My war suit wasn’t just for show. The blade impacted my chest, right between my breasts, and the material hardened. The kinetic force wasn’t absorbed in this knockoff version but it barely rocked me back on my heels. I was still balanced enough to take action and there was no question now. He was in range.

I grabbed his arm and squeezed. He cried out in pain as I crushed his wrist. At the same time, I broke his foot with a foot stomp. I kicked him in the shin, slapped him across the face, and then jerked him off his feet and tripped him. It was like playing with a child with my strength. Once he was on the floor and disarmed, I expressed myself for all to see.

“Do you think station security is your personal errand boys? Huh? Are all of them thugs in your employ you piece of shit?” I stomped on his balls. Then kicked him in the side. Did I mention I was angry? I then stepped back and drew my taser and made sure the power was set to maximum.

“Leave me alone.” I punctuated my statement by pulling the trigger and firing the taser darts into his groin. I then proceeded to stand there zapping him for a good ten seconds before the civilians had cleared out enough for the rest of the security staff in the place to intervene.

They didn’t bother with warnings. At this point there was plenty of confusion about what was going on, who I was, and why I was attacking some loser in the heart of their power but they reacted as quickly as they were able given the circumstances.

Shots rang out. Several struck my chest and the suit hardened around the impacts. It still hurt but it was like taking a punch instead of being ventilated with new holes. I staggered backward and someone tried to tackle me from behind. They hugged me and tried to bore me to the ground but that was doomed to fail.

“Get off!” I shouted. I bit the guy's arm, which worked surprisingly well. He screamed and let go. I’d have to remember that.

I tossed the taser aside and bolted for the door. The crowd of civilians was thick as they lingered to see what would happen. The security people had enough sense not to shoot at me with so many people in the line of fire. I ran into the crowd and quickly outpaced the pursuit.

After losing pursuit, I called Bob using my mental powers.

“Bob, I need a ride. Where should I go for pickup?”

“I’m sending you a location.”

“Are you functioning properly?” I demanded. “That’s outside the station!”

“Indeed. I calculate a 95% chance that they will be unable to pursue you immediately into space. Given your war suit and force shield ability, you should have no problem surviving a few minutes. That should be more than enough to board the transport.”

“Bob, you are officially on my shit list!”

“Shadow Hunter’s repairs are well underway, Captain. We won’t be able to leave the system for some time yet, but we are capable of outrunning any of their ships with our functional sublight drive.”

“Any sign of the Triv?” I asked.

“None, but they are likely en route by now. The damage done to their drives was less extensive than what the Shadow Hunter sustained. I calculate our RB units to be 30% more efficient.” There was a pause. “It’s impossible to predict if our engines will be back online before they arrive.”

Great. That's just great! “How long?”

“Roughly six hours,” Bob replied.

I slipped into my mind space to talk to Nestra. “Hey.”

“Oh, Ginny! Hello. Did you need something?”

I took a deep calming breath. “Thanks for that,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile back when she grinned.

“Shall I answer your question?” she asked.

Frinkin’ mind reader. I quickly lost my smile. “Fine.”

“Bob rounded up. Five hours and forty-seven minutes. I’d suggest laying low for a while and leaving only when the ship is nearly repaired.”

“Would it speed things up if we had more RB units?” I asked.

“No. All the defective parts are being sent through the material processor and then rebuilt so the printers are where the bottleneck is at. The engine housing is assembled and being installed now. Once that is done, the engine needs to be mounted and hooked up. It's already assembled and waiting. The RB units are being directed by Bob and are doing things as optimally as possible.”

“Did the supplies I bought from Market Price get delivered?”

“Yup! All packed up, nice and snug!”

“Okay. Thanks, Nestra.”

“Sure thing, Ginny! Anything else?”

“You know there’s not.”

“I know.” The imp grinned. “Just thought I’d ask!”

I didn’t reply, I just exited my mind space but I left her connection to the ship and Bob open.

I wasn’t sure what to do for the next six hours. I could do with a nice long soak in a bath. Or a few beers. A relaxing swim on the beach at Penbrook sounded great right about now too. I shoved away the notion. It wasn’t to be.

“Surely I can find a bar though,” I mused. As I was perusing the map for options, a better idea came to mind. I started to chuckle, and then laugh. Once I’d regained control of myself I gathered the information I needed from the station's network. “You’re going to regret messing with me,” I muttered.

