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Billy grinned. “Really?”

“Sure. Be discreet and follow the big ship.” Karn pointed at the ship heading toward the open docking bay.

“No problem. I can do that; you watch.” Billy’s fingers ran over the controls. The engines fired up and the ship shot into the air.

“Slow and steady. Remember, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves.”

“Got it. I’ll get us out of here.” Billy nosed the ship forward, following the much bigger Draxdan ship as it slid out of the docking bay.

Karn realized he was holding his breath as they made it successfully through the doors.

“We did it,” Billy said.

“Well done, kid. You got us out of there safely.”

“Prodigy to Rolon shuttle, come in.” A serious sounding female voice came over the ship’s comm.

Karn glared at the controls. He should have realized the station would have a security trigger for any unplanned flight departures.

Billy looked at him. “What do we do?”

“Ignore them.”

“Prodigy to unidentified Rolon shuttle. We have no report of your scheduled flight departure. Please send your confirmation numbers and destination.”

“She’s not giving up,” Billy said.

Karn tapped his fingers on the control panel. “Make sure they don’t get a visual on us. Comm back some nonsense and then cut the link. By the time control has figured the information is rubbish, we’ll be out of range. They don’t care where we’re going. They’re covering their backs.”

Billy opened the comms channel. “What do you want me to send?”

“Make them think we're heading through the wormhole. It will take them a while to check the details. That’s all we need. Then we’ll be free.”

Billy keyed in the information and sent it through to Prodigy.

“Remain in your current location. Checking flight departure details now.”

Karn cut the comm link. “Sorry, sweetheart. We’ve got other plans. Punch it, Billy. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Billy whooped as he fired up the engines and they shot away from Prodigy.

Although Karn smiled, he felt a pang of regret. He’d enjoyed his time on Prodigy. He’d missed the human beer, decent food, and hot showers. It had begun to feel like home. He’d been there six months. It was the longest he’d stayed anywhere in an age.

Also, he didn’t like to admit it, but Karn would miss seeing Ivy strutting around the corridors like she owned the place. He’d miss the chance to see if he was a father. He shook his head. He’d left all that behind.

Karn leaned back in his seat and kicked his feet up onto the controls. Ivy had made her decision. It was the wrong one, and he still couldn’t believe she’d made it, but she had a history with that loser, Marcus, and chose him over their future together. Karn had never promised anything to Ivy. They might have spent a few months flirting and dating, but it meant nothing.

“We’re out of the range of the station,” Billy said. “Where shall we go?”

Karn stretched his arms over his head. There were so many exciting possibilities out there, so many places that would value his services. “Let’s head to the next space station. We need to dump the shuttle and get a new one. We don’t want anybody tracking us.”

“We’re not going through the wormhole?”

“We’ll get there. We need to lie low for a couple of days, grab a new ride, and form a plan of action. We’ll be fine on Starland. No one will pay us any attention.”

“I’ll change course,” Billy said. “I was thinking we’d go straight through the glory hole.”

“I like your enthusiasm, kid. We’ll save that ride for another day.”