“That is good time. Unfortunately, we may have an additional problem. Riley is attracting quite a crowd. I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy her and Exo both.”
Cyprian didn’t mention how Riley was attracting attention. The female had him frustrated on several levels with her audacious display. He’d awoken in the middle of the night to find his shaft stiff, as the image of the violet haired siren faded into his dreams.
“If that happens, keep an eye on whoever wins the bid and bargain with them. Kagan is sparing no expense.”
“The Miran Sona vessel hasn’t come up for auction yet,” Cyprian reported. “But we know it’s here.”
“I’m sending you the override that Ion gave me, for when you do find it. It’s a vocal key. Ion also said that Exo would’ve deleted the vessel’s critical data, if he had a chance.”
“I got it,” Cyprian confirmed his comm received the transmission. “Let’s hope Exo was successful.”
“Even if he was successful, the vessel still has the ability to traverse wormholes, so we need to get it back,” Tytus added.
Cyprian groaned. He felt like they were making progress at a glacial rate.
“Understood.”
“By the way, I found that vial; the one with the chip of metal that we removed from the gallinacus.”
“I know the one.”
Cyprian recalled the giant raptors that descended on the salvage yard in mass. His crew had just started on this mission, and were in the process of repairing the cruiser that brought them to Distraho, when the clutch of raptors attacked. Usually salvage yards kept the nasty predators at bay, since one was enough to gut a full-grown male.
“I haven’t had a chance to analyze the bit of metal yet, but with your recent findings, I’m not getting a good feeling. I’ve also been monitoring any communication going off-world. I haven’t intercepted anything unusual, but watch your tail.”
“Please be safe,” June added.
“I will. Thank you. I’m glad you’ve got my back,” Cyprian replied, then disconnected.
If Tytus had a bad feeling about the chip of metal found in the overgrown bird, that meant something. With everything Cyprian learned, he was beginning to wonder if his cover was blown the moment they left the capital city. If the traitor was close enough to Kagan to be a threat, and knew enough about their plan to send the raptors, then it reasoned the traitor also knew his and Vintor’s identity.
That might explain Mave’s refusal to trust us.
It didn’t really matter. Cyprian still had to play his part. Now he just had to be more cautious than before. It was imperative he discover who the traitor was, and bring their people home.
There was a knock on the door and Cyprian answered.
“Outta my way, I’m going to be sick,” Vintor garbled as he shoved Cyprian aside.
Vintor bent over the commode as he wretched out loud, kicking the washroom door closed in the process. Cyprian frowned in concern, till Vintor stood with a smile.
“They’re talking about exploring. I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to stay behind,” Vintor said with a wink.
“You’ve been around the humans too long. This is the kind of stunt those females would pull.” Cyprian’s brow rose in amusement. “I’m guessing you plan on snooping around.”
“Who me?” Vintor said in a high-pitched voice, as he put his hands on his hips, like the females did when they were mad.
Though Mave didn’t trust Vintor enough to tell him who his traitorous partner was, they trusted him enough that they might leave something incriminating behind in the suite.
“It’s a good idea,” Cyprian snorted as Vintor maintained his effeminate pose. “Nothing’s new back home. Tytus is keeping an eye on communications going off-world. He didn’t say for sure, but the traitor might have sent the gallinacus to the salvage yard.”
“Son of a metcor,” Vintor cursed, understanding the implications. “Do you think the chips we found in the raptors, were what put the traitor in debt to the Jurou Biljana?”
“Could be,” Cyprian shrugged. “Tytus did send me the code to access the Miran Sona ship, if we manage to find it. Alright I’m going to join the others and attempt to play nice,” Cyprian said, after his quick summary. He paused at the washroom door with a frown. “Oh, one thing more.”
“What?”
“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but I think it’s time to cull one of the smugglers from the herd, and convince him to talk.”
Cyprian planned to bring the smugglers to justice, to remove them of their liberties, and send them to a labor camp. That changed the moment he learned Daimio Kagan’s life was in danger.