Chapter 1: The Notice

IMPERIAL NOTICE:

All stations, all sectors: Be On The Lookout For Baroness Alliyanna Kar’Jan, styling herself as the Duchess Birsha, who is hereby ordered to submit to Imperial Majesty’s Protection Squad custody for Senate inquiry. Failure to comply constitutes flight from Imperial authority and may result in charges of Contempt of the Imperial Senate. Minimum sentence: ten years’ imprisonment.

The galley had become everyone’s favorite place aboard the Star Shadow. Once little more than a cramped corner where meals were eaten in shifts, the alien refit had opened the surrounding space after converting part of the cargo hold into two modest staterooms. Combined with the new medical bay’s compact healing pod, the redesign had transformed the ship from something they merely survived aboard into something that almost felt like home.

“This is being broadcast on all civilian channels and all Imperial frequencies,” Talak said after shutting off the radio. “Every hour on the top of the hour. It’s the second cycle I’ve heard it.”

“Ten years?” Alliyanna asked.

Kahlan shrugged. “Could. Most likely won’t.”

“They didn’t use my correct title. What does this actually mean?” Alliyanna asked. She was still a little in shock, though she had tried not to show it.

“It means they are trying to force you to give up your claim to the Ducal Estate and title, but it could also mean they are afraid to confront you directly for the moment,” Kahlan responded. “They don’t know where you stand, and they don’t know exactly where they stand. You have a legal betrothal contract with specific wording. They have suspicion, but not hard evidence to arrest you. Yet.”

“But that will change,” Talak continued. “It’s just a matter of when.”

“So what do we do? Do I turn myself in, or do we run?” Alliyanna asked, knowing deep down she would never willingly submit to this kind of pressure.

“We don’t get caught, and we continue our mission,” Talak said flatly.

“We will need to time it very closely,” Kahlan said. “Right now we have the advantage that they don’t know where we’re going.”

Alliyanna sat there absorbing the information. “We need to oversupply. We don’t know how long this mission is going to last. Food, medical supplies, and water, especially water, will be critical.”

They all agreed.

“We need to make those purchases in out-of-the-way places,” Talak said. “Old Imperial waypoints. Places where we can be less conspicuous.”

“So, we have fuel and supplies to make it to an old, seldom-used supply depot,” Viki added immediately. “It is completely automated now, and it is approximately three weeks away on vector two-nine-seven. It is part of an abandoned trade outpost. We might get lucky and find a few useful items on the station.”

“That could be a positive mark in its favor,” Kahlan replied. He had bonded with Viki during the overnight watches on the bridge. Since Luminara, the ship’s AI no longer sounded like a navigation computer. She anticipated questions, handled port clearances automatically, and quietly managed dozens of systems that once required constant attention. Somewhere along the journey she had become less like software and more like another crewmember.

“Without the refit, we couldn’t have reached the old waypoint,” Talak said.

“But that only helps us if we can create a navigational route to Erimos without getting stranded in the backwater of the Empire,” Kahlan added.

“I am fully capable of plotting the course,” Viki replied, with a bit too much volume. “If you believe you can improve upon my calculations, I am prepared to compare solutions.”

“Okay,” Alliyanna said. “We don’t need this kind of talk. It’s not helping.”

Talak stood and made his way forward to take the bridge watch. Kahlan slumped in his seat. Alliyanna gave him a questioning look.

“What was that all about, Kay?”

“We had a disagreement. I made the mistake of calling her ‘just a machine.’ She hasn’t entirely forgiven me.”

“Well, maybe apologize. Sooner would be better than later.”

“Yeah. You’re right. I should. It’s just not fair. She holds a grudge longer than some people I know.”

He got up to make his maintenance inspection.

Alliyanna decided to turn in. She had the midwatch and never felt she got enough rest with her sleep schedule split into two four-hour blocks.

Meanwhile, Viki plotted the course to the old trading post. She calculated it one hundred times just to prove it was optimal. She knew she did not have to.

She prided herself on precise work.

The three-week flight to vector two-nine-seven did something useful that none of them had expected.

The Imperial notice became quieter.

Not literally. When Viki searched for it, the notice was still there, repeating on schedule across the major civilian and Imperial networks. But each day they moved farther from the core routes, the number of nearby stations carrying it dropped. The traffic around them thinned. The regular pulse of Imperial navigation beacons became less frequent.

The Empire had not stopped looking for Alliyanna.

They were simply leaving the places where the Empire looked most efficiently.

Talak liked that.

Alliyanna did too, though she understood the trade. Every kilometer farther from the core meant fewer ports, fewer repair facilities and fewer people who could help them if the Star Shadow developed a problem.