Wandering the streets of Antares was a lot easier wearing a disguise.

Before Kam had led me out of the Palace, he had pulled an extra cloak out of his jacket. I put it on with little complaint, although I did raise an eyebrow at it. Kam had smiled - a real smile - and had said, "It'll make sense. And it'll keep that hair of yours hidden."

Now, calmly walking down the streets and allies of the city, I wished I had thought of such a simple disguise myself. The large hood did indeed keep my pastel purple hair hidden from view and the plain gray color helped me to blend in with the city itself. People didn't blink an eye as we walked by them.

Kam led me from the Palace's district of the city towards the harbor. The smell of fish and other sea-life grew stronger the closer we got. I hated the smell of fish. Down another alley and we came to a stop at a worn down building, just feet from the harbor itself. I could make our fishermen on boats - dressed exactly like Kam and I. Huh, no wonder the disguises worked so well.

Turning the last corner, Kam headed for a small ship. It was a simple speeder, built for only two people; a personal transport vehicle. The paint on the sides was beginning to wear and there was nothing descriptive about it. I stopped a few feet away, eying it with a raised brow. I wasn't sure I trusted my life with that thing. Even if I knew Kam could fly just about anything.

Opening the hatch, Kam looked back at me. Smiling, he gestured for me to get in. "I promise, I'm not kidnapping you. I'll bring you back to the Palace when we're done."

I had my com on, and I knew the locater beacon in my shoe was still active. The crew could find me if something went lopsided. But I had to find out if what Kam was telling me was the truth or not. So I climbed into the rickety old ship.

After a quick jump through hyperspace, we came out in an empty area of space. No planets showed up on the radar for a few thousand miles but we hadn't gone very far from Antares. By my quick calculation we were likely between Antares and Rama, in empty space that usually got skipped over by a hyper-jump.

Kam steered the ship around some asteroids before a particularly big one came into view. Only when he landed on it, did I finally open my mouth.

"If you wanted to kill me, I think somewhere on Antares would've sufficed."

Rolling his eyes, he handed me a breathing helmet. "Just put this on."

When he was certain my helmet was on, and his own was actively feeding him oxygen, he opened the hatch. Once we stood outside of the ship, I realized there was a strange amount of gravity on the asteroid. They didn't have gravity unless it was being artificially created. I raised an eyebrow at him but he ignored me this time. Leading the way, he headed for an outcrop of rock. Only when we were a few feet away did I realize something - it was a door. There was a metal door in the rock of the asteroid.

After going down a small tunnel like elevator, the gate opened to reveal a large room, one door off to the side. Inside was...not what I had been expecting. But then again I wasn't sure what I had been expecting. It looked like one of those war rooms from old movies. A raggedy old couch was pushed against one wall, a coffee table in front of it full of food containers and empty coffee mugs. The only other door led to what looked like a bunk room, I could just make out the edge of a bed. On the other side was a large table, a bright light hanging over it illuminated the many paper documents on its surface. A single computer sat in the far corner, a physical screen instead of a holographic one. I hadn't seen a computer like that since my days on Earth. If it wasn't for the metal walls and floor, or the artificial gravity, I would've thought we actually were on Earth. Where the hell was I?

A single man stood by the computer. He looked up when we entered. He wore a gentle smile for someone so giant. He extended his hand to me and I thought about it for a moment before slowly shaking his hand. My apprehension must have been obvious because he chuckled when our hands finally met, "I'm going to assume that Kam didn't tell you where he was taking you?"

I glanced beside me, where Kam had been a moment before. Now, however, he had rid himself off the long coat and was standing by the table. "Uh, no. No he did not."

Releasing my hand, the man laughed more as he inclined his head towards the table. "Figures. We just knew you wouldn't listen to anyone but him."

"Who are you?"

Resting a hand on his chest, the man bowed his head like some movie character. "Regris, at your service. I work for-."

"Let me guess, my father?"

Regris smiled, "Yes. I've been stationed here for a while, keeping an eye on things and another eye open for signs of you. You're very good at not being found when you don't want to be, you know that?"

Glancing at Kam, who was looking at me strangely, I shrugged a shoulder. "Well, I used to be anyway. Not so much lately."

Heading for the table, Regris clapped Kam on the shoulder. "Oh, you still are, don't you worry about that. We had to search for a while to figure out where you guys were holed up."

Well, that was nice to hear. Especially since Zed's place had been the first thing to pop into my mind while I was trying to keep Kade from bleeding out. Walking over to the table, my brows pulled tighter and tighter. "What the hell is all this? And why paper?"

"Paper is a lot harder to trace."

I looked at Kam, a frown on my face. "Traced by who? Who are you - members of the GPF - afraid of?"

Kam and Regris shared a look, before my old friend pushed aside a number of papers to pull a folder out from under them. A red symbol on the cover made my curiosity grow even more. "Red Industries? What do they have to do with this?"

Laying the folder in front of me, Kam let out a dry laugh. "Everything. You should know - as a smuggler - that RI has hands in everything, right?"

I shrugged, "Sure. I mean they're responsible for clean drinking water on Rama and the black market on Uzara. They're slimy fingers are everywhere."

Kam gave me a pointed look, "Exactly. They're behind the creation of CD. Not the GPF."

Okay, whoa, wait a second. "What?"

Regris came to stand beside me, opening the file and pointing out details of shipping transcriptions and bank statements. "They've been working on this for decades, long before you were even born."

"So what do the GPF have to do with it? My father?"

Kam passed me another file, one with my father's name on it. "He found out about the whole thing ten years ago. He tried to stop it, to expose RI and shut it down. But when he got too close they made sure he couldn't do anything more. They've been watching him ever since."

I was missing something, I could tell Kam was trying to beat around the bush. He used to do that when we were kids, too. Usually to try and spare my feelings. "What aren't you saying? That they blackmailed him or something? What could they possibly do that would keep my father - the General of the GPF - out of their business?"

Another look passed between Kam and Regris before Kam turned the file over, revealing another page. It had a picture on it, of a woman I hadn't seen in five years. "RI threatened Tarkir, and when that didn't work, they hurt the next person that meant the world to him."

My head started to shake; my heart pounded in my chest. No. No, no, no, no. Don't say it. Please, don't say it.

"RI killed your mom, TJ."

A/N

Uh oh....