The planet Galf filled the windows of the central orbital station, its enormous high-rise cities glowing against the darkness of space. At this hour, however, the bar called The Lonesome Cowboy was only half full.
The door opened, and an attractive reptilian woman stepped inside. She wore a long red cocktail dress, and her dark hair-neatly braided and unusually long-covered almost half her body. She crossed the bar at an unhurried pace and approached the counter. She already knew exactly what she wanted and beckoned to the bartender.
His silhouette resembled that of a giant gorilla. Realizing that the stranger was calling for him, he slowly approached her with a pleased smile.
"Hey, beautiful. Looking for something?"
The huge ape-like man's attempt to look charming was rather ridiculous. He was clearly nowhere near her level.
"Yes. I'm looking for Crane. Sheldon Crane. Where can I find him?"
Her voice was so soft and pleasant that the bartender forgot what he had been about to say.
"Why do you need him? He's not worth your time. Trust me."
The bartender was clearly trying to convince her that she had better options. But then he looked directly into her bright yellow eyes and felt himself beginning to submit. Her hypnotic gaze weakened his resistance until answering became easier than refusing.
"I need Sheldon Crane, that's all. Where is he?"
She didn't look away. Her voice grew slower and softer, every word almost soothing.
"Far right corner. Last table."
He didn't want to answer. He had promised Crane he wouldn't. And yet the words slipped from his mouth against his will.
"Thank you. You're so sweet."
She smiled, left the confused bartender behind, and headed toward the far end of the bar.
That was where she found Sheldon.
A human in a military uniform sat alone with a cup of coffee, reading a newspaper. Seeing a famous war hero sitting by himself in an ordinary bar was unusual, but there he was.
She slid into the seat beside him, rested her head on one hand, and watched him.
"You haven't changed at all. Still the same," she began.
"The same."
Sheldon kept it brief.
"Still so handsome, so strong-and still so vulnerable."
She was trying to get his attention, but he showed no interest at all.
"True."
His second short answer made it clear that the conversation was going nowhere. She immediately changed tactics.
"A war hero. A legend. Sitting alone in a bar... Something doesn't seem right, I have to say."
Sheldon didn't even raise an eyebrow.
She decided to stop wasting time.
"And then I heard you lost your ship. At first, I couldn't believe you'd lost Scarlett, but later I found out someone simply stole her from you. What a shame."
"What do you want?"
Sheldon still looked as if he had been carved from stone, but she knew she had finally struck the right nerve.
"I know how to get her back. I need your help. Just one favor."
"Why would a criminal like you ask a favor from a man you've already screwed over once?"
He lowered the newspaper onto the table and looked directly at her.
Sheldon Crane was a handsome man with dark hair and a scar across his neck. His face remained calm, but she knew that look well. He was angry-and now she had his full attention.
"Darling... I just..."
"You're lucky that, despite everything, I'm willing to hear you out. Choose your words carefully."
"I know you may never forgive me for what I did. Saying 'I'm sorry' won't change anything, but I really do want to help. Please, give me a chance."
She looked at him with the same hypnotic gaze she had used on the bartender.
Nothing happened.
Sheldon was one of the few men capable of resisting her hypnosis.
"I suppose five years together taught you nothing. Except how to betray people."
"That's not true. I also learned how to earn your trust."
She pulled out a small device and handed it to him. Sheldon touched the controls, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. An unfamiliar voice said that the item she was looking for was inside a vault and that a key would be required to access it.
When the recording ended, Sheldon put the device aside.
"Another theft? I already lost my status because of your tricks. I can't believe you still think you can manipulate me."
Sheldon opened his newspaper again, pushed his coffee aside, and openly began ignoring her.
His words hurt precisely because they were true.
Several years earlier, she and her crew had committed what the newspapers called the "Crime of the Century." They had stolen the Mona Lisa-one of the last great works of human art to survive the destruction of Earth.
During the investigation, the authorities discovered her connection to Sheldon Crane and learned that his access card had been used to enter the Galactic Museum. He lost his position as commander of the Seventh Fleet and, according to rumors, was court-martialed. There had never been any official confirmation.
He simply disappeared for years.
Only recently had rumors of his return been confirmed, after a transport shuttle delivered him to the planet Galf.
"I still don't understand how the only ship under your command managed to get stolen. But I know who ordered it."
"Surprise me."
"Adristan," the reptilian woman said, watching his reaction carefully.
Sheldon laughed.
He laughed so loudly that even the half-drunk and sleepy customers turned to look. It drew more attention than she wanted.
"Seriously? Adristan? The Prophet? You must think I'm an idiot. With jokes like that, you should've become a comedian."
She abruptly stood and threw a scrap of paper onto the table.
"You're angry. Fine, to hell with you! I hoped I could fix at least something between us."
