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M ei stood over Grak’s body, watching dispassionately as green blood slowly pooled under him, and silently cursed. Her plan to remain undetected would be difficult to maintain with a missing crew member. There would be a search. Once the captain and first officer realized that Grak had been murdered, they were bound to notify someone. She needed to find a place to hide his body and hope they didn’t find it, or her, until they docked somewhere she could escape.

She was still contemplating what to do next when the door behind her softly hissed open and the warmer light of the corridor illuminated several feet into the storage unit. Her body tensed and she twisted to face the opening, poised to strike like the viper her mother had taught her to be. A low gasp of dismay slipped from her lips as she instantly recognized the shadowy figure in the doorway.

Tiv.

The insectoid alien stood in the doorway, his multi-jointed limbs motionless, his dark eyes wide with curiosity. Mei’s grip on her sword tightened.

Tiv’s mandibles clicked, slow and deliberate, as if he was trying to tell her something. Then—he lifted his hands and extended them slightly toward her. Not in fear. Not in defense. Reassurance.

Tiv stepped forward, crossing the threshold, and the doors slid shut behind him. Mei kept her stance firm as she watched Tiv step closer.

The insectoid’s multi-jointed limbs moved carefully, his sleek chitinous exoskeleton glinting under the dim emergency lights. His mandibles clicked softly, a rhythmic sound, as if he were choosing his words carefully.

Mei’s muscles coiled, ready to strike if needed. Tiv stopped a few feet away, lifted his uppermost set of hands, and spoke.

“Zhis’ska torin ka’resh vash’ti?”

The language was sharp, almost musical, filled with layered clicks and subtle vibrations that Mei’s ears weren’t trained to pick up. She gave a brief shake of her head. Her gaze warily followed the movement when Tiv’s lower set of hands reached up to a small metallic device around his neck. He adjusted it with delicate precision, twisting a dial.

A second later, a voice, smooth and rich, filled the air.

“Do you understand me?”

Mei’s eyes widened slightly, the unexpected sound catching her off guard. A translator. The voice was human-like, hesitant but clear—and feminine.

Mei nodded once. Tiv’s mandibles parted in what Mei now recognized as the alien species’ version of a smile.

“Good,” Tiv said, her voice softening. “I had hoped so.”

Mei lowered her blade slightly, but remained cautious. Her eyes narrowed as a realization dawned on her.

“You knew I was here.” It wasn’t a question.

Tiv tilted her head, her strange, luminous eyes narrowing in amusement. She lifted one of her hands, gesturing toward Mei’s face.

“My species… sees things that others cannot.”

Mei frowned. “What do you mean?”

Tiv tapped the side of her head, where the ridges along her skull pulsed faintly with shifting color.

“We see heat signatures. Energy trails. Movement in the dark. You are not as hidden as you believe, ancient one.”

Mei stilled. That meant Tiv had been aware of her for a long time. She would have to remember that in the future.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Tiv’s smile faded slightly and she shrugged her uppermost shoulders.

“Because I have no desire to make enemies where I don’t need them. And…” she glanced down at Grak’s crumpled form and let out a soft chittering laugh, “because I rather like the idea of him gone.”

Mei’s lips twitched, but she didn’t let the amusement fully surface.

“And your captain? Your first officer?”

Tiv shook her head, stepping closer, lowering her voice.

“I only took this job to escape being enslaved on a mining asteroid. I plan to meet up with my brother on Cryon II. I have no desire to cause trouble or bring trouble to myself.”

Mei’s gaze sharpened.

“Then why are you here?”

Tiv’s mandibles clicked together softly, her posture shifting.

“I came to check on the pod.”

Tiv motioned toward the escape capsule, her expression unreadable. Mei stilled.

“The Legion has placed a bounty on these pods,” she explained, voice lowering slightly. “They believe they carry the Ancient Knights of the Gallant.”

Mei’s stomach tightened. Her gaze flickered to Grak. He had said the same thing… and had also called her ‘ancient one’. She looked back at Tiv with a frown.

Tiv tilted her head, as if sensing her confusion. “I was on duty when we picked up yours. I hid it here, knowing it would be the last unit emptied.” She paused. “But when I came to check, I realized whoever was inside had already woken up and disappeared.”

Mei’s mind raced, accepting the debt owed, but needing more information.

“You didn’t turn me in,” Mei said carefully.

Tiv shrugged. “I had no reason to. Besides, we’re not so different.”

Mei narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

Tiv’s mandibles clicked softly.

“The Legion destroyed the moon base where my parents worked, killing them to test their new weapon. I barely escaped,” Tiv continued, voice softening. “I snuck onto a supply ship. I was not as good at hiding as you. The pilot found me and demanded that I pay for my passage. I didn’t have the credits the pilot wanted, so he planned to sell me.” Her mandibles twitched with distress. “I escaped and ended up here. I disguised myself as a male to get the job. It was easy, given my species.”

Mei’s lips curved into a compassionate smile as she understood Tiv’s cautious movements now, her nervous glances and her silence. Mei exhaled, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

“That’s why I was drawn to you,” she murmured.

Tiv gave her another sharp, knowing smile. Mei’s lips twitched when Tiv clapped her lower hands in excitement. It was hard not to like the unusual alien.

“Now that you know about me,” Mei asked, “what do you plan to do?”

Tiv tilted her head toward Grak’s body, mandibles twitching.

“Help you.”

Mei lifted an eyebrow. Trust was dangerous. She had spent her life avoiding it. But Tiv had seen her. And she had said nothing. That meant something. Tiv continued, voice lowering conspiratorially. She motioned toward Grak.

“There’s talk of other Ancient Knights appearing. If you want, I can help you find out more once we reach Cryon II.”

Mei studied Tiv, looking for sincerity in her alien features. She found it.

Finally, Mei said, “I accept your offer of assistance.” She meant more than those words conveyed, but they were the only words she had.

“We must dispose of Grak’s body. It will smell very bad in a few hours,” Tiv said with a shudder.

“Help me seal his body in the pod. We need to get the pod off the freighter somehow,” she murmured, grabbing and hefting Grak’s bulk.

“I can do this,” Tiv said as she lended her aid without hesitation. “I will send it far away.”

Within minutes, they secured the lid of the pod, locking the corpse within. Mei wiped her hands on her trousers, eyeing the sealed pod.

“What exactly are you going to do with it?”

Tiv’s mandibles twitched with mischievous humor.

“Take it to an ejection tube, add a directional thruster, and program it to crash on Turbinta.”

Mei’s stomach tightened. Here was her chance to learn why the crew spoke of Turbinta in hushed tones, as if it were a curse. Even the brutish Grak had stiffened at its mention.

“Turbinta? What is that? I’ve heard the other crew members say the name. It sounded like they were afraid.”

Tiv nodded.

“No one, not even the Legion, would be stupid enough to search for the pod there.” She let out a laugh. “If they were smart. Which, let’s be honest… they aren’t.”

Mei’s stomach twisted.

“What is Turbinta?” she asked again.

Tiv paused, considering. She scratched at her mandible with her lower arm, then finally lifted her hands and waved them as she spoke.

“Turbinta is a planet filled with assassins. They kill for profit. And for fun. They are made up of species from all over the galaxy, but they have one thing in common—they will not stop until their target is dead.”

Mei stiffened. A strange chill crept through her. She thought of her father. Of her training. Of the way she had been forged into something lethal, unyielding, unstoppable.

If she had been born in this part of the universe… there was absolutely no doubt in her mind:

I would have been one of them.