Dark Star Rising

by Bennett R. Coles

  “Oh, Sophia,” he said, rising lazily to his full height. “I see your notions of power are as quaint as Blackwood’s.”

  “I will personally see you hang,” she said, stepping forward.

  “Oh, will you?” His unconcern shifted into scorn. “The second child of a middling, outer-Hub house? A mere commander in the Navy? You are less than me in every way. No court in the Empire would support you.”

  Liam motioned sharply to Swift and Sky, who rounded their table and closed in.

  “I will arrest you here and now,” Riverton said. “And take command of your ship to deliver you to justice. Unless you call off this insane betrayal.”

  Silverhawk stepped back, his gaze sweeping imperiously over the Daring crew. Behind him, Liam saw, Amelia sat motionless, leaned in close to where Bella and Sam had their necks forward, translators resting on the table by their heads.

  “You will do no such thing,” Silverhawk stated, holding up a hand to halt Swift and Sky. “You have no authority over me, Commander Lady Riverton. And if any man or woman under your command were to harm me, it would be on your head.”

  He turned to face the patio at large.

  “I am Captain Lord Silverhawk,” he declared for everyone to hear, “representative of the Imperial court on Morassia. I am here on official business for His Majesty, and I will not be waylaid.”

  In the sudden quiet, Liam heard nothing but a low growl from a Theropod. No one in the café moved. As Silverhawk surveyed the room, most patrons quickly looked away.

  Liam frowned, wanting to shout his frustration. Silverhawk had called Riverton’s bluff with such easy disdain there was no point in even trying to threaten him. By the rules of the Navy he was the senior officer, and by the rules of the Imperial court he was the ranking noble. Riverton had no authority to stop him, and if any of the Daring crew acted now, there were dozens of witnesses who would report an assault on a high lord.

  Damn the rules, he cursed inwardly. Damn the whole system!

  They had no choice but to let him go and try to save Daring.

  Why wasn’t Liam doing something? Amelia kept her head low, Sam’s and Bella’s noses in close as they listened to her. Why didn’t he just smack that snob right in the face? Damn the nobles and their stupid rules.

  “I don’t understand,” Sam said to her, his translator turned down to a whisper. “Why is your captain not stopping this lord?”

  “The rules of our society,” Amelia muttered, hearing Silverhawk step past her chair and call for his bodyguard. “He outranks even our captain, so no one’s willing to risk fighting him.”

  “Is he that dangerous?”

  “Not personally, but any man or woman from Daring’s crew who attacks him will be executed, according to the laws of our society.”

  Bella hissed in disgust.

  Amelia sat back, keeping her eyes down but watching as Silverhawk took his feathered hat from his bodyguard and donned it with a flourish.

  “And what is he doing now?” Bella asked.

  “He’s given the order to destroy our ship.” She stayed motionless, even as her entire body tensed. “And everyone on board.”

  The Theropods lifted their heads, leaving the translators on the table. Their vertically slit eyes locked for a long moment, then as one they rose from their stools. Amelia made to speak, but words escaped her as the Theropods padded away, rounding a table before heading for the exit. She watched as their lean forms slipped out into the crowd and disappeared.

  They probably had the right idea, she decided, making their break before they became too associated with Daring. She couldn’t blame them.

  But they could have at least said goodbye.

  She turned in her chair. Liam and the others were still standing, powerless to act as Silverhawk leisurely folded his gloves over his belt.

  “I suggest you disappear, Sophia,” he said. “When I return to Arrow I’m going to broadcast your faces so the pirates can hunt you down personally.”

  “Why?” Riverton asked breathlessly.

  “It seems you’ve both made some powerful enemies, I’m afraid. And they pay well for information on you.”

  “Who pays for information on us?”

  “I don’t care,” he said with a distracted shrug.

  Riverton stood in stoic silence. Liam fumed behind her. Swift and Sky both looked ready to pounce, but they wouldn’t act without Riverton’s order. Amelia fought to stay seated, realizing she hadn’t yet been identified and hoping that might bring some advantage. She silently begged Riverton to give the order to take that fop down, but she knew that Silverhawk’s words were true. If any man or woman under Riverton’s command touched Silverhawk, the captain herself would hang.

