Part of me had expected that we’d be accosted by pirates, bounty hunters and similar troubles on every step of the way, getting to the habitat where Airah said I’d get a new identity. The reality was, as often the case, much more mundane, which I rationally should have expected. The truth, at least according to Airah, was that the fringe of the federation and the space between the stellar powers was a lot less wild than I’d have thought. Oh, there was no official law out there so piracy could be rife, there was just a problem with that. Pirates needed their prey and with almost no official trade between the stellar powers, the only prey was what came to the outposts here. And few pirates were willing to piss off the local powers, making the whole thing more peaceful than Federation space.

“So, where is that habitat?” I asked, looking on my sensors, curious if I’d be able to find anything.

“Hidden, obviously.” Airah smirked next to me, looking quite content. Over the course of our journey, we had settled back into a comfortable, close friendship, just as we had lived at the Academy.

“I could just start blowing asteroids apart, I’m sure someone would jump out of the grass.” I joked, looking at the system. It wasn’t anything special, an A-class subgiant, not the most common type of star but also not rare enough to warrant attention. There were a few mostly rocky planets and two gas-giants, with a smattering of moons orbiting the planets. Most of those moons, over a hundred of a size that I was willing to call them that, were orbiting the larger of the two gas-giants in a complicated dance of gravity and tidal forces.

“Yes, someone would. But I doubt they’d roll out the red carpet, they like their system like it is, without additional, random meteor-showers.” she replied with an eye-roll. “Here, I’ll set you a way-point, there is a certain procedure to approach, otherwise we might get a hot reception.” she added, fiddling with the computer and a way-point, out in the middle of nowhere appeared, set between the orbits of the two gas-giants. It wasn’t quite on the other side of the star but we’d be in transit for a while, about two days if we used a safe speed.

“Any limitations on speed? I wouldn’t want to make the locals wary by coming in like a bat out of hell.” I asked, just to be on the safe side.

“Not at the first way-point, once we passed it, there are speeds that are supposed to be kept.” Airah explained, making me nod in understanding.

“Anything else? Codes that need to be transmitted, specific transponder-signals, music-performances, blinking lights, chemical signatures?” I asked, partially in jest.

“Keep com-silence, they don’t like signals going out. A few of the more paranoid customers are afraid that they’ll be observed in the future, someone trying to listen into their past.” Airah answered, her voice serious enough to make me wonder if she was joking. Theoretically, it might be possible to place receiving-units out in the void, each a little further away than the last, each listening for a day or so the create a record of everything leaving the system. The computing-power needed to filter for signal-interference was enough to make me regret even thinking about it and the logistics were a bit of a nightmare as well but in theory it was possible. For someone with a budget higher than the entire Federation or someone with vastly more developed technology it might even be plausible.

“Of course, as we all know, Big Brother is always watching.” I replied with a laugh, deciding to take it as the joke it had to be.

“Yeah, some of them have a tenuous grip on their sanity. But just because they are paranoid nut-jobs doesn’t mean they aren’t the best in their business. Or that they are the best. Or that you should bring any business to them at all.” she admitted, sounding a little panied, as if she was remembering something unpleasant.

“So, how do you know who to do business with?” I asked, almost regretting the question at the grimace on her face.

“Experience, the best teacher in the universe, obviously.” she answered, making me frown.

“What you are telling me, we are screwed?” I responded, knowing that I had no experience on such a station at all and not sure how much she had.

“No, you are lucky. I don’t like to ride my parents coat-tails but there are a few people who know them and through them, me. We will start doing our business with them, especially as they’ll take our money without too much of a problem.” she explained, before launching into a bigger explanation of the monetary system out here. She had told me some of it already but she seemed to be a little nervous, despite the fact that we were still far out and wouldn’t get there for a while.

I smiled to myself, watching her ramble on, describing the different groups that had their own monetary system out here, that Federation Marks were used at some stations but at others, they weren’t worth the energy needed to electronically transfer them. Watching her, and wondering just who her parents actually were, was interesting. I had thought that I’d known her well during our time at the Academy, that I’d know every detail of her body and could accurately predict her actions. I had known that she was actively projecting her poise and confidence, I had seen her when that mask had slipped and she had allowed herself to be human for a short time, with fears and worries like everyone else. Those had been the times when she had needed a hug and sometimes my shoulder to cry on.

The last weeks had shown me that I’d been wrong, that there was even more to Airah than I had known at the Academy, even more than I had thought once I heard about her connection to the Void Guard. There was so much more behind the mask she had projected and I was happy to discover a new aspect of her personality, a new, small idiosyncrasy, some of them adorable, some not so much.

“Are you listening to me?” Airah’s question caused me to focus back on reality, only to realise that the only answer to that was no and my cheeks blushed.

“No, I’m sorry.” I chuckled, a little embarrassed that she’d caught me staring at her, lost in thought. I was lucky I hadn’t drool dribbling down my chin, that would have made me look like the sophisticated young woman I wanted to be, or the lecherous idiot that she should throw into the nearest star. “But does it really matter? I mean, even if they would take Federation Marks, I doubt that Federation Security hasn’t locked my accounts by now, or at least put some sort of measure in place to get me, if I try to use them.” I added, trying to hide the fact that I had been caught staring.

In response, Airah’s face fell and she looked apologetic. “I know and I’m sorry for that. I’ll add you to my personal accounts out here, it’s the least I can do. By saving me, you threw away your own life, even if you didn’t know it at the time.” she said, her voice turning soft and a little brittle at the end.

“And I don’t regret it.” I admitted, before I could stop myself, feeling the blush on my cheeks intensify. “You have been my best friend for four years, even if there was a major part of your life I didn’t know about. I don’t abandon my friends!” I added, trying hide the real reason for my swift actions back then. Sure, I would have helped any friend but I might not have reacted as fast or as violent with someone else.

Airah just reached over to my hand, clasping one of them and giving it a soft squeeze.

“Which is why I know that giving you access to my accounts is the right thing. And why I’m so happy that you accepted to go into business with me. You have proven your reliability with your actions.” Airah said, her voice completely sincere and serious. I felt myself swallow hard, simply from the confidence in her voice. Deep down in my mind, I knew I would have to live up to it, if I wanted to stand looking at my face in the mirror.

Unable to respond to her with words, I simply returned the gentle squeeze, keeping hold of her hand for a moment. We were the only people in a few hundred thousand kilometers, maybe even a few million kilometers and yet, I had never felt in better company.