The ship shot through the stars.

“Where are we going now?” asked Kaine.

The entire structure shook under their feet, but Val wasn’t worried. She knew it was solid, and she trusted Nim.

“Pluvios,” she said.

“Why there?”

“Because I have... a friend who is likely to know more about Kinzuki Cages than anyone else in the Imperium. Maybe he can help us set its prisoner free.”

“How can he know so much about them?”

Val frowned. “Because he owns a few.”

“What?”

“They’re empty. At least, they are now. He keeps them locked away, so no one can use them.”

“Oh.”

They sat in the control room in silence as Val worked on the dashboard.

“What does he do?” asked the thief after a moment.

She glanced at him.

“Does it matter?”

He shrugged. “Just curious.”

“He’s a scavenger,” she muttered, watching for his reaction.

Kaine rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Don’t scavengers sell what they find?”

At least he hadn’t called it stealing, she thought to herself.

“We have to make a living too,” she conceded with a nod.

He blinked. “You mean you’re also a scavenger?”

“Is that a problem?”

Even as she spoke, she realized she was being more defensive than she would have liked. But she was tired of being judged for her line of work. If no one did what they did, spare parts would be a lot more expensive. Even the largest manufacturing companies bought from them.

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “Just wouldn’t have pegged you as the criminal sort.”

Her cheeks warmed as she turned to face her passenger.

“I am not a criminal. Unlike you, Mister Thief.”

He grimaced.

“Meant no offense, princess. It’s just that scavenging isn’t exactly legal, last I checked.”

“Again with the princess?”

“No need to get all worked up over it, hon. I call everyone princess.”

“Even guys?”

He laughed. “No, of course not!”

“Do you call them princes?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then why call women princesses?” she interrupted, waving a finger at him. “And don’t you give me that crap again about who they want to be when they’re kids.”

“Alright, alright! I apologize, okay? Geez.”

She grunted. “As for scavenging, it might not be legal, but it’s not illegal either.”

“I don’t know if the Imperium would agree...”

“You think I care about that? I’m pretty sure you don’t. But maybe you feel a princess should think differently?”

He threw his hands in the air.

“I give up. You win. I won’t say another word.”

She squinted at him. “I somehow doubt that.”

When he didn’t respond, she went back to work on her dials.

The more she thought about this guy, the more she grew annoyed. Her life had been so much simpler before she’d met him. Well, before that and the space rift.

She frowned.

And how the heck had that ship been able to find them—let alone those men on Evenodds?

She threw a glance at Kaine.

“Did your employer give you anything?”

He blinked at her.

“Uhm, no, why?”

“Not even that bag?”

He shook his head. “All mine.”

Her eyes turned back to the console, but her mind was racing.

“You need to strip,” she said after a while.

Kaine straightened in his chair.

“Excuse me?”

She clicked her tongue. “We need to get rid of anything you own. What you wear, the bag, everything. Nim can have new clothes made for you.”

His eyes went wide. “You think I’ve been bugged?”

“How else do you explain that ship coming after us, or those goons chasing you?”

“But I only spoke to the guy over holovisor calls! I never met him in person.”

She shrugged. “He could have sent people to do the job while you were out.”

Kaine swore. “You’re right. That has to be it.”

“Let’s just hope they didn’t inject a tracker inside you while you were sleeping.”

His face turned white. “You’re kidding me, right?”

She shrugged again. “I’ve heard stories.”

He rubbed his arms and shifted in his seat.

“Any way we could check for something like that?”

“I don’t have the required equipment. Aj’uhl might be able to help with that once we reach Pluvios, but we might as well start with the simpler stuff.”

Kaine stood. “Right. I’ll go take care of it right away.”

She watched him go, then looked back at the console with a sigh.

Life had really been simpler before...