The loading ramp rang beneath Sigrun's boots as she climbed.

  Eleven years on Mars. Eleven years in a city that had never quite felt like home, saving every Atomic Dollar for a ticket she might never afford. And now she was leaving, not toward Europa, not toward where Ivar was last at, but deeper into some Imperium territory on a mission for a goddess she didn't quite believe in yet.

  The universe had a sense of humor. She'd give it that.

  Ahead of her, Marcus had paused at the threshold, one hand resting on the hull as if feeling for something.

  "First time on a ship this size?" Jabari asked, coming up beside him.

  "First time leaving a planet without being put into cryo." Marcus's Yorkshire accent thickened slightly. "Never thought I'd see Venus again."

  "Lust and Rot, you keep calling it." Jabari's tone was light. "The Directorate has stories about that place. Old ones. From before the Imperium took it."

  "What kind of stories?"

  "The kind that make you double-check your weapons before you sleep." Jabari smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Don't worry, Stalwart. I'll teach you the good ones on the way."

  Sigrun stepped past them into the ship.

  The Polaris's interior matched its exterior. Clean lines. Practical fixtures. Scratches on the deck plating where cargo had been dragged. Faded patches on the white walls where equipment had been mounted and removed. The smell of recycled air and machine oil.

  "I like it." She said with a smile.

  "Honest ships are easier to trust than pretty ones." Xin added next to her.

  Diego led them through the main passage, pointing around. "Crew quarters are on deck two. You've got seven private suites. Not luxury, pero better than bunks. Hot water, climate control, actual mattresses. Your Seneschal Kenji worked out the assignments already."

  They passed an open doorway that revealed a large common area. Couches lined the walls, their upholstery faded and worn. A galley kitchen occupied one corner, its surfaces scratched from years of use. Display screens hung dark, waiting.

  "Central lounge," Diego said. "Seen better days, I know. Budget keeps getting cut for repairs that matter more. But it's got coffee, food, and space to spread out when you can't stand your cabin anymore."

  "HAW-koon like here." The little Diabolisk had climbed back to Xin's shoulder, his head swiveling to take in the worn furniture. His scales settled to a comfortable navy. "Here feels...alive."

  "That's one word for it." Diego was almost smiling. "Observation deck is up top. Best view on the ship. I'd recommend being there for launch if you want to see something worth remembering."

  Sigrun noted the locations as they walked. Then she caught a glimpse through one open door—Haylen directing her Constables into their bunks. her voice clipped and efficient.

  "Chen, you take the one next to the window. Remember your meds. I won't have the others losing sleep over your snoring."

  "Aye, Sarge." The Constable replied.

  Then Haylen's gaze flicked toward the passage as Sigrun passed.

  Their eyes met. Held.

  Watch me all you want, Sigrun thought. I've survived worse than you.

  Haylen looked away first, speaking to her Constables still. "Tseng, report to me when you've verified the shower works. We won't have luxuries that Prefect's Associates get to enjoy—"

  The Constables moved toward their assigned bunks.

  Sigrun kept walking.

  Finally, Diego stopped at a junction where the passage split.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Quarters are down there, lounge is back where we passed it, observation deck is up the ladder at the end." He consulted his data pad. "Launch window opens in forty minutes. Suggest you get settled and find something to hold onto." His eyes found Dilinur. "Now, with your permission, Prefect, I'll get us ready to fly."

  "Granted, Mister Rodriguez. And thank you."

  Diego nodded once and headed for the bridge, his footsteps fading into the ship's ambient hum.

  The group began to disperse. Thomas gathered the Alliance personnel for a final briefing. Dilinur drew Marcus and Jabari aside for a quiet conversation that Sigrun couldn't hear—and didn't try to.

  "So, w-w-what do you think? Observation deck?" Xin asked suddenly.

  Sigrun looked at him. This scrawny ex-Rigger.

  She thought about the divination blocks. The way they'd landed. The Constable who'd dropped to his knees.

  Divine approval. On the first throw.

  Sigrun still didn't believe in the Thousand Gods. But she believed in patterns. And something had shifted in that temple, some weight she couldn't name on her shoulders now.

  "Yeah," she said. "Let's go watch the launch."

  Mars Time: 17:00, March 2, 2295

  Aboard the ISV Polaris, Dock Bay 55, Phoenix District, Xing Hong

  The observation deck was smaller than expected, but the windows made up for it.

  Curved glass stretched from deck to ceiling, offering a panoramic view of the underground cavern. The dark shape of the Tether Arch visible in the distant chamber they'd passed through.

