Chapter 2

"Zyair," came his older brother's voice. Trigg was grinning at him slyly from across the room that served as the Probe and Pursue Services headquarters. "There's a call for you!"

Trigg wasn't just his older brother. Technically, he was also his boss at PAPS, only Zyair didn't really like to see it that way. As far as he was concerned, all of the Lorrz siblings ran the investigation agency together, along with Trigg's new wife, Willow, who looked on as well.

For some reason, though, Zyair kept getting relegated to the boring jobs—lookout or getaway driver or sometimes even a standby, "just in case."

He could only assume this call was more of the same. Some little old lady on the other side of Noxxa probably had a missing pet and Trigg was pawning the job off on him.

Zyair made a face, but Trigg just pushed the comm further toward him until Zyair reluctantly took it.

"Zyair Lorrz speaking," he said into the comm. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, I do hope you can help me, young man. I'm desperate!"

The voice on the other end of the line belonged to an older woman, and for a second, Zyair thought he'd guessed right. He shot a dirty look to Trigg, who was looking on smugly. Willow was smiling, too, though she didn't have the same harshness in her eyes as Trigg. Nevertheless, Zyair turned away from his brother again.

"Ma'am, can you tell me what the problem is?"

"As I mentioned to your colleague, I've been robbed. And I'm sure I know who did it! I've been hosting a young Terran girl in my home, and now my Desolation Stone is missing. I suspect she's trying to make a name for herself. Either that or she came here specifically to target me."

Zyair smiled. This was actually an interesting case—much better than the usual fare. He wondered if there was a catch. He knew Trigg didn't trust him to take on this sort of responsibility… unless Zyair's needling for a more adventurous gig had actually paid off.

He cast another glance at Trigg, who was still looking on, his arms crossed over his chest with a knowing look on his face. Zyair did his best to ignore him.

"And where is here, ma'am?" he asked into the phone.

"That's the thing. I'm on Kona, but I'll pay handsomely for your time."

Zyair raised his eyebrows, whipping around again to glare at Trigg. His brother still watched, and this time, a broad smile broke out over his face. He nodded, as if encouraging Zyair to take on the task.

Zyair, however, wasn't smiling. He hated being told what to do, even more so by his brothers. He almost refused the gig simply on principle.

The woman on the other end of the line must have heard him pause for too long, though, because she spoke again.

"Please. Your colleague said you were PAPS's most skilled investigator. I've heard wonderful things about the agency. Just name your price and I'll pay it. I need your help!"

Zyair raised an eyebrow again. This time, though, it wasn't to his brother. Zyair had long known he was being underutilized at PAPS. Even if Trigg had pushed this job onto him in jest, he could use it to his advantage.

Maybe this was his chance to prove he really was the most qualified among them. He'd put in enough hours, working for years at the agency while his three older brothers—Kozien, Grux, and now Trigg—had gone off and married a bunch of Terran women, more or less leaving the agency behind.

Besides, he'd be happy to get away from Noxxa for a while. And maybe when he came back, he'd finally be recognized as having the skills to take on real jobs instead of the boring roles he always got stuck with.

"I'd be happy to help, ma'am," he said proudly, ignoring the snicker coming from the other side of the room. "Now, what's your name?"

"Darina Indorsha," she said. "And the woman I suspect of stealing the stone is Layla Killingsworth."

Zyair took notes on his wrist comm as he cradled the business comm between his ear and shoulder. "And this stone? What is it exactly?"

At the slight pause on the other end of the line, Zyair got the feeling the woman was hesitant to answer. After a beat, she spoke. "It's a rare and important artifact. The Desolation Stone. I just need to get it back, and quickly."

Zyair nodded, not knowing what that meant but figuring it didn't really matter. His job was to find it, not understand its sentimental value.

"All right, I can be there tomorrow," he said, calculating quickly in his head how long it would take to get to the other side of the galaxy. "If you can comm me your address, I'll let you know as soon as I'm close."

He told her his comm code amid her gushing expressions of gratitude and pressed the button to end the call.

When he turned back around, Trigg was still staring at him. Willow, too.

"Well?" Trigg asked expectantly.

"Well, what?" Zyair shot back. "I'm taking the job. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Trigg shot him a wry smile, but there was a warning in his eyes. "It is. Just don't mess this one up," he warned. "This is our chance to make a good impression on Kona."

Zyair scowled. Of course, he couldn't simply take the job. He had to endure a lecture from his brother, too. He wasn't in the mood to stick around for more, though. Besides, he'd heard it all before.

"I have to pack." He spoke brusquely and turned out of the room, throwing a hand up over his back as a way of saying goodbye.

He heard Willow call goodbye after him and felt a twinge of guilt that she always got caught up in their sibling rivalry. She'd always been kind to him, and her addition to the team at PAPS had made things there slightly more bearable.

He pushed the thought from his mind, though. It was clear Willow's efforts to include him weren't enough. He needed to prove himself. And that was exactly what this mission was about. Things wouldn't get better until he'd worked this case and showed he could be trusted with more than just grunt work.

It didn't take him long to pack, and given the distance between Noxxa and Kona, he had no time to spare. With his bag in one hand, he bound up the gangplank to his starship, Top Asteroid, and jumped into the driver's seat.

"Asterid," he said, calling up the ship's AI assistant and consulting the address Darina had sent him. "Set a course to Kona, Sector L, Domicile 4456.J1."

"Certainly, Zyair. Your course is set."

The hum of the engines whirred as he touched his comm to the console. Without so much as a goodbye to Trigg and Willow, he navigated away from PAPS, Noxxa, and the infantilizing control of his brother.

He had a case to solve.