“Wow, Boo!” Emerald clasped my wrist with both her hands to keep from getting lost in all the jubilance or maybe to help me stay on my feet under the force of all the congratulatory palms slapping me on the back.”They must think you saved the universe!”

  “Em, he did save it!” Sheri chided as she and David followed along in our wake. “My brother’s a badass hero.”

  “This is freaking unreal,” I heard George say. “Makes me feel kind of special.”

  “You are special,” Meg replied from behind him.

  “We all are,” Leo agreed.

  “Not you,” she countered.

  They both laughed.

  “Benjamin,” Brito said, using my first name when I reached him. “The guest of honor has arrived.”

  I offered my hand and he shook it firmly, a warm grin splitting his face. I wondered how Sheri would react to seeing him again, now that she and David had become close. I glanced back at her, amused to see that David had taken hold of her hand and was giving Brito a critical eye, considering she was gazing candidly at the Nobukkian from beneath her lashes. She might appreciate David for his mind and kind heart. But the count was Thor-level eye candy.

  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the real hero here,” I told him, and I meant it. Brito had sacrificed thousands of his people to buy time in what most would have considered a lost cause. And he had done it without a moment’s hesitation. “Shouldn’t you be in the ballroom with the other nobles?”

  “Like you said, as a hero, I wanted my due reward.” He smiled in such a way that I knew he was joking, at least partially. He turned to Matt. “Matthew, always good to see you.”

  “You too, Val,” Matt said, shaking hands before the count bowed to Quasar. “General Quaid. An honor.”

  “The honor is mine,” Quasar answered. Even she struggled against the count’s overabundance of charisma. Brito passed her to say hello to the rest of my crew. I heard Sheri giggle a little when he spoke to her, and glancing back saw her face was redder than a ripe tomato. He didn’t react to it at all, taking a moment to speak to David before moving on. He probably got that kind of reaction all the time.

  A side door opened and an eight-foot tall humanoid robot stepped out. Built like a linebacker and wearing a tuxedo, it played a short trumpeting sound to silence the audience in the atrium. “The proceedings will begin in ten minutes. Please find your seats.” it announced. “I repeat. The proceedings will begin in ten minutes. Please find your seats.”

  The majority of the people around us began shuffling for the doors in the front of the atrium, including the one the robot returned through. Count Brito stayed with us, along with the captains of his six surviving ships. Now that the crowd was thinning out, I saw that Dryka was already here with Justus. She smiled as they approached us.

  “I didn’t want to interrupt your moment,” she said, embracing me. “You earned it.”

  “We earned it together,” I replied, shaking Justus’ hand after she released me. “How does it feel not being a freedom fighter anymore?” I asked him.

  “Freeing,” Justus answered with a grin. “After this party, there will be an even bigger one on Caprum to celebrate the return of the rightful heir.”

  “I’ve heard that outside of the Niflin territories, most of Sedaya’s duchy is happy to be absorbed under the Draconian flag,” Matt said.

  “I didn’t know you were keeping up with Spiral politics,” I said, glancing at him.

  He shrugged. “I figured since this is my home now, I should try to keep up with current events.”

  “What about you, Ben?” Dryka asked. “Is the Spiral going to be your home now, too?”

  “I don’t know yet. Ever since we came here, I’ve been living day-to-day, wondering how long I would even survive. With my new ability to channel chaos energy and restore myself, I could live forever if I wanted. Which I don’t. Now I’m just enjoying the time I have, however long that turns out to be. I’m leaning toward splitting time between here with Matt, and Earth. There’s so much I want to see here, but there’s also a pull for the simplicity of home and my family there. But who knows. I’m just going with the flow.”

  “Well, you always have a place on Caprum,” Dryka said. “Literally. There will be an estate waiting for use by any member of Team Hondo, whenever they need or want it.”

  “I appreciate that, Dutch. And I can see my crew does, too,” I added, seeing their buoyant reactions to the news.

  “Dutchess Dryka,” Count Brito said, returning from making the rounds. “You look fabulous, as always.”

  Brito was the only man I believed could make Dryka blush. “You’re too kind, Count Brito,” she replied. Justus’ icy glare only lasted a moment before he managed to hide it, but it didn’t take a genius to know he was jealous of the man. Especially since Brito sincerely seemed taken with Dryka. Probably because they were similar in so many ways.

  “I overheard you talking about plans. Matt, you’re remaining in the Spiral?”

  “I’ll probably go back to Earth to visit, but yeah. I want to start a business here. Shipping maybe. Or possibly a tour company. That might be fun. Star Tours.”

  “I think that’s trademarked,” I said.

  “Not here, it isn’t.” He paused, looking at Brito. “Is it?”

  The count laughed. “I have no idea.”

  “Don’t forget about Paradise, big brother,” Sheri said, joining the conversation. “We’re all taking a team trip there for a two week vacation. You’re welcome to come too, Val.”

  “We’re going to Gia’s world after Paradise. To see her new show,” David said, wrapping his arm around Sheri’s shoulder. “Shaq tells me that planet is crazy.”

  “Shaq told you?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’ve learned his language.”

