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I made a slow walk around the cages, pretending to examine the “goods,” but actually scoping out the aliens in the room. There were Grug, of course. The big gray pyramids were running the show. They waited at the back of the room, surrounded by Tula. I couldn’t tell if the T-Rexes were ones the Grug actually employed or part of the mob that ran this club, but it didn’t really matter. They were all marks we needed to fool to win the prize.
Next, I checked out the competition. Another Sjisji royal stood by a side wall filled with smaller cages. Their robes looked a lot like mine and they also only had one guard instead of the normal four, and that guard was a Tula, who was cheaper than a Zaarn mercenary. A high royal pretending to slum it? That was the angle I’d tried for tonight. Or a poor royal unable to afford more guards? Probably poor, because they stood in front of a kreecat cage, trying to get it to approach. The animals were expensive but didn’t cost anywhere near as much as a human.
The bright-purple alien cat had matching horns, and its long tail rose into the air, showing off the stinger at the end. It stayed far away, its big eyes wary. It didn’t look like they were going to bond telepathically. A pang went through me. I missed my kreecat, Beans, but I loved her too much to bring her into danger. She’d complained about being left on the shuttle, so I’d fed her an extra-large meal of steak and created a little nest out of my shirts. She’d fallen asleep happy.
There weren’t any regular Sjisji in the room besides the one who’d led us in, who went over to stand beside the biggest Tula. He wore bandoliers that crisscrossed his yellow chest. Medals covered them, but they were mob markers, not some official military thing. He had to be the mob boss who owned the club.
The only other aliens in the room were Zaarn.
I completed my slow circuit and turned toward the cages. The tall horned warriors were dressed a lot like Zol usually did in heavy work pants and shit kickers. A few of them showed off a deep-V of skin that gradually lightened from the blue of their faces to a rich teal in the center of their well-muscled chests. They’d also grown their inky black hair out, braiding sections here and there.
They weren’t Daredevils, but they were Zaarn. That had to be okay, right?
So my plan should work. Piece of cake. We’d outbid everyone in the room, no problem.
I stopped in a clear area of floor with an easy view of the cages. Zol took up position beside me and shot me some side eye, before tipping his head toward the other Zaarn a fraction.
Then his fingers moved on the hilt of his blaster. It looked like a tic, but we’d worked out a really basic code before we’d headed out. He’d just made the sign for danger.
Well, shit. I guess those Zaarn might be a problem after all.
We must have been the last to arrive, because only a few moments later, one of the Grug slid forward. It spoke, its deep voice sounding like rocks crashing together. My translator chip kicked in. “We will start with the animals in the main cages. A new species you will not find anywhere else.”
One of the Zaarn said, “You claim they’re intelligent?”
“They do not understand language—”
I suppressed a snort. These women just came out of cryosleep after flying across the galaxy. Just because they didn’t know the Grug’s language didn’t mean they couldn’t learn.
“—but they are intelligent enough to be taught basic tasks.”
I ground my teeth together and hid my balled fists in the voluminous fabric of my robes. Of all the bullshit!Basic tasks, my ass.
The other Sjisji royal turned back to the kreecat, murmuring softly to it and beckoning it forward.
So my real competition would be the Tula mobsters and the Zaarn strangers.
“Bidding to begin on cage one,” the Grug growled. A light blinked purple on top of the far-right cage. The woman within didn’t react, unable to understand anything said.
I wanted to blurt out something—anything—in English, just to let her and the others know they weren’t alone. But that would blow our cover.
The head Tula mobster started the bidding with a thousand creds—way low, a dummy bid to get things started. The Grug announced the amount in its rock-grinding voice.
I beckoned Zol forward until he stood beside me, his comp in hand. Aliens on the shady side didn’t take your word for it—you had to back up each bid with a proof of funds before they’d accept it. It also meant you couldn’t back out of a bid once you’d made it.
This first sale would be the kicker. We’d find out the hard way whether our hack of Duchess Prenlii’s account really worked. Ordering a couple of drinks in the club hadn’t been a big enough amount to trigger the stricter safety measures.
What Zol bid now would.
I held my breath, my heart racing, as he tapped a purple finger to the glowing icon.
“Duchess Prenlii has bid two thousand,” the giant alien boomed.
Relief surged through me, and I grinned.My plan’s working!
The auction continued, and the unknown Zaarn put in a few bids, but dropped out as the amount went higher. Soon it was just me and the mob boss.
Zol entered another bid, and the Grug announced, “Duchess Prenlii has bid nine thousand.”
