the Fedallah was and how much lag there would be between responses.
Not much, it turned out.
Did they have an opinion on whether Prince Jorg would like a purse?
If they did, they didn’t tell me. I’m trying to avoid a lieutenant who wants to question me under eslevoamytal.
Are you a prisoner there? Not a guest?
There was no way to tell through text if Rache’s emotions had turned cold and hard, but she had a feeling anger accompanied the questions.
It’s a little nebulous right now, but I’m positive I wouldn’t be allowed to leave if I had a means. Such as the Stellar Dragon. She’d heard from Casmir that Bonita’s ship was fully repaired, even though the Osprey was still towing it.
If you can’t leave, that makes you a prisoner.
I’m in danger of becoming a more serious one because of my relationship with you. Realizing that made it sound like she blamed him, when she couldn’t, not this time, she added, It’s possible I haven’t made the wisest of choices. What do you need?
You see what’s happening to Jorg’s ship?
I’ve heard he’s under attack, yes. The captain thinks you’re doing it.
Your captain is misinformed.
Is it Dubashi?
Ships he commands and that are reporting to him, yes. We’ve identified at least four.
We’re going to help, but I don’t know if we’ll make it in time.
Likely not. The Fedallah is closer. Are your friends still on Jorg’s ship?
As true prisoners, yes. They’re in the brig. Kim grimaced, imagining Qin and Bonita dying simply because they were locked in a cell and couldn’t escape. They should never have been taken prisoner. They had nothing to do with Jorg’s enemies or the Kingdom war.
They are the reason we didn’t attack originally, Rache messaged.
What are you going to do now? Kim imagined him swooping in and finishing off the Chivalrous so he could get credit for and be paid for killing Jorg.
How would you feel if I could get in, retrieve your friends, and get out while the Chivalrous and those other Kingdom warships are distracted by Dubashi’s ships?
And assassinate Jorg along the way? She wanted to believe he was capable of altruism, but it was hard to imagine him risking his life and his ship for Bonita and Qin.
Really, Kim, I don’t pry into your business plans.
If you could get them out, that would be noble and heroic. If you assassinated Jorg and killed all the Kingdom officers on board while you were doing it, that would be horrific and villainous.
I’m a mixed bag, aren’t I? Tell Casmir I’m messaging him.
He’s not in the lab with me.
I assume he is also nebulously held on the ship somewhere.
Kim worried about what the Intelligence officers would think if Casmir also started getting messages from the Kingdom’s most notorious and loathed enemy, but if there was a possibility Rache could save Bonita and Qin…
Yes, she sent, he’s here.
Good. If you find yourself in need of being broken out of that Kingdom ship, do let me know.
Kim shook her head, envisioning Rache and his armored men running through the corridors, blowing away Kingdom soldiers left and right. It was already doubtful that she would find a way of satisfactorily explaining his presence in her life and be allowed to go home, but that would seal her coffin—and the coffins of many others.
6
The crushers hurled themselves around the shuttle bay, managing to avoid putting dents in the walls but denting each other regularly. Those dents filled themselves in, leaving the crushers as sleek as ever. Meanwhile, Casmir paced and worried about Bonita and Qin being stuck in the brig of a ship under attack.
“Perhaps we should instruct them about other important things, instead of just having them practice combat." Casmir said when he drew even with Zee, who was overseeing the sparring. The crushers were running ship-boarding drills in case the Osprey caught up with the Chivalrous in time to help, but they had been at it all morning, and all the banging and thumping was starting to grate on his frazzled nerves.
“What other important things should a crusher be versed in?” Zee asked.
“Puppies, kittens, love.”
Zee looked at him.
“By learning about human interests, emotions, and motivations, it might make it easier for our two kinds to work seamlessly together.” Casmir didn’t truly intend to show them kitten pictures, but it would be nice to see the crushers do something besides practice fighting.
“We learn more about humans and other species naturally through our interactions with them,” Zee stated.
“True. We could provide more environments