They went back to their ship and set a course for Chance on Tahu’s scout ship. The Zorgs set the ship to float nearby and alert them if anyone got too close. The first stop was a port where they registered the ship and their names. They were given the keys to two taxis, as well as ID coins, and were left to explore the city on their own terms.
The people walking around them were gussied up as well but some were accompanied by some rough looking characters. A few looked at them, one bulky with grey skin and a horn on its nose but eyes so small Jenny was sure it didn’t have any.
She looked toward Ya’Cahin as she handed one of the keys to her. “Alright we’re splitting up. Remember why we’re here and also be careful.” She said softly and smiled. “Think of this as a work vacation.”
“Work vacation,” Trey laughed as he went to Ya’Chain’s side. “Aye aye captain.”
Ula brought up the rear of their group as the four of them went toward one of the lot of taxis. That left Jenny with Tahu, Alice, and Rizier. Staring at the key she made a face and then handed it over to Tahu. “I’m assuming you can drive.”
“Of course I can,” they took the key and grinned as they walked off. Tahu guided them pointing out signs to show them how to get to the lot. The dock was an extension of the station, the cabs floating nearby tethered together. Another couple passed them to take their cab which dropped like a rock and into the city itself.
Alice looked over the edge of the dock and saw bustling activity below. Buildings stretching from the very core of the planet, balconies with groups partying, music floating across the air and more. She signed slowly, distracted to the point of having to repeat the motions. “I guess there’s no bottom?”
“There is. But getting down there takes some effort,” Tahu said hopping into the cab.
It had no roof and the seats were spacious. Tahu and Jenny got in the front, Rizier and Alice in the back. The dash board was pretty straight forward as far as Jenny could guess. She recognized a radio, the gear shift, the steering wheel and a glove compartment. She opened it but it was empty except for a note.
She turned it in her hands and then narrowed her eyes. “Store whatever you like but don’t get caught? Is that what it says?” she asked holding it to Tahu.
“Something like that,” they said as the cab hummed to life under them. “Hold on.” They dropped and the air whistled around them as Tahu got control again and flew them around. Some buildings were a light with bright colors while others were darker with softer blues floating along.
“So, we got clubs, casinos, and bars. A few shows and games are starting too. Where do we want to go first?” Tahu asked leaning back and meandering along the air. A few cabs passed above them and another almost crashed into them from below. Jenny gripped the side of the cab and saw the driver was hanging out the side of the cab. They shouted at them and Tahu shouted back in a language that she’d never heard.
“Do you know how to gamble?” Jenny asked leaning back into the cab. “Or at least are you good at it?”
“Now you’re asking the real questions,” they said and shrugged. “Can’t say I’m that great at it but I’m not awful.”
“Rizier has a great poker face,” Alice said glancing at them.
“I believe that is a joke at the fact that I do not have a face,” they said and Alice nodded. “Well that is true I have not tried gambling before.”
“It’s easy. You just have to be good at bluffing,” Jenny said.
“Then it sounds like we have a decision,” Tahu said. They turned the wheel of the of cab and took a sharp dive through the city towers and neighboring vehicles. The air whooshed past them and Jenny held a hand to her head and laughed at the exhilaration. She glanced at Alice who was a little more panicked, squeezing Jenny’s hand in a vice grip.
They righted themselves after a few minutes and balanced out as they flew toward a huge display of flickering lights that spun and danced around in front of them. Advertising with numbers, cards and something like dice all balanced within a glass. There were dozens of other cabs parked there with people walking along the edge of the building piers.
Jenny could hear the voices, mixed variations of languages that she’d never heard before but some were familiar. As Tahu parked the cab they swiped the card and the cab hovered and went into an almost sleep mode. One by one they stepped off and onto the platform.
The platform vibrated underneath their feet and vaguely Jenny could hear music. She reached out absently and felt Alice’s hand lace around her own. She looked at her with a and put on a game face. “Alright, let’s go people. Eyes sharp and dancing feet ready.”
“Dancing feet ready?” Rizier asked perplexed for a moment then shook their head. “Another figure of speech from your planet?”
“Yes and no,” Alice signed with one hand as they followed the platform around to the front entrance. There wasn’t a line at the front instead there was a machine that turned to face them. It had several skinny arms and its head was a large dome. It tilted its head and looked at them with several scanning blue eyes.
Producing their coins, they held them out to the machine and it made a soft ringing sound allowing them to each pass one by one. Tahu walked in front this time and pushed their way through a beaded veil.
The club was at least two or three stories high. There were colors bouncing off the walls, coming from spot lights on the ceiling and also on the dance floors. There were bars at two corners of the club and then booths and tables scattered around. The species varied to every shape, size, number of limbs, number eyes, and even level of opacity.
