Excerpt: 1066 in SPACE. With Jews.

My title really should be "Spelling and Grammer Optional"

“Nice,” Miriam said. Not only was she in a barred cell, but she was cuffed to the bars also.
“Why didn’t you just tell them you didn’t know me?” James said from across the hall. His mouth had stopped bleeding, but he still wasn’t standing.
“Why’d you tell them you were a stowaway?”
“So you could get the hell out of here and rescue me! Women! Ruin a perfectly good lie…”
Miriam shook her head.
“It was just a matter of time since Vargas. I should have seen that.”
“I was careful, Miri. That film roll won’t hold up in a court of law.”
“It will now that I’ve assaulted him,” Miriam said. “But you know what? It was worth it.”
“Nothing’s worth Blackboot prison,” Sledge’s voice sounded from the metal wall to her right. He was in the cell next to hers. “I know what I’m talking about.”
“It’s not as bad as all that,” James said, pulling himself to his feet using the bars of his cage.
“Not for noblemen. Morvians get the short end of the stick.”
“The law says you get treated no differently.”
“The law can say what it wants, but that’s not what happens.” Miriam said. Ten days in solitary. Ellien was never the same after that.
“I have connections. We’ll get out of this.”
“You might. And if you do, kid, find Ginny and save her, if you can.” Sledge said, testing the strength of the bars on his cell. “There won’t be enough left of us by the time we get out.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Keep dreaming, kid.”
“Any luck, Sledge?”
“No. We’re stuck fast this time, girl.”
Miriam pictured the commander’s face again.
Yeah, it was still worth it.

A day later Ginny joined them. She was so dirty they almost didn’t recognize her.
“Hey guys. How are we doing?”
“Same as always.”
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened to James?”
“They took him this morning. Probably questioning him in order to construct our long list of crimes. What happened?”
“I spent the night in the ventilation ducts. I almost made the ship this morning, but they have the Merryweather in full lockdown. I got on board, but they’ve done something to her computers.”
“Just as well,” Miriam said. Something Ginny couldn’t fix was a bad, bad sign. “The ship’s the least of our worries. Did you learn anything?”
“Only that the commander’s taking a lot of ribbing for being beat by a girl. He’s been in his quarters since the incident.” Ginny smiled, her grin gleaming white in her dirty face.
Miriam smiled grimly. That was at least something.
“Things aren’t looking too good, are they?”
“Just remember you barely know us. You’re a technician only recently signed on.”
Ginny nodded.
“Sledge, you alright?”
He grunted his acknowledgement.
The sounds of bootsteps echoed. They were bringing James back. He held his head high and walked with regal bearing. He wasn’t restrained.
“I’ll be damned, kid, you did it.”
James motioned for the guards to wait at the entrance to the cells. They didn’t look happy about it, but they stayed.
“Not so fast, Sledge.” James whispered. “I’m free. It seems they’re still afraid of my father and they haven’t got enough to convict me in any case. But you guys are in serious trouble.”
“They took that punch that seriously, eh?” Sledge laughed. “You really gave him the one-two, Miri.”
“You don’t understand,” James continued in a rush. “The commander, he’s the admiral’s son, and he’s got it in for you. They’re going to send you up for whatever they can.”
Miriam nodded. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“There’s something big going on,” James continued. “Nobody’s talking, but the brass is buttoned up so tight they’re turning purple. Something is about to happen.”
“Another war?” Miriam couldn’t help but sound hopeful. As far as she knew there weren’t enough Morvians to mount a counter attack against their conquerors, but there was always a chance that some long lost battle cruiser had returned to this sector.
“No, not with Morvia.” He sounded certain. “It’s something else. And they’re about to take it out on you, so be ready.”
“And where will you be?” Ginny said, her hands on her hips. “Sleeping your way to the top?”
“I’ll be helping you from the outside.” Things must be serious for James not to rise to the bait.
“Time’s up, Lord Erien.” One of the guards stepped toward them.
“I have to go. Just… wait for me. I’ll come for you.” His eyes left Ginny’s last, and then the guards lead him away.
Ginny punched the wall of her cell in frustration. Miriam and Sledge were silent. Wait for him. What the hell else were they going to do?
Two more days passed before they were brought before the commander on the bridge. He was wearing a white suture strip over his nose, and both black eyes were now a lovely shade of greenish yellow.
“Miriam Roches. Nigel Sledge. You are charged with theft of government information, kidnapping, accessory to murder, and assault. How do you answer?” His voice was nasal.
“Not guilty.” Miriam said, her back straight. Technically, she wasn’t lying. They honestly had nothing to do with murdering anybody.
“Very well. Your trial will commence in three days.” He turned and pressed a button on his elevated command chair. “Permission granted, Counsel Reynard. Transferring custody.” He stood and walked over to them.
“It would have been so much easier if you’d admitted your guilt,” he said, looking at Miriam with a sickly smile. “A ship-side execution. Over quickly.”
“We didn’t murder anyone.” Miriam countered. It wasn’t like they were going to get a fair trial in any case.
He ignored her.
“And as for you,” he said, approaching Ginny. “You will be returned to your parents, Guenevere Genereux. Your fiancée was most happy to hear that you had been rescued.”
Shit. He knew.
Ginny looked small and lost.
“Reynard to Initiator, ready for transfer.”
“Get this Morvian trash out of my sight,” the commander said.
Ginny’s tear-streaked face was the last Miriam saw of her. They had bound Miriam’s elbows and wrists, as well as hobbled her at the ankles or she would have fought them. Not that it would have done any good. The guardsmen drug both her and Sledge to the docking bay.
“Say when, Miri,” the big man said under his breath. He was flexing and unflexing his muscles, testing the strength of the elbow cuffs.
“Not this time. We’ll wait on the government.”
“They’re not going to send someone for us this time.” He kept testing the bonds. “Not after what happened the last time.”
“Okay, granted.”
“So, what’s the plan then?”
“I don’t have one.”
Sledge stopped shuffling forward and the guard shoved him ungently down the slope.
“You always have a plan.”
“Maybe James will save us.”
“And maybe pigs will fly out of my ass! I’m not trusting my future to that pup.”
“Your future will be decided by the courts,” one of their guardsmen said. “This is the end of the line for you, scum.”
A black shiny ship waited for them. The gangway lowered to the deck with an ominous clank.
“Counselor on deck!” A crewman shouted and every blackboot within earshot snapped to attention.
Miriam glanced around the bay. If she clocked the guard now, her and Sledge might be able to make a run for the Merryweather. But, then again, Ginny told her the computers were down.
A man in the high black boots and trim grey uniform of the Kingsmen marched down the black ship’s gangway. The guards next to them nearly trembled with anticipation. A counselor on your ship was a big deal.
“Are these the prisoners?”
“Yessir!” Both guards said simultaneously.
Wait. Miriam knew that voice. Her head snapped up.
Tom Finch was Counselor Raynard.
He examined her with cool reserve, his expression perfect.
“Very well. Escort them to the hold and secure them there.”
Miriam glanced at Sledge as the guardsmen prodded them both up the gangway. He was just as surprised as she was.

