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And he didn’t like the sense of obligation that accepting their gifts conferred on him.
Besides, who was he if he wasn’t a Maltaffian guard? All Maltaffian men completed the required training, but Gage had taken the bonds, pledging to put his clients before himself for life.
Now, he felt unmoored and restless.
The droid in front of him beeped and let out a low whistle.
The clear glass window in front of him darkened momentarily to show him his reflection.
The usual Maltaffian’s guard’s garb was straightforward and down to business. It didn’t pretend to be anything but exactly what it was.
But the man staring back at him in the glass was swathed in the most luxurious fabric, tailored perfectly to his wide shoulders. He appeared to be sophisticated and wealthy, confident and self-assured.
A warm snout at his crotch reminded him who he really was.
“Athena,” he reprimanded his partner.
Normally, the Firmament Shepherd was one hundred percent professional, one hundred percent of the time. But since their retirement, she had been a little irritable.
Half the time, he encouraged her to be playful and enjoy herself. The other half, he just tried not to grind his teeth as he watched her pace and whine at the closet door, asking for her officer’s vest.
And there was no way to tell her she would never wear it again.
He’d had to bite his tongue when the Bly-Xarxyns told him they were bringing in a fresh Maltaffian guard with a canine partner to take his place.
He might feel a little, or even a lot, uncomfortable watching the new guard work. But Athena would be heartbroken that another officer was walking her charges to the hovercar and keeping watch over their games in the gardens.
Athena snuffled at the suit again, three inward sniffs and one huff out, as if to clear her nose of the unpleasant new smell.
“It’s just for a week,” he told her. “It won’t be that bad.”
He wasn’t entirely sure which one of them he was trying to convince.
The door hissed as the seal unlocked, and Gage walked down the ramp onto a sandy beach.
Athena moved briskly to his side, all concerns about his wardrobe forgotten. Officer’s vest or no, she had not forgotten her duties. They were entering a new place, and precautions had to be taken.
To the north of the craft, the waters of a cerulean blue ocean frothed and waved. East and west, the pale gold sand of the beach stretched in both directions as far as the eye could see.
Annoyingly, the land on the other side of the craft was completely blocked by the craft itself, which could have easily turned to block the ocean view instead, allowing Gage to see the inhabited part of the Center.
For all he knew, there could be a thousand Armada soldiers lined up on the other side of the craft. Or it could be nothing but unoccupied miles of beach and inland. But Gage could prepare for neither, since he couldn’t fracking see.
“They probably designed it to impress people with the ocean view,” he told Athena, rolling his eyes. “Not a single thought for security. Literally anything could be waiting for us on the other side of this vessel.”
Athena huffed out a backward sniff in agreement. Though she couldn’t understand his words, she knew they were not supposed to expose themselves unnecessarily in a new place.
At least for Gage, there was no client to protect. But Athena didn’t really know she was supposed to be off duty.
“Together,” he told her firmly when he saw her try to slink past him and get the first look at what they were up against.
She straightened and waited for him, ears pricked up.
They stuck to the side of the craft and scanned the beach carefully, bit by bit, as they came around the corner to find that the craft had been blocking two things.
Directly behind it was a tiki bar that looked like something out of the musical holo-films. It appeared to be well-stocked with dozens of colorful bottles and an array of glassware hanging on hooks from the ceiling. But there was no attendant in sight, and no one sat at the rattan bar.
To the right of the tiki bar was a path of flat stones leading between the coconut trees and away from the water.
