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“Cursed hell, Vic. When they said you’d arrived, I couldn’t believe it.” He strode forward as if to hug her, but she dodged his sweeping arms and kneed him in the groin. With an animalistic howl, he crumpled to the floor.

“I’m in a good mood on account of Junior, so I won’t maim you for betraying me, Trev.

For a man who claimed to care for me as his future whore, you stood by and let the Ring take me.

” In a dramatic show of power, she curled and unfurled her left hand then gripped Trev by the jaw, lifting his coiled body, his feet dangling inches off the floor.

“I’m enhanced as of yesterday. If I find out anyone betrayed me again to Carne or the Ring, I’ll return with death in mind. ”

She dropped Trev and strode around him, heading for the shielded heat outside and a waiting Junior. He leaned against his battered skid-car, as if the filtered sunlight didn’t bake the sweat onto his forehead. She made a beeline for him, ignoring the gathering audience.

“What’s this about?” Junior asked, his shuffling feet casting up miniature dust clouds in his nervousness.

“I want to sell Millie’s to your pa. Ma left the deed to me when she died. I don’t think she trusted…” Vic grimaced, unable to call her father Pa or by his name. Just trying pooled bile at the back of her throat. “How much are you willing to offer?”

“It’s worth fifty,” he said.

“It’s worth a hundred, but I’ll sell it to you for ten.”

“What, why?” He threw out his hands as if to decline a too-good-to-be-true, once-in-a-lifetime deal, as if she swindled him.

“You were honest enough to start at a decent amount, expecting to barter upward. I want the blood price my…the Ring gave my…” She leveled a glower on Junior. “Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it, shit, hell yeah.” He fist-pumped the air like a juvenile.

While waiting for Junior to activate his band, she did the same, holding it out for him to swipe his arm across hers and make the payment.

A buzz up her arm confirmed receipt. She scanned hers over his, transferring the deed.

“Good. I have one more favor.” She cast a longing glance at her sol-cycle.

“She’s yours if you give me a ride to Armstrong Station and deny ever taking me there. ”

“You’re going off-world?”

She arched an irritated brow. Junior paled and hurried to clip her… his sol-cycle to the back of the skid-car. She jumped into the car and stowed her carry-all at her feet while he took the driving seat.

“Can you handle city traffic?”

He frowned but powered up, shooting across the sand at a steady clip.

His destination wasn’t to the city but the highest point in the dunes.

It had a different name many years ago, but they called it Stubborn Rock now.

He hid the sol-cycle in its shadow and turned them for Armstrong Station.

The sky-tower rose as a white beacon on the horizon.

“At the bottom of the deed is my lawyer’s details. He’ll handle any issues my p…” She grimaced. “He’s expecting your call.”

Junior nodded and nibbled on his bottom lip as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t confident enough.

He drew in a deep breath and pushed out the words.

“Leave Earth, just like that?” He sliced a glance at her, his brown eyes boring into hers.

“They’ll juice you with nano-creatures and…

what if you’re tossed out of the ship for insubordination, Vic? ”

“Then I die,” she said, with a shrug. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t faced life-and-death situations in the arena.

Junior hitched a thumb behind him, gesturing to Deadweed. “Why do they think you’re dead?”

“Makes it easier for them to hunt me down. I’m reported as alive? That’s big news, cheap publicity. If they find and kill me, then no one’s the wiser.”

His Adam’s Apple bobbed. “You ain’t scared?”

“I was when they bought me.” She looked away, preferring to feast her eyes on the last glimpses of pale dunes and miles upon miles of butterfly panels blurred by the skid-car’s shield.

The scenery changed to shoreline, housing structures, and solarized buildings as Junior navigated the manual-drive lane with some skill.

He spoke no more, which she appreciated.

She suspected she had a tracker inside her, so that would be the first stop.

Just in case the Ring or Carne had placed her face and sol-cycle on the sec-scans, she’d bribed Junior for a ride.

She didn’t need them sending bounty hunters into outer space.

He pulled up at the drop-off, and she hopped out before he’d drawn the skid-car to a stop.

She grabbed her carry-all and waved him off, trailing her gaze up the white structure of the space station.

Too busy for her liking, with travelers hindering escape routes and sec-guards on high-vigilance, she kept her face down and hurried toward the docking bay elevators.

Returning her appearance to the natural state might not be enough.

She glanced at her soiled heat-res suit.

It wasn’t her usual red faux-leathers but would that matter if these hugged her just as well?

She grimaced and walked into the first boutique on her path.

The A.I.-bot rushed to greet her, and Vic barked out requirements. “Feminine, immediate with no time for fittings, and easy movement.”

“Right this way.” The A.I.’s smile was stiff, designed to be polite.

Her graceful sashaying made Vic feel like a galumphing Ande.

She gestured to a rack of dresses Victorious would never be caught dead wearing.

Perfect. When she chose one with pink and peach sashes, the A.I.

-bot pointed to the changing booth. Vic grunted and disappeared into it, dropping her carry-all before holding up the dress. How was she supposed to put it on?

She hung it on the hook provided and stripped off her suit and tank. Demagnetizing her breeches, she peeled them off and stood there in her boots, scowling. “Assistance required,” she said, and the door opened.

She handed the dress to the bot, and within minutes it was on.

The A.I.’s hands blurred as she pulled it on over Vic’s head and activated the fastener on her left shoulder.

The bot set the booth walls to reflective.

Vic faced her image. A band circled her hips from which strips of various lengths fell over her backside to entangle between her thighs.

Sashes crisscrossed to cover her breasts and, despite her boots clinging to her calves, she looked like a sensual woman.

Faint scars marred her exposed skin, each one a near-death experience she didn’t want to remember or the new augmentations.

“I’ll take it.” She glided her band over the bot’s wrist.

“Release at your shoulder to remove the garment,” the bot said.

After tossing the heat-res suit and stuffing her old clothing into the carry-all, she slipped it onto her shoulder.

She stepped into the crowds, conscious of her bare legs, and did her hips sway with more allure?

Having wanted to blend in, the sashes between her thighs irritated even as the garment drew attention from most men.

Worse, it drew the focus of the sec-guards.

She tested out a bright smile and a playful finger wave.

One responded with a wink. It boosted her confidence, and she imitated the A.I.

-bot’s sashay with renewed determination.

With a scan across the pay-panel, she entered the elevator carrying her to the launch bay. From there, the shuttle would blast off, destination Lunar Base orbiting the moon.

An A.I.-bot greeted her and gestured to her to choose a tube. “Welcome to Lunar Base shuttle voyage Echo 2 Lima 15009. Estimated time to departure is two hours. Docking with the base in eleven hours. Please select a tube and the duration of rest required.”

Vic placed her carry-all in the farthest one from the door before grabbing the handle and sliding herself onto the bed feet first. Straps shot across her, securing her to the tube.

Reinforced glass wrapped around her, allowing for a farewell view of Earth as the shuttle traveled, as well as an escape pod should she need it.

Not that she’d be awake for the journey.

Selecting a sedative, she activated it and the sol-cleanser.

She’d awake refreshed and waste-free. Ignoring the smile splitting her cheeks, she stared at the padded ceiling of the tube, waiting for the sedative to take effect. It wouldn’t be long…