by Skyler Grant
Kara pulled off him and lay on the other. Despite the recent release he wasn’t growing softer, his length still straining.
Right, always being aroused in her presence was quite literal then.
Melody reached out to grab him between her fingers. “I think I like Kara being in the room with us if this is how it is going to go.”
“Some of us are still going to need our sleep. Tomorrow is a big day,” Quinn said.
“We’ve got a few hours yet,” Melody said.
“And some of us need less rest than others,” Kara said, her fingers moving to slide over Melody’s.
32
“We look ridiculous,” Kara said.
“You’re not the one who should be complaining,” Quinn said.
Quinn was piloting the Foxtrot. He was wearing what passed for formal wear in the First Imperium. Part light armor, part skintight fashion statement.
If his was too hot and stuffy, the girls didn’t have that problem. Kara was actually the more covered up of the two, a set of metallic bracers along a series of steel plates that served as something of an armored bikini.
Impractical, but striking, Jinx for her part was wearing a good bit less. A feathered mask complete with shaded lenses completely concealed her features, her chest bare but for a few streaks of body-paint imitating feathers, and with a feathered loincloth completing the avian ensemble.
“You’re fine, we’re all fine. I did my research. Dela said these parties are known for their extravagance and Rim lords are known for their eccentricities,” Jinx said.
Quinn hoped that was true.
The Foxtrot followed a beacon down to the estate, landing in a line of luxury shuttles. It was the fanciest ship they had and it was on the lower end of those present.
As Quinn opened the hatch he was met by an attractive redhead in a gauzy red dress. While she had no weapons, the guards a few steps behind her bore sleek submachine guns.
“Invitation,” the redhead said.
Quinn tapped a few keys on his comm, sending over the invitation Dela had procured.
“Baron Fel, of Fel’s Reach and two companions,” the redhead said, looking into the shuttle. The outfits drew little more than an approving glance. “Lord Barr would like to meet you before you join the party proper. You and your companions need to be scanned.”
“Of course,” Quinn said, accepting her arm as she offered it to escort him from the shuttle, Jinx and Kara following along behind.
Melody had developed some countermeasures for the security, concealed in Quinn’s comm where the other electronics should help obscure their purpose. They’d selected an older unit with more noise bleed and bulkier, just the sort of thing that fit with the image they were presenting.
The girls got a wave of the redhead’s arm. She soon called, “Clear.” Jinx slipped forward to take Quinn’s arm as the redhead pulled out a different device.
Quinn was given a more thorough scan, the redhead’s hand reaching out to cup his groin towards the end. “Mhm, definitely well armed, but not quite the way we need be concerned about. Your girls aren’t taking proper care of you. Impressive mana levels, you’ve a good bloodline. Find me during the party. I’m Janesa, and I’ll see you’re no longer neglected.”
“Perhaps,” Quinn said. “They’re the jealous sort.”
Janesa gave him a playful pout and keeping a hold of his arm led him towards the estate grounds.
There was a diverse assortment of guests. Some were in the latest formalwear from the Core, several were closer to Jinx and Kara. There were even a few aliens in the crowd, a golden-skinned man with black eyes, and a grey-skinned woman who stood almost twelve feet tall.
Janesa led them to where a small line waited.
“So where is Fel’s Reach, Baron?” Janesa asked.
“The northern Rim, near Aktari space. Do you travel much? Perhaps you’d like to see it one day,” Quinn said.
The Aktari were a hostile race of sentient insects that had fought four different wars with the Imperium, although they were currently not being so aggressive. Still, it had left a lot of worlds empty, and a lot of opportunities for the daring.
Janesa leaned in to press a kiss against his cheek. “Not so worried about them being jealous now? Price is right I’ll go anywhere, handsome. Try me out and make me an offer, and you can enjoy all three of us on your way back home.”
