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Epilogue




The following weeks flew by in a flurry of disjointed but productive activity.

Nathan and the others met with several ship-building and customization contractors before settling on a Union company called Star Forge Interstellar, since one of their construction teams near Neptune had previous experience with Jovian ships. Their prices were a little on the high side of what Nathan was comfortable with, but Joshua argued the company’s familiarity with Jovian systems would save them headaches in the long run, and he saw no reason to disagree with the engineer’s assessment.

After the contracts were signed, Joshua spent most of his time in meetings with the SFI project manager while Nathan continued fighting his way through the legal tangles the Everlife, Union, and Concord had dumped in their laps. The Neptune Concord was the easiest to deal with: just a few forms to fill out, a few registration fees to pay, and then an inspection to schedule and pass, which they did, easily.

The Everlife was also straightforward, if exhausting. Their representatives seemed intent on extracting every last c’troni they could from the registration process, often hitting Nathan with surprise riders to the initially quoted “fees.” The Jovians did not like the idea of foreigners in possession of one of their ships, and they seemed intent on bleeding what they could out of him before fully recognizing him as the vessel’s new owner.

Again, exhausting, but clear in their intent: pay up or shut up. Nathan could work with that, and eventually he managed to placate them enough for the ship to be officially registered with the Everlife.

The Union, on the other hand, was an awful mess to deal with. Not only did they seem intent on leveling charges that made no sense, given that they weren’t directly involved, but their own inspectors and bureaucrats seemed to be at odds with each other on exactly how the registration process should proceed for a Jovian ship owned by a Neptunian. This resulted in all manner of scheduling delays, redundant inspections, unproductive meetings, and requests for duplicate payments, with Nathan bouncing between different embassy departments in a desperate bid to see the process through.

His rewards, besides a splitting headache, were a trio of government-issued certifications that said, yes, Nathan Kade was indeed the owner of a Star Dragon corvette, newly rechristened as the Neptune Dragon (much to Vessani’s disappointment).

He stored the original certificates in his account safe at First Union Bank, gave the duplicates to Aiko to frame and mount in the ship, then headed out to Dexamene City for a long overdue visit. He made one last stop along the way to buy a bouquet of roses.

Dusk was melting into true-night by the time he reached the Home for the Lost, its exterior bathed in languid, orange light. He checked in with the doctors, who politely informed him his mother’s condition remained stable. No changes to report, either positive or negative. He thanked them and then let one of the doctors lead him back to his mother’s room, even though he knew the way by heart.

Samantha Kade sat in a chair by the window in her third-floor room, staring out across the flowering gardens. She acknowledged him with a vacant smile, then turned back to the view out the window. He dismissed the doctor and stepped inside.

“Hey, Mom. How have you been? Everyone still treating you well?”

She didn’t say anything, but he hadn’t expected a response.

Nathan placed the flowers in an empty vase and filled the bottom with water. He set the vase on his mother’s nightstand, then took a seat on the edge of the bed next to her chair.

“Things have been pretty exciting for me and Aiko,” Nathan said conversationally. “You’re not going to believe this, but Rufus of all people is working with us again. On top of that, we have two other new crew members. And a new ship.”

He paused, then frowned.

“Which I guess brings me to a bit of bad news. The Belle didn’t make it.”

His mother continued to gaze out the window.

“Anyway, what happened was . . .”

Nathan spent the next hour recounting events since his last visit. The Neptunian sun-walls had dimmed to true-night by the time he finished. The window was a black rectangle with the lights of Port Leverrier twinkling in the distance up on its plateau. The bright dots of running lights came and went from its two spaceports, following steep diagonal paths.

“Which brings us to today,” Nathan concluded. “Not a bad outcome, all things considered. Especially given how many close calls we had. My stomach’s feeling a lot better, Aiko and I are flying a new ship, and we finally have ourselves a new crew. A real solid one, too, if you ask me, with a good mix of skill sets. I think this team has a bright future ahead of it.”

His mother sat back in her chair, hands resting in her lap, and turned to him. Really turned to him, a look of recognition and understanding twinkling in her eyes, so vivid and sudden that it startled him into silence.

“Proud,” she said in the clearest voice he’d heard from her in a decade.

He wanted to say something, but his response caught in his throat. He swallowed, his eyes moistening as he recovered from the shock of her one, clear word.

“You mean that?” he asked at last, so very softly.

Her lips curled up at the ends in a subtle smile, barely there yet still perceptible if one looked close enough. She dipped her head a hair forward, then back. She had understood him. She had really understood him! For the first time in over a decade, she’d looked him in the eyes and spoken to him!

“Thanks,” Nathan choked. Tears formed in both his eyes, blurring his vision as he embraced his mother.


Nathan left the rental car in the spaceport’s main parking garage and made his way back to the Neptune Dragon’s dock. The SFI construction teams had left for the day, but his own crew remained, pressing on with the wide variety of tasks left open before they could return to space.

The ship’s cargo ramp and airlocks were all open, and several shipping containers marked with the SFI logo lay stacked beside it, along with two forklifts, four scissor lifts, and a heavy-duty crane.

Aiko sauntered down the ramp.

“It looks less cluttered in there,” Nathan said, noting the open space behind her.

“That’s right. The buyer I found stopped by today to pick up our spare shuttle and rover. Their absence really opens up one side of the hold for bulk cargo. We’ll never be able to haul as much as the Belle, but we won’t be straining for space, either.”

