“I might have to have my nose surgically removed after this,” Zephyr says, her voice sounding nasal as her fingers pinch her nose. “This is disgusting.”
“You two can’t turn your sense of smell off? That sucks—makes this much easier. Maybe try breathing through your mouth?” Ben-Ari suggests from the front of their little group, as they trudge through the sewers under the spaceport. “You sure you know where this ship is? Once we pop back up to the surface, I doubt we’ll have more than a few fractions of a tock before a drone or some sharp-eyed trooper spots us. I’m still not sure being with you two is really the safest bet, but running around a spaceport is definitely a bad idea.”
“If your map of the facility is accurate, the ship is where we pointed,” Maxim says, doing his best to breathe only through his mouth, but somehow still smelling the foul mix of—well, he doesn’t know what, and doesn’t want to—and also somehow tasting it. As it is, he’s convinced they’ll be burning their boots and possibly their pants the moment they get to the Ghost. Such a waste of brand new clothes.
A few minutes later, they come to a halt. The faint light from above is filtering down into the drain from a metal grate overhead. Ben-Ari looks around, and then back down at the PADD he’s holding. “Okay, I think this is as close as we’re gonna get to Wil’s ship. Big man, you hoist me up—I’ll take a quick look around before we make a break for it.”
“And if you don’t see his ship?” Zephyr asks.
“Then we’re well and truly grolacked,” the little being says, for the first time sounding as deadly serious as the situation warrants. “There are plenty of other grates, but I somehow doubt your ride is going to wait around forever for you to return—especially if he’s picked up on the Peacekeeper presence. I can’t imagine he likes you that much.”
Maxim lifts Ben-Ari up over his head, and they hear the scraping of metal as the small hacker lifts the grate and looks around. “You said it was an Ankarran Raptor, right?” he whispers down.
“Yes,” Maxim answers, as a small foot kicks him in the face. “I’ll never be clean again,” he mutters, spitting something onto the ground.
“Then it’s right there. Good job on the location, you two. It’s maybe a hundred meters away. Smart to park this far out—I don’t see any troopers, and drones would be a flight hazard. Okay, ready?” He looks down at Maxim under his feet and Zephyr next to him. Both nod.
Ben-Ari slides the metal grate aside, and leaps off Maxim’s shoulders. He doesn’t reappear.
“That little slime weasel!” Zephyr hisses, as she climbs up Maxim’s back and out of the hole. Seconds later, she leans down, bracing herself to help the much larger man climb up out of the sewer. About halfway to the Ghost, a tiny green being with a huge backpack is trotting as fast as his little legs will carry him.
Maxim climbs up and out of the opening, and slides the grate back into place. The two take off at a run for the relative safety of the Ghost. As they overtake Ben-Ari, they lift him and his huge pack up off the ground. Zephyr takes the bag, while Maxim takes the wriggling and screeching Ben-Ari. “Don’t make me drop you,” Maxim hisses, and the little hacker goes quiet.
As they approach the Ghost, Zephyr sees Wil sitting in a chair at the top of the cargo ramp, reading something on a PADD. He puts the PADD down on his lap and looks up at their approach, slowly raising a blaster pistol. “You know, I didn’t think I’d see you two again. I’m pretty impressed. Oh, hey, Bennie,” he waves, as they stop at the foot of the ramp. “Why’d you bring him with you?” He points the pistol at Ben-Ari.
Ben-Ari wriggles free of Maxim’s grip as they enter the cargo area, dropping with a thud. “You burned me, you krebnack! Peacekeepers stormed my workshop, then followed us to one of my caches! I can’t stay here now!” He stomps off up into the crew compartment of the ship, shouting back, “Oh, and I saved them! You’re welcome!”
Wil looks at Zephyr and Maxim. “Three things. First, unlock your bot, and I’ll get it unloaded, since you can’t be seen.” He points to where the dutiful little cargo bot is sitting near the edge of the Ghost’s cargo ramp. Maxim hadn’t even noticed it there in their haste to get on board. “Then take those clothes off, toss ‘em out on the tarmac, and go shower.” He throws them some coveralls, much like the ones Zephyr had worn into the shopping district.
Maxim walks back down toward the bot, reciting his authorization code, and begins stripping out of his utterly disgusting brand-new outfit. “I liked these boots,” he mutters as he tosses them, grime-encrusted, out of the hold.