The trip to the Dirman System took three weeks and three days. On the last day, I meditated and used the techniques I had to suppress and hide my Presence. I knew Kara wasn't going to be there to greet me this soon, so I wanted to hide as much as I could from The Order members that would be looking for me.

Of course, I was assuming they had been looking for me this whole time and I had no doubt that they were. I wasn't there at all and I planned on hiding myself when I left this ship. I didn't want them to possibly trace it back to the other system so soon.

Kara knew that was where The Wave had its temporary base of operations and where I had worked out of for a while, so completely concealing it from being found was just unrealistic. All I could do was divert all of the attention onto myself and I left as much protection around the space habitat as possible. Namely in the form of stealth drones with automatic laser cannons.

They wouldn't stop an all out assault on the habitat; but, they would discourage anyone from approaching with aggression. I left them under Opina's control and she knew who to let get close to the station and who to warn off. She was also covered in deflector screens and had concealed missile launchers and assault laser cannons scattered over her surface. No one was getting to my family without causing trouble.

When the ship docked, I quickly used Stealth and faded completely from everyone's perception and left the ship. I dropped my ticket between two other tickets on the station boarding desk and left the area. I passed by two Order members that looked like they were standing guard at the terminal. I resisted the urge to put them to sleep and kept walking, careful of the people around me and where I wanted to go.

“There's still no sign of him.” An Order member said as I stepped into The Order office on the station. “How is that possible? He said he was here waiting for Master Moor.”

“I don't know what to tell you.” The Order member in front of him said. “We even searched the planet for ship and shuttle activity, and there was nothing.”

“He can't evade us forever.” The first man said.

“I heard it took Master Moor a year to track him down to face justice the last time.” The second man said. “This time, he didn't even try to run.”

“Really?” The first man asked. “Maybe he knew it was fruitless to run?”

“No, it was because I need to accept all the attention.” I said.

Both men whirled around and didn't see me. “What?” “Who?” They said at the same time.

“I am the ghooooost of Hunnnnnter!” I said in a scary voice. “OooooOOOO!”

Both men felt shock and fear in equal measure and I put them both to sleep. I dragged them behind the large desk and propped them in the corner and sat down.

Okay, let's see. I thought and started to type on the console. Hmm, okay. Yes, this isn't too bad. I said. It's only limited access, which means I need to get to a temple or a compound before I can get what I'm really looking for.

I plugged my broadcast device into the console and sent the signal through their systems to hit anything that was near any of the other small offices. I had no way of knowing that I had killed another eighteen hundred people within that limited scope. They were scattered over ten thousand systems, which was ten times where my satellites had been shipped, and that was only in or near their offices.

I unplugged the device and stashed it in a bag of holding, then I erased the computer footage of me scaring the two Order members and me using the console and copied over the few previous minutes to fill the gap. I seriously considered actually staying here in The Order office to wait for Kara. I had plenty of food and supplies on me and I would only need to sneak out occasionally to use the bathroom and to shower.

It would be cheaper than getting a room. I thought in amusement and picked one of the men up and sat him in the chair, then I knelt the other man between his legs and partially under the desk. I rested his head on the other man's lap and just for an extra laugh, I used Presence to open up the seated man's robes and left his pants intact, then tucked the second man's hands around and under the first man's thighs. With that done, I moved them in and braced the pair against the desk, so they couldn't really move, then started the normal security footage recording.

It's been a while since I pulled off a good prank. I thought in amusement and walked over to the opposite corner and sat down to wait and set up a camera to record everything. This is going to be good. I just know it.

It turned out to be much better than I had hoped.

The seated man woke up first and sat up straight, then froze when he felt the dead weight near his crotch. His fear of a ghost had evaporated as he gazed down at the man cuddled into his abdomen. His robes were open and the man on his lap held onto his thighs.

“Off! OFF! OFFOFFOFFOFF!” The seated man yelled in a steady stream as he panicked and tried to push the man off of him, which woke the second man.

“Huh? What?” The second man lifted his head and saw the seated man's open robes right in front of him and his face drained of all its color. He tried to back off and his hands were tightly tucked under the other man's thighs and his back was against the desk. “HEY! Let me go! LET ME GO!”

Both men struggled to try and get away from the other and the seated man ended up being groped pretty much all over, to both men's embarrassment, especially since the seated man became excited because of it. Stimulation was stimulation, after all.

I had to make the Presence over my face solid, so my laughs wouldn't escape my Stealth technique.

It took them almost ten minutes to calm down and to figure out how to get untangled, and I laughed the whole time.

I have to send this to Simone when I get the chance. I thought.

“Uh... yeah, I... I have to go.” The previously kneeling man said awkwardly when they finally separated, pointedly didn't look at the other man's excitement that his face had been pressed against a lot more than he ever thought he would have his face pressed against another man's privates, then he quickly left the office. I let out one last chuckle at the scene and put the camera away.

