It took me a second to realize what she meant. “Oh. So you have a supply of mice or something that you feed on?”

  “Normally, yes. Something like that. But I ran out, and once we left Caprum I had to find an alternate source.”

  “Sedaya’s soldiers?”

  “Yes.” She lowered her head, ashamed.

  “They deserved it. We’ll make sure you get whatever you need as soon as we can.”

  The shame faded as she looked at me again. “Thank you, Ben. For being such a good guy. For being my friend.”

  I smiled. “That’s what friends are for, right? Come on, we’ve got a song to finish, a movie to watch, and pizza for you to pretend to eat.”

  She laughed. “Let’s do it!”

  Chapter Fifty

  “Kasper Orbital Control, this is Head Case,” I said as we drifted toward the field of starships waiting to drop to one of the spaceports scattered around the planet. “Requesting atmospheric landing at Persephon Spaceport. Transmitting customs identifier now.”

  I tapped on the center screen, sending the identifier that had broadcast to the PCS the moment we activated Lo’s slab. The identifier should confirm we had legal business in Kasper’s capital city and that everything was on the up and up.

  Because everything wasn’t on the up and up, I waited with baited breath for control to respond. Glancing over at Alter, she nodded in firm support of both my landing request and confidence in our credentials.

  Movie night had been a blast and had changed so much so quickly with Alter. While her different personalities remained, the fact that I knew her secret had made it easier for her to share her alien nature with both Matt and Shaq, and in turn had allowed her to be more comfortable in it. She shifted from one persona to another right in front of us now instead of retreating to her quarters, and she was even thinking about moving to Deck Three with us.

  While we hadn’t spent a lot of time discussing her race and origins, I had learned that the Aleal were one of the Spiral’s best kept secrets. An intelligent race of outwardly primitive organisms with a massive potential for both growth and abuse. Exposed to the wider universe, every Aleal was a tabula rasa. A blank slate. Able to absorb what she called essence from other intelligent life forms, it meant she gained the ability to become that form, albeit without their distinct individuality. While an essence allowed her to gain an individual’s learned skills and mimic physical attributes, it didn’t include personal memories or experiences. She didn’t know the name of the soldier Sedaya had forced her to absorb, if he had a family, where he grew up, or anything like that. Before absorbing him she had no language and no true understanding of the universe beyond her kind’s natural habitat. But through him, she could speak, recite history, shoot a gun, and the like.

  Though the Aleal didn’t have a definition of gender, it was clear Alter preferred utilizing female essences, as she only revealed the soldier to me the one time. I was sure she had more males in there, along with essences of other races. As she had explained, the personas were tools, and she already had a well-defined box of them. It was only in unfamiliar situations where a new essence might emerge, like when we spoke in her quarters. No one in the galaxy knew what she was except for Matt, Shaq, and me.

  And, of course, Duke Sedaya.

  She hated that he knew, and hated more that he knew where her homeworld was located, especially since she didn’t know herself. I had asked if it was possible he had gone back for more Aleal like her. The idea frightened her. She couldn’t know that for sure, and the thought of him subjecting another of her kind to the same treatment he had put her through was a horrible, infuriating thought. There was nothing we could do about it, and I regretted mentioning it afterward.

  “Head Case, this is Kapser Orbital Control,” a man with a flat affect replied. “Customs tag received. Permission to land at Perspehon Spaceport granted. Transmitting flight plan now. Follow the markers to join the queue.”

  “Copy that, Kasper Orbital Control,” I said as the PCS received the flight plan and displayed the path and markers on my HUD. “Moving into position now.”

  I exhaled my relief that the codes we transmitted passed muster, and also likely alerted the courier we were on our way. I was eager to finish the job and earn some electro, both to pay for the contact that might be able to cure my cancer and to stock up on fresh supplies and resources for Asshole. I had accepted the dead Niflin as raw materials out of need, but once the need was gone I didn’t really want to continue eating the Soylent, reconstituted or not.

  In stark contrast to Cestus, the entire orbit was ringed with ships of every shape, size, and configuration, at least a thousand in total that I could see and no doubt more on the other side of the planet. The activity from space to ground remained constant, arrivals and departures moving in a smooth flow.

  At nearly a dozen points around the world, space elevators rose to large stations where the biggest of the ships were docked, including a Hegemony Royal Sentry, even more massive from our much closer approach than it had been when we left Caprum. The long, wedge-shaped white spacecraft stood out against the sea of smaller, darker ships, its power and prestige undeniable.

  I adjusted the throttle, firing the retro thrusters and slowing us down as the marked path brought us around the station where the Sentry was parked. We were tenth in line to land, our ETA a little more than thirty minutes away.

  “Any sign of trouble?” I asked Alter, who had set about scanning the other ships nearby, both visually and with the ship’s sensors.

  “Not so far,” she replied. “And even Sedaya knows better than to start trouble beyond his jurisdiction, especially when there’s a Sentry in orbit.”

  “So the Hegemony doesn’t have one stationed on every planet?” Matt asked from the sofa behind us.

