Union in Blood
by Madeleine Oh

Leaving Adlet on Hera, Drake, Ferda and Rand take on Jina, a retired constructor prepared to offer blood and sex in exchange for a passage to the Hallidan Hub. On arrival at the Hub, while Rand and Drake look for a permanent crew member, Ferda goes in search of Zadde and his associates and learns Zadde was tortured and killed a few days after they left Hallidan with his cargo.

Rand receives an unofficial warning that he is about to be arrested for the "disturbance" he was involved in during their last visit and his ship will be impounded. Leaving the Hub just ahead of the magistrates, our crew and their new members set out for Frannin, Zadde's home base, and another major trading station, hoping to learn something of Zadde and his dealings and Gelda's origins.