Aboard the Imperial yacht Atlas Ascendant, its sole passenger wept in the darkness of her cabin. She was to be wed in a week, to a man she utterly despised. As the Emperor's second daughter, she had been raised to expect to be married off to someone of prominence, to secure the Empire. A young nobleman perhaps, one new to his title but loyal to the throne. Or maybe the heir to one of the greater houses of the empire. If she was fortunate, the man she was promised too would allow her to live her own life so long as she bore him proper heirs.

None of that was to be. Instead, her father was marrying her off to the first son of a lesser house of little note, a boy (she would not dignify him by calling him a man) who had promised her father that he would make a 'proper wife of her, no matter what it takes.' She knew that some of her habits were... unusual, and that some felt that her independent streak was inappropriate for a woman. Bah. She was her own person, and vowed to stay so. If she was forced to marry this fool, she would be dead by her own hand before she laid with him.

There was only one slim hope for her salvation. Even as she wept, she prayed to every god she could name it would arrive in time.

On the yacht's bridge, the captain drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair. The princess had certainly been a handful this trip. But who could blame her? Even though the captain couldn't publicly speak against the emperor, in the privacy of his own soul, he agreed with what she'd said about the marriage. The rank of her husband-to-be's house was an insult to a princess of the imperial line. And that completely ignored the character of the man himself. (The less said about that the better.) Still, the captain and his crew had done their best to show her what kindnesses they could during the journey.

He glanced at the navigational plot. In less than an hour, they'd approach the edge of the Beacon system. There, they'd recharge their hyperdrive for the next leg of the journey. He made a note to check on what amenities he could secure for the princess from the charging station. He turned towards his first officer, but before he could speak, the ship shook like a rat in a terrier's jaws and the lights died as main power failed.

"Report!" the captain yelled as he picked himself off the deck, raising a hand to feel blood on his lip.

"Main power's off-line. Hyperdrive is down. I think... we hit a field of hyperspace mines."

The captain's eyes went wide. Hyperspace mines were rarely used outside of heavily fortified worlds. The area each one covered was vast compared to a ship, but minuscule compared to space itself. For them to have hit a mine, those planting them had to know exactly where they were going to be. And that meant... "The princess! They're after the princess!

Yang Xiao Long, known as the Golden Dragon tapped her armored boot as the pirate cruiser Crescent Rose approached the yacht. They were getting paid a hefty sum for this job, and what a prize it was! Kidnapping an imperial princess on the eve of her wedding day! It'd be a long time before any of their crew had to buy their own drinks that was sure.

Next to her, her life-partner Blake Belladonna sighed. "Must you tap your boot? It echoes in here."

"I'm just anxious, love. Our task carries great risk and great reward at the same time. It's the sort of thing that can make your legend, or doom you to infamy."

"Can the crap. You've been reading the Captain's trashy space opera again."

"Yeah, but it's so bad it's awesome!" Yang spread her arms wide, almost decking one of the boarding party with an armored gauntlet. "Sorry, I was just thinking this job could really put us on the map, you know? Open up opportunities, that sort of thing."

"If we pull it off." Blake wasn't sure. The info packet for this job was too good, too complete. It made her edgy.

In front of them, there was a clang and a hiss. "Here we go," Yang grinned as she brought her pulse cannon to the ready. "Remember, let me take the lead. This new heavy armor is going to earn its keep. And stun loads only until I say otherwise. These guys are just doing their jobs."

Even as the hatch slid open, she could hear pulse fire from the yacht's defenders impacting on it. Yang sighed. No fire discipline. They should have waited until they had a target. She started firing the pulse cannon as soon as she had a clear shot, sweeping it back and forth like a gardener watering the roses. Advancing behind the cannon's fire, Yang could see a heavy barricade further down the corridor. "Grenades!" she spat, working the launcher mounted under the cannon. So much for a challenge. For guys guarding a member of the royal family, these guys were soft. She'd seen cruise liners with better security.

On the bridge the captain moaned. They'd expected normal everyday pirate firepower, Where did they get a set of Imperial assault armor. Okay, not the latest ones the army was using now, but still-!