“So this is a space club,” Jenny said marveling and craning her neck upwards staring at how far up it went. The ceiling had light reflecting along it to resemble the sky outside. “So many people.”
Alice moved her hands almost lazily showing her awe, “Yeah. We’re just another drop in the bucket.”
“I wonder if there are other terrans out there?” Jenny asked.
“Maybe. The odds aren’t in your favor, but then again you were lucky enough to get picked up by us. And there’s millions of planets.” Tahu said with a small smile. “Let’s find a table.”
With their robot friend leading the way they stepped through the throngs of people finding an empty booth near the wall. It was made with a plush martial that was warm and very soft. A gentle white light came from the table that seemed to only envelop their bubble of an area. There were a few menus lying flat that were foreign to Alice though Jenny was able to translate some of it.
She pointed toward one drink. “This one is roughly like, Ice Flower. It’s minty but way more potent. Imagine getting a shot of straight ice with the kick of a mule and after taste of mint,” she explained and Alice made a face. “Yeah me either. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever known what you like to drink.”
Alice thought, flexing her fingers as she struggled for the words. “I haven’t really ever drunk anything. Alcohol was never something that I had a preference toward.” She finally said. “So maybe we can both try an Ice Flower.”
Jenny smiled and nodded. “What about you two?”
“I don’t drink,” Rizier said. “I like to have my mind in one piece.”
“They don’t serve drinks that are for my kind,” Tahu replied. “It’s hard to find alcoholic drinks for us in general and most don’t go the extra lengths for it.” Jenny made a face at that but Tahu smiled shaking their head. “Don’t worry. Get something for the two of you. Enjoy it. Though before you do, can you feel anything?”
Before she could initially order a robot came forward, a floating being on a tiny propulsion field. She stared at the menu for a moment and in a very bad accent ordered for herself and for Alice. The waiter took the order and after a glance toward Tahu and Rizier it zoomed away.
With the waiter gone Jenny paused and looked around. Feeling for the shard wasn’t something she really understood how to do. She assumed it would be like feeling for the crystal on the ship except different. She could in fact feel psykik energy in general but nothing like the shard.
She looked at him and shook her head. “At the moment no. There’s a lot of psykik energy but not the shard.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not here,” Rizier said as they glanced at them. “Just it may be hidden in the cloud of people. I think we should preform, some amount of reconnaissance. Get a feel for the room.”
As they spoke the music shifted, a beat that was up and fueled with energy. A song that made Jenny’s foot tap and her fingers dance across the table. She glanced toward the dance floor as it came to life with renewed vigor. Grinning she slid out of the booth, booting Tahu out for space. Swaying her hips she motioned toward Alice who was more hesitant. The moment Jenny took her hand though she relaxed and couldn’t help but smile as she was pulled to her feet.
“Just go with the flow,” she said as the waiter returned with some glowing blue drinks. They were small, barely bigger than a shot. She looked at them with curious eyes. They were clear but they did illuminate the booth. As she looked closer she saw they had tiny ice cubes floating within that were creating the light.
She took one and held it out toward Alice. Alice took it carefully and the two of them held the drinks out to one another. They tilted them back and took the drinks all the way down. Jenny took a step back and Alice caught her by the hand on instinct. Her rosy cheeks and wider than normal smile caught her attention sharply.
“Whoa. Maybe not take alien drinks a shot of a time,” she giggled into a full blown laugh and wrapped her arms around Alice. “Come on. Dance. Right now.”
She pulled on her hands and Alice couldn’t resist as she watched her girlfriend and barely signed. “Let’s do this.”
Jenny grinned wide as she took her to the dance floor. They maneuvered through the others, brushing against fur and avoiding anything that remotely looked slimy or slick but they found a little circle in which they could stand together. The music floated up from the ground like a breeze and she found her feet moving.
Jenny took a step back as she moved to the beet, stepping in circles, arms above her head and laughing. She did a quick turn and stared at Alice who was trying to mimic her but was far more stiff in her movements and awkward. She looked so focused on things that Jenny had to reach toward her and get her attention.
As they’re hands touched Alice met her eyes and her awkward face turned into a smile as she loosened up somewhat. Jenny moved slower, still in time but began leading her. Stepping forward, back, turning her around and going so far as to dip the taller girl.
“Since when can you dance like that,” Alice asked quickly another grin on her face.
Jenny just grinned. “There’s a lot I haven’t shown you about me.” She winked at her.
