Naturally her parents knew of her wish. What puzzled Vera the most was: They argued about this matter. Mostly when Vera was in bed where they figured she wouldn't  take notice of it. But since Vera had perfected her skill of pretending to be asleep a long time ago, she could eavesdrop unnoticed.

Mrs. Helen Lippson objected as expected. It was too dangerous, what would it lead to, and so on. Vera had the distinct feeling that no compelling argument was made by her mother, apart from her unmeasurable concern for her daughter. But more surprising was the case her father made: "I'm just saying she is slowly growing up and preparing for her real life. Perhaps it is about time for her to learn how to face the dangers of this galaxy."

"Igor!" her mother told him off. "You did bring us to Geshtachius and created a home for us here to keep us away from the dangers of the galaxy in the first place. Why would you make something so dangerous available to Vera? What is it good for?"

"Because there is no place in this universe that is absolutely safe" Igor replied. "And whatever we do to protect her: One day Vera will get into trouble, just like she did two years ago. I think it is best when she is prepared to protect herself by then."

This went back and forth for some time. Vera listened breathlessly and had to agree to both of them equally. Geshtachius Prime was as dull a planet as could be, full of farms and recreational centres, with a gouvernment and a widespread machinery of lawmen protecting its inhabitants from any and every thread. Deadly weapons were entirely forbidden on this planet, only stun weapons were legal to use. The reason Hank Bodderias built up his mercenary academy here of all places was that it was neutral ground, and no mercenary or enemy would ever get the idea of misbehaving here.

But Vera had no intention of spending the rest of her days on Geshtachius Prime. She knew perfectly well what her father was referring to. Had she taken that flight to Aquatica two years ago instead of being apprehended by the security forces, she would had landed on a completely different planet where she would have been anything but save. In retrospect, having read stories and hearsay about that world - a world covered entirely by an ocean and inhabited by people in giant swimming cities crawling with criminals, mercenaries and outright scum - she was glad not having travelled there. But there were other planets. And Vera at least wanted to see one before dying of boredom on Geshtachius.

Still, after all what she had heard about life "out there", she had to agree to her father, too: It was better for her to be prepared for what expected her. At least by being able to defend herself.

One year ago she already received training in self defense. A trainer at the academy had shown her how to protect herself from being attacked by an adult. Some things Vera had internalized and practiced at every possible opportunity - like memorizing the weak spots on the human body where even someone with her limited strength would do damage, or using her small size and her agility to her advantage. The same trainer also gave her a crash course in escapism - getting out of a stronger opponent's grip or clasp, or even escaping modern handcuffs used by security forces.

But nothing like that would help her against an opponent armed with a laser weapon.

Even after her parents had gone to be Vera was lying wide awake in her room, staring at the ceiling and thinking. When they moved to the farm on Geshtachius Prime she had been so little that she couldn't remember anything from her life before that. Sometimes her mother told her about her former home aboard a space station in the Centralius core systems. Although there wasn't much to tell - Helen Lippson had been training to become a robot technician, her father went about his business as a mercenary, and Vera had stayed in the quarters under the surveillance of cameras and a babysitter she had given the hardest of times. She had never visited another planet - at least not that she knew of. But sometimes in her dreams she imagined having been on other planets as a baby.

Geshtachius was her home. She new nothing else but this world. But she knew there was more, and that drove her crazy.

The days until her thirteenth birthday passed, so one morning she came into the kitchen to find a big package in front of her parents on the table. After the mandatory birthday wishes and Helen pouring out a cup of Vera's favourite tea Igor pushed the package over to her with an inviting gesture. "Now, open it!" he demanded in his typical brass-friendly manner.

Vera curiously tore the gift wrapping apart. Beneath it she found a durable glass container with a complicated coded lock. What she could see in there... She was speechless. "You like it?", Igor asked.

"Gee... wow!" That's all she was able to say, being struck with sheer joyousness over this gift. Helen watched her daughter's reaction from the other side of the table and had mixed feelings. It didn't please her either that her husband seemingly took joy in explaining everything to Vera.

"It was specially made", he told her and showed her the tags attached to the barrel and the grip of the weapon. "The stun blast is weaker than most of the weapons we use at Hank's. You can only stun a normal person if you place the shot right between his eyes or in his chest if it's not shielded. On the upside this pistol contains up to twenty shots before the charge is depleted. Besides, it is smaller and lighter than most weapons of this kind."

Vera listened and nodded happily. She was looking forward to get her hand on this gun. Then she examined the glass container and the attached lock... and paused. "What's the code?"

She noticed that meaningful look her parents exchanged and knew instantly that this came with a catch. Igor let out a sigh. "Before you start playing around with this gun you first have to prove that you can handle it responsibly. You cannot run around shooting people with it. This weapon is for self-defense in life threatening situations. Not to blast down people you don't like."

"I know that, all right" Vera replied, trying to sound not too disappointed. There certainly were a few people in her life on whom she had loved to test the gun.

Her dad gave her a piercing glance. "Now after the breakfast we fly to the academy, so you will go to the shooting range. Along with Jackson."

Hadn't it been way below her dignity she would have jumped up with a cheer and hugged her father. Her birthday had become so much better by now. She hurried up with her breakfast which wasn't that easy since she couldn't bring herself to stop smiling.