ship. Erik wedged himself into an observer’s seat near the back, where he had a good view of the crew stations in front of him, and the big expanse of ferro-glass looking out the front. The captain slipped into a seat up front, next to the pilot, quickly strapped herself in, and donned a headset.

The big ship turned sharply, lining up on the runway. The captain flipped a switch activating a warning Klaxon, and announced the launch. “All hands, beginning liftoff roll now.”

There was a shudder as the pilot pushed the throttles forward. Erik felt a gentle push against his back as they started to roll. They were picking up speed, and the pilot shoved the throttles some more.

Erik felt himself pushed back into the seat more strongly. They were moving very fast now. The captain continued to talk into the microphone. “V-one.” A pause. “V-two. Rotate.”

The nose of the ship lifted, and a change in the vibration told Erik that they were off the ground. Immediately there was a rumbling growl in the deck under his feet as the gear retracted, followed by a series of bangs and clunks as it seated itself and the doors in the hull closed.

“Crew, we’re airborne. Stand by for ballistic climb-out.”

The pilot pushed the throttles full forward, even as he pulled back on the control yoke. The nose climbed higher, higher, till Erik found himself lying on his back, squeezed back into the padding of his seat by acceleration. The Mercury had stopped pretending to be an airplane. They were a rocket now, and headed rapidly for space.

Erik watched, fascinated, as the sky darkened from blue to indigo, purple, and finally black. The pilot began to throttle back, and the acceleration eased.

Captain Yung glanced back at him. “We’re about to do a rollover, then burn a direct trajectory to the jump point. No wasting time in orbit.”

True to her word, the ship began to roll over on its back. As they rolled, the curved surface of Shensi came into view. He looked down at the green continents floating in dark blue oceans. The terminator between day and night was below them now. Beyond it, he could see the glowing stars of cities, and the spidery webs of light connecting them.

He wondered where Elsa was—if she’d gotten off-planet safely. He’d asked the Legate to look into it, but there had been such confusion at the spaceport right after the attacks, he doubted he’d hear anything more. He hoped she was in a DropShip somewhere, maybe looking down at those same, twinkling stars.

Buccaneer–class DropShip Mercury

Outbound to Shensi jump point

Prefecture V, The Republic

21 November 3134

Erik climbed the many dozens of stairs between his quarters and the bridge. His borrowed uniform was too long in the legs, so he kept tripping over his own cuffs, and his too-tight collar chafed. They were only a few hours out from Shensi, and he wasn’t sure why he’d been called to the bridge. He hoped it didn’t mean another attack force had appeared.

He reached the ladder at the top of the stairs. The hatch to the bridge was above the landing, and he climbed up to reach it. What had before takeoff been a flat triangle of a room was now vertical, with the captain’s chair and pilot’s station at the top. Metal-grid catwalks and ladders had been unfolded after launch to allow access to the higher stations.

The captain, however, was currently on the lowest level, leaning over a navigation-radar station. The navigator kept pointing out things to her on the screen. Through the windows ahead, he could see a lumpy, potato-shaped rock, which he assumed must be Shensi’s small moon, Kung Pao.

“What’s the situation, Captain?”

She frowned at him. “About twenty minutes ago, we started picking up a distress call. Low-power transmitter, and tight beam—definitely intended for our ears only.”

“So?”

“It comes from a small ship hiding behind the moon. We think it’s a fighter—one of the ones that attacked Shensi. It must have missed the hookup with its carrier DropShip.”

“Could it be a trap?”

“Possibly, Commander, but I don’t think so.”

“This could be good intelligence, then. Can we bring it aboard?”

“It will delay our arrival at the jump point by a few hours, but it can be done. But I’m troubled.”

“How so?”

“They signaled us, Commander. It wasn’t an all-points distress call, and they’re obviously trying not to be detected by the planet. Why would they send the call to us?”

Erik shrugged. “Because we’re such swell and fair-minded folk? How should I know?”

“Just the same, it strikes me as curious. All the readings we’re getting say this ship is really damaged, and there’s an injured pilot onboard. It doesn’t seem to be a trap, and yet it has all the makings of one.”

“Still, I don’t see how we can let this opportunity pass us by.”

“Your call, Commander. We’ll pick it up and see what happens.” She picked up her microphone. “All hands, free fall in thirty seconds. Turnover and deceleration burn in five minutes. Be prepared for unexpected acceleration as we rendezvous.” She called up to the pilot. “Shut her down on my mark, then prepare for rollover.”

“Aye, sir.”

She turned her attention back to Erik. “You’d better hold onto something, Commander.”

“I’ve been on a DropShip a time or two before, Captain.”

“Of course; sorry. Should we call Shensi about this?”

He considered, then shook his head. “Let’s find out what intelligence we’ve got before we decide who to share it with. Doubtless, somebody is going to wonder what we’re doing poking around their moon, so come up with a cover story and stick to it. We’ll have rounded up any survivors, and will be on our way to the jump point before they get overly suspicious.”

“Throttling down,” said the pilot, as he slowly reduced thrust.

Erik supposed doing it that way was safer than cutting the thrust instantaneously, but he had the feeling that he was in an elevator where the cable had snapped, and he was just beginning to fall.