Rogue’s Mask

Rogue Star: Book Nine

Ava York

Contents

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

Wyann

Paila

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Wyann

Epilogue: Skadi

Letter from Ava

Rogue’s Return Sneak Peek!

Paila

“Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more, men were deceivers ever.”

I paused for effect as I looked around the room. My pose held steady so that I could slip back into the reading without breaking character, not that it seemed to matter much to those gathered. “One foot in sea, and one on shore, to one thing constant never.”

Silence met me as I turned to my “audience” once more.

Confusion etched lines onto their faces, my words a slight annoyance as they tried to enjoy their evening. It didn’t bother me that they thought me and my words strange, it was simply a way for me to flex my acting muscles once more.

For some, their passion lay in captaining a ship… or say, leading a rebellion… but for others among our group, it was about navigating life’s struggles beyond the battles.

Unperturbed by the echo of awkwardly cleared throats, I pressed onwards. “Then sigh not so, but let them go, and be you blithe and bonny, converting all your sounds of woe into hey nonny, nonny.”

My delivery was as clear as ever, my voice carrying throughout the mess hall so that everyone, no matter how they may try to cover their ears, could still hear me. In truth, I could have recited any old rubbish at them and they’d have reacted in the same way—this night was about coming together, through whatever means, to make Friday night a little less dull.

I was cheating with my Much Ado About Nothing piece in truth, seeing as it wasn’t my own to improvise with in the first place. But my thinking was that William Shakespeare wouldn’t be giving my stealing of his work much thought, what with being dead and all. He hailed from the town of my birth, the town that I had lived in for much of my life, and from an early age I had fancied I’d been born in the wrong era.

A small giggle escaped my lips, its tittering sound hanging in the air between myself and the others, their faces a tapestry of bewilderment. They couldn’t tell if I was laughing because what I’d said was funny or if I’d decided to go mad halfway through my reading; their uncertainty made me giggle all the more.

With my mind struggling to place the next few lines—something about ditties and the fraud of men, or words to that effect—I skipped ahead to one of the other characters. To better suit the next set of lines, I altered my speech so as to sound more noble, just as a fictional prince should when addressing those in his company.

“By my troth, a good song.” No sooner had I spoken my lines than I was flitting back to my original character, his voice much deeper and gruff. “And an ill singer, my lord.” I went back and forth like this for several verses, a lot of those who’d gathered to watch laughing as I switched from one to the other. They were slowly coming to expect outlandish when it came to me.

The mood was light, it was cheerful, it was exactly what we needed with such an arduous task ahead of us.

Waving my hand in the air while giving a curtsey, my pressed locks stiff in their movement as I lapped up the cheers and clapping, I felt picture perfect. Just like the stars of old.

None of them knew what they were clapping for, however it was good of them to feign a pleasure with my performance that equaled my own. Giving one final wave, I sashayed away to rejoin the audience, the next “performer” already taking to the head of the room to begin their act.

I longed to return up there in front of them all, the star of the show, everybody’s attention focused on me. But I knew it was greedy ambition that made me crave it, the same way my cravings had me pining for the life of celebrity.

It wasn’t even the title of celebrity that had me so enamored with that lifestyle, it was the good I could do with it. Far too many today used their fame for nothing more than a way to pitch themselves to the public—they primped and preened, but they never tried to help the little people to see what was truly going on behind the closed doors of government. It was easier to pretend all was well.

This was what needed to change. And I had wanted to be the one to do it.

Everyone aboard had already done so much to get us into such a prime position, the Dominion desperate to stay our tongues for fear of what we might say next, and still it wasn’t enough.

There was more we could do, that we needed to do, that I wanted to do.

I was a chameleon, able to be part of a scene, undetectable because of how effortlessly I blended in. Then, within an instant, I could strike, revealing myself to be more than I’d appeared. It was a gift, one I’d begun fine tuning the moment I’d decided my passion project for life would be acting. As cliché as it sounded, the world truly was my stage no matter where I found myself, even in times like this when hurtling about through space, our destinations decided upon by more than the whims of fancy. A metal bird though the Rogue Star might be, it was one I’d use as a platform to rise to where I wanted to be, my ambition unsated by anything less than my desired end goal.

I sighed deeply.

Perhaps I overthought everything. My accent was different from the Common Dialect tones and words used by the rest of the crew. I was British. And one day I would get my chance to be a proper actress.

My role currently was a small one, hardly anything worthy of note if skimming through the credits; my life had been changed, and the ones who had saved me had made waves all throughout the universe, for good or ill, but it wasn’t me who people remembered. When I’d spoken in front of the cameras with Jial, my testimony, a herald of blinding light and truth upon the heinous acts of our so-called benevolent leaders, it had felt incredible.

There’d been no glitz and glamour, nobody running around making me up like a starlet of Old Hollywood. There had just been my words between Jial, myself, and the camera. Connected to hundreds of thousands of viewers.

In that moment I’d touched the lives of everyone watching, had been able to give my two cents about what the Dominion should be doing compared to what they were actually doing.

Within that small window of time, I’d been in control of my life instead of an unbending authority unwilling to hear the pleas of their people—I’d been so very free.

I’d give anything to be back in that position again.

Realizing that another performance had finished, my hands absentmindedly clapped in praise, although I had no clue for what or who I was clapping.

I’d been sent as the “entertainment coordinator” to Persephone Station, a punishment decreed by a foul tempered magistrate, unmoved by my recitation of Portia’s speech during my arraignment for performing without a license. Such mockery gave illusion to the truth of what a prison Persephone had been. And if a non-essential, non-productive member of society didn’t survive the trip, no one was worried.

While the job wasn’t my choice, I did think it necessary. Beauty needed protectors, gardeners who would encourage the frail blossoms of art everywhere.

Even on the Rogue Star. Even here.

The performance had sounded wordy, much like my own, and delivered gracefully—though not as polished as mine. They’d plucked up the courage to do it in the first place, and they deserved to be applauded.

Before long we’d be thrown into chaos again, and while done in a bid to liberate us from the bondage of the Dominion, to give us a regime dedicated to truth and not sinister secrecy, it would be a hard, grueling task. Not all us would make it. I was willing to take that risk, as were all others aboard the Rogue Star, even if they weren’t aware of their dedication; where some directly shaped the tides, others indirectly propelled us forwards. Such is the nature of life, and, unfortunately, of war.

The commotion of the mess hall began to overtake my head, the pressure it was exerting adding to my growing boredom. Similar to a niggling headache, the way certain sounds rose and fell in my ears only worsened how I felt the longer I sat there.

It was fun when I’d been captivated by the shows alongside everyone else, but now that my interest was waning, I felt the room was too lifeless. My soul longed for more tangible pleasures. I wanted to be adorned with colors so vivid that my eyes couldn’t be torn away from the image…

I smiled.

I knew what I had to do.

Bowing out of the mess hall quietly, so as not to disturb the slapstick comedy underway—awfully executed, might I add—I headed to my personal hideaway, one of the few this ship offered. It wasn’t that the vessel was small, there were a lot of us carving out an existence on it after all, but it was more that so many of the rooms failed to give adequate privacy. Despite my love of being in the public eye, so overjoyed to be the center of attention, I also savored the moments when I could tuck away and be alone with myself.

Slipping through the crack in the door, so that from the outside it looked undisturbed, I went about unpacking the stacked boxes of pots, their contents chinking as I handled them. It was a soft sound, one that already started to soothe me back to my normal self, the boredom ebbing away as I busied myself with all sorts of whimsical ideas.

Wyann

“Your insights into the inner workings of the Dominion have been invaluable, Wyann. The crew may not know it, but they owe you a great debt. We all do. If the rebellion succeeds, the rest of the known universe will as well.” The captain and I stood as our meeting came to an end.

“I owe the universe a debt already for the things I’ve done. If our rebellion is successful, I’ll consider us even.”

Dejar came around his minimal metal desk and clapped me on the shoulder with a strong golden hand. He fixed his glittering golden eyes on me sternly, but there was also warmth in his expression.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. All of us have ended up on the Rogue Star through one misadventure or another. None of us are innocent.” He smiled mischievously and lowered his voice. “Even most of the human women have stories of some mishap or disaster that led them to that desolate base at the edge of their galaxy. From what Kalyn tells me, it was not a desirable post.”

“I’m sure, sir.” I smiled and nodded, though his assurances did little to lift my spirit.

He leaned back against his desk. “I still say that the rest of the ship leadership and the crew would be more forgiving than you think. They’re not the type to hold grudges, at least not against those who have repented, and especially not against a man willing to risk everything to right his wrongs. I know I’ve said it before, but I really think you ought to give them a chance.”

“With all due respect, sir, I’d just as soon forget about the past. The only reason I’m willing to discuss it with you is for strategic benefit. Otherwise, I prefer not to think about it at all.” I regarded him coolly, hoping that he wouldn’t press the issue further.

He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips, but nodded his acceptance. “Very well. I do appreciate your willingness to delve back into what must be an unpleasant trough of memories. As always, what has been discussed here will remain between us alone. Well, the source of it, anyway.” He smiled his charming, easy smile. “Of course, the information itself will be relayed to the relevant parties for implementation into our operations.”

“Of course. Thank you, sir, I appreciate your discretion. Is that all?”

“I believe so. You have your orders, yes?”

“I do, sir. As soon as I leave here I’m heading to my station to start the verification process for the false identities Emmery created. The one’s for Zadden’s team are first priority, and they’ll be delivered to Zadden’s people as soon as they’re done. Shouldn’t be more than an hour or two.”

“Excellent. Best get to it, then.”

“Very good, sir.” I turned to leave, but Dejar caught me before I was out the door.

“Actually hold on, Wyann. There is one more thing.” He paced over to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

“Sir?”

“Try to lighten up some, huh?” He patted me on the chest good-naturedly, smiling at me warmly. “For instance, I appreciate your respect and discipline and all that, but you really don’t need to call me ‘sir’ every time you address me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I mind the reverence or anything. It’s just, I want my crew to feel comfortable. I like to think of us more as a family than a hierarchy. Of course, there has to be a chain of command. But I like the crew to have a certain sense of autonomy, as well. You understand?”

“I think so, sir.”

He gave me a puzzled look, then laughed. “Was that a joke, Wyann? Did you just make a joke?”

It was my turn to look puzzled. “No, sir. Was there something amusing?”

He stopped laughing abruptly and gave me a serious look, searching my face. He clapped me on the back, shaking his head and smiling to himself.

“You’re a funny guy, Wyann, whether you realize it or not. I’ve decided I do have another order for you.”

“Sir?” I raised my eyebrows in question, awaiting my directive.

“This is your new objective. After you’ve delivered the verified false I.D.’s to Zadden and his team, I want you to engage in a minimum of thirty minutes of leisure activity.”

“Leisure activity, sir?” I tilted my head at him, unsure of his meaning.

“Yes, leisure activity.” He grew animated. “That means that after Zadden’s team is ready to go, you’re to find something to do that is completely unrelated to work.” He held up a finger, struck by a thought. “And eating doesn’t count. Neither does using the bathroom. It has to be a non-essential activity that serves no purpose other than your own enjoyment. Think you can handle that?” He smiled at me broadly, apparently amused by his own brilliance.

“Uhm, I’m not sure I understand the purpose of that, sir.”

His face went stern and he responded with a raised, authoritative voice. “Your role is not to understand the purpose, soldier. Your role is to get the job done. No matter the cost. Do you understand?”

“Are you being funny, sir?” I tried to read his face, but his expression was serious and betrayed nothing.

“This is a direct order from your Captain. Do you intend to disobey?”

“No, sir.”

“Good.” His face relaxed back into an easy smile. “Then please, enjoy yourself. I expect a full report detailing the type of leisure activity, the inclusion of any affiliated parties, and confirmation of the duration of the engagement on my desk by the end of the day.”

“All right, sir. I’ll uh, get it done. I guess.”

“Wyann, I’m kidding about the written report, you know.”

“Of course, sir.”

I turned and ambled out of Dejar’s office, a little confused about the directive. I decided to focus on what I did understand, for now, which was verifying the false I.D.’s for Zadden’s team.

I headed back toward my work station, going over my conversation with Dejar as I went. He was right about my intimate familiarity with the least savory portions of the Dominion being immensely useful to our current noble objectives, but that did little to comfort me about the skeletons in my closet.

My time working espionage for the Dominion had left scars on my soul. The things I saw, the things I did in order to complete my missions, they still flooded back to me on occasion when I closed my eyes for sleep shift. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d woken in the night so drenched in sweat that I had to recycle the sheets and get fresh ones out of the closet.

Dejar had tried to ease my guilt, reasoning that everything I’d done had led me to this point, so it was all for a greater purpose in the end. It’s a pretty thought, but the faces of the dead still haunted my dreams. Besides, the Dominion used the ‘greater purpose’ argument to justify scores of atrocious deeds.

I slipped into my room and waved on the console, bringing up Emmery’s falsified identities and clearing my mind of the past. Working always proved the best medicine. Whatever troubles ate at me, I could always focus on a clear task.

I scanned through the I.D.’s for Zadden’s team, checking and rechecking for continuity errors. I ran each one through a dummy Dominion security program. None of them got flagged for inspection or tripped any security threat alerts. Emmery had done a thorough job.

The false records should be plenty to keep their small team from drawing unwanted attention. As long as no automated alerts were tripped, no one should give them a second look. The only way they could be detected would be a physical inspection, but without a computer-generated alert there would be little chance of that.

I thought back to Dejar’s comment about some of the human women having questionable pasts. It would seem he was right about that, given Emmery’s skill at digital forgery. Her past transgressions were proving useful, like mine. I couldn’t help but wonder if hers had hurt people, though.

Did her past haunt her sleep as mine did?

I shook off the thoughts, turning back to my work. I waved the verified I.D.’s onto Zadden’s console. My unit dinged, confirming delivery and acceptance. I was about to begin verifying the rest of Emmery’s forgeries when I remembered Dejar’s second order.

I had no idea what to do for leisure on this ship. There was so much to be done, it seemed like an inefficient use of time. I could always work out, but I suspected that was not what the Captain had in mind. I headed to the mess hall to scare up some food while I chewed over the issue.

I shoveled down some flavored gruel, accompanied by an augmented synth-juice that some of the other crew said came very close to passing for real eureka fruit from Tajra. I took their word for it, having never been there, but it was decent nonetheless. I dumped my tray and glass in the recycler and wandered down the hall.

I drifted toward one of the common areas to see if anyone was hanging around. I couldn’t remember the last time I had played a game of tact-sim, but I thought I remembered hearing a few of the crew mention there was a unit somewhere onboard.

I had probably been a boy when I last played, but that could be a tolerable way to waste half an hour. Dejar would be satisfied, and I could justify it to myself in that it was a game meant to exercise military engagement tactics. So not a complete waste of time.

Before I reached the common area, however, a soft, delicate sound drifted to my ears.

A woman’s voice, singing an unfamiliar melody that somehow struck me and called to mind my boyhood.

Transfixed, I followed the sound and found myself in front of a half open door.

Paila

It always amazed me how nobody wanted to have any fun with all of these paints, so mesmerized by their bold hues was I, as they shimmered under the fluorescent lights.

I knew they were meant to be used upon the body rather than canvas, but without other resources to hand, and my mind eager to feel fulfilled instead of painfully bored, they’d become my reliable outlet.

I could pour my heart and soul out onto the page and it would all be transformed into a masterpiece. Or, at least, how close I could come to that level of talent, having never been particularly skilled with a paintbrush. Still, how could they not be seen as anything but brilliant? They were capturing the memories of the old silver screen, the posters which had advertised their coming showings my latest muse; I occasionally dabbled with newer movie posters as my starting point, but they lacked the depth of the older ones.

A girl born into the wrong time, that was me.

My collection of vintage memorabilia had been quite a sight to behold, the intricacies of some of the more delicate pieces having always been a favorite with many of the other women. But since finding myself in need of traveling light, I’d not been able to carry them about with me.

I’m certain Kovor wouldn’t have minded me bringing all of my personal effects with me, however it had been less about his allowing of it and more to do with a lack of time, frantic survival, and an otherwise less than ideal means of living.

In short, time and circumstance hadn’t been on our side.

Few things had been, on that day.

And those thoughts had no place here.

Picking up yet another pot, the liquid inside a royal blue, the richness of its color manipulated under the lights so as to look darker or paler depending on where I placed it, I decided to begin. There was a small pop of air as I wiggled off the lid, the smell of the paint assaulting my nose as its fumes invaded the small space I occupied. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell, but for some it would be too strong—not for me though, I loved the way it roared upon opening, that first whiff reminding me of the theatre.

My fingers wound around the handle of a thick, heavyset brush, its bristles slightly tinged from the last round of painting I’d subjected it to. With the smallest of sighs, I turned to grab an empty jar and go about filling it with water, not too much, just enough that it would help me better clean my brushes. A lot of the time I relied on simply dry cleaning the brushes with an old, raggedy looking cloth, however it didn’t always do the trick of giving me that clean base to work with.

A couple more clinks of the glass while I cleaned my brush off, and I was ready to go, the whiteness of the canvas willing me to cover it. In a flurried rush of movements, my hand went about dipping from the water to the paint and then the canvas, hardly slowing its journey as I did so. I was lost to the whirl of it: the smells, the sounds, they all transported me off of this ship and into my own little world. I was safe inside my bubble, my boredom a forgotten fragment of my emotions.

The blue flooded the canvas, turning every inch of the brilliant white a shade reminiscent of the night sky, causing my hips to wiggle in giddy excitement. It was that first step in making something wonderful—it always incited a tingle of glee. I became like a child so taken by their new toy that they couldn’t help but squeal in delight as they played with it.

Instead of squeals though, I started to merrily hum. My tone was low at first, but the more I worked at my painting, the louder the tune became, the melody one I’d heard on the radio years ago. It had always stuck with me, and was the one song I would gladly listen to on repeat without ever tiring of it.

As I worked away while choosing my next color, my eyes drawn to the magenta pot while my finger hovered over all the lids, my humming turned into singing. Nothing loudly obnoxious, only the gentle purring of words able to fill me with happiness, arguably the ideal accompaniment to the contentment I found myself immersed in while painting. So engrossed was I in my labor that I failed to hear the door behind me open wider as someone approached. Finally I looked out of the corner of my eyes, prompted by the uneasy prickling at the back of my mind that someone was near.

“Oh my goodness!” I gasped, startled by Wyann’s sudden appearance. Considering his muscular build, he’d moved with quiet grace; I was impressed. So large in stature that he towered above me, his strapping physique taking up a lot of the room and blotting the door from view.

I didn’t mind at all.

“I didn’t even hear you come in, Wyann.” I dithered, laughing to ease the stillness between us. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t say a word, he just grunted in agreement.

Slightly uneasy in not knowing how best to talk to him, I turned towards my painting to offer an explanation for my enthusiasm. “I simply adore painting—not that I’m very good at it, but it soothes me and allows me to get creative.” I gave him a massive smile. “I suppose such is the heart of the creative: we’re always on the search for more ways to express ourselves.”

“How can you enjoy it so much if you’re not, by your own admission, good at it? You’d be better suited to a craft you’re well-adjusted to.”

There was no hint of mockery or insult in his tone, for he was simply curious as to how the two married together so seamlessly for me.

After all, it was clear to me that he was a man who only did what he felt he excelled at, rather than doing anything merely for the fun of it.

To try and better explain myself, I motioned for him to come to the other side of the room; there in the corner, tucked away from view, were all the paintings I’d previously finished.

I pulled them out one by one, eventually decorating the entire wall with them as I leaned each piece up against the sparse furniture of the room. Wyann still looked puzzled. I couldn’t help but laugh again, though this time it wasn’t a nervous sound but one of genuine pleasure. He was an odd one, but so was I to him, and so we worked well together in our own strange little way.

Finally, after much quiet reflection of my actions, he spoke. “I’m sorry, but I still don’t see your point?”

“I’m not doing a very good job of explaining myself, so all is forgiven.” I jested, though it didn’t seem like he understood why he’d need forgiving; whatever his life had been before finding his way aboard the Rogue Star, it wasn’t a life that had been filled with humor.

“All joking aside,” I began in an attempt to move past his confusion. “The point I’m trying to make by showing you all of these is that it passes the time, it gives me a way to occupy myself, and when I’m doing that I’m happy. Does that make more sense?”

I was genuinely interested in whether it did, part of me concerned as to whether I was seen as such an oddball by the crew because of how I behaved or because of my speech as well.

Wyann fixed me with an intense stare, his eyes having shifted from roaming over my art to looking back at me. His eyes still roved, only now I was the subject of his scrutiny instead. I didn’t mind his observations though, as there didn’t seem to be anything untoward or unfriendly about them—he was simply trying to figure me out.

“Honestly, and without causing offense, I don’t understand more now than when we started.” I offered him a gentle smile in an attempt to show him that I wasn’t offended in the slightest, but he only frowned and continued. “I’d either want to be good at it in order to enjoy it, or I’d have to stop if I didn’t develop better skills. To do it for amusement, without any gain, seems a pointless exercise.” I must have looked crestfallen at this, as he added for my benefit, “Again, not meaning to cause offense.”

Oh. Well.

“We are different creatures, are we not?”

“Quite.” With one last sweep of the room, almost like he was trying to detect possible weak points in security rather than giving my art a final look over, he went to leave. “I’m sorry to have bothered you, Paila, I’ll leave you to your… exercise.”

“Don’t be a stranger, Wyann.” Picking up the paintbrush once more, I waggled the excess water off of the bristles as I spoke. “I’m always happy to show people the wonders of art, even the most reluctant of students.”

I could tell he didn’t get my meaning, choosing to take my offer as if I really intended to act as his teacher when, in fact, my offer had been to extend a hand of friendship.

He intrigued me.

I so wanted to know more.

Wyann

I scanned the digital identity, displayed on my console, for inconsistencies. Near the bottom of the document, I realized I’d lost concentration sometime earlier, and couldn’t remember anything I’d just read. I groaned and threw my head back, staring at the ceiling in frustration.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” I voiced my aggravation out loud, though I was alone in my quarters.

This was my fourth attempt to properly verify this particular I.D., and it had taken me nearly an hour to finally get through the last one. At this rate, the rebellion would be over by the time I got through all the false identities Emmery had made, one for each person on the crew of the Star.

I found my struggles particularly irritating given that my ability to focus was one of my greatest assets. Typically, I could read a holo-map and plot out the best route while under intense enemy fire, sirens and artillery blaring in my ears, without breaking a sweat. It was utterly unlike me to lose concentration so many times while performing a simple task.

It could only be Paila’s fault. Her breezy demeanor and free-flowing attitude must have disrupted my focus. It baffled me that she could spend her time painting when there was so much work to be done on the ship. Cleaning, repairs, equipment maintenance. There were a thousand tasks to be completed at any given time, and yet this human woman somehow found time to paint. And for fun, no less.

There was plenty of painting to be done, on both the inside and outside of the ship. But she chose to create an image of her own making instead of putting that time into valuable maintenance work.

I had to admit, though, that her skill with the brush wasn’t bad. Despite myself, I had enjoyed watching as her brush flowed across the surface and left images in its wake. Not many people on board the Rogue Star, or any other ships like her I guessed, spent their time creating anything just to satisfy their own need for artistic expression. And yet here was this human female, happily painting and singing amidst our preparations for a full-scale rebellion.

It unnerved me. Her painting was decent—not mind-blowing, but passable. Yet she seemed to enjoy it immensely, despite her mediocrity. Her singing, however, was magnificent. I couldn’t remember having ever heard someone sing quite like that.

I remembered having heard a renowned cabaret singer in a dingy cantina on Lootus while I was trailing a target there. She was supposed to be one of the best club entertainers in the whole system. But even she couldn’t hold a credit to Paila.

And the woman in the cantina had had a sad, used air about her, like she’d seen it all before. Paila, on the other hand, buzzed with passion and energy. She sang like she was bringing music to the stars for the first time. Now that I thought about it, as one of the first humans in a new system, I suppose in a way she was.

I had felt conflicted as I watched her sing and paint in the little room she’d converted into her studio. She seemed as if she didn’t have a care in the world, like she was completely happy and free. It frustrated me that she could act like we weren’t all living under the boot of a cruel empire. But I also envied her. The joy and cheer that lit up her face were all but foreign to me. If I had ever felt that way before, I had long since forgotten what it was like.

My console beeped, and I waved open the incoming call from Dejar. His golden face appeared on my display.

“Wyann. How’re the I.D.’s looking?”

“They should be fine, if they’re all as good as the ones for Zadden’s team. They might not hold up to an in-depth inspection, but they’ll scan just fine. Emmery did solid work.”

“Excellent. Did you complete your secondary objective?” He smiled mischievously.

“I did, sir. Had some wonderful fun after the mess hall.”

“And we’re not talking about a particularly eventful trip to the lavatory, right?” He raised his eyebrows suspiciously.

“No, sir. It involved neither the intake nor the expelling of organic material.”

“Glad to hear it. Anyway, I need you to come to my office. I’ve got another assignment for you.”

“Respectfully, sir, I think I’ve had just about all the ‘leisure’ activity I can handle for one day. I know you mean well, but it’s just not in my nature.”

He waved me off with a short laugh. “Not to worry, Wyann. This assignment will be much more your style. Very serious operation, and crucial. Come to my office, I’ll give you the rundown.” He dropped the connection, so I headed out of my quarters toward his office.

Dejar was seated behind his desk when I arrived, with Itair occupying one of the two chairs across from him.

“Captain?” I addressed him as I stepped into the room, and he gestured for me to take the seat next to Itair.

“Wyann, you’ve had a chance to meet Itair by now, I assume?”

“I have.” I nodded to Itair.

“Good. You two will be working closely on this assignment. You want to give him the details, Itair?” Dejar ceded the floor to the thickset, green-skinned man.

He nodded at Dejar, then turned to me. “So, as you know, I’ve had many dealings with the Dominion in the past. I’ve been cut off from all my previous contacts since joining up with you lot. But for me to be of any real assistance, I need to reconnect with some of those contacts.”

“You want to reconnect with your Dominion contacts?” I glared at him, confused and angry.

“Not want to. Have to. It’s the only way I’ll be able to access all the credits I’ve squirreled away.”

“Don’t see how that’s so important. Seems like a big risk to take just for some credits.”

Itair laughed, his jowls shaking. “Oh, it’s more than just some credits, I assure you.”

“Well, still. I don’t see how that’s worth it.”

“We’re talking enough credits to fund a rebellion, Wyann.” Dejar cut in, fixing me with a serious look.

“All right, fair enough. Rebellions don’t come cheap, I’ll give you that.” I turned to Itair, raising my eyebrows in question. “But what makes you think these former contacts of yours will even help you?”

“They’re people I’ve known for years, people I can trust, regardless of their other allegiances. And it doesn’t hurt that most of them owe me enough favors to keep them indebted to me for several lifetimes. In addition to helping me regain access to my funds, some of them may even have some useful information we can use.”

“That’s great and all that, they owe you favors. But you’d be surprised how much things can change when you’re on the outside and they’re still in good with the masters. If they’re still linked up with the Dominion, why would they risk everything just to help you?” I looked at Itair doubtfully, already envisioning all the ways this could go bad.

“Because they’re good people—”

I cut him off. “If your business history is anything to go by, you might not be the best judge of that. No offense, but I’ve heard you conducted some pretty shady dealings on the Dominion’s behalf before you joined up with the Star.” I stared into his black eyes, but they gave nothing away with regard to his motives.

“And you’re so innocent?” He smiled smugly and gave me a knowing look. “That’s rich, coming from a former Dominion operative.”

I clenched my hands into fists and turned on Dejar with my eyes narrowed, ready to explode on him for betraying my trust, but he raised his hands and shook his head, as if to deny his involvement. He did look genuinely surprised, and Itair spoke before I could unleash my outrage.

“Dejar hasn’t told me anything, Wyann. I told you that I have a lot of contacts within the Dominion. Powerful contacts. I have ways of finding out information that isn’t available to most people. And that’s exactly why I need to slip back in. Besides accessing my money, I need to put out feelers. Some of these people have access to the types of information that could be the key to bringing down this whole corrupt empire.”

I turned back to Itair, my temper still raging. “And what’s to stop them from turning us in? Because they’re good people? Good people do selfish, bad things all the time. You and me both know that. ‘Good’ people acting in their own self-interest is what fuels immoral empires like the Dominion. As long as they’re profiting, it doesn’t matter what happens to the rest of us.” My anger gave way to exasperation. “What is it that makes you so sure they won’t give us up the second we make contact?”

“Because they’re the kind of people that really believe in the Dominion.” Itair stared at me earnestly. He must really believe his contacts would help him. “They believe it can be a force for good, and they know that it isn’t right now. They want to see that change, and they know that we’re the ones to do it.”

I turned to Dejar, hoping he would see the insanity of counting on the good natures of Dominion-sympathizers.

“I know it’s a risk,” he said. “But I don’t know that we really have much of a choice. Rich benefactors aren’t exactly lining up to donate to our cause, and we’re kind of flying in the dark here, with regards to intel. We need to have more of an idea of what the Dominion is up to and we can’t afford to have people out in the open, so we need well-positioned contacts. You know the value of a good informant, Wyann. This is the right play.”

I looked from Dejar to Itair, taking stock of both men, then shook my head. They were right. “I still don’t like it, but I’ll do it.”

Dejar flashed me a wide smile. “I knew you were the right man for the job. You’re taking point on this one, Wyann. You and Itair put together a team. Let me know what you need and we’ll make it happen. Let’s get it done.”

“Yes sir, Captain.”

Paila

“This won’t come off easily,” I muttered under my breath as I looked down at my fingernails. Blotches of paint covered them—as well as both my hands and forearms—and I knew I would have to go through some intensive scrubbing in order to look like a civilized human being again.

I wiped my hands against my trousers, a futile attempt to remove some of the paint, and then decided I would have to visit the restroom. Glancing one final time at the multitude of canvas inside the cramped room, a smile spread across my lips. Happy with myself, I slid out of the room and made my way down one of the service corridors.

Some of the crew personnel threw me curious glances as I walked past them, but nobody really seemed to care much about my stained clothing. I had already been pegged as the Rogue Star’s resident artist, and most people were now used to merely shrugging at what they would call my eccentricities.

