Page 9 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

Nova sat at a silver terminal, scrolling through a list of guest names. Faces of passengers and notes on their background checks flitted across the holoscreens. Zane didn’t dare look, in case an image showed a woman with a heart-shaped face calling herself Ariah Rivers.

Tapping her shoulder, Zane glanced at the viewport. “Nova, what?—? ”

He choked on his breath mint. There should’ve been stars beyond the glass, but a shadow blotted them out. His knees gave way, and he caught himself on the edge of Nova’s terminal.

It wasn’t a shadow. It was the hull of a black Federation destroyer, hovering beside their small cruiser. Rows upon rows of cannons pointed at the Chimaera ’s bridge.

Zane sucked in a ragged breath. “I don’t understand.”

But he did understand, all too well.

“They say we’re harboring a criminal.” Nova jabbed at her screen, blinking rapidly. “If we don’t drop and let them board, they’re going to open fire.”

“Open fire?”

He stumbled back a step, pressing a hand to his mouth. Holy burning Mordir, they were deep in shit.

“Sir, the Federation vessel is hailing us. Should we put it through?”

The bridge fell silent. Zane’s grip tightened on the back of Nova’s chair.

His other hand drifted to the pulser at his hip, but the familiar touch of steel didn’t ease the tension knotting his muscles.

He hadn’t had a run-in with a Federation patrol since getting mixed up with Mira two cycles ago, and that had been terrifying enough.

Now an entire destroyer was flanking them, ready to reduce the Chimaera to ash and dust.

And it was all his fault.

Stotz wiped the sweat from his brow. “Go ahead.”

A holographic projection of a towering Lentivian man appeared a few feet from Stotz’s chair. Zane suppressed a shudder. His unnaturally pale skin made his cold black eyes more prominent, and his white, bloodless lips curved into a sneer.

“ You are the captain?”

“That’s right,” Stotz said. “How can we help you, Admiral Krii?”

Any warmth in Zane’s body leached away. Krii was one of the eight admirals who led Carik’s Skyforce, using his fleets to keep the Federation living in fear.

He wasn’t looking for some lowlife criminal.

Their target was a threat to Carik himself, and there was only one person on this ship who fit that description.

Zane swallowed, but there was no moisture in his mouth .

Krii crossed his arms over his Skyforce uniform.

“It’s simple. My men already told your crew, but I’ll say it again so you can get it through your thick skull.

You are under suspicion of harboring a fugitive.

In the name of the Federation, I demand you drop from the route immediately so we can conduct a thorough search of your vessel. ”

Shit, shit, shit .

Stotz straightened in his chair, folding his hands over his bulging belly. “All you had to do was ask, Admiral. I’ll help your search any way I can. What should I tell the passengers?”

“Whatever it takes to get all of them in one room. We’ll be searching every corner, every drawer, every man, woman, and child, until we find our fugitive.

If there are any stragglers, there will be consequences.

If anyone resists, there will be consequences.

If we don’t find our target, there will be consequences.

And I assure you, Captain, if we do not find our mark, the consequences will be most severe. ”

Zane shuddered. What had he done?

Stotz frowned. “Forgive me for asking, Admiral, but how do you know the fugitive is on our ship? We conducted thorough background checks on each passenger?—”

“You have half an hour.” Krii’s cold voice made Zane’s hair stand on end. “When we board, I want all passengers waiting in the mess hall. No tricks, Captain. I mean it.”

The transmission cut out.

As Zane sagged against the metal bulwarks, silence reigned on the bridge. Stotz slouched in his chair, holding his head in his hands.

Sweat dripped down Zane’s forehead. He needed to tell Stotz. Screw the money, screw the title, screw her . He could make this all end right now.

“Sir?” Nova asked, but Stotz waved her aside.

Zane flipped a credit chip between his fingers.

It would be so easy to end this, but then what?

If Carik got Hannover, he wouldn’t get a single credit.

And forget the promotion. After his role in this, no one would trust him to run the ship’s security.

That nice six-figure salary would be gone, and he’d be right back where he started .

Better to keep his mouth shut. If the Feds found her, there was no need for anyone to find out what he’d done, and he’d keep his job. If they didn’t find her, he’d get a nice payout and a city on Dad’s island.

And with the clientele on this ship, what consequences could Krii possibly impose for not finding her? Carik would be shooting himself in the foot if he picked a fight with any of the Chimaera ’s elite passengers. The elite were his biggest supporters.

“You’re going to be Head of Security if we make it out of this, Wells,” Stotz rasped. “What would you do?”

Zane grimaced. If he happened to conveniently overlook an exit, so Hannover could make it out…

No, this wasn’t real authority. It was a test. Wiping his palms on his pants, Zane turned to Nova.

“Tell the passengers that the Captain is going to be giving a routine update in twenty minutes, and all need to be present. I’ll get security to keep order and seal off every exit.

” He scanned the rest of the bridge. “Not a word about this to any of the passengers. Understood?”

Murmurs of assent drifted towards him. Stotz nodded his approval, and without waiting for further questions, Zane marched off the bridge.

He never should’ve gotten into this mess.