Qinta eyed Curly with concern. “No one saw you come in here, did they?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Curly replied. “I can see in the dark without any trouble. But I can’t see through walls.” He glanced at each of them in turn. “So…are you ready to go?”
“Right now?” Sula gasped.
“Sure.” Curly helped himself to the one remaining crust of garlic bread and took a bite. “Even if you haven’t plotted your strategy, there’ll be plenty of time for that while we’re in space. Ursa Prime isn’t exactly nearby, you know.”
Abuti giggled. “We can leave whenever you like. It’s not like we have much to pack.”
She was right about that much. Sula had little more than the clothes she’d been wearing when Aidan found her. Qinta had two outfits that Sula knew of, and Abuti and Giklor didn’t wear anything at all. Of the five of them, Aidan probably had more to pack than anyone.
“Might want to bring along a few herbs and spices,” Curly said to Aidan. “Jetoc and I don’t do much in the way of cooking.” He finished off the last bit of bread before adding, “Nothing as good as this, anyway.”
“Jetoc?” Aidan echoed. “I take it that’s your navigator?”
“Yeah. Totally worthless in the kitchen unless he’s frying sausages.”
Aidan groaned. “Don’t tell me you hired a Drell.”
Curly huffed out a breath. “I know it sounds crazy. I found it hard to believe myself. But he’s certified on more navigation systems than Moe, and he’s gotten us out of several tight spots. Of course, he was the one who got us into those tight spots in the first place, but—”
“What is it you do with your ship?” Sula asked, the mention of “tight spots” prompting her to interrupt.
“Fastest package delivery in the quadrant,” Curly said with more than a touch of pride. “The most expensive too.” With a wicked grin, he added, “But I’m worth it.”
Sula was still a little puzzled. “What sort of tight spots?”
“Not everyone thinks those packages should be delivered,” Curly explained. “At least not to the intended recipients.”
“You mean you get attacked by thieves or space pirates?”
“Not often and never successfully. Most of them have learned to avoid us—the hard way. But every now and then, some crook gets wind of a particularly valuable cargo and tries to intercept us, which is why we’re perfect for this job. If anyone tries to cut you off at the pass, I’ve got a fast ship and some really big guns. No worries. I’ll get you to Ursa Prime on time and intact. Although if things get dicey, we may need an extra man on the weapons console.” He looked at Aidan. “Jetoc is a decent gunner but not as good as you were back in the day. Think you still have that pinpoint accuracy?”
Aidan grimaced. “Let’s just say I’m a little out of practice.”
Seeming to take note of Sula’s curious expression, Curly went on, “When he was younger, he could take out the weaponry or the stardrive on an enemy ship with very little collateral damage.” He shrugged. “Mom always figured it had something to do with his Mordrial blood, but he swore there was nothing more to it than a good grasp of angles and trajectories.” He aimed a searching glance at Aidan. “Which was even weirder, considering you were, what, ten or eleven the last time you fired a pulse cannon?”
Aidan cleared his throat in a rather self-conscious manner. “I was nine, actually. One of the last Nedwut ships to ever fire on us.”
Curly nodded. “Crippled their stardrive and left them floating. My brother Larry sent them a com updating them on the defunct status of the bounty on Zetithians and then boosted their distress call.” With a snort, he added, “He always was an old softie, even as a kid. Not that I hold it against him.”
Sula was fairly certain that Jack was right: Aidan’s Mordrial blood was directly responsible for that ability. However, he obviously had never admitted it to Curly or anyone else he’d grown up with. Would he admit to it now? Or did he know things about their futures he didn’t wish to divulge?
Still, after an extended period of time spent aboard the same ship with their current cohorts, Sula had a sneaking suspicion that someone—her money was on Abuti—would let the truth slip eventually. With that in mind, she would advise him to come clean at his earliest opportunity, although she hoped he would do it without any prompting.
