“Your sister!” I exclaimed. “What did you two do to piss off this band of rabble?”

“Would you mind terribly if we didn’t play twenty questions while in the heart of their awful lair?” he asked.

“Fine.”

Grant checked on his sister before scoping her up in his arms.

I was worried that it would slow us down. She was barely conscious and couldn’t walk. I would be able to move faster carrying her than Grant would in his current state but on the other hand, if we ran into opposition, I’d want my hands free.

“Why are you here anyway?” he asked.

I stopped and looked at him. “I thought we just agreed not to play twenty questions?”

“Right. Let's go.”

“Not so fast,” I said. I took a moment to reload my taser.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “That looks an awful lot like the station security’s tasers.”

“You have a good eye,” I replied as I headed for the door. “Let's go.”

I suppressed a scowl. My plans to leave that nincompoop Howard Moss penniless just wasn’t to be. Grant’s sister needed medical attention and dangit, if I didn’t need some too. My hand still throbbed. My nanites would deal with it, but not fast enough for my liking. I was ready to go. Get back to my ship and just leave. I resolutely ignored the fact that my hair was still sticky.

“Hey, grab his pistol for me, will ya?” Grant asked.

I stopped and thought about it for a second. “I’d rather not leave a trail of dead bodies in our wake,” I said, then complied with his request. I placed a lot more of my attention on him as we continued down the long hallway after that. It felt like I had a target on my back now. I had trust issues… Was it really trust issues if people were always betraying me? Huh… Something to think about. Ha, never. Come on, focus, Ginny.

There was no way to slip out the way I came in, not with Grant’s sister needing to be carried so I just headed for the front door. We came across a few thugs on the way and I tasered them without raising the alarm.

“You’re remarkably good at this,” Grant stated.

“It’s a pretty simple device. Point and click.”

“No, I mean the whole sneaking around and eliminating criminals thing. Are you some kind of private investigator?” he asked.

I snorted. “Please!” I stifled a laugh at the thought. Me a private investigator? Ha! That was funny. I grinned suddenly and felt a bit of glee. “I’m an acquisitions specialist.”

“A what?”

I repeated myself.

“What… What does that mean?” he asked.

I shrugged. “It's a broad field. Basically, I find stuff for, um, people.” Or a person… me. “I find antiquities that are lost, recover stolen items, and such.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah, it’s the best job. I love it.”

“My father could use your services. He’s—”

“I can’t take on new clients right now, I have a debt I must repay first.”

“That’s unfortunate. I was hoping to introduce you to him. By the way, do you have a way off the station? If not, I could give you a lift. I have a ship.”

“Let's table this conversation for now. We got some more thugs up ahead.”

I walked right into the room, all four of the thugs looked up from their card game, the two playing a game on the console had headphones on and didn’t notice us.

“Hey, fellas. We are checking out,” I said then fired my taser at the one across from me. I rushed in and shoulder-charged the one closest to me. He was sent sprawling into the table. I kicked out and connected with the one on my right. He was down for the count. I spun to my left and yelped in surprise as he slashed at me with a knife.

I wasn’t in danger. He aimed his slash at my torso. My suit would have taken it no problem, but it was still scary when someone slashed at you with a knife! I grabbed the table with my good hand and threw it at him. He shied away with his head but took the blow on his shoulder with no real trouble. It gave me a moment to catch my balance. He came at me and I dodged his first attack and then rushed in and punched him in the stomach. He doubled over and I brought my elbow down on the back of his head. He hit the floor like a rock.

Grant cursed. “Remind me never to make you mad.”

I flashed him a grin. “I’m sure you’ll remember real quick if you forget.”

“That isn’t very reassuring,” he grumbled, his eyes locked on the two still gaming away on the console. They were completely oblivious.

I snorted in amusement and reloaded my taser. Then headed for the front door. The two guards out front never stood a chance. I tasered one and grappled the other, kneed him in the gut, and then slammed him into the wall. He crumpled but looked like he might recover so I kicked him again.

Grant wasn’t satisfied with my handy work though. He delivered a few kicks of his own as he passed. He was looking even more tired now, and sweaty.

We hurried away. After a few minutes, I slowed. The corridor was poorly lit and deserted. It reminded me of a dark alley, but the station didn’t have alleys.

“Need me to carry her?” I asked.

“No,” he grunted. “I got her.”

“If you slow us down, and either I carry her, or you find your own way.”

“She’s not that heavy. By the way, thanks for getting us out of there. I owe you one.”

“Naw, it was nothing.” I waved it away with my hand.

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“What were you doing in there anyway?” he asked.

“I was looking for something. Didn’t find it though, found you instead.”

“Well, thanks. We both appreciate it.”

“Sure.” My eyes spotted what I was looking for as we reached an intersection with a much better-maintained corridor. “Look, there is a lift.”

“Wait! Those have cameras. Those thugs have access to the station’s security cameras.”

“They have more than that. Some of the security forces are their lackeys, either through intimidation or bribes.”

“Then why are you going that way? We can’t use the lifts.”

“They won't know. Trust me,” I said, giving him a reassuring grin.

“Fine, but if you’re wrong…” He growled.

I ignored the warning in his tone and focused on hiding us from the cameras. We rode the lift and I coordinated with Bob as we went.

“Oh, your ship is impounded by the way,” I said.

“What?” He exclaimed. “How? Why? Wait, how do you know that?”

I pulled the info up on my wrist computer and showed him.

He cursed as he reviewed it for a moment. “Wait, how did you get this information?”

I shrugged. “Shouldn’t we get your sister Helana some medical attention first?”

“How did you know her name?” he asked.

I pulled up her file. Station security had it on file since she’d used her ID to enter the station.”

“You hacked the station’s main computer?” he asked.

