A voice chirps in out of nowhere. "What about the bridge?" calls another voice. The language is alien, but thanks to the translator implant, I pick it all up. Ten, I mentally count. Ten men, one separated from the rest. Okay. We can still handle this.
"I'll go to the bridge," the shirtless one says, trying to put an arm around my shoulder. I cringe away, sliding out from under his grasp, and I hope I don't hurt his feelings. Hell, I'd let him grope me if it'd sell things a bit more, but if he's holding onto me, that ruins the plan.
"You have to help Helen," I say, making my voice sound urgent as Alice detangles herself from the male she's been clutching at. She moves a few steps away, sniffing, and out of the corner of my eye, I watch her creep, one step at a time, toward the door. That's my signal. I give a sad look to the men, leaning over Helen's stasis pod so my tits fall out of the front of my tiny top. Sure enough, that distracts all eyes. "Please. She's been inside this thing so long."
The one dressed in black—the important one, the grumpy one—gives us an irritable look. "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," I say dramatically. "She won't wake up." And as Alice creeps another step toward the door, stepping back, I pull the cloth off the front of the stasis pod, where Helen is lying down, her lovely pale lavender hair fanned out around her head, her eyes closed as if she's asleep like an intergalactic Sleeping Beauty.
The moment I do the big reveal, I take a step back. Instead of looking at the stasis pod, though, Shirtless continues to watch me, that hint of a smile playing on his mouth. He's supposed to be interested in the pod, not me, and my smile falters a little, which only makes his grow wider.
"Kef me, is that a qura'aki?" says one man.
That draws everyone's attention. The men all move forward now, eager to peer at Helen. Someone whistles. Another man curses under his breath, and I hear someone else suck in. The sight of Helen never fails to make everyone flip their lids, and it's the perfect distraction. I take a few hasty steps backward, moving to join Alice by the door as they all gape at the sleeping woman.
"Two human slaves and a qura'aki? What exactly were your men up to, Straik?" says Shirtless.
"I don't know," says the one called Straik, and he sounds pissed. "Why are there slaves on a sa'Rin ship?"
Boy, he really doesn't know the half of it, does he? Alice waves me forward, urgency in her eyes, and I bolt for the door. We both rush through it just as one of the men leans over the stasis pod and taps on the glass.
Then, Alice slaps a hand on the door release and they slide shut, lickety split.
"Ruth?" I call, breathing hard.
"On it," Ruth's voice pipes over the system. "Nighty night, boys."
The room we just vacated fills with sleeping gas.
I stare through the window and notice that while the others are grabbing at their weapons and looking around in anger, realizing they've been betrayed, Shirtless is just watching me through that window.
And grinning. Like he's proud.
11
ADIRON
What a magnificent female. She's set us a trap.
The room springs into wild action, men calling out in alarm as gas pours in from the ceiling.
Jade. I test her name on my tongue, repeating it over and over so I won't forget it. Jade. It's an interesting sound for an interesting female. I can't stop grinning as one of the females peeks through the window in the door, looking back at us as the room fills with gas. It's Jade, and her gaze moves over us in a worried sort of way, until it lands on me. I just grin wider, and she immediately breaks eye contact, flustered.
Interesting. She likes me and doesn't want to. I can't think of another reason why she'd be so unnerved about looking at me. She feels guilty that she betrayed me.
And that just makes me all kinds of happy.
Kaspar socks me in the shoulder. "Told you it was a trap."
"I figured," I say, a little lightheaded as the room gets smokey with gas. I don't think she'll kill us. Not my Jade. She's too soft. The guilt in her eyes tells me everything I need to know about that. I mean, I might wake up in chains, but it wouldn't be the first time and it probably won't be the last.
I push my face into the crook of my elbow, but I don't have a sleeve to help my breathing. I gave her my jacket. Looks like I'm going down, but at least I'll go down happily. I look over at Kaspar, but he's scanning the room, looking for a way out. The clones are trying to pry the doors open, and Lord Straik is staring at the pod as if he's seen a ghost of some kind.