Alice gasped for a second then found her footing and smirked giving Jenny a small push back. Taking a few steps toward her she leaned into her girlfriend moving her shoulders and shimmying just out of touch. Jenny bit her lip but turn around and leaned her back against her chest, pressing as close against her as she could.
Tahu danced along to the music from the booth but their eyes were looking upward. There were levels above them where private booths were situated. No doubt for the people with influence and with money. Thinking to themself for a moment they tapped Rizier.
“Keep track of me. I’m going to do some recon. If things go bad let Jenny and Alice know.”
“Are you expecting things to go bad?” they asked inquisitively.
“Well, no. But gotta plan for the worst.”
“Sound reasoning,” they replied. “I will keep you in my thoughts.”
Tahu smiled and then pushed off from the table and navigated through the other club goes, avoiding tables and sharing glances here and there with smirks, grins, and winks. But they were heading toward the bar now. There were three or so others around at the bar.
One was deep in their own drink, some sort of fog creature. They couldn’t see through them, too opaque but their form was constantly shifting from six tiny satellites that floated around them like some sort of stabilizers. They’d seen them though never so many at once.
The other two were a green humanoid with thick cord like hair and an android similar to themself. They were sitting on top of one another and talking so closely Tahu doubted they’d know if they tried to take their wallets.
So they ignored them and focused on the bartender. A creature with a wrinkled and grump face. Tahu couldn’t find any discernable features like a mouth or eyes but they did feel it when the creature looked at them.
“A Zorg? Finally sick of your organization on tear?”
They winced but conceded. “Yes, something like that. Great big universe. Don’t want to be stuck in one place forever.”
“I guess. Nothing wrong with some structure. What you having?”
“Do you actually serve Zorg drinks? Your menu wasn’t very forthcoming.”
“Not my menu,” they grumbled. “I make anything a customer ask. But only some drinks make it on the menu.”
Tahu made a face in thought and nodded slowly. “Alright. You got Dekour?”
“What grade?”
They let out a breath and leaned back for a moment. “Six?”
“Yeah we got that. Boiled or charged?”
Tahu put their hands on the bar deep in thought for a moment. “Alright. Charged. Haven’t had a charged drink in ages.”
“Coming up.”
Turning around Tahu leaned against the bar and just watched the dance floor. They could just barely make out Jenny and Alice. But their eyes were more focused on the rooms above. A good chunk of them all were dark but some had soft golden lights within while others had flashing colored lights maybe for a private party or a meeting.
“Here, charged.”
Tahu glanced over their shoulder and then smiled at the glowing dark almost black drink. The glow wasn’t coming from the drink itself though. The drink was actually clear but the charge, the electricity running through it, was very visible and turned it dark. Sighing they could feel the energy running through their finger tips.
Taking a sip, it jumped against their skin quickly racing across their entire body and they jolted slightly and grinned. “Yeah that’s good Dekour. You know how to make a drink.” They grumbled at them in response and they took another sip in thought.
Swiveling around they looked around but their eyes kept straying back up. They took another sip and their eye caught the gaze of another nearby. The android at the bar. Their eyes were aglow with energy and they made a face to be kinda friendly.
“You keep staring up there,” they said and glanced at Tahu’s drink. “And you have good taste in drinks. If you really want, I can take you up there.”
Tahu arched their eyebrows slowly. “Yeah, I’m not from around this place.” they said as they sipped the drink. “Those the private parties or something?”
The android laughed and shook their head. “Sure, if you’re thinking what they’re doing is a party.” They hopped off their partner who swiveled and then slumped onto the bar. Tahu looked closer and blinked in shock seeing the dazed look and eyes rolled back. Their skin was riddled in marks akin to bites but more consistent and neat
They walked over to them and crouched, sitting almost in Tahu’s lap and pointed toward the soft yellow lit room. “That’s the sones gang. They’re pretty tame. Unless the lights go out. That’s when someone’s getting taken care of.”
As if on cue, the lights went off for a few minutes and then returned. The android made a ripping sound and swiped across their neck. “Don’t know who got taken care of but they’re gone now.”
They pointed toward the one with the flickering lights and her grin got wider. “That one there is a party. Hard core stuff going on in there. Probably drugs. Invite only but it’s crazy. I’ve been in only one. Haven’t found a way to get another invite. So what are you looking for. And come on, everyone is looking for something in this club.”
Tahu made a face and shook their head. “Looking for a stone. Well a shard of a bigger one. I work with some people who are interested in some psykik stones. And anyone who’s dealing in them is someone I know my captain would like to talk to.”
“Psykik stones?” they snorted. “I can’t stand psykiks. With their crazy abilities and power trips. All a pain in the ass.” They shook their head and laid her hand upon Tahu’s shoulder. “I must prefer something a bit more inorganic and firmer.”
