“I’d get running again if I were you. It looks like you’ve got company.” Dexter was pointing at the front door with his top right hand.

Slak turned to look. The big-tusked Aqualish was leading four very large humans with dark red and black shoulder pads and asymmetrical haircuts to the front door of Dexter’s restaurant.

Slak turned to run, and saw that Dexter now stood right in front of him; he’d somehow gotten from behind the counter in the kitchen and to his current spot in no time at all and with no noise.

“Get going, kid. Get to a high place so the droid’ll find you. I’ll hold off this bunch of meatheads.”

His door swung open. The aqualish pointed at Slak and started chittering excitedly.

“Get goin’ idiot!” barked Dexter, sweeping Slak behind him and standing to face the five new and very threatening people in his restaurant.

Slak ran, pausing only long enough to hear the big Besalisk say “Can I help you, gentlemen?” as they stomped towards him. His top arms were crossed, and his bottom pair of arms had their fists balled up against his hips in a double show of defiance.

Slak smiled as he ran out the back door. He knew what was coming for the five young toughs when Dexter started a meeting with those words.

#

“Out of our way, fatso- oof!” hissed the Aqualish. He had barely gotten the words out when one of the human gangers pushed the smaller wanna-be bounty hunter aside, pulled out a blaster and pointed it at Dexter’s sizable head.

It was the last mistake the young human made for quite a while.

Dexter moved fast- faster than anyone thought would be possible for a creature of his bulk. In a few, swooping moves, one of his bottom arms had grabbed the blaster and smashed the back end of it into the ganger’s face twice. The other bottom arm had grabbed the front of the Aqualish’s sizable head in his large hand and yanked him forward, causing him to stumble and land flat on his mandibled face. Dexter’s top two arms reached around the lead ganger’s head, grabbing the heads of the two toadies behind the leader and banging them together with so much force everyone heard the pop! as they collided.

In just over a second, three gang members lay unconscious on the floor, and the Aqualish was crawling and mumbling to himself like a drunk on a holiday evening. Dexter faced the last, and largest of the five miscreants who’d come looking for Slak. The ganger, just a hair shorter than Dexter himself, smiled evilly and pulled out a vibroknife.

Most of the customers didn’t even pause in their eating, since they were used to seeing altercations like this in Dexter’s and other places in the Sector.

Dexter smiled back. “Flo?” he said, never taking his eyes from his opponent.

“Yes, sir?” said one of the floating serving droids, appearing beside Dexter’s head. It was barely the size of one of his hands, and had a glowing blue eye and several small mechanical arms that were perfect for gripping plates.

“Flo, call the Sector cops and tell them I have another pickup for them. And call the janitorial service, too, and tell them to come in early tonight. There’s going to be a lot to clean up.”

“Yes sir.”

#

Slak kept running. He’d done a lot of that tonight, but hopefully he’d be finished with that in a while! As he left through the back door, he heard several thumps, whaps and thwacks as Dexter served up his usual ‘order’ for troublemakers. Slak didn’t wait to find out the outcome- he knew its end, even if he didn’t know the details. He’d heard enough rumors about Dexter to know that four or five lamebrains didn’t stand a chance against Dexter and his four arms at close range. He’d get the details later- now was his cue to get the heck out of there!

Dexter said the best option was to climb to the highest point he could...there! There was something! A staircase that zigzagged up the side of one of the buildings. He would have preferred an elevator, but this was the Blue sector. He jumped up and snagged one of the down-hanging ladders of the nearest stair-escape and started to climb. Life on the streets of a Corellian city had left him lean and able to move quickly, even if he wasn’t always the smartest person in the room.

He started to climb the ladder, then stopped halfway up and looked at the sky while he paused to catch his breath. He looked beyond the sky and up to the stars, the other four brother planets in the Corellia system...he was going to go places, now! Why hadn’t he thought about this before? This was going to be a sweet and easy ride to the top. For however long he had signed on for (that was something to ask once he got to the base, or wherever they trained you: how long would he have to stay in for? Maybe he should have checked that out before he signed with his thumbprint? Nah! He was going to be fine!), he was going to have three meals a day handed to him, as much as he wanted, and a bed to sleep in every night. Plus, they were going to teach him how to shoot and fly fighters! How amazing was that?

Something whizzed by his ear and embedded in the nearby wall, breaking Slak out of his reverie. Blast! That bug-faced wanna-be bounty hunter was still hunting for him!

Slak quickly climbed the rest of the way, then ran hard as he could once he reached the building's metal fire-escape , hoping he could keep outrunning the lousy-shooting bounty hunter long enough to be caught up by the recruiter droid when it found him.

But how long could that take? A half hour? A day? He had to hatch a plan before he got to the roof! If the Aqualish below was anything like other killer-types Slak had dealt with in his life, the beating he’d likely taken at Dexter’s hands had left him in a mood far beyond simply bringing Slak in to be roughed up by the Meatlump gang. Slak could hear whatever the buglike species used for rage below, a screeching, chittery noise that the creature below wouldn’t stop vocalizing at the top of his lungs.

