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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Engletroll on 2026-04-18 11:06:14+00:00.
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The ship hummed quietly as it neared the Kaduna system. It was time to deal with the count once and for all.
“Are you sure about this contact? It’s a Gyrran after all.” She said, looking at the screen and the message Peter had sent.
“Yes, Kishan and Harrun are safe bets; they are Hadynat. They don’t believe in the noble system, and their culture has been waging a civil war against the Gyta noble houses for hundreds of years. It's actually more of a religious war. They almost got wiped out during the war by the Carens.” He replied as he checked the flight path. “I almost recruited them on the ship, but I don’t think they would survive long in human space, especially with the gang war going on.”
“Look at you, working with friendly Gyrrans. Next, you will tell me there are friendly Carens.” She said, and Peter shrugged.
“There might have been, but they killed off all who were not true believers a long time ago, before the Nalos war. If any survived, then they are keeping a very low profile.”
“So, what will these two help us with?”
“Well, access mostly. The Hadynat has several spaceports on its continent of Kadune, and we then use shuttles or trains to reach the Gyta section of Kadune. We can use MudSkin masks to travel incognito.”
“The Halloween masks? Come on, they will see through them.”
“No, they won't. Very few species have any use for those masks, and they don’t celebrate Halloween or Christmas, so they haven’t been exposed to it.”
“Come on, they have to know about masks and such. I had several Nalos at my last Halloween party, and they all dressed up.”
“Yeah, when the Gyrran does not, masks are for theater and art. Not for sneaking into another country.” Peter said.
“Wait, they don’t even have a border checkpoint on the planet. This might actually work. Please tell me you both have the expensive ones.”
“Top quality, not risking anything with these. I have used it a few times before.”
“When?”
“Well, if you're going to smuggle goods, then you don’t always want your face spread all over the place,” Peter said with a grin.
“Well, let's hope this works.” As Peter guided the Inanna down to Kaduna prima, away from the capital city, they went further north, near the North Pole, towards a rocky plateau, and landed at a large city. It was half the size of the capital city, probably only a million or two living there. And the whole city seemed to be located on the surface.
“Surface dwellers? I thought that was only for outcasts and prisoners. Aren’t they afraid of the predators and the sun?” She asked, getting a little confused. She knew a lot about the Gyrran main culture. About the unifying war, where all other nations had to bow to the royals or face extinction. But the Gyrans built all their dwellings underground; the surface was for the lower class.
“Yeah, they actually enjoy the sun. They call the royals ‘vampires’, something they learned from us humans.” He took her hand and guided her through the ship toward the exit as Argor came out of his cabin. The Jobar, all-around guy, looked at them, leaning on the door while scratching his tummy, as one of his facial tenacles moved to scratch his neck
“When do we pick you up?”
Peter looked at him. In two weeks, if everything goes as planned, keep the channel open and take a few jobs in the system. We might as well pick up some easy credits.”
“As you say, boss.” He replied as he went back inside to get an hour more sleep.
“lazy bastard,” Peter muttered with a smile.
“I heard that!” Argor shouted. They looked at each other and chuckled as they went to find Fu-Fy and get some equipment for the mission. When they finally got out of the ship, they were greeted by a Gyrran who did not look like anything she expected. Peter smiled and went to give the rather large, no, he was not large, he was fat, Gyrran a hearty handshake.
“Kishan, my friend, where is your brother? Out chasing a woman again?”
Kishan laughed as the heavy, thick fur coat opened up, revealing why Kishan was fat. She was pregnant
“You know my brother, always trying to chase those girls. He won't be happy before he finds his wife.” She replied with a hearty laugh. Her batlike face lit up with a genuine smile.
“How many wives does he have?” Kiko asked, joining the conversation, and Kishan smiled.
“None now, but he has been married six times; they all divorced him within a year. And he drags them to court for alimony. They never learn.” She laughs. And Kiko looked at Peter, then back at the alien.
