“No.” A wealth of bitterness infused that statement, and I got the feeling that the breakup wasn’t Anja’s idea.

“If you were going to fight a Valoff in armor, where would you attack?”

Her eyes narrowed. “At a distance or up close?”

“Both.”

“At a distance, the armor is nigh impenetrable. A high-powered plas pistol or rifle can occasionally punch through, if you get lucky. Up close, a plas blade will penetrate under the jaw or up through the groin joint, but it’s hard to get it right.”

Either her story about being in the military was true, or she had done her research about Valovian armor. Either way, it was enough to give her a trial—and to help her get off this station.

“We leave in the morning, and we’re heading to Bastion. Prove yourself on the way and I’ll hire you for the full job. Fuck up, and I’ll leave you at the station with a week’s pay and a ticket to wherever you’d like to go.”

She smiled faintly. “Sounds like you’re incentivizing me to fail.”

“Maybe,” I agreed, “but I don’t want anyone on my ship under duress—it only leads to more problems later, so I’d rather find out early. My systems engineer will be digging into your history tonight, so if you have anything you’d like to add, now would be the time, because she will find it.”

Anja looked down and away, avoiding my gaze. Ah, so there was something else. I waited for her to gather her thoughts.

“It was the station master’s wife,” she blurted. She looked up, distress clear. “I didn’t know who she was, or even that she was married. We dated for months. I thought . . .” She trailed off, swallowed, and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The station master found out and shadow banned me from every available job, ship, and resource. If I stay here, I’m as good as dead.”

And if I gave her a lift, the station master would likely ban me, too.

The commanders who oversaw the space stations scattered throughout the galaxy had an enormous amount of power over the people under their care. The best treated it as the responsibility it was and ensured everyone prospered. The worst let the power go to their heads and declared themselves supreme ruler, helping a select few who then maintained the status quo while everyone else suffered. Clearly this station’s commander fell into the second category.

I sighed. Getting shadow banned sucked, especially at a station like this that was the only thing around. But there was nothing for it. I couldn’t leave her behind.