“Is it that day already?” Alexander asked Matthews over the video ference.

  “We have a few days yet. But we are going to begin pulling our people back to the ship. I just thought you could use the heads up.”

  “Thanks for the notice. I wish you could stay longer, but I uand why you ’t.”

  “You may see some of our people soohan you think. I believe Travers and Jallen have expressed i in ing back here oheir tracts are plete.”

  Alexander put a surprised expression on his avatar’s face. “Really? Why?”

  Matthews chuckled, a rare thing for the no-nonsense man. “It’s not for the sic beauty, I tell you that. I think it might have something to do with the free access to learning modules you have provided to the people who live at Eden’s End. I’ve heard a few of ineers expressing i as well. Heck, even I’m ied and my retirement is ing up soon.”

  “…I holy don’t know what to say. I didn’t think it was such a big deal.”

  “That’s what I like about you, Mr. Kane. You are a generous sort of guy, a bit too generous I might add. If someoried to do what you were doing in STO space, the pany that made those learning modules would sp you with a wsuit faster than you could blink. There isn’t anything the monopolies hate more than losing their profits. And sharing a learning module that is supposed to be for a single person with thousands would certainly cost them money. Getting their attention is not something you want.”

  “I’m aware,” he muttered.

  The Captain nodded. “I figured you might be aware of that particur problem. Most people who e out here do it to get away from STO or the corporations for one reason or another. Just be careful who you allow in your little unity. There are those who would gdly take advantage of you for this opportunity. Or try to take it from you by force. I ’t even say for certain if the corporations wouldn’t try something more unsavory. There is more than one corporation with its own private military forces. And while I find the STO to be useless most of the time, being uheir jurisdi does have its bes. Bes that you have waived. You have some det defenses, but never assume they are infallible. That’s about the only advice I offer.”

  “Thank you, Captain Matthews. And thank your people for their stelr job here. Without them, I doubt half as much would have been aplished this soon.”

  “Speaking of aplishments, gratutions on your successful eest.”

  Alexander grimaced at that. “It’s not quite successful yet.” He had tested the rest of his eerations and found them all to perform far poorer than the Sinorus model, except the st one, which was almost a carbon copy of the Omni design with only a few ges to make it his own. But even that one didn’t outperform the Omni engine.

  “Yes, but the numbers are promising. You went from never having designed or built an eo having ohat beats out one of the major manufacturers. You just o take a step bad realize this. Do you thiher of those panies got off the ground in only a few months?”

  “…No,” he sighed. “I know what you’re saying is true, it’s just hard for me to accept.”

  The man ughed. “sidering all the crazy stuff you have been doing i nine months, I’m not surprised that failure is a hard cept to accept. Someone oold me that you learn far more from failures than you would ever learn from success. So fail and learn, Kane. If you keep at it, I expect wheurn, you will have some of the most powerful and effit engines around.”

  They discussed a few other topics, mostly the station, which was now partially operational. It was just the smelter and a ste area to tain the raw ore for now. He was still w oing fuel ste and processing up there but the challenges of getting those pos into space were signifitly harder using only the uncher. It took redesigning the fuel ste multiple times before he managed a design that could fit into the capsules and be formed by his robots o was in pce. He hadn’t gotten around to manufacturing those pos yet.

  He o make that happen soon though, especially with the Hawks leaving.

  Na and his crew had gone back to their ship about a month ago and were deep ier belt of the system, sing asteroids for mining. They would o e in for fuel eventually. If he couldn’t get fuel up there, they would be stuck drifting or relying on their maneuvering thrusters to get around.

  Alexander hadn’t spoken to Na much during the st few months. The few times he had, the man had expressed his over what had bee of his home. Na was haunted by the fact he ran away a Petrov station to pirates. Not that his being there would have ged that oute. Expining that fa didn’t help though. Alexander hoped that going baining would help take his mind off of things in Gliese 667. From the little news ing out of this ‘Pirate Incursion’ as the news outlets were calling it, little had ged sihe initial attack.

  There had been a few more signs of pirates lingering around the systems that the Hawks patroled, but that had tapered off a few months back.

  The going theory from S.A.M. was that the Hawks’ tinued presen the area had made the pirates move on to look for easier prey. Captain Matthews agreed with the mae's analysis based on his personal experieh pirates.

  With the meeting cluded Alexander left the meeting room. He had a lot of things to plete in the couple of days before the Hawks left.

  ***

  Yulia hid behind a crate, doing her best to remain still and silent even though her heart was beating super fast. She had mao avoid them for the st few days, but they had finally ered her irium.

  There were no more pces to run. The pyground was on the far side of the camp and it en ground all the way to it. They would spot her as soon as she left cover.

  She heard footsteps nearby and froze, a dark shadow loomed over her but the figure didn’t turn to face her. Instead, the woman cleared her throat. “Your friends were redirected to a different area, I suggest you hurry before they figure out you aren’t there.”

  “Thank you, Zorina,” she spoke quietly before darting out from her hiding spot and towards the safety of the pyground.

  “There she is!” one of the kids yelled and the chase was on.

  Yulia pushed her short legs as fast as she could as the screaming ughing group of kids chased her in the game of tag. She learned early on after arriving at Edehat while she was shorter, she was slightly stronger and faster than some of the kids born here. Not by much, but it was all she o barely avoid the lunging hand as she dove onto the pyground mat with a triumphant shout. “Safe!”

