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“If he gets caught—”

“I know.”

They looked around at each other.

“He won’t get caught,” Dani said. “And if he somehow did, I would tell the heads I got him on board myself and none of you knew.”

“If they believe that,” Morse muttered.

“I’ll make them believe.”

“It’s not just that. What if you were wrong about him?” Lex said. “What if he gets up to his antics again like he did with us? I mean, he’s kind of feral, and I don’t think he fully understands we aren’t prey. What if he powers down this ship like he did ours on X110? We only have so much backup power. And you can imagine the panic.”

“Trust me, I’ve made him understand. He won’t mess with the ship or with anyone.”

Lex crossed their arms. “Like how you trusted him to stay put when he didn’t?”

“Lex does have a point. We know the risk we took bringing him onboard.” Myrell poured herself another cup and drank it down before adding, “Let’s just hope you’re right, Dani. I saw that better side of him. He’s still protected.”

“I did send out a message to the nearest alliance outpost,” Tom said. “But we may not hear anything back for some time. Aslong as he stays unnoticed, the next port we make could be his best chance.”

“And as for the other matter?” Sheek spoke. “Are we to see no compensation for what happened to us? Instead, the heads treat us like criminals. Questioning what we saw, if we took anything we shouldn’t have.”

“It’s because of Marityne,” Dani answered. “The heads learned more about what Marityne did. Instead of outing them, they are trying to keep it quiet. They expected us to do our jobs and not ask questions, like good little workers.”

“They had to have paid Nexacor a ton to do that,” Lex said.

“Or there was some insider trading involved,” said Tom.

“Either way, we won’t see a dime unless we lawyer up,” Myrell stated, pouring another cup.

Or if Dani gave up the datachip. A part of her knew that’s what the heads really wanted. But it was also all the evidence left. She badly wished she had a way to copy the data, but employee computers didn’t have a way to transfer such hefty files. There wasn’t even a way to connect the chip to her computer.

The whole meeting, Nadine had glared at her, pleading with her silently to give it up. Give it up and get her promotion. Never speak of it again and get her bonus. Otherwise, her job was on the line.

Come the next port they stopped at, she could be kicked off. They’d strip her room and find the chip as well as…

She hugged herself as a sharp chill ran though her. She had to decide soon.

Too bad her mom was gone—she’d give her sound advice. Dad was one of the heads of the company, so she already knew his answer. She’d be disowned this time for good.

Her best bet was the alliance, but she had no idea if or when they would make contact. Otherwise, her only option was to give up the chip.

“Well, all this has made me tired,” Lex said. “I think I need a twelve-hour sleep cycle to get my energy back from all this.”

“I would like to sleep as well,” added Phen.

Myrell looked to Dani. “I think we could all use a little more rest.”

Dani could see the exhaustion in their expressions. “Let’s call the meeting for now.”

“Come on, Phen. I’ll walk you back to your room.” Lex grabbed Phen’s hand, starting for the door. They stopped and looked back. “I won’t say anything, for your sake, Dani. But if anything more happens with Kryxis…I can’t stay silent for long.”

Dani watched them go, knowing she couldn’t blame them. The others left until only she and Myrell remained.

“I know you mean well,” Myrell said, offering her another drink. “And if it matters, I do think you’re doing the right thing.”

“Thanks.”