Read Online The Prodigal Sun by Sean Williams, Shane Dix - Free Book Online Page B

to get out of there. The ship was about to blow.”
    “How could you have known that?” Using a hand-grip, Roche pulled herself forward slightly. “And how did you escape from your cell?”
    “Maii—” He hesitated, glancing again at the Surin. “She was monitoring the guards when the Dato hit. She got one of them to open the cell and let us go. It’s considerably easier to manipulate people when they are panicked or confused, you see, so the attack on the Midnight was fortuitous in a way.” He shifted beneath his restraints. “After that it was a simple matter of getting to the lander bay. I’ve flown landers like this all my life; launching wouldn’t have been a problem.” He seemed about to say something further, but decided against it and fell silent.
    “Sounds a bit too easy,” said Roche doubtfully. “If it was that simple to escape, then why didn’t you do it sooner? I mean, surely there would have been other times in other systems when the guards were vulnerable. Why wait until we’re at Sciacca’s World?”
    “That’s none of your business.” His milky glare fixed on Roche for a few seconds before he turned away and faced Cane. “Who’s he, anyway?”
    Cane met Veden’s unexpected hostility with a broad grin, the lights from the lander’s displays flashing in his steady eyes. “That would appear to be none of your business,” he said.
    Veden’s gaze returned to Roche. “He’s working undercover for the Armada—for COE Intelligence—is that it? I don’t remember seeing him in the brig.” Roche ignored the question. “Whoever he is, he moves like one of those damned jarapines from Proebis-12.”
     The Box’s voice sounded in her mind.
     She was careful to subvocalize in front of the Eckandi.
    
    
    
    
    
     She returned her attention to Veden, regarding the Eckandi silently for a few moments before speaking. “So,” she said, “was it fraud, or outright robbery?”
    His eyes widened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    “The code violation. You must be more stupid than you look to mess with the Commerce Artel.”
    “If you say so, Commander.” He dismissed her accusation with a flick of his head. If he was surprised by her knowledge of his history, he showed no sign of it. There was more than just a hint of contempt in his crooked smile. “Who am I to question an Armada officer?”
    Their eyes locked for thirty seconds or so before he finally looked away, his smile fading beneath a sigh. “At least we’re alive,” he said, closing his eyes and lying back into the chair. “That’s all that matters right now.”
    “For you, maybe,” Roche muttered. “What matters to me is that I’m stuck with you for at least another five hours.” She watched the Eckandi closely for a reaction, but there was none. With the typical arrogance of his Caste, he had decided to terminate the conversation. For all intents and purposes, he had totally closed himself off, and Roche knew that further questioning would be useless for the time being. Maybe, she hoped, things would change when the Surin awoke.
    To Cane she said: “I’m going to check out the lander, see what we’ve got in the way of supplies. Can I rely on you to keep an eye on him?”
    Cane nodded. “Of course.”
    “If the reave tries anything when she wakes, knock her out again.” The words elicited no response from the supine Eckandi. “We’re some way from safety, and I don’t want anything else to go wrong.”
    “Understood.” He folded his arms as she left the cockpit. When she returned five minutes later to