“Yeah? What’s your tolerance for bleeding out?” Kat asked.

Crayt considered it. “Not as high, I suspect.”

Kat turned to Leo. “Stay here. Make sure he doesn’t move. I’ll get the kit.”

Leo nodded. He pressed harder. Crayt groaned. “Sorry,” Leo said.

“Do not be sorry. Just tell me . . . is it okay?”

“I mean . . . it’s leaking. A lot,” Leo admitted, staring at the gaping hole in the Aykari’s side.

“I meant the device. Did they damage it?” Crayt asked.

Leo shook his head. “No. It’s fine. It’s right here.”

“That is good,” Crayt said. “You did well, Leo Fender. That device . . . its very existence proves what is possible. The knowledge, the capability, the choice—that is where the real potential lies. If something should happen to me—”

Leo shook his head. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. It’s really not that bad,” he lied. The blood was already starting to soak through the cloth, sticking to Leo’s fingers. It seemed thicker than his own, some of which was already drying on his cheek.

“But if you are wrong,” Crayt continued, “it is vital that the information on that datachip be shared with everyone. Not just the people on your planet. Do you understand? They should know the truth about the Aykari and the Djarik both. And they should be given the chance to protect themselves. Promise me, Leo.”

“Not so big on promises,” Leo admitted. “Besides, I’m just a kid. Nobody’s going to listen to me.”

“I listened to you,” Crayt said. “You showed me what was possible. And you convinced a band of pirates to risk their lives for what you believe in. You have more power than you realize.”

There was the sound of bootsteps clanging down a ramp as Kat emerged from the Icarus, med kit in hand.

“She’s coming,” Leo said to Crayt. “You’ll be okay now.”

But Kat’s footfalls were instantly overwhelmed by the sound of a ship’s engines as the star-shaped fighter dropped out of the sky, hovering in front of the hangar, its guns pointed at the band of pirates that had gathered together around the wounded Aykari.

“Look alive, people,” Baz said, still holding his pistol and his wrench. Kat set the med kit next to Crayt and unslung her rifle.

No. Not hers.

The three landing gears touched down gently, the rear loading ramp extended with a hiss, and Leo heard a voice calling down.

“There you are, Leo. Have a seat.”

The moment he walked in, he knew. Even before he saw what his father had dug up, the stash clearly hidden too hastily underneath Leo’s bunk. He could tell by the look on his dad’s face: he’d been caught, and now he was going to pay for it.

Leo sat in the stiff metal chair beside the fold-down desk and tucked his hands between his wobbling knees. He was afraid to look his father in the eyes. He was just as afraid not to.