Then she left.
"There's nothing to fix," Sheldon whispered.
He picked up the paper.
Want to see your sister? Lust 472.
He understood immediately.
The name of a hotel and a room number.
Sheldon knew the place well. Once, he had visited it often with her-the woman who had just left, the woman who had broken both his heart and his reputation.
Was it just an invitation, or was his sister Rose really there?
Strange. She was supposed to be at the Academy. What was she doing here? Had something happened?
Lost in thought, Sheldon stood, crumpled the note, paid, and left the bar.
After catching a taxi, he arrived at the hotel only a few minutes later.
At reception, he was greeted by an old acquaintance-Linoy Part, an Aurelian who had worked there long enough to know every regular guest by face, preference, and interest.
Sheldon was no exception.
"Mr. Crane. It's been a while. If you're looking for Miss L, room 472, as always. Especially since she's already reserved it for your guests."
"For who?"
"That's none of my business. I only work here."
"Have you seen anyone unusual?"
Sheldon wasn't asking without reason. He expected Linoy to understand the hint.
"That's against our rules. You know that very well. But I can tell you that you won't be alone."
The bioluminescent lines running along her neck and collarbones briefly glowed scarlet.
Aurelians differed from humans in their extraordinary sensitivity to emotion. They noticed micro-movements, hormonal scents, and changes in body temperature, but considered using this ability against another person a serious violation of privacy.
Sheldon clearly had no interest in romantic adventures.
He nodded and headed toward the elevator with Linoy. Her flawless figure fit perfectly into the hotel uniform. She called the elevator, selected the floor, and the doors closed behind Sheldon.
A minute later, Sheldon stood outside room 472.
A facial-recognition scanner was mounted beside the door. If the room had really been prepared for him, the system would let him inside. If not, he would be furious with himself for once again allowing that woman to make a fool of him.
The screen turned green.
The door opened slightly.
Sheldon quickly stepped inside.
Beside a large octopus-like robot stood a very familiar young human woman.
"What took you so long?"
The girl rushed toward him and hugged him before he had time to react.
The embrace stunned him.
The young woman had short blond hair and was dressed like the captain of a pirate ship.
She was his sister, Rose.
"What are you doing here?" Sheldon asked in his usual strict tone, trying to hide his real emotions.
Rose didn't let go.
"I missed you so much! I couldn't stay at the Academy. Thanks to Miss L, we can finally see each other."
"Miss L?"
"Yes. She's your girlfriend, isn't she? Or whatever you people in the Fleet call it..."
"Not anymore. Hasn't been for a long time."
"Well, that doesn't matter, brother! What matters is that we're finally together..."
Rose kept hugging him, and Sheldon realized he simply had to endure it.
When no hug came in return, Rose finally released him.
Sheldon looked at his sister again.
She was still young and naive, but something about her had changed. She seemed stronger. More mature.
After the Faceless invasion, Rose was the only family he had left.
"I'm glad to see you, Rosie."
He gave her a brief but genuine smile.
They hadn't seen each other in almost five years, and Rose was clearly delighted by the reunion.
"Can I stay here a little longer? I'll go back to the Academy, I promise."
"Only if you tell me everything..." Sheldon began, but at that moment the robot floated toward him.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Nate."
The robot extended one of its claws.
Sheldon didn't shake it.
"What exactly is Nate?" Sheldon looked at Rosie.
"He's my robot. I built him myself. Some of his functions still aren't finished, though. Come on, tell me he's cool."
"Undoubtedly," Sheldon muttered with obvious displeasure.
"Oh, don't be so grumpy... You could at least say, 'Rosie, I'm glad you managed to build him.'"
"All right. I don't want to argue with you, but you know the rules. You weren't supposed to leave the Academy. That was the agreement."
Sheldon clearly did not like any of this. Something was wrong.
"I remember... That's what Mother wanted. But what was I supposed to do after they threatened to expel me..."
Rosie immediately covered her mouth with one hand.
Sheldon stared at her.
"Threatened to expel you?"
"You didn't hear that."
"Rosie."
She began backing away.
Sheldon took one slow step toward her.
The enormous octopus-like robot immediately positioned itself between them.
"My apologies, sir. I cannot allow you to come any closer."
The robot aimed a laser beam directly at Sheldon's face.
Rose looked stunned.
Sheldon remained completely calm.
"Move. Now," Sheldon hissed into the robot's metallic face. "Because if you don't, you'll have two seconds left to live."
The final words came out almost gently.
"He doesn't always understand the level of danger yet."
Rosie hurried over and grabbed Nate by one of his claws.
"Threat canceled. Nate, don't mess with Sheldon. I won't be able to fix you afterward."
The robot seemed to calculate its options, then slowly floated aside.
