Authors Note: I know, I know, everyone\'s been craving some action. Well don\'t worry, chums, you\'re going to get some action. Just bear with me. I do have to develop some kind of plot, but the action is coming. Just buckle your seatbelts and let me drive this locomotive. ALL ABOARD THE TRAIN TO ADVENTURE!
CHAPTER SEVEN: Alcohol and a touch of Anger
The little craft pulled up to the residential section. I hopped out, thanked the human for the ride, and waved him off. I looked at my surroundings.
The residentail sector, at least the Class-A, was a respectable little community. Lines of polished, purple-ish roads lined with well-trimmed plants, stacked grey apartments, and lots of busy people. I walked down the path for about five minutes before taking a right. We were on floor #243, out of 250 floors, each one with thousands of apartments. Class-A was from 190 to 245, above that was the luxurious mansions, the Class-S. Below us was the Class-D apartments. More of a dangerous slum really. I had placed my mother as high as I could in the Class-A area. I walked down until I found apartment 243-A-914. I knocked on the door.
\"Who is it?\" Responded a sweet little voice from behind.
\"Room service!\" I responded loudly. I heard a little chuckle.
\"I don\'t want any!\" She responded, but I could hear her fiddling with the locks. The moment the door swung open she gave me a big hug. I smiled and hugged her back.
\"Hey mom.\"
\"Hey son.\" She led me inside. It was a fairly roomy apartment. A large main area with a fluffly red couch and a tv, which connected seamlessly into a fully equipped kitchen. There was a large main bedroom and a smaller guest room next to it, both with their own bathrooms. The only bad part is if you ever had two guests and one was on the bed, you\'d have to pull some pretty hardcore sneaking to get through one of the bedrooms to the bathroom if you had to take a piss.
I crashed on the couch. \"Did everything go well?\" My mom asked, walking into the kitchen and sitting on one of the barstools resting next to the central island.
\"Well-\" I laughed, \"-as well as hired work can go.\"
\"Was it safe?\"
\"Is it ever?\"
She forced a smile, \"Just like your father.\"
I sighed. My father died when I was young. Not from some dramatic accident, or a big battle. He was engaged in a war against some pirates and got shot in the dome with an old-terran sniper rifle. He died in the hospital ten hours later, having taken far too much brain damage. I was honestly too young to even remember him. All that I know is my mom said \'I was far too smart to just be a sergeant like him\', so I went to the University to become an officer. She didn\'t hold a grudge against me for getting into mercenary work, and she respected me taking care of her and being a ship captain, but she still worried for me. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. But can I really blame her? I am her son. \"Yeah, just like him. Except, you know, I have a ship. A really big ship, with really big guns, and lots of people on it with more guns.\"
She laughed, \"Especially that Jackson fellow, huh?\"
I couldn\'t help but laugh back, \"Yeah, especially Jackson.\"
\"You know, they didn\'t let me in 243 when we orginally came back. These two security guards said a dignitary was coming through and they had the area locked down.\"
\"And, what did you do?\"
\"Me? Oh lord I didn\'t do anything. But Jackson pulled out his old DFMC ID and showed it to them, saying he was part of the military. And they told him \'it says you retired from service\'. He tried to push past them but one of them stepped in front of him and the other one grabbed me.\"
\"Oh no.\" I said, knowing it couldn\'t have ended well.
\"So he punched the one that touched me in the face.\" My mom made a little swinging motion, and I rolled over laughing. This little tiny woman had all the fire in the world! \"And he broke the other ones taser before he could even pull it out. \'Does that look retired to you?\' He said! You definitely picked a good escort, Andrew!\"
\"Ha, oh my god, did you do anything?\"
She looked down, \"Well, I kicked the one who grabbed me in the shins. Kicked him mighty hard. Bet he\'s still icing it.\" She started laughing, \"I always did have a thing for sharp heels, you know!\". We spent the next couple of moments filling the room with so much laughter I worried the neighbors would come and complain.
