The S'ouzz dropped them out of lightspeed just beyond the Oort Cloud of the Eridanus system and Jeridan took them further in. Negasi stayed at his post in the turret, keeping a sharp eye out for any trouble.

There was usually trouble in this star system.

Even if there isn't, we'll be heading for some on Eridanus Delta, Negasi reminded himself.

They had to get there first. The Eridanus system was split between three habitable planets, each with its own dictatorial government that wanted to conquer the other two.

Since each was about the same strength as the other and there was a reasonably well-enforced arms embargo on the system, no one could get the upper hand. That kept the interstellar merchants safe and able to trade on all three planets.

Of course, there was still drama, lots of drama.

The asteroid belt in the outer edges of the system was a constant battleground between the relatively primitive fleets of Eridanus Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon, and while the Antikythera could easily defeat any two of their ships it was better not to get caught in the crossfire.

Jeridan took them in at a steep angle to the orbital plane in order to avoid the asteroid belt and the major interplanetary shipping lanes. In most systems, that was considered rude, the spaceflight equivalent of sneaking through the back door. Given the politics of the Eridanus system, it had become common practice.

Negasi monitored the long-range scanners and picked out the system's single gas giant, which had a several uninhabited moons with few natural resources.

The asteroid belt lay just within the gas giant's orbit. He could pick out some of the larger asteroids, the largest up to 1,000 km across. The radio picked up beacons from several of them. He tuned into one.

"This is the asteroid King Lothar VI. It is the exclusive property of Eridanus Delta. Do not approach unless authorized. Any unauthorized vessel will be fired upon."

King Lothar VI was the father of the current king, King Lothar VII. Negasi wondered if he had been as much of a fatuous nothing as his heir.

He tuned into another beacon.

"This is the asteroid Ras Mengesha Yohannes. It is the exclusive property of Eridanus Gamma. Do not approach unless authorized. Any unauthorized vessel will be fired upon."

A third beacon told him,

"This is the asteroid Qin Shi Huang. It is the exclusive property of Eridanus Epsilon. Do not approach unless authorized. Any unauthorized vessel will be fired upon."

Three planets, settled by people of Balto-Germanic, Sino-Amharic, and Mandarin background. None of them could get along. Too bad they couldn't learn the lessons of all the Earth races about living in harmony.

"MIRI, scan the beacons and see what's changed since the last time we've been here."

"Of the forty-seven beacons monitored last time, three have gone silent and fourteen have changed hands. Asteroid Tewodros is now called the Asteroid Wilhelm and has changed from the property of Eridanus Gamma to Eridanus Delta. Its location confirms it's the same asteroid. The asteroid—"

"No need for a complete list. Who has more asteroids than before?"

"Eridanus Gamma has lost three asteroids. Eridanus Epsilon has lost two. They have also switched possession of three asteroids. Eridanus Delta has five more than before."

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"Oh, that's not good. Estimating from the production figures of each asteroid, how much more production value does Eridanus Delta have than before?"

"A twenty-two percent increase."

"Cack! They're getting all the good ones. This could upset the balance of power in the star system."

"That conclusion has a ninety-eight percent chance of being correct."

"Ugh. Are you hearing this, Jeridan? Stay alert."

"I always stay alert. This is why I kick your ass at chessboxing."

"Are you kidding? I kick your ass."

"I beat you in the last match."

"A fluke! I've beat you way more."

"No, you haven't."

"MIRI, how many—"

"We need to focus on potential threats."

Negasi laughed. "Chicken."

"Will you two stop with the pissing contest and make sure we get to Eridanus Delta alive?" Aurora asked.

"That's no way for a young lady to speak," Jeridan said.

"I agree," Negasi added.

"You two are such dorks."

"Dorks who are going to save the galaxy," Negasi said. "That makes us the coolest dorks you've ever met."

"Har har."

Negasi smiled. They really were going to save the galaxy, and they were going to make a bundle from King Lothar VII too.

As they drew closer to the orbital plane, angling toward the center of the star system, more details became clear. The first was that Eridanus Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon were in near alignment.

Negasi's heart sank. Any time those three planets got close together, they fought even more. He kept a close eye out for any incoming threats.

Jeridan cut parallel to the orbital plane until they were almost directly above the north pole of Eridanus Delta, then shot straight toward it. Smart move. The less time they spent on the shipping lanes between the planets, the better.

Negasi scanned those lanes and didn't see any ships. That was odd. Then he extended the range to bring Eridanus Epsilon into focus.

That told him why there wasn't any traffic on the spaceways.

He saw the distant sparkle of a space battle.

It was too distant to resolve the ships as anything more than pinpoints of light. The infrared signals coming off the scene told him there was some pretty big firepower being exchanged.

"Nova, when was the last time you were here?"

"A couple of years ago."

"Longer than us. They seemed to have upped their naval capabilities."

"I can see that. First time I've heard of it."

Negasi groaned. What other capabilities had they improved?

"I better get on the bridge," Nova said. "They'll be expecting me."

"Right," Jeridan replied. "I'm opening your cabin door now."

"Thank you so much," she said in a sweet voice.

"Don't be sarcastic," Negasi told her. "We get enough of that from Aurora."

"Hey!" the girl shouted.

"Oh, um, before we hail the spaceport, we have something we need to tell you," Negasi said.

"Oh, great!" Aurora said. "You're about to tell us that the last time you were here you screwed something up and now the cops are after you."

"How did you know that?" Negasi asked, astonished.

"Nice one, buddy," Jeridan said.

"Because every time we land somewhere there's some sort of drama with you two," Aurora said. "Are you in trouble everywhere?"

"No, not everywhere, but we did have a bit of trouble here, and it wasn't our fault."

"Of course not," Aurora said.

Negasi laid out the story, ending with their need to use those electronic disguises they had bought on Luna's Layover.

This long explanation was greeted with silence for several seconds.

"You can't come down to the planet," Nova said. She had probably made it to the bridge by now. "It will endanger the mission."

Negasi tried to sound confident. "It's not going to endanger the mission. We have cutting-edge disguise technology."

"And we need to see what's going on at the League of Concerned Archaeologists," Jeridan added. "After all the lies we've been given, we deserve to know the truth."

"But your presence isn't necessary."

"Yes, it is," Jeridan said.

"Big time," Negasi agreed. "You're not going if we're not going. You're still under arrest, remember?"

More silence. Negasi would have paid a lot to see Nova's face.

"What are you guys up to?" Aurora asked.

"Nothing! We want to keep an eye on your mom, make sure the data gets through, and see how this League operates. We've been risking our hides for months now, and once the data gets spread across the Orion Arm, we'll have to risk our hides against the Rimscourge. We have every right to see who we're working for."

"Uh-huh." The girl did not sound convinced.

Her mother probably wasn't convinced, either. Not that she had a choice.

But what would happen once they were in the League headquarters? The power balance would shift dramatically. They would be on Nova's turf and their usefulness would have ended.

Suddenly Negasi got cold feet. Maybe it would be better to stay put. Up here in the ship they would be much safer.

And yet his curiosity, that deep-seated, nagging trait that had sent him to the stars and kept him on this mission, wouldn't allow him to stay on the Antikythera. He had to see the headquarters. He had to speak with the directors and scientists.

Jeridan would feel the same.

We really need to stop being so curious. It always gets us into trouble.

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