Starseers: Fallen Empire, Book 3 Read Free Page A

a little surprised I was allowed to land here, honestly,” Alisa said, waving in the direction of the concourse.
    “Must have been someone sleeping in the port authority office.” Khazan sniffed. “Civilians.”
    Alisa smiled at the dig. The fact that Arkadius Gamma was a corporate-owned station rather than a military one was the reason she had chosen it. “Yes, we’re so inept, aren’t we?”
    “I hope you haven’t gotten soft enough for that word to apply to you.” Khazan’s face grew serious as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. “Listen, I don’t know what your business is here or on the planet, but if you’re still harboring fugitives, you better not linger for long. I hear both of them are hot commodities for the government.”
    “They’re not fugitives as far as I know,” Alisa said. Sure, Alejandro and Leonidas had been responsible for the shooting up of a library—and Alisa might have helped in that endeavor too—but that had been on Perun, the imperial planet. The Alliance shouldn’t care about that. Even that crime had been a matter of self-defense.
    “Whatever they are, the government wants them.”
    Them. When the Nomad had encountered the Alliance near Perun’s moon, it had been Leonidas they had been after. Somewhere along the way, they must have learned about Alejandro and his mysterious orb.
    “And it doesn’t look too good that you’re taxiing them around the system,” Khazan added.
    “They pay more than the chickens.”
    “This isn’t a joke, Marchenko— Alisa .” None of Khazan’s typical humor was in her eyes now. “Tomich said he was vague in his reports to his superiors, and implied you might have been a hostage on your own ship, but he wasn’t sure himself, and he’s afraid your status is about to go from Alliance war hero to imperial sympathizer, maybe worse. Arrest may be the least of your concerns if you’re captured.”
    Alisa sighed. “I’m not sympathizing with anyone. They just paid for rides, and I’m giving them rides. They’re getting off at Arkadius, and then I’m done with them.”
    Her wistful thoughts about hiring Leonidas sauntered to the forefront of her mind, but she shook her head. Even though she had come to like him, and he had saved her backside a couple of times, she had known for weeks that it would be foolish of her to keep him on her ship and in her life. Alisa did not want to find her daughter only to end up in jail or on the run as a fugitive.
    “I’m glad to hear that,” Khazan said, leaning back, her hands sliding into her lap again. “I probably don’t have to tell you, but this is a precarious time for the Alliance. They’ve openly claimed Arkadius and several other key planets, but there are imperial sympathizers aplenty, and the higher-ups know they’re vulnerable right now. We spent a lot to win that war, and our people are spread thin. If I were you, I’d figure out how to turn those imperials in, not just part ways with them. That’ll show the government you can be trusted. And you could even come back into the army if you can pass the medical tests and the physical. We still need good pilots.”
    “I’ll think about it.” Alisa made a show of nodding. She couldn’t truly imagine betraying Leonidas, but it had crossed her mind many times to turn Alejandro in, or at least record a detailed message to send to someone who could use the information to apprehend him. Hells, if that Major Mladenovic had been willing to help her find her daughter instead of stringing her along, Alisa might have already handed over the orb.
    “For your sake, I hope you do. It would be good flying with you again.” Khazan stood up. “And I sure wouldn’t want to fly against you.”
    Khazan grinned, probably meaning it as a compliment, but the words made Alisa’s stomach turn to stone. The idea of flying against her old comrades disturbed her even more than the idea of faceless police officers chasing after her. That