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“Did you notice their holo-glam gear?” Zeek idly asked as he monitored their course.
Aidan sat up straighter. “What holo-glam gear?”
“The ear cuffs,” Zeek continued. “I only noticed back in the mess hall. They both wear them.”
Aidan had suspected they’d been lying about being Pakovian. He’d noticed Onnika’s ear cuffs too, but thought them nothing more than jewelry. In the bar, he recalled her jerking away from him when he’d reached out to touch one of her three-pointed ears. Now he was sure those points were not a feature she’d been born with.
What else about her looks was fabricated? Was holo-gear responsible for her breathtaking beauty, too?
Aidan glanced over at Lear, who looked troubled by this new revelation as well.
Holo-glam was primarily employed to enhance or alter an individual’s appearance. Women used it to cover blemishes or paint their faces without the need of expensive product, but Aidan was aware of more nefarious applications: It could be used to alter facial features entirely, and the tech was often exploited by criminals. Her words from earlier echoed in his mind.I’m not as bad as you’d like to think.
Even after everything, he’d wanted to believe that, but innocent people didn’t lie, steal, and sneak onto ships. Well, except for his old Captain’s mate Anya, who’d escaped a terrible fate by stowing away onMarada. Aidan had been the pilot at the time.
The reminder softened him somewhat. It was possible Onnika and Caryn really did have a good reason for using holo-glam, for stealing Zeek’s knife…and Aidan’s chips, for lying about their identifies…and for tricking their way into his crew….
That was a lot of dirty deeds to abide for such a short acquaintance.
Zeek rubbed his jaw. “If their story’s true about running from someone who wishes them harm, can we really blame them for anything they’ve done?”
“What are you saying? We should just forgive all their indiscretions?” Aidan asked.Gods, how I wish I could…
“No. But shouldn’t we be really sure about it before we just kick two helpless females off the ship?”
“Ha!” Asher bellowed. “Helpless? What about those two suggests they are in any way helpless? And who tries to save themselves by entering a deadly race?”
“And if they had no other choice?” Zeek argued.
“Then they made the wrong one. Their names and faces are constantly being blared over the live feed, as are the rest of ours. Anyone after them would know exactly where to find them.”
Jagged knots turned in Aidan’s stomach. Onnika claimed to have stolen Zeek’s knife for protection. Had she spotted her pursuer back on the surface of Nazzu? Was that why she’d been willing to risk her own life to find Caryn?
“Exactly,” Zeek replied. “If we leave them behind now, they’d be sitting ducks for anyone who’s looking for them.”
Aidan leaned back in his chair. “As Ash stated, they’re untrustworthy. What makes you think you can believe them now?”
“Maybe I just don’t feel right about abandoning a couple of damsels in distress.”
“Maybe you’re just a sucker,” Asher proposed.
“Possible,” Zeek conceded. “But I think we need more information.”
Aidan scrubbed a hand down his face. “And how do you suggest we get it? They’re not exactly forthcoming.”
Asher offered darkly, “Icould get it out of them.”
Zeek shot him a skeptical look. “Based on historical evidence, I’d say Onnika’s not cowed by your brute strength.”
“No, but the little one might be.”
“Hurting Caryn is no’ an option,” Lear snapped.
“I wasn’t talking about hurting anyone…just a little intimidation.”
Lear rose to his full height, fire in his eyes. “We are not monsters.”
“Says the dragon.”
