STOWAWAY TO THE STARS

Larry woke to the smell of fresh coffee. Karen was up before him and breakfast was ready.

After they had eaten their final meal onboard ship, they were ready to start the first leg of their trip to the heart of the Union. Larry checked through the ship and cleared up everything that might look suspicious. The laser rifle and pistol, and his own non-regulation equipment, such as the mini-grenades, went into a bag that Karen would hide.

He also checked over Karen’s appearance. She had on another of his oversized coveralls, but she was getting good at tucking in the cuffs, and it looked presentable. She still had the same pair of sneakers that had seen a good deal of action, but he had nothing else that would fit.

“Wait, Karen, your watch. Take it off and put it with the other suspicious items. It won’t do you any good, and it will take a lot of explaining away if anyone notices it.”

They were ready to go. He restored his ship’s true ident signal and made the hyperspace jump to Drazen. This was the first danger point. Would the Union have circulated his ship’s ident to all the Associate planets? He was banking on the fact that as far as the Union was concerned he was a minor felon. The extradition arrangements with Associate planets only covered more serious crimes. He was ready to make a sharp exit if any signs of trouble occurred.

The planet sprang into view and Larry called Drazen Control to request permission for a landing at Roja. He had chosen Roja because it was a small spaceport away from the main ports, but cleared for interstellar arrivals and departures.

“IEP zero zero eight, you are cleared down to the edge of atmosphere to intercept beam bravo four overhead Roja spaceport. Change to Roja Approach on channel seven, they have your details.”

It looked as if he was in the clear so far. He acknowledged the transfer, switched radio channels to Roja Approach, selected the appropriate approach beacon channel on his instruments to guide him in, and relaxed for the uneventful ride down.

****

Karen felt more nervous about whether she could carry off Larry’s plan than she had let on, but she was eager to see a new planet properly, not just while invading an enemy military base. She was thoroughly enjoying this latest experience and watched the changing scene outside the canopy in fascination. She remembered her first ride down to Hideaway when she had no idea that it was all real. How could she ever have imagined that it was a computer simulation? Her most recent approach had been something else altogether, watching the tail of the liner they were tracking in trepidation, to the exclusion of everything else. This was quite different.

The unfolding view as the planet grew in size through the canopy was entrancing. It looked a lot like the pictures she had seen of Earth from space, predominantly blue with masses of white cloud and patches of green and brown land also visible. It looked beautiful, and as they approached the edge of the atmosphere on the sunlit side it took her breath away.

Larry was given a clearance to enter the atmosphere. He immediately pitched the ship forward so that they were looking directly down at the surface. Could she ever get used to this stomach-churning maneuver?

Once into the atmosphere, Roja Approach transferred them to Roja Tower.

“Roja Tower, this is IEP zero zero eight with you,” said Larry.

“Good morning zero zero eight, you are cleared straight in, not above Mach zero point nine. Land in bay number six.”

Larry paused before he replied. “Zero zero eight, cleared straight in, not below – er, not above Mach point zero nine. Er, land in bay number six.”

Karen looked at him in surprise. He was always so slick with his flying, that wasn’t like him at all. What was he up to?

He grinned back and said, “Whoops. I have a horrible feeling I shall make a bit of a mess of this approach.”

They finished again with the vertigo-inducing dive straight toward the ground as it rushed up toward them. The nearest that Karen had ever experienced to this was when she had once been taken for an aerobatic experience in a small airplane. She remembered briefly staring straight down at the ground, three quarters of the way round a loop, but then the experience had not lasted long. She fought back the feeling that she must hang on to the control panel in front, even though the gravity compensator kept her snugly in the seat.

****

This time Larry rounded out the ship much higher, identified bay number six and decided that it would not fit well with his plans. So he let the ship waver about on the final letdown, narrowly missing another ship before settling close between two others with the exit door facing away from the tower.

The irritation was clear in the tower controller’s voice. “Zero zero eight, you were supposed to land in bay number six.”

“Sorry about that, I’m not used to the controls on this ship yet. Can I leave it here? I’m not staying long and I’d rather not maneuver any more right now.”

He was suddenly conscious that Karen was biting hard on her knuckles and her shoulders were shaking. When the tower had given a reluctant agreement and signed off, she burst into peals of laughter. Larry looked at her quizzically.

