The silence was broken.

Every single man and woman in the room stood and rushed toward the newcomer, gathering around him—shouting, cheering, laughing.

All except Mrill. Alone, she stood apart from them, staring at the man.

And he did likewise. Despite all the attention he was getting, he had eyes only for her. He lifted a hand.

“Please,” he said. “There will be time for stories later.”

They all followed his gaze and the crowd went quiet. They parted in front of him so he could approach her. He stopped at a few feet and smiled.

“I assume you know who I am?”

She had known from the minute she’d seen him. There was no need to read in this one’s mind. His face had been plastered on every wall, shown in every holoflux. The most famous and wanted man in the Imperium. Some called him a criminal, others a legend.

Mrill nodded.

“You are the Scourge of Abrax,” she said blandly.

The man grimaced. “Only my enemies call me that. Are we enemies?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then call me Peter.”

“Mrill.”

“I get the sense, Mrill, that this...” He waved at the room around them. “That this is not quite what you expected to find when you came here.”

“I expected nothing.”

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He grinned. “That is a wise philosophy. But then, let me ask you this: why did you come here?”

Mrill glanced at Roff, then back at Peter. It was a good question. She barely knew that little man, after all. Deep inside, she knew the answer. But she couldn’t tell this stranger—no matter how legendary he was—how hollow she felt. Even less so in front of all those other people. That was too personal.

“I was invited. Perhaps it was a mistake. I should leave.”

Despite her words, she made no move toward the door.

“Do you want to leave?”

“Why should I stay?” she asked flatly.

“Because you could be useful to our cause. You could help bring an end to the tyranny of Nashadan Prime.”

“Useful.” How she disliked that word—though you could not have told from looking at her. “I am always useful to someone.”

Peter sighed. “I see your point. I apologize if I offended. I did not mean to. Everyone who has fought by my side has always been valued. I doubt you could ever find a single one of them who would feel like they had been used or mistreated. That is not my style. But I am no politician. I don’t draw circles around you until you go dizzy. I go straight to the point. That’s just who I am. So I will not deny that your power would be useful. But if you have no interest in joining us, then I can respect that, and Roff—or someone else, if you prefer—can escort you back to the surface.”

And then what, she wondered? Where would she go? What would she do? Go back to a life of emptiness, always hunting for the next meaningless job? Under the gaze of men and women who hated her for being who she was? Or maybe go back to her homeworld to be cursed and shunned, perhaps even jailed for the freak she was?

And even if this man used her, would it be any worse than when Janth did it? She had no illusions on the matter. Janth had been kind to her, but only because she always brought in her bounties—except, of course, this once. She was cold and efficient. She’d made the man more credits than all of his other hunters combined.

“Would you not fear I led your enemies to you?” she asked.

Peter shrugged. “I’m no mind reader, but I trust Roff’s judgment. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have brought you here if he’d thought you could do something like that. Call it a gamble, if you will.”

He trusted his men. She was sure Janth had never really trusted her like this.

She glanced again at the people in the room. What she read in them was happiness at finding their friend and leader alive, hope for a better future, and curiosity at how she would respond. There was no fear in them, no greed. They trusted this man completely. If he was willing to let her go, they would accept this without question.

Her eyes went back to him.

“Very well,” she said blandly. “I will stay.”