CHAPTER TWO
A BIT OF MISCHIEF
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The button-eyed soldier screamed and jabbed a finger at Star. He drew his sidearm, a sleek pistol with a barrel just large enough to slip over a pen. The entirety of the weapon barely protruded from the soldier’s grip. It was too compact to store projectiles.
Shit. Powered weapon.
Star pulled his hand free, pointing his index finger at the soldier.
The man froze, staring at Star’s hand.
“Bang.” Star lowered his thumb. His mouth pulled to one side in an uneven smirk.
The soldier’s mouth moved soundlessly. His stare flicked to the lens then back to Star, confirming it was the same man.
Star shrugged. “You wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man, would you?”
Ahiko looked at the lens. His mouth twitched. “For that kind of money, I reckon everyone in this bar would.”
The air felt like it had been filled with a flammable gas. One spark and the bar would ignite. Star felt it was in his best interest to give it that light.
He inclined his head toward the lens. “Says I’m wanted alive. Bounty’s no good if this”—he patted himself—“is all holey-like.” Star gestured to the soldier’s gun before turning around to address the entirety of the bar. “So, question is, who’s wanting to collect on the biggest payday of their lives?” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder to the military men who had gone still. “Them, who, truth be told, ain’t much in the way of sharing? Or the lot of you?” He gestured at the patrons.
The bar’s occupants exchanged looks. A single, silent message hung in each of their faces: the allure of reward money.
One of the soldiers drew his sidearm, training it on the closest person. The tip of the weapon quivered. His eyes widened as the patron he aimed at rushed him.
Match struck. Kaboom. Star turned to Ahiko, tensing the muscles in his legs.
A trilling shriek, like the cry of dozens of birds, cracked through the bar. The irradiant blue shot lanced past the charging patron and into the wall behind him. Debris plumed into the air. Smoke rose from the impact point.
An incoherent cacophony of noise erupted throughout the bar. Occupants leapt to their feet, many grabbing the nearest thing they could reach to use as a makeshift weapon. Others pulled their own firearms.
Star inhaled sharply and ran toward Ahiko. The movement set everything off.
“Need ‘em alive!”
“Warning shots! Don’t be killing civilians.”
“Heck with ‘em.”
“Split him each and every way; still more than any of us earn.”
High-powered screeches and dull, percussive blasts peppered the shouting. Wood, stone, and designer glass showered the patrons.
Star doubled over, crossing the distance and coming to Ahiko’s side. “Two choices: stay here, might be you die; come with me and might be you live.”
“A mite too many mights in those choices. I prefer just to be, to be honest.” Despite the situation, an amused glimmer hung in Ahiko’s eyes.
Star swallowed the curse fighting to make its way out of his mouth. An electric wail filled his ears just as the space between him and Ahiko flashed. A palm-sized portion of the counter had liquefied, composite materials bubbling.
The pilot eyed the spot before looking up at Star. He held his hand out for support. “Might be I want to live. Let’s go.”
Star hauled him to his feet. His chest cried out as a pair of arms wrapped around him, squeezing him tight enough to build an ache in his ribs.
The button-eyed officer thrashed, wrestling to take Star to the ground. “You crazy?”
“On account of starting a ruckus in a bar full of military men looking for me…yeah.” Star wriggled in the man’s grip, snapping an elbow behind him. The joint throbbed as it connected with the soldier’s temple.
The button-eyed man staggered back.
“Come on—” Star scanned the brawl, searching for the pilot.
Ahiko had vanished amidst the chaos.
He swore and barreled through a soldier and civilian grappling one another. Someone tumbled to the floor in front of him. Star stopped, grabbing hold of a table that had managed to remain upright in the chaos. He swept at a glass, hooking it with his fingers and sending it hurtling behind him.
Every bit of mischief, no matter how small, goes a long way when things get difficult.
A pained cry echoed over the commotion of the brawl.
Star smiled. He placed his hands against the back of a civilian, shoving them into a group of people embroiled on the ground.
The man stumbled over them, crashing onto the group and joining the fray in inebriated rage.
