Davi focused on listing the stars.

  When she’d fallen off her little bicycle as a child and scraped up her hands pretty bad, and she couldn’t breathe, and her thoughts froze, Louis Edmara had made her sit down and told her to name the stars.

  She panted that she couldn’t do it.

  “Yes you can,” he’d said, in that straightforward way of his. “Just think. Carth KL, Sirius, Juneau I…” She’d slowly joined in, and then she’d slowly started breathing, and then she’d slowly come back into herself.

  Ever since then, whenever Davi was faced with a situation — maybe the airlock broke mid-jump, or she couldn’t find her lucky wrench, or she was arrested for treason she didn’t commit (which had, thankfully, never happened before today) — she would close her eyes and list the stars.

  So that’s what she did now, as the enforcers dragged her through the back halls of the grand courthouse. The last time she’d been here, it had been to have her engineer’s license notarized. That had been a joyous occasion, full of smiles and congratulations.

  Now, the enforcers pulled her through the halls like a ragdoll. Tossed her onto the raised seat in the center of the circular courtroom. Then two of them parked right next to the doors. And waited.

  Alpha Gruis, Alkaid, HR 858, Kappa Geminorum, Theta Sagittarius B…

  She tried to ignore the bite of the metal engulfing her entire hands like steel mittens.

  Alpha Octantis, Andromedae i-D2, Gamma Ophiuchi…

  She tried to ignore the thumping of her heart and the fact that a strand of her hair had fallen into her eye and she couldn’t get it out.

  Rho Hydrae, Herculis Terra-donus, Maia IVII…

  She tried to slow her breathing, and to find a comfortable perch on the sharp stone bench.

  Coth XRH-i5, Elba ii…

  The double-doors of the courthouse flung open, and a serious-looking man strode in. He appeared to be in his late twenties. A midnight-black robe draped over his shoulders, swirling through the air as he swung himself onto the raised dais.

  Davi rather thought he looked like a crow.

  “The Case of Davi Edmara, accused of Statutory Treason by the Tzannic Counci, is now in order.” His voice, a little nasally and dripping with severity, sent a shiver down Davi’s spine. “Let’s begin.”

  He looked down his spectacles at her, despite the fact that she would likely tower just as tall as him were they standing on solid ground.

  Davi straightened in her seat.

  “You are Davi Edmara?”

  “Yes.” Her voice trembled. Her entire being trembled.

  “And you have been informed of the cause of your arrest.”

  “I-” Had she? She’d been so busy warding off her own panic, she’d barely registered what the men had shouted at her before shoving her into the steel enforcer’s carriage.

  Graham Vilter gazed down at the trembling teenage girl, her eyes wide with confusion and panic, her arms shaking. She certainly didn’t appear like an upstart young rebel.

  Appearances can be deceiving.

  Still, Graham Vilter hadn’t made Consulate Judge despite his familial connections to a Bonnic general without trusting his gut. And his gut said this young girl was anything but malicious.

  He sighed and pulled his spectacles from his face. Tried to soften his tone. “You have been accused of colluding in a plot to free Major Bonna from Elba ii and return him home.”

  “What?”

  That certainly sounded genuine.

  Vilter scrolled something on his screen. “Is this true?”

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  “No!” Davi shook her head, as if she could dislodge this crazy notion just by force of will. “I would… I’ve never…”

  “My notes here say you’ve been to the planet of Elba ii. Is this true?”

  Davi’s mouth fell open. “Well, yes, but… but you have to understand! Captain Clare, our captain, he was dying. He needed medical help, real medical help, and Elba ii was the closest port.”

  “Were you able to save him?”

  She swallowed heavily. Shook her head, just once.

  Shame, Vilter sighed. If the captain had survived, that would have cleared this entire case up.

  “And did you have any communication with Major Bonna while on the planet?” The pause that ensued his question was long enough to pull Vilter’s gaze from his screen. There was a new look in the girl’s wide brown eyes. Worried. Pensive.

  Vilter repeated the question. “Did you have any communication with Major Bonna while on the planet?”

  “I-yes. I did.” Davi’s frown pulled deeper, and she forced herself to meet the judge’s commanding gaze. “He gave me a drive and asked me to deliver it to a friend. Said it was sentimental drivel, nothing more.” She shuffled around and pointed at the pocket in her coat. “I have it here, actually.”

