by Abigail Myst
‘Terra is in a two day range, but-”
With a few buttons, Jane had a message ready to record. She flipped the camera and climbed over to the other side of the table to sit next to Zenik.
“Hey there, Jimmy Boy. This here’s my new hubby. Say ‘hi’, hubby!”
Zenik just sat there looking at her as if she’d lost her mind.
“Anywhoos, we were just wondering if you were in the market for a souvenir or two from our honeymoon. We’re headed to B I S T R A.” Jane spelled it out. The translator had a much harder time parsing alphabetical spellings in a language, rather than saying it all together. That way, if anyone was listening, it would be one more hurdle for them to jump over. “You know that old Earth show, TNG with that yellow dude, yeah that one. I think he was from there. Want anything?”
Jane terminated the message and sent it off. She knew James was a fan of the show in question, and would know exactly what she meant. She was looking for information on Bistra and their androids.
“I have no idea what you just said,” Zenik said.
“Exactly. You’d have to be James to understand. Don’t worry. I embedded a very complex code in the message. We’ll have time to get a reply?”
“If he sends it promptly. Who is this Jimmy Boy?”
James was a man she used to fuck right when they got out of training, but Zenik really didn’t need that type of detail.
“He’s an old friend who can get us the information that we’re looking for and that’s it.”
“Get me. The information I am looking for.”
“Whatever. Now that I’ve been productive and had a bite to eat, why don’t we go back to the cabin and you know...”
Zenik looked like he wanted to protest, just out of a matter of protocol, but what male turns down a willing offer of sex? Zenik couldn’t. Jane grabbed her half full plate and sauntered out of the galley. Zenik followed.
Chapter Twelve
Zenik
A Mahdfel did not have a chance. It was a well planned conspiracy. The moment he left Jane’s presence to discuss something with Bright, the Etlonian began to harp on him how three was better than one and that leaving his mate behind only kept her out of his arm of protection. Bright never contradicted him in front of Jane. In fact, she went out of her way to discuss neutral topics that had nothing to do with the ever closer encounter at Bistra. The moment he got back to Jane, Jane began discussing plans and pointedly refusing to acknowledge that she was not to be included on this mission.
Every passing planet, station, or byway had some fatal flaw according to Bright. She’d heard that they bought and sold unaccompanied women on Dalen Four and on Station 2398, there was a man that took pride in raping Mahfel mates. Bright swore that she’d only escaped by stabbing him in the leg but he would be well healed by now.
To make matters worse, Jane received a message back from Jimmy Boy and it was as indecipherable as her message was to him. For some reason, he sent a picture of his father standing next some Terran named Spiner and another of a cat that looked remarkably like Data.
Data was the only creature on the ship that didn’t seem to give Zenik a hard time every time he walked into a room. A can of food and a place to nap was all the thing required. After a few nights of waking up with the cat between them, Zenik had actually started to find the thing comforting. Perhaps when he got back to Noven 90, he would requisition one for Jane. Surely Clover could find some time to thank him for the care of her pet to take a trip back to Terra and pick up some cats for homesick Terran females.
Either way, Zenik was not prepared for the tablet that Jane handed over an hour after receiving Jimmy Boy’s message.
“Like I said, just the thing the old Earth guard would be interested in.”
“How did you get this information? Did you receive a follow up message?”
“No, it’s an old Earth trick, to embed information in a photograph. The file was coded into the digital picture, because honestly, I really don’t need to see pictures of his cat.”
“Would you like a cat of your own?” Zenik asked.
“Actually, I’m more of a dog person. A big one. You know, like a labrador.”
“A dog is different than a cat?”
Jane just laughed, and got to work on her own tablet reading the information in the file. Zenik hated to admit it, but he was impressed with the extent of information the Terrans had on Bistra. Their security layout, most of their station floating factory, and labs were laid out in great detail. And it looked like the information was less than two months old. With this information, they could actually formulate a plan to infiltrate the Bistran station and keep an eye on The Wine Merchant.
“Can we just call him Dan?”
“Why Dan?” Zenik said, looking up from his tablet.
“Because calling him The Wine Merchant glorifies and mystifies the guy, just like He Who Must Not Be Named.”
“Who must not be named?”
“Never mind. I now dub him Dan. The man is Dan.”
Zenik sighed in surrender.
Bright entered the galley and took one look at the two of them. She looked unsure as if she should join them, but Zenik waved her to sit and handed over his tablet.
“Jane has garnered new information from Terra. We are going to be able to catch Dan.”
Jane beamed, and Zenik couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he watched his mate’s face light up.
“Who’s Dan?”
“Dan is the man,” Zenik repeated. Jane stifled a giggle. For the first time in a week, he was able to breathe again. There would be no leaving Jane behind.
Jane threw the image on her tablet to the table and the three of them pored over the layout of the station until the early hours of the shift.
