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H azel was still in her uniform when we arrived. She looked tired, which had to be how she felt, too. She offered us drinks, but Frank and I both declined. We took seats on the couch in her living room. I was curious to find out what she wanted to talk about. Had to be the Star.

She got herself a water and settled into the recliner. “Thanks for coming.” The tiredness in her eyes gave way to something darker. “This situation is not optimal, and to make matters worse…” She took a deep breath, seemingly reluctant to finish her sentence.

“What is it?”

Frowning, she shook her head, her gaze drifting toward the floor. “I don’t know who I can trust right now.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning there were guards at the entrance checking credentials, so they should have been paying attention to anyone who left, even if the lights were out. Also, and the thing that’s most troubling, is that neither the premier nor his wife said anything to the admiral or myself about the Star being a counterfeit.”

She paused, her frown deepening. “Which means either they didn’t know or they knew and decided not to say anything. If it’s the latter, I’d like to know why.”

“That is concerning,” Frank said. “Are you questioning if this was some kind of setup?”

“I am,” Hazel answered. “And since I don’t know who to trust, you two are my only option.”

Okay, I hadn’t been expecting that. “It’s flattering that you think so highly of us.”

Frank let out a soft snort. “I think it’s more we’re her only choice.”

Hazel’s frown almost disappeared. “After the Woolsey incident, I have great faith in both of you. But, yes, you are also my only choice. Doesn’t mean I’m not grateful.”

“Of course, honey.”

“I can’t do much without arousing suspicion. I have a few subordinates that seem trustworthy, but they’d draw attention you won’t. I’m hoping you’re willing to help.”

“Absolutely,” I said. Then I glanced at Frank. “I shouldn’t speak for you.”

“No, it’s fine.” He nodded to underline his commitment. “We’ll do everything in our power.”

Hazel’s shoulders dropped slightly. “Thank you. If there’s anything not in your power, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. The only thing I ask is that you keep me informed. The clock is ticking on this one. If we return to Loessa and then the premier suddenly declares the Star has been stolen and swapped, he could easily turn this into a major incident. At that point, the loss of my position will be the least of our worries.”

Frank inched forward, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair as he interlaced his fingers. “What would the premier gain by a stunt like that?”

“He’s balking at Loessa joining FAN. He thinks the Federation of Allied Nations wants Loessa to join simply to gain access to the planet’s stores of nebulite.”

“Is he right?” Frank asked.

Hazel took her time exhaling. “I can’t speak for the higher-ups. Maybe a little. But FAN would give Loessa protection they don’t have. They’ve already had threats from the Ochnar, their closest neighbor, and if the Ochnar decide to act, it’s only a matter of time before they take Loessa. Loessaian defense systems and spacecraft are primitive compared with the technology the Federation could offer them, despite the power of the nebulite. The Federation could help them turn that power into something truly significant.”

Frank nodded. “And, of course, FAN would prefer the nebulite be shared with us rather than the Ochnar.”

Hazel spread her hands. “Honestly, that’s in all of our best interests. The Ochnar are a brutal warrior race. If we went to war with them, those of us they didn’t kill would be enslaved.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You make it sound like the balance of the universe hangs on this gem.”

Hazel’s slow nod sent a chill through me. “It very well might.”

“Oh, my stars.” I let the thought sink in before looking at Frank. “We have to find that blessed thing.”

“Yes, we do.” He sat back. “We had a good look through the rooms of both sets of Loessaian guards. Nothing to note.”

“Except one pair are slobs and the other are neat.” I shrugged. Seemed worth mentioning.

Hazel didn’t comment on that. “The premier said he’d be assigning another pair of guards tonight. At least until the missing pair are found.”

With a quick nod, Frank continued. “There were no guards on duty when we did some surveillance on the observation loop.”

“When was that?” Hazel asked.

“As soon as it was cleared after the gala. We thought it was possible the gem had been hidden away there. The counterfeit Star was on its pedestal but only protected by the light shield defense.”

“That should be sufficient until the new guards arrive,” Hazel said. “Anything happen while you were there?”

“While we were on the balcony, a man came in, took a look around as well, and left empty-handed.”

“He couldn’t see us,” I added.

Hazel’s brows bent. “How could he not see you?”

“We were hidden,” I explained.

The angle of her brows remained unchanged. “How was that possible on the observation loop? There’s nowhere to hide. Especially not on the balcony.”

Frank gently cleared his throat. “With all due respect, ma’am, there are some things it would be better you didn’t ask about, as they exist in a sort of gray area.”

Amusement gleamed in Hazel’s eyes. “Because they aren’t legal for you to have?”

“I’d prefer not to answer that.”

I pursed my lips. It was as close as I could come to a neutral expression.

“I think we can move on.” Hazel picked up her water and took a drink. “Whatever you need to do, within reason, consider it approved. That said, is there anything you need from me to move forward?”

“Nothing I can think of.” I looked to Frank for his input.

“Nothing I can think of either, but I’m sure something will come up.”

Hazel held out her wristband. “Exchange contact info with me, Frank. Then if you need me, you’ll have a direct line.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He stretched out his arm toward hers.

“You can call me Hazel, Frank.”

Their wristbands chimed as the information was received. “I appreciate that, ma’am, but I don’t feel comfortable calling the vice-admiral by her first name. I suppose that makes me old-fashioned.”

Hazel’s smile inched up. “You were a Space Marine.”

“I was.”

“Injured in the line of duty, I understand,” she added.

“A workplace accident, nothing as brave as warfare.”

“Even so, thank you for your service. And thank you for looking out for my mother.”

“It’s a privilege and an honor.” Frank glanced at me, clearly enjoying this.