I didn’t really care about that. In fact, I didn’t really care about what anyone thought of me. If I did, I wouldn’t have lasted long. Besides, I only had one life to live...and I intended to live it fully. With all this stuff about the rebellion and the Dominion, every single day was a precious gift, and I wouldn’t let something as stupid as someone else’s opinion stop me from doing what I really enjoyed doing.

I was already well on my way toward the restroom when I heard a voice I recognized as Wyann coming from a room to my left. His deep tone was unmistakable. I spun around, curious, but the only thing in front of me was a closed door. I was about to shrug it off and keep going my way when I recognized the other two voices: Dejar and Itair. I had no idea what the three of them were doing together, but it must be something interesting.

Before I could stop myself, I padded my way toward the door and, ensuring there was no one coming down the corridor, I held my breath and started listening in. I couldn’t make out every word of what they were saying, but I was pretty sure their conversation was centered on Itair. Apparently, he needed to get in touch with some of his old contacts so that he could get to his funds. Wyann didn’t sound very happy about that but, then again, the serious-looking Shein never really seemed happy about anything.

Unlike some of the other crew members, he never really hung out by the mess hall—he only remained there for the amount of time he needed to shove the food into his mouth—and I wasn’t even sure if he had toured the planet we were on. All he cared about was work, it seemed. No wonder he had been looking at my paintings as if they were a relic from some ancient civilization. Leisure time was a foreign concept to him. Just like smiling, probably.

Taking one more step toward the door, I pressed my ear against it.

Dejar had to have a great deal of trust for Wyann to let him lead a mission that involved going behind enemy lines. What would the Dominion do if they realized Wyann and Itair were trying to secure funds for a rebellion? It all sounded so dangerous...and exciting. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the skills of Emmery or some of the other girls. Unless the Dominion had an irrational fear of paintings and Shakespeare plays, I would never play a big part on this rebellion drama.

Unless…

“What do you think you’re doing?” Someone growled, and I took a step back from the door to find it ajar. Wyann stood on the doorway, arms folded over his chest, and his face was the textbook definition of “pissed off”. Behind him I saw Dejar sitting behind a desk, and Itair. I was still peeking over Wyann’s shoulders when he grabbed me by one arm and pushed me to the side. Closing the door behind him, he turned all of his attention back toward me. “I asked you a question.”

“I just heard a couple of voices,” I said as meekly as I could, shrinking in size as the might of his gaze fell on me. “I was curious.”

“What exactly did you hear?” he insisted, unblinking. His lips were a straight line and even though he didn’t look as pissed off as when he found me behind the door, there wasn’t a hint of serenity in his face.

“Not much,” I lied. That, of course, earned me a frown.

“Tell me the truth.”

“Alright, fine,” I sighed, lowering my gaze. Staring at my shoes, their surface dotted with paint, I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “I know you guys are planning to head into Dominion territory just so Itair can get in touch with his contacts.”

Wyann made a slight pause at that, and only then did he remove his hand from my arm. Raking one hand over his face, he then shook his head in a disapproving manner. “What were you thinking? You can’t listen to people like that. Especially when there’s a rebellion going on. People will think that you’re up to no good.”

“I was just curious.”

“Don’t you humans have a saying for that?”

“Curiosity killed the cat, I know. I just thought that, you know, it was something I could help you guys with.”

“And why would you think that in the first place?” He shook his head again as if I had said the stupidest thing ever. It wasn’t that far from the truth, I figured. How could someone like me be of any help? “You’re not going on a mission anytime soon, Paila. In fact, I should just turn you in.”

“Turn me in? What for?”

“Eavesdropping. You could be feeding all this intel to some third party.”

“Please.” I rolled my eyes. “You don’t believe I’m capable of helping you guys out...but you think I might be a Dominion spy?” He opened his mouth to say something, but I was too fast for him and continued speaking. “Look, I know I shouldn’t have listened to your conversation. But I have. And since I know what you guys are up to—”

“That doesn’t change things.”

“If you could just let me help—”

“Let you help, of course,” he sighed. “And what are you good at? Painting? Acting? None of that is helpful.”

“Actually,” Itair said, his voice much more relaxed than Wyann’s, “Someone who knows how to act convincingly might actually prove helpful.” Both Wyann and I spun around to face him, and he just smiled at us. He was leaning against the doorway, his smart eyes appraising me. “What’s your name?”

“Paila.”

“You’re aware of the dangers involved in this mission, Paila?” I shook my head up and down so quickly my hair whipped back and forth. “Good, good. Then I think that we—”

“Hold on a minute,” Wyann growled, his eyes flying from Itair to Dejar, who had just stepped out of the office. “We’re not actually considering bringing her along, are we? She doesn’t have any experience.”

“Experience is relative.” Itair shrugged. “I just think that if the meeting with my contacts looks more natural and innocent, that we’ll have a better shot at accessing my funds. I mean, just take a look at her. She looks as innocent as they come.”

“And that’s exactly why she shouldn’t come with us,” Wyann insisted. He looked at Dejar for some support, but the Rogue Star’s captain kept his silence. “You can’t be seriously considering this.”

“I’ll let Itair decide on this one,” Dejar finally said. “He’s the one who knows the people you’re meeting with. If he thinks Paila might be a worthwhile asset, then I won’t stand in the way. Her lack of experience is a concern, yes, but I think the two of you can steer her in the right direction.”

My heart started racing in my chest.

I couldn't believe what was happening. I stood there in the corridor with stained clothes and dirty fingernails, and did my best to process what was happening. Dejar thought I could be helpful. Against all odds, I was actually being considered for a mission...and an important one at that.

“Then it’s settled,” Itair chuckled softly. He took one step toward me and, laying one hand on my shoulder, gave me a slight nod. “Welcome to the team, Paila.”

“I promise I won’t disappoint you,” I cried out, a wave of excitement washing over me. Wyann stood beside me with an incredulous expression but, thankfully, he didn’t go against Dejar’s words.

“You better not,” Wyann said coldly and without waiting for me to say a single word, turned on his heels and walked away.

Wyann

I fumed as I stormed off to tell Jaffe and Lagar about our assignment. These Shein were my most trusted allies on the Star. People I could count on when the shit hit the fan. Unlike most of the other people involved in this mission.

Fucking Itair. Apparently, it wasn’t bad enough that we were betting our lives on these contacts of his that considered themselves true Dominion believers. No, he wanted to bring along the damn artist as well. I couldn’t imagine what sort of operation he pictured us running, but I very much doubted she could paint us out of trouble, if things went south.

Now, if we needed someone to sing us a pretty tune, she would undoubtedly be the woman for the job with her peerless voice. But what other skills did the woman offer? Experience in espionage? Combat capabilities? Proficiency with a wide range of firearms? Nothing about the woman’s demeanor or record suggested any affinity for military operations. To my mind, she had nothing to offer our mission.

Itair’s decision to bring her along was just plain reckless. Did he have a mind toward romancing her? Why else would he insist on her inclusion, if not to curry favor with such a beautiful woman? He had said it would make our rendezvous with his contacts look ‘more natural.’ But that would only be the case if she didn’t completely blow our cover.

The chances of her nerves getting the best of her and rendering her a liability were high without any prior espionage training. Covert missions were immensely stressful even for highly-trained operatives. Bringing along a young human civilian was an insane, asinine thought, one that I suspected had originated straight from the pants of the little green pervert.

I reached Lagar’s room and poked my head in. “How soon can you be ready to go?”

“Where we going?” He lifted his large, blueish-silver head, entirely hairless except for a bushy black beard.

“Little planet called Daxl. Heard of it?”

“I have.” He regarded me suspiciously. “Heavy Dominion influence, I hear. What business we got in a place like that?”

“Itair set up a meeting there with some former contacts of his, to help him get access to his funds. Supposedly they may have some useful information on the Dominion, also. We got to get him in and out in one piece.”

Lagar raised his eyebrows doubtfully. “So we’re meeting with Dominion affiliates? On a tiny, Dominion-operated planet? With a guy who used to trade on the Dominion’s behalf?”

“Pretty much, yup.” I shrugged, smiling ruefully.

Lagar considered me a moment, his blue eyes intense under his bushy, furrowed brow, then nodded. “What could go wrong?” He shot me a toothy smile, revealing the wide gap between his two front teeth. “I’ll be ready to go in thirty, just forward the details to my console.”

“Will do.” I already felt a little better about our chances with Lagar on board.

“Jaffe coming, too?”

“Of course. Just about to go fetch the nut now.”

Lagar smiled approvingly, excitement pulling up his cherubic cheeks and making him appear even more youthful and guileless. He had a wide, lovable face that belied his fierce competence. Despite his generally agreeable demeanor, I would bet on few people against the behemoth of a man in a fight. He was built like an industrial flash-freezing unit. Thick at the top, thick in the middle, pretty much just thick everywhere.

I found Jaffe in his quarters, tinkering with a custom-configuration wide-mouth blaster. I stood in the door frame and knocked on the wall to get his attention.

He looked up, surprised at the interruption, but smiled when he saw it was me. “Wyann, what’s up mate?”

He was much smaller than Lagar, his frame slight and wiry. His dark silver skin had a greenish tint, and he wore his purple hair slicked back from his broad forehead. His thin, canine face was a fair outward representation of his sly nature.

“Captain’s got a job for us. Shipping out to Daxl in under an hour. You game?”

“You know it.” He grinned his wolfish grin and patted the huge weapon in front of him. “Gaja get the invite, too?”

“Not this time, just you, me and Lagar. Job calls for a bit more finesse. We don’t want to draw any unwanted attention, so we’re going in cold.”

He looked hurt. “Not even a handheld?” He gave me a sad, pleading look and raised his small energy pistol toward me in question.

“Not this time. If we do our jobs well, we won’t need any weapons at all. But better bring a knife or something in case.”

His mouth pulled into a sad smile. “All right, will do. Lagar coming?”

“Of course.”

He beamed, his violet eyes wide with delight. “Then what do we need the knives for? Long as we have that brute, nobody touch us.” He waved his hand dismissively.

“Good point. I got to go get my stuff together, I’ll fling you the details.”

He nodded, already returning to work on his weapon. “See you at the docks.”

The interactions with my men had lifted my spirits some, but by the time I reached my quarters my anger at Itair and Paila returned. I slammed the door shut and tried to set aside my frustration at the change in plans, my resentment simmering as I gathered my essentials.

“Damn foolish.” I cursed aloud to myself as I left my quarters.

“What is?” A familiar, lilting voice surprised me.

I turned to watch the approach of a beautiful female with dark green, nearly-black skin. Her dark eyes fixed me with a curious look. She was slender and well-formed, her long dark hair shone in the ship’s lights, held back by a shimmering strip of silver cloth. She held herself with effortless grace, her movements so smooth that she appeared to be composed entirely of liquid. I briefly wondered what a Gaed was doing aboard the Star, and why she would be approaching me, when the familiarity of the voice struck me.

“Paila, is that you?” I stared at the creature in disbelief.

“The very same.” She flashed me a radiant smile and twirled around in a dramatic display of her disguise. “What do you think? Pretty good, huh?” Her voice bubbled with excited laughter.

“I have to admit, it’s not a bad disguise. But don’t be too pleased with yourself. Let’s see how you do down planet-side, first. It’s all well and good to play dress-up on the ship, when the stakes are low. Different story when the heat’s turned up and all eyes are on you.”

“Oh, I don’t mind that.” She smiled impishly. “In fact, it’s kind of what I live for.” She turned and strode confidently toward the docks, leaving me to catch up.

We landed our little Gaed ship without incident at the port on the outskirts of Laostra, the capital city. It was a bustling metropolis that served as a cultural, financial, and manufacturing nexus for its system. Many races flocked to Laostra hoping for a fresh start.

We got to a hotel—an unassuming building that I knew of from my past life where many questions weren’t asked and the service was good in addition to the food. As long as you didn’t cause trouble, there would be no trouble for you.

After checking into our rooms at the hotel, I sent Lagar and Jaffe to watch over Itair while he arranged a meeting for later.

Paila and I walked around the bustling city center, taking in the sights like genuine tourists. It was a good cover, given that people came from all over the Dominion Empire to shop and dine there. Laostra was a common vacation destination, famous for its illustrious glass and crystal architecture and upscale dining and entertainment scene.

Paila gazed raptly into the massive windows at the animated mannequins that modelled the galaxy’s latest fashions. She craned her neck, staring in wonder at the shimmering crystal buildings that stretched thousands of feet into the sky all around us.

“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” She spoke without taking her eyes off of the massive structures, her voice was full of awe.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful all right. A testament to the enlightening influence of the Dominion.” I scanned the area, alert for any suspicious activity in the crowds that bustled around us.

Paila’s head swiveled as we walked, though she was more concerned with appraising the stylish outfits of the people that rushed past us than identifying threats. “God, the people here are so glamorous. I just love it!”

I envied her excitement, and the way she was able to experience untainted joy.

She squealed with glee as we approached an enormous fountain that flowed with an iridescent, turquoise liquid emitting a sweet, briny odor. Rushing over to the edge, she moved so smoothly that I nearly forgot she was human and not actually Gaed.

I sat next to her on the edge of the fountain and spoke into her ear quietly. “You know, it might not be the best idea to sit so close to the liquid. What if some of it splashes onto you and smears your paint?”

Paila waved dismissively, answering softly as she stared spellbound at the shimmering surface of the pool. “It’s waterproof, of course. What kind of a cheap operation do you think we’re running here?” She chuckled and shot me a playful smile.

“Of course. My mistake. But still, best not to chance it, don’t you think?”

She lowered her voice, making it come out flat and deep. “Of course, sir. The best course of action is always the most serious and boring one, wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Never-Laughs?” Her face screwed up in a dramatic scowl, and she sounded mockingly masculine. “There is simply no time for fun or enjoyment of any kind when the universe is in need of rescue.”

“Are you making fun of me?” I scowled at her.

Laughing, she splashed some of the shimmering liquid at me. “Of course I am, you idiot! Will you lighten up? It’s okay to smile, you know.”

She lowered her voice, drawing close to me so no one could overhear her. “It’s not going to blow our cover if you have a little bit of fun. In fact, it may even enhance the effectiveness of our little masquerade. Who’s going to believe we actually came here to vacation and see the sights if you’re scowling and having such a miserable time?” She beamed at me, raising her eyebrows to drive home her argument.

She did have a point, and I found myself surprised that I wasn’t having a terrible time. Maybe her bubbly attitude was contagious. Bringing Paila along hadn’t turned out to be the colossal disaster I had anticipated. But then again, it was still early.

Paila

The moment we became part of the city, I was enthralled.

There was simply nothing like it in my entire existence that I had experienced. Nothing that I had seen on the holovids or could have imagined had prepared me for this.

I understood Wyann’s concern, but that didn’t mean I had to like how he expressed it.

We were undergoing a mission nothing short of extravagant, with myself able to play the part as if I’d been born to do so, yet he was far too bothered about blowing our cover that he was going to blow our cover. The irony was overwhelming, and while I appreciated us being two different people, of obviously differing dispositions, I wanted to enjoy myself. Ourselves. There was no harm in having fun with this—we were always busy running around trying to save the universe from its own self-destruction, one night of frivolity wouldn’t kill anyone.

We made our way to a lounge in a fashionable part of the city.

So far, we’d blended in well, better than I’d hoped for given Wyann’s ever stern, never wavering, always happy to be grumpy face. I desperately wanted to bring him out of his hardened shell, for him to experience how living a little recklessly was worth the potential what-ifs every now and again. It’d certainly worked for those in the room with us over the years, their lives appearing to be ones of affluence and wealth.

I belonged here.

Not with the Dominion breathing down our necks or our lives never really being our own, but among the beauty of such effortless luxury. There was no one better suited to this lifestyle than I, my portrayal of a Gaed woman so convincing that I almost believed the person I’d become.

“Are you going to sit here and pout all evening?” I whispered to Wyann, his expression struggling to go from its usual tense self to one of relaxation and ease. How he’d thought I’d be the issue on this mission, I had no idea!

“I don’t pout.” He whispered back curtly, his eyes glaring at me.

“Are you sure? Those lips look like they’re pouting to me…”

“Paila. . .” Wyann’s words grew even quieter, tension in the tightness of his speech. He was growing annoyed again, in spite of our playful exchange mere moments ago. “While I appreciate your excitement, and your love of teasing, I’m far from in the mood.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you ever?”

His head snapped around as he glared at me, the full force of his gaze almost boring a hole directly into my skull. I smiled at him, deliberately devilish, guessing it would anger him further. I didn’t care—nothing was going to dampen my high spirits.

“I’m going to see if I can’t make some new friends and find out something. Try not to frown for too long, your face might stick.” With that I weaved into the crowd and left him there to sulk.

I wouldn’t stray from him for long, out of loyalty to upholding this mission but also because, in spite of knowing better, I was actually enjoying his company. Wyann was strange to me, exotic beyond his looks, however the personality that stirred under his harsh temperament hinted at depth he rarely allowed to be seen. I’d coax it out of him, one way or another.

A passing tray of drinks provided me with a little fuel for the fire as I waltzed over to a nearby group, the four of them deep in discussion; I didn’t join in with their conversation, instead choosing to listen while pretending to look around the room for a lost companion. It was easy and oh so convincing, nobody even considering to suspect my semi-frantic searching. As I stood there doing this song and dance for any potential observers, I picked up snippets of their discussion with one of the beautifully decorated women having mentioned the Dominion military. My ears pricked up, and I knew I had to merge into their small network.

“Forgive me for being so bold.” They all turned to look at me, none of them particularly shocked by my forwardness. One of the men standing with the two women looked delighted by my presence, the gleam of the body paint working to make me truly as exquisite as a Gaed should be. “But I’m a little lost from my date—you know how it goes—” I flashed the most seductive smile I could at the man, his eyes lighting up as he took my expression as one of flirtation. “And was hoping I could join you all while I wait?”

Before anyone could object, his smooth voice dripped from his lips, tone as soft as crushed velvet. “Of course, you don’t even need to ask.” I flashed my doe-eyes then, feigning such authentic thankfulness that he fell about himself to be by my side. “And can I just say, your date is foolish to leave you alone here—there’s a lot of men who would treat you far better.” I giggled, fluttering my lashes as I did so. The women looked amused by how I was manipulating him, their unspoken praise coming from my handling of him, at him now being putty in my hands.

“You’re so sweet, but I feel I’ve stolen all of you away from an important topic with my interruptions…?”

“Not at all,” the raven haired woman of the two assured me, her big green eyes turning to take all of me in, her pupils scrutinizing every fold of my dress, every curl of my hair. “We were only talking about the change in military tactics that are going on.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, it’s weird right?” The other woman replied, clearly happy to have someone in agreement with her. “I find it odd that the military is being pulled from both the outskirts and inner planets, it makes no sense!”

“Hush now, Philomena, you’re making it seem frightfully sinister when there’s nothing to it save a re-thinking of how best to use resources.”

“If that’s true, then why does nobody know the reasons for this dramatic shift? Don’t try to tell me it’s normal, Serilda.” On the back of her terse words, the two women looked ready to break out into a brawl rather than debate the matter any further. It was time for me to leave before tensions rose too high. I threw my hands up into the air in mock relief, pretending to have found my companion.

“Oh, there is his! Honestly, I thought he’d keep me waiting forever!” They all craned their necks to look at who I was referring to, but thanks to the density of the crowd, it didn’t matter that their eyes couldn’t fall on any one person.

Bidding them a quick but polite farewell, my suitor looking most unhappy that I’d been reconnected with my date, I threw myself into the throng of moving bodies and headed towards the other side of the room. I had no set destination in mind, though I was mindful in remembering that I needed to find Wyann sooner rather than later, our meeting time ever looming. Taking this into account, I started to make a full sweep of the room, always dipping out of sight in case anyone from the earlier foursome decided to search for me; my behavior looked natural though, as if I were merely another guest.

As I made my way back however, I stayed my steps for a moment so that I could briefly eavesdrop on a lively interaction between two proud looking men, their eyes alight with fire that only ignites from a love of war. Destruction was their fetish. What I heard them say troubled me, my face struggling to stay neutral as I listened to their gleeful exchange—I needed to find Wyann, fast.

Stepping onto a low wall to peer above the general crowd of the room, I located his rippling muscles with ease. A lot of the women seemed enamored with his size. I couldn’t blame them, he was a gorgeous looking man, so broad and strong it would make any woman hot under the collar. Judging by his face however, he longed to be away from their sultry poses and pretty speeches, so I dived between the last groups of people and made my way back to him.

“Sorry, ladies, but this one’s taken.” I winked at them all as I took his arm and led him away.

“Thank you, they were beginning to annoy me.”

“I know you all too well, Wyann,” I cooed, happy to be back with him once more. It felt peculiar to have missed his company, but I had nevertheless. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time for me to explore that further, not now anyway. “Have we got time to quickly talk before the meeting?”

“Come with me.”

He led me away from the main room and towards the quiet hallways that lay beyond; given our cover story of being a couple on vacation, we looked to be two lovers in need of some alone time. Wyann turned to me once we were away from prying eyes and straining ears. “What’s wrong, Paila?”

“I’ve learned that the Dominion military is pulling a lot of their army away from the outskirts and most of the inner planets, but no one knows why—”

“Strange, but nothing too alarming.”

“I’m not done. The more worrying development is that there’s a huge drive for military recruitment. Two men were discussing it, saying how there’s posters all over the city asking for more to join.”

“Scro. That is a problem. We need to get this back to Dejar and Itair, but for now we have to go to that meeting, come on.”

I didn’t need Wyann to speak more on the matter to know how fraught he was feeling, it was rolling off of him in waves. Not that I blamed him, for I too was apprehensive about the Dominion’s growing need for more bodies to pad out their army; nothing good could come from such a demand.

Wyann

Itair, Paila, and I walked down the street toward the club where we were set to meet Itair’s contacts.

“I still think we should’ve brought Jaffe and Lagar.” I had reluctantly agreed to leave them to linger in an astro-pub across the street, a plan which they agreed to a little too readily.

Itair scoffed. “No offense to your men, Wyann, but they don’t exactly blend in with this type of crowd.”

My anger rose. “And what type of crowd is that? Dominion scum?”

“There, there friend. No need to get worked up. I just meant Laostra is more of an upscale travel destination and those two are a bit more, let’s say, rough around the edges? Not to mention the fact that the pair of them together strikes quite an image.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. Massive, imposing Lagar and sly, cunning Jaffe did create quite a noticeable contrast. But still, it made me uneasy to walk into a potentially dangerous situation without my trusted men.

“They’ll be quite at home at The Lazy Spout, I assure you. It’s one of the finest taverns in all the system. Especially if you like to throw your weight around a bit.” He smiled wickedly, winking in my direction.

Paila must have sensed my agitation, because she put a reassuring hand on my arm. “Relax, Wyann. We’ll be fine. And if we need them, they’re just across the street.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s fine, I just don’t like not knowing what I’m walking into.”

Itair stopped in front of a small set of stairs that led to an unmarked door. “This is it.” He turned to me, meeting my gaze earnestly. “I promise, Wyann, these are good people. They want the same things that we do, and that means that we can trust them.”

I nodded, trying to set aside my doubts. “I hope you’re right.”

He returned my nod and led us down the steps and into the building. I had expected a dark, dingy room with low, indistinct music, sour with the smell of old tonics. But when we entered, we were greeted with an explosion of colors and sounds.

A massive screen ran the entire length and height of the wall to our left. It displayed the brilliant sunset occurring outside, only it made it seem as if we were on the peak of a giant mountain, overlooking a desolate desert landscape.

A luminous bar ran the entire length of the right wall. The bar itself was either an aquarium filled with strange, tentacled creatures that floated ominously, or a three-dimensional digital representation of one, so authentic it was indistinguishable from the real thing. The wall behind the bar held shelves lined with hundreds, maybe thousands, of bottles containing liquids of every color imaginable.

A deep, rumbling beat boomed from unseen speakers. I looked around for the source of the noise, and found a long-haired Gonchan man suspended in a floating bubble above us. He was using all of his four arms to flick and twist all manner of switches, toggles, levers, and knobs, conducting his digital, bass-heavy symphony.

On the ceiling above us, people of all races gyrated to the music. A large rotating crystal, as big as Lagar and embedded in the actual floor in front of me, cast light of constantly shifting colors onto the reverse-gravity dancefloor above our heads.

My head swam at the spectacle, so I shifted my gaze back to the dazzling digital sunset to ground myself. I tried to pretend that there was nothing out of the ordinary happening above me, but the occasional dancer riding the lift down the wall at the back of the room made it difficult to ignore.

“Oh my god, this is amazing.” Paila was predictably overcome with excitement and wonder. She stared up at the dancefloor, seemingly undisturbed by the vertigo-inducing effect. “Why didn’t you tell us this place had a dancefloor on the ceiling?”

“Didn’t want to ruin the surprise. Quite a sight, isn’t it?” He smiled, visibly pleased with himself.

“Yeah, quite a sight is right. Damn near lost my lunch, all those spinning lights.” I scanned the tables in front of us and on our left, still intent on looking anywhere but up. Itair and Paila both chuckled.

“Please tell me your friends are up there.” She looked hopefully to Itair, but he shook his head.

“Afraid not, love.” He scanned the low tables scattered throughout the room as he led us around the press of bodies jostling for position at the bar.

“They should be seated somewhere near the back. Ah!” He raised his hand in greeting and strode excitedly toward a booth tucked away in the far-right corner of the room, behind the bar.

Three people nodded to Itair and watched us approach from their seats at the round table. There were two male Pronarians with green skin like Itair’s, and a female Valkerian with dark grey skin and red eyes.

They stood to greet us when we reached the table. Itair embraced each of them in succession, clasping them on the shoulder and exchanging pleasantries before we all sat, and he introduced us by our aliases.

“Friends, meet my colleague, Wynlan.” He gestured to me and I nodded at the three strangers. “And his lovely partner, Praxima.” He presented Paila with a dramatic sweep of his arm. She bowed gracefully, flashing them a gentle smile.

Heat had rushed up my neck when Itair had referred to Paila as my ‘lovely partner,’ and I struggled to maintain my focus. The sensation unsettled me, but I chalked it up to the combination of mission nerves and the disorienting effect of the upscale club. I didn’t count out the possibility that they pumped an enhanced oxide into the club to produce a minor euphoric effect, either.

Itair introduced his three contacts, gesturing to the woman further to my right first. “This is Vixi. She’s a powerful importer and exporter, and frequently handles very important freight for the Dominion.”

“So a smuggler, then. Probably a human trafficker, no?” I scowled at the woman, remembering the innocent females that Itair had helped decorate for auction.

Paila elbowed me hard in the ribs and shot me a nasty look, but Vixi smiled at me sympathetically.

“Itair warned us you weren’t a big fan of the Dominion. Trust me, I understand. No one knows more than us the ways in which the Dominion has failed to live up to its purpose. That’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it? To right the wrongs of our wayward empire?”

I was about to growl my protest, but Itair continued with the introductions before my anger could get the better of me.

He gestured to the man seated directly to the left of Vixi. “This is Kairod.”

He pointed to the man at the far left of the table. “And Fasra. They own a number of the finest restaurants in the universe, stretching from here to the Sinhoori system. They also dabble in the procurement of some of the rarest and most valuable items in existence, and see that they are redistributed to those whose passions they fulfill.” The two men nodded.

“So black market dealers, then. Probably dealing in endangered species and other illicit goods for the mega-wealthy dominion-elite.” Paila gave me another sharp elbow accompanied by a scowl, and Itair sighed and shook his head. “What, am I wrong?”

Fasra spoke, smiling at me gently. “Your choice of words is a bit blunt, perhaps. I prefer Itair’s description, to be honest. More flattering. But no, you’re not wrong. We provide access to things and experiences that others find difficult to acquire. For those that can afford it, of course.”

Kairod chimed in, his expression and tone less friendly than Fasra or Vixi’s had been. “But we don’t trade in so-called endangered species. We enable people to obtain certain delicacies and traditional remedies that misguided norms and laws have prohibited. But none of our actions pose a threat to the survival of any particular species or resource. We may occasionally operate outside of the imposing constraints of the law, but we avoid inflicting harm whenever possible.”

“We have come here, Wynlan, to assist you and Itair in exposing the shortcomings of the Dominion.” Vixi looked at me earnestly, her eyes locked on mine. “We wish to see the empire set back onto its rightful path, a path that leads toward justice and equality for all. The empire was started to ensure that people from all worlds had access to life-improving resources and technologies. It’s true, we have been led astray by some of our leaders. But there are many within the Dominion that wish to see it restored, to serve that purpose once again.”

“Well, clearly we have had very different experiences with the Dominion.” I returned her gaze, unmoved.

“I don’t doubt it. There are many across the galaxy that share your opinion, and rightfully so. But there is hope.” She looked to Itair. “The leadership is fractured. The exposure of some of their misdeeds has led to disagreement over where the Dominion should be going. What kind of empire we should become.” Her expression was hopeful, her voice excited and brimming with optimism.

“So everyone wants to play nice now and stop oppressing entire planets?” I stared at Itair and his contacts doubtfully, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Paila shared my skepticism.

“It’s true, some of the highest-ranking officials are doubling-down, pushing for the intensification of their racial program in an effort to bring more and more planets into the fold at the cost of breeding females.” Fasra grimaced apologetically, as if it hurt him physically to speak of the atrocities committed by his government.

“But others desire to restore the public image of their empire. Even if their motives may not be completely pure, they are in favor of shutting down some of the more unsavory practices.” Vixi’s voice was still brimming with optimism, her eyes alight with hope.

“They have names and locations of people who will be sympathetic to our cause.” Itair looked at me, his eyes mirroring the hope in Vixi’s.

She spoke again, with a confident fervor. “Today, the tides turn against those that would see the Dominion continue its barbaric practices.”

“Let’s hope so. Itair, you need to talk to them about your funds, right?”

He nodded.

“Good, get the rest of the information while you’re at it. This place is making my head spin, I need some air.” I stood to leave, nodding my goodbye to his three contacts.

Paila looked up toward the dancefloor, then raised her eyebrows at me suggestively. “How about a dance before we go, Wynlan?”

I laughed, shaking my head vigorously. “I don’t think so, Praxima. You go ahead, I’ll meet you outside.” I headed for the door feeling neither hopeful nor dejected, but definitely amused.

