"We ended up sitting down and talking at one of the bars in the port facility," Tanya explained. "It was a typical overpriced spaceport watering hole, but it wasn't that busy so I thought it was fairly safe. I didn't think anyone would be able to overhear us either, the tables around us were all empty."

She continued, "I bought the three of us a round of drinks, although Nyssa barely touched hers. Like I said, I couldn't risk endangering all of you, I had no way of knowing for sure she wasn't just some actress working for a bounty hunter or assassin. So I told her I'd do what I could then get back to her."

We were all in the Demeter's mess by that point, with almost everyone sitting around the dining table. I was too anxious to stay seated though, instead I ended up pacing nervously with my tail wrapped around so I could hug it to my chest while the tall slim brunette described her encounter with my sister.

"She said she was staying at a hotel near the port," Tanya added. "She even gave me her contact information, apparently she's set up an account with the local Vesfar Urox office. She actually said it's the same place you'd been sending your messages from. And that's pretty much where we wrapped up the conversation."

My blonde girlfriend spoke up at that point, and she sounded almost as anxious as I felt. "Did Nyssa say if she was travelling alone, or did she have anyone with her? Do you remember if she mentioned the name Sabia? Or Katia, or Haugen?"

Tanya shook her head, "I haven't heard any of those names, sorry. And yeah, Nyssa said she was by herself."

Sarah let out a sigh of relief, and I couldn't blame her. We knew her granddaughter and my sister had been in touch with each other, if Nyssa made the trip all the way out here it was possible that Sabia could have joined her.

"We have to get moving," I said as I continued my pacing. "I have to get out there, I have to find my sister."

Rebecca reached out and caught me as I moved past her chair. She pulled me in so I ended up sitting sideways across her lap, then wrapped both arms around me in a protective hug.

"We'll find her Amanda," the tall strong redhead stated. "I promise."

"Thank you," I half-whispered.

Then Sarah asked, "What about the local authorities? Didn't they do anything? I thought Rolandan-2 was supposed to be a safe world."

"It is," Rebecca agreed. "But there's always loopholes, there's always options if you're sufficiently desperate or determined."

She looked to our guests and asked, "You said Nyssa was grabbed after you finished talking with her? How'd that go down?"

Captain Nieves sighed, "We'd just stepped out of the bar and set off in opposite directions. Me and Blix were headed back to the Persephone, while I assume Nyssa was going to her hotel. We heard a scream, Blix and I turned around in time to see a big guy scoop her up in his arms. He ran through a security barrier then out an emergency exit. We tried to follow, but by that time the port security folks had arrived and they stopped us while a couple more went chasing after the guy."

"That must have been caught on some security cameras," Jenny stated. "As soon as we've landed on Rolandan-2 I can try and access the port's computer system and security feeds. Assuming they don't purge their records too often I should be able to track the assailant's movements. If they're still on the planet we may be able to locate them that way. Or if they had a ship waiting in port, I ought to be able to determine which one."

Tanya shook her head, "I can save you the trouble. You remember I said my crew and I were sent out here into exile because of criminal backgrounds, right? Well Pots ended up in the Vysalis Defence Force as an alternative to jail time after a bunch of digital crimes. And he ended up out here on the frontier because he kept up that other line of work even after he was in uniform."

"I convinced him to give it up once we started making a living out here the legal way," she added, "But when this came up it seemed right up his alley. Anyways the bottom line is, I already have all that information you just mentioned."

"I don't know if you want to see this Amanda," she added as she looked to me. "I've got security footage of him grabbing your sister. And I've also got the message we received just before shipping out ourselves."

I nodded, "I need to see it. All of it."

"All right then," Tanya nodded as she pulled two data crystals out of her pocket.

Sarah took them, since I was still trapped in Rebecca's arms. And the captain was busy hugging me, so she wasn't available either. Then we all moved into the lounge, so we could review the information on the large screen in there. First up was the security footage, and I stifled a gasp when I saw my little sister emerge from the bar with Tanya and Blix. There was no doubt, no question, it really was Nyssa.

Rebecca hugged me a little tighter as we watched my sad lonely sister exchange some last words with the Persephone's captain. Then she turned and started to head away, eyes downcast and a thoughtful look on her face. She didn't even notice the tall strong bald man who quietly moved in behind her.