Quinn doubted it. Janesa was doing security scans. Perhaps the invitation later was for real—people filled more than one role in an organization—but she wasn’t a prostitute.
They finally reached the front of the line. Lord Barr was a man in his forties. Red robes embroidered with gold cloaked his form and he had a well manicured beard and mustache.
“Lord Barr, allow me to introduce Lord Fel of Fel’s reach and his companions,” Janesa said, releasing Quinn’s arm and giving an elegant bow before taking a step back.
Jinx and Kara bowed as well.
“Baron Fel. Always a pleasure to meet those keeping the frontier safe, especially in these perilous times,” Barr said.
“A pleasure to meet a man not afraid to seize opportunities, especially in these perilous times,” Quinn said.
Barr flashed a smile and looked past Quinn, taking a step towards Jinx and Kara. “A Yek consort? How daring of you, she’s lovely.” The lord reached out to brush the back of his fingers across her cheek. “Though here for your security just as much, I suspect.”
“A tactic we’re both fond of,” Quinn said.
“Quite,” Barr said moving to Jinx then and looking her up and down. He cupped one of her breasts and squeezed sharply. “Your true plaything. Udders like a cow, this one, and a mask to hide a plain face. If you’re interested I can provide much better than this trash.”
Jinx flinched.
“Lord Barr, I’m your guest so I say this with great reluctance, but lay your hand or insult my companion again and I’ll knock you flat,” Quinn said.
Bar looked back to Quinn and grinned, withdrawing his hand and chuckling. “A Rim Lord, I do appreciate you. The Core lords, they’ll let you bend their wife down and fuck her in front of them if they think it will get them a better deal. Enjoy the party, stay the night, there is a meeting tomorrow you’ll find worth attending.”
Quinn tilted his head and stepped away, taking Kara on one arm and Jinx on the other.
“I loathe that man,” Jinx said.
“He’s an idiot. You’re totally hot. I’d do you right now,” Kara said.
“It doesn’t matter. That offer to stay the night. We going to do it? Chance to stick around with less of a crowd,” Jinx said.
“The crowd is in our favor right now. This many people have security tied up in knots,” Quinn said.
In the foyer a singer was on stage, a real one that Quinn thought he’d seen on holovid before. Not a recent star, but still, this far out it meant the lord really did have some resources.
They had three mission objectives. One was to find whoever was on the transponder net that was linked to the sleeping women on the Kathryn. It was a long shot they’d find her at all, and questionable how they’d make her talk even if they could. Still, she could be a source who might answer them honestly.
Second, they had to gain access to Lord Barr’s private data server and clone it, stealing the files for Tamara’s sake. That would require either a link from his private office on the second floor of the estate, or accessing the server directly from its mainframe location in the basement. Both were likely to be secured, although during the party guests might be able to get closer than usual depending on just what was going on and where. Armed security would be protecting the servers, and network security the files.
Third were the artifacts they hoped to turn a profit from. They were held in an exhibit hall on the main floor and should be open to the party guests. There would also be guards in place and electronic sensors protecting them as well.
“We should split up. Each go after
a different target,” Jinx said.
“Absolutely not. You were here to help me pass the test. You’re not going off alone,” Quinn said.
“He’s right,” Kara said, her arm tense. “These people are predators, I can feel it. Neither of you should go off alone.”
“You’re in tune with life. Do you think you can find someone unnatural? Like Tamara or the ones we have?” Quinn asked Jinx.
“You’re asking now?” Jinx said. “Maybe. Lots of nobles are here, but they have magic in their cells and I can feel that differently. We’d be looking for heavy alteration and lots of cybernetics without magic. I’ll need to mingle a lot.”
“Then we mingle. See what there is to see on all floors of the estate. We wouldn’t want to miss anything,” Quinn said.
33
They started their explorations in the display hall, getting a look at the Delaxian artifacts so that they could have a better idea exactly what they were dealing with there.
