“Please,” Eva said, leaning closer to Pink. “Please do not dress me as a sexy lamp.”
Pink laughed, a deep, throaty laugh that did not bode well for Eva.
“Oh, look at these!” Regina said, gesturing at one of the loose outfits. “Qué lindo, they seem very comfortable. And they have pockets. You like pockets.”
“I do like pockets,” Eva said, raising her eyebrows at Pink. She hadn’t expected to be on her mother’s side about clothes, but maybe hell was having some freakishly cold weather. And anyway, walking around with a skirt full of jangly wires would make maneuvering through a crowd incredibly difficult. If she had to fight in something like that? Forget it, she was toast.
“Don’t worry, my little busy bee,” Pink said, grinning from cheek to cheek. “I’ll make sure you’re wearing something entirely appropriate.” She emphasized the last word as if she knew precisely what Eva was thinking.
“Sí, mi vida,” Regina said. “You’re going to look incredible.” She gasped and tapped Pink on the arm. “Mira, how about this one?”
“Ooh, but which color? Not the peach.”
“No, no, that’s always been bad with her skin tone. Espérate, how about this other one?”
“Do I get a say in this?” Eva asked.
“No,” the other women replied simultaneously.
Eva groaned. “Fine. Do your worst.”
Pink and Regina shared a look, and the twin smiles that spread across their faces made Eva immediately regret her choice of words.
Eva sat on the hanging seat in the room used for trying on outfits, sneaking a break from the endless incarnations of what she had decided was actually a line of lawn furniture. Even her mother had never been tacky enough to put a pink flamingo in her yard, but apparently a designer somewhere had seen one and fallen deeply, madly in love with the entire concept.
A psychic emanation did the equivalent of a polite knock. “May I request permission to enter in order to assist with the process of adornment selection?” a xana asked. The voice was vaguely familiar, and it wasn’t the person who worked in the store.
Eva climbed out of the seat and took a defensive stance. The walls were that smoky translucence, which meant she couldn’t hide better, but she could at least be ready if something happened.
“Come on in,” she said, and the door slid open.
It was one of the rebels. Felsira. She slid the door closed with one hand, the other carrying a dress that did, in fact, resemble a sexy lamp. Eva groaned inwardly.
“I have enveloped us in a secure radius of approximately three meters,” Felsira said, placing the dress in the small antigrav field that already held the flamingo abomination. “May I convey to you the request of the resistance?”
“Sure,” Eva said, relaxing slightly.
“We have learned of your invitation to the event at the Light’s decline,” Felsira said, hands entwined primly in front of her. “Our informants suggest this event will also include several individuals whose assistance is key to our infiltration plans.”
Eva wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I’m charming enough to talk people into joining up with you.”
Felsira emanated amusement as well as a shimmer of condescension that quickly vanished. “That is not necessary. We simply require psychic imprints from multiple sources with access to the Sylfe Company laboratories.” She reached into her clothes and retrieved a small silver device, flat and oblong, with no identifying features.
From outside, Eva’s mother yelled, “Mija, dale, let us see the next one!”
“Hold that thought,” Eva said, grabbing the flamingo dress and struggling into it. Despite her claims of being there to help, Felsira did nothing but watch.
Eva stormed out to where Pink and her mother waited. They made identical faces, as if they’d both seen an actual flamingo and were considering how best to escort it out of the store safely.
“That’s a no, right?” Eva asked. “Please?”
“Yeah, no,” Pink said.
“Maybe with the right necklace?” Regina suggested.
Eva made a disgusted noise and turned, smart as a soldier, to march back into the room. She closed the door and stripped again, then reached over to grab the device Felsira was quietly holding out.
“Not saying I’m definitely going to help,” Eva said. “I have to talk this over with my crew first. But how do I use this thing?”
“Its functions are automatic,” Felsira replied, folding her hands together again. “Simply carry it on your person and interact directly with the target for a minimum of—” Eva’s translator nanites hitched for a moment, then supplied “three point seven four minutes” in place of whatever time scheme Felsira had used. Something about feeds? Whatever.
“And how will I know who to target?” Eva asked.
“Try the other one on!” Pink called from outside.
Eva rolled her eyes and huffed a breath, then grabbed the awful lamp dress, which turned out to be a jumpsuit. It was entirely silver, a series of curving strips that formed a stripey pattern, covering her neck, torso, arms, and legs entirely except in places where a mesh-like material exposed her bare skin. It came with a matching jacket, so long that it dragged on the floor behind Eva like a train, though she imagined it probably didn’t do that for people who were taller than her. She might be able to fight in it, if she ditched the jacket, but she’d stand out like a comet on a cloudless night.
“It has a hat,” Eva said, holding the offending head covering like it was a dirty rag.
“I am sure it will be very fetching on you,” Felsira said, her psychic tone amiable. “To answer your query, we are prepared to provide you with data regarding each subject you are to engage with.”
Eva turned the hat over in her hands, trying to figure out how it went on. “That’s fine, but if this is a huge party, it might be tough to single out any one person, let alone three.” Especially since I’m short and xana are not, she thought sourly.
“Do you have a suggestion for improving the likelihood of success?” Felsira asked.
Eva considered it. “You don’t have anyone on the inside who could feed me information?”
“We will have people there, but it would not be typical for any of them to interact with you, and so it would almost certainly be noticed by the Watchers and other vigilant guests.”
“How about someone on the outside?” Even as she said it, Eva shook her head. “No, they’re monitoring comms, aren’t they? Or, at least they would know if I was getting random signals from somewhere nearby.”
Pink shouted again, “Come on, let us see the outfit!” and Eva groaned, rolling her eyes.
Eva threw open the door in an unintentionally dramatic fashion, then stalked out to where Pink and her mother were waiting. The way their faces lit up, Eva knew she was in trouble.
“Really?” Eva asked.
“It’s perfect,” Pink said.
“Eres un tesoro,” Regina agreed.
“I definitely look like something out of a chest of booty,” Eva muttered. “How much does it cost?”
Pink told her, and Eva stuttered a laugh. “Qué rayo!” Eva said. “Why did you even make me try it on? I’m not paying that unless it comes with a new FTL drive for our ship.”