The guy was carrying something concealed in his hand, and when he touched it to my sister's back the security camera caught a flash of blue light. Nyssa let out a brief scream before her body went completely limp, while my gut lurched and my muscles tensed. The attacker caught my sister before she even hit the ground. He scooped her up in his arms without missing a step, then turned and headed for a security barrier. He knocked that open with a single kick of his booted foot, then stepped through and finally disappeared into an emergency exit.

The image flicked to another camera view. This was an outside shot, and it captured the same tall broad-shouldered bald man in a small grav-sled, with my sister slumped motionless in the back seat. The sled was moving at high speed through the port facility, out towards the landing pads.

A third camera view showed the sled parked next to a small ship, as the bald man carried Nyssa up a short ramp and in through the open hatch. The moment he was inside the ramp retracted and the hatch sealed shut.

Finally the image was replaced with a screen-full of text.

"The ship launched less than a minute after your sister was on board," Tanya stated. "This guy was obviously prepared and knew his way around the port. He had your sister on his ship by the time the security people even knew what was happening. And they were off-world before anyone with the right authority could order the traffic controllers to withdraw any departure clearances."

She gestured at the text on the screen, "Anyways this is what Pots found on that ship. It's a Pika class modified scout, called the MV Eris-Nine. Forty-seven years old, she was originally built by one of the many shipyards right there on Rolandan-2. According to the port records, she's now registered out of Marshal's World. And her owner slash captain is a guy named Leon Jamison. That's the same person who sent us a message before we left."

My blood felt like ice water and my gut was full of frozen lead as I stared at the ship's registration information. My ears were drooping and my tail would have been down between my legs if I'd been on my feet. Instead it was currently on Sarah's lap, she was petting and stroking my floof while Rebecca held me tight in her arms.

"Isn't Marshal's World a prison planet?" I mumbled. "They took Nyssa to a frontier prison world?"

Once again my tall strong redheaded girlfriend gave me a gentle squeeze. She stated softly, "I know this sounds bad Amanda, but try to stay strong ok? It might not be as bad as it seems."

Sarah gave my tail another long stroke then asked in a worried voice, "What are you thinking Rebecca? Because I'm with Amanda on this. From what I remember hearing about Marshal's World, it's not a great place to visit."

Rebecca kept her arms around me as she explained, "Yes Marshal's World is a prison planet. It's also the base of operations for a lot of the sector's professional bounty hunters. The fact that that scout ship is registered there means we're probably dealing with a pro."

"Scuse me ma'am, but how's that help?" Cammie asked while her tail twitched around nervously. "I'da thought that'd make things even harder?"

My tall strong girlfriend responded, "Do you all remember back at the Kaden Merit, we talked about the difference between professional salvars versus scavengers? It comes down to respect for the work and the people involved. It's similar with bounty hunters. You've got pros who treat their work and their bounties with respect. And you've got amateurs, people looking to make a few quick ecks and don't care about their reputation or the condition of their bounties."

"If this guy's working out of Marshal's World then he's probably a pro," she said as she gave me another gentle squeeze. "That means Nyssa isn't going to be mistreated. I'm not saying this will be easy for her, but she's a lot better off than in the hands of some punk with a ship and a gun who woke up one day and decided to call himself a bounty hunter."

I nodded slowly, but I couldn't bring myself to speak just yet. I was too distraught, thinking about my little sister being held prisoner on some ship and at the mercy of that tall strong guy who grabbed her.

After a few seconds Sarah asked, "So what do we do? How do we find Amanda's sister?"

Rebecca replied, "The bounty hunter sent a message, right? He wants to exchange Nyssa for me, that means we'll have to meet him somewhere. So let's see what he has to say."

Gwen had been quiet for most of the conversation, but she finally spoke up. "Your highness I really must protest. You cannot allow yourself to fall into the hands of this man! Ever since the negotiations with the Fuminja Cluster your royal lineage has become public knowledge. These people must know that taking you prisoner would give them leverage over all of Vysalis-4."

"I'm sorry Amanda. I know this makes me sound heartless but I have to consider her highness and our homeworld first," she added as she looked to me. Then she focused on her princess again and stated, "You simply cannot risk your life or your freedom for a complete stranger!"

I stayed quiet but the sense of dread I'd been feeling ever since Tanya first mentioned my sister's name just kept getting deeper. My gut clenched, and I found myself blinking back tears. It was an impossible situation, not because Rebecca was a princess but because she was my girlfriend. I couldn't bear to lose her any more than my sister.

