At superliminal speeds, Halfmoon hurtled away from Rasamal. At first, they followed Camellia’s path and just escaped. Then, Commander Rooks sent them a new location, and Camellia drew up a new path. Halfmoon began the new stretch, staying just ahead of Fauchard.

As Halfmoon and Fauchard settled into their journey, Commander Rooks called the smaller ship. Her voice echoed across space, through Halfmoon’s intercom. “We need to go to Fornax Station to pick up the Cleydef. Otherwise, we won’t have an easy way to move your monster. Four of my smaller ships are with us, but we’ll need to pick up ship five, the Corbin. Fortunately, Corbin is overseeing repairs on Cleydef.”

“But…” Benham drew the word out.

Sten’s voice came from the intercom. “You’re correct Benham. There is a ‘but.’ The Finial will call reinforcements. Should those reinforcements meet us at Fornax Station, we will be summarily defeated.”

Camellia frowned. How could Sten sound so matter of fact? Camellia took a shallow breath and keyed her controls. She pulled up their route. She saw Halfmoon’s estimation of its progress along the path – only one third of the way. She worried about their arrival at Fornax Station, certainly more than Sten.

“Great. Well, you said we were the closest. Are we going to get there first?” Meladee asked.

Commander Rooks sounded optimistic. “Yes, definitely. We’ll reach Fornax two hours before any other warship can arrive. The station is a library and museum. We’ll have two hours to get in and out, with nothing but cowering scholars to oppose us.”

Camellia slumped in her seat, relaxing as she heard the news. “As a cowering scholar, it pains me to hear you talk like that. If someone came to my museum and took my things while I hid under the 13th century pottery, I would be quite upset.”

“I’ll be sure to apologize, and to be fair, we plan to take a ship promised for your aid and nothing more.”

Camellia smiled faintly, but an errant concern wiped it off her face. Her eyes widened as she remembered Fauchard’s crew. There were still people who needed to disembark – people who didn’t want new lives in Iruedim.

Camellia sat straighter. “What about the people who don’t want to come? Do they have time to get off?”

“They’re packed and ready to go. We’ve lost a lot more than I predicted.” Rooks paused. Her sigh came over the com. “So many who would have come, now have no time to get their families. But, we have plenty of people to fly all six ships. Don’t worry.”

“We’ll arrive at Fornax in thirty minutes. Prepare to dock on Fauchard,” Sten instructed.

Camellia glanced at her screen. Halfmoon’s route remained on her view, and Camellia saw that they had reached the halfway point. She exhaled. She should have looked at the time estimation. They had no time before their arrival.

Camellia turned from her controls and saw Meladee, relaxed, leaning back in her chair.

Meladee kept her eyes on the window, but she addressed Camellia and Benham. “Hey, this worked out pretty well. You get to keep Mountaineer, and we get to keep Halfmoon. Thankfully, you won’t have to lose your clothes or say goodbye to your beloved ship.” Meladee put a hand over her heart. “Oh Faustina.”

Benham smiled. “I thought you said you liked this ship better?”

“No, I said – this ship was better. I like them the same.” Meladee glanced over her shoulder.

Camellia remembered Meladee’s acceptance of Faustina’s fate. Meladee had been sad but willing to let go. If Faustina had been Camellia’s ship, she didn’t know if she could let it go so easy.

Camellia knit her brow. She spoke slow. “Meladee, we could retrieve Faustina. We’re going to Lurren eventually, and you put a very powerful protection spell over her. You might find her exactly as you left her.”

Meladee glanced back again. “That’s true. I’d love to see her surprised face.”

“Talk about anthropomorphizing your things,” Benham teased.

Meladee shot a mischievous smile at Camellia. “I’m not guilty of that. You’ll see.”

“I have a concern,” Eva called from Engineering.

“What is it, Eva?” Camellia asked.

“We can’t lead the Finial back to Iruedim, and so far, they seem very capable of tracking us. Also, did your spell work, Meladee?” Eva’s question was purposefully vague.

Camellia knew that Eva referred to the silence spell to keep people on the other ships from discussing Iruedim off-planet.

“Not yet, but I did get it in place. The trigger should be initiation of the final superliminal path – the one that will end at the wormhole.” Meladee glanced at Benham. “It’s good that Camellia put in a different path first. Otherwise, the spell might have triggered too soon.”

