Chapter 21

“That was pretty crazy.” Tinsley strapped herself into the pilot’s seat of the Thunder Bolt. Her hair was still wet from the shower she’d just taken with Dante. She was technically clean, but she was sure she could still smell the stench of garbage.

“We got what we needed, and we didn’t die, so I’d consider that an accomplishment,” Dante told her. “We make a good team.”

“Well, what now?” Tinsley still felt flushed, her heart full to bursting.

“We look through the data we got and figure out where that pod was off to,” he said, fiddling with the dials on his comm unit.

He transferred the files to the screen in front of them. A galactic map appeared, and Dante zoomed in on the location of the tracker he placed on the pod earlier. It came to rest on a small isolated planet by the name of Seisi.

“Buzz, cross-reference the planet Seisi with the information we downloaded on the pod about the transports, and confirm that it’s the destination of the Jorvlen pod we’re tracking, please.” Tinsley’s father had named the personal assistant in the Thunder BoltBuzz after the first man to land on the moon.

“Little is known about the planet Seisi in the galactic records. It is a virtually barren planet in the Delta Quadrant, one of four orbiting a single sun. It has three moons. The population is unknown, but believed to be a small mixed-species community. The air is breathable to humans,” Buzz replied mechanically.

“Well, we’d better go see for ourselves,” replied Tinsley. “Prepare for takeoff.”

They flew there in virtual silence.

The flight was straightforward, as the planet was close enough that they didn’t even need to use hyperdrive. Before long, they were orbiting the small ball of rock named Seisi.

“Not much water down there,” said Dante. “I think we’ve only flown over one small sea. No wonder the population is so small.”

“It’s odd the tracker is showing that they’ve landed in the middle of a virtually unmapped region. Let’s pass over it and see what it’s like,” Tinsley replied.

As they flew, they looked out the window at the surrounding terrain, mostly dark red rock and red desert.

“That does not look hospitable,” she said.

“Where are they? They should be right there,” Dante said, pointing. “But nothing is there, just more rock and sand. Maybe they’ve camouflaged it. It was only a pod, after all.”

“I’m going in lower to take a better look,” Tinsley said.

“Okay, but not too low. We may be cloaked, but anyone watching will see the plume of dust we kick up if we fly too close to the desert.”

Tinsley took them lower. “It should be just here. Right?”

“Look at that!” said Dante. “That’s not on the map for sure.”

Spread out below them was a vast complex of buildings and landing fields. With the on-board tools, they could discern a shimmering haze over it, telling them it had some sort of cloaking device. They were near enough to see through it now.

“That’s incredible! They’ve cloaked the entire complex,” exclaimed Tinsley.

“The Galactic Authorities are going to love to hear about this one!” Dante said with a smirk. “Let’s find a place to land and go explore.”

Tinsley took them a few clicks away from the complex and brought the Thunder Bolt down among some rocks. Like the complex they had just seen, the cloaking on the Thunder Bolt would not completely work if someone came too close. So, she hid it as best she could in the mouth of a canyon.

“Right. Let’s scout the area and hopefully get my sister,” said Dante as soon as they were out of the ship.

“Let’s climb the escarpment and see if we can get a look at what’s going on there,” Tinsley advised.

“I just can’t stand the thought of her being trapped in there a moment longer. I hope it’s a straightforward retrieval entry and exit.”

“If she’s here, we’ll get her out. Don’t worry.”

From the top of the escarpment, the red rocks lined with striations seemed to rise from the desert floor like islands amid the barren landscape. The flat area between them and the complex was covered in scrub that was barely clinging to life. The constant wind created a low-level red haze and coated everything in fine red dust.

They lay side by side to conceal themselves and looked out through their viewing devices.

It looked like people from all species worked there, which always helped with blending in. Most of them wore camouflage combat uniforms, and all of them without exception were covered in red dust.

“I wonder what’s going on here?” she whispered to Dante.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I see a hell of a lot of large land vehicles here. Did you notice?”

“Could it be some kind of illegal mining base?”

“Could be. Let’s go find out.”

They scrambled back down the escarpment and back to the Thunder Bolt.

“Come with me. I think I know how we can blend in more,” said Tinsley. “The disguises we used in the pod clearly won’t work here.”

She led him back into her father’s cabin in the Thunder Bolt. After rummaging around in various cupboards, she came out with a bundle of clothing. She held pieces of old combat uniforms and normal outdoor gear thrown together.

“I don’t know how much will fit you, but you need to look a bit less like a Lorr warrior and more like the laborers we saw.”

Dante went through the pile of clothes and put on some slacks that must have been baggy on her dad but were quite tight on him. “I don’t think this is going to work,” he said with a laugh. They came halfway up his calf.

Tinsley looked at him and then burst out laughing. “Um, no. Maybe not. You could probably get away with the pants and boots you wore in the pod. Here, just put this jacket over the top.”

Tinsley changed into the combat boots and fatigues, which were a little too big but still much better than the clothes she had been wearing.

“Okay, now for the real disguise,” she said, leading him outside.

She found a nice patch of sand and then lay down and rolled around in it. For a moment, she felt like a kid again. Then she got sand in her bra. “Ugh, disgusting,” she said, standing up and shaking it out.

“Your turn!” She grinned at Dante as she said it and then instantly regretted it as the sand went in her mouth.

The things we do for love!