INTERLUDE (IV)

  A Fair & Equal Trade

  Asha’s heart raced. In fact it hadn’t stopped racing since the big reveal five minutes ago.

  A Duchess, a Princess, and an Empress dock at a way station.

  It’s like the beginning of a crass Garezzi Tlaylaxian joke. And not a particularly funny one at that.

  Honestly, she couldn’t entirely be sure she wasn’t having a panic attack. It was to the point that even her wrist device was beginning to worry. Warning messages flashing bright red all across its surface. Then the blinking graphs and statistics disappeared, only to be replaced with the very thing she’d been dreading.

  Keshra Rae’Shafeer’s face glared up at her, haughty, scornful, and accusing as always. The sight nearly had Asha leaping out of her scales, before she remembered that this was merely the caller id screen. She couldn’t actually see her, not yet. Asha took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves, began the upload of the information package she’d just finished, and, finally, picked up the dreaded call.

  The screen lit up with a video call, a picture of her own somewhat disheveled looking appearance shrinking down to nestle itself in the top right corner. Unlike the dark room lit only by holo-screens, in which she currently resided, Keshra’s tropical locale was anything but dreary. She reclined on a comfortable looking hammock. Gently rocking side to side with an iced drink in her hand—the crash of waves coming from somewhere in the background. Without even a how do you do, the tyrannical female immediately snapped out a demand.

  “You’ve found something. Give it here. I’d like to know what has my Vacoor so worked up. Oh. But if you were merely fooling around on company time, I don’t need the details, alright? Just tell me now and we’ll decide your punishment later.”

  Gritting her teeth, Asha put on a strained smile.

  “No, my Dokan! I come to you bearing the most fortunate of news! Truly, the heaven shine bright upon you, one of its greatest natural treasures. I bring word of a personage of the highest esteem! Not so high as yourself, of course, but-!”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Oh, will you just spit it out already!? I don’t have all day to suffer your foolishness.”

  “A Duchess, my Dokan! A Duchess inside the tutorial!”

  Immediately, Keshra’s distracted countenance sharpened. She made as if to snap to attention, but it proved difficult cocooned as she was inside her hammock. It was an effort not to laugh at the comical sight.

  “Keep your voice down!” Keshra hissed, bringing her device so close, Asha could clearly see inside her nostrils. “Who else knows of this?!”

  “No one, my Dokan. You are the first person I’ve told. There should be an information package on its way even as we speak-”

  “No!” Keshra roared, before bringing her tone back down to a whisper. “Belay that. Information packages can be intercepted. And while the chances are negligible one such as you is being monitored, the same cannot be said for myself. No… no… you will hand the information to me personally. Yes. That is what we’ll do. Until that time, stay right where you are, and do not speak to anyone! Am I understood?”

  “Y-yes, my Dokan! I will do as you say!”

  “Good.”

  “Uh! Um, my Dokan! Excuse the interruption, but about my commission-!”

  The call cut off. Her arm band once more growing dull, until her face was reflected in the shiny black surface.

  She smirked.

  Well, that aught to buy her some time.

  Canceling the upload of the information package, she was struck by just how well that had gone. Of course just a couple minutes worth of digging would reveal her ruse for what it was, that there hadn’t been one high noble inside that tutorial, but several.

  It was unfortunate that she’d felt the need to give one of them up, and yet she’d needed someway to cover up her trail—to explain away the sharp uptick in her heart rate and adrenaline. She’d even spliced together footage of the Duchess in the clearing, in a way that implied she was the only high noble present. If only she’d known “fooling around” was serve as a good enough conceit.

  Although, in actuality, she doubted it would’ve held up to scrutiny for long. Just a quick peek at her wrist device would’ve swiftly confirmed that arousal was the furthest thing from her mind at the time.

  Oh well. There was nothing for it now.

  After all, she’d rather two out of three than none at all, and it wasn’t as if she hadn’t save the best for herself. Now, all she needed to do was compile a proposal on each, and get the information to someone she trusted not to screw her over.

  Easier said than done…

  Quite frankly, she was a little out of her depth. Well, more than a little., if she was being honest. All of this was so high above her pay grade, she honestly didn’t know enough to even know what toexpect. There weren’t just billions on the line here, but quadrillions upon quintillions worth of standardized credits in endorsement deals and brand ambassadorships.

  It was the kind of money you killed for.

  She felt a chill run down her spine, even as she went about compiling those proposals.

  Yes, she’d need to find someone truly trustworthy indeed, for them to resist the temptation to simply slit her throat on the spot.