“Well then,” Giklor said heartily. “Since we appear to have a capable escort, may I suggest we prepare to depart?”
* * *
Unfortunately, Aidan couldn’t think of any reason not to leave right away.
So much for six quiet weeks at home with Sula.
“Sounds good,” he said. “Let me throw together a few things, and we can get out of here. How long will it take to get to Ursa Prime?”
“Three weeks if we’re lucky,” Curly replied. “Jetoc was still plotting the course when I left. Should be ready by the time we get to the spaceport.”
Rashe had come and gone with no trouble, but getting Sula out could be a problem. He studied her for a long moment. “You’ll need a disguise.”
Qinta nodded. “A convincing disguise.”
Sula frowned. “What, a hooded cloak won’t do it?”
“Maybe,” Qinta said. “I was thinking more along the lines of making you invisible. I should be able to extend my projection to include you. Never tried it before, but I believe it’s possible.”
“Too bad we can’t make you look like a Zetithian.” Folding her arms, Abuti leaned back in her chair as she gazed at Sula. “That would really throw them off.”
“That’s assuming anyone will actually be watching us leave,” Sula pointed out.
The drumming of Abuti’s fingertips on her upper arms sounded like popcorn tossed into an open fire. “You think they won’t?”
“Probably so,” Sula admitted. With a glance at Aidan, she added, “Although you carried me in here without any disguise.”
“You were essentially disguised even then,” Aidan reminded her. “In that Indiana Jones getup, your own mother might not have recognized you.”
“Yes, but your assassin fellow has undoubtedly seen that disguise—and seen through it,” Giklor said. “Something completely different is needed. Either that or a diversion.”
“I could take her in my speeder,” Curly said. “They’re looking for a woman with dark hair and eyes. All we’d have to do is make you over into a man with similar coloring. Or I could just stash you in the cargo compartment.”
“I was dressed more like a man than a woman when Aidan found me.” She paused, gaping at Curly. The cargo compartment idea was bad enough, but—“You’re talking about cutting my hair, aren’t you?”
“Seems the most reasonable choice, doesn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t,” Aidan said firmly. “You are not going to cut her hair or stuff her into the cargo compartment. We’ll think of something else.”
“Actually, I think Abuti had the right idea,” Qinta said. She turned toward Sula. “Your eyes already have glowing red pupils. We just need to make your eyebrows look slanted and curl your hair.”
Sula appeared to give this some thought, then asked, “What about my ears?”
The Treslanti girl shrugged. “Your hair will cover them.”
“You know, that might actually work,” Aidan said slowly. “My housekeeping droid has lots of features I’ve never used.”
“You mean it can do hair and makeup?” Sula asked.
Aidan nodded. “Those droids can do damn near anything. A makeover shouldn’t be any problem. Jeeves might even be able to make your ears look pointy.”
“Jeeves?” she echoed.
“The name was Jack’s idea of a joke,” Aidan said with a roll of his eyes. “Said he was like a gentleman’s gentleman or some such thing.”
Curly chuckled. “I rememb
er that. She wanted to program him to speak with an English accent instead of communicating with beeps. And you told her to—”
“Never mind that,” Aidan said hastily. “What about it, Sula? Want Jeeves to turn you into a Zetithian?”
“Sounds like an excellent idea,” she said. “Let’s do it!”
* * *
Aidan activated Jeeves and outlined the plan. Jeeves replied with a beep and proceeded to go to work on Sula. Almost afraid to watch, Aidan went off to make his own preparations.
He hadn’t been on any extended trips in some time. But he’d spent most of his life aboard a starship. Knowing what to take and what to leave behind came naturally, although he couldn’t recall his mother ever asking him to bring any herbs and spices aboard the Jolly Roger. She’d always seen to that sort of cargo herself. He’d never flown with Curly before, either.
This should be interesting.
At least Sula hadn’t seemed too taken with the dashing pilot, especially after he’d suggested a haircut.
