Chapter 20
Twenty
Kira
A station representative was waiting for them as soon as they stepped onto the main gangway of the station proper.
With a scroll tucked under one arm and a freshly pressed uniform that was a better cared for version of Bez’s, the representative offered them a polished smile.
“Welcome to Titan. If you come this way, I’ll escort you to customs.”
Jin burst out of the tunnel and shoved past Kira. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Don’t throw up,” Kira ordered.
Jin bent at the waist and made a few retching sounds. “I hate this body.”
“Breathe through it. You’ll be fine.”
Thankfully, Jin managed to keep his last meal right where it belonged—in his stomach.
Dylan patted his back soothingly as Kira rolled her eyes at the station representative. “Every time we travel he gets like this. Such a baby.”
The representative looked just confused and uncertain enough that Kira was hoping she’d forget all about Jin’s comment.
“I didn’t know Titan had customs. How long has that been going on?” Kira asked, trying not to worry.
Raider and she would be fine. As a Consortium citizen, he could come and go as he pleased. Especially in a place like Titan where they wouldn’t question him too closely. For her part, Kira had several disposable identities that she kept on hand for situations like this.
Finn and the others were the real issue.
Before their arrival, Kira hadn’t thought to ask Jin to whip up something for them since customs hadn’t been an issue on their last visit. Of course, everything could be solved if she let them claim residency of the Tuann empire, but that would reveal their presence here.
It wouldn’t take long for such news to travel the station.
They’d risk alerting the very people they were trying to hunt.
Not to mention what that information would do if it reached Centcom.
They’d reach out to their contacts in the Tuann empire to ask why some of their people were on Titan. All hell would break loose.
“It’s a new policy.” The representative gave Kira another polite smile. “This way please.”
Despite the representative’s attempt to hurry them along, no one moved.
Raider and Jin stared at Kira, their expressions asking what she wanted to do.
Kira didn’t know, but they’d come too far to back down now. Also, she was pretty sure their ship wouldn’t make it to the next station.
Jin must have had a similar thought because he mumbled a curse and dug into his backpack, pulling out a scroll similar in appearance to the one the representative was carrying but with a better processing system and a lot more memory.
“Walk slowly,” he ordered.
The representative glanced behind her just then to check on their progress.
Kira smiled and held up a finger asking for one moment. “Are you sure you can do this?”
“It would be easier if I had my old body.” Jin stabbed at the scroll’s screen. “But, yes, I think so.”
“‘Think’ isn’t good enough,” Raider bit out. “If you fail, they’ll arrest all of us.”
“Then I suggest you leave me alone to work.”
At Raider’s unhappy glance, Kira lifted one shoulder. “Wouldn’t be our first time in a brig.”
If they had to, they could just break themselves out.
It’d create an intergalactic incident and ensure them a place on both the Consortium and Tuann’s most wanted list, but that was a problem for future Kira.
“The things I do for this family,” Raider muttered.
“That’s the spirit,” Kira whispered as he and Finn took the lead, using their larger bodies to block the representative’s line of sight to Jin.
“How are you heir?” Bez demanded, falling into step beside her. “Your reckless disregard for consequences has to drive Harlow crazy.”
“I ask myself that same question every day.”
Maksym’s light snicker followed her as they slowly made their way down the gangway and past several empty dock slips.
Kira counted.
Other than her ship, there were only four docked vessels.
That was unusual.
The station might have been a cesspit, but it was a busy cesspit. Cargo came in and out of here constantly, making it one of the largest transport hubs in Consortium territory. It should never have been this empty.
“Shit,” Raider muttered a second later.
Kira followed his gaze to a pair of rough looking humans lurking on the gangway next to an airlock that they’d have to pass to reach customs. Outside, a vessel bearing Red Hand’s insignia on its hull floated.
Her gaze went back to the humans.
Lookouts.
Either clan based or belonging to one of the information guilds on the station.
“I’ll handle it,” Jin said, not looking up as he tapped away at his scroll.
Kira was instantly on guard. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing that will cause structural damage to the station. After all, we still have to complete our business and we can’t do that if we’re floating in space.”
That was a surprisingly rational mindset for Jin.
So why was Kira so nervous?
She wasn’t the only one. Raider and Finn eyed Jin with distrust, their experience telling them all the ways this could backfire.