Slak kept climbing. He hoped he wouldn’t run out of options by the time he got to the...

He’d run out of stairs to climb.

He was at the top.

“Kill you!” he could hear his pursuer several floors below, and getting closer. “I’ll kill you, Slak Daggart! Forget the bounty, forget the BlueSec cops! I’m just gonna kill you!”

Slak ran around the bare, four-sided top of the building, looking for exits. There was nowhere to hide, no other building roof nearby for him to jump to and keep running from. There was only a trap door in the roof that was locked secure enough that a person like him, without proper burglary tools, couldn’t hope to gain access.

This flat top of a nondescript building was going to be his grave. Between the hum of the city to muffle the shot and the lack of air traffic in this part of the city, his body might lie here for weeks without anyone knowing he was gone.

No one would miss him. Even Dexter might just assume he shipped out, or...

“Well, now! Not going anywhere, I hope!” The Aqualish’s four eyes blinked in unison, and Slak knew if the creature could smile, it would have an evil grin now from ear to...well, if it had ears, it would be grinning from...

“Nothing to say, little street nerf?” The gills on the side of its face were opening and closing sickly as it sucked in air from its recent exertions.

“You’re gonna have to get in better shape and be a better shot,” Slak wheezed, tired from his own running, “if you wanna make it as a bounty hunter, walrus-boy. You fired a half-a-dozen shots at me tonight, and not one of ‘em landed. How’s that gonna look when you try to get your next job? You think the Meatlump gang’s gonna vouch for a guy who can’t shoot straight?”

“Oh, they’ll vouch for me!” the Aqualish said, his hand tightening on his pistol, the business end still pointed at Slak. “When I bring your head on a platter, they’ll tell everyone that I get the job done!”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What was the job again? Humor me, tusky. Were you supposed to kill me, or bring me in alive?”

“You...”

“You’ve been firing cut-rate sleep darts at me all night. Hit a tourist, too, who was just walking around. I saw them go down. The cops’re looking for you right now, prob’ly. You leave a dead body like mine, well, even a little street nerf like me’ll warrant an investigation. And then you could either turn on the Meatlumps for an easier sentence. Or head for prison...”

The aqualish swallowed.

Slak had him!

“So, you’re kind’ve stuck here. I counted six darts that you’ve shot at me since we started this little game of tag this evening. That means you’ve only got blaster rounds left, right? The kind that kill?”

No answer.

“So, if you shoot me, you’ll kill me, you’ll have either the Meatlumps or the BlueSec cops, maybe both coming after you, one for their money, and the other to get a notch on their belt for a murder case solved.”

“But if I just let you go, the Meatlumps...well, you know how they got that name, right?”

“Sure. Hey, here’s an idea...you ready for this?”

“I’m listening, Daggart. But not for much longer.”

“Fine, fine. Look, I...why don’t you enlist, with me? Three full meals a day, a safe place to sleep at night, a job...maybe they’ll even teach you a trade.”

“There’s no room for non-humans in the Empire. Did you see any Aqualish in your recruitment vid, Slak? My species don’t even have thumbprints!”

“They don’t let non-humans on the front lines, but I’ve heard of guys like you getting hired as contractors for the Empire. Whatever they have you doing, it’s gotta be a better life than risking being turned into pet food by the Meatlumps because they decide one day that they don’t like your face.”

The Aqualish mulled it over for a minute, then looked at his weapon and started to turn in his large, clawed hand.

“Plus,” Slak said, “you get paid a regular wage, not just by the job when you can find it. A uniform with your name coded into it. What’s your name, anyway?”

“Donda. Donda Baba”

“Donda, doesn’t it sound like something you’d at least like to try? To give it a sh...I mean, a try? I’ve got a recruitment droid due here any minute, and it’s gonna carry me right up that golden staircase into a better life than anything down there,” Slak pointed at the street “could ever give me. Whaddya say?”

Another long, long half minute passed by, while Donda toyed with his blaster. “I say...I say yes, Slak!” he finally said, holstering his pistol and walking towards Slak with a confident swagger. Slak had a hard time making out the syllables, but it seemed at least that Donda the Aqualish was on board with the idea.

And then, as if on cue, the Imperial Recruitment droid rose up at the side of the roof. It looked much like an imperial probe droid Slak had seen helping the police when he’d been much smaller. Only now it had a seat similar to that found on a speeder, just wide enough for a person to sit comfortably.

“Slak Daggart? Your adventure as a member of the Empire forces awaits!” purred a recording of a human female’s voice. “Please sit down, facing outward, and your journey can begin.”

“Now I know why I saw so many of these flying around the city the past few days!” Donda said.

“Picking up strays like us. Hey, honey!” Slak said as he turned to the droid, who still hovered a few inches away from the roof, “you got room for my friend, here?”

