This story is a direct follow up from Gateway to the Stars but reading that, or any of my preceding stories is not necessary to enjoy this adventure. All you need to know is our heroine, normal earth girl Brenna, has leaped through a portal to find her missing boyfriend, Michael and ended up stranded in space. She's fallen in with the crew of the Silent Leopard and is now trying to book passage to where she believes her boyfriend to be.
Chet kicked a dusty rock at the base of the Silent Leopard where it bounced out into the harsh sunlight. Esiar rolled her eyes at him as he paced back and forth.
"You are not going to make this go any faster, you know." She says, "Lia has to haggle for our moorage fee and then it always takes forever for a free rattlecart to take us down to the surface."
Arven nods. "This is true. It is always obnoxiously long." Chet keeps fidgeting.
"I know, I just... it's been a long space flight and I'm ready to be here. Look, you can even hear them down there!"
It was true. From your vantage point up on the sandy cliffs, you could hear the sounds of music, machines and revelry drifting up from the narrow canyons cut deep into the rocks. Not that you stood anywhere near the edge, that drop off is steep!
You stroll up behind Esiar and absent-mindedly fondle her bottom. She gives you a flirty smile and wriggles her hips under your grasp.
"Okay, so what is everyone going to do when you get down there?" You ask.
Chet stops his pacing.
"Well, first stop, I'm going to find a commlink and talk to my folks back on Malkenair." Chet says. "And then maybe get a bite to eat..."
Arven cuts him off, the large Boraheld's voice rumbling in your ear.
"We all have things we have to do, what do you want to do?" He asked.
"Oh, well in that case, I was going to head over to the chopshop a little north of here and see if a couple of my old buddies from the Janus wreckyards are there. Grab a few drinks, shoot the shit and catch up."
Arven nods.
"That is good. Friends are good." He says simply. "I will seek out the Oracle of Lazerus. She has a temple here. I will give offerings and she may provide me guidance on my next path in life."
"You mean your path after us?" Esiar asks, a little reproachfully.
"Yes." Arven says unruffled, then seeing Esiar's face, add, "It is time. You should consider moving on too. We all have our own ways to go." He looks pointedly at you.
"Well, I'm going to go to the Octopus Bar and paaaaarty!" Esiar says with a whoop. "I'm going to dance, and drink and celebrate because, after all, we just got paid! Time to be wildly irresponsible!" Her laughter is infectious and even Arven cracks a smile.
"How about you, Brenna?" Chet asks. "What are you going to do here on this Planet of sin?"
"I have a job to do, actually." You say, "I need to book transport to the Abhaile Cluster."
"Boring!" Esiar says with a laugh.
"Are you going to be alright figuring out how to do that?" Arven asks, concerned. You shake your head.
"I'm not too worried. Once Lia collects payment for the job you all just finished, she's going to give me a share,"
"A completely fair arrangement. You've more than earned it over the last week." says Chet sincerely.
"You just say that because you are sleeping with her!" Esiar says laughing.
"We are all sleeping with her!" Arven contends and the group descends into laughter.
"But yes, Lia says that there should be more than enough money to provide for transport, if I can find a ship." You say.
"There's thousands of ships going in and out of orbit every day. I bet you could find at least one going out there, even if it is in the middle of nowhere." Esiar says reassuringly.
"I hope you find what you are looking for." Arven says.
"Thanks." You say. "Oh look, here comes Lia!"
True enough, Lia was making her way over to where you landed by skimmer bike with a large man-shaped robot riding shotgun. She skids to a stop in front of the ship, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Coughing, you wave it out of your face as everyone gets to their feet.
"Alright team, Bruno and I have come to terms. The ship is safe and we are free to come and go as we need." The automaton steps out of the sidecar and stands in front of the ship.
"The sentry knows our likeness so we are all good to go. Hop in!" and with that everyone clambors into the sidecar and whizes off to the edge of the canyon. From there, the five of you load into an open air elevator, barely more than a metal cage on a cable and you descend down, down, down to the bustling canyon floor of Twee Bon.
CA-CLANG! The elevator slams into the dusty base of the canyon as you and your crewmates disgorge into the flow of people, wrapped in varying degrees of clothing, armor and rags. Everywhere you look, you see wonders. Men with deep green leathery scales for skin, robotic people skittering along the ground, a cacophony of voices and languages, all yelling and bartering and laughing. A kaleidoscope of the universe.
Arven gives your arm a comforting squeeze and then vanishes into the crowd without another word. Esiar begins to head off towards a deeper ravine but Lia shouts for her to hold up and pulls you aside.
"Here," she pushes a handful of currency, narrow green metal bars like small jenga blocks, into your hand. "That's an advance on your cut of the job. I know you don't have any money and you should probably get a Zakitta."
Esiar kicks at the dirt impatiently a few paces off. Beyond her, you see a couple of shrouded women beneath the overhang of a market booth watching the elevator with interest. You take the money, jangling it in your hand and then realize, you don't have any pockets on your skirt.
"What's a Zakitta?" You ask but your eyes are drawn to activity above you across the cavern. The stone edifice is riddled with caves, holes and balconies. A muscular man, shirtless with blue skin and gleaming red eyes, tips back a drinking horn, guzzling a clear liquid till it runs down his neck and chest. He finishes and wipes his mouth with a meaty hand, and surveys the scene below.
"It's a jacket, keeps you warm and cool here on Twee Bon. There!" Lia points out a lanky woman coming with the flow of traffic, pulling a small hand cart. She is wearing a long brown coat. It rests on her shoulders with minimal adornment and split along the sides and up the middle. It has, to your eyes, an Arabic cut but now that you've noticed it, you see several other people wearing them up and down the street.
"Esiar will help you shop, trust me. It's worth it if you get stuck topside." Two floating robot orbs, chittering in a rapid fire series of clicks and beeps, float past you, nearly colliding with Lia's head.
"One more thing," she leans in close, speaking softly into your ear so that she can be heard, her breath hot on your neck.
"The OCC might not control this system, but they still have plenty of friends here. Be careful who you trust and watch your back." You nod solemnly.
With that, she gives you an affectionate pat on the cheek and slips off into the crowd.
