The low subsonic thrum woke Rene before dawn. Solae shifted beside him and he tightened his arms around her naked body instinctively. She made a pleased sound and wriggled distractingly against him. Rene felt himself begin to stiffen in spite of the fact he knew he should be focusing on the sound that had woken him. His fingers stroked her hair for a moment longer before he forced himself to sit up. From head to toe his body ached. Just because someone was genetically enhanced didn’t mean they could shrug off the effects of electrical trauma. It didn’t really matter. That which could be ignored was irrelevant. Solae made another sleepy sound, their lovemaking had kept them up later than was probably wise. It had been different, more restrained than usual due to the fact they didn’t want to wake the whole house but passionate and intense nonetheless. He didn’t want to have to face the world right now, he wanted to wake Solae up and remind both of them that no matter what was going on out in the galaxy, they were both here and both still very much alive.

The cheap glass windows were beginning to rattle in their frames. The door swung open and Tychon’s head appeared. In the dim predawn light he looked drawn and skeletal, though Rene knew that was a trick of illumination.

“Jumpers?” Rene asked, pulling the blanket up to cover Solae. Tychon nodded his head obviously not surprised that Rene had already woken to the sound.

“We will be right with you,” he said curtly. Tychon nodded and closed the door. Solae opened her eyes and looked up at him in sleepy interrogation.

“Jumpers coming, probably nothing to worry about,” he explained. Solae sat up fully awake now. Jumpers were a catchall term used for various atmospheric rotary aircraft that were in use throughout the Empire. Each vehicle had a bank of four or more rotors mounted in separate housings that kept them aloft. Jumpers were more maneuverable and far more efficient than pure jet aircraft would have been, and could take of and land vertically to deliver everything from medical supplies to troops.

“Could they be for us?” Solae asked in concern. Rene shook his head.

“There are too many, and if they were coming for us they would have been here quicker, this is probably a survey team or the first stages of a relief effort.”

Judging by the sound the jumpers were coming in from the south east, that meant they wouldn’t overfly the Bonaventure’s hiding place, not that they could spot the ship in the darkness with its systems powered down. Once daylight broke though, an overflight might very well reveal the ships location. 

Rene dressed quickly, pulling on a spare set of Tychon’s fishing gear, comprised of a waterproof yet breathable shirt and a pair of heavy duty pants with numerous pockets for equipment. Despite Tychon’s offer of shoes he kept his own boots. They were comfortable and practical as well as being a vestige of his uniform that he was reluctant to give up. It didn’t make any intellectual sense but emotionally he felt like so long as he kept his boots he was in someway honoring the memory of Bowie and the other marines who had died in the Rat Trap. 

Solae’s analysis of the Duke’s position made more sense the more Rene thought about it. That was only natural, she was a diplomat trained to think in those terms afterall. It also explained the exorbitant reward being offered for Solae. Tan needed the PEA not just to communicate with his partisans, but to convince other aristocrats that he had a chance, he needed to contact others and encourage them to rise up as well. The Eastern Cross was a wide territory, but history and economics both showed that if the Empress could focus her forces, no one magnate could hope to oppose her. It might take weeks or months for the bureaucracy to dispatch investigators, and for the death of those investigators to be noticed and trigger a military reconnaissance. If Tan didn’t have the PEA system working by then, it was all over bar the firing parties. That should have made Rene feel better, but the Empire Triumphant was an abstract, and the short term danger to the woman he loved was far more important to him.

It also meant that Solae’s entreaties to the other aristocrats in the Cross were more likely to bear fruit. While major families were likely to have either joined or been destroyed, smaller ones would continue to oscillate between the two camps. Tan represented a serious threat and was willing to buy partisans for his cause, but as Solae had said, those that stayed loyal and particularly those who actively opposed the rebels would be rewarded. Tan’s brutal had created a great many open positions afterall. Even knowing Solae was alive might be enough incentive for fence sitters to continue waiting, and of course, more incentive for the Duke to hunt her down and drag her off in chains. Rene’s anger began to kindle at the thought of Solae’s body being part of the reward for her capture. Quietly, he promised himself that if fate ever gave him the chance, he would discuss the matter with Duke Alexis Tan. Discuss very briefly.

Julia Tychon and Damaris were already up and gathered in the kitchen. The girl looked upset that Solae was going to be leaving her large eyes downcast. Julia seemed to be unable to decide between relief and fear whereas Tychon merely looked resolved. Rene wondered if Julia had told her daughter of Solae’s offer. Probably not. He rather doubted any of them realised how serious she was. Solae’s family had suffered greatly in the past weeks and it was both her right and her responsibility to strengthen it. Adoption was a long established legal custom, though it was more usual between noble families, its use on commoners was not unknown. Damaris herself might suffer for being elevated to the nobility without the usual suite of genetic enhancements, but that would be no bar to her advancement in Imperial service. Few people would snub a member of the Falia clan and Damaris’ children would stand as high and proud as any member of that ancient lineage. Solae had mentioned some cousins of hers who converted the title. They were likely to throw a fit as spectacular as it was useless if a fisherman's daughter was inserted into the clan ahead of them.  

“It sounds like they are landing at the Harvest Field,” Tychon said as he took a pot of coffee off a chemical heating unit. The Harvest Field was a large airfield on the northern end of San Roayo, the shippers warehouses lined the large open field where the stabilized coral was gathered before being shipped to the capital and the star port.

“Are you sure we don’t need to worry?” he asked nervously. Rene nodded his head.

“I don’t think we should tarry, but if they were looking with us they would have come in as a combat drop. This is probably just relief from the capital, or people surveying for relief anyway.” Rene didn’t mention that it did mean a large influx of people who might recognise Solae for what she was, and an errant noblewoman in a place like this was bound to set of alarm bells.