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humanity was nearly wiped from the universe. But today, my people, I am here to tell you that we have never been stronger! Our continued existences never more secure!”
    The crowd went into a full-on frenzy. Shoulders bumped into me from every direction. Spray from raised drinks fell upon my head as if it were raining.
    “We have spread out into Sol. From Earth to Saturn, and everywhere in between,” the leader continued. “Right now people on Luna are watching! People on Titan and Mars and Europa are watching! And now, for the tenth time since the founding of this federation, we will look even farther. My people, it is my great honor to introduce the man whose recent vision will allow us to reach beyond our lone star. One thousand of your brothers and sisters have been chosen to join that vision. They will bear the honor of carrying the flame of humanity for centuries to come to worlds unknown. My people, I give you Luxarn Pervenio!”
    It was impossible to tell exactly what anybody was cheering for anymore. The clamor had been constant for the entire speech. The assembly leader stepped down, and Luxarn Pervenio replaced him, surrounded on either side by guards in black-and-red armor with the logo of Pervenio Corp printed above their chests.
    Luxarn was the wealthiest man in all of Sol. His corporation had been around since before the old governments of Earth dissolved into the USF. He had a stake in almost every major colonial effort in the solar system, except Europa, and had the largest slice of the Ring—which was undoubtedly the most profitable. Even though he was technically my employer I’d never actually met him in person. Few people had. My dealings went exclusively through the directors placed in charge of every city or colony throughout Sol, which Pervenio Corp administered.
    “Sol!” Luxarn pronounced, spreading out his arms triumphantly and laughing as though all the applause was meant for him. It may well have been. It was impossible to fathom how many people in the raucous crowd worked under the umbrella of Pervenio Corp. Many probably didn’t even realize it. “I cannot express what an honor it was to have our esteemed assembly select our design for this year’s Departure. Since that momentous occasion five years ago we have worked tirelessly to construct the most advanced Ark in the history of humanity.”
    Luxarn rattled on about the many great feats of engineering his new creation contained. I missed all of it after the part where he said that once it reached max velocity it would theoretically be able to reach the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, in approximately 128 years even though it was headed to the Tau Ceti system farther away. That may have sounded like an eternity to some, but I’d seen all the Departures in my lifetime. It was the lowest estimation I’d heard about an Ark’s travel time by nearly fifty years.
    It almost made the venture sound appealing enough for me to have wanted my name selected and my body frozen or however they sent the lucky winners, but only a small part. I wasn’t sure how long I could go on without having the thrill of a new target to hunt down. Already being on vacation for a few days, including the shuttle ride from Undina to Earth, had my skin crawling. And I couldn’t leave my daughter behind while I crossed the stars, wherever the hell she was in the solar system.
    It’d been over a year since we’d even exchanged a message over Solnet—five or six since I’d seen her in person. We never saw eye-to-eye, but ever since her dying mother placed her at my feet and told me she was mine, Aria was the only true family I had, same as I was for her. I hadn’t spoken to my own clan-family since I’d become a collector. I always hoped I might sit down for a drink one day and by some chance notice her across the room all grown up.
    “I give you
Hermes
!” Luxarn Pervenio finally announced, swiftly regaining my attention. His hands were raised toward the