“My God,” exclaimed Sam! The other men stopped what they were doing and looked to the Captain in alarm.

Sam pointed to the tattoo on the older man’s wrist. “You were there.” All eyes followed his finger to the wrist. “Miner’s Moon.”

“Well, yeah . . .” replied Besh recovering slowly.

Raul asked, “What’s a Miner’s Moon?”

Sam turned to him and said, “It was a small moon the Consortium used for a prison.” He turned to Besh and continued, “That’s where they put people to forget about them. No prisoner ever escaped. So they said.”

“You were a criminal,” asked Beasley?

Besh strapped on his communicator and cleared his throat with an embarrassed cough. “It was a long time ago. I was really young.”

Sam said, “They closed it down about two decades ago. The authorities searched it for prisoners. Found only skeletons.”

“Jeez,” Raul exclaimed as Beasley sat with open mouth.

“Alright,” said Besh. “It was three decades ago. Me and Cosmo were rare metal pilots. We were accused of stealing one of the cargoes. We didn’t, but we got sent up anyway. It was a horrible place. Wet all the time.”

Amazed, Beasley asked, “How did you escape?”

“I’d rather not go into it,” answered Besh. “Suffice to say, Cosmo found a way off and I followed.”

“Sir,” said the Captain to Besh, “You have my respect.” Rising to his feet, Sam said, “You boys keep talking. I’ll be right back.” He turned from the crackling flame and walked off into the woods.

Beasley asked, “Was Cosmo your friend?”

Besh said, “Yes. I knew Cosmo since we were kids. We were best friends. Unfortunately, we had a falling out on Miner’s Moon. I lost track of him and I’ve been looking for him ever since.”

“Whoa,” said Raul, impressed. “You should write a book.”

Just then, a shot rang out from the trees. A masked man ran from the darkness, spooking the horses. Another shot rang out and the man fell solidly. The horses reared, pulled free of their bonds, and ran frightened across the stream. Raul and Beasley were also frightened. They jumped to their feet at the first shot and crouched behind the rock Besh sat on. Besh had risen but had no immediate place to take cover.

Two more shots sounded from the dark woods, then all fell silent. Besh placed a hand over his beating heart and waited. Several minutes ticked slowly by. At last, Sam emerged from the trees into the light of the fire. He carried a bundle under one arm and pulled an inert Badger along by the collar of his shirt. He dropped the man at the fire and handed Besh several guns wrapped in a jacket. Sam then pulled back his booted foot and kicked the man in the ribs. The man moaned.

Besh watched with Raul and Beasley as Sam rolled the man over and pulled off the mask. He had a swarthy look. His breathing was labored and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“Speak,” commanded the Captain in a low gruff voice. “Who sent you?”

The man laughed, coughed up blood, and settled into stillness. Sam grunted in disgust. He walked to the other body and kicked it hard but it did not move. He stood and scratched the side of his face, thinking. He looked up and saw all eyes were on him.

He shouted, “You boys itching to walk? Go find the horses!”

Sam pulled the bodies to the tree line and searched them. He walked into the woods and returned minutes later with a glum expression. Besh had remained standing. He was curious but he knew not to press. Sam walked into the wavering light, reached into the woodpile, and threw sticks onto the fire. Finally, he sank to a crossed-legged position in front of the warming flame. Besh slowly seated himself on the rock. The night had become as still as the corpses. The insects no longer sang their insect songs.

Looking up at Besh, Sam thought a while, then spoke. “It’s as if the bastards are tracking us.”

“I’ve thought the same thing,” Besh answered.

Sam stumbled through his thoughts. “Everything I have on me is new. Have you checked your bag?”

“Twice,” replied Besh.

“And the boys have new clothes,” said Sam, narrowing his eyes. “Hmm!”

Raul and Beasley returned to camp empty-handed. Raul threw his make-shift torch on the fire and sat heavily. “Couldn’t find them, boss. What now?”

When Beasley sat down, Sam said to them, “These Badgers have been tracking us from the beginning. I want you two to think hard. Do you still have anything with you from the start of our trip. We lost some stuff, and we got rid of some stuff. All of us have new clothing. Help me out, here.”

The faces of the two young men were open and confused as they sifted memories of their initial inventories. Raul slowly shook his head from side to side. “I only started with my clothes,” he said.

Beasley looked down. He said quietly, somewhat apologetically, “I still have my belt. It was a gift.”

“Hand it over,” commanded the Captain. Once in his hands, he held it close to the fire and inspected it while the rest of them watched in silence.

Sam flipped open a knife and pried into the back of the carved bone buckle. Something snapped but the Captain continued to dig. Then he stopped and held up a small chip. He placed it on one of the small stones that circled the fire and crushed it with the heel of his knife. He leaned forward and skewered the young secretary with narrowed eyes reflecting flames.

Sam demanded, “Who gave you the buckle?”

In the morning, birds sang happy tunes, disregarding the dead bodies among the trees. Sam had gathered four handguns and one long gun. There were a dozen clips. Tucking one of them in the back of his beltline, Sam led Raul and Beasley across the stream to find their horses. Besh stayed behind to call the King.

“Yes,” said Besh. “Abney. Between North and South Breed.”

The King’s voice came through the communicator seeming small and distant. “Why,” he asked?

“Following a lead,” Besh replied, “but, here’s the thing. We discovered a tracking chip in the belt buckle of young Crispin, which explains why we’ve been ambushed these three times. Are you ready for this? The belt buckle was given as a gift at the start of our journey. It was Telly Oester, your press secretary.”

The King replied, “Well, that puts a wrinkle in the tapestry. I’ll arrest him at once. So, everyone is safe. I take it I am even more indebted to the Captain.”

“Oh, yes,” said Besh. “That’s pretty much all him. Needless to say, we would not be speaking were it not for his expertise.”

The King sighed and asked, “Any news of my son?”

Besh did not wish to be premature. He fibbed to the King. He said, “No, David. Our lead takes us to North Breed, then to Dead Tree. It may be nothing but I’ll let you know what we find.”

“Thank you, Besh. Please be safe old friend.” The King ended the call.

Besh tidied up around the campsite and settled in to wait. He had time to consider the dilemma. No confirmation of their deaths plus an abrupt end to the tracking feed added up to a whole new set of problems. Besh was certain the objective had been to keep them away from the Prince. But, why? That part, he could not fathom. It did not feel like the Prince was an unwilling party. Just then, Sam whistled from across the stream. Besh looked up from his thoughts to see his friends returning with all four horses.

Raul called happily to Besh, “Turns out the Captain is also an expert tracker.”

Dead-pan, the Captain replied, “Stop. You’re making me blush.”

Besh passed around energy bars and cups of cold water from the stream while he caught his crew up on the call. Sam was eager to continue. Leary of his horse, Beasley was the last in the saddle. Sunlight streamed through the trees as they continued their journey north. By evening, they should reach the small lodge. The younger men contented themselves with music while Sam rode tall and quiet. Besh considered the actions of the Prince.