It was the middle of the night and I should've been asleep like everyone else. Instead, I sat in the cockpit, the only sounds coming from the constant tapping of keys. I had to find out why my father's ship was there, with Maji held prisoner in the hold. I needed to know where they were headed.

Hacking into the GPF mainframe wasn't impossible - I had done it before - but it took some time. I had to cover my tracks well or they could trace it back to us. The last thing I wanted to do was bring my father's fleet on our heads. No, I had to be extra careful.

Getting through the first firewall was easy; the second proved to be a bit more challenging, but nothing that I couldn't handle. The third and fourth ones? Well, they certainly had been upping their security in the last few years. The clock turned three AM by the time I had broken through and then I had to find the information I was looking for.

I almost wish I never had.

"You want to fly to the Outer Rim on a hunch?"

I cocked my head in Kade's direction, "It's not a hunch. They were taking those people to an outpost out there - somewhere - it doesn't show up on any map we have. I need to know what they're doing out there."

"Why?"

I sat down in the co-pilot's chair, swiveling it so I could face him. His face didn't show any irritation just confusion. I guess I couldn't blame him. I didn't exactly explain why I needed to go. I just did. I shrugged one shoulder weakly, "I just...I need to know what my father is doing with the Maji..."

His eyes stayed on my face for a while, like he was searching my face for the answers he knew I wasn't telling him. After a moment he sighed. Nodding his head, he gestured to the nav-computer. "Alright, plug it in. Let's see what these GPF freaks are hiding."

I couldn't stop the soft smile from growing on my lips. "Thanks, Kade."

Turning in his chair so he was facing the windows, the stars reflected in his eyes like mini galaxies. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just not get the others killed, okay?"

Chuckling, I plugged in the coordinates for the outpost - which according to the maps would lead to open space. "That is definitely not a part of the plan."

"That's good, 'cuz I do kind of like you all. And it would be a serious pain to have to find a new crew."

I was still smiling at his profile as the ship engines flared to life, prepping for the jump. It was a good thing I was looking, too, because I was able to just catch the small smirk on his lips before it was gone again.

"That does not look like empty space."

The four of us stood on the bridge, looking out at a space station that for all intent and purpose, shouldn't be there. It was bigger than most orbiting stations and it must have been using its own propulsion system because there weren't any planets in the near vicinity. It was the only thing for millions of miles. It sat farther out in the Outer Rim than any of the known planets. Obviously, they didn't want to be disturbed.

Glancing at Kade, he was chewing his bottom lip as he gripped the controls. "We're sitting ducks out here. We need to get farther away."

"The cloaking system is on - they won't be able to see us." I said from behind him, my arms crossed tightly over my chest. I doubted that my father was on this station but there was still a small possibility. It made hives rise on my arms.

Axon sat in the co-pilot's seat, one leg propped up to his chest. His eyes were saucers as they scanned every inch of the station. "They must be totally self-sustaining out here. I mean Pike isn't even close to these coordinates. Where do you think they're getting their power from?"

The question was directed at his sister. Lenna stood close to me, her brows pulled tight. "I don't know...it can't be solar, there's no sun for millions of miles. They could be burning something but I don't see any debris cloud..." She shook her head, falling silent.

"We need to get closer."

Kade spun around to face me, the movement so sudden it caused me to take a step back to chance getting knocked over by his long legs. "You're kidding me right now, right? You have to be."

I opened my mouth to say that no, I was not kidding, but then the ship took a sharp rock to the left, sending us all scrambling.

"A ship just dropped out of hyper-space!" Axon yelled as he grabbed for the controls to help right the ship.

Holding on to the bag of Kade's chair, I pointed to the large freighter that took up most of the view out the window. "Latch on to the underside! They won't see us and we can get closer!"

With no time to argue less he loses the split second chance, Kade growled under his breath as he pushed the Phoenix into motion. "Strap in then! We're going to upside down here! TJ, turn off the anti-grav."

Flipping the ship around, Kade expertly steered it the back of the and attached the Phoenix to the underside. As soon as the magnetic locks were in place, I hit the button to turn off the artificial gravity. My stomach was doing flips and it had nothing to do with the fact that we were now sitting upside-down.

Remember how I said hacking into the GPF's mainframe wasn't that hard? Well, hacking into this station's mainframe might have been the hardest thing I had ever done. Every firewall had another one; every dead-end led to another block. I had an inkling of fear at the back of my mind that maybe I actually couldn't do it. Maybe I had risked the lives of my friends and myself for information and wouldn't be able to get it.

And just as quickly as the doubts began to set in - when the freighter was almost done unloading its cargo - I got in.

"You did it!" Axon smiled broadly beside me, having kept a vigilant eye on the screen right along with me.

Coming up behind me, Kade resting his hands on the back of my chair. "Alright, hacker-extraordinaire, let's see why we came all the way out here."

Although I was nervous to see what we would find, I couldn't help the smile that came to my face. Yeah, I had just gotten through one of the toughest security systems I had ever seen. I'd keep that little accomplishment and run with it. A few clicks later and I found some transport files with strange numbers associated with them. The only other place I had seen numbers and letters like that were on the prison planet of Pike, on the inmate's files. Each one had the biological information of a person - a Maji. No names, nothing so personal. Just basic doctor notes, including biological sex, age, and health status. My brows were pulled tight on my forehead when I glanced behind me.

Kade and Lenna wore identical expressions, full of confusion and worry. Licking her lips, as if she couldn't quite get the words out, Lenna pointed to the screen. "Each one makes it clear that the person is a Maji. It even explains any use of their powers that was witnessed."

I watched her eyes scan the screen.

"Look at that one - a young boy, twelve years old. Used telekinesis to pick someone's pocket." Her lips formed a thin line, flecks of anger overtaking the worry in her eyes.

Turning back to my computer, I took a breath to steady my rapid heartbeat. "Okay, so we know they were certainly bringing the Maji here. But why? I can't see anything explaining what they were actually doing with them."

Kade squeezed my shoulder. "Dig a little deeper. We don't have much time left."

I knew he was right, the clock was literally ticking against us. Could I feel the freighter's engines warming up or was that all in my head? A few minutes of swiping through more and more files, I stumbled upon the security camera footage. The prisoners were being moved from the freighter above us, and that's exactly what they were - prisoners. They weren't in the cages anymore, like the people we had rescued just hours before. But binders held their wrists together at the base of their spines and a thick piece of metal sat around their necks. A blinking blue light on each. I knew exactly what those things were. "Those are power-binders. They disrupt the Maji's power so they can't use it."

Axon leaned closer to me, his shoulder bumping mine. His index finger poked the floating screen before us, going right through the image. "Those batons in the officer's hands, I've seen those, too. They're shock batons."

Which were illegal. But I didn't bother saying it out loud - we all knew that. So why were officers of the law using them to herd the Maji out of the transport like they were livestock?

"Is this live, TJ? Or was this earlier?"

I shook my head, my fingers flying across the keys quicker than my thoughts could even form. "I - I can't tell, I don't know. It's encrypted or something."

Answering for me, the freighter we were attached to shuddered harshly before it disengaged from the station. Kade scrambled for the controls and we released the mag-coils seconds before the freighter jumped into hyperspace.

A/N

Uh oh...I wonder what they're using the Maji for??