Imperial Orders

♕The Spaceport♕

Tuofah had almost forgotten what a crowd looked like. 

Today, the Port of Nardysk- which was ironically the closest spaceport to the Peenutz' crash site, hinting that they hadn't traveled very far at all- was chock full of traders, travelers, and large, noisy groups of schoolchildren departing on various field trips. Hugo and Tuofah were forced to keep a keen eye on the younger Peenutz as they moved slowly through the humid mass of people; the kids had a talent for distraction, and they simply couldn't afford to get lost in the middle of an illegal expedition. 

"So, what's the plan?" Tuofah asked, looking first at the captain's buttonless shirt and then at her own shredded clothing. "We look like...well, like we just survived a ship crash. We're never going to blend in with the kind of folks who own private spaceships, and we certainly can't steal one of those colossal commercial hunkers." 

"Relax, Tuo," Hugo flashed a wan smile, patting his pocket. "I saved a few goodies from the ship. All we have to do is get to the private launchpads, which are over there." He pointed past the sea of heads before him at the much smaller, less crowded back section of the spaceport. "Now, there's two types of people at the private launchpads: uppity Council types and beggars. I think it's pretty obvious which one we're most prepared to pose as. Kids, anyone got a bowl or a bag?" 

"Fish probably does," Nut mused as she skipped happily alongside Hugo, redoing her braids. "Fish always has a bowl." 

"I've got two!" Fish appeared from behind Tuofah, producing a pair of wooden bowls from his sack of salvaged goods and holding them up proudly for Hugo and Tuofah to see. Smiling, Tuofah took the bowls from his hands and passed one to Hugo. Suddenly, she felt a strange urge to hold and comfort the small, rotund Fish with his mismatched socks and bright, flowery shorts- no, all of the children. If anyone was being affected by this, it was them- being carted around the solar system by a rogue Djaren during their formative years. 

Rogue? A week ago, that would've been the first word Tuofah thought of to describe Hugo, but now, she wasn't so sure. Even if he hadn't made her the Armlet offer, she wasn't even sure she would've been able to leave him and his motley crew behind. Yes, he was a thief. Yes, he was the kind of person Prime Minister Remy and her Council considered the scum of the universe. Yes, he was disorganized and at times harsh, but Tuofah couldn't help but admit that there was a certain picaresque charm to him. Under his facade of revenge stories and selfish motives, the guy really did care.

"Wait, how are we going to get through the gate?" Nut asked, gesturing to the scene before her. They had almost reached the entrance to the spaceport's private area, but there was one major obstacle in their way: the gate. It was a colossal construction of metal that towered over the Peenutz' heads, blocked off by two security guards engaged in a dogged effort to keep back the rapidly advancing crowd. 

"We watch and learn," Hugo gestured to a clump of people clearly distinct from the rest of the crowd. They stood closest to the gate, hardly moving at all as they stared at it with purpose, ragged sacks and bowls clutched to their chests. 

Beggars. 

"Let's move," Hugo ordered softly as he began to elbow his way forward, clearing a path for the rest of the Peenutz. Once it became apparent where they were headed, the crowd shifted away from them, allowing them to merge seamlessly with the back of the group of beggars. Just as Hugo had predicted, the crash-shaken Peenutz blended right in. 

"There's two ways to get people to clear a path for you," Hugo commented with dull humor. "Either be really rich or really poor."

"Speaking of paths, there's our ticket to Old Earth." Hugo gestured to a pristine, white hovercar that approached from behind the Peenutz. People darted out of its way as it glided regally toward the gate, stopping just a few feet in front of it before lowering itself to the ground. Soon, its back door swung open and a young couple stepped out. The man approached the security guards, presumably with a request to be let through the gate, while the woman gathered the hem of her tastelessly flashy silk dress, looking down at the dusty ground with disdain. 

"Get ready, Council snobs, because we're about to mess with you and I'm going to enjoy every second of it," Hugo smirked playfully as he rhythmically tapped the bottom of his bowl. 

"What?" Tuofah raised an eyebrow, somehow both amused and apprehensive. 

"You'll see," Hugo returned his gaze to the gate as he burrowed deeper into the clump of beggars. "Ready..." 

The security guards each returned to one side of the gate where they inserted their respective keys into the locks mounted on its two hinges. Slowly but steadily, accompanied by a persistent creaking, the two halves of the gate began to swing backward as the unsuspecting couple waited in front of their hovercar. 

"Set..." 

The woman was the first to begin to walk forward, clearly anxious to get away from the crowd and into her spaceship. The man made a move to walk forward, but at the last second, his attention was drawn to the group of beggars, which now seemed to be growing quite restless. Frowning in suspicion, he tapped the closest security guard on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Then satisfied, he walked forward with large strides to catch up to his wife. The security guard kept his eyes on the beggars, but his gaze was all but useless in preventing the events that followed. 

"Go!" Hugo snickered as every beggar in the group charged simultaneously forward as if controlled by the same mind. 

"Stampede!" Koot and Fish screamed wildly, sprinting past the lines of beggars before them in an effort to be the first ones through the gate. The guards ran frantically to their positions in a last-ditch effort to close the gate, but by the time the rusty monstrosity began the slow process of putting itself back together, Hugo and Tuofah were already at its brink. They smiled at each other in silent triumph as they rushed swiftly through the gate, detaching themselves from the already disintegrating mass of victorious beggars. 

Hugo turned backwards, his gaze falling on the couple whose timely arrival had gotten the Peenutz through the gate. The woman frantically picked dust off her leather purse while the man appraised the beggar-ridden scene before him with an air of marked disapproval. With further observation, Tuofah, too, realized how filled with beggars the area was. They sat on anything that resembled a chair or bench, talking amongst themselves or staring quietly at the sky. Clearly, what had just happened wasn't an uncommon occurrence at the spaceport. No wonder Hugo had predicted it so well. 

"You follow her, I'll follow him," Hugo whispered, poking Tuofah discreetly on the shoulder as he cut his eyes over at the disgruntled wealthy couple. "They're bound to have their luggage held somewhere, and they're probably going to go pick it up before they get on the ship. I'm not going to tell you exactly what to do, but you have half an hour to snag a suitcase- or at least one nice outfit. Get changed, meet me and the kids back here, and we'll both get to be Mr. and Mrs. Speiss for a while. How does that sound?" 

Tuofah stared at him, dumbstruck. 

He really was crazy. But the kind of crazy that gets stuff done.