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Theo looked at the layout projected before him, stretched on the bed. He was sore but energized from the exercises, if still annoyed at Tucker for coming on to him, yet again. He moved the three-dimensional model and wished he could have an actual conversation with Cass about this, not have to rely on finger code, but even with Eric's promise he'd have his privacy, Theo couldn't risk having their AI overhear him.

"This is the best route from the passenger docks to the underbelly of the station," Cass said. "The biggest problem is that this schematic for the station is twenty years old. There's no way to know how and what has changed since then."

Three areas on the map highlighted in green. "These areas are fairly accurate, there was an agent there two, six and seven years ago, respectively."

"You'd think we'd go there more often," Theo said, tired of being silent.

The bed was comfortable, as was the room, It was the one next to the Orr's. He'd been adamant about having his own room, even if Tucker was willing to let him stay in his.

"Yes, you'd think, and Anderson does send people there regularly, just not with a mission of mapping the entire station."

He got off the bed and stretched, then he reached for the closet.

"The belt is still on the chair," Cass offered. He'd taken it off as soon as he'd returned from the outing with Tucker. He'd returned alone, of course. Tucker had found a guy to have sex with in the showers.

"I know, but I kind of miss having to put clothes on." He grabbed it and secured it in place. Loose blue denim pants flowed down. "A shirt too, please."

"Why? You've seen that no one here cares if you go shirtless here, or pantless, for that matter. Why do you insist on wearing clothing? Do what Tucker said, have fun, go fuck guys, stop obsessing about escaping, we have nowhere to escape to. Theo, you know I'll help with anything you plan, but what's the point? We're not going home, so why not stay here with the Orrs? They like you. Why are you set on ending up among the dregs of society?"

"I--" He cut himself off. 'Not secured,' he coded. Still how could he explain to Cass that no matter how pretty or comfortable the prison, it was still a prison. Cass didn't understand something like freedom the same way Theo did. Cass had all of the systems to go in, and when they reach Luna Station, he'd have even more of them. If they made it to earth? That would be infinite by their usual standards.

Theo didn't have all that space. He'd always have boundary keeping him from going everywhere he wanted. And he had no intention of allowing that to remain.

He stepped out of the room wearing a thin white shirt, heading up to the passenger levels, wishing he could find one place where the Orr's AI couldn't listen in on them. He wanted to have an argument with Cass. He wanted to scream about his situation at someone who could scream back, maybe help him see other alternatives.

He'd made it to one of the lounges on the port side with a view of the stars and was looking around for a guy when he received a message from Uncle.

"Theo, can you come to my chambers? There's something you need to see."

"Chambers? How does he have chambers?"

"It's the room where he questioned you."

Theo looked around, saw a muscular wolf watching him and headed for him.

"Theo?"

"He can wait," Theo said, "you and Tucker have been telling me to have some fun, so that's what I'm going to do. Their AI can just wait until I'm done."

"Theo, it's about your parents."

Theo froze. "What are you talking about?"

"That's all he said. 'It's about your parents.'"

"He doesn't know anything about them." The wolf was studying him.

"I know."

"He's just trying to mess with me."

"Possibly, but why?"

With a growl he spun and headed out. "I'm not telling him anything. I don't care what revelations he has for me. I don't care if it turns out mom and dad are plotting to take over the solar system, I am not telling him anything."

Cass stayed quiet.

The door opened when Theo stepped in front of it. "What do you want?" he almost screamed as he entered.

The room was empty for an instant, then the tiger was standing on the other side of the table. He indicated the chair. "Maybe you should sit down."

"I have better things to do than listen to you lie about my parents."

"I don't have anything to say about them, but we received something. Do you want me to show you or hand it over to Cass?"

"Just show me whatever it is you've got so I can go back to at least believing I'm not a prisoner."

"Very well."

An image of two foxes appeared between them, and Theo had to sit down. Before he could ask the AI how he'd gotten a picture of his parents, the message played.

"My name is Darius. This is my wife, Maria. We are Theodore's parents. We won't tell you where we are, or where we've been, but we are on our way to Earth to negotiate our son's release. We know what you think he's done, but our son is a good man. He would never have gotten involved with anyone who would endanger the citizens of Mars. We don't have much, but we will offer what we can in exchange for his freedom. I ask that you have pity on him, he's our son."

The image froze.

No. No. "No." Theo was on his feet again. "What is this? What are you trying to get me to admit?" This had to be fake, of course if it was he'd just given away who his parents were.

"I didn't do this. We received the broadcast two hours ago, from Titan station, although it doesn't originate from there. The message just appeared within their system before being transmitted."

Why would they do this? How had they even...? Right, his face had been broadcasted everywhere during his arrest. It would have reached the Colonies within a day at the most, and as much as she would have tried, Anderson couldn't cover this up. She'd made sure nothing would trace back to her, but his parents would have recognized him.

But why were they coming to Earth? As far as anyone knew he was being held on Mars. There had been no publicity regarding his transfer. No way for anyone to find out...unless.

No, there was no way Anderson had told them. All that mattered to her was that the missions remained secret. She hadn't been happy they'd known what Theo did, but she'd let it slide as one of those things that would be too much work to fix, but she wouldn't do anything to support it.

So who had told them?

Two new images appeared, the two of them again, but much younger. The images were from files. Their names next to them as well as information about their work, where they lived.

He looked at the tiger through them. "They're not--"

"I know. Darius and Maria Paso disappeared out of Vanguard Corp twenty-seven years ago, along with their son, Theodore." A third picture, the three of them in a park.

He smiled. His parents looked happy. With all the stories of animosity between Vanguard and Orr, and how regimented Vanguard was he'd never been able to imagine it as a place they would have been happy, but there they were.

"I'd like to ask you what happened to make they leave, Theo, but I won't. You're family."