“What is this spell?” Benham narrowed his eyes.

“Protection,” Meladee answered.

Camellia hoped he would accept that explanation. His narrowed eyes conveyed more confusion than suspicion. It would have to do.

Camellia felt her own eyes widen. “Oh wait, Commander Rooks want us to dock with Fauchard. Sten said so. Do we want to do that? Or should we just ride in Halfmoon?”

If they docked, they would also be victims of Meladee’s silence spell, but Camellia couldn’t say that in front of Benham. His confusion would transform to suspicion and for good reason. Camellia hoped Meladee and Eva would catch on.

Meladee looked at Camellia. Her frown said she’d caught the meaning, but she didn’t say anything.

Eva spoke through the com. “I think that’s for the best. If we dock, we’ll have an easier time getting home.”

Benham looked around the cockpit. He couldn’t catch Meladee’s eyes, so he settled for Camellia’s. “You’ve spent days on Fauchard. Don’t you feel comfortable?”

He got no answer.

Benham sighed and raised his eyebrows. “You really don’t trust us yet.”

Camellia cast her gaze down. Another problem occurred to her. Benham would find this turn of conversation suspicious, but she had to say it.

“What about the last ship? Corbin – the one at Fornax Station? Did we get the protection on it?”

A long moment of silence followed. Camellia had to admit that they did not trust the Girandolans. Here she was speaking in vague references to conceal knowledge from Benham. The silence spell could only be termed protection in the most general sense.

“You need to visit that ship,” Eva said.

“We could leave it.” Camellia shrugged. “Just hope for the best.”

Meladee shook her head and fiddled with her controls. “No, I’ll get us over there. I’ll just dock with it first. Then, I’ll do the spell, and we’ll go over to Fauchard.”

“Simple.” Eva piped from the com. “Now, about being tracked to Iruedim?”

Meladee shook her head. “I didn’t write a spell for that. I’ll need time since it deals completely with technology. I just don’t understand how tracking works.”

“We’ll have to ask Commander Rooks,” Camellia said.

No silence spell would protect them from the Finial, if the troublesome government could just follow their ships.

Benham looked between Meladee and Camellia. He got only Meladee’s back, but he caught Camellia’s gaze a couple of times. He frowned, and his eyes held more suspicion. “Commander Rooks will think of something. Maybe, you should have worried more about an anti-tracking spell than a protection spell.”

“Maybe,” Meladee agreed.

Camellia nodded. She hoped they wouldn’t regret it. The bulk of her relationships included some degree of shattered trust. She grew weary of it.

Halfmoon arrived at Fornax Station five minutes before the Fauchard. Corbin greeted Halfmoon, and Camellia requested a short dock. With permission granted, Halfmoon zipped towards the medium-sized warship.

Corbin ran only half its lights, looking like a speckled sea creature in the dark of space. Camellia hated the comparison, but the imagery was there. Spaceships, especially blue spaceships, made her think of the vast sea and the things lurking beneath. Camellia put a hand to her head, but didn’t look away from the view.

Beside the ship, a large cylinder rotated, silver and glittering: Fornax Station. Camellia liked the station better. It looked not like a sea beast but more like a lost kaleidoscope, a child’s toy, dropped into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Camellia looked away from the window. She wished she had Adalhard’s therapy card. She might see the man after all.

Halfmoon docked with Corbin, and Meladee ran out.

She explained her need to cast the protection spell, telling half the truth. “If I don’t do this, then the Finial could destroy us.”

Beatrix Castles listened. During the pirate attack, the woman had fought beside them on Fauchard, and Camellia felt a little surprised to see her on the Corbin.

“Go ahead.” Castles waved Meladee on.

Meladee ran to cast the spell on the ship’s computer.

Castles turned to the others. “Fornax Station received its warning from the Finial. They’re already upset, but Commander Rooks warned us too. We have control of the Cleydef, and we don’t plan to give it back.”

Camellia nodded. She focused her gaze on Castles’ and opened her mouth to answer.

A trail of personnel entered the small docking bay, all out of uniform. They distracted Camellia.

With knit brow, she asked, “Are they leaving the ship?”