Dylan just seemed confused. Like he didn’t know why everyone was so worried.
He’d learn.
Oh, would he learn.
“Don’t let it come back on us,” Kira ordered with a polite nod at the strangers.
Their expressions were guarded as they gave her a brief chin tilt. One of those that practically screamed, “hey, how are you? I don’t actually want to talk. I’m just being polite.”
Fine with her. She didn’t want to talk either.
“What do you take me for? An idiot? Relax, it’s not like I haven’t done this before.”
Two of Jin’s spawn dropped from his bag. They hit the metal floor with a soft ping before scuttling into the station’s air vents.
Before Kira could see what they were up to, the station’s gangway curved, taking them out of sight. A few seconds later, there was a loud clang followed by shouting.
Then screaming.
After that, there was silence.
Jin chuckled sinisterly to himself.
“No structural damage,” Kira murmured. “Sure.”
“The station’s still intact. We’d know if it wasn’t.”
They reached the end of the gangway and the mouth of one of the tunnels that would take them into the inner station.
A welcome sign hung over the tunnel’s entrance.
The words that should have read “Welcome to Titan” had been scratched out.
In uneven and shaky handwriting someone had carved, “All ye who enter, abandon all hope,” in their place.
Raider glanced up. “Charming.”
“Titan has always been known for its abundance of character,” Jin announced.
The station representative stopped at the tunnel’s threshold and waved them through. “Customs is through there. Please enjoy your stay.”
“Oh, we will,” Maksym said in accented standard as he passed her. “Do not worry about that.”
His smile made the woman flinch. She clutched her scroll to her chest and leaned back slightly.
Maksym noticed. To Kira, “What’d I do?”
“Nothing.”
Some humans were just a little more perceptive than others, able to sense danger even when it wasn’t aimed at them.
They followed the tunnel, arriving at customs a few minutes later.
“How we doing, Jin?” Kira asked, a little nervous.
Customs was a lot less busy than she had hoped. The low hum of conversation filled the mid-sized bay. Scanners that were from at least two generations ago beeped as people passed through them.
Kira wasn’t sure those things could pick up the presence of a fork let alone a dangerous weapon. She just hoped Finn and Maksym’s en-blades passed through along with the rest of their weapons.
It should be okay. Most places had a ban on hot weapons such as rifles and grenades but tended to look the other way when it came to cold weapons such as swords and daggers.
Customs agents clad in the same uniform as the representative who’d met them on the gangway stood behind antiballistic transparent barriers. Shouting pulled Kira’s attention to her right where a trio of burly miners were arguing with the customs agent in charge of their processing.
She lost interest as soon as she caught words such as contraband being bandied about.
It wasn’t until one of the miners slammed his hand against the transparent barrier that she tuned back in.
An alarm screeched.
Station security poured out of a room off to the side, surrounding the miners and ushering them none too gently into a back area.
Jin looked over with interest. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen security actually do their jobs.”
“You’re about to get an up close and personal view if you haven’t finished what you said you would,” Raider growled, his eyes on the customs agent waving them forward.
“We’re out of time, Jin,” Kira warned.
“Just a few more seconds.”
Kira signaled Raider with her eyes. Stall.
He widened his eyes before giving in with a muttered curse. He stalked up to the agent’s station while Kira stayed behind with Jin.
“Hovering won’t make me work faster,” Jin sang.
“What about strangling? Will that help?”
“Someone is stressed. Why don’t you do us all a favor and answer that summons?”
Kira kept her eyes trained on Raider, not looking at the agent trying to wave her down. “There’s a reason I’m ignoring that person.”
She was trying to buy him time. You would think he’d be a little grateful.
“Well, stop it. It’s distracting me.” Jin shoved Kira in the agent’s direction. “Off you go.”
Kira stumbled over to the agent with an awkward smile. “How’s it going?”
Small talk. Ugh. The bane of her existence.
“Documents?”
Kira tried again. “It’s been a while since I was last here. When did Titan get a customs?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raider finish his processing. He glanced at her once before being moved reluctantly into the station.
“Next!” his agent called.
Kira looked back at Jin to find him still intent on his scroll.
Come on. Come on.
“Is there a problem?” her agent asked.
“What?” Kira faced forward. “No. No problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“Just making sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to.”