Hiro flinched, realizing that it was Terrence Willwater himself talking to him. Had he been overheard? Glancing at the director's face, he decided not. Still, probably a good idea to make his excuses and get out of there.

  "Sorry, Director Willwater. I've been up since we found that black box, and I think I'm drifting off on my feet. Permission to return to my old bunk here at the Academy, catch up on my sleep, and then return to my regular duties, sir?"

  Willwater, a man with an imposing face that the cameras all focused on, but a short, gaunt figure that made him look much less impressive in person, gave him a long look. "Oh... very well. But remember -- Project Flying Dutchman has been classified at the highest level. Mention this to anyone and you will be considered a traitor, for which Interstel has just one punishment."

  Schooling his face as best as he could, Hiro nodded. "Of course, Director Willwater."

  Hiro did, in fact, spend several hours trying to get to sleep in one of the college dorm’s guest barracks. He wasn't successful, however, as thoughts, fears, and plans kept running through his head. Max Zarfleen should not be sacrificed in the name of avoiding a paradox that may not even happen, but Interstel had said otherwise.

  After tossing and turning for several hours, he stood up. He couldn't decide anything... but he knew the first step, regardless of what he did from here on. Checking his pockets to ensure he still had his own copy of the Cluebook, made before it had been classified, he made his way through New Oxford University's large Interstel Academy complex until he arrived at the small, out-of-the-way building that was the home of the Philosophy department. A quick check of the directory confirmed that Kerwin Dahglesh still resided in the same office he remembered. That confirmed, he stepped inside.

  Down the corridor, up the stairs, and on the right, he found said office. Knocking on the door, a soft "Yes?" beckoned him inside.

  "Professor Dahglesh?" Hiro said, closing the door behind him. His old professor was going through some paperwork on his desk, and appeared happy at the interruption. "Have you got a minute?"

  "Hiro! Yes, yes, of course. Take a seat. And it's Kerwin, my boy -- you're a graduate, now, you know."

  The already tiny office was crowded with files, books, and paperwork, and Hiro hadn't even seen the 'seat' he could take until Dahglesh pointed it out. He cleared half a dozen books off the chair and sat down, holding the data drive with the copy of the black box in his hand.

  Checking to make sure he'd closed the door behind him, Hiro took a deep breath. "Professor Dahglesh, I have an... ethics question, I suppose you could call it. But to explain it, I would have to break Interstel confidentiality and commit treason."

  He wasn't sure how he had expected Dahglesh to react, but hearing his old professor snort back a bitter laugh wasn't it. "Will you, now? Well... I won't tell anyone. Not that anyone would believe me if I did, but... well, never mind. What is the question?"

  Taking a deep breath, Hiro put the data drive on Dahglesh's desk. "I think you need to read this, first. Know that I retrieved that off of a ship that, as of this moment, does not exist."

  "Doesn't exist?" Dahglesh repeated, raising a curious eyebrow as he took the drive and connected it to his computer. "Interesting."

  Saying Hiro sat 'patiently' while Dahglesh read the future Intrepid's captain's log would be a stretch, but he was able to keep silent and let the man concentrate on what he was reading. There were a few times the older man paused in thought, and Hiro nearly spoke, but a raised finger always kept him from saying a word. Finally, Dahglesh sat back in his chair heavily, signaling that he was done.

  "Well?" Hiro prompted.

  "Let me guess. Interstel classified this because of the inherent danger of a paradox, correct?"

  Hiro winced. "Yes, that's what Director Willwater decided after hearing several of his scientists’ thoughts."

  "I expected as much," Dahglesh sighed. "Of course, since I'm mentioned as speaking to Max in this ship's log, if there was going to be a paradox, it would have already occurred. So, let's just imagine that isn't happening and move on. What do you want to do with this information, and why come to me?"

  "Well, I want to try and help Max survive," Hiro said. "I think it's criminal that Willwater is willing to sacrifice him just because there is a slight chance that saving him might cause this ship’s log to disappear. Interstel practically is the government, now, however, so I don't know who would arrest him."

