Jasper looked at the tablet Alexander had handed him ahrough it before ping the bridge of his nose and sighing. “I knew you had a terrible naming sense, Alex, but did you truly have to he system One Kane? I at least uand why you named your political entity BSE but why something so generic for the system?”

  “It’s pronounced oo-no-kan-eh,” Alexander replied proudly.

  “Fine, you he system Unokane. I don’t think that’s much better, but what’s done is done. How did the STO react?”

  “Holy… the process went much easier than I imagihe three clerks barely even seemed to care.” Alexander had spent hours preparing to ter any argument they might have used against the formation. The fact that he only had to step in and correistake made the whole effort feel like a bit of a waste.

  “Well, gratutions, my friend. You did well by keeping this a secret. I would love to help you navigate these waters, but you’ve stepped into uncharted territory here. You probably know more about what’s expected of you now than I do.”

  “I wish that were the case,” Alexander sighed. “I mostly did it to cim the system before someone else could. I suppose my new position does give me, and anyone I designate as part of my gover, diplomatic immunity. What that entails, I’m not quite sure. The ws c diplomatic immunity are so old, I have to travel to Earth to pull them from the Library of gress. It seems like nobody thought they were important enough to upload to the .”

  “I doubt something like that was overlooked, Alex. They probably did it on purpose to pull any new political figures to the homeworld so they could make es. If you pn to go, I suggest you do so very carefully.”

  “I uand your , Jasper but you need not worry at the moment. While visiting the Core is something I’ll have to do eventually, it’s not something I will be itting to until I’m good and ready. For now, I got everything I needed out of this deal, which was to prevent someone else from ing in and pulling the rug out from under me.”

  “Fair enough,” Jasper relented. “Let us talk about something other than politics. How is your manufacturing going? I see the area around the p looking rather busy these days.”

  Alexander smiled at the question. “Everything is going well. We just pleted the Resolve, which is the sed frigate to be restored from the pirate derelicts. The third one should be getting moved into position to be worked on shortly. Only I’ll be short oo run it. Which is a on issue it seems.” He shrugged before tinuing. “The station is still being modeled, but I should have a workable design soon. Other than that, everything is on schedule.”

  “You’re bang your time like I suggested?”

  “I am,” Alexander ughed lightly. “There was an issue when I had to leave Yulia to go to Varlen, but I worked it out with her when I returned. We’ve never been closer.”

  “I’m gd to hear that, my friend. Your life is going to get much more hectic going forward, you must not fet what’s important.”

  “What about you?” Alexander asked as they walked through the atrium.

  “Me? Everything is going well. We closed a few lucrative deals before taking on yours. Not that your deal isn’t lucrative. It’s just more of a long-term iment than a way to make quick cash. Speaking of deals, have you made any headway with Dr. Lund?”

  “It’s a long-term iment,” Alexander said with a sigh, earning a chuckle from Jasper.

  “Lund’s a force of nature, but a valuable one if you get her to work with you. Just don’t let her stomp all over you though, or you’ll regret it.”

  “We have a w uanding,” Alexander responded.

  The two tio chat about other subjects as they walked.

  ***

  Yulia hurried home, she wao get some ps in for the race she scheduled for this weekend. It was the first one since Alexander had helped her build the o-karts. The other kids were skeptical at first, but she eventually figured out that trading meal bars was the best option for most.

  She didn’t much care for the bars herself, so she had been saving them and po award them to the top three winners of the race.

  “Excuse me,” she said as she skirted around some man she didn’t reize. He robably one of the new arrivals.

  Yulia put him out of her mind, she wasn’t ied iing to know the new adults, but dozens of new kids arrived with the refugees and there were opportuo make plenty of new friends there. Since Yulia was one of the few kids who spoke the Coalition nguage, she assisted with their learning.

  The had grown so full, that they had to open up a sed nearby room to fit all the new kids. Being separated from her friends sucked but she knew how hard it was for her to adjust when she first moved here, so she was happy to help out.

  Not all of the kids were happy to be here, and some even thought they were better than everyone else. Not just the other refugees, but the locals aoo. They refused to aowledge her wheried teag them Sorian.

  She learned from some of the other kids that the group of ten kids were the children of well-off families aed being passed around like garbage. Yulia didn’t know why being well-off made a differe it seemed to sihe other kids didn’t feel the same way.

  It wasn’t until Markus ehe room that the group finally paid attention. It wasn’t because they wao, Markus simply made it impossible for them to ignore him. Her friend came into the room ag like he owhe pce. For anyone who khe boy, it looked forced. The kids didn’t know him though, and Markus stepped right into their personal space, ensuring they were on the back fht away.

  Alexander had expined a little about how this worked and showed her some examples. The main example in these instances came from Eva Wu, Markus’ new mother. It was no wonder Markus was copying the woman.

