Mitchell's Revenge

“Here,” said Lou. “Take a look at yourself now.”

She turned Lucy in the direction of the full length mirror in their hotel room. Lou had just finished Lucy’s hair and makeup. She was clad in the form fitting lycra suit and her high heeled dancing shoes. She activated the hologram so that she could see the full ballroom effect. She looked in the mirror.

“Oh my,” she said. “Even I don’t know who I am!”

Em lifted her head at the sound of Lucy’s voice and looked towards her partner.

The silver firefly pattern darted around her as she swirled the holographic skirts. Lou had fixed her short dark hair close to her head with sequins and silver combs that mimicked the firefly pattern on her dress. She had applied eye shadow and kohl pencil that made Lucy’s eyes look enormous. Long false eyelashes with tiny sequins on the ends were fixed to her top eyelids. They felt heavy on her eyes. Her lipstick was a dark brownish red.

“You look beautiful,” came Em’s voice quietly to the two women.

Lucy turned this way and that, admiring herself in the mirror. She was beginning to understand why people did this for a hobby. It was a physically demanding discipline that required intense mental concentration. Good for mind and body. Coupled with the opportunity to dress up like a princess and travel to different places to compete, it had just about everything.

She was fortunate that Grabb was a patient teacher who loved to dance. She was also grateful that Sibil had been able to create such a costume for her. Matt Hiljainen had done wonders with the programming. Lou was dressed in the elegant team manager’s suit that Sibil had created for the event. Sensible shoes completed her outfit.

The four of them had risen early to eat a good breakfast. They packed everything they didn’t need for the competition and took their luggage to Mitchell’s Revenge. The early morning walk helped to clear their heads. Jake quickly filled them in on the result of the pylon race. His focus now was to prepare the ship for a fast exit from the moon sometime during the day. Flick had been briefed and Matt was in place to monitor their tech.

Lucy looked at her reflection again and smiled. She eased the high heeled shoes from her feet and packed them into a small carryall. She changed into low heeled walking shoes. She pulled a long robe over the bodysuit and tied it at the waist. The firefly pattern sparkled from the breast pocket. Lou packed the makeup kit into her bag and checked the room for anything they might have missed. They met Grabb in the foyer to check out. Em stayed close to Lucy on her lead.

“Where’s Lucy?” asked Grabb, grinning at Lou. Lucy shook her head and then poked him in the chest.

“I’m right here!” she said. She smiled at her dance partner.

“Sensational job Lou,” said Grabb. “I’ll bet Jake won’t recognise her when we get back to the ship.” Lou smiled at him.

“I’d like to take a pic of you both when you’re in full kit,” she said. “I’m sure no one will believe it’s you unless we have photographic evidence. And I know Sibil would like to see the end result of all her hard work.” They nodded their agreement.

They gathered their bags and left the hotel. As they walked towards the main sports arena they could feel a buzz of anticipation in the air. Other dancers were heading in the same direction. They were easily recognisable from their sculptured hairstyles and heavy makeup. Even Grabb had makeup on his face that made him look much darker. Lucy scanned the competitors, looking for Anja.

As they neared the arena the betting kiosks came in to view. Punters were milling around them collecting dividends from the pylon race. Those who had backed Rufus had made a lot of money. Now they were studying the form of the dancers competing in today’s events. More bets were being placed.

With her enhanced vision, Lucy could see the names on the boards from some distance away. The Junior Championship competitors were listed with Aleksandr Ostrakov and Anja Orlov at the top of the list. The odds showing next to their names were short.

“She’s here,” Lucy whispered to Grabb. “And it looks like they’re being backed to win their event.”

“Which means we have to get her out before the final,” said Grabb quietly. “If they win we won’t be able to get anywhere near them. There’ll be people everywhere. It’s a big thing to win one of these Championships.”

They continued on their way around the betting kiosks and into the arena.