  Sigrun took a spot near the central window, arms crossed, watching the ground crews make their final preparations. Behind her, she heard the others settling in—Marcus near the far window, Jabari on a bench along the back wall, his fingers tapping a rhythm against his thigh.

  "You're writing something?" She said, turning.

  "Always am." Jabari's voice carried a smile. "Griots document. It's what we do."

  "Documenting what?"

  "Today. A goddess choosing a Nordling over her own Prefect. A ship full of people who have no business trusting each other, flying into Imperium territory." A pause. "A little dragon who calls this starship 'Big Sky Fish.' Good material. The kind that makes songs people remember."

  "I'd rather not be in a song." Sigrun smirked.

  "Too late. You were in one the moment you threw those blocks." Jabari grinned.

  The ship's intercom crackled.

  "All hands, this is Diego speaking from the bridge." His voice filled the observation deck, calm and steady. "Initiating launch sequence. Main engines to standby. We are cleared for vertical ascent in T-minus sixty seconds. Find something to hold onto, porque here we go!"

  "We fly now?" H?kon practically vibrated on Xin's shoulder, his scales cycling through navy to azure. "Big Sky Fish go up-up-up?"

  "That's right, buddy." Xin reached up to steady him. "Hold on tight."

  The deck beneath their feet began to shake. Deep in the ship's belly, fusion reactors spun up. Through the windows, Sigrun watched ground crews scatter from the launch zone.

  "T-minus thirty seconds. All personnel to launch positions."

  Her hand found Xin's. His fingers intertwined with hers.

  She thought about Mars. The rust-red wasteland she'd called home for eleven years. The apartment in Prairie Commons where she'd cried herself to sleep more nights than she could count. The bounty boards and autocabs and clinic visits. The men who'd paid for her time and the ones who'd wanted more than she could give. The Radi-Mons she'd slain in the Karma Moor.

  "Twenty seconds."

  The vibration became a hum. Then a rumble.

  "Ten seconds. Nine. Eight..."

  On Xin's shoulder, H?kon gripped the fabric of his shirt, small claws careful not to pierce it. His scales had settled to a deep, steady gold.

  "Three. Two. One. Ignición!"

  The world dropped away.

  Sigrun's stomach lurched as the Polaris rose. Through the observation windows, the cavern floor fell—gantries shrinking, parked vehicles becoming toys, the opening above them growing larger as they climbed.

  Then they were through.

  Xing Hong spread out beneath them like a circuit board, roads cutting straight lines between districts, the Honghuang Administrative Palace already small enough to cover with her thumb. The sky shifted from underground darkness to dusty amber to pale pink as they climbed higher, faster.

  "WHOOOO!" H?kon trilled, pure joy echoing off the walls. "WE FLY! PAPPA, SKY LADY, WE FLY!"

  Sigrun found herself smiling. Xin was grinning beside her, his glasses slightly askew, looking younger somehow. Marcus had stepped closer to the window, his stoic composure cracking as the horizon curved and the stars emerged.

  "Goodbye for now," she breathed.

  H?kon had gone quiet, his scales settling to a soft, peaceful gold. He watched the stars through the window, tiny chest rising and falling.

  Mars fell away beneath them. Red and wounded and home for eleven years.

  "Home," he said softly. Then paused, his small brow furrowing. "No. Was home." His claws patted the wall beside him with careful gentleness. "Now this home. Big Sky Fish home." He looked at Xin, then at Sigrun, his tiny sapphire eyes reflecting starlight. "Family home."

  Something tightened in Sigrun's chest. She wasn't ready to call them family. Wasn't sure she'd ever be ready. The word carried too much weight, too many ghosts.

  But H?kon was watching her with those luminous eyes, scales gold with trust, and Xin's hand was warm in hers.

  "Yeah," she said. "Family home."

  Xin's hand squeezed hers. She squeezed back.

  Across the cold dark, Venus waited. Somewhere out there, a girl named Ume needed finding. Somewhere out there, Skarn gathered his Fenris forces. Somewhere out there, answers waited to questions Sigrun wasn't sure she wanted to ask.

  "I still don't know what I'm doing," she admitted to herself. "I don't know if any of this will work."

  "But you're moving, right? After years of saving and surviving, you're finally moving toward something instead of just holding on." Xin's response came. "That would have to be enough."

  "Yeah. For now." Her free hand rested on the window frame, fingers tracing the metal edge.