Paila

Even in spite of his blunt prodding and inexperienced etiquette, Wyann had managed to hold himself together during our meeting. I’d anticipated him never softening that brutish exterior of his, but he’d surprised me by easing into the whole affair the longer we’d sat and chatted; it was refreshing to see him more carefree. Well, perhaps not carefree given his suspicion of everyone, but he’d been more casual in his mannerisms. But I could tell that he was still wary.

I understood where he was coming from. I’d spotted far too many eyes upon me with a combination of curiosity and lust. One too many glances that sought to measure me up, as well as my companion. I was no spy, nor had I been trained to detect such minor changes in an environment, however something about how they’d regarded us felt off.

Wyann had gone on ahead of me, the dazzling lights of the bar having been all too much for a reserved creature such as he, but for me the dancefloor called. Nonetheless, after the brush of fiendish leers all over my body, I didn’t feel much like dancing anymore. Leaving Itair to his additional business discussions, I decided to turn back on myself and head outside to meet Wyann.

True to his word, he stood outside waiting for me. He had discreetly packed added disguises in case something happened to our current ones. I had wondered if this was overkill, but he held his bag and claimed it was forward thinking.

His demeanor was uneasy, making it apparent how much he detested having to casually laze about waiting for me to arrive. Before our meeting, I’d have chastised him for his behavior, but now he didn’t seem so foolish to be cautious. Perhaps I’d been too relaxed instead…

“Did the dancefloor not play along with you enough for your liking?” He teased, much to my surprise. I’d gone to tell him how we needed to talk, that the matter was urgent, but for a moment I was stunned at him making a joke; this wasn’t like him at all. I didn’t want to spoil the mood; however I couldn’t not share my concerns.

“Ha, not quite,” I began.

“What’s wrong, Paila?” There was no lightness to his voice now, my somber mood having dashed the last of it away. Even though I knew it was silly of me to feel it, I was mad at myself for having ruined the short window of fun-loving time we’d just been sharing.

“I think it’s best we go back to our rooms for this.” I sighed, my heart heavy, the jubilation I’d been so engulfed by having now ebbed away, the last of its effects dispersing into the air.

Our walk back to the room had been silent, my vocal cords frozen with tension, the icicles of its cold heart making it impossible to break through. Once behind the closed door of our room though, Wyann quickly melted the icy tendrils away and regarded me with assertive curiosity—he was discontented, but he wasn’t ready to reveal how much until he’d heard me out. Given how irritable he could be, I longed to be anywhere else but having to give this news to him, both in fear of what it meant and if I’d misunderstood the situation. What if I’d been wrong in what I’d seen?

“Tell me what’s troubling you.” Straight to business; I shouldn’t have expected him to be any other way.

“During the meeting people were watching us, and not in the offhand, casual sense, but in a way that suggested they knew why we were there.” I paused before considering my next words. “They were trying to look like they weren’t watching us, they weren’t behaving naturally. Every time I looked away, the moment I returned my eyes to theirs, they tried to shrink out of sight.”

If I was being truthful, I hadn’t known how Wyann would react to this information, although I’d anticipated more movement than what I was receiving—instead of becoming animated with frustration, he remained still, unmoving. This unnerved me even more, I was so used to his quickfire temper that for him to be soundless like a void was beyond unnatural. It was abnormal.

I opened my mouth, my painted lips parting so as to free what I wanted to say. However, before it was possible to speak, a knock sounded from the adjoining door of our suite. Jaffe and Lagar were still out in the field, so it must be Itair, back from his other meeting and wishing to update us of progress.

It was perfect timing on his part, but sensing how rigid Wyann now was, I didn’t know if this would be an exchange I’d happily bear witness to.

“Enter.” Wyann called out, his voice stiff.

Itair entered looking slightly bemused by the change in the two of us: we’d been so jolly when we’d left him, yet here we were hiding out in our room, both of us a bleak picture of some kind of twisted sorrow. Of course, instead of assuming something was wrong, Itair approached it with his typical exuberance.

“Don’t tell me there’s been a lovers quarrel?”

“I’m not in the mood, Itair. Paila says we were being watched during our meeting, which means your contacts must have betrayed us.”

My eyes felt too large for my face as I looked between the two of them, Wyann a mountain of pent up outrage while Itair was flabbergasted by such an accusation. Even I had to admit it was a sizeable one to make, given how affectionately Itair regarded his friends. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Wyann was right about this. There was no way anyone could have known our intent unless someone had been giving away our information, and the only people who would have done that were the outsiders Itair had introduced us to. Nobody on the Rogue Star would even think of exposing us, and we’d been too natural at the party to have raised doubt among the guests.

“You, you can’t actually be serious, Wyann—”

“Can’t I?” He fired back, his speech more explosive than any bullet could be.

“You saw them for yourself—you sat and listened to them, for goodness sake—there’s no way any of them would turn us in. They’re good people, they want what’s best for everyone.” Itair sounded so distressed by how the night had regressed it hurt me to listen to him, the upset coloring his tone so pure, so pained, it was obvious he couldn’t comprehend such a betrayal. Quickly, he turned to me, his eyes wild and searching. “Paila, please tell me you don’t believe this too?!”

I could barely meet his eyes as I spoke. “Itair, I don’t want to think it possible, but I can’t ignore what I saw. We were being watched, there’s no doubt about it. I’d like to think your friends are genuine, but we all know from experience people aren’t what they seem.” I pointed at myself with my manicured hands. “Hello, I’m a case in point, I’m covered in bloody body paint and Lord knows what else in order to deceive!” At this, Itair deflated completely, his shoulders slouching as he allowed the weight of the situation to bear down on him.

We stood like that for some time.

I’m not sure how long for, but the world carried on turning without us saying a word to one another, the joy we’d all started the night with having been shattered. Now we were a broken trio in the middle of a planet that would turn us in sooner than help us; friends were among us, even though we didn’t know them all, but there were still more foes than allies. There always was with galactic rebellion.

Regardless of who’d been examining us this evening, they hadn’t contacted any higher ups about our movements, it was far too quiet to think otherwise.

Then, it hit me.

“Wait,” I exclaimed, the noise of my voice after silence jarring for all three of us, Wyann the most vexed of us all. “I know how we can figure this out.”

“Paila—”

“Wyann, let me finish,” I snapped, fed up of being dismissed as this idiotic amateur who failed to see the severity of our plight; it wasn’t a trope I cared for, and definitely not when associated with me. “If Itair returns to the Rogue Star with the others who accompanied us tonight, you and I can do a little espionage to find the truth.” I beamed with pride, so happy with my plan that I felt it ridiculous to even consider they might not be in agreement with me.

Wyann snarled, fury pooling around him as he trembled in front of me. “What is wrong with you?” He spat at me, his speech venomous; Itair remained quiet so as not to invoke the wrath for himself. “This isn’t a game, Paila. I know that’s hard for you to understand, but sneaking about, undetected, while in the middle of enemy territory is beyond insane—”

“Not everyone here is the enemy, Wyann!”

“A lot of them are, though. And even if that wasn’t the case, I’d still tell you to get your head out of the clouds. This isn’t a fairytale or one of your old movies, this is real life, we could all end up dead because of such stupidity.” Wyann glowered at me. “This is why you shouldn’t have come, you’re a girl wanting to play make believe.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, the pressure to contain them only second to the force of Wyann’s cutting commentary. Itair kept looking out of the corner of his eyes to see if I was okay, although he never once offered any semblance of support. I hated them both. In that moment the world could have swallowed them both whole and I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. I didn’t care for this argument, didn’t appreciate their arrogance, and I most certainly wasn’t about to be spoken to like a naughty child.

Biting my tongue so as not to give either of them the satisfaction of having cracked me, I left the main living area to go to my bedroom, both of them watching me intently.

When the lock of my door slipped into place with a firm click, I allowed my tears to finally fall.

Wyann

In the morning, Itair and Paila met me in the common room for breakfast, Jaffe and Lagar having already left to patrol the area. Paila’s room and my own were joined by a shared door, so she could move between them freely without her disguise. It shocked me some when she sauntered in sleepily without the dark green paint covering her pale skin. I had seen her without the paint, of course, but she had melted into her disguise so completely that it was somewhat disorienting to see her without it.

Even without her Gaed disguise, her fluid grace commanded attention. Every movement seemed both natural and purposeful. Her features were gentler without the disguise, her beauty subtler and more subdued. But she was undoubtedly a fine-looking creature. The thin, loose-fitting robe she wore suited her easy demeanor, and her dark hair tumbled down her back in lush ringlets.

I was transfixed as she plucked a piece of freshly cut omela fruit off of the platter and bit into its pink flesh. Juice ran down her chin as she groaned and chewed with her eyes closed. She opened them as she swallowed and laughed when she found me staring at her.

“What?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head to break the spell. “First time you tried omela?”

“Oh my god, yes. Is that what this is called? It’s a wonder! This fruit is simply to die for, you must have some.”

She offered me the rest of her half-eaten piece, but I shook my head. She shrugged and popped the rest of it into her mouth, chewing contentedly as she dug through the other food on the table.

Itair laughed, smiling as he watched Paila examine and taste various fruits. He turned to me, raising his eyebrows suggestively as he spoke. “She does have a certain, shall we say, zest for living, doesn’t she? I can appreciate that.”

I ignored his comment. “Have you heard from your contacts? Any progress on regaining access to your funds?”

“They’ve assured me that they should be available within a day, two at the most. They anticipate no issues.”

“Good. The sooner we can all get back to the Star, the better. We’re exposed, down here.”

“That’s true. The Dominion has eyes and ears everywhere. My people will not give us away, but we can’t account for others that might not be quite so sympathetic to our cause. But my contacts provided me with some other interesting information.” His mouth curved into a conspiratorial smile.

“Oh?” I indicated for him to continue.

“They’ve informed me that an influential Major in the Dominion military will be arriving on Daxl tomorrow, to attend a gala at one of the luxury hotels in the city. Apparently, there are to be some dignitaries in attendance that need assurances. Vixi tells me this Major is a member of a high-level command committee, and thus privy to extremely confidential information regarding the Dominion’s expansion efforts.”

“That’s good to know, but I’m not sure I see how it helps us.” I gave Itair a puzzled look, waiting for him to explain.

“Well, Vixi also tells me that this particular Major has a terrible weakness for young, beautiful women.” He glanced toward Paila, who laughed and spoke through a mouthful of fruit.

“Don’t all powerful men have a weakness for young, beautiful women?”

Itair smiled. “Not necessarily. Some prefer beautiful young men.”

I scowled at him. “And some prefer boys or girls, as I’m sure you know.”

Itair brushed off the insult. “Anyway, I thought it might be an opportunity, given the composition of our particular team.” He looked in Paila’s direction again, a devious look in his eyes.

My cheeks flushed with anger as I grasped his meaning. “No, absolutely not. Are you kidding me? You are a damn reckless fool, Itair.”

Paila looked up innocently and swallowed what remained of her mouthful of fruit. “What?”

Itair raised his hands in front of him. “I’m merely pointing out that we have stumbled into a unique opportunity, one not likely to present itself again. This Major may have the kind of information that could make or break our fledgling rebellion.”

“Well, what’s to decide, then? If this guy has information that we could use, we have to try and get him to talk, right?” Paila looked at me earnestly.

Itair nodded his agreement and gestured toward Paila. He gave me a smug smile. “See? She gets it?”

I turned to Paila. “Do you, though? Do you understand what Itair is suggesting?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, Wyann. If my tiny woman-brain has proven adequate to keep up with you big-thinking men, I think Itair is suggesting that I use my feminine wiles to weasel information out of this Major. Do I have that right?” She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips at me.

“Yes, excellent my dear.” Itair clapped his hands and smiled broadly at her.

“This is ridiculous. It’s far too risky. This is a high-ranking officer in the Dominion military. There won’t be anyone around that he answers to. Out here, he’s the law. He can do pretty much whatever he wants.”

“And maybe that will make him careless.” Paila smiled deviously.

“Oh I do love the way you think, my dear.” Itair smiled at her before turning to me. “I think she might have more of a taste for this sort of work than you give her credit for.”

“You know, I think you’re right, Itair. I didn’t think I would be of much use to this rebellion, other than to keep spirits up. But I’m beginning to think that my talents may have found a good purpose here.”

“Ugh, you two are ridiculous. Neither of you has any experience in espionage whatsoever, and yet you both want to send a completely untrained operative into a highly sensitive situation with an extremely dangerous man. It’s completely out of the question.”

“Really, Wyann. I can handle it. I’ve been training my whole life for this. It will be the performance of a lifetime!” She raised her fist to the sky dramatically.

“This isn’t a game, Paila. It’s not a performance. The stakes are too high. This is life and death we’re talking about. This Major will think nothing of disposing of anyone who proves themselves a nuisance, least of all someone he even remotely suspects of espionage.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m such a supremely talented actress. He will never suspect me of being anything other than a beautiful, pliant young woman with a taste for powerful men.” She winked at Itair, who grinned and laughed.

“Oh, you are so delightfully wicked. I absolutely adore you, dear. We are going to be excellent friends!” They clasped hands over the table and laughed together, as if this were all some hilarious joke.

I slammed my fist down on the table and fixed my fury on Itair. “Enough! This is absurd. We are not sending Paila in there, and that’s final. My opinion is the only one that matters, since I’m the only one with any experience in this sort of operation.”

Itair held my gaze. “Yes, you are the only one with actual espionage experience. Which is exactly why you, of all people, should understand the importance of an opportunity like this. We won’t get a chance like this again. It’s simply too good to pass up. A vulnerable target has presented itself to us on a platter, and we just happen to find ourselves with the absolute perfect person to exploit this particular target. She’s perfect for the job, and I think you know it.”

Just as I was about to shout him down, a loud noise from the front of the room surprised us.

Our heads snapped toward the sound of the hallway door slamming, and I noticed that Paila was no longer in the room. I looked at Itair, shocked and confused. He returned the expression, shrugging with his hands upturned.

I knocked over my chair in my panic. Racing to the door, I flung it open, looking frantically down the hall in both directions. I saw Paila stomping down the hall to my left, and took off after her.

I caught her roughly around the upper arm. “What the hell are you doing?” I was furious, but kept my voice low so as not to draw unwanted attention. “You can’t be out here without your disguise.”

She looked at me defiantly. “Well, if you’re too chicken-shit to do our damn jobs, then I figure we might as well turn ourselves in now and save us the trouble of being slowly rooted out by the Dominion later.”

I pulled on her arm to drag her back to the room. “Come on, we need to get you back inside before someone sees you.”

“Let them see. What does it matter? If you’re not willing to risk anything, the fight is already lost.” She stared up into my eyes, her gaze hard and unflinching.

I looked around the hall nervously, but we were still alone. “Fine, if I agree to consider it, will you come back to the room?”

She laughed. “Consider it? What is there to consider? There’s a job that needs to be done. I’m the perfect person, maybe the only person, to do it. I’ve spent my whole life acting and pretending, it’s what I do.” Her face went hard with determination again. “No, the time for considering is over. Either you agree to help me carry out this mission, or I march down to the lobby and expose myself.”

I growled in exasperation. This woman would be the death of me. “Damnit, Paila, we’ll do it. But you have to listen to everything I say, starting right now. And my first order is to get back to the damn room before someone sees you.”

“Yes, sir.” She snapped me a sarcastic salute and started back toward the room.

“This is not going to end well.” I sighed and followed her.

Paila

It was hard to stay alert while Itair ran through all the information.

I wanted to be out there already, the thrill of having a new mission to fulfill making me restless while listening to the many risks that went hand-in-hand with such a job. Fortunately for me, Wyann and Itair were better able to concentrate than I, which helped steer me back in the right direction. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, nor that I didn’t comprehend how paramount it was to do this correctly, it was just that I was eager to prove my worth after the debacle of the previous night and Wyann’s hurtful words. He thought me incapable and I, being as tenacious as I was passionate, I wanted to show him how wrong he was.

“Paila, my dear,” Itair cooed at me, his eyes sparkling with mischief laced with annoyance, as if he enjoyed my enthusiasm but also loathed his vital intel being overlooked. I didn’t mean to be so ignorant, I simply couldn’t contain my excitement at having not just one role to portray but now two, this new one arguably more important than the last. I’d be the queen of disguise! “Before you get lost to whimsy, I need to be certain you’re ready for the type of man Major Galjur is.”

“Surely he’s not that different from other men,” I said, surprised that Itair felt the need to coach me in how vigorous a man's passion could be while with a woman.

“He’s a lot more handsy than many men in his position—he won’t hesitate in trying to touch you, and a lot of the time his touches go further than a light pet.”

Wyann interrupted by grunting, the sound one of disgust for men so brazen with their sexuality that they took what they wanted instead of waiting for permission. I too shared his dislike, but I’d met many men who fell into the same category as this Major Galjur; their red-bloodied masculinity made them into monsters their mothers’ had hoped to save them from.

“As I was saying, given how handsy the Major will be, we need to conceal your wire in a smart place so that he can’t easily discover it.”

A shrill pinging blasted into the room from within Itair’s pocket, causing Wyann and myself to wince despite the fabric muffling it. Excusing himself while also apologizing for the noise, Itair swiftly retrieved the offensive item and palmed at its screen, his mood lifting as he did so.

“Ah, good. My money has finally been moved into accounts I can access, this should help speed things along no end.” Turning to Wyann he continued. “Can I leave the two of you to hash out the other details while I leave for a while?”

Wyann nodded. His eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn’t place; however it seemed to be one of distrust. Personally, I felt no need to harbor such dark feelings towards Itair, but having encountered so many obstacles already during our time here, I reasoned that Wyann had every right to be wary. One of us had to be, at the very least.

Itair didn’t wait for my reply, taking Wyann’s as confirmation for us both. As he left via his connected room, Wyann messaged Jaffe and Lagar to follow Itair, a decision which seemed to soothe Wyann a little, although not by much. The desperation that gripped me yearning to know more of why he was so fervent in his beliefs wouldn’t loosen its hold on me. However, we had more pressing matters to discuss than his distrust of everyone and everything.

“I don’t trust this situation one bit,” Wyann said. “Are you sure you’re comfortable with doing this, especially given the Major’s… tastes? I think it’s too dangerous for you. It makes me distrustful of things I can’t control, but I know you’re our best hope. But are you sure you’re ready for something like this?”

His ability to know what I was thinking was as uncanny as ever; I knew it was nothing but coincidence, but it amazed me regardless of such logic. The two of us could be connected, so in tune with one another, when the elements all aligned just right, the problem was us both getting to that point.

Despite the way my lips curled, I squirmed beneath the surface at the idea of someone touching me against my will. Wyann perceived my disdain for the task, no doubt about to argue against my going, but I raised a hand to quiet him. My mind was already made up.

“I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable, but I’ll do it if it means learning more about what’s going on. A major is bound to have valuable information that could help our cause—”

“I’m not disputing that, Paila. It goes without saying that this man will know a great deal, my concern however, is making sure you’re not in immediate harm’s way. We need to be careful in how we execute this.” Evidently this was a touchy subject for Wyann.

“Now, about the wire.” He started back up, instantly going from concerned partner to trained operative within the blink of my long eyelashes. “I think your locket will work well—it’s small, unassuming, and easy to place. Do you agree?”

I did, but I wished he wouldn’t talk to me like an underling; the man who’d been worried about my welfare had now gone, replaced by this unfeeling man I cared little for. I wanted Wyann’s softer side to return to him, so gentle even in spite of his hard exterior that he had my stomach filled with a fluttering sensation when I thought of it.

“Paila?” He probed again.

“Yes. Sorry.” I hurriedly tried to skim over my absence just now. “I agree, my locket will work just fine.”

“Good. Now we also need to come up with a safe word for you to use, should the worst occur.” I gaped at the dismissive way Wyann mentioned this. Was my welfare so trivial that he could nonchalantly bring up my safety? I wanted to strike him. I didn’t, for I knew he couldn’t help how he acted when organizing a task such as this one, but the feeling still had my palm twitching.

“I’m hoping I won’t need one.” This was true, I didn’t want to be in any situation that stunk so violently of danger that shouting a weird and wonderful phrase would be necessary.

“Hope doesn’t stop an issue arising.” I knew he was right, but how patronizing his tone sounded made the urge to hit him come back with vengeance. “I’ve studied the most innocuous term and I think if you say red, we’ll know.”

“Red, really?” Before I could stop myself, I was laughing a deep belly laugh at the very idea of randomly calling out “red” while with the Major.

“You take issue with it why exactly?” Wyann groaned through my laughter.

“Because it sounds so ridiculous, not to mention predictable—it’s not inventive enough!”

“For the love of—Paila, this isn’t meant to be inventive, we’re not having sex, we’re devising a plan. For humans, red is a color synonymous with danger, stop, blood, all those things. It makes sense to choose it.”

He was right, as always, but that didn’t make it easy for me to swallow. I was finding out the hard way that my input was to be nothing more than acting as bait for this wandering handed major, while Wyann and Itair sat about waiting to hear whether I’d been successful or not. It was becoming apparent that reconnaissance lacked oomph when you’re barely able to have a say on how you’re utilized.

Now that we’d—Wyann—had settled the matter, all that was really left was how I’d approach the Major in the first place. Itair had commented on how he had a love for beautiful women, but it was making sure my performance came off sultry instead of desperate that was most crucial. The right balance was needed to navigate this one.

Frowning while turning the imaginary cogs in my head, I asked Wyann for his opinion. “Do you think it better for me to catch the Major’s eye by flirting from a distance? I just feel going over to him is too bold a move for a man of his station, surely he’d prefer me to be all meek and quiet?” Basically, he’d want me to never speak a word unless I was crying out with moans of pleasure; I’d met enough of his type to know that all too well.

“Hm, I think a gentle approach is the better option,” he said, smiling a little.

I returned his smile with one of my own, pleased I was able to elicit such a response from him. For the briefest of moments, we looked at each other fondly, as if both of us were seeing the others’ potential for the first time. It was a unique experience, one of many for this trip.

“And what of my disguise?” I asked next, eager to keep this warmth between us for as long as possible while we discussed all the routes we could take.

“I think we can finalize that tomorrow. We both need to rest, Paila.”

I agreed that we did, but I didn’t want this bond between us cut short so soon after discovering it existed. In spite of wishing for longer in his company, however, I allowed Wyann to rise and leave.

I muttered how I’d join him soon in retiring to my bedroom, however I had no intention of sleeping just yet. Wyann had shifted from stern to welcoming and back again so many times during this trip, and every time it happened I felt no more at ease in knowing the real version of him. That being said, while he remained a curious creature to me, I was aware of a growing affection towards myself—he wouldn’t admit it, but he cared about my safety. He’d not wanted me on this mission, and I’d caused him much grief since coming here, which he’d openly voiced, but still he wanted to ensure I was protected.

It had been so long since someone had truly cared for me like that.

Wyann

Nothing felt right.

As we made our way to the gala, all my mind could do was slowly play out all the awful things I’d done while spying for the Dominion—it was as if this evening had brought it all to the fore for me. Itair had decided to not come with us —he was fixated on ensuring more of his funds transferred and was anxious to follow every credit.

So many of the jobs I’d been assigned were heinous, to say the least. Jobs too dirty for their precious Dominion hands and so they’d turned to me, a man who could get the task done without much thought for the how. Except I’d always given it thought, especially now that I was away from their manipulation and deceit. The problem was being able to turn off those memories when in need of applying myself somewhere else, like tonight. This event was extremely important to our efforts, the Major a target we couldn’t lose from our sights, and so everything must be implemented perfectly.

Perfection, however, while being a great love of Paila’s—one of numerous “loves”—wasn’t achievable when she was bouncing about like a peppy schoolgirl. She looked the part, svelte in a shimmering wraparound dress that hugged her figure. Her Gaed disguise was so polished that even I had done a double take of her when she’d left her room, so well concealed was her true identity. And yet, that gave me no comfort as we handed over our two invitations to the waiting doorman.

The second we were swallowed up by the jaws of the gala door, I longed for the sanctuary of our hotel room. A crush of people milled about, all of them vying for attention, each person adorned with expensive trinkets to emphasize their wealth; they cared little for those out in the dark who were hungry and afraid, turned away by the hand of the Dominion. Oh, the Dominion worked well for so many people, but only the ones who had status enough to turn a blind eye to the wrong they were suspected of doing, that they were doing.

All the bloated arrogance in this room made me sick.

Luckily for me, Paila’s hand was there to touch mine, helping to extract me from the incensed commentary exploding along all the neural pathways of my brain.

“You still with me?” she asked, her voice low but her smile speaking volumes; the way she peered at me instantly hushed all the disquiet inside of me. Paila had a unique way about her, and while it infuriated me when she allowed herself to get carried away, her gentle soul also lifted my spirits at the most unusual moments.

It was no lie to say that I’d never met another like her.

I nodded at her, my mouth too dry to form words. I could tell by how her eyes lingered a little too long on my face, that she knew I wasn’t being completely honest, but she didn’t protest or dig deeper.

My nervousness now contained, I was better able to use it to my advantage, the need to keep my darker thoughts at bay encouraging me to seek out our target… There!

In among a gaggle of people, his grinning, pompous Ventaxian face too alight with smugness to miss, he was entertaining his friends with stories that caused them to gasp then cheer. I’d disliked the sound of this man before having set eyes on him, but now he was in my sights I detested him all the more. It was people like him who had polluted the Dominion’s purpose, their greed helping them to subvert their intentions into becoming a different creature entirely. I had to inhale deeply to still my mind as I watched him.

While I kept a steady set of eyes on him and the other party-goers, Paila began to mingle around the edges of the room, her presence drawing much attention. She was a flame and they were all moths—they couldn’t help but be drawn in by her beauty and charm. I almost admitted to myself that she’d have made a good spy in another lifetime, had she been able to focus on training. Almost.

It took no more than a couple sways of her hips, those curves of hers working their magic on everyone who observed their power, before the Major was eyeing her with unquenchable lust. Clearly, he was a man of fine tastes, I could give him that much credit.

Paila must have sensed his eyes upon her, too. She made her way over to him, offering her hand as a way of introduction while she cooed and fluttered those lashes at him. He was hooked. It was masterful how she handled men so easily. It felt cruel to have thrown her into the mix like this, a notion that I was surprised I was so overwhelmed by—we could have asked more of Paila, but instead this had been the most logical and easy route to take. So why did I feel so dirty in having guided her into this position?

Annoyed at myself for what felt like the 100th time that evening, I moved into the shadows of the room, and returned to my observations from there. It didn’t take long before the fires in me raged hotter than before, only this time it was for how Major Galjur touched her.

Within minutes he’d been fondling her without any care for her comfort, his hands stroking along her arms. They fell to her waist, and then to the small of her back. Paila beamed through it all, her face never wavering from feigned contentment at being in such a man’s presence. However, there was a slight crack in the facade when his hand groped her ass. For me the crack was an eruption, the anger so hot in me I almost saw spots in my vision. Who the kout did he think he was?!

I envisioned marching over there and ripping his head off, the parting of him from his breath a marvelous way for me to end the evening’s celebrations for everyone there. It was the least he deserved. But I stayed my hand, as difficult as it was. And in doing so, I became shocked at how protective I was of Paila. I’d worked with many people before and had never been as angered by a job, yet here I was, engulfed in jealousy—that was it! I was jealous. The bitterness I felt as he roamed her soft curves was a surprise for me, one that had completely caught me off guard.

“Excuse me,” came a smooth, silky voice of a woman from beside me. “May I join you?” Her words trickled like water, a serene sound on the ears. One that had me reeling as I went from my flash of rage to turning to look at her face.

Umbba. She was captivating. One of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen —but nothing compared to Paila. She had a slender body that she covered in a revealing red silk dress. Very little was left to the imagination. While she didn’t have the elegance and grace of Paila, I could understand that most men would be tempted by her—and her overt sexuality.

What the kopa was she doing talking to me?

It took a few seconds to right my mind so that I could speak to her. Fortunately, she took my quietness well, her eyes twinkling as she awaited my reply.

“Yes, sorry. I was miles away just now.” I wasn’t sure why I was so apologetic to a woman I’d never met before, but the apology poured out of me as soon as I’d opened my mouth. She laughed, the sound as pleasing to listen to as her voice. Who was this woman? She almost didn’t seem real, so bewitching was she when compared with everyone else. It seemed my night was to be full of surprises, one after the one.

“You want to be careful,” she purred.

My heart stopped, fear building that she knew something more about me, about my intent for the night.

“Sometimes we become so lost we struggle to find our way back. And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?” She laughed again.

I chuckled as well, too relieved for a heartier laugh. The prospect of discovery wasn’t a pleasant feeling given the gravity of the situation and of Paila’s welfare on top of my own.

Striving to lighten my own mood so as not to arouse suspicion, I grinned back at her with as much warmth as I could muster.

“I don’t think I could easily get lost,” I jested, my discomfort with joking simmering just underneath the surface; Paila had helped coax more humor out of me of late, but I still didn’t like the fakeness of it all. All humor seemed so forced to me, so false. It was still so unnatural to my personality and who I was as a person.

“Are you so sure?” Her gaze was penetrating despite her lighthearted tone. “There’s always a chance any one of us could get lost.”

This was true, though the way she played with me, while beguiling, had me a little on edge. It seemed the universe longed to place me in the company of strange women.

Paila

Every time his hand dipped beyond the small of my back to my behind, I suppressed a shiver. Every fiber of my being screamed for him to unhand me, that he wasn’t worthy of touching me unless I said so, and yet I could do nothing except smile and laugh at his words. He lapped it up, not questioning how genuine I was with my friendliness. I knew I was meant to feel glad about achieving what I’d set out to do, however it was hard not to taste the sour bitterness of my victory as I felt his hands squeeze at my cheeks once more.

I wouldn’t expose myself though, not even if his every grope killed me a little inside each time, for the information he could have was far more valuable than my comfort. Nevertheless, while I tried to calm myself with that knowledge, it became harder to do so when I noticed Wyann with another woman. I hadn’t been trying to spy on him, but had naturally allowed my gaze to wander around the room as I’d set about grinning and bearing yet another squeeze.

She was unbelievably stunning, a true vision in among all the other women of this night; I’d never been one to be disappointed by my own appearance, a quiet confidence having always been a part of my beauty, yet now I was sure of my ugliness. How unsightly I must be. Not worthy of anyone’s attention, especially Wyann’s. How had I ever convinced myself I was gorgeous when there were those so naturally breathtaking that I didn’t even register on the radar when in their presence?

Suddenly it wasn’t the Major’s hands that made me nauseous, it was my own inadequacies.

