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Just as Guy thought he had finally gotten an out, he was sucked back into it. Harmony looked determined to bring down the station, and while Guy wouldn’t mind the likes of Dresdon, Madame Priscilla, or Madame Cerbyll to get their comeuppance, he wasn’t sure he’d be okay with seeing Xara hurt, and he probably should add Ferrin to the list as well. As for the rest of the girls from the ship he had come here on, he didn’t want to do them harm.

He recognized that they probably weren’t the greatest people, but he owed Cerisa a great deal, and his feelings for some of the others could be called complicated at best. At the very least, he wasn’t willing to completely betray them in a way that would do them harm. Knocking down those shields would be bad, and Guy realized he’d have to take action. It was to the level where he’d have to betray Harmony intentionally this time.

He had once escaped from prison with Harmony only to go get something to eat. He could have helped her reach the communication relay then and call a ship, but he didn’t know anything about this Galactic Alliance at the time, and he was hungry. He had hoped a situation would arise where Harmony was allowed to be out of a cell just like him, but instead, she had all but been forgotten and left to starve. He still felt a bit bad about that, so that was one of the reasons he had been trying to help her escape.

However, he had more experience with the Galactic Alliance since then, including being killed by a firing squad. He wasn’t sure if he was on any wanted list. By all accounts, they should have assumed the person who killed all of those bugs back on that colony was dead, but he didn’t want to roll the dice if he didn’t have to.

“Let’s go. Watch my back.” Harmony declared while Guy was still contemplating his actions.

“G-go where?” Guy nearly jumped when Harmony, after reviewing the contents of her datapad, suddenly stood up as if she had a mission to do.

“We’ll be heading to the station’s power relay. I’ll be able to cut power to the defense grid there.” Harmony declared.

“Wouldn’t such a thing be protected?”

“People like Dresdon wouldn’t trust such a system to guards. Guards could be bribed. It will likely be protected by machines. Automatic turrets, and perhaps a few roaming droids.” Harmony announced.

“Is that really going to be safe?” I frowned.

“Our chances of success are very slim.” She sighed. “But we do not have a choice. There is no point in siding with the enemy now. In a few hours, they’ll be scattered and fleeing for their lives.”

Guy gave a stiff nod. He wanted to find some way to dissuade her, but he knew military types and he didn’t think she’d be convinced so easily. Rather, arguing with her would only cause her to grow suspicious of him, and then she would try to do it without him. At best, it would get her killed, and at worst, it’d get the others killed.

He started to follow Harmony. This time, she didn’t move nearly as aimlessly but lead the way. She had managed to get a map of the station, so she now knew her way. Although she barely looked at the map, so she must have gotten a good sense of direction from the previous time that they had escaped.

“Do you have any clue why they would move now?” Guy asked, trying to just fill in the silence. “I had heard that they kept this station running as a necessary evil.”

“You’re talking about the Galactic Alliance corruption.” Harmony made a bitter face. “These are criminals who abuse the Galactic Alliance and should be removed from office. The Galactic Alliance has recently been trying to get rid of corruption. Some faction within the Galactic Alliance may be trying to out the traitors using this method.”

“Some faction?”

“It is an Alliance, after all.” Harmony shrugged. “There are many different factions with different beliefs across different species.”

“Okay…”

“The system isn’t perfect, but would you prefer some kind of empire or monarchy? This is the best system that we have!”

Guy wasn’t saying anything, but Harmony’s usually cold façade seemed to slip a bit, almost like she was trying to convince herself of those words. Guy decided to remain out of it. He didn’t follow politics in his own world, and he didn’t want to get into politics in space either. This was exactly why Dresdon’s attempt to use him bothered him so much.

The pair moved quickly down several side corridors. Guy didn’t know where he was going, but he was content following Harmony. He did as she asked and kept a lookout. They had to hide one or two times, but thanks to the wedding, it seemed that the security was weak. It seemed like the perfect time to strike an attack, almost like they had prepared for this from the beginning.

“Hmm? What’s that?”

As the pair turned a corner, Guy noticed a large grouping of people at the end. Harmony immediately grabbed him and pulled him through a door. It turned out to be a closet, but it was a closet that didn’t have any room. As a result, he ended up pressed up tightly against Harmony.

“We’re near the wedding.” Harmony spoke in a hushed whisper.

“Really?”

“It seems like the wedding is taking place directly under the power relay we were heading to.”

“That’s probably why they feel they don’t need any security. As long as the wedding is heavily watched, so is the power relay.”

“This is a problem.” Harmony hissed through her breath. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to get in there and get out, not without a major distraction.”