It was a quiet respite from the party, only a few guests roaming in the hall and studying the displays. There was art, abstract sculptures that Quinn didn’t much like, and paintings of seascapes which was odd given this planet was over eighty percent land.
The artifacts had their own wing. They were uniformly of greenish stone striated with brilliant yellow veins. They were seemingly simple items like bowls, spoons, spear tips. It had never been figured out how they were made although the speculation was magic must be involved. Science had yet managed to so much as scratch one. The most collectible examples were those that appeared the most handmade, the crudest.
“Look at the bowl,” Jinx said, pressing herself in against Quinn’s side. Once she’d stopped being offended at the earlier treatment she was again having fun with the role.
Grooves that looked like finger marks in clay. It was a rare trait, valuable, and that bowl alone would make this a worthwhile score. Unfortunately, it was well protected. Surrounded by a layer of defensive glass and with a faint blue shimmer inside of a powerful sensor field monitoring the environment.
Two guards were in every room, keeping watch, and sensors on every door. What wasn’t obvious was a way of really closing off the rooms. It was possible to steal, but Quinn didn’t see a way to do it without going loud. There was time to think about it later.
They moved to check out the rest of the party. The ground floor had a host of entertainment, flashy but largely traditional. A band, a dance floor, and a banquet table filled with food.
“Anything?” Quinn asked Jinx.
“The guards are way too heavy for something like this. He’s paranoid,” Kara said.
“So we don’t go loud,” Quinn said.
“You know me, I’ll throw down anywhere, anytime. Don’t see how we’d talk our way through,” Kara said.
They encountered a second stairway down, guarded by a pair of guards. The basement was strictly off limits to guests. Good to know.
Not so the upstairs when they checked it out. Lots of guest rooms, some with name plaques upon them. Some simply with a hanger on the door them stating occupied. A second dance hall with rather less clothing and a lot more grinding. Next, a hall of orgies, then a second hall of orgies.
Jinx angled her head. “I’ve got something?”
“Here?” Quinn asked.
“Afraid about going in, stud? I know you’re up for the job,” Kara said with a smirk.
“That isn’t the problem,” Quinn said, looking over the patchwork of tangled bodies.
“Not on this floor,” Jinx said, frowning. “Below us. I think.”
A very careful walk around the outskirts of the room found a stairway at the far end and they made their way downstairs.
It was a pool, a rather massive one with its own waterfall. Quinn hoped for wealth like this one of these days. Holographic projectors made the water teem with fantastical creatures, and unless this really was the most popular part of the party for aliens, the projections camouflaged the guests as well. Most in the pool appeared to be mermen and mermaids, iridescent tails leaving a rainbow shimmer in the water in their wake.
Jinx let out a squeal that had nothing to do with business. “This is amazing. We need a pool.”
“Do you want to clean up a pool after the gravity goes out?” Quinn asked.
“If I say yes, can we have a pool?”
“We could practice underwater combat. Never been trained for it,” Kara said.
“Any idea who we’re looking for?” Quinn asked, changing the subject.
“Redhead, by the dragon statue,” Jinx said.
Sculptures of various magical creatures lined the edges of the pool. It wasn’t hard to find the dragon and once their target was spotted it was hard to miss her.
Her hair was a brilliant red that likely didn’t exist in nature, along with green eyes, pale skin, and features breathtakingly stunning. Unlike most swimming back and forth in the pool she was still, her tail visible beneath the water and her full chest just above the waterline. A drink was on the edge beside her, half finished.
Melody and Tamara had worked out a way to make contact, one of the little surprises they’d built into Quinn’s com. The estate had security dampeners preventing comm traffic from outside, and inside non-sanctioned channels were suppressed too.
A brief pulse on the private network the woman should be on would hopefully be enough to get her attention.
Quinn and the girls moved to the edge of the pool, standing near the statue.
“I really like your tail,” Jinx said.
“I really like your boobs,” Kara said.