It was a good plan or so Zenik kept repeating to himself. They had enough information about the Bistran customers and the process it took to buy an android that with a healthy donation from Terra, they turned Bright into an Etlonian princess set to take over the existing Etlon government to return Elton to its former glory.
Of course, there were no Etlonian princesses to begin with but the only ones left who could actually confirm this were the Etlonian females themselves so there was no real way to contradict her. She had reclaimed her family fortune and when Bright had set her sights upon the crown, spies had set upon her to attempt assassination. Now, with her hefty fortune, she was interested in purchasing an android to limit her public exposure.
She traveled low key with a Terran pilot to fly under the radar, as Jane put it. He was the bodyguard. Together, they could wait in the common guest area for nearly a week for Dan to show up. Upon sighting him, they could take him into custody. Bright and Zenik were all for slitting his throat on sight but Jane did say that she didn’t plan to upset the Bistra, as their unhappiness at losing such a good customer was probably going to hamper a clean getaway. They were fond of flushing their annoyances out airlocks without a space suit.
If it was such a good plan, why did Zenik have a knot in his stomach that would not go away? They docked without a problem, and it wasn’t difficult for Bright to go sashaying around looking incredibly important. The Bistra were quite taken with her. It took less than an hour for the deal to be signed and the promise of a new android within the next ten cycles.
Krex was the salesman charged with their well being. He would be their expert and host, all in one. He seemed fascinated with Bright’s colors and kept eyeing Jane like she were for sale. Zenik hated him immediately.
“Oi! Handsy! Keep your hands, and I mean all four of them to yourself,” Jane said to him, giving him a light but firm push away. Zenik took a deep breath and told himself that Jane was quite capable of defending herself.
“So sorry, so sorry, it must have slipped. You know, four is more difficult to control than two,” Krex laughed. He was the only one laughing.
“If you make my pilot run and leave me here,” Bright shouted, “I promise your bosse
s will be paying for full class transport back to Etlon. I don’t think they’d appreciate that, now do you?”
“So sorry,” Krex said bowing, his four arms spread out in all directions. He folded them up in pairs, as if showing his intention to keep them to himself.
“Please make full use of this lovely suite. There are a few upgrades that I would like to tell you about.” Krex began to rattle out his fully memorized speech about all the little extras that one could purchase. That was where he made his money, selling and getting commissions on the add ons. Zenik did not want to make a single extra purchase, just to spite the little monster. Bright, on the other hand, was intent on throwing the Terran money around.
“Oh look, they have a Ligerian ale on their list,” Bright said as she perused the host list after Zenik had not so politely shown the creep the door.
“Great, because getting drunk is the first thing we need to do,” Jane remarked.
“Etlonian princesses only drink the best.”
Zenik wanted to remind Bright that there was no such thing as an Etlonian princess but the walls probably had both ears and eyes. The Bistran would certainly want as much information on clients as possible, meaning he would be sleeping alone tonight. Zenik sighed, eying the rest of the suite. It was top of the line, with a spacious master bedroom that was big enough to host a grand orgy, if you were the type of species to engage in that particular sexual activity. As Bright had already noticed, the replicators were programed with delicacies. If your tastes ran more in the unreplicated fashion, they catered to that market too. Anything could be had, for a price. The whole system made Zenik grumpy. All of these resources wasted on what could be useful technology that could be fighting the Suhlik.
Jane scoped out the second bedroom. It was more modest but still quite spacious. Zenik, as his role as bodyguard would be sleeping in a cot by Bright’s door.
“I know! We should go swimming. They have a space pool!” Bright exclaimed. Etlonians were not inherently afraid of water. That fear had been added to Mahdfel by the Suhlik.
Was Bright trying to give Zenik a panic attack? The thought of Jane submerged in water made his heart race. He took a few deep breaths.
“Maybe later,” Jane said. “I think the first thing we should do is get the full layout of the common area. Make sure things are where they are supposed to be. You know, from all the great things we’ve heard.”
That was his mate’s codespeak for checking to see how accurate their information was. Test the guard security and see what doors were left unlocked. They couldn’t analyze the information in the suite but Jane had programmed the ship to send her a warning diagnostic in about eight hours. That way, they’d have time to scout around and then would have a pretense to get back to the ship without seeming suspicious.
“Come on, let’s check out the game room,” Bright said. She waved Zenik toward the door. He looked over at Jane, and she waved him over too. That was the one problem with playing Bright’s guard and not Jane's. He’d have to stick by Bright’s side and not Jane’s. Grudgingly, he followed. He knew that given the opportunity to remain alone, Jane would be able to check how much surveillance was in the actual suite. While it would have looked odd for the princess to pull out a scanner and start scanning the walls, a pilot on the payroll could have been hired for multiple positions.
Chapter Thirteen
Jane
The place was literally crawling with bugs. Okay, it figurative but her skin was definitely beginning to itch. The scanner had marked fifty-six different devices and she had only scanned the first room. There were way too many to attempt removal. She could only hope that they were all Bistran models, trying to find the last little way to suck their client dry.
