Page 56 of On a Rogue Planet
“Where is the planet?” Xander demanded.
BEll was uncharacteristically silent for a moment. “I don’t know.”
“What?” Xander’s voice was deathly quiet.
Mal stood, her hand on Xander’s tense back. “Doesn’t it have a…well obviously not an orbit, but some known path?”
“No. It literally wanders the galaxy.”
“What was its last recorded position?” Mal asked.
Another image appeared on a second screen. It showed a ramshackle space station shaped like a large cylinder with various docking arms running off it. It looked like a beaten-up service syndroid floating in space.
“Fuck.” Dathan sank back into his chair.
“Galaxy’s Edge.” Niklas shook his head.
“Yes,” BEll said. “Technis passed within fifty million kilometers of Galaxy’s Edge before leaving charted space.”
Mal studied the image. She’d never been to the infamous space station. It had a reputation for being wild. It literally sat on the border of charted and uncharted space. It was the last stop-off point for deep space convoys headed into the unknown. It was said to be filled with adventurers, explorers, smugglers, and missionaries all looking to make their fortunes.
“But that was several months ago,” BEll added in an apologetic tone.
One of Xander’s hands curled into a fist. “We don’t have time to search through uncharted space. It could be anywhere.”
Dathan tapped a finger against his lips. “Someone at Galaxy’s Edge must know where it is. These crazy explorers talk to each other about what they run into when they’re out in the black.”
Xander’s head snapped up. “I have to go to Galaxy’s Edge.”
“Wehave to go,” Mal said.
Dathan straightened. “You’ve done enough?—”
“No. My friend was captured and hurt, his wife sent into slavery.” Mal shook her head. “This ismyhunt now, too.”
“The people who call the Edge home don’t like outsiders.” Nik’s quiet voice. “They’ll let you buy them a drink, but they won’t talk.”
She felt a curl of excitement. Maybe she could help. “I know someone at Galaxy’s Edge.”
Everyone turned to stare at her. She felt Xander’s intense regard.
“Who?” he demanded.
But it was Dathan, Nik, and Zayn she looked at. “Our cousins. TheotherPhoenix brothers.”
Xander heardthe three men curse and groan.
“You don’t like your cousins?” he asked.
“No.” Dathan slammed his chair back. “We don’t.”
Mal snorted. “You haven’t seen them since you were twelve.”
“Yeah, but I still remember the black eye that bastard, Dare, gave me.”
“And Justyn broke my prized model of a Talon fighter I’d spent days making,” Zayn added.
“I thought Rynan wasn’t bad,” Niklas said. “Although he did crack the encryption on my Sync and uploaded a virus.”
