They sat quietly in the shuttle, staring through the window at the approaching surface.

Bregg had picked three from his crew to go with him.

Len Orvos was a young recruit with a temper. He was fresh out of the academy, but he had drive and purpose. In some ways, he reminded Bregg of himself—before his shame, when he still was young and filled with dreams of grandeur. The boy would go places if he didn’t make any mistakes as he had. Under different circumstances, he might not have picked him. But he remembered all too well how antsy he was in the beginning, how he craved action and going in the field, how he wanted to make a difference. And though he doubted they would make a difference here at all, he knew the boy thought they would, and that was all the reason he needed. He could read it in his eyes.

Dasha Dawan was cut from a different cloth. She came from a wealthy family that tried to buy her way into the army. But she wanted none of that and refused every promotion she felt she did not deserve. She wanted to learn her way to the top and earn every rank she was given. The woman was smart, too, which Bregg thought could come in handy.

And, of course, he had asked Ferris to come as well. How could he leave his only friend behind? Though part of him felt he did not deserve the friendship of this man—not anymore, at least—he couldn’t just turn away from him. Logic—and regulations—would have required he give the bridge to his second-in-command while he was away, but he had no idea what challenges he would encounter on Qevahr. Under such circumstances, he preferred to have Ferris by his side.

The lieutenant sat next to him and lowered his voice so the other two would not hear what he said.

“I don’t understand, Adam. Why are they sending you down there? This is not the kind of job you give to a colonel.”

Because the Imperium hoped he would die on that planet. It would rid them of a big thorn in their side.

But he couldn’t say that. So he shrugged.

“Who else could they send? They needed someone with experience who they could also trust.”

Ferris frowned. “There were others at that meeting. I still think it’s odd they picked you.”

Bregg did not answer.

He turned his head to look out the window at the approaching surface.

The reason didn’t matter to him. His life was out of control. Or, at least, out of his control. He had become a puppet in the Emperor’s hands.

If only he could cut those strings...

Maybe he should disappear on Qevahr. Let everyone think he was dead. With his wristpad, he’d still have a private connection to Juden, so he could continue to monitor the hunt for Starrider.

The thought made him cringe.

He didn’t like the idea of Juden knowing he was hiding from the Imperium. That would give the man leverage over him.

No, that wouldn’t do at all. He’d have to think of something else.

A few minutes later, the shuttle landed in the middle of the jungle. They had used the latest stealth technology to hide their movements from the Qevahri—no one would know they were here.

“Where are we even supposed to begin?” asked Ferris as they stepped out of the ship.

Bregg looked around at the trees, then up at the sun. He pointed to his right.

“There’s a city a few miles south from here. It’s as good a place to start as any.”

His friend nodded and they began their trek through the trees.

They had left their uniforms behind, as they would have made them too conspicuous. If they were to blend in, they couldn’t be flaunting Imperial insignias and weaponry.

“I think I heard something,” whispered Orvos.

It was a jungle, of course he would hear something! There was wildlife all around them. Animals, insects, wind breezing through the trees...

He frowned as he heard it too. Distant voices. Shouting. Coming closer, too. They seemed to come from the direction they were headed.

“Take cover,” he said as he hurried toward a large boulder.

They all hid as best they could and a few minutes later, they heard footsteps and nearby voices.

“Come on,” a man called out, “we’re almost there. We need to find them before they get too far.”

“I still think we should have shot them out of the sky,” grumbled another.

“The explosion was too likely to kill them. We need them alive, remember? Can’t extract information from dead bodies.”

The voices faded as the group went past them and they could not hear the rest of the conversation.

Bregg waited a moment before he gave the all-clear signal. They stood and started south again.

“I don’t understand,” said Ferris. “It sounds like they know where our ship has landed. That should be impossible.”

Dawan cleared her throat. “With all due respect, lieutenant, have you seen their ships?”

Bregg glanced at the woman, then at his friend. “She has a point. They obviously have access to highly advanced technology. Why would it stop at warships?”

Orvos snorted. “They won’t be happy to find the shuttle empty.”

They walked on in silence for a moment.

“You realize,” said Ferris, “that this compromises our only way out? If they seize our ship...” His voice trailed off.

Bregg grunted.

“We’ll figure something.”