Fallen Empire 2: Honor's Flight Read Free

her daughter, she would have to turn into a legitimate businesswoman and find a way to pay for fuel and food.
    “What is your name, captain of the Star Nomad ?” the woman asked dryly.
    Alisa blew out a slow breath.
    Did she lie and hope for the best? That the empire was, indeed, cut off from the system as a whole and wouldn’t have access to the global database of imperial subjects that had once existed?
    “Alisa Marchenko,” she ultimately said.
    Life would only get more difficult if she lied and was found out. Besides, the war was over. Part of the treaty said that there would not be reprisal against civilians, former military or not, by either side. Of course, that apparently didn’t apply to everyone since there was a warrant out for Leonidas’s capture.
    “Access to Perun is denied,” the woman said scarce seconds later. Had she even had time to look up Alisa in a database?
    “Pardon?” Alisa asked. “We have passengers that paid good money and traveled all the way from Dustor to land here. They’re imperial subjects.” She thought about pointing out that she had lived on Perun for more than ten years, but she did not want them snooping into her past. Or her present.
    “Access is denied,” the woman repeated. “You will turn around and leave the vicinity, or we will force you to do so.”
    Alisa muted the comm and muttered, “Very brave of you to threaten an unarmed freighter, assholes.” She turned off the mute and tried to force a smile into her voice. “May I inquire as to why? Our passengers didn’t inform us that there was a quarantine or any reason that we wouldn’t be allowed to land.”
    Though… now that she thought about it, she remembered that none of the other ships that had been leaving Dustor at the same time as the Nomad had been heading to Perun. She distinctly remembered Alejandro mentioning that he had been waiting a while for a ride.
    “Only loyal imperial ships are allowed access to our world.”
    “We could be loyal,” Alisa said. “I just want to run freight. Is there a license I can apply for?”
    “A loyalty license?” The woman really did have the driest voice. Even Leonidas, who did dry quite well himself, would have been impressed.
    “Yes, I’ll take one. I want to run freight all over the system. May I land and apply?”
    A new voice came over the comm, and Alisa had the impression of a senior officer leaning over the communications officer’s shoulder. “Was that lippy mouth appreciated by your superiors in the Alliance army, Captain Marchenko?” he asked, his tone as dry as the woman’s.
    Alisa had the distinct impression that the man referred to her military rank rather than her status as a freighter captain. It seemed someone had looked her up.
    She should have shut up, but she could not resist responding. “Oh, absolutely. My wit regularly left the senior officers in guffaws.” She ignored the incredulous look Beck shot her way. “It’s well known that the ability to appreciate humor was what won us the war.”
    “Alcyone knows it wasn’t honor,” the man muttered darkly.
    Alisa sighed and leaned back, muting the comm again.
    “What?” she asked to the stare Beck was still leveling at her. “It’s not like they were going to let us in, anyway.”
    “Access denied,” the man repeated. “Leave now.”
    Alisa resisted the urge to add that the utter lack of humor had surely been what resulted in the empire losing the war. But, in truth, her senior officers had not truly appreciated her wit that much. They had appreciated her piloting skills, but that was about it. Only Jonah had regularly laughed at her jokes, whether they were funny or not.
    A knock at the hatch kept her mind from traveling down tunnels of nostalgia and regret.
    “It’s Leonidas,” Beck said, grabbing the netdisc off the console, even though he had turned off the holodisplay several minutes before. There was no condemning evidence floating around to alert Leonidas to the