Release(2)

Once at the space dock, she leapt out of the speeder and began rushing towards the bay where Risciter kept his ship. The driver got out of the speeder and yelled after her, “Miss, you need to be careful out here all alone! Why don’t you let me park the speeder, and I’ll come with you?”

“I’ll be fine,” she threw over her shoulder. “I’ll be with Duke Risciter in a few moments.” And she ran on. The docking bay was crowded in the public area, where people could catch commercial ships to other planets, but relatively empty once she got away from the common area.

Ariana had to swipe her access card to get into the docking bay where Risciter was leaving from. Luckily, her own ship was docked in the same bay, so she had no trouble entering at all. She inserted her card, pulled it out quickly, and the doors in front of her slid open diagonally. She stepped inside.

And was greeted by the sound of blaster fire.

Blasters? What was going on in here? She turned back to the door she’d just come through, but it was an entrance door only. The exit door was all the way on the opposite side of the massive room. And between her and the door was a man with a blaster.

Ariana surveyed the scene. She could see Risciter, standing outside the loading ramp to his ship, his arms in the air. Beside him were his valet and his pilot, also with their arms up. On the ground, Ariana could see a body. It wasn’t moving. The man with the blaster must have shot him. Who was it? Another of Risciter’s servants, perhaps? She put a hand to her mouth.

The man with the blaster turned his head in her direction.

Ariana dove behind another ship in the docking bay, out of sight. The man with the blaster was wearing a speeder driver’s uniform. She could almost swear she’d seen him before. He might work for the Duke of Hallon, in fact. Why was he shooting people? Why was he threatening Risciter? She peered around the ship and could see her love there, his cherubic face obscured by his blond curls. But even though she couldn’t see him clearly, she could see he was alarmed. Her heart went out to him.

It didn’t matter why this madman was threatening Risciter. She was here, by luck, and she had to save her fiancé. Well, her almost fiancé. After she saved Risciter’s life, he’d have to propose.

Ariana found her comm in the pocket of her jumpsuit. She switched it on, but in the upper corner of the screen a red light blinked at her. That was right, damn it, there was no comm service in the spacedock. It interfered with the tower’s ability to communicate with ships or something. She couldn’t call the police, then. What could she do?

She couldn’t get all the way across the bay to the other door and run for help.

The man with the blaster was talking. “I don’t have anything against your men. I only want you, Risciter.” Ariana watched as he gestured with the blaster to the valet and the pilot. “I won’t shoot either of you unless you get in my way, like he did.” He pointed to the body on the ground. “You understand?”

“Now, look here,” said Risciter. “I don’t know who you are, but if it’s money you want—”

“Don’t know who I am?” interrupted the man with the blaster. “Well, perhaps it has been seven years. Perhaps you wouldn’t recognize me.”

Recognize him? Maybe he did work for the duke of Hallon. But why should Risciter recognize him? He was clearly lower class. He wasn’t important to someone like Risciter. The man with a blaster had obviously lost his mind. Ariana had to do something. She looked around frantically, trying to get some kind of idea.

There was nothing in the bay except ships. Risciter’s ship. Her ship. Two other ships. What could she...?

Her ship!

Ariana was nearly positive that it was outfitted with a few ion canons, in the case of running into skirmishes in deep space. If she could figure out how to use them, maybe she could injure the man with the blaster, or at least frighten him.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you,” Risciter was saying.

Ariana dashed behind the ship closest to her towards her own.

“We met in Rilla Alley,” said the man with the blaster.

Rilla Alley? That was ridiculous. That was the place prostitutes and drug dealers were always found. Risciter wouldn’t ever go there.

“There’s no one of consequence on Rilla Alley,” said Risciter.

“I suppose you wouldn’t think so,” said the man with the blaster.

Ariana had made it to her ship. But now she was faced with another problem. She couldn’t get on board unless she lowered the ramp. Lowering itself wasn’t a problem. She had the keys in her pocket. But if she did that, it would be noisy, and that would let everyone know she was here. But she didn’t have any other options, did she? That man was going to shoot Risciter if she didn’t do something. She got out her key and pushed a button on it.