  Vilter nodded at an enforcer, who retrieved the drive and passed it to the judge. Davi waited, heart in her throat, while Vilter connected the drive and read whatever was on it.

  Carth KL, Sirius, Juneau I…

  After a long five minutes, Graham Vilter sighed again — Davi noticed it was his favorite expression — and looked down at her. She shifted under his assessing gaze. Eventually he spoke, “have you read this drive?”

  “No,” she said quickly. “That would be a violation of privacy. I would never.”

  Okay, maybe she was laying it on too thick, but whatever she’d said seemed to work because some semblance of tension melted from the judge’s limbs.

  “My verdict, Ms. Edmara,” he said, his voice ringing throughout the empty courtroom, “is that you are too trusting.”

  “I… what?”

  “You have been played for a fool — first as a pawn in Major Bonna’s never ending war, and then by whoever reported your supposed treachery.”

  Davi could hardly believe her ears. “You believe me? That I’m innocent?”

  For the first time that day, a semblance of a smile twitched at the corners of Graham Vilter’s lips. “Perhaps too much so. You are free to go, Ms. Edmara.”

  Davi jumped when she felt her metal mittens unlock. They clinked to the ground at her feet.

  Standing on shaking limbs, she maneuvered her way out of the chair. When she reached solid ground — though the adrenaline flooding through her every limb made even the ground seem to tremble — she shot the judge her grandest, most grateful smile. “Thank you so much, Your Honor.”

  He inclined his head. “Go.” Davi turned to go, but the judge’s voice pulled her back. “Oh, Ms. Edmara?”

  “Yes?”

  “Who did Major Bonna name as the recipient of this drive?”

  Davi simply said, “Martial Norr.”

  In the moment, the judge’s short pause, followed by a “wait one minute,” wouldn’t mean anything to Davi, who was too relieved about her imminent release to notice much beyond the thumping of her heartbeat. In the years to come, however, she would think back to the moment many times, and remember the widening of his eyes, the pursing of his thin lips.

  A murmured conversation with an enforcer followed, before the judge looked up once more. “Ms. Edmara,” he began, “to apologize for the inconvenience we have put you through today, I wanted to offer my personal carriage to take you home.”

  “Really?” Davi had never driven in a personal carriage — only the communal ones that stopped at various places throughout the station. She smiled at the judge and imagined Payton’s and her father’s faces when she pulled up to their little apartment in a fancy carriage. “That would be wonderful, thank you!”

  Judge Vilter, she thought as the enforcers led her through the back door of the courthouse, is an exceedingly kind man. She also berated herself for ever thinking he looked like a crow.

  The enforcers led her up to a discreet carriage, and opened the back door.

  She paused. It didn’t look like she imagined a fancy private carriage would look. There were no cushions, no screens. Just two long benches on either side of the main wall.

  Then again, it was no wonder Judge Vilter’s personal carriage would be as severe-looking as he was.

  Davi stepped into the carriage, and was nearly thrown against the back wall as it lurched forward. “Wait,” she said to the enforcer in the front seat. “Do you know where I live?”

  No response.

  The carriage lurched again, forcing her to find her seat and stare out the little barred window as they passed the Courthouse, then the shipyard, then her little apartment.

  “I’m back there,” she said to no one in particular. And then, more urgently, “Where are we going?”

  “You are under arrest,” came the monotone reply, “for treason and collusion with Major Bonna.”

  “No, I’m not!” Davi stood and stumbled her way to the back door. They weren’t moving too fast, if she could just get the door open… “I’m pardoned. You heard him!” She rattled the handle. Locked in.

  “Sit down and stay down or we will take countermeasures to ensure your cooperation.”

  But Davi was done listening. She shoved her shoulder against the door. It didn’t budge. “He believed me!” she shouted into the wall. “Let me out!” Another shove. This time, the door rattled. Hope splintered in Davi’s chest.

  She was so focused on her protests that she didn’t notice the enforcer stand up from her seat. The last thing she remembered was the prick of a needle against her neck, and a glimpse of the night sky through the window.

  She focused on that, held her gaze on the stars as she fought to keep her head above the murky depths of sleep.

  The current pulled her under, and everything went dark.

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