Reaching the princess's suite, Golden Dragon finally found a challenge. These guys were Royal Guard. Heavy body armor, not powered armor like she was wearing, but you took what you could get. Although... "Forceblades? What moron uses forceblades on a ship! Sheesh!" Yang blocked one with a shielded gauntlet, then grabbed its wielder by the arm and tossed him back into the rest. "Fools! Know that you face the Golden Dragon! I have never lost a battle and never shall! My lady commands me bring your charge to her; impede my path at your peril!"

Behind them, Blake rolled her eyes and laid into the Guardsmen with stun batons. Yang had their attention so fixated on her that it was trivial to work her way around behind them and take them out. "I will say this, your new toy is an attention getter."

"Think I'll leave it behind next time. Makes things too easy. Well, except the forceblades, and only idiots use them on ships. Let's get this princess and blow."

Kicking open the hatch of the princess's cabin in, Yang found her standing there defiant, a rapier in hand. "I am a princess of the Imperial House, how dare you trespass here! I should have you shot."

Yang shook her head and laughed. "Save it, Princess. Our contract says we have to deliver you unharmed, that doesn't mean conscious. And exactly what do you think you're going to do to me with that rapier in this armor. Blake, cuff her and let's scram."

The princess looked back and forth between the two of them. "You swear I won't be harmed? You'll take me and leave the crew unharmed?"

Blake paused. "Our contract specifies alive and unharmed. Some of your crew have already been hurt, but per our contract, we've done our best to do as little harm as possible."

The rapier clattered to the deck. "Fine. I am yours, then."

As the boarding hatch closed behind her, Yang called the captain on the intercom. "The package is aboard. Everyone's safe, minimal casualties on their end."

"Excellent. Take the princess to a cell and keep an eye on her until we're in hyperspace, then bring her to my cabin." Yang could hear her sister giving the orders to undock from the yacht and clear for maneuvering. "And hurry," Ruby snapped, "this place is about to get really hot."

"Is that your captain? She sounds young," the princess asked.

"She inherited the ship, so she's captain Don't let her age fool you; she's a natural at this." Yang walked the princess to her cell, then took up a guard position outside the door. "So, princess, who wants you the most these days? We're getting a pretty Lien for you."

"Any number of people." The jump alarm sounded, and the ship shook as it crossed the barrier into hyperspace. Yang could hear the princess vomiting in the cell. "Sorry. Two jumps in rapid succession."

"Don't worry about it. Sit tight and I'll see if I can find some mouthwash; The captain probably wouldn't appreciate vomit breath."

"No, I suppose not." Yang's wrist comm chirped, and she glanced at the message. "Time to go, princess. Captain wants a word."

When they reached Ruby's cabin, she was sitting behind her desk, wearing her full armor, chin propped up on her clasped hands, face hidden behind an outcast's mask. "Princess Weiss Schnee, Second Princes of the Empire, Heir Secundus to the Imperial Throne, betrothed of Cardin Winchester, more other titles than I care to name. I never figured the likes of you would ever stand here."

"So where are we dropping our little bundle of Imperial joy?" Blake asked.

"Let's take a look at the contract." Ruby tapped a control on the desk, never taking her eyes off Weiss as the contract appeared on the wall screen.

Yang caught it first. "Wait, it says she's the contracting party? She hired us? Who pays for their own kidnapping?"

"Someone who wants a rescue to look like a kidnapping," Blake murmured.

Ruby nodded. "Weiss and I... knew each other in school, before Yang and I became ronin. When her father imposed the betrothal on her, she contacted me to see if I could get her out. I don't think she was expecting this."

Weiss shook her head. "Nope, you caught me completely by surprise. As always."

"You could have told us! Me at least," Yang growled.

"You're not that good an actress, sis. It had to look like a kidnapping for the cameras. Part of the idea is that the Emperor will be too busy trying to figure out who took her to look for who has her." Ruby looked at Weiss and sighed. "So where are we dropping you? I notice the delivery instructions are encrypted."

Weiss spoke the decryption code and Yang read the instructions out loud. "The princess is to be delivered alive and unharmed to her fiancee, Ruby Rose, ourcast, captain of the Crescent Rose. What the flaming hell, Ruby?"

Ruby paled. She thought Weiss had forgotten about that.