When she had caught her breath and could speak again, she said, “I’m sorry, that was so funny, the guy on the radio thinking you could not handle the ship properly. If he only knew you have just tailgated a few meters behind two spaceliners all the way in and out of Zilon.”

“It’s as well he didn’t, or he’d never have believed I couldn’t land it in bay number six, which is right out in the open. Anyway, we’d better get moving. Let me check the coast is clear first. Remember, you should be able to hear everything going on through your comm. earpiece. Here’s the bag of illegal items to take, and the spare remote control.”

He opened the door, stepped out and looked around.

“All clear,” he said, and Karen slipped down the ramp behind him and between the other two ships.

He watched her move with feline grace and disappear from sight. What a fabulous figure she had. He turned his attention back to the present and took a quick look round the ship. The hull showed no signs of damage, just a small distortion and a few scorch marks on the left rear area. After that he lounged by the door waiting for an official to come and check over the ship.

The official completed his search and led Larry to the tower for security clearance. There he submitted his personal ID that was stored in a microchip embedded in his left little finger.

This was the second danger point, where his details might have filtered down to the local Roja immigration computer system. He was less worried now, though, since they hadn’t picked up on his ship’s ident. His details might well show up later when they analyzed the logs, but by then he hoped to have a new ID.

The ID was accepted without comment, and he immediately filed for the next flight, to Tanil field.

“Can I get back to my ship now?” he asked.

The official nodded. “Try and control it better this time, though. Traffic control weren’t too happy with your landing.”

“I certainly will.” Larry gave the man his most contrite expression.

As he entered the ship he thought at first that Karen was not there, but she appeared from the rear holding her “souvenir” stun pistol.

“I was making sure it was you,” she said in reply to his questioning look.

“Any problems?”

“None at all. I got back in as soon as you disappeared.” Judging from her confident smile, she seemed to be positively enjoying this minor piece of subterfuge.

“Excellent. Now for phase two. This will be a bit trickier.”

He thumbed the radio button again. “IEP zero zero eight is ready for departure for Tanil field.”

“Zero zero eight, you are clear to lift. Standard departure profile until clear of the zone, follow beam delta nine to your cruising altitude, then contact Roja Control for en route clearance.”

He didn’t need to act the fool any more. He called back his clearance crisply, and lifted clear of the port. He resisted the urge to make a quick roll as he accelerated away.

It was only a short hop to Tanil field, a small, quiet landing field not authorized for interstellar flights – which was why Larry was going there. The control tower gave him clearance to land and park at his own discretion.

For a few seconds he hung about thirty meters above the field pointing straight down, deciding where he wanted to land. It amused him to see that Karen was once again clinging to the top of the instrument panel.

She glared at him. “I suppose you think it’s funny, but it churns me up inside, hanging in midair like this.”

Larry grinned. “I’m sorry, but you do look funny. You’ll soon get used to it, though.”

Her muttered retort sounded like, “The chance would be a fine thing.”

He turned his attention back to the field, selected a suitable spot, and dropped the ship down neatly into one corner of the apron. The ship was positioned close to another one, and as before with the door carefully aligned out of sight of the control tower.

Once landed and with the motors shut down to standby mode, Larry collected what little he needed, put a few spare clothes into an overnight bag and made sure that he had the vital data pins and printout. He handed one of the data pins to Karen.

“This is my backup copy of the data I got on Zilon. Can you hide it somewhere safe, in case something happens to me? Then at least we have two chances to get this information to the authorities.”

“Okay, but I don’t know what I would do without you. I don’t understand anything about how things work on these planets.” Her smile suggested that she had forgotten her huff of a few minutes before.

“Don’t worry, nothing is likely to go wrong. If by any chance it does, you’ll have to find help from a police officer, or someone similar, and ask them to contact my brother-in-law, Ket. His full name is Ketar’hi Dartelii, he lives on Central and he is a Union official. When you get through to him, tell him who you are and show him what you’ve got. After what you’ve done already, Karen, I’m sure you’ll cope if it comes to it.”

“I shall do my best, but I really hope it does not happen.”

“That’s what I’m aiming for. Right, let’s get started. Check first that your earpiece is still working correctly.”

She placed her hand over her ear and nodded. He opened the door. Karen slipped out first and hurried away behind the other ship.