I nearly rolled my eyes at the two of them. “We have work to do.”

Hazel got to her feet. “Yes, you do.”

Frank and I stood, making our way to the door. I gave Hazel a hug. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”

“Thanks.” Hazel didn’t look convinced, but I got it. She had a lot more weight on her shoulders than we did on ours. “Good night.”

We left, heading for Frank’s. He took my hand. “Your daughter is a remarkable woman. She’s under a lot of pressure.”

“Yes, she is.” I felt some of it sympathetically. “Do you really think we’ll be able to find that thing? This ship is huge.”

“It is. But we’ll come up with a plan.”

Back at his place, we got to work in his lair. He had a desk chair for me now, picked up at our last starport via special order. He really was something.

He brought up a whiteboard on the big screen across from his desk. “Let’s start by listing potential suspects and possible motives.”

“Okay. The premier should be number one.”

“Agreed.” He typed away. The premier’s name came up, along with his motive, the concerns about joining the Federation. “Who else?”

I really wasn’t sure. “The gem is worth a lot of money but also contains incredible power. Who would benefit from either of those things? And who has the ability to either sell a gem like that without getting themselves into trouble or to use that kind of power without calling too much attention to themselves?”

We sat in silence, thinking hard and staring at the white space across from us.

Frank spoke first. “I don’t know yet who would benefit, but to answer who could sell the Star without any trouble, I’m thinking someone already connected to the underworld.”

“That’s a reasonable assumption.” I looked at him. “So we need dossiers on everyone at the gala. We need to dig into their backgrounds, see who might be associated with any shady characters. Or maybe if they have some kind of criminal history themselves.”

His brows lifted. “Do you want me to access them, or should we keep it clean and ask your daughter?”

“Let’s ask her. For one thing, I’m sure everyone who attended went through some kind of background check. For another, it’ll make her feel better to be included. And it’ll keep you out of trouble.”

He smirked. “Works for me.”

“I’ll text her in a second. First, let’s do a second list of everyone we know was at the gala while it’s fresh on our minds. We can work on them while we wait for the dossiers.”

“Okay.” He typed Attendees, then under that, a number one. He wrote Premier Hanth, then for number two, Fathia Hanth. “Who else?”

“Ensign Ludwig, who was the cultural liaison for the singer, Ayronina. You can put both of them on the list. Also my friend Vashti. That’s who introduced me to another guest, Dr. Mechai Saetang. He’s a Loessaian astrophysicist on board to study the effects of deep space on the Star. His assistant, Davika, was there, too, but I didn’t meet her.”

Frank finished adding the names, then slanted his eyes at me. “He sounds like he could be a potential suspect. Don’t you think? He could certainly put the Star to use. He might even know other scientists who’d want it.”

I blinked. “Now that you mention it, yes, that makes sense. Sorry. Guess I’m a little tired.”

“You want to start fresh in the morning?”

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself. I wasn’t ready to quit yet. Not when there was so much on the line. “No. Unless you’re ready to call it a night.”

He reached out to touch my shoulder. “You’re worried about Hazel.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “Yes, I am. She shouldn’t be the one taking the brunt of this, but the gala was her responsibility. I will never forgive myself if this all comes down on her and I didn’t do everything I could. Not to mention, if she loses this post … I don’t know what will happen to us. I doubt they’ll dismiss her and let me stay. I wouldn’t stay without her anyway.”

The very idea raised such anger in me that my jaw clenched involuntarily.

He wrapped his fingers around mine. “That is not going to happen. Neither of you is going anywhere. Hazel is a tremendous asset to the Athos , as are you. If the higher-ups don’t realize that, they’re idiots.” He frowned. “I like you, Els. You know that, right?”

I nodded, my throat tight with emotion.

“Good. I’m not about to lose you.”

“I don’t want to lose you either.” I didn’t want to leave the Athos , but I especially didn’t want to leave Frank. More than anything, I did not want my daughter to be subject to the humiliation of a dishonorable discharge.

The thought almost caused me to shed a tear. I blew out a breath and pulled myself together. “Who else can we put on that list? I already mentioned Vashti as the one who introduced me to Dr. Saetang. Maybe I could talk to her? See if she saw anything unusual?”

“That’s a great idea.” Frank added her name to the list of attendees. “Hang on.” He tapped at the keyboard. The whiteboard disappeared, and new information—computer code, mostly—appeared on the screen.

I realized pretty quickly what he was doing. I leaned forward. “I thought I was going to ask Hazel for the dossiers?”

“You are.” He pasted the new info onto a new section of the whiteboard. “This is just the invitations list to get us started.”

“I see that now. Should we mark the people we know?”

“Yes.” He was staring at the names. “I realize we need something else from Hazel.”

“What’s that?”

“All the plus-ones. You’re listed, but it just says Ellis McFadden and guest. My name isn’t anywhere. In fact, not a single guest is named.”

“All right, I’ll get that from her as well.” I squinted at the list. “Doesn’t that seem odd to you? There has to be a complete list somewhere. I had to give your name at the time I transmitted the RSVP form, and it said on the form that no substitutions were allowed once the name was submitted. I assumed that was because the guests were being vetted as well.”

He nodded. “I’d assume that, too. Who handled the attendee lists?”

“As far as I know, it was Hazel’s administrative assistant, Ensign Bartholomew Gibson.”

“How much do you know about him?”

“Not much other than he was assigned to her. She didn’t hire him personally.”

“Interesting.” Frank stared at the list. “There are a lot of possibilities, but we need to know more. One thing that is clear is that your daughter’s right not to trust anyone at this point.”