I smirked at him. He didn’t need to know about the driod mechanic. Or the fantastic array of tech he could make. He had the part he needed for his one of a kind doohickey. Now he was going to give me what I wanted.

“You know it was difficult...”

I pulled my favorite knife from my arm holster.

He furiously tapping on his watch. “Just sent the coordinates.”

I sheathed my knife and stood. “Nice doing business with you.”

I jumped off the platform. There were several platforms hovering throughout the restaurant but it didn’t take long to get to the one occupied by my crew. I clicked the on my gravity boots and settled amongst them.

“Did he like it?” Alatari asked.

“It doesn’t matter if he liked it.” Niobe butted in. “Did you get the info or not?”

With a smirk, I downed Niobe’s glass. The harsh alcohol burned down my throat making me feel alive.

“Is that a no?” Pel asked shifting his pilot’s visor.

I swiped at my watch and brought up the coordinates so they could see. “Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.” Niobe said.

“We need muscle. And that thing,” I pointed to the big horned, glowing skeleton contained in a big transparent suit. “Will only follow you around.”

Niobe grumbled.

“I‘ve got the cage all set.”

Alatari came in carrying a cage half his size. If he hadn’t been an android I was sure he wouldn’t be able to lift it at all.

He looked to the skeleton. “Think you can handle this, Loc?”

The big thing proceeded to strap the cage onto it’s chest. And again I wondered what it would sound like if it could speak. Did ancient guardian spirits ever have a need to speak?

“We’ve reached the coordinates, Captain.” Pel said over the intercom.

“Are you sure I can’t come with you?” Alatari asked.

“I need you to guard the ship.” I said as I felt the descent.

Alatari glanced at Niobe who nodded. He sighed before ambling off into the engine room. I shook my head as the bay doors opened.

Taking a deep breath of the fresh air, I stepped onto the gravel. We were on a cliff side, the perfect nesting grounds. I leaned over the edge and spotted a few of our quarry. Fledgling Prism Pelicans. They were just small enough to fit a dozen or so in the cage.

Niobe hunched down beside me, peering down at their multicolored feathers. “Do you know how many clothes I can design with these feathers?”

“Do you know how many dishes I could make?” I countered. “Especially if there are some eggs still.”

Niobe started uncoiling her rope and tied one end around me. “Let’s just hurry before the sun sets and the parents come back.”

We repelled down the cliff side, using Loc as an anchor. Niobe started tossing fledglings up to the skeleton. And I started stuffing eggs into a bag. We worked quickly, but we couldn’t keep the babies from crying out.

Suddenly, a screech pierced through the air. There was the flock of adults all dripping wet from the ocean below. And they were fast despite the biggest rivaling our escape shuttle. That was when we started scrambling back up.

I lost my footing as the rope yanked at my torso. I hung in the air for a bit watching the many colors play across the feathers. So beautiful. So angry.

I gasped as I was suddenly yanked into the air. The culprit managed to catch me and I was suddenly staring into empty eye sockets. I shuddered, rolling out of its grasp.

“I’ve got it.” Alatari was standing in the bay, hefting a railgun to his shoulder. Where had he gotten a railgun?

He started blasting away as the three of us made for the ship. The pelicans were fast, but the android was a little too good at his job. Just as we made it into the bay we were all swept off our feet by a massive bird.

I gritted my teeth as feathers plastered me to the wall. But the doors were closed and we’d launched into the air once more.

“I’m gonna get rich off this thing.”

I rolled my eyes. The biggest concern would be actually moving. But I couldn’t argue with Niobe’s business sense. And the huge fowl would fatten my cookbook.