I spent about three hours with my mom, sharing stories and generally just talking. She offered me something to eat, but I denied. I loved my mom\'s cooking, but I was just in the mood to drain out some of those EV\'s out of my brain, preferably with potent liquor and lots of bright lights.
The conversation coming to an end, I waved goodbye to my mom as I left her little apartment. I waved down a new taxi, this one driven by an AI. Weird, I thought, never seen an AI taxi in Zanzibar before.
\"Where to, sir?\" It asked me in a sweet female tone.
\"Hmm... The Bareback Strip.\" I said. Without a response, the vehicle kicked off into Zanzibar. It sped down, down past the slums and into the very bottom of the giant sphere, landing in a massive pack of other taxis, constantly taking off and landing again. \"Do I need to pay you?\"
\"Yes.\" it responded, \"Just put the money into the slot.\" A little slot opened up in front of me, and I deposited a few bills, and stepped out of the taxi. I smiled. The Bareback Strip was a wretched place, to be honest, but a fantastic little hell. The best, loudest, most active clubs ran by crime syndicates and gangs. Violent outbreaks, a complete lack of law, absolute disaproval of my mome and 100% satisfaction rate. Going to the Bareback was a bit of a gamble. Not a gamble of \'will this be good or not?\' but of \'what adventure am I going to have this time?\'
Strips of glowing blue lines guided hordes of people across the landing zone, helping keep people from submitting to twisted urban natural selection. Not to say people didn\'t regularly get hit by a taxi, but that was usually due to being intoxicated. I laughed to myself. I remember last time I came down here, there was a horde of drunk gangers playing a game: avoid the taxi. Every ten taxies you dodged, you took a drink, and you won if you got to 100 taxis. It\'s pretty self explanatory how you lost.
I stuck my hands in my pockets. I fished around for the final piece of the trilogy of stuff I kept in my pocket: wallet, phone, aaaand- there it was. Strapped to the inside of the left side of my jacket was a long barreled Gyrojet handgun. It was a common weapon among DFN officers, since it\'s rounds were uniquelly produced only by DFN factories and was assigned automatically to anyone who achieved officer\'s rank. They, instead of firing cheap normal ballistic rounds or magnetic accelerated rounds, fired tiny, 12mm rockets. Little holes along the last few inches of the barrel were covered in spiraling holes, allowing the release of pressure and causing a fantastic spiral array of little jets of flame every time a round was released. It was equipped with a holographic ammunition counter that projected to the left, a 12 round magazine, a set of three laser designators that projected in an upside down triangle shape from the barrel, thick rubber grips and PRAGNI UNIVERSITY engraved into the back of the handle and in on the barrel, and bright iron sights. Whenever you pulled the trigger, the round would rocket out of the barrel, powered by tiny little rocket thrusters. It accelerated exponentially and continuously after leaving the barrel, breaking the sound barrier at about four to five feet. It would then emit a loud, sonic crack and leave a long trail of thin white tracer. It made the weapon not only fantastic at far longer ranges than common conventional weapons, but was also there for shock and awe. Being a purely DFN creation, the Gyrojet was as much of a psychological tool as it was a weapon.
And by god was it seven inches of sexy.
Feeling comfortable with my defense holstered on the left and at least twelve more clips resting on the right. I walked into the alleyway about 50 yards from where I landed. I was immediately embraced by neon lights, brightly dressed individuals, and the muffled sounds of roaring clubs. It was a sight to behold: A strange blending of a blissful trance and a wretched hive of lust and booze. And I loved every minute of it.
I found a club that I oft attended, \'The Euroclub\'. It was ran by the expansive Euro Corp, a huge intergalactic business that had a massive amount of bars, clubs, and even a number of banks and law firms. Nonetheless, they definitely went overboard with the Euroclub.