“Anyway, let's get you two out of here. You got everything?” She asked as two droids drove out a cargo container with what they had made ready. Kishan made a low, clicking sound, and some workers came over, loaded it into a shuttle, and then handed Peter a metal rod with some lights on it.
“The cabin is ready, and Harrun will drop by with the package tomorrow. Enjoy your evening.” Then she turned to Kiko and looked back at Peter. “You got good taste, even I can see that.”
Kiko couldn’t help but blush a little as Peter put his arm around her and looked at her.
“I know, I still don’t know what she sees in me.”
“She sees a good man, right?” Kishan said as she looked at her, and Kiko nodded,
“Yeah, but he is sometimes too stupid to realize it.”
“Men, right? Doesn’t matter what species they are, they are always dense when it comes to love.”
Kiko looked at Peter, then back at Kishan. “Yeah, you're right.”
“Well, you two enjoy the cabin, it's next to a ski resort and has a few tourists from different planets. You might even see a few humans. So, enjoy and let me know if there is anything else we can help with.” Then she walked away as Peter tilted his head as he looked at her. She was expecting him to say something stupid, but instead, he simply bent down and kissed her.
“Let's go, we have much to go over, and if we are lucky, we get a good long night's sleep.”
“You are not that lucky.” She replied with a grin.
.
.
The next morning, she walked out of the strange cabin, which looked like three tepees connected by a circular dome, all made of green wood and glass. Outside, there was a small table and two chairs with white woolen fur covers. She sat down content. She could not get enough of him, and she was surprised that he had managed to drag himself out of bed to make her breakfast. She put her feet up on the table and looked over the snow-clad mountains. The greenish sunrise was an amazing sight. It was one of the things people came to the planet to experience. Peter came out and joined her in the other chair.
“It’s beautiful.” She said, looking at him, and found him already looking at her, then looked away.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he asked.
“Stop making me feel like I’m 17 years old again. You're getting worse.” She said, grabbing her cup, then turned to him, pulling her feet up in the chair as she watched him, hiding her face behind the cup.
“17?” he chuckled. “I can’t help it. You're just … you’re the one who makes me feel alive again, I want to live again, damned be the war and everything. I will be okay as long as you're safe.” His voice was calm and serious, but still so full of his honesty.
“Stop saying stuff like that, or I will drag you back into bed. Remember, we are here to kill somebody.” She said, yet she didn’t want him to stop.
“Ahh, yeah. We need to go over the plan because we have to play our part soon. Are you up to it? I mean, I can barely pass as a low-class Gyrran, you're going to be a noble one.”
“I can do that easily. Unlike you, I actually worked undercover.” She replied.
“I’m looking forward to seeing that, you all dressed up, beating you slave when he misbehaves.”
“Yeah, how hard can I hit you? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“As hard as you have to. You can’t show sympathy, only value.”
An alarm went off, and Peter took out a pad, looked at it, then showed it to her. “Duchess Kimita Wuymsta has arrived. She logged in at cavern 17 with her slave. We have three days to observe her before she heads to the conclave.”
Kiko stood up, leaned over, and kissed him. “I'll start the watch. Then she went inside and looked at the screens they had set up on the walls. She had three days to study this woman well enough to pass for her. She would have to sleep when she slept, eat what she ate. She was just glad Peter's allies had bugged the whole cavern and the area. The woman would not be able to take a shit without her observing her.
She watched as the woman walked into the cave, stopped to sniff the air, then walked straight to the bedroom, sniffed the bed, and lay down. The slave worked silently in the room. Like he never left her side. Peter came and sat down next to her, as his job would be servant.
“He is more than a servant.” She said as he sat down.
“Why would you say that?”
“He is too comfortable around her, and he is armed. Knives in the back belt armband is a hidden weapon of sorts, I’m guessing some sort of stunner and a regular pistol under his leather coat.”
Peter switched one camera to energy reading and chuckled. “And here I thought I cou...
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