A firm slap on my behind jerked me out of my wallowing, the Major so taken with my ass that he was determined to make everyone else in the room aware of it. Upon hearing the smack from across this side of the room, Wyann glanced away from his gorgeous companion and looked toward me. But no sooner had he done that than she’d reverted his attention back to her. Whoever she was, she liked Wyann a lot.

“More drinks!” One of the Major’s guests shouted out. Everyone cheered as they motioned for the waiter to come our way. To fit into the festivity of it all, I faked a strained smile as I stole quick glances at Wyann. Our gazes clashed and I tried to search his eyes for answers, but the Major grabbed my chin and whirled me around to face him.

“Let’s dance,” he suggested, though I got the distinct impression it wasn’t one I could turn down. He struck me as a man who seldom heard no, especially from women. I dreaded to think how he’d behave with a girl fool enough to try it. Wincing through the unease, I offered him my hand, his groping fingers clawing at me as he pulled me into a tight embrace.

He pressed himself against me, his crotch rubbing at the center of my inner thighs. Goosebumps appeared all over my flesh. The lace of my dress hid the reaction. He likely never guessed that any woman could be uncomfortable when around him, which only added to my disdain.

Major Galjur was arrogant, a vile man who cared only for himself.

He twirled me around, my hips swaying in time to the music, our whole dance choreographed by myself so that we looked radiant while we danced. Others began to watch our movements, my feet light as I stepped about the room following his lead. He was far too clumsy to dance with any grace, but what he lacked I made up for. I should have been overjoyed at being able to perform so well under all these scrutinizing eyes. Knowing I was in the predator’s den and close to the sleeping lion was the most remarkable acting triumph I’d managed. And yet it meant nothing without Wyann paying attention.

It was too hard to get a lock on him as I was spun around like a doll, a plaything used by the Major to delight the guests. I knew Wyann was still among the faces that whirled past, but whether he was even looking my way hounded my thoughts as I danced—did he care anymore? Was he going to be ready to help if I needed him? All of these worries were springing up anew the longer I moved with the Major’s awkward rhythm.

Thankfully our dance soon ended, due in large to the arrival of even more drinks; at this rate we were all going to be blind drunk in under an hour. I was careful to make it look like I was drinking when it fact I was tipping it into a nearby plant pot. I felt bad about the poor plant getting drunk, its roots no doubt in dire need of water after being plied so aggressively with alcohol, but it was a necessity if I was to keep my wits about me.

Away from the dancefloor for the time being, the conversation diverted off in all sorts of directions, each of the Major’s friends wanting to add their opinions into the mix. I tried to keep abreast of what they were all saying, but it became difficult before too long—they were so desperate to wow him that they flitted from one topic to another. It was maddening. And so I turned my attention, still quietly, of course, back to Wyann and his mysterious new friend.

Her face made me ache.

I so wanted to stride over to her and question her intentions with Wyann.

Why wasn’t Wyann pushing her away?!

I knew all too well why he wasn’t—she was gorgeous, any man attracted to the opposite sex was going to welcome advances from anyone that attractive, regardless of whether they were with someone else or not. However, logic didn’t concern me as I pined for him to once again notice me, his mind so preoccupied with her that he’d not looked my way for a long time. I was so distracted by his lack of interest for me, that I failed to realize what I was answering when asked a question by the Major.

“Yes,” I mumbled absentmindedly, trying hard to remain in character even in spite of feeling far from able to pull off this coup anymore.

“Fantastic! Let me finish this drink and we’ll get out of here—”

I quickly looked at him when he said this, the urge to widen my eyes hard to ignore.

Leaning closer to me, his breath hot against my ear, he added, “I can’t wait to get my hands on you properly. Mmmmm, we’re going to have a lot of fun.” Bile flooded my throat and filled my mouth, my ability to fight it hindered by how giddy I was becoming, and not in a good way. What the hell had I been thinking just blindly agreeing to his question? I knew better than to be so stupid, yet I’d been so bothered by Wyann’s flirtatious that I’d now bought myself a ticket to the Major’s bedroom.

To add further insult to injury, as if my night couldn’t get any worse after my own audible mistake, the way I’d so readily responded had made me seem eager to get him alone. I’d made myself look hungry for more of his groping attention when, in fact, the opposite was true. And once I was alone with him, it would be even harder to deal with his assertiveness without immediate backup on standby.

I cursed myself, closing my eyes to his grinning face so that I didn’t have to see its monstrous smirk anymore.

But what could I do but continue as normal, the Major believing me to be interested? I couldn’t say no, not now. Knowing this all too well, the pit of my stomach dropping away from me as I looked at the Major after opening my eyes, I maintained my course even though I knew it to be dangerous.

Hardly even giving his guests another thought, the Major grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to his side, his fingers digging into my dress. It was a show of power, more for me than anyone else; it was a sign that I couldn’t back out, that the option was now long gone. Gulping down the saliva building up in my mouth, I peered at him through seductive eyes, my act needing to carry on as if all was well.

As we exited through the open doorway, I prayed that Wyann would soon notice that our plan had gone awry and that I was in need of his help. I didn’t know how else to survive this if he didn’t…

Wyann

What was my role again? Some sort of businessman—it seemed to fit with the type of stories we’d been using for cover since landing, but I just wasn’t sure of myself anymore. It was incredibly troubling to be so lost in a role I’d once worn with ease.

“Are you sure you’re a businessman, you don’t strike me as the business type?”

Her words rung truer than she realized. I needed to get back in the game fast, otherwise this gala was about to blow wide open, and not in the way any of the guests would like. A hulking Shein barreling out of the place, accompanied by a petite human woman, didn’t have the same air of sophistication that the event garnered. I needed to act fast and keep my wits about me.

“I’m definitely sure, thank you.” I smiled, though it was hard to keep my expression authentic when she was so dangerously close to exposing me. “It’s just difficult to keep track of operations when there’s so much going on.”

“If that’s the case, maybe you’re in the wrong line of work,” she teased; holy kopa, she was good.

“My line of work suits me just fine, thank you. It’s these types of affairs that I struggle with.” It wasn’t a lie, so it rolled off of my tongue with natural ease, my speech finally sounding more genuine than it had for the majority of this conversation. And yet, I still couldn’t deny the sense of feeling dangerously close to the edge of a cavernous abyss while I continued to talk to her.

Seizing the gap in our discussion, I looked around the room to find Paila; right now she was twirling about in the arms of the Major, her body pressed to his, the intimacy they displayed uncomfortable for me to watch. I knew it was only an act, however there was something about her being in another man’s arms that made me hot and cold all at once, my emotions so strong that they were struggling to right themselves.

“So what kind of business do you conduct, oh wise businessman?” she probed, her eyes blazing with intensity as I moved my line of sight back solely onto her. Once again, the way she stood out with her beauty was unsettling.

“Um, my line of work is mainly imports and exports—I’m actually here to meet with some associates to listen to a few opportunities they have lived up. It all sounds promising.”

Did it? I wasn’t so sure. I would have given anything for Itair to be by my side, his ability to navigate a path through the loftiness of these events always helped ease the burden I felt while attending them. Although, if I were being honest, it wasn’t like I’d ever openly attended an event like this for some time, my old duties having kept me to the shadows, the dark crevasses, so that I could do my bidding unhindered by vigilant eyes.

“Doesn’t it just.” Her eyes hesitated a glance at Paila, the dance she and the Major had been engaged in having now come to an end; Paila looked flustered but otherwise okay. “So tell me, how does your pretty companion factor into this work of yours? She hardly looks the imports/exports type.”

“Ah.” Her probing was starting to irritate me more than it stimulated me, her looks only helping to get her so far. Maybe other men would relish the challenge of her incessant questioning, but for me it was becoming a nuisance, and while I needed to keep on her good side to reinforce the cover story I was peddling, I loathed to do so when there were other matters that demanded more of my time. Chiefly, Paila. “Though it may surprise you, she’s extremely good at her job, and is one of the best in the business when it comes to exports in particular.” Even I had a hard time believing this part of my story, and I was the one telling it!

My friend laughed at me then, the sweetness of the sound from earlier now gone and replaced with a barbed tone, one that seemed wicked and somewhat ruthless. It could have merely been a change in laughter, as a lot of people had a range of sounds when overcome by amusement. However, there was just too much of an edge to it for me to ignore any longer. This woman wasn’t what she appeared to be, of that I was certain. The question then begged why she was focused on me specifically when there was a room full of far more interesting and well connected parties than I…?

“Maybe that’s why you lack conviction while telling your story—you’re far too taken with your friend.”

One of two aspects of that sentence raised my suspicious further: the lacking in conviction and the way she’d emphasized the word story. Even though she wasn’t wrong about my lack of belief in my words, it was her turn of phrase that had me questioning her motives. And then to refer to my business as a story, well that only reaffirmed my fears. Still, I needed to play it cool and remain calm, for any sudden movements would alert her to my becoming increasingly aware of her disingenuous intent. I didn’t think her an enemy—not yet, anyway—but she wasn’t to be trusted either.

Inhaling through my nostrils, I regarded her, my demeanor less inviting; there was a bite to me now just as there was to her. We were matched, finally. “If I’m completely honest, it’s her carefree personality that worries me, she’s so impulsive that the risk of her getting hurt troubles me. It makes carrying out my duties that much harder, it has nothing to do with lacking conviction.” I wondered if the last line had been too bold a move, but it was done now, I couldn’t take it back. And besides, I’d be more than honest just now. I really did worry about Paila and her loss of control whenever she became swept up in the moment.

She lacked the knowledge of these types of missions to remain alert to all the different elements going on around her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t observant enough to spot them if she tried, nor that she didn’t recognize how untrustworthy the Major was, but more that she couldn’t help but forget herself while she played her role so diligently. In Paila’s world, her performance always came first. It was the error of her ways that I was sure would cost her one day, my only hope was that this event wouldn’t become that fateful day.

More of the unknown woman’s laughter, more akin to sniggering, rang in my ears. It grabbed hold of me and slapped me in the face every time she laughed in that way, for it seemed far worse coming from such a breathtaking person. Maybe that was why she wasn’t to be trusted? Not because she was sinister at heart, but because she had a sting to her that few could avoid getting wounded by.

“If you’re so bothered about your companion, you’re not doing a good job!”

“Excuse me?” I snapped, the lies I’d been wearing to cloak myself fast crumbling away. More tittering came from her now—my displeasure was amusing her no end.

“Your friend, she’s gone off with the Major. They’ve just left. You should be more observant… Oh, and I’d definitely suggest you don’t hang about if you want to make sure she’s okay, the Major can be a man of questionable pleasures.”

I stiffened. Kout. Kout. Kout.

I couldn’t do anything else save run from the room, my destination unknown as I prayed that I’d be able to catch up with Paila and the Major before anything untoward happened. I was so consumed in my hunt for them, that I’d not really given any time to how that woman had toyed with me just now, how she’d waited to reveal that Paila had left. It was only as I looked around frantically, neither Paila or the Major anywhere in sight, that it dawned on me that she’d played that situation so that I’d be left to stumble in my search.

Whoever that woman was, she’d deliberately ensured that I’d be one step behind Paila this whole time. An execution of timing such as that wasn’t easy to find in a person, and the more I thought on it, the more I came to realize that she was an adversary. None of us had the time to fall victim to her wiles the way I had, the way Paila had if I was unable to find her…

Kout. I’d been skillfully played.

Paila

I glanced at Wyann one last time before following the Major out. He kept on dancing with that partner of his, and I wondered if I should let him know I was about to leave. In the end, though, I decided against it.

Wyann would never approve of it.

“C’mon, c’mon,” Galjur insisted, placing his hand on my lower back and pushing me toward the exit. His sausage-like fingers were clammy, but I tried not to shudder under his touch. Not that he would notice my tension. He was already rocking back-on-forth on his heels, all the alcohol he had drunk making him sway like a canoe riding a tidal wave. “My hotel is not far from here.”

“And that’s a good thing,” I said in a throaty tone, dragging my teeth across my bottom lip provocatively. Galjur’s beady eyes narrowed with anticipation, and I did my best to hide how repulsed I really felt. “I can’t wait to be someplace quieter with a gentleman like you.”

Allowing him to lead me out onto the street, I sucked in a deep breath as the night’s chill bit at my skin.

“My hotel’s just down the street,” he said, finally taking his hand out of my lower back to point and the imposing building looming over us, even from this distance. The structure was made of a crystal-like glistening substance, and the vaulted entrance spelled out glamour and luxury. The Dominion clearly didn’t mind incurring extra expenses to ensure their high-ranking personnel was comfortable.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” I squealed, grabbing Galjur’s arm with both my hands. “Being a Major has its perks, hasn’t it? Of course, I’m sure you’re much more important than just a mere Major, aren’t you?” I hoped his drunkenness wouldn’t make him suspicious of how much I was buttering him up.

“Major,” he grunted, spitting out the word as if it were an insult. “That’s just what’s on paper. Trust me, I do so much more than some of the Generals.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Climbing up the stairs that led up to the hotel’s entrance, I kept on holding Galjur’s arm so that he wouldn’t tumble down and break his neck. A doorman in a long tunic and white cap pushed the door open for us, bowing respectfully as he did it, and we stepped inside a cavernous lobby unlike anything I had ever seen.

Tall columns of what looked like marble reached up into the ceiling, reminding me of the Greek temples of old, and a red carpet stretched from one end of the lobby to the other. The receptionist’s desk was to our right, and it was almost as long as the bar counter I had seen on the club I had visited with Itair and Wyann.

The staff all wore white flowing tunics, their smiles permanently etched on their faces, and they seemed more than ready to drop whatever it was they were doing if I snapped my fingers and summoned them. Still, none of them paid any attention to how drunk the Major was. They all pretended they were simply blind to Major Galjur and the Gaed woman helping him up to his room. Either they had been trained to ignore their guest’s eccentricities, or they were already used to the Major’s antics.

If I had to guess, I would’ve said it was a little bit of both.

Following the Major’s lead, I stepped into an elevator tube that ran up and down the length of the hotel’s side. It was completely transparent and, as it finally started its climb toward the penthouse floor, it afforded me a stunning view of the city. The crystal buildings around me seemed to glimmer like stars, the roads that stretched into the distance like shining golden webs. I almost commented on how beautiful it all looked, but then remembered that Praxima, the character I was playing, would be familiar with the sights.

“And here we are,” Galjur announced as he pressed his thumb against a scanner bolted on one of the walls. The white double doors slid open into their partitions, and we stepped inside what seemed like a king’s apartment. A small foyer opened up into a living room with a breathtaking view of the city. Floor to ceiling windows gave the sensation of being a fish inside a very expensive aquarium. The deep couch would allow for at least ten people to sit, and the screen in front of it was so massive even Wyann would look tiny if standing in front of it.

Galjur, of course, made his way straight to the hovering drink cart by the corner. A flat metallic structure, it hung in the air without any kind of support, a dozen glasses and bottles perfectly lined on top of it.

“Arzenian wine?” he asked, but didn’t wait for my reply. “No, of course not. The night requires something stronger. Ah, exactly, some Valkerian liquor will do, won’t it?”

“You’re the connoisseur.” I smiled as he grabbed two glasses and awkwardly poured two fingers of a thick red liquid into them. They sloshed along the bottom as Galjir ambled toward me, and I let my eyes linger on his as I took my glass from his hands. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” He grinned, slapping my backside so fast I didn’t have time to react. Somehow, I managed to resist my worst instincts and didn’t punch him in the face.

Before I had left, Wyann had made sure to plant a subdermal transponder in my neck. It would activate only once and would give a few minutes of secure frequency. I didn’t want to waste it calling for help from a pig.

I just sucked in a deep breath and remembered that tonight I was a flirtatious young woman who was more than delighted to be in the Major’s company. I didn’t really see how any woman would be interested in the company of such an asshole, but I tried not to let that little detail bother me.

I grimaced as I took a sip out of my liquor, and Galjur just belted a strong laugh.

“Pretty strong stuff, right?” Throwing his head back, he downed the contents of his own glass in a single gulp and then went for more. This time he poured more than just two fingers, only placing the cap back on the bottle when the red liquor started dancing near the edges of his glass.

“It’s strong, yes,” I coughed, doing my best not to look like an idiot.

“Drink up, drink up,” he grinned. “It’ll make you relax.”

I tried not to stiffen as he laid one hand on my waist. His breath smelled like an abandoned distillery, and his touch made me uncomfortably itchy and nauseous.

“You know, I’ve never met a Gaed as beautiful as you are.”

“Maybe you haven’t met the right Gaed yet, Major,” I whispered teasingly, and his face lit up with pride as I called him by his rank. Even though he felt he deserved a better rank, he still liked feeling important. “But I think that tonight’s your lucky tonight.”

“Oh, yes, it is.” His voice deepened. Setting his glass on the table beside him, he laid his hand on my shoulder. Pushing the strap of my dress down my shoulder, he drew a deep breath as the fabric drooped slightly over my breasts. As his fingers went down to my collarbone, I reacted on instinct and took a step back.

I was afraid he’d start messing with my necklace and break it, revealing the wire inside. If that happened, my cover would be blown. . . and Wyann would ground me for good. And that if I somehow managed to escape the Major’s penthouse.

A frown spread over Galjur’s face as I stepped back, but I knew I hadn’t lost him yet.

“Why hurry things?” I placed my lips close to his ear and whispering into it. “Let me clean up first and then I’ll put on a show for you. After all, we have all night, don’t we? Or are you working early, Major?”

“Work can wait,” he replied, his eyes wide with a kind of savage hunger. Still smiling, I spun on my heels and made a beeline toward the restroom, my heart beating so fast I couldn’t even think straight. I locked the door behind me and sat on the edge of the tub, taking consecutive deep breaths.

Standing up, I paced the entirety of the restroom for a couple of seconds and then stopped in front of the full body mirror. Locking eyes with my own reflection, I nodded at myself. I had insisted for the guys to bring me along in this mission, and I wasn’t going to botch it.

No matter what.

The Major had to have some useful information, probably in his datapad or somewhere in the suite, and I wouldn’t leave here before getting my hands on it. Of course, I didn’t know exactly how I was going to do that. The bastard was groping me more and more with each passing minute, and I knew I could only refuse him so much.

Sighing, I propped one foot up on the edge of the tub and pushed the hem of my dress up to my thighs. I grabbed a small knife I had strapped to my leg and turned my hand around, concealing it against my palm. Just a worst case scenario precaution.

“You got this, Paila,” I whispered, and then unlocked the door. I put on my best damsel’s smile, and stepped out of the restroom, the blade cold against my hand.

Sighing heavily, I realized my worries were unfounded.

The Major lay sprawled on the couch, one hand draped over his stomach as he snored heavily. The bastard had passed out.

“Thank God,” I muttered, already making my way toward his bedroom. “It’s showtime.”

Wyann

“Have you seen a beautiful Gaed woman around here?” I frantically put the question to a stiff pair of women in elegant gowns. They shook their heads and exchanged disdainful looks as I rushed off to interrogate the next bystander.

“Did you see a Gaed woman leave here with a man with an excessive mustache?”

“What’s wrong, Shein? Lose your woman?” The refined Pronarian man glanced to his rich friends and they all snickered. He flashed me an arrogant smile. “Not surprising. Don’t you think you’re aiming a little high, trying to land a Gaed?”

I clenched my fists, my eyes narrowed in anger at the pretentious man. But I didn’t have time to waste, so I forced myself to move on.

I spotted one of the Daxl nobles that I’d seen the Major engaged with earlier, and composed myself before I approached him. I slowed my breathing, not wanting to appear frantic. I didn’t want to leave any impression at all. If I hoped to get a helpful answer out of him, he needed to believe that I was only inquiring after the Major’s whereabouts casually. My pulse somewhat under control, I put on my best diplomat’s smile and approached the noble.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to trouble you, but have you seen Major Galjur? I was hoping to discuss a potential business opportunity with him, but I can’t seem to find him anywhere.”

The sophisticated dignitary looked at me dismissively, raising an eyebrow as he examined me. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He glanced over at his fellow nobles, and they shared a sly, knowing smile. “Who exactly are you?”

“Never mind, my mistake. Sorry to bother you.”

They knew damn well what I was talking about. Could be some of the other arrogant bastards did as well. The Major was well-connected, and it seemed that the people at this party knew better than to discuss his affairs. My pulse raced again, panic threatening to take over.

I focused on controlling my breathing. I could not allow panic and fear to cloud my judgment. That was one of the core rules of espionage work. If I stayed calm, I could think my way out of nearly any situation. Panic was the fastest way to get oneself killed on a job. But I was finding it extremely difficult to calm myself while Paila was out of my sight.

It occurred to me that my concern was not just that of an operative worried about his partner. It went beyond that. My distress was more personal in nature. I feared for her well-being as a member of my covert team, yes. But the thought of her alone with the groping Major made my blood boil. My fists and jaw clenched as I pictured his wandering hands searching across her slender body. I no longer cared about the success of the mission. When I located them, I would tear his head off for touching her the way he had. He could still be touching her, even more presumptuously than he had before.

I looked around the room wildly, desperate for a clue as to where they had gone. Convinced that they were no longer there, and that none of the party-goers would be of any help in finding them, I jogged to the front door. I tried to look casual, but I was too concerned with finding Paila to worry about drawing attention to myself. I flung the door open and burst out onto the sidewalk.

I brushed past a young valet, ignoring him as he asked for the ticket so he could fetch my non-existent car. I frantically scanned the bustling sidewalks for a glimpse of Paila or Galjur, but I could find no sign of them among the crowds. I turned back to the valet, who was giving me a confused look.

“Did you see a beautiful Gaed woman and a fat guy with a mustache leave together?”

He hesitated and looked away nervously. “Uh, no. I don’t think so.”

I stepped close to him, my large frame towering over the comparatively diminutive boy. “Are you sure about that?”

He looked up at me, his eyes wide in fear. “Listen, I’m just a valet, I don’t know anything.”

I fixed him with an intimidating look, but I spoke quietly, wanting to win him over. “Look, you don’t owe these people anything. They don’t give a shit about you and they never will, no matter how well you serve them.” I pulled out a fifty credit note and tucked it into his shirt pocket. “All you have to do is nod your head to indicate you saw them leave, and glance in the direction that they went. Trust me, no one will know anything, and you can rest easy knowing you helped out the good guys.”

He stared at me with uncertainty.

I sighed. “Just do it, kid. This way I don’t have to drag you into that alley over there and beat it out of you. I’d really rather not, but it’s up to you.” I shrugged, stepping even closer and looking down at him menacingly.

He was shaking, but he nodded his head and jerked it to my right, glancing down the sidewalk. When he spoke, his voice was so low I had to strain to hear. “Five minutes ago.”

I smiled. “Thanks, kid. You made the right call.” I stuffed an additional ten credit note into his shirt pocket and patted him roughly on the chest.

I took off down the street in the direction he’d nodded, searching the crowds for a sign of Paila or the Major, but I saw no trace of them. A five-minute head-start in a city as crowded as Laostra would make the job of locating them extremely difficult. Finding them in one of the city’s multitudinous clubs would require dumb luck. If they were two ordinary people, it would be all but hopeless.

But the high-ranking Dominion-man would not be likely to frequent just any establishment. And if Itair’s information on the man was accurate, he would likely try to take Paila straight back to his room. As affluent a city as Laostra was, there couldn’t be more than a handful of hotels in the city that a Dominion Major would deign to stay in. How exactly I could locate the Major’s room in one of these hotels was another matter.

I didn’t know what else to do, though, so I headed in the direction of the fanciest hotel in the city first. It was not too far down the street in the direction that the valet had indicated, so I figured it was as good a place as any to start.

As I made my way down the crowded sidewalk, I got the feeling that someone was watching me. Of course, there were probably a great many people looking at me at any given time in the densely populated city. But this was different. My years working espionage for the Dominion had left me with certain instincts, one of which was the ability to sense when I was being followed.

Finding Paila and the Major would do no good if one of his people trailed me there. I had to lose my tail before I could be of any use. I turned left at a busy intersection, starting down another crowded street. Glancing over my left shoulder as I turned, I saw a hooded figure turn halfway down the sidewalk, slipping deftly through the crowd.

I turned right at the next intersection, peaking casually over my right shoulder as I crossed the street. The shadowy figure was about halfway down the sidewalk, having turned left to follow me, but they predictably gave no outward indication of any concern with my whereabouts.

Two shared turns could have merely been the paranoia of a former spy, but something about the figure’s movement made me suspicious.

I walked for a few blocks, pretending to wander the streets aimlessly as a curious tourist would. I paused to look in shop windows, and examined the wares of a few street vendors, sneaking glances back to confirm that my pursuer was still following me. They were, but at a fair distance. Whoever it was, they were highly trained. Had it not been for my extensive experience, I doubt I would have been aware of their presence.

I turned left at another crowded intersection. If they followed me down this street, it was certain that they were tailing me. Sure enough, a quick glance over my shoulder saw them scurrying across the street a few hundred feet behind me. I’d had enough of our little game of cat and mouse.

I continued on at a casual pace. At the next intersection, I turned left again and took off at a dead sprint as soon as I rounded the corner. I raced down the sidewalk, darting between the crowd. I spied a group of homeless drifters in the mouth of a small alley and bolted over to one of them.

I pulled a fifty-credit note out of my pocket and held it out to the man. “Here, trade jackets with me and give me your hat. Just walk ten blocks in that direction with your head down, and they’ll be another fifty here for you when you get back.” He gave me a confused look, but took off his jacket and held it out to me. I quickly helped him into my jacket and donned his, pulling his hat low over my eyes.

I sat and huddled against the alley wall, facing back towards where my pursuer would be approaching from as he started off in the direction I had been travelling.

The hooded figure came into view, and I saw with surprise that it was none other than my beautiful dance partner.

Paila

I walked into Galjur’s bedroom as silently as I could. I was probably worrying too much, as he was completely unconscious, but it was better to be extra cautious. Pushing the door open, I padded my way to the center of the bedroom and, with both hands on my hips, scanned the contents of the room.

Aside from the bed there was a large drawer, and another couch lined one of the walls. A balcony overlooked the building where the gala was being held, but I ignored the views. A grey briefcase conveniently placed on the bed immediately drew my attention. With just little bit of luck, inside it would be all the intel I was looking for.

With one knee on top of the mattress, I turned the briefcase toward me. My heart sank as I realized the lock mechanism was a digital one, and it lit up the moment my hand touched the handle. On the small screen a few characters I didn’t recognize popped up, but the shape of a glowing fingertip told me everything I needed to know.

Carrying the briefcase under one arm, I poked my head out of the bedroom and let my eyes fly straight toward the Major. He lay fast asleep, snoring so loudly he could rival an earthquake, and so I made my way toward him. Holding my breath, I kneeled beside him and, doing it as gently as I could, grabbed his limp hand and pressed his thumb against the small screen on the briefcase.

“Crap,” I muttered as the screen turned red. Why the hell wasn’t the damn thing working? Gritting my teeth, I tried another of his fingers and this time the screen turned green, the lock turning more loudly than I had anticipated. Galjur stirred in his sleep, but he remained unconscious.

Sighing with relief, I returned to the bedroom and sat on the bed. With my heart racing inside my chest, I placed the briefcase on top of my knees and propped it open. For a moment, I expected to see the briefcase brimming with fat stacks of documents, all of them stamped with large red characters spelling ‘confidential’, but there was just a small datapad inside it. It wasn’t exactly a scene out of some old school spy movie but, if I managed to get the intel I wanted, I would be happy all the same.

Booting the small device up, I raked one hand over my face as it requested another fingerprint. “For God’s sake.”

More relaxed than before, I made my way back toward the Major and repeated my little stunt, pushing his pudgy finger against the screen. This time, though, I locked the door behind me when I returned to the bedroom.

There, I started thumbing my way through the folders inside the datapad. Unsurprisingly, the device was completely cluttered with all kind of files. I figured that the Dominion would issue these secure devices to their officials for military-use only, but the Major apparently considered himself above such guidelines.

After a lot of trial and error I discovered a few interesting files that seemed to require an access key. Pulling my necklace over my head, I popped the small pendant open and retrieved a tiny drive from the inside. Plugging it onto the datapad, I held my breath as the screen turned dark and lines of code started running across it.

“Oh, shit, please work.” A bead of sweat tricked down my face, and I wiped if off with the back of my hand. More than just needing to access the files, I also needed for whatever program was inside the thumb drive not to raise any alarms in some secure Dominion tech facility. If that happened, I was toast.

Thankfully, when the darkness disappeared, no alarms went off. Instead, the access key menu disappeared to show me a folder with all the files the Dominion didn’t want me to see. Working as fast as I could, I opened the first one and started scanning its contents. I knew I should perhaps do this in the relative safety of my hotel but I had to know if I was picking up the right documents or if I needed to search further.

“What the…?”

The first thing I saw was a navigation chart of the Terran system. Even though I wasn’t exactly an ace at reading charts, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was. What really had me gasping wasn’t the chart itself, though, but the attached file—in it were details for a fleet of an unprecedented size. That could only mean one thing: The Dominion was looking to attack the Terran system.

But why? It didn’t make sense for the Dominion to make such a move. Feeling a tightness in my chest, I started thumbing my way through the documents as fast as I could, trying to make some sense of what I was seeing. Of course, none of what I saw made things any less complex. If anything, I started understanding less and less.

According to what I was reading, the Dominion had pioneered some a new type of folding technology that left to no trace, and they were planning to use that tech to jump their fleet in and out of the Terran system, leaving no proof of their presence there. Of course, to make it all weirder, they were planning on pinning the attack on the Bingzen system. The post-attack documents seemed to detail the way the Dominion would start a propaganda campaign against the Bingzen, accusing them of a vile attack that destroyed millions of lives in a defenseless system. That, of course, would give enough leeway for the Dominion to retaliate against the Bingzen and take them out.

I had no idea why the hell the Dominion seemed so hellbent in going against the Bingzen system but, to be honest, that wasn’t what had me worried. I was already imagining a Dominion fleet making their way through the solar system like a hot knife through butter, annihilating everything in their way in the most merciless manner. I imagined Mars becoming a red wasteland once more, and Earth turning into some kind of post-apocalyptic battleground. Life had never been easy in the solar system but, hell, it was still home.

I tried to find some more information about the attack, but I couldn’t find a date for the fleet deployment. Either one hadn’t been agreed upon yet, or the Major was being kept in the dark.

