“It was my screams that drew the guards’ attention,” Jasper explained.

“Was she strangled?” Co asked. “Sounds like she was strangled.”

“Co, not appropriate,” Natalya scolded.

“I don’t know how she was killed,” Jasper said. “I didn’t have a chance to discover. All I know is the guards burst into the apartment, found me with her, and called me murderer. I had to fight my way out. Qin was the most adamant that I was the assassin. They even got the failed assassin from Victory Square to claim I had hired him, that his attempt was just a ruse to make Xia let her guard down.”

“And how did you get to Puqi?” Natalya asked.

“I ran. Hid, cheated, lied, smuggled myself as far from Prosper as I could. The Prophets are looking for me. Qin is using my supposed assassination as an excuse to try and ban all Prophets from Prosper space. They’re just as eager to turn me over to him as the people are to get justice for their fallen leader.”

“I have to ask this, Jasper. It’s okay if—”

“I didn’t kill her. I wouldn’t hurt someone I…” Jasper trailed off, looking away from Natalya.

“Alright then,” Natalya said. “Just promise me this. No heroics. No war-cries of revenge or romance or whatnot. You’re doing a job, with us.”

“Understood.”

“Augustus, tell me if things change. I’m going to get briefed on what we’ll find in Teal City,” Natalya said, and exited the bridge.

“Do you want to trade places with the wheel, Co?” Augustus asked. “I’m sure I could send you past light speed too.”

“So could I. When I fire you out a torpedo tube,” Co replied.

Natalya smiled, laughter echoing in her wake as she descended the steps. Jasper’s story, and the man who’d brought him on her ship, wiped the smile from her face. They had a firebrand on Chimera, and she wanted to be sure he wouldn’t burn them.

She went straight for Ptolemy’s quarters, not bothering to knock. The hatch was locked, but she had a bypass code for every door on the ship. There were a few occasions when the distinction between captain and benefactor had very literal delineations of power.

Ptolemy sat up when Natalya flicked on the lights. He lay at the far side of the room, on a couch that normally overlooked the readouts and displays in his holographic projection-laced quarters. He was still in his suit, and Natalya noticed with a little hatred that it was completely wrinkle free.

“Shut that off,” Ptolemy groaned, shoving his head between the cushions.

“When were you going to tell me?” Natalya asked after shutting the door.

The cushions muffled Ptolemy’s response.

“This is my crew, my ship. I need to know when we add someone,” Natalya said. She stomped toward Ptolemy and reached to pull the man’s head out of the couch. Ptolemy swatted her hand away and sat up.

“Do you want to keep this up, Natalya?” Ptolemy asked. For a moment he was the picture of calm and sobriety. Then a pain shot through his temple and his eyes went out of focus. He tried to adjust his tie, and missed.

“I’m the captain, you’re just the investor,” Natalya countered.

“And I expect a profit on my investment.”

“I can’t do that if you’re getting in the way.”

“Answer my question, Captain, so I can go back to bed,” Ptolemy said.

“I want to keep this ship together.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re thinking short term.” Ptolemy tapped his head and cringed, regretting it. “You don’t want to keep chasing plats on a mishmash ship. You want the life you had.”

“According to Prosper records, I’m dead. Qin wants to make sure that matches up with reality,” Natalya countered.

“And where can you get away from him? Have you found a place in the galaxy that doesn’t remember what happened on Farbind?”

“Co’s working on some theories about humans traveling faster than the speed of light right now, actually. Why don’t you take her up on that experiment?”

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“Pass. Forget the barb, forget the past, forget what happened to you and bury your pride, Nat… Captain. The present scenario is that you have no safe port, not even with the money we’ve been able to earn thus far.”

“That’s why I have to accept you throwing Prophet criminals at me?” Natalya asked.

“Yes. This will be your last mission, Natalya. That I assure you.”

Natalya made a fist.

“It wasn’t a threat,” Ptolemy said, shaking his head. “I’m trying to help you, Natalya.”

“Captain,” Natalya said.

“Captain. I’m trying to help each member of this crew, even Jasper. We just have to assemble the right ingredients, and Jasper is one of them.”

“And we’re going to get another ingredient on Teal?”

“Yes. This will be our last refugee hop, trust me.”

“That much money in it, huh?”

“Let’s just say that the people on this planet are more valuable than anyone we’ve thus far been able to find. And we need Jasper to find them.”

“No more deceptions then,” Natalya said.

“None,” Ptolemy said, and buried his head in the cushions once more.

Natalya knew he was lying, and sighed with resignation. She bit her lip, hated being used, hated not knowing what lay off her bow, hated that she had to submit to this. But she had to admit, things had worked out so far. And if Ptolemy was telling the truth, if there was a way to stop running, it was the best and only option for her.

