The Loon’s path led them through a market. Not the classy one from the top of the station that Emerald and Heath had walked through earlier, with its rows of artisanal produce, imported in enchanter-made containers to keep it at the peak of freshness. This was where the locals who weren’t so high or mighty could find anything they needed. Or get rid of anything they found.

  “Wait.”

  At the Loon’s exhortation, Heath skidded to a halt. Shouts and shoves followed as he made his way to the side of the street.

  “Loon,” Heath hissed, trying not to be overheard by anyone other than Emerald, who had looped their own comm into the chat. “What is going on?”

  “The thief has stopped.”

  “Say more.” The last twenty minutes had brought them closer and closer to the passenger berth areas. Ritzier than the cargo docks, it was the obvious location for someone trying to get off-station in a hurry.

  They didn’t have time to lose. Over five million people called this station home, there was always some Captain who needed cash in a hurry. If they didn’t stop her before she was onboard another ship, they would lose any chance.

  “Miss Althalas has begun to backtrack.”

  Heath looked up at Emerald, hope dancing in his eyes, and skepticism in Emerald’s. “Change of heart?”

  “Forgot to take something else, more like,” Emerald said.

  “Loon, where is she?”

  “Pardon the delay, Heath, but the station AI is taking offense at my presence. I believe she should be making it back to the marketplace any moment.”

  He whipped around, hunting for the flash of a mage’s robe or the tell-tale staff. Beside him Emerald straightened and grabbed his wrist, dragging him back into the seething mass of humans, beastkin, and other species that called Geb home or were just passing through.

  They were halfway across before Heath caught on to what Emerald must have noticed. There, in the mouth of a dimly lit alleyn next to a seedy pharmacy, lurked their prey. Though lurked might have been overdoing it. More like trudged as she made her way back towards the market.

  Heath surged forward, Class differences be damned, and was there before she could do more than look up and see him. He took satisfaction in the flash of guilt that flitted across her face, before the calm took back over.

  “Give it back!” He shouted. A few nearby patrons turned to look as Emerald came up beside Heath.

  “Be quiet,” Ekaterina ordered. “How did you find me?”

  “Don’t tell me to be quiet. You stole our good luck charm.”

  The owner of the pharmacy appeared in the doorway, taking in the obvious confrontation. “Don’t want to hear nothing about stealing. I run a clean operation here.” With slow movements, she flipped a switch and the neon sign above the door changed from open to closed. Metal grates slammed down the windows, effectively boxing them out.

  Heath ignored the bizarre interruption and turned back to Ekaterina. “Where is it?

  “Regrettably –”

  “Sure she regrets it now, after being caught,” Emerald drawled.

  “Of course I do. Look, I made a mistake, but as you can see, I am returning now.” Her hand opened to reveal the orb, the same black ball with golden glitter sprinkled throughout that had become a fixture of Heath’s station on the Loon.

  “Hand it over.” The rage bubbled up even further as she approached them cautiously. “Why are you looking at us like that, it’s not like we’re the thieves.”

  “Not a thief. But moving stolen goods is perfectly fine?”

  “How?”

  “Listen kids–” Emerald was cut off before they could continue.

  “You’re not as quiet as you think you are,” Ekaterina snapped. She stepped forward, holding out the good luck charm. “And I brought it back. I had a moment of doubt but that hardly means –”

  “Has anything I’ve done hurt someone? No. But you’re taking the memories of my uncle so you can fuck off back to whatever rich fantasy world you’re from once I have my property back.”

  “Hey, we need to–”

  “Take it then.” She tossed it the last foot, leaving Heath scrambling to catch the good luck charm. “You’re leaving valuables just lying around because you’re too much of an ignorant savage to realize what you have..”

  “I might be ignorant. But at least I’m not a fucking thief!”

  The victory rang hollow as Emerald grabbed his wrist in one hand, and Ekaterina’s in the other and started dragging them out of the alley, towards the main thoroughfare. Heath hadn’t realized how far down they’d stormed in anger.

  “Unhand me –”

  “Shut up. You fucking children. Just shut up.” Their head jerked towards the other end of the alley, where a pair of Classers had just rounded the corner. Big and mean was all Heath had time to register before they blurred, closed half the distance.

  “Fuck.” He looked over his shoulder at the distance to the main market.

  “Now, now. No rush. We heard you have something interesting going on over here.” The first said. She was at least a foot taller than Heath, with a cold smile painted in dark black. Or he hoped it was makeup. Cosmetic body mods were only available to the kinds of Classers way above his paygrade.

  “Whole station heard.” The second grunted. This one was a classic brawler. Maybe even a Brawler, though there were a thousand variations on that Class. As wide as he was tall, with thick slabs of muscles, and covered in tattoos that glittered with embedded magic.