With all his preparations complete, Larry locked up the ship. He intended to leave it there until he had passed on his data to the Union.

He strolled across the apron and into the reception lounge at the base of the tower. There he checked in with the reception clerk and offered his left little finger for the inevitable ID check. After that he asked the man, “Have you seen my girlfriend? I’m a bit late, and I was expecting her to be here waiting for me.”

This was the cue for Karen, who was waiting on the apron outside and listening on her earpiece. She breezed in behind him and called, “I’m here, darling. I was early so I went through to see the spaceships and to watch you land. I waved to you but I guess you didn’t see me.”

The reception clerk looked at her aghast. “Hey miss, you’re not supposed to be spaceside without a special clearance. Can’t you see the barrier? How did you get through anyway? I didn’t see you.”

Karen shrugged. “Oh, I didn’t want to bother you, you were rather busy. And I thought this was just to stop children.”

As if to emphasize her point she swung her long legs casually over the meter-high barrier, making it look like an insignificant obstacle. This made the clerk even more agitated, and he cried, “You can’t do that. Even if you didn’t book in you’ll have to book out properly, and come through the gate.”

This was exactly what Larry was working hard to avoid, so he joined the discussion.

“No she won’t. If you want to get your paperwork all fouled up, and have the authorities down on you for booking someone out without booking them in first, that’s your problem. I’m not having my girlfriend getting dragged into it by being the person involved.”

“Well all right, she can book in and out again,” suggested the flustered clerk.

Not without a valid ID she couldn’t. “What, with the same timestamp? That won’t look good. And it’s pointless. She hasn’t been to a small field before and didn’t understand the rules and regulations. Either forget it or call your supervisor. In the mean time, I need to arrange parking for my ship. I expect to stay for several days, so can I pay for that now?”

Karen interrupted. “Honey, if you have to sort that out, I will be waiting outside.”

The clerk called to her urgently, “Hang on, we haven’t sorted out this booking yet.”

But she had moved with deceptive speed and he was addressing her departing back as she disappeared through the exit, flicking her hair over her shoulders as she went.

The clerk wailed, “This is all wrong. She shouldn’t have been out there.”

Larry consoled him. “Look, I’m awfully sorry. We haven’t been going out together for long. She didn’t realize she wasn’t supposed to go spaceside. There’s no harm done. Can’t you forget it and let’s sort out this parking. I suggest that I pay for eight days in advance, which should be plenty. Is the ship okay where I’ve left it?”

This distracted the poor man, and he busied himself with his paperwork. It didn’t take long, and as soon as it was finished Larry made a hasty exit before it could occur to the clerk to make more fuss about Karen’s premature departure.

When he got outside Karen was nowhere to be seen.

“Hi Karen, where are you? It’s all clear,” he called quietly.

She appeared at once from behind a nearby building and joined him. She seemed to be a natural at this sort of thing. He thought about his normal work, where he often had to use similar sorts of subterfuge. She would be perfect for it, and the idea of working together with her was irresistible. Not to mention the pleasure of her company again. Got to get this job over before he could think seriously about that, though.

“That was well done,” he told her, “especially disappearing like that. It left the poor guy with no alternative unless he made an enormous scene.”

Again she gave him a momentary flash of a smile, then her mood seemed to change and she muttered indifferently, “It was nothing.”

He shook his head in puzzlement. He couldn’t work out this enigmatic Earthgirl. She really seemed to have been enjoying herself playing her part in sneaking through the immigration checks at the two spaceports. If only he could understand her better.

****

Karen mentally kicked herself for sounding so grumpy. It was her automatic but destructive instinct when she wanted to disguise her feelings. This charismatic spaceman had made an impression she couldn’t shake off, and she was becoming more attracted to him with every minute they spent together.

However, she quickly brightened up as Larry hired a taxi.

He opened the back door for her, and then slid in beside her. He leaned close and whispered, “If you want to talk confidentially at any time, speak English as I am doing. On planets like Drazen there are still people who speak various native languages instead of Universal. So anybody listening will assume we are speaking a local language they have not heard before. For the moment, just enjoy the ride.”