  With a courtly bow, Silverhawk turned and strode out through the entrance, bodyguard in tow. Beyond the crowds bustled, but Silverhawk suddenly stopped, his feathered hat clearly visible in the sunshine. Amelia heard his indignant shout, and in response a heavy growl. She was on her feet, moving toward the patio entrance. She knew that growl.

  Bella was standing in front of Silverhawk, her body low and teeth bared. Anything she might be saying was lost in translation, and Silverhawk’s words were equally ineffective. The noble held his ground warily, gesturing his bodyguard forward. The man reached for his sword.

  Along the line of potted plants in the other direction, Amelia caught sudden, swift movement. She jerked back as Sam’s charge went airborne, his body launching into attack. Both feet slammed into Silverhawk’s back. The Human crumpled under the force, collapsing forward into his bodyguard. Both men went down to the pavement. Sam landed on Silverhawk’s back, his head lashing down. Bella leaped on the bodyguard. Her foot stomped his head while the other pinned his sword arm. Sam’s head snapped out, and Amelia heard a sickening crack. Bella’s foot stomped again, and Amelia noticed the first of the blood seeping across the ground.

  Liam rushed to her side. He surveyed the carnage for a moment, glancing at her and then back. His eyes narrowed in cunning as he shifted his expression into one of overdramatic horror.

  “No!” he shouted. “Stop those brutes!”

  Sam and Bella looked up, both of them roaring. Then they turned and ran, the shocked crowd parting before them.

  “Check Lord Silverhawk,” Liam shouted again. His voice was very loud, Amelia thought.

  She obeyed his order, though, and raced forward to inspect the mangled bodies. The bodyguard’s head was half-crushed and she averted her eyes from the mess. Silverhawk lay sprawled on his stomach, his feather hat still on his head. She lifted the brim aside and smelled the familiar reek of blood. His white shirt was soaked red from the gash across his throat. No, more than a gash, she realized. An entire chunk of his neck was missing. Or displaced, she saw a moment later, spotting a pulped, bloody mass of flesh on the ground, spitting distance away.

  Liam crouched next to her, patting down Silverhawk’s shirt and reaching into his coat pockets. Folded parchments slipped into Liam’s own pockets.

  She looked up, where Riverton loomed over her.

  “He’s dead,” Amelia said simply, not sure at all what emotions were flooding through her.

  “We must find those brutes!” Riverton declared. “And avenge Lord Silverhawk!”

  Liam grabbed her arm and pulled her up into a run. Riverton, Swift, and Sky were close behind. She sprinted along with him, the crowd parting as Liam drew his sword and shouted for them to make way. Was he seriously trying to hunt down Bella and Sam to avenge Silverhawk?

  The furious pace left no time to question, though, and Amelia was gasping for breath when they finally paused at the edge of the square. Liam sheathed his sword, making a show of looking wildly in every direction. Then he shouted and started running for the nearby boat jetties. Liam slowed to a stride as they moved out along the wooden platform, searching for Daring’s two boats.

  “What are we doing?” she finally managed to ask.

  “We’re heading to orb
it,” Liam said, spotting Master Rating Faith and signaling for the boat coxn to prepare for departure. “We have to get back to Daring before the pirates find her.”

  “Right.”

  “But you,” he said, slowing to a halt as Swift and Sky climbed aboard, “are taking the other boat. And you’re going to wait up to thirty minutes to see if any passengers arrive.”

  “What passengers?” Amelia demanded. Daring’s second boat was moored alongside this one, Able Rating Hunter looking on curiously.

  Liam handed Amelia the two abandoned translators. Riverton appeared at his side, a gleam in her eye.

  “You make the most useful friends, Amelia,” she said.

  Amelia took the translators, her mind whirling over the last few frantic minutes.

  “You’re not mad at them?” she finally asked.

