TYRAL NARAXOS HAD THE gate in his sights. One more jump and he’d be landing on Jaaxis to see his family one last time. He’d hoped that this would be a celebratory trip. There were rumors of unmated Detyen women living in a system that few Detyens ever traversed. But the rumors hadn’t been true, not as far as Ty could tell. He’d spent more than a month scouring the nearly barren rocks in search of the lost women.
They remained stubbornly unfound.
With one week left until his thirtieth birthday, he planned to use the time to say goodbye. His ship wasn’t much, but someone else in the family could use it. And while he knew that pain and endless darkness was all that he would have by week’s end, he hoped that his family could find some joy in memories of him.
The proximity alarm blared to li
