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Getting off the station would prove harder, but Dani might be able to help with that.
    In the back of the room were several crates of expired emergency rations. Calla made her way over to them, picking her steps carefully so as not to kick anything and make a sound. Somewhere in the crates was Jess’ emergency stash, everything he’d saved for their escape. Another stab of guilt hit her ten minutes later, when she found the pitifully small package containing Jess’ hopes for their future. Inside were a few credit chits, two sets of dark clothing, and a fully-charged, palm-sized blaster pistol.
    Calla turned the weapon over in her hands several times in awe–how had Jess gotten it?
    She couldn’t imagine...
    It took another five minutes to replace everything and pull the dark clothing over what she was wearing. She didn’t want to leave Jenner any clues as to how she’d escaped. Maybe, someday, another slave at the hostel would need to use the storeroom exit to get away. Then, grimly whispering, “It’s now or never,” to herself, Calla opened the trap door and lowered herself into the tube, carefully pulling the door back into place. For the first time in her life, she was free.
    “I’m coming, Jess,” she said quietly into the darkness. “I’ll save you if it’s the last thing I ever do.”

Chapter 3
    “Calla, I can’t believe you’ve done this!” Dani said, filled with a mixture of horror and admiration at her friend’s audacity. It was early morning, and she had returned from work at the House of Lilies to find Calla huddled in an alcove outside of her apartment.
    “Are you sure you want to go through with it?”
    “Yes, I am,” Calla said, meeting Dani’s gaze firmly with her own. “I need to find Jess, and we need to get away from Jenner. He’s always taken care of me–I can’t just stand by now that he’s in trouble. We both know what happens to slaves out in the asteroid mines. He’ll die if I don’t save him.”
    “You’re right, he will,” Dani said quietly, wishing Calla’s logic wasn’t so strong. A slave in the mines was lucky to survive a year.
    “I understand if you don’t feel like you can help me,” Calla added. “I know the penalties for assisting a runaway slave.”
    “Calla, you’re my friend and I’ll help you,” Dani said, tossing her hair defiantly.
    “Besides, I happen to be on very good terms with any number of our Saurellian landlords, and I have the Guild to back me up. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m more concerned about you. Don’t you have some kind of implant they can use to track you down?”
    “Yes, but fortunately for me, Jenner’s a cheap old bitch. She didn’t want to spring for one of the high-end models that can pinpoint exact location. She’ll be able to tell I’m on the station, but that’s about all. Of course, getting off the station is another problem. It’s programmed to release a toxin into my system if I leave the station’s electrical grid, unless it’s deactivated. That’s the only way slaves who are sold are able to leave alive.”
    “I’ve heard of that,” Dani said, a frown marring her perfect brow. “We’ll need to get rid of the implant somehow.”
    “I’ve heard that there are surgeons who will do it, for a price,” Calla said carefully.
    This was as far as she’d gotten with her escape plan–getting to Dani and asking for help.
    Everything was riding on what Dani said next. It would be almost impossible to get away without some kind of assistance.
    “Oh, Calla, that’s dangerous,” Dani said. “Those things are supposed to be tamper-proof. Won’t it release the toxin if someone tries to take it out?”
    “It’s a risk I’m willing to take, if I can find someone to perform the procedure,” Calla said. “Jess and I talked about doing it lots of times, but I was always too afraid and he wouldn’t go without me.” She added bitterly, “ Now I realize that staying a slave with Jenner was