“We look like idiots.”

Ryuuk tugged at the garment he had donned upon arrival in New Iberia.

“No, Ryuuk,” Vomero said. “You look like an idiot. The rest of us look just fine.”

“Why did you have to pick the most flamboyant article of clothing in the shop?” I asked.

“It was the only one that didn’t cling too tightly to my giblets!” Ryuuk huffed, pointing vaguely to his groin area.

His attire consisted of a tight-fitting green and white bedazzled vest paired with very loose light brown pants that ended right above the knee. It appeared to be a common style of dress among some of the locals but looked completely out of place on Ryuuk’s tall, scrawny frame. The outfit was supposed to include a pair of leggings, but Ryuuk had refused to wear them. He had also refused to ditch his signature hat. The resulting combination made him look like an adult in children’s clothes.

“What’s wrong with tight, clingy clothes?” Dick mumbled closely behind me as we made our way down a main thoroughfare in the city. I glanced back to see him giving my own outfit choice an appreciative once-over.

I had picked out a more subtle, though quite form-fitting, style of local attire. The climate was very arid and dry, so I chose a skin-tight, zip-up body suit made of a cool, moisture-wicking material. I paired it with a long, hooded duster made of a lightweight, airy fabric to keep the sun off and conceal my blaster holster.

“I look like a toddler!” Ryuuk continued to complain.

“It kind of fits your attitude right now,” Dick added. “You’re whining about an outfit that you picked out to wear.”

“I don’t see why I couldn’t just wear my own clothes!” Ryuuk fussed.

The rest of us didn’t need a change in wardrobe. Most of our clothes were non-descript, unlike Ryuuk’s cowboy getup. I chose to go and shop for new clothes mainly to accompany Ryuuk and to find something to combat the harsh, hot climate. Dick and Cash could both regulate their body temperatures, Cash through bionics and Dick through biology. Vomero, being of a reptilian species, wasn’t bothered by the heat, at all.

“You’re the most recognizable out of all of us, Ryuuk,” Cash reminded him. “Plus, you’ve probably still got that stupid bounty on your head. If anyone needs to change their appearance and blend in, it’s you.”

“I’m not sure ‘blending in’ is what that outfit is giving,” I mumbled.

So far, it seemed that Kalo-Mahoi was too busy dealing with a global catastrophe to be concerned about us. I imagined it would take more than a few weeks, even a few months, for them to get around to looking for us.

Some of us, namely Vomero, Cash and myself, were used to being wanted by various government entities. I’d hazard a guess, however, that none of us had ever been deemed responsible for a planet-wide catastrophe before.

They’d already indicated us as culprits in the events surrounding the devastation, though not by name. Given what we’d learned about Rodan, I doubted anyone would care until monetary incentives were offered for our capture.

“Should we be using fake names or something?” Ryuuk asked.

“Dick is a my fake name,” Dick half-joked. This wasn’t the first time he’d hinted that he went by other names. “And for now, you’re the only one who needs to keep a low profile. So, just try not to go about announcing yourself as Ridiculously Dressed Ryuuk or some shit like that.”

Rodan had a lawless vibe I was very familiar with. There were no official, government-controlled ports. Several privately run businesses offered port docking for incoming spacecraft, and discretion was the name of the game, apparently. As such, we were able to dock our ship at a relatively out of the way port on the north end of the major metropolitan city with no questions asked.

Vomero had been slightly miffed that he’d spent so much time creating a fake identification marker for the ship, only for it to be completely unnecessary.

In many ways, New Iberia stood in stark contrast to the last major city we visited. New Horizon City’s sleek lines, clean streets, and carefully planned districts paid homage to a strong central government that valued law and order.

By contrast, New Iberia appeared a ball of diversified chaos. It was grungy and haphazardly planned, as if the city had grown organically over time to meet the needs of those flocking to this free-use planet. Much of the local desert culture blended with the modern technologies being peddled blatantly at every turn. Modern streets capable of supporting hover vehicles mixed with dirt alleyways and avenues. Neon signs jutting out of various buildings advertised every manner of goods and services I could imagine.

