Page 12 of Enslak

Instead, I just felt determined.

The Prime's face flashed through my mind, the way she'd looked at me in her chambers, the weight of her hope and grief and desperate love for her son pressing down on every word, the way she'd thanked me as if I'd already succeeded, as if her faith in me were absolute.

I couldn't fail her.

Wouldn't.

A sound cut through my thoughts, a high-pitched whine that grew steadily louder. I tensed, hand tightening on my weapon, eyes scanning the landscape.

There.

Coming from the direction of the city. A vehicle of some kind, moving fast across the scrubland.

The speeder took shape as it closed the distance. It looked like someone had taken a motorcycle and stripped off the wheels, leaving just a sleek body hovering about two feet off the ground. The seat was wide enough for two, and the whole thing moved with a fluid grace that seemed impossible for something mechanical.

It slowed as it approached, then stopped about twenty yards away.

The driver dismounted, and I got my first look at Binwee Jazarazant.

She was tiny, maybe three feet tall if that, with brilliant blue skin, not the pale blue of a clear sky but deep and vibrant like tropical water. Her hair was pure white, cut short and practical. She wore dark robes that seemed designed for movement, and even from this distance I could see the way she carried herself. Confident. Competent. Dangerous despite her size.

A Framaddi. One of Asad Intelligence's best operatives.

She looked like a Smurf.

Her gaze darted around with quick, efficient movements. Then she made a subtle hand signal, the one we'd agreed on during the briefing.

Yes, I'd taught her to flip the bird, and I couldn't help the amused huff as her small blue fingers performed it perfectly.

I stood up, my legs protesting after the long crouch, and moved out of my hiding spot.

Binwee's eyes, large, dark blue, and impossibly expressive, tracked my movement. She nodded once, a gesture that seemed universal across species.

"Detective Nguyen." Her voice was surprisingly deep for someone so small, rendered perfectly by the translator in my ear. "You're on time. Good."

"Call me Niki," I said, hearing the words come out in modulated Ulkommenian.

It still felt wrong, hearing that alien voice instead of my own.

Binwee's expression didn't change, but I caught what looked like approval in her eyes. "The cuddwisg is working well. You look like an Ulkommenian female." She gestured to the speeder. "We should move. Standing in the open is inadvisable. If we're stopped, we claim to be foraging herbs for the kitchens."

I approached the vehicle, trying not to stare. Binwee was so small, so alien, and yet something about her reminded me of the best cops I'd worked with, that sense of absolute competence, of someone who knew exactly what they were doing and didn't waste time on bullshit.

"Have you ridden a speeder before?" she asked.

"No. We have motorcycles on Earth, but nothing like this."

"Sit beside me. Hold the grips on either side of the seat. Don't lean too far in any direction or you'll throw off our balance." She climbed onto the speeder with practiced ease, settling into the front position.

I clambered onto the seat, feeling awkward and oversized compared to Binwee's compact form. The seat was wider than I'd expected, designed to accommodate different species, and the grips she'd mentioned fell right where my hands naturally rested.

"Ready?" Binwee asked.

"Ready."

The speeder lifted smoothly, rising another foot off the ground, and then we were moving. Not fast at first, just a steady glide across the scrubland. The sensation was bizarre, like riding a motorcycle without the rumble of an engine or the feel of wheels on pavement. Just smooth, silent movement.

After a few minutes, Binwee slowed and brought us to a stop in a small depression between two rocky outcroppings. We were hidden from casual view but had clear sightlines in multiple directions.