"Whew. That was close..." Rosie exhaled.
"Start over."
"I signed a petition supporting the Gastarians."
"And?"
"And I spoke at rallies in their support."
"And the Academy threatened to expel you for that?"
Rosie hesitated.
"Some of the professors hated what I was saying. A lot of them. They warned me that if I kept causing trouble, there could be disciplinary action."
"That is not the same as being expelled."
"They made it very clear what they thought of me."
"Did the Academy expel you?"
"No."
"Did anyone order you to leave?"
Rosie looked away.
"No."
"So you left on your own."
"I wasn't going to sit there and wait until they did it!" Rosie snapped.
"The Academy doesn't expel people for having a different opinion, Rosie. You worked yourself up, convinced yourself they were going to throw you out, and ran."
"Because nobody there wants to hear the truth!"
"What truth?" Sheldon's voice rose.
"That the Gastarians didn't destroy Earth because they wanted to. Rabaka Mala wasn't even Rabaka Mala. A Faceless took his place."
"And a Gastarian fleet still destroyed Earth."
"On the orders of an impostor!"
"Orders they obeyed."
"And humans declared war almost immediately!" Rosie fired back. "You didn't even wait to find out what had happened. Earth was gone, and suddenly every Gastarian was the enemy."
"We knew who fired on us."
"You knew whose ships fired. That's not the same thing."
"Rosie, I was there."
"And that means you can't be wrong? You knew what Rabaka was that same day. They analyzed the body and found out he was a Faceless."
Sheldon's jaw tightened.
"No. That's wrong. The body was analyzed later. By the time anyone understood that it belonged to a Faceless, the war had already begun."
Rosie folded her arms.
"Fine. That only proves my point. Humanity declared war before it knew the truth."
"It proves that our planet had been destroyed, our main defense forces were gone, and the fleet that did it was Gastarian."
"Under a Faceless commander."
"That does not erase what they did."
"But afterward the Federation had Rabaka's body. They made scanners from the data. They could identify the Faceless."
"No, they couldn't."
Rosie stopped.
"What?"
"There are no scanners that can reliably identify a Faceless," Sheldon said sharply. "If there were, we wouldn't still be hunting them. Stop repeating something as fact just because you heard it somewhere."
For a moment Rosie had no answer.
"The investigation proved the Faceless had infiltrated the Federation," she said at last.
"Yes. And we still don't know who replaced Rabaka, who ordered it, or how far the infiltration went."
"Then how can you blame the Gastarians?"
"Because when the war ended, they refused to accept responsibility for what their fleet had done. They never admitted defeat. They left the Federation and disappeared with what remained of their fleet."
"Maybe because they knew humans had already decided they were guilty!"
"They destroyed our world!" Sheldon shouted.
"A Faceless gave the order!" Rosie shouted back.
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Then Rosie took a breath.
"And what about Adristan?"
Sheldon's expression changed immediately.
"What about him?"
"He convinced the Gastarian command to open an evacuation corridor. Rabaka destroys Earth, but somehow Adristan is allowed to save millions of humans."
"Adristan saved us."
"I know what everyone says."
"It is not what everyone says. It happened."
"Then explain why Rabaka let him do it."
"No one can."
"Exactly. What if Rabaka and Adristan were working together?"
Sheldon shot to his feet.
"Enough."
"Think about it, Sheldon. Rabaka attacks Earth, Adristan gets an evacuation corridor, humanity survives because of him, and then-"
"Enough!" Sheldon's voice filled the room. "You can defend the Gastarians if that is what you believe. But you do not accuse Adristan of helping destroy Earth when you have no proof."
"You don't have proof that he wasn't involved."
"He saved millions of lives. Including ours."
"That doesn't answer the question."
"And inventing an answer doesn't make it true."
Rosie looked away, still angry.
"I still don't believe the Gastarians were guilty."
"Then believe that. But learn the difference between what you believe and what you actually know."
Sheldon sat down on the purple sofa.
Rosie moved to the other side of the room with Nate and stopped near the window. Beside it hung a beautiful painting of a nude Aurelian woman.
The surviving people of Earth had been rescued by an alliance of alien species - the United Church, led by Prophet Adristan. Before Earth's final destruction, Adristan had convinced the Gastarian command to open an evacuation corridor, saving millions of lives. Later, he created the Academies, including the one Rosie had been sent to according to their mother Chloe's wishes.
Why Rabaka's double had allowed the evacuation remained a mystery.
"Miss L helped me leave," Rosie said more quietly. "I couldn't reach you, so I contacted her."
"I'll send you to Avers. You'll find Major Lee there, an old friend of mine. Just please - don't say a word about your political views while you're there."
Sheldon wanted to hug Rosie.
He even raised his arms slightly.
Then lowered them.