The seated man just sat there, his face with a shocked expression, and he didn't say a word. Even when someone came in with an inquiry half an hour later, he didn't say a word.

“Hey, are you all right?” The man asked and waved a hand in front of the seated man. There was no reaction and he checked him for a pulse. He was still alive, so he wasn't sure what to do. He left and came back twenty minutes later with a guard and a medical technician. The Order member was quickly examined and the medical technician gave him a diagnosis.

“He's in shock.” The man said.

“From what?”

“We can watch the footage.” The guard said and went around the console and brought it up. “Oh. Um... no, we don't need to see that.”

“I need to see it to confirm the diagnosis.” The medical technician said and walked around the console. “Show me.”

The guard sighed and played it.

The medical technician listened and watched and realized what had happened. “You need to find the other Order member. He sexually assaulted this man and it traumatized him.”

“That's not really my...”

“That's a medical order.” The medical technician said. “This footage is pretty damning. Even if no actual contact happened... and from what I saw, there was a lot of it... he's responsible.”

“He looked traumatized, too.”

“I guess once he started, he didn't know how to stop.” The third man volunteered.

The guard let out another sigh. “I'll go find him.” He said, as if he knew where the other man was.

“Give me a hand with him, will you?” The medical technician asked the third man. “The medical bay isn't that far.”

The third man nodded and helped the medical technician carry The Order member out of the office.

*

Kara had been impatient for the whole trip back to where Hunter wanted to meet. She called the station and asked if they had seen him yet, and all she got were reports of really odd situations happening to Order members that were rotating through the office while searching for him.

He's definitely there. Kara thought and shook her head. How can no one else see that?

Kara's anxiety ratcheted up as her ship approached the station. She knew he was there waiting for her and she had to admit to herself that she was looking forward to seeing him again, even under the circumstances. It actually hurt her heart a little that he had it in him to murder so many people. She knew he was a killer, since she had actually chased him before while he went on a killing spree; but this time, he had killed millions of people.

The ship docked and she was up and out of the ship before it had finished getting the proper readings for a good seal. The security team there to greet her were surprised when she ran past them without so much as a hello. Kara didn't have time to waste on such trivial things right now. She came to a stop in the middle of the boarding area and let her senses expand as her Presence flowed out to its full detection range.

It had taken Kara years to get it out to its current distance and she was quite proud to have reached two hundred feet so quickly. She didn't need her full detection range, though. She thought she would have a merry chase all over the station as she tried to track him down, and she caught her breath when he appeared five feet away from her and she let her detection range fade. She turned around to see Hunter as he stood right behind her.

*

“Hello, Kara.” I said, just to annoy her. She wasn't annoyed however and I was surprised at her thoughts of being happy to see me.

“Hunter.” Kara said and stepped close to me. “Why?”

“To surprise you.” I said. “I figured you came all this way, so the last thing you would want was to try and catch me again after I already agreed to surrender to you.”

Kara shook her head. “No, why did you do what you did?”

“I had to.” I said. “I was running out of time, because someone was investigating my work.”

Kara's eyes twitched and I chuckled.

“I also did something that I knew would get The Order's attention in the Fogaris System and my plans had to be accelerated.”

“Fogaris... that's not where...” Kara stopped her words and her thoughts before she gave anything away. “Hunter, I am taking you formally into my custody to be returned to The Order's home planet to face the charges against you.”

“I hope you're ready to fight for that custody.” I said and waved behind her. “Apparently, different orders than yours have been sent to these gentlemen and ladies.”

Kara turned around to see six Order members standing at the ready, prepared to fight, and twenty guards were behind them with their weapons drawn and ready to fire.

“What is going on here?” Kara asked them.

“We were ordered to subdue and contain the rogue.” One of The Order members said and activated his Light sword. Or tried to. He looked down at it and flicked the switch again, then nothing happened. “What the...” He was completely distracted as he tried to figure out what was wrong with his Light sword.

“Would someone else like to try?” I asked and waved at the other five Order members. Two male aliens, another man, and two women tried to activate their Light swords and nothing happened.

“What did you do?” One of the women asked, almost in a panic. “I just built this!”

I chuckled. “I popped the focusing crystal out of its holder and attuned it to me.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock and she stared at me.

“Yes, it's really possible.” I said and then there were twenty clicks and every guard weapon pointed at us popped their battery packs, which fell to the floor. “See? Quite easy.”

Kara almost laughed as every single guard bent down to retrieve the battery pack and none of them switched to their backup pistols first to keep us guarded.

“You would think at least one or two of them would have watched us while the others reloaded.” I said.

Kara actually chuckled as the guards jerked as if someone had hit them and then they tried to switch weapons with both hands full. They made a complete mess of it and we stood there and waited for them to get themselves back in position.

One of the alien Order members gave up on trying to fix his Light sword and glared at us. “You are coming with us, rogue.”

“Actually, I am already in the custody of The Wise One's Task Master.” I said. “Do you outrank her?”

“The council ordered...”

