The door slid open silently. Paltronis stepped through then thumbed the lock. Tayvis barely glanced up from the handcomp in front of him.
"You aren't fooling anyone," she said, leaning against the wall, arms folded.
He ignored her.
"You're giving up," Paltronis said.
His hands paused. Paltronis crossed the cabin and slammed her hands on the desk. He looked up at her. She could see the pain in his eyes. He went back to work on his handcomp.
"Why are we running farther?" Paltronis asked. "She was there, probably still is there, on Linas-Drias. Why haven't we gone back, Tayvis? Xerian said—"
"I know what Xerian said." Tayvis bit off each word. "We've got two weeks, at the most, to get her back into treatment."
"So why aren't we back there? Looking for her?"
"You know as well as I do why we aren't."
"No, I don't. Explain it to me." She crossed her arms, glaring down at him. "She's your wife."
He flinched back from her, fighting to stay calm. She bit her lip, wondering if she'd pushed too hard. He looked like he was about to break.
"If it were Beryn, I wouldn't have run at the first sign of trouble. We were expecting trouble. Why else take our own battle group in?"
"We weren't expecting to find the Emperor murdered in his own palace," Tayvis said. "Back off, Cici." He used her first name as an insult.
"No, Malcolm," she shot right back. "I'm not going to let you shut yourself away and do something stupid."
"Like taking on what's left of the Patrol? They had us outgunned by more than five to one. Don't try to tell me you didn't know that." His com beeped. He clicked it on. "What?"
"Downshift in fifteen minutes." There was no sir, no acknowledgment of rank, he had made it clear he didn't care about that. He cared that his people were competent. As long as they were at their stations when they were required to be there, he didn't care about the rest. Running a mercenary outfit did have some advantages.
"Thank you," he said and flipped it off.
"And what, Tayvis?" Paltronis pushed for an answer. "We're just going to sit at the waystar and twiddle our thumbs? For how long?"
"Until Everett's contacts come through with information," Tayvis said.
She shifted back a step, surprised.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "You didn't think it through, did you?" He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Everett sent messages while we were raiding the palace. His informants know where to find us. Staying there wouldn't have done any good. It might have gotten us all killed. You knew it, you were ready to run. And don't try denying it."
She sighed. She sat in a chair, running her hands through her short hair, her anger sliding away. "I knew you wouldn't just leave her. Although, after Xerian told us what her chances really were…" She let the comment trail off. Dace was as good as dead if they didn't find her soon.
"I know," Tayvis said quietly. "Believe me, Everett pulled out all the stops, called in every favor ever owed. We'll find her."
"What if it's too late?" She hated herself for asking. It was too much like picking at a wound to see if it still bled.
Tayvis' face went still as stone. "Then no one's going to stop us from taking revenge."
Paltronis shivered.
There was a knock at the door.
"Would you mind unlocking that and letting Everett in?" Tayvis said turning back to his handcomp.
Paltronis got up without a word and let Everett in. Everett gave her an inquiring look. She sat down, avoiding his unspoken question.
"Well?" Tayvis asked.
"Well, what?" Everett answered. He took another chair. There were definite advantages to the ship they'd commandeered as their flagship. The captain's quarters were fairly spacious. No one had objected when Tayvis moved in. The sleeping area was small, but it had a large office space attached. The chairs were more comfortable than they looked.
"We won't get information until we reach the waystar," Everett said, "as you well know. It will take two or three days for them to reach us. Things were a bit hectic as we were leaving, but I did manage to get a listing of the ships in the system. One hundred and seventeen total, eighty seven of those are merchant or private ships. If she was taken to a Patrol ship, you can forget getting any information."
Tayvis shook his head. "If the Patrol had her, the whole galaxy would know. It was someone else."
"The shadow woman we're hunting?" Everett asked. "You aren't the only ones who can hack into Will's files. I wanted to know what I was getting into. Dace wasn't just an ambassador, but she wasn't supposed to be an assassin."
Tayvis shook his head. "She was bait. We were supposed to spook whoever it is into making a mistake. She's too good. She blindsided us."
"So you're fairly certain it is a woman behind all this?"
Tayvis shrugged. "Did either of you find out anything at all when we were at the palace?"
"We've been over this multiple times," Paltronis answered. "No. We both chased rumors and shadows and found nothing."
The ship slid through the downshift to normal space. Tayvis tapped the desk with one finger.
"I hate waiting," Paltronis complained.
"We don't have a choice," Tayvis said.
"I know," Paltronis said. "We need information."
"It's a bit difficult to track a hundred ships by yourself," Everett said. "My people are good. Trust them. We'll know within a couple of days whether Dace was on any of those ships or not."
"What about Hovart and Scholar?" Tayvis looked to Paltronis.
