“She named her daughter after a drug she was addicted to. And she wonders why Opiate is messed up. Seriously, who does that?” Angelia Cagnolino flipped the switch to start the engines of the Edison space ship. The retired Galaxy Police ship they had gotten for a steal a few months earlier had been patched and re-patched with salvaged parts, but was still serviceable. She stretched her legs as far as she could get them with the seat slid as far back as it would go. Everything about the ship was compact from the cramped cockpit to the sleeping chambers and holding cells.
“Why do you care, Angelia? She’s paying us to go get the brat. Which we need by the way if you want to continue eating.” Frederico “Rico” Cagnolino dropped into the second seat at the controls.
“Dear brother of mine. It would do you a bit of good to pay attention to how society is going to pot. How is it fair that royalty don’t have to suffer any of the consequences for their actions?”
“I really don’t care, sister dearest, as long as I get paid.” Rico ran through his preflight checklist, flipping switches and hitting buttons. “Everything’s a go.”
“Whatever. Can we get this over? Julian wants to take me to Skye this weekend.”
Angelia released the brake, then, with both hands, pulled back on the yoke. Her nuckles turned white as she gripped the controls, holding them steady through the they rose through the levels of Earth’s atmosphere. The craft shuttered as it breached the edge of Earth's gravity.
“He’s never going to marry you.”
With autocruze engaged, she turned on her brother. “Why do you always have to be a dick? Just because your girlfriend left you for a Terelian Darksider, you don't have to shit on my relationship."
She left the cockpit to stetch out on the couch squeezed into the spot across from the doors that opened up the coffin-sized sleeping quarters.
“You just don’t want to hear the truth.” Rico propped his feet up on the dash and flipped open a magazine on his commpad.
“Whatever. Do you have the papers?” Her commpad was opened to the file on Opiate.
"Kicked out of three private schools by the age of 12...runaway by 14...pregnant at 15, 17 and 20...same father...children raised by nannies. She isn't going to come home willingly.
"I didn't ask for her history."
“Yes, I have the papers.”
“The correct ones?”
Rico pulled a wad of folded papers from the back pocket of his jeans and flipped through them. “The sealed warrant issued by the Intergalactic Council, the signed request for recovery by Queen Esses, and the Intergalactic Letters of Marque just in case.”
“Good. Don’t forget them this time.”
“You are seriously becoming a nag.” He tossed the pile on the dashboard.
“And you love me anyway.” She grinned at him.
“Where are we going?”
“Zhongguo.”
“In that case, I’m going to get the weapons ready. I doubt the Hóng Long will be happy to see us.”