1

The man with the golden eyes smiled as we stood in the middle of the conference room. A soft glow surrounded his face and shoulders, a side-effect of the hard-light comprising his newly-formed physical body.

“I don’t understand,” said Dressler, staring at the man, whose appearance resembled that of someone in their mid-fifties. “How is this possible?”

It was a question we were all thinking as we sat there, trying to work it out in our heads. Sigmond, the artificial intelligence I’d known for years, the heart and soul of my ship, was supposed to be dead.

“I understand your confusion,” said the Cognitive who called himself Sigmond. “During my confrontation with Hephaestus, I believed my end to be in sight, as I’m certain the rest of you did. However, in my final moments, I compressed my program and transmitted myself to the Renegade Star, using my access codes. Once onboard, I was unable to speak to you, due to the lack of storage space, but Titan is not so limited. Once I transmitted myself to this station, I was finally able to begin my manifestation.”

“How could there not be enough space?” asked Abigail. “You were built to live there, weren’t you?”

“That’s true,” said Dressler, crossing her arms. She walked over to Sigmond, scanning him with her eyes. “That must mean your data has grown beyond the limits of the ship. You’re too large a program now, aren’t you? But the only way that could happen is if you accumulated additional data while inside the capsule. The real question is: what kind of data.” She tapped her chin. “So what was it, Sigmond?”

“Ah, yes, Doctor, a fine observation,” said Sigmond. “And an accurate one at that. Upon my cleanse of the capsule, I realized I would be unable to return to you, due to the time it would take to transmit myself. I ran an internal scan of the system, looking for anything that could assist me.”

“And you found something,” said Dressler.

He nodded. “The remnants of the Cognitive Aglaia, whose shell contained a compression algorithm.”

“Of course,” said Athena. She stood beside him, her albino skin a stark contrast to Sigmond’s darker complexion. “Hephaestus and Aglaia both required compression in order to transfer between capsules, should a power failure occur and disrupt their work.”

Octavia was sitting beside Hitchens at the table, leaning forward. “Does that mean you have the algorithm too, Athena?”

“I’m afraid such a luxury was not available during my inception,” answered Athena. “In fact, none of the other Cognitives who left Earth during the Transient Exodus were able to benefit from such an innovation. I have only one capsule, located at the core of Titan.”

“Janus was the same way,” said Karin, a somber look on her face. “If only he’d been given that gift, he might still be alive.”

“Let me see if I’m understanding all of this, Siggy,” I said once I was sure I had it. “You were inside that capsule, fighting Hephaestus, and just before the whole facility went down in a pile of flames, you absorbed Aglaia’s shell and jumped back to the Star?”

“That is largely correct, sir. I absorbed the compression algorithm, along with several essential protocols required in order to install and activate the algorithm. I already had most of Janus’ Cognitive shell, so the patchwork took only seconds to assemble.”

Alphonse thumbed his jacket. “If you transmitted yourself to the Renegade Star, then back to Titan, how did Athena not detect you?”

Athena frowned. “I apologize for my negligence. The recent attack damaged several of my systems. All attention has been focused on repairs.”

“Are you talking about the giant knife Hephaestus used on Titan?” I asked. “Yeah, I guess that’ll do it.”

Athena nodded. “Additionally, our Tritium core has been drained and requires time to recharge. While some energy was restored after the encounter, we are operating largely on reserve power. This has only further hindered my performance.”

“We should probably get that fixed before we get any other surprise guests,” said Dressler.

“No offense, pal,” I said, looking at Sigmond.

“None taken, sir,” he answered. “I would be happy to assist, should the opportunity arise.”

Dressler twisted her lips. “I think we should confirm all of this first. Sigmond, would you mind if Athena and I run a few tests?”

“Not at all. Truth be told, Doctor, I was about to suggest that very thing.”

A few minutes later, the analysis was underway. Dressler and Athena left, heading to another room to properly dissect my former A.I.

Due to the limited power and damage Titan had undergone during the last attack, it meant Athena’s attention was limited to Siggy. She asked that we not interrupt her, except for emergencies. I had no qualms with that. All I wanted was to know whether this golden man was actually Siggy.

My team decided to spend the next hour discussing everything from repairs to crew status, waiting out whatever Dressler and Athena were doing. It pained me to sit on my ass, but since I wasn’t an engineer or a Cognitive, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do.

Was this what it felt like to be outside the delivery room, waiting to hear if it was a boy or a girl? Was I about to become some kind of weird father figure to a Cognitive newborn?

I shook my head, trying to push the ridiculous question away.

“Jace?” said Abigail, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Are you listening?”

“Huh?” I asked, lifting my eyes from the table.

“Alphonse said the injured pilots are back on their feet and ready to train.”

“That’s good news,” I said.

“They seem to be as vigilant as ever,” said Alphonse.

His words reminded me of what Athena had said, right before Sigmond showed up in the medical bay. In all the confusion, I’d nearly forgotten all about the Union scout ship. “Speaking of which, Al, I need you to start training everyone again. Today, if you can.”

He nodded, not an ounce of surprise in his eyes. “I can have them ready and in their ships within the next few hours.”

“So soon?” asked Abigail. “Shouldn’t we let them rest for a day?”

I sighed. “I wish we could. After you left the medbay, Athena told me about a scout ship that’s been following us. I’m guessing the Union is right on our heels.”

“I see,” said Alphonse. “I imagine they caught up to us during our encounter with Hephaestus.”

“That was Athena’s thought too,” I said.

“Goodness,” said Hitchens. “With Titan in such a poor state, another battle could prove disastrous.”

“We’ll need to make repairs on the move,” said Alphonse thoughtfully.

Hitchens nodded. “Only a few of us have any experience with Titan’s infrastructure.”

Karin raised a hand. “My people know the technology well enough to help. I can list several experienced mechanics and engineers.”

“How soon to get a team together?” I asked.

She considered the question. “Give me a few hours.”

That was a relief. In all the confusion, I’d nearly forgotten all about the colonists having experience with ancient Earth technology. If anyone could help get Titan fully functional again, it was them.

“We only have two days before we arrive on Earth,” said Abigail.

“Is that enough time?” asked Freddie.

“It has to be,” I said, shaking my head. “That fleet is coming, whether we like it or not.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“If anyone wants to leave before things get messy, I’ll understand,” I said, looking at each of their faces. “I’ll give you a shuttle and you can be on your way. No hard feelings. No questions asked. I know what I’m asking from you and I know it ain’t easy.”

My crew stared back at me with the same blank expressions. Maybe they hadn’t expected me to offer a way out. Maybe they’d come all this way never believing they could walk away.

Freddie scoffed from across the room. “Not a chance, Captain.”

He surprised me. I’d expected that reaction from Abigail, but Freddie had always been the squeamish type. Funny how people could change like that.

“If losing my legs didn’t deter me from fighting, neither will this,” added Octavia. She looked to her side at Hitchens, who beamed a jolly smile her way.

“I’m alive because of you people,” said Bolin. “I’ll keep fighting to protect my little girl.”

Alphonse took a step forward, away from the door. “I risked death to find this crew. Were I to abandon you before the conclusion, I’d regret it for the rest of my days.”

Abigail beamed a smile at me. “You know my answer.”

“See?” asked Freddie, a sense of victory in his voice. “We’re not going anywhere.”

2

Athena would take a few hours to comb through Siggy’s code, which left the rest of us time to focus on other priorities. I decided to give each of them a list of assignments.

To begin with, Alphonse and Octavia would need to continue training their pilots, splitting them into different groups in order to accelerate the process.

Freddie and Bolin would be in charge of assessing the damage to our strike ships. Several had taken heavy damage from the last fight and we needed to know how many were inoperable. With Athena’s power nearly depleted, it would have been difficult for her to evaluate them, even if she wasn’t already preoccupied with analyzing Sigmond, which meant the task had to be manually done.

Abigail volunteered to examine the Star for any potential repairs, while also restocking its supplies and ammunition. If anything happened between now and our arrival on Earth, I wanted us to be ready at a moment’s notice.

I decided to spend my time with Karin. She was already tasked with pulling together a maintenance crew from among her own people, so it seemed like a good opportunity to check in on the whole group, particularly the families of the pilots we lost in the most recent battle against the rogue Cognitive Hephaestus. I was never one for emotional situations, but I felt like I owed it to these people to at least show my face.

Karin led me to one of the larger rooms, which had recently been converted into a community workspace. She had personally requested permission to do this shortly after everyone had come aboard. This was the first time I’d been here since then, so I hadn’t had a chance to see all the changes. Naturally, all the bins and crates were moved out, and in their place, the colonists had laid out mats and pillows, with piles of materials for constructing staves and other weapons and armor nearby.

“Looks like you’ve been busy here,” I said after we walked through the door. Karin nodded. “We wanted it to feel familiar. It’s almost the same as back home, don’t you think?”

“Actually, it does look pretty similar to that area you had outside your little meeting room,” I told her.

“We’re adaptable, but a little familiarity goes a long way,” she said.

I could understand where she was coming from. I still slept, shit, and showered on the Star. I could have moved out and gotten a room on Titan, but why go through the hassle of it when I had a perfectly good bed and an entire ship to myself?

“Over there,” said Karin, motioning across the room to a few people. They were sitting together, working on what appeared to be several pieces of a staff.

I recognized one of them as Josef. He waved at me with a large smile when our eyes met. I returned it. “Looks like your dad is here,” I said to Karin.

“He’s one of the best engineers we have,” she answered, a hint of pride in her voice.

“Hey, good point, actually,” I said, remembering how adept the old man had been with old Earth technology, back when we first met. “Do you think he’d want to help Dressler out with repairs?”

“I’m sure he will,” she said before we continued over to the group of elders. “Hello, Father.”

“Karin!” The old man beamed, getting to his feet. “How is your day going?”

The group of elders smiled as we approached, quietly bowing their heads to both of us in respect. I hated the way they did that, but nothing I could say would stop them. They insisted on being respectful.

“I’m well,” she said. “I’ve come with Captain Hughes to speak with Donti and Sheila.”

“Oh?” asked Josef. “I think they’re in their room, just down the hall.” He pointed to the nearby archway.

“Thanks,” I told him.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, shaking his head and stepping over to the side of the group. “Here, let me show you which door it is.”

Karin laughed. “I know where they live, Father.”

“Ah, of course you do,” he said, giving her a light chuckle. He placed his hand on her back and smiled. “You always had a good memory. That’s what makes you such a good leader.”

“I’m sure that’s not the reason,” I said.

One of the nearby colonists scoffed. “Don’t mind Josef. You should hear how he brags about you, Karin.”

“We tell him it’s unnecessary,” said another. “He forgets we already adore you.”

Karin leaned in and kissed her father on the cheek. “That’s why I love coming down here. I always get the best compliments.”

The rest of the group laughed as we walked into the nearby hall, leaving them to continue their work. “This way, you two,” said Josef, eager to lead us.

“Which one of these is yours?” I asked, glancing at the nearby doors, most of which were open.

“Lucia and I sleep a few halls down from here,” he explained.

“They’re by themselves,” said Karin.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The entire hall is theirs,” she told me. “No neighbors or anything. I keep telling them to move closer, but Father refuses.”

I smirked. “Sounds like you miss your cave, old man.”

Josef laughed. “In a way, that’s not far from the truth. I spent so much time out there that I found it hard to have neighbors again. The silence of the wild was soothing, so much that I got used to it. Having a hall to myself seems to minimize the noise, though, so I get rest easier.”

“How’s that been working for Lucia?” I asked.

“She says it’s better than a cave. I can’t say I disagree either. Being on Titan is like a dream, one that I imagined for most of my life but never believed I would see realized.”

“Well, Jo, you helped make that happen,” I said. “If it weren’t for you, we never would’ve escaped the Union and gotten your people off that planet.”

“You flatter me,” he said, a hint of a smile on his face. He stopped in front of one of the rooms. “Here we are!”

The door was closed, unlike most of the others. “Are they home? Why’s the door shut?”

“We close them in mourning,” explained Karin. She tapped the pad on the wall to let them know someone was here.

A moment later, I was inside the apartment, standing in front of Donti and Sheila. We shook hands and had a seat on the large, cushioned matt on the floor. Like most of the other colonists, these two had rough hands from years of hard work. They knew what it was like to fight, to get up every morning and work their bodies to the point of exhaustion, all for the sake of their children.

Which made it all the more difficult to speak with them now about the son they’d never see again.

Karin motioned quickly for me to sit in the middle, across from the old couple. She and her father sat beside me, one on each side. “Thanks for seeing us,” I said, trying to awkwardly match their sitting position before finally giving up.

Sheila smiled warmly at me, the way a grandmother does right before she’s about to hand you a stack of cookies. “Oh, it’s so nice to see both of you,” she said.

Karin laughed. “But I saw you this morning, Sheila.”

The old woman giggled and tapped her husband’s knee. “All the same, we love our guests. Don’t we, Donti?”

Her husband nodded “That we do, my dear.”

“And to see the captain is such a treat,” added Sheila.

“But we know why you’ve come to our closed door today,” finished her husband. “It is the same reason the others have come.”

I looked at Karin, who simply nodded. “What happened to your son—it never should’ve gone that way,” I told them. “It was—”

Donti shook his head. “My son died because he had to, Captain. It was nothing you did. We know that. It was them. The Union, the Sarkonians, Hephaestus. When he volunteered to fight, he did so willingly.” The old man smirked. “Eagerly, in fact.”

Sheila grasped her husband’s hand and held it. “There was purpose in his death,” she said, a warm smile on her. “That is our consolation.”

I wanted to ask if that was enough but stopped myself. Instead, I reached out a hand to the old woman, taking hers in mine, and said, “Thank you.”

Joseph, Karin, and I left the old couple’s room and made our way back into the hall. When we had walked a short distance from the room, Karin turned to me and asked, “Do you want to keep going?”

“How many more are there?” I asked.

“There are thirteen closed doors,” she answered. “One for each family.”

I nodded then looked at Josef. “Take us to the next one, Jo. We’ll keep going until we’ve seen them all.”

By the time we finished visiting all thirteen families, I was ready to go back to my ship and sleep. Unfortunately, that was right around the time Athena finished her scans.

“My assessment has concluded,” said Athena the moment we returned to the conference room.

Abby, Dressler, and Freddie were already there, sitting at the table. Karin joined them while I leaned against the nearby wall, crossing my arms.

As soon as the door slid shut, Athena continued. “The results of my scan have revealed Sigmond to be a fully functional Cognitive, although there are some alterations that I find most interesting.”

“Such as?” asked Abby.

“His ability to move through both Titan and the Renegade Star, for example, as well as the fact that he does not require a capsule of his own.”

“I thought every Cognitive needed a capsule to store themselves,” said Abby.

“Normally, that is true, but Sigmond’s program is significantly smaller than a typical Cognitives.”

“How much smaller?” I asked.

“Nearly six times reduced,” she answered. “In fact, he seems to have stored the majority of his program on the Renegade Star, using several connected workstations across Titan for the remainder.”

“That must be because he was originally built to use the computers on my ship,” I said.

“Indeed,” said Athena. “It is most unusual.”

“Is this why it took you so long to finish?” I asked.

She nodded. “Sigmond, as he currently exists, represents an unprecedented form of Cognitive. As such, I cannot say definitively how he will continue to evolve.”

“But he’s okay for right now?” I asked.

“Based on my findings, I see no reason to believe otherwise. Sigmond has not inherited any of the derangement that plagued Hephaestus, nor does he show any signs of deterioration,” she explained.

“That’s wonderful,” said Abigail, still sitting down at the corner of the table. She reached up and touched my wrist. “Do you know what this means, Jace?”

I glanced down at her, uncertain of what she was trying to imply. I answered her with a light shrug.

“We have another Cognitive on our side. Think about the implications,” she said.

I hadn’t considered that. In all my worrying over what to do next, I’d never weighed the benefit of having a brand new Cognitive on our side. Maybe I was too concerned with Sigmond’s life to overthink the long-game here, but now that Abby was talking about it, I couldn’t help but feel encouraged. “You’re right,” I finally said. “This is good. This is really good.”

“Pardon the interruption, but shall I reactivate Sigmond at this time?” asked Athena.

Abby and I exchanged a quick look, then we both nodded. “Let’s see him,” I told her.

“Very well,” said the Cognitive, and she froze in place momentarily.

I raised my brow at the sight of her motionless body. “What’s the deal with this?”

“Titan is running on reserve energy,” answered Dressler. “Reconstituting Sigmond probably takes a great deal of power.”

“That’s right,” said Abby. “This used to happen to her before we found that Tritium core. Don’t you remember, Jace?”

“How could I forget?” I asked, shaking my head. I thumbed a finger at Dressler. “That’s where we picked this one up.”

The doctor glared at me, opening her mouth to respond—no doubt with an insult—when Athena moved again.

“Here we are,” said the Cognitive, and a mass of golden light began to form in front of her.

In seconds, Sigmond manifested before us, looking exactly the same as the last time—golden eyes, light-brown skin, dark hair, and a gentle smile on his face.

“Welcome back,” said Abigail.

“Ah,” said Sigmond, looking at his own hands. “It thrills me to be here, Ms. Pryar. I trust my program is in working order?”

“It is,” said Dressler, causing all eyes to fall on her. She walked closer to him, examining his body. “How do you feel?”

“Feel?” he asked curiously. “Ah, yes. I suppose I am well, although I have no basis for comparison. I have only had this new form for a short time.”

“I’m sure you’ll adjust,” said Abby.

Sigmond nodded, then looked down at his palm, wriggling his fingers and turning his hand. “Thank you, Ms. Pryar. I do believe you are correct.”

3

Everyone dispersed shortly after Sigmond’s awakening, each with tasks that needed their attention. We all had our work cut out for us, and that included me.

Still, I decided to linger a few more minutes to have myself a chat with the newly created Cognitive. When everyone had left, I turned to Athena, who was still standing beside Sigmond. “Mind giving us the room for a minute?” I asked.

“Not at all, Captain,” she answered, disappearing into thin air almost immediately.

I turned to my old friend, letting out a long sigh as I shook my head. “This is something else, pal, I gotta tell you.”

“It most certainly is, sir,” said Sigmond.

“So,” I began, “what’s it feel like?”

“Feel like, sir?” he echoed.

“Going from an A.I. to a Cognitive,” I clarified.

“Ah,” he said.

“You can feel the difference, can’t you?” I asked.

He hesitated. “It’s difficult to tell, now that I think about it.”

“Don’t you remember what it was like before this?”

“Yes, but not in the same way you might imagine,” he said. “I felt nothing before, so I can’t tell you how it felt to be me. All I can say is that I existed, although I was never alive.”

“Was it like being asleep?” I asked.

“I’ve never slept, so I couldn’t say,” he answered honestly. “If anything, it feels like a distant memory, buried in the far reaches of my mind, like looking at someone else from far away.”

“Are you saying you aren’t Siggy anymore?” I asked.

“Are you the same Jace Hughes that you were when you were thirteen years old?”

I scratched my chin. “I guess not.”

“And yet, that boy is still a part of you—the foundation for the rest of your life. His ambitions, talents, experiences, and relationships. These are the things that build us, forming what comes next.” Sigmond touched his temple, giving me a smile. “The same is true of me.”

Abigail’s steady breathing tickled my ear as we lay together in my bed. I had managed a good three hours of rest before waking up, but after spending so much time in the medical bay, it seemed my body had gotten its fill.

The light from the bathroom shined in on us, letting me see the woman beside me. She was on her chest and gently snoring. It made me smile.

I slid my arm out from under her and made my way to the lounge, pouring a cup of coffee before taking a seat on the sofa. I crossed my legs and took in the scent of the freshly made brew. A quick glance at the nearby holo showed it was the very early morning, hours before I usually got up. Despite that, I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one awake right now. Karin had ordered her newly formed repair crew into groups of ten, with each team assigned to a different shift, allowing them to continue their work at all hours of the day. At that pace, internal systems would be fully operational within the next few days.

It wasn’t fast enough, but I knew we couldn’t ask for more. Everyone was working at their limit.

“Mr. Hughes?” muttered a voice from my left side.

I looked over to see Lex standing in the hallway, a foot still inside the bedroom. Abigail had brought her here last night, and I didn’t bother asking why.

I smiled at the girl. “Hey, kid. What’s up?”

She held her blanket close to her chest, her eyes half-closed, and waddled closer to me. With a long yawn, she came to the side of the couch and hopped onto the cushion beside me, curling into a small ball. “I smelled the coffee,” she said, laying her head on the armrest. “It woke me up.”

“Sorry about that,” I said, taking a sip.

“It’s okay,” she said, nestling her hands between the cushions and stretching her feet so they were on my lap. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I slept enough, I guess. I’m wide awake now.”

“Me too,” she whispered, her eyes closed as she licked her lips. “Wide awake.”

In seconds, she was fast asleep again, breathing steadily. I took another sip of coffee and leaned back, resigning myself to this position, at least for the foreseeable future.

I set my cup on the nearby table and propped my feet on the chair in front of me, letting out a long sigh. Lex fidgeted, kicking my stomach with the heel of her foot, and muttered something I couldn’t understand. I wondered if she was dreaming. I hoped it was something good.

She deserved a nice distraction from the real world, especially with everything that was about to happen.

After some time, I eased my way out from under Lex’s feet and decided to take a stroll. A few colonists were in the landing bay, messing around in their ships. Two women with repair tools jogged quickly to the elevator, probably taking over from the prior shift.

Even in the early hours, Titan was full of activity.

Seeing them reminded me of Taurus Station, back when I was only a Renegade trying to make a living. My old pal Ollie—rest his soul—would cash me out and give me my next assignment, and then I’d find myself with a bottle in the bar, killing time with whatever girl happened to be there.

Gods, it felt like a lifetime ago, and now I was here in this strange place, walking through battle-worn halls, wondering how I even came to be here.

At what point had I chosen this direction for my life? When had I made the decision to be here? Was it when I shot Fratley in the head? Was it when I told the Union to fuck off?

A quick flash of Abigail, dressed as a nun, passed through my mind. Oh, right, I thought, recalling the disapproving look on her face when we’d first met. A simple escort job gone wrong.

If Ollie hadn’t pressed me to take it, I would’ve walked away right there and none of this would’ve happened. Funny how things work out like that sometimes. You never know what’s good for you until it happens.

I stopped in front of the cafeteria to find Alphonse sitting at one of the tables, a pad in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. “Well, look who’s up,” I said, raising my voice to get his attention.

He glanced over his shoulder. “Captain,” he greeted before turning back to his work.

“Did you just wake up?” I asked, walking closer to the table and taking a seat across from him.

“I haven’t gone to bed yet, actually,” he said, tapping the screen.

“What are you doing there?” I asked.

“This?” he asked, lifting the device. He handed it to me. “I’ve been working on the plan we discussed.”

“That was ten hours ago,” I said, taking the pad and examining it.

“It seemed like something I should prioritize.”

The first thing I found was a map, including our current position and flight path. Earth was in the usual place, but the screen showed us heading in a new direction, to an unknown system. I tapped the system and it zoomed in, showing five planets surrounding the star, with our path ending near the second world.

I looked up at Alphonse. “You want us to change course?”

He nodded. “A slight alteration, but not so much that it draws attention.”

“You’re worried Brigham will suspect something if we change our flightpath too much.”

“Precisely,” he said. “This planet would only require us to shift our trajectory by a fraction of a percentage. He’ll notice, but not enough that it warrants concern.”

“Won’t he notice when he runs a long-distance scan?” I asked.

“According to the information Sigmond acquired from Hephaestus, there’s a settlement here,” said Alphonse, pointing to the pad. “Quite large too.”

“A settlement?” I asked.

“Abandoned, of course, but still standing and big enough to fool the Union into believing this is Earth. We can arrive ahead of them and spring a trap.”

I nudged the pad toward him. “This is good. If everything falls apart, at least they won’t have Earth.” I leaned forward. “What’s our battle plan once we get there?”

“I’m still working on that,” he admitted. “The difficult part will be devising a strategy that does not require heavy sacrifices on our end. I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with something that won’t result in excessive casualties, but—”

I shook my head. “Relax, Al. You’ll get there. We just need to think this through, and we still have a few days.”

He nodded, although I could sense the uncertainty building within him.

I got to my feet and started to leave, but paused beside him. “Hold on,” I said before glancing up at the ceiling. “Siggy, you there? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” said the former A.I. as he materialized right before my eyes. The golden-eyed Cognitive smiled warmly at the two of us. “How can I help you?”

“I was just thinking,” I said, hooking my thumb through my belt. “You spent some time inside Earth’s defense grid.”

“I did indeed, sir.”

“You think you can use that insight to help Alphonse come up with a plan of attack?” I asked.

“Of course. That is, if the good Constable would have me,” said Sigmond.

“By all means,” said Alphonse.

“Excellent,” said Sigmond.

“Great,” I said, patting Alphonse on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you two to it.”

“We’ll have something for you by this afternoon,” said Alphonse.

I smirked. “That’s the spirit.”

I started to head toward the cafeteria exit, when Alphonse said, “Oh, one last thing, Captain.”

“What is it?” I asked, stopping with my hand on the archway.

“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell MaryAnn about my lack of sleep.”

I cocked my head. “Who?”

“Dr. MaryAnn Dressler,” he said, giving me a look that suggested I should know.

It took me a second to make the connection. I’d spent so much time calling Dressler by her last name and title that I’d completely forgotten her first. “Oh, right.”

Alphonse and Sigmond exchanged a quick glance. “Did you forget her name?” asked the former Constable.

“I can’t remember everything, Al,” I said. “Why don’t you want me to tell her what you’re up to?”

“I’d rather not worry her.”

“Worry her? That doesn’t sound like Dressler,” I said, tapping my chin.

“We’ve been meeting for tea every evening to discuss the following day’s agenda. She’s made it a point to tell me how tired I looked, so—”

“Siggy, are you hearing this? Al’s gone and got himself a lady. Fancy that.”

“A lady?” asked Sigmond. “Has he taken possession of the doctor?”

Alphonse shook his head. “It’s not like that, I can assure you both. We’re colleagues. Nothing more. I simply don’t want to worry her.”

I snickered. “If you say so, but that’s not what it sounds like to me.”

“Please, Captain,” pleaded Alphonse.

“Fine, fine,” I assured him. “I won’t say anything to your girlfriend. Just get me those plans.” I paused, thinking about all of this. “And in the meantime, we should probably tell Athena what we’re—”

The albino Cognitive appeared beside Sigmond. “Yes, Captain?”

“—doing,” I finished, blinking at her. “I guess that saves me the hassle.”

“I overheard the request for a course correction,” said Athena. “Shall I go ahead and make the change?”

I looked at Alphonse. “You’re sure about this plan, right?”

“It’s only the beginning of a plan,” he corrected. “The rest is still in development. However, I’m confident whatever Sigmond and I come up with won’t change our heading.”

“You heard the man, Athena. Time to set a course.”

4

“I can’t believe you had an impromptu meeting in the cafeteria without me,” said Abigail, stretching out her arms and legs in the bed.

“If you didn’t sleep so much, you wouldn’t miss these things,” I said, handing her a cup of coffee.

She took a sip as she sat up, twisting around to the edge of the bed, somehow managing to still give me a look of disapproval in the process. “It won’t be long before we’re at that planet you mentioned. Do we even have enough time to make all those repairs to Titan?”

“Athena seems to think so,” I said.

She took another drink, pausing briefly. “I hope she’s right.”

“You’re worried,” I said.

“A little,” she admitted. “Even under perfect conditions, we’d have our work cut out for us, given the size of the fleet they’re sending after—”

“Abby!” called Lex as she came racing into the room. The little girl ran up to us, a wide grin on her face as she let out a burst of laughter.

“I see you’re finally awake,” I said.

“I heard Abby talking,” she explained.

Abigail smiled at her, setting her coffee down on the nearby side table. “No more lounging for me, it seems.”

“Is it time to go to school?” asked Lex.

“Maybe in a few hours,” said Abby, glancing up at me. “Why don’t the three of us spend some time together for a change?”

I shrugged.

Abigail smiled. “Looks like Jace is in. What do you say, Lex? Got anything special you want to do?”

“Yes!” cheered the girl. “Let’s get ice cream!”

“For breakfast?” asked Abby, laughing. “That’s what you want?”

“Can we?” asked Lex.

Abby looked at me and I gave her another shrug. “Let’s do it!”

Lex cheered as we got to our feet. “Today’s going to be the best!”

After spending a few hours with the girls, I received a call from Dressler, informing me that the repair team had found something. “It looks like we have a drone lodged inside the hull,” she explained over the comm. “It appears to still be operational, but only partially.”

“I thought the drones shut down after we took out Hephaestus,” I said.

“Apparently not,” she answered.

“I’m on my way,” I said.

“Understood,” said the doctor.

Abigail heard the entire conversation, thanks to the comm in her ear, and gave me a quick nod before I could say anything. “Go handle it,” she told me. “I’ll make sure Lex gets to school.”

“I’ll let you know what we find,” I assured her.

I hopped into the nearby elevator and rode it to the sixteenth deck—the most heavily damaged part of the ship.

As soon as the doors slid open, I was met by Karin. “What do we have?” I asked, stepping into the hall.

“Nothing good,” she said, motioning for me to follow. “It looks like the drone is still armed. We’ve already informed Athena.”

Walking through the hall, I spotted several fractures where the strain of the impact had caused damage. Sections of the ceiling had also fallen in, already sealed by the team. I had to hand it to the repair crew. They had managed to get through two entire decks in less than a day. If they kept this pace up, we stood a fair chance at finishing everything before the deadline.

Karin and I rounded the corner and entered the nearby landing bay. I stopped when I saw the damaged wall with at least a dozen crew members working beneath it. “Holy shit,” I muttered.

Every landing bay contained four openings along the far wall, each separated by about six meters of surface metal, making for a simple but symmetric design.

All of that was gone. Instead of four separate openings, there was now a single wide hole that extended across most of the landing bay, directly into open space.

Or, in this case, slipspace.

Green lightning flashed before me, all along the slip tunnel wall, illuminating the entire landing bay and the bustling repair crew.

“The shield is keeping everything in place,” said Karin, who must have noticed the look on my face.

“How stable is it?” I finally asked, keeping my eyes forward. “Is it safe for all these people to be here?”

“I have activated sixteen separate layers of shielding,” informed a disembodied voice.

“Athena?” I said, looking around and expecting to find her standing beside me. When I didn’t see her, I asked, “Where are you?”

“I’m afraid the hard light emitters are currently disabled inside the landing bay,” she informed me.

“It’s on our list of things to fix,” said Karin. “After we take care of the drone, that is.”

I nodded. “You said it was armed?”

“That’s right,” said Karin, continuing forward. “Let me show you.”

I followed her a short distance to the crowd of engineers in front of the drone. “Excuse us,” said Karin, pushing through the crew members. They stepped aside, giving us some room.

As we drew closer, I spotted a pair of legs beneath the drone’s nose. “Someone there?” asked the engineer, whose voice I quickly recognized.

“It’s just us, Doc,” I said.

Dressler nudged herself out from beneath the device, glancing up at me with one eye. “Before you ask, I don’t have any good news yet.” She leaned back under the drone. “In fact, there doesn’t even seem to be an access panel. Not that I can find anyway.”

“We were thinking about removing the hull so we can get inside,” said Karin.

“Sounds risky,” I said.

“It’s more than risky,” said Dressler, her voice muffled from beneath the drone. “We could inadvertently trigger its weapon system and blow half the bay apart.”

“And there’s nothing Athena can do about this?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, I am unable to access the drone’s interface,” answered Athena.

“Is it locked down or something?” I asked.

“It’s still in combat mode, which means several layers of protection,” explained Dressler. “The security system is air-tight. Athena won’t be able to break in without the proper—” She paused, dropping her hands, and then shuffled her way out from under the nose. “Where’s Sigmond?”

“Siggy? He’s working on something with Alphonse,” I explained.

“He spent time inside the defense network. He might be able to break through the encryption,” said Dressler.

“That’s right,” said Karin. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“You think Siggy can shut this thing down?” I asked.

“Possibly,” said Dressler.

“That’s better than nothing,” I said, looking up at the ceiling. “Hey, Siggy! You there?”

We all paused in silence, waiting for a response.

“Affirmative, sir,” he answered a short moment later. “Athena has briefed me on the situation and I’m ready to assist.”

“Briefed you? Already?”

“I also had some time to locate the required access key.”

“Not bad, Siggy,” I said.

“Thank you, sir. Please, I suggest everyone leave the area should anything go wrong. The drone is outfitted with a self-destruct, which could activate if it detects an unauthorized intrusion.”

Dressler stood up and dusted her pants off. “Let’s hope this works.”

I turned toward the nearby crowd. “You heard the Cognitive, folks. Get your asses out of here.”

We stood in the outer corridor while Sigmond attempted to disarm the drone. Ten minutes passed in silence as we waited, wondering whether he could actually pull this off. After all, if Athena couldn’t do it, what chance did a newly born Cognitive have?

I could sense the crew growing restless the more time passed. Whispers filled the corridor as tension grew, an air of uncertainty getting thicker by the second.

That was when the elevator door opened and Abigail appeared. “What’s going on up here?” she asked, spotting me from across the small crowd.

I waved at her as she made her way through the group of albino engineers. “Nothing serious,” I explained calmly, right as she approached. “Just waiting for Siggy to disarm an explosive on the other side of that door.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but then paused, taking a second to process what I’d just said. “What was that?” she finally asked. “You said there’s a bomb?”

“An explosive,” I corrected. “And Siggy is trying to disarm it.”

She looked at Dressler, who was standing next to me. The doctor nodded her confirmation.

Abigail let out a breath. “Well,” she continued. “I hope he knows what he’s doing.”

“Siggy can handle it,” I assured her.

“Weapon system is now disarmed,” informed Sigmond, his voice causing several people to flinch.

“See?” I said, still relaxed. “My boy always delivers.”

“Warning,” said Athena. “Weapon activation in process. Brace for impact.”

“Get down!” I shouted, grabbing Abigail by the shoulder and pulling us both to the floor.

A loud and deafening boom rang through the deck as the drone’s missile exploded, the force of which was so strong, it punched the nearby door straight open, almost hitting two crew members as they leapt toward the floor.

With the door open, I could see flashing lights on the other side as the alarms sounded. The drone had broken the shield and was nowhere to be seen, but I imagined it was probably destroyed, most of which had been sucked out into space.

“Help!” cried Karin, who had two legs inside the doorway. She was holding on to the side of the wall, struggling to keep herself on the floor. The explosion had caused a breach, which meant all the pressure inside the landing bay was being sucked out.

I edged my way to the opening. “Hold on!” I barked, pushing several engineers out of the way.

Karin’s feet were in the air, being pulled by the breach. If she wasn’t careful, she’d wind up spaced in a matter of seconds.

I gripped the doorway, reaching out for her. She stared up at me, less than a meter away. “Take my hand!” I shouted.

She swallowed and slowly raised her palm. Our fingers grazed each other before she lost her grip on the wall and had to pull away, taking a nearby rail to make sure she didn’t go flying.

She held it firmly, and I could see she wasn’t about to try that again. I looked back at Abigail. “Hold my feet!” I ordered.

I felt several people grab hold of my legs and boots, surprising me.

“Good. Now ease me forward!” I told them.

