Empire's Legacy

Chapter 12: A Plan Emerges

There was silence on the bridge for a moment. Then Taz said,

"Do you have a plan, or were you planning on sailing through the quarantine line with a smile and a wave and no resistance?"

Grey shrugged. "I'll think of something."

Amy, who had been biting the tip of her thumb, lifted her eyes to Grey's face. "Where do you plan on taking Molly once you get her off Elderia? Are you planning on just turning a blind eye to the rest of the people who are dying? What if Molly is a carrier? Are you willing to risk infecting planets outside the quarantine?" In response to Grey's ugly look, she said, "Someone has to ask. I can help you, if you'll let me. But you have to trust me and I know that'll be hard because you've only known me a short time, but I can help."

Grey studied Amy's face. "What is it you suggest?" he asked at last.

She hesitated. "I have a contact on Idylla. He owes me some favors. It would be a safe place for Molly to stay once you get her off Elderia, assuming he agrees and assuming you can accomplish it, and he has the resources to sort out an expedition back out to the Waratah that's properly fitted out for biohazards. Discreetly," she added. "I don't think anyone wants to risk the Commission finding ground zero of the disease at the moment. He may also be able to help you get Molly back."

Grey crossed his arms. "No one just has that kind of contact."

Amy met his eyes. "I do. You can either trust me or you can leave it."

The struggle was clear on Grey's face. Finally he said, "What do you want in return?"

Her eyebrows lifted. "Nothing," she said. "Well, possibly I might ask you to give me a lift, but other than that I'm not really in the business of holding favors over people's heads." She saw his look and shrugged. "Cam's different. Anyway, if Cam wants something from you then that's his business and you'll have to sort it out with him, but since I'm the one asking he shouldn't bother you." She smiled suddenly. "With any luck he'll be so pleased to see me that he'll agree to help before he realizes what he's agreed to."

Kate swiveled her chair. "Should I lay in a course for Idylla's spaceport, then?"

Amy moved to the flight console and bent over Kate's shoulder. "Put in at C22," she said, and then with a barely imperceptible pause added, "It's Cam's personal docking port."

"Won't he mind us using it?" Kate's brow crinkled. "I mean, what if he's already got a ship in port?"

"Cam hates space, so it's not likely," Amy said, tapping a docking sequence into Kate's console. "Send that ahead—it'll get you permission to use the docking port. If there are any problems let me know." She turned and frowned at Grey. "Probably best if just you and I go down. You got anything more summery in your wardrobe?"

Grey's eyebrows shot up. "Come again?"

"You'll look like a mercenary on Idylla," Amy said. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but security keeps an eye out for those kinds of people—"

"'Those kinds of people'?"

"—and I think it's best if we can scoot by as undetected as possible." She sighed. "But as long as you remember to leave all of your weapons behind everything will be fine."

Grey sneezed as soon as he stepped out of the terminal into the Idyllan sunshine. Amy stopped ahead of him and let the crowds swarm past her on their way to the tram terminal. Hearing him sneeze again, she glanced back, a smile on her face.

"Allergies?"

He batted a low-hanging fern out of his way and strode forward. "I haven't been dirtside in years except to see Molly. And Elderia isn't exactly a conducive environment for enthusiastic plant growth."

"Idylla is known for its flowers," Amy said, scanning the timetable of tram departures on the wall. "People come from all over to see them."

Grey looked around dubiously. "What's so special about them?"

Amy snapped a spiky-petaled blossom off a plant and tucked it behind her ear. "I don't remember any more," she replied. "We had to take botany for years, but I can't say I remember any of it."

A tram whirred to a stop along the platform and Amy motioned to Grey to get aboard. The car was packed, the smell of warm bodies mingling with the scent of the flowers lining the platform. Amy flattened herself against one of the walls; Grey pressed against her, gripping an overhead handle with one hand.

"Is it always like this?" Grey asked, his breath hot against her ear.

"First tram out of the space-to-dirt terminal is always a crush," Amy said. "Most people get off at Idylla City for transports to the coast or inland to the mountains, so it'll thin out after the first stop."

The tram shuddered as it shifted into motion. Grey stepped on Amy's foot.

"Sorry," he said. "So what's our stop?"

"Off at Half Moon River and switch to the Star Line for about three stops, and then we walk the rest of the way." She glanced up at his face. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't pick the names."

"You're pretty familiar with the route. You live on Idylla?"

Amy smiled. "Getting personal, Grey. Let's not."

As Amy had predicted, most of the bodies filtered off the tram at Idylla City, leaving enough empty seats for them to sit until they had to switch trams. It wasn't until they were on the Star Line and almost to their stop that Amy happened to look up and notice the fall of Grey's jacket over his hip.

"Grey, tell me you're not carrying." Her words, although urgent, were whispered so low that he almost didn't hear them.

He turned, shifting his grip on the handle above his head from his left to his right hand. "So?"

Her lips thinned. "Dammit, Grey, the one thing I asked was that you not bring weapons."

"What's the big deal?" He raised his eyebrows. "Someone going to come along and toss me in prison?"

Amy ran a hand through her hair. "Uh, yeah. Grey, the reason Idylla is such a popular pleasure planet is because there are no weapons allowed dirtside unless you're a member of the security force, and every member of the security force has their weapon personally coded so that they're the only person who can use it. And there is an absolute zero tolerance policy for weapons offenders." She met his eyes. "If you're caught on Idylla with a weapon and you don't have a license, yeah, you'll go to prison. And I'm not talking a short stay while you arrange bail and a ride back into space. Idyllan law states that anyone carrying without a license goes away for life. No exceptions."