Page 60 of The Omega's Unexpected Bounty
“At that point,” said Yil, “once we are sure of what we’ve seen, we must send the communication.”
I got the hint. Overall good news but still left us in a hostile kingdom while the hours dripped away. I knew the answer, but desperation forced me to ask. “Tiny can you access any of the transports?”
“No, I’ve given decades of virtual time, and I still can’t break the firewall.” I looked at both men, but they both shook their heads no. Once again both of their gazes flickered over to Nate. “We cannot use our personal identities,” said Kleh. “Otherwise, the delayed report will become more suspicious. We are grateful for the shells and the chance encounter that brought us together.” His face turned solemn. “However I must ask you all to leave. I am working on several pieces of ceremonial armor, and I need to take it down to theautomatedtransports.
My eyebrows rose, and I listened.
“Do you understand?” asked Kleh. I did and remembered what Graden said about the upcoming change. New treaties would have to be agreed to. Transporting things now, meant there was a surplus until new laws would come into effect. I nodded my head and said the next part as politely as I could, “Thank you. We will not bother you again.”
The Soturi’s lips mashed together. “To never come back after what we’ve done for you, why would you wrong us so?”
“Huh?” I mumbled.
His gaze went to Nate while gooseflesh and the tiny minute hairs on my arms rose, there was nothing sinister about it, but I could feel the crackle in the air. “There are few not welcome in our dwelling. The rarest are those we would seek to have in our home.”
Nate swallowed hard, and I could hear it over the ocean breeze. “Something for consideration?” asked Kleh. His smaller mate Yil said nothing, but I could sense the silent ‘Please.’
They walked us to the door, smiled again at Nate and then closed the door behind us. I grinned. “Someone… well, two people like you.”
He blinked several times. “Yeah, how about that? Huh, hell of a thing.”
The rumble in my stomach told me the midday meal was approaching and our time was running out. We made our way over to the automated transports while making sure as few people as possible saw us.
Like before Tiny’s computer connection came in handy, so we avoided people going about their daily business and security both sim, sphere or the most dangerous: Soturi warriors.
A momentary concern flickered through my mind, and I wondered if bolting like a runaway deer was the correct plan. So far staying in the kingdom didn’t seem right even as I sensed the wrongness of leaving Graden behind. My baby was in me, but he should be with both fathers.
Out of my hands for now, but I can do one thing.
“Tiny,” I asked. “How hard is it to overwrite a security orb?”
“Depends.”
“I need a message sent to Graden.”
His lips thinned. “Doable. I can’t deactivate the orb or disable its higher functions like weaponry. Changing the path is likewise forbidden, but they do intersect. One can pass a minute, low power message to another and so on. Each will do the same until it reaches Graden – in a roundabout way.
I gave him the words and an apology to pass on while we rushed to the barge. Like before we saw the automated transports. Long grey-purple rectangles with purple force fields on each side floated over the waters while soft, pudgy sims free of any definition loaded crates.
“Caan,” whispered Nate. “Won’t the sims tag you?”
I pursed my lips in wonder. Volardi depended on the ever-present security orbs, spy satellites, and their guards. That said they were practical and loved redundancies. As soon as I thought about it, I realized Nate was probably right. They didn’t do anything last time, but I presumed Graden’s access had something to do with it.
“Okay, I said.” Additional message to Graden. Tell him what I’m doing. Give him the timestamp for the barge. It should be easy to track down which one it is. Then let it leave without us on it.”
His small eyebrows rose for a split second before he grinned and got my plan. “That’sincrediblyrisky.”
“So is staying.”
Staying made the guilt rise. I wasn’t sure if it’s because that was the proper thing to do or if I wanted to prove I still had what it took. Despite the changes, I was still me – at least I hope so. Going with my gut helped before and it would again although I had to verify the question if only for peace of mind.
“This hoverchair can go over water, right?”
“Yes,” said Tiny, “but only if you got power; not for long though.”
It took less than a few minutes for the sims to leave after they packed the crates. Augo had a few dozen kingdoms, and most were on friendly terms with ours. Once outside, I could send a message and adjust my plans as needed. Right now, getting out and away from Balo’s influence was a priority.
The barge floated away from the shore and once again the Volardi love for redundancies came through. Hoverchairs are great for the one seated, but the same nanite-material that allowed most sims to take multiple shapes, and rework rooms, let me change the chair so Nate could hook in his feet and hands from behind.
