Soyina blinked at him. “Now that I think about it...ahh, yes.” She snapped her tattooed fingers. “I think I remember you saying those exact words to me, moments before I chained your naked body to a toilet during our short try at love.”

“There’s a toilet on board,” Dex growled. “Why don’t you go shove your head into it, Soyina? Or better yet—”

He cursed again when Andi slapped him across the back of the skull. “We’ll be there in a minute,” she said to Soyina.

But the moment the woman left, Andi turned back toward Dex, a wicked smile on her face as she pushed him against the glass once more.

Arcardius hung in the sky ahead, a tiny orb growing larger by the second as they closed in on it, no longer in hyperspace. The sky around them was filled with stars again, winking happily in the sky.

It all looked the same as it had on their last visit to Arcardius. Dex supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, but after everything that had happened in the past few weeks, it seemed odd. Nothing was normal anymore. He had always lived a life full of adventure, and the mundaneness of everyday life had seemed so foreign and dull to him before. But now he craved the idea of it.

But in order to find out what normal was really like, he’d have to finish this mission.

Klaren and the others sat in their respective seats in the bridge, looking out the viewport as Andi and Dex arrived. Klaren was back in her full Arachnid armor, to hide her identity from Nor.

“The transmission was received, and we’ve gotten one in return,” her droid said, eyes flashing bright red. “She wants us to land on the estate, below the Nexus satellite. She’s expecting only two of us—Androma and me.”

“And no one will see me, Soyina or Dex,” Eryn said, reciting their plan once more.

“Not until Andi is about to be handed over,” Dex added, crossing his arms.

Andi nodded, braid back in place, expression stony as she readied herself for battle. “There will be a fight,” she said. “I’m certain Nor won’t let me go easily. She’ll do whatever it takes.”

“But she will also have to keep you alive,” Klaren reminded her. “The system won’t accept commands from a dead leader. If you die, the system will shut down, and Nor won’t ever gain control that way. So she’ll ensure you’re kept safe.”

“Which means the rest of you will be targets,” Andi said, looking to Dex.