Vy was unsure what she missed most about Earth. She could have said it was safety. She definitely longed to hug her mom.

How would Mom react to the fact that she was alive?

And to whom she was dating?

A meeting like that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Vy tried to put it out of her mind. At least her mom was safe—or as safe as it was possible to be, when Torth could invade Earth at any time.

“San Diego,” Vy told Ariock.

She was semi-famous as a Missing Person. Even a brief visit to her hometown might result in Torth agents learning about it, which could cause the Hollander family to be abducted. Best not to risk it.

In California, Vy and Cherise would not run into classmates or coworkers. It was on the opposite side of the continent, but since it was still within the United States, Vy would not have to acclimate to yet another foreign culture.

Plus, the weather was pleasant, even in winter, with an ocean breeze. It felt quite a bit like Freedomland.

Vy and Cherise walked along the downtown boardwalk. San Diego was more upscale than coastal New England, with more international tourists. Luckily, they had cash. Ariock had given them each a wad of hundred dollar bills. Apparently, Garrett had multiple stashes, and he had directed Ariock to one of many lockboxes hidden inside the now-derelict Dovanack mansion.

Vy and Cherise browsed jewelry kiosks in Seaport Village.

They reacquainted themselves with the taste of ice cream.

They explored old-time ships at the Maritime Museum, including a steamboat and a submarine.

Then they rented a pedicab, and found themselves in the GasLamp Quarter. After exploring a hookah lounge and a fine art gallery—where Cherise took brochures to show to her students—they made a list of supplies they wanted to stock up on, such as sanitary pads and other items of human civilization.

It was getting late, well after dark, when they ordered Tex Mex food and sat at an outdoor patio, where they could people-watch.

“This was an energizing day,” Cherise said, stirring the remains of her drink with a paper umbrella. “But it’s so weird to feel like an alien.”

Vy surreptitiously kept an eye on two college-aged men at a nearby table. One had aimed a sweet smile at Vy when she’d accidentally glanced his way, and later, the other had elbowed him, friendly and joking.

“I’ll understand if you want to stay longer,” Cherise was saying, oblivious to the guys. “But I want to call for teleportation soon. Vy?” She said the name to grab Vy’s attention. “Is that all right?”

Vy put her hand on Cherise’s arm, redirecting her attention. “Those guys over there—” she cut her eyes in their direction—“are into us. I’m pretty sure they’re working up the nerve to come and talk to us.”

Cherise looked startled. Her reaction was comical, considering how visually stunning she was, with her thick black hair styled, and her casual ease with wearing Alashani jewelry. She looked sophisticated and sexy at the same time.

Her battered eyeglasses were gone, replaced by ocular implants. It was Torth technology modified by Thomas’s biotech team. An ummin engineer had invited Cherise to sit down in a lab chair, and, with her consent, had improved her vision.

Both Vy and Cherise could now see traces of ultraviolet in the right conditions. Dark alleyways held few secrets from them, because their night vision could adjust to catlike levels. Cherise’s brown eyes shone with a subtly iridescent rosy tint, so they were a striking color. Vy knew that her own modified irises held a subtle hint of electric blue.

Cherise glanced at the guys, then hunched down defensively. “Let’s escape!” she whispered.

As if attractive men were just a nuisance. Perhaps she didn’t understand how much fun flirting could be.

“You sure?” Vy asked. “You don’t want to have some fun?”

Cherise sat straighter, as if reconsidering.

Then she reassessed Vy with mock-envy. “Ariock doesn’t get jealous?”

It was good-natured teasing. Even so, Vy felt jarred, as if Cherise had accused her of cheating on Ariock. Or of being disenchanted with him.

Vy forced a smile.

Lately, though, Ariock had been more distant with her. He was as gentle as ever—even more gentle, in fact—but he seemed to be pulling away, emotionally.

She told herself it was because he was ridiculously busy.

Vy managed Ariock’s schedule, so she knew that he was conquering SweetNectar City on Verdantia today. Between preparing the army, assigning tasks to various leaders, leading each series of invasions, and then installing military mayors and taking prisoners, Ariock also imported goods from various urban outposts to Reject-20. He alone was responsible for all major imports and exports.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Right now? He was probably enduring Deschuba’s review of the daily mayoral reports. Later, he would construct superluminal relay nodes with guidance from Thomas. Then he wanted to inspect the space fleet, which was under the command of a plucky ummin named Fayfer. Ariock also needed to conduct his daily security checks and sweeps. That was an ever-growing list.

Overall, Vy figured it was a good thing that Ariock could fly, teleport, and magically clean himself. It was amazing that he spared any time at all for her. She should be grateful for every minute.

Maybe that was why he seemed distant?

He thrived on saving people and helping people, and Vy simply didn’t need to be saved. That was just who he was. It made sense that he should take his meals with battle leaders or military mayors instead of going on romantic dates.

“Vy?” Cherise looked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Vy tried to look content. “Maybe I just miss having men look at me. Ariock is super busy.”

She pushed away her plate of enchiladas. She had only eaten a few bites. It wasn’t as good as the sizzling street foods in the Freedom bazaar.

“I get that.” Cherise gave her a look full of sympathy and warmth. “Flen isn’t exactly there for me, either, with his schedule. I’m not in a big rush to go home or anything.” She picked up the list of wines and specialty beverages. “Want to take another look at the drink menu?”

“No, it’s all right.” Vy placed folded money on the table, covering the bill. “We can get going.”