  “I’d have kissed them both on the spot,” she retorted. “But with all those witnesses we had to show our support for the noble Lord Silverhawk.”

  “Officially,” Liam added, patting the boat’s hull, “we’re setting off on a chase. Too bad we’ll never find those anonymous brutes.”

  “You clever bastard,” she breathed.

  “We’ll celebrate later,” he said, his face hardening. “Right now we have to save our ship. See you in orbit.”

  Riverton leaped aboard and, with a wink, Liam followed. The boat pulled away from the jetty, rising smoothly into the air.

  Amelia walked down to the next boat, where Hunter looked more confused than concerned.

  “Everything okay, PO?” he asked.

  “Yes and no,” she replied. “We’re waiting to see if our loyal Theropods join us. There was a bit of excitement and we got separated.”

  “Where are the others going in such a rush?” he asked, glancing up at the boat, which was already disappearing into the deep blue sky.

  “Back to the ship. And things might be a little dicey when we get there.”

  “Well, it beats boredom,” he said with a laugh.

  “Set the hourglass for thirty minutes,” she said.

  They waited in the sweltering heat for twenty long minutes. A pair of sailors standing idly by their boat, they drew no attention from the few passersby. All the violence of the square seemed a world away, and in the chaos of the mixed Human-Theropod society of Morassia, Amelia suspected that attacks like that were at least a weekly occurrence. No doubt word was already spreading that a high lord had been murdered, but no Theropod would care, and no Human would be able to tell one brute from another. And everyone would say how the loyal officers of Daring had leaped to their lord’s defense. Too bad, she thought, allowing herself a cruel smile, that it had all been in vain.

  She would gladly have waited an entire day to give her friends the chance to join them, but she knew that Daring would be waiting for them in orbit, possibly under fire, and as the boat’s hourglass slid toward empty, Amelia strained her vision to make out the heat-blurred shapes emerging from the town. Every reptilian form appearing along the pier front made her heart jump, but she spotted no familiar pair of Theropods. Theirs was an anarchic race, she knew, and perhaps that final act was their way of saying goodbye. One last battle to protect their friends before disappearing forever.

  “PO,” Hunter said, nudging her, “it’s time to go.”

  She sighed, then nodded. He climbed aboard and sat himself down at the controls. She untied the final rope and looped it through the eye, holding the loose end. She gripped the gunnel to pull herself on board, and then took one final look down the jetty.

  Two Theropods had separated from the crowd ashore and were padding along the wooden slats. She stepped forward, examining their gaits. Was it . . . ? They were both wearing porter uniforms, she suddenly realized, her heart sinking. No doubt locals summoned to offload a boat. She reached for the gunnel again.

  The Theropods growled and hissed in their own language, but Amelia paid them no mind as she pulled herself into the boat. Then she heard a distinctive sound amid the growling.

  “Arr-meh-ley-arr . . .”

  She spun, staring at the two Theropods who had paused on the jetty before her. They were in different clothes, but as she examined their heads she recognized Sam’s unique ridges and Bella’s long, smooth nose. They stared at her, unmoving.

  She couldn’t suppress the grin that exploded across her features, finally remembering to cover her teeth before gesturing them to board. Bella leaped over the gunnel and Sam was a step behind. Amelia handed them their translators, wanting nothing more than to hug them both.

  “Thank you for waiting,” Bella said as Amelia released the line and Hunter started to back the boat out of its berth.

  “You took long enough!” Amelia retorted.

  “We needed to disappear after the attack,” Sam said. “And then find new clothes so that the Humans wouldn’t recognize us.”

  They swayed in unison as the boat turned and lifted. Amelia strapped herself in and the Theropods followed suit. They all stared at each other for a long moment.

  “Do you realize what you did?” she asked finally.

  “Yes,” Sam replied. “We did something that you wanted to do but could not.”

  “We are not bound by your laws,” Bella added.

  Amelia watched them both. They were calm, but focused.

  “My Imperial masters may not see it that way,” she warned. “They have a habit of applying their laws when and how they see fit.”