Castles followed Camellia’s eyes. “Yeah, they don’t want to come to Iruedim.” A device buzzed on Castles’ hip. She pulled it free and read the screen. “Fauchard just arrived, and Commander Rooks wants to know why you docked with us.”

“Last minute preparations.” Eva crossed her arms. “Let her know we’ll be over soon. Also, can you ask about the Finial tracking us? How will we avoid it?”

Castles smiled. “I could tell you that myself, but I’ll let her surprise you.”

Meladee returned. “Let’s go. We’re all ready. Is anyone going to fly the Cleydef? Cause maybe I should enchant that one too.”

“We’ll be towing Cleydef. No one will ride.” Castles shrugged. “Could we lose it? Yes, but we can always sacrifice one of our good ships to your monster – as much as it pains me.”

Meladee smiled. “Perfect, then I don’t have to bother.”

Castles nodded and gestured for them to board Halfmoon. “See you on Iruedim.”

Camellia gave her a half-hearted smile. Their lie got deeper and deeper.

In the docking bay, Sten and Commander Rooks greeted them. Camellia noted their open and friendly expressions. Commander Rooks looked especially pleased to see them.

As soon as they exited Halfmoon’s hatch and crossed the yellow parking lines, Commander Rooks called, “I didn’t think we were that late. Yet, we arrived to find an angry Station Master, the Corbin, the Cleydef, and a conspicuously absent Halfmoon. You gave Sten quite the shock. I suppose we have Meladee’s impatience to thank for it.”

“No, I put a spell over the Corbin to protect it,” Meladeee grumbled. “Which won’t be foolproof by the way.”

“A protection spell?” Rooks asked. “That could be useful for the other ships.”

“Don’t worry. I already took care of that,” Meladee said, with a dismissive wave.

“You put a spell on my ship, without my knowing?” Rooks smiled as she mock intimidated Meladee. “Do you want some time in the brig?”

“Nah. I’m good.”

Camellia studied the Commander’s face. Rooks already trusted them. The Commander didn’t question Meladee’s actions beyond making a joke about them. Camellia burned to tell the truth. She opened her mouth and planned to say the words.

Eva stepped forward. “We need some way to lose our pursuers before we head to Iruedim.”

Commander Rooks continued to smile.

Behind her, strings of personnel prepared to disembark. Also dressed in their civilian clothes, they crowded onto transports and would wait at the library. Some were sad, gazing with disappointment at the foreigners. Others seemed relieved and set their eyes on their transport off Fauchard. Still, more fell somewhere between the two emotions.

Commander Rooks followed Camellia’s eyes. “Many of them wanted to come to Iruedim, so long as they could bring their families. Perhaps, it’ll be possible to organize a second exodus to your planet, after we’ve rid it of the infestation.”

Camellia nodded, but she didn’t exude confidence.

Rooks frowned for a moment, but she shook it off. “But, you were wondering how we’ll shake our pursuit. We happen to have our convenient course corrector array right here.” Commander Rooks swept her arm through the air and guided everyone’s gaze to the course corrector.

Strong cables held it to the far wall of the docking bay, hoisted up near the ceiling. The massive cylinder was motionless and all of its thin wires lay secured along its length.

“How do you get it out of here?” Camellia stared at the huge cylinder.

It looked bigger in person, and Camellia studied it from top to bottom, though she didn’t know which end was which. At one end, Camellia spotted a giant, circular door. It stood closed at the very top of the wall, near the ceiling.

“Oh, up there.” Camellia pointed at the door and the tracks that led from the door to the cylinder’s current position.

Sten nodded. “Yes, the array is secured to a machine that pulls it along the tracks…then out the hatch.”

Commander Rooks smiled and nodded once. “After we leave here, we’re going to make a short stop to set up the array. We’ll have little time, but we’ll need ten minutes at most. This time, the course corrector won’t be instructed to stop other ships but, instead, redirect them.” Commander Rooks looked between the array and her companions. “We’re going to disable the warnings, so our pursuit won’t realize that we’ve sent them off track.”

Sten caught Eva’s eyes. “I’ll need your help to set up the decoy course. I would not want to accidentally choose a position close to Iruedim. Finally, we have to disable its warning system, so that it doesn’t send messages to our pursuers.” Sten beckoned. He started away.

Eva nodded. She followed Sten to a stairway that led up to the course corrector.