Meanwhile Rebecca gave me another little squeeze. Then she addressed Gwen, using a very authoritative tone. Something Sarah and I had been calling her 'princess voice', since she tended to use it when she was playing that role for Gwen or while recording vids for the government of Vysalis-4.

"Lady Magniveen," my girlfriend began, "You travelled all the way out here to the frontier because you were looking for the last surviving member of the royal family. You've also spoken quite a bit about your own family back home. You know how important family is. And I've told you several times that Amanda and Sarah are my family, as are Cammie Jenna and Jenny. I may not know Nyssa Voss personally, but she is Amanda's sister. And that makes her my family too."

After a moment she added, "If I need to make that official with some kind of royal decree I'll do so, but frankly I don't care about the protocols or the terminology. The bottom line is I'm going to do whatever it takes to save Nyssa."

"Yes your highness," Gwen replied quietly. Although it was pretty clear from her tone she was holding back another long-suffering sigh.

Then Rebecca added, "So let's hear what the bounty hunter had to say."

"It's a video message with a small data attachment," Tanya commented. "Before you run it though, just another word of caution? It's not awful Amanda, but it's probably not going to be easy for you to see."

I gulped, then braced myself and nodded. "Thanks Tanya. I'll manage."

The image on the large screen shifted, to a vid that was obviously taken inside a small ship. In fact the way it was moving around it was clear this was taken with something like a datapad, rather than a fixed camera. It opened with a full-on shot of the guy we'd seen grab my sister. Unlike the smaller images in the security vids this was up close and gave us a much better view of the man.

It was hard to gauge height exactly, but he was at least six feet tall. I'd even guess taller, like maybe six-foot-four or six-five. He was wearing a tight sleeveless white t-shirt that showed off his broad shoulders and thick muscular arms, while his hands rested on his hips to either side of his six-pack abs. His skin was evenly tanned, including his hairless head. He looked like a guy who spent a couple hours every day working out and keeping himself toned. He was clean-shaved, and his steely-blue eyes seemed sharp. He came across as intelligent, rather than just some muscle-bound thug.

"Hello captain Tanya Nieves of the MV Persephone," he stated, "And Lady Gwen Magniveen, of the Imperium world Vysalis-4."

His voice was deep and confident, while his demeanour seemed relaxed. Like he knew exactly what he was doing, and seemed to think that he had all the advantages. He continued, "My name is Leon Jamison, and I've been keeping tabs you two and your ship for a while now. I'm sure by now you know that I have Nyssa Voss in my possession. She's the sister of Amanda Voss, known associate of Captain Rebecca Piper of the MV Demeter. So I'd appreciate if you'd forward this message on to Amanda. I think she'll be interested in what I have to say."

At that point the camera spun around as if whoever was holding it was changing their position or something. When the image finally stopped moving I felt my blood run cold and my stomach clenched once more. I was looking at my sister's frozen face, through the tiny inspection window of a cryo tube. The camera panned down to the status panel, which indicated that the tube was fully operational and Nyssa's life signs were suspended but all the indicators were in the green.

It wasn't foolproof technology, but assuming she was revived correctly there was about a ninety-five percent chance she'd come out of it unharmed. In the meantime, as long as the tube had power and remained sealed, she should be fairly safe. Although the longer she was in there the greater the chance of complications when she was revived.

After a few seconds the camera turned around to focus on Leon once more. He stated, "I'm sure you can guess but let's make it official ok? I want Rebecca Piper, alive and well. Give her to me, and you get your sister back. Amanda I understand you're a medic as well as a navigator, so I'll give you Nyssa in her popsicle state. You can probably thaw her out a lot more safely than I can."

"I'd like to think I'm a reasonable man," he added, "And maybe you think I'm making an unreasonable demand, asking you to choose between your sister and your captain? So I'll give you a second option. The price on Rebecca's head is two million ecks, if you pay me that then you can have your sister and keep your captain too."

The bounty hunter continued, "I've attached a data file with a comm frequency and encryption protocols. Obviously I'd like to hear back from you sooner rather than later, but I'm not going to put some crazy deadline on things. I know you're probably busy, hiding out and all that. As you've seen, Nyssa isn't going anywhere and it doesn't cost me anything to leave her like that indefinitely."

"So take your time and think this over," he stated. "Your sister and I will be waiting, just let me know when you're ready to deal."

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