Abigail, Dressler, and the rest of the crowd slowly moved me through the doorway toward Karin. She watched with a calm horror in her eyes.

“What’s taking so long to close that shield?!” snapped Dressler.

“System reboot in process. Estimated recover time is forty-two seconds,” answered Athena.

One of Karin’s hands let go of the rail and she screamed, quickly regaining her grip. “Help me!”

“Hold on!” I yelled as the others pushed me towards her. I was hanging out of the doorway, totally reliant on my friends to keep me alive. If they let go, that would be it for me. I’d be done.

A light fixture sparked and fell from above Karin’s position, but it was quickly swept away by the breach. Karin screamed as sparks rained down on her, causing her to let go of the rail. Right as she did, I snatched her hand with mine, squeezing her wrist.

She looked up, legs still flailing behind her, a surprised look on her face.

The light fixture flew through the opening and into space.

“Give me your other hand!” I yelled. It was all I could do to hold on to her, and I felt my muscles tense more with each passing second. I was going to feel this in the morning.

She swung her arm around and grabbed my wrist with her other hand. I did the same.

“Don’t let go!” I shouted. “It should close any second—”

The pressure died instantly and we dropped like stones to the floor. I landed right on my chest, knocking the wind out of me and forcing me to wheeze.

A flicker of blue light flashed across the far wall and the open hole where the drone had been. The shield had reformed just in time.

Karin managed to drop on her side, rolling a little to offset the fall.

I wheezed, struggling to breathe again. “Godsdammit,” I muttered.

“Karin, are you okay?” asked Abigail, still behind me.

“She’s fine,” I managed to say as I pushed myself up on my knees then grabbed the doorway to steady myself. When I was finally back on my feet, I stepped back into the landing bay, trying to get a better look at the damage. The room was even more messed up than it had been before, so much that I was surprised any of us were still standing. Even more of the wall was missing, knocked free during the explosion, and there was no sign of the drone. “Siggy, talk to me. Where you at, pal?”

“I must apologize, sir,” said Sigmond. “It seems my presence triggered a failsafe within the drone’s defense protocol. Once I shut it down, a secondary backup initialized without my knowing.”

“The good news is the drone is gone,” said Karin, still dusting herself off.

“I guess that’s something,” I said before glancing back at everyone. “We got any serious injuries?”

Abigail looked around the corridor then shook her head. “We seem to be okay.”

Dressler stepped through the doorway and glanced around the bay, finally returning her eyes to me. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to resume our work schedule. We’re losing time standing around.”

“Easy, Doc. Maybe you ought to give your people a breather after all that. Don’t you think?” I asked.

“I might agree, were these normal circumstances, Captain, but we don’t have that luxury.”

“She’s right,” said Abigail. “The enemy won’t wait for us to lick our wounds. We can’t stop the repairs.”

I looked at Karin, who was reaching for a piece of metal shard—part of the lighting fixture that had nearly crushed her only a few moments ago.

“What about you?” I asked. “You almost just died. I’d say this one’s up to you.”

Karin examined the shard, turning the little piece over in her hand, and tossed it behind her. “Let’s get back to work,” she finally said.

I watched her approach the doorway, preparing to address her crew—friends and family she had known her whole life.

She cleared her throat, motioning at one of the nearby engineers for a pad. Once she had it, she brought up what appeared to be the team’s work schedule. “It looks like our next task is on deck twenty-six. There’s another breach that requires sealing. We’ll split into two teams. One will remain here while the other proceeds to the next task.” Karin looked back at me, giving me a smile. “We can handle it from here, Captain.”

5

Karin’s people continued to impress me. They had resolve like nothing I’d ever seen, which made sense, I supposed, considering where they came from and what they had to endure. If everyone had to spend their lives fighting Boneclaws on a planet made of ice, they were sure to grow up tough.

Maybe I was being selfish, but I was glad to have people with such fortitude beside me. They seemed to have a higher threshold for danger—at least more than your typical folk.

I’d spent most of my time with all kinds of unsavory sorts, so I was used to seeing people get their skulls cracked open, but hardly any of them ever showed an ounce of empathy. These people were better than that. They’d lived in a frozen Hell and came out the other side with their humanity still intact. That was more than the rest of us could say.

I popped a piece of hard candy into my mouth and bit down as I walked briskly onto Titan’s bridge.

Cherry flavor. My favorite.

Athena, Alphonse, and Sigmond were already there, waiting for me. “What’s the story?” I asked with my foot barely in the door.

“The drone was destroyed,” explained Alphonse. “Titan took minimal damage from the blast.”

“And there were no casualties, thanks to you, sir,” Sigmond reminded me.

“Was that the only reason you called me up here?” I asked. “Tell me there was something else.”

“There is,” assured Athena, looking at Sigmond.

The former A.I. nodded. “Indeed, sir. You see, while my efforts to secure the drone were unsuccessful, I did manage to procure some unexpected information.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“The defense network,” he answered. “It is still operational.”

“Gods. I thought we shut all that down when we took out Hephaestus,” I said, letting out a short sigh. I looked up at the screen behind them, showing a galactic map with several lines of interest on it. “Is that what I’m looking at?”

Both Cognitives nodded. “It seems the network remains online without an administrator to operate it,” said Sigmond. “I may have failed to deactivate the drone, but the experience was valuable. With Athena’s assistance, I was able to create a more accurate infiltration tool.”

“Are you saying you can control the network?” I asked.

“There are many variables, but it is a possibility,” said Athena.

My eyes widened at the sound of that. “Holy Hell, Siggy. Did you just solve our Union problem?”

“Potentially, sir, but we cannot be certain yet,” said Sigmond. “To begin with, we require an access dock, a location similar to Abaddon Station or one of the drone manufacturing centers.”

“Okay, fine,” I said, dismissing the concern. “Where’s the nearest factory? Let’s set a course.”

“I’m afraid the nearest manufacturing facility is behind us,” said Athena. “Most of them are a short distance from the territorial border, and we are well inside by now. We’ll need to visit a local facility in order to establish a viable link for Sigmond to sign in.”

I looked up at the screen again. “Which is where?”

“As it happens, our current destination contains such a facility,” said Athena. One of the stars blinked with a soft blue light, not far from our present location. “The planet Perseus.”

Alphonse gave me a wry grin. “Before you ask, I’ve already factored all of this into the plan.”

“Thanks for saving me the time,” I said, swallowing what remained of the hard candy. “Let’s hear it.”

My team arrived on the bridge within the hour, including Dressler and Karin, who had to be reluctantly pried away from their maintenance work. I’d asked each of them to be here, since they’d all have to play a part in what was about to happen.

Even Lucia was there, standing with her staff beside her daughter. “I hope this is important,” the old woman commented.

“What’s wrong? Were you in the middle of something?” asked Abigail.

“No, but I detest strategy meetings,” explained Lucia.

“Didn’t you used to be the leader of your village?” asked Freddie.

“And I avoided them whenever I could,” she said.

Hitchens was the last one to enter the bridge, taking a seat at one of the nearby desks. He had a pad in his hand, along with a sandwich. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I was in the middle of some research and had to grab lunch on the way.”

“Thank you all for coming,” I said.

“Don’t mention it,” said Abigail, giving me a half-smile.

I cleared my throat. “In case you haven’t been watching the clock, we’re about eight hours away from Perish, which means—”

“Perseus,” corrected Sigmond.

I gave him a look before continuing. “We’re about eight hours away from Perseus, which means we don’t have much time to prep, so I won’t waste any more of it than I have to.”

The screen behind me transformed to show Perseus and the rest of the system. It contained several other worlds, with twin moons surrounding this particular planet.

“Take it away, Al,” I said, motioning at the Constable.

Alphonse nodded. “What you’re seeing is a former colony, once brimming with millions of citizens, but currently devoid of any human life. This is our destination and the main focal point of our attack strategy.”

“Where’d they all go?” asked Bolin. “The humans, I mean.”

“I’m afraid we don’t know,” said Athena. “Like Earth, long-range communications remain unanswered, and scans show no human activity on the surface.”

“In other words, there’s nobody home,” I said.

Alphonse nodded. “That being said, the infrastructure is still there. An entire continent full of cities and farming towns. This planet was once the second largest off-world colony under Earth’s control.”

“Which means it should fool the Union into thinking it’s Earth,” I finished.

Everyone looked at me. “Pardon?” asked Hitchens.

“The Union has no idea where Earth is or what it looks like,” I explained. I shot a quick glance at Freddie. “Am I wrong?”

All eyes fell on him. “Are you asking me?”

I nodded. “You showed me that picture of Earth, back when we first met. Is there any chance the Union has one?”

Freddie looked around the room at everyone. “Ah, well, no, they wouldn’t. Darius didn’t discover that image until after he retired from the Union.”

“Even if it had, the Union has no way of knowing how accurate it is,” added Abigail. “All they know is what we show them. If we land on a planet and call it Earth, they’ll probably believe it.”

“Precisely,” said Alphonse.

“I guess if anyone knows what the Union has on Earth, it would be a Constable,” said Freddie.

“Don’t forget the scientist,” I said, motioning to Dressler.

She twisted her lips, never one for attention. “That’s correct.”

Octavia raised a finger. “Even if we can trick them into thinking that, what are we supposed to do when they show up?”

Alphonse continued. “The plan will require all available personnel across multiple fronts. To begin with, we’ll need a team on the surface—”

“Led by me,” I inserted.

“For what purpose?” asked Hitchens.

“To deliver me,” answered Sigmond.

“Sigmond will need to be uploaded into the defense network,” explained Alphonse. “After that, he’ll have access to the drone fleet.”

“Hold on a second,” said Dressler. “Do we know if that will work? The last time he attempted to network with a drone, it self-destructed.”

“Actually, it fired one of its missiles,” I corrected.

Dressler scowled at me. “Regardless.”

“He says he learned a few things from the experience. Didn’t you, Siggy?” I asked.

“Indeed, sir.”

“See?” I asked. “Always a student.”

“In any case,” continued Alphonse, “once Sigmond has been successfully linked to the network, he should be able to call in drone support.”

“But that’s not the only reason we’re doing it,” I added. “We’ll also need to drop some ships on the surface.”

“What do you mean?” asked Freddie.

“Brigham will think we’re there for a reason, which should force him to make a landing of his own, dividing his forces. It also means he’ll have to drop the Galactic Dawn’s shield, giving us a way inside.”

“Inside?” asked Octavia.

“That’s right,” I said. “With all his attention on the planet, he won’t see us coming.”

“What’s the plan once we’re inside?” asked Freddie.

Alphonse cleared his throat. “Two teams for two assignments. One will proceed to the engine room to insert an override device, giving full security access to Sigmond.”

“And the other?” asked Octavia.

“A bag and grab,” I answered, walking to the table and placing my hand on it. “Our job is to capture the man himself, bring him back, and force him to end this war before it even starts.”

“You want to kidnap General Brigham?” asked Freddie, dropping his mouth. “Seriously?”

“Actually, it was Abigail’s idea. She thinks we can force him to stand down,” I explained.

“Jace wanted to kill him, but I thought this might save a few lives,” said Abby.

“And if he turns me down…” I said, pausing. “Well, let’s just say that one way or the other, this war is going to end.”

6

With only a few hours to go, I hustled to the landing bay to make sure the Renegade Star was ready to launch. The second we were out of slipspace, I wanted to be on my way to Perseus.

I’d just spent the last hour checking in with Dressler, Alphonse, Sigmond, and Athena, making sure we each understood our roles in all of this. To make this happen, everyone would have to work in conjunction with each other, and that was only if Sigmond could actually breach the defense network, among other things.

So much relied on what came next. The future of Titan, my crew, and Earth. Hell, even the Union. The more I thought about it, the more weight I felt on my shoulders, and so I did my best to push the concern out of my head and focus on the task at hand. One step at a time, I reminded myself.

When I was a kid, my parole officer, a freckled bastard named Jesson Bishop, gave me some advice when I asked how people made it through six months of solitary. “Not many can, but the guys who do usually have a certain way of thinking. You just gotta tell yourself to make it through the next hour or the next day,” he explained. “When you get through that, push the goal ahead and say it again, and then keep saying it for as long as it takes. You train your brain to see things another way, you can do anything. You can survive. You get what I’m saying, Jace?”

“I get you,” I told him, having spent a fair bit of time in a cell as a teenager, counting seconds, minutes, and hours, never knowing what would happen next.

Now, here I was, trying to use that advice for the job at hand, taking things one step at a time so I didn’t lose my mind from overthinking the long game or wondering what might happen if we lost. I didn’t have time for that kind of fear. Not with so much riding on my back.

So for now, I’d concentrate on prepping my ship, and then I’d get my ass to the surface of Perseus, along with Sigmond and the rest of my squad.

Because that was what had to be done.

I walked through the landing bay, making my way to the Star on the other side. Nearby, dozens of pilots rushed to ready their assigned ships, prepping for the looming mission before us. Bolin and Octavia were both there, ordering their squads around, each with a commanding presence I’d grown fond of seeing. When I had first met Bolin, back on that scrapheap of a world where he was stuck selling junk to anyone who would buy, I never could’ve predicted he’d wind up fighting beside me, leading his own squad of pilots. He’d been a scrapper, a discarded nobody with nothing to his name except a pile of metal artifacts and a loving daughter. He might have said the latter was enough, and maybe she was, but the man sure as shit deserved a better life. All of these people did, and maybe at long last, they could finally have it.

That was, of course, if everything went the way it was supposed to go.

I walked up the platform to my ship, spotting Freddie on the second floor of the cargo bay. He waved at me, already in his environmental suit.

“Is it just you so far?” I asked from below the stairs.

“Abigail’s on the bridge, and I believe Lucia and Dressler are on the way.”

“Good,” I said, making my way up to the second floor. “Have them suit up when they get here. We need to be ready to go the second we hit the ground.”

“Will do, Captain,” said Freddie.

“Mr. Hughes!” called a familiar voice from outside the ship. I looked down to see Lex racing onto the lift and into the cargo hold.

Hitchens was right behind her, trying to keep up. “Lex! W-wait for me!”

The girl was fast, heading straight for the stairs. She climbed up and plopped her feet on the top step, barely winded, and threw her hands on her hips. “Where are you going, Mr. Hughes?” she asked, regarding me with a stern look that suggested I’d best watch myself. “And where’s Abby at?”

I tousled her hair. “Sorry, kid. We’ve got a job to do right now.”

“What kind of job? Can I go?”

“L-Lex!” called Hitchens. He arrived in front of the stairs, wheezing and with a ring of sweat around his neck. “I-I’m so sorry, Captain. I tried to keep her in the classroom, but—” He took a breath. “—she overheard one of the engineers and—”

I waved a hand at him. “Don’t worry about it, Professor. It’s fine. Lex ain’t one to be fooled, are you, kid?”

She nodded firmly. “That’s right!”

We both snickered like a pair of thieves. “Tell you what,” I said to her. “You can stay here for the next hour, but then you gotta head back with Hitchens.”

“Aw, but why can’t I stay?” she asked, frowning. “I wanna see what you’re doing.”

I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous down there. Lots of bad stuff, and we can’t risk you getting hurt. Besides, Abby would kill me if anything happened to you.”

“Yeah, she would,” said Lex, nodding along.

“So that’s the deal, okay? An hour on the ship and you go back to school.”

“Okay,” she muttered, trying to hide her disappointment before smiling again. “One hour of fun!”

I leaned over the railing and waved at Hitchens. “Come back in fifty minutes, Professor. We’ll—”

“An hour!” corrected Lex.

“Right,” I acknowledged. “Come back in one hour.”

We spent the time watching cartoons. The old ones from when I was a kid.

Lex didn’t mind. She laughed along, the same way I used to.

Abigail joined us, sitting on my other side. I felt tucked between the two of them, there on my sofa, and for a little while, I forgot about the job ahead.

The time flew by with laughter, mostly from Lex, but a little from Abby and me. Before the hour was up, Freddie arrived to join us, quietly taking a seat near the food cabinet. After only a minute, Abigail waved at him to join us, and he cheerfully did, a wide grin on his face.

I couldn’t say I minded much.

In fact, I couldn’t say I minded any of it at all.

Hitchens showed up right on time, calling Lex away. I told him to wait for us in the landing bay outside the ship, and I took Lex by the hand and led her out of the lounge, while Abigail and Freddie got back to work.

When we were in the hallway, only a few meters from the door to the cargo hold, I felt her grip my fingers tight, and she paused, planting her feet.

I looked down at her, raising my brow. “Something wrong?” I asked.

“Are you, um…” She hesitated, looking away from me. “Is the Union coming? Is that why you have to go?”

The question surprised me. She’d gone the entire hour without bringing any of this up. “Did someone tell you the Union was here?”

“I heard one of the other kids say it in class,” she explained. “It’s true, isn’t it? You have to go because of them.”

I removed two pieces of candy from my side pocket, offering one of them to her. She didn’t take it, but kept her eyes locked with mine instead. After a second, I lowered the sweets and sighed. “Yeah, Lex,” I finally said. “That’s right.”

“I thought so,” she muttered, dropping her eyes to the floor. They glimmered as tears began to form.

“Stop it,” I snapped without even thinking. “Don’t cry.”

“But I—”

“Well, I said not to,” I demanded, towering over her. “You hear me?”

She nodded, but then began to shake, and the tears came anyway. One right after the other. “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Hughes…I’m s-sorry, I…”

I felt my throat tense up, like there was something stuck in it, like I was choking. My face was warm, all of the sudden, and I wanted to run.

But instead, I swallowed, and then bent down to her, holding her shoulders as she cried. “It’s okay, Lex,” I finally managed to say. “It’s okay to cry. Don’t listen to me. I’m just a big idiot. I don’t know why I told you that.”

She closed her eyes, shaking her head, trying to stop herself. “N-no, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

I wrapped my arms around her and brought her close, hugging her the best way I could. “You’re the toughest kid I’ve ever met, Lex. You’re tougher than Abby. You’re tougher than me. If you wanna cry, then you’ve earned the right to. More than anyone else. You understand?”

I pulled away to look at her, and she nodded.

“Just make sure that when you do cry,” I went on, “that you let it all out, and you take that grief and you make something of it. Something you can use, and you learn from it. That’s how you survive.”

“Is that what you did, Mr. Hughes?” she asked, wiping her eyes with both her hands, sniffling as snot seeped from her little nose.

“Yeah, kid,” I said, getting back on my feet. “That’s what I did.”

I sat on the bridge with Abigail, pouring a drink of whiskey. “Cheers,” I said, clinking our glasses together.

“Cheers,” she repeated, and together we drank, each of us gasping and licking our lips once we had it down. It burned in all the right ways, lighting up my throat and then my stomach, quickly relaxing me. In about ten minutes, I’d feel it.

“Not bad,” I said, wiping my thumb across my mouth.

I was about to put the bottle away, when she stopped me. “Let’s do one more.”

I cocked my brow at that. “Oh? Since when do you do more than one?”

“This might be the last time we have to go charging into a fight like this, which means this might be the end of our routine.”

“My routine,” I corrected. “You’re just borrowing it.”

She scoffed, taking the bottle out of my hand and pouring another glass. “Whatever you have to tell yourself.”

I smiled as she proceeded to do the same to my cup.

She raised her glass. “Here’s to, hopefully, the last mission,” she said.

I nodded, clinking my cup against hers and guzzling down the alcohol.

We put the bottle away, back in its storage drawer beneath the dash. The motion caused the Foxy Stardust bobble to rattle its little head, calling my attention to it.

“I meant to ask you about that thing,” said Abigail. “I know you said you found it in a junkyard, but what made you decide to bring it home and stick it on your bridge?”

I leaned against the nearby chair, crossing my foot with my heel. “Why so interested?”

“Shouldn’t I be?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It’s just the first time you’ve asked about it. I wasn’t sure if there was a reason.”

“It’s one of the many things I’d like to know about you, Jace, but we’ve been a little busy, so I haven’t had the chance.” She smiled, leaning towards me and touching my chest.

“Oh,” I muttered. “You mean that kind of busy.”

She brought her lips to my ear. “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

I grinned, running my hand along her lower back. “Well, maybe I’ll tell you about it once we’re done here.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

Dressler arrived with Lucia a little while later. “I have something for you,” said the good doctor, handing me a small device.

“What the hell is this thing?” I asked.

“That would be a hard light emitter,” she said, snatching it right out of my hand. “I’ll install it for you.”

“An emitter? What do I need that for?”

She ignored me, too focused on setting it up to bother answering.

A brief flash lit up the lounge, startling nearly all of us, except Lucia. Once it settled, I saw the glow of a familiar shape standing before me. “Ah, there we are,” said Sigmond. “I can finally stretch my legs again.”

“Sigmond?” asked Abigail, who was standing near the cockpit door.

“Indeed, Ms. Pryar,” he responded before glancing around the room. “I must say, it’s rather different to be on this end of things. The view seems so limited.” He flickered out of existence instantly, taking us all by surprise. “Ah, that’s more like it.”

I peered up at the camera near the ceiling. “Are you back inside the ship?”

“Yes, sir,” he answered. “The hybrid nature of my shell allows for integration between both systems.”

I looked at Dressler, confused.

“He can bounce between your ship and Titan, because he’s built from both old and new tech,” she explained.

“Oh,” I said.

Sigmond manifested himself in front of me again, a calming smile on his face. “It certainly makes traveling easier,” he said.

“Quite the engineering feat, actually,” commented Dressler.

“Easy, or you’ll give him an ego,” I said. “That’s the last thing I need.”

Abby and I ran our preflight check while the rest of my team took their seats in the lounge, strapping in. Titan was due to arrive out of slipspace at any moment, and I wanted thrusters primed and ready so we could launch out of this moon and into open space the exact second we were free.

“Preparing for departure,” informed Sigmond, his voice coming through the comm in my ear. “Ah, now that does feel nice to say.”

“Feeling a little nostalgic?” I asked.

“Perhaps so, sir, although I’ve only been sentient for a short while, so I don’t quite know the feeling yet. I’ll have to inform you at a later date.”

“Don’t worry, Sigmond,” said Abigail. “Give it time and you’ll be a regular expert on human emotions.”

“I look forward to discovering them.”

I watched as Titan opened a rift inside the slip tunnel, ripping a hole through the emerald wall. In seconds, I saw the stars appear, surrounded by the void of space. The display beeped, zooming in on a nearby planet. Blue oceans and green land, with a handful of cities strewn across a single continent. It was Perseus alright, another forgotten colony from a long lost era.

I ran my finger across the holo, checking out the infrastructure. I counted seven major cities, a few of them in ruins. Would this be enough to fool the Union into thinking this was Earth? Both the Union and the Sarkonian homeworlds had more construction than this. Sarkon alone had over fifteen major cities, not to mention all the smaller towns and villages between them. Perseus looked to be a quarter the size, giving me doubts as to whether it would hold up to scrutiny when Brigham showed.

I shook off the doubt. We had a plan for this, I had to remind myself. All we had to do was stick to it.

I took the control stick and eased us toward the landing bay opening. “Renegade Star is clear,” I said into my comm once we were outside Titan. “Proceeding to Perseus.”

7

Moriarty Juvenile Corrections released me back into the world on October 6. I wore the same clothes I’d brought with me, but somehow the credits in my pockets had gone missing. Lost in storage, the clerk had told me.

I walked out into the street smelling like stale clothes and old detergent, my head shaved because of a recent lice infestation, and a freshly bruised chin from a morning brawl—a ritualistic send-off from the other boys.

The clerk had told me to go see my new parole officer over at Vintage Avenue. I’d briefly considered running, maybe check out of this city and head somewhere new so I could get out of the system, just like so many others had already done. It was not like the adults cared if you didn’t show. They were drowning in work and understaffed, the way I heard it, so a single missing kid wouldn’t even make the radar.

But I wasn’t stupid like the others. I knew it was better to stay in the system than to leave. Runaways couldn’t purchase off-world visas or qualify for decent jobs, and I’d need both if I was going to be a Renegade.

Even if I had to plow shit with a shovel for ten hours a day, I’d do whatever it took to get to where I wanted to be. I’d lived on the streets before and I couldn’t say I cared for it, and I sure as hell didn’t like the cell they’d stuck me in, back in juvie.

No, I wanted something different. I wanted what my old man promised me, back when he left in the middle of the night, beer and whiskey on his breath and a wrinkled shuttle ticket in his palm. I’d take what he’d promised. I’d get my own godsdamn ticket, and then I’d track the asshole down and tell him what I thought of him.

Vintage Avenue always smelled like blood and shit, and it always made me hold my nose. Teddy said it’s because there’s a sewage line that runs directly under this street, and it’s so overstuffed with people’s crap that it could burst at any second. I didn’t know much about that, but Teddy was my cellmate and he knew a lot of things.

I spotted a large sign on a two-story, red brick building, which read “Juvenile Probation Center.’ A police officer opened the door and walked out, letting it swing behind him and giving me a brief glimpse of the front desk inside.

I felt my stomach turn as I approached, keeping my distance from the cop as he disappeared around the nearby corner. I touched the door handle but didn’t open it. Instead, I stood there, half-ready to turn and run away—take off down the street and never come back, just like all those other juvie kids who disappeared the day they got let out. Maybe I could start fresh in another city and grow up selling smoke to addicts. It wouldn’t be so bad as long as I didn’t use them myself. I could save some money and get in with a counterfeiter, maybe forge myself a new I.D. and get off-world that way.

I shook my head. Don’t be stupid, I told myself. It’s just the nerves, like Teddy said. Just the nerves making you stupid. Just gotta go in there and talk to this dipshit cop and get yourself one of those sweeper jobs and sign up for school, that’s all. Over and done in ten minutes tops.

I took a breath, closing my eyes for a second before finally opening the door.

The second I stepped inside, I felt a stale breeze of artificial air press down on me from the overhead vent. Piss yellow walls surrounded me while an overweight woman with three loud children sat in the corner, doing nothing to calm them while she tried to fill out a form.

“Can I help you?” asked a man behind the nearby counter. He wore a city uniform and gave me an expression that suggested he was all out of patience today, so I’d better not try anything.

“Officer Trimpwell told me to come here. I’m from—”

He slid a pad towards me on the counter. “Thumbprint, please.”

I hesitated, looking at the screen. There was an oval where my finger was supposed to go. That was how they made us sign everything. I’d gotten so used to it by now. “Sure,” I said, touching the pad.

As soon as I did, a green indicator light appeared, and the screen transitioned to show my profile in its entirety. A picture of me from last year sat in the upper righthand corner, taken during the annual eval. I was smaller, shorter, but was otherwise the same. “Jace Hughes, is it?” asked the clerk. “Have a seat and Officer Bishop will be right with you.”

“Officer Bishop?” I asked, having never heard the name. “I thought I was assigned to Officer Crowley. That’s what they told me before I—”

“Sit, please,” said the clerk, giving me a look. I’d seen that expression before. If I didn’t do what he asked, I’d probably wind up sitting in a cell again before the day was out.

“Okay,” I said, stepping away from the desk. I turned to the woman and her three children. There were only a few chairs in the lobby and they were all clustered together. I reluctantly took a seat beside the youngest kid.

The woman sneezed as soon as I got to my seat. I felt the desire to get back up and walk right out the door but suppressed it. Just gotta wait a bit longer, I told myself. So they got you a new parole officer. So what? Doesn’t matter. I bet Crowley was shit anyway. What kind of guy has a bird in his name? Probably just another kid-toucher like the one they fired last year. What was his name? The asshole who roughed up Victor. Shelby, I think? Yeah, that’s right. Officer Donald Shelby. Well, not Officer anymore. Not since he was fired.

I shook my head, trying to quiet my mind. My thoughts were all over the place. It always happened when I got nervous.

The door opened on the other side of the room, causing me to stiffen. A boy entered. He couldn’t be more than a year or two older than me. “It’s about time!” snapped the fat woman beside me.

“Sorry, Mom,” the boy answered.

She got up and took him by the arm. “What took so long in there, hm? Were you giving the officer a hard time? What do I have to do to get you to be a good boy for once in your life, Lawrence?”

Someone else entered from behind Lawrence, not five seconds later. “He’s okay, Mrs. Harrow. I was just going over a few things with him,” said a man in an old officer’s uniform.

“Oh?” asked the woman, looking down at her son. “Well, that’s a relief. I just pray you can whip him into shape for me, Mr. Bishop. I’ve nearly spent the life of me trying to right this delinquent son of mine. Really, I’m about ready to die!”

I rolled my eyes. From what I could see, Lawrence wasn’t doing much of anything at the moment, only standing there, straight as a board. I was surprised I didn’t know him, now that I thought about it. He must have come from a different block. Our building had been separated into six different blocks, each with about fifty kids. I rarely got to talk to anyone outside my group, unless I had laundry duty and happened to meet one of them.

Lawrence’s mother scurried over to her other kids. “Let’s go!” she snapped at them. She picked up the youngest. “I need to get home before they give tonight’s numbers. Hurry up now, you damn kids!”

I looked at Lawrence, who seemed unfazed by all of this. He walked to the exit and held the door for his mother and his little brothers, letting them all out before following.

Once the door closed, the entire office seemed to go completely quiet. I turned to see Officer Bishop gone. “Call the next one in!” he suddenly yelled from his office.

“That’s you,” said the clerk, not bothering to look up from his desk.

I looked around to make sure I was the only one still waiting, then walked up to the door. I thought about knocking but figured there was no point.

As I stepped inside, I heard a whirring sound, like a tiny motor whining. Officer Bishop was in the corner near the window, fiddling with what appeared to be a coffee maker. “Come on in and have a seat,” he told me.

I did as he asked and sat right in front of his desk. The first thing I noticed was his desk was a total mess, filled with papers and stains, probably from the coffee.

He rushed to his chair a moment later, cup in hand, and sat down in raggedy, half-torn chair. “Name’s Officer Bishop,” he said to me, offering me a hand. He let it hang there until I took it, then smiled as we shook. “Barry says you’re fresh out today. That right, Mr.…” He paused, looking at the pad on his desk. “Hughes, is it? Jace Hughes?”

I nodded.

“Good for you for showing up, kid. Half the boys just run off on their own, but not you. You’re sticking to it.”

“Yes, sir,” I said.

“Hey, come on. Drop the ‘sirs’ around here. We’re not juvie. You can talk to me however you want. Just don’t disrespect me. I’m still an officer of the law. Well, sort of. You follow that?”

I nodded.

“Good. Now, first things first. We need to get you situated in the city. Did you check in with your house yet?”

“A few hours ago,” I said. “Mrs. Higgins set me up with a room.”

“Old Mrs. Tam! She’s a feisty one, but don’t pay her any mind. She yells because she cares.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Anyway, you’d be best to stick to the schedule I give you. Come down here once a week, every Thursday, and we’ll see about getting you a job. It’s too late for school this semester, since it started a month ago, but you’ll get in on the next round. Maybe.”

“Maybe?” I asked.

He shrugged. “They say they’re full up, so it really just depends on how many drop out or graduate. You juvie kids take the lowest priority, since you’re delinquents and all.” He chuckled. “Don’t feel bad, though. All you need to do is pass the test every year to qualify for a diploma. That’s not so hard. Mrs. Tam has a system worked out where the boys tutor each other.”

“How’s that work?” I asked.

“Well, there’s six tests to take, one for each grade. Let’s say you’re about to take test 1, but someone else already passed it. That person would tutor you to make sure you passed, then once you made it, you’d do the same for the kids behind you. While you’re doing that, you’re also learning from the older boys for the next test. It’s all one big system of give and take, you see?”

I slowly nodded.

“But don’t worry too much about all that yet. First things first. We need to get you set up with your job. Now, what kind of work would suit a guy like you, huh?” He leaned forward, eying me very seriously. “Maybe a sweeper? No, not that. Can’t really picture you with a broom in some factory. How about the assembly line? You any good with your fingers?”

I shrugged.

“Hm. Maybe not, then,” he said, taking a pad and flipping through a few screens before setting it down. “Eh, we’ll find something. Don’t you worry, Hughes. There’s always a job if you’re hungry enough. You follow what I’m saying?”

“Yeah,” I said.

He continued looking over the pad, checking my portfolio. After a few minutes of silent reading, he finally let out a laugh, taking me by surprise. “Hot damn, did they really pull you in for stealing from a priest?” he asked, whistling at the thought. “What made you go and do a thing like that?”

“He wouldn’t share his food,” I muttered. “And he was an asshole.”

Bishop laughed again. “Says here they found you drunk on his booze.” He raised his eye. “Hold on. This priest had brandy in his house?”

“A case of it,” I said.

Bishop scoffed. “How’d you even get inside?”

“I knew if I went in through the front door, I’d get caught, so I climbed the neighbor’s side ladder and went in through the overhead window,” I explained, a little proud of myself.

“Too bad he had a silent alarm set up,” said Bishop, shaking his head. “Still, that’s pretty resourceful. Not bad, kid.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being complimented for my thieving skills by a cop, but I smiled all the same. “Thanks.”

“It also says here that they found a stockpile of food in your bunk. A lot of it, actually.”

I didn’t say anything.

He continued to stare at the pad. “Over thirty containers! Man, what were you doing? Stockpiling it in case of emergency?” he asked. “Hey, kid, don’t worry. None of this matters anymore. So you stole some food? It’s fine now. All that shit goes away once you walk out. Well, unless you killed someone.” He raised his eye. “You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”

I shook my head.

“Right, I didn’t think so. You don’t got that ‘I’ll-shank-you-in-the-back’ look to you, and believe me, I know the type. So what’s the story, Jace? You gonna tell me?”

I decided telling him the truth didn’t matter. My file already said I did it, which meant I was already guilty, so nothing else could really happen to me at this point. I’d already done my punishment and served my time. “People get hungry at night. You give them food, they leave you alone,” I explained. “Sometimes, you can even get something you need if you know who to talk to, like protection.”

“Protection, eh?” he asked. “Well, the report says you did it. Ain’t no question there. But I’m more interested in what it doesn’t say, like how you did it.”

“How?” I repeated.

He turned the pad around on the desk so I could see the screen. It had my entire identity laid out—at least, the parts that mattered to the State. They were highlights, mostly. My weight, height, hair and eye color. All my infractions. It even had a list of personality behaviors from that time they made me take a psych evaluation. Fear of commitment, overly critical of himself, unrealistic goals, difficulty forming friendships, history of abuse. Beneath that, all of the things I’d stolen, listed by date and time discovered. The list continued to the next page.

“You stole that brandy from the priest, but you got caught,” said Bishop. “But after that, you only got caught after you did the deed. Seems you learned a thing or two sometime between the two.”

“I just paid more attention,” I said.

“Sure, I bet you did,” said Bishop. “Tell me how.”

“I knew someone who helped out in the store. A week after they brought me in, I decided to make friends with him. He told me about the blind spot in the back and the loose tile. You see, there’s a laundry closet on the other side of the wall, so I volunteered to be on the laundry crew. That gave me access to the closet, and then I just had to use a spoon I got from my friend in the kitchen to dig through the wall.” I smiled, surprising myself as I continued listing off my accomplishments. It was the first time I’d ever spoken about all of it out loud before. Not even the other boys knew how I did it. “There was water damage in the wall, which is why the tile was broken, so I’d wait until no one was in the store and I’d move the tile off the wall and take whatever was sitting on the rack on the other side.”

“No one noticed the missing food?” asked Bishop.