“Sure, it's not that hard. The system is pretty outdated. I’m from Radon. That’s in the heart of Human space. The tech there is several generations more advanced.”

He was silent.

“I hate to impose but…”

“Let me guess, you want a ride off the station?”

He scowled as he nodded. “She needs medical attention and we can’t risk it here,” he reminded me.” There was a pause while I considered it. “If necessary I can pay you.”

“Fine, but I have rules.”

“We’ll do whatever you say.”

“Good.” I didn’t like having guests aboard my ship. They were unknowns. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I missed Rose, she was always welcome.

The rendezvous with the transport Bob sent went off without a hitch. I thought I’d be fighting my way out but we’d managed to avoid discovery, even with Grant’s tall frame carrying a battered woman in his arms. Small mercies. Once aboard the transports, I flew us back to Shadow Hunter.

Grant had fallen asleep a few minutes after we left the station so I carried his sister to the medical bay and placed her in the medical bed. I asked about the treatment of my hand.

Bob was as helpful as ever. “Quite being a crybaby, your nanites will have it healed up in no time.”

“It’s been almost an hour already!” I protested.

“There is ice in the galley,” Bob replied.

I harrumphed to myself but a few minutes later I had an ice pack on it and a bowl of ramen steaming in front of me. The smell of food improved my mood immediately and I dug in.

After satisfying my hunger I have the SB units move the passed-out Grant to the medical bay. He had plenty of his own bruises that needed treatment. I left a pair of SB units to look after them and headed for the bridge. I was tired but we only had another hour before repairs were finished and then we could leave. I propped my feet up on the console and leaned back. I wasn’t planning to, but I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

An alarm blared, waking me from a dead sleep. I sprang out of my command chair, my head whipped around looking for threats. It took a moment longer for my mind to catch up with what I was seeing and for the panic to ease enough to think.

I realized I had the taser in hand and holstered it as I placed another hand on my chest, calming my racing heart. I was on Shadow Hunter. I was safe. Calm down, Ginny. I quickly moved to the console to view the display and get some information.

Even as I took in the information, I called out to Bob. “What is going on?” I demanded.

“Captain, the Triv ship, Star Hammer, has entered the system.”

I cursed. It wasn’t lady-like, but then I wasn’t a lady. “Where? Oh…” I cursed again as my eyes updated me before he could respond.

Whether incidental or intentional, it didn’t matter. The Star Hammer had dropped into the system much closer to the station than any Human ship ever could, and it was rushing toward us at top speed.

“They will be in the weapons range in two minutes,” Bob informed me.

That was far too close for comfort.

“Can we outrun them? What's our status?”

“Engines are nearly repaired, Captain. Unfortunately, all of our engines are out as we reconnect the repaired engines to the rest of the ship. ETA is fifteen minutes.”

“Freak!” I screamed. We missed our clean getaway by fifteen freakin’ minutes. “Get us moving!”

“Repairs are moving as fast as possible, Captain.”

I clenched my hands into fists and got a hold of myself. “Understood. Arm the weapons and…” And what? I thought back to the training I’d received for my pilot license. It didn’t equip me for fighting a freakin’ dreadnought.

“Calm down, Ginny.” I hated how my hands trembled. It was just adrenaline and nervous tension. “We’ve done this before.” That steadied my mind. Did I mention I wasn’t a morning person? I was woken from a dead sleep and asked to think! Such horrors should be illegal, not that I was one to obey rules, but still. It was cruel and unusual punishment.

As my brain powered up and came online I made a supreme tactical decision. I passed the responsibility to my AI friend. “Bob, get us out of here. Keep the ship intact.”

“Acknowledged.”

I felt more than heard a whisper in the back of my mind. Oh, duh! I dipped into my mind and Nestra appeared before me. She lacked her normal cheery smile as she greeted me.

“Ginny, what can I do for you?”

“I need to think.”

“May I suggest you get suited up?”

“Oh, good idea. This suit I printed off on the station is like a cheap knockoff.”

Nestra smiled. “Yes, it was a great price though.”

I snickered. “Okay, thanks.”

“Ginny?” she called before I could retreat.

“Yes?”

“Be safe.”

I stopped cold. A strange warmth filled me. The words were simple but hit me hard. “Sure.”

Nestra pulled out a small book of sudoku puzzles and a pen. I blinked at the scene, snapping out of my thoughts. I placed a hand over my heart as the AI’s manifestation went about solving the puzzle.

“Thanks, Nestra.”

I quickly left before she could say anything but I heard her hum an acknowledgment. I shook off the heartwarming feelings and chuckled as I considered her antics. An AI doing a sudoku puzzle? Really? I headed to get changed and I started to chuckle. The more I thought about it the funnier it got.

I was still smiling as I finished changing. When I caught a look at myself in the mirror, however, I scowled. My hair was still a mess and I felt my skin crawl as I looked at how filthy I was. Ick!

“Brace for impact!” Bob’s voice called over the intercom.

I don’t know why he bothered with a warning. Before I could even think about complying, the ship rocked. I was tossed from my feet and landed hard on the ground. I quickly scrambled to secure my helmet in place.

“Bob, what was that?”

“The enemy ship has engaged us.”

“You could have warned me earlier!” I demanded as I snapped my helmet in place.

“Noted. Another volley of missiles is inbound. ETA thirty seconds.”

“Hold on, I’ll try to get into their systems,” I replied. I hadn’t forgotten about my vast cosmic powers, I just hadn’t got my brain powered up properly yet. I engaged my maglock boots on my suit and closed my eyes.

Reaching out with my power, linked to my wrist computer, and used the quantum link to slip into the Triv’s system. I was tired of these aliens haunting me. The thought of what they had done to me and planned to do filled my mind. The anger in my chest surged. It's payback time!