He nodded and was about to leave, but turned back.
"Where's Miss L? Did she say where she'd be staying?"
"She said she'd be in the outer districts. I don't know where that is."
"I do. Pack your things. Someone will come for you soon."
Sheldon left the hotel.
With Linoy Part's help, he ordered a taxi to the outer districts and also asked her to send a message to Major Lee.
During the ride, Sheldon thought about many things.
The idea that the man who had saved humanity could have ordered Scarlett stolen seemed absurd.
Scarlett was one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy-a gift from the Alien Congress in recognition of Sheldon's actions during the war.
And now there was Rosie to worry about as well.
When he arrived, Sheldon went to a bar called Porter, a place rumored to offer access to almost any illegal job.
There he once again found the woman who had approached him earlier in The Lonesome Cowboy.
She was sitting with several other Vesperians, talking quietly.
One of them nodded toward Sheldon, who was standing behind her.
"Sheldon..."
"Can we talk, Miss L?"
Miss L whispered something in Vesperian and rose from the table.
The two of them stepped outside, where the streets remained alive even deep into the night.
"Thank you..."
"You mean Rosie? Don't mention it. I did what I could. She's better off here."
"Miss L... You used to be just L."
Sheldon was trying to start a conversation.
"I like this better."
Miss L stopped and looked at him.
"You didn't come all this way just to thank me. So what did you decide?"
"I find it very hard to believe that Adristan had anything to do with stealing Scarlett. Are you trying to steal something again?"
"Not exactly. You can't steal something that's already been stolen. But yes, I have my own objective."
Miss L gave Sheldon a sly look.
"Going to tell me?"
"Only if you agree to the job. I promise-this is the last time."
Miss L placed a hand against Sheldon's chest and moved close enough that their lips nearly touched.
"Fine."
Sheldon let out a heavy breath but didn't kiss her.
"I'll help you. But if this turns out to be another one of your lies, you'll turn yourself in voluntarily."
"And if it isn't?"
"Don't think for a second that I trust you."
She knew he meant it.
She had betrayed his trust once already, but her feelings for him had never disappeared.
Deep down, she still wanted to be with Sheldon.
"I'll do everything I can. And if this works, you'll give me another chance to prove that I never meant to make your life worse."
"We'll see."
Sheldon stepped slightly away.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Not here. Let's go back to Porter."
Miss L beckoned him to follow, and they returned to the Vesperians she had been talking to.
One of them pulled out a floor plan and spread it across the table.
"Does he know?" one of the Vesperians asked.
"Yes. He's helping."
Miss L looked at Sheldon.
"All right. We need to find Kelano-a Faceless who, according to what I've heard, stole Scarlett on Adristan's orders. He'll be at a themed banquet attended by the richest crime bosses in the galaxy. I don't know who he'll be impersonating, but I'd bet on a human."
"So that's why you need me-and my access to the database? To identify the impostor?"
Sheldon didn't like what he was hearing.
"Exactly. And I'll say this now so nobody asks later: we also need to steal the Bible. A very rare copy."
Miss L watched Sheldon carefully, hoping he wouldn't back out of his offer.
"Who are you stealing it for? How much is he paying?"
Sheldon was gradually beginning to understand the job.
"I can't tell you his real name. He contacts me through our private channel. Half a million."
For the first time in her career as a thief, Miss L was playing with an open hand.
She no longer wanted to hide anything from Sheldon.
"That's good money!" one of the Vesperians exclaimed.
"How do we split it?" the other asked.
"We don't. You get all of it if you help us get in there and into this hangar."
Miss L pointed at the location on the plan.
"Deal!" the first one exclaimed.
"We meet in an hour. I'll send you the marker," the second said.
He rolled up the floor plan, and the two Vesperians quickly left Porter.
Miss L looked at Sheldon with obvious desire.
"Sheldon... You turn me on."
"L... I mean, Miss L. Isn't this a little early?"
"With you, it's always the right time."
Miss L moved closer and ran her hand along the inside of Sheldon's thigh.
He stopped her.
"Business first. What do you want me to find?"
"Any recently deceased crime bosses. My people will make us passes and invitations, and they'll send us the codes for every lock in the mansion. Our job is to take everything we need."
Sheldon pulled a small electronic device from an inside pocket, entered his access code for the Galactic Database, and began searching for dead or missing human crime bosses.
After finding several possibilities, he showed them to Miss L.
She looked at the most suitable profile, nodded, and used her own device to send the information to her associates.
Ten minutes later, they had everything they needed-two invitations.
Then a marker lit up on Miss L's device.
"It's time. You ready?"
Miss L was thrilled but tried not to show it.
"I'll tell you later."
"Then let's go, my lonesome cowboy!"
Miss L casually slapped Sheldon on the ass and walked out of Porter.