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Blue light filled the Ironclad’s command module. The dust bands of the Glaciem Ring stretched out to infinity on either side like gigantic wings. Asteroids glided silently past the cockpit window. Directly ahead lay the largest one—Delamar. After weeks in the depths of space, I was returning to Levski. A warm feeling of coming home welled up inside me. Was Levski my home? Maybe. For now, at least, it felt the closest thing to it.

In the cargo hold lay the ship components and containers from my latest salvage missions. I’d already dropped off the weapons with Hector on Theta. The rest was for the People’s Alliance. I’d use a few particularly valuable parts myself or sell them for a high price.

I craned my neck over the dashboard. The drill hole came into view. Goosebumps spread across my body. The large lettering “HOPE IS HERE”—it warmed my heart. There was a crackle over the radio—landing clearance. I pushed the control wheel forward with all my might. The Ironclad’s nose dipped and plunged into the drill hole. The hangar door in the side wall of the hole came into view. Gentle corrections brought the colossus onto the final approach vector. Then it glided into the hangar.

A short while later, I was standing at the bar in Café Musain, wrapped in a thick coat, clutching a cup of hot drink. The sweet-smelling steam rose to my nose. I closed my eyes as the warm liquid flowed soothingly down my throat. I took a deep breath in and out and let myself drift with the moment. Snippets of conversation mingled with the music.

“Axel accused me of being a UEE spy. That would be the only reason someone like me would have come to Nyx. Damn it, if everyone thought that way, the Alliance wouldn’t get any new members.”

“And I don’t have enough people on my team now that Bob and Tilfer have decided to return to the UEE. How can someone invest so much time building this dream and then just give up?”

“It’s simple—because of the constant attacks. The Alliance has to take proactive measures against this Vanduul threat. If we all just sit around discussing what to do, it’ll be too late. We need the UEE.”

“You know full well that we’re dealing with the Vanduul because the UEE started this idiotic war. If only they’d just left them alone and maybe focused on solving real problems—but no, they can only maintain their power by distracting people with a big war. Now we’re the ones paying the price.”

“And the price will be much higher once they’ve taken over the Nyx system. Their greedy hands are already reaching for it.”

“My family helped found Levski, and there were always rumors that the UEE would storm the system. Why would they do it now, after leaving us alone for so long?”

“I can tell you why: because of the successful terraforming of Nyx I.”

My eyes were still closed, my grip on the cup tight, when a particularly loud voice boomed right next to my ear.

“Are you cold, Zero?”

Startled, I opened my eyes. Rebekka was standing next to me, grinning at me.

“Residual cold. My Ironclad’s life support isn’t working properly. It’s been freezing on board these past few days.”

Rebekka nodded sympathetically.

“You’ve missed quite a bit, Zero.”

I furrowed my brow and looked at Rebekka questioningly.

“Do you mean the community’s differing stances on the UEE? I just overheard a conversation. It’s not getting any better. Or is there more?”

“The station you found,” Rebekka replied. “It was a Shattered Blades facility, heavily defended with Vanduul technology. The agent we’d sent there was being held hostage. We had to send in a tactical strike force to rescue him.”

“I had no idea the People’s Alliance had that kind of military capability,” I said in amazement, glad I hadn’t been there.

“It doesn’t. We hired InterSec. And even they had to call in outside mercenaries for backup. Not everyone in the Alliance was happy about it.”

The bartender set a bottle of Schmolz on the counter. Rebekka took a big gulp, then continued.

“To make matters worse, the Vanduul showed up during the rescue operation—with a Mauler capital ship.”

I set my cup on the counter and whistled through my teeth. Rebekka shrugged.

“They wanted revenge—on the Shattered Blades. We were there at the wrong time. At least we were able to free our man.”

“True,” I said thoughtfully. “The Hockrow Agency had said that the Shattered Blades deal in Vanduul technology. If they’re raiding the Vanduul for that, it’s no surprise that the lizards are out for revenge. That explains the increased Vanduul attacks on Nyx—but not the rising number of pirate attacks.”

“We’ve got a lead there,” Rebekka said triumphantly. “Since it mainly affects Recco’s people, she’s taken charge of coordinating the response. Go down and see her—she’s got something for you.”

It was a long walk through sprawling tunnels filled with ventilation ducts, cables, and crates. A force field secured the entrance to Recco Battaglia’s area. Then I stood in her domain: the Employment Center. The command center for transport and mining operations. Recco was working at a terminal behind a counter. She looked up.

“Zero. Come closer.”

I stepped up to the counter. Recco joined me and got straight to the point.

“The Cutlass’s navigation data you sent us leads to an abandoned, uncharted service station. A reconnaissance ship was in the area. Unidentified ships are coming and going. It appears to be a command center, presumably with servers.”

A wave of dread shot through my back like a hot stab. With a stony expression, I stared at Recco. Unfazed, she continued.

“We need someone to go in there and bring us data.”

“Why me?” I asked indignantly. “Ask InterSec—they helped free the agent, too.”