  "Willwater has gotten Interstel this far," Dahglesh pointed out. "I agree with you that he's making a mistake, here, and he could run things a bit smarter -- starting by equipping our explorers a bit better -- but he could be a lot worse. The problem is that Interstel has to do things officially, by the book they just spent several years writing, and with the consensus of its braintrust -- which means listening to the scientists, even when they're wrong. To save your Captain Zarfleen, you're going to need to be able to act outside of the book." He paused. "You committed treason to give me this file. I don't suppose you'd be willing to work with someone else who acts... outside of the law? Or at least outside of Interstel's bylaws, which is pretty much the same thing, nowadays."

  There was only a little hesitation before Hiro responded. "As long as they aren't advocating for the genocide of all people on Arth, or the xenocide of all non-Arthlings, or something like that... yeah, I suppose I can. As long as it means saving Max's life, anyway."

  "Well, I happen to know someone who might just be able to help...."

  "My name is not Xenon," Hiro recited, wondering at the coincidence of that name popping up as part of his password into... whatever organization it was Dahglesh had directed him to.

  "You Borno, then?" the heavily armed Thrynn replied.

  "I don't have your money, so no."

  Hiro wasn't exactly sure where he was going, only that it was in the same Interstel facility that most people waiting to leave for the trip to the Starport would stay. A combination mega-hotel, restaurant chain, and office complex that was one of the largest single buildings on Arth. The door he'd been directed to looked like the entrance to a janitor's closet, but the security devices keeping an eye on it made it a surprisingly well-guarded one. The behemoth guarding said janitor's closet made it stand out more than it probably should, given some of Dahglesh's hints about the people he'd be meeting with.

  "Who sent you, then?" the Thrynn asked.

  "The Turret," Hiro replied. When he asked Dahglesh about that code name, he'd been told a fascinating tale about how, on Old Earth, the first naval warship to use a turret in battle was called the Monitor. As his only role with this organization was to monitor the situation in Interstel's Academy, it seemed to fit.

  It did bring up some questions, however. Records from Old Earth did exist -- the existence of the sport of golf, the comic tales performed by comedian Robin Williams, and several other bits of esoterica had been uncovered in recent years -- but there weren’t many, and what did exist was spotty. During his pre-Academy education, Hiro had spent a great deal of time studying those Old Earth records, and he thought he knew the bulk of what was available, but he had never heard that bit of its history. Just what record did Dahglesh have that included such stories?

  Regardless of its origins, the Thrynn seemed surprised to hear the name used as a password. His eyes widened an inhuman amount at the mention.

  "Really? Well... damn. Go on in, then."

  Hiro stepped inside, and immediately knew he was in the twilight zone. This was obviously a waiting room, of sorts, but there were people all over it discussing things he couldn't make out. A Velox who strongly resembled the comedian, Phexitutex, was casually discussing a space pirate by the name of Harrison with a Thrynn and an Elowan, while a Human looked on, and all four of them looked chummy. The way they were acting with each other, the Thrynn and Elowan even looked... well... close, in a way that Hiro didn't want to contemplate the mechanics of. Given their respective species' mutual animosity toward each other, just being in the same room peacefully was something of a miracle, but this?

  Hiro didn't have long to contemplate it, though, before the doorman followed him in and started leading him to a different room in the back. He was given a somewhat forceful shove into it, and the door sealed behind him, separating him from his Thrynn guide.

  Hiro couldn't make out much of this new room he was in. It was dark -- too dark to see anything except for a chair by a table, both of which were gently lit by blue light diodes built into the furniture. He made his way over without stumbling over anything, thankfully, and took a seat.

  He still didn't know why he was here, other than Dahglesh's assurance that these people could help.

  A few minutes later, another door on the other side of the room opened, and someone else walked in. Hiro couldn't make out much about the person in the dark, and that wasn't helped by the robes obscuring everything about him, but the gait of his walk suggested he wasn't an Elowan, at least.