While the lawlessness currently worked in our favor, I knew that lack of oversight would make things more difficult once someone got serious about locating us . This was exactly the kind of place that bounty hunters liked to frequent. For now, all we had to worry about was the standing dark-net bounty on Ryuuk.

Since arriving on Rodan this morning, we had each spent time investigating our new surroundings and had discovered a few surprises that proved beneficial for our current predicament.

While visiting the clothing store, Ryuuk and I learned that New Iberia was practically bursting with an influx of visitors and refugees all because of that exploded settlement-class ship we ran into. This meant a few more new faces in the crowd wouldn’t draw attention.

After scouring all the local news blasts, Vomero informed us that the Reavers’ ransacking of the settlement, which we learned was called Great Haven, seemed to take precedence. Last month’s catastrophic news from a distant neighbor seemed less important than the civilization wiped out by an ever-looming threat just outside their own planet’s orbit.

Dick made fast friends with the guy who ran our space port. From him, we learned there were no long-range space terminals on Rodan except those privately owned by a select few corporations in New Iberia. This didn’t really change our plans. Even if there had been public terminals, getting past the ID scan was extremely unlikely.

We were currently looking for a local drinking spot where we could make some connections and get the lay of the land. The proprietor of the clothing shop we visited had recommended The Desert Dryad as a new local favorite.

The bar proved to be the perfect spot to gather intel. Its location near our space port made it convenient to reach and a common gathering spot for locals and newcomers alike. It was also run by a ridiculously gorgeous woman named Giana.

She was tall and statuesque, voluptuous in all the right places in just the right amounts. I’d never seen someone with such perfect features. Her almond-shaped green eyes seemed to glow with hidden mystery. Her natural, blood-red hair perfectly complimented smooth, flawless skin.

She was Jelixic, a race known for their exquisite, fragile beauty both among the women and men. People paid a lot of money for products trying to replicate the natural array of jewel hair tones inherent to the Jelixic people. There was a subtle texture to her skin that made it look almost like silk with a silvery-gold sheen to it. I’d heard that the Jelixic culture’s skin care regimen was second to none in all the universe. So, I was sure hers felt like silk, as well.

She seemed out of place in her simple green skirt and blouse, waiting tables in a humble little tavern—like a goddess playing housemaid.

“Sorry for the wait, guys,” she said, bringing out our drinks and food. It had been a while since she came by to introduce herself and take our order, but nothing I’d consider egregious. “There's usually more of us here, but the owners left to help at Great Haven.”

Most of my companions seemed to lose their voice whenever she wandered near the table, so I obliged to reply.

“Oh, I thought you were the owner,” I said, surprised, “judging by the way all the regular customers treat you.”

“Aw, no,” she chuckled, her voice like soothing music. “I’m just the fill-in proprietor while they’re gone. Everyone just likes being nice, I guess.”

I was sure most people liked to be nice to Giana. Such exceptional beauty tended to inspire the best in people...or the worst. I wondered who she had in her pocket keeping the unsavory types from giving her trouble.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“So,” she continued, bequeathing a smile in Dick’s direction, “are you here as part of the recovery efforts for Great Haven?”

Dick stared at her for a long moment like a small animal caught in a trap, petrified. He cleared his throat awkwardly and attempted to speak.

“Actually...” his first word came out cracked and squeaky, so he cleared his throat nervously and tried again. “Actually, we are just coming—erm—uhhh—passing by, I mean. But you know we’re going to like be here a while, it’s just...really a figure of speech. We’re basically new...here...”

He trailed off, unable to salvage the mess he was making of his response. Ryuuk and I stared at him like he’d suddenly sprouted another head.

“I think I'll go um...find a bathroom.”

And with those parting words, he fled like a startled animal.

Cash found his voice, finally, and managed a much more coherent answer.

“We just heard about Great Haven,” he practically drawled. “You didn’t have anyone close to you in the settlement, did you?”

His voice was uncharacteristically soft and soothing, radiating concern, as he placed a comforting hand over hers where it was perched on the table. It was his turn to receive incredulous looks from both Ryuuk and myself.