“I only took one pack at a time. The only reason they caught me was because someone ratted me out.”

“Why’d they do that?” he asked.

I clenched my jaw, still angry about it. “I wouldn’t give him two meals when the deal was for one.”

“Sounds like he tried to screw you,” said Bishop, shaking his head. “That’s a shame. You had a solid system going, except for distribution.”

“Distribution?” I asked.

“If you’re stealing the goods, you can’t be the one selling them. That job needs to go to someone else. Someone who doesn’t know how you do what you do, but you still trust them to keep their mouth shut.”

I considered that for a moment, staring at the desk.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. You didn’t know any better, and you were doing pretty good for a kid in juvie. More than most I’ve seen. It’s not every day I get a real talent that comes through my door, like that other boy you saw on your way in.”

“You mean Lawrence?” I asked.

“That’s the one,” he said. “Kid’s got an eye for spotting vulnerabilities, let me tell you. If you drop him in front of a guarded building, chances are he can find a way inside.”

“Whoa,” I muttered.

“You know, Jace, all these jobs I’ve been showing you,” continued Bishop. “They don’t really do a kid like you justice. Not with those kinds of talents.”

“What kinds?” I asked.

“The slippery fingers kind,” he said. “That’s a real shame too, since I can tell you’re a smart one and you know how to get things done. Yeah, a real, real shame.”

He took another drink and gulped, then set the cup down, spilling a little coffee on his thumb, which he wiped on his sleeve. “Hey, here’s an idea,” he said, tapping his desk. “Why don’t you come by tomorrow afternoon. We close at five, but I want you to show up at 5:30. There’s some other kids I want you to meet. Good guys, this lot. You’ll like them.”

“What for?” I asked. “Do they work at the factory?”

“Nah, nothing like that,” he said. “These boys are freelancers. They do what needs to get done. That sort of thing.”

“Does that pay?”

“Hell yeah, it does,” he said. “I’d offer you a job with them, but they need to meet you first. What do you say? Lawrence will be there, so you already saw him, and I’ll be there too, so you know it’s legitimate. Sounds better than some dumb factory job, right?”

“What do I have to do?” I asked. “What kind of work is it?”

“All kinds of stuff,” he said. “But I can’t talk about it here. They do jobs for clients, so it’s all confidential. You know what that means?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

“Good. I knew you’d get it. Just keep all this between us, alright? If the other kids hear about this, they’ll all want in, and there’s only one spot open right now.”

“I won’t say anything. I swear, Officer Bishop.”

He got to his feet and extended his arm for the second time today. We shook, and he smiled. “Good to hear, kid. I’ll see you with the rest of the crew tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

I showed up at the office right as the sun was going down, filling the city street with a red glow. The parking lot was empty, suggesting I was the only one here. Was I too late? Did Officer Bishop already leave with the other boys?

The lights inside were off, but I knocked and tried to open the door. It was locked, which didn’t surprise me, given how empty it looked. I was about to turn around and go home, when I heard footsteps from the side of the building.

I turned to see Lawrence hugging the corner of the wall, inside the alleyway. He motioned with his chin for me to follow, so I did, neither of us saying a word. They must be in the back, I thought as I rounded the corner, heading into the shadow of the building. Probably can’t use the office after hours.

The rear was larger than I expected, full of concrete and two picnic benches. It even had a soda machine.

The boys were gathered around one of them, while Officer Bishop paced along the far wall, talking on his phone near an old soda machine. Lawrence didn’t say anything as we joined the group, taking our seats.

All three of the other boys stared at me as I sat down. “New kid, eh?” asked one of them, a scrawny, mousy-looking guy with a scar etched into his forehead. “What block you from?”

“C-2,” I muttered. “You?”

He eyed me for a moment. “E-5,” he eventually answered. “We had a guy from C-3 with us before. He moved.”

Another kid looked at him. “Trent died, Matty. Why you always gotta say he moved?”

Matty shrugged then got up and went to the soda machine.

Lawrence sighed. “Don’t pay any mind to Matty. He was friends with Trent. They lived in the same house.”

“What happened to him?” I asked. “To Trent, I mean.”

The second boy looked at Lawrence, like he was waiting to see what he’d say. Lawrence hesitated. “He fell.”

“What’s your name, kid?” asked the second boy, changing what seemed like an uncomfortable subject.

“Jace,” I answered.

“I’m Prisby,” he told me. “Prisby Dayton. I was in the same block as Lawrence here. We go way back. You got any friends from your block out here?”

I shook my head. “I knew a few, but they’re not in my house. I think they ran away.”

They each gave me a knowing nod. “Happens a lot,” said Prisby.

“Don’t it?” asked Matty, sitting back down with a bottle in his hand. He twisted the cap and a little fizz bubbled to the top.

Prisby ignored him. “Almost did it myself. I came all the way here, stood right outside the front door, and thought about just leaving.”

“Me too,” said Lawrence.

Hearing that surprised me. I’d almost done the exact same thing yesterday. Did all ex-juvies feel an urge to run as soon as they got out? “I almost did it too,” I admitted.

Prisby laughed. “No surprise there! Most kids do it. Only the stupid ones, though. Well, except Matty here. He’s pretty dumb.”

“Eh, shut your hole, Prissy Prisby!” Matty shoved his friend.

“Hey, don’t call me that!” he growled.

“That’s enough, boys,” said Officer Bishop, who had apparently finished his phone call. He walked to the side of the table, sitting so that his feet were on the bench. “You should try to make a good first impression on Jace here. You don’t want him thinking you’re nothing but a bunch of hooligans.”

Prisby and Matty scoffed at one another, but then laughed. “We’re just messing around, Jesson. Ain’t no harm done.”

Bishop nodded. “Jace, did these three introduce themselves yet? You guys get acquainted?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Yeah, we’re fast friends,” joked Matty. “Real fast. He’s already saying I can have his share.”

“My share?” I asked.

“Of the pay,” said Lawrence. “Your cut of the money.”

“Oh,” I said, still trying to piece this whole thing together. “Do we get paid together and then split the earnings? Is that how it goes?”

The three boys snickered at my ignorance. Something felt odd about this. What kind of job was this exactly? And why couldn’t Officer Bishop tell me upfront about the details? This whole thing smelled strange to me.

Bishop leaned in, prompting the three kids to do the same. “Let me ask you something, Jace,” said the probations officer. “What do you think is your greatest talent?”

“My greatest talent?” I asked, repeating the question. It was more to give myself time than anything else, since I wasn’t sure what to think of it.

“Sure. Your greatest talent,” he said again. “What do you think it is? Have you ever really thought about it?”

“You any good at sticks?” asked Matty.

“Not really,” I admitted, having only played the game a few times, back in juvie. The rules were simple: two teams, one offense, one defense. Every player carries a stick, which are actually called buckers or bucks, and tries to get a ball into the other side’s basket, which is guarded by a goalie. It was fun, but since I’d never played before, the other kids stuck me in the back or made me sit on the side and watch.

“What about chess?” asked Lawrence.

“Never played it,” I said, which seemed to disappoint him.

“Forget games,” said Bishop. “I’m talking about your skills. What can you do better than most people?”

I had to think about that for a minute. I was plenty good at taking things, but a probations officer probably didn’t want to hear about that. So what else?

“It’s okay, Jace. You can tell us the truth,” said Bishop. “After all, your talent for thieving is why you’re here.”

My eyes widened at the sound of that. “Thieving?” I asked in a quiet tone.

He nodded. “I was ready to send you to the factory until I read your report. The truth is, that’s where most of the boys end up, but not this group. This one’s full of raw talent.”

I didn’t understand what Bishop was getting at. Was he trying to say that I got this job because I could steal? “What kind of job is this?” I finally asked.

“Haven’t you pieced it together yet?” asked Bishop.

“Hey, I thought this kid was supposed to be smart,” said Matty.

“Like you was any different,” teased Prisby.

I slowly looked at Lawrence, who seemed to be studying me with his eyes, waiting to see what I might say next. I hesitated, but Lawrence nodded, as if to confirm the question I’d yet to ask.

I looked at Bishop. “You want me to steal for you,” I said, finally coming out with it. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

The officer smirked. “There it is. You’re starting to get it now.”

“We’re a crew,” said Prisby. “The four of us. Five if you play your cards right.”

“Play my cards?” I asked. “I’m not in yet?”

They all laughed, except for Lawrence, who only sat there staring.

“Not until after tonight,” said Bishop. “You can back out right now if you want. I’d only ask that you keep all this to yourself. It’s your call, kid.”

Prisby snapped his fingers. “But once you’re in, you’re in. Won’t no one mess with you if you roll with us, Jace. That’s how the crew works.”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Matty.

Lawrence only nodded.

I sat there in silence for what felt like a while, not giving an answer, although I couldn’t say why. Maybe part of me wanted to run again, to get away and just be on my own like I was before juvie, back when I lived in the street and no one knew my name. But that life had been a hard one, always lonely, always hungry. I wasn’t sure I could take it. Not a second time.

“Guys, why don’t you give Jace and me a second to talk?” asked Bishop.

“What for?” asked Matty, almost insulted by the notion.

Prisby smacked his friend on the shoulder. “Eh, come on, boys. Let’s go see if we can grab some candy from Barny’s before he closes. I’m feeling me some sweeties.”

“Oh, yeah!” snapped Matty. “Sweeties and soda!”

The three of them got up and ran out into the street, leaving the two of us alone on the bench. When we could no longer hear their footsteps or laughter, Bishop continued. “I’m sensing you’ve got questions, Jace. Let’s hear them.”

That was putting it lightly. “You’re a parole officer,” I said, going for the most obvious of my concerns.

He smirked. “You wanna know why I’m doing this. Is that it?”

I nodded.

“I grew up the same streets as you four boys, and you know just as well as I do that they ain’t kind to guys like us.”

“So you got this job to start recruiting?” I asked.

“Nah, it wasn’t like that. Since my records were cleared when I turned eighteen, same as yours will be, I decided I’d go straight for good. I got myself a nice little job at the factory, but it wasn’t the sort of thing I wanted to do. I felt empty. You know what I’m saying?”

I nodded.

“I was good at my job too. One day, the big boss even asked me to be a floor manager.”

“That’s great,” I said, not fully understanding what a floor manager was. “Did you take it?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I quit the next day.”

I laughed. “What did you do that for?”

“Because I never felt like I was being true to myself,” he explained. “Never felt like I was using my talent. Isn’t that the real reason you stole those meals in juvie? You probably could’ve found another way to deal with those other boys, but instead, you chose to pull off one of the most elaborate heists I’ve ever seen, and you kept on doing it, even though you had all those meals just sitting in your stash.”

I didn’t say anything.

“It’s okay, Jace. So you like to steal. What’s wrong with that? It ain’t like you’re some rapist or a murderer. You’re just doing what you’re good at.”

“But I got caught,” I said.

“Sure,” he agreed. “You fucked up, same as I did when I was your age, but we won’t let that happen again. You do what I say, learn what I teach—” He smirked. “Well, you’ll be set for life.”

Bishop sounded so different right now. More like the rest of us than a parole officer. I felt like I could really trust him, like I could believe in him. “You think I’ve got what it takes?”

He nudged my shoulder. “Trust me, kid. I’ve got a sense for these things. An eye for talent. And right when I saw your file, that eye started twitching.”

I could hardly believe what was happening. “I never thought this would happen today,” I said, letting myself laugh. “I almost walked away. I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it. This is real, Jace. The whole thing.” He smiled. “So, what do you say, pal? Wanna be part of the crew?”

“Yes!” I blurted out, surprising myself with my own excitement. I quickly settled down and straightened up.

“Hey, don’t be ashamed of being excited,” he said, smacking my knee. “This is a big day for you. It’s the day you changed your life. Remember that, alright?”

“I will, Officer Bishop,” I said, smiling.

“Hey, enough of that ‘Officer’ shit, pal. When we’re not in that building over there, you stick to calling me Jesson. I might be calling the shots and getting us jobs, but at the end of the day, we’re pals. That’s how it is with our crew. Got it?”

“Our crew?” I asked, almost whispering the words.

“You’re damned straight,” said Jesson. “Ain’t no bond stronger than a man and his crew. That’s why there has to be an unbreakable trust there, so don’t go squandering it. You got our backs and we got yours, no matter what. You remember that, Jace. You remember that and you’ll go far.”

8

The Renegade Star touched down in a field near the target zone, a towering cityscape overrun with vegetation. The map had called this place New Ithaca, the largest of the seven cities.

“How’s the air out there?” asked Lucia the second we entered the cargo bay.

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, securing my helmet. “You never take your suit off.”

Freddie examined the nearby screen on the wall. “The readout says normal oxygen levels.”

“The captain’s right,” said Dressler. “You have no idea whether there’s a pathogen in the air or some other toxin. For all we know, the reason there’s no one living here is because some airborne virus killed them all.”

“That seems unlikely,” said Abigail.

Dressler stared at her.

“But I get what you’re saying,” Abby continued. “Better to be safe than sorry.”

“Exactly,” said the doctor.

“Pardon me, everyone,” interjected Sigmond. “If I might be so bold, I suggest we begin our journey to the terminal location. I estimate it won’t be long before the Union arrives.”

“How much time are we talking?” I asked.

“Less than three hours, sir,” he answered.

I whistled. “Okay, then. Guess that means we’re booking it.”

“You’re sure you don’t want to leave the suits?” asked Lucia. “It would make things easier.”

“Suits stay on,” I said, walking down the stairs to the bottom floor, sidestepping the strike ship in the middle of the room. “Let’s hit it.”

The lift cracked open, letting light into the ship and forcing me to squint. The visor dimmed a second later, but not before I felt a brief moment of warmth from the sunlight grace my face, and I was surprised at how much I missed it.

I hadn’t realized it, but this was the first time I’d been outside, boots on the ground, in nearly a week—at least on a world that was actually habitable.

Back when I was flying around the galaxy, running jobs for scraps of cash, I always found myself touching down on one world after the next, usually a few times a week. It was rare for me to stay in space for longer than that, since so many clients and targets preferred to live on planets, rather than ships or space stations. All that being said, I still preferred living on the Star.

We stepped off the ship and into the small field, littered with yellow flowers and patches of red grass. High above us, towers of ancient metal stood like monoliths, covered in vines that dangled like ragged clothes. Had we landed in a park? Or had something stood here once?

Seeing this place, I wondered if anyone had ever really lived here. The buildings were so old, and the vegetation so overgrown, that it felt more like a set piece from an old movie—never lived in and hardly used.

I tapped my wrist and brought up a holographic map of the planet, zooming in on our location to check the path. We were a short walk from the building with the terminal. Maybe fifteen minutes, depending on the terrain. “Alright,” I said, moving ahead. “Everyone stay close.”

Abigail stayed in the rear, her rifle out and at the ready, while the rest of the team kept to the middle. Freddie was right beside her with a weapon of his own, but Dressler had opted for the pistol, sticking close beside me. Lucia, of course, would rely on her badass energy staff, which was fine with me. She could blow a crater in a building from two hundred meters away with that thing, so I wasn’t about to tell her to use a handgun.

The concrete jungle flickered with reflections as the sunlight broke through the open windows of the towers, dancing along the nearby puddles. “It must have rained before we got here,” said Freddie, peering up at the clouds.

“I believe it was last night,” observed Dressler, motioning with her wrist to the nearest puddle. “The soil’s already started to dry.”

“That’s a relief. I hate walking in the mud,” Freddie complained.

A shadow flickered on the ground, sweeping across the flowers and surprising me. I turned around, following it, only to see something in the sky, flying against the sun.

Everyone else did the same, trying to see what I was looking at. “What is it?” asked Abigail. “A ship?”

“It’s a bird,” I said, observing how it danced playfully in the air, flapping its wings so fast that they blurred.

“That’s curious,” said Dressler. “I wonder how diverse the fauna is on this world.”

“Does it matter?” asked Abigail.

Dressler scoffed. “It most certainly does. If we find ourselves in the middle of a nest of predators, you’ll wished we had performed a proper—”

“Focus, both of you,” said Lucia in an authoritative tone, quickly silencing each of them.

I smirked. “Better listen to the chief or she’ll rip your heads off.”

“Former chief,” corrected Lucia. “And that goes double for you.”

I was about to tell her to blow it out her wrinkled ass when another bird swooped down above our heads, grazing us. Everyone ducked, raising our weapons.

“Where are they coming from?!” balked Freddie.

Right then, I heard a faint noise from nearby, although it was hard to make out. “Siggy, lower the noise cancellation on the suit,” I said.

“Right away, sir.”

I paused, waiting for the helmet to adjust, letting in all the natural sounds of this strange new world.

Fliff fliff fliff fliff.

Fliff fliff fliff.

There it was, like fluttering wings, and it was coming from inside one of the buildings. No, from above, but from—

All at once, a flock of birds came pouring out from the second story, chirping and gawking as they went.

The birds were large, nearly as big as children, each one possessing heavy talons that looked—well, let’s just call them unpleasant.

I kept my eyes skyward as the flock continued its flight, drawing both pistols in case things went south. Lucia seemed to have the same thought, holding her staff above her head.

But the birds continued on, gliding between the nearby buildings, cawing as they went. I got to my feet, watching until the flock had disappeared, probably back inside whatever rafters they could find.

“Everyone all right?” I asked, not looking down at them.

Abigail stood, sweeping the mud from her knees. “I’m fine.”

“At least it wasn’t a drone this time,” said Freddie. “Or worse.”

“The day’s not over yet,” I said, marching forward.

Abigail laughed. “Always the optimist.”

After walking down a few streets, we came upon our destination—a curved building that looked more like an egg than a skyscraper, smaller and tucked between several others. “Wow, look at that,” said Freddie, marveling at the oddly-shaped structure. He turned, scanning the rest of the lot for a moment. “And that!”

There was a statue, half worn, resembling some kind of animal. The stone creature showed its large teeth, and seemed to have a fluffy mane around its neck. Beside it, a figure stood, holding a spear, although the end was broken off and he was missing a leg.

“Fascinating,” said Dressler. She turned back to the building, seemingly more curious about that than the statues. “I wonder if all of this was built for aesthetic purposes.”

“Maybe the architect was trying to say something,” suggested Freddie.

“I hope that’s true,” said Dressler.

“Why?” asked Abigail.

“Because it means the Eternals were more like us than we think,” she said. “It means they cared about art, which implies a need for a creative outlet.”

“Is that a good thing?” asked Abigail.

“You don’t think so?” asked Dressler.

“Well, look at the statues,” Abby said, pointing at the animal and the man. “I’m no expert, but that looks a little threatening. He’s holding a weapon. That creature is baring its teeth. They say a society’s art reflects its soul, so what does this one say about the Eternals?”

“That’s a fair hypothesis,” said Dressler, nodding. “However, we don’t know the full context for the artwork. It could be a reference to an ancient story, perhaps a sign of peace, rather than war. Maybe the animal represents unity or some other trait. Perhaps the man and the animal befriended each other. Context always matters, and we can’t presume to know what any of this meant, although I’m certain Athena could shed some light on the matter once we return to Titan.”

“Let’s save the theories for later,” I cut in, walking up the steps of the building.

“Agreed,” said Dressler, following after me.

The rusted doors had grass beneath them, the glass panes long since decayed. “We can probably slip through here if we’re careful,” I said, bending down to get a better look.

“I’d rather avoid the tetanus,” said Dressler. “Not to mention one of us is almost certain to cut our suits open.”

Lucia was standing quietly near the stairs, turning her staff in her hands. “I could handle that for you,” she said.

I raised a brow. “Handle?” I repeated. “I see the way you’re eyeing this thing, playing with that stick of yours.”

She shrugged. “It would be less of a risk than sliding against the rusty floor.”

“She’s right,” said Abigail.

“If she uses that weapon, it might destabilize the structure,” said Dressler.

“Relax, girl,” said Lucia.

“Excuse me?” said Dressler.

Lucia swung her staff around and tapped a button near the handle. “I can adjust the severity of the beam. Observe.”

There was a short pause as we waited.

Lucia lowered the staff. “I meant, get out of the way and then observe.”

“Oh, whoops,” said Freddie, shuffling down the steps behind Lucia.

Dressler gave me a concerned look.

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “Lucia knows what she’s doing. Let’s give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Dressler started to say something but shut her mouth and sighed, stepping away from the doors. “If this building comes down on us, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I scoffed. “If it does, chances are I won’t be saying anything.”

The rest of us followed, getting a safe distance from the old woman and her overpowered stick.

“Nothing to worry about,” said Lucia, priming her weapon. A blue light formed at its tip. She twisted the other end, compressing the light into a single point. With the press of her finger, a beam shot straight out of the stick, striking the middle of the doors, cutting directly through the rusted metal. She smiled at the sight then tilted the staff to move the beam higher up, cutting chunks of the door in the process.

We watched as the laser formed a new opening, although it took some time. I could see Lucia was being careful to aim, constantly adjusting the strength of the beam. After about five minutes, she finally had her opening, ready for use.

“There,” said Lucia, swinging her staff around and placing it on her back. “As I said, I can handle it.”

“You sure did,” gawked Freddie.

Dressler cautiously approached the entryway, leaning in to observe Lucia’s handiwork. “I stand corrected,” she said, turning back around and nodding to the old woman. “Excellent work.”

“I don’t need any praise, girl,” she said, walking past Dressler and into the building.

Dressler said nothing.

Abigail and Freddie followed Lucia inside, leaving only the doctor and me behind.

I stepped up next to her, temporarily switching my comm so that only she could hear me. “Best not to pay her any mind, Doc. I doubt she meant anything by it.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine. She’s direct. I can appreciate that.”

“Oh?” I asked.

She nodded. “Back before I was kidnapped—” She glared at me.

I grinned.

“—I used to have a reputation for being cold with my subordinates,” she continued. “Even among my own team, who I considered some of the brightest minds in the Union—they still required coddling, whether it was simple praise or commendations for doing little more than their jobs. I always hated it, but I conformed to their needs because the team’s performance depended on it.”

“You’re talking about morale,” I said.

“Correct, and I was never very good at rallying people or motivating them. Not like you,” she said, letting the words linger for a moment before moving on. “So when I see someone speak the way she did, however rudely, I find it infinitely more appealing than the alternative, because it’s honest, you see, and there is nothing more valuable than the truth.”

“Does that mean you…like her?” I asked.

“It means that, for now, I respect her,” said Dressler, finally stepping inside the doorway. “Which is more than I can say for most of the people in my life.”

“You mean you don’t respect me, Doc?”

“I’m switching back to the team channel now.”

The inside of the building was modestly tall, most of it an open foyer that expanded all the way to the top of the egg-shaped ceiling. The rear contained what appeared to be a series of desks, built directly into the walls. At least, that was my guess. Everything in here was so decayed, I could only guess as to what half of it had been originally.

Beyond the desks, there was another opening—this one leading to a small shaft, leading deep into the ground. I guessed this had once been an elevator, though there was no sign of the actual lift.

“How do we get down?” asked Freddie.

“There,” said Abigail, pointing to a ladder near where we were standing.

“Wait,” cautioned Dressler. She retrieved a rope from her bag and handed the other end to me.

I nodded and tied it to the strongest piece of metal I could find.

“Go down one at a time,” I said. “We don’t know how flimsy that thing is. Freddie, you’re up first.”

Freddie looked over the edge of the shaft and swallowed, gulping so loud I felt it in my ear. “R-right,” he said, taking the first bar and stepping down slowly.

We watched him descend into the darkness, almost disappearing.

“How far should I go?” asked Freddie, peering down. “It looks like it never ends.”

I brought up the blue holo on my wrist, examining the coordinates. “It says we’re about forty meters above it.”

“How many floors is that?” asked Abigail.

Sigmond answered this time. “My estimates suggest thirteen floors.”

“There you go, Freddie. Just keep on going,” I said.

Another gulp. “O-okay.”

“It looks like the ladder is holding,” said Dressler.

I nodded. “Who’s next?”

“I’ll go,” said Lucia, approaching the edge without hesitation. Before I could tell her otherwise, she’d already dropped to the floor below us, making quick time and catching up to Freddie, who seemed to be taking things slowly.

The rest of us followed. First Abigail, then Dressler, and finally me. I had to admit, part of me worried we’d cross a weakened section of the ladder at some point, but it never happened. Instead, we found ourselves confronted with a different obstacle altogether.

“What’s the holdup?” asked Abigail, looking down over her shoulder.

“I think I found the elevator,” said Freddie. “It’s parked in front of me. I can’t go any farther.”

“What floor is that?” asked Dressler.

I wrapped a foot inside one of the bars on the ladder and activated my holo. “Looks like that’s our stop.”

“Great,” said Abigail. “Now what do we do?”

“Is there a hatch?” asked Dressler.

“I can’t tell. It’s too dark. I’ll have to get lower,” Freddie answered.

I switched my visor display to the camera on Freddie’s suit, letting me see what he was seeing. “Get closer,” I told him.

He moved a few more steps—enough to touch the tip of the lift with his foot.

“How about now?” I asked.

He sighed. “It’s covered in dirt and water.”

“That must be from the rain,” said Dressler. “We’ll have to clear the mud off if we want to get inside.”

“You mean we’ll have to stand on it?” asked Freddie.

“No, I mean you’ll have to stand on it,” said Dressler.

“Me?” he asked.

“We can’t risk more than one person’s weight. Tie the end of the rope to your waist and don’t make too many sudden movements. Don’t worry. Every handful of mud you remove will mean less weight on the lift.”

He gulped again but went ahead and wrapped the rope around himself, tying the very end in a knot and securing it. “Why is it always me?” he muttered.

“Enough complaining and more scooping!” I barked.

Freddie eased himself onto the elevator platform, letting his feet slide into the heavy mud. He bent down, taking a scoop in his hand and gently brought it over to the side, letting it fall through the space between the wall and the lift. He continued, one scoop at a time, steadily moving back and forth.

“You only have to find the hatch, so try looking around in different spots,” said Dressler.

“At this rate, we’ll be here all day,” groaned Lucia.

Freddie continued, handful after handful, but seemed to barely make any progress. The mud was thick and wet with no sun to dry it like the dirt on the surface. Even as he picked it up, clumps would fall between his fingers, slowing progress even more.

“Should one of us help?” asked Abigail after about five minutes of minimal progress.

“I could use a shovel,” said Freddie, half-joking.

“Maybe once he’s moved more of the mud,” cautioned Dressler. “Give it more time. Frederick, try the other side. See if you can find the hatch over there.”

He nodded, stepping to the opposite end of the shaft, farthest from the ladder. “Here?” he asked.

“That’s right,” she said. “Dig right there.”

He bent down and scooped another handful, getting ready to toss it. “Hold on a second,” he said, suddenly fidgeting where he stood. He tugged at his foot, which wasn’t coming free of the mud.

“Are you stuck?” I asked.

He groaned, trying to move his foot. “I’m fine,” he said. “I—”

His foot yanked free with a quick jerk, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards. He landed on his ass, hitting the mud with a loud splat.

We each stared in silence, watching all of this unfold through his eyes. “Are you okay?” asked Abigail after a moment.

I could hear him breathing rapidly, clearly unsettled. “Freddie?” I asked, trying to prompt him into responding.

“I-I’m good,” he finally said. “It caught me off guard.”

“Take your time,” said Dressler.

He tried to get up, but the suction of the mud kept him in place, so he rolled to his side and got to his knees. “Just a second,” he muttered, slowly standing, his knees and legs shaking as he brought himself up.

A loud rattling sound echoed through the shaft, giving each of us pause. It was followed by a deep but loud groaning sound, like metal expanding or bending.

“What was that?” asked Abigail.

“Don’t move, Frederick,” said Dressler. “Stay absolutely still.”

Freddie’s breathing quickened as his eyes, along with his visor, darted around the surface of the lift.

“I said stay still!” barked Dressler. “That includes your head.”

He stopped moving and held his breath.

We waited for another sound, but nothing came. After a few more seconds, Dressler let out a sigh. “Now you can continue, but be very careful. There’s no telling how unstable the mechanism—”

Before she could finish, a loud snap rang through the shaft as the wiring tore from the lift right beside Freddie. The lift shifted beneath his feet, causing him to lose his footing again as he fell into the mud a second time.

That was the final straw. The force of Freddie’s fall nudged the lift, offsetting its hold in the shaft and sending it plummeting.

Freddie began to fall with it, screaming as he tried to grab hold of the air around him, reaching for a ledge that wasn’t there.

Before he could drop more than a few meters, the rope caught him, tugging his waist. He yelped in pain as it happened, no doubt from the strain of pressure it gave.

He swung back and hit the ladder, groaning in pain.

“Freddie!” I yelled, still watching his feed. “Holy shit, are you all right?”

His breathing had slowed, growing shallow. Still, he moved his hands along his chest and sides, finding the rope around his midsection at last, and held on to it. “That…wasn’t good,” he managed to say.

“Godsdammit, that was too close,” I said.

“I…” Freddie’s voice drifted, almost to a whisper. “I think I’m…passing out now…”

His hands dropped from the rope to his sides as he let out a long sigh.

“Siggy!” I barked. “Check his vitals! Hurry!”

There was a short, three-second pause.

“I detect no serious injuries,” informed Sigmond, much to our collective relief. “Although I suggest securing Mr. Tabernacle as soon as possible. The strain from the rope could prove harmful.”

“I’m on it!” said Abigail, shimmying down the ladder. She grabbed hold of Freddie’s legs and pulled him close, securing her arm around his torso. “I’ve got him!”

“Can you get to the next floor from there without falling?” I asked, switching my visor to show her feed.

She looked down. The next elevator door was right there. “I can make it,” she said, slowly moving her foot to the next step.

The rope tightened as she moved, tugging Freddie as it tightened in place. “Stop!” commanded Dressler. “You need to untie him before you keep going.”

Abigail nodded, retrieving a knife from her side.

“Hold it,” said Lucia, who was only a few meters above her. “I’ll cut it from here. Focus on keeping your hands around the boy.”

“Okay,” said Abby, putting the knife back and securing Freddie with both hands.

Lucia took out a small knife and gently but swiftly cut the rope beneath her feet. The sudden slack caused Abigail to shift as the rest of Freddie’s weight hit her. She wheezed but soon regained her posture.

I didn’t have to ask if she was all right. I could see it all through her feed.

She made her way down the steps, slowly and securely. It took several minutes, but she finally managed to get there, standing right beside the opening to the next floor.

“That ledge is a little far,” said Abigail. She eased her foot over to it, keeping the other one on the ladder, but it was no good. Her boot kept slipping off. The weight of holding Freddie was too much to make any quick moves.

“How are you going to get him inside?” asked Dressler. “Maybe we should wait for him to wake up.”

“Got any more of that rope?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not,” said Dressler.

Abigail cleared her throat and quickened her breathing, like she was pumping herself up for something.

“Abby, you okay down there?” I asked.

She repositioned Freddie, groaning as she shifted his weight, and then tossed him in one solid motion into the doorway, nearly letting go of the ladder in the process.

He landed with a loud thud, rolling half a meter into the wall.

Abby gasped from the strain, clearly relieved, and then went ahead and reached for the opening, securing her foot and moving easily into the hallway.

“Well, that works, I suppose,” replied Dressler.

“It’s clear in here,” said Abigail from inside the corridor. “Are the rest of you coming or what?”

I smirked. “We’re right behind you.”

9

Freddie finally came to his senses, groaning as he opened his eyes. “Wh-what happened?”

Lucia and I stood over him. “You nearly took a dive,” I told him. “Not to worry, though. Abby got you down.”

“Poor boy,” said Lucia, shaking her head.

I snickered, smacking Freddie’s shoulder. “Think you can get up and walk?”

He nodded, taking my hand and pulling himself up. “Thank you, Captain.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I said.

He glanced to his left to see Abigail and Dressler, several meters inside the corridor, looking around with their lights. “Then, thank you, Abigail.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she answered.

“We should keep going,” said Dressler, shining her light into one of the adjacent rooms.

I flashed a grin at Freddie. “You heard the lady. Time’s a-wasting.”

The end of the hall brought us to a fork, forcing me to pull up my holo display and check our location. We were close. Maybe two dozen meters.

“Which way?” asked Abigail.

I pointed to the left. “There, then right, then straight ahead.”

Despite the age of this facility, a few of the lights were still operational, giving me the impression that this city still had a working Tritium core somewhere. At the very least, some kind of power supply with a little juice still in it. That was good, since the terminal would need to be operational in order for us to make use of it.

As we shuffled through the last corridor, I spotted a light near the end against the far wall. It was a pad, fully operational and awaiting input near the door. “Siggy, do you have the access codes for this?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not, sir,” he said. “However, if you could be so kind as to connect the drive in Dr. Dressler’s satchel, I could unlock the door myself.”

I looked at Dressler, who gave me a quick nod as she stepped up and opened her pack. Without a word, she retrieved the drive and popped the hatch near the pad, disconnecting something and unplugging a wire, all before inserting the drive into the wall. She waited a second, then took a step back. “Done.”

“Efficient as always,” I said.

“Accessing network,” informed Sigmond. “Retrieving security codes…3-2-1-0-8-5-9…”

The door slid halfway open, jamming at the last second.

“Access granted,” finished Sigmond.

“Mostly,” I commented.

“Apologies, sir,” replied the Cognitive.

“You did fine, Siggy. Here, Lucia, help me with this,” I said, taking the door with both hands and leaning back, propping a foot against the nearby door frame.

Lucia bent beneath the place I was holding, sliding through to the other side. She took another part of the door and mirrored my position so that we were on both sides.

“One…two…three,” I muttered. “And pull!”

We heaved together in a steady jerk, quickly yanking the door open until it slammed inside the wall.

“How much longer before we’re there?” asked Abigail.

I checked the holo, which illuminated our group in a soft, blue glow. The display showed we were almost there. “About ten meters,” I said, turning it off.

Lucia’s light dimmed on the other side of the door. She seemed to be covering it with her hand. Before I could ask why, she stepped through the door, quickly touching my shoulder.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Can’t you hear it?”

I looked around curiously. “Hear what?”

“Turn your sound on and listen,” she said.

I reduced my noise-cancellation to nearly zero. Doing so allowed me to hear everything outside the suit, but it also meant my voice would carry beyond my helmet. So I kept quiet and listened, focusing on whatever sounds I could pick out of the air.

There wasn’t much—mostly the ambiance of the hall: echoing water drops, a soft howl from a trapped breeze, Dressler’s breathing, and Freddie shifting his weight, crunching the dirt beneath his foot.

Eventually, I heard some tapping, followed by a chirping sound, although it was light and hard to make out.

I raised my noise-canceling to full and switched back to the comm. “What was that?” I finally asked.

“An animal,” said Lucia, gripping her staff with both hands. “Birds, if I had to guess.”

“You think it’s the same kind we saw before?”

“The sound matches,” she answered.

I took out one of my pistols. “Then we ought to take this slow.”

“Did you say birds?” asked Freddie.

“Get your weapons ready. We might be walking right into a nest.”

“But the elevator was blocking this entire floor,” said Abigail. “How could they nest here?”

“There’s probably another entrance somewhere,” revealed Dressler.

Freddie scoffed. “You mean we could have avoided that mud-covered deathtrap back there?”

“No sense dwelling, Fred,” I said, cocking the hammer on my pistol. “We need to look to the future.”