The guards secured them in the hold, kicked them a few times, and then left.
“What the hell,” Miriam whispered to Sledge.
“Don’t look at me.”
They felt the ship rumble to life under them. She was taking off.
After a few minutes the door opened, and Tom, minus the Kingsmen jacket, came into the hold.
“It’s good to see you, mate,” Sledge was saying as Tom released them from their cuffs.
As soon as she was free, Miriam slapped Tom as hard as she could.
“You’re welcome,” he said, adjusting his jaw.
“What the hell is going on here?” Miriam unlatched her hobbles and stood.
“I’m rescuing you?”
“Then explain this.” Miriam thrust the crumpled film she’d gotten from James under his nose. The man in the suit turned and smiled at Tom.
“Miri. I’m a spy.”
“And a murderer?”
Tom clenched his jaw.
“Who killed Lady Indri, Tom?”
He stood.
“I did.” He admitted it quietly. “She was my last job. You can hate me if you want to, but I’m free now.”
“Who are you?”
“He’s an assassin.” Sledge answered quietly.
A blackboot assassin. She had been sleeping with a blackboot assassin.
“But you’re a Morvian!”
“I was.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I survived the Battle of Tears.”
“No one survived the Battle of Tears.” Sledge and Tom exchanged a glance, and Sledge took a step back.
“He’s a turncoat Miri. They took him and they changed him, trained him.”
She stared at Tom. She remembered touching his skin.
“How many of us have you killed?”
Tom shook his head.
“How many? Goddess damn it, how many?”
“I’ll leave you two here. Join me on the bridge when you’re ready.”
“No. You don’t get to walk out.”
“It’s what I do best,” Tom said, and he left.
Miriam swore. Then she kicked the wall. Neither helped. And now her toe hurt.
“Keys?” Sledge asked. She picked the ring up off the floor and threw them to him.
“What the hell am I going to do?”
“Well, girl. You can love him. Or you can kill him. Pick one.”