Starrider was big enough that all of the rebels could fit in comfortably.

“What were you doing on that Gnorlian ship?” asked Peter as they walked toward the control room.

Val wrinkled her nose. “Following Juden. Hoped I could figure out who he worked for.”

“Did you?”

“I’m not sure,” she said with a frown. “I assumed he worked for the Gnorlian government, but he denied it. Then again, why would he admit to it? Bah. You can never know with that one.”

“Still. It’s interesting that he was on that ship to begin with.”

“That’s true. And headed for Nimnir. I wonder what that was about.”

“My guess,” cut in Kesh, “is that the archmaster is on a diplomatic mission to try and patch things up after that screw-up the other day.”

Val looked at him. “What screw-up?”

“You haven’t heard? The Gnorlian ambassador on Rimzana all but endorsed the Qevahri’s actions. Bet you that got the Gnorlians all nervous after that sentence to oblivion business.”

She glanced at her brother, who nodded.

“It could explain this,” he said.

“The archmaster, yes. But Juden?”

“And how’s Kaine, by the way?”

“Stable last I saw him.” She sighed. “But it’s been a while. Keep getting sidetracked. I really should go check up on him again soon.”

They reached the control room, and Val jumped into her seat. “Hey, Nim! I’m home.”

“Glad to have you back,” said the familiar voice.

Most of the rebels had gone to the refectory to eat; a few had gone into cabins to get some rest; a couple had gone to the infirmary to treat superficial wounds.

In the control room with Val and Peter were only three others: Kesh, Mrill, and a woman named Lartha—a thin brunette with a dimpled chin.

“So,” said Val as her fingers danced on the dashboard, “where do you want me to drop you off? Pluvios, I assume?”

When nobody answered, she glanced back at her brother and saw him lost in thought.

“Peter?”

He blinked and looked at her. Smiled.

“Sorry. I was thinking... The archmaster gave me coordinates for a place that would make a much better base of operations. It’s on an abandoned asteroid. The Gnorlians mined it for generations, then left once it was depleted. The installations are all still there. Including a large spaceport that could accommodate our growing fleet.”

“So why the hesitation?”

“Well, we also need to get our troops and check on our people, make sure everyone got back home safe.”

“Okay. So which is it?”

He sat on the chair next to her.

“I think it’d be best to check the asteroid first.”

She quirked a brow. “Don’t trust the archmaster, is that it?”

Peter glanced at Mrill, then back at his sister.

“No, he was sincere. But with everything that’s been going on lately in the rim, who knows what’s what? For all we know, the Impies could have found the asteroid and planted a base there. If it was the case and we showed up with all our ships, it would be—”

“Awkward?”

He grinned. “Pretty much.”

“Alright. So let’s go inspect the place first. Give me those coordinates.”

Her brother transferred them to the ship from his wristpad.

“On our way,” said Nim.

“It’s a cool ship,” she heard Lartha say behind her. “Looks old, but cool.”

Val swung to her, a big smile on her lips. “Thank you! That’s what I keep saying. That thick-headed Kaine wouldn’t know [a masterpiece] if it bit him in the ass.”

The other woman snorted. “How did you get your hands on it?”

Peter cleared his throat. “Uhm, that’s a long story, Lartha. Let’s keep it for another day.”

“It’s okay,” said Val. “Found it on Osaran some ten years ago. Abandoned in a wreckyard, can you believe it?”

“Weird,” muttered the woman.

Val shrugged.

Peter stood. “We’ll let you at it, sis. Come on guys, let’s go get some food in us. And we’ll have a debrief while we’re at it.”

The others grunted—except Mrill, who just kept very quiet. But she followed the others when they filed out.

Val glanced over her shoulder, then back at the controls.

“How long will it take to reach the asteroid?” she asked.

“Twelve hours,” answered Nim. “It’s at the far end of the rim, Val.”

Was that concern in her friend’s voice?

“What is troubling you?”

“I don’t know. It’s just that we’ve never been so far out.”

“I think it’ll be a perfect hiding place for the rebels. Nobody would think to come looking for them there.”

“Wouldn’t there be more patrols so close to the border of the Imperium?”

“Not really. There used to be, centuries ago, but there’s nothing out there.”

“That’s not true.”

“Well, okay, not completely true. But we’ve been at peace with the few species we know of.”

Nim remained quiet as the ship sped through the stars.

Ten hours later, Val had dozed off. She woke when she heard a beeping sound and someone calling out her name.

Her eyes flickered open.

She straightened and looked around.

The control room was empty.

“Val? Are you awake?”

She relaxed. It was Nim’s voice.

“Yes. What’s up?”

“I’m not sure... But there’s something ahead.”

“Is it the asteroid?” She looked at the time. “Already?”

“No. It’s not that. It’s smaller. Much smaller. Look at the sensors.”

She did so and blinked.

“What the hell? Can you bring it up on the screen?”

“It’s still pretty far, but I’ll try.”

She looked up as the display changed from one set of stars to another. But somewhere in the midst of these was... something.

“Zoom in.”

The stars grew... and grew... and grew...

Her eyes went from the screen to the sensors.

“That can’t be a ship,” she muttered.

When she looked back up, she saw it.

A speck of black in the darkness around. But there was something about it... A flicker of light from a sun that caught on its surface, glittering.

“Is that glass?” she asked in astonishment. “What the hell? Zoom more!”

“I can’t. I’m maxed out.”

She cursed. “Alright. Get us closer, then.”

“That would take us away from the coordinates.”

She glanced at the sensors and at the time.

“We’re only two hours from the asteroid. A few minutes off won’t make a big difference. Go for it. Maximum speed. I want to see what this thing is.”

“We’re getting real close to the border, Val...”

She blinked. “Wait. Are you telling me this thing is coming from beyond the rim?”

There was a moment of silence. “I can’t say for sure, but it does seem to be the case.”

“How can you not be sure?”

“It’s not technically moving, Val.”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s floating, but it’s not moving.”

“No engine?”

“If it has one, it’s not on. And not thilium-based. There is not a single trace of thilium in that thing.”

She stared at the screen and at the growing dot.

“No thilium at all?”

“None.”

How could anything go through space without thilium?

Unless it was a rock or something like that. But this had a smooth surface, and likely glass. This was a man-made or alien-made device.

Without thilium.

Ships needed thilium to function properly. But, more importantly, it allowed to travel at ten times the speed of light—even faster for some of the more powerful vessels. History books were filled with stories of how slow space travel had been before the discovery of thilindrin energy.

She had trouble wrapping her head around that.

As they came closer, she could make out the shape. It was cylindrical, black, with what clearly was glass at one end. Though the glass did not go all around. She could see this as the object drifted through space and slowly spun on itself.

“How big is that thing? Can you tell?”

“We are close enough that I can get better readings.” She could sense the unease in Nim’s voice. “It’s seven feet long and thirty inches large.”

“What the hell?”

“And, Val...”

“What?”

“I... I think there’s something inside it.”

“Something?”

“I’m picking up life signals.”

“What the hell?”

She fell quiet as they moved closer.

As the object revolved, the glass section came back into view. They were near enough now that the zoom could show her details.

Her eyes went wide as she saw a face through the glass...

A human face.