The ingredients really were all very simple: An isolated spot where a single young soldier was on guard, plain trackers in Kiris’s pocket and his own, and the little surprise concealed under Gaylen’s coat. But simple plans always were the best.

Gaylen did his second stroll about the station’s hallways, again doing his best to simply be ignored. Each soldier he passed was now a potential source of disaster, should they decide to take an interest. But there were plenty of other distractions to be had, and as much as Gaylen tried to stay away from potential trouble spots he did hear the faint sounds of a beating through a thin fibre door.

Soon enough he was near that one isolated spot, and took a right turn down a steep, narrow flight of stairs. Below was an old, disused temperature control room, now home to a few boxes whose contents were evidently unimportant enough to simply leave where anyone could get at them.

The air conditioner rattled loudly and only a single, soft light survived, giving decent cover from both eyes and ears. Gaylen found himself a dark corner to settle in, behind a high stack of boxes with some kind of mould crawling on them.

And then he waited. Kiris would know he was in place, from her own little screen. Her part in all of this was delicate, and might take a bit of time. And it made him feel a little bit guilty, so he crushed any frustration the wait caused within him the moment it came to life.

He wasn’t entirely sure they’d arrived at first. The noisy air conditioner almost covered the footsteps. But as they descended they became undeniable; two pairs of feet, with the careful movements of people wishing to be discreet.

Gaylen readied his surprise and pushed himself as far into the darkness as he could go.

The pair touched down on the floor and the murmur of voices penetrated that handily crappy air conditioner. He couldn’t make out words but the delighted tones were clearer than language.

The footsteps moved around a bit, and he did his best to track them purely by sound. He heard more delighted talking, shushing and the sound of what he presumed to be a torso up against a wall.

Then came the sound of clothing being removed, accompanied by a happy, soothing female murmur. Gaylen waited for a few breaths more, hoping for the perfect moment. Then he strode out into the meagre light and followed the sounds.

He went around an old piece of machinery, and there they were up against a wall. The young soldier had dropped his one-piece armoured uniform down around his knees, along with his underpants. Nestled up against him was Kiris, mostly dressed, but without all those figure-concealing outer layers.

The young fellow was distracted, to say the least, and only turned his head in time to see Gaylen swing the scattergun up and press it against his head.

“Quiet,” Gaylen told him menacingly.

The man’s rifle lay on the floor, and Gaylen put his foot on top of it for good measure. Kiris clamped her hand around his mouth.

“Yes, quiet,” she said in a tone much like Gaylen’s, her seductive persona vanishing in an instant.

She used her other hand to calmly close her top again, and the lad’s eyes widened.

“Yes,” she added, then used her free hand to roughly grab him by the stones. “Stereotypes aren’t always true.”

The man groaned through her fingers as she gave him a hateful squeeze that matched the Chanei’s glare. Gaylen was tempted to offer a bit of an objection, but it was probably best to just consider this a condition of her part in this.

“We want a very simple little thing,” Gaylen said. “The code we need to broadcast to get through the blockade.”

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Kiris loosened her grip on his mouth a bit.

“I can’t give y...”

She moved her other grip around, and Gaylen pressed the barrel of the gun more firmly into his face, letting the metal really dig in.

Funny things, these old weapons. Most basic weapon scanners specifically looked for something more complex. And while it might be useless against armour, this fellow’s suit was mostly on the floor.

“Yes, you can,” Gaylen said. “And the dear commander never needs to know that you abandoned your post to dip your stick. That’s why you won’t be squealing on us, by the way.”

“I was recording both of us,” Kiris told the man. “Sweet meat.”

“Give it up,” Gaylen said. “Or we’ll have to kill you and see if it’s on your person.”

“I don’t have it ON me!” the soldier said desperately.

“You would say that, though,” Gaylen replied. “What do you think?” he said to Kiris. “Just pop him?”

“Okay, okay!” the man said. “2164-8812-6617!”

Gaylen glanced at Kiris and she gave a soft nod. She was still recording.

“Say it again,” Gaylen told him.

“What?”

“Say it again!”

The soldier complied. And then gave the number a third time at Gaylen’s demand. He gave the exact same one each time, which made it unlikely to be the lie of a frightened man.

“Let’s go,” he said, and took a step backwards, still keeping the gun on the soldier.

“Sure.”

Kiris followed him and they made their way to the stairs, watching the man every moment.

“Remember,” Gaylen told him as he put his foot on the first step. “We’re covering for each other now.”

They hurried up. Gaylen doubted the man would snatch up the rifle and try to discreetly kill both of them, but there was no reason to get cocky. He hid the scattergun under his coat again, and they switched to a normal pace as they reached the top.

“What was your read on him?” Gaylen asked quietly. “Was he telling the truth?”

“I’m not a mind-reader, Gaylen,” she replied. “It’s hard to predict what scared people will do.”

“Right.”

But there were no alarms and no rushing soldiers. They just kept on going; simply two spacers keeping their heads down and weathering a situation that had nothing to do with them. Neither slow nor fast, obsequious nor guilty.

“You did good,” Gaylen said after a little while, then immediately regretted it.

“Of course I did,” she said stiffly. “I was bred and raised to be desirable.”

Gaylen sighed a bit, tired of this.

“You weren’t bred and raised to have guts. So you have that all to yourself.”

“Yes,” she said. “Yes,” she then repeated more softly after a short pause.

It was her turn to sigh.

“Thanks. Sorry.”

They made it to the Addax without being harassed. Jaquan had the engine ready, and Gaylen strolled right up into the cockpit as Kiris closed the airlock. Herdis, sat in the gunnery seat, nodded at him.

“Let’s see how this goes,” she said with a hint of nerves.

“Yeah.”

He punched in the code the soldier had given and set it to broadcast. Then he took the Addax off the floor and steered it out and up.

Gaylen used the route and velocity he would have under any other circumstances. Nothing suspicious. Nothing to take notice of.

The Incoming light stayed dead, and the massive guns hovering about the defenceless planet stayed cold. They left the gravity well behind and sped off into space. No ships came after them in pursuit, and once they were some distance away from the planet Gaylen allowed himself to acknowledge that this had worked.

“That went rather well, I think,” Herdis said, and was clearly glad to relax into her seat.

“I guess we were due for a break,” Gaylen said.

He followed her example and relaxed a bit. What a mess this run was proving to be.

“Well. Let’s finish this.”