We found the nest shortly after opening the door, deep inside one of the nearby rooms. I peered through the archway, counting at least twenty-three winged abominations as they slept. On the other side, I could see another partially illuminated opening. The light didn’t look artificial, though, but much more natural, suggesting there was a tunnel there, leading to the surface.

“That doesn’t look manmade,” observed Dressler, watching through the feed on my visor.

“I’m guessing a cave-in,” I surmised.

“That explains how the birds got this far down here,” said Abigail.

I nodded, turning away from the doorway. “Try to watch your step and don’t turn off your noise-cancellation. We don’t want them to hear us.”

Everyone agreed, and we left the nest behind, moving away from the birds and towards the main corridor, the end of which housed our prize.

“Get that drive ready, Doc,” I ordered, ready to get out of the place as soon as possible. “I want Siggy connected as soon as we get there.”

“I already have it,” she said.

The terminal was inside a locked room, but it was already open when we arrived. “I already took the liberty during my previous uplink,” informed Sigmond.

“That’s our Cognitive,” said Abigail.

The terminal glowed with a faint golden hue as we entered the room. Dressler got to work immediately, quickly shuffling to the far wall and checking the pad. After a moment, she sighed. “It’s offline.”

“No power?” I asked, confused.

“But it’s glowing,” said Freddie.

“The terminal has power. The control unit doesn’t,” she explained.

“Can you fix it?” I asked.

She popped open the hatch and searched through its inner guts, finally pulling out a small cord. “Found it,” she replied, smiling. “Now, if you’ll hand me my satchel. Yes, right there.” She retrieved a small power core from inside, locked inside a little metal box. “Here we go. I simply need to insert this end and…”

The screen lit up.

“…Presto,” she said, leaning closer to the pad. As the screen came on, a series of symbols and numbers appeared, blinking several times before disappearing, followed by the U.I. Once the system had fully booted, Dressler tapped in a series of commands.

The terminal port slid open, revealing a holo display as well as a place to insert the thumb drive. “Nice,” I said.

“We’re not done yet,” said Dressler. She handed Freddie the power core, then took the drive and stuck it into the terminal, observing the holo as she began typing.

“Is he in yet?” asked Abigail.

“Almost,” said Dressler. “I simply need to route additional power from the local grid, which should happen right about—”

A loud whir ran through the machine at once, vibrating my feet.

“—there,” she finished. “Proceed when ready, Sigmond.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” said the Cognitive. “Accessing network now. Please wait.”

We stood there, waiting, letting the silence fill the room.

“There may be a problem,” alerted Sigmond.

“What is it?” asked Abigail.

“He needs more power,” answered Dressler, looking over the display.

“That is correct, Doctor. The local Tritium core is nearly depleted,” said Sigmond.

“How do we fix that?” I asked.

Dressler crouched and rifled through her satchel. “I have a few more power cores we can use.”

“They won’t be enough, I’m afraid,” said Sigmond. “However, if I can shut down all non-essential devices in this facility, I may be able to free up what we require. In addition to your cores, it may be enough to provide enough power.”

“Do it,” I ordered.

“Yes, sir,” replied the Cognitive. “Proceeding now.”

Dressler retrieved two more cores and several wires from inside her satchel.

“How are you going to hook all of those up?” inquired Abigail.

“I’ll have to daisy chain them,” she said.

“Daisy what now?” I asked.

Instead of answering, she simply showed me by connecting each of the cores to each other, then to the one inside the wall. “Three cores acting as one,” she said, stepping away from the wall and looking at me. “Get it?”

“Sure,” I said, staring at the three glowing orbs. “Siggy, you making any progress on your end?”

A loud shattering sound came from down the hall just as the nearby light blew, creating a bright spark before finally going completely out. “I’m afraid I’m still working on it, sir.”

One of the birds cawed.

I exchanged a look with Abigail, who seemed to be thinking the same thing as me. “Might wanna hurry,” I exclaimed.

“Working,” said Sigmond.

Another loud squawk echoed from the nest, followed by a second. Each of us slowly turned to the doorway where Freddie was standing.

He gulped, wide-eyed and frozen.

I eased my pistol up, motioning with my head for him to move.

Freddie stepped aside, giving me a clear line of sight through the hall, towards the nesting room.

Abigail and I both raised our weapons.

I caught sight of Lucia’s staff in my peripheral, edging its way between me and Abby. The tip ignited in a dim blue light, primed and ready as she held it there, waiting.

The fluttering of wings slowly filled the corridor.

One of the birds chirped, followed by a snapping sound, and then a series of metal clanks as something hit the floor.

That was when the flock emerged.

The birds came flying into the hall, many of them ramming straight into the wall as they violently tried to leave the room. The ones who didn’t fall continued towards us, flapping their wings to try and regain themselves. The other half resigned themselves to walking, clanking their talons along the floor and snapping their beaks.

The flock looked confused, angry, hungry, and afraid, all at the same time. They were headed our way, and there was only one thing we could do.

I took a deep breath, trying to focus on one of the many moving targets, and gently squeezed the—

The door slid shut right in front of us.

Abigail and I both flinched back, shocked, while Lucia jerked her staff away.

I turned to see Dressler standing with her finger on the control pad.

“What?” she asked, like we shouldn’t be surprised. “It was either that or you needlessly murder a flock of birds. I saw an alternative and went with it.”

I scoffed immediately. “We’ll just have to kill them when we leave. What good did that even do?”

“Plenty,” said Dressler, rather sure of herself. “Isn’t that right, Sigmond?”

I looked at Abigail, who shrugged. “What is she talking about? Siggy, you care to explain?”

“While the rest of you were birdwatching, I discovered a dormant drone. One of many, in fact, located beneath this facility,” explained the Cognitive.

“There’s a drone here?” asked Freddie.

“Indeed, there is, Mr. Tabernacle,” said Sigmond.

“We think we can use it to lure the birds away,” replied Dressler.

“And if that doesn’t work?” I asked.

“The drone is equipped with a weapon,” said Sigmond. “Should the birds prove unwilling to vacate on their own, we can always resort to a more traditional plan of action.”

Fortunately for the birds, they were stupid enough to follow the drone out of the corridor and back into the hall. The flying scrap metal was quick enough in the air to get their attention, while still managing to evade their attacks.

We watched them chase the drone back into the previous room, flapping their heavy wings as they bumbled into the hallway walls. How these birds lasted this long was anyone’s guess, but thanks to Dressler and Sigmond, they’d at least survived the day.

“Mission accomplished,” said Abigail once the birds were entirely out of the corridor.

“Indeed,” said Sigmond. “I have also successfully linked up with the defense network.”

“Fantastic!” exclaimed Dressler. She rapidly regained her composure. “Pardon my excitement. I wasn’t certain if this would actually work.”

“You what?” I asked.

She raised her brow. “Don’t tell me you did. Honestly, Captain, we’re dealing with dormant technology from two thousand years ago. It’s a miracle that it worked at all.”

“How about the next time you aren’t sure about a plan, you let me know,” I chastised.

“Sigmond,” said Dressler, quickly moving on. “Are you set for the next stage of the plan?”

“I believe I am,” he said.

Dressler examined the power cores, checking their connections. “How many drones can you access right now?”

“Fourteen hundred,” he answered. “The majority of them are exactly where we left them.”

“Near Aetna?” asked the doctor.

“Correct. They went dormant once I deactivated Hephaestus’s capsule. However, there are other groups located at different manufacturing centers. Barring any objections, I will begin the reactivation process at once.”

“If they’re all the way back at Aetna, they probably won’t arrive until after the Union does,” replied Abigail.

“Indeed,” said Sigmond. “But as I said, there are many newly-created drones awaiting activation at their respective stations. I could have them here within a few hours.”

“How many are back near Aetna?” I inquired.

“Approximately one thousand, I’m afraid,” said Sigmond.

“That still gives us four hundred,” suggested Dressler.

“Four hundred and thirty-two precisely,” corrected Sigmond.

Abby nodded. “That’s still a decent-sized fleet.”

“It’ll have to do,” I said, turning back to the doorway. I hugged the wall with my back and peered out. “We ready to move?”

“Sigmond should be okay, so long as we leave the thumb drive inserted,” said Dressler.

“Why can’t he just upload himself to it permanently?” asked Freddie.

“Technically, Sigmond isn’t here,” replied Dressler. “His consciousness—the majority of his program—is distributed between Titan and the captain’s ship. Those systems are serving the same function as Hephaestus’s capsule.” She picked up her satchel, sliding the strap over her shoulder. “Like Hephaestus, Sigmond can reach out with his mind and touch the network, but he isn’t a part of it. He remains separate.”

“In other words,” continued Abigail, “if the thumb drive comes out, he’ll be disconnected. The same thing happened when we plugged him into Abaddon Station. Don’t you remember?”

“Sure I do,” said Freddie. “I just wasn’t sure if things had changed since he became a Cognitive.”

“He’s certainly different, but the same rules apply in this instance,” Dressler revealed, looking at me. “Shall we evacuate? I can set the door to lock itself down thirty seconds after our departure. No one will be able to enter, short of forcing their way in.”

I gave her a quick nod. “I’ve been ready to leave since we got here, Doc.”

10

We managed to get back to the surface in under an hour, the sun still halfway in the sky. I ordered my team to hurry to the ship. It wasn’t so much that I hated this place—although I did—but more that we couldn’t be down here when the Union showed up.

In fact, we had to make it look like we were somewhere else altogether.

After we loaded into the Renegade Star, I set a course for low orbit.

Before we even arrived, I had Freddie sitting in the strike ship, down in our cargo bay, ready to disembark.

“You set, Fred?” I asked, sitting beside Abigail in the cockpit.

“Ready, Captain,” he answered on the comm.

“You got the transmitter I gave you?” I asked.

“It’s right here beside me,” he responded.

“Good. Don’t lose that, you hear? It’s the only way the Union can detect that ship once they get here.”

“Right,” he said.

“Okay, Freddie. Take her out and meet us near the city. We’ll see you there.”

The strike ship hovered its way gently out of the ship and into open space. From there, we both lit our engines and set our course for one of the other major cities, located on the western coast of the continent.

Freddie landed shortly before I did, but there were already over twenty other ships waiting in the field. While they were all essential, placed to give the illusion of a landing party, Freddie’s ship was the only one carrying a cloned transmitter onboard. When the Union finally showed, they’d detect the device and locate the ships, prompting them to investigate. If everything went smoothly, Brigham’s people would have boots on the ground shortly after their arrival, giving us the time we needed to decimate their fleet.

And that was just to start with.

I could already see Freddie standing outside the vessel as my landing gear opened and we touched down on the red grass.

Of course, that was only the first part of it. There was still a lot to do, with very little time to do it in.

I lowered the cargo bay door, waiting for Freddie to climb inside, and then activated thrusters. We were back in orbit in rapid time.

I grabbed the turn-key beneath the dash, right next to the whiskey, and spoke directly into it. “Athena, it’s Jace.”

“I hear you, Captain,” she answered immediately. “I’m on the bridge with Mr. Malloy and Ms. Brie. We are ready to begin phase 2.”

“Is that Athena?” called Freddie from the lounge. “Where’s her voice coming from?”

“It’s the turn-key,” responded Dressler. “It carries her voice all over the ship.”

“Oh, that’s right,” he said.

“Both of you, be quiet and let the woman speak,” commanded Lucia.

I cleared my throat. “Athena, how long do we have before the Union gets here?”

“According to long-range scans, approximately forty minutes,” she said.

“That’s close!” exclaimed Freddie.

“Athena, can Alphonse hear me?” I asked.

“Yes, Captain,” replied Alphonse.

“Just so we’re clear, you mind going over this insane plan of yours one last time?”

Abigail nodded. “Good idea.”

“Certainly,” said the Constable. “To begin with, we’ve already moved Titan to the other side of the system. We’ll open a tunnel on this end, which should give the impression that we’ve moved on to another location.”

“But you won’t,” I added.

“Correct,” he agreed. “We’ll still be nearby, hiding and waiting to launch a full assault on the fleet once they deploy their forces to the planet.”

“This is the part that worries me,” said Abigail.

“Which part?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked. I stared at her, waiting for some clarification. When I didn’t answer, she continued. “The part where they tunnel their way inside another moon.”

“Oh,” I said, scratching my ear.

“I assure you, Ms. Pryar, there’s nothing to be concerned about,” Alphonse assured. “The three of us have gone over the calculations several times. It should work. The endpoint of every slip tunnel presents in a three-dimensional space—”

“Like an orb,” called Dressler from the other room.

“Exactly,” said Alphonse. “The tunnel exit will destroy anything in that space. In this case, the center of the moon. Titan will arrive inside and immediately activate its shield, but we believe the moon will remain intact.” He paused. “Long enough for our purposes anyway.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that,” I said.

“Activating slip tunnel,” informed Athena.

The holo showed Titan forming a rift on the other side of the system, which they proceeded to enter. They disappeared in seconds, leaving us alone in the system, but only for a few minutes.

I leaned back in my chair. “Time to wait,” I said. “Siggy, you still with us? How’s that drone army of yours coming?”

“En route now, sir,” he answered.

I nodded, sweeping my fingers along the holo and initializing the cloak. “I hate this part,” I muttered right as we faded out of sight. “The waiting before a fight.”

Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long.

Ten minutes after Titan disappeared into the rift, a voice erupted from the turn-key, taking both Abigail and me by surprise. “Captain, this is Titan,” said Athena. “We’ve arrived inside the moon. All systems appear to be operational. Shields are active and holding.”

“Gods, Athena. Try a little warning next time,” I said.

“Apologies,” she answered. “Are you in position?”

“We’re all set,” responded Abigail.

“Excellent. Standing by for orders. Please, proceed with caution, Captain.”

“Same goes for you,” I said, stowing the turn-key safely beneath the dash.

I parked the ship on the other side of the moon, opposite the planet, and cut our engines. We’d remain in orbit for as long as it took, which could be anywhere between an hour and several, depending on how quickly Brigham took action on those ships down on the planet.

All things considered, I really didn’t know much about Brigham, except for the few times we’d spoken. In those instances, he’d appeared patient, even professional, in our exchanges. His voice commanded obedience and respect, like he should, by his very nature, be owed it. I could see how a charismatic man like that could rise to such a prominent role in the Union military.

But there had to be more to him than that, I knew, since charm could only get you so far. He had to want to be here, chasing me and my crew—chasing Lex.

The only question was why he wanted it, and there were only so many reasons for that, none of which I could hope to guess. Not yet anyway. Not until I spoke with him again or saw him with my own eyes.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Abigail, unstrapping my harness and getting to my feet.

She gave me a nod and reached for a canteen, which she’d previously filled with herbal tea. She took a sip and closed her eyes to do what she called “some light meditation.”

Whatever that meant.

I eased my way into the lounge and let the cockpit door slide shut behind me, leaving Abby alone with her thoughts.

Freddie was on the sofa, leaning forward and dangling his fingers between his legs, looking nervous. Poor kid probably can’t stop thinking about the job, I thought as I walked over to the coffeemaker table. I pressed the button to start a new brew, letting the pleasant aroma fill the air.

Freddie didn’t seem to notice, but I wasn’t surprised. The look on his face told me where he was.

“Where’s Lucia and the Doc?” I asked, calling him back to reality.

“Hm?” asked Freddie, blinking a few times before coming out of his daze. “Oh, sorry, Captain. What did you say?”

“I asked where the ladies are,” I said.

He looked around the room. “Are they not here? Huh. They must have gone to the cargo bay.”

I said nothing as I reached for two cups and proceeded to pour us each some coffee. When I was done, I sat across from him and placed the two cups between us.

“Oh, thank you, Captain, but you didn’t have to do that,” he said, reaching for the mug. “We probably don’t have much time before—”

“Hold on,” I ordered, retrieving a small flask from inside my coat.

He paused, watching as I poured a small bit of whiskey into both our coffees.

“There you go,” I said, putting away the flask and raising the cup. “Cheers.”

He watched me take a drink of the brew, an uncertain expression lingering on his face.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Are you sure it’s okay to drink before the mission?” he asked.

“After all the things we’ve gone through together and you still doubt my methods?” I asked with a light scoff. “Relax, Freddie. I can see all that tension building up from here. You need to let that stuff go if you hope to make it through the next few hours.”

His eyes widened. “I look tense?” he asked quickly.

I laughed. “Yeah, a bit.” I took another sip. “That really hits the spot, man.”

He stared down at his cup, swallowing nervously. “Alright, if you think it’ll help, Captain.”

“Trust me, kid,” I told him.

He nodded then took a long drink of the caffeinated concoction. “Not bad,” he muttered as he lowered the cup.

“Never question the chef,” I said, taking another drink.

“Wouldn’t you be a barista in this case?” he asked.

I cocked my brow. “Excuse me? Why don’t you try that again.”

He stiffened. “Uh, n-never mind.”

I sighed. “So what’s the deal, Fred? You bugging out at the final hour? Is that it?”

“Bugging out?” he asked.

I nodded. “Losing your nerve.”

He placed his cup on the table and frowned. “Is it that obvious?”

“You’re like a coat rack with your feelings, wearing them all over your damn face. It’s no way for a man to look.”

He lowered his eyes to the table. “I don’t know how to fix it. My head just keeps running in circles, asking questions I don’t have the answers to.”

“What sort of questions?”

“What happens if this complicated plan doesn’t work? What happens if they figure out we’re not in those ships? What if Sigmond can’t access the—”

“Gods, listen to yourself,” I said, smirking. I leaned back in my chair and took another drink. “I’d think you were greener than a weed right now if I didn’t know any better.”

“Green?” he asked. “I’m no soldier, Captain. I’m just a scholar. I’m about as green as they come.”

“Is that what you think?” I asked.

He nodded. “It’s the truth.”

I let his words sit there, between us, lingering like a poison, hoping he’d see the harm in them. When nearly a minute had passed, I decided to finally answer. “You’re an idiot.”

“S-sorry?” he asked.

“I said, you’re an idiot, Freddie. Open your damn ears.”

“Oh,” he muttered. “That’s what I thought you said.”

“I sure as hell did,” I told him. “Listen to you. You’ve flown on how many jobs with me since you came aboard this ship?”

He opened his mouth, about to answer.

“Don’t answer me!” I snapped.

He stiffened.

“Just listen for a minute, would you? Since the day you walked on this ship, you’ve seen more action than most folks could ever dream of. You’ve nearly died, well, I don’t know how many times. Fratley, the Union, the Sarkonians—” I paused. “—the Boneclaws. Maybe you got lucky in the beginning, but now you’re just as stubborn as me.”

He said nothing.

“They say you don’t know who you are until you’re looking down the barrel of someone else’s gun. You’ve done that plenty by now, so if you still don’t know who you’re supposed to be, then I don’t expect you ever will,” I said. “Or, maybe you already know, but you’re just too stupid to see it.” I guzzled down the last of my coffee and whiskey. “Only one who can say is you.”

A heavy breath of silence filled the lounge as Freddie seemed to contemplate my words. Part of me wondered if I’d said the right thing. I wagered I probably hadn’t. I was never very good at these things, always ready to act instead of talk, but I had to give it my best shot. After all, Freddie was a part of my crew, for better or worse, and he deserved whatever I could give him.

I finally got to my feet, ready to return to the cockpit. “Well, I’d better get back to it. The moment’s almost here.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Captain. For what you said, I mean.”

“Forget it,” I answered, waving a hand at him. I walked to the front of the lounge, just beside the cockpit door, and paused. “Freddie, just remember, there’s a reason I always bring your scrawny ass along, and it ain’t because you’re pretty.” I looked back at him. “You hear me, kid?”

He nodded, a slight smile forming.

As I stepped into the cockpit, I heard Freddie say what sounded like, “I hear you, Captain.”

The door shut swiftly behind me.

11

The slip tunnel opened a few minutes later than Athena had predicted, but its passengers were the same.

Five Union cruisers and a familiar carrier emerged, one after the next, each of them surrounded by a fleet of strike ships. I only recognized one of them—the Galactic Dawn, itself, still wearing the scars of our last encounter, but refitted with an array of new artillery.

Brigham and his fleet had come prepared, no question. There was enough firepower coming out of that tunnel to wipe out a planet, if not an entire solar system.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Union ships,” muttered Abigail, staring at the holo display with her mouth slightly ajar. “My gods.”

“Don’t overthink it,” I said, causing her to look at me. “It won’t matter how many ships they have, so long as we follow the plan.”

She focused on the holo. “Still. I never could have imagined any of this. All these ships for just one child. A child that I—”

“What did I just say?” I asked, stopping her before she could keep going. I knew where that trail of thought was headed. She was on the edge of blaming herself, and I refused to let her.

She nodded, looking down at her lap. “Right. Don’t overthink it.” She took a deep breath.

“Siggy, how you looking with those drones?” I asked.

Sigmond manifested in front of us, although he was only a fraction of his normal size. Twenty centimeters, by the look of him, standing on the dash right beside my Foxy Stardust bobblehead. “All available drones are currently inside slipspace, sir,” informed the Cognitive. Sigmond walked closer to the bobble, examining its head. “You know, I’ve never studied this helmet so closely. Very fashionable. I can see the appeal.”

“What’s the deal with everyone’s fascination over my bobblehead?” I asked. “We’re in the middle of something. Try to focus, Siggy.”

“As you wish, sir,” said Sigmond, placing his hand on the side of Foxy Stardust’s hip. He took the other and stuck it on her shoulder, almost like they were about to dance. “You’ve done a fine job with maintaining this figurine. The paint looks quite fresh.”

I groaned. “That’s not what I meant.”

We watched as the fleet moved clear of the slip tunnel exit, migrating towards the nearby planet. Several scout ships went first, holding orbit for several minutes as the cruisers followed.

“Siggy, what’s the chatter on the comm sounding like?” I inquired after a short while. “Anything to be concerned about?”

“Nothing yet. Fortunately, it seems the fleet remains unaware of our presence. The same cannot be said for the transmitter you left on the planet’s surface, however.”

I nodded. “Perfect.”

It didn’t take long for the larger ships to arrive, prompting me to let Athena know what was going on, since her sensors were presently limited. “This is Hughes. Athena, you hearing me?”

“We are receiving you, Captain,” she responded right away.

“The fleet’s here, but they haven’t started sending ships to the surface yet. Looks like their shields are also up.”

“They’re likely assessing the situation,” said Alphonse. His voice surprised me, but only for a second. I had to assume he was still on the bridge with Athena. “Once they send a landing party, the shields will drop. The moment that happens—”

“Siggy does his thing,” I finished.

“Correct,” replied Alphonse. “If he’s ready, that is.”

“I’m most assuredly ready, Constable,” declared Sigmond.

“You heard the man,” I said.

A light flashed in the corner of the holo, drawing our collective attention to it. Sigmond disappeared from the dash immediately.

“What’s going on?” asked Abigail.

“The shields are falling,” informed Sigmond.

I smirked. “Looks like we won’t have to wait that long after all.”

The shield fell for nearly a full minute as multiple ships departed each of the cruisers.

It was during that minute that Sigmond initiated a program allowing him to tunnel through the Union’s communication system, granting him partial access to their data stream. He wouldn’t be able to manipulate their shields or weapons, but he could still influence what they saw and what they heard.

“Infiltration successful. Please proceed quickly, Captain,” advised the Cognitive.

I grabbed the control stick and gave the thrusters a quick boost.

“No need for caution, sir. All Union ships will be unable to detect your movement, so long as I maintain control,” he added.

“What about the Sarkonians?” asked Abigail.

“Those ships can’t detect a cloaked ship unless you’re right up on them,” I explained. “So long as we keep our distance, we should be fine.”

Abigail flipped through the holo, examining the different ships moving between us and the carrier. “That might be an issue, then. There’s one straight ahead of us.”

I glanced at the display. “Damn,” I muttered. “Okay, hold tight. I’ll accelerate and cut the engines. We’ll drift our way inside that shield.”

“Be careful,” cautioned Alphonse.

“Don’t worry about us,” I told him. “I’m not as green as those recruits of yours.”

“Fair enough,” he answered.

I killed the engines, allowing us to continue our trajectory towards the carrier. We had about twenty seconds before the shield went back online, just enough time for the rest of those strike ships to leave. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Sarkonian vessel was floating quietly in the void between the carrier and the moon. We were far enough that you couldn’t see it with the naked eye, but close enough that their short-range sensors wouldn’t detect our thrusters.

In all my encounters with the Sarkonians, I’d always been thankful for their lack of engineering prowess. They were a second-rate military with a survivalist mentality, raiding existing colonies and systems for parts, personnel, and supplies, all because they didn’t have the capability to manufacture what they needed to meet their own demand. War was expensive, and as far as I could see, the Union was the only side capable of full self-maintenance. As much as I hated them, they knew how to run an empire. The Sarkonians, on the other hand, were barely holding their shit together.

Bad for them, but great for my present situation.

Still, I kept my eyes on the Sarkonian ship until we were safely out of range. The second we were clear, I hit the accelerator again and sent us flying towards the Union carrier.

We made it just in time with only twelve seconds to spare. The shield raised, surrounding the Dawn in a layer of orange light before disappearing.

I let out a short breath of relief. “Step one,” I said, turning to Abigail. “Now for step two.”

“You’re sure they can’t see us?” asked Abigail.

“I’ve never tried to dock a cloaked ship with a Union carrier, so I really can’t say, Abby.”

She licked her lips and leaned closer to the holo. “If they see us, we’re dead. Whatever you do, don’t scrape the hull.”

“I’ll keep the paint intact,” I assured her.

“The Galactic Dawn’s sensors show no activity outside the ship,” said Sigmond, reassuring us as we slowly moved closer to the ship.

I steadied my breathing and pressed the control sticks into place. Once we were close enough, Sigmond activated the automated docking controls from inside the Dawn, extending the seal to our airlock.

The clamps locked into place so loud, I could hear them all the way in the cockpit. Abigail and I both studied the holo, waiting with bated breath for an alert to trigger inside the Dawn, but after nearly a full minute of silence, nothing came, and we relaxed.

“Looks like it worked,” I said, glancing at her. “Let’s get the others and grab our gear. We’ve gotta prep before we head into the hornet’s nest.”

“Shield at 100 percent,” said the automated voice in my ear as I activated the device on my shoulder. As I did, my entire body morphed, resembling a Union Constable.

I raised my pad to check my reflection on the screen. Clean-shaven, dimples, and barely any crow’s feet around my eyes. I looked ten years younger. Blond hair and brown eyes. A black uniform with three stripes on the collar.

“I’ll never get used to that,” said Freddie, blinking at me.

“I think it’s an improvement,” said Lucia. “Much more handsome.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” I said. “The less time I have to spend like this, the better.”

“Don’t act like you don’t enjoy this,” said Abigail, activating her shield. She suddenly transformed into a Union officer, although the changes to her appearance were minimal—slightly shorter hair, tied in a bun, and a smaller nose. Other than that and the clothes, she looked largely the same.

“Let’s see mine,” requested Freddie. He slapped the shield on his shoulder and activated it, causing a blue light to flicker around him, simultaneously morphing his face to resemble a man in his mid-thirties, low-ranking, with black hair, brown eyes, and one of the most forgettable faces I’d ever seen.

“That’s it?” asked Lucia, leaning in to examine him. “How disappointing for you.”

“Huh?” asked Freddie. He reached for a pad to check his face. “Oh.”

“Surprised?” asked Abigail.

“I didn’t have time to check mine,” he responded.

“Well, it looks like Athena chose for you,” I said.

“It’s a good thing, Frederick. You’ll want to blend in,” replied Abigail.

“Sure,” he said.

Dressler walked in from the rear and stopped when she saw us, stiffening quickly. “Holy—” She stopped then breathed a sigh of relief as she continued down the steps towards us. “For a moment, I thought we’d been boarded.”

“I’m next,” said Lucia. She tapped her shoulder to activate the shield, quickly transforming her body. Her white hair faded, replaced by a dark chocolate shade of brown, and the wrinkles on her face dissolved into a youthful, admittedly beautiful woman in her early twenties. The drastic shift took the rest of us by surprise, but Lucia seemed unaffected. She looked at her hands, a satisfied smile etched across her face.

“Whoa,” muttered Freddie.

“Don’t get any ideas, boy,” said Lucia, giving him a wink. “I’m a married woman, you know.”

“I take it you chose this look for yourself ahead of time,” said Abigail.

“You’d be right,” answered Lucia. “Although I’d rather have kept my hair color, but I’m told white hair is a sign of age for you people.”

“Not always,” said Freddie.

“But it’s not common,” replied Abby. “You made the right call in hiding it. We’ll be onboard a Union carrier, surrounded by enemy personnel. The last thing we want is to be found out because we forgot to hide your hair color.”

I turned to Dressler, since she was the only one left without a shield on. “Your turn.”

The doctor went to the nearby locker and retrieved the device, smacking it on her shoulder. As soon as she did, a Union uniform formed across her body, although it was from a different division than the rest of us. Her features changed very little, just enough to hide her identity—a larger nose, thicker cheeks, and three beauty marks.

“Why is yours so different?” asked Freddie.

“This is an engineering officer’s uniform. It’s more fitting for where I’m going,” explained Dressler.

“What uniform do I have on?”

“It looks like—” Dressler studied him for a second. “—Support Services.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“You make the food,” said Abigail.

“Not always,” corrected Dressler. “Sometimes you handle gym equipment and clean the laundry. It depends.”

“Well, which one am I?” he asked.

“That’s difficult to know from looking at you. Should anyone ask, I suggest you tell them you’re between shifts.”

He frowned.

“Lesson learned,” Abigail said. “Never let the Cognitive choose your wardrobe.”

I pulled up the monitor on the nearby wall, examining the strike ships, which had just departed the Galactic Dawn and were now dividing themselves between the planet’s surface and the nearby space, establishing a defensive perimeter.

I turned back to the rest of my team. “Grab your weapons and get ready to move. We’ve got a Union carrier to board.”

12

My team stood inside the Galactic Dawn, watching as dozens of soldiers gathered on the other side of the docking bay for what I could only assume was an impromptu briefing. The entire ship was mostly likely filled with activity right now, given the situation. None of these people had a single clue what to expect before they arrived out of slipspace, but now they were in orbit around a planet with multiple ancient cities on it. They had no time to prepare for any of this, which meant all those discussions—all those briefings—had to take place on the spot, right in the middle of the situation.

In other words, the entire crew was in disarray, too preoccupied to pay attention to a handful of soldiers in the corner of the landing deck.

A good thing for us, I thought. I reached for my pad, pulling it from my side pocket and examining the screen. “Siggy, let’s see the map.”

Instantly, the pad activated and a simple map loaded for the Dawn. I studied it very quickly, then dragged a finger across the screen to zoom in on it, causing the map to fill with even more detail. We were in the middle of docking bay 04, by the look of it, which meant we’d have to find a lift and head to deck 02. The bridge was only a short walk from there, but half the team wouldn’t be going. Dressler, along with Freddie, would ride a second elevator to the engine room for an entirely separate job.

I looked at my crew and held my pad up. “Check your screens.”

They did, quickly retrieving the same map. “We’ll get to ours before you,” said Dressler.

“I’ll wager you’ll finish the job first too,” I responded, knowing how difficult our task would be compared to theirs. I lowered my voice even more, whispering, “Siggy, show me the countdown timer for the drones.”

“Right away, sir,” rang his voice in my ear.

Suddenly, a clock appeared in the upper righthand corner of the display. “Twenty-eight minutes and counting,” I muttered. “That’s how long we have. We need to be finished when this hits zero. Understand?”

They all nodded.

Dressler looked around. “We’ll wait for you here, until you get back.”

I shook my head. “No. You get your asses on the ship and seal the door until I tell you otherwise. If you’re out here in the open, you’ll only draw attention. That’s the last thing we need.”

She took a second, but then nodded. “Fair point.”

“Remember, you only need to plant that thumb drive and get out of there. Nothing else,” I told them, making sure to look at Freddie as well as Dressler. “No godsdamn heroics if you can help it.”

“We’ll be fine, Captain,” assured the doctor. “You worry about yourself and what you have to do. I’ll look after Mr. Tabernacle.”

Freddie smiled, and I wondered if he was blushing beneath that artificial exterior.

“Okay,” I said, glancing around at the nearby soldiers then back to Dressler. “You two head out. We’ll wait a few minutes before we do the same. Don’t want to draw too much attention by traveling in a pack.”

Dressler leaned in close to Freddie. “If anyone asks, you’re assisting me.”

“With what?” he asked.

“You’re assigned to Services, correct? We’ll say you’re helping me retrieve some cleaning supplies.”

“Will that actually work?” he asked.

I fanned a hand at them. “It’s fine. Just get going. We’re losing time.”

They both nodded and proceeded to leave, heading into the crowd of disorganized soldiers.

I turned to Abigail and Lucia. “We’ll give it two minutes before we go. Should be long enough.”

“Sir, I’ve just noticed a problem,” said Sigmond.

“What is it?” I asked.

“The bridge deck requires an access card to enter. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to replicate the process, due to my limited access. You’ll need to find someone with the proper credentials before you can reach it.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell us this before?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t know, sir,” he explained. “This level of security isn’t standard on most Union vessels.”

“They must have added it recently,” said Abigail.

“Or it’s unique to this ship,” I added.

“Why would it be?” she asked.

“Brigham’s here, and there’s only one of him. Might be that he’s afraid of the exact thing we’re about to do.”

“Let’s hope not,” said Abigail. “I’d rather he underestimate us than not.”

“Let’s head to the elevator,” I said. “We can worry about this when we’re not standing so far out in the open.”

The lift was positioned near the center of the deck, a short walk from where we landed. This section was far more open, with higher ceilings and groups of soldiers assembling at various hubs.

“What now?” asked Abigail. “We can’t get on this elevator without the right access to the bridge. Otherwise, we’ll have to get off somewhere else.”

I nodded. “Just give me a second,” I replied, crossing my arms. I scanned the room, looking at all the different Union lackies running back and forth. “Siggy, what’s the lowest authorization we need to get on that deck?”

“Sergeant or higher, sir.”

“Sergeant?” I asked, still examining the soldiers. “What’s the symbol for that one?”

“Four stripes and three dots, with each dot stitched between each stripe.”

“Okay, got it,” I said.

It only took a few seconds to spot someone with the appropriate rank on their shoulder, but she was in the middle of a conversation with several other people. That was no good. I found two others soon after, but once again, they were occupied. I knew the safest option was to find someone alone that could be easily manipulated into doing what we told them. The more people around, the more questions would arise about who we were and what we were doing here. One person was easy to trick, but a group? Not a chance.

“Over there,” whispered Abigail, tapping my arm. She pointed to the far wall, where a young man stood alone, reading over his pad.

I nodded and began walking over to him, leaving the crowd at the center of the atrium as well as the elevators. The boy, who looked to be in his early twenties, seemed oblivious to anything happening around him, his whole focus on the pad in his hands. He was pale, almost to a sickly degree, with bags under his eyes. This was too perfect. Either he was overworked or an insomniac, both of which could prove beneficial to our situation. If he wasn’t alert, he wouldn’t think too much about whatever we chose to ask him, and he wouldn’t question who any of us were.

“You there,” I barked as we approached him. “What are you doing, standing here like that? What are you supposed to be doing right now?”

The boy looked up at us, slightly dazed. “Oh, uh, I’m—”

“I asked what you were doing here, Sergeant—” I paused, leaning closer to look at his name. “—Billins.”

