When his mother deemed the hug had gone on enough, she released him, only to grab his arms and give him a good shake. Satisfied for the moment, she turned to face the rest of the crew, dragging Heath around to do the same.

  They looked distinctly uncomfortable at the display. All except Jenny Mae, who had a wide smile as she watched the reunion scene. Which made it a shock when Ekaterina stepped forward first, executing a bow Heath was sure wouldn’t be out of place in the Imperial court.

  “Good Afternoon, Miss Stewart. I am Ekaterina Althalas, Wizard of the second rank.”

  That was as much time as Jenny Mae was willing to wait. “Jenny Mae Burtell! I just evolved my class to Aide-de-Camp. So happy to meet you!”

  His mom smiled back at both of them before turning to the others.

  “Uhh, Copperfield. Ironclad Corsair I guess. Is Class a normal thing to say?” He directed the last bit to Emerald from the corner of his mouth..

  “It is considered polite for formal introductions. At least for anyone civilized,” Ekaterina said.

  “Ah, from the Core then?” His mom was still smiling as she cut in, but wariness crept into her gaze as she returned it to Ekaterina.

  “Yes. We are currently en route to my family’s estate.”

  “Estate? Just what have you been getting up to?”

  Heath didn’t want that stare focused on him any more than necessary, and grabbed at Emerald’s arm, pulling them closer as a convenient distraction. “And this is Emerald. Our Arcane Skirmisher. They saved me from an angry mob once, you’ll love them.”

  His mother stepped back, taking in the whole crew at once. Sizing them up, Heath thought. Damn it to the nine hells. He knew that look, it was the reason he’d never gotten away with anything growing up. “New plan. We can eat at home, and you all can explain what exactly is going on.”

  He should not have led with the mob story. Or let Ekaterina mention her family. It was his own fault for being gone so long, he had lost his edge. The time and distance made it easy to forget just how much his mom saw.

  She led them out of the port, and Heath allowed himself a moment to reminisce. Loshen City was pretty big for a Rim settlement, especially one that didn’t house the main planetary spaceport. Like most of the settlements on Barradas, it was made mostly of the orange stone that was so abundant on the planet, and lived in a perpetual sunset as a result. The Loon’s new paint job would fit in well.

  The group followed his mother’s confident steps to a train stop, shoving onto the last open car just as the mag rail whirred to life.

  The further they went, the more familiar the neighborhood sights became. “That’s where I went to school,” he pointed out as they whizzed past the towering building. “It’s the Mayor’s office and a few other things too.”

  “I bet that keeps the kiddos well behaved,” Jenny Mae piped.

  Copperfield tsked. “Only if they have no imagination.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Heath added, agreeing with the pirate. With a wince he reminded himself that no longer worked as a unique identifier on his crew. “Oh, that place is an arcade. You all would love it.” No need to linger on the uncomfortable thoughts. There would be plenty of that later when his mother got her claws into the story.

  Eventually they arrived at the familiar station for his mom’s neighborhood, the train sliding to a jerky halt as the magnets locked in. Emerging from their car traded the scent of sweat and cramped confines for the humid air of the tropics. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of overwhelming vegetation mixed with general city life that would never be anything other than home.

  “The rain will start soon, get moving slowpoke.” His mom nudged him in the ribs and took off again.

  Heath continued his impromptu tour for the others. “Loshen was the second major settlement on-planet. Mostly because the jungle has so many useful plants. Mom lives in a crafting district with some of the other artisans in the city. If we had time it would actually be a decent place to look for new gear.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  “Don’t think you’re getting away with anything that ominous, young man! Keep up!”

  He dutifully obliged, dragging the others along behind like a gaggle of ducklings. Or loonlings. Having left the soaring towers of the city center, the buildings were no more than a few stories, labs, workshops, display areas and more on the first floor, with various dwelling arrangements up above, all in the unrelenting orange of the local stone. Faded murals, vines in every shade of green the jungle could muster, and a few sprayed-on graffiti tags broke up the color, but there was no escaping it entirely. They passed by a handful of Smiths, a Mason, and a Woodworker on the first street. Blinking holo-signs advertised hours and what to expect inside. Turning the corner, the group dodged a few gawkers outside a Robot Technician and Drone Artificer operating out of a joint storefront. By unspoken agreement, they gave the whole setup a wide berth.

  There were more that Heath didn’t recognize, the shops changing hands since he had last been home. One appeared to be offering custom video-game design, which he had to drag Jenny Mae away from, and next door was a new mix-and-match curry restaurant. Just walking by was enough to have his sinuses clearing from the spices, and he was both curious and slightly afraid of trying it for real.

  Ekaterina sneezed as they walked by. “Why? Just why?”

  “Do you think if we eat their spiciest options all mixed together, we can get them to make it free?” Copperfield spun around and walked backward to keep the restaurant in sight as they kept going.

  Finally, they reached his mom’s building, a sheen of sweat beading across Heath’s skin despite his level-50 stats. The bottom floor was her storefront and workshop, the four floors above that were apartments. A smile played at the corner of Heath’s lips as pride inadvertently puffed up his chest. His mom’s work was fantastic, more than enough to cover the large ground floor space and a two bedroom unit on the level above.

