Halfmoon drifted towards Fauchard. Fauchard looked like a great whale, hovering below the water’s surface. Camellia’s heart quickened at the thought. Water and its giant inhabitants would never bring her peace.

To Camellia’s relief, the warship’s open docking bay beckoned, and Meladee steered them inside, away from the underwater imagery. They passed the forcefield that held air in the bright space. Yellow lines lit up, and Meladee set the ship down between them.

“Good landing,” Eva said.

“Thanks. I’m getting better at this kind of flying. I miss Faustina, but Halfmoon is easier to handle. More responsive, faster.” Meladee took a moment of silence. “Don’t tell Faustina.”

Camellia allowed her own moment of silence for the airship, currently trapped on Lurren.

Then, she rose from her chair. “Let’s collect our passengers.”

She walked into the lounge where she found Alim and Sten. Both men seemed a bit grim. They rose, and Sten took one last look at his tablet.

Eva joined him. She too looked at his tablet. Her face twisted. She’d caught a glimpse of something she didn’t like. “Why are you looking at a schematic of Halfmoon?”

Sten froze. “I’m just curious about your ship. I like to be familiar with the vessels I’m traveling in. Have you any other exits beside the loading hatch? And, where is your medical bay?”

“The hatchway is the only exit that works. The others are sealed,” Eva answered. She led the way below, setting a quick pace.

Meladee knit her brow. “There are other exits?” She climbed all the way down the ladder, without an answer and stopped on the cargo deck.

She crossed the hold and reached the top of Halfmoon’s hatch, its only working exit. Meladee waved to Benham as he disembarked the Mountaineer.

Camellia walked beside Sten and Alim. They all joined Meladee at the top of the hatch.

Camellia wasn’t sure who to address, so she faced Sten. “There were other exits. They may have been sealed to prevent the monster from entering the ship. That would have occurred sometime before Lurriens arrived on Iruedim.” Camellia paused and glanced at Meladee. She enjoyed talking about archaeology for her own sake, but she wanted to make sure the others didn’t mind. Camellia continued, “Or, the exits were sealed to reduce the ship’s upkeep. That would have occurred while the ship was grounded, sometime in the past three thousand years.”

“How did you determine that?” Alim asked.

Camellia turned to Alim and, though she knew she shouldn’t, she gave him a detailed and passionate answer. “In favor of the first theory...there are warnings scratched near the exits, possibly depictions of the creature. Lurriens stood between five and six feet, but these etchings are around three and a half feet high. They’re also not very good. I think a child made them to describe what happened: the creature tried to get in through those doors.”

Camellia paused. Alim listened with undivided attention. Meladee, on the other hand, looked at Benham.

So, Camellia spoke to Alim. “Alternatively, a child may have picked those locations for doodles simply because they were the most out of the way. If I were a Lurrien mother, scratching up the ship would certainly be high on my naughty list.”

Involuntarily, Camellia caught a strong telepathic impression from Alim and discovered that he pictured her as a mother sometime in the future. Camellia nearly yelped. She was supposed to let him down gently. She had made a mistake.

“What about the second possibility?” Sten asked.

Camellia gave him a blank face.

“Sealing the exits to help with upkeep?” he added.

“Oh, the evidence for that is simple. The materials to seal the exits are newer. They show less signs of age.” Camellia turned away from both men and erected some strong mental shields. She almost never caught stray thoughts.

Too much practice, she surmised.

Meladee crossed her arms. “When did you have time to archaeology the ship?”

So, she had listened.

Camellia sighed. “Meladee, what do you think I do on all the long rides when I’m not in the cockpit? Sleep? Pine away?”

“It’s not too far-fetched, you know.”

Camellia didn’t answer. She couldn’t deny it. She felt everyone’s eyes on her but didn’t look up.

Eva disembarked. Her footsteps sounded light on the ramp. “We should meet Commander Rooks soon. She’s probably waiting on us.”

