“Commander Cord,” Priya called, her voice loud and clear. The phrase made me reel. For a moment I looked for my mother, and then I realized: Dad had been promoted. “Please stop what you’re doing and turn around.”

“He can’t do that,” said another voice. We spun to find Liam lounging against the wall, his arms folded over his chest.

“You!” I exploded. I lunged in his direction. Cage’s other arm circled me, dragging me against him, so I targeted Liam with the laser rifle instead, even if I surreptitiously thumbed the safety first. I wasn’t about to shoot anyone, not even him. “What are you doing here? And what the hell did you do to my comm device?”

“What they told me to.” He passed a hand over his head, his face drawn, frightened and exhausted. “Sabotaged the damn thing so it wouldn’t work if you managed to evade capture a bit longer. Did you call him?” He nodded at Jasper. “If so, his is infected too.”

I glanced at Jasper, but there was only an empty slot in his arm where his device should have gleamed. They must have taken it from him when he was arrested. I returned my attention to Liam. “Why? Why would you do that?” Realization dawned, slow and painful. “You’ve been working with Omnistellar all along,” I said. “That’s why I could open portals on the bounty hunter ship. You were there.”

“I was . . . nearby,” he replied reluctantly. “But I wasn’t working for Omnistellar. Your father contacted me directly, Kenzie.”

Dad didn’t even glance up from the console, but his voice was shaky when he answered. “I didn’t trust the bounty hunters not to kill you when they found you. Liam was . . . a backup. I had to make sure you were safe, and that you got off Obsidian. His job was to protect you, even if he went about it in a strange way.”

“I did what you asked,” Liam cut in, annoyance tingeing his voice. “Keep an eye on the hunt. Sabotage her comm device so you could make sure you were the only one to contact her if she escaped. All of that. I upheld my end of the bargain, so make sure you keep yours.”

“And what is that, exactly?” I demanded.

“Sanctuary from those things. Omnistellar is too powerful, Kenzie. The zemdyut were coming no matter what, and I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.” He met my gaze, his face so pale he resembled a ghost in the shadows. “It’s not personal. I just . . . I couldn’t face them again.”

“Yeah well, Omnistellar isn’t so great at providing sanctuary,” I replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice. “Their last one blew up. And now here you are, in the same spot.”

“Not quite.” Dad straightened up, turning from the console, his face heavy. “Liam’s coming with me. And so are you, Kenz. We’re getting off this ship.”