  Nostalgia struck him like a blow when Heath crossed through the door. Juvenile attempts at painting and charcoal sketches hung above a light-only fireplace, his mother having flatly refused every attempt at removing them. Almost every other surface was covered in flowers. Some fresh cut, most alive. All but one was a local variety, which he knew his mother regularly cycled around the apartment for the right ratios of light and shade.

  The exception was a brilliant purple blossom with silver stamen, proudly topping a thin stalk. That had been his grandmother’s once, and was one of the only things his mom had kept from life before the Rim.

  “Sit, sit,” his mother said, shooing them all towards the far-too-small dining table.

  Heath ducked into his former room, almost untouched from when he last used it regularly as a teenager, minus some embarrassing band memorabilia, and grabbed an extra chair to drag back out. His mom always reminded him there would be room if he wanted to come home. He hoped that was still true once the whole story came out.

  His mother proceeded to load the table with every snack in the apartment. Heath noticed the little chips made from a spicy local flour and lunged for the bowl, elbowing Copperfield out of the way to claim his prize. Barradas didn’t export many foods, he would need to stock up this time before he left.

  A smack landed firmly on the back of his head. “Those are for sharing.”

  “Sorry Mom.”

  Copperfield’s eyes glimmered with suppressed laughter as he took a massive handful, emptying half the bowl. “Yeah Heath, those are for sharing.”

  When there was no more room on the table, his mom gave up and sat down. Almost absently, she pulled out a piece of fabric and began picking at the weave. She gave the whole group a kind smile, but it was Heath that she skewered with a glare. “Tell me everything.”

  Heath had planned for this. The entire way home he had workshopped with the Loon how to best spin their story. What needed to be included, what should be embellished, and what could be left out entirely, all carefully plotted.

  He opened his mouth and promptly forgot it all. Out spewed almost two years of his life, with no regard for anything so trivial as logical storytelling or coherent structure. No one had ever proved Mom was an official Title or Class, but Heath would like to think it was the influence of a Skill that made him act that way.

  By the time it was over, the food was gone, along with a few bottles of marshberry wine his mother had opened the first time he went to pick up argo from a local criminal.

  “Heath, you’re grounded.”

  “I’m an adult.” He looked around the room for backup, and found none amongst his smirking crew.

  “I don’t care. You’re grounded. My parenting didn’t stick the first time so we’re trying it again.”

  “Umm, great idea Emerald!” Jenny Mae hopped up and started dragging the rest of the crew towards the door. “We’re going to check out the roof. Thanks so much for the snacks, Ms. Stewart.”

  A few grumbles and prods had the rest of them out of the apartment, the firm slam of the door making it clear Heath was on his own. He risked a glance up at his mom. Anger he could deal with, but she just looked scared. Scared, and tired, like the last hour had aged her another two decades.

  “Heath –,” she cut herself off as her voice broke on the single word.

  He surged to his feet and wrapped her in the strongest hug he could manage. “I know, it’s crazy.”

  A wet laugh sounded from where she was pressed against his chest. “Crazy I could handle. This is dangerous, Heath.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t think you do.” She pulled him over to their tiny sofa. “The Empire might look the other way at some smuggling. Piracy…Heath if they find you it won’t be a slap on the wrist.”

  “No, I get it. That’s why we’re heading to the Core. Ekaterina’s family is like a big deal there.”

  His mother reached out and gently clasped his cheeks between her hands. Then shook him back and forth like a ragdoll. “My sweet, sweet, idiot of a son.”

  “Hey!”

  “I know who they are, Heath. Everyone in the Core knows who they are. They are one of the most powerful noble families in the Empire. Old. Richer than Harberus and twice as deadly. Heath, if you think they’ll just help you out of the goodness of their hearts, you’re wrong. I’d almost prefer you stick with the criminals.”

  “We don’t really have a choice.” He tugged at his hair and stood, pacing across the cozy living space. “We stay out on the Rim and eventually the Syndicate comes knocking and forces us to do something that actually kills us, or we get picked up and sent to a penal colony for piracy. If we’re lucky.”

  “The Althalas and people like them, they’re more ruthless than the Syndicate. You’re already rank two. Head down, you’ll be stronger than anyone the Syndicate will send after a few decades. You go to House Althalas, it won’t be a negotiation. You’ll be at your mercy. And you won’t get stronger than them Heath.”

  He walked back over and wrapped his mother in another hug. With a pang he realized it would be a long time before he saw her again. Definitely years. Maybe decades. He needed to get all the maternal love he could stocked up alongside the chips. “I’m sorry mom. But I don’t want to live the next hundred years looking over my shoulder. Ekaterina believes her parents can help us, and I trust her.”

  She smiled up at him. He hadn’t convinced her, not at all, but she wasn’t going to fight anymore. “My little boy, all grown up and making his own mistakes.”

  His shoulders shook with laughter.

  “You know you can always come home, and I’ll protect you.”

  “I know.”