-KAJA-

  Blaze’s room turned out to be a surprisingly quaint and well-kept space. It didn’t have much stuff in it: just a bed, a desk, and a chair, but Blaze had decorated the walls with artwork and photographs. Most of the art and pictures were of places that Kaja didn’t recognize. Only one picture had any people in it. It was a small rectangular frame Blaze kept on his desk.

  Kaja lifted it up to take a closer look. The picture showed a small boy standing between two smiling adults.

  That must be his family, Kaja thought. She felt a pang of envy. She didn’t have a single picture like this. Not with both her parents. She blamed her mother for that.

  Kaja set the picture down and sat on the bed. It was very comfortable, and a massive improvement from the cots in prison. However, she couldn’t allow herself to get comfortable. Not yet. There was something she had to do. She placed the small bag she had carried with her on the ground, then left the room.

  She went looking for Agent Wilson. She did not intend to apologize, but she wanted to at least smooth things over. Their relationship had gotten off to a rocky start, and two years was a long time to be in the company of someone you did not get along with.

  Agent Wilson's room was only a few feet away from Blazecorra's. Kaja took in a deep breath and raised her fist to knock, however, the door opened before she could. Ben Wilson stared down at her.

  "Khan," he mumbled.

  Kaja quickly recovered from the surprise. "Agent Wilson."

  "Are you attempting to escape again?"

  Kaja bit back a flare of annoyance. That was fair, she told herself.

  "I came to find you," she said.

  "Mmm," was all he said in response. He stepped out of the doorway and swept past her without another word.

  Kaja whirled around, clenched her fists, then followed after him.

  "I came to find you to smooth things over," she said.

  "To apologise?" Ben asked.

  He didn't even look at her when he spoke. They entered the cabin where Blazecorra was reclining on the sofa. Blaze raised his eyebrows in surprise as he watched them enter.

  "Apologise is not the right word," Kaja said.

  "Oh?" Ben responded. He looked at Blaze and said, "Blaze, we're taking off. Let's get into positions."

  "Alright," Blaze said. He stood up and walked into the cockpit.

  Ben turned around to face Kaja. "So let’s hear your apology," he said.

  Kaja pouted. She had hoped to shake hands and move on. This just felt like she was on trial again.

  "I’m sorry," she said.

  "For?"

  Kaja glared at Ben Wilson. Was he enjoying this? Had she read him wrong? Did he enjoy making other people feel small?

  Ben Wilson smiled. "I’m just messing with you," he said.

  Kaja relaxed.

  "But-"

  She tensed up again.

  "I’m not alone this time," Ben said. "Blaze is here, and he is my friend. If you betray us, and Blaze gets harmed, I will hunt you down. Do you understand me, Kaja Khan?"

  Kaja nodded. There was an intensity in Ben Wilson’s eyes that had not been there before. She had a flashback to when he knocked her out after her escape attempts. That was not a moment she wanted to relive.

  "I understand," she said.

  "Good. And there’s a second rule."

  "Wait," Kaja interrupted. "That was the first rule?"

  "Yeah," Ben replied. "Don’t betray us. It’s a pretty simple rule, right? The second rule is also simple. Obey. If Blaze and I say jump, you jump. If we say run, you run. If we say hide… you get the picture."

  Kaja nodded.

  "Third rule."

  Kaja began to wonder how many rules there were.

  "The third rule is to forget about your revenge."

  Kaja’s heart fluttered, and her ears burned. She noticed Ben watching her closely.

  "Forget your revenge," he repeated. "For now. Can you do that?"

  Kaja didn’t respond. How could he ask her to forget her father? Did he understand what he was saying? She wanted to lunge at him, but she forced her feet to remain planted. She had no chance of beating him.

  Ben sighed. "I’m working through something similar," he said. "So I know the kind of emotions running through you, but there’s a difference. I have the power to get my revenge. You don’t."

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  "I already got my revenge," Kaja said.

  "You’re lying," Ben responded flatly. "I saw the way you looked at the Dreglin I killed. You weren’t satisfied. Wait. Get stronger. Then you can go for your revenge."

  Kaja’s emotions began to settle, and her thoughts became clearer. She gave Ben a sideways look.

  "Wait," she said. "Aren’t you supposed to be telling me that revenge isn’t good?"

  Ben shrugged. "I already said I'm working through something similar. What I am doing is telling you to wait. I’m strong. You’re not. You would die before getting your revenge."

  "So will you teach me to be stronger?" Kaja asked.

  Ben nodded. "If we get the time," he said. He turned around and headed for the cockpit. Kaja followed.

  "I think we should discuss more about the mission details," Blaze said when they entered the cockpit. Ben sat in the main pilot’s chair, Blaze in the co-pilot’s chair and Kaja in the seat behind Ben.

  "Sure," Ben said. He turned towards Kaja. "Did you read the files, Khan?"

  Kaja smiled sheepishly. "I scanned them," she said.

  Ben sighed. "It's an escort mission," he said. "We will be accompanying a group called the Order of the First Light to their destination. They have their own ship. It’s a Flagship Bulk Carrier."

  Kaja made a face. She didn’t like Bulk Carriers. The Stellar Authority used them a lot. They had probably loaned it to the First Light. Bulk Carriers were ugly, bloated ships, designed more towards function than form.

  "They are already up there," Ben said. He pointed up, and Kaja assumed he meant space. "We’ll meet them in the Freighter," Ben said. "Then the Freighter will carry us to the Andaris Reach."

