"If there's an Imperial prince here," the first mate said, spitting over the side, "then the sooner we're clear of this port the better. Back to work! We won't be able to get done in time to catch the evening tide, but we can sail first thing in the morning."

As Kira and Jason manhandled a crate, he nodded toward the Imperial ship. "Coal. This planet may have been mostly barren when the colony ship arrived, but it must have had a lot of vegetation once."

"How do you know that?" Kira said, wincing as she struggled with the weight of the crate.

"That's where coal comes from, ancient vegetable matter that's been buried underground and compressed." Jason looked around the harbor. "Something must have happened. Maybe a really bad solar flare or a really big meteor impact that nearly wiped out life. And then long after that, but before the planet could recover, humans came with a new ecology."

"What does that mean?" Kira asked.

"It means we're all part of a story that's been going on for millions of years," Jason said. "Cool, huh?"

"And a little scary," she said.

"Yeah. That, too."

Then they were among the rest of the crew again and worked together silently for the rest of the day, until the sun had sunk below the horizon in the west and the last of the cargo had been off-loaded, on-loaded, shifted about, and secured to the satisfaction of the first mate.

Kira and Jason were sitting at the table in the crew's quarters when the first mate entered with a lit lantern and an expression even sterner than usual. "You and you," she said, pointing to Kira and Jason, followed by a crooked finger demanding they come with her.

Worried, Kira followed the first mate down a ladder and into the small forward lower cargo hold. "Move that crate over here," the first mate ordered her and Jason. "Fast!"

As soon as that portion of the deck was clear, the first mate knelt, knife in hand, and began prying at one of the planks in the deck. It came up, along with two others fastened to it, revealing a hidden space beneath whose dimensions were too much like that of a coffin for Kira's peace of mind.

"Even honest ships sometimes must hide things," the first mate said in a low voice. "Imperials are coming down the pier, searching ships. The captain and I have a good idea who they're looking for. Get in," she ordered, pointing to the hidden compartment.

Chapter 11

Kira stared at the small compartment. "There's hardly enough room in there for one person. How are we both going to fit?"

The first mate rolled her eyes. "A boy and a girl and you wonder how you'll fit. I know you're underage but I didn't think they still raised them that innocent. You!" she told Jason. "Get in, on your back."