Sora

Drassun, the planet, was covered in verdant green forests that were only ever broken up by the occasional blue of a winding river. It was beautiful from orbit, but everything that I read had described those same forests as being full of dangerous plants and animals.

Drassun, the city, had dealt with those dangers by cramming its borders into a too-small crater then tunneling down and out.

There were dozens of massive skyscrapers in the center of the city, many of which were easily over a kilometer high.

The size of the buildings decreased at a steady rate until they reached the walls of the crater, which were pocked with residences and wide tunnels. Even from up here, there was a clear divide of wealth.

They had directed us to land in a hangar that was part of a large building near the center of the crater. This meant navigating through the tall buildings and the bulk of the city’s traffic. Thankfully, our friend, the lieutenant, had marked us as VIPs, which gave us priority through most of it.

It also painted a huge red target on the ship, but that was a problem for future us.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling that the “future us problems” were going to become “urgent now problems” pretty quickly.

This feeling was mostly because there was a tough-looking pair of humans standing impatiently in the hangar as I brought us in to land.

I sent a message to the cargo bay through the intercom to let Bryce and Thea know to expect company, and then I left the bridge to join them.

The ramp was already lowering by the time I got there and the smaller of the pair greeted us.

“I wouldn’t start unloading your cargo if I were you. The boss wants to meet, and she’s not happy.”

The woman was standing at the base of the ramp and as we approached, I realized that “smaller” wasn’t a word that fit her at all.

She was almost two meters of toned muscle. The only reason she had even looked small was that she was standing next to the largest human I had ever seen.

The man was nearly half a meter taller and equally as muscled. He just kind of stood there menacingly.

“I take it you two are here representing Lyscantra?” Bryce asked. She offered a hand as we approached, and the woman took it. At this distance, I quickly realized that these two weren’t humans. They smelt like wolves.

I had never seen shifters this close before, but they felt dangerous. If the stories I heard over the years were any sign, then “dangerous” would be an understatement.

“Yeah, that’s the boss. Although, you should just call her Lysc, otherwise she’ll probably hit you, and you don’t seem like you’d survive that,” the woman said.

“Thanks for the advice, I’ll be sure to remember it. I’m Captain Bryce Virra. This is my navigator, Sora, and my partner, Thea.”

I nodded and Thea waved with Bryce’s introductions.

“It’s nice to meet civilized folk. I’m Dezra and this is my mate Nikko. We’re here to take you to the boss. I wouldn’t go expecting a warm welcome, though. Like I said, she ain’t happy,” the woman, Dezra, explained.

“I understand, and we were told to expect as much. We’ve brought a gift from our benefactor to help things go smoothly.”

Bryce indicated the cigar box that was wrapped in a red cloth in her hands. Dezra didn’t seem impressed.

“That had better be a damn good gift.” Nikko commented.

“I have been assured that it is. Thea, if you wouldn’t mind staying behind. Whenever you’re ready, Dezra, we’ll follow your lead.”

“Right, I’ll be on the ship.” Thea held Dezra’s gaze with an implied threat before turning around and marching back up the ramp. Dezra turned with a smile, and we followed her to a small automated shuttle that was parked a short distance outside the hangar.

I got in beside Bryce and the other pair sat across from us; it was a tight squeeze to fit both of them on one side. The interior of the shuttle was dated, but not terrible. At least it seemed like it had been cleaned recently.

Nikko was the first to break the silence. “That was bold, leaving behind your only threatening crew member.”

“Or stupid,” Dezra added.

“Teolix implied we were ‘of a lesser race’ during our negotiations,” Bryce replied. “Thea attacked him out of principle.”

“She attacked the dragon? And how did that go over?” Nikko asked.

“We flew here on his personal yacht, now owned by the captain,” I replied.

“Sounds like a valuable person to have while negotiating.” Nikko laughed.

“Very valuable. However, I was hoping to end this delivery with new friends and I don’t think your boss would have survived Thea’s usual tactics,” Bryce said. “Besides, Sora and I are more than capable of handling ourselves in aggressive negotiations.”

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“I suspect we’ll see these ‘aggressive negotiations.’ Like I said, the boss ain’t happy,” Dezra finished.

The rest of the short flight was filled with a lot of posturing and metaphorical dick measuring, which the captain took to with surprising ease.

I hoped that this wouldn’t be indicative of how Lysc would act, but if she was also a shifter, then I wasn’t expecting much. Shifters tended to be a little too in touch with their animal selves.

We were flying towards a large open-roofed arena. As we approached, we could hear an announcer accompanied by a cheering crowd. It was difficult to make out anything the announcer said over the roar of the crowd, but he certainly sounded excited.

The shuttle parked next to a side entrance that opened to a branching maze of winding hallways. Eventually, it outputted us to a corner of the arena floor.

The actual fighting was taking place in a sandy pit inset about a meter into the ground. Large sections had become so saturated with blood that it had pooled despite the sand.

The two contestants were heavily muscled women, each about Dezra’s height. A blonde woman was landing blow after blow on her heavily tattooed opponent.

The other woman wasn’t even trying to dodge; instead she held both fists in front of her face to block the assault. The only thing visible behind her shield was a short pink mohawk. Each punch could be heard loudly resounding throughout the arena and the blonde woman seemed relentless.

Dezra scoffed before commenting, “This will be over soon, then the boss will speak to you.”

