“Still,” she said, “on Earth people usually don’t discuss salaries. It’s rare for someone to stand up so others get paid fairly.”
Khar stood and began scanning the crates for instructions while Lily went to activate Vitro’s service drones.
“Fascinating place, your Earth,” he muttered. “Perhaps… that tentacled Cradle-dodging bastard!”
“What happened?”
Apparently, Khar had not squeezed Vegrun hard enough.
“Lily,” he said grimly, “the paint cannot be applied in dock. It’s vacuum-set.”
Walking the entire hull centimeter by centimeter without suits was bad enough. An EVA in full gear would make it exponentially worse.
They stared at each other.
Finally, Lily spoke. “Fuck Vegrun.”
“I thought you liked him.”
“There are some things you don’t come back from.”
Khar nodded solemnly.
Busy chrono-cycles lay ahead.
Chapter 17
Fuck Vegrun
Khar
“Vegrun Fer’sink is absurdly rich, with his long tentacles dipping into every imaginable industry, yet he guards his private life with astonishing care. Practically nothing is known about him, not even where he acquired his first million IMPERIUM credits.”
The 9,999 Wealthiest Businessbeings of the IMPERIUM
“Silomarila Whitecloud Deepmoon, of the Amphibious Registered Species, is the most celebrated actress, model, and influencer of her era. Everything she touches turns to success, as if destiny itself shaped her path.
Despite her experience, she still projects a youthful, innocent image. A media mogul whose hand has been sought by a Vixori prince, promised lifelong devotion by the acclaimed director Marfos, and named muse by the infamous Designer, Pallas.
And yet, Silomarila has never made any relationship public.
Who, then, will steal the heart of the most coveted flower of the Augum-3 swamps?”
Secrets, Gossip, Liescolumn, IMPERIUM Daily News Portal
Over the next three chrono-cycles, Khar and Lily slept only in fragments, taking turns whenever they could until the work was finally done.
The service drones handled the actual spraying, but the precision work fell to them. Each unit had to be programmedindividually with laser guidance so the paint coverage was flawless, while avoiding damage to the dense network of sensors and Vitro’s latest hybrid camouflage system.
An ordinary ship could have been hauled into a maintenance bay and coated automatically. Vitro, as always, demanded skilled hands. In return, it offered reliability and an unmatched experience in flight.
They stopped only for short breaks to eat, drink, and dose stimulants, staying sharp enough to manage targeting despite the exhaustion. There was barely time to speak beyond clipped phrases, and that silence weighed on Khar even more than the relentless pace.
By the evening of the third cycle, they finished and returned to the dock. Just enough time remained for a brief sleep before Vegrun and Silomarila’s arrival.
They stripped off their suit layers in silence, both soaked through with sweat. Lily stumbled slightly while hanging her suit in the locker, and Khar silently thanked his reflexes as he caught her.
“Are you all right?”
