-The Need for Speed-
The sith escorted me back to the lift and I told him I would contact him when all the plans had been gelled into some sort of coherence. When I arrived back at Linny's I called everyone into the living room to have a meeting. Time was our enemy now and we had to act quickly.
Linny was the first to speak. "Captain Tarn is already refueling and supplying the ship. We will need one of the larger freighters that can hold one or two shuttles in the cargo bay since smaller vessels may be needed to land on the asteroid. I assume your sith can get to the hangar unseen?"
"I would say so, he has probably walked into the Senate unseen, he does have a certain knack. We are going to need much the same equipment we took to Tritan's place and then some, this asteroid is going to make Tritan's compound look like a toy shop. Do we have anyone who can handle explosives?"
"Yes, me," said Fenel as he walked into the room. "The Cathar will be in the tank for at least another two days, maybe more. We can put the droids into security mode and we do have one that has medtech programming. We can also put the apartment on lockdown although now that Del'Moor has what he wants I doubt he will come after the cat, there would be no point."
"Fenel, as much as it is appreciated, I doubt you are in any shape to take on another mission at this time."
Fenel pulled himself up to his full height, wincing slightly. "Mr. Deklinn, how many battlefields have you been on? How many wounds have you sustained in combat and still had to soldier on through? No disrespect sir, but who are you to question my stamina or resolve?
"Mistress Linny is my charge, a promise I made to her father, neither you nor the fires of hell will keep me from my duty."
"Well I guess that's settled then. Question is, when do we leave? I would prefer sooner rather than later."
"Hey, what about us?" asked Minx.
"I didn't want to drag you into anything else, Minxy."
"There is something there the Hutts want pretty damned badly and I want to know what it is. Besides, think of the perks I would get if I could bring whatever it is back to them."
I had to chuckle. "Always the pragmatist. They have Isotope 5, Minx. I don't know how much, but if you go and we find it, it's yours. Hell, sell it back to the Hutts for all I care, get enough credits to retire, we will all probably deserve a nice long vacation after this is all over."
"I don't think we can leave until tomorrow night, Markus. Fenel and I need time to restock so tell your sith friend tomorrow at 9, it will be dark then and he should be able to sneak into the Felner company hangar unseen. I'm sorry, it's the best I can do. Some of the things we get are not exactly legal and contacts have to be made," offered Nadel.
"Tell the sith, second level, bay 294," said Linny.
I looked in her direction and noticed that she had become very pale. A drop of blood appeared below one of her nostrils and she reached up and wiped it away with her finger.
"Linny, what is it?" I asked.
"Just one of my headaches, I'll be fine, I just need to lie down for a little while."
I stood and scooped her up into my arms and carried her to the bedroom, gently laying her down and adding another pillow under her head. I raised her hand to my lips and held it there, "and now you see why I have to go."
"Yes, dear, I know. Now, please, just let me sleep and make sure all the lights are turned out, I need it dark in here."
I pulled a blanket out of the linen closet and laid in across her body, then turned out all the lights and left the room. Looks like I would be sleeping on the couch tonight.
I turned to Nadel. "How long has this been going on?"
"She told you about the headaches, Mr. Deklinn. They used to come every few months, now they are every few weeks and they are getting worse."
"Then we'd better get on with the prep, we have an asteroid to visit."
Minx and Tongo left to get whatever they needed, Fenel and Nadel did the same. I called to check in on Yonlu, who seemed more at peace now and actually just called me Markus, it was an improvement. Then I called Tyrus to let him know the departure time and place. He wasn't happy about the delay, but he really had no choice, sometimes it's good to hold all the cards.
A light supper and a couple of whiskeys later I stretched out on the couch to try and get some shut eye. I don't remember falling asleep but sometime during the night I was awakened by soft lips on mine and the taste of honey.
"I woke up and you weren't there," whispered Linny.
"I didn't want to disturb you."
"Not having you there disturbed me more. Come to bed, I could use a little spooning right now and who knows, it might be a novel experience to just lay together for a night without sex."
"I dunno, Linny, spooning leads to forking and who knows what else."
That exquisite laugh escaped her lips as she took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Let's just start with the spoon, shall we? You really are the most impossible man."
"Actually, I'm damned easy and I'm pretty proficient with my utensils."
