A woman’s voice rang in her ear as she stepped into the casino.

“Welcome to Evenodds, where cheating is permitted...”

There was a slight delay before she heard the rest, which was so sped up you could barely make out the words.

“... if you don’t get caught.”

Val’s lips twitched as she glanced around.

Gambling machines were everywhere, as far as the eye could see. And it was a huge room—a huge crowded room. People played at almost every machine.

Any type of game you could think of, you could find here. Whether or not they were legal mattered little. No laws held on Evenodds—not even the Imperium’s. They had their own internal Code, that was uploaded into your wristpad upon arrival. Failure to read it was no excuse if you unwittingly broke the rules.

Walking through the aisles, Val studied all the machines.

She wasn’t sure why she’d wanted to see this place.

It was true, what she’d told Kaine: she was no gambler. Had never been. Her brother, though... Well, that had been before, of course. Once he’d joined the military, most of his compulsions had been hammered out of him.

And all that for what?

She shook her head, chasing the bad thoughts away.

Though she wasn’t a gambler, she did need money. Maybe she could win some here?

No, of course not.

These places were rigged.

A large piercing sound resonated through the halls, and she heard laughter coming from her right. When she looked, she saw a couple dancing in front of a machine. They had just won ten thousand credits.

Well, there were exceptions.

But the likelihood of winning was minuscule.

The chances of losing, on the other hand...

And if there was one thing she didn’t need, it was to lose the little money she did have.

Besides, none of this made sense. This was not work. You couldn’t win your keep, you had to earn it.

This, all this, it wasn’t real. It was just eye candy. Temptation. The lure of fortune to empty your pockets—or, rather, your bank account.

She clicked her tongue and headed toward the bar.

Val wouldn’t play, but she could at least get something to drink.

Twenty minutes later, she made her way back out of the casino. She’d had enough of the noise and nonsense.

This place made her feel uncomfortable.

She was glad she’d seen it, but it was time to leave.

Spotting a hovercab, she waved her hand, and it stopped next to her.

As she got in, she noticed movement from the corner of her eye.

Glancing in that direction, she saw a man running in the street, chased by two others. Her eyes went wide as she recognized Kaine.

What was going on?

Did he get himself into trouble?

She jumped into the glider and shut the door.

“Welcome,” said the AI’s voice. “Where would you like to go?”

At least there was no robot in this one.

She leaned over the control panel and hit a sequence of characters.

“Unauthorized command. Access is denied,” said the cold, emotionless voice.

She glanced out the window. Kaine would reach her level soon—she needed to be quick.

“Nim,” she called out into her wristpad. “Can you hack this stupid glider? It’s urgent.”

“Erm, I suppose. But why—”

“Just do it! Please. I’ll explain later.”

There was a moment of silence.

Then red lights flashed on the dashboard.

“Alert! Alert! Unauthorized access!”

“Could you shut it down?”

Almost instantly, the AI’s voice went quiet and the lights turned off.

“You should be able to control the glider now,” said Nim.

She jumped on the console and tapped the sequence that would launch the vehicle into the air. Glancing through the window, she saw Kaine had just gone past her. The two men behind were catching up.

With a few quick gestures, she set the glider after Kaine and opened the door as she reached him.

“Jump in!” she yelled.

He gave her a startled look. Recognizing her, he rushed into the hovercab. The door closed as he dropped to the floor, his bag falling behind him.

“Nim! Can you take over the glider and guide us back to the ship?”

“Alright, Val.”

She turned around to look at Kaine.

“What the heck—”

She stopped talking, her eyes going wide.

“I don’t know,” said Kaine as he rubbed his neck, not noticing her look. “Those goons just jumped me.”

Val pointed at the floor behind him.

“How did you get that?”

Kaine turned his head.

When he’d dropped his bag, the cube had fallen out.