Theo wanted to protest, but he had more important things to deal with.

"They're coming here?"

"That's what they said. Theo, I need to know if there's anything in what caused them to leave Vanguard that might give them a reason to want to go after your parents."

Shock made him slack-jawed. "They're Vanguard! They'd go after them just for leaving, you know that! If there's one thing Vanguard is, is possessive."

"Then we have a problem. That message was sent broadband, which means that when I became aware of it, so did every other receiver on earth and the moon. I expect every corporation is going to want to get to them, as a way to get to you, but Vanguard is going to do everything they can to get to them first. They already know about you, to get the three of you will guaranty someone there a promotion. I need you to record a message so they will know it's really you. All the others have to work with are the recordings taken when you were held."

"There's enough footage there to get him to do just about anything," Cass offered.

"Yes, but they don't have you. They don't know what's in your head, the history with your parents. You need to say something that will ensure they will know the message I send with it is genuine so I can guide them to a safe place."

"I'm not telling them to come here. I'm going to tell them to turn around."

"Fine, you tell them that. Just make sure however you say it they believe it's you."

"I'm not going to reveal anything secret to you."

The tiger slammed his hands on the table, but made no sound. "Damn it Theo, I don't care where you come from. I don't care about the AI in your arm or the--" He caught himself before saying something that, based on his grim expression, he didn't want Theo to know. "Theo, I'm trying to protect them. Tell them something you did as a baby if that's what it takes, just make them believe you, okay?"

Theo controlled his emotions. "Why do you care what happens to them?"

"They're your parents, why wouldn't I care."

"The lot of you seem to think Eric is my father."

"That doesn't mean I don't understand that they're important to you. I'm not a monster, Theo. I'm not here to cut you off from everyone you've known. My job is to protect you."

"What if I don't believe you?"

"Then I can't help you. I can't help them." The AI rubbed his face, and Theo was struck by how alive the act was. Other than the Betas partnered with agents, none of the AI he'd interacted with over his career and life on Eiffel, felt like living people. They were definitely alive, and people, but there was an otherness to how they acted that marked them as AIs.

This one, this Uncle, acted like he was a living breathing person. An exasperated one.

"Okay," he said. "That you believe me or not, I want you to think about this. What is going to happen to them if Vanguard gets their hands on them?"

"Maybe one of the other corporations will get them first."

"No. None of them will have the incentive to get them. There are only two players who matter here; me or them. You have to decide where they end up."

There was no thinking about it. He wanted them to end up back home. But, that wouldn't happen unless he sent a message.

"Okay, start recording."

Uncle nodded.

Theo rested his hands on the table and looked ahead. "Mom, Dad, turn around this instant. I don't know what you think you're doing, but I need you to go back home. Go to the gardens and ask for a few flowers to be planted in my name. Go home, please. I'm okay. The people who have me, they're treating me well. I'm... I'm a prisoner, but I have a large cage, a comfortable one. You don't need to do this. You can't do this. It's too dangerous. Talk to my boss, she'll explain things to you." He tried to think of anything else he could add, but nothing came. He dropped in the chair.

He looked at the tiger. "I'm trusting you to send this intact. You won't twist my words, make me say something different."

"All I'm going to do is add my message to this with direction on how to make contact with one of my ships I'll have waiting for them between here and Mars."

"I told them to go home."

Uncle smiled. "They're parents, Theo. I've seen my share of them over the years and I can tell you that all your message is going to do is make them more determined to come here and rescue you."

"What's to keep Vanguard from intercepting this message and using it to craft their own?" Cass asked.

"Unlike your parents, who didn't know where to send their message, I know where to send mine, and I am going to deposit it there myself, so no one can intercept it."

"You can send a fork all the way to Titan station from here?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'fork,' but yes, I can send myself there. It isn't pleasant, which is why I prefer traveling on the Mercury, but I can do it."

"What happens in the meantime?" Theo asked. "I doubt they're going to reach Earth anytime soon."

"Unless you can tell me where to send the message from Titan, I can't even guess when they're going to receive it, after that it depends on where they are." He looked at Theo expectantly.

"I don't know. That was a ship they were on, so they're already on their way, I have no way of knowing where they'd be right now. Fuck, I don't even know if they'll get the message. They'd have to set up something to redirect it."

He tried to think of who his parents might trust to receive the message and... "Who the fuck do they know on Titan?"

"What?" Uncle asked.

"There's no provenance on that message, right? You said it just appeared in the system there. So even if you drop it there, the system won't know where to send it. That means there's someone there waiting for it."

"I take it your parents don't have access to your network?"

"They aren't spies, no."

"Frankly," Cass said, "it isn't that expensive to pay a computer expert to sniff around for messages addressed to specific people. They could have done that, that person would know where to send them."

Uncle opened his muzzle, closed then nodded. "Cass is right. It would be easy to arrange."

Theo breathed easier. "Good, so what happens to me in the meantime?"

"You're free to go, Eric gave you free reign of the Mercury."

"And after that?"

"You mean Earth."

"Yes."

"You understand that I can't simply let you loose and hope you won't run off. Eric will erase me if I manage to lose you."

"You don't have to worry about that. Until my parents are on their way home, I am not going anywhere."

"That's true. I guess that so long as you have an escort, there won't be any reasons to keep you restricted to the islands."

"Escort, you mean under guard, right?"

"Family will be fine. I expect many of them are going to want to spend time with you, so escorting you where ever you want to go within the corporation limit will give them a chance to get to know you."

"Within the limits?"

"Theo, Vanguard is after you. If you leave our borders, I can't do anything legally to keep you safe."

"So it's just a larger prison."

"Really? You see a continent as a prison? Tell me, just how much larger is this place you call home?"

Theo smiled. "You have no idea."