Utern. Dermot sat up and grinned. We’d been tossed out of there the last time we’d gone. Hardly surprising I suppose, and we were hardly the only traders to have been ejected summarily. But I wasn’t sure we’d even get a chance to set one foot on world again never mind find this artiefact.

“Why,” I asked, hating to wreck Dermot’s fantasies of loose women andtight card games, “would an ancient relic, one that’s not worth much at least in actual value, be found on Utern?”

“Well,” Paxx drawled. “The owner of the casino is a collector.”

“A collector?” I asked.

“He likes beautiful things but he loves rare things.”

I gaped at him. “Are you telling me he has it in like a private collection or something on Utern?”

Paxx nodded. “We might, with a little luck, relieve him of it.”

“Are you fucking nuts?” I asked, my voice breaking. “He’s like, he has his own private army!Even the Barons give him a pass. And the Houses pretend they never heard of him.”

Paxx studied me for a moment, and shrugged. “He’s got a rep, I’ll grant you that.”

I snorted.

Dermot was frowning. I knew that frown. I groaned. He was plotting, apparently the idea of robbing the most dangerous criminal in the‘verse was appealing.

“Army!” I said, hoping to get Dermot to give up silly fantasies and accept reality.

Paxxreplied,“Dragons.”

“You obviously don’t know much about them, Paxx, because if you think they’d be reliable enough to help us knock over the most heavily guarded planet in the Rim you’re frickin’ nuts.Trust me when I tell you this, dragons have their own minds and ain’t afraid to use them.”

Dermot grinned. “Obviously Darin lacks imagination, not to mention a criminal mind.”

I almost choked on my beer, especially when I saw Dana suddenly looking awfully interested and remarkably calm about all this.

“Wait. Please tell me we ain’t gonna do this,” I whispered, my throat going hoarse. I could see Dad now, suddenly having to risk the entire House in a confrontation with Vir Hodran, whose reputation didnot indicate a preference for subtlety nor a willingness to compromise.

Amath, Paxx’s partner, was look a bit concerned too, if the way she was chewing her lip was any indication.“It’s a major risk,” she said to Paxx, her huge sapphire eyes on him.

Paxx shrugged.

“Rumor has it you work for him,” I finally said. I didn’t particularly like the grapevinebut well, I was desperate for an ally.

Paxx frowned at me for a moment or two, then offered, “Darin, I’m an independent operator. I don’t work for anyone but me. Hodran has money and pays promptly. Yeah, I’ve done some smuggling for him, and skirted morality issues when necessary, but I am not the man’s tool, and I don’t mind him being reminded of that. But still, I’m thinking if we work this right, he won’t know I was involved.I’d prefer it that way, I freely admit, since as you so correctly point out he has an army.Not to mention Chola.”

“Chola?” Dana asked. She hadn’t been with us when we got kicked off of Utern.

“Merc extraordinaire.As cold blooded and calculating a fellow as you’d ever want to meet,” Dermot explained. “I like him.”

“You would,” I muttered.“Although I don’t recall you saying that when he was kicking our asses off planet.

Dermot shrugged. “It was awhile ago. No sense holding grudges.”

“He shot you!” I pointed out, startling Dana who I’d forgotten hadn’t known that.

“There is that,” Dermot admitted. “Still… Do you want this relic or not?”

“Not at this cost!” I yelled.Then too late, I remembered where we were. All heads were turned our way. I sank down in my chair miserable.

---------------------------------------

Dermot, what can I say about him. Too stupid to be afraid? No that’s far from true. He’s smart and clever, which aren’t always the same thing, and he was brave and stupid, which often were.He also has this thing about authority figures, which explains his penchant for getting kicked out of places, starting with St Azael’s school for warrior monks. And trust me when I tell you, St Azael’s discipline is pretty understated. I mean, the only real restrictions are pretty reasonable. Still, they were too much for Dermot.

Paxx, by reputation, was a bloody lunatic, so I suppose their friendship was pretty much inevitable.It was rumored the man had once been targeted by one of the worst Baron’s for death, and yet somehow here he was. So folks were pretty much in awe of his ability to collect dangerous enemies. Apparently he had no compunction about adding to his collection, in an effort to add to mine.

The question in my mind was why? I mean, yeah, he and Dermot were the sort to do something on a whim, but this was going to take planning and be really really, I mean really, dangerous, and he knew it. So why was he offering to do this? That’s the part that really really really worried me.

And the only reason I could come up with, was that for some reason he wanted an in with the House. Someday, Dermot would probably be the head of Weru’Ster.So was Paxx seeing this as a way to get a firm foot in the door and cement some sort of relationship with him, rather than just a lark to risk their necks for nothing?

Or, and this is what really really really scared me, did Paxx know something about the relics I didn’t.

Either way, I didn’t like it. Either way, we were being used, and not in a good way. Either way, we were going into this ignorant and that is never a good idea.

But I shut up for the rest of the evening, and gnawed on my lip.

For once we didn’t end up in a bar fight. Paxx and Dermot had their heads together coming up with strategy and tactics – I never can figure out which is which. Amath and Dana were busy fending off interested suitors, so I was pretty much left to myself to stew.

When we got back to Armorica I lay in my bunk, my hands behind my head staring up at the ceiling. Suddenly a dragon head was above me, Rolf looking down at me, thankfully not dripping dragon snot.

“You worry too much,” he thought at me affectionately.It is, by the way, pretty easy to know their emotions. They declare them up front, and include them in their mental speech. Just thought I ought to mention that so you don’t think I’m reading things into just words.

I reached up and rubbed his snout, which made him purr.

“I don’t like it,” I muttered.

“I know,” he replied. “But all in all, I think it is something worth doing,” my dragon replied. As you can see, he has no compunction about disagreeing with me.Told you he’d be happier with someone like Dermot.

“Why?” I asked.Dammit, he didn’t answer.