The plan Lily formulated was The Worst. She attributed its insanity to pilot fatigue. But it was all she had.

She put her ear to the door of her personal quarters. No voices. No footsteps. So far so good. Coaxing her L-Striker from its holster, she checked the weapon. More than half of the static liquis remained in the chambered cartridge. She dialed down the bullet density and brought the propulsion way down then sheathed the weapon and slipped into the exterior passage.

With her body flattened to the closed door, Lily strained her ears again. She didn't think anyone was on the second tier but she had to be cautious. The hallway and surrounding chambers were silent. Hugging the wall, she edged her way down the curved passage, pausing now and then to listen for anyone's approach.

Careful footfalls were too loud on the metal stairs spiraling to the third tier. She checked over her shoulder constantly. Another creeping stretch down another curved hall brought her to the navigation chamber. Beads of sweat pocked her forehead. Heart kicked up its pace. Chest went up and down. She clung to the wall with her eyes squinched shut. Once she entered the chamber there was no going back. She could still change her mind.

And let Luthe dig around in my brain for buried treasure?

Swallowing and swallowing again, Lily tugged out her L-Striker and peeked around the edge of the navigation chamber's arched entrance.

Reesa was there. The Verakian woman was alone. Her back faced the entrance. The HOptic display and the dedicated screens on the central control dash occupied her. Vortrand communicated with her over the 'rounds.

"Do we have visual on Luthe and Li?" The captain asked.

"Yes. I'm initiating the lasso. Command's ground station on Aleph-Three has logged and approved our low orbit coast," Reesa answered. When Vortrand issued no further correspondence, Lily fell into action. She tip toed into the chamber, muffling the Striker's hum with her hands. What she needed to progress to phase two of The Worst Plan Ever hung from the lieutenant-technician's utility belt. The Verakian woman would never hand it over willingly. Drastic action was necessary.

Keep telling yourself that.

For a cezin, Lily paused, then shook herself.

Reesa and Vortrand aren't your friends. They proved that when they decided to hand you over to Luthe.

Lily squeezed the Striker's handle and scrunched her lips. No. They weren't friends.

Before the lieutenant-technician became aware of a presence at her back, Lily came up behind her and aimed her Striker at the base of Reesa's skull. Vortrand told her this was a vulnerable spot on Utori. Since Verakian and Utori shared a genetic heritage it was a safe bet it was a vulnerable spot on them too. She squeezed the trigger. Liquis struck and spattered the back of the Verakian woman's head.

Reesa swung around and staggered. She went to one knee as she grasped for the back of her skull. Lily retreated a pace, but the lieutenant-technician grabbed onto her barriersuit. The Verakian woman's eyes fluttered. Her words slurred.

"What are you...?"

"Oh God, I'm sorry, Reesa." Lily clocked her on the back of the head with the butt of her weapon. The lieutenant technician dropped face down at Lily's feet. Kneeling, Lily checked for a pulse and found it and heaved out a relieved sigh. She sifted through the items attached to Reesa's utility belt, found what she needed, and clutched it to her chest as she stood.

Commotion at the observation shield drew Lily's attention. She approached the dash and peered outside. Flagettes grappled two fledglings into the manta's o-layer. Below them, a lavender planet covered in gray masses and wispy white swirls of cloud cover floated. They either defeated or escaped the scrapers.

Grumbling from behind Lily made her start. Reesa stirred. Lily hopped over the lieutenant technician's prone body and tore out of the navigation chamber. The quickest way to where she had to go was across the walkway suspended over the cargo bay and docking claustra then down the stairs near the manta's sprint end and down a final set of steps near engineering.

At the suspension bridge, Lily heard murmuring and the pneumatic hiss of fledgling exporate. A full peccard passed before she put a toe onto the bridge. No matter how careful she was, her footsteps rattled the walkway, so she dropped to her hands and knees, secured the stolen property between her teeth, and crawled. Over the docking claustra, she paused. Below her, three figures in barriersuits argued. Vortrand, Luthe, and the Verakian woman who accompanied Luthe on Myskuul, Li. One glance up and she was dead. Arms shook.