“What is happenin’?” Ryuuk muttered, confused.

Cash shot him a look that threatened bodily harm if he didn’t shut up. I simply smirked behind my raised cup. Apparently, the guys also noticed that Giana was a 20 on a scale from 1-10.

For his part, Vomero just rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the table in irritation. He grabbed his food and drink as he stood.

“I’m going to head back to the ship so I can eat in peace,” he grumbled and stalked off.

Giana looked uncertain, as if she was wondering what she had done to offend him.

“Don’t mind him,” Cash soothed, drawing slightly closer to Giana. “He’s uncomfortable around beautiful women. The last one he talked to tried to kill him.”

His words seemed to shock her slightly as she watched Vomero make his way out of the bar. Remembering Cash’s question, she turned back to him with a sad look.

“I wasn’t close to anyone in Great Haven, but a lot of the people around here were affected,” Giana said, her voice growing solemn. “It’s awful what happened. We all thought this Reaver problem would go away, but it’s only getting worse.”

This sparked my interest.

“Have they done something like this before?” I asked.

“Oh, goodness, no!” she replied. “Nothing on this scale. Up until now, they’ve been hitting small shipping lanes and the occasional outpost. I can’t believe they can take down an entire settlement like that.”

They might have been testing the political climate in the area, I thought to myself, striking small targets to see if anyone was strong enough to respond. Either that or something had changed, I considered, remembering the way they had searched the wreckage as if looking for something specific.

Soon, nearby customers called Giana away, and Dick returned to the table.

“What the hell was that?” I asked with barely contained laughter. “We’re gonna like be here a while,” I mimicked in my best masculine voice.

Dick picked up his drink and took a big gulp, trying to hide his chagrin.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said in a tone full of self-loathing.

“Don’t want to talk about it?” Cash goaded. “Or are you incapable of talking about it?”

He mimicked a stutter for effect. Dick flipped him off and finished his drink.

“While you were over here wooing the barmaid,” Dick retorted, “I was chatting up a few of the locals at the bar.”

He pointed over at an older man who was nursing his drink and playing a game on a holopad by himself.

“That’s Willick,” he said. “He implied that New Iberia is run by hundreds of independently operating factions. Most people operating businesses in the city usually end up affiliating with one of these factions for protection and profit.”

“What about the ones who don’t want to be affiliated with someone?” I asked.

“They do so at their own risk, and there’s plenty of them who choose to go that way,” Dick answered.

“I imagine that’s the case with a lot of poor, small business owners,” Cash interjected.

Dick nodded. “And refugees looking to live peaceably and offer a service in exchange for political freedom. They tend to roll the dice and try not to piss anyone off, according to old Willick.”

I wondered if the Desert Dryad’s owners were affiliated with a group or operating alone. If they were under someone’s protection, that would explain why Giana wasn’t constantly being harassed as a single woman trying to run a business on her own in the owners’ absence.

“That checks out with what I heard during my visit at the guild this morning,” Cash said,

He had disappeared for hours to visit his assassin guild contacts and get what info he could.

“Rodan earns its D-class rating because its central government is essentially a façade with no real power these days,” he recounted what information he had learned. “It's also not part of any planetary alliances. Therefore, the only rule of law comes from the different factions and companies operating here and their ability to protect their interests.”

“Those must be the ones Willick mentioned,” Dick confirmed.

“It sounds real complicated,” Ryuuk mused.

“We’ll need to get more familiar with how it works if we’re going to be staying here any length of time,” Cash pointed out. “We don’t want to inadvertently run afoul of one of those factions and make things harder on ourselves.”

"Oh, shit, here she comes again,” Dick muttered, nodding over to where Giana was making her way back toward us.

She sidled up to our table a moment later, beaming a beautiful, bright smile. I had to admit, even I wasn’t immune to her radiant disposition. The woman had a way of making people forget where they were and what they were doing.

“Was everything to your liking?” she asked, sweetly.

“Oh, yeah, we like it,” Dick started to say, then realized how provocative he sounded. His voice had inadvertently dropped an octave as he spoke to her, making the simple statement sound like a come-on.