They made their way into the nearest town – the first town Karen had seen on a different planet. She looked around everywhere eagerly, like a small girl on her first visit to a fairground. At last she could relax and appreciate the wonder of being on a different planet, billions of kilometers from home. For instance, it was so quiet, the cars made no sound apart from the noise of the tires, and there was no smell of exhaust fumes. The air seemed fresh and clean, as were the streets themselves. The reason for that became apparent when she saw someone drop a wrapper. Within seconds a tiny cleaning bot materialized from somewhere and digested the litter.

Karen was startled when Larry suddenly told the taxi driver to stop. He jumped out with a cursory, “Won’t be a minute,” and disappeared into a large booth set back between two shops.

He was much more than a minute, and when he returned she raised her eyebrows. “What was that about?”

“I needed to talk to Valsik, my Drazen contact.” At her puzzled frown he added, “To find out where we can get false IDs. Unfortunately the guy he suggested lives in Jalic city, which is over three hundred kilometers away.”

“So how are we going to get there?”

“No problem, we’ll hire a car.”

He asked the taxi driver to take them to the nearest car hire centre. Karen almost clapped her hands in glee. A long journey through this fascinating world in their own hire car.

It turned out to be quite a small car, but that had the compensation that she could legitimately snuggle quite close to Larry, as she leaned back to enjoy the trip. She was feeling very relaxed until Larry punched something on the console and then took his hands off the steering wheel and leaned back as well.

She looked at him in alarm. “Hey, who is driving this thing?”

He looked amused. “The computer, of course. Think of it as an auto-pilot. It can find Jalic more easily than I can.”

The ride was smooth and she was just beginning to relax again when they shot across a junction just a few meters before a car crossed behind them.

“Oh shit, did you see that? Are you sure this computer knows how to drive?”

This time Larry laughed out loud. “Don’t worry, the computers talk to one another. Wait till we get to a busy intersection. You’ll see, the computers sequence the flow closer than that.”

“I suppose that is why I’ve not seen any traffic lights. I hope your computers are a bit more reliable than my laptop. It would give computer crashes a whole new meaning.”

She watched the traffic suspiciously for the next few junctions, but the car did seem to know what it was doing. She looked out at the scenery instead. Most of the time she could almost imagine she was back at home, then she would see something strange, like an impossibly thin tower supporting a watering system.

She turned back to Larry. “This is great. You can’t imagine how frustrated I felt on Zilon. We were so busy and under threat that I had very little opportunity to take in the surroundings.”

“You deserve it after all you’ve been through. You can sit back and be the first Earth woman who’s ever seen all this.”

“I suppose I am.” She looked out of the window again, at a row of large houses set well back from the road. “It is so unbelievable that no one at home has the faintest idea it exists.”

****

Larry enjoyed Karen’s company and her interest. She was easy to talk to when she was not being defensive. The time passed quickly and he was sorry when they reached their destination. Larry took back control of the car and found a parking spot close to where the man recommended by Valsik lived.

He led the way into a run-down apartment block, with faded, flaking paintwork and a door that did not quite close properly. The contact was Bartroni, a small, wizened man with bright, intelligent eyes. They found him in a small, untidy apartment, crowded with furniture and the litter of every day living. It comprised a large main room that was partially divided by a curtain. Behind the curtain he glimpsed a bed and general living area, but they were shown into the work area, cluttered with two workbenches covered in all types of equipment. Cupboards filled up the remaining space, one or two with doors that were half-open, wedged against the overflowing contents.

“Valsik told me you were coming,” said Bartroni. “What is it you need? Something to do with fake IDs wasn’t it?”

Larry nodded. “I need my true ID deactivated for the moment, and I need a new temporary ID, just something that will stand up to ordinary inspections. For my friend I need a permanent new ID, a fully authenticated one.”

“And do you want her old ID removed?”

Larry cast a quick glance at Karen. “That won’t be necessary. She’s had an accident with it and it’s destroyed already. It doesn’t need operating on.”

Bartroni’s eyebrows raised and he seemed about to make a comment, but changed his mind. “Fully authentic IDs are very expensive,” he murmured. “I can do your deactivation and temporary ID for fifteen hundred credits, but the full ID will cost you ten thousand.”

“Bullshit. I’ll give you five thousand.”

“Seven thousand for the full ID, plus the fifteen hundred for yours. That’s the best I can do.”

