Page 21 of Alien in the Depths
Just mentioning the name made Zaraq tense up, but looking around the ship, he saw the women break out in grins.
“We thought about that,” Carmen said, stepping forward. “Lucky for you, we have the whole of the royal wardrobe at our disposal.”
Sofia and Elena let out a giggle at this while Arccoo looked a little uncomfortable.
“What does that mean?” Zaraq asked. Instinctively, he took a step back, but Carmen had already hurried to the back of the ship and collected a large suitcase, which she now opened with a flourish on the ship’s cold metal floor.
Zaraq raised one sleek black eyebrow as he peered into the suitcase. It contained a jumble of clothes, wigs, makeup, suits, and assorted accessories that Zaraq guessed were intended for him.
“You can wear a disguise!” Sofia announced proudly. “At least to get you somewhere safe so we can start digging into this whole deal.”
Zaraq had to smile. Though he didn’t think the plan would work, he appreciated the thought. And, if he was honest, he didn’t have any better ideas. As a show of goodwill, he kneeled down, pulling out a ridiculous bright orange wig, a tunic made of fine silk, and a pair of Thryal army boots.
None of this will work, he thought. But then, at the bottom, he glimpsed the telltale dome of a breathing helmet and grinned. He grasped the tube that protruded from it, yanking the whole apparatus from the tangle of other clothes.
“Now this…” he muttered to himself, digging through the suitcase to find the rest of his outfit. To his relief, he found a bright blue skin-tight suit and a matching pair of gloves. Not his usual attire, but that was the idea.
“You’re going as a spaceman?” Sofia asked. When he stood up, he saw the teasing smirk on her face.
“He’s going as a Gorian,” Arccoo interjected before Zaraq could answer. “A methane-breather.”
Zaraq grinned and nodded, holding out the mask and other clothes to inspect as he spoke. “The one good thing about Rikuus is that it’s a magnet for the galaxy’s shady types. That means shady types from all over. I’ll be better disguised as a Gorian than a Thryal wearing a wig.”
He glanced back down at the suitcase, and Carmen laughed.
“I guess it would have been a good idea to consult an actual alien about these disguises,” she admitted a little sheepishly.
Zaraq shook his head. “You nailed it with this,” he told her, holding up the suit. “There’s just one more thing.”
Zaraq stepped out into the dim gray light of Rikuus, the sun further dulled through the dome of his helmet. Despite the clothes, the mask, and the thick layer of purple makeup that Carmen had gleefully applied, his heart raced to be back on the streets that he’d fled from.
“I hoped I’d never have to see this place again,” he told Sofia, leaning in close.
His voice came out tinny through the helmet’s speaker unit, and he hoped he wasn’t speaking too loudly. The last thing he needed was the wrong person to overhear him.
“Better to see it again like this than in handcuffs or a bodybag,” Sofia whispered back, her mouth close to the microphone that relayed the world’s sounds directly into Zaraq’s ear.
He couldn’t argue with that. Ahead of them, Arccoo, Carmen, and Elena were leading the way to their hotel. It wasn’t the Constellation Casino and Luxury Hotel, but it was close enough that Zaraq began to sweat.
The grimy streets of Rikuus were just as he remembered, rife with the kinds of people he’d rather avoid.The kind of people I used to be, came the sudden thought.
Though he knew they were on one of the planet’s safer streets, he couldn’t ignore that just out of sight, in the dark alleyways that led off left and right, all manner of crime was taking place. Petty theft, drug deals, extortion, kidnapping. Not to mention the kinds of things he used to do—beatings, or worse, to those who didn’t play the game.
But then a squat yellow building caught his attention. Despite the obvious danger, his steps slowed of their own accord until he finally stopped in front of it. Beside him, Sofia stopped, too.
“What is it?” she asked, following his gaze.
“That’s the office where my dad used to work,” he said, his voice coming out quieter than he meant it. “I used to go in there with him sometimes, and he’d let me play under his desk while he went through old archives. He had this huge stack of document boxes, and I’d make a cave with them and pretend I was a space explorer.”
The memories came rushing back, warm and comforting, even if they were tinged with sorrow.
Beside him, Sofia took a step closer, sliding her hand around his gloved fingers.
As he peered at the building, sharing what little of his past wasn’t completely tainted by horror, he caught sight of a Rikuan. The man was leaning languidly against the office wall in dirty jeans and a ripped shirt, smoking a cigarette. Zaraq knew if he wasn’t entombed in his gas mask, he’d catch a whiff of shaka, the streetdrug that had its grip on most of Rikuus’s underworld. The shaky look in the man’s orange eyes confirmed the suspicion.
For a second, those eyes caught Zaraq’s gaze, and a sneer arrived on the Rikuan’s face. Before it could turn into an unseemly interaction, Zaraq turned away, hurrying ahead and pulling Sofia with him. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her, wishing they hadn’t come here. This was no place to bring someone he cared for.
Sofia turned to him with a smile that showed she was oblivious to Zaraq’s fear.