Once the market calmed down a little, Jace and Lessa descended down to the very bottom of the market. They climbed down from the window-washing platform, then navigated through the market.

  The levels grew steadily more grungy the deeper they travelled. The stalls weren’t as pristine, the steel platforms didn’t look like they’d been washed since they’d been built, and litter cluttered the walkways. People wore dirty garments, and now, only Kinath-Aertes police wandered about—instead of soldiers, Watchmen, or private security. The police wore long, dirty coats and full head-covering helmets.

  “That got…really sketchy, really quickly,” Jace said. “You know what these Maskers look like? And how much it’ll cost?”

  They had some Solars left, but judging by the prices he’d seen in a kyborg pawn shop a few levels back, it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

  “No idea how much it’ll cost,” Lessa said. “But yeah, I know what they’re supposed to look like.”

  “Supposed to? Seen it in a book?” He laughed softly. “Was this book…a very reputable source?”

  “If you count fiction as reputable.” She flashed him a grin, then kept going. “You know the answer.”

  “I’m afraid so.” He glanced over at his shoulder, where Lee-Kay perched. “You wouldn’t happen to know your way around technology, would you, Lee-Kay Seven?”

  The kyborg chittered and clanked.

  “He said something about knowing plenty of components,” Lessa said. “He could identify a Masker if he had to.”

  “That’s good,” Jace said, then reached up and patted the bot on the head.

  “He also said that you don’t have to use his full name,” Lessa added. “His old master called him LeeKay.”

  “You’re okay with that?” Jace asked.

  LeeKay nodded his head.

  “Wonderful.”

  Down in the depths of the market, the roads were a lot more crowded, and Lessa kept the coin pouch much closer. Most people avoided them, but there were a few who got close, dangerously so, and Jace gave them a glare. They backed off.

  The market stalls down here weren’t in any sort of order Most were selling scrap and low-quality trinkets, but there were plenty of food vendors in-between. Meat roasted on repurposed starship thrusters, a six-armed alien stirred three woks at once, and a kyborg chopped a horrible-smelling vegetable into bits. Here, there were so many platforms above that it felt like walking a nighttime street, and hololanterns and neon signs still glimmered.

  After they descended two more platforms, and were only one level up from the ground floor, LeeKay began chirping excitedly. Jace stopped, then glanced over at the kyborg. “You see one?”

  LeeKay pointed a manipulator arm out the side of his head and aimed for a stall a few rows down.

  “There?”

  LeeKay clunked in what sounded like an affirmation.

  “Okay, let’s go. Lessa, you have the storage ring ready?”

  She nodded, then held up her arm, showing off the ring they’d stolen from the Ifskar dungeon. It was small enough to be a ring for a Luminian, but it fit perfectly as a bracelet for Lessa. They still had a few weapons and material treasures they’d stolen from the dungeon, which they hadn’t yet converted into Solars. It wasn’t useful in an arcane sense, but for trading, it was more than helpful.

  They approached the stall. It had a tattered tarp overtop two aisles of counters. Heaps of rusty junk, tubes, pipes, and devices that Jace couldn’t even begin to name covered the counters.

  There was a single creature running the stall, and judging by the flickering sign above it, which read Amonio’s, this guy was probably Amonio. He had rust-red skin, four arms, and piercing blue eyes that made Jace feel like he was about to steal something even if he probably wasn’t.

  “How’d you pick out a Masker in all this junk?” Jace whispered to LeeKay.

  The kyborg responded with a rattle.

  “Sensed it? Is that like…a hyperspace shadow? Like Aur-Six and the other worker kyborgs could sense?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Scamper kyborgs tend to have scanners,” Lessa said. “They’re rudimentary, but they’re almost like starship scanners. They can pick up serial codes on equipment, and it tells them what to fix and how to use it.

  “Hm,” Jace said. “You might be even more useful, now that I think of it.”

  He turned toward Amonio’s, making it clear that he was coming over, but tried not to look too aggressive.

  “Welcome!” the alien said. “I am Amonio, and this is my spare…equipment shop. Aye, equipment, that’s what we’ll call it. You need something, I’ve probably got it. Need a new foot-link for the kyborg, we’ve got it. A sight implant? Got it. A steam modulator for a mini furnace-boiler system? Got it.” He leaned closer and whispered, “And if you need anything slightly more illicit, we’ve also got it.”

  Jace’s lips curled up slightly. “That’s good. I’m aware that you have a Masker?”

  “Scratch that, we’re pretty sure you do,” Lessa added. “And we’d pay for it.”

