The doors slid open with their slight mechanical whirring and a shadow crossed the light from the hall beyond. Commodore Braxian turned his head away from the view screen and the panorama of stars, planets, nebulae, and blackness and regarded his lieutenant coldly.

“Report.”

The lieutenant nodded her head sharply. “It is as you suspected, sir. She’s struck again. Security footage was over ninety percent scrambled at the Day Co. lux depot.”

Commodore Braxian frowned, or perhaps more accurately, scowled. “What were the losses to the Company stores?”

“Surprisingly minimal, sir. The Company liaison I spoke with indicated that the lux supply fluctuated less than one percent.”

Braxian turned back to the view screen. “No, lieutenant,” he said, then sighed heavily. “Sadly, it is not surprising in the least.”

“Sir?”

The Commodore waved one furry paw in a wide arch in front of the screen, and it shifted from the panorama view to a two-dimensional grid. He took a step forward and then indicated to one spot, which lit up, followed by another, and then another. When he was done, there was a line of five glowing spots. Braxian stepped back, and pointed to the first one.

“She hit Landa III first. The Aurora Dry Dock. Nearly a thousand ships ready to launch, and three go missing. Only three. And one of them was found drifting four systems away. Then she hit Abonne II, the first Galactic Bank branch. Security footage at the Bank shows that she busted into the vault in just three shots. And yet, what did she steal? Twelve hundred credits. Anything less than a thousand doesn’t even get reported! The planet Solitary, the Gravian Space Base, and now the Day Co.’s lux depot on Mindit, every time a similar story.” He stopped for a moment, then looked back at her. “We are certain it was her, aren’t we?”

“With the quality of the Company’s footage, we cannot be completely sure, sir, but in truth, there is little doubt. Blonde hair, scarred face, remarkable aim. It’s her, sir. It’s Star.”

The Commodore nodded. “Agreed.” He went back to studying the clear pattern. The places Star had hit were all lined up, nearly in a straight line, or as close as she could have gotten in space. “But what the Hole is she up to?”

The lieutenant made a slight sound, but stopped herself from speaking. Commodore Braxian noticed, and glanced over at her. “Something on your mind, Lieutenant?”

She straightened a bit. “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Granted.”

She nodded. “Meaning no disrespect, sir, but I don’t think you understand the criminal mind.”

“No disrespect?” The Commodore said with a chuckle. “I would be far more insulted if you thought I did understand criminals.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said. “But my point is that perhaps we should ask somebody who does. They might be able to help us figure out Star’s pattern.”

“I don’t…” the Commodore started, then stopped. His eyes widened, and the fur on his face and neck bristled. “Lieutenant, if you are even thinking of suggesting that I ask…her…for help…”

“I am suggesting precisely that, sir,” she interrupted.

“Lieutenant, you forget yourself.”

“I forget nothing, sir. You gave me permission to speak freely, and I will exercise it until you revoke it. I know as well as you do the Admiral’s threat. If you don’t stop Star’s rampage, you’ll be demoted. And worse, reassigned to the Yawn Sector.”

“That’s Ya-Nin, Lieutenant,” the Commodore said, then exhaled dejectedly. “But yes. The Admiral was…quite clear on that point.”

“I don’t want that to happen to you, sir. And, perhaps more pragmatically, I am permanently assigned to your command. And, as I still have your permission to speak freely, I sure as Hole don’t want to eke out the rest of my career in the most forgotten corner of the universe.”

Braxian regarded her for a moment, then nodded ascent. “Nor do I. But that doesn’t mean that I would ever agree to ask her for help.”

“Please, sir, be reasonable. Nobody understands the criminal mind better than she does. For years, she was the most successful bandit from the Verk Cluster to the Stonerain Belt.”

“Precisely,” Braxian said. “And I would trust someone like her because…?”

“Everyone knows that she’s gone straight, sir. And besides, she owns majority share in the Aurora Dry Dock. Star hit her before she hit anybody.”

“Nothing and nobody in the entire galaxy could convince me that ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie has gone legitimate!”

“Somebody say my name?” Her voice came from the hallway, and the lieutenant looked away and down from the Commodore. Braxian turned toward the new figure and saw the grinning face of “Red Dwarf” Jackie. Dressed all in black, including her blast visor, she was an intimidating figure, particularly because of the blasters hanging at her hips.

“Howdy, Braxian,” she said with a tip of her captain’s hat. “I hear you’ve got some trouble with a rough Centauri?”