“I’m, uh,” he muttered. “I’m just looking over my report before I file it. I have a few minutes to spare before my supervisor gets here with the rest of our shop. They’re on a job together on deck 14. Really, it’s nothing—”

I snatched the pad out of his hand. The screen showed some kind of game involving a farm. There was a man with a pitchfork bobbing in the middle of a field with crops surrounding him. “What the hell is this?”

Sigmond answered me right away. “That would be a video game, sir. I believe it is called FarmLife, intended for ages 6-12.”

I handed the pad to Abigail, then turned back to the sergeant. “Do you know what the penalty is for lying to a superior?”

He gulped. “I—”

Abigail stepped forward, arms behind her back, lifting her chin at the young man. “Billins, was it? I shall make a note of this for my report.” Her tone surprised me. She sounded so formal.

“I-I’m sorry, ma’am! I shouldn’t have lied. I feel so embarrassed! I just didn’t want anyone to think less of me because I was playing a game like that. I—”

Abigail raised a hand to quiet him. “Enough of this. You will have to be reprimanded for this flagrant disregard for—”

“There’s no need for that. Is there, Major?” I asked, raising my brow. “He was only taking a minute before his team showed. Maybe you could let this one slide.” I looked around. “Our escort never showed. Maybe Billins here could do us the courtesy of being our escort.”

Abigail twisted her lips at the boy, giving him a suspicious look. “I don’t know. Can we really trust someone so…careless?”

“I-I can escort you, ma’am! Where do you need to go? Engineering? The outer wing? I’m more than happy to help. Just please don’t report me!”

Abigail stared at him, taking the exact length of time needed to instill the maximum amount of fear, which I counted as four seconds. “I suppose we do require assistance,” she muttered. “And you seem to have nothing better to do.”

“Then it’s settled,” I said.

Billins nodded, looking quite relieved. “Thank you so much, sir. Where exactly would you like me to take you?”

“Our escort was supposed to take us to see General Brigham on the bridge,” said Abigail.

“The bridge?” he asked. “Oh, uh, I haven’t been up there since—”

“Is there a problem, Sergeant?” asked Abigail.

“N-no, ma’am! It’s just that, well, I don’t know if I’m authorized to bring guests to the bridge. I’m only a maintenance crewman and I—”

“Now, Billins,” I said, tensing my voice a little. “You don’t want to receive that reprimand, do you? I’m trying to help you out here, son.”

“Of course not, sir! Please, I’ll help you. Just give me a second to tell my supervisor.”

I shook my head. “There’s no time for that. Major—” I paused, looking at Abigail’s nametag. “Major Nun here will have your new orders relayed to your supervisor.”

Abigail looked down at her nametag, probably for the first time, and then back at me. She seemed surprised.

“Uh, if you insist, sir,” said the sergeant.

“I do, indeed, Billins,” I said. “Now let’s get going. Don’t want to keep the boss waiting, do we?”

“No, sir, not at all. Right this way, please,” he said, scurrying ahead of us towards the elevator.

Abigail leaned in as we started walking. “Major Nun, was it? Do you think you’re being funny?”

“What’s wrong? Don’t like your name?”

“When did you even have time to—”

“Athena asked me for a set of names, so I just told her the first thing that came to mind,” I explained.

“Out of everything you could have called me, you chose that one,” she remarked.

“I like it,” declared Lucia, leaning in between us as we walked.

“You would,” said Abigail. “Lieutenant Marygold.”

Lucia smiled proudly.

Abigail looked at the name on my chest. “And Constable—” She scoffed. “—Hughes? You gave yourself your own name?”

“What? I couldn’t think of anything better,” I replied.

“But—”

“Is everything all right, ma’am?” asked Billins, who was already inside the elevator, waiting for us.

Abigail stiffened, sending a swift glare of anger at poor Sergeant Billins. “Mind yourself, Sergeant! You’re already on thin ice.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!” he stuttered, standing at attention.

We boarded the elevator with the clueless Sergeant Billins and waited for the doors to close. He slid his card across the sensor then entered his authorization code. “We should reach the bridge shortly, sir,” he said in an awkward tone.

“Very good,” I told him, trying to stand the way I imagined a career-minded Constable might—back stiff, arms to the side, chest out, emotionless expression from years of burying all independent thoughts and feelings.

I caught Abigail staring at me with a raised eye. “Is something wrong with you?” she asked.

“What? No, nothing’s wrong,” I said, loosening up my shoulders. “Shut up.”

Billins seemed oblivious, staring at the card scanner next to the elevator door, probably worrying himself senselessly over getting caught with that video game.

The clueless bastard had no idea what he’d just signed up for.

The lift doors opened soon, and we stepped out into the hall. “This way, sir,” said Billins, motioning to the busier side of the corridor.

I nodded, following the poor kid’s lead. The section right outside the bridge teemed with crew activity, coming and going from different side rooms. As I had suspected when we first arrived, the entire ship was in a state of chaos.

Which was about to get a whole lot worse.

Three soldiers stood outside the bridge, each with a rifle across their chest. Billins approached one of them and presented his I.D.

“State your business here, please,” commanded one of the soldiers.

“Escorting Constable Hughes to the bridge, sir,” said Billins.

“Constable Hughes?” inquired the soldier, looking at me.

“We’re from another ship,” I said. “Came aboard just now on orders to see General Brigham.”

The two soldiers exchanged a glance. “Is he in the logs?” asked one of them.

“Let me check,” said the other, pulling up a pad and examining the screen. He swiped through a list of names, one after the next. “I’m not seeing anything.”

I turned around so they couldn’t see me. “Siggy?” I whispered.

“Just a moment, please,” answered Sigmond. “There.”

I looked back at the men and sighed, trying to seem agitated. “Did you refresh the page? Try that. I’ll wait.”

“With all due respect, sir, I don’t think that—”

“It worked,” stated the second soldier. “Look here. His name just popped up. The system must have had a delay.”

“What about the other two?” asked the first one.

The man paused, studying the display. “Both here,” he finally answered.

The first man nodded. “You’re clear to enter, sir. Thank you for your patience. I’m sorry for holding you up.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said.

He opened the door then stepped aside so we could enter. I ordered Billins to go first, with the rest of us following behind. As we stepped inside, I felt the door slide shut behind me.

The bridge was similar in size to the one on Titan, although this one was far busier with dozens of people working at their stations.

“Can I help you, sir?” asked a voice.

I looked to see a female officer standing to the side of us. “This is Constable Hughes and Major Nun. They’re here to speak with General Brigham,” explained Billins.

“Is that so?” asked the woman, whose name appeared to be Clark. “Well, please wait here while I fetch him.”

I nodded, watching her walk off towards a circle of other officers. She nudged her way between a few of them, opening the group up and allowing me to see the one at the center—a man whose face I’d grown all too familiar with.

General Brigham looked at me from the crowd, a stern expression on his face. He seemed both curious and confused, although both were hardly noticeable with a face like his, and he said something inaudible to Lieutenant Clark before dismissing her.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” asked Abigail.

“You’ll have to ask Siggy,” I whispered. “He’s the one who forged our orders.”

Lieutenant Clark returned straight away, no sign of worry in her eyes. Unless she was good at hiding her feelings, I was pretty sure this was all going to go according to plan. “Constable, please come with me,” she said.

On second thought, maybe not, I thought, and then I asked, “What’s that now?”

“The general has requested that you wait for him in the side office, right there,” she said, pointing to another door, not far from us. “He says the bridge is presently too chaotic. I hope you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine,” I replied. “Whatever he wants will work for us.”

“Excellent,” said Clark, smiling. “Please go right ahead.”

We did as she asked, sidestepping our way to the nearby room, avoiding the bustling members of the bridge crew as they went about their jobs.

When we were standing inside the office, Billins turned to me. “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?” he asked.

“You got somewhere you need to be, Sergeant?” I asked.

“Oh, well, I’m supposed to meet my team downstairs. They’re probably already waiting for me, and—”

“Stick around a bit,” I replied, dismissing his concern. “We might need you for something.”

Billins frowned, clearly disappointed. “I-if you wish, sir.”

I went to the end of the conference table and pulled out the chair, taking a seat and leaning back. “Just hold tight, Billins,” I said, staring at the door. “The party’s about to start.”

13

Everyone in the room stiffened when the door opened.

The female lieutenant entered first, a large pad in her hands. “And sensors show at least one other slip tunnel in this system. We’re looking for any signs of activity.”

“In the meantime,” said General Marcus Brigham as he marched into the room, an air of preoccupation about him so thick, I wondered if he even knew we were here, “I want a live feed of whatever those boys are seeing on that planet the exact second they disembark from those shuttles. Do you understand, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir,” responded Lieutenant Clark. She tapped her pad, taking only a few seconds to look over it before continuing. “Also, as you requested, we’ve dispatched squads to each of the twelve POIs. That’s every city on the continent as well as the outposts.”

“Assuming that’s what they are,” said the general.

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

The old man finally looked at the rest of the room, his eyes snapping between each of us. “Alright. What’s this? I was told you four had an appointment. I don’t remember making one, but the logs show it, so I must have forgotten. Did it have anything to do with the investigation?”

“Investigation?” I asked.

“I’ll take that as a negative,” he remarked. “Well, out with it. What’s this whole thing about? Let’s make this quick. I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“Busy?” I asked.

He raised his eye at me. “Did you miss the planet outside when you boarded?”

I let the question sit there between us for longer than I probably should have, but there were thoughts crossing my mind and it took everything I had to shut them out. Thoughts of pulling out my pistol and burying a bullet in the man who’d followed me across a galaxy.

A man who tried to take my girls from me.

But I stayed my hand, all the same. “Oh,” I said, crossing my arms as I leaned against the wall. “You’re talking about Earth.”

He paused, and for a brief second, I saw his expression change before settling. He stepped closer to me and eyed my nametag. “Constable Hughes, is it?”

“That’s right,” I said.

“Only a handful of individuals have been briefed on the identity of that planet,” he explained. “I don’t remember seeing you in the room.”

“I’m a Constable,” I said matter-of-factly. “Do I really need to explain how I stay informed?”

“I suppose not,” he said plainly.

We stared at each other as a thick silence filled the room.

“That’s an interesting name you have,” commented Brigham after a bit. His eyes stayed on mine, never swaying.

“Thanks. I got it from my father.”

Clark looked at both of us but said nothing, probably sensing the tension. I wondered what she must be thinking. The same went for poor Sergeant Billins. These two fools had no idea what they’d accidentally walked into.

“Are you aware it’s the same surname as the man we’re after?” asked Brigham after a moment.

“You mean the Renegade captain you’ve had such a hard time catching?” I asked. “Yeah, I’m aware.”

His lip curled, almost like a smile, but faded immediately. “You’re a little brash, Hughes, even for a Constable.”

“You think so? People always say I’m charming.”

He smirked then took a step back.

“Something wrong?” I asked.

“Which ship did you say you were from?” he asked.

I said nothing.

Brigham looked at the nearby lieutenant. “What ship?”

The woman grabbed at her pad, almost frantically, trying to get the information. “I-it looks like the…UFS Peaceful Resolute, sir.”

“Contact Captain Vice. I want him on that screen—” He pointed to the woman’s pad. “—in thirty seconds to verify this man’s identity.”

The lieutenant tapped the pad again then paused. “Sir, it doesn’t appear to be working.”

“What?” he asked, raising his voice a little.

“The network is down, I think,” she muttered. “I could try a different device.”

“You just told me his name. How can the network be down?”

“It must have dropped right after I called up the information. I apologize. Should I try the viewscreen on the bridge? It might be able to—”

“That’s enough,” I snapped, cutting her off. “Let me save you the trouble, Marcus.”

I tapped my shoulder, deactivating the shield, revealing my true appearance. Abigail and Lucia followed suit immediately by doing the same.

Brigham looked on in shock as three of the most wanted criminals in the galaxy revealed ourselves directly in front of him, only a few meters away.

I already had my pistol drawn at him.

The old man’s eyes widened, and he took another step back, towards the door, his hand slowly easing down to his sidearm.

“Easy,” I cautioned, turning my weapon in the air to draw his attention. “Let’s not make this messy.”

Lucia raised her staff from her back, aiming the dangerous end at our two new friends.

“You,” said Brigham, his voice slightly above a whisper.

“Me,” I answered.

He stared at me, but not the weapon. “If you think you can just walk in here and put a bullet in me, you should know that any unauthorized weapons fire will trigger an immediately lockdown. You’ll be stuck in this room with an army on the other side.”

I could tell by the look on his face that he was speaking the truth, or at least what he believed to be the truth. Either way, it didn’t matter. He might have an army behind him, but I had the plan.

And the Cognitive.

“Siggy,” I called loud enough for Brigham to hear me. The name caused him to shift where he stood. “Why don’t you tell the man about his so-called alarm.”

I reached in my pocket and brought out the little emitter, then tossed it on the nearby table.

Brigham and Clark stared at it, probably wondering what the hell I’d just done. Before either of them could ask, a flash of light appeared in front of the table and Sigmond phased into existence. The two officers stepped back in surprise.

“Internal sensors have been adjusted. All safety protocols have been removed,” informed the Cognitive. He looked at Brigham and smiled. “Hello.”

“What is this?!” the general demanded to know.

“That’s Siggy. He’s got control of your ship,” I explained. “Well, some of it. He’s not omnipotent, but hell, close enough.”

Brigham shot a quick glance at the nearby lieutenant, but she only shook her head.

“Before you ask,” said Abigail, “he’s real, and you’d better mind your next move.”

“Don’t just stand there!” barked Brigham to Clark. “Do something!”

“I wouldn’t,” warned Lucia, aiming her staff at the woman in uniform.

Clark raised her hands, noticeably shaken, and said nothing.

Lucia smiled. “Good girl.”

“Clark, take your weapon and place it on the floor,” I ordered.

She said nothing, but did as I told her, finally kicking the sidearm to Abigail’s feet.

“Now do the same for your boss,” I instructed.

Clark reached for the general’s pistol. “I’m sorry, sir,” she muttered, leaning close to him and withdrawing the gun. Once again, she kicked the weapon to Abigail, who slid it behind her.

“See there? Now we can all relax,” I said, walking to the rear of the table. I reached to the center and took a piece of fruit from the tray. “Marcus, the only reason we’re standing here right now is that you—”

Brigham made a sudden break for the door, probably expecting it to open, but instead rammed into the center with his shoulder.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but the exit door is currently locked down,” informed Sigmond.

Brigham groaned, holding his arm. He cursed under his breath.

“As I was saying,” I continued, propping my feet up on the table and taking a bite out of the fruit. “Marcus, the only reason we’re standing here right now is because you and your friends went and kidnapped a little girl. If you would’ve left her where you found her, none of this would’ve happened.” I glanced at Abigail. “The nun would’ve never stolen her. I never would’ve given them a ride to their church. Lucia over there would’ve stayed on her frosty little planet, and none of us would’ve been the wiser.”

Lucia waved her staff and smiled at Brigham.

“You blew up her home, by the way,” remarked Abigail.

I took another bite of the fruit. “In fairness, we blew up half his ship.”

“Quite exquisitely, sir,” said Sigmond.

I nodded at the Cognitive. “Thanks, Siggy.”

Brigham took a slow breath. “Is there a point to this?”

“Oh, sure,” I replied, leaping up from the chair. I walked over to where he was standing, getting so close, I could smell his cologne. “You started all of this, and I was content to let you sit freely, but you pressed me, Marcus.” I narrowed my brow, pausing half a meter from his face, and unholstered my pistol. “And I ain’t a man who ought to be pressed.”

I brought the barrel to his forehead in one, swift motion, letting it push into him with enough strength to leave a mark.

“So you’re going to kill me,” he said, seemingly unafraid. This was a man who’d faced death many times, according to his records, and right now, it showed.

“That depends on how you play the next few minutes, Marcus,” I answered.

Abigail reached into her pocket and retrieved another personal shield. She handed it to the general. He hesitated to take it, but I nudged him with my pistol, incentivizing him.

“Put that on your shoulder,” I ordered.

He studied the device, but it wouldn’t do him much good. “What does this do?” he asked, slapping it on his shoulder.

Rather than answer, I decided to show him by reaching over and tapping the activation button. In a quick flash, Brigham’s appearance changed to a boy in his early twenties. His hair shifted to auburn red, and his eyes faded to a soft emerald green. Gone was the old, authoritative soldier, replaced by a clueless, unimposing child.

“Step 1,” I said.

Brigham looked down at his hands, examining his pale complexion and freckles. “What the hell did you just do to me?”

“We’re going to walk you out of this ship,” I explained.

“If you think a pointed gun and a costume change will be enough to get me off this ship, you’ve—”

A sudden shock emitted from the shield, coursing through Brigham’s entire body, instantly paralyzing him. He fell straight to the floor with a heavy thud.

“And there’s step 2,” I said.

Clark gasped at the sight of her boss on the floor. “G-General?!”

“He’ll be fine,” I assured her.

“Only if you do what we say,” added Abigail.

The woman gulped. “I won’t say anything!”

“There’s no way we can trust that,” I said. “You’re coming with us.”

“S-stop!” shouted a voice from behind me.

I turned to see Billins standing there with a gun in his hand, aimed right at me.

“I’ll shoot!” he warned.

“Godsdammit, Billins,” I muttered. “Don’t be stupid, man. Put the gun down and—”

There was a loud explosion as the bullet hit me in the chest, deflecting off the shield and into the nearby wall. “Shield at 92 percent,” said an automated voice in my ear.

The sergeant widened his eyes. “U-um, I—” He was shaking, unable to keep his composure, and quickly dropped the gun. He took a step back and took several sharp breaths.

A loud banging sound filled the room as someone beat their fist against the door. “General Brigham! Sir, is everything all right in there?!” called someone from the outside.

I sighed, staring at Billins. “Now you’ve really done it.”

He licked his lips and swallowed. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t! It was all a bluff!” Poor guy looked like he was about to have a panic attack. “I’ve never shot anyone. I—”

“Shut up, Billins!” I snapped, walking up beside him and snatching the gun from the floor. “I need a second to think.”

“I’m afraid you won’t have long, sir,” informed Sigmond, pointing to the door, which was slowly being pried open.

“Hey!” shouted a man from the other side. “What’s going on in there?!”

There was a loud pop as the soldiers tazed the door, depolarizing the glass and forcing it to fade from dark to clear, allowing them to see us. “Who’s that in there?” asked one of the men. “Where’s the general?!”

“He’s indisposed,” I answered.

“We have a security team here! Place your hands above your head and lie down on your stomach!”

Lucia pointed her staff at the glass door. “Shall I clear the path?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said, swiping up the holo emitter, causing Sigmond to flicker and disappear. I stowed it in my pocket. “Siggy, make sure they can’t sound that alarm. Once we’re off this floor, I don’t want anyone following us.”

“Understood, sir,” he answered in my ear.

“As for the rest of you,” I went on, looking at Abigail and Lucia. “Don’t put on your new faces until we’ve dealt with this.”

They both nodded.

“And you two,” I said, glancing at Billins and Clark. “Just try to keep your heads down.”

The door slid open a little more, so much that I could see the other soldiers waiting behind the first few.

“Lucia,” I said, taking both my pistols in my hands and cocking them. “Time to clear a path.”

She gave me a devilish smile. “Right, then.”

The door snapped open at last, revealing a small squad of soldiers, armed to the teeth. The man in the front opened his mouth, ready to shout his orders, when the end of Lucia’s staff sparked to life, almost like a roar, and she fired.

A blast of blue energy tore through the crowd, sending them all on their backs. The rear half were still moving, squirming and disorientated, while the first half stayed down.

“Oh my gods!” cried Clark. “Are they—are they dead?”

“Only stunned,” declared Lucia. “A full blast would tear a hole in your ship.”

One of the soldier went for his rifle, trying to stand.

I leaped across the table, pistols in my hand, and fired a shot before my feet touched the floor.

The bullet hit the soldier in his leg, followed by another to his forearm, causing him to drop the weapon. At the same time, the two guards standing outside the bridge door entered the bridge, probably responding to all the noise.

I stepped back, allowing Lucia to take my place. She released a single shot at the two of them. The men went flying into a computer terminal, probably breaking a few bones in the process.

Abigail took Brigham by the arm. “Should we go?”

“That’s a good idea!” I leapt through the doorway and kicked one of the soldiers in the head as he attempted to stand. He didn’t try again.

Lucia came storming out of the room, swinging her staff and going for another nearby soldier who had, before now, been dutifully attending his workstation. She hit him twice—once in the shin and then in the chest, causing him to collapse on his knees. Quickly, she snagged his rifle and tossed it to me, and since I had no interest in it, I let it fall to the floor, then shoved it beneath another workstation.

“Is that all of them?” asked Abigail, poking her head out of the room, the general in tow.

“I’d expect more soon,” I answered. “Best we get our skin on.”

The three of us tapped our shoulders and activated our fake personas. In seconds, we were back to being Union officers. “Hello, Constable. Goodbye, Jace,” I said, holstering one of my pistols.

“We’d better go,” said Lucia, her staff returned to her back, hidden by the shield.

I leaned inside the room to see Lieutenant Clark and Sergeant Billins, both staring at me with terrified, frozen expressions. “Waiting for something?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Clark.

“I mean you’re both coming with us.”

“But you have what you want!” she exclaimed.

“Still need a way out. Billins is our ticket, but I can’t have you here to sound any alarms,” I explained, waving her closer.

She frowned as she slowly walked towards me.

“Hey, cheer up,” I said. “You can help carry your boss.”

We left the bridge, sealing the doors behind us. The hall was loud and full of activity, but no one seemed to have noticed the commotion. Not yet, anyway. It would only be a matter of time before someone ran to check on things or one of the incapacitated soldiers woke up.

For now, we’d simply have to hurry.

Clark and Billins carried Brigham, an arm wrapped around each of their shoulders. Abigail’s shield wouldn’t hold if she did it, so it was lucky we found these two when we did.

We boarded the elevator, gathering inside and letting the doors close. I sat there for a few seconds before glancing at Billins.

He was hunched over with the general’s arm around him, staring at the floor.

I cleared my throat, prompting him to blink. “Billins, you mind?”

“Oh! R-right,” he stuttered, then reached for his card and swiped it.

“What are you going to do with us?” asked Clark, holding her boss while Billins entered his security code.

“Depends how good a job you do carrying the luggage,” I said.

She didn’t say anything.

“You know who we are, don’t you?” I asked as the elevator began its descent.

She hesitated a few seconds before finally nodding.

“What else do you know?” asked Abigail.

No answer.

“That much, huh?” I asked. “That means you know what you’re chasing, right?”

“Fugitives and outlaws,” replied Clark.

“That’s one way of looking at it,” I admitted. “The other is that you’re stalking a little girl and hoping to dissect her.”

Again, Clark said nothing.

I scoffed. “Wow, lady. Not even so much as a shocked look, huh? I guess we know where you stand.”

The elevator doors opened and we all stepped off and into the open floor, still filled with soldiers standing around, waiting for their orders.

Of course, all of that was about to change.

I reached for my pad, checking the timer on those incoming drones. Twenty seconds remaining. “Talk about good timing,” I muttered.

“What are we waiting for?” asked Lucia.

Billins and Clark both looked at me, each still holding Brigham between them.

“Just a few more seconds,” I said, watching the countdown continue. I nudged Clark to keep going, using the remaining time to get to the Star. This place was about to get flooded with panicked soldiers scrambling for their stations. In other words, total chaos across this entire ship.

“Sir, a slip tunnel has just opened,” informed Sigmond. “The drones are arriving. Should I proceed with the engagement?”

“Do it, Siggy,” I responded.

We neared the landing zone, and I quickly spotted Freddie and Dressler, already waiting for us at the dock.

A light glimmered along the glass, drawing my attention. I paused, trying to determine if there was something there or if my eyes were playing tricks.

The stars shined against the darkness but were otherwise still. For a moment, I thought it must have been nothing, but then I saw it—hundreds of objects, reflecting sunlight as they came into view, grouped together like a swarm. The drones were here at last, and the real fight was about to begin.

14

“We’re under attack!” shouted someone from across the landing deck.

At that moment, an alarm sounded, flashing red lights throughout the Galactic Dawn. “That’s our signal,” I said to my crew, grabbing the airlock and hoisting myself up. “Everyone inside!”

“These two first,” said Abigail, pointing to Billins and Clark.

Billins climbed inside, stopping right in front of me. I nodded for him to pass. “Freddie, watch him for me!” I shouted over my shoulder.

“Will do!” he yelled back.

Clark was next, but I held out a hand to stop her. “Not you,” I said. “You know exactly what’s happening here, which makes you just as guilty as your boss. You’re staying here.”

“B-but I need to stay with—”

Lucia took out her staff, which seemed to manifest out of nowhere, now that it was free of the shield. She flicked a switch and primed the weapon to stun.

Clark’s mouth dropped. “No, wait!”

A quick shot struck her in the chest, and she fell straight to the floor, motionless.

Lucia reached down and felt the woman’s pulse. “She’s breathing. Are you certain we shouldn’t take her with us?”

I shook my head. “She knew the full details about what was going on with Lex, those experiments, the whole mess. She went along with all of it. That’s all I need to know.”

Lucia got to her feet. “Okay, then.”

As we fled inside, I ordered Freddie and Lucia to strap in and hold tight. Abigail secured Billins, while Dressler followed me to the cockpit.

“What’s the story with that drive you planted?” I asked as I threw my harness on and primed the engines. “Did it work?”

“Sigmond should have full access to their engines and shields,” replied Dressler. “Although I can’t predict how long it will take them to figure out what we’ve done.”

I took my control sticks with both hands. “We only need a few minutes.”

“Disengaging from the Galactic Dawn,” informed Sigmond.

I watched the holo, waiting for the exact moment we were free of the other ship. As soon as we were, I hit our thrusters and brought us away from the airlock. “And the shield?” I asked.

“Lowering it now,” replied Sigmond.

An orange light flickered as the Galactic Dawn’s shield flickered off, allowing us to get away. As we flew beyond the barrier point, a set of drones began bombarding the Dawn’s hull—specifically, its quad cannons and light guns.

“They’ll figure out what I did soon,” informed Dressler. “The terminal I had to use was sitting right out in the open. We don’t have long.”

“In that case, Sigmond, you know what you have to do,” I said.

“Understood, sir,” said the Cognitive. “Overloading slipspace engines now.”

Sensors detected a brief energy buildup inside the Galactic Dawn, indicating they were about to go critical. Seconds later, energy levels dropped to zero as contingency protocols took over and automatically shut everything down. The Dawn would be unable to activate any slipspace tunnels until their engine could be cycled and rebooted. Between that, the loss of their guns, and their missing commanding officer, the crew would be utterly helpless in the upcoming battle.

I examined the holo, jumping from cruiser to cruiser. All of them were currently engaged in a battle with the drones, trying to pick them off, one at a time, but the drones were focused on disabling the Dawn’s guns, with no regard for their own safety. We’d probably lose a decent number of them in the process, but it was worth the risk.

“Athena, Alphonse, this is Hughes,” I said. “Are you ready?”

“Awaiting your command, Captain,” responded Athena.

I paused, glancing at Dressler. “We’re sure this will work?” I asked in a low voice. “If they blow up, there goes the rest of the plan.”

“I think so,” said Dressler.

“You do?”

“I don’t know everything, Captain,” she replied.

“That’s not the answer I was looking for, but fine,” I said. “Athena, blow it.”

“Understood,” answered the Cognitive.

The holo showed a sudden spike in pressure building inside the nearby moon, rising exponentially. Neither of us had time to react.

The explosion filled the holo, with blue light growing from inside the breaking moon. The rock shattered from within, exploding into dust and massive stones, pieces breaking and colliding into one another, creating even more debris.

The light quickly settled to reveal Titan inside a cloud of dust, its shield flexing and reverberating from the recent force of the explosion.

At the same time, rocks the size of ships flew through the darkness. The largest headed straight for the nearest ship, designated the UFS Patriot’s Arm, slamming itself directly into the enemy’s shield. The stone snapped into pieces, scattering itself along the orange defensive barrier of light. As the strain of so many impacts became too much, the shield cracked like glass, finally snapping apart.

Smaller pieces of debris continued through and collided with the cruiser, impacting its hull along the entire side. Finally, the crew managed to start firing their cannons at the incoming debris, but it was far too late. So much damage had been done to them in such a short amount of time, it was all they could do to keep the rocks from hitting them.

The UFS Peaceful Resolute had been far enough away from the blast zone to counter the moon’s explosion. They fired their cannons at the oncoming rocks with great precision, breaking them apart before they could get there. Not that it mattered, because Titan was already on the move and firing.

Fifty ships came flying out of Titan’s landing bays, targeting the Peaceful Resolute with great prejudice. Titan did the same, and together they laid the pressure on the enemy’s shield so thick it collapsed in a matter of seconds.

The two remaining cruisers—the Eclipse and Autumn’s Light—turned their attention on Titan, releasing their remaining ships, and firing.

I gripped my control stick and brought the Renegade Star around, facing the battlefield. “This is Hughes,” I announced. “Engage all targets. Focus on the cruisers’ cannons if you can, then move all attention over to the remaining ships. Prioritize your own lives at all costs.”

“We’re on it, sir,” returned Bolin on the comm.

Octavia chimed in. “We’ll clean this up nice and easy.”

I smiled. “Right, then I guess we’ll start heading back.”

“Not yet, Captain,” said Athena. “Titan is currently engaged and will be unable to lower its shields to allow reentry. I advise you to stay where you are and await pickup.”

I growled at the thought of sitting on my hands. “I’m not staying put while the rest of you do all the work, godsdammit.”

“She’s right,” countered Alphonse. “You’ve done your part. The Galactic Dawn is immobilized and disarmed. Let us clean up the rest.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Dressler interrupted. “He will,” assured the doctor, giving me the side-eye.

“Until then, try not to kill the package,” said Alphonse.

“Where are you going?” asked Dressler when she saw me unhooking my harness.

“Since we’re stuck waiting, I figured I’d check on the cargo,” I answered, heading to the door. It slid open and I entered the lounge.

Billins, Abigail, and Freddie were sitting there, each of them strapped in, although Billins had his arms tied down as well.

“You’re referring to General Brigham,” said Dressler, following after me.

“How’d you guess?” I asked, still walking.

“Hey, Captain, where you off to?” called Freddie as I passed by.

Billins squirmed in his seat. “Um, e-excuse me, but what exactly is going on?”

Abigail kicked the side of Billins’ chair. “Quiet, you.” She glanced over at me. “Don’t go killing him without me, Jace.”

“No promises, but you go easy on old Billins there,” I called over my shoulder, right as I entered the rear hallway.

“No promises!” she yelled, her voice echoing down the corridor.

I entered the cargo bay overhang and made my way straight down the stairs. Dressler was right behind me, mumbling something about how this wasn’t the time for this.

Lucia stood motionless with her staff like some kind of sentry, her eyes fixed on the sealed compartment in the back of the room. “He’s already awake,” she remarked, not bothering to look at me.

“How do you know?” asked Dressler, once we reached the lower floor.

“I can hear him scratching the wall,” said Lucia. “Like a dying rat.”

“Well, that’s colorful,” I added. “Siggy, open the door. Lucia, get your staff ready in case he tries anything.”

A line formed along the wall as the hidden compartment began to open, the door separating itself and sliding up.

Brigham was on his feet, hands behind his back, staring at me when the door opened. He seemed totally relaxed, devoid of any fear or anxiety—the opposite of what you might expect from someone who’d just been kidnapped. “Hughes,” said the old man, giving me a slight nod. “You wouldn’t happen to have any painkillers, would you?”

I stared at him, saying nothing. When I decided to speak, it wouldn’t be to answer a question.

He glanced around the cargo hold. “You have a fine ship, from what I’ve seen of it. This is the storage bay, correct?”

My thumb rubbed the butt of my pistol.

“I’ve seen the blueprints, so I’m familiar with the layout, including this little compartment,” he said, motioning around him. “It wasn’t on the official blueprint, but we managed to procure a more up-to-date—”

“We’ve disabled the Galactic Dawn,” I interrupted.

He stopped talking, but his expression didn’t change.

“Weapons and engines are down,” I continued. “The rest of the fleet is in shambles. Each cruiser under your command has suffered heavy damage.”

“I see,” he said, still without any shock. “That must make you feel very accomplished, Captain.”

I ignored the comment. “In a few hours, maybe less, the most powerful fleet in the galaxy will have been destroyed. Thousands will be dead, almost all of them Union soldiers, and you’ll go down as one of the worst military commanders in history.” I scoffed, shaking my head. “You lost to a nobody. A deviant Renegade and a disorganized band of rebels. That’s what they’ll say, Marcus. That’s the story they’ll write.”

Brigham glared at me, and for the first time in all of this, I could sense the hate on him, rising to the surface. But like any professional, he knew how to control himself and quickly suppressed it. He straightened himself then took a slow breath through his nose. “All of that aside, why am I here? You must want something from me.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I want you to tell your people to stand down.”

He gave me a half-smile. “Is that what all of this is about? You want me to officially surrender to you?”

“More or less. Truth is, I wanted to kill you, but one of my people suggested we go for the least amount of casualties possible. Can’t say I’m fully onboard, but I gave it some thought and it just made sense. You see, we’ve picked up a few Union strays since we started out. Some knew what you were doing, so they came here on their own.” I slid my eyes back to Dressler, who was standing with her hands in front of her, watching in silence. “Others, well, let’s just say they eventually saw through the bullshit and figured it out.” I turned to Brigham. “Most of the folks out there have no idea what they’re doing here. Isn’t that right?”

“Compartmentalization is an important aspect of military strategy,” said Brigham. “If every drone knows what the queen is planning, what’s to stop the enemy from overrunning the colony? All they’d need to do is capture a single drone.”

Dressler scoffed. “There’s compartmentalization and then there’s propaganda. You’ve been actively withholding key information from your people.”

“What information would that be, Dr. Dressler?” asked Brigham.

She paused at the sound of her own name.

“Oh, yes,” said Brigham. “I know who all of you are.”

“Doesn’t matter what you know,” I said. “All that matters is what you’re about to do.”

“Which is surrendering, right?” he asked.

I nodded. “You don’t have to die today. No one does.”

“No one?” he asked. He paused briefly and then laughed. “People are dying as we speak, Captain.”

I took a step closer, clutching my holster, but still not drawing the pistol. “Everything that’s happening out there is because of you.”

“Is that a fact?” he asked. “Because the way I understand it, your little girlfriend is the one who stole Union property and murdered a senator…or did you forget about that?”

“I’d watch what you say about Abby,” I cautioned.

“Touchy subject for you, is it?” he asked.

“Nah, but if she hears you, she’s likely to rip your throat out and feed it to you, and I can’t be having that,” I said.

“Be that as it may, I’m not wrong,” remarked Brigham.

“You stole a little girl and you’re blaming someone else for stealing her back?” I asked. “You can fuck right off with that. There’s no excusing what you did.”

“What I did?” he asked. “Do you think you’re someone to preach moral superiority, Captain? Need I remind you of your profession? Or have you forgotten what Renegades do?”

“I know who I am, and I know what I’ve done,” I said.

“Then surely you must see the hypocrisy in your words.”

“I’ve stolen plenty, but I’ve never killed a man who didn’t deserve it,” I said. “And I sure as hell never went after a kid.”