He was zipping up his duffel bag when Sula came floating in on the hoverchair wearing a yellow tunic with matching trousers.
“This is so cool! I look like a real Zetithian! Jeeves fixed my hair and made me these clothes. He even made these for me.” She held up a pair of jeweled sandals. “Of course I’ll have to wait until I get this cast off to wear them, and the style is more Indian than Zetithian, but aren’t they pretty?”
Her transformation was so complete, for a long moment, all he could do was stare. Her hair now fell in long spiral curls, and her eyebrows had somehow been given an upward slant. Her skin tone was lighter, and she even had fangs and pointed ears. The only thing Jeeves hadn’t done was to reshape her round pupils into vertical slits.
“Very pretty,” he said when he finally recovered his voice. “I keep forgetting Jeeves can do stuff like that. Never needed anything like it before. Wish I’d thought of it sooner. But you know how it is.” Stop babbling. “You make a beautiful Zetithian, Sula. Although I believe I prefer the original version.”
“Thank you,” she said in a shy whisper.
He took a step back, studying her with a critical eye. “You know…from a distance, you could easily be mistaken for Onca’s wife, Kim.”
“You really think so?” Sula’s glowing red eyes were wide with excitement as she swept her hair behind her ears.
“Absolutely. As far as your would-be assassin knows, I might already have a Zetithian wife. You look very convincing.” Persuading any onlookers that he was in love with Sula wouldn’t require much acting at all. In fact, a stellar performance was practically guaranteed.
“I sure hope so,” she said. “Qinta volunteered to act as a decoy. Wait ’til you see her. Jeeves made her up to look like me. We could almost be sisters. Curly was a little freaked out when he saw her. He said she looked great, but he really missed the warrior queen look.” With a sly smile, she added, “We didn’t tell him it was a wig.”
Chapter 16
“Sula, Abuti, and I will head over to the orphanage in my speeder. Curly can take Giklor and Qinta and go straight to the spaceport.” Given the possibility of being tailed and fired upon, Aidan thought the Zerkan might be of more use with the decoy.
“Good plan,” Curly said. “Although I have no intention of being that easy to follow.”
“I didn’t think you would,” Aidan said with a grin. “Feel free to throw in as many twists and turns as you like.” He might not have flown on Curly’s personal ship, but he’d been subjected to some wild rides with Curly at the Jolly Roger’s helm. If anyone could lose a tail, it was Curly.
Curly nodded. “My speeder is armored and can be cloaked, but I won’t engage the cloak unless absolutely necessary.”
“What do you consider an absolute necessity?” Even Qinta seemed a little nervous. Aidan didn’t doubt Curly’s ability to keep her safe, but she had volunteered for the most dangerous role in the scheme.
“I’ll only use it if evasive maneuvers don’t work,” Curly replied. “We don’t want that dude to track us to the spaceport. Plus, I can shoot back if needed.” He turned toward Sula. “Are you sure there’s only one guy?”
“That’s all I saw in Damenk,” Sula replied. “Although with so much going on, I might’ve missed an accomplice.”
“He probably didn’t have one,” Giklor said. “Assassins tend to work alone.”
“And how would you know that?” Aidan demanded.
The Zerkan gave him a wide, red-eyed stare. “Isn’t that common knowledge?”
Aidan shouldered his duffel bag. “No, it probably isn’t. Let’s just hope you’re right.”
“This guy is probably pissed from having missed you before, Sula,” Curly mused. “He might take your continued existence personally and be harder to discourage.”
Abuti waved her skinny arms. “Hold on. Do assassins get paid up front, or only when the job is done?”
Curly arched a brow. “Hmm…I believe you’d have to at least make a down payment. Expensive equipment, you know. That, and they have to be able to travel.”
The constant barrage of questions was beginning to grate on Aidan’s nerves. “I’m not sure that’s relevant right now, unless you’re willing to capture the assassin and offer him more money to leave us alone.”