Braxian breathed in deeply and then slowly exhaled through his snout. “I do not need your…”

“Help?” Jackie cut him off. “That’s not what I hear. See, when my people told me someone had raided my Dry Dock and stole three of my ships, my first thought was that you wanted to return some old favors.”

“You thought I attacked Aurora?” Commodore Braxian asked, incredulously. “You were the bandit, remember? I was the fleet commander.”

“Who lost just a few too many ships, if I remember,” Jackie said, smiling. She walked up to Braxian then, and slapped him roughly on the shoulder. “But that was a long time ago. No hard feelings, right? Right. Anyway, when I heard that that Centauri hit your guys’ armory on Solitary, I figured she wasn’t one of yours.”

Braxian’s eyes were narrow slits by now. “I should think not. But we will find her, once we figure out where she’s going.”

“Red Dwarf” Jackie laughed. “What, you haven’t figured it out already? Come on, Braxian? What’s the matter, never charted paths for your own ship?”

“What the Hole is that supposed to mean?”

Jackie pointed to view screen. “She’s leaving one Hole of a trail. Landa III, Abonne II, Solitary, Gravian, and then Mindit? Ships, money, guns, parts, and lux. Sounds to me like this Star character is about to start herself a bandit fleet.”

“With two ships, twelve hundred credits, a handful of blasters…”

Jackie laughed. “She’s not collecting, Braxian. Not yet. This Centauri is clever. This pattern she’s establishing, these small heists? This is a proof of concept. She’s gearing up. She showing somebody that she can do what they can’t, that she will do what they won’t. She’s telling somebody that she can put one over on the Fleet. She’s showing somebody that she can hit the Day Company. She’s even trying to show them that she can slip by ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie.” She shook her head. “Now, ‘course, that’s her mistake.”

“Oh, really? How so?” Braxian asked, his tone anything but curious.

“Because now I’m gonna catch her.”

“You know who she’s trying to impress, then?”

Jackie shrugged. “I would think that would be obvious. Look at that line. Where does it point?” When Braxian didn’t answer, Jackie simply continued. “Straight to the Anakari Nebula. I have to believe even you know what that means.”

Braxian’s mouth dropped into an even deeper frown. “The Miners Gang.”

“Red Dwarf” Jackie nodded. “Even the Miner’s never raided the Armory, did they? Those Gas-Blowers are going to treat her like a folk hero when she shows them her ship’s log. They’ll follow her anywhere after that.”

Braxian turned back to the view screen and looked at the line. Then he pointed to a spot roughly half way between Mindit and the Anakari Nebula. “The lab on Tinus XII. It’s a military installation, working on plans for new model ships for the Fleet. I bet Star hits there first, then heads to the Nebula.”

Jackie smirked, but scanned where he was pointing. “You know, I bet you’re right.”

Braxian looked over to the other woman in the room. “Lieutenant, inform the captains. The Fleet is setting a course for Tinus XII.”

“You really think you’d make it there fast enough?” Jackie said before the lieutenant could respond to the Commodore’s order. “I’ve tangled with your fleet before, remember? You guys hit like a solar flare, but you’re slow as necroleum oozing down the rocks. My crew and I can be at Tinus inside of ten hours. I’ll head her off and put a stop to this whole thing.”

“To Hole with that,” Braxian said. “I wouldn’t trust you half as far as I could throw you into a supernova.”

“Trust is completely beside the point,” Jackie said. “By the time you get to Tinus XII, Star will be in the middle of her Miner’s Coronation. I can get there before the Miners even know who she is.”

Braxian thought for a long time, but finally relented with a snort. “Fine. Go to Tinus XII. But you have one mission and one mission only: cut off that fledgling bandit and keep her in the Tinus system. The Fleet will arrive after you and close in.”

“I’m not in the Fleet, Braxian. Your orders mean nothing to me. I’m going to Tinus and I’m going to confront Star, and I’m going to give her exactly what she deserves.”

Braxian groaned. “Fine. But the Fleet will be at your back regardless. If you screw this up, I’ll finish it.”

“Nothing to worry about, Braxy,” said “Red Dwarf” Jackie. She reached up and raised her blast visor. Braxian could not quite meet her blood-red eyes. “I’ll be sure that this ‘Star’ sees Red.”

It is likely that the military scientists who were working in the lab at Tinus XII heard some of the blasting beforehand, but none of them seemed to notice until the front door was blasted off its rails. There was a general clamor in the massive lab, and the two guards rushed toward the front, but two precision ray gun blasts flew through the smoke, striking the guards’ plasma rifles. A moment later, Starlet the Centauri leapt inside, blaster pistols in each hand.

