Rene quietly cursed himself as the Bonaventure began the gentle breaking thrust that would bring them into Zatis orbit. It was one thing to make a mistake in the chaotic confusion of a firefight or in the heat of the moment but he didn’t have any excuse for this current screw up. They had been so intent on reaching Zatis that they hadn’t really planned for their arrival. Three holographic screens hung in the air in front of him, all the details of the Bonaventure’s previous visits displayed. It wasn’t much to go on, little more than logs of trajectories and automated communication hand shakes. With Mia’s aid though it was possible to translate the information into something useful. Trajectories became landing platforms and repair facilities, communication codes could be back tracked to a list of known associates. If Rene had the time he supposed that someone with Solae’s skill could peel back the information further to uncover the shadowy world of slave trafficking that the Bonaventure’s late and unlamented captain had travelled. All that could wait however. The current problem was that Rene needed to find somewhere to land them, that was close to their goal, and yet not out of character for a ship like theirs. He had to avoid places the ship and her crew might be spotted by people who knew the previous owner and he had to find some way to pay for landing privileges. The small store of credits they had captured with the ship would cover the landing fees that the various starports charged, but only just, and Rene doubted they could afford much in the way of bribes. Accessing money was going to be difficult as any spies the Duke had would certainly have flagged any accounts linked to Solae. Rene’s own accounts the few thousand credits of an Imperial Marine’s salary, might be accessible, but by now the Duke might have identified him as well. There was a remote possibility that he could access his family accounts if he could find a banking house of sufficiently interstellar scope, he wasn’t sure if his father had sealed his access, but even if he could, the sudden appearance of an Imperial noble wasn’t likely to go unnoticed by any watchers. 

Zatis swelled in the viewscreen as they reached orbit, the slightly grey blue world pocked by occasional electrical storms of its on going terraforming. Down there, somewhere, was the PEA array that would let them contact the Stellar Empire and spread the word about Duke Tan’s treason. But Zatis wasn’t like New Concordia or even Panopontus. On those worlds they had found allies, Oanh Park and his wife, and Damaris and her family, without whom they would likely not have survived, but he was less confidant of such aid here. Zatis was a wild place, a haven for criminals and mercenaries, all of whom would be amply motivated to turn Solae over to the Duke for his generous reward. Even if the PEA were still working and they could get to it, what then? An Imperial squadron would take weeks to reach the Eastern Cross, weeks in which they would have to face the vengeful wrath of the Duke and his forces.

Rene sighed and tried to clear his mind of worries and doubts. The door opened and Solae entered the bridge, looking radiant as always. Some of the tension ebbed out of Rene at once, Solae’s mere presence made him feel like anything was possible and that good things could happen even in the darkest situation. He had been putting off waking her for as long as possible, but he had to admit to a feeling of relief that she was going to be at the controls for the landing. Mia’s blunt critique of his piloting skills hadn’t improved his confidence, and though he was sure there was a simulator somewhere in the freighters ancient and disorganised database he had not had the time or inclination to find it.

Standing Rene crossed the bride to Solae and wrapped her in his arms kissing her passionately even as the console began to beep as they reached the end of the autopilot. Ever since he had met her they had been operating on someone elses time table and Rene dearly wished they had time just to be together. Unfortunately the universe did not seem inclined to comply. 

“I love you,” Rene whispered before, reluctantly, releasing Solae so she could take her place at the pilots station.

“What is the plan?” he asked eagerly.