the asteroid belt, much to the surprise of her ship’s attackers. They chased her, firing at the barge as it went.
Then a larger, faster vessel joined them and Nell thought for a glorious moment they were saved, until it turned on them and fired at point-blank range as it made a pass on one side.
Whump, whump, whump .
It was no good. Three direct hits to one side knocked the diplomatic barge sideways into the largest asteroid they had encountered so far. It damaged the ship’s systems and the energy packs responsible for lighting and life support.
Abandon ship.
* * * *
Nell could hear the air escaping through the damaged hull even as she lay there on the floor. The life pods had been discharged at her command. As ranking officer she had elected to stay until all the crew were evacuated, but as the last one made its bid for the Fleet boundary with the Rim the barge had been fired on, even as it lay immobile on the asteroid’s surface.
It had been game over for the ship’s hull, life support and, the way things were going, thought Nell, her, too.
It was only a matter of time. The lights were flickering out one by one as the power failed, and the air leaks were hard to ignore.
Nell had no idea how long she had been lying there, wondering when the air would run out, until a pair of booted feet appeared within her line of vision.
The owner of the boots crouched down and started to laugh.
“Why, Helena Thorn—how poetic! Well, if one is speaking of justice, that is.”
It was Gordon. So, somehow, he had managed to escape the trip back to the psych assessors of the IGW after all. He looked down at her with a nasty smirk.
“Tables have turned now, haven’t they, Commander Thorn?” He nodded, agreeing with himself before he straightened and walked around the bridge of her ruined ship, pretending to inspect the smashed panels, tapping broken equipment.
“You really do have a look of your father about you, Helena Thorn.” He returned to her side and hunkered down next to where she lay. “You really do. He was a handsome man in his youth…we both were. Saw a lot of each other, he and I. An awful lot, if you know what I mean.…maybe more than was proper for ambitious Fleet officers but that’s all in the past now. I loved him, you know, really loved him, but even that will not be enough to save you. Because you, Nell Thorn, are the daughter of the man that broke my heart…”
Nell stifled a groan and rolled her eyes up into their sockets. Hell of a time to find out something you didn’t know about one of your parents.
So Gordon and her father did have a history, just not quite the one she had imagined. Her original assumptions had featured more in the way of competition than attraction.
“So you’re going to leave me here to die?” she asked him hoarsely. Nell could hardly draw breath; her chest was so painful it seemed likely she must have at least cracked a rib when the barge had crashed sideways into the asteroid. Then, as if that was not enough, she had been thrown across the damn command centre when the final three bolts had hit.
“Well, that might have been the case before you went and became the centre of attention at some Rim function a little while ago. You, Sector Commander Thorn, have something of a price on your head. Even without the mind wipe turning you into a convenient little sex toy, I do believe there are a few ‘collectors’ who would pay handsomely for the opportunity to have you in their power. All the more now that there are scurrilous rumours that feature you as Rowe’s ex-fuck buddy. It would appear that many find the thought of reaming an arse tagged by Rim Lord Rowe so attractive they are, as I said previously, prepared to pay for the pleasure.”
How the hell did Gordon know she hadn’t got round to getting the tag removed yet?
Nell shut her eyes against the pain in her chest as she drew breath. Shallow gasps were all she could manage, and she could have sworn
Then a larger, faster vessel joined them and Nell thought for a glorious moment they were saved, until it turned on them and fired at point-blank range as it made a pass on one side.
Whump, whump, whump .
It was no good. Three direct hits to one side knocked the diplomatic barge sideways into the largest asteroid they had encountered so far. It damaged the ship’s systems and the energy packs responsible for lighting and life support.
Abandon ship.
* * * *
Nell could hear the air escaping through the damaged hull even as she lay there on the floor. The life pods had been discharged at her command. As ranking officer she had elected to stay until all the crew were evacuated, but as the last one made its bid for the Fleet boundary with the Rim the barge had been fired on, even as it lay immobile on the asteroid’s surface.
It had been game over for the ship’s hull, life support and, the way things were going, thought Nell, her, too.
It was only a matter of time. The lights were flickering out one by one as the power failed, and the air leaks were hard to ignore.
Nell had no idea how long she had been lying there, wondering when the air would run out, until a pair of booted feet appeared within her line of vision.
The owner of the boots crouched down and started to laugh.
“Why, Helena Thorn—how poetic! Well, if one is speaking of justice, that is.”
It was Gordon. So, somehow, he had managed to escape the trip back to the psych assessors of the IGW after all. He looked down at her with a nasty smirk.
“Tables have turned now, haven’t they, Commander Thorn?” He nodded, agreeing with himself before he straightened and walked around the bridge of her ruined ship, pretending to inspect the smashed panels, tapping broken equipment.
“You really do have a look of your father about you, Helena Thorn.” He returned to her side and hunkered down next to where she lay. “You really do. He was a handsome man in his youth…we both were. Saw a lot of each other, he and I. An awful lot, if you know what I mean.…maybe more than was proper for ambitious Fleet officers but that’s all in the past now. I loved him, you know, really loved him, but even that will not be enough to save you. Because you, Nell Thorn, are the daughter of the man that broke my heart…”
Nell stifled a groan and rolled her eyes up into their sockets. Hell of a time to find out something you didn’t know about one of your parents.
So Gordon and her father did have a history, just not quite the one she had imagined. Her original assumptions had featured more in the way of competition than attraction.
“So you’re going to leave me here to die?” she asked him hoarsely. Nell could hardly draw breath; her chest was so painful it seemed likely she must have at least cracked a rib when the barge had crashed sideways into the asteroid. Then, as if that was not enough, she had been thrown across the damn command centre when the final three bolts had hit.
“Well, that might have been the case before you went and became the centre of attention at some Rim function a little while ago. You, Sector Commander Thorn, have something of a price on your head. Even without the mind wipe turning you into a convenient little sex toy, I do believe there are a few ‘collectors’ who would pay handsomely for the opportunity to have you in their power. All the more now that there are scurrilous rumours that feature you as Rowe’s ex-fuck buddy. It would appear that many find the thought of reaming an arse tagged by Rim Lord Rowe so attractive they are, as I said previously, prepared to pay for the pleasure.”
How the hell did Gordon know she hadn’t got round to getting the tag removed yet?
Nell shut her eyes against the pain in her chest as she drew breath. Shallow gasps were all she could manage, and she could have sworn
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