“If I could have everybody’s attention for a moment…” she looked around at the remnants of the door and smiled. “Well, I guess I do! If you haven’t heard of me yet, you need to get out more. I’m the galaxy’s next big deal. Name’s Star, you know, the big, bright, powerful thing in the middle of systems? Yeah, that’s me. Speaking of which, I’m gonna need access to your computer systems. You can either help me with that, or you can all find out why I haven’t been caught yet.”

Murmurs started breaking out among the scientists, and even the guards shot one another glances. One of the guards tried to subtly crouch down and reach for the gun at their feet, which prompted another shot from Star, knocking the rifle out of reach. “One thing I should probably mention,” Star said. “I pride myself on keeping a cool head in these kinds of situations. But this little lady,” as she spoke, she held up her right hand and wiggled her trigger finger, “gets a little jumpy from loud noises and sudden movements. I’m going to need to ask all of you to stay still and quiet. Do that, and we can all go home tonight. Don’t, and we’ll all stay here. One way or another.”

The people in the lab became significantly more cooperative after that. Star herded them into one corner where she could keep an eye on them, and then, with the conscripted help of one of the scientists, she started hacking the system. She was just finishing when a laser blast shot through the now-missing door, just narrowly missing Star and the computer terminal. Star leveled her blaster in that direction, and a moment later, an imposing woman in black strolled through, ray gun in hand.

“You must be the Centauri they call Star,” she said with a smirk. “I’m afraid you and I need to settle accounts.”

Star looked the other woman up and down. Then she motioned to the scientist beside her to rejoin his colleagues. “You could only be one person,” Star said with a slight smile. “’Red Dwarf’ Jackie, am I right?”

“The one and only,” Jackie said with a slight bow, making sure to not take her eyes off of the other woman. “Now that introductions are through, to business.” As she spoke the last word, she took another shot at Star, who ducked out of the way and shot back, missing Jackie’s head by about a foot.

“Something bothering you, Granny?” Star called while ducking behind the computer terminal. “Did someone bruise ‘Red Dwarf’s’ ego?” She took a blind shot in the direction of the door, missing, but hitting the security camera above it.

“You think highly of yourself, don’t you, Starlet?” Jackie was moving along the wall now, angling toward where the scientists and guards were. She fired her own pistol back at Star, hitting another of the cameras, this one above Star’s head. “You stole three of my ships. I want them back. Their rent, plus interest, I’ll take from your hide.”

“You don’t care about the ships,” Star said, shooting wildly again. “You’re just jealous of the younger generation. I’ve gotten as much attention in a month as you did in your whole bandit career!”

‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie had reached the hostages now, and as she took three quick shots at the area Star had moved to, she indicated for them to move toward the door. They were reluctant at first, but Jackie indicated that she would cover them as they moved. A return shot from the Centauri just above where they were standing was the last of the convincing they needed. Jackie moved the other way and yelled, trying to keep Star distracted. “Don’t overstate yourself, kid. You’ve got one commodore and a small sector of space occasionally mentioning your name. There was nobody in the Empire didn’t know the name ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie.”

A shot from Starlet narrowly missed Jackie’s head, slamming into the wall behind her. “Well, when Starlet Centauri kills you, everyone across the systems can cry during your funeral.”

‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie took another wild shot, and the time it took Star to recover and fire back gave the scientists and guards time to escape. Once they were through the door, Jackie holstered her blaster and, from behind her mesh metal serape, drew a Boomblaster. While only good for a couple of blasts per charge, the destructive power it packed was far beyond the common pistol blaster. ‘Red Jackie’ grinned, flashing a gold tooth, pumped the Boomblaster, and fired above the door. The first shot did significant damage, the second one created visible cracks in the wall, and the third shot brought down sections of the wall and ceiling, collapsing the door shut.

Star, whose back was now to the decimated doorway, glanced behind her, impressed at the destruction. Then, surprisingly, she stood up straight. Jackie leveled the Boomblaster at Star and shook her head. “Giving up already, Star?”

But Star just smiled. “You’ve overplayed yourself, ‘Red Dwarf.’ Boomblasters usually only get two shots off. There’s an outside chance you get three. If you’re really, really lucky, you get four.” She raised her blaster pistol and pointed it at ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie. “Odds are in my favor now.”

‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie laughed. “You should have paid better attention to those stories they tell about me. Luck is kind of my thing. Luck, and friends. And in this case, the friend who designed this thing is very, very good.” In order to demonstrate, she pointed the Boomblaster away from Star, blindly firing at a section of the ceiling. She pulled the trigger, and the weapon discharged, destroying a section of the ceiling, a security camera, and a light. Then she pointed it back at Star. “I bet I have one more in here. What do you think?”

Star stared for a long moment, her one gun feeling heavy in her hand. “I think…” she hesitated, looking around the charred and smoking lab. “I think it’s better to be lucky than good,” she said, and lowered her gun. ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie relaxed just slightly, but Star’s mouth curled into a smirk. “But being good is good enough!”

Star dove to her left and fire, her shot missing Jackie just slightly to the right. What followed was a fierce blaster battle between the two, but neither managed to hit the other. They just kept circling and firing at one another, the computer systems, lab equipment, and security cameras taking the bulk of the damage. Finally, as the room was filling with smoke from the constant blasts, ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie called out to her opponent.

“Well? Are you through yet?”

Star stopped firing, and checked the small display on her wrist. A genuine smile came to her then, and she stood up. “Yes. I’m done.”

Jackie cautiously looked at the Centauri, but she saw Star slip her blaster back into her holster. Jackie stood up and followed suit. “Let’s finish this the old-fashioned way. What do you say?” She raised her fists.

“Fine by me,” Star said, cracking her knuckles and trotting forward. The two women worked their way through the wreckage of the room until they were face to face, or as close as they could get. Then, moving almost as one, the two embraced one another.

“It’s so good to see you, Miss Red,” Star whispered.

“You’re grown now,” the other woman said back. “Call me Jackie.”

The Centauri broke away, then showed Jackie the display on her wrist. “All of the cameras are off-line, and the recorders, too. But now we need to move quickly. The auto-repairs will begin soon.”

“More than that, the fleet will be here within minutes,” Jackie said. “Braxian doesn’t like being shown up, and I may have exaggerated how quickly I could get here to him.”

“Are the kids out?” Star asked, her voice shaking.

Jackie grinned, and laid a hand on Star’s shoulder. “I got the message from Sparks on Prestige’s subspace frequency during our ‘fight.’ She got the kids to Fortuna IV safely. Did you get everything uploaded here?”

Star nodded. “Everything’s hacked. As far as the Fleet’s records go, Fortuna IV is under permanent quarantine, and has been for over a century.” A small tear came to Star’s eyes, and a broad smile on her face. “Nobody’s ever going to bother those kids again.”

“Or us, if we’re lucky. Star?” She said, lifting her blast visor to reveal her blood-red eyes. “Your plan was brilliant.”

“Misdirection,” Starlet said. “Piss off Braxian enough that he sends his whole fleet my way, leaving the path to Fortuna IV wide open.”

Jackie glanced at her watch and grimaced. “Look, we’ll tell and retell this story for years, but like you said, we need to move.” She reached into her pack and withdrew a handful of fusion charges. “We can’t leave anything here for them to find.”

The two hurried and placed the explosives around the room. When they were done, Star withdrew her hacker from the computer systems and rejoined Jackie in the center of the room.

“Okay, Jackie, everything is set. These things should go off as soon as the first ship of the Fleet shows up in the system. Now’s the escape part. You know, the part you wouldn’t tell me about? So, um, what’s the plan?”

Jackie, surprisingly, turned just a bit red. “Well, I didn’t want to tell you because, well, it’s never been tried before.”

Star stared blankly. “Um, what?”

“Don’t worry. Like I said, I’m very lucky with my friends.” She pressed a button on her watch and spoke into it. “Come in, Pew-Pew. Can you hear me?” She looked up at Star. “So, uh, ever wonder what it’s like to Rift?”

Star’s eyes widened. “Rift? Are you joking? Jackie, that’s you’re plan? To scatter our molecules across lightyears of space?”

Two voices, speaking simultaneously, spoke through Jackie’s watch. “Yes, we hear you.”

Jackie looked back at Star. “Don’t worry. They are very good. Pew-Pew, we are ready when you are.”

“What?” Star said. “No, no we’re not. Jackie, I don’t…”

“We are sorry to interrupt, but we recommend beginning immediately. By our calculations, the Fleet will arrive at your location in less than one minute.”

“****!” Star said.

Jackie smiled at her friend. “Trust me.”

Star took a deep breath, and nodded. “I trust you, Jackie.”

“Good. Let’s go home.”

A moment later, Star and ‘Red Dwarf’ Jackie rifted out of existence, just moments before the lab exploded in an unfathomable blast, leaving no trace of the fact that there was no trace left of them.