Rooks turned to the others and clapped her hands. “Excellent. The rest of you come to my bridge. Or I can arrange quarters for those who want to rest.”

“We’ll just come back to Halfmoon to sleep,” Camellia said. “For now, I think we’re all coming to the bridge.” She glanced around her group and received nodded affirmations.

Commander Rooks led them through her ship, and Camellia stayed close. She wanted to whisper some kind of warning to the Commander about the silence spell. She wanted to do so privately, even without the knowledge of her Iruedian friends. Eva wasn’t there, but to Camellia’s dismay, Meladee also stayed close to the Commander, as if she were afraid to become lost in the soft lights and winding tunnels of Fauchard.

Alim sidled up to Camellia, taking more of her limited space. Though his eyes hid behind his dark glasses, his head turned to her. She could feel his focus but tried not to notice. She felt he hadn’t taken their talk to heart at all.

Camellia trotted closer to Rooks. It was her turn to be robbed of personal space. To her credit, the Commander just ignored it.

The group entered a bright sloping tunnel, followed by a small atrium. At the atrium’s center rose a large column of stairs.

Commander Rooks stopped. “Would anyone rather take the elevator?” She gestured to two closed doors set to the side. Her tone of voice made it clear that she thought the elevator was the inferior choice.

No one took the elevator.

Rooks smiled and said, “Wonderful. Neither route is very scenic, but I always encourage my crew to take the stairs. It seems like every other day, I receive another message about elevator accidents, due to space phenomena.”

“Sounds like a nightmare,” Meladee whispered to Benham.

He grunted his agreement.

Commander Rooks trotted up the stair column. She kept a measured but brisk pace.

Camellia picked up her skirt and followed the Commander, thinking the woman must do this every day to take the stairs at such a speed. Fornax station floated some distance from its system’s star. As a result, Fauchard could better shield Camellia from sun-like influence. Calling on her dhampir speed, Camellia easily kept pace with Rooks. The others drifted behind, and Camellia listened to their progress.

Did she have a chance to talk to Rooks alone?

Benham trudged along in the rear, whispering to Meladee that he was a troll and would catch her if she slowed down. Meladee laughed quietly and seemed to stay ahead. Camellia tried not to feel jealous, but she wanted something like they had: simple and close.

Camellia listened for Alim. She heard him pant. Part of her worried for him; the other felt free of his keen interest and glad of it.

The stairs went on forever, or at least, Camellia felt they did. Finally, Rooks cleared the top, and Camellia joined her, only a step behind. They both looked back and watched the others.

Rooks nodded down at their friends. “They need more exercise. But, you surprised me.”

“Oh, it’s just the lack of sunlight.” Camellia turned to Rooks. “Commander, about the…”

Meladee’s laughter drowned out Camellia’s next words. Meladee cleared the final stair, just ahead of Benham. She quivered with excitement and ran in circles on the landing, determined to stay away from the troll. Benham grinned and chased.

Alim arrived last, completely winded.

Commander Rooks looked at Camellia, and Camellia subtly shook her head to signify now was not the time.

With a short nod, Rooks led the companions down a straight passage. At the end, Camellia could see an open door: Rooks’ bridge. The opening to the bridge was wide, and resting on either side of the hatchway were two halves of a hinged door, designed to close tightly down the center.

“Come in,” Commander Rooks invited as she stepped over the threshold.

The bridge consisted of two stories. They entered the smaller, upper level and looked down on the lower level. Vaulted ceilings rose high above their heads, and a tall series of windows showed a wide field of stars. Screens displayed panoramic views from the front, back, and sides of the ship.

“My position is usually up here on the second level,” Rooks said. “But, you may go down. Have a look around.” She gestured towards stairs and a ramp, inviting them to explore the space below.

Camellia led the descent. She chose a set of stairs, declining to use the longer ramp that led down the other side. Once at the bottom, she found herself amid several stations, all occupied by personnel. She looked up and saw Rooks looking down.

“Nice ship,” Benham said.

Meladee marveled, “Got a lot of doors.”

Camellia agreed. In addition to the upper entryway, the lower level had its own set of double doors. Camellia expected it. Fauchard was a bigger ship, and unlike their Halfmoon, people could afford to get cut off from other areas of the ship. Halfmoon had no doors, except those that led to the cockpit, the storage deck, and the bathroom.

