Prologue

A redhead enters a bar...

The parlour at the end of the street was almost as old as the city itself. The entire level was dark and littered with rusting scraps of metal, shadowed by the upper levels of the city and humid from the rising moisture of Ecco. A single pink neon sign burned above the wood-painted plastic frame: Zeb’s.

The door slid aside with a whoosh as Halette approached. The parlour inside was dim and thick with tobacco smoke. Warbled pop songs whined from the old music machine in the back, mixing with the banter of all the alcoholics, ex-cons and military rejects.

An old man at the used starship depot up on the second level had said Zeb’s was the best place to find a neutral captain. She walked towards the bar on the far right and summoned the graying man behind the counter.

“Excuse me, sir. I’m looking for a captain to take me to Sol.”

The bartender smiled. “Wait here. I’ll be just a moment.”

Halette nodded and the he disappeared into a back room. A young man in stained fatigues sat next to her at the bar and eyed her hungrily.

“We don’t get much sweet meat down here, honey. What brings you to the ground?”

She bit her lip. “I’m looking for someone.”

He leaned in closer and smiled with yellow teeth. “Someone to keep you company, maybe?”

The bartender peered around the backdoor and gestured for Halette to follow. She quickly complied without looking back at the would-be soldier.

The back room consisted of three poker tables, a small bar and an ancient television with a cracked screen. Only one of the tables had a game going; five men were seated farthest from the door, enclosed in a veil of smoke. The walls were soundproofed against the music in the next room, the only noise being their mild conversation.

The bartender led her around to their table. One of the men glanced up as the two approached; another followed suit and they all fell silent.

“Here you go. Best captains the city’s got, all military-trained and government licensed.”

Halette surveyed the men, paused mid-game, each well-seasoned and more respectable than the scoundrels in the next room. One of then, a blond man in a green jacket, seemed pensive and out of place. He kept his face down, staring intently at the ice in his drink.

“Him,” she said, gesturing toward the blond man. He glanced up and she met his eyes; full heterochromia. Such genetic defects had long since been fixed with engineering. He stared at her like a deer in headlights. She smiled.

“You’re a captain, isn’t that right? I need to you take me to Earth within the next couple days. I can pay you well.”

A man with dark hair spoke up. “There are a lot of pirates between here and Sol, you know. Must be business if you’re not buying military transport.”

Halette nodded. “Dangerous, yes, I know. That’s why I need the biggest of the best. And he’s the biggest of all of you.”

The bartender clapped a hand on the blond man’s shoulder. “Well, Dez, you up to take this fine little lady to Earth?”

After a short thoughtful moment, Dez spoke. “Yeah, I can take you across the galaxy, ma petite.” He smiled then, teeth all sharp animal implants. “Meet me at the dock on the surface in two hours.” He stood and bid a brief farewell to his friends before brushing past Halette with a slight nod.

He was enormous. Standing at least two meters tall, he was even larger than she’d hoped; with slightly higher colonial gravity, not many people grew that big anymore.

Halette turned to the bartender and shook his hand, slipping him a ten-mark. “Thanks for your help.”

He smiled and pocketed the mark. “Pleasure doin’ business with ya. Dez is a good kid. He’ll do what needs to be done.”

Author's Note

Please alert me of awkward sentences, repeated words and phrases that don't flow. Thank you. c:

Reviews

[Admiral Kirk]

This work is amazing! Nothing flows wrong; it's all perfect. I liked the characters, and the scenes were fantastic. I felt like I was there. Great work, excellent characters, and interesting topic. I love sci-fi. :)

[Gelydh]

Oh, good! Thanks very much for your input. C:

[Admiral Kirk]

No problem! Great story!