"Xerian says Hovart should be ready to talk in a couple of days. He was hit in the back and his armor absorbed most of it. Scholar wasn't so lucky. Xerian still doesn't know if he's going to pull through or not. He was in pretty bad shape before he was shot."
"I hope he does," Everett said. "We could use his skills about now."
"I don't care about his skills," Paltronis said. "I just hope he makes it in one piece."
"What about the Patrol?" Tayvis asked Everett.
"The information is downloaded to your computer," Everett answered. "Names of the ships, mostly. I didn't have time to dig up much more."
"Did the message get out?" Tayvis asked.
"What message?" Paltronis asked.
"I sent it," Everett answered Tayvis. "You'll know within three days what the answer is." He looked over at Paltronis. "While you were busy playing with your marines, I sent out a general message on one of Lowell's codes. Anyone who wants to join us will know how to reach us."
"Any Patrol ship that wanted to defect to our side has already," she pointed out.
"Our side?" Tayvis asked. "We aren't Federation, not in the slightest. Or have you forgotten?"
"That we ran off with some of Will's ships? No, I haven't forgotten. I also thought the three of us were equal partners in this." Paltronis couldn't help feeling upset. "You could have let me know."
"Sorry," Everett said. "You were busy. I wasn't sure we could get the code set up in time. The signal should piggyback on any ship that left Linas-Drias. With any luck, we'll reach pretty much all of the Federation as well as everywhere else by the end of next week."
"What are we going to do if ships start showing up asking to join our mercenary squad?" Paltronis asked. "I thought our mission was to find Dace, not fight the war."
"Roland won't think that," Tayvis said. "I thought we discussed this."
"So what do we do with the ships after we find Dace?"
"We give them the choice of returning wherever they want," Everett said. "Federation, Empire, Cygnus, independent, as long as it isn't the syndicates."
"Until then, we earn our standing as mercenaries," Tayvis said.
"We shoot things for whoever pays us the most? I don't see how that will help." Paltronis leaned back in her chair.
"I'm paying," Tayvis said. "We go where I say and blow up whatever I decide needs blown up. Fair enough?"
"Do we get any say?" Paltronis asked.
"Of course. It's why you're both in command. Now shut up or leave. I've got work to do."
Paltronis stayed where she was, giving Tayvis a hard stare.
Everett stood. "We should have a sensor network launched and working within the hour," he said.
Tayvis nodded. Everett left the room.
Paltronis stretched out her legs, staring at Tayvis, trying to make him react. She hated the deadness in his eyes. He was pretending everything was fine. It was anything but.
"What are we really doing here, Tayvis?" she asked when she couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"Whatever you think, Paltronis, finding Dace is my highest priority. My only priority. I'm just trying not to pour fuel on the fire. If we'd stayed at Linas-Drias, the Patrol would have shot our ships down and the police would have arrested us. It wouldn't have done Dace any good."
"I know that, Tayvis. It just hurts to see you sitting there, pretending everything is fine."
"You're just as bad, blaming yourself that she was taken out from under our noses." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "The truth is that we slipped up. I underestimated our unknown opponent."
"Maybe not so unknown. Hovart knows who it is. I'd bet Scholar does, too."
"So we wait until they wake up. We have to wait for information anyway. It won't do any good to chase ships unless we know which ones to chase." He leaned back in his chair. "We'll find her in time, Paltronis. Or die trying."
She tried to smile, it came out crooked and full of pain. "That's the spirit."
His lip twitched, the closest he was going to come to a smile. "Go drill your marines. We've got a couple days of down time."
"And you?"
Tayvis shrugged.
"If I get any bright ideas," she said as she stood, "I'll come tell you."
* * *
The first ship appeared a day and a half later. The sensor array caught it as it downshifted into the system. The Gypsy waystar was unmapped, unmarked on any chart. The Gypsy clan who owned it kept it that way. Everett got the coordinates only because Willow clan was still loyal to Shellfinder. It hadn't been easy. He'd gotten coordinates for several dozen waystars. Tayvis was using them as a safety net, places to run when necessary. The ship shouldn't have known where to go, should have never been able to follow them. Someone had talked.
Tayvis showed up on the bridge, his face hard and cold, within five minutes of receiving the message.
"What ship?" he asked the scan tech.
"The beacon is reading the Valiant," the tech answered. "Still listed as Patrol."
"How did they get the coordinates?" Tayvis flexed his fists. He had a traitor on his ships, someone who passed information when they shouldn't.
"Not one of the ones at Linas-Drias," Everett said. He shifted in the captain's chair, swinging it side to side.
"Status?" Tayvis asked.
"Navigational shields only," the tech answered as he ran his equipment. "No sign of weapons energy. No sign of any other ship, just the Valiant. It's a hunter class ship."