  “That’s not fair,” one of the kids grumbled.

  “Yeah, you cheated!” one of the mean boys procimed.

  “Cheated how?” she asked indignantly, putting her fists against her waist.

  The boy was not intimidated by her as. “You got that soldier dy to give us false dires.”

  “No rule against outside help,” Markus replied in his broken English.

  The two boys were about the same age aher one seemed to like the other very much. She wasn’t quite sure why, but she was gd Markus was on her side.

  She stuck her to at the other boy who she hadn’t even bothered to learn the name of. “See! Besides, I didn’t ask for help. People just like me more than you.”

  The boy snorted and turned away from Markus. “Keep thinking that rincess. Let’s, go. I’m bored with this game anyway.”

  A few of the kids left with the older boy, but some still stuck around. They didn’t seem to want to py tag anymore, and the few left decided to ruo the pyground equipment instead.

  “Why did he call me princess?” Yulia asked the only perso.

  Markus sighed. “You know what a princess is, right?”

  She shook her head. Yulia had never heard the term before.

  “A princess is a girl that es from wealth and power. Since you are the robot’s daughter, and he owns this entire pce, you are the princess.”

  She started to smile at that until Markus burst her happy little bubble.

  “It’s not meant as a pliment. They are being mean because they don’t have the same advantages you have.”

  “That’s not true,” she began tue.

  “It’s not? Why was the pyground built? Sure, everyone else uses it, but the robot built it for you.”

  “Stop calling him that,” she huffed. “His name is Alex!”

  Markus just rolled his eyes, “Fine. Alex built it for you. He also hired the meraries for you and him. I even heard that he told someohat the only reason he is defending this pce is to protect you and him. He doesn’t care about the rest of the people here, never has.”

  “That’s not true! You take that back!” Yulia got so angry, she tried to kick Markus in the shiepped bad she missed.

  “I’m just telling you what I heard. You know how rumors spread. Remember oation? I taught you to keep your ears and eyes open. How have you not heard people talking about these things?”

  She had been listening to people. Sort of. “Most adults don’t talk a whole lot when I’m around.”

  “Because they are afraid of what Alex will do to them. They are afraid of you.”

  “No,” she began to cry.

  “I’m not telling you this to hurt your feelings, but you should know how people, the kids, and adults all see you. Even–,”

  “Even what?” she demahrough her tear-streaked eyes.

  Markus sighed again. “Even your friends, Sarah and Cire are probably only pretending to be your friends because they think they get something out of it, or their parents do.”

  “You’re lying!” she wiped away the tears. “Why are you being so mean? Is it because I got adopted and you didn’t?”

  For the first time that she could remember, she saw Markus get angry. “Fine, don’t believe me. See if I care.” Then the boy walked off, leavio stew in fusion.

  There were only two people she could turn to for answers. And she didn’t want to ask Alex about this, he would think it silly. And he was busy fixing things.

  Yulia found Zorina removing some tent poles that had been driven into the dry dirt of the atrium. She paused at that. “Are you leaving?” tears began to well up in her eyes again.

  The woman looked up from her wiving Yulia a pierg stare that made her wish she wasn’t being such a baby at the moment. After setting down the poles, the woman walked over. “We are. You kneould eventually, why are y?”

  “I thought it wouldn’t be for a while longer,” Yulia muttered as she looked away and wiped off the tears.

  “Is that the only reason?” the woman asked pointedly.

  Yulia shook her head. She found she couldn’t ever lie to the woman when she fronted her for doing something she shouldn’t have been doing.

  “Tell me what bothers you?”

  She told Zorina about what Markus and the other boy said.

  The woman nodded. “Your friend tells the truth. At least about eople say. I do not know your friends well, so I ot say if that is true also.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Yulia demanded.

  The woman only quirked an eyebrow at the outburst.

  “Please,” she lowered her head at her shameful tone.

  “Since you asked nicely, I will tell you. It was not important to our mission. People always talk down about people above them. It is the way things go. Telling you wouldn’t have ged this fact, it would have only hurt your feelings. Your friend Markus could learn a lesson in tact, he shouldn’t have told you this either.”

  “Isn’t it better that I know?”

  “Is it?” Zorina asked in reply. “From what I see, all it has done is make you angry, and upset, and shoved a wedge in your friendship with Markus and the other children. Are you happy that happened?”

  Yulia shook her head slowly.

  “Of course, you aren’t. Let me ask you another question. Do the kids treat you differently?”

  “…No?”

  “You don’t sound very sure of that.”

  “No. Well, some of the older kids do. But they never much liked me to begin with.”

  “Then their opinions don’t matter. If you are happy with how the other kids treat you, then that’s all that matters. But… If you think this is important, I will rey this issue to my Field Leader, and they bring it up with your father.”

  Yulia paused at that. She didn’t want to make a big deal out of this, that was why she had e to Zorina instead of going to Alex. After thinking about it for a bit, she shook her head. “No… I deal with the other kids.”

  Zorina smirked. “Good. Let this be a valuable lesson, Yulia. Sometimes, you have to solve your own issues. That doesn’t mean you ’t seek help uidance from someone older and wiser though.” With a wink, Zorina turned Yulia around and gave her a gentle shove. “Now, I have work to do.”