Page 73 of Veiled Vixen

“Well, I can’t help you with the future, Boots.”

“You know what I mean.”

So Draden resigned himself to the retelling.

He told her how ALCOR had actually been born. Where he had been born. Who these Seven Sisters were, and then who MIZAR was.

And all of it was just bad news.

So he finished up with a plan.

“Boots, I know you love him. Hell, I love him too. But do you really want to be here”—he pointed to her floor, but really meant here on Mighty Minions—“when this shit show gets started? Wouldn’t you rather go home? Pick up Serpint and hook up with Lady and Dicker, and get all the people we care about off that sun-fucked place while we still can? Because let’s face it, if MIZAR comes here looking for ALCOR… we lose. End of story. And we never see any of them again.”

“What if she goes there?” Booty countered. “To Harem? Instead of here?”

Yeah. Draden had to admit that was a risk. “But why would she go there when she knows he’s here? That makes no sense. It’s a game of odds, Boots. Where is the most likely place this MIZAR thing will show up to take out ALCOR?”

Booty was silent for a few minutes. A long time to think things through.

But Draden was patient.

He didn’t want to make Booty leave ALCOR behind. He wanted her to be confident in her choice.

“OK,” she finally said. “But how do we get out of here without ALCOR finding out? I want to go back to Harem, pick everyone up, and then come back here and wait it out together. All of us. With ALCOR. On Mighty Minions. I think this is our best bet.”

“I agree,” Draden said. “That’s a great plan.”

“You didn’t tell me how we were gonna get out of here on the down low.”

“Leave it to me,” Draden replied. “I’ve got it covered.”

And then, precisely two seconds later, the comms came to life with a crackle. “Stars of Night, this is Mighty Minions docking. Your fees have been paid and you’re clear for departure. Please mind the orange pylons on your way out. Despite what everyone thinks, we really aren’t out to suck your wallet dry.” The dock worker laughed at his little joke. “Mighty Minions hopes you have enjoyed your stay and have a safe trip home.”

“Roger that,” Booty said back. But once the comms were off and she was hovering inside the docking ready for departure, she said, “Stars of Night? Who the hell is that?”

“Well, it was some hapless semi-sentient asshole who broke down and got stuck here last week. But I convinced it to trade transponders with us if we paid the docking fee.”

“So… it gets to be me?”

“Temporarily, Boots. Calm down. Harem is only six gates away. We’ll be back before we know it.”

“That reminds me,” Booty said. “I heard that the gates have been locked down.”

“Gate,” Draden corrected her. “Technically only one gate has been locked.”

“That’s because the other one has no map and is unusable.”

“Let me handle that.”