Up close, the boy looked worse for wear than when Alec had seen him slip and fall on the platform. His head had been shaved roughly, probably with a knife and patches of it grew longer. He had the skinny visage of someone not accustomed to knowing where his next meal would come from. He wore the simple grounders' outfit from the Ratfillo planet. Standing there, looking fearful at the soldiers and at Alec's expression.

  "Why was the universe drawing so many old familiar strings together?" Alec thought as he looked at the youth. "Was this a chance to redeem what happened on Baroness Veiss' grape-berry world? That wouldn't be so easily redeemed in Alec's mind, but still, he could try.

  He immediately spun on his spurred boot heel and walked confidently up to the boy. At his movement, the guards levelled their rifles at Alec, but he paid them no mind. The lead guard raised a hand, signalling the guards to hold fire. Alec wasted no time. He smacked the boy hard enough to send him falling sideways. The look of shock and pain on his face stung Alec, but he continued.

  "I told you to wait on the last jump! What will your mother think? Probably worried sick!" He winked at the boy when his back was to the guards, hoping this boy had the knowledge and skills to pull this off with him. There was a twinkle of intellect in the eyes.

  "I'm sorry, sir!" The boy was so scared that the tremble in his voice brought the lie home. "I wanted to see more of the worlds, I wanted more than what I had back there, there's nothing."

  Alec truly believed the latter, and so did the guards who relaxed their rifles, and some began to outright laugh at the boy's misfortune. Alec took the moment to redirect attention to the guard in charge.

  "Had I known this whelp was under my carriage, the declaration would have sounded different. Let me try again, Crew is me, I got a gun, and I run special equipment that utilizes Aamaranth, oh, and I brought some trash with me." Alec emphasized each point, first by kicking the boy for emphasis, then pointing to his Aamaranth arm and pistol on his hip. It was a long shot, but if this planet had deep Baronhood ties, there was a chance this man would know exactly who Alec was, given enough hints. Alec continued,

  "Now I've got business with the Baron, and by the sounds of it, this planet's soldiers are better kept to quelling rebellion than punishing stow-away nephews." He kicked one more time for emphasis, and the boy lost his breath. The gasping of the boy on the ground sold it, and the guards began to laugh with mirth at the suffering. Alec ignored them and kept his gaze locked with the leader. He could see the look of recognition in his eyes, and he waved down the guards. They returned to their positions on the perimeter, and the leader walked up to Alec.

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  "You're him?"

  "I am." Alec's voice was measured and confident against the ragged breaths of the boy and the hiss of the sappers above. "This business is none of the boys, and I got a place I can keep him until I'm done. He won't be any trouble." The last was directed to the boy, who was regaining his breath. Alec walked to the Quip's side panel and opened it up. He grabbed the boy by the neck and roughly placed him in the holding cell. He muttered "stay quiet" as he did, keeping his voice down so the guard observing them wouldn't hear. Seeing the boy contained, the guard seemed satisfied.

  "Declaration is accurate, and the Baron has granted a weapons exemption. We will need to bridle your vehicle." He snapped his fingers, and two utility workers walked towards Quip. Between them, they carried a large black box that hummed with electrical energy. The guard continued, "It's a formality, the EMP will disable any movement should the Baron decide to retract any invitations, contracts or exemptions while you are here."

  Alec was liking this place less and less.

  "You will continue out of the gate and do not stop till you reach the settlement. It's only five kilometres, but that stretch of road is often targeted by those Blooder rebels." He spat on the earth with the last statement. The two utility workers finished binding the Bridle Emp to Quips' frame. Alec could almost feel Quip's fear and revulsion. This planet had posed so many shocks to Alec that he found his prepared mind playing catch-up. It was not a mental state he was familiar with anymore.

  "The baron will be expecting you." This was said as a dismissal, and the guard walked over to punch a button that began the large gate opening. Alec climbed up into the cockpit, and as he did, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He was still dressed in the posh style of the grape-berry world. It caused him to look so out of place amongst the dusty and rough-looking soldiers. He heard one ask the commander what this was all about. As Alec closed the cockpit door, he heard the leader state in tones of wonder and pride. "That's the man who will end these blooders."

  Alec felt his shoulders fall. What had he gotten himself into? He was a tool of calculated revenge. He was not a weapon of genocide. The gate opened to reveal the topography of the planet he was on. There was a faint blue glow in the air from the humidity. The dusty earth made the planet look like a vast desert, punctuated by hoodoos and scraggly brushes. Far up ahead, Alec saw the outline of smaller purple-hued mountains on the horizon's dust. The Aamaranth mines, Alec could smell it in everything, and it was so overwhelming it almost clouded his judgement in the ecstasy. Never-ending Aamaranth. Never-ending life. Never-ending purpose.

  How had this planet eluded Alec's knowledge for so long? He manually drove Quip through the gate, not daring to engage Quip until he was far from this rift station and its guards. His dreams of never-ending Aamaranth were interrupted as he remembered the stowaway rat that had nearly ended him minutes before. What was he going to do with the boy? Had it been any other planet, Alec would have left him at the rift-station to return to grounder duties. People and Crew were liabilities, and Alec couldn't afford those. Especially here.

  Quip's tires slowly rolled their way through the rough terrain while Alec's mind raced ahead. He was convinced fate, or some other universal force, had taken a contract out on Alec.