Star shambled past the remaining people, all of whom were too fueled by their anger to notice him weasel by. He slipped through the exit and into the corridor. The air at the side of his head hissed. A bolt of neon blue arced by, its screech rattling his eardrums. The blaster bolt washed over a section of the aged and unvarnished steel comprising the corridor. “Tch.” Star looked back into the bar.
The button-eyed soldier stood atop a stool, struggling for balance. He sighted in on Star for another shot.
Star looked to his right. Translucent paneling ran along the length of the corridor, providing a window out to space. He didn’t know if the panes could take a blaster bolt without compromising their integrity. And he didn’t want to find out.
A tawny ball hung in the near distance, dominating the view. The planet’s coloring was peppered with the sort of red that came with rust. A world of sand and iron.
His collar went tight around his throat and pulled against him. Star lurched against the wall as another warning shot sailed by.
Ahiko stared at him. “This job of yours, it pay?”
Star nodded. “Where’d you go? Hell, where’d you come from?”
Ahiko ignored him. “I was hiding outside the entrance for my own safety. Saw my would-be employer standing in the middle of the hall waiting to be shot. My need to be paid outweighs yours to be stupid. I saved you, so”—he shoved Star—“let’s go.”
Star staggered a few steps before breaking into a run down the hall.
Ahiko trailed several feet behind and to his left.
“You’re awfully spry for a drunk.” Star fought to swallow air faster than it left his lungs.
Ahiko brushed aside the comment with a wave of his hand. “Where’s your ship?”
His panting increased, each breath making his lungs feel like dry rubber being stretched too far. “Second hangar. Closest I could get it to the recreation arm.” Star willed away the fatigue building his legs, cursing his heavy boots. Jarring tremors raced up his shins with each step.
Another flash of blue wailed by.
Both Star and Ahiko yelped in unison, recoiling from the path the shot had taken.
“Thought the bounty specified alive?” Ahiko wasn’t at a loss for breath despite running. His words had lost their slur.
Star eyed him askance before turning back. “I thought so too.” The path continued with an opening on the right leading to another corridor. Movement caught his eyes through the clear paneling ahead. He lashed out with hand, clawing at Ahiko’s shoulder. Star’s fingers dug into the pilot’s clothing, and he pulled him in his direction.
Ahiko went along with the motion with more grace than a drunk should have been able to manage.
Star committed the oddity to memory before juddering to a stop. He looked over his shoulder to find the bar brawl had spilled into the hall behind them. Several soldiers and civilians struggled to break free. Some would likely pursue him. He turned to face ahead. The movement he had noticed in front of them came in the form of a trio of men.
They were similarly dressed as the soldiers in the bar.
Star sighed.
One of the men had the face of a pinched rat. His wiry, red hair was cut short everywhere but the top. It only served to accentuate his narrow and long features. A transparent card sat pinched between his thumb and first two fingers. Star’s face rotated slowly in the holographic display. The man’s eyes looked like dull slate, a hint of darker gray colored them as they widened. He glanced at the card once more before gawking at Star.
Ahiko capitalized on the soldier’s stupor. He pivoted, snaking his hand below the card. The pilot slapped the bottom of the device and launched it up before the soldier’s face.
The rat-faced man blinked.
Ahiko thrust both his palms into the soldier’s chest, driving him back.
The other two men caught their friend under his arms, helping steady him.
“Run!” The pilot jabbed his fingers into the eyes of one of the men supporting the rat-faced soldier. Ahiko shoved the man with a quick blow from his palm, causing the entire trio to collapse under the weight of each other.
Star heeded the pilot’s words, breaking into a sprint and rounding the corner down the path the soldiers had come from. Hollering echoed behind him. He didn’t look back. Last thing he needed was to turn and catch a shot to the face.
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His mother had always warned him not to stick his face into things. That was how you lost an eye, or worse.
A streak of blue hurtled by, affirming his mother’s warnings.
“Alive, dammit!” The shout barely carried down the hall to Star’s ears.
