“Can you say that again? Dot, love, record this.”
“Being obnoxious about it won’t help anything.” I want to punch the smirk right off Leef’s face, but I must admit to holding back my own smile.
“Come on, Ren. Just say it one more time.” Leef’s words are filled with glee.
I glance at Talie as she watches our exchange with amusement.
“Fine.” I draw the word out. I’m being completely dramatic, but it’s making Talie laugh, so it’s worth it. “You, Leef Debray, are mildly good with tech.”
“Rubbish. Come on!” He tosses up his hands. “That is not what you said before. I believe it was something like, “Leef,” he affects a ridiculous voice, “you are the best techhead I’ve ever seen in this galaxy, you big, strong, handsome—”
“Enough!” I let a laugh slip. “You’re really good with tech. And more than a little annoying.”
Arrogance puffs out his chest as he has Dot replay my words three times to make sure it recorded properly.
“Satisfying.” He leans back in his seat with hands laced behind his head. “Very, very satisfying.”
“You need more humans in your life,” I mutter.
He winces like my words are a slap. I’ve accidentally struck a nerve. We know so little about Leef. I want to find out what hole I stepped in.
<<APPROACHING MELORAN SPACE>>
It’s been less than thirty-six hours since we slipped away from the Navara Port undetected, flying close enough to Brownus’s ship I almost had an aneurysm, but Leef was confident we wouldn’t be spotted. His hacking abilities and the camouflage Dot did paid off.
“Thanks, Mabel. Send credentials.” Leef’s focus is on piloting now, but I realize something—though I’d never tell him. I’ve started to like this annoying guy, despite his quirks and lack of transparency. Perhaps because it’s something I can understand. I could do without the flirting, though.
<<SENDING CREDENTIALS, O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN>>
“Will we land on planet?” Talie asks.
“They have a spaceport with a port-to-planet shuttle. It’ll be best to dock there and then shuttle to the surface. Your altered chips will hide your identity and reflect ones I’ve made for you based on the names you gave me. Trilla and Rex.”
“Ah, to be Rex again.” I fold my arms behind my head.
“You’re in my seat.” Talie elbows me in the side hard enough that I force out a rush of air.
“Ooomph. As my fictional wife, I demand you treat me with kindness.” I massage my ribs and stand.
Rather than take the bucket seat, I remain standing, peering through the sio-glass in front of us. The port takes shape ahead like a beacon among the stars, no magnification needed to see the various docks of the spherical port and the transport path to the planet.
The planet itself is small in comparison to Drawx and has a high ocean to land ratio, making it look like a swirl of greens and blues. I’ve heard stories of the atmosphere here as being humid and vibrant.
“We’ll need different suits.” I look between Talie and me. I’m still in the onesuit I took from the Phenyx med-bay. It’s ripped in places and, while we’ve used the sanitation facilities on board, I’d like to find something fresh.
“Got you covered, mate.” Leef takes a second to flash an enigmatic smile to us, raised eyebrows and all. Did I say I was starting to like him?
<<ACCESS GRANTED. DOCKING BAY 792-X OPENED>>
“I tried to pick something close to the shuttle, but we’ll still be a few decks away. Talie, you’ll find onesuits and cloaks in that compartment to your right.”
She turns and presses the compartment. It opens with a hiss, and she pulls out three packs, puffy with cloaks. “I thought Meloran was a hot planet.”
“It is.” Leef agrees. “But those are therma-cloaks. In combination with your suits, they’ll help with the heat, but most importantly, their hoods will conceal your faces. Your spoofed identities will hold up to scanning, but facial recognition is a different matter.”
Talie tosses me a pack with a wink. It’s black, and I grin. She knows me. She selects a pale blue one for herself and is about to put the third away when Leef reaches over.
“Oy, I’ll take that one, love.”
“You’re coming with us?” Talie looks from him to me and back.
“Don’t fret. I’ve got business on planet. Just think of me like a very expensive tour guide.”
“Business? How’s that possible when you didn’t know you’d be going to Meloran?”
There’s that flashy grin. “I’ve always got business, Ren.”
For someone with his reach, I shouldn’t be surprised, but still. Rather than push the matter, I make a mental note to remain on guard. It’s not something I need to tell myself, but the mental pep-talk doesn’t hurt, even as I hear my basic instructor yelling at us new recruits. Being alert means staying alive!
The docking procedure takes over with Mabel handling the maneuvers, and we take turns slipping to the back to change.
When Talie emerges, I swallow. Her suit fits perfectly. Better than perfect. She looks good—and completely distracting—which is not good.
She catches my gaze. “What?”
“No-nothing.” I clear my throat, and Leef laughs.
