Ar'Tok - Alana Khan Page 0,16

trilingual. Mom taught me those expressions,” I say, trying not to sound defensive.

They both laugh. Anya reaches across the table and affectionately grabs my hand. “Your mom was abducted what, twenty years ago?” she asks.

“Twenty-two.”

“Those are slang expressions. Some words stand the test of time, others come and go. Slang has a habit of popping up overnight and disappearing just as quickly. You’re using twenty-year-old slang. I love it,” she says, a wide smile stretching her cheeks.

She stands and loudly announces to the whole room. “I officially declare this Earth-slang month. The older the better. Totally acceptable words are: sweet, mega . . .”

“Peace out,” one of the other women says.

“Off the chain.”

“Far out.”

I double-check, these women are not laughing at me, they’re bringing me into their fold. I feel wayy accepted.

“Wayy,” one of them says. Perfect timing.

“You go, girl.”

“As if!”

Every woman in the room has to add a few words to our new lexicon. Everyone is smiling. I feel welcomed.

I stand and say, “This is totally off the chain. Being with so many happy people makes me feel like I’ve taken a chill pill. You all are officially my homies.”

“I’ll send out a comm to everyone,” Anya announces, “it will be a copious list of all the best Earth slang of the last five decades.”

Wow. I never thought I could feel so chillaxed my first full day on the Fool’s Errand.

I look over at Ar’Tok, who doesn’t look chillaxed. In fact, his face is tight. I make a vow right here and now that I’m going to find a way to give this to him. Before I return to the Misfit, I’m going to help him feel accepted here among these nice folks.

Chapter Four

Star

On our way back to our rooms after breakfast, I practically skip in happiness down the metal-lined hallways.

“I think I’m going to have friends! For the first time! This is so exciting!” I never even dreamed of having friends before. All the females were joking with me. Cool beans!

And then there’s Ar’Tok—he feels like more than a friend. Last night felt comforting, and emotional, and sexy. I wish I had more of an understanding of how he feels about me. At least I know his cirr like me.

He’s about to enter his cabin when I say, “It sounded like most of the males were going to the ludus, er . . . gymnasium, to work out. You don’t exercise with them?”

“I work out alone.”

That was cryptic. I don’t have time to think about his mood, though, I have to respond to Ergonn, aka E. We’ve done a lot of business over the years. None of the people who employ me ever saw dad or heard his voice, nor have they seen or heard me. We do it all via text-comms.

I’ve got a job for you, he says when we’re connected.

What does it entail?

A vast workaround to keep the Feds away from our operation on a certain planet.

That’s my specialty. Send the specs via our usual channel. I’ll need to know the deadline if there is one.

One problem. You’ll need to be on-planet for the install.

I don’t perform work off-site. You know that.

Everyone has a price. You must come to the planet. I’ve been told you’ll have to be here for Zero-day.

Until this moment, no price could lure this little human female from the safety of her satellite. But I’m not on that satellite. And now I’m friends with over a dozen trained gladiators. I can go to his planet if I have an armed contingent with me.

What planet? I ask.

Paragon.

Paragon. Aka the Pleasure Planet. It’s not exactly a den of iniquity. There are dozens of skeezier planets in the galaxy. But anything a person could want—anything—is for sale there. Ergonn wants me to go there to install a firewall that can’t be detected by the Feds? That will be near impossible. Sounds like my kind of job.

How much? I ask.

One million.

Sweet. That’s a lot of credits! What’s doubly exciting is if he offered a million, he’ll probably be willing to pay two. I take a deep breath and plan my strategy. How do I jack up the price?

No way. I reply, and terminate the comm.

A moment later, I hurry next door without my wrist-comm. If I have it on me, I’ll be tempted to answer when E calls back. He already pinged me twice. I need to let him cool his jets.

I’m so excited I keep knocking until Ar’Tok answers his door—sweating and naked.

“You’ve been working