Something the size of a pebble impacted his upper back with enough force to cause him to falter a few steps. He pawed at it, reaching for whatever had struck him. Cool metal pressed against his finger tips. Something crackled like miniature lightning, and the muscles in his hand spasmed.
He jerked his hand away from the thumbnail-sized piece of metal—the shock tack—embedded into the thick leather of his coat. Fortunately, it hadn’t burrowed deep enough to wedge its prongs into his skin. Star pulled the collar of his jacket up to cover the exposed skin of his neck and head.
The last thing he wanted was an electric brain tickle courtesy of the government. He figured things up there were scrambled enough considering the trouble he’d willingly signed up for.
“Atch!” Ahiko fumbled, causing Star to glance at him. The pilot’s movements lost their coordination, his feet dragging like he was drunk again. He tumbled against the steel side of the hall.
Star slowed as his mind raced, feeling like meteor shower. He imagined bright streaks bombarding his vision as tried to sift through the thoughts.
Three soldiers and more were coming.
A silver hexagram sat fixed to the back of Ahiko’s right triceps. The device shivered in place, and light pulsated from the spot where the taser met the pilot’s skin.
Great.
If he lingered any longer, he was likely to catch one of those. Leaving meant Ahiko would end up in custody for assaulting soldiers.
The fingertips on his left hand tingled. His heart felt like it was caught in an iron-cold grip, struggling to beat. Star’s balance wavered more in his mind than actuality. His thoughts drifted to the planet of Autumn.
Not again.
Star reached into his coat, plucking a sliver of transparent plastic composite free. He knelt by Ahiko and jammed the card between his skin and the device. Wriggling the material several times, he pried the taser loose. A quick snap from the card pulled it from Ahiko’s arm. Six pin-holes wept small beads of blood.
“Come on.” He grabbed the pilot under one of his shoulders, dragging him along.
Ahiko babbled incoherently.
“Yeah, sounds about right for where we’re at.” Star slipped the pilot’s arm around himself. “Move. Doubt they’ll be able to ready and code any more of those to shoot soon.”
Another fast-moving object pelted his coat.
Color me wrong.
Star picked up his pace, pulling Ahiko along until the pilot found some semblance of strength in his legs.
He pushed himself free of Star. “First left.” Ahiko nodded ahead, sprinting toward the turn. His body hunched forward like he was still suffering from the effects of the taser.
Star followed the unintentional example and doubled over enough to lower his profile. He trailed on Ahiko’s heels, tearing into the turn after him. A hard plunk informed him another taser had smacked into the metal siding of the hall just behind him.
How many do these guys have?
The end of the hall broke into a room exuding a gaseous fuchsia light. It washed out of the mouth of the room and toward them.
Ahiko pointed to it. “We’ll lose ‘em there. Parlor’s got more ways out than in depending on how you’re counting.”
Star had no idea how someone could count an entrance differently than an exit, but he didn’t argue the point. He pumped his legs and closed the distance between the pilot and himself.
The pinkish glare throbbed around the mouth of the entrance almost in rhythm with his own heartbeat.
Star pulled ahead of Ahiko, peeking over his shoulder on instinct.
The soldiers had turned into the hall and leveled their weapons. Their tasers had vanished in place of blasters. Fortunately, they didn’t fire, showing more restraint than the button-eyed officer in the bar.
Shooting into a busy parlor was generally frowned upon. It didn’t do favors for the government’s image either.
Star barreled through the entrance, wincing as the staccato flashes of bright lighting assaulted him. A pinkish-purple hue fought to burn itself forever into his vision. He raised a hand to block what he could, rubbernecking to find a way out. A dull ache manifested in his shoulder as Ahiko brushed past him harder than necessary.
“This way!” He grabbed Star’s coat and hauled him to the left.
The parlor was a far cry different than the bar. An endless rows of rectangular machines lined the place. There was no telling them apart to his eyes. Each was the same garish purple made worse by the overall pink-tinged lighting. Simple white screens tumbled through countless images trying to align them once stopped. Slots dominated the scene, ringing out in discordant chimes and clinks without stop.
It was a place of jarring colors and lights refracted over polished metals and pooling over smooth glass. The parlor made the bar look like a relic of the past.
