"Yes, I would like them all, and no, I don't need any help carrying them. I'm not as delicate as I look and I don't trust you thieving Nardyskians with my things. This luggage is worth more than your entire obsolete spaceport!" A very cranky Mrs. Speiss stood at the collection desk with her hands poised on her hips, looking down the bridge of her nose at the clerk, a partially bald middle-aged man dressed in an oversized shirt and dusty overalls that stretched generously over the bulge of his stomach. Tuofah, who sat inconspicuously in the corner of the office with her bowl in her lap, admired the man for his lack of a reaction to Mrs. Speiss' fiery requests. 

"Eddie!" The clerk called over his shoulder, presumably to his assistant in some back room. "Bring out a cart for Carlotta Speiss, would ya?"

Tuofah couldn't help but silently snicker. Of course her name was Carlotta.

"Carlotta Speiss?" came the shrill, distant reply. "You mean Miss I'm-Rich-Young-Blonde-And-Married-To-A-Councilor? The one who's got five million suitcases for a one-week trip? I don't reckon one cart'll be enough, sir!" 

"She's right here, you oaf!" the clerk fumed. "Bring out the damn suitcases!" 

A harsh squeaking noise was followed by the displacement of a panel of wood in the wall behind the clerk. Out stepped a scrawny shrimp of a boy pulling behind him by a single protruding handle a metal cart loaded with at least ten small, frilly suitcases. 

"Thank you," Carlotta spat without an iota of gratitude in her voice, taking the handle harshly from the boy. "My husband is the head of the Council's Tactile Ministry, and he will hear about your poor service and blatant rudeness to customers. Good day to you." Pulling her feathered overcoat tighter about her shoulders and adjusting her ridiculous sunglasses, she tramped out of the humid office, lugging her cart of suitcases behind her. 

"...Good day to you, too, ma'am," the clerk sighed deeply, not bothering to look at Carlotta Speiss as she exited the door, followed closely by Tuofah. 

"Honey, why didn't you hire a porter? You'll break your back trying to move that luggage yourself." 

The faint words, barely audible to Tuofah, emanated from Carlotta's earpiece. The Tactile inched closer to her, straining to hear her reply. 

"Oh, you can't trust these Nardyskians. You won't believe what one of them just said about me! Tell Hodgkins to get the ship ready- I'll be off to the restroom to see if I can repair what damage this heat's been doing to my complexion, but when I'm done, I want out immediately. And please do me a favor and never book this godforsaken port again!" 

The restroom. Perfect. She wouldn't be able to take her mountain of luggage in with her- she would have to leave it somewhere, and Tuofah would be the first to discover where that 'somewhere' was. 

"Forget it, kid. You won't get a penny from Speiss." 

Tuofah turned around to see an elderly beggar resting against a pillar, his bare feet stretched out in front of him. She fidgeted with her torn coat in embarrassment; the man had seen her follow Carlotta out of the collection office. 

"It's...it's worth a try?" Tuofah replied, slightly unsure of herself. This was enough to get Carlotta's attention. 

"Will you derelict pieces of Nardyskian scum leave me alone, or must I call the police?" she turned around, pure disgust filling her piercing, green eyes. 

Tuofah turned around, taking a few slow steps away. This was enough to satisfy Carlotta, who then continued her luggage-burdened trek toward the triangular building that housed the private area's only set of restrooms. The woman was easily provoked, but luckily, she was just as easily pacified. Watching the shape of her conspicuous silk dress recede out of the corner of her eye, Tuofah turned back toward her, this time in a lazy arc rather than a purposeful twist. She followed Carlotta at a much farther distance, now aware of the beggars all around her. Every time one of them caught her eye, she paused deliberately and looked up at the spaceships that cut through the sky above her, trying to seem as if she was just sauntering along without any regard for the Reloriose socialite a few yards in front of her. She could not afford to be detected again- she would surely be apprehended, and one scan of her fingerprint would expose her as the daughter of a criminal.

Carlotta stopped at the restrooms, speaking to a nearby security guard in a hushed whisper as she gestured dramatically to her cart of luggage. Tuofah leaned against the concrete wall of the building, pretending to take shade in its arching shadow as she stole occasional glances at the pair. Soon, she saw Carlotta disappear into the building, leaving the security guard alone with her luggage. 

Now was her chance. 