Camellia nodded. “It’s very secure.”

“Yes, the Finial prides their ships on being safer than your average commercial vessel,” Rooks said. “I love the ship design, just not the government that commissioned them.”

“Commander, there’s a message incoming from the Station.”

Commander Rooks sighed. “Not again. I’m just going to take it here.” Commander Rooks flicked a button on her control panel. A screen in front of her emitted a glow.

Camellia walked back up the ramp. She listened to the Station master’s complaints.

“Commander Rooks, do you expect us to take all your refugees? You take the Cleydef, cut off our communications, commandeer our supplies, usurp our docking bay and defenses, and now you want me to look after all the people who don’t want to participate in your traitorous scheme?” a canine man growled.

“You’ll take them. If you ask me, you could use some visitors to this museum. No ships besides mine have docked with you this past month.”

The canine growled again, and his brown fur stood on end. “I really hope they…”

“No more threats. Let’s be civil. Good-bye Station Master Soter.” Commander Rooks shut off her screen. “I already know he harbors a passionate hatred for us, no reason why we should do this dance more than once.”

“I feel...sorry for him. I thought you planned to apologize.” Camellia turned imploring eyes to Commander Rooks.

“I did apologize. He didn’t accept. Probably because we’re criminals now.”

Camellia sighed.

High on a catwalk, Eva and Sten reprogrammed the course corrector array. They had located the correct panel and pulled the protective layer aside to reveal the main computer. The computer consisted of a small screen, keyboard, and a small box. Around the main computer, there were buttons and lights. Labeled pathways lined the edges and disappeared under adjacent panels. They alluded to more interior components.

Mostly, Eva watched as Sten tried to disable the array’s notification program. Sten pressed a button to execute a string of code, of which she understood little.

“Why isn’t it easy to turn off notifications to the ships you reroute? That’s a useful feature.” Eva stepped aside to allow Sten more space to try something new.

“The Finial legislated that we can’t do that. The course corrector is nearly impossible to resist. It not only reprograms another ship’s navigation but also adjusts a ship’s course by physically drawing it onto a new path. Many planets decided that since it can’t be resisted, people should be warned, lest it be misused.” Sten huffed as yet another attempt at terminating the messages failed.

“We do plan to misuse it,” Eva agreed.

“Precisely. So, if you ask me, I think all this extra protection was justified.” Sten paused as another attempt to disable the notifications failed. “Justified but terribly inconvenient at the moment.”

“Let’s just remove the component that sends messages,” Eva said. “Is that possible?”

Sten’s hand hovered over the pathway labels. He ran a finger down the lines, searching tiny lettering for the correct path that would lead them to the communication components. Sten’s finger stopped and rested on a miniscule label. It read: Communication Cluster One. He searched further and found Communication Cluster Two. Eva’s keen eyes followed his finger and saw both.

“We might be able to remove the notification system, provided it’s separate from the system that sends the reprogrammed navigation path,” Sten said.

“How likely is that?”

“Considering that we have two choices, likely enough.” Sten moved along the catwalk. He unscrewed the next panel, and Eva helped him wriggle it free. Sten found the communication paths and saw that they continued on. “Help me remove the next few panels. We need to find where the lines end.”

Eva helped. She and Sten moved along the lines. Four panels later, they found Communication Cluster One. Sten removed the fifth panel and revealed Communication Cluster Two. Inside both panels, Eva saw a tangle of wires and compartmentalized computers. With their eyes, Sten and Eva searched the innards.

Sten pointed inside. “Communication Cluster One connects to the navigation computer.” Sten traced the path. “We’d better not remove that one. Where does the second go?”

Eva examined Cluster Two. She turned to him and smirked. “No connection to navigation.”

“That seems too easy. Do you mind if I…”

Eva gestured for him to go ahead, and Sten double checked her work.

Sten gave Eva a sheepish glance. “You’re right. This one only goes to the transmitter, with a small line to the main computer. It’s almost like they designed it to get around the law. Maybe, claim that it stopped functioning.”

Eva wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Silently, she thanked the Finial. It’s distrust of its citizens made their task easier and gave Sten one more reason to hate it.

“One moment.” Sten walked back to the computer and tapped his way through the keyboard.