“A distraction, you say…”

Guy couldn’t help but think back to Ferrin. They had shared a moment back there. He was still confused that she was going along with the wedding even after their intimate time in the changing room. She had seemed interested in him and had even agreed. Did she think he was just going to be some side piece she had on the side while married to her husband? That didn’t seem like her at all. She seemed like such a sweet girl. Maybe Ferrin didn’t share her plans with Xara. That was also a possibility, although they had seemed close.

“What are you thinking?” Harmony asked.

“I can create a distraction.” Guy sighed. “And I probably won’t die right away.”

In the end, Guy decided his best option was a compromise. On the one hand, he didn’t want to betray Harmony and lead her to a bad end, on the other hand, he didn’t want this to happen to the others he cared about either. Thus, his only choice was to create a distraction, allowing her to shut down the power relay like she wanted. He wasn’t stopping her from bringing down the relay, but he’d use that time to warn the others and give them a chance to escape.

How did he plan to survive? Well, he hoped that Ferrin would help keep him alive at least until the attack began. Once the station was being shot at, they had better things to worry about. Alright, it wasn’t the greatest plan, but when had Guy ever said he was a plan guy? This was the best he could pull from a messed-up situation. He’d interrupt the wedding, and stall a bit, and then warn them of the attack. Then, he’d run.

He couldn’t stay with Harmony. He would try to flee with the girls from the prison ship. Harmony would be picked up by her people, and get her reward, and then their debt to each other would be over if they ever had a debt in the first place.

“You’re really going to do that, for me?” Harmony seemed to guess at least a bit of the suicidal plan that Guy had thought.

Her expression looked surprisingly uneasy. Usually, she was cold, but it seemed like since her capture her nerves had become a bit more frayed and she wore more of her emotions on her face. She looked incredibly vulnerable, and it wasn’t just because the pair were pressed against each other in a closet with no room. The feel of her body against his was starting to feel good.

“Don’t worry… it’ll work…” Guy tried to reassure her.

“You… have to stay safe.” She responded quietly, a cute expression on her face.

The look along with the feel of her erotic body so close was more than Guy could take, and his penis started to harden, which without room to move, ended up pushing against her.

“Ah!” A moment later she noticed it poking her.

“I’m so… mmm!”

He was surprised when she grabbed the back of his neck and rose to kiss him. Their lips lingered there for a bit. Her lips tasted a bit like canned tuna. Admittedly not the most romantic smell, but her lips were soft and gentle. When she pulled away, she nipped my chin, but this caused her face to immediately turn red.

“If you survive… I-I’ll take care of that,” she said, her eyes not meeting Guy’s.

He was completely dumbfounded. He didn’t expect anything like that to suddenly happen. It only made him feel even more complicated. After all, he was going to abandon her. Between the prison ship and the Galactic Alliance, he had chosen the prison ship.

“I’ll go first,” Guy said, fumbling for the handle and then retreated from the room which was starting to feel a bit hot.

Had she really meant all that, or was it just a way to try to ensure Guy did what he was supposed to do? Guy didn’t know, but he had already decided what was going to happen. He approached the wedding, keeping his head low. He wasn’t so noticeable a face that he expected the random people invited to the wedding would notice him. It’d still be a shame if he was seen early.

As he made his way forward, he realized that the wedding was underway already. Everyone had sat down, and the bride was already walking up the aisle. It was strange that she was in a wedding dress with a bouquet and followed marriage customs almost identical to western marriages on Earth, but Guy quickly realized he was thinking far too much about this.

There were a group of armed guards at the door, and he didn’t think they would just let him in. He looked around desperately for a means of entering the wedding. That’s when he found a woman approaching that he recognized. It was Xara. She was wearing a cloak similar to the one he had first seen her in. He couldn’t see her face, but it had to be her. Without giving himself another second to think, he came out from his hiding spot and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Help me get into the wedding.” He whispered into her ear.

The girl he was touching froze for a second, and then started moving. “Hmph… if you insist.”

He realized the second he had put his arm around her that this wasn’t Xara. Why would it be? She was at the wedding party. She had that outfit earlier. He had been so panicked he had acted without thinking and then grabbed the wrong woman. Neither her body nor her voice was the same. Why did he think she was Xara for a second? He was still lucky though. Rather than screaming, she had agreed to his demands.

The pair walked forward casually up to the door. Upon seeing her, the men immediately stood at attention. Someone opened the door immediately. Guy swore these people seemed afraid of her. They didn’t even look twice at him as he walked right into the wedding with her at his side.

The wedding was extremely large, and the backdoor they entered from broke off into a hallway that went into the back seating of the wedding. Guy followed the woman until she suddenly stopped.

“You can stop touching me now.”

Guy pulled his arm back. “Sorry… and thank you.”

“What do you plan to do now that I’ve gotten you past the guards.”