“Well, at least one of those things is real,” the woman said.
Quinn triggered the signal.
If the woman were startled, she hid it well. “Enjoying the party? I’m Mara, by the way.”
“Baron Fel,” Quinn said, “My companions, Jinx and Kara. It’s impressive, we don’t see a lot of this out on the Rim.”
“Green is a good look. And I love the feathers. And your outfit, Baron Fel? First Imperium, Kanto region?” Mara said, shifting her arms behind her and lifting herself out of the pool. The illusion of the tail vanished be replaced with a set of long and shapely legs. If the red of her hair was unnatural, she went to unusual ends for consistency as the lack of attire made clear. A curtsy and then she slithered into a red dress that lay crumpled behind her.
“Indeed. You’ve a good eye,” Quinn said.
“You haven’t been looking at my eyes, Baron Fel,” Mara said, leaning in and brushing the back of her hand across Quinn’s chest. “Join me upstairs? Just us for round one, although depending on how it goes we might invite the others.”
Quinn figured that meant she wanted to talk alone and separate him from his muscle, which she’d identified as Kara. That wasn’t going to happen, but they could at least move things away from the pool.
34
Mara took Quinn’s hand and guided him back up the stairs in the direction they’d come.
Quinn found himself admiring her finesse. Instead of circling the orgy room she walked right through it. A fraught enterprise considering how much movement there was. A space free to put a foot down between lovers wasn’t easy. With Mara guiding the way however it did save time. Jinx and Kara were forced to circle the room and lagged behind.
That was probably by intent. Mara led him to a room, one marked with a name tag, “Dr. Marianna Trenchant”. Pulling Quinn inside she closed the door behind them and hit the latch which sealed with a click.
“Sanctuary,” Mara said, and the lights flickered. The room was pretty but unspectacular, one wall bearing a seascape like those seen in the gallery. A few dresses were draped over the bed. Perhaps Mara had been considering outfits earlier.
Quinn didn’t have much time to look around. Mara spun with fearsome efficiency and swept his legs out from under him. Collapsing hard onto his back he found himself staring up at Mara holding a small pistol, a hum sounding before a blue bolt of energy to
ok him in the chest.
The shot didn’t hurt, there was no pain at all really, but instead a tremendous sense of lethargy. Quinn tried to get back to his feet, but his limbs simply wouldn’t operate.
“We’re off sensors and that door is reinforced. You should still be able to talk. Why are you here, Lord Fel, and what do you want with me?” Mara asked.
“I’m not actually a lord. I’m a smuggler. I picked up a cargo awhile back. It turned out to be fifteen women suspended in sarcophagi,” Quinn said.
Mara closed her eyes for a moment. “Tough to fool a mana sensor, but a smuggler might have the ways. These girls? Where did you pick them up, where are they going, and who are you smuggling them for?”
“Kind of want this exchange of information to go two ways,” Quinn said.
Mara leveled the pistol at his head. “Allow me to be clear so we have no confusion. The power advantage right now is all one way. You can talk or I can fry your nervous system for good and dig for answers on my own. If I believe you, then you may have done me a favor. You’d much rather be on my good side, trust me.”
Quinn believed that much. There was something of Tamara’s unshakable control in this woman, along with a bit of Kara’s directness.
“Sobek station, from a woman who also seemed enhanced and known as Maiden. They were supposed to go to the Aldonis system,” Quinn said.
Mara pursed her lips, looking deep in thought.
The door rattled, as if being shaken from the other side.
“Your defender, I assume. Reinforced, the lord’s guests appreciate their privacy. Me more than most,” Mara said. “You may be speaking the truth. It would explain some things.”
The door exploded inward, flying off the hinges and slamming into Mara, knocking her to the floor. The pistol went spinning out of her hand across the room.
“Sorry, stud,” Kara said, stepping in, rolling her shoulders. “Took Jinx awhile to figure out which room was hers.”