Recco shook her head vigorously. Her curls danced like leaves in a storm.

“It has to be someone who belongs to the People’s Alliance. We can’t hire InterSec again. Another operation like that will deepen the rifts in the community.”

Confused, I spread my arms wide.

“Then why me?”

Recco reached under the counter, grabbed something, took a swing, and threw it. A bundle of fabric smacked me in the face. Grumbling, I reached for it and held it up in front of me: a jumpsuit with the People’s Alliance logo. I looked at Recco questioningly.

“So you know where you belong,” she said grimly.

*

Typical of QV service stations, this one was also built inside an asteroid in the middle of the Keeger Belt. Smaller asteroids swirled around it like a swarm of mosquitoes. I looked out the bridge window with concern. A Corsair and an Aurora were parked on the only landing pad—we weren’t alone. I was glad to have backup from TYR. Raff maneuvered the Perseus alongside the landing pad.

Before we disembarked, Kjeld briefed us.

“Raff and I will go first. Delta and Zero stay in the rear; move up only on command.”

Confused, I looked at my weapon’s ammo display: 3. I reached for my belt: nothing.

“Uh, guys, I only have three rounds.”

“All the more reason for you to stay in the back. Your job is to gather intelligence,” Kjeld emphasized.

With our weapons drawn, we entered the station. An eerie silence hung in the air. The layout was just like any other service station: an entrance area with ASOP terminals, then a security checkpoint, and beyond that, the panoramic deck. Gray metal walls, floors, and ceilings. There were graffiti scrawls all over the walls. At the security checkpoint, a large, stylized, elongated red skull was emblazoned on the wall. On a steel plate, I noticed some lettering: “Moraine.” Goosebumps ran down my body.

“Kjeld, look,” I whispered. “You wanted information about the Moraines that I couldn’t get. I think we’ve found it.”

“Contact ahead,” Raff murmured.

Delta and I stopped. Kjeld and Raff moved forward. Shots rang out.

“Advance slowly,” Kjeld ordered.

We closed in until we reached the passageway to the observation deck. I ducked behind a crate. It really was the same layout. To the right was the panoramic window, to the left the stairs leading up, and straight ahead the stairs leading down.

“Take the left path,” I suggested. “Then you’ll have the high ground.”

Raff and Kjeld moved tactically up the stairs. Delta and I waited. More shots rang out.

“Delta,” Raff groaned. “I need a hemostatic agent.”

Delta and I moved up. In the stairwell, I noticed more graffiti. “Moraine” in red letters and a large white M.

“This leads to the server room,” said Raff.

“Raff, Zero. Head to the server room,” Kjeld ordered. “Delta, come with me down the stairs to the warehouse.”

Raff led the way, taking out more pirates. I picked up the fallen pirate’s weapon and ammunition.

“He’s wearing exactly the same armor as the attackers on the Caterpillar that I took out,” I noted.

Then we stood in front of a window; behind it was a room with server racks and a guy in heavy armor.

“There’s a guard in there,” I whispered to Raff.

“We can handle this together,” he replied.

We took up positions on the left and right of the door. My heart was racing. The door opened. A hail of bullets swept through the room. The pirate crashed to the floor with a thud. I stood up, took a step inside, and stopped, surprised.

“This place is full of servers.”

Raff laughed. My tension eased; now I was in my element. I hurriedly examined everything, hacked into the system, and downloaded as much data as I could onto a storage device.

“Done,” I said with relief.

Suddenly, Kjeld’s voice came over the radio.

“Come to the warehouse.”

Raff and I looked at each other and started running.

Crates were scattered all over the station, but the real treasure was in the warehouse: shelves full of crates containing valuable ores and minerals. Definitely the loot from the raids. It was obvious.

“No doubt about it,” I concluded. “The Cutlass during the raid on the Caterpillar, the same armor, and the graffiti on the walls—these are the Moraines. They’re behind the pirate attacks in the Nyx system.”

“Or the graffiti is from earlier,” Kjeld countered.

“I doubt it,” I argued. “The data from the servers will shed some light on this. We have to take them to Levski.”

Kjeld nodded.

“OK. Can you set up some surveillance? And we’ll take some crates with us—one each.”

I grabbed a crate. My gaze fell on some graffiti on the wall: “Fuck the Rich!”

Why were they attacking the poor people in Nyx? They should just go to Stanton.

*

Two days later, Recco had analyzed the data. It was the Moraines—they were systematically ambushing transport ships in the Nyx system. And they had other hidden stations—a vast, ramified network in the Keeger Belt. Just like the Shattered Blades. We had them to thank for the increased Vanduul attacks.

We had the evidence—but would it bridge the divides within the Alliance? Would it rally everyone behind a single goal: “Stronger Together”?

Nyx—the border between the rival superpowers, the Vanduul and the UEE. The pirate gangs—the Shattered Blades, Claw Salamanders, and Moraines—didn’t make life any easier. And another conflict was smoldering: the battle for Nyx I. I feared Nyx wouldn’t find peace anytime soon.

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