Tahu smiled and pulled away from their touch. “Psykiks are a part of life for our crew. And my captain is definitely hunting for those stones. So, do you know anything about them? Or should I poke around bother some other customer?”
“I might. What’s in it for me?” they asked arcing their eye. “Nothing’s free here after all.” Their fingers danced across Tahu’s arm and they felt electricity dancing between them. Tahu got the feeling that their companion had been getting a special kinda high from it. But they on the other hand weren’t really about it.
“Money. Company. Information. Take your pick.” They said simply as they finished their dakour and set it against the bar. The android moved closer about to answer when they heard glass breaking and their eyes snapped to the source of the sound and it was way above.
Glass rained down onto the dance floor and people were screaming, already running away but no one had hit the ground yet. Looking up Tahu’s mouth opened slightly as they watched someone floating in the air. They dangled supported by black pyskik energy screaming silently at who or whatever was holding them up there.
And then they were dropped, plummeting to the ground like a rock. They crashed into the dance floor in an explosion of body parts and fluids with another round of screaming. The android beside them giggled and kept a hand over their mouth. “Oh wow, they actually killed one like that. Thought they were trying to be more low key but that was something special.”
“And who pulled that off?”
The android shrugged and placed a finger over their mouth. Turning they ran through the bar disappearing into the crowd. Tahu turned back toward the dance floor looking for Jenny and Alice. The area had been cleared for the time being while large figures in black came over.
Two were reaching around and picking up body parts, another was spraying a solution onto the ground, and the others were keeping the gapers back. They were a variety of creatures, an android one that looked like some sort of sea creature and others hairy but all of them were big.
Taking a step away from the bar Tahu slid away and back towards the table but kept a wary gaze on them There was a lot of talking and murmuring going on. They caught bits of it but none were names. Just shock at the gore and the.
Returning to the table both Jenny and Alice had also recently come back. Alice was holding her and Jenny looked at Tahu but her fingers were jittering along Alice’s arms. “Did you hear anything at the bar that might explain this?” she tried to gesture toward the mess.
“Sadly no,” Tahu said and turned their gaze toward the upper levels of the club. “But I have a few idea as to what the next step would be. Did you feel anything earlier? Before they were dropped?”
“I had some sense of things but it was muffled. I couldn’t tell for sure.” She said with a hard frown and pressed a hand to her forehead. “There was definitely strong psykik energy but I can’t say for sure who it came from.”
Tahu glanced at Rizier who shook their head. “There were too many minds thinking and panicking at the time. I couldn’t pinpoint the user.”
“It did get a little crazy,” Tahu said and stared at the general direction of where things had happened. “I get the feeling one of the gangs that run this little moon are involved in this. There’s at least three and I doubt any of us want to get involved with them.”
“Noted.” Jenny made a face and looked at her crew. “Then let’s make like a tree and leave. No use staying any longer.” She said and there were blanket agreements amongst her crew.
Before any of them could move there was commotion on the dance floor again. People stepped away creating a path as a line came forward. They were all tall, dressed in elegant and flashy clothes, gold and silver jewelry that trimmed their clothing and flashed in the light. Their skin was dark purple, sharp angled fingers and spines that protruded out of their elbows and heads almost like horns. None of them looked at the other club goers. They just walked forward as if the owned the world, or at the very least could buy it.
Everyone else in the club did stare at them though but no one dared to speak on their sudden appearance while gossip exploded in their wake. Though the people tried to keep their voices down it was obvious that the purple figures heard them.
But it was different when they passed the four mercenaries. Jenny watched them and though none of them looked her, she held her breath. She didn’t know why but she felt a pressure around her throat, a vice squeezing on it to the point where she saw spots. When they finally left the club, she gasped and slumped against Alice.
Jenny looked through blurry eyes and stared at them as they departed the club. One of the strangers had turned to look back at her. They had curving horns from her forehead and looked very feminine to her. She couldn’t have been sure but she swore she saw them wink at her before disappearing through the door.
“Are you alright?” Alice signed slowly, her free hand not cooperating, with her other arm holding Jenny upright. Jenny nodded and started to rub her forehead and looked at her team. Her eyes focused on Rizier, who’s sand was displaced and floating around them.
“Are you okay?” she asked them.
They paused for a moment before dragging their sand back under the bandages and into a single shape. Gripping the table for a moment they gave a very slow nod. “Yes. I will manage.”
“Alright. I think it’s time we double down on getting out of here. We’ve gotten nowhere fast, witnessed a murder and some pyskik backlash. Doing great. Hopefully Yaya and her team are having better luck.”
The Harlequin Library 