I pushed open the doors and was immediately greeted with a thin layer of fog rolling among the floor. Bright, multicoloered laser lights poured out from the ceiling. The music was erupting with bass and I loved the feel of having the sound reverbrate through my bones. There was a massive circular bar in the middle, having a gigantic rotating pillar in the middle that poured out colored smoke that rose to the roof. On the far end was a dance floor, where rebels from every kind of human, sub-human, and even some distant aliens could be seen. A beautiful blue xeno bartender caught my eye however; She was tall, a few inches taller than me, and perfectly sculpted: she didn\'t have too many or too little assets, in any department. I strolled up to the bar and took my seat.
\"Well hey there, cutie.\" She said, \"What can I do for you today?\"
\"Well,\" I began, \"You could start by making sure I don\'t get wasted too fast, you know?\"
She smiled, \"I got you. What\'s the budget here?\"
\"I\'m a rebel with a deep pocket.\" I said. \'god I\'m bad at this\' I thought to myself, but she laughed.
\" \'Rebels\' don\'t usually come in here wearing a Pragni University ring.\"
\"Oh, I-\" I laughed, \"Yeah, you\'re right. I\'m just a private captain. I\'ll take something nice that I won\'t regret having drank later.\"
She smiled again. Was she stunning. She had freckled blue skin, and although she lacked humanoid hair, two long strands of of what I guess counted as hair fell from the back of her head and fell over her shoulders. Her eyes we\'re a bright blue, close to a humans, but with a much brighter white.
She stopped for a moment. \"Wait a moment, sweetheart... wasn\'t Cadia, well, you know...\"
I cringed a little bit. I forgot how news spread about the war so fast. \"Yeah... yeah it was.\"
\"We\'re you there when it happened?\"
\"I was just outside of Pragni University.\"
\"Oh, sweetheart. Here.\" She put down the bottle she had, and reached under the bar. She came back up with a small red flask, and poured some equally red liquid into a glass with three cubes of ice. \"This is on me. Just don\'t tell anyone.\" She slid me the drink.
I took it, and took a swig. It burnt, badly, but it wasn\'t a painful burn. It had a slight hint of apple cider. I liked it. \"So, hey, if you don\'t mind me asking, where are you from?\"
She laughed, leaning on the bar, \"What, don\'t know much about Aliens?\" She asked.
\"Well, ah-\" I stammered, \"Never took the class.\"
She giggled, \"My lord you\'re cute.\" She refilled my glass, from which I had taken two hard swigs. \"Don\'t drink too fast there, I like having someone to talk to.\" I laughed a little. \"Anyways, I\'m a Bittean.\"
\"Oh, oh, I remember Bittean\'s. I remember a friend of mine saying he had a Bittean friend.\"
\"Wouldn\'t surprise me. We\'re one of the more common Xeno\'s in human space.\"
\"Why is that?\"
She shrugged, \"Well for one, we\'re not ugly. For two, we\'re a pretty friendly people.\" She pursed her lip as in deep thought, \"And I guess humans like the cute Xenos. Or maybe it\'s the other way around. I don\'t know.\"
Someone took a seat next to me, but I didn\'t pay much attention. The Xeno had my full attention. We kept on chatting, and she kept on refilling my drink.
\"Say, how much would that kind of drink cost me? And what\'s your name?\"
\"Teila. Your\'s? And oh, lord, it\'s not even for sale. I brought this from home.\"
\"Andrew. So it\'s a Bittean drink? Well it\'s damn good.\"
\"Thanks! Made it myself.\" She smiled, and started pouring me another drink. By god, her eyes were just beauti- *CRASH*
I was startled by the breaking of glass. My glass, more specifically. Anyone elses glass and it would have been normal. I looked to my right to see a smiling pirate. Greusome little bugger. Deep, beady eyes, long dreadlocks, and a tight, thick leather suit laden with a thick denim vest and all sorts of shiny little dangles. \"Well then why don\'t you give some of \'at drink to me, \'oman?\" He said. His breath was disgusting.
