Page 24 of Guardian's Destiny

"Never. Only holocomms."

That complicates things.

"Do you know where Moddekdum lives?"

"I can figure it out."

I drummed my nails on the table's surface, deep in thought. Trying to formulate a plan. "How many Space Guardians are protecting him?"

"Tharaax said he encountered at least ten inside Possedion's house, but there were more who had been sent to pick him up." He began eating again, and I forced myself to do the same, no matter how unappealing the food was. I needed to get my weight back on and be in top shape for this.

"So we lure him out of his den. Alone." I formulated a plan in my mind.

"That would only give us one," Vraax reminded me.

Dammit, he was right.

There was nothing else we could do but, "We need to stakeout his property."

"Steakout?" He asked.

"Stakeout, not steak," I corrected. "Like we hide in the bushes and watch his routine and what he does. We'll figure out the best time to grab him."

Of course the buffoon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me, "Hide in the bushes, eh?"

I sighed deeply. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Vraax, and focus."

"No joy with you." He grumbled and pulled out his comm. "I'm due for an update anyway. Are my marks hidden?"

He held out his arm, and I pulled his sleeve down farther, not liking the impact that touching his naked flesh had on me.

"I'll go wait in the hallway," I muttered, happy to be able to leave. Somehow, the vast breakroom seemed to have gotten a lot smaller in the last few seconds.

It was hard not to eavesdrop, so I didn't even pretend I wasn't listening. It wasn't anything world-changing anyway. Vraax filled Moddekdum with the story that he barely missed the Space Guardians they were looking out for, Raasla, Tharaax, and Zaarek—they didn't know about Noodar—at a space station where they had caused some trouble with the GTU. He was gambling that the security cameras hadn't picked him up when he helped us escape on the ship. I doubted, though, if hisminderwould go through the trouble of checking up on the events. He promised that he was hot on their heels and that it was only a matter of time before he would find them again.

That seemed to pacify Moddekdum, and they ended the comm.

"You can come back in now," Vraax called me.

"Interesting that he didn't mention that Possedion was taken. Do you think he knows?" I asked, walking back to our table.

"My guess would be as good as yours on that one," Vraax confessed, finishing his bowl of mush, and with a sigh, I followed his example.

"The food was a lot better on Luph's ship," Vraax admitted.

"Definitely," I agreed, swallowing a lump down. It wasn't that bad, really. It tasted a bit like meat, albeit in the form of mashed sweet potatoes.

"I found his home." Vraax didn't elaborate; I had no doubt that he was talking about Moddekdum. I scooted my chair closer as he pulled up one of the cubed screens that still filled me with wonder as to how they just suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Vraax pulled up a map that was a lot more detailed than any map I had ever seen. It was three-dimensional, with trees and rocks.

"First things first, can we just fly in without them detecting us?" I figured that would be too easy and prepared myself for Vraax's answer.

To my utter surprise, he said, "Yes."

I blinked a few times, and I think my mouth stood agape in a largeO.

"All we have to do is latch on to one of their transporters and disengage in time to make a clean getaway." He added.

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