I have no concept of time when we finally leave our private room and make our way back to Kotrut’s inn. It’s just as light, or as dark, as it was when we first arrived. The wind is strong and we are both wearing the hoods on our cloaks pulled tightly around our faces. There’s no question that my relationship with Koba has taken a drastic turn. I haven’t even thought to feel guilty about it until the thoughts of returning back to Lunis Station creep into my head and I think about what I need to do for Stosk. Koba will see it as such a betrayal but it was the price I paid for his life.

Not to mention we’ve been on this planet much longer than I would have thought. What happens if Stosk thinks I’m not going to deliver? He will find a way to exact his revenge, of that I’m sure. I don’t know if he would go after Koba or me but I don’t want to find out.

We are about to round the corner where the ships sit empty, waiting for their pilots to return to them and fly them home. Koba grabs me suddenly, pulling me to the side of a crumbling old building.

“What’s wrong?” I ask with a whisper.

“An Atronox ship,” he says, pointing further down the row. “They must be here again doing business.”

“Well, shit, that’s not good.” And then I think about the last time I was onboard one of the ships, and how they were keeping more women in cages. “What if there are women on board, Koba?”

“It is a possibility, but our ship isn’t big enough to transport any women back to Lunis Station. And our ship isn’t ready yet. None of these things are working in our favor.”

He’s right, there isn’t much we can do right now but it kills me to walk away when there’s a possibility that they have women stashed on board. Not to mention if they have them back on Zephyrus the chances that they will be sold is high.

“That’s it,” I say, as if the answer has been in front of us all along.

“What?” Koba asks.

“The Atronox ship. If they’re off in the city meeting with their seller, why not sneak aboard? Could you get it started and fly it?”

Koba’s eyes are wide open. I can practically see the wheels turning in his mind.

“Let’s take their ship and fly it back to Lunis Station, Koba.”

He hasn’t said anything yet. I’m sure there are things I’m not thinking about but this is the solution that is right in front of us. The ship is right in front of us and there hasn’t been an Atronox guard in sight.

“Well?” I ask, finally. “What do you think?”

He exhales and strokes his chin. “There must be a few of the aliens still on board. They wouldn’t leave it completely abandoned while they’re off in the city. I just wish we could know how many are on board. I can certainly handle some but I can’t handle an entire fleet on my own.”

“That doesn’t look like the same ship as before. It’s smaller, isn’t it? So there must not be the same crew as last time. Probably just enough aliens to take care of their business.” I have no idea if what I’m saying is correct, but right now it’s really the only option we have. “It’s worth a look, isn’t it?”

He smiles at me and then reaches for me. He takes my face between his hands and kisses me, hard. “Yeah, it’s worth a look,” he says when he pulls back. “I’ll sneak onboard and take a look around. I’ll take out whoever’s still on the ship and then I’ll signal to you once it’s safe.”

“No,” I say, immediately. “You’re not leaving me alone out here. I’m coming with you, no matter what.”

He sighs a sound of frustration and hangs his head. “We don’t know that it’s safe.”

“We don’t know that it’s safe to leave me here, either. At least this way, we’ll be together, and that’s what feels right to me.”

He looks up, staring into my eyes. After a minute he says, “Okay, let’s do it.” He stands up and looks around the corner of the building.

This area of the city isn’t busy which is lucky for us. We’re able to move close to the ship without drawing any unwanted attention.

“There’s one Atronox guarding the ship just behind the ramp,” he whispers to me. “That’s all I can see but I’m sure there are some more of them inside. Wait here, just until I take out the guard on watch. Then I’ll signal to you.” He looks at me, waiting for me to agree before he goes. I nod in agreement. He looks around the corner one more time and then he starts running toward the ship. He moves quickly and soundlessly. He’s agile, moving like an athlete, and I find myself hypnotized by the way his body moves.

I know he’s a member of the Force but I haven’t had the opportunity to witness his abilities first hand. He’s on the guard before he even knows what hit him. One smooth motion and Koba wraps his arms around the Atronox and takes him to the ground. No fuss, barely any effort.

He motions to me and I take off toward the ship. He meets me at the ramp and we both run up, making haste so we’re not left exposed out in the open. Once we reach the top, though, his arm catches me around the waist and he pulls me to the side, stopping me just before the entrance to the ship. He signals for me to be quiet and we wait, plastered against the side of the ship, his arm pressed securely against me. After a few minutes, he takes my hand and signals for me to follow him.

We move quickly and walk lightly down the corridor of the ship. Even though it’s a different ship than the one I was on, it’s eerily similar and I don’t want to do anything to draw attention to myself. The last thing I need is to end up in one of those metal rooms again.

We hurry around the curve in the corridor. Koba keeps popping his head in each doorway we pass, looking for the control room. Finally, we come to a larger doorway, equipped with fancy-looking technology to gain access to this area of the ship.

“Do you know how to get in there?” I whisper, looking around us while Koba analyzes the panel in front of him. Whatever he’s going to do, he better do it quickly. Now I can hear the unmistakable sound of boots stomping on the metal panels in the floor.

“Not exactly,” he says, resorting to pressing random buttons on the screen.

“Someone’s coming, Koba.” I grab onto him, starting to feel panic that we’re going to be discovered. This has been a ‘fly by the seat of our pants’ kind of mission. Something’s likely to go wrong.

He exhales in frustration and then pulls a blade from his belt and hurries down the corridor. I just stand at the door, unable to be any kind of help. While Koba waits for the guards to round the corner I decide to take a look at the panel. I am a secretary on Earth. I know my way around a computer. And I want to find a way to be helpful.

The guards round the corner and Koba is on them before they have any idea what’s going on. I study the panel and try to find a way that I could possibly reboot the system. That’s what always works for me when I have computer trouble at work…a reboot. This ship isn’t as sophisticated as the Star Fury. Or Lunis Station for that matter. I hesitantly press a few buttons toward the bottom of the panel, and it beeps, but nothing happens. I look over at Koba again. He has taken one of the guards out and he’s busy with the second one. Trying to focus, I feel around the outside of the panel until my fingers hit something on the side. I press the button and all of the lights on the panel go dark, the door sliding open in front of me.

“Nice work,” Koba says, running to my side a moment later. He pulls me inside and we both turn to look at the door, hoping it will slide shut behind us. Nothing happens.

“I have an idea,” I say. I run back to the panel and flip the switch again, hoping it’ll turn the system back on. The lights flicker and I dash back inside with Koba. We wait impatiently for a minute while the system reboots and then the doors slide shut in front of us. “Is it locked, do you think?”

“Yes, I think so. Generally the doors to all command stations lock and the only way to access them is by code. Security measures.”

I smile up at Koba, happy that we have made it this far. “That makes sense.” We turn around and Koba walks toward the main panel. “So, do you think you can fly this thing?”

“Yes. It might not be the smoothest ride, but I’ll get us out of here.” And with that, I look around for a safe place to strap myself in while Koba starts flicking switches and the command center comes alive around us.