as written by glmstr
In the Demeter system, in orbit around the icy planet Demeter VII
No matter what time of day, The Traveler's Den bustled with activity. Orbital taverns were always a popular watering hole for vagrants, mercenaries, and even those of less reputable professions. The Union police largely avoided these locations unless strictly necessary, as both the employees and the patrons themselves at these rest stops were heavily armed and had little issue policing themselves, at least most of the time.
Hundreds of patrons laughed and drank and sang in the bar area itself, which only made up a portion of the complex. The 'Den', like many similar stations, included drydocks for maintenance and repairs, a small shopping area for supplies and other basic goods, motel rooms, and several other basic amenities.
However, when the doors opened and a human woman with a yellow cape stepped through, almost the entire bar quickly fell to silence. A draziri man slowly stood from his seat, his clothing and rings all bearing the same iconography.
"Melina Areleous!"
The fish-man bellowed, silencing anyone who wasn't already paying attention. A handful of other patrons stood up, many of them human, and flocked behind the one already speaking. Each one also wore black clothing with skulls on them. Many held blunt objects, a few had firearms, and the rest had switchblades and daggers. The lone human's hand drifted towards the sidearm holstered at her hip, but she didn't move for it just yet.
"We've warned you before not to cross us," the one who seemed to be the leader cracked his knuckles, his numerous razor-sharp teeth bared each time his mouth opened. "Your crew's dead. Once we're done with you, Pelagios would like to have a word with you," his scowl twisted into a predatory grin, seeing Melina as a minnow dropped into a tank of sharks.
"Sorry Uzan," the human shrugged, resting her right hand on the magnum's grip, "the pay was good. Besides, Argyra can come get me herself if she wants me that badly."
The Unionite gripped her sidearm.
"Does she think I'm an amateur?"
Areleous let the question hang for merely a moment before quickdrawing her pistol and opening fire.
THOOM THOOM.
Two shots to the chest cavities of the two thugs on both of Uzan's flanks, to immediately take out the biggest threats. The massive .60 caliber round blew a sizable hole in either torso, killing them almost instantly. She immediately pivoted on one foot and scrambled out of the bar, followed by her pursuers. She fired several more times back at them, each thundering shot burying itself in the flesh of an attacker and subsequently bursting back out of their body. The rest of her ammo was blindly fired backwards as she ran, at the very least slowing their pursuit and buying her more time.
The chase continued through the metal hallways as the now-lone captain sprinted to the drydock that held her ship. As the door to the dock opened for her, a single dockworker was exiting.
"Open the dock, now!"Melina panted, still moving towards the boarding ramp.
"What about the bill? You still need to p-"
"Put it on my tab!" She shouted back, the dockworked sighed and hurried into a separated room, and punched in an access code to open the airlock.
The ship's ramp retracted and the doors all closed as its captain threw herself into the pilot's seat.
"Get us out of here!" Areleous barked into the voice command microphone. A smooth, friendly yet still robotic voice chimed back, Please provide a location.
"Anywhere. Get me far away from here, as fast as possible."
Affirmative. Choosing random charted location. Location found. Commencing auto-pilot.
By now the airlock had finally opened, and the ship wasted no time in leaving the port and powering its FTL drive. Once at the required distance from the dock, the ship jumped, vanishing into the cold void of space.
In the Demeter system, in orbit around the icy planet Demeter VII
No matter what time of day, The Traveler's Den bustled with activity. Orbital taverns were always a popular watering hole for vagrants, mercenaries, and even those of less reputable professions. The Union police largely avoided these locations unless strictly necessary, as both the employees and the patrons themselves at these rest stops were heavily armed and had little issue policing themselves, at least most of the time.
Hundreds of patrons laughed and drank and sang in the bar area itself, which only made up a portion of the complex. The 'Den', like many similar stations, included drydocks for maintenance and repairs, a small shopping area for supplies and other basic goods, motel rooms, and several other basic amenities.
However, when the doors opened and a human woman with a yellow cape stepped through, almost the entire bar quickly fell to silence. A draziri man slowly stood from his seat, his clothing and rings all bearing the same iconography.
"Melina Areleous!"
The fish-man bellowed, silencing anyone who wasn't already paying attention. A handful of other patrons stood up, many of them human, and flocked behind the one already speaking. Each one also wore black clothing with skulls on them. Many held blunt objects, a few had firearms, and the rest had switchblades and daggers. The lone human's hand drifted towards the sidearm holstered at her hip, but she didn't move for it just yet.
"We've warned you before not to cross us," the one who seemed to be the leader cracked his knuckles, his numerous razor-sharp teeth bared each time his mouth opened. "Your crew's dead. Once we're done with you, Pelagios would like to have a word with you," his scowl twisted into a predatory grin, seeing Melina as a minnow dropped into a tank of sharks.
"Sorry Uzan," the human shrugged, resting her right hand on the magnum's grip, "the pay was good. Besides, Argyra can come get me herself if she wants me that badly."
The Unionite gripped her sidearm.
"Does she think I'm an amateur?"
Areleous let the question hang for merely a moment before quickdrawing her pistol and opening fire.
THOOM THOOM.
Two shots to the chest cavities of the two thugs on both of Uzan's flanks, to immediately take out the biggest threats. The massive .60 caliber round blew a sizable hole in either torso, killing them almost instantly. She immediately pivoted on one foot and scrambled out of the bar, followed by her pursuers. She fired several more times back at them, each thundering shot burying itself in the flesh of an attacker and subsequently bursting back out of their body. The rest of her ammo was blindly fired backwards as she ran, at the very least slowing their pursuit and buying her more time.
The chase continued through the metal hallways as the now-lone captain sprinted to the drydock that held her ship. As the door to the dock opened for her, a single dockworker was exiting.
"Open the dock, now!"Melina panted, still moving towards the boarding ramp.
"What about the bill? You still need to p-"
"Put it on my tab!" She shouted back, the dockworked sighed and hurried into a separated room, and punched in an access code to open the airlock.
The ship's ramp retracted and the doors all closed as its captain threw herself into the pilot's seat.
"Get us out of here!" Areleous barked into the voice command microphone. A smooth, friendly yet still robotic voice chimed back, Please provide a location.
"Anywhere. Get me far away from here, as fast as possible."
Affirmative. Choosing random charted location. Location found. Commencing auto-pilot.
By now the airlock had finally opened, and the ship wasted no time in leaving the port and powering its FTL drive. Once at the required distance from the dock, the ship jumped, vanishing into the cold void of space.
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