Through the Ghost

Tal stepped from the shadow of the ship into the sun lit docking bay. The dry heat washed over him, welcoming him to the dusty outlaw village. He was dressed in a grey sleeveless shirt, and brown pants designed to keep its wearer cool. Griff’s footsteps interrupted his moment of serenity.

“I can’t believe you actually like this weather,” Griff complained.

“Like, would be a bit of an exaggeration; I simply prefer it to the alternative.”

They both pulled down a set of goggles designed to shield the enhanced eyesight of the operatives from the more sun-scorched planets. From there the two operatives entered the climate controlled facility. Its porcelain halls were nearly deserted, as the only other occupants were a pair of maintenance droids lazily scrubbing the walls and floors. They soon found the lobby where a half-dozen more droids scurried off towards the opposite end of the building.

Tal approached the double doors that led back out to Boca Alacran. A cybernetic eye looked them both over.

“Greetings! Tal Revin and, New Traveler!” a synthetic voice called out from the eye’s speaker.

A moment later the twin metallic doors slid open to allow them access to the outside world.

Immediately greeting them on the other side was a massive marketplace. Dozens of booths were crammed together, with people from across the galaxy haggling for goods. There were several illegal weapon vendors, with guns and ammo piled high. A few legitimate food and clean water vendors who didn’t have enough stock to satisfy the crowd before them.

In the center of it all was a larger venue where slaves were paraded onto a stage, some human, some alien; most were Souri whose silky hair has been unevenly shorn short.

You cannot save everyone, Allie reminded him.

Another Souri was pulled onto the stage. A Viashano pulled her onto the center of the stage by a long chain. Her orange braid had been lopped off, a dark tattoo shone clearly on the shaved sides of her head. She held her ground, eliciting boos from the crowd. The reptilian handler yanked hard on the tether causing her to stumble and fall to her knees. Her eyes found Tal and locked on. A mixture of emotions assaulted him, hatred, defeat, hope, each one felt more powerful than the last. It was Shyara, the Souri that had assisted them on Theron, he had little doubt of that.

His eyes went to the weapons of the guards and locals surrounding him. He could take them, problem was that if they tipped off Anna too soon her trail would go cold. Griff had already forged ahead with the intent of hunting their quarry. He dropped his gaze, though he could imagine the heartbreak that was warping her features as her remaining hope was snuffed out. Allie released a calming dose on synthetic endorphins as he forced himself to remain focused on finding Anna. The calls of various bidders soon faded into the background.

As he continued on his way a few vendors noticed him and hastily packed up their wares, others remained completely unconcerned with the appearance of the fearsome “alien-hunter”.

Once he got through the crowds and shops he was greeted by a rundown building, caked in sand and splattered with unknown stains. Tal walked up to the door and pressed his palm against the worn wooden surface; the barrier immediately gave way to allow access to a musty, sparsely populated, bar.

Griff stood beside the bar, he gave a swept his hand in a gesture that Tal could take it from here. The presence of two Orothros operatives, barely registered amongst the haggard patrons. A few cast broken glances in their direction, while others never looked up from the bottom of their drinks.

At the far end of the room, a livelier bunch of individuals gathered around a booth. On one side of the table a wobbly patron attempted to move the drink from the table to his mouth. The small crowd cheered with each inch that drew the glass closer to the man’s lips. The glass begins to tip, the crowd awaited with bated breath. Liquid dripped out of the corners of his mouth into the man’s thick brown beard. Then a crescendo of laughs and jeers erupted as the man collapsed to the table, unconscious.

The person seated across from the passed-out individual stood to a bout of cheers, raising their arms in victory before downing another shot. A small electronic device in her hand dinged with each person she passed. Moving away from the crowd she approached the two operatives.

She was of medium height, sun-tanned skin, and dark, wavy hair. She walked across the bar with swagger and a hint of smile at the corner of her mouth.

“You have a lot of nerve coming around here,” she commented without looking up from her winnings.

“Maya, I-“

The pirate held up her left hand. “No, the last favor I did for you almost cost me my ship.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to ask?”

“I assume you’re looking for Anna. You’d think that woman had beer flavored nipples the way everyone chases her around,” Maya commented, tucking the tablet into her vest pocket. She then reached over the bar to pluck a bottle of alcohol.

“Where is she?” Griff pressed as the pirate took a swig of her pilfered drink. Her face scrunched up in disgust but instead of putting it back she shrugged and took another gulp.

“Easy tall, dark, and handsome. Give me one good reason why I should tell you?”

“Maya, please, let me bring her back with more before someone less empathetic does it for me.” He pressed, with a slight shift of his eyes towards Griff.

“I don’t know mate, she seemed to be getting along just fine by my book,” Maya replied.

She held the bottle out to the two men. It smelled like vinegar mixed with gun polish. They both waved her off. She smirked, then took another sip.

“Alright, but you owe me. Not today, probably not anytime soon, but if I have need of your assistance you drop whatever it is you’re doing and assist me.”

“Fine, now where’d she go?”

Maya nodded towards the stairs. “My room upstairs, though you might want to hurry. I notified her the moment you walked in,” she commented smugly.

Tal cursed then bolted towards the stairs, skipping three at a time as he made his way to the second floor. The dried-out floor boards creaked as he raced down the hall. Wood splintered as he crashed into the pirate’s quarters; secretly hoping Maya’s favor would be for a replacement door. Seeing the open window, he promptly wished the pirate suffered some form of alcohol induced mishap before leaping through it.

Dropping down to the street below, he caught the tail end of a shadow rounding the corner of the building. He raced down the alley, kicking up sand in his wake, before finding himself back in the marketplace. Hundreds of aliens and humans scampered about, making it tough to discern which direction Anna had headed.

Just as he was about to give up, a scream caught his attention.

He charged into the suddenly chaotic sea of venues, forcefully fighting upstream until he came upon the sight of Anna dispatching a pair of ruffians. Her hands lashed out with precision, incapacitating each of the criminals-for-hire. Then one of the thugs pulled a firearm from a stall that’d been knocked over in the tussle. Tal moved swiftly in response, one moment his pistol is at his side and the next, a trail of vapor hisses off of it as the murderous thug slumped to the ground.

Anna slowly turned to look at him. Ten meters of sand, five unconscious bodies, and a dead body separated them. He didn’t lower his weapon.

“So, what? You’re going to shoot me?” she inquired.

Tal lowered the weapon. “Come back with me,” he implored her.

“I think we both know that’s a bad idea,” she replied.

“We can make something work. Please, if not for me, then for Chara.”

He could see the reluctance in her movements. He began to inch closer as if approaching a wounded animal.

“You think I don’t want to hold her in my arms and read her stories every night? I hate that I have to leave her, but it’s better this way,” she replied.

“Why? You were safe on Praga.”

“I was a prisoner, and sooner or later The Council or the Kulrathi were coming for me.”

“You know I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Heartache pulled on her features. “I know, it’s also why I needed to leave. I don’t want anyone else to suffer for my choices.”

Suddenly, a projectile struck her in the chest knocking her off her feet. Tal turned around, gun raised, ready to fire back at their attacker. Instead he found Griff lowering his rifle. Tal dropped his sidearm and instantly rushed to Anna’s side, checking for a pulse. It was normal, she’d simply been rendered unconscious. He breathed a sigh of relief, then rounded on Griff.

“What the hells! I thought you were going to let me handle this!”

“You were going to let her leave,” Griff replied coldly.

“No, I wasn’t.”

Yes, you were, Allie chastised him, rendering Tal silent while Griff went to work restraining Anna.