“What about the bodies you don’t want?”

“Sold those to the same buyer. He was in the mood to buy Jovian. Anyway, I kept the ones I liked. That still leaves me with a dozen extra bodies. They’re not built for rough fieldwork like this one”—she thumped her chest—“but I can use them to help around the ship or for odd jobs that don’t involve a lot of shooting. Plus, Josh and I should be able to piece together what’s left of those two pilots into another working body, but we won’t start that until we’re further along with everything else.”

“Sounds good.” Nathan looked up at the ship’s nose and cockpit canopy, hands planted on his hips. “Seems like the paint job is coming along well.”

The corvette’s original matte black exterior had been converted into a swirling tapestry of thundering Neptunian clouds. The exterior work wasn’t complete yet—several panels along the sides remained bald except for a coat of gray primer—but he could imagine how it would look when finished, and he liked what he saw.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Vessani shouted from atop the ship. “Come on up and check out the roof!”

“Why? What’s it look like?”

“Just come on up!” Vessani urged with a beckoning wave. “It’s easier to show you!”

“If you insist.” Nathan and Aiko boarded one of the scissor lifts, drove it next to the hull, and raised it until they could see the ship’s roof. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when the image came into full view.

“Well?” Aiko nudged him. “What do you think?”

“Doesn’t it look swanky?” Vessani asked, spreading her open arms.

“I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘ostentatious,’” Nathan replied dryly.

Vessani grinned. “In a good way.”

“Uh-huh. Don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“Look at it like this, Nate.” Aiko rested a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll never get confused for a Jovian ship with this on our hull.”

“I suppose you do have a point there.”

Nathan raised the scissor lift higher to gain a better vantage. A huge swath of the Neptune Dragon’s top hull now exhibited a detailed painting of a red dragon, its leathery wings spread against the backdrop of Neptunian storms.

Nathan narrowed his gaze. “Wait a second. This dragon looks familiar.”

“That’s because I gave the artist some reference photos,” Aiko explained. “He modeled the design after Yndalith the Firestarter.”

“Yndalith.” Nathan frowned. “Isn’t she the one who became strangely obsessed with me after I won Beany from her?”

“Yep!” Aiko chortled. “We should go visit her sometime. I bet she misses you.”

Nathan shuddered.


Nathan dropped the scissor lift back to the ground and parked it next to the other construction equipment. Aiko led the way into the cargo hold and up the freight elevator, where B Deck was in the middle of a massive facelift.

“The mess hall is shaping up nicely,” Nathan said, circling the nekoan dining table. Construction crews had opened up this part of the interior by removing half of the Jovian charging stations and taking down a few walls.

“The kitchen, too.” Aiko ran a finger lovingly across the row of gleaming metal appliances behind the counter.

Beany sat in a depression cut out of the middle of the table. Nathan knelt down and inspected the additions underneath the table where Beany could take root, along with plumbing for water and nutrient lines.

“How about you, Beany?” Nathan asked, rising. “Everything to your satisfaction?”

The plant extended one of its branches where a bulb the size of a shot glass dangled from the end.

“Oh? What’s this?” Nathan plucked the bulb and squeezed its contents into his mouth. The earthy fluid warmed his stomach. “Wow, interesting! A bit more potent than before. Sort of like an espresso. Not bad, Beany! I could get used to these.”

The plant swept one of its branches in a gesture than seemed almost like a bow, then straightened upward, basking under the bright overhead lighting.

“Passenger cabins will be down that hall,” Aiko said, “once the crews are done.”

“And the crew quarters on A Deck?”

“They finished the last one today. Josh and Rufus are already moving in.”

“Good,” Nathan said with an approving nod. “Seems like everything’s coming along nicely.”

“That it is.”

Joshua entered the dining hall from the back of the ship, wiping his hands off with a rag.

“Hey, Josh,” Nathan said. “What have you been up to?”

“Putting the new microfactory through its paces,” he replied. “It works like a charm. You?”

“Making sure we’re finally legal.”

“And are we?”

“As of around noon today.”

“Great!” Joshua smiled. “That’s one less problem.”

“Yeah. Now all we need is some work so we can put our new investment to good use.”

“The jobs will be coming our way soon enough. Especially after we spread the word a ship this capable is open for business.”

“He’s got a point, Nate,” Aiko said. “I can start making the rounds tomorrow, maybe put out some feelers to our regular clients.”

“Go ahead. I’m going to check out my new room.”

Nathan headed up to A Deck after that. His new quarters were about the same size as his room on the Belle, but all the furnishings were nekoan, and the bed was covered in a floral pattern mixed with golden pyramids.

I’ll need to do something about that, he thought before moving on.

The cockpit remained almost untouched except for a few modifications to the consoles and a general cleaning pass. SFI had even buffed out the bullet scratches.

Nathan sat down in the pilot seat and put his boots up. He leaned back, and let out a long, leisurely sigh.

“Everything’s coming toge—”

The ship’s commect chimed.

He raised an eyebrow at the interruption.

The commect chimed again.

He leaned forward and checked the vlass. He didn’t recognize the caller.

The commect chimed a third time.

He wasn’t sure who would have the ship’s contact already, but that by itself was interesting. He picked up the headset, held it to his ear, and keyed the commect.

Neptune Dragon, Captain Kade speaking,” he greeted the caller. “How may we be of service?”



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