“And this is the entrance to the living quarters,” the woman explained. “It’s quite large and can be a tad mazelike, but once you learn your way it becomes second nature.” She drew out her tablet again. “Now, would you two like separate quarters or…?”

Suddenly, Corra realized she had gotten so caught up in seeing this place and their guide was so efficient that she hadn’t even mentioned why she was there. “Oh, no!” she answered hurriedly, shaking her head. “No no no, I–”

Cai was laughing. “Oh, it’d be that bad huh? Thanks,” he teased, but Corra felt herself turn bright red.

“What? I didn’t mean–”

But Cai just squeezed her shoulder affectionately and asked the woman, “Actually I was wondering if my friends had made it here yet?”

The woman smiled. “Sure, we can check.” Her embarrassment subsiding, Corra listened as Cai started to rattle off numbers and the woman tapped them into her tablet. Finally she answered, “They are! All four of them are in F-14 block which is–”

But before she could even explain, Cai had already headed off into the hall. “I’ll find it!” he called back over his shoulder, making their guide crease her forehead in confusion.

Corra, however, felt a little stunned. What, that was it? She saved him from an ally hunter, listened to his whole life story, fed him, bathed him, clothed him, brought him to the Conduit and he was just going to run off into the ship and disappear forever? Without even a word of thanks or recognition or anything?

She couldn’t stop herself. “Well, bye,” she called after him, the bitterness reeking from her tone.

Cai stopped in his tracks and looked back at her, perplexed. It took him a moment to realize his mistake. “I’ll meet you back at the Beacon in a bit, okay?” he called and Corra immediately felt stupid for assuming otherwise.

“Okay,” she muttered awkwardly as he waved goodbye and disappeared. Still trying to battle her cheeks from flushing, she turned back to the woman who asked, “So–to your new quarters then?”

Corra almost felt guilty. Clearly this was her one job and neither of the new arrivals were interested.

“I’m sorry, this place is amazing, but I–I have a ship, a home. I can’t stay.” The disappointment was obvious in her face. Disappointment and especially confusion when Corra added, “I was actually hoping I could meet the First Free.”

—————-

The main center of the Conduit was a bustling sea of people, typing away on consoles. Along the wall were neatly stacked books Corra recognized in an instant: Goddora’s record books. She walked along, fascinated. This must have been the hub for those agents Cai had mentioned.

At the heart of the room, a tall, poised woman paced back at forth at a large console, talking harshly into its COMM. A number of other people hovered around her impatiently. Corra’s guide was hesitant, but she lead her closer.

“This could be our only chance to do this,” Corra heard the tall woman say, her voice strong. “We have to make it work. If something else happens before–” She leaned forward and gripped the console in frustration. “Yes, I’m aware of that but–” She groaned. “Alright. Fine. I’ll figure something else out.” She slammed the disconnect button with her thumb and tore the headset from her ear. “Find me someone else to call,” she ordered to a man standing nearby who hurried off at once.

Corra could not take her eyes off the woman. The barking demands, the husky voice, the authority in her walk — it really was her. And when she turned around and scanned the room with that sharpened face of hers, their eyes met across the room and she softened.

“Captain,” began Corra’s guide nervously.  “This woman arrived and wanted to see you so–”

But Raisa didn’t need an explanation.

“Corra,” she breathed in disbelief, suddenly crossing over and catching Corra in a loving, almost painful hug. Raisa had always been known by the younger allies for her crushing hugs. The woman had been the reigning maternal figurehead amongst Goddora’s stock. She’d practically raised Corra since she’d first been dropped off there. Although Cai hadn’t told her much of anything about the Conduit’s supposed First Free, Corra wasn’t at all surprised to find Raisa standing here at the center of it.

“Goodness, girl, aren’t you someone I never thought I’d see with my own eyes again,” she said, releasing her to seize her shoulders and hold her at arm’s length. “I’ve had an agent trying to track down that damn pirate that bought you for months, but that ship’s a ghost. And yet here you are anyway!” She pulled her into another hug. “I’m so glad you were able to escape.”

Corra, choking under the pressure, only got out, “Actually, I–” before the man Raisa had barked at reappeared and said, “Captain, none of our other agents are nearby. They couldn’t make it in time even if they weren’t already occupied.”

Finally Raisa released her and put her hand to her forehead. “Dammit,” she muttered. Glancing back at Corra she said, “I’m sorry, girl, you came at a real bad time. Maybe I can get someone to show you around or–”

Corra suddenly sensed her chance. “That’s okay. What’s going on?” she asked, jumping on it.