  Amonio brushed out his grease-stained apron and tilted his head. With his two lower arms, he picked up a silver cylinder and began polishing it with a cloth. “What’s two well-to-do young folk like yourselves needing a Masker for? You don’t blend in down here, you know that? Sure, it’s not a coat and dress, but you’re clearly not from the depths.”

  “I can’t still need a Masker?” Jace asked.

  “What for?”

  “That’s not your business. I’m sure someone else has one, and someone who won’t ask questions.”

  Amonio sighed, then shook his head. “All’s well and good, lad. Can’t help my curiosity.” He turned and walked back through the store, then pulled open a drawer and retrieved a small copper device. It emitted a slight spiritual weight, and Jace thought he sensed a technique card within it. On one side, there was a simple display, which looked like a timepiece implant—like he’d seen some other people boasting, but the back was covered in wires and spikes.

  “I must warn you, boy. It won’t be pleasant to use, and under harsh scrutiny, it won’t hold up,” Amonio said. “But it’ll look like a watch implant, and you’ll find it simple enough to use. Set the aspect you want your technique cards to appear, and they’ll look as though you’ve got said aspect. A water fortification card? Make it look like flame. Now, not the best example, because the water won’t give off heat, but you get my meaning.”

  “I do,” Jace said.

  “How much is it?” Lessa asked.

  “Two hundred Solars,” Amonio said.

  Jace and Lessa glanced at each other. “That’s a lot,” Jace said, but Lessa nudged him. It wasn’t good negotiating practice to give away your entire hand before you played it. He motioned toward Amonio, then said, “By all means. Try to work him down.”

  “I have come to negotiate,” Lessa proclaimed. “On behalf of…him.”

  Jace rolled his eyes. “You didn’t have to make it look like that. Why the big announcement?”

  “I dunno, just felt right.”

  Amonio didn’t look impressed.

  “One hundred,” Lessa haggled.

  “One-ninety,” Amonio bargained back.

  “Ah…you know what,” Lessa said, pulling the storage ring off her wrist. “I’ll trade you an authentic Luminian spear. That has to be worth at least three-hundred Solars.”

  “How can I be sure it’s authentic?”

  “Check it with anyone who knows his antiques,” she replied.

  “And…what, let you run off with my Masker? I think not.”

  “It came from a Luminian storage ring,” Jace provided.

  Amonio only harumphed. “How about this? Give me the kyborg, and we’ll call it a deal.”

  Two shadows stepped into the stall behind them. They were big, burly men, wearing sleeveless shirts and suspenders. One carried a wrench, and the other boasted a plasma rifle.

  “See, I saw a bounty posted for that little ‘borg only a few minutes ago,” he said. “And that bounty is for three-thousand Solars. So I figure you either give it to us and take your prize, or we take it from you.”

  “And let you give it up to the watchmen?” Jace shook his head. “Yeah, no. I’ve seen what they do to kyborgs. Besides, he’s not going anywhere. He’s coming with us, isn’t he?” LeeKay nodded furiously.

  “So no spear?” Lessa asked, closing the storage pendant and putting it back on her wrist.

  “LeeKay?” Jace whispered. “If I cover you, you think you can snag the Masker and make it back to us?”

  LeeKay chirped a ‘yes.’

  “Wonderful,” Jace said much louder. “Hey, uh, Amonio? Watch this.”

  Jace triggered [Hyperdash], but he didn’t move at all. He didn’t plan to. He’d targeted the exact same place that he was standing, but for the briefest instant, he’d entered hyperspace. A bright flash shone out, scouring the market stall. When the flash faded, LeeKay had scampered down to the ground.

  “What was that?” Amonio exclaimed. “What—”

  “Distraction,” Lessa said with a goofy smile.

  LeeKay leapt up behind Amonio and snatched the Masker from his hand with a manipulator arm. Amonio exclaimed in shock and annoyance, but Jace couldn’t make out any actual words. Then, he yelled, “Get them!”

  “Get them, boss?” one of the big guys asked.

  Jace had already triggered [Lightvein], and Lessa was already pulling her rifle off her shoulder. She blasted the wrench out of one man’s hand, and Jace darted behind them both, relying on his physical speed, then struck them atop the head with the pommel of his Whistling Blade. They collapsed.

  “LeeKay, run!” Jace called. “Thanks, Amonio!”

  “For what?” the man called, chasing after LeeKay. He stumbled.

  Jace backed away from the stall. “For letting us steal that without feeling bad.”

  But now they really did need to run. They’d made a lot of enemies today, and it was time to get back to the Luna Wrath before anyone important caught wind of it.