  “No,” Alter replied. “The Hegemony consists of over five thousand occupied worlds in total, covering thousands of light years. It would be impossible to build enough ships to cover all of it adequately. Though the Royal Sentries tend to keep to the outer Quadrants rather than the inner Spiral, where the Empress’ power is more consolidated. They’re here as a symbol of her power more than anything. That one’s probably resupplying before it will sweep across the Quad again. It’s lucky for us that it’s here right now.”

  “You really think they’d get involved if Sedaya went after us again?”

  “We have a valid customs identifier. They can’t touch us while we’re onboard. Once we depart is a different story. But the risk is probably too high to make it worthwhile. Better to be patient and act with more certainty.”

  “What are the chances we can get him off our backs for good?” I wondered.

  “If it becomes more costly to him to chase us than to leave us alone,” Alter answered.

  We settled back in our seats. Alter used the center console screen to load a video game where the objective was to walk a corgi across a busy park without making contact with anything, like a cuter version of Frogger. We each took turns, including Shaq, who wound up being the best of us. That wasn’t a big surprise to me. The Jagger seemed to operate at a higher frame rate to begin with.

  “We’re up,” I said as the markers expanded, providing a flight path to bring us down to the surface. I adjusted our heading and velocity, dipping us toward the atmosphere and activating the shields.

  I couldn’t help gawking at Kasper’s landscape as we descended. At one level, it reminded me strongly of Earth in terms of geography, with all of the same geological features just arranged in a different pattern. But if it was like Earth, it was a utopian Earth a thousand years in the future. Glass tubes crossed the lush countryside, conduits for long bullet trains that floated in the center of the tubes, rocketing around the landscape at high speed. Massive glass structures jutted out from fields of flowers surrounding sparkling blue lakes, connected by bridges that overhung the natural features, flowing with foot traffic. Beyond the cities, smaller domed structures dotted the countryside, accessible by other floating vehicles that darted back and forth from place to place.

  “I would have guessed the edgeworlds would be more like the Wild West,” I said, taking it all in.

  “The Wild West?” Alter asked.

  “Yeah. No real authority, not a lot of people, settlements instead of cities. More like Cestus maybe, but on a larger scale.”

  “There are places like that, but they’re beyond the edgeworlds. Occupied by undocumented colonists hoping to evolve an economy that gains them recognition with the larger Hegemony. Or in some cases, run by dissidents or criminals escaping the Empress’ justice.”

  “She doesn’t send the Royal Sentries after them?” I asked.

  “There’s no need. Their positions are already so weak they can’t harm any of the recognized territories. It’s a convenient way for criminals and dissidents to lose themselves.”

  The spaceport came into view as we drifted closer to the city. Dozens of what looked like solar-collecting hexagons surrounded by lush grass, streams, and flowers formed the landing pads for incoming ships. Various sized floating barges waited to carry passengers and cargo to the central terminal—a huge, glass domed structure in the center of the pads. From the air, the spaceport had the shape of a sunflower, no doubt intentional.

  The PCS painted our assigned landing pad on the HUD for me, using the data Orbital Control had transmitted. I updated our vector for the approach while trying not to get distracted by other nearby ships landing and taking off. This was the experience I had daydreamed about when Keep had sent me the link to his ad for the ship, not getting chased off one planet only to be shot at on another.

  I don’t think I had ever been happier.

  It showed in my flying. I touched Head Case down gently on the pad, almost dead center. Immediately, Alter and I removed our helmets and unbuckled our restraints. Shaq hopped from the headrest of my seat to my shoulder as we all got up, all four of us heading from the flight deck as a group.

  By the time we reached the elevator, Alter had switched to her Enigma ninja form, only instead of the black body armor she wore what I took for regular street clothes. Black pants, a black halter top, and a black faux leather jacket that nearly matched my brown one. I didn’t see her batons anywhere, but that didn’t mean much. She could store them inside her gel-like form. Or rather, wrap herself around them. I knew she had firearms for herself, some for Matt and me tucked away in there as well.

  The perfect assassin.

  Even though I knew she was on our side, the thought of how easily she could infiltrate security and kill someone sent a chill down my spine.

  We rode the elevator to the hangar, crossing the deck to the outer hatch.

  “All right Shaq,” I said. “Time to make yourself scarce.”

  He buzzed affirmation before scampering down my arm and jumping across to the small bag Matt held, which also contained the slab. Matt unzipped the bag, reaching down to turn the slab on again so it would broadcast its identifier. Shaq slipped inside with it before he zipped it closed again.

  The Jagger was our insurance, just in case something went sideways and someone other than the courier captured the slab before he picked it up. Once Matt made the drop, Shaq would climb out and stay hidden somewhere until they were gone. Since he wasn’t on the contract, he could legally see the courier without negating the agreement. Not that we really cared about the individual’s identity, but Shaq might not have a chance to clear the area completely before he arrived.

  The smaller hatch opened at our approach, and we stepped out onto Kasper. The foliage around our landing pad was even more amazing from ground level, the flowers blooming in bright reds, yellows, purples, and blues. Exotic looking birds flitted around them, while equally odd, colorful insects clambered along the stalks.