That host was a skeezeball. If they had been in any other location, she would have broken all four of his touchy little hands.
“Ya’ll are clever, I’ll admit that. But I have something you probably haven’t thought of,” Jane said aloud, knowing that she was being monitored.
Jane reached into her bag and pulled out a small audio device about the size of a playing card. It had become very popular on Earth when it had arrived and she had gotten one from her brother. He had loaded it with all of his favorite songs, mostly as a joke. He was very fond of death metal.
Jane turned it on and cranked the volume. It could hardly be called music. It was screeching, drum pounding, and someone mangling a guitar. It was ear piercing loud, and anyone forced to listen to that was going to regret it. Jane was probably just torturing some poor data tech in the factory somewhere, but she got a certain satisfaction when she stepped outside the door and closed it behind her. The music faded behind her. The room was also completely soundproof. That was a good little tidbit to know.
Magically, Krex appeared in the hallway before her.
“How might I assist you today?” he asked.
“First of all, stay four feet away from me at all times,” Jane growled.
Krex took a step back. “Perhaps I might-”
“Look, dude, you’re upselling the wrong girl. Her highness, Princess Sunshine or whatever, has all the cash. I’m just the hired help.”
“Oh, well, if you are looking for a deal on the side, I have been informed that your species is called Terran?”
“And?”
“Terrans are rather rare in these parts. We have several customers who, shall we say, are interested in experiencing other species. I would be quite happy to make the appropriate introductions, for a small fee, of course.”
Jane looked down at him, resisting the urge to haul off and punch him right there. Was he really offering to pimp her out to some assholes who wanted to put a notch in their bedposts? She would definitely only be interested in discovering the location of his genitalia so that she could kick him where it hurts.
“That’s a hard pass for me.”
“It is quite a lot of credits.”
“Let me tell you something about Terrans. First of all, we are somewhat on the prudish side. Secondly, you don’t ask a lady to sell herself unless you are in the mood to lose one of your hands.”
“So sorry, so sorry,” he said, going back into salesman mode.
“I’m going to turn around and when I turn back around, you will be gone, and I don’t expect to see you again for a good long while. Got it?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. She turned around and counted silently to three. When she turned around, she had the hallway to herself.
Bistra Station was a marvel of engineering. Rather than the dark, cramped, metallic monstrosities that most space aliens seemed to make, this was airy and open. It probably cost a fortune to light, heat, and oxygenate. Everything in this section was built to impress. The engineers and scientists that did all the work probably lived somewhere in the back in cramped quarters with low light and barely enough antigrav to stick to the floor.
Krex kept his distance, but every time Jane got near something interesting, one of the Bistra appeared to move her along or offer her some service that, in their opinion, she could not possibly turn down. So security was tight but practically invisible. It was all done with the same spy cameras and listening devices that littered their suite. It would take a full fledged EMP to disrupt the thing, and even that would be hazardous. It was like trying to use a stick of dynamite to kill a cockroach. You might be aiming for the bugs, but you might end up taking out the oxygenators or the grav system. Jane liked to breathe, so that option was out.
From what Jane could see, Bright was torturing her husband. She was dragging him from spot to spot and drawing as much gregarious attention as she could. By the time they were done, everyone would know the Etlonian princess. She might even win a few more converts to her imaginary cause.
Jane wanted to console Zenik but she had a part to play and she still hadn’t hit the far wing yet. It held a number of vid suites and game parlors for people who wanted a little more privacy than the larger rooms. She was hoping she’d find a
flaw in the security somewhere off the beaten path, or at least clock how long it took the Bistra to counteract her spying and offer her something more entertaining to do.
By the time she got to the far side of the wing, Jane realized something was off. No one had checked up on her for nearly forty-five minutes. That was much longer than the nearly seventeen on the dot that she’d been experiencing for most of the afternoon.
She looked around and noticed a mysterious door in the back of one of the suites. It was almost camouflaged into the wall panel, and it lacked a handle. She pushed on it and found there was a mechanism that held it shut. The door was locked and she waited by it, hoping that someone would either come in or out. The room had a large glass table that she realized upon further inspection was actually made of water. She touched the surface and lights came on in the water. It was some sort of alien game that Jane had never seen before. Surely someone would come and try to take her money once she had activated the table, but no. Jane waited another ten minutes.
Either they were waiting for her to do something bad so they could catch it on camera and fine or imprison her or someone had gone on a very long lunch break. Perhaps, they had decided she wasn’t that interesting after all. She played with the water some more and more lights popped on. Otherwise, this part of the station was dead silent. Jane supposed that the rich all timed their sleep cycles to be awake at the same time, so their party life could thrive. It must still be sleep time.
Which meant more Bistra would be free for spying. And yet there had been none.
Jane was not in the mood to get kicked off the station on the first day. It was probably safest just to go back to the room. In another few hours, the ship would beep out its distress, and they’d have time to discuss the matter while “fixing” the ship.