"Are you stalling me, Kurban?" Luthe asked in that quiet, dangerous way the captain sometimes did.

"I'm being thorough, Luthe," Vortrand replied. "As you've always encouraged your subordinates to be."

Li grunted her disbelief.

"Hugging the inside of the hostilespace border and ignoring official transmissions is being thorough?" The Verakian woman asked.

The captain pivoted to face her. "It is standard practice to maintain transmission silence while near or over the hostilespace border, agent Barrawa."

"The intel we supplied on the Atarsen did not necessitate a prolonged hostilespace vector," she countered.

"That was before I got a lead on Goshan in the area. He's my responsibility and I intend to bring him before a hearing to determine his allegiance."

"You omitted a great deal in your debrief on Myskuul," Luthe said. "I want to know who the 'funny looking Verakian with dark skin' mentioned on the eyewitness report is."

"She is my hired Pashmi's ulari," Vortrand said.

Lily sneered as the captain continued.

"She has a projection specialty he favors and as she facilitates his efficiency I was not averse to her hire...as long as he sent her to me when I requested her talents."

A full body shudder bent Lily's elbows and knees and arched her back.

Luthe and Li recoiled at the admission. Agent Barrawa spluttered.

"You're sharing softs with a Pashmi? That's...that's got to be a violation of the Contamination Standard."

"Why didn't you report her?" Luthe asked.

"It was irrelevant to the mission."

"Which has devolved into a pursuit of a lieutenant missing in action," Luthe said.

Vortrand let the silence spin out then said, "My prime concern remains the Bralian data. I tapped commander Draeda Aloy to take lead on Goshan's pursuit while my crew remained in the vicinity to provide field support should she need it. We're using the Atarsen to establish the proper matrixes we require for the storage globe's lock."

"No," Luthe said. "I hear it in your microtones, Kurban. Goshan's capture drives you. The two of you were always close." The senior agent laid a hand on Vortrand's shoulder. "His betrayal must be a deep wound."

The captain stiffened. "It is."

"Which is why you should direct your energies to finding him. Agent Barrawa and myself will take command of the unlocking and decryption of the Bralian data."

Vortrand shrugged off Luthe's touch. "Not necessary. The situation is...extraordinarily delicate. Interference at this stage could result in a loss of data."

"Then any assistance you can provide to aid in a problem free transition will be most appreciated," Luthe said. "Your subterfuge has cost Command valuable time. You've split your mission and your focus. Kurban, you must know if you were anyone else, this little hostilespace stunt would have landed you right with Goshan in an allegiance hearing. As it is—"

"Captain." Reesa's hail over the 'rounds cut off the senior agent.

Luthe nodded at Vortrand and the captain said, "Go ahead, lieutenant-technician."

Uh oh, Lily cringed.

"Sir, the...zerospace cargo is...mobile."

"Is it?" Vortrand gnashed his teeth.

"I need to speak with you in the navigation chamber." Reesa sounded irritable and groggy.

"Sorted." Vortrand terminated the connection.

"I'll accompany you," Luthe said then turned to his partner. "Contact our base on Aleph-Three. Travel ahead of me and secure facilities to receive the globe and the Atarsen. Put the base on lockdown and notify Command."

"Sorted," Li said and about faced towards her fledgling while the captain and the senior agent headed for the cargo bay.

Vortrand won't get out of handing me over. Lily clenched the metal grate under her hands. And once he finds out what I did to Reesa he won't care if I make it out of the sieving alive.

She crawled the rest of the way to the manta's sprint end. Taking her pilfered item from her mouth, she sprinted to her destination. She scuttled down the last flight of steps to the lowest part of the ship. Knots of pipes sweated and steamed around her. The hiss of escaping vapor concealed the sounds of her shuffling. At the end of the stunted hall she opened the prison door.

At Lily's intrusion, Vlex's black eyes opened. They glinted in the amber light like dark jewels. Seated on the floor with his back to the wall, he rested one arm over one bent knee. She held out the key-ring she'd jacked from the lieutenant-technician. The cluster of key drives clinked together.

"You were right," she said.

The Utori commander smiled a chilling, sharp smile. "I'm so pleased you finally see the truth."