Polaris Rising (Consortium Rebellion, #1)(94)

The proximity alarm went off. “Polaris, show me the location of the alarm,” I said. A vid screen in the wall showed Rhys and Veronica on the cargo ramp. Veronica held a shopping bag, but my heart sank. If she was planning to go with me, she would’ve brought Lin and Imma. “Scan the immediate vicinity for life-forms.”

“Two people detected in the cargo ramp quadrant,” the ship replied.

“Open the cargo door and tell them we’ll meet them in the mess.”



By the time we cleaned up and redressed, Rhys and Veronica had beat us to the mess hall. Rhys grinned when we walked in. “It’s good to see you two getting along again,” he said. “I thought I was going to have to knock your heads together.”

“You’re welcome to try,” Loch growled at him, but there was no heat behind the words.

It had been nearly an hour since I messaged Father, so I checked my com. No response yet. I set it faceup on the table and tried to ignore it.

“Ada, I brought you boots,” Veronica said. “I didn’t know if you planned to go shopping, but I noticed you came out of Richard’s care”—the word was heavy with sarcasm—“without any. I got a few different sizes.”

“Thank you so much. Richard confiscated my only pair.”

“I think this is the brand you wear,” she said. She pulled four different sizes of my exact brand and style boot out of her bag. She had a brilliant eye for detail and noticed things that would slip past me.

I found the right size, pulled them on, and laced them up. They fit perfectly. “You’re my hero,” I said seriously.

She blushed and ducked her head. “Think nothing of it,” she said.

My com vibrated against the table. I snatched it up. The breath whooshed out of me. Father had responded. I tapped the message with a trembling finger. This was the first direct communication we’d had in nearly two years.

“Is it from Albrecht?” Loch asked.

I nodded as I read. The message was mostly bluster, going on about how I should bring the ship in because it was my duty as a von Hasenberg and not because I wanted something from him. But under the bluster was a thread of reluctant respect—he was impressed that I’d captured an enemy ship.

I opened the contract. He’d modified a few minor wording issues but largely left it unchanged. He’d signed the contract with every request I’d asked for, even the ones I thought I wouldn’t get. I double-checked that it truly was his signature, both physical and electronic. Both checked out.

He must be desperate to get his hands on Polaris.

“He agreed to everything I asked,” I said. “I can get you all diplomatic immunity. He’ll let me choose my own spouse and come and go freely.” I looked up and met Loch’s eyes. “He’ll vote however I ask on one case of clemency.”

“What did you agree to in return?” Rhys asked.

“Access to the ship for three months. All the alcubium on board. Which reminds me . . . could you store four containers of it for me? I’ll swing back by and pick it up in about three months.”

“Oh, that’s clever,” Rhys said. “And here I was starting to think you weren’t living up to your House roots. Of course I will. What else?”

“I also promised him a week of debriefings on everything I know about the drive, XAD Six, and alcubium.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

“I know, right? It’s unlike him not to at least try to negotiate terms. But the contract is legally binding and will stand up in the Consortium courts. I’d like you all to look it over, see if I’m missing something obvious.”

I brought up the vid screen in the wall and transferred the contract to it, large enough that everyone could read it at once. They read in silence while I looked for anything that would invalidate the contract. Father was sneaky, after all.

“Everything looks fine to me,” Rhys said.

“Me, too,” Loch and Veronica agreed.

I turned to Veronica. She met my eyes and then glanced away. “Did Rhys persuade you to stay?” I asked gently.

“I can be very persuasive when I put my mind to it,” Rhys said with a grin.

Veronica’s face flushed with color. “Yes, I’ve decided to stay. However, when your father sends you to war, I want to go with you.” She cut me off before I could do more than utter a syllable. “I know it will be dangerous. But I owe you. I know you say I don’t, but I do. And besides that, I like you and don’t want you to die. So I will go with you and keep you out of trouble.”

“Good luck,” Loch muttered. I elbowed him in the side.

“And I’m going, too,” Rhys said. “So don’t think about leaving me out of the loop. And if Albrecht even thinks about going back on his word, you know we’ll bust you out.”

Loch sighed and ran a hand over his head. “Rhys is right; your father better not try any shit. And I suppose I won’t mind sharing a ship with these two again.”

“You don’t know how much your support means to me,” I said. I hugged each of them. “I’m going to miss you. I will try to visit even before I get my ship back.”

Rhys and Veronica left a little while later. They were trying to convert back to local time and it was already deep into the night. Loch stayed but we both knew our time was limited.