When I see nods, I continue.
“I should stress first that this mission is going to be extremely secretive. No getting drunk in cantinas and blabbing what you’re about. No confessing to a pretty female what you’re up to in hopes to impress her. No picking fights in public. We want to keep a low profile above all else.” I turn to give Kaspar a warning look.
“Why’s everyone staring at me?” Kas protests.
“Yeah, Kas, why IS everyone staring at you?” Alice retorts. “If you even look at a pretty female in a cantina, I’ll castrate you.”
“Ah, true love,” Zoey chimes in. “Ain’t it grand.”
Kaspar just gives Alice an utterly besotted look. “You’re the only pretty female I ever want to impress, cantina or not.”
His mate gives him a little smile, nudging him with her elbow, and I can tell she’s pleased. I’m glad for him. Kas needs someone to keep him in line, and while Alice sometimes seems to be a little hot-tempered herself, she generally makes him think twice, which is more than he ever did before. I’ll take it.
“So,” I say, continuing on. “We’re going to be looking for two things. We need to find the slaving ring and shut them down, and we need to find the location that they’re using for cloning. We’ll need to cover as much ground as quietly as we can.” I look at my crew. “Which means we’ll be splitting up.”
CHAPTER 5
HELEN
Mathiras is so authoritative it makes my toes curl. I watch, fascinated, my chin on my hands as he takes control of the situation. Everyone hangs on his every word. Not just because he’s in charge, but I like to think it’s because he’s commanding. He’s self-assured, like Jade. He always speaks as if he has all the answers. I love that.
“Let’s get some of the basics out of the way first. You all know that we had the Buoyant Star towed here to Risda III,” Mathiras continues. “As Lord va’Rin is the authority on this planet, she’s been given over to his control, along with the cargo. Now, as far as the wider universe knows, the cargo was not mentioned. Everyone here knows the truth—that ship was full of slaves.”
I shiver with excitement, because his gaze flicks over to me. He’s thinking of me! I just know it. I beam approval at him.
“The human slaves have been awoken and will be integrated into the local settlement here, Port. Lord va’Rin has created a haven for freed humans, and they should be able to blend with the others seamlessly. Some of the slaves on that ship were gladiators, and with a few background checks and psychological tests, once they’ve been established not to be a danger to the community, they will be integrated as well.” He tilts his head. “The problem is, the illegal clones can’t be integrated. Some of them are clones of each other, which will draw attention. Some of them are clones of famous gladiators, which will also cause issues. Planetary law insists that an illegal clone be ‘compassionately’ dispatched, but that isn’t fair to anyone involved. You should know that Lord va’Rin has assured me that they will be moved to a private location. I don’t know if it’s on Risda III or another planet that Lord va’Rin perhaps owns. Doesn’t matter. The less people that know that those souls exist, the better. He’s got a team that’s going to be helping them establish a settlement where they can be left alone in peace, without fear of being enslaved again.”
Lord Straik speaks up. “My family line owns multiple moons of varying sizes and many small stations. There are a lot of places he can hide them away, and we’ve spoken long and hard about this. He knows I feel passionately about the safety of those clones. I’ll be checking in on them regularly in the future to ensure that their needs are met and that they’re safe.” He gives Ruth an adoring look, and my heart melts. “They’ll be safe. I promise.”
“Good,” Mathiras says crisply. “That’s one problem solved. Now to tackle the rest of them.”
For a moment, he looks tired. Really tired. I wonder if he’s been sleeping. I wonder if he has trouble sleeping in his bed alone now that I’m not there to wish him goodnight. I know I struggle with sleeping in a room alone. Maybe that’s one of the things I should suggest we go back to when the Little Sister leaves this place. After all, if we could share blankets when in the escape pod and at the abandoned mining station, why not here?
I like that idea.
“Problem number one,” Mathiras continues. “The Buoyant Star is an expensive, top-of-the-line freighter—or it was when she disappeared. Given that there was never more than a cursory report filed on the missing ship, I’m not convinced anyone looked for it particularly hard on the sa’Rin side. Lord Straik?”