“Done,” said Larry. “Look, I’m really in a hurry. I’ll give you that now and the other three thousand if you can get them done this afternoon. Oh, and nobody gets killed for the other ID, do you understand? Valsik assured me you don’t go in for that sort of thing, but I’m warning you, if I ever find out differently, you’ll be sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I only work with genuinely free IDs. But how the hell can I get an authentic ID by this afternoon?”

“By using some of the extra three thousand, I suggest.”

“All right, all right. I’ll do my best. Let’s see the eight and a half.”

Larry handed over a card that Bartroni placed in a small reader. Larry put his thumb on the reader to authenticate the transaction.

“Good,” said Larry, after the transaction was complete. “Maybe you can help me with another small matter as well. I need a facial disguise, something that will fool the computer bone structure scanners. Can you suggest where I can get it that’s not too far away?”

Bartroni gave him a couple of addresses to try.

“Remember,” warned Larry as they left. “I want it ready this afternoon, and no one dies.”

Outside Karen was bursting with questions about what had transpired. “What did you mean about no one dying? That didn’t make any sense at all.”

“An authentic ID comes from a dead person. If someone dies in a poor family, they occasionally choose to sell the person’s ID. As you’ve seen, authentic IDs can be worth a lot of money. Poor families are sometimes willing to forego a proper funeral for the deceased, have the body quietly disappear and the identity recycled to someone else who can pay.

“Unfortunately, it’s mostly criminals wanting to disappear who buy such false IDs. I hate getting mixed up in this sordid business, but I’m afraid we have no choice at the moment. Anyway, because IDs are so valuable, some people will deliberately kill someone who won’t be missed to get the ID. That’s what I was warning Bartroni against.”

After that rather grim information she was silent for a while, then she had more questions. “Why did you tell him my old ID was destroyed?”

“I didn’t want him knowing why you needed a new ID. The less he knows the better.”

“What was that card you paid with? Is it like a credit card?”

“Not really. It’s more like electronic money. An automatic transfer from my card to his. My thumb on the reader gave a sample of skin for a DNA check to authenticate the deal.”

“How much is ten thousand credits? It sounds like an awful lot.”

Larry grinned. “Quite a bit, but I’m not hard up.”

And finally Karen asked the really awkward question. “Why have you paid so much for a full ID for me when you have only got a temporary one?”

Larry thought fast. “Well, mine is a temporary affair because if they get suspicious about me I’m sunk anyway. They’ll find out who I am either by reactivating my true ID, which I’m not prepared to lose altogether, or by scanning my face properly and seeing through the disguise I’m about to acquire. In which case I need you to be completely authentic, because as I told you earlier, I’ll need you to pass on the spare copy of the data pin that you have.”

The answer seemed to satisfy her.

Their next stop was the first address Larry had been given where a disguise might be obtained. It could have been the twin apartment block to the previous one, except that here the door did close properly. Larry had flesh-like material molded to his face to change its shape. When it was done, Karen looked at him intently.

“That is so realistic, I would never think it wasn’t real flesh. But it doesn’t make you look all that different.”

“I don’t have to look much different. It’s not for visual recognition, but when we get to Central there’ll be computer-operated cameras that measure everyone’s bone structure to identify criminals and fugitives like me. This molding should alter what the computer measures so that it doesn’t show a match with their stored profile of me.”

“Do you mean that these amazing computers you have got can’t see through a bit of face molding? I find that hard to believe.”

“No, you’re right. If a computer camera looked closely at me it would use some much more sophisticated AI and easily see through the disguise. But I shall be hiding my face as much as possible, and they’ll be routinely scanning the bone structure of thousands of passengers. As long as I don’t draw their attention it should be all right.

“Okay, our urgent tasks are done. We have to wait for the IDs to be ready, so at last we can relax for a bit. Ever since we met, you’ve been stuck in my oversized clothes. How about we buy something that fits and looks a bit more suitable for you.”

Karen’s eyes lit up and she broke into a broad grin. He risked putting his arm round her as he led her back to the car. She was bubbling with excitement and didn’t seem to mind. They drove back into the middle of the city to a large shopping area.

****

Karen was entranced to find herself, at last, in a place that she could relate to. She would have been delighted to spend a long time looking round all the shops, which from the brief glimpse she got seemed to be full of strange and fascinating items. But Larry took her straight to what she guessed must be the equivalent of a designer boutique. He handed her a generous number of credits and asked, “Are you okay to browse by yourself? I’ve got something else that I need to do.”