Tayvis nodded. "Keep scanning. I want to know if there are any others hiding out there."
"They'd have to come in fairly close," the navigator offered. "The brown dwarf is too small to give much of a gravity lock."
"We set up the sensor array to take that into account," Everett reminded Tayvis. "No one is sneaking up on us."
"They're broadcasting a signal," the com tech said. "Shall I answer it?"
"Send a tight beam to the other ships," Tayvis said. "Tell them to move back and be ready for trouble. Cross connect all ships into the signal. I want them to hear every word."
The com tech nodded. He sent the messages. "Connecting now," he informed Tayvis.
"This is the Praetoris," Tayvis said as the screen cleared. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The captain of the Valiant was a woman, thin faced, with blond hair pulled back into a tight knot. She studied Tayvis, her face serious. Her gaze flicked to one side and then back to focus on him. She relaxed, just a fraction.
"Good," she said. "I found you. Captain Jolie Esslen." She smiled briefly. "I've got seventeen ships arriving soon. We want to join your mercenary squad."
"Why?" Tayvis asked. He folded his arms, looking intimidating without even trying.
Jolie's smile widened. It wasn't a happy or humorous smile. "Because the Patrol wants you, worse than the Federation. They think you're responsible for shooting the Emperor. Anyone with half a brain knows what you're really doing, though, that you didn't do it. Dace doesn't work that way."
"What do you know about Dace?" Tayvis asked sharply.
"I was on Vallius," Jolie said, as if it explained everything. "I've come to help you find her and stop the real villains."
"How did you get these coordinates?" Tayvis demanded, still unsure of her.
"A merchant ship told me where to go. Vallius wasn't just Patrol." Jolie shifted to one side. She looked tired but determined.
"More ships downshifting," the scan tech said quietly.
'That would be the rest of them," Jolie said. "All of them are ready to promise you whatever loyalty they have left."
"You do understand that if you betray me, you won't live very long to regret it?" Tayvis asked, his voice soft and menacing.
Jolie's smile widened farther. "The Shadow Guard is already a legend. It's an honor to join, sir."
"Shadow Guard?" Tayvis asked.
"Your fleet," she clarified. "The rumor I heard was that the president of the Federation was so mad at your betrayal, he put a price of five hundred thousand on your head, but only if you're alive. Any captain that joins you faces a price of at least ten thousand. The Patrol wants you just as badly, but they aren't willing to pay for you, alive or dead."
"And you wanted to join me? You wanted a price on your head?"
Jolie's smile disappeared. "I owe Dace my life. You need help finding her. She wouldn't work as an assassin. I'm here to help you find the real killer. If you know anything about Vallius, you'd understand."
"Hovart was on Vallius with Dace," Everett said behind Tayvis.
"Hovart's with you?" Jolie asked. "He's good."
"Thank you for your endorsement," Tayvis said.
Jolie colored. Tayvis immediately regretted his harsh comment.
"Welcome to the Shadow Guard," he said. "Everett here will take your enlistment oath."
"We have an enlistment oath?" Everett asked.
"Of course we do," Tayvis answered. "Standard procedure with mercenaries."
"I vouch for all the ships with me," Jolie said.
"Good," Tayvis told her. "You're in command of them. Send over a complete crew roster as soon as possible. I'd like a chance to see who's joining me."
Jolie nodded.
Tayvis left her to talk to Everett. He knew she was judging him as much as he was judging her. He couldn't afford more mistakes. He didn't want to work with people he didn't know, but he didn't see he had any choice.
Paltronis was waiting for him as he left the bridge. She fell into step next to him.
"Who found us?" she asked.
"Eighteen of the Patrol's finest," he said. His voice had a bite to it. Paltronis glanced up at him. "They shouldn't have known where to find us. Captain Esslen said a merchant told her where to look. She claimed Vallius as the connection, as her justification for deserting the Patrol for us."
"Captain Jolie Esslen?" Paltronis asked.
"Yes. Why?"
"Trust her, Tayvis. If we had time, I'd send a message to Jasyn. She'd vouch for her in a heartbeat."
"We can wait for Hovart to wake up. She said he knows her."
Paltronis slowed, watching him. "This isn't just about the ships, is it? You're actually almost in a good mood. What happened?"
"Roland is going to send us support," Tayvis said.
"And you know this how?"
"He put a price of five hundred thousand on my head." Tayvis gave Paltronis a tight smile. "I didn't ask about you, but it's probably almost as high."
"Five hundred thousand? That's ridiculously high."
"Exactly. And he stipulated that I had to be brought in alive."
Paltronis grinned. "So, how soon can we expect reinforcements?"
"Let's go to Cotswold and find out."