The prisoners were escorted outside the house.

Val resisted the urge to look back, not wanting to give anyone the idea to go check Aj’uhl’s office. With some luck, the cube would stay where it was and Kaine would come out with the prisoner safe and sound.

The officer’s name was Riin. She had heard a soldier mention it. The man was barking orders as they were taken to the back of the house, where two small Imperial shuttles had landed.

She cringed when she saw the cages. Some already had prisoners locked inside, while the empty ones waited for them.

“We need to get out of here,” said Aj’uhl with a trembling voice. His face was still quite pale. “I can’t go to jail—it would kill me!”

Val didn’t know what to say, so she remained quiet. She scanned their surroundings, on the lookout for anything that might help them escape.

The problem was that these Impies were trigger-happy. It was obvious from how suddenly and violently they had barged into Aj’uhl’s house. And the events on Qevahr had likely added fuel to the fire.

What they needed was a diversion.

Even as this thought crossed her mind, shots were fired and shouts erupted behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw soldiers running back toward the house, yelling and gesturing.

For a moment, nobody was looking at them.

It seemed like time had frozen.

She grabbed Aj’uhl’s arm and pulled him away from the cages. They ran in the opposite direction, away from the house.

“Val!”

Her head shot up and she looked to the side where she saw Kaine waving at them, a worried look on his face. He stood behind a nearby building and gestured for them to hurry.

She veered toward him as another shout rang—this one too close for comfort.

“Hey! The prisoners are escaping!”

There were other prisoners, so for a moment she hoped the guards meant someone else. But a phaser shot burned the wall next to her head, dashing her hope.

More shots were fired before they ducked behind the wall, where Kaine grabbed them quickly.

They heard feet running toward them, and Val knew they were doomed. They could never get away in time. And now Kaine would get caught as well.

“Everyone take hold of me,” said Kaine as he used his free hand to reach for his wristpad.

He pressed it and, the next moment, they were in a different setting.

“The transpin!” she cried out.

“I have no idea how it works, so I hope I didn’t send us into a lava pit or something...”

Val looked around them, but it seemed like they were in a valley near a small stream. The sun was high in the sky and birds chirped in the distance.

She frowned. “Where are we?”

“Assarah.”

The voice was strained, breathless, but she recognized it nonetheless. She turned to look at her friend and her eyes widened when she saw he had been wounded by one of the phaser shots.

Aj’uhl coughed and blood trickled down his lips.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

His voice trailed off as he closed his eyes.

She leaned to grab him and shook his shoulders.

“Aj’uhl!”

His body went limp.

“No! Aj’uhl!”

Kaine knelt next to them and took the man’s pulse. After a few seconds, he looked up and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, Val. He’s gone.”

She stared at him in disbelief, then back at her friend.

How could this have happened?

They should have never come here.

“It’s my fault,” she muttered.

“The hell it is.”

She glared at Kaine. “If we hadn’t come here, he’d still be alive.”

“You think the Imperials came for you?” he asked with annoyance.

“Well, no, but—”

“They didn’t even know we were here.”

“Someone must have ratted on him,” she said.

“Then they would have come whether or not you were there. This is not on you.”

He was right, of course, but it was difficult to accept.

She wiped tears from her eyes. She would not let herself cry.

Not here, not now, not ever.

She was done shedding tears.

The Imperium would have to pay for this.

Riin would have to pay.

It was only then she realized there was someone else with them.

A child.

The girl stood a few feet from them, looking down at her feet, silent and still.

Val frowned. She looked at Kaine and opened her mouth. Then stopped as realization hit her.

“Is that—”

He nodded.

“Her name is Ondine. I brought her out from inside the cube.”