  “Just a spat between friends,” Emerald said. Their voice was impressively even, given the way they were squeezing Heath’s arm.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  That alone told Heath how much trouble they were in. He’d watched Emerald start a fight on Murmex station just because. And he had first found the older spacer when they saved him from an angry mob. Nothing threw Emerald off. If they were scared, Heath should be fucking terrified. He probably should have started running a few minutes ago.

  “Friends? We can be friends. And friends share. Isn’t that right?” The two classers hadn’t stopped walking, and they were getting closer and closer.

  Heath looked to the shop they’d been arguing in front of, but it was sealed up tight. Metal blinds had been pulled down inside the window and door. His phase pistol was still on the Loon and [Piloting] wasn’t getting him out of this.

  “I am Ekaterina Althalas. I demand you leave here at once. This is a private matter.”

  That got the approaching Classers to stop. Mostly because the woman was doubled over in laughter. Heath moved to run but a barely-there shake of Emerald’s head held him in place.

  “Adorable. Out on your official Journey? And no one told you your family doesn’t matter out here. Poor baby.”

  The crystal on Ekaterina’s staff began to glow again, a sickly green light taking over this time. Heath’s rage spiked, momentarily breaking through the fear. She was escalating things. She jerked her head at toward the other end of the alley, while continuing to posture at the new Classers as they slowly recovered themselves. Great, now she was trying to actually be noble and self-sacrificing, after getting them in trouble in the first place. And Heath couldn’t just leave her there.

  “Bad idea, kid.” The first Classer wasn’t laughing anymore.

  “I’m not a child. I am a scion of House Althalas, and if you come any closer, you will be sorry.”

  “Now, now. Friends don’t threaten friends.” A cruel sneer replaced the faux smile.

  It was in the way their bodies shifted. Muscles tensed and leaning slightly forward. They were about to attack.

  Three things happened at once.

  Heat suffused all of Heath’s muscles. Aches gone, stress banished. He felt like he could sprint clear across the station without stopping.

  The Classers lunged forward. A blue aura coalesced around the bruiser’s hands, while the woman blurred again.

  “Now!” Emerald shouted.

  They whipped around and pushed so Heath and Ekaterina moved towards the top of the alley.

  Heath didn’t need more of an invitation. He ran, Ekaterina and Emerald right behind him. All that energy was bleeding off faster than it should have, but for the moment, they stayed ahead of their pursuers.

  Crowds scattered out of the way as they barreled through the marketplace. The ship, the ship, the ship. That was the only thought running through his mind. Just get to the ship and go from there. The Wandering Loon was safe.

  He didn’t dare turn around, as artificial light and bright paint blurred to a psychedelic mural around him. But he knew they were there. High-level Classers weren’t going to be deterred by small tricks. Heath ran faster. He willed the new strength to his legs, to his lungs.

  A remote corner of his mind was inventively cursing his passenger for her selfishness, but there was no time to focus on it. Laugher bounced off the walls behind them. Getting closer.

  “Where do you think you’re going to hide?” the woman taunted.

  They kept running. Then Emerald surged to the lead from where they’d been at Heath’s back.

  Without warning, they ducked onto a cross street. Heath and Ekaterina skidded but managed to keep up.

  “Loon!” Emerald shouted.

  A loud crash came from behind, along with a flare of lights so bright he was blinking away afterspots even facing the opposite direction.

  “Keep going!” Emerald’s arm once again propelled Heath forward.

  Another path appeared in his HUD, with a tiny cartoon Loon next to it. In his panicked state that was enough. Heath sprinted down the path, shoving anyone who didn’t get out of the way fast enough.

  For a few minutes, it seemed whatever Emerald had done had lost their pursuers. Until Heath looked up and saw the Brawler appear right in front of him. He darted to the side, and was almost past when he felt resistance on the sleeve of his jacket. Stumbling to a halt he pulled on his arm with all the strength he had.

  It was futile. Then a blast of something carved a line into exposed tan skin. Howling, the Brawler let go of Heath, who didn’t waste time asking questions. He rejoined the others, a blue glow fading from Ekaterina’s staff.

  “Almost there.” Emerald said.

  It was true. The housing and commercial districts had faded away as they arrived at the port. On such a large station, it was only one of many areas for ships to dock, but the cargo haulers were usually assigned near each other. A spiderweb of catwalks and airlock tunnels criss-crossed the space.

  Levitating cargo dollies formed an obstacle course the three of them took full advantage of. Heath slapped controls every time he went over or around, the others doing the same. Anything to keep obstructing the path behind.

  It wouldn’t be enough. The Classers behind them had already chased them through the station, and there was nowhere left to run.

  At least that’s what Heath thought until a grinning Copperfield appeared after toppling a stack of crates onto the Brawler. Their resident pirate was grinning like a maniac. And using the sword Heath had assumed was a prop.

  He couldn’t fault his crewmembers for a lack of courage. Copperfield dove in without hesitation, scoring a long gash along the woman’s ribs when she failed to react in time. Not enough to kill. Not even enough to slow down a strong Classer. But it was enough to piss her off even more.