  “In two weeks?”

  “It’s not that hard, man. I’m working on a translation engine.”

  “Mmmhmm,” Shaq said, perking up on my shoulder.

  “It sounds like fun,” Brito said. “But hopefully I’ll have way too many responsibilities back home on Nobukku to take any vacations any time soon.” He leaned in closer to me. “You don’t have an inside track on that, do you?”

  “All I can tell you is that I vouched for you,” I replied. “And Quasar did get promoted to General and assigned to the Joint staff on my recommendation, so it might be that I have a little pull.”

  “Good man.” He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.

  “I’m going to see my son,” Emerald said, pushing herself between me and Matt. “I found him on Mandrake. He’s in a special school for gifted children. I’m so proud of him I can barely stand it.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t believe how things have turned around for me. Going from convicted mass murderer to intergalactic hero.” She put her arm around my waist and hugged me. “You’ll always have a place in my heart, Ben.”

  I put my arm across her shoulders. She had been working hard to overcome the stressors that caused her erratic behavior. “I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see you. And you’ll always be close to my heart, too, Em.”

  “Speaking of mass murder,” Justus said. “It’s still not clear to me how Blorb could have also been Alter. You said Alter was with Keep for twenty years, but that was during the same time the massacre happened.”

  “Keep was on Earth a lot of that time,” I explained. “Alter…Blorb, was on Head Case alone. It was easy for him to get away and do other jobs for Sedaya during that time.”

  “What if Keep had needed her while she…he…it was away.”

  “From what Keep told me, he forgot about her more often than not. It was pretty low risk on Blorb’s part to play both sides against the middle whenever he could.”

  “What’s hard for me is just how well he played the part,” Matt said. “All that time, he probably thought we were a couple of idiots he couldn’t wait to kill.”

  “I bet he enjoyed the hell out of putting those Niflin in the assembler,” I agreed. “I’ve asked around. Nobody does that.”

  “The last laugh was on him,’ Quasar said.

  “Yesss,” Ixy agreed, coming up behind Brito.

  The count flinched. His head whipped around, and he frowned up at her. “Do you have to do that?” I had to chuckle. As big as Ixy was, she was as quiet as a mouse.

  “Yesss,” she answered, crackling with laughter.

  “Do you think this means the end of sigiltech?” Brito asked.

  “No,” I replied. “A few of the sigilships got away, and we have no idea how many archons Sedaya managed to train. The knowledge is out there, and the lesson in how hard it would be to try to bury again is already written in the past. I think it’ll progress slowly for a while, and the Regent may try to suppress it. But it’ll become more commonplace. It’s something the Spiral needs to learn to live with and manage. It can be used for good.”

  “I can live with that,” Brito said. “Better out in the open than relegated to the shadows.”

  “Agreesss,” Ixy said. “Staysss with Bensss and Shaqsss.” She tousled my hair a little with a forelimb.

  “I might have to scale you down if you come back to Earth with me,” I replied.

  She clacked with laughter.

  “We’re staying on with Matt,” Meg announced, dragging Leo to her side and into the conversation. “We’ll be his engineers, whatever he decides to do.”

  “I still think you should try Hop Racing,” Leo said.

  “Maybe I will,” Matt agreed. “But I’d need a sponsor.”

  “You have one, if you want one,” Dryka and Brito said simultaneously. They looked at one another, and I could almost literally see the sparks fly. Justus looked grimly down at his feet, but for only a moment. He had known the score for a long time, and accepted it for the most part. I was confident that someday he’d discover the one woman who was out there, just waiting for him to find her.

  “I just noticed Grizz isn’t here,” Dryka added now that we were all gathered in a circle together, almost the only people left in the room.

  “No,” I said. “He said his goodbyes as soon as we landed. All he wanted to do was go home and pick up the pieces. I feel terrible for him.”

  “He’s from Caprum, isn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “It’s the least I can do for him, after all he went through.”

  The side door to the ballroom again opened, the robot butler stepping through. “The ceremony will commence in one minute. If you’ll all please take your places.” It walked to the center of the room, positioning itself so it could open the two center doors.

  “I’m supposed to go first,” I said to Brito. “But I want you and your captains to take the lead. Dryka, you go in behind him.”

  “Are you sure?” Brito asked.

  I nodded. “I’ll bring up the rear.”

  We nearly ran out of time as we rearranged the group for the procession. The robo-butler didn’t wait, pulling the doors open at the prescribed time and catching us still scrambling into place. Palace trumpeters blared out the Spiral’s anthem, and Brito and his captains began walking forward in pairs. As soon as they cleared the threshold, the assembly of thousands clapped and cheered, filling the room with sound.

  “This makes you nervous?” Shaq asked, noticing my sudden change in heart rate.

  “A little,” I admitted.

  “Come on, Ben,” Matt said, looking back at me over his shoulder. “This kind of attention is what we always dreamed about. Enjoy your fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ll enjoy everyone else enjoying theirs,” I replied with a smile.

