Chapter Seventeen
Taly watched as the planet, Yelmurn, grew larger on the bridge’s viewing screen as she stood next to Ranvir as he sat in the captain’s chair. As it did, so did her nerves. She’d seen visuals of the green planet but had never visited. It was known throughout the system as the garden planet because its moderate climate was perfect for growing a large variety of crops.
“How’s the transponder being received?” Ranvir asked, looking to Vujcec from the captain’s chair.
“Without a hitch,” Vujcec responded from his station. “We’ve been cleared to land. Quadrant D, Section T-51.”
“On the edge of the spaceport. Good. We’ll draw less attention there.” Ranvir nodded his pleasure.
“I requested one of their prime berths and was informed by a very snooty controller that our hunk of junk would receive the slot it deserved.” Vujcec couldn’t help but grin.
“Well done,” Ranvir told him.
Shifting her weight from foot to foot, Taly stated, “I’ll get the credit strips ready. How much do you want on each one?”
“The weapons will be the worst of it,” Ranvir said, looking to Pike. “How much did the dealer want?”
“Three,” Pike told him. “But you’d better put a little more on it than that. They’re likely to raise the price once they’re here.”
“Three-point five enough?” she asked.
“Make it three point one,” Ganesha told her. “I won’t let them be that greedy.”
Taly could believe that. Who would dare get greedy when dealing with someone who looked like Ganesha? “Same for the power crystals?” she asked.
“Two should be enough for that,” Pike answered.
“What about the fuel rods?” Ranvir asked, looking at Tane.
“The spaceport regulates those,” Tane responded. “They’ll have to be prepaid before delivering to the ship. One should do it.”
“A little extra would expedite the process,” Pike chimed in.
“I’ll put it on a separate strip.” Taly gave him a cheeky grin before leaning down to give Ranvir a quick kiss. “Be back in a bit.”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
In her suite, Taly went to her personal comm station. Sitting down, she slid her hand under the desk, palm side up, and heard the quiet hum of the scan confirming her identity. Once done, she entered a code, and the entire section retracted into the wall. A new one descended—another one of Nas’s recommendations, one he’d personally arranged to have installed.
Opening a drawer, she pulled out blank credit strips and loaded them with credits, making sure there was no way they could be traced to the Troubadour or her. Ranvir would insist on confirming them, but that was fine with her. She’d been transferring credits like this for years. She knew what she was doing.
Finished, she went to shut down the system, then paused and pulled out another strip. After loading it, she secured the system, and the comm station returned to its original state. Watching it, she realized she’d need to show it to Ranvir and add his palmprint so he could access it if he ever needed to.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
“Here are the strips,” she announced, returning to the bridge. “Weapons, power crystals, and a little extra.” She placed one for each in Ganesha’s outstretched hand. “Fuel rods and some for a speedy delivery.” She handed those strips to Pike. “And one to send the transmission.” She held it up as she moved to where Ranvir stood.
“I would prefer you stay on the ship, but,” he quickly added, seeing the thunderous look forming on her face, “I know you won’t. So you and I will find a terminal and send your message.”
“Thank you.” The storm dissipated, and she rose onto her tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss. He caught her at the waist, keeping her close.
“If I tell you to run, you run,” he growled, his arms refusing to release her. “Understand?”
An impish smile crossed her face. “Yes, Ranvir.”
“You get your fine ass back to this ship whether I’m with you or not,” he continued.
Her smile fell. “But…”