Page 24 of The Alien's Stolen Rebel

“Hail, captain.” A stocky trader bustled over as we approached the exit, his tentacles flapping wildly as he approached, focus entirely on my mate. “Welcome toTalbrek. Have you news, goods to sell? Vintr stands ready to buy, best prices on the station.”

Rachel looked at him, a sneer spreading on her beautiful face. “Vintr, eh? Do you take me for a fool or an amateur, Mr. Vintr? I’m not about to sell to the first man I meet on station, so get out of my way.”

The tentacled trader backed off as fast as he’d approached, and I fought down a laugh. Rachel looked more like the holodrama image of a pirate than the real thing, but the attitude? She faked that as well as any captain I’d met.

We’d done our best to make her look believable, which had involved trying on all the clothes that might fit her. Watching my human change from one outfit to another was a distracting pastime, and it wasn’t easy to stay focused. I interrupted the process more than once, to Rachel’s enthusiastic delight.

In the end, we mixed different styles together and came up with something passable. A burgundy frock coat over a low-cut blouse, tight leather pants, and boots that added inches to her height while still being practical, and looking like they could crush an unwary man beneath them. To cover her distinctive red hair and further change her look, she wore a wide-brimmed hat at a jaunty angle.

My blaster strapped to her right hip and a display sword on her left completed the look, though I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to draw the blaster, let alone shoot. It looked impressive, though. While the outfit wasmore than a little ridiculous, somehow Rachel made it work.

My costume was less ornate and provided considerably less covering. Unaccountably, the Vehn yacht hadn’t stocked nearly as much clothing sized for an Argentian warrior as it had for a pretty human female. I cursed the Last Emperor’s limited taste in lovers but made do with an improvised kilt made of black fabric as dark as the void between galaxies, and leather armbands made from belts. That, plus my boots, would have to do.

The blush on Rachel’s face when she saw me dressed that way made the inconvenience worth it. If only there’d been enough time to explore the possibilities of our costumes in private, but it had been a challenge to get ready without tearing each other’s clothes off. That would have to wait until our work here was done.

Together, we looked like a pirate captain and her Argentian slave-warrior. It wasn’t the best disguise, but it was sufficiently different that anyone looking for an Argentian captain and his human princess might overlook us.

More traders tried to take advantage of us as we moved through the ill-lit station corridors. We gave none of them more time than we had Vintr, and a few snarls from me drove off those who insisted on continuing to talk despite a curt dismissal from Rachel.

The environment promised little. While not an actual ruin like Caliban, the inhabited areas of Talbrekwere in worse repair. More than half the lights were out, gravity wobbled, and graffiti covered most of the walls.

“Are you sure about this?” Rachel asked as we crossed a quiet patch. “The whole place looks like it’s one step from falling apart.”

“My last visit was years ago, and things have gotten worse since then,” I admitted. “But there are still ships docked, and scammers waiting to pounce. That implies trade, and some of this graffiti is fresh. Gang tags, mostly.”

“So some gangs still think it’s worth claiming territory, and that’s a good sign?” She sounded dubious.

“Not for those who live here,” I conceded. “But it’s a sign that there’s something worth fighting over.”

15

RACHEL

My entry into Talbrek Station’s largest market was an experience unlike any I’d had before. Dozens of stalls crowded the space, a converted warehouse that had probably connected to the docks more directly before the station’s decay set in.

The browsing shoppers were a mix of aliens, most from species I’d never seen before. And, as we entered, many of them looked up as we entered. A quiet spread across the hall at the sight of us, and I paused in the doorway.

The lawless crowd intimidated me, but as I surveyed them, I realized something strange—I intimidated them, too. Thinking about it objectively, I understood. Our efforts to dress me as a pirate captain had worked, perhaps too well. No one recognized me, but here I stood, wearing a massive blaster and agoddamned sword. In the outfit I was wearing, I looked like a villainess from a period holodrama.

“I told you we’d be too conspicuous,” I hissed at Kreel out of the corner of my mouth.

“Everyone will be too busy looking for us sneaking around to see what’s in front of their eyes,” he said. I’m not sure if he believed it any more than I did, but he sounded confident, and I took comfort from that.

“Besides, we can’t do much to hide our species, but they’re looking for an Argentian captain and his human prize. A human pirate queen with an Argentian war-slave? That’s not the same at all.”

I wasn’t sure I bought that either, but we’d committed to it now. ‘Embrace the least-bad plan,’ as Kreel had said. I walked into the market as though I’d done this a thousand times. The shoppers went back to their business as I approached, no one really wanting to attract my attention. But I had an audience, so I kept my stride long and confident, thinking the most piraty thoughts I could.

Yar, me hearties, shiver the whatsit, haul on the mainthing.Stopping that before it made me laugh took an effort, but if I started, I wasn’t sure I’d stop. How long I could keep a straight face was an open question, though.

Speed was clearly the key. The sooner we got out of here, the better. Of course, theotherkey was not hurrying. Otherwise, people might wonder why we were in such a rush.

Balancing those two priorities was a tough problem,and I had no way of telling how well I was carrying off the ruse. My only option was to carry on and trust Kreel to warn me if I was about to do something stupid.

Several merchants sold ship parts, all salvaged from wrecks. Probably salvaged by the same people who wrecked the ships, but I refused to let that bother me now. Hyperdrives weren’t common, and while I had plenty of offers for makers of various kinds, weapons, and shields, I despaired of finding one at all.

“Do not be concerned, fate will not abandon us.” Kreel spoke quietly into my ear, leaning in like an attentive servant. The warmth of his breath made me long for his touch, and while it did nothing to calm me down, he certainly distracted me from my worries.

All I could think about was how good he’d feel inside me, how badly I wanted him to rip off my ridiculous costume and take me. My cheeks heated at the thought, and I lost myself in it enough that I almost missed the hyperdrive.

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