  We made our way forward, waving to the people on both sides of the aisle as we processed toward a makeshift throne at the front of the room. Hiro stood beside Keep, dressed lavishly in the dark blue robes and hat of his office. I shook my head and grinned at him, amused by how ridiculous he looked. Even more so because I knew how much he hated the outfit.

  The crowd cheered on both sides of us, so I joined the others in waving to them, giving extra attention to the children in the audience. This was only the beginning of a long day of celebration. After Keep gave us medals and knighted us, we would load up in hover carts and go across the city, where the millions of surviving residents waited to see and cheer for us in person. After that, we would circle back to the Nelson HQ for an afterparty I hoped to skip out on.

  I locked eyes again with Keep as Brito reached him. The Count and his captains fell to a knee, and Keep accepted an offered sword from one of his attendants. He knighted each in turn, saving Brito for last.

  “Val Brito, remain on your knees,” he said in his best stoic voice after finishing the knighting. “In recognition of your achievements above and beyond your station, it is with great pleasure that I hereby name you Brito, Duke of Nobukku. Do you accept this assignment?”

  “Yes, Your Honor, I do.” Brito raised his head and looked to Hiro. “Your Highness.” He glanced back at me, a huge grin on his face. I returned his smile, with a nod of congratulations.

  Keep proceeded to make it official with the sword, and then beckoned for him to rise and move aside. Dryka and Justus went next, and Keep officially returned the Draconian Duchy to her, with great applause. When he also gifted her Sedaya’s territories, the cheers were even louder.

  Team Hondo went next. Hiro put large, gold medals around each of their necks before Keep knighted them. When Ixy reached the front, Hiro put the medal on one of her pedipalps.

  “Thank you for saving us, Auntie,” I heard Hiro say to Emerald when it was her turn. “Thank you for being so kind to me.”

  “You’ll always be my Hiro,” Emerald replied.

  Quasar and Matt went up together, and then it was Shaq’s and my turn.

  “Hey, Ben!” Hiro said softly as he approached with the medal. I looked into the Aleal’s eyes, searching for any sign of malice. Quasar had promised to keep a close eye on him, just in case he showed any signs of turning evil like Blorb had.

  “Heya, Hiro,” I replied with a huge smile. “I’m happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see you, too.” I bowed my head and he draped the medal over my head. Instead of backing up then, he threw his arms around me. I hugged him back. “You’re a good kid, Hiro. You’ll make a great Emperor.”

  “Thanks, Ben.” He let go, accepting Shaq’s much smaller medal from his steward. “Here you go, Shaq,” he said, putting it over his head. “Thank you for your service.”

  “Thank you,” Shaq buzzed, obviously touched by the sentiment.

  Hiro stepped back, still smiling at me as Keep approached me with the sword.

  “Don’t cut my head off with that thing, old man,” I joked, making sure only he heard me.

  “Maybe I can just use it to trim that rat off your face,” he groused under his breath. “Your mother doesn’t like it, you know.” George, of course, was going home, but with Sheri deciding to hang with me, Shaq, Ixy, and Matt in the Spiral, at least for a while, I was sure it wouldn’t be long before he asked Mom to visit him here.

  We shared a smile as he laid the broadside of the blade on my shoulder. “In the name of the Emperor Hiro, I knight you Sir Benjamin Murdock, Champion of Atlas and Prime Archon of the realm.”

  “Keep?” I whispered, confused. He hadn’t said anything about bestowing any titles on me.

  “Don’t worry about it, kid. It’s all ceremony. But I bet the full title will work great with the ladies. Now stand up. Badabing badaboom.”

  I returned to my feet. We all turned and waved to the crowds.

  And the rest, as they say, was history.

  THE END.

  Well, not quite.

  There’s one more chapter. An incentive for you to sign up for my mailing list, so I can let you know when I have new books out. Hopefully after reading this 10 book series, you’ll want to check out more of my work in the future. If you don’t, you can just get the chapter and unsubscribe immediately after, but I hope you won’t. Will Ben be in any of them? Possibly. There’s more detail on that on the thank you page following this one. If you don’t make it that far, thank you so much for reading this series! I truly appreciate your support.

  Want that bonus chapter? Get it here: mrforbes.com/starshipforsalebonuschapter

  THANK YOU!

  Thank you so much for joining Ben, Matt, and the rest of Head Case’s crew on this incredible journey! I can’t adequately express how much your support and enjoyment of their adventures means to me. I wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, and being able to live that dream and tell incredible stories for you to enjoy is incredibly fulfilling.

  At ten books, this is the longest series I’ve ever written, and I’ve written quite a few books and series over the last ten years. I think the length is a testament both to the reception the story has received from you, and how fun it’s been to bring these characters to life.

  While this is the end of a chapter in Ben’s life, this isn’t the end of his life. I don’t like to promise characters will be back or stories will continue in the future because I don’t always know where the creative process will carry me. What I can tell you is that I have more ideas for where Ben might go from here, and the possibility that more of his story will be told does exist.

  With that said, I’ve still got plenty of stories to tell. Maybe you’ll like the next one even better, with or without Ben. I hope you’ll stick around to find out.

  Thank you again!

  All the best,

  Michael.

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