Raisa sighed and stalked back towards her console. “We’ve located a property on an Ellegian moon with some fifty Un-Frees accounted for. Conditions are bad. Real bad. And security’s tight. Our agent infiltrated a few months ago, but there’s no way those people are gonna be able to free themselves. They need our help.”

Corra hovered behind her shoulder, peering around her at the console screen which showed a roughly sketched drawing of some building layouts. “So how do we help?”

“To extract that many, we’re gonna need a distraction. Something big enough to keep the owners occupied while we clear the buildings. Tomorrow night, we’re getting just that. A meteor shower is passing by the moon. The owners are planning a huge garden party to view it meaning those buildings will be empty, their eyes will be averted and it’s the perfect moment to escort fifty people off the property.”

“But?” Corra pressed.

“But, we have no one to execute it,” Raisa explained. “All of our agents are too far away to make it and the few that aren’t are busy with pre-existing operations. We have no one aboard the Conduit prepared for this sort of thing, nor would any Free be able to pass off as a guest to make it inside the outer gates to begin with. Ellegians have hawk-eyes for notches. They’d be turned away at the front door.”

Corra put her finger to her lips. “So all you need is some people who can pass off as classy to make it into the party and then help the alli–Un-Frees–get out?”

“Exactly. And that is the one thing we don’t currently have.”

Corra felt a sly smile coming to her face. “I think I might be able to help.”

– – – –

Corra couldn’t wait to get back to the Beacon and tell Finn. The plan was already starting to weave itself in her head. It was perfect, practically fool-proof and it would end in fifty more allies freed. How could he say no?

She rushed through the hallways of the Conduit, past the garden, through the market and finally arrived into the cargo bay where she spotted Finn slanted against the wall, smoking a cigarette by himself.

“Riley!” she exclaimed as she bounded up the ramp, breath barely in her lungs. “Riley, there’s a job–well assignment–we can do it! We can totally do it. There’s a party and a meteor shower and some locks, but I can pick those and I’ll need to talk to Leta and–oh, maybe I could–we’ll have aliases, yeah and–”

“Whoa,” said Finn, exhaling a plume of smoke and pulling the cigarette from his mouth. “Slow down there, tiger.”

Corra heaved a deep breath and grinned up at him. “Riley, we can help these people. Really help them. I–I really want to help them.”

“Yeah,” said Finn, his expression shifting between confusion and amusement. “I can see that.” He straightened off the wall, letting the cigarette drop to his feet. “What’s going on?”

“The Conduit needs us for a job.”

Considering Finn’s surly mood the past two days, she expected something of a fight. But to her shock and relief, Finn nodded once and said, “if it’s important to you, let’s do it.”

Corra couldn’t help it: she suddenly threw her arms around his middle, making him stagger backwards in surprise as he let out a snorting laugh. Releasing him, she stepped back and suddenly remembered. “Wait. What about Callahan?”

For a moment, Finn hesitated. But then he unleashed a broad grin. “Eh, he can wait.”

“Where?” said Finn skeptically, scanning over the horizon of the vast desert landscape. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but as far as he could tell, there was nothing on this planet. Except —

“That’s it!” Cai exclaimed.

“What is it?”

There, at the base of a dune, were the ruins of a great old warship, the likes of which hadn’t been seen flying for well over a century. Half of the ship seemed to have disintegrated into the sand while the other half sat proudly atop it, nested in its own twisted metal debris. It was a huge, great mass of grey, singed in black from a fire long gone out. Upon its side, in faded white letters, was a word: CONDUIT.

“That’s the Conduit?” Corra gasped. “An old wreckage in the middle of the desert?”

“That’s it,” confirmed Cai, smiling at it with admiration.

“Is anyone even in there?” Finn mumbled.

“Uh, yes,” said Alyx, sounding suddenly panicked as she hurried back to her console which had started beeping in her absence. “Definitely yes. It’s locking weapons onto us.”

“Shit, what?” said Finn, quickly dropping back into the pilot’s seat and seizing the controls. Overhead, the warning alarms began to blare.

“I’m sending a peace COMM, but they’re not responding,” Alyx said hurriedly over the noise. “They’re still locked and loading.”

“Damnit, we’ve got to — ” Finn groaned, but suddenly Cai had stepped up to the console and took the COMM into his hand.

“Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem,” he said into it, to Finn’s confusion.

Tense silence filled the bridge. Then, the alarm abruptly stopped.

“They disarmed,” she said with a sigh of relief as she looked about the cabin at the others. And then a cool, calm voice rang out over the bridge.

“Confirmed, BKN-500. You are cleared to dock. Welcome to the Conduit.”

– – –

With Cai and Finn in tow, Corra strode down the Beacon’s ramp into the Conduit’s vast, decrepit hangar. Nerves and excitement ran up her spine.

