Chapter 13

"Status report," Lien ordered as she entered the bridge the of her luxury yacht, Golden Lotus.

The Golden Lotus's Captain addressed her, "Ma'am, we are on course for Londinum and maintaining present distance from target Firefly. So long as they don't go to full burn, we should have no trouble staying far enough ahead of them."

"Good, have the ASREV's on standby just in case," Lien commanded. Lien was not expecting any trouble from the small Firefly, it was as good as hers whenever she wanted to take it. At present she was more concerned with defending her catch from any other hunters in the area.

"Ma'am, our scans from Persephone show the vessel to be unarmed. We capture them in deep space, minimalize casualties, and keep things quiet while you decide what to do with the captives," the Captain suggested.

"Patience Captain, we have all the time in the 'verse. We'll shadow them for now. If we are fortunate, they will reveal their plans without the need of an interrogation. Whatever they are up to, they cannot afford to draw attention to themselves. If we use this to our advantage, we may be able to take them on Londinum without firing a single shot."

"Of course ma'am, your strategy is sound. Still, those independents can be a squirrelly bunch. I can't help but feel every minute given to them is another thing that can go wrong for us, but that kind of thinking's just an old habit left over from the war. I will alert you if anything changes."

"Very well," Lien dismissed as she left the bridge and headed for her private quarters.

Lien Wu meant every word she said concerning her strategy for capturing the fugitives, but that did not mean she was without ulterior motives for attending the Ball. Though she knew it was illogical, she took the knowledge that Simon was attending the Sapphire Ball as a good omen as she remembered how dancing had brought them together in the past…

Lien was thrilled to discover she had the best dancer at the party on her arm. Lien had always been competiti