  The customs identifier had also emitted the general weight of our cargo, and a smaller skiff had been left for us to cross the landing area. Reaching it, I discovered it was fully automated rather than manually controlled.

  “Ready,” Alter said once the three of us had hopped on board.

  The skiff pulled away from the landing pad, rising slightly to clear the tops of the flowers as it charted a path toward the terminal.

  And to being eighteen million electro richer, and more importantly, closer to saving my life.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  We split up after the skiff reached the entrance to the terminal, where a group of armed and armored guards were set up at scanning stations, checking all of the arrivals from our terminal, which appeared to include an incoming transport. A decent crowd waited at the queue, composed of humans dressed in a range of fashions. To be honest, the entire setup didn’t stand out as much different from an airport on Earth. At least my slightly toned down young Han Solo look played pretty well among the rest of the arrivals.

  Matt picked the line in the middle, so I moved to one a few rows over while Alter went in the other direction. We processed quickly, the line continually moving as more arrivals filled in behind us. I did my best to keep my eyes forward, tempted to check on Matt and Alter more than once. What was I worried about? Between the security forces and the crowds, there was no way anyone was going to attack us here.

  That didn’t mean we weren’t being watched or followed. The large payday Lo had agreed to suggested there might be more than a little bit of trouble waiting. Just like we expected the courier to notice our customs identifier, any potential counterparty would see it too. While they might not be able to track the slab directly, they only needed to identify us as the carriers to get a bead on us.

  I reached the scanning station within a few minutes. The guard didn’t say or do anything as I approached. He kept his hands on his rifle, stiff as a board, while I stepped through a wall of green lasers. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I passed through the lasers without incident. I continued forward toward the exit while trying to indiscreetly locate Matt. A beeping behind me got my attention, and I looked back half-expecting the scan to have caught Alter with her internalized contraband. Instead, I spotted her along the wall, moving in the same direction as me. One of the guards had stopped a woman with a large bag, seizing it from her while she complained. I didn’t linger to get the rest of the story, falling in a few people deep behind Alter, who I was certain had already gotten a bead on Matt.

  A long, glass covered corridor followed the scanning station, leading to the central concourse. Looking up as I walked through it, I could see more ships coming and going in the background, while different types of small, flying lizards and birds passed directly overhead. Other colorful lizards and insects clung to the glass, soaking in the heat of Kasper’s sun. Amazing.

  The concourse was even more amazing. Upon entering, I could immediately see how it was arranged in multiple levels of platforms that followed the round shape of the structure. A waterfall accentuated the large, open center, while a dozen glass elevators ringed the circle, carrying passengers to the different levels. Storefronts lined the perimeter, and holograms floated overhead, advertising different products as calm electronic music emanated from everywhere. It worked to subdue the overwhelming sense of scale.

  I was so caught up in gawking at the construction that I nearly lost sight of Alter, leaving me to scramble after her as she slipped between a pair of travelers and was gone. We should have had comms, earpieces or walkie-talkies, anything really, but we didn’t have the right resources for Asshole to assemble any; a problem we could correct as soon as we scored the electro. Fortunately, she slowed before she had gone too far, not only allowing me to catch up, but backtracking past me.

  “Keep an eye on Matt,” she whispered to me as we crossed paths. I watched her for a split-second as she headed for a bathroom, likely to change form, and then scanned the floor for Matt. I found him waiting for one of the elevators.

  Lo had instructed us to leave the slab somewhere it couldn’t be stolen right away. Without a full understanding of the spaceport’s layout, we hadn’t decided on a specific spot, instead leaving the location up to Matt’s discretion. I didn’t know if he had already found a place to dump the bag or if he was still looking. Either way, he didn’t seem to be in a rush.

  It was a good thing, too. It gave me a chance to put eyes on a pair of women on the opposite side of the lift. Dressed in tight, sparkling outfits that reminded me of leotards, their military standard boots looked out of place. Observing them from the corner of my eye as I neared the line for the elevator, I noticed they kept glancing in Matt’s direction. Then one would lean in close to the other as if whispering a private comment. The second would smile or laugh, and the process would repeat.

  I made sure I was at the railing when Matt boarded the cab, leaning over it and forcing myself not to gawk at the landscape, where a large pool of water was surrounded by rocks and greenery. A bridge passed over the rocks and through the waterfall while an invisible shield prevented anyone crossing the concourse over it from getting wet. Peeling my eyes from it, I saw him get off on the second floor, which seemed a little less crowded than where we had entered.

  I glanced back toward the two women. Gone. Of course.

  Scanning the floor, I found them moving to an adjacent elevator. If they got off on the second floor, it would confirm they were following Matt like I suspected. Of course, they could just be looking for a friend, but something told me that wasn’t the case with these two.

  I went in the other direction, to the elevator ninety-degrees from the one Matt had taken. Glancing over the edge of the railing every few seconds, I spotted him standing near the railing, turning his head as if he was looking for something specific. Then he looked up, ostensibly to track the source of the waterfall, then sweeping his eyes over me before he leveled his gaze again.