After spending the last day in the company of Cai, the familiarity of other allies had all flooded back to her. She’d spent so long away from her people, she’d forgotten the unspoken bonds of kinship between anyone with a notch taken out of their ear and it was strangely wonderful to have that again. People who understood without need of explanation. People who didn’t wonder quietly or internally speculate or secretly pity. People who got it.

But as at home as she felt around one freed ally, she didn’t quite believe that feeling would extend to a whole group of them. Especially a whole group of them she was convinced she had betrayed for the last four years, having never made any effort to help them herself. She couldn’t help but think they were going to reject her and her offer of help.

The Conduit’s hangar didn’t do much inviting of its own. Much like the exterior of the ship, it was falling apart. Catwalks barely hung from their chains, supports looked as though they might crumble at any moment and the blast doors they’d flown through didn’t quite close all the way, letting in a constant breeze of desert wind and sand. There were a few large cargo ships docked alongside the Beacon, coated in the white dust, but it was quiet. Empty save for the small welcoming party waiting at the base of the ramp.

Two men and three women, allies (or Frees, Corra corrected), and all of them, save for one, had their guns raised. Apparently the Conduit took its security seriously.

“Hi,” greeted Cai casually, as though someone wasn’t pointing a weapon at his head. “I was told I could come here by–”

“Ally IDs?” interrupted one of the women.

“Oh,” said Cai in surprise. Then he quickly recited, “2105447,” and the Frees turned to Corra, who blinked.

God, she hadn’t had to use her Ally ID in ages. “4305256,” she said after a moment, and she could sense Finn glancing at her in surprise.

The only weaponless woman pulled out a tablet. She tapped the screen for a moment and then smiled at them kindly. “Thank you. You are welcome here. From now on, those numbers are meaningless. You are documented as a Free and you may choose any name you wish for the record. I hope your journeys here haven’t been too taxing. Please, follow me.” She turned towards the door behind her. Corra glanced at Cai, Cai shrugged cheerfully and they fell into step behind her. Finn fell into step behind them. But only for a moment.

“Hold it,” said one of the men with the guns, stopping Finn in his tracks. Corra glanced back.

“Oh it’s okay, he’s with me,” she said at once, but the woman shook her head.

“I’m afraid without a thorough background check, your friend can’t be admitted into the main holding. We have no other way to verify intentions, you understand.”

An awkward pause hung between them. It didn’t seem right leaving him behind on something like this, but …

“Sorry, Riley,” said Corra. “We’ll be back soon, alright?”

“Sure.” Finn’s tone was neutral, though he sent Cai an uneasy glance.  “I’ll wait here.”

Finally, Corra followed their leader through the main rusty hangar doors. Once the doors shut behind them, Corra gasped.

The deck was practically a mile long,adorned with colored tarps and flags. Murals and signs were hastily painted on nearly every hard surface. Stalls of fruit and flowers and produce filled the place from wall to wall and a mass of people filtered around them. It was as though someone had stolen a piece of Tarin and crammed it into this ship.

“This is the main market,” their guide explained, nearly shouting to be heard over the noise. “Approved vendors are permitted to land in the hangar and sell goods alongside resident merchants. We have a few dozen that come in once or twice a month to import foreign items.”

Corra couldn’t help herself from looking around in wide-eyed wonder as they moved through the space. She hadn’t seen so many allies in one place since Kadolyne. And she’d never seen them smile as much as these people were smiling…

They passed through the bustling market and down a hallway. Their guide explained, “This path will take you to many of the ship’s amenities. We currently have just over seven hundred residents, filling barely a sixth of the ship. It’s an entirely self-sufficient civilization. All residents work to upkeep and improve the livelihood of the community and the ship and are paid for their time. If you peer through the door to the right, you’ll see the garden where we grow most of the ship’s food.”

‘Garden’ was an understatement. They seemed to have converted an entire hangar bay into a fully functional indoor farm. Corra watched as people moved through the fields, tending to the crops leisurely. It was only when she heard the guide’s voice again, a little ways off, that she remembered to follow.

“All new residents are given a job and private quarters of their own. Three meals a day are provided free of charge in one of ten community dining halls, each with different specialties. We have a fitness facility, a spa, an indoor park, we’ve even just opened an art gallery or so I’m told.”

“God,” Corra breathed wonderously. “It sounds like a paradise.”

The guide, who up until now had been quite formal, turned back to her and smiled. “It really is.” She stopped in front of a large door. Beyond it, Corra could see a large hallway with doors on either side, most of them open and inviting. Children ran about between them. Laundry lines spanned the passage. Every wall, originally sterile and steel, had been painted bright and colorful.