30. Awakening

One awoke and immediately reached up, shoving open the lid of the pod.

"What happened?"

The representative gave her readouts a puzzled look. "That can't be right… There must have been a problem with your clone—it did not return for recycling."

The lid of the pod beside One opened and Five sat up. "Did it work?"

"I'm sorry for the malfunction. If you'd like to try again, there will be no charge for a second transfer. But you will have to wait half an hour."

"That won't be necessary." One nodded to Five and they hurried out the exit.

31. New Beginning

Standing in the center of the vast shipyard, One turned to Five. "What do you think?"

Five regarded the silvery-blue ship before them. It was small, not much bigger than the Marauder, but capable of FTL. "Seems pretty nice. But aren't you worried about using your credchip when you're supposed to be dead?"

One shook his head. "They'll just assume the killer used it. If I'd bought a ship while I was still alive, that would have raised suspicion."

Five ran her hand across the hull. "Then let's hurry up and go."

One waved to the salesdroid. "We'll take it."

32. FTL

The tiny ship trembled and One bit his lip. He really hoped Five knew what she was doing. He'd wanted to read the Owner's Manual before trying to operate the ship, but he'd really, really wanted to get away from the planet of his alleged death as quickly as possible.

The ship quieted and the view resolved into the mottled darkness of FTL. One carefully relaxed his grip on the armrests and turned toward Five. "Are we good?"

"Should be. I just programmed a small jump to get us out of the area. We need to pick a final destination."

33. Destination

"I have an idea."

One looked up from the manual he was reading.

"We should go home."

Home? What did that even mean to two people who didn't officially even exist? If she meant the Raza, that just wasn't going to happen right now.

His confusion must have shown on his face because she continued, "Your home. The farmhouse. I know you don't remember it, but it was a really nice place. Maybe your mom is still there."

One knew his parents had divorced shortly after his father started CoreLactic Industries. He hadn't had a chance to research beyond that.

34. Homeworld

One knew it wasn't normal to have to research the network to learn about your own past, but he'd gotten used to it. While stuck in the hotel, he'd downloaded all the information about Derrick Moss he could find and saved it to a datastick. He searched the datastick with the ship's computer for his homeworld.

He'd grown up on a small farm, raising horses, goats, and various crops. His father invented a new system for processing soy that increased yields by fifteen-percent. He founded CoreLactic and moved to a coreworld.

One's mother stayed home, continuing to work the farm.

35. Crisis of Faith

"I lost my memories and changed my face. She's not going to recognize me; she probably won't even want to see me."

"A mother knows her child. She'll see it in your eyes. Besides, she'll know the story from the news. They get GNN out here, right? It's everywhere."

"Even if she recognizes me, what if she doesn't want to see me? I probably took my dad's side in the divorce."

"She'll want to see you."

Five tugged on One's hand, but his feet remained rooted. Five decided she would have to shift tactics. "What's the worst that could happen?"

36. Welcome Home, Titch

One had hung back, so whoever opened the door would see Five first. But Ma didn't even hesitate, she strode right up to One and wrapped him a tight embrace. After several seconds, Ma stepped back. "Welcome home, Titch."

"Told you!" Five grinned. One said nothing.

"And you," Ma turned toward Five, "Must be my first grandchild."

"Umm…" Five wasn't sure how to respond.

"How do you know it's me?" One finally asked.

"I just know. I'll always be your mother, Titch. It's my business to know what happens to you.

"Now come inside, we have lots to talk about."