“I am here to retrieve Slak Daggart,” said the droid in the more familiar voice-in-a-tin-can rasp that droids used, “but the Emperor is willing to accept others into his service.” A telescopic arm suddenly reached out, holding out a datapad with a glowing red dot on it.

Donda looked at it. “Can I join?” he asked.

“All races may join the Empire,” said the Recruitment droid, “but some may have to become contracted employees before they can receive...”

“See?” said Slak, moving in closer but still keeping a decent distance, “let’s do this, Donda! Whaddya say?”

“I say...Fine!”

As he said the final word, Donda stiffened and gave a small grunt. He toppled to the ground, his blaster clattering away.

Slak looked up. There was a very large man at the edge of the roof, wearing the red and black shoulder-padded uniform pieces of the Meatlump gang. Half his body was hidden; he’d been standing on the stairwell Slak and Donda had climbed up earlier.

“Knew he’d disappoint,” the human said as he hoisted himself up. “Those little water spiders nearly always do.”

“You...you killed him!” Slak said. He’d seen death on the streets, but he’d never actually seen someone shot in front of him.

“Gee, Slak. We knew you were savvy. Looks like you’re smart, too. Not bad at all, talking a wanna-be bounty hunter out of the hunt and joining the Navy instead. Too bad you’re not going to live long enough to tell that story.” He raised his weapon a second time, this time at Slak.

Slak had heard more than once about the best course of action in a situation like this. In the vids, a fellow like him might as well give up and let himself be shot by whatever quick-acting poison dart had hit Donda. But outside of the vids, if he kept moving at a good distance, he was unlikely to get hit by the gang member’s dart. The odds were one in twenty-five, he’d heard. Time to see if that was the truth!

Slak bobbed and weaved while the ganger stalked towards him, yelling for him to hold still while the droid kept telling Slak to get on board and begin to ‘live the adventure.’

“Shut up, droid!” yelled the ganger, still trying to draw a bead on Slak. Unlike Donda, Slak could tell this ganger was experienced. He wasn’t going to fire his weapon unless he was going to hit and he knew it.

“Slak Daggart, come live the adventure!”

“Daggart, shut your droid up, will you?” he said as they circled each other, feinting and dodging.

“You gonna let me go if I do?” Slak said, still circling far as he could from the ganger, making sudden moves as if to dart left or right.

“Hells, no!” growled the ganger, “and hold still! Or I’ll save myself a dart and throw you off this building!”

“Slak Daggart, come and live your adventure!”

“I don’t suppose you’d listen to reason on this?”

“No chance, Slak. You get into debt with the Meatlumps, you pay one way or another!”

“I can pay you now!”

“Too late. I’m having too much fun killing you.”

“Slak Daggart, don’t desert your chance for a new life!”

“I’m not deserting,” Slak yelled to the droid, still bobbing, dodging and weaving in his attempts to avoid being shot, “but this guy is threatening to kill me!”

The droid’s parser must have finally kicked in when it heard the word ‘threaten.’ It turned to the ganger and fixed its single red on him. Even though he was again moving and dodging for his life, Slak heard the small, subtle clicks and buzzes as the droid scanned Slak’s opponent and checked the vast Corellian criminal database available to it.

“Dower Bastid,” said a voice from the droid, the sultry female voice replace by a harsh male one, “you are in violation of Imperial code one-one-three-eight, subsection twenty-six, preventing the progress of Imperial Navy business with a civilian. Drop your weapon and stand aside.”

“Drop this,” he yelled, reaching for a snub-nosed blaster he kept in a different holster on his hip.

It was the last mistake he’d make for a while.

Slak saw his opening for the second time that evening, and ran for the droid while Dower went for his blaster.

Slak leaped the final six feet, grabbing the head and antennae of the recruitment droid, which bounced in the air slightly at the sudden addition of weight.

Before Dower could even remove the blaster from its holster all the way, a hidden arm on the droid swung out and fired at Dower. The green light hit him in the shoulder, shattering the armored pad and melting its shards into his flesh and he yelled in pain.

“You may not damage the property of the Emperor,” said the droid, now having switched back to its pleasant, female voice. Slak wondered how many recruits like him had joined up with creditors or predators snapping at their heels.

“Daggart, we won’t forget this!” Dower screamed, his face so red it almost seemed to color his bobbing Mohawk-shaped hair as the droid slowly began to turn and float away, still training its weapon on the ganger. “We never forgive,” Dower screamed, “and we never forget!”

“Yeah, well remember this,” said Slak, giving him a rude gesture known to Corellians everywhere.

“Please settle in,” said the droid as the ganger’s voice faded behind him. Slak saw that it had already put a protective arm around his waist. He was glad of it- the city under him was lit up beautifully, but he was well over a hundred feet in the air!

“Thanks for the timing, droid,” he said as he shifted until he was comfortable in the one-man seat. “Where are we off to now?”

#

TO BE CONTINUED!