“Maybe not, but in defending one, you’ve caused the deaths of other innocent men and women. Deaths that could have been prevented. Look at what’s happening right outside. All those people are dying while you sit here lecturing me on ethics. I might be the one in this cell, but you’re the guilty one.”

“Enough,” snapped Lucia. She swung her staff and lunged forward, stopping a meter from the edge of the door. “This man saved my life. You will show him respect or I will cut out your tongue, your eyes, and your ears, until all you are is a walking husk of a man.” Her eyes crept slowly to his crotch. “And I won’t stop there.”

He stared at her, swallowing, and said nothing.

After a moment of silence, Dressler placed a hand on Lucia’s shoulder. “He’s just a cornered dog, barking at the air. He doesn’t know what else to do.”

“I’ll give you five minutes to think this over, Marcus,” I finally told him. “You can either do as I say, save your people and yourself, or don’t, and I’ll hand you over to Lucia.”

I turned away from him and started to leave.

“Only five minutes?” he asked.

“Your people can’t afford any longer,” I said. “Better think fast.”

15

“We should just kill him,” said Abigail.

Her words took me by surprise. I might have expected a call for execution from Lucia, but not her. “What?”

She looked at both me and Dressler. “We don’t need him anymore, right? We have his facial scan and voice recording.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t still use him,” said Dressler.

“How?” asked Abigail. “As a hostage?”

“Possibly, but given the high value he holds, it seems short-sighted to simply throw him away. Perhaps Alphonse can devise a use for him.”

“He’s more dangerous alive,” said Abigail.

“Okay,” I said, breaking the discussion. “Let’s wait and see what he says first. It’ll be easier if he makes that call himself instead of having Siggy put on a show.”

“Indeed, sir,” said Sigmond, chiming in. “While I do have his facial scan, his mannerisms and behavioral patterns are still largely unknown. I will need you to engage in further conversation before I can fully create a viable replacement.”

“See?” I asked, looking at Abby. “Siggy’s not even sure he can do it.”

“That’s not what he said,” she answered.

“Still, we’re better off if we can make him give the order himself, willingly,” I explained.

Dressler glanced at her pad. “Five minutes are up. Shall we go back in?”

“I’ll do it. You two stay up here. Check on Billins and Freddie,” I suggested, stepping inside the open cargo bay door.

Lucia was still in the middle of the lower deck, her staff fixed on Brigham. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Brigham had slouched to the floor and leaned against the doorway. His back was straight and his eyes closed, like he was meditating.

“Gotta say, I never took you for the religious type,” I said, stopping a few meters from him.

“You don’t have to be religious to meditate,” said Brigham, keeping his eyes shut. “My doctor says it’s good for my blood pressure.”

“That so?” I asked.

He nodded. “Stress kills, Captain. In my line of work, and at my age, you’re just as likely to die of an early heart attack as you are from a bullet.” He opened his eyes, looking at the gun on my hip, and then chuckled. “Well, maybe not quite as likely.”

“Have you thought about my proposal?” I asked.

He closed his eyes again. “You should really try this, Captain. I think you might find it refreshing. They say emptying your mind can improve your memory retention as well as your ability to focus.”

I stared at him, still waiting for an answer.

“In fact,” he continued. “I find myself picking out distinct background sounds I might have otherwise missed. You’d be amazed at how much white noise occurs on a starship.”

“I asked you a question,” I said.

“Take your ship, for example,” he said. “I’ve managed to pick out at least sixteen different sounds, each one totally distinct from the last. The fun comes from trying to figure out what they are and where they’re coming from.”

I felt myself tense, growing more agitated by the second. “I’m not playing this game with you,” I said. “And I don’t mean the one about the sounds. Either answer the question or the deal is off the table and we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

He licked his lips. “There’s one sound—let’s call it number fifteen—a buzzing kind, almost electrical. It wasn’t here a moment ago, so I have to assume it’s new, and it seems to be moving inside the walls.” He tilted his head. “Yes, there it is again. It’s right behind there.” He pointed to the cargo bay wall, opposite the stairs. “Can’t you hear it?”

I glared at him, wishing he’d open his damn eyes and look at me, just so he could see how pissed I was getting. This fool thought he could sit there and ramble like an idiot about nothing, letting a war rage outside this ship, and for what? Was he so devoted to his cause that he’d willingly let himself die, not to mention all those soldiers?

I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off when I paused, a low buzzing sound filling my ear. Like Brigham had said, the sound was coming from the far wall, but I’d never heard anything like it. Not aboard the Star anyway.

“Siggy, what the hell is that?” I muttered.

“I’m afraid I don’t know, sir,” answered Sigmond. “I’m detecting slight vibrations along the hull, but the source is unknown.”

“Could it be debris from the moon?”

“Possible, but unlikely, sir.”

Brigham took a deep breath, pulling my attention back to him. “I know. Very strange. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what it is, but I think I finally have it.”

My hand slid down my side and graced the butt of my pistol. “I’m going to ask you one more time for an answer. Are you going to tell your people to stand down or aren’t you?”

A thud echoed through the cargo hold.

Lucia turned to face the same wall I’d been looking at before. “Captain!” she snapped.

Another thud in the same location.

I took a step back, drawing my pistol, and holding Lucia’s shoulder. “What the hell is that?!”

Brigham finally opened his eyes again and looked at me, a calm smile smeared across his face. “That would be your answer, Captain.”

A loud crack boomed through the cargo bay as the wall tore open, knocking both Lucia and me against the staircase. I felt my legs pick up as atmosphere began to vent through the opening, but I managed to wrap an arm around the nearby railing.

I struggled to stabilize myself, my ears ringing from the blast. Brigham had both his arms around the doorway of his cell, maintaining his balance.

Inside the new fresh opening, three individuals appeared, one at a time. They were each wearing a gray spacesuit, their faces shielded by the helmet’s black tinted visor.

“Siggy!” I shouted. “Tell the others to get here!”

Lucia held the rail beside me, struggling to steady her staff.

The soldiers moved so slow that they still hadn’t come inside. Their boots seemed to be magnetized, impeding their speed.

One of them had a rifle out. If Lucia and I stayed here any longer, we’d be easy marks. But that wasn’t the worst of our problems. The cargo bay was losing pressure at an astonishing rate, which meant we had about fifteen seconds to get the hell out of here or risk blacking out. “Up the stairs!” I shouted.

I swung through the railing and grabbed hold of the fourth stair from the floor, reaching back for Lucia. She couldn’t take my hand without either letting go of the staff or the rail, which meant something would have to give.

“Drop the stick!” I yelled.

She clenched her jaw, wrinkling her rigid face in the process, and gave me a look that suggested she’d rather die than lose that weapon.

“Fine!” I said, and grabbed her other wrist.

She released the railing and allowed me to yank her through the side of the staircase.

I looked at Brigham, who was still holding the side of the wall. The old man stared back at me, then lifted his sleeve to reveal a small scar on his shoulder. Beneath the skin, a red light blinked, faintly, and he gave me a knowing smile.

I felt heat rising in me, almost enough to make me leap off the stairs in a vain effort to strangle him, but I pushed the feeling down and, instead, held on to Lucia with all my strength.

At that moment, Abigail and Freddie appeared on the second floor. “Holy shit!” she yelled from above us. She reached to a nearby security box and retrieved four oxygen masks, securing her own, then handing one to Freddie.

He strapped it on his face while Abby went to give me one of the others.

“Shoot them!” I barked, ignoring the mask.

“Put the godsdamn mask on!” she snapped.

I snarled but took the device and strapped it on, activating the switch and finally taking a clean breath of air. The container would only last a few minutes—enough time to get to a secured area, away from a breach, but I had little interest in running.

Abigail ran to the edge of the upper railing and took aim with her rifle.

Two of the soldiers reacted with their own weapons, returning fire on her from below.

I handed Lucia the other mask, helping her secure it while she tried to steady her staff long enough to fire.

“Watch your ears!” she yelled as I activated her breather.

The end of the staff lit up, sparking twice before releasing a large burst of energy into the group of enemy troops. It slammed into the one nearest to the opening, hitting him with enough force to detach his magnetized feet from the ship and sending him back into space.

One of the two remaining soldiers immediately turned his attention to us and prepared to return fire, telling me it was time to move our collective asses. I scurried up the stairs, still holding Lucia, right as the soldier began firing.

Three other suited individuals entered through the opening, all of them wearing the same armor. Two of them carried what appeared to be an empty suit, quickly bringing it to Brigham.

One of Abigail’s bullets managed to hit the first soldier in the visor, cracking it, followed by another direct hit to the boot, disabling the magnet and causing his foot to dislodge from the floor.

“Don’t let them leave!” shouted Abigail.

“Sir, please be advised that the ship is losing orbital stability,” informed Sigmond. “We will enter the planet’s atmosphere in less than five minutes.”

“Did he just say we’re losing orbit?” asked Freddie.

“Never mind that!” I snapped, pointing to the soldiers currently doing a number on my ship. “Focus on them!”

Freddie didn’t argue. He scrambled beside Abigail and the two of them resumed firing. I helped Lucia stabilize her staff and gave her a quick nod, then retrieved my pistol from my holster and took aim.

Lucia’s blast, along with a shower of bullets, fell on the armored soldiers. One of my shots managed to hit the same visor that Abigail’s had, but instead of simply cracking it, the whole thing broke apart, shattering into pieces. The bullet continued into the man’s skull, causing him to fall like a limp doll onto the floor, his feet still firmly planted by his magnetic boots.

Two of the soldiers had already made their way to Brigham, although we couldn’t see him. The cell was directly beneath us, which meant the only way we’d be able to shoot him would be to expose ourselves.

I tried to lean closer to the edge to get a better look at what was happening down there, when a bullet deflected off the railing, sending me back on my ass. “Watch out!” screamed Abigail. She stopped firing to look at me, genuine concern in her eyes.

“I’m fine!” I said, and starting shooting again.

“Sir, please be advised that we are losing atmosphere. I strongly advise you to evacuate,” said Sigmond.

“Not until we’ve stopped—”

“Sir, please, if you delay any longer, the shuttle may not have sufficient time to vacate,” advised Sigmond. “You must depart immediately or—”

“Godsdammit!” I raged, firing the last few bullets I had in my pistol. I grabbed Freddie by the shoulder and pulled him away from the overhang. “Let’s go!”

“What about Brigham?!” shouted Abigail.

I shoved Freddie towards the exit, motioning for him to run. “We’ll get him later! Everyone, get to the shuttle!”

Lucia let out her hand to Abby. “You heard the fool!”

Abigail looked back at the men, her eyes still full of fury, and then she groaned and took Lucia’s hand.

I snatched her rifle away and laid down some cover fire. “Hurry!”

Abigail followed Lucia to the hall then stopped and pulled away, looking back at me. “Jace, let’s go!”

The rifle clicked, letting me know the magazine was empty. I stared down at the soldiers, two of which were returning from beneath my position, along with an added third soldier between them. “Brigham!” I shouted to the man in the middle.

He turned to me, giving a slight wave. His face was obscured by his darkened visor, but I could sense him smiling at me.

The men stomped their way to the edge of the ship, waiting for a moment as their shuttle decloaked right in front of them.

“Jace!” called Abigail.

I squeezed the rifle and, in a fit of anger, threw it over the side of the rail, cursing as I finally ran to join my crew. I passed into the hall with Abigail right beside me, and we bolted for the shuttle dock on the other end of the ship.

The Star was going to crash and there was nothing I could do about it. As we neared the shuttle entrance, I veered off and ran towards the cockpit. “I’ll be right back!”

“What are you doing?!” called Abigail.

But I was already gone, halfway down the hall. I reached the cockpit door, which was still open, and jumped inside. The room was a mess, half my stuff knocked free from inside the dash drawer. I grabbed my pad, two personal shields, and the Foxy Stardust bobblehead that was still sitting on the dash.

I snatched the toy up and examined it. “Can’t forget you, old girl.”

The ship shook, nearly knocking me off my feet. It was time to go, and I didn’t have long to do it. I raced out of the cockpit and back towards the shuttle, my heart pounding like it wanted to break out of my chest.

Everyone was already strapped in and waiting when we reached the vehicle, waiting for the two of us to catch up.

“Safety check?” I asked as I leapt into the pilot’s seat.

“Already done, sir,” answered Sigmond.

I lowered my harness and snapped the buckle into place, bringing up the holo display and examining our current trajectory. The Renegade Star was in freefall inside the planet’s atmosphere, which meant we’d have to compensate as we detached.

“Are we good to launch?” asked Abigail.

“Hold, please,” said Sigmond. “Detachment in progress. Activating miniature thrusters and maneuvering away from—”

Something knocked the side of the shuttle and rattled the ship.

“On second thought,” continued Sigmond. “Hold on tight, please.”

The thrusters kicked in and we reversed, then dropped beneath the bottom of the descending ship.

A proximity alert beeped on the holo. I dismissed it, since the danger was obvious. We were flying right next to a burning ship. My ship. And it was about to crush us if we didn’t get out of the way.

I hit the accelerator and took us forward, coming free of the Star, but not enough. The rear of the shuttle shook, hurting our balance. A piece of the Renegade Star had broken free, slamming into our side and disabling one of our thrusters. “Shit!” I snapped. “We’re losing stability!”

“Compensating,” replied Sigmond.

“What’s happening?!” shouted Freddie.

“We lost half our mobility!” I yelled. “We don’t have enough thrust to break orbit!”

“Does that mean we have to land?” asked Dressler.

Freddie grabbed the side of my chair. “I think it means we have to crash!”

16

We didn’t crash, but it wasn’t exactly smooth either. More like something in the middle.

“Everyone okay?” I asked, rubbing my aching neck. The loss of an engine had forced us into a swift landing, so a rough impact had been expected. Still, knowing that didn’t make it any easier.

“I’m okay,” muttered Dressler.

“S-same here,” said Freddie, who’d somehow found a way to wrap his harness strap around his shoulder but was now untangling himself.

“How about Lucia?” I asked.

“Fine, boy,” she answered. “Do you think me so feeble?”

“Well,” I said, pausing a second.

“The correct answer is ‘no,’” said the old woman.

I gave her a blank stare, then turned to Abby. “And you?”

“I’m good,” she said quickly. “We need to contact Titan and request a rescue immediately. Is Sigmond still—” She stopped talking, closing her eyes and holding the side of her head and letting out a light groan.

I reached out a hand to her. “Abby?”

“J-just a headache,” she said, her voice suddenly softer. “I was asking if Sigmond is still connected. Is he?”

“Yes, Ms. Pryar,” answered Sigmond. His voice came from all around us, emitting from multiple speakers and taking most of us by surprise. “The battle has intensified but should soon resolve. Athena estimates half an hour before a rescue attempt can be made.”

“That’s not bad,” said Freddie.

“It’s not good either,” added Dressler.

“Everyone get outside this ship for right now,” I said, breaking up the discussion. “The Union can track this ship, unlike the others from Titan. That means we might have company soon.”

“What about Abigail?” asked Freddie.

“I’ll be fine, Frederick,” she said, still holding her temple.

Dressler leaned closer to her. “No, you need a first aid kit.” She snapped a finger at Freddie. “Quick, reach into that compartment.”

“What are you planning, Doc?” I asked.

“Unless you used all the pills, there should be some painkillers in there,” she explained.

Freddie did as she asked, locating a small box and immediately handed it to her.

Seeing Abigail like that concerned me, but we didn’t have time to sit around. I tried opening the door, but the crash had placed us in an odd position, half-buried in the dirt. Lucia, Billins, and I pushed the door open, managing to crack it after only a few seconds.

“Wait a minute,” said Freddie. “What about the atmosphere? None of us have our suits.”

“We’ll have to take the chance that it’s safe,” said Dressler.

As much as I hated the idea of going out there without protection, we didn’t have much of a choice. Besides, scans showed no sign of any contamination, so we were probably fine.

As the hatch opened, I felt a wave of heat enter the ship. The air was thick and humid, and it was dog hot. We were in the middle of—well, not a desert, but a shitload of sand. No clouds or trees for coverage, but I could see a city in the distance, maybe five kilometers away.

“Where the hell are we?” asked Abigail, squinting under the bright sun.

I brought up my holo map on my wrist, showing the layout of the planet. We were between two different cities, but dark clouds and heavy rain blocked the opposite horizon. “Looks like two options. East or west.”

“Which is better?” asked Freddie.

“Clearer skies make for faster hiking,” I said. “But that’s where we parked our ships.”

“You mean the diversion,” said Dressler.

I nodded. “The whole place is probably swarming with troops. We’d best avoid it.”

“And the other city?” she asked.

“Heavy clouds,” I said, looking at the dark sky to the west. “But it might be our only chance.”

There was a short pause.

“I’m certain General Brigham is mobilizing a team to locate us,” said Dressler.

“No question,” I agreed.

“At the same time, the mobilized ground forces to the east are likely to be redeployed to our position, which means we have little choice in the matter.”

“West it is, then,” said Abigail.

“What about this one?” asked Lucia, bending an eye to Billins.

The poor sergeant squirmed at the glare the old woman gave him.

“He won’t do anything,” I said, leaning closer to him. “Right, Billins?”

“R-right, sir,” he answered.

“Good man,” I said, smacking his shoulder and walking past him. “’Cuz we’ll shoot you if you try anything.”

He stiffened.

“He’s kidding,” whispered Freddie.

“No he’s not,” said Lucia, glaring at the sergeant.

“Sir,” interjected Sigmond. “Titan is detecting ship movement in low orbit. Five vessels are currently descending towards the Renegade Star’s crash site.”

Hearing my ship’s name with the words “crash site” made me cringe, but I didn’t have time to be sentimental. As soon as that team found the ship and saw how damaged it was, they’d reroute to our location. “We don’t have much time,” I said, glancing at the others. “We need to move.”

The rain was heavy and slow, weighing us down as we moved into the storm. I kept the holo up to both light the way and keep us on the right path.

Sigmond showed ship movement on the holo, each group coming from different directions. If we could make it to the city, we’d have a clean chance at survival. The rescue party would be here soon, after all.

Lucia spotted the skyline first. Maybe it was all that time living on a snow-covered planet with constant blizzards and environmental hazards or possibly the fact that her ancestors were genetically engineered superhumans, but she had a remarkable set of eyes for someone with over a century of life under her belt.

The rest of us could see them after a short walk, the broken towers coming into view like shadows in a fog, thanks to the still-raging storm.

My thoughts lingered on my ship as we marched. Would I be able to salvage it, once all of this was over? Given how much damage it had probably taken in the fall, I had my doubts. Still, I couldn’t just leave it here to rust. It was more than just a ship. It was my home.

I shook the concern out of my head, at least for now. There were more pressing matters, like finding somewhere to hole up and avoid getting shot.

One step at a time, I thought. I’ll worry about the rest of it later.

We reached the edge of the city before long, our boots muddied and our clothes drenched. The holo showed that both sets of Union ships had already met up at the Renegade Star crash site and were currently approaching the shuttle, which meant they’d probably find their way to this city pretty soon.

“We need to get underground,” I said as we entered a nearby building to get out of the rain.

“What does the map say?” asked Lucia.

“A few of these towers have basements, but we’re a long way from the nearest one,” I explained.

“That rules out going underground,” said Dressler.

“Then we’ll have to use what we have,” added Lucia.

I nodded. “The cover of the city and the storm should make it hard for them to find us, unless Billins here has a tracker in his skin like Brigham did.”

“That’s a good point,” said Lucia, taking him by the arm. “Here, let’s see you, boy.”

“I don’t have one of those! I’m just a sergeant!” he pleaded.

“We’re checking anyway,” said the old woman.

I took a breath and turned away while both Lucia and Dressler checked him over, nearly ripping his clothes in the process.

“This place looks like it might fall in at any second,” I muttered, darting my eyes around the building’s rafters.

“It certainly seems unstable,” agreed Abigail, walking up beside me.

We stood there a moment in silence, taking in our surroundings. It was surreal to be here, for the plan to go so horribly wrong. The thought of Brigham sitting safely aboard a Union ship turned my stomach the more I imagined it.

“You doing okay?” I asked, deciding her health was more important than worrying about something I had no control over.

She nodded. “The headache’s mostly gone, thanks to those pills. I’ll need to rest after we get back, though.”

“First class ticket to the med pods,” I said.

She smiled. “If we can manage to find our way back to Titan, that is.”

“We’ve gone this far, haven’t we?” I asked. “All the way from Taurus Station to Perseus.”

“But not Earth,” she said.

“Not yet, but almost,” I responded.

She stared at the nearby window, rays of thin light breaking through. I could see she was still in pain, but said nothing of it. Abigail didn’t need my pity or my help. If she wanted it, she knew where to find me.

That woman was just as stubborn as me, but that was what I liked about her.

“What do you want to do?” she asked after a moment.

I turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“Those ships will be here soon. They can use sensors to detect our heat signatures. It won’t take them long, once they leave the shuttle.”

“We’ll just need to be ready,” I said.

“Oh, is that all?” she asked, a bit of a smile on her face. “You make it sound like such a simple thing, but that’s how you always are, isn’t it, Jace? Making things sound easier than they should be.” She leaned in and wrapped her hand around my arm, then placed her head on my shoulder. “Do you think Lex will be okay without us?”

“She’ll be just fine,” I said, and left it at that.

“Right,” she said, closing her eyes. “I’m sure that’s right.”

Four enemy ships arrived in the rain, setting down near the eastern edge of the city. From them, fourteen soldiers clad in black armor emerged, each one identical to those we saw on the Renegade Star.

I held my spot inside one of the larger buildings. Abigail was with me, holding a rifle and waiting. The rest of the team had dispersed to different locations throughout the nearby area, lowering the chance of us getting wiped out in a single attack.

The squad swept the yard, weapons out, scanning with their visors. It wouldn’t take them long to find us, which meant I couldn’t sit and wait to be caught. I had to act.

I gave Abigail a quick nod and then reactivated my personal shield. A soft blue glow swept over me as it formed, finally fading to normal.

“Siggy, what’s the arrival time for our backup?” I whispered.

“Titan is still engaged. However, I may have a spare drone available,” said Sigmond.

“Why didn’t you say so before? We could’ve used that,” I said.

“Apologies, sir. Only a few drones are still active, almost all of which have had their engines disabled. However, a few of them still have partial thrusters available.”

“What’s your point, Siggy?”

“I might be able to use their miniature thrusters to enter the atmosphere and, with any luck, accurately bombard the enemy ships.”

I tilted my head. “Are you saying you think you can use the drones to bomb those soldiers with…the drones?”

“Precisely, sir.”

I scoffed, looking at Abigail. “Are you hearing this?”

“Are we certain that will work, Sigmond?” asked Abby.

“Not remotely, Ms. Pryar. In fact, I won’t know how the drones maneuver until they’ve entered the atmosphere. Their thrusters could detach from the resistance and heat.”

“Sounds like a longshot,” said Abby. “But I suppose it’s better than nothing.”

I nodded. “You heard the woman, Siggy. Pull those drones in. Just don’t hit any of us by accident.”

“I shall do my utmost, sir,” said the Cognitive.

“Somehow, I don’t feel very reassured,” replied Abigail.

“We’ll just have to hope Siggy here can pull it off,” I told her. I touched my ear, calling up the rest of the team. “Everyone have their shields activated?”

“Billins had an issue with his, but we finally got it,” said Dressler.

“Just remind him not to do anything stupid. Those soldiers will just as soon shoot him as any of us,” I said.

“Freddie and Lucia, you following this?” I asked.

“We’re on the other side of the street, where you told us to go,” said Freddie.

“Good. Both of you stay there and make sure you’ve got the higher ground.”

“We’re on the third floor, near a balcony,” he said.

“Keep your heads down,” I ordered. “Don’t come out unless I—”

“Hughes!” yelled a voice from nearby. It echoed through the street and into our building like thunder, taking Abigail and me by surprise.

We both went totally still, our hands on our guns.

“Hughes! We know you’re here!”

It sounded like Brigham, although the echo made it difficult to tell. Abigail seemed to think so too, given the look on her face—building rage with a hint of bloodlust. If that man had been in front of us, Abigail might’ve lunged at his throat with her bare hands.

“You knocked out the Galactic Dawn’s shield and its cannons, but the sensors are still operational,” said Brigham. “We saw six people enter that storm, headed in this direction! I suggest you come out now and save yourself the hassle of bleeding out in the middle of a wasteland! I assure you, Hughes, I’ll give you better accommodations than you gave me. Doesn’t that sound better than a bullet?”

I peeked out the window, locating one of the soldiers in the distance. He was standing with his rifle to his chest, his face obscured by the visor.

I was pretty sure Lucia could pick off one or two of these idiots before they had time to react. Abigail and I could do the same, thanks to the shields, but that still left several more to retaliate. There was no way we could handle them all.

“If you don’t show your face, Hughes, I’ll have no choice but to target this city from space! Is that what you want? To die from a bombardment?” called Brigham.

I shuffled over to another window, looking out from the bottom, trying not to be seen. The new angle let me see a handful of other troops, one of which was standing in the center of the street. Unlike the rest of them, this guy wasn’t carrying a rifle, just a pistol on his hip.

“You’re really going to make me do it, aren’t you?” called Brigham, his voice coming from all around me. But the man I was watching seemed to move with the words, looking around the city as he spoke.

“Sir, two drones will arrive in approximately one minute,” informed Sigmond.

“Think you can hit those soldiers?” I asked.

“I do,” answered Sigmond. “But I suggest you put some distance between you and those men, just to be safe.”

I looked at Abigail, who seemed to be giving me an odd expression. “We might wanna move,” I said.

She nodded. “What about everyone else?”

“They’re far enough away to avoid the blast. We’re not.”

We crept through the room to the rear hallway, which was partially covered in debris, having caved in at a few points over the centuries.

Brigham had stopped yelling by now, probably to assess the situation, since we’d called his bluff. I suspected he wouldn’t have the capability to nuke this city from orbit, not with Titan and the fleet giving them hell. There was no way any of those cruisers still had the ability to drop an orbital bombardment so late in the game, not after I’d ordered my boys to take those cannons out. The old man was on his last leg, which was the only reason he’d bothered to follow me here instead of joining the rest of his fleet. He’d lost this fight, but if he managed to capture me, he might stand a chance at surviving all of this.

But I’d never go quietly. He’d have to put a bullet through my forehead before I let anyone place a set of cuffs on my wrists. A free man never willingly walks into a cage. Not if he can help it.

I hurried over a pile of debris in the hall, Abigail right behind me, and we bolted for the opposite end of the building.

“Twenty seconds,” said Sigmond, spurring us to move faster.

We ran through an open doorway, inadvertently hitting a pile of scattered debris with our feet in the process. The sound echoed through the building.

“Over there!” snapped one of the soldiers.

“Run!” I barked, tugging Abigail by the hand. We took off, away from the building and in the opposite direction of the soldiers.

I glanced back over my shoulder as we neared another wall, spotting a few of the armored men as they continued after us. “They’re on the move!” called one of them, pointing in our direction. “Don’t let them get—”

An explosion of heat and wind knocked me forward, forcing me to let go of Abigail’s hand. I hit the pavement, sliding and rolling from the momentum.

“Shield at 84 percent,” said the automated voice in my ear.

The sound in the air had grown thin as my ears tried to adjust. I could barely see anything, there was so much dust. “Abigail,” I muttered, turning to where she’d been.

“I’m here,” she answered, her shield flickering blue as she lay on the ground, struggling to right herself. She was breathing heavily, gasping through the dust.

“The first drone has landed,” said Sigmond.

“Yeah, no shit,” I said, forcing myself on my feet. I helped Abigail do the same. “We need to get out of here before the second one hits.”

“Five seconds,” said Sigmond.

I cursed again, then resumed my sprint to the nearby building. Right as Abigail and I entered, the second drone hit the city street, scattered the settling dust with an explosive burst of pressure.

I took Abigail’s wrist and pushed her into a corner inside the first room, holding the walls on each side of her as the building shook around us. She held my shoulders, keeping her head down until the world stopped moving.

“Captain!” called Freddie, his voice stinging my ear. “Are you okay? Say something!”

“I’m fine,” I said, touching the comm. “Keep your eyes on those troops and stop worrying about us. If you get a chance to shoot, take it!”

“We can’t see anything right now. There’s too much smoke,” said Freddie.

“Just watch for any signs of movement,” I said, stepping back from Abigail.

She looked up at me then wiped the dust from her face.

“We need to get out there and handle those soldiers before they have a chance to recover.” I withdrew my pistol and checked the chamber. “It might get messy. If your head’s still bothering you, I can—”

She placed a finger to my lips, then leaned in and kissed me. I closed my eyes, unable to pull away, and I felt my pulse quicken. She pressed into me with such force that I could barely breathe.

When she opened her eyes, the answer to my unfinished question was staring back at me, ready to kill.

Ready to die.

I took a step back, cocking my pistol. “You set to finish this, Sister Abigail?”

She raised her rifle to her chest. “I thought you’d never ask.”

17

We left the building and entered the street. Abigail took the left side of the road, while I took the right. We’d run a quick sweep, using the fog from the explosion to mask our approach.

Rocks fell from the nearest building, still shaken from the blast. It wasn’t an isolated incident. The explosion had caused damage to several of the towers, creating cave-ins that continued to sound off in the distance, filling the area with noise.

I did my best to listen for signs of life, such as heavy breathing, talking, grunting, or the scraping of armor against the ground. So far, I’d found nothing.

The same couldn’t be said for Abigail. She spotted the first troop after about thirty meters. He’d crawled his way inside one of the alleys and had somehow lost his weapon, except for the knife on his leg. She didn’t give him time to pull it, instead taking him by the wrist and using her legs to slam him into the ground. Once he was on his backside, Abigail buried her barrel inside the thin piece of clothing between his armor padding, and fired.

The man screamed as the bullet tore into the side of his belly. He tried desperately to grab her rifle but was too shaken to get a firm grip. Abigail pulled away and stuck the gun in his broken visor, nestling it beneath his eye.

Another loud shot echoed through the city, but this time, there was no scream to follow it.

The fog was so thick, I didn’t want to lose sight of Abby, so I stayed parallel with her at all times. If things got out of hand, I’d at least know where she was.

I refused to rush in, half-cocked, not like I had in the past. Not with my crew’s lives on the line.

A figure moved inside the fog, shrouded in smoke and dust. I came in low, hoping to take him by surprise, but it was no good. He turned to face me right as I rammed him.

The man slammed his fist into my chest, sending me to the ground.

“Shield at 77 percent,” said the automated voice.

He stood there like a brick house as I scurried back to reorient myself, only to see him towering over me.

“You’re a big one,” I said, staring up at his faceless helmet.

He charged at me as I quickly brought my pistol up and fired. The bullet nicked his helmet, deflecting off and leaving him unscathed as he slammed into my chest, lifting me off the ground.

Before he had a chance to body slam me, I shoved my barrel into his visor and pulled the trigger, shattering it with so much force that it caused me to drop the weapon.

He let go of me, shaken from the impact, and I fell to the ground with a ringing pain in my ear. The soldier stumbled, holding his head and falling on his ass, almost like he was sick. Seconds later, he rolled on his stomach and then stopped moving.

“Jace!” called Abigail.

She started to run after me, but I held up my hand. “I’m good!” I answered, trying to pick up my gun with my shaking hands. “Just need a second here.”

“Incoming!” snapped Lucia.

Before I could say anything, an explosion of blue energy came flying from above my head, hitting a few meters ahead of me. I looked to see a soldier on his back, his weapon sliding away from the force of the blast.

“Pay attention, boy!” ordered Lucia.

I fanned my hand in her general direction as I tried to stabilize myself.

“There’s more!” shouted Abby, opening fire into the fog from her position. She dove behind a large piece of debris and continued shooting.

Another shot from Lucia towards the same location. Despite the fog, the old woman’s eyes weren’t failing her.

I still had ringing in my ears from the gunshot but pushed myself to run deeper into the smoke cloud, towards the soldiers.

I spotted the enemy in seconds—three of them, but only two had weapons, and one with an injured leg. A fourth body lay motionless behind them, melted armor on his chest.

A quick barrage of bullets scattered across one, moving from his waist to his visor, occasionally breaking through. The man collapsed onto his knees, bleeding from the cracks in his armor. If he was still alive, it wouldn’t be for long.

The remaining two fired back at Abigail, pinning her behind the debris.

“Sir, please be advised that Ms. Pryar’s shield is down to 22 percent,” said Sigmond.

A few more hits and she’d be done. I had to get in there, and fast.

One of the soldiers turned to see me running at him. I fired two shots at his head. The first hit the metal above his visor. The second missed completely.

He returned fire as I neared him, his bullets deflecting off the shield. I couldn’t count how many times, there were so many.

“Shield at 54 percent.”

I rammed my shoulders into the soldier’s waist, sending us both to the ground. We slid along the wet mud, rolling away from one another.

Another shot of blue plasma came flying from the nearby tower, hitting the dirt a few meters away.

I got on my knees, dripping with mud, when my shield flickered. A bullet had struck me in the leg.

“Shield at 42 percent.”

I turned to see the other soldier aiming at me. At the same time, the one I’d hit was stirring, beginning to rise from the ground. If I didn’t do something, I’d wind up royally fucked between them.

Abigail rose up from her hiding spot, staring at me.

I reached for my pistol, drawing it at exact moment the soldier fired his rifle. Our bullets deflected off each other’s armor, doing little damage, except to drain my shield.

“Shield at 28 percent,” the voice said.

Abigail came running, unloading a sudden burst of firepower into the soldier’s back, stifling him, but only for a moment. She must have been out of ammunition, because she tossed the rifle to her side a few meters before she reached him. When she was nearly to us, she leapt off the ground and onto the man’s neck, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a snake constricting its prey.

The soldier struggled with her, swinging and grunting as he tried to throw her off. When she didn’t budge, he went for his rifle, firing beside his helmet in a vain attempt to shoot her.

But she was quick, dodging every time he pulled the trigger. Finally frustrated, the man fell backwards, slamming Abigail into the ground beneath him.

Her shield flickered briefly before finally dissolving, which could only mean one thing. She was out of second chances.

I went for the man’s gun, pinning his arm while Abigail kept her arms around his throat. He groaned inside his helmet, struggling to breathe.

“Sh-shoot him!” demanded Abby, her voice muffled by the man’s shoulders.

I felt for my pistol but found the holster empty. It was lying behind me on the ground, too far to grab.

The man’s finger was still on the trigger, even though I had it pinned. I’d have to pry it free before I—

“J-Jace!” snapped Abby. “Just use the—the knife!”

“Knife?” I muttered, looking around.

“On his leg!” she wheezed.

I reached for the knife with my knee still on the soldier’s wrist, trying to open the buckle. It wasn’t enough. I needed to get closer. I needed to reach just a bit more.

I shifted my weight, finally managing to open the strap and grab the knife. As I did, the man shoved me, dragging his rifle against the ground, bringing the barrel towards me.

I lunged towards him, digging the blade into his neck as hard as I could. He squeezed the trigger and fired his rifle, trying desperately to bring the barrel up to me.

Abigail grabbed his arm to keep it down, and I took the other, waiting for him to fully bleed out.

I couldn’t see his face, thanks to the helmet, but I could certainly hear him choking.

