Three weeks later, Beka strolled through the shopping district of a very familiar chunk of floating metal. She smiled at the clerks, winked at the street thugs, and just basically made damn sure that someone would report her presence to anyone and everyone.

She wandered for a couple of hours, then staked out a spot in the wide square filled with cheep, fake trees and metal benches. Vixvacule's approach a few minutes later didn't surprise all that her much.

"Vixvacule, you little backstabbing rat, how in the heavens are you?" she said brightly, leaning back in the artificial 'sunlight' and hooking her arms over the back of her bench.

"Better than you, I feel safe to say." He was squinting at her, obviously uncomfortable with the light levels.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. You see, Mr. Keegan is unhappy."

"Is he now."

"He is," the rat said leaning in, his musky, pelted face way too close. She could smell his rancid dinner on his breath. "And that should make you very… uneasy."

She pulled a face, something between a grimace and a glare. Then she flicked him, hard, on his nose. He yelped, jerking his head back and covering his snout with both hands. "Damnit, woman," he hissed, his eyes watering, "that hurts!"

"Keep your pointy little nose to yourself then." Yeah, she just bet it hurt. Night-siders had something like a billion nerve endings in their wet little snouts.

"When Keegan hears about this on top of everything else you've done-!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Beka rolled her eyes. "You know what? I'm kind of sick of worrying about Keegan's state of mind. Maybe it's time he started worrying about my state of mind."

Vixvacule eyeballed her, wiggling his nose. "And why should he be concerned with you?"

She shrugged, leaning back again. "Maybe because I found his contract – oh, and by the way, his lapdog…well, she won't be coming home. I'm afraid I had to put her down. Offer Keegan my apologies."

Vixvacule twitched. Then swept a hand through the air as if brushing the matter aside. "You've only saved Keegan the bullet, my dear. That still won't change Keegan's position."

She smiled a bit. "Good, then he shouldn't be all that upset when he hears that I took out all the ferrets that came to pick her up, too."

The rat blinked, his hands falling from his face. Then shrugged. "While disappointing, your little friend sent us details of how to reach the station. We still have them. Thank you for that, by the way. I don't think many other pilots could have found a way to reach the station. Unfortunately, Keegan still has no particular use for you, I'm afraid."

"Really?" Beka said, "Because I would have thought –"

There was a dull Ka-BOOM, and the drift shook. Vixvacule, like almost everyone else on the drift, dropped, covering his head as the interior hull lit up with a bright flash that quickly decayed into the dull orange of a very large fire. Beka smiled a little, watching the lights flicked at the far side of the drift, listing to the sirens kick in. That was a little early, but still, good timing.

Vixvacule slowly stood, blinking as the first wave of dust and smoke rolled past the district, pulled by the air-recycling systems.

"What was that?" the rodent asked no one, blinking. Beings were running from the district, some away from the fire, some toward.

"That," Beka offered, "was Keegan having a change of heart."

"What?" Vixvacule demanded, wheeling toward her.

Beka grinned. Divinity, she loved this part. "That was a certain weapons shop going boom. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but most of Keegan's influence over this sector come from his ownership and trading of Tosand's little toys. Now, if I take Tosand out of the picture, Keegan has no more supplies. And no more weapons to hold back the other families."

"You wouldn't," Vixvacule said, looking appalled.

"Oh, I so would. Leaving Keegan holding the bag on unfinished contracts with some very nasty people. Now, he might be thinking that he'll just jot on over to the station and use the old High Guard weaponry to fulfill his obligations. But there's on small problem. I blew it up, too."

Vixvacule looked incredulous. "What is wrong with you, human? Do you feel the need to blow up everything?"

Beka cocked her head, considering. "Well, I don't know if it's so much a need, as much as just pure fun."

"Keegan will kill you." The rat looked positively merry at the prospect.

"He could try," Beka agreed. "But he might get more satisfaction from dealing with me."

"Dealing. For what?"