“I mean, the food, the food was great,” he clarified, stumbling.

Cash and I just sat back to watch him implode again, enjoying the show. It was so unlike Dick to be thrown off-kilter by a beautiful woman. Usually, he was the one putting everyone else off balance.

Giana threw him an awkward smile, clearly unsure what to make of him.

“I can bring you some refills if you’d like,” she continued, directing her question toward me. “I also just pulled a batch of Malta Buns from the oven. They’re a local favorite! You should really try them.”

“We’d love your buns—,” Dick rushed to say, but then stopped abruptly.

I nearly burst with laughter, managing to contain it to a snicker. Cash, and even Ryuuk, were having similar trouble. Poor Giana’s cheeks turned pink as she tried to pretend she hadn’t heard him correctly.

Dick just closed his eyes in mortification. When he opened them, he pushed away from the table, once again.

“I’m just...” was all he said, pointing toward the back of the tavern where the bathroom was located, “gonna go.”

With that, he sulked away in shame.

“The Malta Buns sound delicious,” I said, smiling kindly at the still embarrassed Giana. “And we’d love another round of drinks. No rush, though. I can see you’re busy.”

She gave a grateful smile and was off with a wave of her hand.

“What interests me,” Cash said, resuming our earlier conversation, “are these corporations that have access to private, long-range space travel.”

“You think we should try to persuade one of them to give us a ride back to the Pact Worlds?” I asked.

“Going the private route gets us around the ITE’s space port checks,” Cash reasoned.

“It’s worth a shot,” I said. “I’m not particularly fond of putting my trust in greedy, corrupt corporations, but it may be our best option.”

“Maybe they’re not corrupt,” Ryuuk expressed optimistically.

“Oh they’re definitely corrupt,” Vomero said, rejoining us at the table. “They always are.”

Vomero had made a name for himself in the Pact Worlds as a hacktivist taking on the big corporations.

“Well, look who stopped pouting over beautiful women,” Cash teased, but stopped when he saw the look of concentration on Vomero’s face.

Without saying a word, he placed a small containment vial on the table. It looked like the one that previously held the Lycan tooth we took from Dick. Now, it contained a pile of what looked like dust and the leather cord the tooth had been attached to.

“I was going to try and locate someone to do testing on this,” Vomero informed. “This is the state I found it in.”

“What do you think that means?” I asked. “It dissolved? But why?”

“I don’t know,” Vomero said. “Either it needed Dick’s life force to sustain itself...”

“Or whatever was keeping it whole is no longer in it,” I finished.

“Where’s Dick?” Vomero asked. “Until we figure it out, we shouldn’t leave him alone.”

Cash and I both stood and turned toward the back of the tavern where Dick and disappeared. Halfway there, we heard a commotion.

“What the fuck?!” A man yelled, prompting us to pick up our pace.

A loud crash erupted from the back accompanied by the distinct growl of an angry animal. I rounded the corner to see the Lycan creature ready to rip a guy’s chest open as he was screaming and scrambling to get away.

“Supernova,” I shouted, throwing a moderately sized flare toward him. The flash stunned the beast, causing it to yelp and pull away. It thrashed blindly and scraped at its eyes with its own claws.

“Cash! The sedative.”

“I’m on it,” he responded.

He could still navigate despite the blinding light because of his bionic eye. I was immune to Supernova’s effects.

Cash grabbed the Lycan in a half-headlock from behind, wrestling with it as he thrashed around even more violently, knocking holes into nearby walls and setting the large metal back door askew on its heavy-duty hinge. I dared not get involved in the tussle. Cash’s enhanced body and muscular frame could withstand the bashing, but I could not.

Finally, Cash was able to get the sedative injected into the Lycan. It howled as the auto-injector delivered the serum but continued to thrash.

“It’s not working!” I said, slightly panicked.

“Give it time!” Cash grunted.

With a sudden burst of energy, the Lycan broke free of Cash’s chokehold and barreled through the partially opened back door.

“Fuck!” Cash spat, as we both ran toward the door and looked outside.

A dusty wind greeted us as we emerged into the back alley, no trace of the Lycan in sight.