Gritting my teeth, I ignored the urge to keep on digging and merely copied everything on the datapad into my thumb drive. I placed the drive back into my pendant and pushed the datapad back into the briefcase. I locked it again, placed it in the exact same position, and smoothed down the front of my dress before leaving the room. If the Major was still asleep, I could simply slip out of the suite and be on my way. I sure as hell didn’t want to spend a second more than I needed to with that groping asshole.

“What the hell are you doing?” I heard Galjur growl, right when I closed the bedroom door. He was sitting straight on the couch, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked seriously pissed off. “What are you doing in my bedroom? Are you stealing from me?”

Jumping up from the couch, he started walking toward me with wide steps, his fists clenched by his side. I thought of reaching for the knife strapped to my thigh, but I wouldn’t have the time to do it.

Reacting fast, I grabbed an expensive looking vase sitting atop a small table and threw it at Galjur. His eyes widened with surprise but, in his drunken stupor, he was too slow to react. The vase hit him straight in the head, breaking into a dozen little pieces, and the Major stumbled back and fell on the floor like a sawed off log.

“Oh, Christ.” I went toward him, afraid that I had killed him, but the bastard was already back to snoring peacefully. Shaking my head, I ran one hand through my hair and bolted out of the suite. No one paid me any heed as I made my way out of the hotel, and I only stopped to think of where I was going when I stepped out onto the street.

I thought of returning to the gala, but quickly gave up on that idea. If the Major woke up he could try and find me there and, besides, it was already late. More likely than not, Wyann would already be back at the hotel, waiting for me as per the plan we had laid out. Of course, I couldn’t just head straight to the hotel. . . I could have someone on my tail, after all. Wyann had gone over what to do in case I thought I was tailed and how I was supposed to use the subdermal transponder to contact him. But I needed a chance to walk and think things through.

I walked through the city avenues as calmly as I could, behaving like a sightseeing tourist, and paid extra attention to everyone behind me. Only when I was almost certain that nobody was tailing me did I make my way back to the hotel.

“Wyann?” I called as I finally unlocked the door to my bedroom, the pendant with the thumb drive already in my hands. “Are you in?” Silence. I went into his adjoining room only to found it deserted. I called the reception downstairs, but it seemed like he hadn’t shown up yet.

It was already late, so where the hell was he?

Wyann

I ducked my head down and pulled my borrowed hat even lower over my face, peering under the worn brim at the legs that bustled past the alley. The long cloak that covered my pursuer swooshed past me, revealing the bottom of her elegant dress and the same tall heels that had glided across the dance floor earlier.

It took me a moment to process the fact that the gorgeous woman who had been so strangely interested in me at the gala was now following me, and it struck me that she might just be following me because of my abrupt exit. Maybe she had enjoyed our brief time together so much that she couldn’t stand to let me go off without at least a contact chip to remember her by. But I knew that was just my ego talking.

If she was really following me to reconnect, why trail me at such a safe distance for so long? Why not simply run to catch up, or call out after me to get my attention? No, her stealthy observation indicated that she had at least some training in the clandestine arts, and rarely did a trained operative trail a target with noble intentions. She didn’t seem like an agent of the Dominion, but I couldn’t be sure. I didn’t know who she worked for, but I intended to find out.

I rose and peered casually around the corner of the alley, spotting the back of her hood bobbing among the crowded sidewalk about two hundred feet ahead. I tucked another fifty-credit note into the tattered rucksack the drifter had left behind, and slipped into the crowd to follow her.

After a block and a half, she slowed her pace and looked around, irritated. I guessed she’d realized that the man she’d been following was a bit smaller than myself. I kept my hat low and stayed behind a taller gentleman, stealing glances at her from under the brim. She ducked down a side street, and I made my way forward carefully.

I turned the corner onto the narrow, nearly-deserted side street and found her typing something into a small hand terminal.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I thought we were done dancing. Seems like you weren’t finished yet, though.”

She looked up and a look of shock quickly passed over her face before she regained her composure and fixed me with a loose, seductive smile.

“Oh, there you are.” She sauntered over toward me, her hips swaying in an alluring fashion. “You rushed off so fast. Before we had a chance to really get to know each other.” She ran her tongue across her lips and then bit her lower lip, looking up at me with wide, falsely-innocent eyes. “I thought maybe we could go somewhere more private.”

“Nice try, honey, but you must know you’ve already been made. I’ve played this game before, and it doesn’t end well for you. So, why don’t you just tell me who you’re working for and why you were tailing me, and then we can just go our separate ways.”

The innocent, suggestive mask slipped away from her face in an instant, replaced with alarming speed by a cold, deadly stare. “You’re too observant for your own good, Shein. Most men at least get to have some fun first. Too bad for you.”

I was still processing her words when the first swing of her knife clipped my shirt as I hopped back just in time. She had drawn it from somewhere within her cloak so quickly that I was distractedly impressed as I danced out of the way of her second slash.

I rushed in, taking control of her knife-hand. Before I could twist her wrist to disarm her, she drew a second blade from within her billowing cloak with her free hand. She slashed at me with startling speed and ferocity, and I was unable to contort my body out of the way in time. Her knife bit into the flesh over my ribcage, and I grunted as my side erupted with pain. I wrenched her wrist violently, and the knife fell from her hand. I released her, leaping back as she slashed at me with her other knife. She stepped toward me and swung her blade again, but I slipped by her attack and rushed in to grab the wrist of her knife hand again. With my free hand I socked her hard across the jaw, stunning her for a moment.

I twisted her wrist to disarm her, but as I did, her free hand once again shot out from under her cloak wielding yet another knife. Panic set in as the new blade flashed toward my midsection. I scooted back, releasing my hold on her now empty hand, but it was too late. Her blade sliced deep into my abdomen, and I let out a savage howl as fresh pain racked my body.

Despite the pain, I landed a stiff straight-kick directly on her solar plexus that knocked the wind out of her. She stumbled back, gasping for air. I grimaced and clutched at my stomach where blood already seeped through my torn shirt. It soon seeped through my fingers as well and covering my hand. It didn’t feel as though any major organs had been impacted, but the wound was deep.

“Damnit, how many fucking knives do you have in there, anyway?”

My attacker stared at me as she gasped for air, a sick smile on her face. I recognized the unsettling gleam in her eyes. This woman was mad for violence. This was more than just a job for her. She longed for blood, ached for it the way some people ached for love or food or booze.

She stepped forward and bent to retrieve one of her knives from the ground.

“Tell me where the Rogue Star is, and I promise I’ll make it quick.”

I looked around the narrow street for anything to use to my advantage, but the only thing near me was an old metal trash can.

I was good. I was very good.

This woman and her knives had me outmatched.

I cursed myself for not having stashed a weapon near the hotel somewhere. Smuggling a weapon into the gala would have been too risky, with the high-end scanner at the front door. But I should’ve had a contingency plan in place for this kind of thing. It was a sloppy mistake, but I would not allow it to be my last. Not with Paila still in trouble.

“Will you, though? No offense, but I can see it on your face that you live for carnage. Is that really a promise you can keep?” I inched back toward the trash can as I spoke, hoping to keep her occupied.

She flashed a mad, wild grin, her wide eyes glinting at the prospect of bloodshed. “It will be better for you if you tell me the location of your ship.”

“You know, I don’t believe you.” I grabbed the top off of the trash can and hurled it with all my strength at the woman. She raised her arms in front of her and grunted as the round metal lid slammed into her forearms, but by that time I was already running through the crowded sidewalk, desperately weaving through people and shouldering them aside.

I didn’t bother to look behind me to see her giving chase. I knew she wouldn’t be far behind me, and seeing her would do no good. I focused my full attention in front of me, eyeing the busy streets for an opportunity to lose her. My stomach and ribs throbbed with every stride, but I pushed aside the pain, sequestering it in an isolated portion of my trained mind.

A large automated garbage truck was barreling up the street on my left, and I saw an opportunity. I darted into the street, passing just in front of the truck and barely avoiding getting clobbered. As it raced past me I reached back and grabbed hold of a metal rung. My whole body screamed in agony as the momentum of the truck jerked my arm and shoulder, but I managed to hang on and haul myself up onto the vehicle. I slotted myself into the narrow space between the cab that housed the computer-controlled motor and the bed that held the garbage.

I peered carefully around the side of the truck and saw my attacker and former dance partner sprinting up the sidewalk, knocking people over in her desperation to reach me. She looked around wildly, searching the sidewalk on the other side of the street as she ran. It appeared my maneuver had worked, because her gaze never settled on me or the truck.

I rode the truck for several blocks, until it slowed to pick up a load of garbage. I hopped out and immediately hailed an auto-cab. I told the guidance system to drop me a few blocks from the hotel. It killed me to leave Paila in the clutches of the Major, but I could be of no use to her until I dressed my wounds and armed myself.

Blood had soaked the lower half of my shirt and the crotch of my pants. I walked to the hotel, watchful for any suspicious eyes, but I only saw innocent, concerned looks at my bloody state.

I stumbled into the hotel room and heard a shriek of surprise. My body tensed in anticipation of another attack, but my panic quickly subsided when I saw Paila rushing toward me.

“Oh my god, Wyann! What the hell happened to you?” Her face was contorted with concern, her voice frantic.

“Turns out my dance partner was actually some kind of spy or assassin, possibly Dominion. I don’t know, but she had a lot of knives.”

“Jesus, you’re covered in blood. What do I do?”

“There should be a first-aid kit somewhere in here. The bathroom probably. I need you to pour some alcohol over the wound and wrap a bandage around me. Then we need to change our clothes and get out of here.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyes widened with panic. “Don’t you need to get stitched up or something? We should go to the hospital.”

“We can’t go to the hospital, and there’s no time for stitches. We need to get out of here now. Okay?”

She took a deep breath and calmed herself. “Okay.”

Her face took on a serious, determined expression and she retrieved a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, a large absorbent gauze pad, and a rolled bandage from the bathroom.

The deep gash on my stomach burned when the alcohol poured into it, and I had to bite my hand to keep from screaming. I held the pad in place over the wound on my stomach while she wrapped the bandage around my torso several times. She helped me into a new set of clothes before changing herself, and we gathered a few essentials before leaving the hotel. We set out with no clear destination as night fell on the city.

Paila

“We need to take a breather.” Grabbing Wyann by the arm, I forced him into a side alley, the shadows quickly providing us some cover. Even though I didn't need to rest, I could tell that he did. We had left a message before leaving for Itair to inform the others that we were going deep undercover into the city. They had a plan to follow in this instance—Wyann had insisted on it—and they would follow it to reach safety.

He was putting on a brave face, doing his best to ignore how much pain his wounds were causing him, but I saw through the facade. He needed to rest, even if only for a couple of minutes. If he collapsed in the middle of the street, there was no way I’d be able to drag him out of sight.

“I'm fine,” he grunted, but he leaned against the wall behind him all the same. His hand shot up to his stomach by instinct, right to the place where that deep gash was, but he stopped himself right before his fingers touched the bandage. He was trying to hide how much pain he was in. “I'm fine, really,” he insisted.

“You're not fine.” Going down on one knee, I lifted his shirt gently and looked at the bandage we had wrapped around his torso. The white had already started turning into a violent red, his blood seeping into the fabric. He was losing blood fast, and walking around all night hadn't helped. I needed to find a place where I could replace his bandages and stop his blood loss. I didn’t know how it was for Sheins, but I was pretty damn sure they wouldn’t be able to function without blood. “You're losing a lot of blood, Wyann.”

“I said I'm fine,” he snapped harshly.

I recoiled by instinct. Then, remembering myself, I brushed my fingers over the bandage and made him wince in pain. That would show him.

“Yeah, that doesn't look fine to me.” Blowing a stray lock of hair out of my face, I went back up to my feet. Our situation was getting worse by the minute, but I had no idea on what I should do to make it better. Still, I had to follow Wyann’s lead and put a brave face on.

“We don't have a choice, Paila,” he groaned. “We have to keep going and leave the city. It's not safe here.”

“And who's to say we'll be safe when out of the city?”

“We'll have to take that risk, won't we? Dominion agents are on our trail and, after what you did to the Major, they'll turn every stone until they find us. The faster we leave the city behind, the better.”

“But your wounds—”

“I'll make it.” Trying to force a smile onto his lips, he looked straight into my eyes. He laid one hand on my shoulder and gave it a short squeeze. “I've been through worse, believe me. These wounds might slow me down a bit, but they aren't enough to make me stop.” Then, as an afterthought, he repeated himself. “We keep going.”

“Can't we just get back to the team and leave? The sooner we get all this information back to the Rogue Star, the better.”

He shook his head. “We can't leave from here, it's too risky now. If they're following us, we might lead them straight to the Rogue Star, and we can't let that happen. No, we'll have to figure out a way to leave the planet undetected. The rest of the team will have to figure things out by themselves. But they’re smart. At least, my guys are. They’ve probably left already, as soon as they knew there was trouble.”

I sighed. “I hope so. But if we can’t leave from here, then what are we supposed to do? How the hell are we going to make it off of the planet undetected?”

“One thing at a time.” He groaned, pushing himself off the wall. Taking a deep breath, he stood straight, jaw clenching. “The first thing we have to do is leave the city. That’s where our focus should be right now.”

“Alright, alright,” I muttered. I walked beside him as we left the alley, ready to support him in case he stumbled, but his confident strut made it look as if he wasn't hurt at all. Still, I couldn't help but think of the red slashes on his forearms I had covered with bandages, or the large cut across his abs. I had no idea how he was still standing.

We kept on walking down a sparsely populated avenue, one dotted with all kinds of dingy bars, and no one paid us any heed as we slowly marched toward the edge of the city. By the time the crystal-like buildings started being replaced by dark flat structures, something that reminded me of an industrial district, the dark skies were already acquiring a pink glow. It’d be morning soon enough.

We had been walking all night, and it seemed like there were a lot of miles to go before we could rest. The planet's capital was a sprawling metropolis and, even though Wyann knew where the closest small town was located, I had no idea if we would make it there. My feet were already starting to feel as heavy as lead, and exhaustion was slowly taking over my legs. Even my eyelids were betraying how tired I really was, but I used all my willpower to keep them open. I couldn’t slack off now.

We needed to find a way to get the pressure off us, but I had no idea on how to do it. Wyann wanted for us to lay low but, even though that was the only rational thing for us to do, it was hard to pin all my hopes on such a plan when Wyann was losing so much blood.

“Quick, here,” Wyann said suddenly, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into a dark alley. He pushed me back against the wall and then, standing right beside me, he pressed his index finger against his temple. A few seconds later, a small black hovercraft with tinted windows zoomed down the street. It slowed down in a suspicious manner, and searchlights flooded the avenue in front of the hovercraft.

Moving fast, Wyann made me take cover behind a dumpster. When the lights flooded the narrow alley we were in, we were already out of sight.

“What the hell was that? It didn’t look like the police.”

“The Dominion will come after us with more than just its military or the police,” he said, his tone even and controlled. My heart was beating fast, anxiety making me feel more awake than before, but Wyann sounded as if he was merely commenting on the weather. “We have to be extra careful. The Dominion has a lot of reach, especially in a city like this.”

I looked at him as he poked his head out of the alley, surveying the street we would have to cross, and found myself holding my breath as the first rays of sunlight fell on his face. His features were angular and powerful, and he looked as strong as he looked intelligent. There was raw power hiding underneath each line of his face but, more than just that, he also emanated something that I couldn't really describe.

The whole operation was collapsing all around us, and yet. . . Wyann looked in complete control of himself, as if he knew exactly what we had to do in order to survive. Had he ever been in situation like this before? I didn't know much about his past—hell, I didn't know anything about him—but I found myself wondering about who he really was.

He had Dejar's complete trust, that was for sure, but he wasn't as open about his abilities as the other members of the crew were. All I knew was that he was one of the most competent men I had ever known and, even though I was as scared as I had ever been, I trusted him with my life.

The Dominion could set their bloodhounds on us, and we could be exhausted and hurt. . . but as long as Wyann drew breath, I knew I was safe. I let a small smile spread across my lips as I remembered my first impressions of him. He had always been a cranky one, the kind of guy that looked down on my paintings as silly things, but now I knew I had been wrong about him. Underneath that crankiness of his was a strong sense of duty, one that kept him pushing forward even though the situation looked bleak. Wyann wasn’t used to giving up, just as much as he wasn’t used to failing.

We can do this, I thought to myself, a wave of confidence washing over me.

There was still hope.

“We'll make it through,” I found myself saying, more to me than to him. My voice was faint, barely a whisper, but he still heard my words and looked back at me.

Then, the most amazing thing happened.

He smiled.

“Yes, Paila, we will.”

Wyann

“Are you sure this is safe?” Clutching my arm, Paila pressed her body against mine. I felt the warmth of her skin, and a pleasant sensation spread all over me. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I was enjoying having her around.

Doing my best not to wince, I took small cautious steps as we went down the steep ramp leading into the underground. A few drunken people stumbled their way alongside us, most of them probably wanting to return home after a long night out. Others were ambling down still bleary-eyed, probably leaving their homes early so that they wouldn’t be caught during rush hour.

“Won't the Dominion have cameras and stuff here?” Paila insisted, her fingers digging a bit more into my forearms.

“Usually, yes. But this section of the underground system is undergoing renovations. The surveillance systems here will be down for at least one more week, and we can board one of the tube trains without having to go through any scans. Usually you have to go through a biometric check in order to get a ticket, but they still haven’t placed these machines in here and are relying on old models.”

She nodded, and didn't even ask me how I knew about the inner workings of the underground transportation system, and that saved me from having to give her a vague answer. Truth be told, I hadn't really done more than what a semi-competent operative would do before going on a mission behind enemy lines.

I had studied the maps, available transportation systems, and had memorized more routes out of the city than anyone would think to be reasonable. Little details like knowing specific stations where the surveillance system would be down could turn out to be game-changing factors, and the situation we were in was proof of that.

Blending in with the crowd as much as we could, I made my way toward the ticket machines. As expected, there wasn’t a single biometric machine in the place, and all around us were neat rows of the bulkier old models, ugly rectangular boxes with a dirty screen and a few slots for the credits. I simply needed to feed them a couple of credits and they quickly spat out two tickets.

“You seem to know a lot about how this city functions,” Paila said as we made our way down a tunnel. We stopped right on the boarding station, the tunnel that ran across its length encased by a crystal-like material. “Have you been here before?”

“I've been around. These Dominion cities pretty much operate the same way everywhere, except for a few ones. It keeps them easier to manage.”

“Right, of course.” She didn't insist, but I could tell she was already starting to wonder about me. It wasn't unusual for one of the Rogue Star's crew members to be well prepared for a mission, but she was slowly starting to figure out that I was definitely too well prepared for this one. I exhaled softly. What would she think if she knew the truth? Would she think of me any differently if I told her I used to be a Dominion agent?

“We're boarding this one,” I told her as a transparent tube like carriage stopped silently in front of us. Rows of seats lined its bowels, but most of the people getting in chose to keep standing up just so they could leave more quickly when they arrived at their station.

“Where is it going?”

“To a small town right outside the capital,” I told her, one hand on her lower back as I guided her in. We took two seats by the back, and kept our heads low as the doors closed. Still without a sound, the tube started speeding up until it reached neck-breaking velocity, the structure of the tunnel outside becoming nothing but a blur. Somehow, though, we couldn't feel the speed we were going at.

Twenty minutes later we arrived at our destination. I would have preferred to avoid any kind of public transportation system, but I doubted I would've been able to leave the capital on foot. I was losing blood, but not at a rate that was alarming. However, I needed to do something about that before I became too weak. At a shadowed corner, I applied an absorbent bandage to stanch the blood flow. I’d repair the wound later, but for now this would do. I wasn't exactly worried about myself, but there was no way I'd leave Paila to fend for herself in a planet like this.

“We're here,” I whispered. Grabbing the handle on my seat, I tried to push myself to my feet but stumbled slightly and fell back.

“Here, let me help you.” Discreetly, she grabbed my arm and helped me stand up. Even though I didn't want to lean on her, I let her help me out of the tube and onto the station's platform.

“Just follow the crowd.” We marched out of the underground at a slow but steady pace. When we finally left the tunnels, the sun had already started to peek over the horizon, bathing the small roads in front of us with its morning glow. Little residential houses lined the streets, only the larger and more expensive ones bearing any similarity to the crystal like buildings in the center. The others seemed to rely on nothing but brick and cement for their construction, the price of the materials a good option for the suburban dwellers.

“Can we please find a spot for us to rest?” she asked.

As I looked at her, I noticed the worry in her face. She wasn't asking for a place to rest just so she could sleep for an hour or two.

No, she was worried about me.

Smiling softly, I nodded. “Yes, I think that's a good idea. Let's keep walking, and I'll tell you whenever I find a good spot.”

I had always considered myself as the kind of operative that could read a person. Just one glance and I could see a lot of hidden details about someone. Are their clothes tidy or messy? Are their fingernails kept clipped or allowed to grow long? Simple stuff like that revealed a lot about someone, and my intuition had never failed me before.

Until Paila.

Against all odds, I had read her wrong. She wasn't weak or simple-minded, and she was anything but a dead weight. In fact, if it weren't for her, we would have never found about the Terran system invasion the Dominion was planning. And she did it on her own, without any kind of backup.

Even now that she had learned about the Dominion's plan to lay waste to her homeworld, she kept a warrior's posture. She kept her head on her shoulders, following my lead when she had to, but thinking on her feet as well. She had even made me stop for a few minutes before we entered the station, all just so she could change her disguise. Using the rest of her makeup to highlight some of her facial features and tone down others, she transformed in front of me.

Underneath her disguise, though, she remained as beautiful as the day I had found her singing in her painting room.

“Here.” Pointing toward a small, fenced house at the end of a dead-end road. “Help me walk around it and to the back.” I popped open the lock on a small gate, gambling on the fact that the house would be unoccupied, but I liked my odds. This small town was a dormitory for people who worked in the city, and most of the workers had to leave by dawn so they could make it in time.

We crossed the fenced backyard in silence and I pressed my ear against the backdoor for a couple of seconds. When I didn’t hear a single sound coming from the inside, I reached for Paila and took one of her hairpins. I worked fast and, in just a couple of seconds, the door opened.

“A bit primitive no?” Paila asked. “We have more advanced locks even in the Terran system.”

“With all the tall buildings and shiny lights in this city, there is still a sizable population that spurns most forms of high technology in their daily lives. The trick is knowing to find the right people to take advantage of when you need to.”

“How do you know all this?”

I shrugged. She sighed.

We stepped inside the kitchen and I scanned it with a glance. Paila, though, pushed me straight toward the living room and made me sit down on a couch that had been pushed back against one of the walls.

“Wait here,” she told me, and then disappeared. I heard her rummage through what I thought to be the bathroom’s cabinets, and a few seconds later she appeared with fresh bandages and an alcohol solution in hers hands. “Take your shirt off.” Her tone made clear that she wouldn’t tolerate me protesting.

Groaning, I took my shirt off and placed it beside me. Holding my breath, I started removing the bandage, the fabric almost completely red now save for a few blotches of white here and there.

“This might sting a little,” she whispered, applying some of the alcohol straight into my wounds. I gritted my teeth, but didn’t complain. As she carefully laid her fingers against my skin, the smoothness of her touch erased whatever pain I was feeling. I watched her work in silence, enjoying the attention she gave me, and I suddenly realized that I was pleased she was taking care of me.

I couldn’t remember the last time something like this had happened. Usually I was a loner, and if I needed someone to take care of me. . . well, then tough luck, agent: figure something out and get your ass in gear.

“Thank you,” I found myself saying as she wrapped the clean bandage around my torso, her knuckles brushing against my skin occasionally.

She stopped what she was doing and looked up at me, surprise in her eyes. “What for?”

I didn’t know what to say, and so I merely reached out and touched her cheek with the tip of my fingers. Cupping her face, I let my gaze linger on her. Even under all that makeup, she was still absolutely beautiful. And the way she reacted to my touch made her even more beautiful. She parted her lips gently, closed her eyes, and then leaned into my hand.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed her.

Paila

I sat down on the couch opposite Wyann's, the taste of his lips still lingering on mine. I still wasn't sure of how that had happened, but I sure as hell didn't regret any of it. In fact, it was pretty much the opposite.

I wanted more, so much more. I wanted to rush toward him, to throw my arms over his shoulders and press my whole body against his. I needed to have his lips on mine, and to have his hands roaming every single inch of my body.

“We should rest for a while,” I said, trying to ignore the way my heart was drumming inside my chest. After that kiss, I couldn't think of much else. But I had to. “This place seems safe enough.”

“No.” He shook his head, that seriousness back to his voice. Leaning back against the couch, he closed his eyes for a moment and raked his hands over his face. “The owners might return any minute now.”

“How do you know?”

“The kitchen,” he started to explain. “There are a few plates in the sink. And someone has cleaned up recently. The house still smells fresh. I believe the people in here might have left for work, and so they might not return until later in the day. But I can’t know for sure, so we can’t risk it.”

“How the hell did you notice all that?” The only thing I had been worried about was having a place with a couch or bed with he could sit on, just so I could replace his bandages and rest my legs. The moment he had broken into this house, I stopped worrying about it altogether and assumed we were safe. Wyann, though, kept on paying attention to every little detail. It seemed like he had a supernatural sense for little things like that, and it was always turned on.

“I just noticed it.” He smiled, and once more I felt a warm fuzzy feeling deep inside me. Maybe I just wasn't used to seeing a smile on someone as cranky as Wyann is. Or, maybe, I liked the fact I was one of the few people he had ever shown his smile. “I know you could use a few hour’s rest, Paila, but we have to keep going. Just grab a few things from the fridge and we'll be on our way.”

“Right.” Groaning, I pushed myself off the couch and made my way toward the kitchen. Just like Wyann had said, there were two glasses and plates on the sink. This was a couple's home. Trying to ignore the fact that the couple could return anytime soon, I padded my way toward the fridge and opened it.

I immediately reached for a round, red-colored fruit and sunk my teeth into it, a small moan escaping my lips as its sweet juice filled my mouth. I was hungry as hell, and only now was starting to notice it.

Grabbing a bottle of what seemed like water and some more fruit, I spun around and started rummaging through the cabinets. Choosing a few cans of what looked like some kind of processed meat, I returned to the living room after ensuring I left the kitchen exactly as I had found it.

“Drink this.” Pushing the bottle into Wyann's hands, I forced him to take a large gulp. He didn't protest, doing exactly as I told him. “Alright, I have some food now. It’s not much, but I think it’ll be enough until we figure out what to do next.”

“Then let's get out of here,” he said, slowly standing up.

I hesitated. It didn’t feel right to leave like that, but I knew Wyann wouldn’t like what I had to say. Pursing my lips, I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Do you have any credits left?”

“Credits?” Turning around to face me, he cocked one eyebrow up. “Yes, I do. But why do you need the credits right now?”

“We're taking all this stuff with us. . . I think it's only fair we leave something as payment behind. I mean, whoever lives in here will figure out we've taken their food. The least we can do is leave some compensation.”

“Are you serious? We're just taking water and some food. They'll find it odd, but they won't think much of it. But if we leave money behind. . . then they'll know for sure someone has broken into their house.”

“Still, it doesn't feel right to leave like this.”

Exhaling through his nose, Wyann shook his head and reached inside his pocket. Without saying a word, he laid a couple of credits on the table facing the couch.

“There. Happy now?”

“Yes.” I smiled, and before he could do something about it, closed the distance between the two of us and kissed his cheek. The warmth of his skin sent heat waves through me, but I couldn't bring myself to kiss his mouth again. I was too afraid I wouldn't be able to stop if we kissed. “You're not as bad as you want people to believe, are you?”

“I don't know want people to believe anything about me.” He shrugged, his eyes locked on mine almost as if he was trying to figure me out. “But thank you, I guess.”

“No need to thank me. What do we do now, then? Maybe we could get back to the city?”

“The city?”

I nodded. “Yeah. The heat must've died down by now. They probably have already assumed we've left the city, which will make it easier for us to sneak our way back in. Then it's just a matter of finding some way to relay all the intel back to the Star, and then find a way off the planet.”

Pursing his lips, Wyann weighed my words before he said anything. When he finally spoke, though, it was only to shoot down my idea.

“You're right, we need to relay all this intel to the Rogue Star,” he started, “but we can't head back to the city. It’s too dangerous. There are too many moving parts, too many eyes. We would be diving into a situation we wouldn't be able to control. Dominions agents are probably swarming the city right now. We're lucky we got out.”

“Then what? We can't keep on wandering aimlessly. If we keep going like this, we're going to get caught sooner or later.”

“We head toward the next major city,” he said with an air of finality. Clearly, he had already thought it all through. Wyann wasn't winging it. This was a backup plan he had already stored in his mind before we had even left the Star. I just wished he started sharing more instead of keeping all his cards close to his chest. “There's a space port there.”

“Won't the Dominion have eyes on those?”

“They will. But this one is an inter-galactic port, so there are always thousands of people coming in and out of it. The Dominion will be looking, yes, but there's a chance they'll miss in the confusion. We hide in the open.”

“Then lead the way.”

Wyann

We left the house through the backyard and, at Paila’s insistence, I ensured every door remained locked behind us. Even though we were on the run and fighting for our lives, she couldn’t shut down that caring side of hers. While before, I would’ve found that an annoying and useless characteristic, now I was starting to think of it as endearing.

Of course, I wouldn’t let that stop me from doing what I had to do.

At the end of the street, a small car sat underneath the dappled shadow of a tree. There wasn’t anyone in sight, and I knew that model was one of the easiest ones to hack. I could get inside every vehicle and make it work with the proper tools but, since I didn’t have any, I would have to go for some of the older models. That didn’t bother me much. I knew that older vehicles were harder to track, since the Dominion had only started to insist on planetary vehicle-tracking software a couple of years ago, and that worked in our favor.

“Please don’t tell me we’re going to steal this car,” Paila said, pursing her lips as she realized where we were heading.

“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” I said, this time being careful not to sound snarky. “We need to find a proper place we can rest in, or else we won’t make it very far. There are a couple of small hotels in the next city, and I think we’ll be able to get a few hours of sleep there.”

The city of Macott threaded that fine line between industrial hellhole and developing urbanization, and it was our best chance to remain undetected. The city developers were doing a lot of work on the infrastructure there, and I knew they were more lenient with hotel owners when it came to proper bookkeeping and following regulations. All I needed to do was find a place where we could check-in without having to log our biometrics into the hotel’s system.

