“Curator.” She moved past me to the hub without stopping. “We need to be fast.”
“What happened?”
“Management increased tunnel patrols. New security protocols as of this morning.” She set the bundle on her makeshift workbench and started unwrapping it. “They’re looking for something. Or someone.”
A knot tightened in my stomach. “Did they say what?”
“No. But the timing feels pointed.” She pulled back the wrapping, revealing two items. The power source I’d requested. The data spoofer.
“You finished them,” I said.
“Yesterday. Tested them three times.” Renna’s ears twitched. Nervous energy. “The power source is fully charged. The spoofer has six uses before the encryption degrades. After that, it’s scrap.”
This time I paid in credits instead of information. Renna needed liquid assets for whatever she was planning, and I needed her not to remember the details. Double what we’d negotiated. “For the rush job.”
Her eyes widened. Merrith didn’t show surprise often, but credits talked. “That’s generous.”
“That’s insurance.” I gathered the components, tucking them into the reinforced pockets of my jacket. “If management asks about our meetings, you don’t remember specifics. Time frame. Frequency. What I purchased.”
“I never remember specifics.” She collected her payment chip. “But Curator? Whatever you’re planning for tonight, be careful. Security isn’t just tighter. It’s paranoid.”
“Noted.” I signaled to Flinx. Time to move.
he observed as we left the junction.
“She should be. So should we.”
“We’re still doing this.”
The walk back to my quarters took twelve minutes through service corridors I could navigate blind. My rooms weren’t large.Staff housing on Valyria prioritized function over comfort. But they were mine in a way nothing else on this planet was.
I secured the door and spread the components on my work table. Power source. Spoofer. Everything I needed for another distraction, assuming the plan worked.
Assuming Brevan kept his word.
Assuming Tarsus didn’t catch us.
Too many assumptions. But two years of planning came down to this. One night. One chance. One shot at freedom that depended on trusting the Vinduthi con artist who’d had his hands on me in a maintenance shaft yesterday and said I was real.
Flinx said.
“I’m thinking about the plan.”
“That’s not helpful.”
He jumped onto the table and sat directly in front of the components, blocking my view.
“I’m not distracted. I’m prepared.” I moved him aside and started checking the power source’s charge capacity. Perfect. Renna had outdone herself.
My comm chimed. Official channel. Tarsus’s personal code.
Flinx suggested.
“I have to answer it.” I accepted the call. “Yes, sir?”