“She's outside the council's purview.” I said and cut him off. “In fact, she was specifically sent to retrieve me. Are you going to countermand The Wise One's orders?”

“You are too dangerous to have out in public unguarded!” The shocked woman waggled her useless Light sword at me.

“Of course I am.” I said and her mouth dropped open in shock again, because the Presence didn't waver. “That's why Master Moor is guarding me.”

Kara took in a sharp breath and her whole body shook for a second before she stopped herself.

That was an interesting reaction. I thought with a smile. “I'm feeling a bit hungry.” I said to Kara and touched her shoulder. “Would you care to join me for lunch? There's a restaurant over on deck three that has a good steak and rice dish I've been wanting to try.”

Kara barely managed to stop her blush at the invitation. “It has been a long trip with just rations.”

“Aw, you poor thing.” I said and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Come with me. I'm paying.”

Kara nodded and I walked straight towards The Order members and the guards. They weren't going to move, so I created two Presence walls and pushed them just far enough apart for Kara and I to fit between them.

“Are we leaving right away, or does your ship need maintenance and resupply?” I asked as The Order members and guards stared at us.

“It'll be two days before we can leave.” Kara said.

I smiled. “I'm surprised they didn't just transfer you to another ship.”

“I've used the same ship since I accepted The Wise One's offer.”

“Ah, I see.” I said. Operational security could only be guaranteed if you knew all the factors.

We walked up to level three and stopped at the restaurant.

“Reservation for Moor.” I said.

“Right this way, sir and madam.” The man said and led us through the restaurant to the best table. “I will have the waitress sent right over.”

“Thank you.” I said and handed him a hundred credit chip.

The man gave me a huge smile and left with a hop in his step. I smiled as well and held a chair out for Kara to sit down.

“You planned this?” Kara asked and adjusted her robes for sitting.

“You might have said no, or we had to leave right away, so I have food stashed in case.” I said and sat down across from her.

“That's a yes.” Kara said and I chuckled.

A woman quickly strode over to our table and gave us a huge smile. “What would you like to drink?” She asked and I saw she was wearing a hair net over her head. I looked closer at her and saw that it wasn't hair she was keeping restrained, it was feathers she was trying to conceal. Her nose was also in a kind of beak shape, albeit different than what I had seen before. From her thoughts as she saw me looking, the feathers tended to float out at random times and she didn't want to get in trouble again for it.

“Just water for the both of us, two glasses each so you won't have to make multiple trips, and we both want the steak and rice dinners.” I said. “Oh, you might as well give us a plate of those hor d'oeuvres you like so much while we wait.”

The waitress gave me an odd look for a second. “How did you know I was going to recommend them?”

“I can read your cute little mind.” I said and gave her an award winning smile.

Quite a few other thoughts went through her head before she recovered. “Um... okay. I'll... I'll be right back with your drinks!”

Kara held off on shaking her head until the waitress was out of sight. “Hunter, what was that about?”

“I've met someone of her species before.” I said and recalled one of the prisoners. “Unless you're completely honest with them, they won't like you.”

“I meant complimenting her like that.”

I chuckled. “Envious, are you?”

“No!” Kara said and stopped her blush before it started. “No.”

“Is that a challenge I hear in your voice?” I asked as the waitress came back with the drinks. “Excuse me, could I bother you for a second?”

The waitress looked around for a moment, then I waved for her to come closer so I could whisper in her ear. She leaned on the edge of the table and I let out two quick chirps and a low whistle. She nearly fell over and braced herself on the table as her hair net expanded a little and she started to breathe heavily.

“I... get off... at ten.” The waitress whispered.

I looked across the table at Kara and saw her shock. “I could get you off right now...”

“Oh... oh...” The waitress panted and gave me eyes that were filled with both fear and anticipation. “No, I... I'm working.”

“All right.” I said and touched her hand to share a calming technique with her. “I'll be here on the station for two days...”

The waitress reached into her pocket and pulled out her room pass key. “Please wait for me here.”

I took the key and she took several breaths, then she stood up as if nothing had happened. “I'll be right back with that dish.”

I nodded and she walked away with a really large sway in her hips, as if she had tail feathers and was trying to show them off.

“What. Was. That?” Kara asked in a deadly voice.

“Apparently a date.” I said and tucked the card into my robes. “I assume you're going to be nearby.”

“I have to be.” Kara said, clearly angry.

“There's the envy.” I said with a chuckle.

The waitress came back with the plate of hor d'oeuvres and put them on the table, then she took another long look around and bent over me. “A little more.”

I smiled and gave her a low whistle, a quick high whistle, then warbled my throat.

“OH!” She exclaimed and her hairnet puffed right out.

“That was close.” I whispered, and she rested her head against mine as she nodded. “I think I need to stop teasing you.”

The waitress nodded again and I shared more calmness with her. She gave me a huge smile and touched my shoulder affectionately, then she walked away again and practically every man watched her confidently sashay across the restaurant.