Hey Everyone!! 😊
Happy Friday! Since it's the end of the work week, I thought it would be fun to start off by defying a corrupt government. 😉 Enjoy!
Petri opened her mouth to respond, but Daji interrupted, "Why can you not? Is this not your profession?"
Chessie rolled her eyes. "Sugar, you don't know anything about diddling, do you?"
"Very little," the Paka admitted.
"You said they've locked you down, specifically. Not that your ship is caught in some kind of wide sweep, but that your ship in particular is the one they are holding."
He nodded.
Throwing up her arms in exasperation, she said, "Then it isn't just a bit of hocus pocus in a low-level local clerical system. You need an upper-level, planet-wide government intervention. I don't have the taps for that, darlin'."
"I don't understand."
Pulling her taps out of the pocket where she had stashed them, Chessie held them out for his inspection. "I'm strictly small-time, sugar. You're gonna have to go to a house-diddler or a swinger."
Daji grimaced. "I know no 'swingers,' and I do not wish to become further entangled with the houses of this benighted world."
"Well then, honey, you have yourself a problem."
"Why did you come here if you hate Upworld so much?" asked Petri.
The Paka shrugged. "I am a trader. The government of this world invited me here to discuss a trade. Their actions since I arrived have been dishonorable."
Petri and Chessie laughed.
Glowering, Daji said, "I do not see the humor in the situation."
Sobering, Chessie said, "Sorry, sugar, it's just that we'd take it as a given that the government wouldn't play fair." She shrugged. "But I still can't help you."
"What about the person you told about the JWs?" asked Petri. "Would they be able to hook you up with someone who can help you?"
Daji exhaled through his teeth. "Perhaps. But I do not wish to make my vulnerability known to the inhabitants of this city." He gave Petri a dry look. "I am not slow to learn from my mistakes."
Nodding, she chewed on her lip, turning the problem over in her mind. Finding another ship captain who knew what she was, didn't care, and was willing to defy the Upworld government for anything less than a large, upfront, cash payment wasn't going to be easy. She was desperate to find a solution to Daji's problem that would still result in him taking them off world.
Turning back to Chessie, Daji asked, "Is it just the necessary technology that you lack? If you had the equipment, would you be able to do what I need?"
Chessie looked at him, wrinkling her forehead. "I'm not sure, sugar, I've never had access to that kind of equipment. I could try, I guess."
Petri put a restraining hand on her friend's knee and glared at Daji. "What you're asking of her is dangerous. With that kind of equipment, her mind could get lost in the rainbow, and she could die!"
"Is not what you're asking of me dangerous as well?" he retorted.
Looking back at Chessie, he asked, "If I provide you with the equipment, will you try?"
Chessie's gaze slid to the floor as she thought it over. Looking back up, she nodded. "Okay, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to do it. And if I take this kind of risk, you have to agree to take Petri and Sadaka off world, no matter what."
"No word about yourself?"
She gave him a wry smile. "Sugar, if I try this and don't succeed, I'd suggest selling what's left of me to the grinders. I won't have any need of it anymore."
Daji frowned. "It is truly that dangerous?"
Petri and Chessie nodded in unison.
He studied Chessie's face. "And yet, you are willing to take the risk?"
"Honey, if we stay here, we're dead anyway. From what you've said, you don't have another way to get your ship free, so…" She shrugged.
Nodding, he met her eyes, his expression solemn. "I give you my word that if you try this thing, regardless of your success, I will do everything in my power to get your friends off this planet and to safety."
Want to find out if Chessie succeeds? Grab your copy at the link below! Happy reading... 😊
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