Page 70 of Cloverleaf Station

Too bad. If they could have used the big ship’s launch as a distraction … but no. It was better to get off planet before someone wised up to what Kieron was doing. “All right, we’ll head to you on foot. Start initialization procedures immediately and make sure you stay in my head, okay?”

“Yes, Kee.” Lizzie sounded very earnest. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t, baby.”

Pol looked up at Kieron, apparently over his tears for the moment. “You have a baby?” he asked.

“Um.” Well, it wasn’t exactly a lie. “I do, yeah. I’ll introduce you once we’re on board my ship, okay?”

“Babies can’t fly ships,” Pol told him, very seriously.

Kieron grinned. “This one can,” he said as he grabbed for the other, smaller camouflage suit he’d made just in case. “Take off that jacket, and I’ll help you into this, okay?”

It was time to get out of there.

Chapter twenty-nine

Not running was hard. If Kieron had been alone, he would have, racing the span of the two berths as quickly as possible and counting on his speed to keep him safe. Trakta, for all it was an incredibly annoying place, with tons of arcane rules and regulations, didn’t have a military tradition. On some planets, running in privileged zones like ports was tantamount to inviting arrest or even death. Here, he doubted they even had the weaponry to make it happen.

Yes, running would be the easiest thing … if he were alone. But he wasn’t. He was with Pol, and Pol couldn’t run that fast.

Carrying him was also out. On the off chance a person or defensive device did kick in when it detected Kieron, he didn’t want Pol to get targeted along with him. Almost every planet, even the aggressive ones, had safeguards in place when it came to protecting children. No one Pol’s height would be deliberately hit, but if Kieron had him up against his chest, there was no such guarantee.

They’d have to walk it. Quickly. The chameleon suits would help a bit, at least. “Put your feet on top of mine and hold onto my hands,” Kieron murmured to Pol. The little boy complied, finally silent, his eyes red and his cheeks stained with salt. “If I tell you to run, head toward the ship playing music.” Lizzie, listening in, would know what to do. “If I fall down for any reason, you keep going.”

Pol shook his head but didn’t outright say no. Kieron figured that was as good as they were going to get. He glanced out the skimmer door. “Lizzie, plot best course and overlay in my implant,” he murmured. A second later, a glowing blue line appeared on the ground in front of him, edged with distance readings and time estimates. “Good girl.”

“Elenus said you’d like the metrics,” she said bashfully.

Of course, he was right. Kieron briefly wondered how hard it was for Elenus to be sitting wherever he was right now—still in Catie, probably, as they were almost back to Gania—watching this play out. Catie’s silence, at least, was logical. She was working on a different puzzle.

“All right.” Here we go.

Kieron walked with a measured pace out of the skimmer. It only took a few steps for Pol to relax into his hold and let his legs loosen up so that the two of them moved in tandem. Keeping his focus wide and his senses sharp, Kieron walked the line Lizzie had laid out. It was tempting to second-guess parts of it, things that sent him toward open areas and out from the shadows of the ships he was skirting, but he trusted her. She knew better than he did where the surveillance was and how to minimize its impact.

They got through the first berth well enough, but by the time they reached the second, an alarm began to blare. “I’m sorry,” Lizzie murmured in his mind, “I couldn’t find an angle for that final ten feet that kept you out of visual range. Standard response is imminent.”

“Understood. How many bodies?”

“Six, including the one already in our berth. The other five are coming from the northeast, and they have a bot with them.”

“Of course, they do.” It was getting harder to step smoothly, the alarm making Pol tense and stiff. “See if you can do anything about the bot; I’ll handle getting around the people. Can you give Pol the same overlay?”

“Of course.” A moment later, Pol gasped as Lizzie gently reached into his implant and gave him the same map as Kieron.

“Pol.” Kieron pulled the little boy off his feet and knelt down in front of him. “Follow Lizzie’s line, okay? She’s ready for you.”

“I want to stay with you,” Pol murmured, his voice a spidery, fearful creak.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Kieron said. “I promise. But I need you to be brave right now and go to Lizzie, okay?”

Pol was crying again, but he nodded. “Okay.” Then his eyes widened as Lizzie spoke directly into his mind. Kieron didn’t know what she was saying, but it seemed to work because the boy turned and began to stumble, slowly but picking up speed, toward the ship.

Kieron’s news wasn’t so nice. “They’re within ten meters of your current position.”

“Give me a two-meter signal for first contact.”

“Yes, Kee.”