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skills were wanted. Eventually someone would wake her and she’d find Edie and Finn gone. Cat was a survivor. She’d be okay. But would she help? She’d have no way of knowing what had happened. Would she think Edie had abandoned her?
    Edie decided her first priority, once she was on the Learo Dochais and Finn was safe, would be to determine Cat’s whereabouts. If Cat could help—if they could escape—they could continue with Edie’s mission: to use the cryptoglyph in Finn’s head to save the Fringe worlds from Crib domination.

CHAPTER 4
     
    Edie sat on the edge of the bunk and waited impatiently. From snippets of crew conversation earlier, she knew they had docked inside the Learo Dochais ’s hangar a couple of hours ago. She felt rested and strong—in body, anyway. Her mind was another matter—boredom and anxiety did not sit well together.
    When Sergeant West showed up, she eagerly hopped off the bunk, ready to see Finn again and suffer the unpleasant but inevitable task of facing Natesa.
    The ship’s central narrow corridor was abandoned, as were the bunks and rec area. The crew must have boarded the Learo Dochais to stretch their legs. Without explanation, West led Edie all the way forward until the corridor widened into a room with a large oval desk—some sort of briefing area overlooking the empty bridge. At the head of the table sat a man with an angular face and expressively arched brows that made him look eternally patronizing.
    She’d been expecting this moment. Still, she shivered now that she was face-to-face with him again. The failure of the Scarabaeus mission obviously hadn’t affected Theron’s career. He’d had plenty of missions since. One failure washardly exceptional in an industry where a twenty percent success rate was considered good enough.
    “Good morning, Ms Sha’nim. I’m Colonel—”
    “—Theron. I remember.”
    “—of the Weapons Research Division.”
    “Where’s Finn?”
    “Please, take a seat.” He waved a hand toward a chair fitted into the bulkhead on the other side of the desk. Behind her, a semi-transparent screen moved across the corridor to enclose the area.
    Edie sat and fumed. She was tired of the delays, but she couldn’t avoid Crib bureaucracy. Best to get this over with quickly.
    Two med toms scuttled into new positions on the bulkheads on either side of the room. Attached to each, in addition to the normal physiological tracking devices, was a camera.
    “This interview is being recorded and biomonitored,” Theron said. “Edie Sha’nim, I’m here to inform you that you’re under arrest for piracy, treason, and murder.”
    Edie was in no mood for Crib grandstanding. “I haven’t killed anyone.”
    Theron raised an eyebrow. “So, the rest is true?”
    She hesitated. Was this the time to ask for a legal rep? Well, it really didn’t matter. No one was sending her to jail—she was too important to the Crib for that, surely.
    “From a certain perspective.” She indicated the box of neuroxin implants on the desk that someone must have retrieved from her cryo capsule. “You forgot grand larceny.”
    “Indeed. Are there any other charges you feel I’ve overlooked?” The colonel may have been attempting a joke, but his face was deadpan.
    “Who am I supposed to have murdered?”
    Theron glanced down at the notes on his palmet. “A serf by the name of Bryden Ademo.” That was Finn’s fellow convict, the one she’d been unable to save when Cat took them all for a joyride beyond the boundary of Talas Prime Station.
    “He wasn’t murdered. He escaped and his boundary chip killed him.”
    “If you engineered your so-called kidnapping, as some of my colleagues are inclined to believe, you are responsible for his death.”
    “That’s not what happened.”
    “The circumstantial evidence is damning. You asked for, and were granted, a three-month reassignment to Talas Prime, giving you certain…opportunities. Shortly before that time was up, you