Eva waited and watched him work, studying his subtle facial expressions. After all, Sten was fond of studying hers. Concentrating… Curious… Success. Eva crossed her arms.

His work complete, Sten retrieved a fine cutter from the toolbox and returned to Eva. He looked at her and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Eva said. “I was just thinking while I waited.”

She uncrossed her arms and relocated Communication Cluster Two. She traced the paths to both the main computer and the transmitter. She rested a finger at both points to mark his place, though she doubted that he needed the assistance.

Sten looked at Eva’s hands. “You perform the cuts. The workmanship on your fingers is very fine.”

Eva looked at her small hands, took the tool, and carefully set to work. She paused to hand Sten her tablet. “Photograph the inside and as much of the array as possible. If you can download the schematics for it, that would be perfect.”

Sten startled. “You want to steal the design?”

“Yes.”

Sten took the tablet, and while Eva worked, he photographed the key parts of the array. Then, he connected to the computer, pulling an adapter from somewhere on his person. As he tried to fit the adapter to her tablet, Eva rejoined him.

“I’ve cut both lines. Do you want to check if the notifications are inactive?”

Sten continued to wriggle his adapter into her tablet, brushing fine filaments into the proper shape and size. “Yes, I should check it. Why don’t you reshape this adapter.”

Sten handed her the device. Then, he dived back into the code and left Eva to uncomfortably figure out the connection. It was a clever solution, but it reminded her of tentacles.

Sten smiled. “We are now showing an error for notifications – but not for course transmission.”

“Good.” Eva held up the tablet, now connected to the computer. “Can you send me the schematic?”

“I’ll try. I doubt that’ll be easy to acquire.” Sten typed on the keyboard and tried to bypass security to take the course corrector array’s plans. “Tell me about your creation.”

Eva froze. He told you about his. Besides, it will pique his curiosity and keep him bound to Iruedim. So, she obliged.

“My creator was named Cereus Dyelan. She was the wife of a roboticist who worked on advanced synthetics.” Eva pulled from her memory an image of Cereus. She had medium brown hair and brown eyes. Eva struggled to remember her face.

She continued, “Her own work was limited to toys and attractions for amusement parks. But, her husband began a project to grow synthetics using builder nanites. Before he could finish it, he died.” Eva knew nothing of the husband aside from his work. She didn’t know how he looked because Cereus put away all his pictures.

Eva frowned. “My widowed creator took it over, but she married it to her own work. She created a chamber that held a nanite solution. At first, she created skeletons and submerged them, allowing the nanites to finish the construction process by working off a preprogrammed blueprint. She made many amusing synthetics this way. A nymph. A sentient suit of armor. A unicorn.”

Sten glanced her way. “So, Cereus Dyelan made these fantasy creatures...and you.”

“Yes,” Eva said.

“Do you remember the time you entered the chamber? Or did the nanites build your brain while you were inside?”

“I remember none of it. As far as I know, I never entered the chamber.” Eva shook her head.

“True, in a way.”

Eva stared off, to a point beyond Sten. “I do know I was grown entirely from scratch. Cereus’ hands did not shape my skeleton. The nanites did – according to her schematic.” Eva held up her hand. “Perhaps, that’s why you find my fingers so delicate.”

Sten paused. “Grown from scratch...” He held up a finger, indicating Eva should wait. His eyes widened, and he tapped a few keys. “I believe we have the schematic.”

Eva checked her tablet and found the file, though she couldn’t access it. She would have to find some way to open it, but Sten could help.

Eva said, “We have it, but I can’t open it.”

“A problem for another time. Let’s put the array back together. Then, we pick our drop point and program the course that the array will send.” Sten picked up a small screwdriver and moved to the furthest panel.

Eva worked on the next in line.

“What about the creations made after you? What were they like?”

Eva startled at the return to their conversation, but she answered, “I’m the most advanced synthetic Cereus made.”

“She wanted to make someone as close to organic as possible, and once she succeeded, she considered her family complete. You must have been thought of as a daughter. A bit out of character for your creator as it seems she liked to create fantasy creatures.”

“What do you mean?” Eva helped Sten secure the final cover, leaving only the main computer exposed. “I’m supposed to be fashioned after a mythological figure. I forget which one.”

“That’s something you should have strived to remember,” Sten chided.