“Wait.” Eos turned to face her husband. “What do you mean on the ship? I’m coming to Lucifa.”
“No, you’re not.”
Ria watched in interest as the couple squared off.
Eos shoved her hands on her hips. “I can help. I’m not some damsel that needs protection.”
“I know. But it’s too dangerous for you down there. Your looks, your mehndi, are too unique. They might remember you.”
Ria frowned. “Remember?”
Zayn shifted. “On a previous mission, slavers from the Nebula kidnapped Eos.”
Ria watched the other woman shiver. Dathan slipped an arm around her and pulled her close. He rested his chin on the top of her head. Their argument seemed forgotten as Eos leaned into him.
Dathan looked up. “I had to go in and rescue her from an auction. Needless to say, there’s a slaver down there missing a few million e-creds.” He looked down at his wife. “And the most beautiful woman in the galaxy.”
“What if you’re recognized, Dathan?” Ria asked.
Dathan shrugged. “I was dressed as a wealthy gambler when I went in last time. I’ll use some basic disguise this time. Besides, I’m not as unique as Eos.”
Ria wasn’t so sure about that. Even in the Devil’s Nebula, the legend of the treasure hunter who found Star’s End was well-known.
“So, Eos will stay on the ship—” Zayn looked up, and when his sister-in-law gave him a reluctant nod, he continued “—while Ria and I will find a hiding place near the Guild. Once enough assassins have left, we’ll go in.”
“Cool, we have a plan.” Lala rubbed her hands together. “I have some explosives to make. Come on, Fuzzy.” She grabbed her robot and set it on her shoulder.
Ria couldn’t quite control her grimace. Lala messing with explosives in her cabin didn’t seem like the safest idea. She saw the same looks on the others’ faces.
Niklas cleared his throat. “I think I’ll come and help you, Lala.”
“Sure, old man.”
Nik managed to keep a blank face as he followed Lala to her cabin.
“Ria, I have some Guild robes in the cargo hold,” Zayn said. “Thought we could dust them off and wear them when we infiltrate.”
“Great.” She followed him down the hall to the hold. “How’d you come across Guild robes?”
“Ah, you probably don’t want to know.” He keyed a code into a panel and the large double doors of the hold slid open.
The hold was large enough to fit salvaged ship parts in. It was mostly empty, with stacked crates on one side and cabinets along the other wall.
He made his way to one cabinet and yanked open the doors. Numerous outfits spilled out. The plain, rough garb of colonists, jeweled robes that had to belong to royalty, spacesuits, flight suits.
Ria pulled out one black garment and gasped. “How on Earth did you get a genuine Centaxian Security uniform?”
“Probably something else you don’t want to know.”
Shaking her head, she set the uniform back. CenSecs were cyborgs, enhanced with implants that made them some of the deadliest beings in the galaxy. And they were notoriously hard to take down. Thankfully, they stuck to their star system.
Zayn pulled out two long black robes. The home garb of the Assassin’s Guild.
She fingered the fabric, surprised at the feelings inside her. Once, this had meant honor and duty. Now it was a symbol of her prison.
“Ria?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. These will be fine. They’re an older style, but with a few amendments, no one will give them a second glance.”
