He laughed in Jess’ face. Especially disconcerting since he laughed in her face. Stop that, she thought. The words bounced around trying gain purchase against his mirth which died as abruptly as it had begun. I don’t joke like that. They’ll think I’m insane. Was she?

A clip hit me from the direction of Vincent’s desk. My reprimand was halted by his wide eyes and quill twitching left. Turning I gasped. Gears whizzing imperceptibly in the factory’s dim Ottoline chugged into the room. I’d secured him. How’d the mechkanic gotten loose?

Nothing like infiltrating the Kedoldan Empire. The freighters offering discreet passage weren’t anyone’s idea of luxury. Months creeping through space. Bad rations. Water that had been recycled a hundred past recommendation. Not to mention the smells from alien bodies in close confinement.

I snapped my watch closed, slipping it into my pocket. The baggage cart clicked by, its mechanics as perturbed by the late train as I.

I ignored the circling warriors crossing the chamber’s threshold. I clutched the beacon as the door clicked locked. “I would bargain with Geltrude.”

Arm twisted, Tyrese was forced into the chamber. The grip vanished, and the door slammed shut. He turned to bang on it but lights blazed to life. He retreated back.