He too looks different in a onesuit instead of his usually baggy clothes. The dark green suit shows a muscled upper body and strong legs. I could still take him, but he’s definitely not just some flabby pilot.
“You look stunning, m’lady,” Leef says.
I shoot him a look, but he’s all innocence.
“Ready?” He asks.
Talie pulls on her cloak, and some of the distraction is gone. But only some.
“Ren?”
I startle as Leef’s hand lands heavily on my shoulder. “You coming, or are you going to daydream a little longer?”
“Coming.”
“Right.” Leef makes a showy bow and extends his arm for Talie to exit ahead of us, but the next second, he steps into my path. “You ought to figure out whatever isn’t going on between you two, mate.”
“Thanks.” I grind my teeth. He’s not getting anything more from me.
“You never know when some handsome bloke might sweep in and steal her from ya.” He winks and slips out before I have the chance for a well-placed punch.
He catches up with Talie, going so far as to place an arm around her. I’m gut-punched by their easygoing rapport.
“Are you exiting the Andromeda, Master Renner?” Dot asks.
Only then do I realize the bot is behind me, patiently waiting to get off the ship.
“Yes. Let’s go, Dot.”
I duck my head, and we follow them down the platform, Leef’s words echoing in my mind. Does he think I haven’t tried to talk to her? And where would he suggest we have this very personal conversation on his very cramped ship?
If he thinks I haven’t done everything I can—
I cut off the imaginary argument and force my attention to things like possible threats and Talie’s safety. I need a clear head and anything that is—or isn’t—between Talie and me can wait. It’ll have to.
We make our way through the platform, checking in with a port sec-unit, and take a lift to the top deck where the shuttle is located.
It’s not as crowded as Bolarius, but people still mill about, gathering around the food kiosks that line the rotunda. Some linger at tables and talk while others carry shopping bags. There must be a few floors of shops below us. The port appears newly renovated with shiny durasteel casings, newly manufactured duraplast floors and walls, and sio-glass windows that look down to the planet on one side and out to space on the other.
“This way.” Leef takes us on a path directly through the middle of the room.
There’s a variety of people, races, and species mixed like any other spaceport but very few Melorans with their distinctive waist chains depicting their status in the Meloran caste. I would have expected to see lots of Rustorite chains, their brownish hue signifying the lowest caste, as workers up here, but I count two, and they look like travelers.
“Where are the Melorans?” I direct the question to Leef, coming up next to him with Talie on his right.
“On planet.” He looks at me like I asked a stupid question. “They don’t particularly like this spaceport. It’s new, as you can tell, and was built by the Galaxy for easier access to the sea supply. Meloran kelp is high in protein and can sustain, if not satisfy, those on planets without as robust an eco-system.”
“But they must have agreed to it.” Talie looks concerned.
“They did, but they also have a need.” Leef looks at me.
I’m sifting through details, searching for whatever he’s implying. From what I know from my diplomatic galactic studies course of Meloran culture and their planet, which isn’t much, they boast a robust fauna life to match their sea life. Their planet is eighty five percent ocean. Land is a hot commodity. They’ve created interesting solutions like floating cities… most transportation is done by boat, though the northern and southern hemispheres don’t get along. I can’t remember why.
“Do you need me to ask what it is?”
“Land.” He says it like it should be obvious. Maybe it is.
“How does that work?” Talie turns to look out to space as if she might catch a ship in the act.
“They need land—or, more accurately, soil.”
“They traded a spaceport for…dirt?” I’m sure stranger trades have been made, but it does sound unbelievable.
“Yes. Among other things. It’s delivered in massive transport ships and dropped in higher elevation areas to create islands in the southern hemisphere where land is scarce. It’s changing the planet’s eco-system if you ask me, but they seem to have been given little choice.”
“This is the Galaxy’s doing.” The wrinkle on her forehead clues me in to her distress. She may not be in a position of power, but she thinks like someone who will be.
“What about the northern hemisphere?” I ask.
“Their ruling queen bartered for something she wants, that I’d bet my life on, but the land is more abundant up there and more mountainous.”
I have more questions, but as we reach the shuttle, I shelve them. There are more pressing things to figure out. Like how we’ll find Freyda’s father.
On the shuttle, I take a seat next to Talie, her shoulders pushed back and her brow furrowed beneath the wide hood of her therma-cloak.
“You doing okay?” I ask.
“There’s so much wrong in this Galaxy, but I know that must come secondary to what we need to do next.” She bites her lip as she looks over at me. “I hope we can persuade Monarch N’Saala in time.”
“We will.” I sound confident, though I have no idea how we will.
Our mission becomes very real as the shuttle departs for the capital of Meloran. There’s a monarch to find and convince with only seven days to go until the meeting.
Stars help us. Our time is running out.