True to Dezra’s word, the blonde relented for just the barest of moments, which allowed the mohawked woman an opportunity to retaliate. All it took was a single wide punch, and the sound of a skull cracking resonated throughout the arena.

“That’s it, folks! Ward is down and that’s a D.O.A. if I’ve ever seen one! Lysc the Kiss will be adding another notch to her bedpost tonight!”

The crowd cheered as the woman landed in a pool of her own blood, her neck at an unnatural angle. Lysc stood holding her bruised and bloody forearms high, cheering to the crowd in victory.

A small bookish woman approached Lysc before handing her a water bottle wrapped in a towel and whispering something to her. The crowd’s cheering continued, but Lysc’s smile turned to a scowl as she looked in our direction.

She stomped across the arena and growled as she passed by us. “Come with me.”

She didn’t stop moving.

Bryce and I shared a concerned look before following her to a small locker room, where Lysc sat with her broad back leaning against the lockers. She motioned for us to sit across from her on a nearby bench. Bryce sat, and I stood behind her.

I was painfully aware of Dezra, Nikko, and the bookish woman behind the two of us. There was a feeling of impending danger in the room and I was regretting volunteering myself over Thea.

Thea had the raw strength to threaten or restrain if it came to violence. I didn’t. This group of people was much too dangerous for me to act in half measures. If things escalated past heated words, then it was going to be lethal or nothing from me.

“Explain to me, please, why Teolix would believe our deal would continue nine months past the window I specified?” Lysc asked.

She removed the wraps from around her fists. Lysc hadn’t been wearing boxing gloves.

What she had on instead could only really be described as brass knuckles put on over top padded hand wraps, and from the looks of her damaged forearms, her opponent had been wearing the same thing.

“I can honestly say that I don’t know what Teolix believed or why he believed it. Part of my agreement to make this delivery was that I wouldn’t know what it was or who it was meant for,” Bryce explained. “I've already received my payment, and I wasn’t expecting any from you. Once you accept delivery, there are equal odds whether or not I’ll ever speak with Teolix again. I’m not the least invested in your dispute with him.”

“And what happens if I don’t accept this useless delivery?” Lysc asked. “Are you so little invested that you’d just walk away?”

“If you refuse, then the delivery will have failed. My contract will be voided and I would have broken my word, which means returning payment for the job. It’s not something I'm willing to accept. So to answer your question: No, I won’t just walk away,” Bryce answered.

“You should have been more careful with your word, captain. I refuse to accept this delivery. It’s an insult to me that Teolix ignored my council, and I have no use for it now that the window of opportunity has long closed.”

Lysc sat her “gloves” on the bench and leaned heavily against the lockers, causing them to creak in protest. She was grinning a challenge at Bryce.

I could feel the tension in the air as Nikko and Dezra shifted their weight, preparing for an attack. Bryce sighed and shook her head as she pulled out the cloth wrapped box.

I readied my daggers in response to the movement behind me, but I didn’t materialize them. Bryce wouldn’t be the first to attack, at least not here, and not now. Besides, while Lysc was upset, she still wasn’t violently upset.

Not yet anyway. That could change, but for now, she didn’t see us as a threat.

“If I were in your position, I would likely say the same. I don’t know the full details, but nine months overdue on a time-sensitive delivery is completely unacceptable, and it’s well within your rights to decline,” Bryce reasoned. “But, I think Teolix is in line with our thinking, because he sent me with a gift. He assured me that it would more than make up for the delay.”

Bryce offered the delicately wrapped gift to Lysc, who accepted it with a raised eyebrow. The cloth fell to the floor, revealing an ivory cigar box, and Lysc passed a finger over the biometric scanner to unlock it with a click. She carefully pulled out a folded letter that was written on, honest to the gods, parchment.

The room watched in silence as Lysc’s face went through an assortment of expressions. Starting first with confusion, before moving to bewilderment, and finally ending in amusement. The woman was an open book with her emotions.

“I think that I’ll be accepting that delivery,” Lysc responded. “Daria, please take this box to my personal vault, keep the letter with you, and ensure nobody reads it.”

The bookish woman, Daria, approached from the back of the room before bowing, pocketing the letter, and carefully taking the box. She made a hasty retreat from the room, and Lysc returned her attention to Bryce.

“I don’t believe we ever made proper introductions. I’m Lyscantra, prime alpha of the Drassun pack, although, I insist you call me Lysc. I believe you already met Nikko and Dezra.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lysc. I’m Captain Bryce Virra and this is my navigator, Sora.” Bryce indicated towards me, and I gave a polite nod, dismissing my daggers.

“Tell me, Captain Virra, did you know what was in that box?” Lysc asked.

“I wasn’t told what was in the delivery. That was part of the contract, and it included the cigar box.” Bryce explained.

“Very well, I believe that I now understand the situation. Are you staying in Drassun for long?” Lysc asked.

“We don’t have another job lined up yet, and one of my crew requires replacements for her implants. So, we’ll be here for at least long enough to arrange that.”

“That’s excellent news. I’ll give you the name of the best wetware technician on Drassun, then I’ll insist you have dinner with me tomorrow evening at Gusto Della Caccia. I find myself in need of a crew with your discretion, and I don’t offer jobs without first offering good food.”

Lysc’s mood seemed to have taken a complete reversal after reading that letter. The sudden change had me very concerned.