  “We know that Humans are contradictory,” Bella said.

  “You got that right,” Amelia frowned. “Thank you for doing what my colleagues and I couldn’t—no, wouldn’t do. It needed to be done, no matter what our stupid rules of nobility say.”

  Sam barked. “You would make a good Theropod, Amelia.”

  She scoffed, appreciating the comment but suddenly filled with an impotent rage. What a ridiculous system the Humans lived under. Couldn’t Liam see it?

  Yes he could, she realized sadly. But he was too much a part of it to really break free.

  “You once asked me why I rescued Liam,” she said. “Now I ask you: Why did you do this?”

  Their heads cocked, and she could see their side-mounted eyes meeting.

  “Because you and your crew are like family to us,” Sam said. “We hope that we are like family to you.”

  Amelia’s eyes filled with tears and she blinked them away.

  “Are you angry with us?” Bella asked.

  “No.” She reached out, then froze her hand. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes.”

  She moved her hand forward to rest against Bella’s warm, scaly jaw. “This is from the captain, but it is also from my heart.”

  She leaned forward and kissed Bella’s nose. Then she rested her fingers against Sam’s jaw and kissed him between the ridges.

  “You have done us another amazing service,” she said. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Uh-oh, PO,” Hunter said suddenly from the helm. “Looks like trouble ahead.”

  Amelia looked up through the transparent top of the boat, through the darkening sky. Dead ahead she could make out the distant mass of the orbital anchorage. And then, just to starboard, she saw the flashes of cannon fire.

  Chapter 12

  Liam watched Amelia on the jetty as his boat lifted off. She strolled with apparent nonchalance over to Hunter and the other boat, glancing toward the port as she chatted with him. Liam smiled to himself. She was remarkable. His heart tightened at having to leave her behind, but as he turned his gaze skyward he wondered if she might actually be in the safer place.

  “Hail Soaring Swan,” Riverton ordered Master Rating Faith, “on one of the private channels.”

  The boat coxn manipulated his radio then sent the hail. Liam shuffled past Swift to grab the boat’s only telescope, pointing it up toward the orbital anchorage.

  The large, fixed anchorage was still difficult to make out through the deep blue sky, but he was able to discern the cen
tral hub and the dozen spars projecting out from it. Each spar had anchor points where ships could link up, and hours ago the place had been crowded with merchant ships. Based on the mass of smaller objects around the central hub, nothing seemed to have changed.

  “This is Soaring Swan,” the reply echoed through the boat. It was Brown’s voice, Liam could tell through the static.

  Liam reached for the radio, assuming that he’d continue the façade of their merchant cover. But Riverton took the radio from Faith.

  “This is Swan Actual,” she said. “Bring the ship to battle stations. Hostile forces have been alerted to our presence. I am inbound at best possible speed.”

  There was a long pause, and Liam could imagine Brown’s impressive young mind racing as she processed the most unusual signal. It was correct Navy procedure for the captain of a ship to refer to themselves as “Actual” when they spoke on the radio, to distinguish themselves from just one of the officers, but this only applied when Daring was operating under her true identity. Never had they discussed the idea for a merchant disguise. But, Liam realized, none of them had ever anticipated a situation quite like this. The captain was improvising, and Liam could only hope that Brown was on the ball.

  The sublieutenant didn’t disappoint. The boat was rising swiftly now, and when her voice came across the radio it was free of static, and her words were punctuated by the beating of drums behind her.

  “This is Soaring Swan, understood. Request threat assessment.”

  “Uncertain,” Riverton replied, “but plan for multiple hostiles. Get free to maneuver and arm all weapons. I say again: arm all weapons.”

  She was referring to Daring’s military armaments above and beyond the cannon, Liam knew. Those were never revealed except in a dire emergency. He glanced at the captain. Her expression was as calm as her tone of voice, but Brown’s response revealed that the sublieutenant grasped the severity of the situation.

  “Yes, ma’am, arming all weapons.” Her words rose and fell in volume, no doubt as Brown physically scrambled across her console to issue orders.