Beka chuckled. It was a fire sale, and everything must go. "I was on that station for a couple of days. While my crew was making repairs, I loaded the hold with trinkets and the computers with data. I have all sorts of things I'm willing to share…for a price."

"And you'll deal with Keegan?"

"Under the understanding that I'm a free agent, and that my ship and my crew are to be left alone, no grudges. Then, yeah, he can bid with the rest. If, however, any attempt is made against my ship, I will personally send all my crap to his biggest enemies and watch with glee as they eat him alive. Understood?"

Vixvacule glared at her for a moment, and then glanced at the bright shadows of the fires. She saw his shoulders sag in his expensive jacket and knew he had acknowledged that Tosand was toast and his options were zero. He hissed. "I will take your offer to Keegan. And while I can't answer for him, I will say that he will most likely take you up on your offer."

"Good. I'm ready for this to be over, Vixvacule."

"As am I, Captain." Then he smiled. "And, as a personal note, I like your style. You are ruthless, driven, devious, beautiful, and clearly capable of turning a profit. If you ever decide you should need more crew, please look me up."

Beka tried hard to smile politely and not grimace at the very idea. That would happen just about the time that Hellsport froze over. "I'll keep that in mind."

He bowed politely enough, and finally went away. Beka just lounged for a moment, just enjoying the lack of stress. She watched the square slowly start to fill up with beings once again as people realized the fires were contained to the warehouse area. Eventually she went to a nearby shop and spent a small fortune on a couple of treats; she had the cash at the moment. She went back to her bench.

A minute or two later Harper wandered up, full of a restless energy and a vicious gleam in his eyes. He was filthy, grease and ash smeared his face and clothing. He had dust in his hair.

"Here," she said, and handed him the chocolate ice-cream cone. He brightened even further.

"Ice-cream? Seriously? Real ice-cream?"

"I owed you. Have fun?" she asked.

He giggled manically. "Oh so much. It was awesome." He started in on his ice-cream. "The Fungus was still inside. I made sure." He lapped at a drip, slurping slightly.

"Not seeing the bad in that," she responded honestly. Of course, she had known when she set Harper the task of blowing up Tosand's warehouse that he would probably leave Tosand inside, but she hadn't ordered it. Beka figured that was Harper's decision. And Tosand's death didn't affect her plans either way. If anything, it helped – because Keegan had now lost his mastermind. "You need a shower."

"Mmm," he agreed absently, still focused on his treat. "This is really good."

"Yep. Ice-cream is always good after a scam." She licked a few times herself. Then: "How much do you think the stuff in the hold is really worth?"

He shrugged. "Some of it, not much. But you got a few pieces that could bring you some ready cash."

She nodded, it was what she expected. She hadn't had much time alone while she was on the station. Now she wished she'd picked a bit better. But, then, she hadn't known they were going to blow the station up, either. At the time, she'd thought she'd be back. "Do you think we have enough to refit the Maru?"

"For a full refit?" He gave her an odd look. "You've got a new-ish slipstream drive. And I can help with fuel injection rates, and water recyc. To bring down your general overhead. If I get the parts used, I should be able to shave a few bucks off the budget."

"Don't skimp."

"Won't. It's just, I can cobble most of what you need from what you have. Unless you want new…"

"You think you can shave enough to make some…modifications?"

His eyes glittered. "Depends on what you want, but yeah… I should have enough to play with."

She smiled back. "I was thinking about getting into some heavy salvage work."

"Salvage?"

"Yeah," she licked at her ice-cream. "What would you say if I told you that at least one of the data packages I lifted from Hephaestus was a series of information about a lost High Guard warship."

He had forgotten about his cone. It dripped down his hand as he stared at her. "Seriously?"

She nodded. "Including location."

"Holy shit."

She nodded again. "It could take us a few years to find the proper equipment, the precise location… we may have to get a few investors. But…what do you think?"

He smiled. "I think life can be sweet," he said, and bit into his ice-cream.