Finding the information I needed wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Howard Moss wasn’t your typical jerk, no he was the son of one Adrian Moss. Adrian ran the largest smuggling operation in this sector of the galaxy and controlled the criminal underworld on several planets. Howard was sent here to learn how the business operated and get some experience. The information was closely guarded and wasn’t on the local network. I gleaned what I could from the local network and found his private number, which I then linked to. Once that was done, it was easy. I copied all the information to my wrist computer and decrypted it using my mental powers.

Now it was time for payback. I copied his list of contacts and checked them out one by one. Adrian Moss was a big deal. Half a dozen agencies were trying to get dirt on him for years. I hacked his communications device, and then cast my mind into the system, from there I reached out to the nearby electronics to try to locate him. He wasn’t on a station or planet, but an asteroid. After reading through his texts I learned he was hiding from a rival. Using star readings in the asteroid base's computer, Bob pinpointed his location. I then copied all his ‘secure’ information from the asteroid base to every agency that had a beef with him and then sent an anonymous tip to his rivals telling them his location.

As for Prince of Wales Station, Howard Moss, and the assets on hand here, those were mine to deal with. I needed something to do for the next… I glanced at the time. Hacking and arranging all of that had taken a little over two hours. I had just under three and a half hours left.

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I stashed the loot I’d taken from station security in a luggage locker at one of the train stations nearby and proceeded to Howard Moss’s hideout. Using his electronics network connection, I backtracked where he’d been to the general area, and then the station's camera surveillance pinpointed the buildings he’d visited. Going back far enough gave me a pattern of the places he went the most.

From there it wasn't hard to narrow it down. Between the security personnel patrol routes, which avoided one location in particular, and the lack of cameras covering the approach, I was pretty sure I’d found his lair. I caught a station train across the station and then took a lift up to the proper level. Masking my presence from the cameras was starting to put a strain on my mind, but I was almost finished here. As soon as my ship was repaired, I was out of here.

Three hours… I checked in with Bob and we were still on schedule to meet that deadline.

A lot of things were done digitally, accounts, credits, security—most things had some digital loophole you could hack into. Criminals were a paranoid lot, however. They knew this and while they were dependent on these weaknesses to a degree, they preferred a more hands-on approach. I mean what kind of rich villain didn’t want to sit in their lair plotting evil surrounded by piles of riches? I mean didn’t everyone want to hold their money in hand and look at their expensive things and show them off to their friends?

I emptied all the accounts I could trace back to Howard Moss or his father, but I knew they would have hidden accounts I didn’t have time to seek out. Like here on the station, I knew they had physical currency, items of value, and more that could be used in a pinch. Any group that was this well-connected would have backup plans in case things went wrong.

So with a pep in my step, I hurried toward the gang's lair. I kept my guard up and remained cautious though. Sometimes I felt invincible with my enhanced body and gear, but I’d come too close to death on multiple occasions to be careless.

I located the building pretty easily. It was marked quite nicely for me by the two thugs smoking out front while they lackadaisically looked around for any threats. I slipped past them with ease. I entered through a window on the second floor, closed it behind me, and reactivated the alarm. No point in making it easy for them to track down how I got it. I grinned as I thought how confused they would be later. Then I calmed myself and crept toward the door.

For the next half hour, I avoided detection as I searched the building. It wasn’t that difficult. With a little patience here and there along with my skill, I slipped past the few gang numbers I came across. There wasn’t much activity though. I figured they were either out in force looking for me, or sleeping.

I finally found what I was looking for. Well, I hoped so. The door at the end of the hall was guarded by two strong men. They were a cut above the rest of the rabble. I could tell just by how they carried themselves.

I only got a glance at them and the door, but my intuition told me something important was behind that door. Either the boss’s office or their stash of goods. I was hoping for the latter, but either was fine. I was sitting there trying to decide on a course of action to get in silently when a commotion sounded. It was a risk, but I took another glance down the hall.

The big strong guards had a chance of spotting me, but it was dark at my end of the hall and the shadows hid me well. They were scowling. Their veneer of professionalism had cracked. The commotion was coming from the room behind them. Okay, so probably not their stash… Someone was in there. I knew it couldn’t be Howard Moss, he’d be lucky to be walking again this week. I smirked at the thought. Served him right.

I was at a loss for what it could be. Surely it wasn’t another thief. They were making a racket and the guards hadn’t even moved to investigate. I wracked my brain but came up with nothing. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but they had nine lives. I wasn’t a cat, nor did I have nine lives but my curiosity got the better of me. I decided to check this out. I was pretty sure at this point it wasn’t their stash in the boss's office, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why guards would be stationed here otherwise.

A muted crash sounded and I took another peek. The guards were more concerned now and they exchanged a look. With a nod, the one opened the door and disappeared inside. With only one guard left, I grinned. This was my chance!