  Kaja had a question. "Who are these First Light guys anyway?"

  "My old family," Ben said. Kaja’s mouth dropped open, and she wasn’t alone. Blaze gave Ben a long hard look.

  "You didn’t mention it," Blaze said.

  Ben shrugged. "I left them a long time ago," he said.

  Blaze was still staring. "That means Fen-"

  "Yeah," Ben responded. "That’s where I met her. We were raised by the First Order."

  Blaze shook his head. "I think we need to start talking about our childhoods," he said.

  "Rule 6," Ben replied. "Rule 6."

  Kaja felt left out. "What’s rule 6?" she asked.

  Blaze replied. "One of the rules we made when we became partners. Rule 6: No backstories. It was Ben’s idea, and I went with it, but I’m beginning to think that was a mistake."

  Ben shook his head. "Rule 6 stands," he said. "I only told you this because I had to. Trust me, you don’t want to know the rest."

  Kaja looked from Ben to Blaze, and back again. She wondered how their friendship had sustained with no discussions about family and the past.

  "Let’s go," Ben said. The ship hummed to life, then Ben tapped a button and spoke. "Control tower, StarHawk T700, Bay 225, ready for take off."

  There was a slight delay then a woman responded. Her voice came through the ship's speakers.

  "StarHawk, cleared for takeoff. Proceed to runway 25."

  "Roger," Ben said.

  He deftly guided the ship into the air and across the bay towards a set of large doors with the number 25 emblazoned on them.

  As they approached, the doors slid open revealing a sequence of massive mechanical rings which seemed to hover in the air. Each ring had a radius roughly twice the width of the StarHawk.

  Ben spoke again.

  "Control Tower, StarHawk approaching Runway 25."

  "StarHawk, all clear, Countdown to take off initiated....10...9...8"

  Ben lined the ship up within the centre of the first ring. The rings were arrayed in a quarter circle. Each subsequent ring was elevated above the previous and was more horizontal. This continued until the last ring which was far above the rest and entirely horizontal.

  "3...2...1...Takeoff."

  Ben slammed the steering wheel forward and the ship lurched through the first ring. An external force accelerated them into the second ring, and then the third, and the fourth. The ship flew, hurtling through the rings.

  They were being pushed more and more skyward. Ben's hands were on the steering wheel but he wasn't manipulating it. The rings were doing all the work. The world blurred around them, and they blasted through the last ring.

  Kaja felt her body being pushed back into her seat. Her fingers dug deep into her arm rests. She was not used to takeoffs like this. She opened her mouth to scream, then they suddenly stopped moving. It was a smooth stop, nothing like the sudden jolt she had expected.

  They were in space.

  The black void stretched out around them. It was interrupted by floating spherical devices that circled the ship. Though faint, Kaja could see a wavy blue line that connected the spheres, arraying them like a matrix.

  They called it the mitt, a system designed to catch ships hurled into space using the system of rings, which was creatively called the launcher.

  The mitt and launcher system was mainly used by the military to aid in fast deployment. Kaja had heard about it but she had never used one before. She wiped the perspiration from her brow, and grinned.

  "Can we do that again?" she asked.

  Blaze turned towards her, a disapproving look on his face. Kaja noticed Ben chuckling.

  Beyond the mitt, Kaja could see a small pale blue dot in the distance. She sat up.

  "Wait, is that?"

  "Yeah," Ben replied. "That's Terra."

  Kaja's mouth gaped as she observed the planet they had just left.

  "How fast were we moving exactly?"

  "Fast enough." That was the only answer Ben gave.

  Kaja tried to do the calculations in her head but gave up. The spherical components of the mitt were beginning to disassemble themselves and fly off independently.

  "Where's the Freighter?" she heard Blaze ask.

  Ben glanced at a panel on the ship dashboard.

  "Below us," he said. He pulled on the steering wheel. The starship's engines hummed as it pivoted, and they turned to see what was below them.

  A gigantic Interstellar Freighter rolled into view. Again, Kaja's mouth fell open. It was a Voyager-class Freighter, and was about 500 times the size of the StarHawk. Even in the vast expanse of space, it loomed majestically.

  The Freighter was shaped like one of those cigars Kaja’s uncles loved so much: a conical structure with a narrow tail end and wider front portion with a hollow entrance. Ben guided the StarHawk towards the Freighter.

  Kaja got a better appreciation of its size as they got closer. Overwhelming. That was the only descriptor that fit.

  They made their way to the front of the Freighter and flew in through the central opening. Kaja felt a tickling sensation as they passed through invisible force fields, one after the other till they finally reached the heart of the Freighter.

  Several tiers of landing ports surrounded them, supporting a wide array of spaceships.

  The StarHawk’s Comms came to life.

  "StarHawk, this is Voyager 75. Come in."

  Ben responded. "Voyager 75. This is StarHawk. Confirmed."

  "We're glad to have you with us," the voice replied. "Please make your way to the landing bay indicated."

  As soon as the voice stopped, Kaja noted the lights about one particular landing pad begin to flash.

  Ben guided the StarHawk in that direction and settled down on the landing pad. A team of technicians rushed to aid them.

  Ben powered down the StarHawk, undid his harness, and got to his feet. Blaze followed suit then gestured for Kaja to do the same.

  Kaja obeyed, remembering rule two.

  "Alright team," Ben said. "Time to meet a Priestess."