“The idea has merit,” Giklor said. “May I suggest—?”
“Not now,” Aidan growled, herding the group toward the door. “It’s dark outside, and at least for the moment, the coast appears to be clear. Let’s do this.”
It was dark inside as well. In an attempt to confuse anyone keeping the house under surveillance, they’d each gone to their respective rooms, pretended to go to bed, and then turned out the lights. The subsequent rendezvous in the dark near the back door wasn’t as chaotic as it might have been had some of their number not possessed excellent night vision, but it was still fraught with anxiety, as evidenced by Sula’s icy fingers when she grasped his hand.
“What if someone has put a tracking beacon on the speeders?” she asked.
“Not possible,” Curly said before Aidan could reply. “Aidan’s speeder is locked in the garage, and mine has an antispyware feature.”
“Just checking,” she muttered.
“Meet you all at docking bay ninety-four,” Curly said. “Stay safe.”
They left the house without a sound and climbed into their assigned vehicles. On Aidan’s signal, the two speeders took off toward the street and then turned in opposite directions.
Moments later, the comlink on Aidan’s control panel lit up. “Looks like our friend took the bait,” Curly reported. “Anyplace you’d like me to lead him?”
“The nearest police station would be a nice touch, but that would only slow you down. Shake him if you can, and meet us at the spaceport.”
“Will do,” Curly said. “See you soon. Jetoc will be ready for you if I’m not there yet.”
Aidan banked the speeder around a wide turn and onto a crowded thoroughfare. “The scan shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. We’ll be there as quick as we can.”
Sula gripped his arm in a further display of concern. “What if the scan shows something…bad?”
“We’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with, but we’ll keep on going no matter what. We can get rid of your cast after we take off.”
A few minutes later, Abuti spoke up from the rear seat. “Um, Aidan…I think—”
“I see it,” he said grimly.
“What’s the matter?” Sula asked.
“We’ve picked up a tail.”
Sula glanced over her shoulder. “How can you tell?”
“Nobody follows a speeder that closely.” He swung the speeder sharply to the left, and the lights behind them duplicated their move. “See?”
“Oh no,” she said with a groan. �
�What do we do now?”
“That’s a very good question, because, unlike Curly’s speeder, mine doesn’t have armor, guns, or a cloaking device.”
“Maybe not,” Sula conceded. “But it does have a pilot who can tell the future and control the wind. Surely, there’s something you can do.”
“Maybe. I’ve never tried this in traffic before.” Curly’s reminder of his targeting ability brought back a skill Aidan hadn’t used in some time. Focusing on the vehicles ahead, he sent his consciousness five seconds into the future, enabling him to anticipate their moves in real time. As other speeders changed positions, he veered into an open gap on the right, then decelerated sharply in the split second before the tail could follow suit.
“Nice move!” Abuti yelled. “See if you can stay behind him. Maybe we can figure out who he is.”
The best Aidan could tell, there was nothing special about the speeder—at least nothing to indicate who might be piloting it. There weren’t even any erratic moves to suggest he might be rattled by Aidan’s evasive ploy. “At a guess, I’d say it was a rental, but that’s about all I can see.”
“Try pulling alongside and giving him a bump,” Abuti suggested.
“Run him off the road, you mean? I can do that. Don’t have to resort to bumping, though.” Aidan accelerated until the nose of his speeder drew even with the thruster manifold of the other vehicle. After retracting the canopy slightly, he waved a hand. The ensuing gust of wind caused the rival speeder to swerve, nearly flipping it over.
“Aidan…” Sula began. “What about using the wind to lift us up like you do when you fly?”
Since speeders only hovered between one and two meters off the ground, flying any higher was something even the most well-equipped adversary couldn’t do. “Even better,” he said as he closed the canopy. “Unless he sees us do it, he won’t have any idea where we’ve gone.”
Sula grinned. “Almost like having a cloaking device.”
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