I drew my taser and took a deep breath. All at once I sprang into action, rounded the corner, and bolted toward the guard. He was quick, but I closed the distance as I aimed. He went for this weapon but I had caught him by surprise. I was in range and I fired. His weapon cleared the holster but it didn’t matter. The darts hit him in the chest and his body spasmed as the shock hit him.

I continued my mad dash and caught the guard’s twitching body as I released the trigger, gently lowering him to the ground. He wasn’t going to be getting up for a few— He started trying to stand. I stifled a curse as I kicked him in the side. The air exploded out of his lungs as he curled up in a ball. He still tried to grab my leg as he wheezed, but I evaded his attempts. I hit the trigger again and he convulsed. What a tough dude! Gosh, I’d have played dead by now.

He had some Flex Ties and I bound his hands. Even with his strength, there would be no breaking those. I nodded in satisfaction and turned my attention to the door and room beyond it. I could hear sounds coming from it all the while, muffled grunts and moans mostly. That didn’t bode well.

I pushed the door open, and dove inside, rolling in case someone had heard the commotion outside and was waiting to blow my head off. No one was. Instead, hanging from the ceiling by their wrists, were two people, a petite woman who looked worse for wear, and—I blinked in surprise. It was my pool buddy, Grant. What the heck is he doing here all chained up?

It was a surprise, to say the least, but I had more important things to worry about, the other guard, who’d been pounding on Grant, had heard my entrance and turned to look my way. He was a big dude, every bit as fierce-looking as the other guard I’d dispatched, and like an idiot, I’d forgotten to reload my taser. Hey, don’t roll your eyes, I wasn’t a trained professional with weapons. I was a thief.

I jumped forward out of my crouch and did a flying kick. The guard's eyes went wide at the surprise move. We both made mistakes. I was airborne and unable to adjust my trajectory and he froze for a second in surprise.

He jerked his head out of the way just in time and my kick missed its intended mark. I landed well within his reach and a vicious grin appeared on his face. I reminded myself not to reveal my full capabilities. I had witnesses and didn’t want to explain why I was so much stronger than a huge buff guy to Grant and the other girl.

He went to grab in a bear hug, a simple tactic big guys liked to use in the movies. His arms closed around me and he squeezed. It probably would have worked if not for my unique advantages. The dude was strong. I was much shorter than him, but he’d bend down to lift me off the ground, this meant we were eye to eye. I promptly slammed my forehead into his nose.

He cursed and his grip weakened.

“Wanta play big boy?” I taunted as I got ahold of his thumb and started twisting it. He cried out again as I pried his arms off me. He was more than happy to oblige and practically threw me away like a hot potato to get his thumb free.

I landed in a crouch and immediately jumped back toward him. I kicked out, this time at his knee and it was over. His leg bent the wrong way and I cringed at the sound, and then his screams filled the room. I didn’t want him drawing more thugs so I hurried forward and punched him in the head.

“Ow!” I screamed. A string of curses followed as I cradled my hand. I was sure I’d broken at least a few fingers with my stupid move.

A low pained chuckle sounded behind me. I spun around still nursing my injury. Grant looked like he was hurting badly, but he was laughing.

“That’s why you never punch someone in the face.”

“Thanks, Sherlock. That’s so helpful,” I said.

I moved forward and examined his restraints more closely. “What are you doing here anyway?” I asked.

“I could,” he coughed and pain flashed across his face. “I could ask you the same thing.”

“I asked first.”

He groaned. “Can you get me down first?”

“Fine. Any idea where the key is?” It wasn’t just his wrists that were locked to the chains, but the chain was locked in place on the hook he hung from, preventing me from getting him down.

“Check their pockets,” he suggested.

I did as he suggested, favoring my broken hand. It still hurt. I tried to distract myself.

“Who’s the girl?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. I turned to look but he didn’t reply. “Hey, who’s the girl?” I asked louder.

She let out a moan. I found the key and went to check on her. Her face was swollen from bruising and she looked like she’d been worked over hard. Her clothing was intact which I found surprising. She would have been a pretty girl if not for all the swelling. She looked to be about my age mid-twenties.

I shuttered thinking about what she must have gone through. I’d had my brush with the Triv Enforces and while I’d been lucky to escape, it still haunted me. She’d been beaten but that seemed to be the extent of her abuse from what I could tell. That would still leave a mark. I grabbed the chain and hopped, using my one arm to support me I undid the lock and got her lowered to the ground. I then freed her hands before moving on to Grant and repeating the process.

“Do you know her?” I asked, trying for the third time to get an answer.

“Yeah,” Grant finally spoke. “She’s my sister.”