Chapter 5

Things could be worse. The bedroom assigned to Mikhail proved decent enough. It certainly wasn't the lavish stateroom his brother probably got, but it had a bed, its own bathing facilities, and a door - that was locked from the outside.

Not exactly a cell, and yet he was a prisoner nonetheless. Not for long. Mikhail had a knack for getting in and out of places.

It didn't take long before he managed to disable the lock and wandered the halls of the ship. This class of vessel, known as a druudary, was, in essence, a small city fully capable of supporting itself for even the longest voyages. It was also armed to the metal gills with defensive and offensive systems. It could unleash awesome firepower on anyone daring to attack and could quickly subdue any adversary. A true war machine. In other words, the cream of any fleet, and yet this epic vessel had been sent to fetch his brother.