\"Well, for one, maybe don\'t be an asshole.\" Teila responded. \"And maybe I would.\"
Some fire in her, I thought. She tried to pour me a new drink, but the pirate grabbed her wrist and forced her to pour her drink. I in return grabbed the pirates hand. \"Cmon,\" I said, \"Let\'s not cause any trouble.\"
\"Trouble, mate? I ain\'t lookin\' for \'rouble.\" He responded. Letting go of Teila, he turned his focus to me. With his free hand, he quickly grabbed the glass and went straight for my head. I tried to dodge, but it still managed to connect. And by god did it hurt. I returned fire with a solid blow to his face, and slid off from bar. He recovered quickly, and soon was face to face with me. \"I \'as just lookin\' for some booze, and maybe a \'lil punk to \'rush under me foot!\"
\"What makes you think I\'m a little punk?\" I said, blocking a jab he aimed yet again at my face.
\" \'Cause that prissy little ring you go\' on. The DFN \'recked me crew, so I \'hought I could take it out on a \'lil whiner like \'ou!\"
He instantly started wailing on me, but Pragni didn\'t make me into a \'lil whiner\'. Oh no, self defense was a big role, since even ship captains could find themselves planetside.
He went for the gut, I parried through his elbow, carrying his arm to the side and landing a hit square into his kidney. The club was a roar now, some people even encouraging the fight.
\"Ey look, everyone! A Pirate\'s pickin\' on a Pragnian!\"
He went for a hook, and it connected. I wasn\'t fast enough, and I felt my chin crack from under his massive, ring-covered fist. Blood dripped from my mouth. It made me dizzy, but god knows what would happen if I lost. A little image came up on my visor, a message from Jeremiah. \"You\'re bio signature just went wild, is everything okay?\" It said. Fantastic timing, I thought, the distraction being enough for the pirate to land one square in the nose. There was another message, but it dissapeared right after the pirate conveniently split my glasses in two. He landed a number of hits on my kidneys and a few to the dome. In a fit of blind rage, I grabbed his incoming fist, the pirate having gotten cocky with his movements.. I twisted it around and grabbed his elbow. With a loud *crack*, I heard and felt his elbow break in two. I clocked him right in the eye, and gave him a wicked hid haymaker to the botton of his ugly skull. He recoiled backwards, and fell down onto the floor.
\"That\'ll teach you I said.\" No sooner did those words come out of my mouth before a whole possie of pirates came up behind his whimpering friend.
\" He \'roke me arm! Get \'im!\" He shouted, pointing at me with his still functional arm.
\'Oh shit\' I thought to myself. Most of them charged me, and one even pulled out a gun. I dove behind the counter. I landed right next to Teila.
\"OhgodI\'msorryforthemess.\" I said as fast as I could. To my surprise, she was giggling. As I sprinted to the other side of the bar, a bullet spiraling through some of the glass bottles to my left, I could ear her say \"You fight like an anima! It\'s fantastic!\"
As much as I greatly appreciated her compliments, I didn\'t quite have the time to let it soak in. I slid across the counter as bullets whizzed around me. I got out my own Gyrojet and let of a few rounds, purposely firing at a high enough arch to prevent any civilian casualties, or any actual organic damage. I was really hoping the psychological effect would work. And sure enough, there was a moment of silence. I sighed, my head buzzing and my vision fading.
And then, just when I thought things couldn\'t get worse, I saw an ugly pirate head pop above me. I tried to raise my pistol, but he swatted it away, and then hit me in the face with a filled bottle of booze. I was close to blacking out at this point. \"Think \'our the fastest, eh, mate? \'Hink \'our the best?\" He started laughing, reaching for my hair. But right before he could, I heard him screech and saw his eyes widen. And then poof, like that, he dissappeared.
\"Who the HELL here thinks they can touch MY captain!? Huh? HUH!?\" I heard someone yell. I smiled. There was a lot of yelling and crashing and screaming. \"Hey, HEY! Stop RUNNING!\" I heard a loud crack and a womanlike scream.
\'Just in time, every time\' I thought to myself, before allowing my head to slip into darkness and gave myself the liberty of passing out.
