After going through the detailed plan once, Mazton approved it immediately. However, there was a small problem. They still needed to fool the terrorists into thinking that Eula was on the private spaceship and not anywhere else.
To do so, Ashton suggested that the Consorts should board the private ship. Judging by how the consorts always travelled by Eula's side, having them board the fake ship would be convincing enough for the terrorists to attack the private ship instead.
This is where the problem began. The consorts were not ready to separate themselves from their mistress. The moment Mazton inform them of the plan, they vehemently opposed it.
Considering they were his clients along with Eula, Mazton could only try and convince them. But they weren't budging from their stand and were adamant to accompany Eula no matter the cost.
While Ashton wanted the association to handle the official business, the morons were getting on his nerves because they were unnecessarily prolonging the trip. It wasn't acceptable because not only was he losing money, but the bastards were also endangering the Association and the well-being of his client as well.
The longer they waited there, the higher the risk of getting invaded got. Especially since Ashton took out Morrill who was serving as an information provider for the terrorists. His Absence would soon be questioned and the terrorists could even launch a full-scale attack on the tower. Though the chances of doing something like that were slim.
Mazton was still trying to negotiate with the consorts when Ashton walked up to them and grabbed one of them by the collar. His hostile reaction shocked everyone there, but after seeing how easily he had managed to handle the terrorists, no one on Eula's side wanted to mess with him.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Listen here, you high-class braindead shapeshifting piece of shit. I've had enough of you and your brothers or whatever you call them," Ashton pulled the consort's face awkwardly close to his, "I don't care why you have a problem with the plan we came up with, but what I do know is if it wasn't for your negligence and stupidity, we wouldn't be needing a second plan in the first place."
Ashton then let go of the Scalvi and continued, "If anyone has the right to be angry, it's us, the mercenaries. If you had done your job adequately, we wouldn't have been infiltrated in the first place and would most likely be on our way to Lady Eula's planet. So suck it up and rectify your mistake, rather than spouting nonsense and causing more troubles."
After saying his piece, Ashton backed away and continued scanning everyone through [Detection]. Although the way Ashton handled things wasn't anything Mazton would usually approve of, this time he made an exception because the consorts were unnecessarily making things difficult for them.
In case he wasn't representing the association, Mazton would have done something similar with the Scalvis.
"Lady Eula has already approved of the plan, so let's continue without any holdup," Mazton replied, "I'll get everything ready, and you should just stick to the plan."
The consorts silently nodded and left the chamber to prepare for departure. In the meantime, the tower contacted one of the nearby stations to call for a 'Space Taxi'. Luckily, one of the fastest ships they could provide was around the area and would reach there in a couple of hours.
Mazton personally contacted the captain of the ship known as 'The Endearing' and walked him through the plan. The captain wasn't given complete details for obvious reasons and was only informed they had valuable cargo that needed to be dispatched immediately.
Mazton's reputation played a strong part in convincing the captain, but finally, he agreed to take the cargo and 15 armed guards to protect the 'goods'.
It took a lot of convincing to allow the mercenaries to use weapons, as it was a well-known rule that anyone boarding a transportation ship has to surrender all weapons before boarding. As if that wasn't enough, everyone's access to the inventory was also restricted for the duration of the travel. But out of respect for Mazton, the captain allowed the mercenaries to carry weapons on them.
That being said, it would be suspicious if a spaceship suddenly appeared at the same time as Eula was about to depart. That's why Mazton instructed the captain to ask for permission for emergency refuelling of the ship on open channels and brush up his acting skills.
While acting, Mazton would decline the request citing they were taking care of something important. But after listening to the captain's plea for help, the tower would agree to their request and it was during this 'refuelling' session, that Eula and the mercenaries would secretly enter the ship.
Once all of this was set and done, the private ship would take off as planned and sometime later the public ship would take follow it from a safe distance. After observing the situation for a few days, the ship would then take a detour to drop them off on their destination planet.
This was the plan Ashton came up with. By no means did he or anyone expect it to be a smooth ride, but it was the best they could do given the situation.
As planned, The Endearing arrived at one of the ports and as soon as it docked, the consorts entered the private ship along with an Ena-bot disguised as Eula. While the public ship got refuelled, the consorts' ship took off at full speed to get as far away from the tower as quickly as possible.
Eula, on the other hand, was a bit... uneasy. Travelling like this, especially with strangers, was way out of her comfort zone. Thankfully, she did have five of her original bodyguards with her so it wasn't as bad.
"Here, take this."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhile they were preparing to secretly board the ship, Ashton walked up to her and handed her a mask. However, it wasn't an ordinary mask. The silicone mask had an ability imbued in it, the ability to distort the user's face.
While it wouldn't give Eula a completely new face, it would be enough to make her unrecognisable. This was more than enough to keep her identity a secret.
"Thanks..." Eula mumbled and wore the mask before turning to face Ashton, "How do I look?"
"Unrecognisable." Ashton coldly replied before walking away.
"You're weird..." Eula mumbled thinking Ashton wouldn't hear her, but he did, thanks to his extra sensitive hearing.
"I get that a lot." Ashton uncharacteristically broke a smile, "Lay down comfortably, we'll be getting out of here shortly. Just hold on till then."
Watching Ashton smile made Eula return his smile, but the smile on her face disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. It wasn't because anything bad happened, but because she realised it was the first time she genuinely smiled because of someone else.
It was a weird feeling, to say the least, especially because she couldn't recall a single instance when she was happy. But now that she was under the threat of losing her life at any moment, she was finally enjoying life... a normal life.
"Can I ask you something..." Eula muttered, "if you don't mind, that is."
"Shoot."
"I'm not the first succubus you have met, am I? One of my kind has imprinted on you, marking you as her property, well, not literal property but someone she cares about a lot."
"As I mercenary, I can't reveal the details of my personal life to a client," Ashton nonchalantly replied, "But you can say so. Now, lay down quietly, I'll come to fetch you when we are ready."