Page 11 of Tempted by Celestial Bodies

I peered through the ship’s windshield, squinting to see that far across the platform, even with my Llurren eyes. It was over a kilometer in diameter. “All the way across the platform?”

“Yep. I’ll enact Plan Phi as we go. Come on.”

Every so often as we ran, Roxy threw up devices that affixed to the low ceiling.

Just as I was about to ask what they were, all the vessels around us began to shift in appearance. Cruisers and short-rangers, large and small vessels of all shades of grays and blacks and silvers shifted into the appearance of a hot pink lightship cruiser covered in gold lightning bolts and emblazoned with the name “Count Borrdaff Kahcksuccerce.” Below the name was an oversized portrait of an older human man surrounded by beautiful, half-naked beings from all over the galaxy.

“Who is this Count Borrdaff?”

Roxy chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. There’s my ship.”

How did she know which was hers when they all looked like the Count’s? I pulled at the metal ring around my neck. “Do you have a trinket up your skirts to remove this? If I try to leave the Jurdu atmosphere, it’ll activate and kill me.”

She turned to me, all concern on her beautiful face as she studied the collar. “I have something on the ship that’ll take it off.”

I pulled at her red dress. “I can’t wait to take this off.”

“Guards! Guards!”

A human man ran out onto the platform several vessels down and stopped short. It was the Count from the ships’ portrait, and Daddy Skirkild was hurrying behind him.

“Who is this Count?” I asked. “Why is he here?”

“It’s Sha,” Roxy explained. “They’re Kelki.”

Several guards ran toward the shapeshifted Sha and Skirkild.

“Guards!” Sha shouted, holding up a communicator. “My daughter sent a message that she’s running away with the dancer! And where is my ship? Why do all of these vessels look like my ship? I want to know who’s responsible!”

With a grin, Roxy pressed a remote, and one of the Count Borrdaff vessels rose up and whooshed past. Everyone assembled shouted.

“Wasss that them?” Skirkild demanded. “Why do all of thessse ssshipsss look like your ssship?”

“You tell me, Skirkild,” Sha said dangerously. “Did you have your dancer kidnap my daughter and cloak all the ships to look like mine?”

“Kidnap?” Skirkild bellowed.

One of the guards held up a scanner at the ship disappearing in the distance, and he went pale. “Two life forms. A human and…” he gulped, turning to Daddy Skirkild. “And a Llurren.”

Roxy giggled softly beside me as Daddy Skirkild started shouting. “To your shipsss! Chassse them down!”

“You’d better bring my daughter back, Skirkild, or I swear to Dilf?—”

Whatever Sha was shouting got lost in the shuffle as dozens of guards rushed in all directions trying to find their ships among all the duplicates.

Roxy cackled at the confusion. I lost sight of Sha altogether as one of the guards, who seemed particularly confused, directed his comrades in several different directions at once, then ran toward one of the Borrdaff ships.

“That’s Sha,” Roxy explained, grabbing my hand. “Get ready to make a run for it.”

A great flock of Borrdaff ships rose into the air, heading after the decoy, but Daddy Skirkild remained on the platform between us and the ship Sha had gone into, shouting for the Count, yelling at all the Borrdaff ships taking off.

“Damnit, Skirkild,” Roxy murmured. “You weren’t supposed to be here.” She pressed her finger to her ear. “Plan Chi, Sha. Ready for jump extraction.”

My head snapped toward her as my stomach pre-fell. “Wait—jump extraction?”

Sha’s ship lifted into the air with the others.

“That’s right, lover.” Roxy kissed me quick then pulled us into a loping run for the side of the platform.

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