“You can say anything in front of Jasper and the crew you can say to me,” Natalya said.

“Still…” Ptolemy said, and motioned for Natalya to open the door to her quarters.

A fear came over Natalya, a primal terror for Ptolemy’s intentions. She shook away the thought as ludicrous, knowing the man was far weaker than Ambassador Montenegro had been, and opened the door.

Ptolemy followed her inside and closed the hatch behind him. Natalya didn’t bother sitting. She stopped by the door and crossed her arms.

“You figured out that the reason we transported those refugees off Puqi was to collect Jasper,” Ptolemy began. “It wasn’t just his skills as a Prophet or his knowledge of Teal City we needed. It was what he is.”

“What is he?” Natalya asked.

“Wanted. The Prophets are working to keep the peace between the colonies and Prosper. They want the Farbind ruins to remain a demilitarized zone. It’s not just defense drones we have to penetrate, it’s the Prophets themselves. They’re monitoring the area with that White Prophet power of theirs.”

“Can Jasper stop it?”

“I don’t know exactly how Prophet weapons work, or even how they’re made. But I know well enough that White Prophets’ scientifically impossible abilities can detect life forms. I don’t believe Jasper’s Gold power has the ability to stop it.”

“I don’t understand. I thought you said we had all we needed to get past the Prophets.”

“We do. Jasper is the only other thing in the galaxy besides incursions into Farbind the White Prophets are constantly scanning for. And if we give him up, it will give us a chance to enter the Farbind system while the Prophets are focused on him,” Ptolemy said, his words slow, his eyes locked with Natalya’s.

“Give him up,” Natalya said, her voice slapping Ptolemy in the face with a replication of his tone. “You mean hand him over. To who?”

“The whom is not the question,” Ptolemy said. “The if is what I’m concerned with.”

“The if might change depending on the whom.”

“Would you be willing to hand Jasper over to anyone to secure this mission, Captain?”

Natalya blinked.

“I see the way the two of you look at each other. I see your reactions to his presence,” Ptolemy said. “There is a point where emotions can override sense, and I’m not sure where you are on that spectrum.”

Natalya turned away from Ptolemy, staring at the door with the desire to run from the man as fast as she could. She had to clench her fists to keep her feet planted, and heard the soft steps of Ptolemy backing away from her.

“Just tell me your plan,” Natalya said, still facing the door.

“My plan is to give the Prophets what they want,” Ptolemy explained. “Jasper is wanted for the assassination of Zhou Chairwoman Xia. It doesn’t matter if Qin framed him or not, he’s wanted for it. All of Prosper, even the colonies threatened to ban the Prophets from the galaxy and hunt them down as criminals over the event.”

Natalya turned around. She didn’t like Prophets all that much, meddling philosophers. Banning them didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Most people shared this opinion, making Prophets unpopular even in the best of times.

“The only reason they weren’t is that they agreed to use every ounce of their strength to hunt down Jasper,” Ptolemy continued. “White Prophets teleporting and scanning the galaxy. Red Prophets waiting to kill him like Red Prophets do best. And the Golds are relentless in their duty to bring a renegade of their own to justice. He’s clever to have avoided them for so long. But he can’t run forever.”

“Which is why if we prove he’s innocent he won’t have to,” Natalya said.

“Don’t be naïve, Natalya. Qin isn’t our enemy.”

Natalya laughed. “I’d disagree with that.”

“An enemy is someone who needs to be defeated. I have no concern for Qin save that he stands between me and what I want. Once he is no longer a barrier, Qin will be of no concern.”

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“Again, I disagree.”

“Disagree enough to risk your life? Is your desire to keep Jasper safe strong enough to sacrifice our new world?”

Natalya grimaced.

“My plan is to give Jasper’s location to the Prophets,” Ptolemy said. “They’re watching the Farbind system, but if they were focused on Jasper, they would no longer be able to monitor so much space. We could slip through while they hunt him down.”

Natalya crossed her arms.

“We drop him off in one of the shuttles, make it look like he’s trying to enter the Farbind DMZ on his own,” Ptolemy explained. “We send his coordinates to Prosper, the Whites teleport to him, and we slip through right as they’re making the pickup. If he’s innocent, he can plead his case to the courts. But we’ll be out of the galaxy by then.”

“The same courts that ruled me a traitor?” Natalya asked.

“Prophet courts might be different.”

Natalya snorted.

“In any case, this is immaterial depending on your decision. It doesn’t matter what happens to him if—” Ptolemy said.

