Home: Interstellar: Merchant Princess Read Free

urgent. Bell, Jeremy,” the link recited.
    Little Harry. Damn. They had torn him away from his older sister, Anita, and the siblings still missed each other. God, how cruel the law could be for the powerless.
    “Bell. Go,” she said, and the message from her lawyer, Jeremy Bell, began.
    “Enterprise Station, ET 2187:98:21,” the console recited, and Jeremy appeared dressed in a colorful Hawaiian shirt, lounging on a veranda with a view of a tropical beach.
    Meriel moved the towel to cover her eyes again.
    “Good news and bad news, Ms. Hope,” her lawyer began. “Good news: the case for the Liu Yang moved to up to Court-5. That’s the court of appeals on Enterprise.” Liu Yang . That’s what they called the Princess now to hide her while the Princess’s papers showed her scrapped and recycled. “That means if they decide in your favor, you get your ship back with no more legal hassles, and you can return the registry to the Princess . Bad news: Court-5 only hears pleas from licensed representatives, and they are expensive. It’s not up to me, M. I’m pro bono on this, and I’d do it if they’d let me, but the reps of the court are specialists and do not negotiate. It’s cost-plus and, there’s not enough money in the account. Estimate attached.”
    “Pause,” Meriel said. She raised the corner of the towel to view the attachment and whistled. The estimate was two years of her gross salary. “Damn, I don’t have that kind of money,” she mumbled and leaned back again. “Well, Princess , I guess we’re just gonna have to wait. Play.”
    “I know what you’re thinking, Ms. Hope,” Jeremy said, “but we cannot wait. There’s more bad news.” He waved a vid sheet. “Court says you have twenty-one days to submit evidence that the Princess was not carrying contraband when you were attacked. If you can’t, they’re going to auction her from impound to cover dock fees and expenses.”
    Meriel sat up quickly, and the towel fell from her eyes. “What!” she said without thinking, and the console replayed the last sentence and continued.
    “Some clerk wants to close the case, and the issue remains unresolved,” the lawyer said.
    “They can’t take her. She’s ours!” The playback paused. The Princess was their only asset; her only means to get the kids back together and keep her promise to her mother. Without the Princess , they would all drift apart. Meriel stared at the wall with her mouth open.
    “Play,” she said.
    After walking a few steps to a file cabinet, Jeremy removed a vid sheet from a file within it. Above the file cabinet was a porthole with a view inconsistent with the tropical beach scene. Apparently, the beach was just a mural on one wall of a tiny office. The porthole showed what seemed to be a spaceship-repair station—or a junkyard.
    He scrolled through the vid sheets and waved one in front of the camera. “They towed your ship from the boneyard at YR56 to the impound dock at Enterprise. Except for the patch on that big hole, she’s in good shape; she’s still inert at low pressure with supporting electronics asleep. I’m sure that decision saves on dock fees, but it’s good for her as well.”
    Jeremy leaned closer to the camera and frowned. “About the kids and custody,” he said, “the cases are all weak until they have a place to go. The courts would never take the kids from the foster parents without proof of neglect, but we could negotiate for visitation. Only a few of you are of age now, and the contracts have a few more years to run. I’m working on it.” He glanced at his link. “I’m leaving for meetings on Lander in a few hours. Give me a call if you’re in-system, and we can chat more. Twenty-one days, Ms. Hope. Don’t forget.”
    “End message,” the machine said.
    Meriel sat with her head in her hand and rubbed the sim-chip on her necklace. “Never leave them,” her mother had said. But without the Princess, there would be no choice. She