Soraya has finished eating and drinking. She smiles at me over the rim of her cup. "I overheard you."

Her amusement irks me. "I must communicate with Talyn. Someone has to compensate for his mis-wired circuitry. I suggest you become accustomed to it."

She toys with the cup, rolling it in her hands. "My father was going to give me Kateri next cycle, when she and I 'came of age.' I thought of her as a cargo bay with engines, but you and Talyn-- You love him very much, don't you?"

I have no answer to such an odd question, so I ask one of my own. "What do you know about the Peacekeepers who attacked Xera?"

Her hands clench the cup until the knuckles are white, and her left eye twitches. "Just that they're lying, murdering, bastards looking for any excuse to steal from an honest merchant! When they boarded, there was no way they could have known what we had--" She squeezes her eyelids shut and mutters a curse, angry with herself for the slip.

I wave a hand dismissively. "I don't care what you were smuggling. Did you find out where they were going?"

"When they found the An-- When they found our item, they mentioned a base near Khanitia."

"Could you find it on a chart?" I ask. When she nods, I address my ship, "Talyn, have you accessed all the charts from Kateri's memory banks?"

Some. Kateri kept asking why you can't just read a stream of coordinates. After a sullen pause, he adds, I told her my pilot is Sebaccean, and she laughed!

"Very good!" I slap the wall in congratulation, the closest thing I can imagine to clapping Talyn on the back.

She insulted you. How is that good?

"She speaks freely now, whether or not you like what she has to say. You have succeeded in earning her trust. Now find out all you can from her! And open the door to command. I need to look at the charts with Soraya."

The door swings open. Crais, Kateri wants us to help her find her mother.

"Promise her nothing, Talyn. If the Peacekeepers get a control collar on you, they can wreak even more devastation." I try to keep my voice cool and commanding, but a note of panic creeps in. I have mentally played out the scenario many times, and I know what I would have to do if facing capture. I would destroy Talyn, and myself along with him, before allowing him to be collared.

I understand. The two ships begin exchanging information once again, their conversation too fast and too complex for me to make sense of it.

I stand and reach out a hand to pull Soraya to her feet. She can stand without support now, and her grip is stronger. I have to tug my hand away from her, and when I do, she remains steady.

As we walk toward command, I ask, "Do you think the Peacekeepers took Xera?"

She shrugs. "If they wanted her. That's what Peacekeepers do-- take what they want, kill what they don't."

"Then you know the creed." When she doesn't smile, I regret making an attempt at humor.

We are now standing on the command deck, surrounded by Talyn's various consoles. Soraya walks in a slow circle, admiring the instrument displays and the holoscreen where Talyn has projected an overlay of his charts and Kateri's. She stops in front of the charts and points to a cluster of stars. "This is where Xera was attacked, and here's where they're taking what they stole. If they manage to learn what they want to, it'll be worse than if they had Talyn." She licks her lips and takes a deep breath as if steeling herself to say something difficult. "Captain Crais, can you help me bond with Kateri, as you are with Talyn? And can you tell me where you had the guns mounted?"

"Kateri would never accept you as a pilot. Your minds are incompatible. I suspect she might object to having weapons mounted as well."

She tilts her head to one side, frowning in confusion. "But Talyn--"

"--is a hybrid. I specifically designed him to function under my control. He is only half Leviathan."

"I see. Will you help us, then?"

I nod. "I will return you to Kateri, and I will have Talyn instruct her to approach the nearest commerce planet you know of, or to take you to whatever family you have. Talyn and I will accompany you as long as we can avoid Peacekeepers." When she opens her mouth to protest, I add, "May I remind you that you are in no position to negotiate? Your surrender was unconditional."

"I know. I'm not stupid."

She sounds so much like Talyn I can't help laughing a bit.

She looks down at her boots. "I wasn't negotiating. I was asking. Haven't you ever just asked for something? Not negotiated, not ordered, just asked?"

I've done nothing but ask since I bonded with Talyn, and I hate it. Instead of admitting that, I answer, "Peacekeepers don't ask, and they don't talk to their boots."

"Alright then." Her chin snaps up, and she locks eyes with me. "The thing they took from us isn't a 'thing'. It's a being, an Ancient that the Peacekeepers were able to capture. Some Sebaccean freedom fighters re-captured him, and they hired my father to transport him back to his people."

I fumble for a moment, seeking the significance of the name 'Ancient'. When I remember where I last heard it, my mouth goes dry. "They are hoping to interrogate it for wormhole technology."

Soraya nods. "My father said there would be Peacekeeper prowlers darting out of empty space. There would be no safe place anywhere, not even the farthest reaches of the uncharted territories. That's why he took the job. It cost him his life."

"Then you and Kateri can find the freedom fighters and ask for their help. I cannot risk calling attention to Talyn."

I expect her to argue but instead she looks at me with a tearful half-smile. "My father told me to hide in Kateri if any Peacekeepers came in sight. I can't blame you for protecting Talyn the same way my father wanted to protect me." She points to the chart once more. "I should be able to contact the freedom fighters from here. They have a relay station."

"Why not send a signal now?"

She shakes her head. "They wouldn't listen to a transmission from a stranger. I don't know the codes, but one of the men at the relay station may remember me. He came aboard Xera to negotiate."

"Very well. Talyn, initiate starburst."

I won't leave Kateri. She's too low on fuel to starburst.

"If you explained to her the urgency of contacting the freedom fighters, she would no doubt be willing to wait. We can return for her later."

Would you leave Officer Sun stranded, with no way to defend herself or run?

"That has no relevance. Kateri is--"

A cargo bay with engines? Maybe her opinion of Sebacceans is accurate.

"Talyn, we cannot afford to make these attachments. You must not allow her to influence you!"

Three solar days to the relay station. And Kateri will not allow Soraya to return.

I slam my hand down on one of the consoles before regaining my composure. "Very well. Three solar days. Soraya, you'll be sleeping in one of the holding cells. Talyn's sleeping quarters are quite preliminary, but there is a fully formed cell with water and a bunk. I'll instruct Talyn not to lock the door, but you will be restricted to the lower deck unless I need you on command."

"You want me here with you?"

Tauvo had a pet, once, a big-eyed quadruped that followed him everywhere, begging for attention and scraps of food. The way that creature looked at him is the way Soraya looks at me now. If she knew a fraction of the things I've done, she would fly out an airlock to get away from me. I had forgotten what it felt like to be trusted, but the rush of power I feel is an intoxicant I cannot afford to enjoy. I must keep my mind clear.

"I do not," I tell her. "But Kateri will not have you."

She stares at he boots again, disappointed. "Oh. Thank you for helping me, anyway." She caresses one of the instrument panels and smiles slightly. "Talyn, you too."