Oh, so he was going to leave her to shop by herself, was he? “You mean you are leaving me all alone on this alien planet?”

He looked taken aback. “I’m sorry, I thought – I mean, you’ve been coping so well, and if you have a problem you can always call me through your comm. earpiece.”

It was nice to see she’d got him flustered for once – he was usually so sure of himself. “We-ell, if you think I shall be all right, I guess it’s okay. I shall see you later then.”

“I’ll stay if you’d rather, but I warn you, I’m not much good at shopping.”

“No, Larry, I’m sure I shall be fine.” She struggled to keep a straight face.

“Bye then. Call me over my comm. earpiece when you’re finished. Remember to include a coat and shoes in your shopping.”

Actually, he was right. She’d enjoy shopping much more by herself, without him hovering around.

She spent a happy hour choosing from among the strange fashions. The store was full of surprises though. For a start it had only one of each style of garment. Apparently in this advanced world clothes were made to order, on the spot, and the clothes on show were simply samples for her to choose from. Best of all, they had a 3-D imaging system so she could see what she would look like in any of the outfits.

When Larry returned, he didn’t seem to recognize her at first. She had on a simple tight green tunic top that looked as if it had been painted on, a short, loose gray skirt, and stockings of a fine material that gave her legs a golden sheen. The skirt and stockings showed off her long legs and for the first time her figure was properly revealed, with her breasts clearly outlined by the stretchy tunic material that clung to them so closely.

She saw where his eyes were being irresistibly drawn and gave a little peal of laughter.

“I love your high tech underwear, it really does something for a girl’s figure. You should have seen the way the shop assistant looked at my stone-age bra. I had to resort to pretending not to understand her and speaking in English to avoid answering her questions about where I had got it. But I have no idea how this new bra stays on and gives such terrific support without any straps. It doesn’t even seem sticky.”

“It’s quite clever. The material is treated so that it makes a molecular bond to your skin. It will never come off until you use the release mechanism, which depolarizes the surface of the fabric. Then it simply falls off.”

Karen laughed. “I bet a man designed that.”

Larry grinned. “Probably. Anyway, it looks sensational on you. I was hoping to get through the spaceport at Central inconspicuously, but looking like that we’ll be the centre of every man’s attention. Still, at least they’ll be looking at you, not me.”

“You like it then?” She smiled. It was good to know that she could turn him on a little, even if it could never come to anything. It had not been obvious when she bought the top how provocative the skin-tight fabric would make her look, but she was pleased if it got Larry’s attention.

“Yes, you look great,” he said.

He started to stretch out to her and she thought he was going to hug her, but then he stopped and said, “Right, now we have some fresh clothes for you, we need to buy luggage because we have to look like tourists for the next part of the journey. Then there’ll be time to have some real food for a change. I’m going to take you to the best restaurant in the city to make up for the snacks we’ve been living on these last few days.”

“That sounds good.” Maybe she’d been too hasty in being annoyed at being left alone, if that was what he had been planning.

In the restaurant, Larry suggested dishes that were unlike anything she had experienced on Earth. The starter was an arrangement of small pieces of what Larry assured her were types of fish, though they didn’t taste even slightly fishy. It was served on a bed of salad leaves that were sharp and extremely tasty, even without any sign of dressing.

The main course was a type of dinosaur, no less. “How can they possibly get dinosaur meat?” Karen asked. “Have they managed to resurrect them from stored DNA like in the Jurassic Park film?”

Larry laughed. “I’ve never heard of Jurassic Park, but that sounds very complicated. It’s much more straightforward than that. Remember that there are thousands of planets around at every possible stage of development. Well, there are a few planets where dinosaur-like creatures still live, and they make a good source of food for anyone crazy enough to harvest them. I wouldn’t fancy it, but it takes all sorts, as they say.”

“I still can’t get used to the idea that you can visit so many different planets. It’s like going back in time. I suppose that is what you must feel too, when you go on your explorations.”

Larry nodded.

Karen took a bite of dinosaur, half expecting it to be tough.

