Not these pirates, at least.

“Scootch,” the captain said, forcing Kat into the copilot’s seat. The first mate knew her way around the Icarus’s controls—she could fly just about anything—but Bastian Black had been a pilot of one kind or another since he was Leo’s age. Before being captain of the Icarus, he’d piloted starfighters for the Coalition. And even before that, he used to fly old-fashioned airplanes.

Back on Earth. That gorgeous blue-green marble, third parking spot from the sun. Leo’s home. At least the only place he’d ever called home.

A planet that, like many others rich in V, was in serious danger.

Leo conjured his father’s voice in his head. Do this for me, Leo. It could mean the world. Those were the last words Calvin Fender said to Leo before he was taken away. The second time.

No. Not taken, Leo reminded himself. He made a choice. He could have gone with Leo or taken Leo with him, but instead he left his son in the hands of these pirates. And now he’s gone, Leo thought. Again. All of them were. Mother. Father. Brother. It was just Leo. All alone.

But not exactly.

Kat spun around in her copilot’s chair and fixed the captain with a hard stare. “You know, if you’re wrong about this, we could be in even bigger trouble. We’re already down to our last core, and the sublight engines are barely clanking along as it is. We’re leaking coolant out of the starboard tank and I’m pretty sure we took some significant hull damage hightailing it out of Halidrin. So if there are no good targets out here . . .”

“Kat, Kat, Kat,” Baz muttered. “Why don’t you trust me? After everything we’ve been through. Name one—no thr—name five times that I’ve let you down.”

The first mate turned to the robot, still futzing with an electrical circuit. “Skits, access the file labeled ‘History of Bastian Black’s Blunders and Miscalculations, Volume One.’”

“‘History of Bastian Black’s Blunders and Miscalculations, Volume One’ by Katarina Corea,” the bot repeated.

Baz frowned. “Volume one?”

“I’m leaving it open for the inevitable sequel,” Kat whispered as Skits started reciting from the top.

“‘Number one: the time he tried to double-cross that Arzuran arms dealer by selling him a crate full of welding torches instead of actual military-grade flamethrowers.’”

“Yeah, I remember that,” Baz said with a smirk. “That guy was so ticked. Never seen anyone turn that purple before, though he was sort of blue to start with.”

“‘Number two: the time he insisted on bringing a Zarbeast on board and it chewed through the wiring in the weapons systems and short-circuited the entire ship, leaving us all temporarily without life support.’”

“Okay . . . that wasn’t smart. But you have to admit that little guy was pretty cute. With those ears? And that pudgy little snout? And that spiky tail? You know I’m a sucker for strays.”

“‘Blunder number three: the time he accidentally detonated a stun grenade that had been left in his pants pocket, paralyzing him for three—’”