  The string of curses that followed them was a work of art.

  No one had stopped running throughout.

  The Loon’s berth came into view. It looked exactly like any of the others. A narrow hall leading to the hatch. Perfectly sealed to the ship's airlock.

  It was the best, most beautiful, luckiest sight he had ever seen. The small mob dove past the doorway. Heath paused seeing Jenny Mae waiting, just inside the door. Their Administrator didn’t spare him a glance, tossing a bucket of…something into the face of the Classer behind him.

  That was not a move from any playbook Heath had read, but it gave him the opening he needed. His hand slammed the big red button on the interior of the walkway. The one that would cause a full lockdown for the station door, and set off a dozen alarms besides.

  Their footsteps thundered on the corrugated metal sheets as they crossed down the ramp and through the Loon’s airlock. Not loud enough to overpower the screams of rage and threats that made it through the sealed hatch behind them.

  “Go, go, go! Emergency departure procedures!”

  “Already begun, Captain. Crew members report to the bridge.”

  By the time Heath strapped into his station, four separate alarms were blaring or strobing bright lights.

  “Status!”

  The Loon’s voice came through the speakers. For someone Heath knew had gone through a lot that day, it was remarkably even, any remaining rage banked in the face of their crisis. “Station airlock cycling has already begun. Port and Docking Authorities are demanding explanations. Weapons systems are realigning but have not locked on us as a target.”

  “Fuck! Emerald, what do you think?”

  Heath turned to see the older classer nearly unconscious in their chair, breaths coming in short gasps.

  Jenny Mae and Copperfield were wide-eyed and looking at him. There was no way they would survive if they redocked and opened that airlock. Time to risk it. The Captain’s burden had never felt so heavy before.

  “Loon, tell them we had a family emergency and had to leave off schedule. Tell them we apologize but have to go.”

  “Transmitted.”

  Heath leaned back and waited. There was nothing else to do as Loon maneuvered away from the station. Nothing happened and Heath allowed himself to hope. When no laser cannons or rail guns shot at them, Jenny Mae hopped up and went over to Emerald, rearranging them to a more comfortable position and strapping them in, just in case.

  He took a deep breath. Then another. This was the craziest day of his life. If someone had asked him a year ago if he would smuggle, confront a thief, fight off combat Classers intent on stealing from him, or be part of a running battle through a major station, he would have laughed it off. Drama like that was for people who couldn’t be satisfied with honest cargo hauling.

  His heart was still racing and his limbs trembled. But they got further away and still no sign of retaliation.

  “Weapons remain powered but untargeted,” Loon said. Heath heard the same hope he felt reflected in the ship’s voice.

  The door to the bridge swished open, Ekaterina standing behind it wearing a scowl.

  “I –”

  Hatches on the Loon couldn’t slam, but they could close pretty damn quickly. The ship took it upon itself to close the hatch in her face.

  “Passengers are advised to wait in their bunks while the crew handles an emergency.”

  Banging echoed across the bridge as Ekaterina chose not to listen.

  “Those passengers who caused said emergency would be advised that complying with crew instructions is even more important for them,” the Loon continued.

  The thudding stopped, and Heath could only assume she was biding her time. Ekaterina did not seem like a woman who gave up at all, let alone after a little scolding.

  “Captain, we are receiving two data packets in transmission. Station weapons systems have gone completely offline.”

  “Prioritize and overview?”

  “Certainly, Captain. The first is an official communication from the Geb Port Authority. We are officially censured for the nature of our departure, for the deliberate interference with cargo on the docks, and the use of an emergency airlock protocol when unnecessary. We are banned from Geb station for four standard years, on penalty of severe fines and temporary work orders should we return before that.”

  “Oh,” Jenny Mae exclaimed. Her eyes teared up as she held her hands in front of her mouth. “But, that’s so unfair.”

  “Don’t worry. You’re not a real spacer until you get banned from a station,” Heath said, echoing Emerald’s refrain from months before.

  Copperfield laughed at the sentiment. Of all of them, he seemed to be holding up the best, loose-limbed and unconcerned where he sprawled at the engineering station.

  “What’s the other one?”

  “The second packet is private, with an extra layer of encryption to limit any interference. The sender is obscured as well. I can display the text on screen.”

  “Yes, please do.”

  They all looked at the large display where a short note was now written. Everything about it was pleasant, but it still sent chills up and down his spine.

  Impressively done. But we don’t appreciate when our agents are made to look like fools. Especially by contractors so early on in their careers. We look forward to seeing what comes from such an inventive crew. If the heat gets to be too much, we’ll also be open to a partnership. One little good luck charm in exchange for Syndicate protection.

  “Fuck,” Heath said.

  “Fuck,” Copperfield agreed.

  “Imperial standards encourage decorum on the bridge,” Jenny Mae said.

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