Eli and Gami stood on the bridge of Cavalier, watching the strike force sail past. One of Tarl’s bodies occupied the pilot’s seat.

  “They’re going to get taught a lesson,” Tarl said.

  “We already did that,” Gami politely corrected him, “This will be justice. They’ll put a stop to what was going on.”

  “True,” Eli agreed, “Now for our next move. We’re heading to Cyh’sahm for a cargo run to Vorgax. Tarl, I’d like to make you an offer. I think that you proved that you are more than capable to serve aboard this ship.”

  Tarl retracted the cockpit and got out of the chair, “Interesting. I’ve always wanted to fly an Apogee class. It didn’t disappoint. And I have to say, you two are very capable yourselves.”

  “Yes,” Gami said, “We all have skills that complement each other. We’ll make a great team.”

  Tarl spoke with a bit of apprehension, “To be honest, I don’t have much going for me. I’ve seen some hard times recently. Rust Goddess was about the only thing that I had.”

  “Was it insured?” Eli asked, before wondering if this was a concept that even existed off of Earth.

  “Yes. But they won’t honor the claim because I destroyed the ship myself.”

  “And they don’t care about the reason why,” Eli snarled, “Typical.”

  “What about family?” Gami asked.

  “My people tend to keep to ourselves, it’s in our nature. But they’d help if I was in real trouble. My home world is a long way off. I’ve wondered far over these past few years. I know that you’re on your pilgrimage. I’m on one of my own.”

  “What are you seeking?”

  “The truth about religion, or spirituality, if you prefer. It might be better to call it a walkabout,” he absentmindedly walked across the room, “I saw a lot during the war. There were times when the ship in front of me in a convoy got blasted out of existence. Or when the ship behind me got jumped by gunships. Why not me? I was pressed into service as a fighter pilot when we were finally able to go on the offensive. I’ve killed, and it always made me wonder, why them and not me?”

  Eli nodded, “I’ve found myself wondering the same thing.”

  “Everyone that’s been in battle does,” Gami said.

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  Tarl rubbed the side of his head, an analog of a nod, “That is true. I had been interested in religion from a young age. I studied the faiths of our world and many others. After the war I acquired my first ship and started wandering. I saw things that brought back my old curiosity.”

  Eli nodded again, “Believe me, I understand.”

  “Me too,” Gami agreed.

  Tarl walked over to the forward-facing window. The armored shutters were up. The big orange nebula blazed across the blackness of space, like a flame licking infinity. From there, his gaze traveled to a magenta planet. A white wheel stood before it, the military station that guarded the system.

  A determined look formed on Tarl’s face, “I’ll do it, at least until I get back on my feet.”

  “Great. Pick out one of the passenger cabins and get settled in.”

  “Ya, I’ll do that. I was starting to get into a rut anyway.”

  Gami smiled, “Then this will be a fresh start for you.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll save up some money and get a new ship,” his eyes widened a little, “Wait, what’s the pay like?”

  Eli answered him, “As long as we all pull our weight, it will be equal shares for every job, with a portion going to repairs, fuel, and ship upgrades.”

  “Good, good. Um, what exactly do you do?”

  “A little bit of everything. We run cargo. We do merc work, as long as it’s for a just cause. We are both bounty hunters. You mentioned that you’ve done salvage work. There are lots of opportunities to make money out there.”

  “Good, good. Yes, this is a great opportunity. You know, I’ve kind of been in a rut since I lost my last crew. Was starting to get lonely, even if I wasn’t fully aware of it. This will be a nice change of pace.”

  “Lost your crew?” Gami wondered, “You mean the ones that you had a ‘labor dispute’ with?”

  Tarl rubbed the back of his head, “Ya, it’ll be fine. The odds of us running into them are astronomical.”

  She glanced at Eli unsurely, “Would it be a problem if we did?”

  The translator was not needed to interpret his sudden fidgety movements, “Na. The two of you could take them on.”

  “Why would we need to do that?”

  “Ya,” Eli said, “Why would we need to worry about them?”

  “I just said that you wouldn’t need to worry about them. They are no threat to a couple of mercs like you.”

  Gami rubbed her left temple with two fingers, “You are missing the point. Why are you worried about running into them?”

  “Well, I may have shot one of them in the stomach.”

  “May have?”

  “It all happened pretty fast. I’m not sure if the bullet landed. I definitely shot one of them in the leg.”

  “Why did you do either of those things?”

  “They tried to kill me. Wanted to take over the ship and run off with the cargo that we were hauling. One of them zeroed a butar while it was bathing. The other one jumped the one that was at the helm, ripped his shield off and cooked him with a ray gun. From there, it was one hell of a full body hunt,” the translator told Eli that this was the equivalent of a cat and mouse game. It typically referred to two Mandruuka hunting each other.

  “But you managed to drive them off of your ship?”

  “Yep, they called in some friends. I lost a hakan but took five or six down with it.”

  “Kamikaze attack?” Eli asked.

  Tarl and Gami both made uncomfortable faces when the tadvash conveyed the dark meaning of the word to them.

  “Yes, that exactly, only the sacrifice was a lot less, because I just grew another one. But anyway, that put the fear into those assholes. They’re heads just weren’t in the game after that.”

  Eli nodded and smiled, “For a religious man, you can be vicious. I like it.”