“Agreed.” Sten followed. His boots clanged heavier. He was made of different stuff. “What about the medical bay? You never answered that question.”

“Why are you snooping around our ship?” Eva retorted.

Camellia worried the two androids couldn’t work together, but she wished otherwise. “Eva, he’s going to help us. He can snoop a little.”

Meladee smirked. “Yeah, Sten can snoop. But, if he tries to mess with the ship, the three of us know what will happen.”

Camellia remembered Meladee’s creative afternoon. After Meladee had puzzled out a memory wipe spell, Meladee had drawn two more casting circles. First, she created the binding spell that would prevent people from giving away Iruedim’s location. It was inspired and complex, and she called it “What happens in Iruedim, stays in Iruedim.”

Meladee also created an anti-sabotage and anti-spy spell. She etched the casting circle under Halfmoon’s floor tiles, towards the ship’s center, and hung a list in the bathroom with their three names on it. The shimmering paper was connected to the enchantment, and anyone whose name was not on the list would receive a painful and messy shock as well a heap of magical blue dye for any harmful activities. Since Sten hadn’t expressed pain and wasn’t dyed blue, they knew he hadn’t fiddled with the ship.

Camellia sighed. She couldn’t remember the rest of her afternoon. She had strolled up to Meladee and asked, How is the memory spell coming? Meladee just told her it was done and summarized her own activities for the past three hours. Camellia knew what Meladee had done, but she had no idea how she had spent that time.

Sten broke Camellia’s reverie. “Commander Rooks will meet us in her private mess hall.” He waited for the warship’s personnel to scurry away, and added, “She’s recently expressed to me her dislike of the Finial’s actions. I’ll begin and appeal to those sentiments.”

The others nodded their agreement.

When they reached the small mess hall, Sten entered first and greeted Commander Rooks, “I’m sorry we’re a little late.”

“No, trouble at all. The cook needed some extra time to get food on the table.” Commander Rooks gestured to the chairs.

A pile of work rested on the food cart. Rooks grabbed one more tablet from the table and tossed it over. She certainly liked to multi-task.

Rooks cleared her throat. “Now, what is this about needing my help for transport?” Commander Rooks addressed the Iruedians, looking back and forth between them. “Don’t worry, I’ve let the Syndicate know that you wanted a lift back to the outer regions. As long as I’m going your way, the navy won’t object, and the Syndicate can’t.

Camellia nodded and smiled weakly at the Commander. The mess hall door closed, and everyone took their seats. Camellia waited a moment and dropped Meladee’s anti-listening scroll. The spell announced its presence with a musical rush.

Rooks looked around the room and raised her eyebrows. “Magic?”

No red sparks had popped in Rooks’ mess hall. The others ignored Rooks’ question and looked to Sten.

Sten sat tall and stiff. “The Iruedians are hoping for a bit more than transport help.”

“Really?” Rooks smiled. “Maybe some under the table aid?” She cocked her head and looked at Camellia. “That might be difficult to do given my orders, but if Iruedim is nearby my patrol location in outer Girandola, I might be able to sneak a ship there.”

Sten said no more. He turned wary eyes to Camellia. He would let the Iruedians divulge the problem with Iruedim’s location.

Camellia took a deep breath. Her hands shook a little. “Iruedim is much too far. You could never sneak away.” She met Rooks’ eyes. “But we’re still hoping for aid.”

Sten added, “Everyone at this table, with your exception, has resolved to aid Iruedim, regardless of the Syndicate’s withdrawn blessing.”

Commander Rooks looked around the table and waited. She didn’t seem surprised.

Sten gestured for Camellia to speak. She still needed to explain the trouble with Iruedim’s location.

With a short nod, Camellia began, “Iruedim can’t join the Finial because it’s an extragalactic planet.”

Rooks’ eyes narrowed, and she leaned forward.