Tuofah slowly inched along the wall until she was just inches from being in the guard's line of sight. She heard the guard whistling carelessly to himself as he circled the cart of luggage, clearly not thrilled that he had to babysit a stack of suitcases. Hearing a harsh, scraping sound, she turned across the corner of the building so that she was face to face with the guard, separated from him only by one long concrete wall and a ridiculously large pile of luggage. It was only then that she saw what had been making the noise- the guard had obtained a large rock and was kicking it across the sandy ground, watching the dust rise up in its wake. He grew steadily closer to Tuofah and farther away from the now unattended stack of luggage. 

It was now or never. 

Tucking her bowl under her arm and hanging her head lethargically, Tuofah began to walk toward the guard. She forced herself to act natural, taking exaggerated breaths as they grew closer to each other. Some paranoid instinct within her was almost certain that the guard would somehow know her intentions the moment he looked at her, but she buried this thought, forcing herself to move ahead. 

Not surprisingly, the guard simply passed her, turning the corner to patrol the other side of the restroom facility. She had done it. She had convincingly passed herself off as a simple beggar, but the hardest part of this was still ahead of her. She would need to snag a suitcase and get far enough away before the guard finished circling the building and ended up back at the cart.

Squaring her shoulders, Tuofah relished the last second of her cover before sprinting blindly toward the cart. Her heavy boots kicked up a cloud of dust behind her as she reached the metal contraption, pulling the smallest, lightest-looking suitcase off the top of the pile. To her relief, she found that she could easily carry the frilly, purple thing pressed close to her chest. Before she could take off in the opposite direction, a flash of red on the cart's handle caught her eye. 

A facial recognition camera. 

Her first thought was to duck out of the way, but it was already too late. The red light swooped across her eyes, calling out its diagnosis with a blaring alarm. A red holographic screen covered in blocky, white text popped up above the cart.

Tuofah Lynnstrijker. 
22 Imperial orders for capture and/or kill. 

Daughter of Tarien Lynnstrijker, kidnapper of Eric Remy. 

Tuofah stared at the words in front of her, dumbstruck. Her father had kidnapped the Prime Minister's son? No wonder she and her mother had so many Imperial orders after them! 

Yet, this was a very bad time to ponder the criminal history of her family. She heard the security guard's shouts and the sound of his feet on the sandy ground as he ran around the corner and straight towards her. He must've heard the alarm. 

Hoping for the best, Tuofah clutched the suitcase tightly to her chest and took off in the general direction of the gate, where Hugo said he'd meet her. She tried to unzip the suitcase as she ran, fishing around for what she needed as pearl earrings and bracelets dropped out of it, creating a trail of jewelry in her wake. She realized too late that this slowed her down significantly. Just as her hands closed around what felt like a thick fur coat, the security guard was only a few feet behind her and the gate loomed several yards ahead. 

Think fast. 

Yanking the coat out of its confines and slinging it over her shoulders in what was probably the completely incorrect way, she hurled the open suitcase in the direction of the security guard. It flew awkwardly through the air, spewing clothes and bottles of perfume as it sailed towards him, smacking right into his chest. Tuofah heard the guard's squeal as every beggar in the vicinity ran to him in a free-for-all, helping themselves to the variety of expensive clothes and jewelry that now lay all around him. 

"This is a very fine cigar." 

Tuofah whipped around to see Mr. Speiss- no, Hugo!- leaning casually against the guardrail around a launchpad as he pulled the roll of tobacco out of his mouth to inspect it. Unlike she, who had barely managed to pull a fur coat over her outfit, he was dressed immaculately in a gray suit complete with a complementary tie and cigar. 

He flashed a crooked smile as he watched the shock register on her face. "I told you I saved some goodies from the ship," he chuckled, holding up an empty syringe. "Let's just say I had an unfair advantage, although it certainly looks like you had some fun." He gestured forward with his cigar at the security guard who was now running around blindly with the suitcase over his head. The beggars continued to circle him rapidly in a race to collect all that was left. 

This sight brought a smile to both of their faces, making them forget for a moment that they were still in danger. 

"We need to get on the ship, now. The kids have already snuck on," Hugo said, his voice growing serious. 

"Right," Tuofah replied, already stepping over the guardrail. The beggars wouldn't distract the security guard for much longer, especially now that he knew who she was. How he would treat a petty thief was very different from how he would deal with Tuofah Lynnstrijker.