“I went down to take a look at your ship this morning.” The sound of Jahdra’s voice startles me, but I try to hide my surprise, keeping my eyes on the book page in front of me.

“Good news,” she says when I don’t immediately answer. “Turns out it was just a sensor problem. Can you believe it?” I can feel her smile at me, waiting.

She’s baiting me, I realize. I close the book and set it down gently on the table, curious to see where this goes.

“Looks like you won’t be needing a ride all the way back to Alpha 2 after all,” she says with a forced laugh.

The lie is so awkward, so painfully obvious that even though I may not be prepared to call her a liar to her face, I’m not about to let her get away with it.

“I bet you didn’t even need Chrys’s help,” I say measuredly, watching with satisfaction as a shadow of confusion, self-doubt begins to darken her expression. “Why don’t we take it out for a test drive, if you’ve taken care of it?” I ask facetiously. “Just you and me.”

She doesn’t respond, instead forcing herself to take another sip of coffee to hide her obvious discomfort.

I try to suppress a smile. She might not like me, but at least now she knows I’m not as stupid as she’d hoped.

It’s funny. I’ve come here to help her—at least I think that’s why I’m here—and all she can think about is how to get rid of me. But that’s her prerogative. She’s out here alone while the rest of her crew is somewhere on the other side of the galaxy. I stare into her hard, determined eyes. Ramy wasn’t very clear about what kind of “tricky situation” they were in, but it’s clear these people are hiding something. What are they all running from? I wonder.

But just then, Chrys’s voice comes on over the speaker.

“Incoming hail from unknown vessel.”

In an instant, Jahdra’s gone, and I find myself staring at the empty chair across from me, trying to decide whether to follow her.

After a moment’s consideration, I head toward the bridge but decide to hang back by the door to avoid interrupting her conversation over the comm line. I’m lost in thought, trying to think of what to say to her, how explain my presence here without giving away too much, but something in her voice as she speaks to the person over comms catches my attention. She’s trying to sound calm, I realize, but there’s an unmistakable note of fear in her voice. She scared.

I listen closely. It’s a Vanguard ship that’s hailed her, and they’re preparing to board Chrysanthemum. What do they want? I wonder. What are they looking for? What has Jahdra so nervous?

I think back to Ramy’s words, but they were too vague to be of any use. Then I think back to the Garda on Olympia Station and feel a pit begin to grow in my stomach. A horrible thought begins to form in my mind. What if it’s me they’re looking for? What if I did something, and now they’re after me? How would I even know?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I feel the blood drain from my face and my heart begin to pound.

Why did I come here again? I ask myself desperately, my mind racing as fear and panic begin to taint memory and reason. Was it to help Jahdra, or was it to help myself? Suddenly, I feel like I’m losing my grip on reality. The things I was so sure of before now seem uncertain. I’m here because Ramy asked me to look after Jahdra.

Right?

I’m so distracted by the sudden onslaught of thoughts that I almost don’t notice Jahdra standing in front of me.

“What did you do?” she asks in a low, angry voice.

But I’m so overwhelmed by my own confusion, I can’t even speak. All I can do is stand there mutely as the sense of dread within me swells.

“What did you do?!” Jahdra yells again before disappearing out the door behind me.

It takes a moment for me to collect myself, but before I know it, I’m chasing her down the hall, catching up to her just as she reaches Shae and C-CIL.

“Engine room—the annex” I hear her say breathlessly. “Might suppress bio scans.”

My heartbeat is so loud in my ears, I can barely make out the words, but luckily, Shae and C-CIL both still seem to have their wits about them.

“What’s going on?” Shae asks as the three of us run down the hallway toward the lift.

“Vanguard,” I answer briefly as we step inside and the doors of the lift slide shut. “Deck 4, Chrys.”

Shae casts an uneasy glance at C-CIL.

“Are they looking for something?” she asks, a flicker of nervousness flashing in her eyes.

“I’m…not sure,” I say just before the doors slide open again.

We’re almost to the engine room when I stop. Shae notices and looks back at me over her shoulder.

“What is it?” she asks, confused.

“If they were looking for you—for him—” I say, nodding at C-CIL, “—you’d tell me, right?”

Shae crosses her arms and frowns.

“If there’s any reason to suspect—” I start, but Shae cuts in.

“What about you?” Shae asks tersely, raising an eyebrow.

“What about me?” I ask, walking past her and into the engine room.

“Maybe they’re looking for you,” she says, her tone more than a little accusatory as she follows me through the engine room and into the annex. It’s crowded with stacks of fuel cells and filters, but there’s enough space to accommodate the three of us.

“Maybe they are,” I respond absently, looking around the room. My guess is that Jahdra is hoping that the amount of electrical systems running through this part of the ship will be enough to mask bio signs, but I question both the practicality and necessity of it.

Suddenly, the lights flicker, and a loud crack echoes down the hallway.

The Garda, I realize. They’re here.

I notice Shae give a small shiver, as we all wait in silence. I pace around the small space, peering behind crates to see if we have access to anything that could be of use down here. My initial panic has begun to subside, and I find myself now focused on navigating the situation at hand rather than worrying about the cause of it. What I need is a plan, and I don’t have a lot of time to come up with one.

“Hey,” Shae whispers. “What is with you?”

But I’m too distracted to answer immediately.

If they are looking for me, the best thing I can do is get myself off this ship as soon as possible. But if there’s something or someone else they’re after…

I turn to Shae.

“I might need your help with something,” I say. I know she’s frustrated with me at the moment, but I’m counting on her kindness—that and her obvious determination to protect C-CIL—to pull this off.

“What?” she asks flatly, but I can see past her façade of disinterest. A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as I meet her eyes, burning bright with curiosity.

“Let’s get these assholes off this ship.”