The doctor stared at the phone for a moment, nonplussed. Then, putting it back to his ear, he said, “Are you spying on me?”

“Everyone who had anything to do with the Pritchard Incident is flagged for travel, and will be for a year. You’ve booked a flight to Olympus Station, and the computer kicked it up to me.”

“Huh. Welcome to 1994.”

“1984! Geez. Amateurs.”

Kemp chuckled. “Okay, so is this an official call of some kind, Dr. Narang?”

“No, Charlie, it isn’t. I was just curious. Anything new on the whole Pritchard thing?”

Well, he’s still alive. Does that count? Kemp thought. He was unsure how much he should tell her. He thought he could trust Maddie, but his recent experiences had left him feeling both paranoid and justified in the feeling.

“I’m going on a cruise with Captain Jennings,” he finally said. “The captain is taking possession of his new ship, and has invited me along. Do you have a few spare days? I’ll spring for the shuttle.”

There was silence on the line as Narang apparently considered his invitation. Then, “You know, that sounds like a great idea. I’ll meet you at Olympus Station.”

* * *

One day later, Kemp was on Olympus Station. He stood up as Dr. Narang walked up to his table, a cup in her hand and the distinctive aroma of tea preceding her.

Without preamble, Narang said to him, “I’ve been second-guessing myself all night. It sounded like you were trying to send a message on the phone, but when I go over your actual words in my head, they sound completely innocent. Am I on a wild goose chase?”

Kemp grinned at her. “No, as it turns out. I was trying to be mysterious, all the while wondering if I was being over-the-top paranoid. The whole cloak-and-dagger thing has me out of my depth.”

“I, uh, I understand you are now the proud owner of a slightly used mining ship.” She gave him a sideways look. “Heading up to claim it?”

“Mm, yep, I am the owner of the Mad Astra. And I guess I am hoping to claim it, but first I have to find it.”

Narang’s eyes went round. “It’s not at the Navy base?”

“No. Apparently, Ivan is now a space pirate.”

Narang stared at Kemp silently for several seconds, her jaw in danger of unhinging. “Explain, please.”

“As Ivan put it, reports of his death are greatly exaggerated. He escaped the module, stole the Astra, and made off for parts unknown.”

“That poor man. All of this, just because he reached for an artifact.”

They both nodded, sharing a moment of commiseration for the absent space pirate.

Narang stared searchingly at Kemp’s face. “By the way, if he’s taken off for parts unknown, where exactly are you going to go looking for him?”

“It’s a long shot…”

Narang made an on with it motion with her hand.