Nora is pregnant. We took precautions, but she’s pregnant! If Ux’thu finds out I’m sure he’ll want to take Nora to the research facility again, Key Holders don’t often get pregnant. Those that do just seem to disappear. I won’t let that happen to Nora. I know if I get found out there will be consequences, but I’ll see Nora and the baby safe if it’s the last thing I do.

  -From the journals of Captain Theodrakis

  “She’s not going to the research facility.” Theodrakis said flatly, glaring over his plate at Ux’thu.

  “Have some sense Theo, no harm will come to her, and she could learn so much! Si’l Vala Reshka’i is already taking time out of her busy schedule to meet us at the space port, at least give her a chance.” Ux’thu continued the argument that had been going on for at least half an hour, still calm as ever. Maggie had to give him credit for that at least. But this had to be one of the most awkward and weirdest family dinners she had ever had.

  “Si’l Vala Reshka’i has no respect for human life, she’d kill hundreds if it meant furthering her knowledge of Ancients technology. She has killed hundreds! My daughter is not going to be another casualty in her quest for knowledge.”

  “She would never harm Maggie! Not knowing she’s my granddaughter. Didn’t I keep Nora safe from the worse experiments? You two were so happy, it hurts that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me she was pregnant.” Ux’thu’s head tendrils and whiskers drooped, and he gave the best puppy dog eyes Maggie had ever seen. “I would have protected Maggie as much as I did Nora.”

  Theodrakis faltered, unable to meet Ux’thu’s eyes. He looked down at his plate, the fish worried to shreds. Ux’thu was eating his raw, but for Maggie and Theo, the fish had been cooked and paired with some kind of vegetable that tasted like yams but looked more like asparagus. “I know you’re as interested in Ancients technology as Si’l Vala Reshka’i, I didn’t want to take the chance.”

  “I am interested, of course I’m interested. The remnants of their technology made our society what it is today. But not at the cost of my granddaughter’s life. I am asking you to trust me Theo. Can you do that? For Maggie’s sake?”

  “Do I get a say in this?” Maggie interrupted.

  Both Ux’thu and Theodrakis looked at her, her father looking stunned. “Of course... but you need to understand what this place is. It’s where they experiment on people with Ancients technology. These are not always nice experiments either.”

  Ux’thu tilted his head to the side and stroked his long whiskers. “They are not always nice experiments, but progress requires sacrifice and risk. I would not allow them to experiment on you of course. It would just be training.”

  “Not nice experiments? Are we talking Nazi scientist type experiments? What the hell kind of people allow that type of thing?” Maggie straightened in her chair, leaving her fish untouched for the moment. Was that what the Freedom Coalition was fighting against? Shit. Was she in the hands of space Nazis? Was her father a space Nazi?

  “I am not sure what a Nazi is, but the experiments use volunteers who are aware of the risks, and the potential rewards.” Ux’thu said soothingly. “Being a Key Holder is a great honor in the galaxy, like being royalty. Master your skills, find your ship, and you can have nearly anything you want.”

  “Would I be able to go back to Earth?” Maggie asked.

  Theodrakis let out a sigh and shook his head. “Earth is usually off-limits nowadays. There’s too much surveillance, too many satellites and cameras watching everything on and around the planet.”

  “Besides, why would you want to return there? War, poverty, global warming, what does Earth have to offer you that you cannot find here? Just wait until you see Silva Prime! It’s a paradise of sea, beaches and jungles. You’re going to love it there.” Ux’thu smiled wide, and returned to his fish, devouring one whole.

  “My mom and aunt are both on Earth.” Maggie slumped back in her chair. She picked up one of the weird vegetables, but didn’t eat it. She just let it droop on her fork. Was it weird that they used forks?

  “They could use just knives, I visited a planet once where they just stabbed all their food, or drank it out of bowls.”

  Maggie had to fight the urge to respond to Te’chik out loud, instead biting into her vegetable. Why couldn’t the woman have something useful to add? Maggie didn’t really care about the eating utensils of different civilizations. Although the idea of eating ice cream with a knife was interesting.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “They didn’t have ice cream.”

  “No ice cream?” Maggie blurted out.

  Theodrakis and Ux’thu both looked at her quizzically, Theodrakis speaking cautiously. “We do have ice cream, I didn’t know you liked it or I would have gotten you some. Some of the flavors might be a bit unique, but there is one that tastes like chocolate and strawberries that your mother always liked.”