“Okay, Ptolemy. I’m going to trust you on this,” Natalya said, and turned off the lights. “You can keep me in the dark on the details if that’s what’s necessary, but just tell me one thing. Are we going to be adding another crewmember on Teal?”

Ptolemy raised his head, adjusted his tie, straightened his hair, and said, “Yes.”

“Is he vital?”

“She is what will unlock our future.”

“Don’t be so deceptive, you jackal, just tell me yes and let me know the rest when I need to.”

“Yes. And Captain, I’m not trying to deceive you. Things are progressing, and I have to ensure the safety of our goal. I will let you know as soon as possible what it is we’re looking for.”

“Or I’ll have Co torture you till you fess up. For now, sleep tight,” Natalya said, and exited Ptolemy’s quarters.

Teal Autonomous System was once a paradise of the wealthy, loosely controlled by the Xia family and the Zhou of Prosper.

Full of a diverse ecosystem from a Prosper-forming that left it lush and vibrant, Teal City had been constructed in the jungles of the planet’s large island of a southern continent. Allowed to progress on its own, the inhabitants developed a unique culture and built temple-like structures that fit organically with the natural surroundings. These attracted the attention of super-rich adventurers across the galaxy who wanted a naturalistic getaway.

Tourism, and a growing local economy of merchants and manufacturers, the planet well-known for its exotic furnishings, had ended when the Zhou stopped all trade with the planet. Once Qin reached the Zhou Chairman position, he claimed Teal’s Prosper-forming was flawed, that the atmosphere was likely to deteriorate. The inhabitants had been forcibly evacuated and now only a tiny population of those who’d resisted, or hidden, remained.

Most didn’t question the Zhou’s claim of atmospheric deterioration. But Natalya had a good idea of the true cause. The Xia family had a personal stake in Teal’s success or failure. Jasper said they’d all been hunted down after Lee Xia had been assassinated. Qin took possession of everything they owned, or destroyed it if it couldn’t be made his.

Natalya realized she’d been ignoring the news for too long if this was the same Prophet on her ship. She was far from one to judge such actions, and the man claimed he was framed, but she’d have to keep a close eye on him.

“Oxygen level?” Natalya asked as Chimera approached Teal Autonomous System’s atmosphere. It was the color of its namesake, a waterlogged world covered in archipelagos and colorful islands. Teal City lay in the southern continent, the largest body of land. Green and yellow buildings warmed in the midday sun from the system’s single, yellow star.

“Prosper-normal,” Jasper answered, moving from the navigation console to the scanners.

“Looks like Qin was lying about at least one thing concerning Xia,” Natalya said.

“Have no doubt, Captain, that this is one of many things for which he is lying.”

Natalya nodded, and stood before the communications console. “No signal coming up.”

“As it should be. This can be kept off the books, Captain,” Ptolemy said, joining the rest of the crew on the bridge. He looked fully recovered, stiff and proper in a different suit that looked like a cleaner version of the one he’d worn the day before.

“Whatever you were going to suggest, the answer’s no,” Natalya said before Co could offer to shoot something.

Co clicked her mouth shut.

“Take us in, Augustus,” Natalya ordered.

Co’s unspoken request wasn’t so ridiculous as they entered orbit over the planet. Debris from broken satellites, glittering pieces of pulverized solar panels, tumbled through their orbital path. Jasper pointed out a freighter, twice as big as Chimera, that floated dark and broken. Its engines had fallen off, and the cargo compartment had cracked like an egg, its innards spilled around it.

The atmosphere flared around Chimera’s shields as Augustus took the ship toward the southern continent. Vines and ferns covered Teal City’s massive, yellow stone towers and fountain-laden pathways in a thick overgrowth of decay. It had only been a handful of years, Prosper-norm years that is, since the planet had been evacuated, but the city looked like some legend of a lost civilization, not empty hotels and markets.

Past a tall, thin waterfall spraying a rainbow-laced mist across the landscape, Augustus piloted Chimera to the cracked landing zone, a wide circle of concrete surrounded by rusted cranes and rotting baggage carts.

“We’ll use this area to load civilians,” Natalya said as she descended the gangplank.

Co and Jasper walked beside her, Co with her massive gun strapped and ready, eyes searching for threats. Jasper wore only his shirt and jeans, his golden sword held in a relaxed, low guard. Augustus and Ptolemy, as usual, stayed with the ship.

“What about the atmosphere?” Co asked.

“The atmosphere is fine. That was deception from Qin to force the evacuation,” Jasper answered.

“So says the guy who can heal himself if carbon monoxide levels happen to spike.”

“Breathe deep, and smell the pure oxygen that belies Qin’s deception.”

“Smells like jungle stink to me,” Natalya said, carbine shouldered. “Spread out, and keep your eyes open.”

They continued toward the inner city along narrow streets of crumbling stone.