  The newcomer took a seat across the table from him, which lit up with those same blue diodes the moment the door had closed behind him. Even that close, however, Hiro still couldn't make out any features.

  The voice, heavily modified by some sort of voice changer, didn't give any clues, either. "No time for pleasantries. If Turret sent you, it must be urgent, so talk. Why are you here?"

  Taking a deep breath, Hiro once again explained his dilemma, only with even more background than Dahglesh knew about. He talked about his Academy days, and how Max Zarfleen was one of the few people in the Academy who he really got along with. He mentioned his frustration at being given an all-android crew, his confrontation with Rodney Ware, his getting an apparently false colony world recommendation for a planet that didn't exist, and finally got into the discovery, his actions since, and Interstel's own reaction to it all.

  Telling it all took a load off of Hiro he didn't know was there, but now it was all out in the open. He waited for the masked figure to respond. When nothing happened, he asked a question that had been on his mind since Dahglesh told him about this place.

  "Are Xenon and Borno real people?"

  The masked figure gave a very human snort. "Honestly, I don't even know. We picked their names at random off the message boards. If they do exist, I suspect they may work for one of our rivals, but I can't be sure."

  "Your rivals?"

  "You probably know them as the Intrastel Initiative."

  It suddenly clicked in Hiro's head. There were rumors of one or more organized crime operations running out of Interstel. The Intrastel Initiative was the rumored name of one of those organizations, and there was only one other name nearly as prominent.

  "Understel?"

  "That's us," the cloaked figure admitted casually, leaning back in his chair. "Not our organization's real name, mind you, but the one we prefer people not in the know to refer to us as. And it's a good thing you came to us instead of Intrastel, because we might just be able to help you save Zarfleen's life. Might be able to help you with one of your other problems, too." He paused. "I think it's our fault you were stuck with an all-android crew. My apologies. The good news is this job should help you with that..."

  Hiro had only captured the ship's log before turning in the black box, not the rest of the data. His Understel contact had cautioned him that he would need to steal the complete recording, if at all possible, in order for the plan to work. That was the easy bit, though -- Hiro already knew all the passcodes needed, as he was authorized to view the Project Flying Dutchman files (he'd found them, after all), and Understel had provided him with something that would spoof the computer into thinking he was Rodney Ware when he downloaded them. It was almost too easy to get the rest of the data and escape without anyone being any the wiser.

  The tricky part would be in getting the Cluebook to Zarfleen without getting caught. If Zarfleen used the information in the Cluebook to save his own life, Interstel would know it had a leak, and would try to work backwards from him. Hiro was likely the only person who even knew about the Project Flying Dutchman files who also had a close personal relationship with Zarfleen, which would make him prime suspect number one, and it wouldn't be long before he was arrested on that evidence, alone.

  If, however, every Interstel captain had a copy of the Cluebook, Interstel might still know it had a leak, but it wouldn't automatically assume Hiro was the source of that leak. Understel had a way to redirect the blame to some front company named "Binary Systems, Inc.," which in turn could be directly linked (through some forged paperwork) to Understel's competitor, Intrastel.

  The first step was to modify his android crew. They might report on anything illegal he would have to do, after all. He wasn't an expert on modifying androids, but fortunately Understel gave him a tool that would do it for him. A quick jolt to their systems, they would be disabled. Unscrew a plate behind the android's head, pop in a small device, and it was done. They would never report him for anything... and they suddenly seemed much more competent at their jobs. Ann D. could even translate communications coming in from other ships!

  Another thing that had to happen was that they would have to wait before releasing the Cluebook to anyone. If it appeared right after the conference discussing the incident, it would throw suspicion on Hiro (and anyone else who might have had a legitimate copy). Give it time, and with a little 'slightly-too-obvious' hackery to support the story, they could try to shift blame to... well, someone else.

