Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44088 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Fortunately, we’re about to make our first stop at an illicit station, and I know my handlers have a decent chance of anticipating this. If they’re waiting for us, we’re in trouble. I have to hope we get there first and manage to ditch the ship, blend into the crowds and pick up something that doesn’t draw attention.
“Let’s make sure we’re all packed,” I say, going over it for the umpteenth time. What we take off this ship is all we will have to start our lives over. My pants are stuffed with credit tokens, the most important element for our survival, at least until we go out beyond where Colonizer currency is expected.
I have the ship scanning the docks almost before we are in range to do so. We’re not detecting any other Colonizer signals, but they could be running dark. We’re not, because I have no idea how to make that happen. I know a lot of things, but I am not a Colony engineer.
“I have your pelts and my helmet,” Kail says. I don’t think he understands the point of what we’re doing here, and there’s not enough time to explain yet again. There’s not really that much worth taking. Money, clothes, and tradable objects.
I start whipping out bits of ship that I know the scrappers will want, nothing that will affect the handling so we can still make a landing.
Kail stands by the door with his small bag over his shoulder. He keeps messing with the extra fangs I inserted over his teeth to help him pass as someone other than himself, sticking the base of his thumb up against the pointed bits.
“This feels dishonorable,” he says.
“I know. But there’s no honor when you’re a fugitive. There’s just survival or lack thereof. Our first job is to find another ship as quickly as possible. So we’re going to stay on the docks, not wander, so on and so forth… I need you to stay with me.”
“I will not be leaving your side,” he says firmly.
“Maybe not that close. They will be looking for a big savage and a small human. We should leave the ship separately. You can keep an eye on me. I’ll do the talking.”
My first instinct is to look for a smuggler’s vessel. They’re usually equipped with stealth features and swift speed. But that might be too obvious, being my first impulse. A trader’s ship might be a better bet. Or perhaps just one of the old jalopies. They’ll be slow, and they’ll have no stealth, but they’ll also be overlooked by everyone looking for those who are fleeing.
“Slow and steady, or quick and flashy,” I murmur to myself.
“Slow and steady,” Kail says from behind me. “Part of a fleet, if possible, like picking out one fish from a shoal.”
I turn around, surprised at how good his instincts are, both to understand what I am talking about when I’m only speaking in half-sentences.
“Yes,” I say. “Perfect.”
I have never had anybody on my side before like this. All the deceptive decisions I’ve had to make were my own. Now I have Kail on my side, and with his presence comes a new level of competence. We were good together when we were working in opposition. But now? Working in harmony? We are going to be absolutely fucking unstoppable.
“Perfect. There’s a Persinian trader fleet over there. We’ll see if any of the captains want to quietly cash out.”
“Or we can just hide on one of their ships.”
“Stow away! Another good idea. For a savage predator, you have incredible prey instincts.”
“A good predator understands prey,” Kail says. “In matters of survival, we are all prey.”
Persinians are gilled aliens who breathe air, but only reluctantly. They very much prefer to be in water. It’s not their fault so much of the universe has a tendency to be dry. Their ships are made in scaled fashion, and when new they would have glimmered with iridescence like the scales of their bodies. After many years of exposure to solar winds and other universal influences they are dulled and no longer shine, but they are still colored in pink and purple and teal, silver and gold. They’re flashy but weathered.
I like the idea of buying our own ship, but Kail has a good point. If we stow away, we leave this place without trace, and that is the best possible outcome. Nobody will have any idea where we went. Assuming, of course, no footage is being taken of the dock. This being a criminal outpost, the likelihood of Colony forces ever seeing that footage, if it exists, are low.
“They’ll be loading cargo soon by the looks of things. We could try to take cover in a crate and hope they load us without noticing.”
The docks are very busy. That might give us cover from being spotted, or it might mean we are spotted without noticing we’ve been spotted. Nothing about this is easy.