Caitlin knew the Lionesswas in trouble as it fired maneuvering rockets in sequence to somersault the ship around to reorient the boosters for a retreat. The wobble transformed that maneuver into a spinning, skidding tumble through space that was utterly out of control. Jets pulsed out energy to try to regain control, but merely lit the ship up like a meteor hitting atmosphere.
The Lionesscaromed off an asteroid twice its size into the thick of the asteroid field. Miraculously it sailed between two whirling giants, and for a moment Caitlin wanted the ship to survive. Then the Lionessimpaled itself on a smaller asteroid that punched a hole right through it. The ship's hull surrounded the asteroid like a corona for a moment, then split apart into glittering fragments that shattered and spilled through space like droplets of quicksilver.
* * *
Poised on his hands and knees, Nelson saw the Lionesscareen into the asteroid field. The first collision crumpled the ship, and debris trailed after it. He winced when it hit the final rock, the metal running like water over the asteroid's surface. Frantically looking to spot any 'Mechs, any people, anythingthat had survived the crash, he felt both victorious and horrified when he could not.
Looking up from the viewport in the pod's belly to the one at its head, he caught sight of the Tigress.It had been damaged, but compared to the other ship, it was pristine. As he watched, the ship executed a forward roll that reversed the main thruster position. The ion jets pulsed brilliantly, then the ship slowed, beginning the sharp ascent back up toward where the Fire Rosewaited.
The fighters swarmed in at the lone DropShip, but the Tigressno longer had to idle part of its awesome firepower. To make things even worse, the Fire Roseused its large laser batteries to strike at the fighters that flew ahead of the Tigressand waited to attack.
As much as Nelson wanted the Tigressand the woman who ruled her to die, he admired them both as they fought off the enemy fighters. Before the Tigresshad completed half the distance back to the Fire Rose,the fighters broke off their attack. The DropShip completed its rendezvous with the JumpShip and then the mated ships winked out of existence.
Nelson watched them go with relief and sadness. Though happy to be free, he regretted that it meant abandoning his comrades, who remained captives of the Corsairs. He knew that he was still responsible for them, even if they hated him for his association with the Red Corsair.
Seeing two aerofighters heading his way, each deploying a pod capture net, he smiled and made a solemn vow. "I'll find a way to get you guys back. I'll do it, or die trying."
32
Solaris
Federated Commonwealth
25 August 3055
The thick, sweet scent of the steaming green tea took the assassin back nearly ten years to an assignment he had successfully carried out within the Capellan Confederation. Looking around the small, ramshackle hut that arrogantly proclaimed itself a restaurant, all he saw now were old Liao expatriates hunched over steaming bowls of noodles. His sources had said this place was a cover for an opium den, and the urgency on the faces of those who gravitated toward the back doorway gave the assassin confirmation of that story.
The deja vuhe felt was not at all pleasant. An agent of Romano Liao had hired him to murder a minor noble who displeased her, and then the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation had tried to have him killed, too. He had needed every drop of the cunning and resourcefulness that made him so good at his work to get away from her hired killer. Diving back into the crucible did not arouse happy memories.
A shiver ran up his spine, but he flicked it off with a quick roll of his shoulders. Dressed in a dark long coat, the assassin felt secure with a needle pistol hidden at his back and another secreted in a boot top under the wide legs of his woolen trousers. No one knew better than he that it was impossible to make himself invulnerable or invincible, but he counted on his wits to get him out of any unforeseen trouble.
Spotting Fuh Teng in a back booth, the assassin approached him slowly and carefully, then slid into the seat across from him. He studied the room, then settled his gaze on the aged oriental man sitting opposite him. "I am here."
Fuh Teng smiled and bowed his head, upsetting the few white strands of hair lying across his tanned pate. "You will have tea?" The old man poured from the pot on the table, filling the two porcelain cups set out between them.
The assassin accepted the dark liquid and joined Fuh's toast to his health. He tasted nothing odd in the tea, but he knew very well that dozens of poisons that could cripple or kill him in an instant were undetectable by taste. He also knew that if, for some reason, Fuh Teng was setting him up, he'd be dead already.
The old man kept both hands clutched around his cup. "There is a story I would tell you."
"That is not necessary. I do not require to know why you seek my services."
"I will tell it anyway, because you are a businessman, as am I. You see, there was an old man who worked all his life for a noble family. He slaved and made a great fortune for this family, but they did not reward him. The old man was happy in his ignorance of how he was being treated, but then his life changed. In his old age he discovered the youth-giving gift of love, and his lover pointed out the injustices done to him."
The assassin suppressed a smile. So the old man has a gold-digger who wants him to make her rich.
"This old man wished to make up for the years of poor treatment, and began to help himself to greater compensation for his services. Meanwhile his old master died and his master's son has become his employer. His new employer wishes to pension the old man off, but the old man will be exposed when someone is brought in to replace him."
The assassin nodded. "So the old man would like his employer. . ."
"Distracted." Fuh Teng met the assassin's gaze with an unwavering stare. "The old man loves his employer like a son and is ashamed of having hurt him. Had he wished his employer dead, given his employer's line of work, that could easily have been accomplished. He only wants him distracted."
Fuh Teng slid his left hand forward, then pulled it back. On the table lay revealed a large golden coin with Chinese characters encircling the perimeter and impressed into the edge. More important, though, the assassin recognized the profile on the coin. "Candace Liao."
The old man nodded and the pieces began to fit into place for the assassin. If Candace were killed, the blame would immediately fall on her nephew, Sun-Tzu Liao, her sworn enemy and the Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation. Kai, her son, would be forced to assume his role as ruler of the St. Ives Compact, and might possibly even be forced to launch a war that would result in the reunification of the Capellan Confederation and the Compact under his rule.
"It can be done. When?"
"Four months?"
That would make it a quick hit, which he preferred to avoid, but it was possible. "As with anything, it can be done either quickly or cheaply, but not both."