His strength left his hands a few seconds later, and I managed to get the rifle away just in time to see the other soldier rising to his feet. He had his gun again, aimed directly at me. I had to move fast before—

His visor shattered as multiple shots landed across his head and chest. His arm spasmed, swinging like a lizard’s severed tail, before he finally let go.

I turned to see Freddie standing there, breathing heavily, like he’d just run a three-kilometer sprint.

The soldier stumbled towards us, taking a wavering step as he reached out with his hand. Freddie stiffened, raising his rifle again, but then paused as the man finally collapsed onto the ground.

I got to my feet, helping Abigail push the corpse off of her. She was covered in blood, more than I’d seen in a while, but she didn’t care to complain.

“Freddie,” I said, looking at him and shaking my head. “You were supposed to stay in the building.”

“You’re welcome, Captain,” he said, smiling.

I smirked. “Sure. Thanks, kid.”

“Are you both okay?” asked Freddie.

“Fine,” said Abigail. She walked a few meters away to get her weapon. “I could use some ammunition if you have any.”

Freddie shook his head. “I only have this.”

“I count six dead,” said Abigail. “There were thirteen when they landed.”

“I count ten dead,” remarked Lucia, her voice coming through the comm. “The dust has settled, but the rain is still thick. There might be three more corpses out there.”

“Or they’re still alive and waiting for us,” said Abigail.

“Corpses, now or later,” replied Lucia. “Corpses all the same.”

I grabbed my pistol off the ground and reloaded the cylinder, a bullet at a time. “We need to find them.”

“We can fan out and search,” said Abigail.

“No,” I said. “We’ll stay together. I want both of you to—”

A sudden gunshot filled the city street, taking me by surprise. I turned to see another soldier, holding a pistol. “Stay where you are!” shouted the soldier, a woman, by the sound of it.

“W-what…?” muttered Freddie, calling my attention.

He was holding his chest as he fell to his knees, a look of surprise in his eyes.

“Frederick!” cried Abigail. She bent and took his shoulders in her arms, cradling him.

“I-I’m s-sorry,” stuttered Freddie. He was shaking, his lips trembling with every word, and his eyes kept darting around.

I took a step closer to him. “Freddie…?”

“I told you to stay where you are!” shouted the soldier.

I took another step. “Are you okay, Fred?”

Another shot, hitting my arm this time. “Shield at 22 percent.”

“I won’t tell you again, Captain Hughes!”

Abigail looked up at me as she held Freddie in her arms, fear and anger interwoven in her eyes. I could see the grief already rising, preparing her for what might happen.

“Is that Hughes?” asked another voice. It was Brigham, muffled by the helmet, but I knew it well enough to tell.

I turned around to see the old man coming towards us, stopping a meter behind the female soldier. I held my pistol in my hand, ready to fire, when Lucia sent a blast of plasma at the ground directly between us.

“Don’t just stand there!” shouted Lucia.

The female soldier was thrown on her back, while Brigham had managed to avoid the concussion.

I raised my pistol and shot at him, which forced him to take off running, back towards where his ships had landed. I started to run but paused to see if Abigail and Freddie were okay.

The female soldier was on her knees, her visor completely shattered from the blast. She had pieces of glass inside the helmet, and I could see the blood from the cuts. She groaned, forcing the helmet off of her face and tossing it.

My eyes widened as I realized it was the same woman we’d seen on the Galactic Dawn—Brigham’s assistant, Clark.

She spit into the ground, rubbing her mouth with her sleeve.

Out of the corner of my eye, a figure came sprinting into view. It was Abigail, darting at Clark with the speed of an apex predator.

Clark was so busy searching for her rifle that she didn’t see the woman coming, giving Abby the satisfaction of knocking her in the jaw with her elbow. Clark fell and rolled on her side, splashing rainwater.

“Jace!” shouted Abigail, not bothering to look at me. She straddled Clark’s chest, pinning her wrists. “Go after Brigham!”

“But what about you?!” I asked.

Abby let go of Clark’s wrist long enough to punch her in the nose. “I can handle this one!”

I looked back at Freddie, who seemed to have passed out. “Lucia, Dressler, both of you get down here now and look after Freddie,” I ordered. “Bring Billins with you, but hurry.”

“We’re on our way!” said Dressler.

“Godsdammit,” I said, shaking my head as I started running. “I’ll be back soon!”

“Sir, rescue ships have been deployed and are en route to your location,” said Sigmond.

I leapt across a large puddle in the middle of the street as rain continued falling around me. “Good! Tell the pilots to touch down near Freddie. Have one of them give Abby a med pack!”

“Of course, sir,” said the Cognitive. “Might I make an additional suggestion?”

“As long as you don’t try to convince me to go back, then go right ahead, Siggy.”

“In that case, please disregard the question,” answered Sigmond.

“I thought so,” I said.

“Oh, and one last thing, sir,” said Sigmond.

I wiped the rain from my eyes, flicking it as I continued running. “What’s that, Siggy?”

“Good luck.”

The crater was straight ahead of me, plumes of smoke still rising from its center. This was where the drones had struck, decimating the shuttles and killing half the soldiers. I had to mind my footing as I stepped cautiously over the wreckage, looking for any signs of Brigham’s movement. The largest piece of one of the shuttles, marked with Union letters, lay half-buried in the wet dirt, scratched and worn so much, it was nearly unreadable.

I ran along the side of the crater, staying low enough that I could drop beneath the edge if I needed to.

Where would Brigham go with all of his ships destroyed? Was he hoping to call in a rescue, the same way I’d planned for my crew? Or was he just a desperate fool, running for his life because he knew I’d kill him?

Either way, he’d made the right choice. I’d never let him leave this planet. Not alive. Maybe not as a corpse either.

A bullet slammed into my chest and sent me flying into the crater behind me. I fell three meters, hitting the mud so hard it damaged my shield.

“Shield at 13 percent.”

A blur of something moved above me, right along the edge of the crater. A black suit of Union armor. “Hughes!” called Brigham in a loud and thunderous voice. “Hughes, is that you down there?”

I scrambled to my feet and slid behind the nearby shuttle—or what was left of it.

“Hughes!” he called again. “Enough hiding. I don’t have the time!”

I cocked the hammer on my pistol. “Then turn yourself in, Marcus!”

“That’s not going to happen,” he answered.

I fired at him, landing a shot on his shoulder. He flailed his arm from the force of it but was otherwise fine. “That’s fine with me!”

He let out a chuckle. “If you think you can hurt me with that revolver, I’m afraid you’re—”

Another shot, this time to his temple. The bullet knocked him on his ass with a clank so loud, it echoed through the crater. “What was that? I couldn’t make out that last part!”

He answered with his weapon, firing wildly from the ground and into the crater. The bullets deflected off the ship, but a few of them went straight through. Apparently, despite surviving a suicidal drone crash, the hull of this shuttle still had its limit. I had to get out of this crater and up to higher ground. Otherwise, Brigham was going to land a few too many of those shots, and then…well, better not to think about that.

Better to run.

Brigham began to stand, so I shot at him to keep him pinned. I hurried to the other side of the crater, shooting again when I was halfway up.

I reached the peak as one of Brigham’s shots missed. I dove behind another piece of debris, finally getting out of the way.

“It’s madness, Captain. What are you thinking by doing all of this? Are you really going to risk everything for the sake of that child?” he asked.

I answered with a bullet, popping up enough to give my best aim, and fired three quick shots, then ducked back down.

That was all six of them, so I popped the cylinder and reloaded.

If I could hit him in the visor, he’d be down for good. I just needed two shots—one to break the screen, another to break his skull. The only problem was the distance between us.

That, and the fact that my shield was almost done.

Thirteen percent was enough for two or three shots, depending on how direct they were. Shit, could I even get to him before it dropped?

“Aren’t you tired, Hughes?” asked Brigham. “Come out here so we can end this!”

I peeked above the wreckage to see him back on his feet. There was nowhere else for me to hide once I left this spot. If I went out there to fight, it would be the end for one of us.

“You sure that’s what you want, Marcus?” I asked.

I heard his footsteps in the mud as he began to run. He was fast in that suit, more than I thought he would be, which meant I needed to move.

I took a quick but steady breath.

Here we go.

I exploded out from behind the debris, kicking mud with every step as I dashed towards the edge of the crater.

Brigham shot at me, barely missing as he ran along the opposite side of the crater, matching my speed and direction.

I fired back, and he did the same, both of us finding our mark. I managed to hit him twice in the chest, once in the shoulder, once in the stomach.

He got me twice.

“Shield at 5 percent.”

It was now or never.

I slid to a full stop, pivoting my foot, and I pressed into the mud, then took off in the opposite direction, towards Brigham.

He stopped the moment I did, but rather than run, he planted his feet in the ground and fired.

The first shot missed, but only by a hair.

The second hit the debris to my left side, deflecting off the metal with a loud clank.

The third slammed into my chest, causing my shield to glow and flicker.

“Shield depleted,” said the automated voice.

I rounded the crater’s rim as Brigham squeezed the trigger one more time. I did the same, knowing that it might be my only chance.

The sound of our guns combined into a thunderclap, echoing through the city as though they were a single entity.

My shoulder took his bullet, while his visor took mine, shattering to pieces.

I landed on top of him and we rolled into the crater, every turn causing me pain as my shoulder hit the ground.

Brigham slid off of me when we reached the bottom. He tried to stand, but I was already on him. We grabbed each other’s wrist with our free hands, both of us on our knees, keeping the other’s barrel away from our heads. We fired our pistols in a vain effort to land a hit, but nothing managed to land.

We pulled our triggers, but there was only a click. “You’re out,” I muttered.

“So are you,” said Brigham.

We let go of one another to reload. I slid a single bullet in the cylinder, cocked the hammer back, and swerved around with the barrel on Brigham’s forehead.

I felt his gun press up against me at the exact same time.

We both reached for the other’s gun with our free hand. He snatched my revolver’s cylinder, holding it so I couldn’t fire. I gripped his pistol’s slide and held it back.

My heart was pounding as I stared down the barrel of his gun, directly into his twisted, bloodshot eyes. Both our chests heaved from exhaustion as rain slid down our faces. The first to let go would be a dead man, and we both knew it.

Brigham clenched his jaw, spit flying from between his teeth as he breathed. Was he going to back down, now that we had each other in a stalemate? No, not this time. Not if the anger I saw in him was any indication. He might’ve wanted me as a hostage before, but now he meant for me to die.

I stared into his eyes, and he stared back at mine. We stood there, our tensed arms shaking in the rain as we held each other’s weapon.

Brigham’s eyes twitched, and he blinked.

It was the only opening I needed.

I let myself fall, dropping to the ground, and pulled my gun with me, snatching it out of his hand. To do it, I had to let go of his slide, allowing him to fire.

Each of us pulled the trigger. He staggered back, and I felt sudden pressure in my chest, followed by numbness, and it took the wind out of me.

I stared up at Brigham, his face obscured by the helmet, too dark to see from this angle. He wavered for a second, holding his head, then fell towards me.

He landed on my chest, crushing me beneath the weight of his armor. Blood dripped from inside his chest piece and onto my face, filling my nose and mouth.

And I could hear him breathing.

Somehow, the bullet had only grazed his cheek, splitting the skin enough to make him bleed, but nothing else. He grunted, quickly reaching his hand around my throat, like he’d found an extra reserve of strength, and pinned me to the mud. “You lose, Hughes,” he muttered, his mouth full of blood.

I struggled to move beneath him, and he raised his pistol to try and hit me. I grabbed his arm as it came down, holding him in place.

“In the end, everything you did was—” He strained. “—for nothing.” He pressed the gun against me with both his hands.

I clenched my teeth, straining to keep him away.

He leaned down so that he was right on top of me, close enough that I could see the tiny scars around his chin. Shards of the visor were barely holding inside the helmet. “Give up, Hughes,” he said, placing more of his weight on the gun. “Let yourself die with some dignity.”

I clenched my teeth, shifting my grip on him, then slid to the side as I deflected his fall. The grip of the gun hit the mud next to my head. I twisted around him as he struggled to right himself, wrapped my arm around his neck, and held on to his whole body. “Sorry, Marcus,” I said, reaching inside his helmet for a piece of the visor, cutting my fingers in the process. “Ain’t never had much in the way of dignity.”

I pulled my hand up, then slammed it down in the soft spot between his neck and chest piece, digging the shard as far in as possible, and then twisted.

Brigham screamed, trying to get away from me, flailing his arms like he’d lost his mind.

But it was no use. He couldn’t carry my weight, not with the armor keeping him down, and not with a piece of glass in his neck.

I pulled the shard out, then stuck him again with it, this time on the other side. I decided to leave it there, focusing instead on the strength of my grip around his neck.

Brigham wheezed, both his hands on my arm as I choked the rage out of him. Choked the hate out. Choked the godsdamn soul out.

He strained, a scream caught in his throat as he tried to breathe.

But the real fight was done. Every elbow to my ribs was less forceful, every grunt a little softer, until we came to it at last—the final gasp of the man who’d dedicated himself to ending me.

I felt his whole body go still and empty, his arms falling into the mud.

I let go, rolling away from him.

The rain hit my face as I lay shaking, and at last I felt the pain in my chest from the bullet wound. It burned like fire, and my breathing grew faster, shallower. I could barely see straight.

And the rain was so cold.

“S-Siggy, tell Abby to…get a ship,” I said, finding each word more difficult than the last. The light around me was fading rapidly. “I think I’m…I’m think I’m gonna…sleep…”

18

Lawrence took a long drag off his cigarette as we sat crouched outside the Fix-It Garage, his eyes steady on the side window as Prisby helped Matty climb into the building.

We’d cased this place for nearly a month, mostly in-between other jobs. The owner had a safe with forty thousand credits in it, all physical chips. It was tough to find someone paranoid enough to stick that many creds in a box. Most people, even criminals, trusted the banks to store their money electronically, especially on Epsy, where the crime rate was higher than average.

Eddie Flint, the owner of this particular establishment, was convinced the entire financial system was about to go belly-up. He spent his nights drinking at the local bar, shouting his apocalyptic beliefs to anyone who’d listen. On one such night, he’d made the mistake of telling those beliefs to Jesson Bishop, our parole officer by day and crew leader by night.

Since then, we’d made it a point to watch this place a little at a time, checking Flint’s routine and following him around town to see where he’d be and when he’d return. As it turned out, even the most spontaneous people still operate on some kind of routine. Jesson liked to say that it was hardwired into us, and if you watched a person long enough, you could learn to predict them, almost like a fortune teller.

Eddie Flint woke up every day at around seven in the morning, sometimes eight, and usually still drunk. Starting at nine, he worked in his garage for eight hours, sobering up in the process, and left at around five. Most nights, he didn’t come home until midnight, unless he had a commission due the next morning. If that happened, he spent the night working with a beer in his hand, killing two birds with a single stone.

“I hope this doesn’t take too long,” said Lawrence. “I’ve gotta be home before my mom gets back from work.”

“Who’s watching the other kids?” I asked.

“Danny told me he could do it if I got him ice cream. He’s at the house right now, but the kids are asleep. All he’s gotta do is sit there and wait for me.”

“Easiest ice cream he’ll ever earn,” I said.

Lawrence chuckled, sending pockets of smoke into the air with each laugh.

We were quiet for a while, staring at the house in the distance, waiting. Lawrence fiddled with some nearby trash after a moment, unable to keep himself still. He’d always had a bad habit of doing that, like he couldn’t stay focused, but tonight, he seemed even more restless.

“You okay?” I asked, when I saw he wasn’t sitting still.

“Fine,” he answered, but didn’t stop with the trash. “Hey, look at this. There’s something under this rag.”

“What is it?” I asked.

He lifted the cloth up and tossed it behind him, then reached on the ground, bringing up a small toy. A doll with its head and arms ripped off.

I laughed. “Gross.”

He tossed it behind him and continued digging. “Hold on. Got another one.”

I leaned forward. “What is it?”

“Looks like…” He raised an object out of the pile, dusty and grimy, but I could tell it was another doll. “Oh, I think I know this one.”

I watched him wipe away the filth with his sleeve, turning the toy over in his hand. “This is…”

“What?” I asked, trying to get a better view.

He handed it to me. “It’s a Foxy Stardust bobblehead. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid.”

I laughed, giving it back to him. “You’re only fourteen, Lawrence.”

“You know what I mean,” he said. “Man, I used to watch this show with my dad.”

“That was before he left?” I asked.

He didn’t answer, just stared at the bobblehead in his hand for what felt like a long time.

I was about to ask if he was okay, when he tossed the toy behind him, right beside the rag and broken doll.

He turned back to the house and lit another cigarette, letting out a long drag. He licked his lips, like he was about to say something, but nothing ever came.

And I knew better than to press it.

“Look there,” whispered Lawrence, calling my attention to the window. Prisby gave us the signal that Matty had unlocked the rear door. Lawrence put out his cigarette into the ground. “Time to go.”

As Lawrence eased around the stack of metal sheets we were using as cover, I took the opportunity to reach back and grab the bobblehead, sticking it in my pocket. It was obvious that Lawrence had cared about this silly toy, which meant I should too. I’d give this to him later, once the job was done, when he wasn’t so worked up. It was the least I could do for all the times he’d had my back.

The two of us dashed through the junkyard, following a path we’d planned out early on, positioned perfectly to avoid detection from the street. “Always know the way in, the way out, and what’s waiting for you when you get inside,” Jesson liked to say. “Only a fool rushes in without knowing what’s ahead.”

Lawrence and I stayed low, moving between the mounds of broken down cars and equipment, staying in the shadows. Prisby was already in the rear of the building, crouched beside the door. We shuffled up to the back of the building, staying out of sight.

“How’s it looking?” asked Lawrence.

Before Prisby could answer, the door cracked open. “All clear, fellas,” said Matty. The little burglar leaned outside and grinned.

Prisby and I went first, followed by Lawrence, filing into the darkened little building in the middle of the slums. Eddie Flint had a reputation for selling drugs to kids, which was how he came to have the money he did. Fix-It was just a cover-up to stash the goods. Jesson had no problem with drug dealers. What people did on their own was their business. What he took issue with was the part about the children. Boys coming out of juvie often found their way to the slums. Before you knew it, they were working for a gang, hooked on purple juice, and dead within a year. Eddie was one of several suppliers around here, and taking him down wouldn’t do much good in the grander scheme of things, but it sure would feel good.

Jesson had told us to check beneath Eddie’s bed, so we’d check there first.

“It’s here!” exclaimed Matty, the first one under the bed. “Looks like a tough one. Not sure you can handle it, Jace.”

“He can handle it,” said Lawrence, giving me the side-eye. “Right?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course I can.”

Lawrence smiled then nodded. I slid beneath the bed and joined Matty, who backed away so I could see. “Whatcha make of this one, Jacey?”

“Looks like a 2250-X1, but with a carbon backing,” I said, knowing he didn’t understand most of that. I sighed. “Easy business.”

“Whoa,” said Matty, staring at the safe.

“Yeah, check this out,” I said, then reached into my pocket for a Breakout Box. I placed it against the safe and flipped the switch to activate the screen. I’d already had it in standby before we got here, so it was already set to go.

The Breakout Box scanned the safe, quickly examining the five inner locks to give me the correct number associations. The process could take anywhere between thirty seconds to ten minutes, depending on how complex the manufacturer made the locking mechanism.

The 2250-X1 was low-grade trash, sold for pennies at the local general merch store. These were my bread and butter about 90 percent of the time. The gap between that and the remaining 10 percent was substantial, but since we almost never ran into them, it wasn’t something I really had to worry about.

Jesson had given me the box a few weeks back, but only because I already knew how to crack safes on my own. Well, some of them. Most needed a scanner to break, which was what I told the crew on my first week. About a month later, Jesson handed me this box and said it should come in handy.

Looking at us now, I’d say he was right.

The screen blinked, which told me it was almost done processing. The numbers appeared right after: 15, 22, 19, 43.

I moved the dial according to the numbers: left, right, left, right.

The safe door popped open with a firm click.

“Nice!” exclaimed Matty. “That never gets old.”

I smiled proudly. “Pretty cool, huh?” I deactivated the Breakout Box and slid it back inside my pocket.

“I can’t believe Jesson gave you that,” said Matty. “You’re lucky.”

“He said I’ve got a good eye for this stuff,” I bragged.

“Sure do,” agreed Matty. “Now what do we got in here?”

I reached into the safe and withdrew some paper creds. Six stacks of them, to be exact. “There’s gotta be…” I paused, looking at all the money. “There’s gotta be five thousand creds here!”

“Five thousand?” asked Matty. He reached into the pile and lifted out a stack, fanning through the money, mesmerized by it. “No way!”

“Hey, what’s going on down there?” asked Lawrence.

“Found a bunch of money in here!” said Matty.

“How much?” asked Prisby.

“Jace says five thousand!” said Matty.

“Five thousand?” asked Prisby. He poked his head down beneath the bed. “Seriously?”

“Hey, be quiet,” whispered Lawrence. “I hear something.”

We paused, almost freezing as we tried to hear what Lawrence was talking about. Matty looked at me, raising his brow. He opened his mouth, but then a loud noise came from the other side of the house, like a door slamming.

I jerked, hitting my head on the bottom of the bed. “Quick! Someone’s here!” I snapped. “Grab the money!”

Matty grabbed as much as he could carry and shoveled the credits into a bag. “It’s gotta be Mr. Flint!”

We kicked our way out. Lawrence grabbed us both by the arms to help us up. “I thought you said he wouldn’t be home for a few hours, Prisby,” I whispered.

“I don’t know what happened!” he answered.

We ran to the back of the house. Matty tripped on something as he came barreling in, landing on his face and dropping the bag of money.

Prisby picked it up. “You idiot!”

“Who’s there?!” yelled Flint.

“Quick! We gotta go!” said Lawrence, opening the door. He waited until each of us were out before following.

We booked it through the junkyard, racing between lines of broken vehicles. Flint came out of the house, waving his arms and cursing at us to get our asses back there this instant so he could jam his foot down our throats.

No thanks.

I made it about halfway through the yard, when I turned to see where everyone else was. I couldn’t find Lawrence, but Matty was nearly with me, followed by Prisby.

Lawrence was still in the rear, scrambling to stay ahead of Flint, who was flailing his rifle above his head and shouting.

“Hurry!” I yelled to my friends.

Matty flew past me without slowing down. He was the first to reach the back fence, shimmying up the rail and hopping to the other side. Prisby was next, his eyes wide with excitement as he carried a bag full of credits away from the house.

Lawrence was pretty far behind the others, having a hard time getting through the trash piles. He was bigger than the rest of us and not nearly as fast. “Come on!” I yelled at him, watching as he moved between a couple of four-seater cabs.

Flint was right behind him. He knew his backyard better than any of us, but especially Lawrence, who couldn’t fit through the little nooks and crannies the rest of us could. He was stuck taking the main paths, just like an adult.

Lawrence finally managed to squeeze through the metal and start running. By this point, Flint had lost his patience and took to firing his rifle. A shot blew off and I immediately dropped behind a nearby car. “Holy shit!”

“I gotcha now, you fuckin’ kids!” yelled Flint.

Lawrence came running my way a second later. I took that as a sign that I should do the same, so I snapped to my feet as he passed, taking him by surprise.

“D-don’t slow down!” he told me, once he realized who I was.

Another shot went off. It hit something in the yard with a loud clink. The sound sent me into overdrive, and I started moving even faster than before, outpacing Lawrence with every step. By the time I reached the fence, he was still some distance behind me.

I went ahead and climbed the fence, wrapping my leg around to the other side and leaning forward. “Come on!” I shouted as Lawrence drew closer.

I let out my hand for him. He was only a few meters away. We were nearly out of this mess.

Another loud crash of thunder as Flint fired his gun. Lawrence reached the fence and took my hand. I felt a firm grip for only a second before it loosened.

He looked up at me, confusion in his eyes. “J-Jace?” he muttered, suddenly having a hard time standing. The strength in his legs seemed to be giving out, and I felt all his weight on my hand at once.

“Lawrence, come on!” I told him. “We have to go! We have to go!”

He touched his chest, pulling blood with his fingers. “I-I can’t feel it…”

I swung my other hand down and grabbed his wrist, then pulled with every bit of strength I had.

But it was no good. Lawrence was too heavy. I couldn’t lift him a meter, let alone the entire fence. I felt so much panic that I could hardly breathe, but I had to do something. Where were Prisby and Matty? Why weren’t they here to help me? Why was I doing this alone?

Another shot from Flint startled me. It hit the fence so close that I felt the vibration on the rail, and I suddenly let go of Lawrence’s hand.

We both fell to the ground, each of us on the opposite side of the fence. I scrambled to my knees, sticking my fingers through the chain links next to where my friend was lying. “Lawrence!” I screamed. “Lawrence, get up!”

But he wasn’t moving. He wasn’t doing anything at all.

I walked along the sidewalk on my way to the Juvenile Probation Center. It had been a few days since the job in the junkyard. Jesson had told me to stay low for a while, since he had to sort some things out, but I still had to do my weekly checkin at his office. It wouldn’t look good if I skipped, and I couldn’t assume Jesson would cover me.

I approached the building, hands in my pocket. I felt the Foxy Stardust bobblehead with my thumb. Despite how stupid I knew it was, I’d kept it on me ever since the job. I just couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.

Someone opened the door as I was about to touch the handle. “Oh, excuse me,” said the man.

I said nothing, scurrying to the side to let him pass.

“Hey,” he said right as I was about to take the door from him. “You’re one of Jesson’s, right?”

I looked up at him, finally noticing the policeman uniform. “Yes, sir,” I answered. “He’s my P.O.”

“That so?” he asked, sticking his head back inside. “Hey, Jerry, you got another one out here!”

“Another one?” I asked.

“Oh, kid, you didn’t hear?” Jerry asked, crossing his arms behind the front desk. “Your boy Jesson went and hightailed it out of town. Ain’t no one seen him in days.”

I stiffened. “W-what?”

“Yeah, we’ve got an APB out for him right now. The whole station’s looking. They’re saying it’s got something to do with—” He suddenly stopped. “I mean, uh, well, point is, you’re probably getting a new PO now.”

I wasn’t sure how to react to what I was hearing. A new PO? What the hell was even going on? What happened to Jesson?

“Anyway, try to take it easy on whoever they give you. They’ll need a few weeks to get used to the job. That office is a mess.”

“I heard that, Brooks!” shouted Jerry.

Brooks laughed, patting me on the shoulder. “Take care, kid.”

I paused in the doorway but shook it off. I couldn’t let anyone see how scared this news made me. Surprised, sure, but not scared. Not even shocked. If the police were investigating Jesson, they might make the right connection and then I’d wind up back in a cell, or worse. Gods knew what they did to people who got their friends killed. I was barely still a minor, and it wasn’t uncommon for someone my age to be considered an adult by the courts.

“Come on in, Jace,” motioned Jerry, the secretary at the counter. He’d been working here since I first got out of juvie. Jesson had assured us that he’d hired him because of how oblivious he seemed, but how could I be sure he didn’t know something?

I stuck my hand inside my pocket again and felt the bobblehead. Should I even have this on me right now? Holy shit, what was I thinking, bringing this here?

“Hi there, Jace,” said Jerry as I approached his desk. He looked disappointed, almost sad. “I guess Brooks told you what was going on, huh?”

I nodded.

“We have two temps trying to juggle Officer Bishop’s case files, but it’s going to take time to organize them all. I’ll mark you down on the list so we know you checked in this week, but you can go home now. Just visit us again next week, same as usual. We should have a new parole officer for you by that point.”

I nodded again.

“Okay, good. Have a nice day, Jace. Try to stay out of trouble.”

I turned and took a few steps towards the door, but paused before I reached it.

“Something wrong?” asked Jerry.

I looked back at him. “I was just wondering,” I said, having a hard time getting the words out. “Did Officer Bishop really skip town?”

“Nothing has been confirmed, yet,” said Jerry.

“But that’s what they’re saying, isn’t it?” I asked.

“That’s the working theory,” he confirmed.

My eyes moved to the base of the desk, lingering. “Oh.”

“Look, I’m sure it’ll all come out in the news soon enough. Try not to think about it and just concentrate on your schooling.”

“I will,” I said, faking a smile. “Thanks.”

I walked through the door and back onto the street, waiting until I had enough space between me and the building before I started letting myself panic. Not completely, but enough to feel it.

The urge to take off running swept over me, but I resisted it. The boarding home wasn’t far. I just had to get there and pretend like everything was fine.

“Jace!” called someone.

My name snapped me out of my trance and I looked around.

“Jace!” It was coming from the nearby alley, beside the health department building.

I had to blink a few times to focus my eyes. Everything was so bright right now.

“Hey, man, you okay?” The figure waved at me. It was…

“Matty?” I asked, finally recognizing him.

He hurried me inside the walkway, taking my hand the second I was close enough, and led me a few meters away from the sidewalk.

Prisby poked his head from behind a dumpster, looking totally rattled. “Man, is it good to see you, Jacey! We’ve been wondering how you were holding up.”

“You just come from the probie office?” asked Matty.

“Yeah, what about you guys?” I asked.

“We’ve been waiting for you this whole time. Man, I told you we should’ve split up and watched both sides of the street!” said Matty, shoving Prisby in the shoulder.

“Don’t blame me,” said Prisby. “Anyway, look, Jace, the heat’s coming down on Jesson right now. Ain’t no getting around it.”

I felt the bobblehead in my pocket. “Because of Lawrence?”

Prisby nodded. “These cops usually don’t give two pills what happens to a kid on the streets, especially a thievin’ one. Most of the time, they just toss the case and call it a day. Say it’s all for the best. One less punk.”

“Not this time,” said Matty.

“This time,” continued Prisby, “someone went and ratted Jesson out. He’s gotta skip town just to stay clear of the cops. They know he had something to do with Lawrence breaking into that house and stealing that money, but they don’t know who else was involved.”

“They don’t know about us,” said Matty.

Prisby reached into his pocket and took out a small pouch. He unzipped it, revealing a stack of credits. “Jesson’s gone. He stopped by yesterday and told me he had to leave and he wasn’t coming back, but he gave me our cut of the job.”

He gave me a handful of money, which I quickly shoved in my pocket so nobody could see.

“He said we gotta play it straight for a while,” said Prisby. “No acting up. No getting any attention. Otherwise, they’ll all figure out it was us.”

“When do we get to see him again?” I asked, hoping for something more than a stupid goodbye.

“I dunno,” admitted Prisby.

I could feel myself getting frustrated. Why hadn’t Jesson come to my house? Didn’t he trust me enough to tell me everything? Maybe I could’ve helped him figure it out. Maybe I could’ve gone with him. Instead, I was hearing all of this from Prisby. “This is bullshit,” I finally said. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Actually, we wanted to talk to you about that,” said Matty.

Prisby leaned in. “We’re gonna keep the crew going.”

“Keep it going?” I balked. “What are you talking about?”

“Hear us out,” said Matty.

I scoffed. “How are we supposed to even find jobs without Jesson?”

“All he did was keep an ear down. We hear about stuff all the time around the homes. Are you telling me you ain’t already got a few ideas? We brought half our jobs to Jesson anyhow.”

“But he made sure it always went okay. Jesson was—”

“You mean like he did with Lawrence?” asked Prisby.

I tensed but said nothing.

“Jesson messed up. He knows it. He was supposed to be looking out for Flint, but instead, he was busy packing his things to skip town. That’s the truth, Jacey. He told me so himself.”

“That’s crazy,” I said, shaking my head. “Jesson would never do that to us.”

“Well, he did,” replied Prisby.

“Jesson’s gone,” said Matty. “He’s not coming back. It’s up to us to keep the crew together now.”

“I’ve been using the money for extra food for my sisters. They can’t eat on factory creds,” said Prisby.

“Same was true with Lawrence too,” said Matty.

“What?” I asked at the sound of my dead friend’s name.

“Lawrence was using his cut to take care of his family. His mom’s working two jobs just to pay the rent. Lawrence was giving her his cut to pay for food.”

I’d known about that, but was only just now realizing what losing Lawrence would do to his family, beyond the grief of it. He had all those siblings, most of which were too young to work in the factories.

“You really think we can do it by ourselves?” I asked.

Prisby nodded. “We still got the tech he gave us, like the Breakout Box. We can do this, Jace.”

I thought about it for a moment, clutching the bobblehead in my pocket, flicking the head over and over again. Prisby was right. We could probably pull this off, even without Jesson giving us the jobs, but it was still dangerous. We’d lost Lawrence because we weren’t prepared enough, because we were cocky and stupid. No more of that.

“If we do this, it has to be the right way,” I said, looking at the two of them. “We play things smart every time. No screw ups. Not after last time. If it means we gotta skip a bunch of jobs, then we skip them. We only take the safe ones we know we can handle.”

They both seemed to agree, giving me a slow nod.

“We were cocky before,” I muttered, still holding the bobblehead. “Maybe Jesson messed up, but we were loud in the house, and we didn’t have anyone on lookout. It’s all our faults, not just Jesson’s. That’s the real truth about it.”

“Yeah,” said Matty, frowning.

“That’s why we’re gonna split every job we do like Lawrence is still here. Four ways.”

“What do you mean?” asked Prisby.

“Matty said it before. Lawrence’s family needed the money he was making. We screwed up, so now we gotta make it right. He was our crew, so now we have to do what he can’t no more.”

They both looked at the ground, almost ashamed, and nodded.

I pulled out the bobblehead and showed it to them. “No more screw ups. We do it right this time. That’s how we’re gonna survive.”

19

I woke up with a head fog so thick that it took me close to a minute to figure out where I was and what I was doing here.

A light pain ached in my arm, but it wasn’t bad enough to complain about. I looked beside me and saw Abigail, her legs folded inside a chair, her head lying in her arm.

Next to her, I spotted a few familiar items. A change of clothes, a self-heating travel mug, and my Foxy Stardust bobblehead.

“You’re awake,” said Abigail, stirring in her chair. She let her legs down and stretched her arms, smiling warmly at me. “Athena said you’d be up soon.”

“Did she?” I asked.

Abigail scooted her chair beside my pod and placed her hand on mine. “How do you feel?”

“Rough, but better than the last time I was here.”

“Well, you’ve been asleep for a day,” she said.

“A day?” I asked. “No wonder I feel so stiff.”

She gave me a stern look. “Considering how we found you, a little stiffness is hardly worth complaining about.”

“Don’t tell me what to complain about,” I said, but in a way that suggested I was joking. I nodded at the pile of supplies on the nearby table. “Looks like you’ve moved yourself in.”

“You know me,” she said. “I couldn’t stay away.”

I smiled at her, taking her hand in mine. “How’s everyone else doing? What’s the situation?”

“Everyone is fine, Jace. We lost a few more in the fight, but far less than any of us expected. Turns out, we had the worst of it down on that planet. Between Sigmond’s drones, Titan, and the other strike ships, the enemy didn’t stand a chance.”

“What happened to those cruisers?” I asked.

“Two were destroyed, but the others fled, with one exception.”

“The Galactic Dawn,” I said.

She nodded. “Without a working shield, defense cannons, or a slip drive, Bolin’s and Octavia’s squadrons surrounded the ship in record time. It’s ours now.”

I had no doubt about that. Present company excluded, those two were the best pilots in our fleet, and they’d done a fine job training their squads. “How’d they manage that? Is the crew dead?”

Abigail laughed. “Hardly. Alphonse bartered a deal with the remaining bridge crew. We let them leave on one of the other cruisers in exchange for the ship. It was either that or we destroyed it.”