Camellia continued, “You can only reach Iruedim through a wormhole. That wormhole shifts its exit every few centuries. We don’t even know how long we’d be part of the Finial – if we were to join it.”

Rooks’ lips parted slightly, and she listened with patience.

Camellia leaned into the table. “But, Iruedim still needs aid, and Girandola may be our last chance to get it.”

Commander Rooks straightened. She smiled a little. “Iruedim keeps getting stranger. I don’t know if I can help...”

Sten interrupted, “Wren, a month ago you told me that you considered leaving the navy to join an exploration group, so you could cross the Finial’s designated border.”

“I did.” Rooks glanced around the table. Her eyes shifted, and she seemed a bit off guard.

“If you were going to give all of this up anyway, why not come to Iruedim instead?” Sten stared hard at Commander Rooks.

Rooks shook her head. “I decided against that, remember?”

Meladee tossed down her fork. “Right…’cause who would want to leave this giant ship and go serve on a rinky dink vessel again?” Meladee shrugged. “I wouldn’t.” Meladee leaned close to Rooks. “This whole Iruedim deal is different. You get to take these ships.” Meladee smirked. “You know…just take them. You bring them to Iruedim, and you get a new job: head of the Iruedian space armada or whatever they decide to call it. Or, you can be part of Eva’s new Lurrien colony and have all the freedom you could dream of.”

Rooks sat very still. “I’d be making a decision for my crew.”

Camellia broke in, “You could give your crew the choice to stay behind or bring family members.”

Commander Rooks’ eyes widened, not with surprise but with consideration. Rooks’ looked at Sten. “You’ve decided to leave?”

“Yes. I’m very interested in Iruedim, and if Eva liberates Lurren, there will be a place that I can help shape.”

Now, Rooks wore her surprise. “What about you two?” She asked Benham and Alim.

Alim answered first, “My family has disowned me, and Girandola has never been the best place for me. I grew up reading about things like magic. I’d like to see those things. Plus, I can study xenobiology there.” Alim smiled. “In fact, I’ll be foremost in my field.”

Camellia turned curious eyes to Alim, surprised by his reasoning and his improved mood.

Benham answered last, “Adventure. That’s all I want.”

“Good answer.” Meladee nodded once.

“Yes, that is a good answer,” Commander Rooks said, with a hint of a smile. Then, she frowned and shook her head. “I’m still not sure. I don’t know if I can do this. I already have a few marks on my record. You know that Sten, and if this plan didn’t work out, then I would have nothing to come back to.”

Benham stood up. “Just see how many of your people are willing to go. I hate the Finial. I’m sure some of them do too.”

Rooks gave him a sympathetic glance. “I understand…”

Camellia pushed her plate away. She’d eaten nothing. “Those marks on your record. Wouldn’t you love to start clean? I don’t know what they are, but knowing what I know of the Finial, you probably didn’t do anything wrong.”

Rooks watched Camellia with interest.

Camellia neatened her place. She pushed her fork and knife away too. She didn’t think she could eat. “I do know that on Iruedim, it takes a lot to get a dark mark on your record. God knows, my teacher has done so many questionable things. God knows…it took a lot for me to receive a demerit.” Camellia had to go crazy. That’s what it took.

Rooks’ expression softened. “What did you do?”

Camellia shook her head. “I’d rather not say. But, I know so many people in authority who have gotten away with taking things from digs or twisting a situation in their favor.” Camellia sighed. “I know vampires who have gotten away with snacking on the local populace.”

Rooks gave a short laugh. “That’s not my thing.” She sighed. “I’ll be honest. I was planning to render a little under the table aid. I wasn’t expecting this offer to come colonize Iruedim and potentially run its space navy...but, let’s talk about the logistics. Then, I’ll make a decision.”

The whole table shared a hopeful glance. Camellia thought everything might just fall into place – if they could only convince Rooks that a better place awaited her on a planet under threat from an all-devouring creature.