It would have been easier if Emmery had forged more than just one fake ID per person, but she had been working under a tight deadline. Not that it mattered, anyway. I knew how to exploit most of the security protocols in the planet’s infrastructure, and I was pretty sure I could even get us to board a ship out of the planet unnoticed. All we needed was to make it to that spaceport.

Casually leaning against the aircar, I looked around the street and then pushed my elbow against the window. It shattered into a million little pieces but there was no alarm. I unlocked the door from the inside and then slipped behind the pilot’s seat.

“I don’t like this.” Paila frowned as she sat on the passenger’s seat.

“I don’t either, but we need the aircar. And we don’t have enough credits to leave behind as compensation.” I added a smile to that last part, and Paila’s frown just deepened. Eventually, though, she found it in herself to return my smile.

I input the commands necessary to make an emergency start. Years ago, I had memorized failsafe start codes to most commercial air vehicles sold within Dominion space. It made commandeering them useful when one was in a hurry. The engine purred to life immediately, and the car pushed itself off the ground a few feet.

I piloted my way into the skylane and as casually as I could, joined the incoming traffic. Keeping one hand on the controls, I used the other to go through the options on the small console’s screen. I thumbed my way through the menu, and then pressed an option that made the windows become tinted. . . except the one I had shattered, of course.

“If there are any face-recognition cameras, this should keep us in the clear,” I explained.

We kept to the main sky lanes for an hour before I brought the car down to the ground and took the highway into the city. Going through the list of hotels I had memorized before landing in the capital, I quickly settled on one I knew had few customers. It was right on the periphery; a place where a few factories had started replacing the district’s shops. It was exactly the kind of place that wouldn’t survive with its doors open for more than just a few months and, if the owners knew it, they probably wouldn’t give a damn about filling out the paperwork in the strict way the Dominion regulations demanded.

Parking the car a few streets over, we made our way toward the hotel through a few alleyways. Even though I was pretty sure it was too early for the Dominion agents to have expanded their search grid as far as Macott, I intended to be as careful as I could.

“A room for two,” I told the receptionist as we stepped through the battered double doors of a rundown building. The receptionist was, surprisingly, a Gaed female. That could be a good thing, since most Gaed wouldn’t cooperate easily with Dominion authorities. On the other hand, a Gaed was exactly the kind of person that would be able to see through Paila’s disguise.

Thankfully, the woman seemed much more interested in what was going on in the holoscreen in front of her. Without peeling her eyes away from it, she snagged the credits I had slapped down on the counter and then pushed a keycard toward me. Taking it into my hand, I left the reception as fast as I could, Paila trailing closely behind me.

We followed down a cramped little corridor. Once I unlocked the door to our bedroom, exhaustion finally overtook me. It felt as if someone had injected me with concrete, and that it had finally started to solidify inside my muscles.

“Can we rest now?” Paila asked.

I didn’t bother with words, just gave her a nod, but it was all she needed. She threw herself on top of the mattress, and I followed. I felt my heart tighten for a moment, the closeness of her body enough to release whatever adrenaline my body still had, but the grip of exhaustion was too strong for me to escape.

In just a few seconds, I drifted off.

* * *

I sat up so fast my brain seemed to bounce off the walls of my skull.

For a moment, I didn’t even know where I was. I reached for my belt, hoping to feel the cold touch of a gun’s handle, but there was nothing there. A bolt of pain shot up from the gash in my stomach, and the memories rushed in fast.

Sighing, I looked to the side to find Paila still fast asleep. She looked peaceful, and even though I wanted to hear her voice, I decided to let her rest a while more. I swung my legs off the bed and padded my way toward the full length mirror in the corner. Lifting my shirt up, I looked at my bandages. They were still clean, which meant that I was no longer losing blood.

Satisfied, I then turned my attention to the small computer terminal facing the bed. I sat in front of it and had my fingers hovering over the keyboard already when I felt Paila stir behind me. I looked back at her over my shoulder only to see her pushing herself off the mattress. Yawning, she finger-combed her hair and then walked toward me.

“Playing video-games?” she asked me with a teasing smile.

“Video-games? Of course not. There’s no time for that.”

“I know, it was just a…oh, never mind.”

“I’m trying to find a way to relay the information we have to the Star,” I started to explain. “Macott’s a somewhat seedy city, and there are a lot of underground groups thriving here. I know some of them will have the right tech we need to bypass the Dominion’s digital lockdown on the planet.”

“Can you explain that in a way that I’ll understand?” she asked gently, laying one hand on my shoulder.

“The Dominion controls the flow of information here. Usually things of interest might go through undetected. But the info you got from the Major will most likely have a specific digital fingerprint. If we try to transmit it I’m pretty sure alarms will go off somewhere.”

“Even if it’s encrypted?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I’ll have it encrypted all the same, but I still think it’s safer for us to get one of those groups to help us. I know a few of them rely on old communication networks to communicate with pirates smuggling their wares onto the planet, and that’s what I plan on using. The guys at the Rogue Star will be familiar with it.”

“And do you think these underground guys will help us?”

“Not sure. But I think a few credits might tip the scales in our favor.”

With that, my fingers started flying over the keyboard.

Paila

“That'll be five credits,” the clerk said in a bored tone, pushing the eyeliner across the counter. He collected the five credits I laid in front of him, his three purple fingers quickly working as he opened the cash register and deposited the money inside.

“Thank you,” I said, but he was already waving at the next customer to step forward.

Pleased that no one really cared about me, I stepped out of the cramped little store I was in and smiled as the warm light of the sun fell over me. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, enjoying the moment, and then hurried down the street.

A bag hung from my hands, and inside it was more makeup than a reasonable person would need. Of course, I wasn't exactly a reasonable person, with me being a fugitive and whatnot, and I really needed all the makeup in order to keep up with my disguises. I had spent more credits than Wyann would have approved of, but it couldn't be helped. If I had to stroll the streets as a human, someone would notice us and rat us out fast.

I had to visit a lot of different stores in order to buy all the products I needed, just so nobody would be suspicious of the amount of makeup I was buying, but I was quite proud of how cautious I was being. I figured that some of Wyann's attention to detail was rubbing off on me. I didn't exactly feel like a masterful spy yet, but I was getting there.

“Spare a few credits, miss?” A tall purple alien asked me, materializing beside me out of nowhere. He was wearing a ratty tunic, frayed at the edges, and I jumped back by instinct. My heart rate shot up, and I clenched my fists as if readying myself for a fight. Of course, one look at the old man in front of me and I realized he was nothing but a beggar. Smiling with relief, I reached inside my purse and handed him a couple of credits, something I was sure Wyann wouldn't have approved of either.

As the old purple alien thanked me, I smiled at him and pushed on, walking down the quaint little street as I made my way back to the hotel. I had left a note telling Wyann not to worry, that I had gone shopping, but I knew that wouldn't really help.

I was already anticipating a pissed off Wyann.

I didn't really blame him. Our situation was a really dangerous one, and we needed to be extra cautious. But I just couldn't have him shoulder the burden by himself. I needed to do something—anything—to help, even if that meant getting what I needed for my disguises and some food.

Of course, I was also being selfish. I knew that if I stayed in the hotel room, doing nothing but staring at the walls, that panic would take over me. I could still feel it tugging at my thoughts, right from the dark corners of my mind, and it was a struggle to keep the fear and anxiety at bay.

I was in a strange planet, with the most powerful government in the galaxy hunting me down, and Wyann was injured. Not exactly a relaxing situation. Even while Wyann worked at the computer, furiously tapping his way through the walled-in hotel system just so he could get in touch with someone from the underground, I couldn’t relax. We were being proactive, yes, but I was having a hard time standing still. And so, when Wyann had decided to go for a quick shower, I left on my own side quest.

“I'm back,” I cried out as I stepped inside the hotel room. Wyann was sitting in the dark, the note I had left as he showered crumpled into a little paper ball beside him. He looked angry.

“Where the hell did you go?” He jumped up to his feet before I had even closed the door. “Are you out of your mind, woman?”

“Calm down. I needed to get some makeup, and I brought us some food. We needed those things, Wyann, and you know that.”

“I do know that,” he said, anger coating his words. “But you didn't need to go and get it. I could've done that.”

“Oh, really? And why’s that? Because you're Mr. Competent and I'm just Ms. Useless? Is it because I'm a woman? Or maybe it's because you think I'm stupid because I like singing and painting?”

“It's nothing like that,” he growled back at me.

“Then what is it?”

There was a pause then, but his eyes never left mine. When he finally spoke again, his voice was but a faint whisper. “I just worry about you, Paila. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you.”

“Well, if that's what you think, then you can go—wait, what?”

Taking a step toward me, he closed the distance between us and cupped my face with one hand. His touch was gentle and smooth, a stark contrast to how fierce and powerful he looked. It was humbling to be treated with such kindness by someone that could break me in half like a twig.

“I worry about you, Paila.”

My indignation softened. “But I'm right here. I'm safe. And I know that you'll keep me safe no matter what.”

“Yes. . . Yes, I will.”

He laid one hand on my waist and pulled me toward him. Before I had the time to react, he leaned down and crushed his mouth against mine, his lips fitting against mine in the most perfect way. I closed my eyes, my fingers growing limp and dropping my bag of groceries on the floor.

Reaching up for him, I rested both hands on his face as I kissed him. I parted his lips with the tip of my tongue, allowing it to dance around his, and I found that comfortable heat spread all over my body once more. My heart was already picking up the pace, and this time there would be no stopping me. No, a mere kiss wouldn't satisfy me.

I needed more.

Oh, I needed so much more.

“Please, Wyann,” I whispered against his lips, my voice brimming with anticipation. “Please.” Spinning me around, he threw me on top of the mattress and then climbed on after, his movements too elegant for a man his size.

His mouth returned to mine as I laid back against the mattress, and I placed both my hands on his chest. Grabbing the fabric of his shirt, I pulled it over his head with one anxious gesture. My breath caught as my eyes met his bare chest. The self-healing bandages he had applied earlier that both stopped blood loss and closed the wound looked clean, but that wasn't what had me holding my breath.

No, what captured all my attention was the perfect contour of his pectorals, and the deep ridges that separated his abs. He was more muscular than any man I had ever seen before, but there was a certain rawness to the way he looked. His muscles weren't there for show. They were there for pure functionality, all of him brimming with power, and the mouthwatering aspect of it was nothing but a detail I felt thankful for.

“I need you,” I said, hooking my fingers on his belt and pulling it out from its loops.

Returning my favor, he pulled my shirt over my head and brought his mouth down on the valley between my breasts, the tip of his tongue against my skin. Sliding one hand under my back, he unclasped my bra and pulled it off me with one quick gesture, my nipples growing hard as the cool air in the room caressed them.

“You're beautiful, Paila,” Wyann said, his soft voice charged with lust. His eyes went down from my face to the rising curve of my breasts, and I couldn't resist it any longer. Taking one hand to that sweet spot between his legs, I flattened my palm against the growing shape straining against his trousers.

Before I let sanity intrude, I pulled his pants down, freeing his erection. Or, should I say, freeing his erections? There were two cocks there, one thick, massive length, the other thinner, more flexible.

How…interesting.

Holding my breath as I tried to wrap my head around it, I simply closed my eyes and used both my hands to stroke him. I flicked my wrists fast, moving my fingers up and down the length of his larger cock, and I only stopped when Wyann growled and yanked the clothes off my body with one quick movement.

“You’re too covered,” he growled. “I need to see you, taste you.”

Laying there in bed, naked and underneath him, I felt more vulnerable than I had ever felt in my entire life. And yet, exhilaration thrummed along my spine. I felt alive.

Arching my back, I ran my fingernails across his shoulder blades as he leaned in and sucked my right nipple into his mouth, his tongue whipping at it hard. He didn’t linger. His mouth kept on going further down, the tip of his tongue gently caressing my skin until he drew close to the wetness between my legs.

“Oh, God,” I moaned, already knowing what was to come. When Wyann finally reached for me with the tip of his tongue, pressing down on my clit, I felt lighting and thunder inside my body. There was a storm brewing underneath each nerve ending that I had, and it was absolutely perfect.

Resting his mouth against my aching pussy, he then sucked my folds into his mouth, savoring my wetness as his tongue marched up and down the length of my slit. He devoured me in a way I didn’t know to be possible, his tongue and lips working in unison, and it didn’t take long before the storm inside me turned into armageddon itself. My nerve endings were on fire, and the thoughts inside me were crashing against one other.

And I exploded.

A tidal wave of pleasure crashed against me as Wyann sucked my clit again, and I clawed at his back like a wild beast, digging my fingernails into his muscles so hard I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him bleed. But if I was hurting, he sure as hell didn’t look like he wanted to complain.

Instead, he pulled his mouth away from my pussy and looked up into my eyes. I opened my mouth to take a deep breath, and then he was on top of me again. I laced my legs around his hips by instinct and, reaching down, grabbed the larger of his cocks and angled it so that it was right against my entrance. His other shaft pressed against my clit in a maddening dance, and my eyes rolled back in my head as I tried to process every sensation.

“Now, now, now,” I chanted into his ear, my words turning into a quivering moan as Wyann thrusted. He buried his whole length deep inside me with one quick movement of his hips and, even though my eyes were open, I couldn’t see anything. It seemed like my brain was using all its raw power to process the obscene amount of pleasure coursing through me.

Keeping my body tightly pressed against his, I rocked my hips in a matching rhythm to that of his thrusts. In that moment, he owned more than just my body. He owned my soul, and my whole being with it. Right then and there, I knew I’d always belong to him.

Crushing my mouth against his, I kissed him wildly as we surrendered to the sweet storm enveloping us. Pleasure raged through both our bodies until we climaxed, the electric rush of ecstasy making me feel as if I was about to pass out.

But I didn’t pass out.

Instead, I let out a moan so shrill that my vocal chords felt as if they were about to snap. My throat felt raw, but the fire lapping at my muscles from the inside out made it all worthwhile. Tightening my legs around his waist, I held him as he thrust one final time with all his might, driving his cock deep inside me. Only then did he stop, remaining so still he wasn’t even breathing. I felt his cock throb against my inner walls, and then I gasped as I felt him spill his warm seed inside me.

We held each other for a long time.

We didn’t say a word, nor did we wonder about the future.

In that moment, everything was alright again.

Wyann

“Shouldn’t you be acting serious?”

“What?”

“You should look mean.” Paila chuckled, her hand brushing against mine as we walked down the ramp that led into the underground system. After grabbing a couple of hours of sleep—we both needed it after exhausting ourselves in each other’s embrace—we had left the hotel and started our walk into the underground. I had managed to broker a meeting between me and some guy running a smuggler’s ring, and I hoped that the credits I had left would be enough to buy me some good will.

“What do you mean? I’m serious about this mission.”

“Then why are you smiling that much?” she asked me teasingly.

I realized she was right. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wipe off my face that little smile that had taken over my lips. It was strange, in a way, but I wasn’t surprised. After what had happened between the two of us, it was hard not to be happy.

She was perfect.

She was mine.

Making a conscious effort to erase my smile, I looked at Paila. “How do I look now?”

“Intimidating,” she smiled. I wasn’t sure if I looked as intimidating as she had me believe, but it didn’t really matter. Once push came to shove, I knew how to put my game face on. We kept on walking down the tunnel, pushing our way past the crowd of commuters, but I discreetly made a sharp turn and entered a service door to our left.

“Are you sure this is the way?”

“I’m positive.”

We walked through a dark corridor. At the end of it stood a silent, shadowy figure. It’s contour seemed to belong to someone of my height. I balled my hands into fists, ready for confrontation, but whoever it was merely took one step forward and showed us his bare hands.

“Relax,” he said.

The only thing telling me that it was a man in front of us was the voice. He wore a long leather coat that went as low as his ankles, and underneath the coat there was a kind of weird suit I had never seen before. It looked like something someone would use to work in a highly-pressurized environment, but I couldn’t be too sure. What really added to the mystery was the mask the man was wearing. It was black, and a had small grill where a mouth should be. Covering his eyes, the man had goggles with tinted lenses.

“Are you Uvenar?” I asked him, using the name my online contacts had given me. I was pretty sure it was nothing but an alias, but it had to suffice. Even though he had told me to relax, I wasn’t going to do it. If you were too trusting when dealing with these underground types you wouldn’t last long.

“Yes. And I take it that you’re the one interested in our relay system?”

“You’re right.”

“Can I have your name?”

“No, you can’t,” I growled, adding some weight to my words.

“Figured.” Uvenar shrugged, his voice coming through the grill in a slightly distorted tone. “Not that it matters, anyway. Do you have the agreed payment?”

Nodding, I reached inside my jacket and grabbed a small box from inside my pocket. I had converted some of my credits into high-value ones and, even though I was about to be robbed blind to send a message, I didn’t really have a choice.

“It’s all there, but feel free to check,” I said, popping the box open. The man—or whatever he was—rushed forward and peered down at the box. Even though he had a mask on, I could almost feel the smile behind it.

“Very good,” he said, taking the box out of my hands and closing it. Placing it inside his jacket, he then spun on his heels and started marching down the corridor without saying a word more. Paila and I followed after him, and I kept my eyes peeled at every turn.

“Keep your eyes open,” I warned her, and she replied with a slight nod of her head.

Even though I was pretty sure this guy would honor our deal, I couldn’t help but be paranoid. I knew better than anyone how the Dominion agents operated, and I wouldn’t have been too surprised if I found they had a few covert operatives working out of these underground groups.

After about twenty minutes, the damp corridors finally gave way into a tunnel with rails running across the length of the walls. It was one used by the underground transports, but the rails seemed rusty. It had to be an old abandoned one. A few more minutes, and after going through a couple more service doors, we finally ended up on what seemed like a loading dock. A few men like Uvenar, all clad in the same attire, were loading a couple of crates into a small hovercraft. Judging by the crates and the hovercraft they were using, I deduced they were smuggling some kind of illegal drug, using the underground tunnels to access different points in the city. I had never enjoyed working with the drug dealers of the underworld, but this time it couldn’t be helped.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Uvenar said. He sounded amused. “These aren’t drugs. Or, well, not the kind of drugs you’re thinking about. They’re medicine.”

“Medicine?” It was hard not to sound surprised.

“The Dominion has bought up a few pharma companies in the planet, and have outlawed foreign competition. They carved a monopoly for themselves, and they’ve decided to jack up the prices.”

“And what? You’re running a charity here?”

“Not exactly,” he shrugged. “I’m charging for my services, sure, but I can still make a nice profit and make these drugs available at lower rates than what’s allowed in the market.”

“I see.”

I watched as Uvenar’s men worked for a while, wondering if the Dominion was pulling the same stunt on other systems. It would be easy for them to make a lot of money by propping up monopolies across the galaxy, and ensuring they were the only ones profiting, but that had to come at a cost. If they pushed too hard, soon enough the grumbling would start and the Gaed rebellion would find more allies.

But the Dominion had to know that.

Of course, it was very possible that they needed the funds to orchestrate a massive military operation, one that would start with the destruction of the Terran system and culminate in a conflict with the Bignzen system.

Shaking my head, I tried to push all thoughts of that to the back of my head. Right now, trying to decipher the political maneuverings of the Dominion would do me no good. I simply had to transmit the information I had back to the Rogue Star and leave the bird’s eye strategizing to Dejar.

“Feel free to use the terminal there,” Uvenar said, pointing toward a small computer terminal mounted beside the hovercraft. Climbing down the stairs that led to the loading dock platform, I made my way toward the terminal and booted up.

“Here’s the thumb drive,” Paila whispered, handing me the small drive she had used to copy the information on the Major’s datapad. I plugged it into the terminal, then used a simple but efficient encryption system that Valtic had taught me how to use. Once I was sure the files were all encrypted, I set up a one-way communication channel with the Rogue Star, using the old smuggler’s networks, and uploaded all the files.

“And that’s done,” I said, erasing all traces of the files on the terminal.

“I wonder what was so important for you to come all the way down here,” Uvenar said, materializing beside me. “Something important the Dominion can’t see, huh?”

“None of your business,” I said, probably more harshly than I had intended.

He chuckled. “Fair enough. But I hope it’s something that’ll cause the Dominion some grief.”

“Count on it.” This time I allowed a small grin to show on my face. I couldn’t see it, but I sensed Uvenar was grinning right back at me. But no matter how he felt toward the Dominion, none of us was inclined to continue the conversation. We had made our transaction, and so our relationship was coming to a close.

“Just go through that door and head down the tunnel until you see a service ramp,” he said casually. “You’ll resurface on station 32-B.”

“Good.” I was about to turn and leave when, suddenly remembering how Paila enjoyed being polite to everyone, I found himself hesitating. “And thank you.”

“Anytime. Happy to help. . . and get paid.”

Of course.

Following Uvenar’s instructions, Paila and I quickly made our way into station 32-B. We blended in with the crowd, made our way back onto the surface, and that was when I felt my blood turn cold inside my veins.

“What is it?” Paila asked as she bumped into me.

“That woman,” I growled. “She’s here.”

Paila

I’d been scared in my life before, but the terror that constricted me now was unlike anything I’d ever felt. It was unforgiving in its vice-like grip. Unable to escape, I could do little else save shiver against the harsh aura of it as it cocooned me, taking me over so that there was nothing left but absolute, unrelenting fear.

We’d come so far, our transmission of the message one of the few successes of this entire trip so far. I knew we’d done well making it out of several situations alive, although not unscathed, the memories of Wyann’s wounds all too fresh in my mind’s eye for me to forget them that fast. However, that gave me no comfort to console myself with as we were stalked through the streets.

It was the first time since I’d agreed to this mission that I realized just how out of my depth I was. All my eavesdropping, all my sneaking around to listen to Dejar and the others plot out the mission aboard the Rogue Star, oh it had been wonderful. Innocent and carefree. I wasn’t acting out by wanting to know more, I was just being a driven woman in search of answers to a mystery that dogged all of us civilian members. Besides, the captains’ should have known by now that I wasn’t one to sit back and let others do the work for me, not when I could be of use.

I’d been a fool! I’d been too cocky, too self-assured in my abilities.

When Wyann had scolded me upon finding me listening should have been a wakeup call to me that this wasn’t a task meant for the faint hearted, and while I’d never considered myself faint in any capacity, I was now beginning to question the strength of my personality. I should have listened, I should have reminded myself that these sorts of tasks were usually given to trained individuals and not crew members like myself. If only I could go back and scream at myself, to shake her into realization of what was to come, perhaps this wouldn’t be the desperate situation it had turned into.

Wyann drew my attention once again, his twitching enough to make even the most stoic person uneasy. He gave me a pleading expression, his eyes apologetic before he so much as even thought of his next sentence; it was awful to see him like this. “Paila, they’re gaining on us, we’re going to have to run.” I could hear how much he hated having to flee like this.

“Okay,” I whispered, the strength to speak having left me long before we’d found ourselves in among the crowds of Station 32-B.

He grabbed my hand and yanked me forward.

We whipped in between people with frightening speed, though we lacked any kind of grace as we did so. Faces whizzed by us, their murmuring deafening but gone within mere seconds as we crashed about in an attempt to get away. Every now and then, Wyann would look behind us to see where our pursuers were, and each time he looked forwards it was evident they’d been able to match our speed without any issue. We were fighting a losing battle.

Stations and other buildings came into view, although they flickered away as easily as they’d appeared, the signs of their warehouse exteriors meaning little to either of us as we dashed and weaved, our movements sure to be rising all sorts of alarms in those we bounded past. We were on the run, in front of hundreds of people, there was no way no one was calling for more authorities to chase us down. People didn’t think that way when so used to the beating heart of a city like this—they acted first and wondered about the lives that fleeing people lived much later, once their actions had born consequences.

“In here!” Wyann commanded.

Before I had a chance to figure out just where here was, he flew down a side street and then bashed into the nearest doorway, an almighty crack of the wood echoing all around us. Despite the locking having been broken, Wyann was quick to fix the door back in place so as to look like it hadn’t been disturbed. It was a long shot, but that was all we had.

Not wanting to wait around to see if our plan had worked, we were panting as we ran through the unboxed curiosities of an old, crumbling building, the walls looking like they could collapse on us at any minute. Even as we fled for our lives, the Dominion’s dogs hot on our heels, I still had time to muse at how some parts of the universe had been untouched by the advancements of technology. In among the metallic structures and the shiny machines, lived a whole of old buildings that longed to be rediscovered. It was heart wrenching to see them abandoned and forgotten like this.

“Paila, move it!”

I didn’t bother to say sorry, wincing a little as I sped up to keep by his side, a door in front of us looking like it led back out onto another side street. Anyone could be on the other side of it, however we had no other choice than to throw ourselves into the unknown once again. Wyann tugged on the handle and it flew open. Fortunately, no one was in this part of town to see him do this. There in front of us, a beacon of hope if ever I’d seen one, was a car parked and waiting.

We’d have to rely on stealing again, but it didn’t seem that much of a taboo to me anymore for us to rely on it—running away meant needing to take items that didn’t belong to us. It was a necessity of survival.

Once we’d gotten inside, it hadn’t taken long for Wyann to get the engine started, the car roaring into life and jettisoning us away from those who clambered to find us. This was when I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Don’t get too comfy, we need to ditch this car and fast.”

“But,” I began to argue, confused as to why we needed to get rid of it so quickly.

“Paila, they’re going to expect our stealing, we’ve done it before. All we can do is get someplace safe and then get rid.” Wyann clawed at his own face as he spoke his next words. “Then we need to don disguises and get as far away from this hellscape as possible.” He didn’t need to ask me if I was in agreement.

A couple of blocks away from where we’d found the car, a garage loomed in our windscreen window; it was a place we could hide the car in among others, it meant a moment to gather our thoughts once more. However, with such a facility came the harsh glare of camera lenses, the Dominion’s eyes and ears all over every city within its airspace. We were going to be recorded the moment we stepped outside of our car.

Pulling into this potential haven, a place of respite away from those who hunted us, Wyann hastily parked the car up and began rooting around in the bag we’d manage to bring along with us—if it wasn’t for him and his ability to forward plan, I had no doubt that we’d be without any form of a disguise right now. Unpacking several creased and sad looking garments from inside of its depths, it became apparent to myself before it did him, that we weren’t left with the best of what I’d brought along with us in the first place.

Wyann tightened his lips, his eyes glaring into the bag as if it was at fault. “I know there’s not much, Paila, but do your best with this.”

We both threw together a costume as quickly as possible under such pressure. Once we were done, Wyann told me to get out of the car and casually walk into the next building; I did as I was told, though the urge to run was tenfold as we strolled along the garage seemingly without a care in the world.

Entering into the connected building, we allowed ourselves a moment to truly pause, the fervent movements up until this point momentarily put on hold. For now, nobody could tell we were the ones on the run, which gave us an advantage however small it may be. Placing my hand in his, I looked into his eyes as I gulped. I could see he was surprised to have my hand in his own, though he didn’t try and move it away, in fact, his grip tightened around me as he gazed back into my eyes.

We’d not spoken much of our night together, and I wasn’t sure we ever would.

Perhaps it had been impassioned but in a way that comes about due to life hurling you into a void, not out of true feelings.

I longed to be wrong.

After all of this, after the hardships we’d been through, that Wyann was the man I wanted to remain in my life.

The only one.

Mine.

Wyann

I needed to get Paila someplace safe, or at least with a semblance of safety. Our disguises weren’t that good. Her makeup was starting to fade and peel off in spots and my own disguise was simply a change of clothes. They weren’t going to work for long.

I looked down at her as we walked away from where we stashed our stolen vehicle. She looked tired, and scared. She wasn’t used to doing things like this, neither properly trained nor built for it. But she was pushing herself to keep up, and that was something that I found impressive.

She was a fighter.

“How much longer?” she asked between breaths.

“Just a little bit. In here,” I answered as I pulled her into another parking garage. We made our way to the fourth level, finally finding a vehicle that I had seen numerous times before, and all in the same dark blue coloring.

“We’re taking this one?” she whispered as I walked us up to it.

I nodded as I directed her to the passenger side of the car. “This one will be easy to switch out. I’ve seen at least five just like it just in the area.”

I manipulated the locking mechanism on the door. It clicked and I opened the door, pressing the unlock button inside so Paila could get in as well. We sat inside, buckled up, and I started the car.

“Do we have to switch?”

I swallowed my almost immediate annoyance at her question. I had to remind myself that she was scared. I nodded. “We want to make sure we put as much space between us and the authorities as possible, and the more trails they have to follow, the better our chances of getting out of here.” What I didn’t say was that I had done this before and that I knew what I was doing. She was tired. So was I. I was out of practice, and didn’t realize how much I missed the nonstop movements. My time aboard the Rogue Star had made me slow.

I put the aircar in gear, deciding to keep it on the ground. It was a nice little vehicle, one of the newer models that had just been presented to the public recently as a versatile personal transport device. Very popular too, that’s why I knew that stealing this one would not only be simple, but would provide us with numerous opportunities to switch it out and hide our trail.

I drove us out into the flow of traffic, trying my best to make sure that we were driving as if nothing was wrong. I took us out of the downtown area and pulled into the parking lot of a local commercial complex. I quickly showed Paila how to drive it, then pulled up next to an identical vehicle. I got out, Paila took my place, then I proceeded to unlock and start the new one. I backed it out of its parking space, Paila parked in it, then joined my in our new ride.

“This is sort of fun, in a scary sort of way,” she said with a smile. I couldn’t help but smile back. She was correct. The rush of what I was doing was returning, and I found myself grateful to feel that rush again.

“We need to make one more switch, then I want to find us a place where we can stay the night. You look exhausted.”

“You aren’t that perky yourself.”

I shrugged in agreement. She was right. Despite the rush I felt, the training that was coming back to me, and the dangerous circumstances we were under, I was feeling a bit tired. I had spent too much time away from such activities and my stamina was flagging.

We drove around the city for a few, going to the complete opposite end of town and found another vehicle identical to this one parked in front of an apartment complex. Quickly imitating our actions from the commercial complex parking lot, we were in a new aircar and making our way to find some place to sleep for the night.

“What about that place?” Paila asked as we passed a small hotel.

“No. It was just sold, so the new owners have most likely installed new surveillance cameras. No, I saw one a few blocks over that I think we’ll be better set in.” I drove us to a hotel that was in the process of being renovated, as were most of the buildings on the street. “They’re rebuilding this portion of town, part of a massive renovation project.”