Star broke free of Ahiko’s hold and ran alongside him. “I’m not seeing a mess of ways out. Only a way of messes to lose your money.”
Ahiko scowled and turned right, dashing through a new row of slot machines.
Star followed behind and glanced at the entrance. He found it a small relief the soldiers hadn’t barged in yet. His chest felt like he’d caught a sack of bricks, stopping him short in place.
His relief vanished.
Star stared ahead and into the face of a soldier whose uniform sported far more bars than the previous ones.
The officer’s face carried more lines than it should have. A mixture of hard living coupled with being in his later years, evidently. He gave Star a level-eyed look, appraising him without showing any obvious signs of losing his temper.
Star inclined his head in a way of silent apology, brushing past the man.
Ahiko’s eyes widened. He nodded in a direction as a prompt to Star to follow.
He did, falling in line with the pilot.
An incomprehensible scream rang out over the commotion of machinery and gamblers.
Star turned a corner, trailing Ahiko. He managed to catch a glimpse of the scene unfolding behind him.
The trio of soldiers from earlier barged into the parlor, flagging down the officer. They didn’t bother approaching him before raising their hands simultaneously. Three images of Star flickered above their lens displays. The officer registered it faster than Star imagined possible and turned to the nearest machine. He pulled a card from his pocket, inserting it into the slot.
The entire row of machines died.
All manner of folk rose from their seats, rounding on the officer before processing who he was. They grumbled in discontent before resuming their seats. Star’s face spread over their screens in black and white. The effect rippled through the entirety of the slots in the parlor within seconds. The clamor of angry customers followed, growing by the second.
Ahiko released a long, low whistle. He gestured around the parlor with his index finger. “Notice something? Awful lot of men and women in uniform.”
Star glared.
The pilot shrugged. “What’d ya think when you docked here? Terizen Station is a military hub. Soldiers come here to unwind, spend money”—he waggled his brows—“have what needs scratching scratched.”
“I was thinking I needed a reprieve from being hunted, and this was the only place I had to do so.”
Ahiko ignored his rebuttal, hustling down another row.
The parlor’s clientele were quicker on the uptake than Star favored. They rose to their feet, swarming them.
Ahiko shoved a woman, looking to be in her late years, into a small line of people.
Star groaned. Necessity outweighed niceties he supposed. He lurched to the side as someone wrenched on his coat. Without looking, Star slammed his forearm down, breaking their grip. He pulled back on one of their wrists and sent them to the ground.
The row flooded with more people, squirming to tear past one another to get at the pair.
Ahiko looked back to Star, face breaking into a mischievous smile.
Hell’s got him so happy?
The pilot elbowed someone Star couldn’t make out before shoving hard against one of the machines. It rocked slightly. He kicked out, driving his heel into it. The machine wobbled again before he pushed it over.
The mass of people on the other side moved out of its path.
Ahiko seized the opportunity, clambering over the fallen machine and plowing through the tight-knit group.
Star copied the pilot’s process, going as far as toppling two machines in quick succession. He bounded onto them and drew a thunk of protest from their cheap metal frames. His hands went out, clawing at people’s clothing to drag them into one another or out of his way. Star placed his hands together like a stiff shovel and thrust them between a pair working to block his path. They parted enough for him to ram through using his shoulder to widen the gap.
Ahiko increased the distance between them, running without bothering to wait for Star.
He couldn’t fault the man as much as he would’ve liked to. Not when he wasn’t their target.
“Who gets the reward?”
Star couldn’t pinpoint the voice. He didn’t bother, giving silent thanks for greed and curiosity. The question broke over most of the screaming, enough to bring a lull to it. People clamored as Star rushed through the confusion.
Shouting filled the place once more. Customers voiced their concerns to the nearest military official who would listen. They overwhelmed the soldiers in a money-driven fervor, pumping their fists and getting too close for anyone’s comfort. The scuffle reminded him of a lesson he’d once learned: The only thing worse than the promise of money is wondering if someone else will get the reward for your work.
A screech comprised of electric chittering drowned the sounds coming from the mob. Screams followed.