  During that time, Hiro was instructed to keep up with his job evaluating colony world recommendations, but he could not allow his modified androids to ever leave the Albatross. They acted too different in comparison to other androids to risk their mingling with other people -- it would only arouse suspicion. So he had to be constantly on the move, running himself ragged with his dedication to colony world evaluation.

  His earlier confrontation with Rodney Ware wound up with long term consequences. Ware had started leaving rumors that Hiro was a hard-ass as a colony world evaluator. Understel suggested he start using that reputation, as false as it might have been, to take longer and longer evaluating each colony world he checked, making more detailed reports each time. Hiro wasn't sure what would be gained by that, but he nevertheless followed the instructions.

  It unnerved him that he had become so reliant on a group of people who were, by reputation at least, a criminal underworld organization, but he trusted Dahglesh, and he was desperate to save Zarfleen's life. However, his trust of Understel was fading each day, as it got closer and closer to the ISS Intrepid's projected launch date. By this point, he wasn't sure what else he could do, however -- things were now completely out of his hands.

  It was less than two weeks before the Intrepid's launch, while Hiro had just left on a colony world evaluation assignment, when things finally started moving, again.

  Ann D., without turning 'her' head, called out. "Transmission incoming! New protocols established. Code Red."

  Hiro blinked. "What?"

  "Directives as follows: Proceed to planet one in orbit around star at grid co-ordinates thirty-three by six. Further instructions will be relayed there."

  "What?" Hiro said again.

  "Proceed to planet one in--"

  "No, I got that. Sorry. What I mean is, where are these 'directives' coming from? Who is contacting us?"

  There was a long silence. Finally, Ann D. said, "These orders come from the Turret Control Officer on Arth."

  "Turret control officer? What turret control... oh, clever, Understel, very clever. Andi! Take us to grid co-ordinates thirty-three by six, best speed."

  There was a brief pause from Andi as well. "Code Red acknowledged. Known flux routes factoring in to navigation. Brace yourself, Captain Tanaka -- this could get rough." That last sentence was the most emotion Hiro had ever heard from any of his android crew.

  What followed was the most topsy-turvy ride he had ever experienced. The Albatross must have slipped through half a dozen fluxes, traveling at top speed, not stopping no matter what they encountered. They buzzed one unknown ship into retreat, outran an ambush by a small group of heavily armed warships, and nearly exhausted their fuel supply. Andi had actually ignored Hiro's orders to stop them at a friendly planet for a supply run, noting, "We have enough fuel to reach our destination. No stops are necessary."

  Hiro checked the fuel supply and decided Andi was right about them being able to reach their destination, but that they wouldn't be able to return home once they arrived. Or get to any other friendly planets he knew about, for that matter.

  It was when they entered the nebula that Hiro started to understand just why this system had been picked. He recalled that this planet was on the list of worlds future Zarfleen was supposed to have recommended, and one of only three that were hidden in a nebula.

  Though just why that was important, he wasn't entirely sure.

  Finally, they slipped into the system they'd been flying towards with such fury, darting to the planet, and then into orbit around it... where another ship was waiting.

  Not waiting for his androids to tell him anything, Hiro quickly ran a scan of the unknown vessel... and, for the second time, found another Intrepid-class ship.

  "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he muttered. "If this is Max's time-traveling ship, again, I--"

  "Transmission received," Ann D. called. "ISS Albatross, this is ISS Victory. Stand by for personnel transfer."

  "Personnel transfer?" Hiro repeated. "Who is transferring where?"

  Andi, at the helm, stood up and drifted over to Hiro, unstrapping him from his bridge chair. Recognizing it would be impossible to resist, Hiro helped the android along, and soon was drifting around the bridge cabin. "Per Code Red directive, you are being transferred to the ISS Victory. I will assume command until your return."

  Hiro feared for the poor Albatross with an android in charge, but was confused more than anything. Maybe things would make sense once he was on board the other ship, which hopefully would have someone alive he could get an explanation from. The androids weren't making much sense.