“How do you know this?”

I chuckled. “When I was looking things up, trying to gather information, I came across the renovation project and its location. It helps to know about the places you’re forced to stay in.”

“You really are paranoid, aren’t you?”

“Only sometimes, when I need to make sure that I’m not being followed, or watched, or pursued in any way.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her laugh silently and shake her head. I parked the car a block from the hotel. We walked half a block away, hailed a public transport, and had them drop us off at the hotel. During check in we gave fake names, paid for the room in physical credits, and made our way up to our room.

“Wow,” Paila said with a quiet intake of breath. “This is pretty, considering.”

I was forced to agree with her. Despite the renovations, the rooms were still very well maintained and nicely decorated. She plopped almost instantly down on the bed. The sigh of satisfaction that escaped her lips made me smile as I shook my head in amusement.

“Comfortable?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, not opening her eyes.

“Good. Then, make sure the door is locked behind me. I’m going out.”

She shot up, looking at me with concern. “Where are you going?”

I walked over to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “I want to check out the hotel, make sure of additional exit points, and possibly find us another room to be in just in case the authorities, or my dance partner, somehow find us here. I need to make sure that you’re safe.”

She smiled at me and I found myself enjoying that smile. “Okay,” she said slowly. “But, come back quick, please?”

I nodded. I went downstairs and headed for the small eatery that the hotel was using while they were renovating their restaurant. I ordered food for pick up in half an hour, then spent the next thirty minutes finding six ways out. Seven if we were willing to slide down the garbage chute at the top of the building where they were throwing all the old insulation from the walls. I also discovered that the renovations started on the floor directly above ours, and that that floor was close to being finished, and had no surveillance cameras installed yet.

I headed down to our room, knocked on the door, and invited Paila to come with me. We grabbed our food from the eatery, then went up to the floor above us.

“We’re staying up here?” I could hear the disappointment in her voice and felt bad for it.

“I apologize. I know the bed was comfortable, but if the authorities come, they’ll check the rooms first, this will give us a chance to get out.”

Her resigned sigh seemed to originate in her toes and travel all the way to her throat. She was clearly unhappy, but she was willing to follow along with what I told her.

“Let’s eat,” I said. “Maybe that will make you feel better.”

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled.

She ate the food mechanically. I could see in her eyes that she was thinking about how soft that bed was, and how life had been before this mission. I wasn’t sure what to tell her. I had never had a place that I stayed in very long until I left the Dominion and joined the Rogue Star.

My life had consisted of constant movement, never staying in a place for longer than a few weeks at a time, and even then, I was always finding a new place to spend the night during my time there.

She had never known this life. She had been at Persephone Station, then spent the last year in a relatively constant setting inside the Star. She had never had to spend her life on the move. Even though we had spent the last year constantly running from the Dominion, her place aboard the Star had been constant.

I tried talking to her about things from her life in an attempt to calm her, and it seemed to help. As she warmed up to the idea of telling me about some acting thing from her youth, she visibly relaxed.

The more she told me her stories, the more I realized that I enjoyed hearing them. But another emotion hid beneath the joy that I wasn’t sure about. It was a sense of worry, which was unsurprising, but the level of worry concerned me.

I worried about the other members of the crew, but most of that was selfish in nature. If any of the crew were injured or killed, it would create a situation where my workload would increase, or the danger we felt would increase.

My concern for her was more than that, much more. I was worried about her, not about how her actions would affect me.

This was dangerous.

This could be deadly.

And I didn’t care.

Paila

The racket of the city beyond our windows became ambient sound while I sat and reflected on all that had happened. There was so much to work through, I feared the city would fall silent before I’d be done with quieting my mind.

Upon Wyann’s return, I’d been overjoyed, crazed almost, to see him back safe and well, both of us reunited again. I’d been so happy to see him because I’d missed his company. I’d ached for his safe return because he allowed me to rest easy in a quiet confidence that, somehow, we’d make it out of this in one piece.

To my amazement, Wyann had reacted to my still being here in much the same way, both of us relieved that the other was okay.

Knowing that there was more to our relationship for him as well, more than the time we’d spent molded into one another as we’d worked through our feelings in the only way we’d known how, was a revelation I’d not expected. If I was being honest with myself though, nothing about our relationship was how I’d anticipated this playing out; Wyann had been so against me coming, I’d believed his opinion on that to have been a fixed one. And yet here we both were, two people bonded together through fraught worry and pained desperation. We’d become a unit.

My recognition of this allowed me to see how Wyann had been caring for me long before my awareness had grown—early on into the mission, he’d been bothered about my welfare in a way that wasn’t typical. A flash here, a burst of concern there, it had all been telling me that he’d fostered a tenderness for me beyond that of an acquaintance, that I was more to him than an annoyance thrust upon him by Itair and the others.

I mattered to him.

Did that mean I’d gotten him wrong? I’d always been firm in my convictions that Wyann was an unbending man who was so used to life working out in the way he’d orchestrated, that any deviation was unthinkable to him. He lacked humor, was devoid of fun, and was unable to give himself over to anything except the objective of the mission. It had been a harsh reading of his character, but it wasn’t like I’d be the only one who’d judged too harshly, as he too had regarded me with equal uncertainty and curiosity. We’d both been sure of ourselves, believing that we were both right.

Now that had shifted, both of us discovering that we’d been wrong in so many ways, what did it mean for us as a twosome… as a couple? I doubted he’d want more from me than what we’d already shared, but I was also desperate to be wrong about that—I wanted him to want more from me. I hoped Wyann would pine for me to be by his side for the rest of his days, just as I was feeling for him. However, considering how easily taken over by emotions I could be, I was anxious that it was only I who harbored such deep feelings.

There was a strong possibility that now wasn’t the time to do any of this, but I was done questioning myself when so much was at stake; if we were to die tomorrow, I needed to do so with all my questions having been answered. I needed the knowledge in order to go peacefully.

Turning my eyes to the heavens, the nerves inside of me so sharp that they pushed against my flesh, I decided to act. An outcome, however painful it might be, needed to come about before we moved onto whatever horrors, and wonders, this life we’d both chosen, threw our way. It was now or never.

“Wyann, can we talk?”

He frowned at me, his head shaking slightly. “We just did, Paila, it’s all we’ve been doing since I came back.” Ever logical, he’d misunderstood my meaning. Frayed though my nerves were, I continued on.

“No, I don’t mean talk like that, I mean talk about us.” I’d gone to pause then, to let him speak if it felt he had anything to add, but before I could stop myself, my speech was spewing from me like lava. “I have feelings for you, Wyann! And I don’t know what to do with them, as I know you wouldn’t ever look at me in the same way I do you. Maybe it’s what we’ve been through together, maybe it’s my imagination—I don’t know, all I do know is that I don’t want to lose you.” My bosom heaved as I waited for his response, my breathing labored and fast.

Nothing. There was nothing save silence, a noiselessness so abnormal it made my skin prick up into gooseflesh. I shouldn’t have been as stunned as I was because it had always been at the fore of my feelings that he didn’t care for me as I did him. However, that didn’t make his lack of reaction any easier to witness. I had to sigh at myself though and not at him: this had been of my own making, not his.

“Paila. . .”

My heart leaped into my throat when I heard him speak, so sure had I been that no other words would be uttered by him for the rest of the night.

“I—I feel the same way.”

“You do?” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“I do, yes. I won’t pretend that I understand you, you’re as strange to me as I’m sure I am to you, but that doesn’t change the fact that I feel a certain way about you.” It was Wyann’s turn to sigh now. “When you were dancing with the Major, when I couldn’t find you, when I feared you hurt—all of this affected me in ways I never through possible. It scares me to admit it, but I care for you far more deeply than a friend.”

It scared him. As bad as I knew it sounded, I was glad it wasn’t just me shrinking back in awe of what I felt.

To finally know that I wasn’t alone in all of this wanting and longing eased the burden I’d been carrying no end; Wyann had removed the weights from my person and had freed me in the process of doing so. It was more than I’d hoped to hear from him.

I went to him, not in search of anything steeped in lust but because of a need to be close, my body interlocking with his for as long as we had the minutes to spare. If we made love then we’d come together that way, but that wasn’t what I was looking for as I took his hand in mine, the action so normal to us both now. Upon feeling my touch against his skin, Wyann smiled the most genuine, unhindered expression I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing adorn his handsome features.

Gently, I moved towards the bed and beckoned for him to join me. I made sure to keep my demeanor light, unladen with carnal desire; this was to be a tender moment. Wyann followed me willingly. We both bedded down as best we could, the bareness of our current setting not easy to disregard even in spite of our newly revealed affection for each other. Try as we might to make this scene a romantic one, the barren truth of the room wasn’t going to ease no matter how much we tried to block it from view.

Nestled in his arms, I immediately felt protected the moment he wrapped them around me. I nuzzled further into his chest, delighted for the closeness between us.

“Will you hold me until I fall asleep, please?” I asked of him, my tone so quiet, so timid, that I wasn’t sure he’d heard me speak at all.

“I’ll hold you all night, Paila, for as long as I can.”

I sensed steadfast sincerity in what he said, the way his grip had increased just that little bit more only further convincing me of how heartfelt his words were.

I didn’t know if sleep would come for either of us that night, even in spite of the exhaustion that pawed at both of us, but I didn’t care whether it showed its mercy or not. For in this moment, a wonderful one amidst so many jarring memories that would haunt me for years to come, I’d found a greatness that the Dominion would never be able to steal away from me. Oh, they could try—and I acknowledged that they would—however, I’d be ready for them when that time came.

They wouldn’t take this away from me without a fight, not after I’d toiled so desperately to learn of its existence in the first place. I’d sooner die, so determined was I that the Dominion couldn’t have this, couldn’t have us.

Wyann

I lay on the bed, watching Paila sleep. She looked so peaceful lying there, curled up into a ball. She murmured a little as she slept and I wondered what she dreamt about.

Maybe she dreamt of one of those old Hollywood movies she told me about.

One day I’d find a black-market vid-trader, someone who specialized in gathering the random broadcasts of off-limit systems. With enough credits, I’d be able to get some of those stories for her.

Whatever she wanted.

As much as I wanted to smile, I couldn’t. Realizing that I cared for her more than I did for anyone else, and that she felt the same way, it made me even more apprehensive about what we were doing. I had to get her out of danger, and the only way to do that was to put her on a transport on her own and make sure that the attention was on me.

It wouldn’t be hard, logistically. We weren’t far away from an intergalactic space port, and we could purchase multiple tickets on five or six flights each. This would allow us an opportunity to pick any of the flights and force the authorities to look into each one. Then, once she was on a flight, I would make sure that the attention was placed firmly on my back and draw them away.

It was the only way I was sure would work, at least in getting her home safely. Funny, I had never thought of any place as home, but now I considered the Star as home as long as Paila was there.

“You’re brooding. What are you thinking about?”

I looked at Paila to see her stifling a yawn as she looked at me. “Nothing,” I lied.

“Liar,” she smiled.

She rolled onto her back and stretched, giving me an extended look at her figure. I mentally traced her figure, carving it into my memory. I had seen beautiful women before. My dance partner turned assassin was extremely beautiful.

But there was just something about Paila that made my mind and my heart hurt at the idea of being away from her. It was a beauty that cut to the soul. While other people’s beauty would fade with time, Paila was timeless to me.

I felt a need to run my hands up and down her body, feeling every inch of her skin beneath my fingertips.

And I knew from experience it was foolish to turn away from such an urge.

Slowly I ran my hand down her hip to her thigh, fingers barely touching her skin.

She giggled, then blushed. “Sorry, that tickles a bit.”

I wasn't sorry at all, any reaction from her sweet. Her laughter. Her sighs. All of it.

Stretched beside her, my hand grazed the soft skin of her belly, then back down to her leg, back and forth, unerringly moving closer to the apex of her thighs.

By the time I dipped one finger between her folds, she was wet.

I pressed further in and Paila arched beneath me.

Still so tight, so delicate.

Gaze fixed on her lovely eyes I slowly pushed the finger inside her, back and forth until it moved freely, then added a second.

Her eyes widened again and I lowered my mouth to hers, tongue running over her lips.

She granted me entrance to her mouth at the same time I added a third finger, moving slowly, steadily against her, twisting slightly with every controlled motion.

I drove my tongue against hers at the same steady pace and felt the first quiver of pleasure began to rock through her body.

Her arms tightened around my neck, demanding that I move faster but still, relentless, I kept on until I swallowed her screams.

Now she lay blushed and languid beneath my hands.

Paila was glorious.

Every touch of her made me want more.

I always wanted more. Always wanted her. But the constant desire had been replaced by a wildfire.

Gently I lifted her, turning her to her belly then pulled her back to rest on her knees.

Kneeling over her, I ran one hand down the delicate line of her spine then reached around the sweet curve of her breast, lightly pinching the tight nipple while the other hand moved around her hip to brush at her clit.

She sighed in anticipation as the head of my primary cock skimmed against her slick folds. But when the secondary squirmed against the tight bud between her ass cheeks, now exposed, she stiffened for a moment. Then as my finger flicked and circled against her clit, Paila melted.

“Yes,” she sighed

As I edged my primary cock inside that glorious silken sheath, the secondary eased into the tight virgin passage, her gentle cries driving me on, holding me back until I was fully seated within both orifices.

Paila groaned, shivering in pleasure while impaled on my cocks. I circled her clit, teasing that tight nub of nerves until she spasmed, her orgasm taking control, seizing and relaxing her limbs until she shuddered beneath me, limp and loose.

I stroked her side, leaning against her back, and brushed the hair from her flushed face. “I must have you now, mate,” I whispered into her ear, unable to restrain myself any longer.

Paila turned her head and cracked one eye open, running the edge of a pink tongue against her lips. Impossibly, I grew even harder inside her. “I did not think all your charges were spent.”

Her smile was wicked. Maddening. Mine.

Moving my hand from her breast to her hip, I pulled back slightly, only to drive into her sweet body again.

With every moan that escaped her lips I pounded harder, pushing us both to the edge until finally, with a roar I shattered, pulsing within her, her cries lashing at my soul.

Binding us.

As we came down I rolled to my side, bringing her with me into the shelter of my arms.

“That was lovely,” Paila nestled into me. “Now, do you want to tell me what you were lying about?”

“And how do you know I’m lying?” I asked, after I scrambled to remember anything further back than the past few moments of bliss.

“You have a tell,” she answered.

Oh.

That worried me a bit. I had spent my entire career working on trying to make sure that no one could tell if I was lying or not.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” she said. “I think it’s only with me that your eyes twinkle when you lie. I don’t notice it any other time.”

I chuckled. “Guess I need to work on that.”

“Really? You want to be able to lie to me?”

I caught myself in the trap quickly, but I had already fallen in. Maybe she was better at this than I thought.

“No. No,” I said quickly, holding my hands up. “Not to you, but in general. If I have a tell, then people will learn about it and will start to catch on. But, no, not to you. I don’t want to lie to you.”

“Good,” she said with a smile as she sat up. “Because I don’t want you to lie to me either.” She stretched again, then looked at me. “What’s the plan for today?”

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need to do a little bit of recon. I need to know if we’re still being followed and who by.”

“And I’m guessing that means I’ll stay here, then?” She sounded a little disappointed.

I nodded. “Sorry. I just work faster and better on a solo recon. This isn’t the time for me to try to train you, not yet.”

She nodded as well. “I understand. Sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“That I’m not good enough to go with you,” she answered quietly, dropping her head as she spoke.

I reached over and gently lifted her face to look into mine. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault that you didn’t have the same training that I did. I’m not holding that against you, and you shouldn’t either.”

“You’re right, just,” she looked at me and gave me a little bit of a pouty look. “I still feel bad that I can’t be helpful to you.”

“You are being helpful. You’ve done things on this mission that I never would have been able to do. It’s just that, this time, I have to do it alone.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know. I’m not completely sure how long it will take me to gather the information I’ll need to make me comfortable enough to take you back out into public.” What I didn’t say, specifically, was that I was looking for a way to keep her out of danger before I put her on a flight by herself.

“You’re not telling me something,” she said.

I gave her a sad smile. “We’re going to need to separate.”

“What?”

I held up my hand. “Let me explain. I’m going to get you off this planet, and out of danger, and the best way to do that would be to make sure that we get multiple tickets on multiple flights, then put you on one of them while I drag the hounds behind me.”

She shook her head vigorously. “No. Absolutely not. You are not leaving me behind for anything more than recon. I won’t let you.”

“Paila, you need to understand, we’re not going to get away from whoever this woman is without a confrontation. And that confrontation is going to end up deadly. I don’t want you there for that.”

“And I don’t want you there for that, either,” she said, a slight squeak escaping as she spoke. “You are not leaving me behind, and that’s final.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and set a look on her face that was meant to tell me that she meant business. She was trying so hard to look stern and I was unable to hide the slight lift of the corner of my mouth.

“What?” she asked.

“I know you don’t want me to leave you, and trust me, I don’t want to either. But we can’t simply go with the idea that the two of us are going to survive this. That’s why I need to get you back to the others. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“And if you die, you won’t see me hurt, but I’ll be hurt anyway,” she shot back. “What then? How am I supposed to deal with your death, especially after what we said to each other last night? Or was that all a lie?”

I reached out and grabbed her hand. She yanked them away from me. With a sigh, I answered her. “Last night was not a lie. I meant what I said when I told you that I care for you more deeply than I’ve ever cared for anyone or anything. That’s why I don’t want you to get hurt and why I need to get you onto a ship.”

She shook her head. “No.”

Now the look she gave me wasn’t forced. Now the look was real and told me that I was an idiot, and I felt like one. I wanted her around, but I didn’t want her around. With her near me, I would be forced to rethink everything to make sure that all of my plans would accommodate two people, and I would have to make sure that those plans also fit for one of those two people being untrained and a novice at almost everything. That would make everything more difficult.

However, with her around, I would know where she was and wouldn’t have to worry about her either being caught or killed without me around.

But, if push came to shove, I didn’t want her around. I wasn’t sure how to run a campaign such as this with an untrained partner. I would be much more comfortable being able to do this on my own where the only target would be me, and I would do all that I could to make sure that I was the target.

“You’re thinking again,” she said. “You’re trying to come up with a way to send me away, aren’t you?”

How did she see that? I couldn’t lie to her, so I nodded.

“Dammit. Haven’t you figured out yet that I’m not leaving you and I won’t let you leave me?” She stood up and padded over to me. She sat down in my lap, wrapped her arms around me, and kissed me. “I just got you, you really think I’m going to let you go now?” she asked when she stopped kissing me.

“I guess not.” I laughed, then kissed her back. I would still try, but I was happy to have been convinced otherwise.

“Good. Now, you’re not going to do something stupid like try to leave me while you’re out on recon, are you?”

It was my turn to give her a look. I would convince her to go, not trick her. “I’ll return for you, promise.”

“Good. Then you better get going so you can hurry up and get back. Okay?”

I nodded, gave her another kiss, and we both got to our feet. “Make sure you make the room look slept in, okay?”

She nodded. “And you make sure to get back to me.”

“I will.”

Paila

I sat on the edge of the hotel room's dingy bed, enjoying the silence. There wasn't a light on inside the room, but the light coming in from the outside cast my shadow against the wall in front of me.

It was weird to think that it had taken so much for me to meet someone like Wyann, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. Fate worked in mysterious ways, didn't it? And yes, it had taken a trip into Persephone station, me becoming an uninvited guest aboard the Rogue Star, and a stealth mission into Dominion territory. . . but, God, it all had been so worth it.

Smiling, I stood up and went to the window. Wyann going across the street, his figure one I would've recognized everywhere. He had insisted on doing some recon before we rested, and I had acquiesced. After all, I had convinced the man that it was better for the two of us to stick together. If he wanted to do some reckon before I could fall into his arms again, then I was more than okay with it. All I needed to do was wait patiently, and soon enough he'd be back.

I closed my eyes for a minute, going through the memories of how it felt to surrender to his embrace. A wicked grin tug at the corner of my lips. I had never believed I would become as content as I was right now, but Wyann made it all possible. As long as we were together, I knew I was safe. And more than just safe, I knew I could be happy.

My eyelids fluttered open, but my stomach lurched as I saw three shadowy figures cross the street and head straight toward the hotel’s entrance. Two of them were men wearing flowing dark tunics, but the one in the middle was a woman I recognized straightaway. Wyann's dancing partner. . . or, to put it better, the woman who had inflicted all those cuts on my man.

My fingernails dug into the palm of my hands as anger washed over me, but that anger was quickly replaced by panic. If that woman was here, that meant we were in danger. I had to leave the room right away.

Gritting my teeth, I propped the window open and swung one leg outside. I wrapped my arms around myself as a cold breeze stung at my body, but I pushed through and stepped into the rusty stairs that went down the side of the building. The metal creaked under my weight and, for a moment, I felt the entire structure sway.

Still, I couldn't afford to hesitate.

I rushed down the stairs as fast as I could, and only realized I was still holding my breath when my feet touched the pavement. Wyann and I didn't have comms on us and, with no way to communicate with him, I knew I couldn't go too far. Even if that woman didn't find me in the hotel, Wyann could be returning any minute now. I had to grab him before he returned to the hotel.

Thinking fast, I decided to cross the street and venture into a bar strategically positioned in front of the hotel. Raucous laughter came from the inside, and the sound of something that sounded like drug-fueled jazz blended with it to create an odd symphony.

The bouncer, a burly fellow that looked as intimidating as he was polite, waved me in after just a few seconds of standing in line. Once inside, I pushed my way through the crowd of tipsy customers and settled in a cozy booth by the large bay windows, ensuring I had a direct line of sight toward the hotel entrance.

From where I sat I saw the woman talking with the receptionist, her two goons already pacing through the hotel bar and eyeing every single person that was in there. Probably getting all the answers she needed, the woman then snapped her fingers and the two goons quickly converged on her. The three of them went up the stairs, probably heading toward the room I was in just a few minutes ago, and that was when I lost sight of them.

“And what's it gonna be, miss?” A yellow fellow with tentacles instead of a beard asked me, his eyes as wide as plates. His hands looked clammy and viscous, but that didn't seem something I could attribute to a lack of hygiene. Everything in him looked clammy, his skin like that of an octopus. I didn't know what race he was, but it sure as hell wasn't a pretty one.

“I, huh, I'll have a beer.”

“What kind? We have Vorzinian beer, Udernik root beer and—”

“Vorzinian's fine.” I waved him off, my eyes never leaving the hotel's entrance. I needed to catch Wyann the moment he returned from his recon, or else all would be lost.

When the waiter returned with my beer, I slapped a couple of credits down on the table. I took a sip out of it, and grimaced as its went down my throat, the awful taste reminding me of sawdust and oil. Definitely not something I would choose to drink on a night out.

I was pushing the beer toward the far corner of the table when I noticed a tall figure furtively stepping around the corner and heading toward the hotel. I was on my feet in a fraction of a second, my heart pumping as I pushed people out of the way. I had to reach Wyann before he went up toward our bedroom.

This time I didn't even care about the cold.

I just ran as fast as I could the moment I stepped out of the bar, and I reached Wyann right after he stepped through the hotel doors. Wrapping my fingers around his right wrist, I pulled him toward me urgently.

He spun around fast, raising his left fist in a menacing gesture, but he relaxed as he realized it was only me.

“What are you doing, Paila?” he asked. “You were supposed to remain hidden.”

“I know, but this time I have a good excuse,” I told him as I dragged him out of the hotel. “That woman. . . she's here. She went upstairs just a few minutes ago. We have to leave right now.”

“She’s here? You saw her?”

“Yes, but she didn’t see me.”

“Good,” he exhaled sharply. “Let’s go then.”

Holding my hand, he lead me down a side street and toward a large avenue. We kept on walking for almost an hour, and Wyann only stopped when a large hovercraft bus stopped by the side of the road. We climbed aboard, paying the driver a couple of tickets, and settled in at the back.

“Where are we going?” I asked, peering through the windows and praying that I wouldn’t see that damned woman climb out of the shadows.

“The spaceport. It’s time we leave this planet for good. If that woman’s here, then we don’t have much time before they lock the spaceport down. We have to move fast now.”

“Good,” I whispered, letting out an audible sigh as I leaned on my seat. I was more than ready to leave all of this behind, even if we couldn’t return to the Rogue Star right away. “Will it be okay, Wyann?”

He turned in his seat to look at me, almost as if he hadn’t understood my question. Draping one arm over my shoulders, he pulled me against him and kissed my forehead gently.

“It’ll be fine,” he whispered. “I promise. As long as we’re together, it’ll always be okay.”

Smiling, I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest.

It didn't matter that we were in danger, and it didn’t matter if we had to remain on the run from the Dominion. In that moment, none of that mattered, and all because I knew Wyann was telling the truth.

As long as we remained together, it would all be okay.

As long as we remained together, I’d be happy.

Wyann

It didn’t take long for us to get to the space port, and as suspected, even on a “slow” weekend, it was packed with people. The crowds of people coming in and out, heading for various terminals, coming from drop-offs, heading for luggage carousels, it gave us the opportunity to hide in the open.

I slowed us down, made us walk like two people with absolutely nothing to hide. Paila laid her head against my arm as we walked hand-in-hand, both of us enjoying one another’s company as we walked through the throng of people leaving on or returning from their trips.

“Hey,” I said casually, looking down at her. “I’m going to call home, leave a message for the family.”

“You sure?” she asked, just as casually. She was good at this. “Wouldn’t that ruin the surprise?”

“You know we’ve never been able to surprise them anyway. Might as well let them know.”

So, with that said in the open to make sure that anyone that overheard us thought we were just a normal couple heading home for a surprise visit, we made our way over to the common area comm station. These were used all the time, and we were forced to wait two minutes before one of the comms was freed for us to use. Knowing that our pursuer, if she was still there, was going to be trying hard to listen in, or would attempt to look into the logs and find out who we called, I still felt that it was worth the risk of calling the diner where all of this started.

Paila was doing her best to look unconcerned and even smiled at me as I waited for someone on the other line to answer.

“Not sure if anyone’s there,” I started. “Oh, wait.”

“Hello. This the Oris Diner. How can I help you?” came the words over the line.

“Hey, hi. This is Maka Tame,” I started, using the name of one of the Gaed locals, hoping that the person on the other end would understand my meaning “Look, my family is supposed to be having an anniversary celebration there for my parents. You know, they’ve been together for fifty years now. It’s just amazing how they’ve been able to stay together. I mean, mom is the real star of the marriage and everything, if you know what I mean. I swear, I’m surprised my mother hasn’t simply fought back against some of my father’s more ridiculous actions. But, they love each other. So, I was wanting to leave a message for my uncles Dajat and Aevar, things were beautiful here on Daxl and I hope that the package we sent gets there in time for the party. You know how sending stuff through back channels is sometimes awkward. Well, if you could deliver that message to my uncles and tell them that we’ll be home soon, but we might end up missing the celebration. It’s hard to get a flight on such short notice to where you want to go, you know.” I looked at Paila as I spoke non-stop over the comm. She looked a little worried and mouthed at me to hurry up. “Well, thanks for listening, hope you got all of that. Make sure you pass on the information, okay? Good talking to you. Bye.” I hung up the call, reached out for Paila’s hand, and we started walking.

“What the hell was that?” she asked me quietly.

“I had to take a chance,” I answered back with an innocent smile. “They need to know about the package and that we might not make it back. You hungry? There’s a small café over there, and they even have terminals where we can buy our tickets so we can skip the line.”

“Oh, yay. I know how much you hate lines, especially for something simple,” she said back as she leaned her head on me again. To anyone not paying attention, we looked like a normal couple. To anyone that was paying attention, I hoped that we fit in with the nonsense of the couples and families all around us.

We headed over to the café that I noticed, some little place that belonged to a massive chain of cafes and restaurants around the cosmos. We took a seat in a booth with a computer terminal, ordered ourselves something to drink, and then I proceeded to book our flights.

“How many flights are you booking?” Paila asked as she watched me.

“At least seven. Why?”

“Do you really think we need that many?”

I shrugged. “Whoever is following us is going to need to spend a few minutes trying to figure out which flight we’re on. That could be the few minutes we need to get away.”

“Do you really think they’ll come after us?”

I nodded as I paid for our third flight. Four more to go, maybe five if they don’t take too long.

“But, what if they decide to shoot us down? Would they really do that with so many people on board?” she asked.

Before I could answer, the barista arrived with our drinks. I smiled up at her, thanked her, gave her a modest tip, and went back to ordering our flights.

“A packed flight isn’t going to slow them down at all if they want to kill us,” I answered. “What we need to do is make sure that we’re not on that flight.”

“How do we do that?”

“We make our way over towards the most packed flight, give our tickets away, then we go to another one,” I said as I paid for the next set of tickets.

“How do we give away our tickets?” she asked between sips of her tea.

“There are always drifters looking for tickets either for free or for cheap. I’ll fake an emergency, we’ll give the tickets away, and go from there. We’ll do that as much as we have to before I’m comfortable enough to let us get on a flight.”

“Is this how it is to be paranoid?”

I stopped and looked at her. She was smiling, but I wasn’t sure if the smile was genuine or part of the act. Umbba, she was good.

“I mean,” she quickly added. “You’re going out of your way to pay for seven different flights for us.”

“Eight,” I interrupted. “If I can get an eighth one in before my ‘paranoia’ takes over.” I smiled.

“Fine, you’re buying eight sets of tickets, and I’m assuming that they’re for eight different locations. Right?”

I nodded. “Six different times, too.”

“Okay, so eight flights, eight locations, six times, are we even sitting together?”

I looked at her sheepishly. “On most of them, no.”

“Really?”

“We’re never more than a few seats apart.”

She fixed me with one of the those looks that the human women, and all women, if I was honest, had perfected. It was the look that effectively called me an idiot.

“Fine,” I said, resigned. “We’ll make sure to give those tickets away.” It violated most of my training. Paila was good at putting on an act, but I still wasn’t sure about her ability to hold her own in a fight. If we were attacked with her right next to me, I would be spending more time worrying about her than concentrating on the fight. I still had several enemies that would love to see me dead, and they would have no issues taking out anyone sitting next to me.

“Good,” she said. “You can’t leave me behind. I’ll kick your ass if you do.”

I smiled at her playful threat, even if her serious face tried to make it a real one. I knew she didn’t fully understand the reasoning for what she called paranoia. I had been trained to keep an eye out for everything, and my own experiences had taught me to take everything that could go wrong, multiply it, and prepare for it. If I could throw off our pursuers by just a little bit, it would give us a better chance to escape.

