I called her com, connecting voice-only.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Ada said without preamble.
“Hello, Ada, I missed you, too. I need a hangar for a small House ship. Hidden if you have it. I’m in Fortuitous. And Ian is with me.”
“Do you want me to get rid of him?”
“No, we’ve come to an understanding,” I said. “We’ve made some progress and our path led us to Sedition. I’ll fill you in on the ground.”
“Are you running on Universal? Would you rather sleep on the ship or here at Rhys’s?”
“If Rhys has room and doesn’t mind, I’ll do that. We can chat on the way because I’ll need your help while I grab some sleep.”
“And Ian?”
“Hold on.” I pulled the com away from my ear. “Ian, do you want to stay on the ship or join me at Rhys’s?”
“I go where you go,” he said. “These two”—he waved at Alexander and Aoife—“can keep an eye on things here.”
“He’s coming with me,” I told Ada.
“I’ll see if we have room for him,” she said, her tone suspiciously mild.
“Ada . . .”
“Fine, fine. I’ll send you the landing coordinates and meet you there. The hangar is enclosed so you’ll need the access codes to land. Rhys owns the whole complex; you won’t have to worry too much about prying eyes.”
“Thanks, Ada.”
“Of course, Bianca. You don’t even need to ask.”
Ridiculous tears pricked my eyes. I blinked them away. “See you soon.”
She said farewell and disconnected the call. A few seconds later, she sent me the information I needed to land. I input it into the navigation system and Fortuitous chimed the atmospheric entry warning.
We landed in Rhys’s hangar without any trouble. The building had space for four ships, but the other berths were empty except for one. I recognized Jester. Scarlett Hargrove must be waiting out her FTL cooldown on the ground. I hadn’t forgotten Ada’s dislike, but Captain Hargrove had helped me escape Ian long enough to make him see reason. I needed to thank her if I saw her.
Wireless signals bombarded me. My first instinct was to tense up, to freeze, but I remembered Ian’s rough voice in the regen tank. I kept my breathing slow and even. I focused on saving Ferdinand. I would do anything, endure any pain, in order to save my brother.
The pain in my head was still there, but it was manageable. Of course, we were on the edge of Sedition; it would be much worse when we moved into the heart of the city.
A hundred million people called Sedition home despite the fact that the island had a footprint of less than eight square kilometers. When the land ran out, buildings climbed upward. Now they towered in the clouds, a marvel of engineering.
Unlike most cities, where the rich wanted to live above the seething masses, in Sedition the elite sheltered on the ground. Staying low meant they were more protected from the penetrating heat of the sun thanks to shade from the surrounding buildings and a system of industrial thermoregulators.
It also meant that Sedition was one of the cleanest cities in the ’verse—littering of any kind was punished with a prison sentence, especially if you were stupid enough to drop something off one of the upper-level balconies. The rich didn’t want to worry about dying from falling garbage.
I hadn’t been to Sedition since Gregory had altered my nanos, and I wasn’t entirely sure I would be able to stomach this trip. Even with Ian’s pain management advice, I would have to take a silencer at the very least, or I’d be too sick to visit MineCorp.
Alexander and Aoife left the flight deck after a brief, quiet conversation with Ian. We would have to abandon Fortuitous because we didn’t have time to wait the two days needed for the FTL cooldown.
Waiting for an FTL cooldown or taking a starliner had never bothered me before, because it was just the way it was, but now that I knew ships could jump in an hour, I understood House Rockhurst’s logic. From their perspective, they had to go to war, especially if they knew alcubium was rare. The House that controlled the resource would control the universe.
It also meant stopping the war would be nearly impossible. And as soon as House Yamado found out what the war was really about, they would jump in, too. It would be a monumental disaster.
“Ready?” Ian asked, breaking me out of my depressing thoughts. “Your sister is waiting.”
Sure enough, the outside video showed Ada and Loch standing at the bottom of the cargo ramp. “I need to stop by my quarters to grab a few things.”
“I’ll meet you outside.”
I stood and tried to ignore the throbbing in my head. To distract myself, I made a mental list of the things I needed to pack. By the time I’d made it to my quarters, my list included pretty much everything I had.
After packing, I went to find Alexander and Aoife. I found Alexander first, in the mess hall. He glanced up when I entered, then raised an eyebrow when I approached.
“In case I don’t see you again, I wanted to thank you for your help. You rescued me in Matavara, and without your help I wouldn’t be here. Thank you. If you need any help in the future, please contact me.”
I held out my hand for long enough that I figured he was going to leave me hanging. Just as I was about to retract it, he slid his palm into mine. His hands were large and calloused but he didn’t try to dominate me with strength or go the other way and give me a fragile squeeze. His handshake was firm and solid.
“You’re welcome,” he said. He kept my hand as he peered closely at me. “Are you sure you’re a von Hasenberg?”
My own eyebrows crept up my forehead. “Yes. I look just like my father.”
“You don’t act like one.”
I smiled gently. “Of course I do. I just try not to.”
The hint of a smile touched his mouth and he let go of my hand. “Maybe that’s enough. Call me Alex.”
I grinned and inclined my head in agreement before taking my leave.
I tracked Aoife to the engine maintenance area and only because I cheated and asked the ship where she was. She turned as I approached. She tried to avoid a handshake because her hands were dirty, but I firmly clasped her hand in mine. “Thank you for everything,” I said. “We wouldn’t have made it out of Matavara without you. I told Alex this as well, but let me know if I can do anything for you in the future.”
I handed her the chocolate I’d snagged from the cargo bay. Once she realized what it was, she tried to hand it back. I waved her off. “It’s a small gift. It’s not enough, but I hope you like it.”
“Ian hasn’t told us to go, so I doubt this is good-bye, but you’re welcome.” She held the chocolate up to her nose and inhaled deeply with an appreciative sigh. “And thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Safe travels until I see you again.”
“Safe travels,” she echoed.
I exited the ship, running through my mental checklist. I thought I’d grabbed everything I needed. Ada, Loch, and Ian stood in strained silence at the bottom of the cargo ramp. Both men were tall and muscular, but Loch was bulkier than Ian. Looking at them together, I preferred Ian’s more athletic build.