  “We’ll have some sent to the house on Silva Prime.” Ux’thu said. “Maybe you will actually like the fish ice cream that my people prefer.”

  “No human is ever going to like fish ice cream.” Theodrakis said with a smile.

  Maggie blushed, but the slip of her tongue had diffused the tension in the room, and Theodrakis bent a little on the whole research facility idea.

  “I suppose if you want to, doing some training at the research facility wouldn’t hurt. And if they can help you find your ship you’d only benefit from it.” Theodrakis said slowly. “But only if you want to.”

  All the star charts Maggie had studied weren’t helping her figure out where her ship was. All she really knew about it was that it was on some snowy planet. And even that she wasn’t sure about. She hesitated, thinking about what Robin would say. He probably wouldn’t like the idea, he didn’t trust any of these people, and if even her father was leery about the research facility, she probably should be too.

  “They might be able to help. And I’m kind of curious about what these people are doing to Key Holders. How many have they even found? Maybe we can solve some mysteries if we go there.”

  “I’ll go.” She said softly. To be fair, she was curious too. How many Key Holders were out there? How many ships? So far she knew next to nothing about the Key she held other than it came from some people called the Ancients, and let do things with her mind like run computers and float special metal balls. There had to be more to it than that, or else why would anyone care? She needed information, and this research facility sounded like the place to get it. “But the first sign of Nazi scientist stuff and I’m outta there.”

  “Wonderful!” Ux’thu said, perking up. “You won’t regret it, you’re going to learn so much! I’ll let Si’l Vala Reshka’i know. She’ll be so excited to meet you.”

  “Just be careful, and if anything seems off just let me know. We’ll get you out of there right away.” Theodrakis still didn’t look happy, his gaze focused on his plate as he stabbed at his fish.

  “She will be fine, stop playing with your food.” Ux’thu sounded like he was scolding a child, and Theodrakis scowled, but began to actually eat his fish instead of just stabbing at it.

  If possible, Robin was even less pleased than Theodrakis at Maggie’s decision. He stared at her later that night as she sat cross-legged on the bed. “Do you have any idea what they do in that facility? The stories coming out of those places... they implant people with bits of Ancients technology just to see what happens!”

  “Ux’thu said I’ll be fine, he won’t let anything happen to me.” Maggie gripped her ankles, the possibilities of what they did in the research facility like a lead weight in her stomach. Was she supporting what they did by going there? What if she used the information she got from there to fight against them? To free the people that they experimented on? What if she could sneak in and free them all somehow?

  “Ux’thu said! Ux’thu, the Silvarian ambassador who you barely know, who has admitted that experiments happen in that facility, who probably wants your ship to further his own goals. That Ux’thu?” Robin reached out to grip her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes, his own full of worry. “Maggie you can’t trust these people, how many times do I have to tell you?”

  “I’m not trusting them fully, just... if I can figure out where my ship is, maybe we can use it and free people? Or, I don’t know, something. Would it be so bad to try and find out more? Right now I don’t know much of anything about the Key except that it’s a part of me, and people want it! I need to learn about it to use it.” Maggie felt tears of frustration prick at her eyes, and she leaned forward to rest her head against Robin’s. “I need to know anything I can to take control of my life back.”

  Robin sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “I’ll see what I can dig out of their databases. But there’s not a whole lot that is known, even with the experiments the Alliance has done. I’m sure the Silvarians know more, but they’re not sharing what they do know. It’s gotten them a real edge over everyone else. But here’s what I know already. Keys don’t work without being bonded to someone, that’s something even the Silvarians haven’t found a way around. They seem to work better with humans or humanoid species, but even then it’s a bit erratic how well they work. You seem to be doing really well with yours, but a lot of people that are implanted with them die.”

  He frowned and straightened, looking her in the eyes. “My mother died from her Key. Crystal shards exploded out of her one day, no warning. No signs of what was going to happen. They killed me and my father right away, Theseus was the only one that survived, and that was because he was in the bathroom when it happened.”

  Maggie swallowed hard, her face growing pale and a chill running down her spine as she thought of what that must have been like. It had to have been awful! She had seen her fair share of horror movies, but to see something like that for real. Her stomach turned.

  “Now I feel even worse for being such a bitch to him.” She said softly.

  “Don’t feel too bad, I think giving him something to be mad about may have actually helped him. I wish I could get word to him though.” Robin sighed and looked out the window at the starry expanse. “I hope he’s doing alright.”