Queen of The Dome (QOTD)
Queen of The Dome: Chapter 21

Cassian’s legs were growing tired, but he didn’t complain. Eulalia was powering on in front of him and he didn’t want to give her an excuse to chide him. They’d been walking for over a week now and while they hadn’t had any more run-ins, the journey was beginning to take a toll.

“You sound like an overused engine,” Eulalia called behind her.

So maybe he wasn’t being as discreet as he thought he was.

“Excuse me for being human,” he said under his breath. “Not everyone is gifted and has unlimited strength.” The journey was making him tired and irritable.

“Not unlimited. Enhanced,” she replied as she kept walking. Of course, she heard. “And it’s not like we’re running, you shouldn’t be this…” She abruptly cut herself off and stopped in her tracks.

He looked around for the source of her distraction before nervously asking, “What?”

“I just thought of something,” she said distantly. “How are we gonna get in? It’s not like we can just knock on a door. We can’t even get past the exterior border without being ambushed.”

Cassian sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’re only thinking about that now?”

Eulalia turned to him. “Well…yeah. I’m still going, we just need a plan.”

Cassian shook his head and walked ahead of her. “So if I wasn’t with you that night, you would’ve just waltzed up to the Dome with no idea how you were going to get in.”

Eulalia started again to catch up with him. “I would’ve thought of something. I’m not just some impulsive idiot.”

Cassian threw a look over his shoulder. “I already have a plan. You’re welcome.”

Purposely not expanding, he allowed himself a small smirk when he heard her grumble behind him. “Care to share?”

He wanted to gloat but decided to put her out of her misery. “We’re not knocking on any doors. I’ve been memorizing their trading routes for months.” His thoughts momentarily darkened as he remembered why he had learned those routes but pushing them down, he continued. “In twenty hours, there will be a trading stop a mile west of the northern border. We’re hitchhiking.”

Eulalia snorted. “Okay, Cassian. We’re gonna walk up to the nice officials and ask them for a ride into the Dome.”

“I never said they would know we’re catching a ride.”

She huffed. “All right, but where are we gonna hide? They’re traders, it would only take them opening the trunk to replace us.”

“We’re getting on after the stop. Blockade.” He’d done it a hundred times but he left that part out. He wasn’t so proud of it anymore. “They’ll get out to remove it and we can hop on. Hide behind the merchandise. It’s their last stop too so it’d only take a day to get into the Dome.”

Eulalia thought about it. “Okay, I’ll admit, that’s a good plan. But, what do we do once we’re in? They’ll arrest us the second they unload.”

At that Cassian turned to her. “I can’t do everything. I got us a way in. You figure out the rest.”

He expected a comment dripping with sarcasm but she only watched him for a while, then nodded.