Other people eyed them as they made their way out towards the street, which was crowded with tourists, young men from the nearby naval base, and college-age partiers.

Just for fun, Vy added a swish to the way her hips moved. Her prosthetic leg was hidden under leggings and a skirt. It felt almost natural, after months of daily practice using it. She was young and beautiful.

Ariock should feel lucky to have her.

Heads turned as Vy followed Cherise, letting her navigate, in search of a hidden alcove. They would rent a hotel room if they failed to find—

“This looks good enough.” Cherise trotted into an open stairwell behind a tattoo parlor.

Two years ago, Vy would have hesitated to enter a sketchy, rundown building that stank of urine. But human beings no longer seemed all that threatening to her. She had a blaster glove folded in her pocket.

Besides, her supercom allowed her to directly call the most powerful person in the galaxy.

A shabby-looking figure sat on the derelict second floor landing. Shadows concealed him. He watched the intruders with apprehension, unaware that their enhanced vision allowed them to see into darkness in a way that no other humans could see.

Vy tapped Cherise on the shoulder and pointed him out.

“Doesn’t matter,” Cherise whispered. She ventured further up the stairs. “No one will believe him.”

Vy assessed the grungy, defeated-looking man, and guessed that he was homeless.

She fished out her wad of hundred dollar bills and tucked it between railing slats. Maybe that would be some consolation to the squatter for witnessing an event no one would believe.

Cherise had already pulled out her supercom earpiece and clipped it onto her ear. “Gaslamp Quarter,” she said, knowing that Ariock was alert and listening for their call.

It had taken Ariock hours to set up deep space superluminal relay nodes for Earth. Other planets needed superluminal communications and ought to be much higher on his priority list. But when Vy had casually mentioned how much she wanted to visit Earth, Ariock had acted like it was the most reasonable suggestion ever. He’d roped Thomas into helping. Together, they had designed, built, and deployed the line of satellites that allowed a call from Earth to reach Reject-20.

So Vy’s wish was granted.

“Two blocks from the Horton Grand Hotel,” Cherise said, giving Ariock directions. “We’re above a tattoo parlor.”

Ariock did not need GPS or a map. He had memorized a cosmic route to Earth, and he had learned the geography of Earth well enough to pinpoint San Diego. He remembered the hotel where he had dropped off Cherise and Vy—they had appeared in one of its unused rooms—and he knew they would be within walking distance of that hotel. Cherise’s directions gave him a landmark to scan for.

Vy imagined the disembodied ghost of Ariock zooming around the streets outside, hurtling directly through hotels and nightclubs, searching for the Horton Grand. Then he would look for tattoo parlors within two blocks.

Colors barely registered to him in a ghosted state. Light didn’t matter. He would recognize Vy and Cherise even in a dark building.

Nor would Torth agents guess that Ariock was showing interest on Earth. He did not need to show up in person. His massive sphere of influence remained on Verdantia or Umdalkdul or wherever his body was—except for a brief half-second, when he would cast his full awareness and consciousness to San Diego.

Half a second wasn’t much time for local Torth to really register his overwhelming presence. It certainly wasn’t enough time for them to react.

Then, once Ariock engulfed Vy and Cherise in his awareness, he would catapult them back across the galaxy—

Vy stumbled on unexpected ground, and squinted in blazing daylight. Her ears popped. Her equilibrium felt wrong for a second. Different planets had different gravity.

She inhaled air that felt fresher, lighter, and that smelled like a lightning storm. Teleportation always left a scent of ozone.

Cherise stumbled against Vy, then regained her balance. She laughed, apparently amused by her own discombobulation.

They stood inside the grand foyer of the Freedomland war palace.

Their shopping bags lay around them. Sunlight streamed through massive openings in the palatial edifice, allowing a sea breeze and a view of the ocean. Alien dignitaries bustled up or down the bifurcated ramp. A few shot interested looks towards Vy and Cherise, who had just appeared on the frilly balcony overhang.

Ariock was gone.

Vy sighed. It would have been nice if he had said hello, even if he didn’t have time for a conversation.

She supposed they might catch up tonight. Or the night after.

Or sometime.

“This was our first visit back to Earth.” Cherise regarded Vy with what looked like sympathy. “What did you think of seeing the human race carrying on, unaware of the universe?”

Vy tried to find her usual cheerfulness. It seemed deeply buried. “I guess it didn’t cure my homesickness,” she admitted. “But I’m really glad we went. It was fun to remember a bunch of nice things about humans.”

Vy pulled out her own jeweled supercom and clipped it onto her ear. Thomas had really empowered everyone with his superluminal inventiveness.

“Don’t worry.” Cherise squeezed Vy’s hand. “We’ll be able to risk communicating with your mom soon, I’ll bet.”

Vy squeezed back, grateful. “I’d love that.”

She didn’t dare, though. A holograph would give her mother hope, which would cause her to act differently, which would cause Torth agents to take notice. A message wasn’t worth the risk to her mother’s life.

“I really miss her.”

Cherise looked sympathetic. “Me too.”

“But you know what?” Vy said. “It could be worse. My family is here, too.”

Cherise smiled. Dimples appeared in her cheeks. “Ariock?” she guessed in a teasing, speculative tone.

“I meant you, silly.” Vy hugged Cherise.

Cherise hugged her back, and Vy felt as if maybe she could trust Cherise with anything. “Best sister ever,” she said.

“Best sister ever,” Cherise said, laughing.