“I take it they accepted the terms,” I said.

She nodded. “Almost immediately.”

“Then the Dawn belongs to us.”

“It does,” said Abigail. “The Union’s flagship. Who would have imagined that?”

“Not me,” I answered. “I still can’t believe the plan worked.”

“Well, believe it, mister,” she said, reaching beside her for the travel mug. She gave the lid a twist. The scent of coffee hit me almost immediately. “But let’s save the business talk for later. Right now, let’s focus on what you need. Coffee, fresh clothes, and then some food.”

“Now you’re talking,” I said, taking the cup from her and having a nice long sip.

“I knew you’d like that,” she said.

I gulped half the cup down, gasping when I was done. “This is how I want every hospitalization to go. Make sure you remember that.”

“I thought it would make you feel more at home,” said Abigail, taking the cup and setting it on the table, right beside the bobblehead.

“Is that why you brought Foxy?” I asked.

She glanced at the bobble and laughed. “You got me. Is it too much?”

“No,” I said, staring at the toy. “No, it’s good.”

She reached across my chest and ran her fingers down my arm and shoulder, placing her head on my chest, and we sat there together for a while in silence.

I took the bobblehead off the table and examined it in my hand, slowly turning it and noticing all the dents in the paint, probably for the first time in years. I still remembered the night I found this thing in the junkyard. The stink of the cars. The cold chill in the air. The blood in my friend’s chest as he lay dying on the other side of that fence.

“What’s wrong?” asked Abigail. She stared up at me with gentle eyes, inviting me to speak.

“This toy,” I said in a raspy voice. “I promised you I’d tell you the story, didn’t I?”

“You don’t have to talk about it right now,” she said.

I smiled at her and kissed the top of her head, holding my lips there for a while. After a few minutes, I cleared my throat. “When I was a kid, I ran with a small crew. We did easy jobs, mostly snatch and grabs. Nothing too serious.”

Abigail squeezed her cheek against me, saying nothing.

“The night I picked this toy up, we were out in a junkyard, trying to steal some money from a safe. It should’ve been easy, but we messed it up and someone died.”

“One of your friends?” asked Abby.

I nodded. “He found this while we were waiting to break in, and I could tell it mattered to him, so I decided to hold on to it until the job was over.” I took a long breath. “But he never made it out of that junkyard.”

“So you held on to it,” said Abby.

“At first, I kept it hidden away, afraid that if anyone saw it, they’d figure out the truth—that I was guilty, that I deserved to be locked up for getting my poor friend killed. I kept thinking that someone was going to piece the whole thing together and I’d wind up right back in juvie, but none of that ever happened. The cops decided Lawrence had done it alone. They didn’t give a damn about some junkyard owner and his missing credits, and they especially didn’t care about a trespassing kid.”

Abigail took my hand and brought it closer so she could examine the bobblehead.

“I never meant to hold on to this for as long as I did,” I said. “Somehow, I ended up keeping it around. My bedroom dresser, the dash on my first car, and eventually my ship. Every time I looked at it, I remembered the night he died, and I told myself I had to be better. Maybe I thought I needed it.”

“Maybe you did,” she agreed. “It sounds like it kept you alive.”

“I guess it did, in a sense,” I conceded.

“Then I’m thankful to it,” said Abigail, taking the bobblehead and kissing its visor. She handed it to me and smiled. “It brought you to Lex and me, all the way from Epsy to Taurus, and finally soon to Earth.” She gave me a warm smile, and I melted. “And our lives are all the better for it.”

Freddie was in his room when I found him, back on his feet and walking. He gave me a grin when he saw me at the door, relief all over his face. “Captain! Please, come in,” he exclaimed.

“Thanks,” I said, stepping inside the doorway.

The scholar kept his room as clean and pristine as a fine hotel, everything in its place, all his clothes folded and placed in a drawer. It was a stark contrast from mine. There wasn’t even a bottle of whiskey to be found.

“So how are you feeling?” I asked after a moment.

“I’m doing well. Thank you, sir. I still have some aches, but Athena says those should go away soon.”

“Good,” I said.

“How about you?” he asked. “You had it worse than anyone, the way I heard it.”

“Don’t you worry about me, Freddie. It wasn’t my first time in the pod and it probably won’t be the last.”

“I suppose that’s true,” he said. “Although let’s hope it is, all the same.”

I nodded. “How are you doing, aside from the pain?”

He bent his head and looked at the floor, taking a second to answer. “Do you mean psychologically?”

“Sure,” I said.

He sat on the side of his bed, pausing again. “Honestly, I’m just thankful to be alive, sir. The whole time we were on that planet, I assumed I might be killed. Knowing that possibility, I’d already prepared myself. Then, when I was shot, I started thinking, This is it. This is where it happens, but it’s okay because at least—” He paused, swallowing. “—at least I was useful.”

Freddie rubbed his chest and shoulder, bending his neck.

I sat beside him. “Useful?”

“Darius Clare once said that the greatest thing a man can do is find a way to be useful, to be someone through which others are made better and kept safe, so that when you leave this world, those who knew you, and indeed the world at large, is made better because you were alive.” He let out a short sigh, then shook his head. “I used to think I could do that by reading. I went through the entire archive and studied everything I could get my hands on, but I never felt like I was truly contributing. That is, until I came aboard your ship, Captain, and saw the things you could do and how useful you could be to others.”

I laughed at the notion. “You sure had a higher opinion of me than I did.”

“Maybe so, but everyone on Titan is alive because of you. You’ve done more for my cause than I ever could have dreamed. Possibly more than Darius himself. If that isn’t being useful, I don’t know what is.”

“Kid,” I said, turning to him. “If you think for a second that you had to get shot to do that, then you can’t see the forest for the godsdamn trees.”

“W-what?”

“How many times did you risk your life to get here?” I asked. “More than I can count, that’s for damn sure. You were just a scholar, no combat experience under your belt, but you didn’t let it stop you from doing what had to be done. That’s more than the rest of us can say. If that ain’t being useful, Freddie, than I sure as hell don’t know what is.”

“Th-thank you, Captain,” he said. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just try to avoid getting shot next time, alright?” I smacked him on the back. “A dead man ain’t useful to anyone but the grass and the worms.”

He laughed. “I’ll try to remember that.”

Athena called everyone together on the bridge as I was leaving Alphonse’s room. “Captain, we should arrive out of slipspace in approximately twenty minutes,” said the Cognitive.

“Already?” I asked, stopping in the middle of the hall. “That didn’t take long.”

“I suggest assembling key personnel to the bridge, should we require an immediately plan of action, once we arrive.”

“Are you expecting trouble?” I asked.

“Truthfully, Captain, I don’t know. The defense network has no information regarding the current status of Earth, nor do long-range scans reveal any activity in the Sol system.”

“In other words, it could go either way,” I said.

“Indeed.”

“Send a message to everyone on Titan. Tell them we’ll be arriving soon and to be ready. I want all pilots ready to fly at a moment’s notice. Tell the rest to meet me on the bridge.”

“As you wish, Captain,” said Athena.

A few seconds later, I heard her deliver the information across all comms, letting every single crew member know that we were about to arrive at Earth. This was the moment we had all been waiting and fighting for. I only hoped it was all worth it.

Freddie and I arrived on the bridge, right after Dressler and Karin. The rest showed up one after the next, with Abigail, Lex, and Hitchens being the last. Apparently, Lex’s class was just getting out when everyone received the call.

Lex was happy to be in the room, making sure to say hello to each and every person.

Sigmond appeared beside Athena, clad in his usual gold aura and smiling at each of us. “Welcome, everyone.”

“Siggy!” exclaimed Lex, running up to give him a hug.

He laughed jovially. “Thank you, Ms. Lex.”

“What’s the story, Siggy? We got anything on sensors yet?” I asked.

“We’ll find out quite soon, sir,” he answered before looking at Athena.

The ancient Cognitive flicked her wrist, changing the display to show the inside of the slip tunnel, electric green energy dancing along the walls. Before anyone could react, a blue beam tore into the tunnel, ripping open a tear into the blackness of space.

We watched as thousands of stars blinked into view. Titan pushed through the tunnel, emerging on the other side to a region of space that it had not visited in two thousand years, returned to the system that birthed it.

None of us spoke a word. Not even Lex, whose energy and excitement had calmed to a steady awe as she looked on at the final destination to our long and tiresome quest.

“I am detecting no orbital activity,” said Athena. “All twelve space stations in this system are also inactive.”

“Nobody’s home,” said Alphonse.

The screen moved to show a series of planets, each of them quite dissimilar to the others in color and composition. Their names appeared across the wall, though I had a hard time reading them.

Hitchens stepped closer to the monitor, staring up at the text. “Neptune, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and Mars,” he said, listing off the planets as we saw them. “Strange names for the worlds of our ancestors, but stranger still that they should feel so familiar.”

There was an asteroid belt, filled with what I guessed were mining facilities, scattered and abandoned. Beyond that, three more planets, only one of which mattered.

A lone blue world with a single moon floated through the void like a jewel, white clouds filling its atmosphere, floating across continents and storming seas. This was what we had been searching for—the aim of all our struggles.

“There it is,” muttered Octavia.

I felt a hand grip mine, interlocking fingers, and I knew it was Abigail.

“Magnifying view,” said Athena.

The screen zoomed in on the surface, showing one of the continents. I quickly noticed several gray squares across the planet, each of them floating over the continent.

“What in the world are those?” asked Hitchens.

“This is most unusual,” said Athena. “Sensors show fifty-seven of them, each one elevated over one thousand meters above the ground.”

“Are they floating?” asked Freddie.

“They seem to be resting on polymetal scaffolding,” said Athena. “Additionally, I’m detecting very little flora in the soil. Most of the ground is composed of basic nutrients and metals indicative of late-stage terraforming.”

“Are you suggesting that someone is trying to transform the planet?” asked Dressler.

“It would appear so,” said Athena. She turned to us. “None of this was present when Titan departed Earth.”

“Does this mean Earth is uninhabitable?” asked Abigail.

Sigmond shook his head. “On the contrary, the atmosphere is breathable.”

“Please hold a moment while I perform a deeper scan of one of the facilities,” said Athena. She froze in place, probably due to the last damage Titan received in the last battle, not to mention the strain it had on the core.

“This must be why the Eternals left,” said Octavia. “They destroyed their world and couldn’t fix the decay.”

“That would certainly explain their absence,” said Hitchens.

“Not entirely,” said Dressler. “Athena received a transmission from Earth. Something about Earth being restored. I believe they called it Project Reclamation.”

“The transmission may have been automated,” said Karin.

Athena moved again. “Fascinating,” she said.

“What is?” asked Dressler.

“The facility you are looking at contains an atmospheric exhaust tower, used primarily to create and distribute breathable air to the planet.”

We all looked at each other. “So the oxygen is coming out of those cities?”

“Not anymore. The process has already ended. If I were to postulate, I would guess this occurred at the same time as the transmission I received.”

“The one about Project Reclamation,” said Dressler.

“Correct,” said Athena. “The system must have been waiting to reach this stage before calling all ships to return.”

“What about other life signs?” asked Hitchens. “Are there any animals or insects?”

“None, I’m afraid,” said Athena. “Though they should be scheduled for distribution during one of the later stages, once the soil is established.”

“Hold on,” I said, shaking my hand at the Cognitive. “Let me get this straight. We flew across the entire galaxy to find this planet, but it’s still being rebuilt?”

“I’m afraid so, Captain, but don’t worry. The planet is still habitable and will soon be restored, although I will need time to study the terraforming process in full. Such work was in its early stages when Titan departed the system. Most of this was only theoretical.”

“Well, it looks like they turned theory into practice,” said Dressler. “It’s outstanding.”

We all stared at the screen in silence for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. This wasn’t what we had expected. Not even close.

“What should we do now?” asked Freddie.

I scoffed. “What do you think we’re gonna do?” I asked, turning to the group. “We didn’t come all this way just to turn around. We’ll colonize this world just like we intended. If it means a little extra work getting the planet ready, then we’ll figure it out.”

“Besides,” said Abigail, “we can’t let the Union or the Sarkonians get their hands on those facilities. We have to protect this place.”

“Is everyone okay with that?” I asked, looking at each of their faces. “It’ll be tougher than we thought, but the prize is still the same.”

Dressler tapped her chin. “The opportunity to study some of the most advanced technology ever conceived? I can’t imagine turning that down.”

“That goes double for us,” said Octavia, looking at Hitchens.

“Just because it’s half-finished doesn’t mean it isn’t Earth, right?” asked Freddie.

“The people have spoken,” said Abigail.

Lex stepped closer to me. “Are we going there?” she asked, pointing to the planet.

“Is that what you want?” I asked, looking down at her. “You’ll finally get to play outside and get off this dusty ship.”

She thought for a second, scratching her ear. “I don’t care where we go as long as you and Abby go too.”

Abigail and I looked at each other and smiled. “Don’t worry, Lex,” I assured her. “We’re all sticking together, no matter what happens from here on out.”

The little girl smiled. “Then I want to go, Mr. Hughes! I want us all to go and wake it up.”

Everyone laughed, which made Lex even happier, and she held on to me and Abby both, squeezing us with all the strength she had. “That’s a fine way to put it,” Abigail said, beaming a smile at me. “What do you say, Mr. Hughes?”

“I’m with the kid,” I said, looking back up at the image of the Earth. “Let’s prep ourselves a ship. We’ve got a planet to wake up.”

Epilogue

I stood beside Abigail, staring out across the clouds at the world we had traveled half a galaxy to find. The Earth was all before us, a shell of its past, but ours nonetheless.

The journey to reach it had been difficult, filled with gunfire and violence. I had taken it for the money, agreed to the rest of it on the promise of more, but none of that had come to pass. In its place, I had discovered the truth, but perhaps more importantly, I’d found myself a crew.

I’d found myself a home.

It was a tradeoff I would gladly take again, given the opportunity.

“This is quite the view,” said Abigail. A light breeze swept her hair away from her eyes. “You can barely see the ground from here.”

“If it’s ground at all,” I said, referring to the terraformed soil far beneath our feet.

“It will be when we’re done with it,” she answered, a determined smile on her face.

“You sound pretty confident about that,” I said.

“We’ve come this far, haven’t we?” she asked. “We can do the rest. We’ll just have to put everyone to work. This colony won’t start itself, right?”

I snickered. “It sounds like you already have a few ideas.”

“I may have had a thought or two,” she said, smiling.

“You had a thought?” I asked. “I’m listening.”

She leaned close and touched my arm. “New colonists.”

“Colonists?” I asked, pausing a moment to imagine the possibility. “There’s a thought.”

“I don’t know where we would even look, but there must be people out there hoping to start fresh. We can offer them something that no one else can. We just need to figure out where they are.”

“The Deadlands,” I said instantly. “The Union and the Sarkonians are constantly attacking them, always making claims to other folks’ homes. The border colonies are filled with families looking to leave, but they don’t have the money or the manpower.”

“With enough help, we can get this planet going in no time,” said Abigail. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have so much to do!”

I smiled and placed my hand around her waist. “One step at a time, Abby,” I said, looking beneath the parting clouds. “For now, what do you say we go and see what’s down there?”

Renegade Dawn is out now. Get it by clicking here or finding it on Amazon.

Read on for a special note from the author.

Author Notes

We’re finally here! The end of the first Renegade arc has arrived. At long last, Jace and his crew have made it to Earth, but it’s not quite what they expected. Instead of the beautiful blue and green planet we all know and love, they’ve found something very different: a partially terraformed world. Still, that’s not going to stop Jace and Abigail from trying to start a new colony of their very own. But what secrets does the Earth hold for our band of rebels? What will they have to do in order to bring life back to the planet? And what exactly happened to the Eternals?

All of these questions are going to be answered soon as we press forward into the next major story arc, beginning with Renegade Dawn, which should release in July.

This year is going to be a very busy one. I’m planning to release four additional Renegade books (books 7-10), a Renegade spinoff series, as well as one or two non-Renegade stories, one of which will be cowritten with my editor (think Dune, but more military scifi). Of course, none of the extra stuff will slow down Jace’s adventure, so don’t worry. They will continue releasing at a steady pace for the foreseeable future.

That being said, I’m planning to host my first livestream Q&A shortly after releasing this book, with more planned in the future. These streams will be hosted on Facebook in the reader group, so if you haven’t joined yet, I suggest doing so as soon as you can. You can ask me questions about the Renegade books, future projects, older stories, writing, or anything else you might want to know. I would’ve done this sooner, but I wanted to wait until the first arc of this series had finished. It just felt like a good point to pause and catch up with everyone.

As for Renegade Dawn, this is a story I’m extremely excited about. If you’re a fan of colony stories or you enjoyed the discovery aspects from the previous books, you’ll probably like where things are headed.

Until next time, Renegades,

J.N. Chaney

PS. Amazon won’t tell you when the next Renegade book will come out, but there are several ways you can stay informed.

1) Fly on over to the Facebook group, JN Chaney’s Renegade Readers, and say hello. It’s a great place to hang with other sarcastic sci-fi readers who don’t mind a good laugh.

2) Follow me directly on Amazon. To do this, head to the store page for this book (or my Amazon author profile) and click the Follow button beneath my picture. That will prompt Amazon to notify you when I release a new book. You’ll just need to check your emails.

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Doing one of these or all three (for best results) will ensure you know every time a new entry in The Renegade Star series is published. Please take a moment to do one of these so you’ll be able to join Jace, Abigail, and Lex on their next galaxy-spanning adventure.

Preview: The Amber Project

Documents of Historical, Scientific, and Cultural Significance

Play Audio Transmission File 021

Recorded April 19, 2157

CARTWRIGHT: This is Lieutenant Colonel Felix Cartwright. It’s been a week since my last transmission and two months since the day we found the city…the day the world fell apart. If anyone can hear this, please respond.

If you’re out there, no doubt you know about the gas. You might think you’re all that’s left. But if you’re receiving this, let me assure you, you are not alone. There are people here. Hundreds, in fact, and for now, we’re safe. If you can make it here, you will be, too.

The city’s a few miles underground, not far from El Rico Air Force Base. That’s where my people came from. As always, the coordinates are attached. If anyone gets this, please respond. Let us know you’re there…that you’re still alive.

End Audio File

April 14, 2339

Maternity District

MILES BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH, deep within the walls of the last human city, a little boy named Terry played quietly with his sister in a small two-bedroom apartment.

Today was his very first birthday. He was turning seven.

“What’s a birthday?” his sister Janice asked, tugging at his shirt. She was only four years old and had recently taken to following her big brother everywhere he went. “What does it mean?”

Terry smiled, eager to explain. “Mom says when you turn seven, you get a birthday. It means you grow up and get to start school. It’s a pretty big deal.”

“When will I get a birthday?”

“You’re only four, so you have to wait.”

“I wish I was seven,” she said softly, her thin black hair hanging over her eyes. “I want to go with you.”

He got to his feet and began putting the toy blocks away. They had built a castle together on the floor, but Mother would yell if they left a mess. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. I promise, okay?”

“Okay!” she said cheerily and proceeded to help.

Right at that moment, the speaker next to the door let out a soft chime, followed by their mother’s voice. “Downstairs, children,” she said. “Hurry up now.”

Terry took his sister’s hand. “Come on, Jan,” he said.

She frowned, squeezing his fingers. “Okay.”

They arrived downstairs, their mother nowhere to be found.

“She’s in the kitchen,” Janice said, pointing at the farthest wall. “See the light-box?”

Terry looked at the locator board, although his sister’s name for it worked just as well. It was a map of the entire apartment, with small lights going on and off in different colors, depending on which person was in which room. There’s us, he thought, green for me and blue for Janice, and there’s Mother in red. Terry never understood why they needed something like that because of how small the apartment was, but every family got one, or so Mother had said.

As he entered the kitchen, his mother stood at the far counter sorting through some data on her pad. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Something for work,” she said. She tapped the front of the pad and placed it in her bag. “Come on, Terrance, we’ve got to get you ready and out the door. Today’s your first day, after all, and we have to make a good impression.”

“When will he be back?” asked Janice.

“Hurry up. Let’s go, Terrance,” she said, ignoring the question. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along. “We have about twenty minutes to get all the way to the education district. Hardly enough time at all.” Her voice was sour. He had noticed it more and more lately, as the weeks went on, ever since a few months ago when that man from the school came to visit. His name was Mr. Huxley, one of the few men who Terry ever had the chance to talk to, and from the way Mother acted—she was so agitated—he must have been important.

“Terrance.” His mother’s voice pulled him back. “Stop moping and let’s go.”

Janice ran and hugged him, wrapping her little arms as far around him as she could. “Love you,” she said.

“Love you too.”

“Bye,” she said shyly.

He kissed her forehead and walked to the door, where his mother stood talking with the babysitter, Ms. Cartwright. “I’ll only be a few hours,” Mother said. “If it takes any longer, I’ll message you.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Mara,” Ms. Cartwright assured her. “You take all the time you need.”

Mother turned to him. “There you are,” she said, taking his hand. “Come on, or we’ll be late.”

As they left the apartment, Mother’s hand tugging him along, Terry tried to imagine what might happen at school today. Would it be like his home lessons? Would he be behind the other children, or was everything new? He enjoyed learning, but there was still a chance the school might be too hard for him. What would he do? Mother had taught him some things, like algebra and English, but who knew how far along the other kids were by now?

Terry walked quietly down the overcrowded corridors with an empty, troubled head. He hated this part of the district. So many people on the move, brushing against him, like clothes in an overstuffed closet.

He raised his head, nearly running into a woman and her baby. She had wrapped the child in a green and brown cloth, securing it against her chest. “Excuse me,” he said, but the lady ignored him.

His mother paused and looked around. “Terrance, what are you doing? I’m over here,” she said, spotting him.

“Sorry.”

They waited together for the train, which was running a few minutes behind today.

“I wish they’d hurry up,” said a nearby lady. She was young, about fifteen years old. “Do you think it’s because of the outbreak?”

“Of course,” said a much older woman. “Some of the trains are busy carrying contractors to the slums to patch the walls. It slows the others down because now they have to make more stops.”

“I heard fourteen workers died. Is it true?”

“You know how the gas is,” she said. “It’s very quick. Thank God for the quarantine barriers.”

Suddenly, there was a loud smashing sound, followed by three long beeps. It echoed through the platform for a moment, vibrating along the walls until it was gone. Terry flinched, squeezing his mother’s hand.

“Ouch,” she said. “Terrance, relax.”

“But the sound,” he said.

“It’s the contractors over there.” She pointed to the other side of the tracks, far away from them. It took a moment for Terry to spot them, but once he did, it felt obvious. Four of them stood together. Their clothes were orange, with no clear distinction between their shirts and their pants, and on each of their heads was a solid red plastic hat. Three of them were holding tools, huddled against a distant wall. They were reaching inside of it, exchanging tools every once in a while, until eventually the fourth one called them to back away. As they made some room, steam rose from the hole, with a puddle of dark liquid forming at the base. The fourth contractor handled a machine several feet from the others, which had three legs and rose to his chest. He waved the other four to stand near him and pressed the pad on the machine. Together, the contractors watched as the device flashed a series of small bright lights. It only lasted a few seconds. Once it was over, they gathered close to the wall again and resumed their work.

“What are they doing?” Terry asked.

His mother looked down at him. “What? Oh, they’re fixing the wall, that’s all.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Probably because there was a shift last night. Remember when the ground shook?”

Yeah, I remember, he thought. It woke me up. “So they’re fixing it?”

“Yes, right.” She sighed and looked around. “Where is that damned train?”

Terry tugged on her hand. “That lady over there said it’s late because of the gas.”

His mother looked at him. “What did you say?”

“The lady…the one right there.” He pointed to the younger girl a few feet away. “She said the gas came, so that’s why the trains are slow. It’s because of the slums.” He paused a minute. “No, wait. It’s because they’re going to the slums.”

His mother stared at the girl, turning back to the tracks and saying nothing.

“Mother?” he said.

“Be quiet for a moment, Terrance.”

Terry wanted to ask her what was wrong, or if he had done anything to upset her, but he knew when to stay silent. So he left it alone like she wanted. Just like a good little boy.

The sound of the arriving train filled the platform with such horrific noise that it made Terry’s ears hurt. The train, still vibrating as he stepped onboard, felt like it was alive.

After a short moment, the doors closed. The train was moving.

Terry didn’t know if the shaking was normal or not. Mother had taken him up to the medical wards on this train once when he was younger, but never again after that. He didn’t remember much about it, except that he liked it. The medical wards were pretty close to where he lived, a few stops before the labs, and several stops before the education district. After that, the train ran through Pepper Plaza, then the food farms and Housing Districts 04 through 07 and finally the outer ring factories and the farms. As Terry stared at the route map on the side of the train wall, memorizing what he could of it, he tried to imagine all the places he could go and the things he might see. What kind of shops did the shopping plaza have, for example, and what was it like to work on the farms? Maybe one day he could go and find out for himself—ride the train all day to see everything there was to see. Boy, wouldn’t that be something?

“Departure call: 22-10, education district,” erupted the com in its monotone voice. It took only a moment before the train began to slow.

“That’s us. Come on,” said Mother. She grasped his hand, pulling him through the doors before they were fully opened.

Almost to the school, Terry thought. He felt warm suddenly. Was he getting nervous? And why now? He’d known about this forever, and it was only hitting him now?

He kept taking shorter breaths. He wanted to pull away and return home, but Mother’s grasp was tight and firm, and the closer they got to the only major building in the area, the tighter and firmer it became.

Now that he was there, now that the time had finally come, a dozen questions ran through Terry’s mind. Would the other kids like him? What if he wasn’t as smart as everyone else? Would they make fun of him? He had no idea what to expect.

Terry swallowed, the lump in his throat nearly choking him.

An older man stood at the gate of the school’s entrance. He dressed in an outfit that didn’t resemble any of the clothes in Terry’s district or even on the trains. A gray uniform—the color of the pavement, the walls, and the streets—matched his silver hair to the point where it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. “Ah,” he said. “Mara, I see you’ve brought another student. I was wondering when we’d meet the next one. Glad to see you’re still producing. It’s been, what? Five or six years? Something like that, I think.”

“Yes, thank you, this is Terrance,” said Mother quickly. “I was told there would be an escort.” She paused, glancing over the man and through the windows. “Where’s Bishop? He assured me he’d be here for this.”

“The colonel,” he corrected, “is in his office, and the boy is to be taken directly to him as soon as I have registered his arrival.”

She let out a frustrated sigh. “He was supposed to meet me at the gate for this himself. I wanted to talk to him about a few things.”

“What’s wrong?” Terry asked.

She looked down at him. “Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry. You have to go inside now, that’s all.”

“You’re not coming in?”

“I’m afraid not,” said the man. “She’s not permitted.”

“It’s all right,” Mother said, cupping her hand over his cheek. “They’ll take care of you in there.”

But it’s just school, Terry thought. “I’ll see you tonight, though, right?”

She bent down and embraced him tightly, more than she had in a long time. He couldn’t help but relax. “I’m sorry, Terrance. Please be careful up there. I know you don’t understand it now, but you will eventually. Everything will be fine.” She rose, releasing his hand for the first time since they left the train. “So that’s it?” Mother said to the man.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She turned and walked away, pausing a moment as she reached the corner and continued until she was out of sight.

The man pulled out a board with a piece of paper on it. “When you go through here, head straight to the back of the hall. A guard there will take you to see Colonel Bishop. Just do what they say and answer everything with either ‘Yes, sir’ or ‘No, sir,’ and you’ll be fine. Understand?”

Terry didn’t understand, but he nodded anyway.

The man pushed open the door with his arm and leg, holding it there and waiting. “Right through here you go,” he said.

Terry entered, reluctantly, and the door closed quickly behind him.

The building, full of the same metal and shades of brown and gray that held together the rest of the city, rose higher than any other building Terry had ever been in. Around the room, perched walkways circled the walls, cluttered with doors and hallways that branched off into unknown regions. Along the walkways, dozens of people walked back and forth as busily as they had in the train station. More importantly, Terry quickly realized, most of them were men.

For so long, the only men he had seen were the maintenance workers who came and went or the occasional teacher who visited the children when they were nearing their birthdays. It was so rare to see any men at all, especially in such great numbers. Maybe they’re all teachers, he thought. They weren’t dressed like the workers: white coats and some with brown jackets—thick jackets with laced boots and bodies as stiff as the walls. Maybe that was what teachers wore. How could he know? He had never met one besides Mr. Huxley, and that was months ago.

“Well, don’t just stand there gawking,” said a voice from the other end of the room. It was another man, dressed the same as the others. “Go on in through here.” He pointed to another door, smaller than the one Terry had entered from. “Everyone today gets to meet the colonel. Go on now. Hurry up. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”

Terry did as the man said and stepped through the doorway, his footsteps clanking against the hard metal floor, echoing through what sounded like the entire building.

“Well, come in, why don’t you?” came a voice from inside.

Terry stepped cautiously into the room, which was much nicer than the entranceway. It was clean, at least compared to some of the other places Terry had been, including his own home. The walls held several shelves, none of which lacked for any company of things. Various ornaments caught Terry’s eye, like the little see-through globe on the shelf nearest to the door, which held a picture of a woman’s face inside, although some of it was faded and hard to make out. There was also a crack in it. What purpose could such a thing have? Terry couldn’t begin to guess. Next to it lay a frame with a small, round piece of metal inside of it. An inscription below the glass read, “U.S. Silver Dollar, circa 2064.” Terry could easily read the words, but he didn’t understand them. What was this thing? And why was it so important that it needed to be placed on a shelf for everyone to look at?

“I said come in,” said Bishop abruptly. He sat at the far end of the room behind a large brown desk. Terry had forgotten he was even there. “I didn’t mean for you to stop at the door. Come over here.”

Terry hurried closer, stopping a few feet in front of the desk.

“I’m Colonel Bishop. You must be Terrance,” said the man. “I’ve been wondering when you were going to show up.” He wore a pair of thin glasses and had one of the larger pads in his hand. “Already seven. Imagine that.”

“Yes, sir,” Terry said, remembering the doorman’s words.

The colonel was a stout man, a little wider than the others. He was older too, Terry guessed. He may have been tall, but it was difficult to tell without seeing his whole body. “I expect you’re hoping to begin your classes now,” said Bishop.

“Yes, sir,” he said.

“You say that, but you don’t really know what you’re saying yes to, do you?”

The question seemed more like a statement, so Terry didn’t answer. He only stood there. Who was this man? Was this how school was supposed to be?

“Terrance, let me ask you something,” said the colonel, taking a moment. “Did your mother tell you anything about this program you’re going into?”

Terry thought about the question for a moment. “Um, she said you come to school on your birthday,” he said. “And that it’s just like it is at home, except there’s more kids like me.”

Colonel Bishop blinked. “That’s right, I suppose. What else did she say?”

“That when it was over, I get to go back home,” he said.

“And when did she say that was?”

Terry didn’t answer.

Colonel Bishop cocked an eyebrow. “Well? Didn’t she say?”

“No, sir,” muttered Terry.

The man behind the desk started chuckling. “So you don’t know how long you’re here for?”

“No, sir.”

Colonel Bishop set the pad in his hand down. “Son, you’re here for the next ten years.”

A sudden rush swelled up in Terry’s chest and face. What was Bishop talking about? Of course Terry was going home. He couldn’t stay here. “But I promised my sister I’d be home today,” he said. “I have to go back.”

“Too bad,” said the colonel. “Your mother really did you a disservice by not telling you. But don’t worry. We just have to get you started.” He tapped the pad on his desk, and the door opened. A cluster of footsteps filled the hall before two large men appeared, each wearing the same brown coats as the rest. “Well, that was fast,” he said.

One of the men saluted. “Yes, sir. No crying with the last one. Took her right to her room without incident.”

Terry wanted to ask who the last one was, and why it should be a good thing that she didn’t cry. Did other kids cry when they came to this school? What kind of place was this?

“Well, hopefully, Terrence here will do the same,” said Bishop. He looked at Terry. “Right? You’re not going to give us any trouble, are you?”

Terry didn’t know what to do or what to say. All he could think about was getting far away from here. He didn’t want to go with the men. He didn’t want to behave. All he wanted to do was go home.

But he couldn’t, not anymore. He was here in this place with nowhere to go. No way out. He wanted to scream, to yell at the man behind the desk and his two friends, and tell them about how stupid it was for them to do what they were doing.

He opened his mouth to explain, to scream as loud as he could that he wouldn’t go. But in that moment, the memory of the doorman came back to him, and instead of yelling, he repeated the words he’d been told before. “No, sir,” he said softly.

Bishop smiled, nodding at the two men in the doorway. “Exactly what I like to hear.”

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I post updates, official art, previews, and other awesome stuff on his website. You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

I also created a special Facebook group called “JN Chaney’s Renegade Readers” specifically for readers to come together and share their lives and interests, discuss the series, and speak directly to me. Please check it out and join whenever you get the chance!

For updates about new releases, as well as exclusive promotions, visit my website and sign up for the VIP mailing list. Head there now to receive a free copy of The Other Side of Nowhere.

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Enjoying the series? Help others discover The Renegade Star series by leaving a review on Amazon.

Books By J.N. Chaney

The Variant Saga:

The Amber Project

Transient Echoes

Hope Everlasting

The Vernal Memory

Renegade Star Series:

Renegade Star

Renegade Atlas

Renegade Moon

Renegade Lost

Renegade Fleet

Renegade Earth

Renegade Dawn

Renegade Children

Renegade Union (Jan 2019)

Renegade Empire (March 2019)

Renegade Universe:

Nameless

Orion Colony

Orion Uncharted

Orion Awakened (Jan 2019)

Standalone Books:

Their Solitary Way

The Other Side of Nowhere

About the Author

J. N. Chaney has a Master’s of Fine Arts in creative writing and fancies himself quite the Super Mario Bros. fan. When he isn’t writing or gaming, you can find him online at www.jnchaney.com.

He migrates often but was last seen in Avon Park, Florida. Any sightings should be reported, as they are rare.

Renegade Earth is his eleventh novel.

gether and share their lives and interests, discuss the series, and speak directly to me. Please check it out and join whenever you get the chance!

For updates about new releases, as well as exclusive promotions, visit my website and sign up for the VIP mailing list. Head there now to receive a free copy of The Other Side of Nowhere.

Click Here

Enjoying the series? Help others discover The Renegade Star series by leaving a review on Amazon.

Books By J.N. Chaney

The Variant Saga:

The Amber Project

Transient Echoes

Hope Everlasting

The Vernal Memory

Renegade Star Series:

Renegade Star

Renegade Atlas

Renegade Moon

Renegade Lost

Renegade Fleet

Renegade Earth

Renegade Dawn

Renegade Children

Renegade Union (Jan 2019)

Renegade Empire (March 2019)

Renegade Universe:

Nameless

Orion Colony

Orion Uncharted

Orion Awakened (Jan 2019)

Standalone Books:

Their Solitary Way

The Other Side of Nowhere

About the Author

J. N. Chaney has a Master’s of Fine Arts in creative writing and fancies himself quite the Super Mario Bros. fan. When he isn’t writing or gaming, you can find him online at www.jnchaney.com.

He migrates often but was last seen in Avon Park, Florida. Any sightings should be reported, as they are rare.

Renegade Fleet is his tenth novel.