  Her friend didn’t o raise his voice, he simply spoke to the group in a quiet, firm, but respectful tone. She could tell he didn’t get through to the whole group. A few of the kids scoffed and got up a. The rest, however, stuck it out.

  She was curious as to unishment those kids got. Leaving css without a parent uardian was a big no-no on Eden’s End, and it wasn’t like you could bypass the guards.

  Those kids would learn quickly that they couldn’t shirk csses, but she put them out of her mind as she passed the keycard over the door to her home.

  Just as the door beeped and she reached to open it, a shadow fell across her. She hadn’t seen anyone in this hallway and nobody had been behind her except that one lone maing a bad feeling, she tried to quickly open the door and close it behind her.

  Before she could close it, the man she had seen a few minutes ago shoved the door open, knog her to the ground. As soon as she saw his face, she khis was not a good person. She screamed and tried running for the bedroom.

  “Oh no you don’t,” the man stated as he grabbed her by the colr as soon as she got her bedroom door open.

  She kicked, screamed, scratched, and bit at the man as he wrestled to pething around her neck. She didn’t know what it was but she k couldn’t be anything good.

  Dog came bounding out of the room, barking and ramming into the man’s leg. The man kicked him away hard enough to shatter his pstic legs against the wall. Something clicked into pce a moment before the front door burst inward, silhouetting Alex.

  ***

  It had taken far lohan Dalton had anticipated to learn the routines of the guards, the girl, and the damn robot. He was running out of time to make a choice. Leaving without grabbing at least the girl tion, but he didn’t like his odds of survival in those circumstances.

  If he went that route, he would have to unch the eleic warfare module that he stu a data chip and shoved into one of the many terminals across the facility. Assuming it even worked, it would only give him ten mi best. He based that estimate on his ship puter wheested it, but he couldn’t be sure with the puters in this pce. He had pnned on dealing with outdated hardware or software, but the damn soles were brand new and more respohan his own ship’s puter.

  He recalled the walk to the facility and through processing aimated that was ten minutes. If he had no obstrus and raire way, he could do it in two. It would take five mi his ship online.

  Dalton shook his head, it was too close. It was now or never.

  He tinued his slow walk down the hallway. She should be here soon. The girl iion nearly ran into him as she hurried down the hall, giving him a passing apology. Dalton stopped at the interse, saw it was clear, and hurried back after the girl.

  His timing ot on and he reached her just as she ening the door to their apartment. It was the best oute to this rushed kidnapping, but if he could get her under trol a her to his ship, he would have much more leverage.

  He pushed through the door and raced after the girl as she tried to go for another door in the living space. Without knowing if that door had a lock, he o stop her. He mao grab her just as she pushed it open. Some toy robot came out and started barking at him, but he puhe stupid thing across the room.

  Dalton struggled to get the little girl under trol ahe explosive colr around her neck. She bit and scratched at him but he ighe pain even as she left scrapes across his face. He was tempted to knock the damn girl out, but he was just as likely to kill her as render her unscious.

  The one moment of was when she cwed at the wound in his elbow where he had been forced to open up his arm to extract the colr aonator from his sub-skeletal ste. The pain made his arm go numb for just a moment and the girl nearly slipped out of his grip. He mao his other arm around her ned there was finally a satisfying click as the colr locked in pce.

  He didn’t even have a sed to celebrate as the slightly open front door burst inward hard enough to crack against the wall. Reag with long years of experience, Dalton pulled the girl in front of himself and held out his other hand with the deadman’s swit it. “Take aep, and we all die.” The robot froze and gnced over at the devi his hand.

  Dalton wasn’t lying he would detohe colr in a heartbeat if he thought this situation was unsalvageable. At least then he would get the st ugh.

  ***

  Alexander was doing some corres on the space station design when his tablet alert went off. That alert ecifically keyed to Yulia being in trouble, so he rushed over to see where she was.

  Dog alerted him that a man was attag her in the apartment.

  Not wasting any time, Alexander rushed out of the room and down the hall. He nearly tore the front door off of the apartment as he rushed inside, but froze at the man’s words and what he spotted in the man’s hands.

  “Who are you? What do you want?” he asked, trying to gain some time to figure out options.

  Time slowed slightly as Alexander increased his processing speed. It was a trick he learned about during the attack from the former pirates but didn’t often employ because it left his mind feeling ragged and his body saturated i. He only used the ability to increase his perception of time slightly and allow him to process events and think of some solution.

  He quickly calcuted and dismissed his odds of crossing the apartment and snatg the detonator out of the man’s hand. Alexander was fast, but he wasn’t that fast. If he knew how the device operated or what type of signal it geed, there might be some way to block it or mimic it, but he would he device or a ser to figure out what that was.

  Alexander didly carry stuff like that on him, nor did he believe the man would sit there and just allow him to s him. He really wished he had the ability to pick up signals with his body and recreate them. For all he knew, he did, but his body wasn’t keen on deploying them automatically. He didn’t notiy ges in his mind-space readouts either, even the ones he still couldn’t uand.

