“They aren’t, but my uncle also has an unofficial agreement with Omnistellar,” Alexei replied grimly. “Remember, this station is illegal salvage. It’s technically Omnistellar’s property. They ignore the fact that a gang of criminals has taken over their prison and turned it into a hub of illegal commerce, so if they demand the return of a few particularly dangerous criminals, Obsidian isn’t going to do much about it.” He hesitated. “That’s the people running the place, of course. Individuals might feel differently.”

“We don’t have time to make new friends.” Tension radiated from the corded muscles on Mia’s bare arms. “We need to find the others before they get themselves killed.”

“Can you make us invisible?”

She hesitated, then shook her head. “I don’t think so. First of all, I’m not sure it’s a great idea to vanish where everyone can see us. But it also took a lot of focus to hold all three of us in the market. I don’t think I can maintain it with everyone moving around.”

The very fact that Mia was admitting she couldn’t do something made me accept her statement without question. “Then let’s just start searching.” It wasn’t my best plan, but I didn’t have anything better.

We set off through the docking ring. It was less busy than the rest of the station, but enough people lingered that we didn’t stand out. Some of them looked like workers you’d see at any spaceport, wearing overalls, fixing things, munching on sandwiches, once again reminding me of how powerfully hungry I was. I resolutely pushed that thought away. We had friends to save. I was not going to start lusting over reprocessed cheese.

But we clearly remained in a criminal hub. People huddled in groups, marked as gangs by clothing or tattoos or other distinguishing features. Someone shouted in the distance, but it was only two men arguing. They shoved each other, and we quickly moved on before we got caught up in something new.

We made it halfway around the docking ring before a glint of silver caught my eye. I threw out my hands, arresting Mia and Alexei midstep. “Wait,” I said. “Ahead of us and to the right. See that?”

They followed my gaze, and Alexei instantly drew both of us into a more sheltered area, assuming a casual position leaning against the wall. I saw the wisdom at once: standing in the middle of the room staring would only attract unwanted attention. I angled myself, blocking his very recognizable bulk. Mia glanced both ways and, satisfied no one was watching, shimmered into invisibility.

About fifty feet ahead, five bounty hunters gathered outside a door. Of course, the Silver Oni instantly drew my eye, making me bite my lip in annoyance. I also recognized Priya and her partner from the market. There were two others, a man and a woman, all clad in black, all armed. They seemed to be, if not arguing, at least intensely discussing something.