“It does,” Natalya interrupted.

“Then you’ve made your decision?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“It comes down to this: is one man worth all we’ve worked for?”

“You’ve worked for.”

“Let me rephrase: is Jasper worth your life?”

Natalya opened her mouth to reject this line of thinking, but paused in thought. They’d been swimming upstream for months, fighting to stay alive, smuggling in warzones. She didn’t have a goal of any kind, and part of her felt like she deserved the frantic existence. But she knew she couldn’t get in gunfights smuggling refugees for long without taking a blast to the head, or Chimera wandering into too-hot space, unable to get away.

The math didn’t add up to her living that long. Ptolemy offered a way out. Maybe it wasn’t the most honorable path, but Farbind had destroyed any chance of honor she had.

“Think on it,” Ptolemy said. “We’re enroute to Gaixia. Should take some time.”

“What happens if I say no?” Natalya asked.

“Then we are in great danger. If you say yes, all is well.”

Natalya saw the face of Montenegro, the Gaozu Ambassador smiling as he insisted he’d give her peace. A shudder ran through her body, and Ptolemy could tell she was uneasy.

“This isn’t Farbind, Captain Frazier,” Ptolemy insisted. “No one is asking you to hurt yourself. No one is asking you to sacrifice anything of your own. All we need is that a wanted man be turned over to the authorities.”

Natalya took a deep breath.

“There are billions of people in this galaxy, and until recently Jasper was just another refugee to you,” Ptolemy said. “We must keep this station out of Qin’s hands. One man you’ve known a handful of days is immaterial compared to what we’re after.”

Natalya did the math, and knew Ptolemy was right.

“Think on it, Captain. That’s all I ask,” Ptolemy said.

Natalya exhaled.

“I’ll tell you my decision before we get to Gaixia,” Natalya said.

“Thank you, Captain,” Ptolemy replied.

“Now go back to your quarters and get out of mine.”

“Certainly.”

Ptolemy moved swiftly out the door and didn’t look back as he strode to his quarters. Natalya had no doubt the man was setting things in motion, getting ready for his new planet.

When she reached the bridge, Natalya found Augustus munching on a plate of dumplings, and Co snoring at the weapons console.

Natalya stared at the viewscreens, at the dazzling colors crossing the ship’s bow, the opalescents sending them far across the galaxy.

“Want one?” Augustus asked, presenting Natalya with a dumpling on an ornate, porcelain spoon.

Natalya took the offered dumpling and popped it in her mouth. Savory juices swirled across her tongue. “Status?” she asked as she chewed.

“Got a power shortage on the upper hull, but it stopped after Co punched the console. Sometimes Chimy likes it rough,” Augustus answered.

Power shortages and surges plagued Chimera. It was to be expected from such a jalopy of a vessel. Still, Natalya checked the readings to make sure everything was sound. Didn’t want a power flux to rip them to shreds during opalescent. Power fluctuated around the crew deck and cargo bay, likely from Ptolemy doing whatever he was doing and Sisi messing with things. Everything was sound, or as sound as Chimera could get.

“Augustus, I have a dilemma,” Natalya said.

“Captain, the sexual tension between us is too strong. How about we just give each other a rubdown while we finish these dumplings?” Augustus replied.

Natalya smiled. “Why don’t you give Co a rubdown instead.”

“Already tried. She said whatever part of me touched her she’d tear off. This led to an interesting discussion over what piece of me I’d be willing to part with. Looks like we both have a dilemma, Captain.”

Natalya stared at the beautiful colors of outer space flying by. “Would it be worth it? Tearing off that piece of you? Even if it was something you could part with and maybe even replace?”

“I love myself too much to see any part of me torn off,” Augustus answered. “Even if it was just my pinky toe, it is such a glorious toe it would be a tragedy to lose.”

Natalya nodded. “You know, I’m pretty sure Jasper can reattach limbs,” she pointed out.

“What? That changes everything!”

Augustus stood from the pilot’s seat. Before he could take a step toward her, Co leveled a shotgun at the man’s face.

“I only wanted to offer you a shoulder massage,” Augustus noted.

“And I’ll only blow your pretty little head off if you come near me. See if Jasper can heal that,” Co replied.

“Did you hear that, Captain? She thinks I’m pretty!” Augustus laughed and sat back down.

Co returned to snoring, and Natalya realized she needed to do the same. She was over-thinking herself into a corner, and hoped sleep would make things clear.