  Time slowly sped back up as the man spoke.

  “My name isn’t important,” the man said. “As for what I want, I want you, Mr. Kane. Or more specifically my employer does. I’m going to give you half an hour to retrieve your body, then we’re going to board my ship. If aries to stop us, I die, or you try t this out, your daughter dies. Do we uand each other?”

  Alexander had been more ed with Yulia and the detonator but now he took a closer look at the man, searg his memory for the scratched-up face. Good job Yulia.

  He did reize him. It was the man’s bnd, almost generic-looking face that finally clued him into where he had seen him before. This man’s face was almost the plete opposite of the poor man who had the botched pstic surgery. “You were with one of the families when they came to thank me.”

  The man shrugged.

  Alexander flexed his fingers, imagining them being ed around the man’s neck. “Let her go, you don’t o do this. If it’s money you’re after, I’ll pay ten times what your current employer is paying you.”

  The man snorted. “This isn’t about money, Kane, and even if it was, I somehow doubt you would have my best is in mind if I released your daughter and turned on my current employer. Chop, chop, Kaimes tig away.”

  He turo Yulia. “You’ll be ok, I’ll be right back.”

  The girl put on a brave fad nodded.

  Alexaurned and rushed out of the room. It took him ten mio get to the medical bay. He shoved the door open and ighe indignant response from one of the women helping out.

  Gabriel must have heard the otion, because she came running out of a small side room. “Alex, what’s going on?”

  “Someone has Yulia hostage.”

  The woman gasped. “Should I alert Damien?”

  “Yes, but I want you to tell him to clear the halls of his men. The man has an explosive attached to her ned a switch that will set it off if he releases it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He nodded his avatar. “I don’t want anyone spooking this guy.”

  “You’re not sidering agreeing to this man’s demands are you?”

  Instead of answering her, Alexander went to the ste room and came back dragging the stasis-pod.

  Gabriel took one look at it and uood. “He wants you?”

  He nodded again and pulled the pod out of the medical area and back to his apartment. He arrived with only a few mio spare.

  The man smiled. “Good. Now open it up.”

  “If I open it, I die,” Alexaated.

  The man thought about this for a minute. “Fine, but if you’re trying to pull one over on me, you and your daughter are dead.” He gestured with a nod. “You first, head toward the intake area.”

  “Let her go, use my stasis pod as a hostage.”

  The man ughed at that suggestion. “Why would I give up two perfectly good hostages, for only one? Now quit stalling and move, or my thumb might get tired.”

  Alexaurned down the hallway and began lugging the heavy medical device along behind him. At least the thing had wheels.

  He watched behind him as the man roughly handled Yulia but never let her out of his grasp. Alexander had to suppress his boiling rage, it would not help the situation if he exploded in anger right now.

  As they moved through the hallways, he spotted guards at far interses. They vanished as soon as Alexander spotted them. It seemed word was already getting around.

  The atrium was empty when they arrived and he made his way to the exit, keeping his eyes on Yulia’s kidnapper.

  The man was ever-vigint, which spoke of someoh training or experience doing stuff like this before.

  The doors were clear, but wheepped outside, Alexander could see the trails of two shuttles. As far as he knew, no shuttles were scheduled for takeoff. The man spotted them as well, but he just snorted.

  “Pick up the pace, I didn’t bring a mask for your brat.”

  “Which ship?” Alexander asked.

  “The small hauler off to the left.”

  They quickly crossed the nding area, and Alexander spotted Hawks keeping an eye on them more than ohe meraries looked like they wao step in but they probably had a better idea of what the man had attached around Yulia’s han Alexander did.

  He crossed up the ramp and into the ship.

  “Pce the pod in the ter of the room and sit on it. Don’t try anything stupid, I’ll be watg.”

  “The pod o be plugged in, it only has a short-term battery.”

  The ramp quickly closed. “You’re in luck, there’s a standard outlet under a cap in the ter.” After that, he dragged Yulia through another set of doors and locked them behind him.

  Alexander plugged the devi and sat down as ordered. Soon he could feel the ship ing alive and leaving the surface. Anger warred with fear and embarrassment in Alexander. Once again, he failed to keep his promise to protect Yulia.

  He couldn’t bme the Hawks or Damien for this situation. He had seen the reports from ihe few people who were found with warrants had been arrested and taken aboard the Talohis man had figured a ast those checks and had mao smuggle in an explosive as well.

  No, this was Alexander’s failure. He thought the security he had implemented was enough a down his guard. That was stupid, he knew people were after him, and he should have beeer prepared. Alexander wouldn’t be making a mistake like this again.

  Instead of dwelling on his own humiliation, he o focus and figure out how to save Yulia before they jumped because he couldn’t guarantee what might be waiting for them when they came out of FTL.