It would be my paranoia that would keep us alive, that would keep us going until we were able to make it back home to the rest of the crew.

As it was, we had already sat for too long. “Let’s go pick up our tickets.” I drank some of my drink and helped Paila to her feet.

“Let me guess, we’re getting the tickets from five different printers?” she asked with a smile.

I smiled back. “Now you’re catching on.”

“And you’re printing on manual printers?”

“Correct. Can you guess why?”

“Because. . . they’re harder to track than electronic ones?”

“Exactly. We print them on paper film and they can be used by anyone. They’re not tied to our comm.”

She beamed. Perhaps there was potential.

We did exactly that, going to five different print locations to retrieve our tickets. Every time we went to a different printer, I tried to make sure we walked in the middle of a large crowd to help make us harder to see and follow. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, and not just by the hundreds of cameras that covered most of the main areas of the space port.

In order to follow us, someone would have had to spot us from the very beginning and had to have followed our every move on camera seamlessly. Yet, somehow, I knew that the woman tailing us would do exactly that. She would know what flight we were on, eventually. The hope was that she wouldn’t find us until we were too far away to do something about.

Several hours, and several missing tickets later, we boarded a ship that was heading deeper into Dominion space. We sat in our seats and acted like a couple. We left ourselves barely memorable, but memorable enough as friendly people.

Many hours later, we landed and left the transport, then made our way to the closest hotel, booked a room, then left to book another room at another hotel under another name. So far, we had survived.

Epilogue: Skadi

She watched them as they sat at the little café table. Whoever the man was, he was good at what he did. It was patently obvious that he had extensive training, as well as good instincts. However, the woman slowed him down.

She must be one of the human women that had eluded her masters for the last year. This woman was going to be the downfall of this man.

Skadi looked at him. She was unsure as to who he was, but she sensed he would be a worthy adversary. The comm pad on her wrist vibrated and she clicked on the message she was given. The man’s name was Wyann, a former Dominion spy. His accomplishments before he left the business were impressive. Her own experiences with him combined with the resume of work she just received proved that if he was smart enough to rid himself of the human woman, he would test her abilities in the challenge she had been seeking.

She followed them as they made their way to several ticket pickup locations, speaking quietly to record her words. “They’ve made several purchases and they’re going to try to trick us into looking into all of the flights purchased from that terminal. Smart. Smarter thing would have been to purchase their tickets from several terminals, but based on the amount of time it took just from that one terminal, I understand his decision.”

Wyann was intelligent. She would have made the same decision if put into the same situation.

As she followed the duo, watching them give tickets away, she used her comm to contact her team. When Wyann and the human woman finally boarded their vessel, she relayed information and orders to follow and monitor. The ship was not returning to Gaed, so she was more interested in the message Wyann left over the public telecomm system than she was in his current destination.

It did disappoint her, a bit, to see that he was taking the woman with him. She wanted a challenge, but with the woman around, she wouldn’t get one because he would be too worried about keeping the woman alive than coming after her.

She shook her head, then proceeded to make her way towards the space port’s communications server. It wasn’t hard to get into the back, a gentle rub against a janitor provided her with a key card to open the first door. A few placed tears and words proclaiming how she was lost got one of the security guards to lead her back to the main concourse, his badge now in her possession, switched out with the janitor’s.

Within twenty minutes, she was at the communications server’s main door. She keyed her way in and was surprised that the entire operation was being run by a single Pronarian. He looked to be only a few years into his twenties. His slicked back black hair shone and reflected the overhead lights almost as much as his skin did. He looked vain and Skadi was positive that he acted the same.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded as he swiveled in his chair to stare at her. She ignored him as she looked around the room.

His workstation was one of six, each with sixteen monitors, two for each public comm station within the space port. They took up two of the walls within the room. The wall that held the door she just entered was filled with various switchboards and wiring, as was the wall across from her. An identical door to hers was directly across from her.

“I said, what are you doing here?” he asked again. “Don’t make me call security.”

She cocked her head to the side a bit and looked at him, trying to determine exactly how much of a threat he was. “You will do no such thing. I need to see footage and get the information from a comm placed a few hours ago from,” she hesitated as she looked at the monitors, “comm station four.”

He looked at her, then at the screens, then back at her. “And what makes you think you have the authorization to ask for something like that?”

“The fact that I can snap your neck faster than you can push a button.”

“Oh, really? Guess we’ll just see about that, then.” As he swiveled in his chair to press the security button, she rushed forward. She brought her hand down on his wrist, snapping it with an audible crack. As he opened his mouth to scream, she punched him in the throat.

The sickening gurgle that somehow managed to escape his throat sounded wet. She cocked her head to the side again as he stared at her, his eyes wider than seemed natural for one of his race. She reached out, grabbed each side of his head and twisted. When his body hit the floor, his head was backwards.

Skadi took his seat and began cycling through the visual recordings of the comm stations. She found the one with Wyann, noted the time, and pulled up the audio playback.

She scoffed at the idea that people thought they were protected using public comms. They trusted their government not to spy on them, but it was something that all governments did. Those that couldn’t accept that fact were fools.

While listening to the message, she tried to decipher what was said, playing it three more times before finally trusting that she understood. Dajat and Aevar were obvious mixings of the names Dejar and Aavat, and the package that they sent out must have been something in the message. But what?

There was nothing else in his message that seemed to be code, unless they had made one that was so convoluted that she was unable to pick up on it. That meant that they had sent something else out at a different time. There was a small window of time where they had disappeared. They could have sent something then.

Her superiors would not be happy with that. That meant that she had to track down these two and get the information from them.

And that meant following them as they boarded the shuttle in an hour to Sinatro—a planet that she was not fond of. Sinatro was home to one of her first jobs when she was first starting, and she had made mistakes and left behind too memorable of an impression with local authorities. She was not welcome on Sinatro, with her face and prints on record at all local customs checkpoints. That did not bode well for her chances of tracking Wyann and his human woman.

She contacted her team. “When they arrive in Sinatro, give them some time. I want to know if they try to make contact again. If, after half a day they’ve done nothing, run them off the planet and notify me as to where they are headed.”

She clicked off the comm just as her team answered and quickly put a small datadrive into one of the computer ports, downloaded the video and the audio, then released the virus that was stored on the drive. She removed her drive and stood up from the chair. As she reached the door, it opened and two members of security stood there. One of them was the one she had stolen the badge from.

Without letting them move first, she quickly kicked out at the first guard and retreated back into the room where she would have room to move. The two guards, one a Shein that was nearly twice her size and the other a Philaxian around the same size as her, came into the room.

“Time for you to come with us, little girl,” the big Shein, the owner of the badge she used, said with a growl.

She merely smiled, waved at them to come get her, and got into a defensive position, her right leg in front of her left, her right arm down while her left was up by her head, both clenching into fists.

The Shein attacked her with what would have been alarming speed, but she was faster. She ducked under his vicious left hook, then proceeded to punch him in quick succession in his underarm down to his bottom rib. He lurched back, holding his side as she regained her guarded position.

The Philaxian, seeing what happened to his friend, pulled out a small club that the guards had as weapons, and approached her slowly. He chanced a few swings at her, testing her, then attacked.

She never gave him a chance. She blocked his first swing, grabbed his arm, and flipped him over. As he hit the ground, she snapped his arm, causing him to drop the small club. She stood, kicked him in the top of the head, then turned her attention to the Shein.

He was an even easier opponent. He charged her like a madman, and she merely stepped aside, drew a knife, and plunged it into the back of his neck. As he crashed to the floor, she moved over the Philaxian, slit his throat in a swift, clean motion, and left the room.

Twenty minutes later, she was launching her personal ship off planet.

Letter from Ava

I know… I fall in love writing each of my couples. And Paila and Wyann were no exception.

(If you’re still humming the “sigh no more” song, I’m sorry. It’s been in my head for days and days now. If you’re not, I really recommend watching the 1993 version Much Ado About Nothing. Fantastic.)

Coming up next?

To stop the Dominion, the crew must go to the last place they ever expected.

Home.

Read on for a sneak peek of Rogue’s Return, or click here to go to Amazon for your copy!

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XOXO,

Ava

Rogue’s Return Sneak Peek!

Vianne

If there was one part of working security that I hated more than anything else, it was dealing with fake IDs. Now, I was helping to make them and helping to spy on the Dominion.

And I loved every damn second of it.

I used to be head of security back in the main government building on Mars where Kalyn’s mother, Adastria, and the rest of the Martian governmental honchos did their work. I had helped to create the security protocols and systems there, and how to beat them.

I had been in charge of making sure that each security team was where they were supposed to be, when they were supposed to be there. I had run numerous scenarios regarding attacks on the offices to test each team’s readiness. I had been in charge of making sure that there were numerous ways out for each politician, each council member, each participant in Martian government.

People used to call me paranoid, and I didn’t really care. It was part of the job description to be paranoid, it kept people alive. That’s what I was supposed to do.

Unfortunately, one minor slip in my paranoia cost me and I was sent to Persephone on a “temporary” assignment. I was there over two years.

The “bright” side to things was that I was still in contact with Mars, and even Earth. I had been commissioned by some of the business leaders of Earth to keep them apprised of some of the experiments at Persephone. Meanwhile, I was still in contact with Adastria who kept feeding me bullshit about some people on Pluto that were actually traitors and I was needed there to give her any and all information that I deemed necessary for her to figure out who it was.

So, I took the bait and did what she wanted me to do.

The lying bitch played me for a fool.

Now, I was sitting on a foreign planet, way out in a part of the universe that was beyond anyplace that I could have ever imagined, working on finding a way to take down a corrupt government that had decided it was okay to take women, experiment on them, and steal DNA from them in order to find a way to create a so-called “perfect” race.

The problem that I had with the whole thing, besides the buying and selling of women—I mean, who does that? —was how are they going to create a “perfect” race? Whose definition of perfect are they using? How did they know that whatever concoction they came up with was actually going to be perfect?

I mean, the human race was a mystery of cells, blood, DNA profiles, and personalities that have studied themselves since the beginning of its existence, and we still didn’t have a solid clue as to how we worked. Okay, we did, but we also still struggled to find out why people were born with blue eyes instead of brown when both parents had brown. We still struggled to figure out why people were born with Down Syndrome, or ADHD, or why people succumbed to the urge to take drugs.

“Whoa.”

I was broken out of the recesses of my mind by Emmery’s little shout of dismay, or was it shock?

“What’s up?” I asked as I snapped back to reality and looked over at her.

“I’m picking up a lot of chatter on Dominion comm traffic,” Emmery answered me as her fingers flew over the keyboard, the clickety-clack of the keys drumming into my head like a tap-dancer’s routine.

“Like what?”

“Lots of talk coming out of various non-military channels regarding ship movement, medicinal shipments, and—well, this is weird—bulk paperfilm orders,” Emmery answered.

“Wait, what? ‘Bulk film orders?’ What’s that about?”

“Not sure.”

I looked at her and we stared at one another in confusion. The idea that the Dominion would be ordering bulk amounts of film seemed odd. “So, based on some experience of my own, if an organization is going to make an odd purchase, most of the time it means that it certainly isn’t that odd purchase, it’s code for something else.”

“Like what?” Emmery asked me.

“If I was running the show, paper would be code for either weapons or munitions,” I answered. “Do we know where from and where to?”

“No,” she replied. “They’re pretty good at keeping locations quiet unless it’s something that is meant to be public.”

“Okay. We need to look into…what’s that?” I asked, pointing at something blinking on the screen.

“That’s a message coming in on a secure frequency.”

“Can you open it?”

“Do you really think I should? What if it’s some sort of spyware from the Dominion to see what we’re up to?”

I smiled at her. My paranoia was rubbing off on some people. “Good catch. Call Valtic,” I told her. She got on the comm and got a hold of Valtic, asking him to come up to the communications room. Within minutes, he was there.

“What can I do for you ladies?” he asked as he walked into the room.

I turned to greet him, a small nod of the head that he returned in perfect imitation. “We’ve just received a message on a secure frequency, but we’re a little wary of it. You mind running some of your software on it to make sure it’s safe?”

“Sure,” he said as he walked over to where we sat. Emmery rose from her chair to let Valtic take her place. She pointed at the unopened message and he took a look at it. After a few minutes of pointing and clicking, typing, and sitting, he finally pushed back from the desk. “You’re all clear,” he said. “You can open it and see what was sent.”

I wheeled my chair over, taking Emmery’s place at the computer as she sat down. “Hey.”

I looked at her and smiled. “Sorry,” I said as I clicked on the file to open it.

“Uh-huh, bullshit,” she smiled back at me.

What could I say, I was curious. Suddenly, my curiosity was gone and replaced by dread. It was a message from Wyann and Paila, and it was not good. Emmery let out a gasp and even Valtic let out a small string of curses.

“What is it?” I asked.

“These files,” Emmery said. “Wyann and Paila say it relates to an invasion. But the coordinates don’t make sense. They’re not in the known star charts for Dominion or surrounding space.”

“That’s because the target is outside of Dominion space,” Valtic said. “Look at the coordinates.”

I took a look again and placed them on the chart.

This was a detailed battle plan.

And it was pointed right at the Terran system.

Shit.

The Dominion were going after humans and they were going to send a big-ass fleet to tear them up. While it hadn’t been my home for a year, and for a couple of years I was on the far outskirts away from everything I knew, it was still home.

“They’re going to destroy everything,” Emmery said through a choked whisper.

“Does the Terran system have any way of protecting themselves?” Valtic asked. His voice sounded muffled and hollow, it barely registered in my mind as I kept thinking about those billions of lives between Mars, Earth, and the numerous space stations that filled our system.

I felt someone shaking me and I looked up at this obscenely tall man with shiny skin. I didn’t know who he was at first, then reality started to take back over. It was Valtic.

“What?” I asked, finally clearing my head.

“Does the Terran system have any way of protecting themselves?” he repeated.

“No,” I said as I shook my head. “They have some ships and they have weapons, but if this report is even quarter correct, we’re still getting blown out of the cosmos. We just don’t have the technology.”

Valtic nodded. “I see. We need to bring this to Dejar’s attention.”

I nodded in understanding, but I didn’t understand anything at all. There was, if the report could be believed, going to be a fleet larger than anyone had ever seen coming for us and wiping us out of existence, leaving the few of us humans that were sitting on the Rogue Staras the last of our kind, and with no males, the human race would die with us.

Within ten minutes, we were all in a conference room explaining what the message said. After I finished talking, I looked around the room at the different faces and their reactions. The women in the room ranged from tears and fear to anger and fury. The men, they were displaying a range of emotions that extended from shock to a need for action.

“Well,” Dejar started. “This puts us into a situation where we need to decide if we sit back or if we act. Do we try to save the Terran system?”

The chorus of shouts, threats, and yelling—almost entirely from the human females, but a little from the other men—answered Dejar’s question and he held up his hands to quiet us all down.

“Ask a stupid question,” he commented, bringing out some nervous laughter from a few of us. He looked over at a quartet of people that I hadn’t paid much attention to when we started the meeting. “Shar, Zayn, Morgan, Siran, the four of you were originally tasked for trying to bring some extra allies to our rebellion. I need you to do something else now.”

Zayn, the young medic that had been bad at his job when we first joined the crew, and who had been a temperamental, slightly spoiled boy that hadn’t grown into his body yet, was now a young man that had managed to grow into his form and now looked like a younger version of Dejar, just copper-toned instead of gold-skinned. Shar was a big man that had a pudge when we joined and still had a pudge now, but he was a beast of a man and powerful as hell. They both stood behind Morgan and Siran, and each of them nodded.

“Whatever you need of us, sir,” Shar said.

“Good,” Dejar responded. “Then I need the four of you to investigate this fleet and let us know if it’s real. Do nothing but find and report, that is all. Clear?”

The four of them nodded. “Good. Go. The faster you go, the faster we get the information we need.”

The four of them nodded, again, in unison, then left the conference room.

“We still have more to talk about,” Dejar said. “Everyone settle in. This is going to take a while.”

Colm

“I just don’t see evacuation as a realistic option.” Valtic’s creased face was set in a scowl as we surveyed the holo-map of the Terran system. A three-dimensional representation of the human females’ home system floated above the command console in the security headquarters of the Star.

“I agree, but what else can we do? From what we know, I don’t think the humans’ technology will be much use against a coordinated Dominion attack of the scale we’re expecting.” I stroked my chin absentmindedly as I analyzed the chart.

I instructed the computer to highlight all of the high-risk targets based on the projected entry point of the Dominion attack fleet. Red dots popped up all over the system, too many to count.

“There’s no way we can evacuate a significant portion of those targets in time. We don’t know when the fleet will deploy, but even if we had a full year, there wouldn’t be time.” He shook his head, the corners of his thin mouth pulled down into a frown. “Even with a full fleet of Rogue Star’s it’d be a challenge to square up against the Dominion, and we’ve only got the one.”

“You’re not wrong.” I turned away from the display, pacing to the back of the room and turning around, my frustration simmering just below the surface. I struggled to control my emotions, but found my irritation mounting.

“You know who does have a whole fleet of Rogue Star’s? The Gaed. This would be so much easier if they would just get off their pedestals already and join the fight. They’re the only ones with enough fire power to challenge the Dominion, and yet they cower behind their defenses in their home system. How much longer can they allow the Dominion free reign to torment the galaxy?” My anger finally burst within me and I kicked the bottom of the command console, furious at the timid, cautious nature of our allies.

Although the Gaed had been helpful as covert allies, their refusal to confront the Dominion openly frustrated me. I couldn’t understand how they could sit back and watch as the corrupt empire exploited world after world.

Valtic nodded, his face hard but calm. “That would certainly simplify things. But they’ve made their position clear. The Gaed leadership won’t risk the lives of their civilians by engaging in open war with the Dominion. It’s taken them too long to negotiate the current tenuous peace, and they won’t jeopardize it for an uncertain rebellion.”

“Well, the umbba rebellion wouldn’t be so uncertain if they would join in already. If they threw their full support behind us, we’d actually have a chance.” My anger was seething. “How can they justify this? How many lives will be lost because of Gaed cowardice?”

Valtic clapped me on the shoulder in an attempt to settle my emotions. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you who harbors us right now. The Gaed have already offered us tremendous help, and I’m certain they will have still more to offer before this rebellion is finished. You can’t entirely blame them for their hesitance. Their people are left in peace through their treaty with the Dominion. How many Gaed lives were lost to secure that agreement? How many Gaed lives would be lost in the breaking of it? It’s simple for us, we had little choice. But the Gaed have a prosperous, peaceful existence. It would be a lot to sacrifice.”

“And what about us? What about the rest of the galaxy? We have risked everything. Not just for ourselves, but for everyone.” My anger subsided, reduced to a resentment at the challenges before us. But I had always relished a strategic challenge, and I was determined to solve this one.

“You can’t expect everyone to act as we do. We were thrust into unique circumstances.” Valtic flashed me a wicked smile.

I was still trying to get used to seeing the hardened, severe man smile. I don’t think it had ever happened before he and Lynna started spending so much time together. It was still far from a common occurrence, but no longer unheard of. There could be no doubt that the man’s demeanor had improved immeasurably since he had paired off with the human.

“Speaking of those unique circumstances, do we know if any of the human females have any knowledge of their system’s defenses?”

“Not sure, but that would probably be useful.” Valtic sent out a ship-wide alert that asked anyone with knowledge of the Terran defense network to report to the security center immediately. “Hopefully one of them will be able to provide some insight.”

“If they do, they will have proved more useful to this particular operation than the whole of the Gaed empire.” Obviously, I hadn’t completely let go of my anger.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Colm. The Gaed have provided us ships, shield technology, covert reconnaissance information, and most importantly, safe harbor. They’ve done plenty to assist this rebellion already. We owe them a debt of gratitude.”

I grunted dismissively, my face set in a hard scowl as I stared at the holo-map. Valtic frowned at me and, seeing that no further response was forthcoming, continued.

“And if we succeed in striking a decisive blow against the Dominion, I have no doubt that they will join on our cause directly. They’re waiting to see if this is a real rebellion, or just the ravings of one aggravated band of fugitives. They’ve shown tremendous faith in us up to this point. I think you expect too much from them.”

I scoffed. “I expect a little courage. Is that really too much?”

“For some, yes. Not for a couple of grizzled veterans like us, of course. But it doesn’t come so easy to others, throwing themselves into open conflict. It’s up to us to show them that we can win, brother.” Valtic’s face was still severe, but his features were alight with hope.

I couldn’t stop a wide grin from spreading across my face. “Oh, you have changed, Valtic. That human girl’s got you believing in stuff, doesn’t she?”

He shot me a dirty look, but his bronze eyes still glittered with passion.

“Yes, I see it clearly. It’s love. You’re in love, and it’s made you soft, my friend. You’re full of hope, now.”

He scowled, his eyes boring into mine, and I thought for a moment that it might come to blows. But he relented, his expression softening.

“Ah, scro.” He sighed as a soft, wistful smile played across his lips. “You know, you might be right.” He shook his head, looking down at the floor.

I clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good. I’m glad to see you happy. You deserve it.”

He smiled up at me. “You know, there are many other fine women on the ship. Maybe one of them can stir the hope within you, as well.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Oh, I don’t think so friend. Besides, we have too much work to focus on right now. Frankly, I don’t understand how so many have found the time for romance, but I’m certain that there couldn’t be a worse time for it.”

He raised his brow at that, smiling doubtfully. But before he could respond, the door chimed the approach of a visitor.

I buzzed the door open, and a human female strode confidently into the room with her shoulders pulled back and chin held high. I was pretty sure I’d met her briefly before, and that her name was Vianne.

Her chin-length black hair was as straight as her rigid posture, and it shone like polished obsidian. Her stormy blue eyes sparkled with intense intelligence as she shifted her gaze between Valtic and me.

“You guys asked for anyone with a knowledge of the Terran defense systems, right?”

Valtic nodded as he spoke. “We did. We’re trying to map out a rough plan with the little information we have, and we were hoping one of your group could provide us with some information about security and defense technology, that sort of thing.”

She laughed, but her eyes remained hard. “Well, I’m definitely the woman for that job.”

“And why is that?” I regarded the woman curiously, intrigued by her intense demeanor.

She met my gaze assertively. “I used to be the head of security for the Mars Assembly’s capitol building. I pretty much managed all of the personnel responsible for the safety of the most important figures in the whole system. Including Adastria Askvig.”

Valtic and I exchanged surprised looks, rendered speechless. I found my voice after a moment, turning to address the fascinating woman.

“Uh, well, sounds like that should be pretty helpful.” I extended my hand toward her in what I had learned was a courteous human gesture. “Welcome to the security team. Vianne, right?”

She gripped my hand with surprising strength and shook it professionally, but the huge smile on her lips reached all the way to her brilliant blue eyes. “Glad to be here. Colm, isn’t it?”

I nodded, a smile spreading across my own face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Valtic was grinning wider than either of us.

Vianne

I wasn’t entirely sure what had crossed between the two men that would put such a large grin on Valtic’s face, but make Colm glare at him, but I decided that none of it was my business.

“So, what did you want to know?” I asked.

“Well,” Colm said as he finally let go of my hand. “Come take a look at this.” He led me over to an impressive three dimensional display of the Milky Way.

“This is really in depth and impressive. What are the red dots?”

“High-risk targets based on where we think the Dominion will fold into the galaxy,” Colm answered.

“That bad, huh?” I asked rhetorically. “Okay. Well, first thing I need to know is, how old is this map?”

Colm looked a bit embarrassed when he answered. “In honesty, we haven’t updated it since the last time we were near the system.”

“So, when you accidentally broke the station and had to rescue us?”

Both he and Valtic nodded.

“Any idea if the Gaed has an updated map?” I asked. “Or, maybe Qal?”

“Qal’s the one that gave us this map,” Colm responded. “Since we haven’t been back near your system, we’re missing some information.”

I nodded, again. I felt like a damn bobble-head nodding so much. “Well, while one of you talks to the Gaed about an updated map, I’ll put in what information I can.”

I started playing with the map, learning the controls of how to zoom in, zoom out, move things around, and how to add things and take things away. I started looking at it like it was one of the war games the commanders back in the Space Force liked to play and I was able to pick up on things quickly.

“Hey, Colm, come here,” I called back over my shoulder as I started adding space stations, ship patrols from my last bit of knowledge, and defense satellites.

“What can I do for you, Vianne?” Colm asked in a voice that had me wondering what he was trying to accomplish. It was flirty, but it didn’t sound intentional. Was he trying to flirt with me? Was he just trying to be nonchalant and failed miserably?

“Hey, I need to know where you think the Dominion is going to come in. I want to see if you have better instincts about it than I do,” I said playfully. While we hadn’t been around one another much over the year we’ve been on a ship together, I did know a little bit about him and I knew he had a good head on his shoulders.

“If I were running things and wanted to make the best entry point to cause the most damage with the least amount of danger to my own people, I would,” he stopped talking to study the map a little more. After nearly a minute of study, he finally pointed to a spot just outside of Saturn’s orbit. “I would come in there. It’s close enough to give the Dominion the element of surprise while keeping them out of a potential pincer attack.”

I looked at him and nodded. He had done what everyone back on Earth and Mars had done, he had fallen for the trap and only thinking linearly since the orbits of all of our planets were linear.

“Why not up here or down here?” I asked, putting two yellow dots into the map.

“Because…kout,” he cursed, chuckling. “I fell for the trap of looking at the orbits as the only direction to go.”

“You think the Dominion will do the same?” I asked, a tiny spark of hope in my voice.

He looked at me, then back to the map, then back to me. “Well, there is a chance. Psychologically speaking, most people go with what is simplest and are usually easily influenced by what they see. They tend to not look beyond what they see.”

“So, again, I ask you, do you think the Dominion will do the same?”

“I’ll answer the same way. There’s a chance. They have some smart people in command of their military forces, but they just might take the Terran’s for granted and believe that they don’t stand a chance.”

Colm was right, unfortunately we Terran’s weren’t known for an overabundance of intelligence, and when compared to what I’ve seen over the past year, we definitely didn’t have the technology. The only thing that I would say humans had over the Dominion forces would be simple tenacity.

We were a race of survivors that knew how to find a way through whatever shit was thrown at us, even if we were the ones throwing it.

We were also a race of insane bastards that were more than willing to do some seriously crazy shit in order to make stuff happen. I mean, we were willing to launch ourselves in a tiny-ass tube to Pluto knowing that there was a twenty-five percent chance we wouldn’t make it in one piece or alive.

“What are you thinking about?”

I snapped back to reality and looked at Colm. “I was thinking that if the Dominion pulls the same thing you did, we stand a chance. What if we end up placing Earth defenses here, here, here, and,” I touched three different spots on the map, then a fourth. “Here.”

“That would allow Earth forces to have the Dominion surrounded on three sides,” Colm commented. “Even with inferior technology, they can do some damage. If your ships are strong enough and your captains are good at their jobs, they may even be able to drive them away, if only for a little time.”

“You think so? I mean,” I looked up at him as he stood over me looking at the map. His muscles stretched the fabric of his sleeves whenever he moved his arms. His reddish-gold skin caught the lights of the map and the room and seemed to glow. There was a certain muskiness about him that filled my nostrils, and I found myself liking it. I quickly brought myself back to the point I had been trying to make. “If this fleet is as big and bad as the report claims it’s going to be, I wonder if we would be able to evacuate people instead.”

“The thought came up. Is that what you want to do?” he asked. “Run? And how?”

“Hey, sometimes it’s better to run so you can fight again,” I argued in response.

“Perhaps.” We spent the next few hours looking over the map, trying to come up with new plans based on our best guesses. Even after Valtic returned with a slightly updated map, we kept at it.

Colm was fun to be around, and I discovered that you pronounced his name just like the word “calm.” He lived up to his name. He was exceedingly calm as we played mini-war games against one another in order to test the validity of the plans we were trying to come up with. He was good, but so was I. Between the two of us, we managed to come up with some pretty decent plans.

“Why haven’t the so-called head-honchos put us together before this?” I wondered out loud as we finalized one final defense plan. “I mean, we work together so unbelievably well.”

“I agree,” he said with a smile that I found to be intoxicating. “You and I seem like such a natural team, it seems as though our connection should have been made long ago.”

“Yeah. Well,” I said as I stood up and stretched, making sure he got a good show in the process. I knew he was looking at me and I made sure to make the stretch last as long as I could. “I am starving. You wanna grab a bite to eat?”

“No, thank you,” he said with a shake of his head. That sucked.

“Why not?”

“I have some more work to attend to,” he said. “But, go. Eat. Don’t ignore your stomach on my account.”

Well, if he was going to practically shove me away, fine. I bid him a good night and headed off to the dining hall. Several of the women, well, truthfully, everyone was talking about the reports we had gotten from Paila and Wyann. But, it was the women doing most of the talking about whether or not we should go back.

“What about what they did to us? What about our so-called ‘punishments’?” One of the ladies, one of the older ones named Sheryl, asked the table. The ladies had pushed about four tables together so they could all talk about the same subject, sometimes at the same time. A few of the men sat with them, but it was mostly the women. “Some of us were ‘punished’ for things that wouldn’t have gotten more than a warning or a night in jail in the old days. Why do we want to go back for them now?”

“Because,” Maris answered with a roll of her eyes. “They’re humans, like us. Do you want the entire human race to be obliterated? I don’t see any other men around here, so if we let the Dominion stroll in and kill everyone, we’re all that’s left. The human race will die out with us.”

“And?” Sheryl demanded. “You’re telling me we should risk our lives for the same people that betrayed us?”

“Not everyone betrayed us,” Aryn countered. “Not everyone was involved with Adastria’s little plan.”

“Besides,” I cut in before Sheryl could run her old-ass mouth again. “Most of us still have family back there. I’m not about to let my family die for something we’re partially responsible for.”

That shut Sheryl up, although Aryn looked at me. “How are we partially responsible for anything?”

“I’m not saying we are, but the Dominion damn sure thinks we are,” I answered. “So, I want to stop them.”

That brought about a lot of voices echoing my own, but a few still questioned. Not the fight, but the likelihood of us winning and if evacuation was a better option. At least we were talking civilly.

Copyright © 2019 by Ava York

All rights reserved. These books or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and situations within its pages and places or persons, living or dead, is unintentional and co-incidental.