The starship edged forward through the void, hunting its quarry like a bird of prey. The rogue planet was out there somewhere, supposedly. A tiny black dot in the darkness between all those shining stars. Philomena stood at the front of the flight deck, sweeping her eyes across the galaxy. But no matter how hard she stared, all she saw was her frowning face reflected in the canopy. Although her celestial body was an extremely precious treasure, it wasn't the kind of treasure she was looking for.

"I don't see it," she announced.

All three of her employees were crowded onto the flight deck, but none of them answered her.

"I said, 'I don't see it.'"

From the main console, Rsh said, "It is there."

"Where?"

"Keep looking."

She puffed her cheeks up and blew the air out. Her eyes darted across the starfield, flickering from left to right, sorting through the points of light filling the void …

Huh? What's that?

Philomena leaned forward until her forehead nearly pressed against the canopy, blocking the light with her head. Her reflection vanished. As much as she hated to admit it, her stunning looks were getting in the way of her making money. But the mirror image didn't disappear completely. Light leaked around her skull, creating a halo where it lit up her hair. Her face, though … that was still dark. A star-filled void ate away at her gorgeous beauty.

I'm empty inside.

When the thought popped into her head, she snorted and mentally brushed it off like dirt.

Um, no. You're not one of those … those pathetic losers with thoughts in the back of your brain you don't realize are there. You have total control of your mind. Everything in your head is on the surface, all the time. You're all surface! That's why you're such a great executive! You know everything, inside and out—!

Then, where Philomena's face should be, a black blob spread out and consumed the stars like an ink stain.

The rogue planet. Her rogue planet.

It was beautiful enough to make her gasp.

Not that she could see it. There wasn't any starlight out here to hit its surface. But her brilliant mind could vividly imagine all the precious jewels and gems and gold under the surface, just waiting to be mined out.

The ink stain continued spreading across the blank spot where her face should be. Now, in-between the halo around her skull, there was a big starless gap with nothing inside it. Although Philomena was in total control of her mind, and she didn't have one of those 'un-conscious' things other people said they had … something about the way the dark void gobbled up her face sent a shiver down her spine, and she wasn't sure why.

She stepped back and broke the illusion. As the light caressed her pretty face again, it lightened her mood too.

Think about drills, Philomena.

Thoughts of incredibly hard steel shafts bursting into supple ground filled her head. A tingly flush made her stomach boil. Licking her lips, she imagined all the vibrations, those intense vibrations that'd shake the ground so hard …

Oh … yeah!

Stick those hard steel shafts in, and …

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And pound so hard …

Just dig those huge rods in and …

… and ride the vibrations until everything EXPLODES—!

A shudder ripped through her body. She quivered like the drills were pummeling the ground an inch away from her toes. At her sides, her flexing fingers itched to grab hold of … of whatever riches that planet down there had to offer.

And just think of what you can buy with all that money!

A video played inside her head. Like something shown in a loop on a retail store display screen. A stud stood on a pedestal, hands laced behind his head. He wore nothing but an incredibly tight pair of briefs studded with small, glittery gemstones. His abs were rock-hard. His thighs were like marble columns. Both of them flexed and rippled, helping to drive his hips forward like a jackhammer. The pedestal rotated him around and showed off the gem-covered glutes stuffed into the back of his briefs. Those two perfect spheres were as hard as the planet below.

She exhaled so hard all the air got pushed out of her lungs. Her voice rose up into a raspy moan as it trailed off. Her throat tightened and ached from the lack of air, but the incredible hunk had taken her breath away.

Hot hunks, hot hunks, she thought in a sing-song voice. Gonna get … so many … hot hunks!

Once she flaunted her wealth — and, therefore, her greatness as an executive — the galaxy's finest studly boytoys would all rush to her side. That was how the galaxy's corporate culture worked, after all.

Oh, I love being a chief executive!

The starship crept towards the massive dark spot. It took up half the canopy now. A huge chunk of the galaxy was just … missing, and it was really creepy. This wasn't her first time seeing a rogue planet, but this was the first one that didn't make its own light.

In the pilot's seat right behind her, Corvo muttered under his breath in a sing-song voice.

"Spuh-buh, spuh-buh … gonna get … so many … space babes …"

Philomena rolled her eyes.

Spinning sharply, she strode up the narrow footpath that circled the pilot's seat and hopped up the steps to the raised deck with the main console.

"Well?" she asked.

As the ship's scanners probed the planet, they created a gray model of its surface on the monitor in front of Rsh. Ramirex leaned over his shoulder and watched the computer fill in the details along with him.

"Based on its course," she said, "it's pretty likely it was part of Egadoro system. We can use Croshaw as a base since it's really close. Should save us some fuel. Hey, what's that?"

She pointed to the model of the planet. A huge chunk had been ripped out of its rim, which ate into its profile.

Studying the readout, Rsh said, "Perhaps … an impact crater. From the object that ejected it." He leaned forward and examined it more closely. "Excellent."

"How's that?" Ramirex asked.

"It cracked the surface open."

She tilted her head towards him. "So we can get at the minerals easier, you mean?"

"Precisely. It has done our work for us."

"Great! So … how many manga volumes do you think this thing is worth?"

After thinking it over, Rsh said, "At least ten."

Ramirex whistled. "Ay caray, that's valuable!"

Standing over her two employees, Philomena loudly cleared her throat and tapped her foot against the deck. Ramirex's head jerked up, eyes wide and mouth stretched out, like a kid who'd been caught stealing something from her mother's office. But, annoyingly, the bullheaded Zantauran brushed Philomena off and kept his eyes focused on the monitor.

"Are you two done making stupid jokes? Because I have a business to run here."

Rsh growled sharply at that. She knew him well enough to recognize the tone — it was his version of a snicker. 'Your business is the joke,' he meant.

Why, you …!

"Blaze, take us to the crater," he called.

"You got it, partner," Corvo drawled.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Philomena shouted.

Startled by her commanding presence, all three employees turned to her. These slackers, all of them needed the iron fist of an amazing leader to beat them into shape and get them to do their jobs the right way.

"I give the orders around here," she said.

When her booming voice finished echoing off the canopy, a deep silence filled the flight deck. Their beady eyes stared at her from below, piling the pressure to lead onto her. Though she was in the spotlight now, but she refused to give in to stage fright.

She pointed at the goofy idiot in the pilot's seat.

"Corvo, take us into the crater."

He stared at her for a moment, and she felt his petty rebelliousness start to emerge. But then he turned back to the HUD and tightened his grip on the control yoke.

"As you command," he said.

The starship descended towards the rogue planet, and she nodded in appreciation of her amazing leadership skills.

I sure showed them!