“It’s delicious!” Her voice reflected her surprise. She took another bit, dipping it in the sauce that was both sweet and sharp at the same time. It was garnished with a variety of vegetables, none of which were like anything she’d had before. Strangely though, they had nothing in place of potatoes or rice.

They ended the meal with a huge plate of fluffy desert that melted away in the mouth. It reminded her more of cotton candy than anything else, but was much richer and less sugary.

When she had finished, Karen sat back in satisfaction. “Mm, that was lovely. Thank you so much, Larry.”

“It’s the least I could do after what you’ve had to put up with.”

As Larry spoke, he stretched out his hand toward where hers rested on the table, as if to take it. Instinctively she snatched her hand away, but Larry simply picked up his napkin to wipe his lips.

What’s the matter with me – I’m such a stupid idiot. She would have enjoyed him taking her hand, even if he was only being sympathetic. Why did she have this ridiculous fear that she would give her feelings away?

****

Larry just managed to cover his embarrassment at her reaction by making it look as if he was reaching for his napkin. Once again he’d misread her feelings? One minute he thought she was really enjoying his company, then she made it clear she was not interested. Does she still blame me for taking advantage of her vulnerability that night on Zilon? Maybe he should just ask her, but he didn’t want to risk a confrontation right now, so instead he concentrated on making the meal as memorable as possible.

They finished with a type of liqueur. It gave an incredible warm glow and sense of well being, almost euphoria, and afterward a feeling of total relaxation. It took away the awkwardness that he had been feeling a few minutes earlier.

He drained the last of the amber liquid and leaned back in satisfaction. “This is banned on a number of planets, because it’s rather addictive if you drink it too often, but like I said, Drazen is pretty liberal.”

Karen gave him a warm smile. “I can believe that. I feel wonderful, as if the horrors of the past days never happened.”

They sat for a while enjoying the sensation, until Larry reluctantly said, “Well I guess it’s time to pick up our IDs.”

“I suppose so. But it was so nice to be able to relax, now that hopefully all our troubles are over.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, and yes, with any luck we’re in the clear.”

They made their way out of the restaurant and back to the car, for the short trip back to Bartroni’s part of town.

When they arrived at Bartroni’s apartment, he looked surprised to see them.

“You’re early,” he said.

“I told you we were in a hurry. We agreed you’d have the IDs ready this afternoon, and it’s afternoon now.”

“Only just,” he grumbled.

“Well, are they ready or not?”

Bartroni nodded. “Yes, as it happens I was able to get the genuine ID straight away.”

Larry paid him the promised bonus. Bartroni applied a small machine to the little finger of Larry’s left hand, and adjusted it until he was satisfied.

“Right, that has temporarily disabled your own ID,” he said.

Next he prepared a small syringe.

“This is the temporary ID for you,” he said to Larry. “It’s in the name of Lazar Rinato. He’s a recluse who doesn’t show up on the system very often. Your duplicate use of the identity shouldn’t flag up any alarms.”

He injected the new ID into the same finger, and offered Larry a reader to demonstrate that the ID was registering. Next he carefully opened a package to reveal a small vial and prepared a fresh syringe.

“You’ll need to come and see me again when you want your own ID restored,” he said. “Now for the lady’s ID, the authentic one. The name on the ID is Maret Lidison. I got a fairly good match, the hair color is wrong but no one knows whether a women’s hair is the right color anyway. And blue was the nearest I could get for her eyes.”

Bartroni took Karen’s left hand and again injected her little finger with the ID. He used the reader a second time to verify the new ID, which Larry examined closely. Satisfied, he shook Bartroni’s hand. “Thank you for your help, I’ll be back when I need my ID reversed.”

Karen followed Larry outside, examining her little finger with evident fascination. As they drove away he said, “We’re finished on Drazen now. Next stop is the spaceport. While you were shopping, I worked out our flights to Central. It will take three flights, with a sleepover after the second. I could have done it in two flights, but this way we don’t land on a full Union planet until we get to Central. And we get there at a convenient time of day. Once we are off Drazen, with our new identities, I think we should be safe even from the level of effort that the Ziloni are making.”

“Oh, so that is what you were doing while I was shopping. That sounds good to me. I can’t wait to feel safe again.”

Ten minutes later, Larry checked his rear viewscreen for the third time and realized she had spoken too soon. “Shit, we’ve got company.”