Page 22 of Decadence

Of course he would.

Tarak was right. After all, he had no choice in the matter.

Chapter Eight

“What in the Nine Hells are these?” Ikriss frowned as he stared at the strange device in his hands. With two clear lenses and black frames that were designed to sit above the ears, he presumed it was some sort of eyeshield. In fact, it looked like the human-inspired sunglass lenses their kind had adopted for use on Earth whenever they wanted to protect their light-sensitive eyes while attempting to appear less threatening to the humans.

But these sunglasses had clear lenses.

What in Kaiin’s Hells was the point of clear lenses?

“You asked for something that would help you blend in amongst the humans.” The tech, a deceptively youthful and delicate looking Kordolian called Mavrel, wore an almost-smile, as if he were smugly pleased with his creation but too afraid to tease Ikriss about it.

“I do not see how this contraption will help me blend in anywhere.”

“Eyesight defects are quite common amongst humans, it seems. Although they have the technology to permanently correct them, many still prefer to wear these archaic eyeglasses because of some sort of nostalgic fashion-sense. If you go into one of their cities, you will see that they are relatively common.”

“But I am not human,” Ikriss said slowly, deliberately, trying not to let impatience seep into his voice. Although the brief swim in Earth’s icy waters had tempered his irritability a little—as had the satisfaction of spearing several of the long silver creatures called fish—he was still on edge.

Mavrel eyed him warily. “With all due respect, Sir, I would request that you try them on first.”

“Very well,” Ikriss grumbled, unfolding the curved arms and sliding the cursed things onto his face. Nothing happened. He felt faintly ridiculous. “Is this some sort of joke at my expense, tech?”

“I-I would not dare, Sir,” Mavrel said hastily. “Look at the holo-reflector.”

Ikriss watched as Mavrel uttered a command. In a heartbeat, Ikriss’s very own image came to life right in front of him.

He frowned as he stared back at himself. Well, it was his face and body and uniform, but he looked different.

For starters, his skin was a different color. It was a shade of medium brown, somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of human skin tones. Behind the thick black frames, his golden eyes had turned a warm shade of brown. At least his hair was still the same color, and the points of his ears were still intact—emerging from between his tousled hair.

Ah. Now he understood Mavrel’s objective.

The creature that stared back at him looked almost human, but not quite.

Perhaps from a distance or in a busy crowd, he could pass for human.

Perhaps.

Sooner or later, his actions would give him away. He couldn’t possibly behave like a human, could he?

“This is what I look like?” he asked sharply. “Right now?” Ikriss made a quick deduction. “You’ve inserted a clever little holo-skin into these frames, haven’t you?”

“Skin tone and eye color simulation,” Mavrel said proudly. “It’s a prototype—still in the development phase—but it’s stable enough for you to use on Earth. You’ll have to keep your natural hair color for now. I’m still working on that.”

“And my ears?” Humans didn’t have pointed ears. Theirs were gently curved in a way that made them look particularly cute—on certain females, anyway.

Mavrel shrugged. “We’re still working on that too. Your hair’s grown long enough. I know it’s a pain-in-the-ass, but just use it to hide your ears. I’m told humans would only notice if they’re looking very closely.”

“The eye perceives what it wants to see,” Ikriss agreed. “The same is true for most species.” When he’d worked for Intelligence in the past, he’d been able to go incognito under the guise of a mercenary, donning nondescript armor and a helm that hid his distinctive features. Mostly, he’d adopted the language and mannerisms of the Lokati, a secretive Kordolianoid species that rarely ventured into the Nine Galaxies.

On most developed planets and trading ports, the sight of a lone mercenary decked out in full armor was not anything to take notice of, but on Earth…

The planet of humans was so far removed from the rest of the Universe that mercenaries didn’t even bother to visit. They would find very little work or credits on Earth.

It was a small miracle that Earth’s ruling Federation had been foresighted enough to educate most of its working age citizens in Universal, the language Kordolians had developed for the indentured classes, but Ikriss understood the motivation behind it. In the past, if a species had wanted to do trade or receive more favorable terms when the Kordolian Empire finally came to colonize them, they taught their population Universal.

The fact that Sienna even spoke the language—with her endearing accent and occasional grammatical incorrectness—was proof that the shadow of the Empire had loomed large even in the remote Ninth Sector.

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