Shka survived despite the fact that the injection was had only been enough to stabilize him. Yadek had more of the medicine about his ship, and luckily there was enough that we could synthesize it and hold off the plague until we found a cure.

The cure took weeks to develop, and the agarikon mushroom played a center role in that. In the meantime the plague spread like wildfire over the earth. Millions died before they could get the injection, and millions more died because the medical infrastructure wasn’t ready for such a widespread epidemic. It was a bittersweet victory. Shka had lived while untold millions of his kin died. His survival troubled him but drove him to spearhead programs to increase the federation’s readiness for such events and push for the exploration of nature-based medicines. He’s the real hero of this story.

I on the other hand was just a smuggler. A smuggler whose carelessness almost caused a genocide. I stayed on earth long enough to see the cure through and my crew helped, but by the end of it I was ready to give it all up.

The administrator invited me into his office for a casual dinner the night before I was set to leave. I suspected it was a last huzzah before I would never see him again. He had been thankful I had done so much for his people and his family. I didn’t feel I deserved such recognition or thanks, but he insisted I was the hero of the hour. Unlike previous meals we sat this one out in silence, slight tension and profound sadness between us. In the end he broke the silence.

“What are your plans from here? Going to continue smuggling?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Then what will you do?”

I looked away. “I was thinking about giving my ship to my second in command and starting over.”

“Doing what?”

I shrugged and looked back at him. “I don't know.”

“What if I said I had a way for you to strike back against the Tarkellians?”

I shook my head. “If you’re asking me to do to them what they did to us,” I choked up, “I… I can’t.”

He raised a hand. “Perish the thought.”

“Then what?”

“You’ve got more contacts within the Tarkellian supply line than anyone else. On behalf of the federation I’d like to ask that you act as an official spy to help us end this war as quickly as possible.”

I thought about it for a moment. It would be dangerous. It would risk my life and the lives of my crew. It wasn't much different than what I'd been doing already.

“I don’t expect you to decide on it right away, but I have confidence you’ll make the right decision.”

The right decision. I knew what that meant more than I was willing to admit. I’d been too passive through this conflict, and where I had been active I’d made things worse. This was my chance to put an end to things or die trying. They needed me more than I needed my life. How could I say no?

“I’ll do it.”

The administrator cracked a smile, and we discussed the next leg of my life.