Star kept his gaze fixed ahead. He saw no point in turning to catch what had been shot. It was a needed distraction that would keep the crowd’s attention on the military.
Ahiko raced up a flight of stairs, moving fast enough that it looked like his feet were barely touching the ground.
Star swallowed another string of curses over the weight of his boots. Acid burned throughout the muscles in his legs, urging him to stop. The same dry heat racked his lungs and made them feel tight. He buried the pain and pushed on, making it to the top.
A similar scene filled the second floor. Throngs of people embattled with each other and soldiers spaced between, all of whom were trying to organize the chaos. None of them seemed to notice the similarities between Star and the image flaring across every screen in the parlor.
It was a truth of the universe when people got mad enough, all they saw was everything wrong around them and not what was right in front.
Star pulled on his collar and set after Ahiko. He picked his way through the mess of people, nudging the occasional person with enough force to rile them a bit more. Things played out as expected.
A person would lash out at the spot Star had been, striking someone else. Pockets of the crowd erupted into worse fighting.
Star repeated the process until he’d broken free of the thicker cluster of people, searching for the pilot who’d vanished among the mass. “Dammit.” He leaned to the side, peering past the remaining people.
Ahiko was nowhere to be found.
Star huffed, working to calm the beehive of activity in his mind. He’d told the pilot where his ship was. Nothing indicated the man had been stopped or caught. His best course of action was plowing ahead and hoping Ahiko would find him at the hangar.
An open exit into a corridor hung a mere hundred feet from him.
Good enough.
Star pushed clean of the few patrons blocking his path and rushed forward. He left the parlor behind, embracing the dimly lit path. The simple corridor was a welcome relief to his eyes. Somehow, the dull metal lining managed to reflect soft orange and muted browns coming through the glass paneling.
Star subdued the urge to look out into space. He demanded more from his legs, boots rattling the loose sheets of metal below his feet as he raced on.
The path split three ways ahead.
He scanned the horizontal beams running across where the corridors met. An antiquated placard sat over what he figured was a defunct screen. A messy scrawl indicated the path to the hangars. Star picked up his pace and turned left. With luck, his pursuers would think he still lingered somewhere within the parlor.
Metal work and faint lighting blurred along his path.
Running became a mechanical process. Pain and fatigue washed away under the repetition of scanning signs and picking his paths through the halls.
Damned time.
Star came to a path blocked by a pair of doors with teeth like gears meshed into one another. He fumbled through his coat, fingers rifling in one of the larger pockets. Hard plastic brushed against his fingers. He pulled the translucent card free. A spider web of platinum ran through the plastic. Star held it up before a circular lens the size of his thumb nail.
A conical beam of turquoise light filtered out from the scanner, thinning until it was spread wide enough to cover the width of the card. It danced over the material, registering it. The scanner chirped and flashed the same color as the light.
Metal groaned and shuddered as a plume of gas puffed out from the sides of the doors. They slid open to reveal the corridor leading to the hangars.
Static crackled over his right ear. Star looked up at the wall-mounted box hanging a foot above him. The honeycomb mesh sported a few finger-sized holes like someone had jabbed at the device in frustration.
“Terizen Station hangar bays abide by the following rules: All weapons must be holstered and battery cells removed. If you are in possession of projectile weaponry, please remove all ammunition. Discharging weapons within the hangars is a category three offense. Capital punishment will be levied. No exceptions.”
Fine by me.
Star placed a hand against the angled walling for support, allowing most of the strength leave his body. He lumbered forward at a leisured pace and allowed his body a reprieve from the running.
The doors huffed behind him before shutting.
Star hobbled to the first pair of signs displayed opposite one another. The one on his right read “Hangar Two.” He approached the shuttered gate.
It was of similar design to the entrance he’d passed through moments before.
He repeated the process of displaying his card.
The familiar beam projected and spread over his pass. It vanished. The lens did not flash, instead adopting a solid red.
He blinked. “That’s never good.”
Something the size of his little finger pressed against the back of his hips. “It’s good for me.”
Shit.