“I plan to break up the wedding.” Guy declared.

He didn’t know why he told the woman the truth, but he felt compelled to do so like it would be a shame if he lied to her. Upon hearing his statement, she didn’t seem to react much at all.

“Interesting.” She responded. “To what end?”

“To save everyone.” Guy explained. “The Galactic Alliance is mounting an attack on this station any moment. I need to break up the wedding so that people can have a chance to escape.”

“Is that so?” She sounded a bit surprised at this news. “They’ve certainly become bold. Does he want me so bad?”

“Huh?”

“Good luck, Guy. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Guy blinked. “You know me?”

“Boss! What are you doing? The wedding is almost over! They’re about to say their vows.” A familiar voice hissed from down the hallway. “Ah! Guy?”

“Vienna?”

“We were just discussing plans. Tell the girls to get ready. We might be skipping the reception.”

“Y-yes, Boss!” Vienna saluted before shooting me a dark look. “I don’t know what you’ve been up to since Madame Priscilla. We tried to see you after the bridal shower and she said you were preoccupied. You better not be causing her trouble!”

Guy opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words to even start correcting her. How was he the one causing trouble? This was all Madame Priscilla’s fault!

“Let’s get back to our seats. I’ve been told the wedding’s finale will be an interesting sight.” The mysterious woman turned her head toward Guy, and he got a feeling she was looking at him as a toy.

She broke contact and joined Vienna. Guy watched as the two went off to their seating near the back. As they left, he could hear Vienna speaking in hushed whispers to the girl. She seemed to be complaining about Guy. So, this was the Boss she was always talking about? She didn’t seem like much to Guy.

“He’s an absolute pig! You should keep your distance from him!” Vienna was saying to Boss as they walked out into the wedding room.

The bride was already at the front of the room across from the groom, and the head of ceremonies was finishing up an extremely long-winded prayer about the joining of souls and how they were meant to be together forever.

Boss was somewhat uncomfortable being at this wedding, but she came for one reason, and one reason only. Xara was standing next to the bride, wearing a beautiful dress and holding a small bouquet. If anything, Xara outstripped the bride for beauty, but no one would dare say such a thing. Well, compared to Madame Cherbyll, who wore an outfit slightly more elaborate in a direct attempt to outshine the bride, she earned scorn over Xara, whose beauty she couldn’t help.

There was also Dresdon sitting up front, wearing a white suit and acting like he had everything in control. Boss wondered how long that act would continue when an attack came.

“Boss!” Trinity spoke up as she saw them approach.

“Shhhh!” A random person whispered, causing Trinity to blush.

Almost all of the ladies from the ship had appeared. Only two of them had stayed behind for personal reasons. The rest had worn the best they could steal or trade for ultimately to enjoy this wedding. Guy was truly missing out. While none of them were dressed up as finely as the bridal party, it was still a rare opportunity to see them all dressed like ladies. Well, Rex had chosen to dress in a suit and tie.

“It’s a shame Guy couldn’t be here.” Ten sighed. “I might have even given him a dance.”

“He better show…” Dia frowned. “He’s been gone too long. I’ll kill him he leaves me waiting any longer.”

They got more looks, but if these girls cared at all about etiquette, they wouldn’t be themselves. They were too far away to be heard upfront, and most of those sitting this far back were just lucky to be there, and wouldn’t be the ones to disrupt the wedding because they were annoyed over a group of chatty women. Plus, their space had been deliberately reserved. Most of the reserved spaces were upfront, but no one was reserved who wasn’t somehow related to the wedding hosts. To be both reserved and placed in the back, left these girls as a major mystery.

“Guy is here alright.” Vienna declared angrily.

“He is?” Most of the girls looked over excitedly.

Boss’s eyebrow twitched upon seeing this. Their reactions to Guy were nearly as strong as their reactions to Boss. He had only been around them for a short period, but somehow Guy and what he was up to had become the most talked about thing on the ship. It sometimes even overrode their fear of Boss.

She didn’t know how she felt about this. Her hand instinctively went to her side. When a man had suddenly approached her and wrapped his arm around her, he had come seconds away from death. However, when she realized who it was, her curiosity had held her back. He had touched her. It might have been through a cloak, but she hadn’t been touched by anyone in longer than she could remember. The feeling was warm, and there was a strength in his arm that felt… somehow safe.

“Be quiet…” She suddenly spoke, causing the girls to immediately shut their lips in a way dozens of dirty looks from nearby guests couldn’t. “The show is about to begin. Get ready. Things are about to become interesting.”

The girls all shook at those words. When Boss said things were getting interesting, that usually meant a lot of people were about to die. The last time she had sounded this eager… they had escaped on the prison ship. Just what was about to happen, and were they going to survive it?

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